Don't have a heart attack now...

...but today I realized that I actually have some work to do by the end of the semester. It was a sad realization, one of those times when I woke up thinking "Dammit. I know I'm going to have to write a seven page paper, even though I thought I had gotten out of it by telling my professor I would do a presentation." Yes, I do often have thoughts like that right when I wake up in the morning.

The concert last night was fun, but definitely not quite my style. Dan and I walked in together, and I started singing "one of these things is not like the other..." and began to bask in the glory of all of my white suburban boyishness and its massive contrast with the vast majority of safety-pin wearing, cigarette smoking, studded belt sporting, moshing people (there was a guy there selling those small round pins, and to mark the occasion, I searched through all of the ones with punk bands on them and managed to find one with a Star Wars logo. Hells yeah). Dan and I hung out in the back of the place, a safe distance from the mosh pit where I would have undoubtedly been seriously injured by an errant elbow or seventeen.

If there's one thing you all probably know about me, it's that when I feel some pressure, I get productive. Today has even been reminiscent of some days at home (there are still differences. I managed to find an hour to have lunch at a cafe and read). Class, lunch, then a trip to Tesco to try to find some materials for the project I have to turn in this Friday (a poster with an interview and an essay on it). I didn't find the poster board, but I did find a temporary, though inferior replacement for my weaning supply of chap stick (I started shaking today from withdrawal).

Came home, started writing, and I don't think I've stopped. First, I wrote questions for that interview, then interviewed Tomaš about Czech TV...which was hilarious. As we began, I told him to talk to me like I was five years old. And then I learned that I speak about as much Czech as a fetus. Between that, and his answers (Q: Who's the head of Czech TV? Have you met him? --- A: Mr. Janeček, and thankfully I haven't), I had a great time, and so will my Czech teacher when she reads it.

Spent the rest of the afternoon working on a 200 word essay about Czech TV. About three hours of work for 200 words. And then, Jonaš took a look at it and showed me the meaning of 'all that work for nothing.' For all I know, a lot of what I wrote might have been Esperanto.

...you know, my mother insists she didn't pay anything extra for me to live here, but between the fantastic food, weekend trips, and guaranteed good grades in Czech classes, I'm starting to wonder if they shouldn't charge more.

So let's see. Today I almost finished my book, wrote an essay and conducted an interview in Czech, went to class, and went to Tesco. Honestly, that's the most I've accomplished in a single day this entire semester, and I'm quite impressed with myself.