Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Internet has been down for a few days and I was condemned to the prison of my own thoughts. Too much thinking feeds the madness monster that lurks in the verge of consciousness. The voices in my head had debates ranging from free trade agreements to eternal universes. Socializing and drinking keeps them quiet. So I found myself at a...er...wine tasting five o'clock in the morning with...Wolverine.

Today I got my new computer, Marvin, he's a lovely laptop, named after the paranoid android. He's a bit depressed right now because he can't operate yet (I don't want Vista that came with it). My brother helps me with the partitioning and installation of multiple operating systems...

Yeah, and the mention of Wolverine earlier needs an explanation I think, it's neither craziness nor alcohol, it's a nickname. I don't want to post real names just to be careful with future Google matches. So all my friends will get nicknames, based on entirely subjective grounds. We have the word games (Wolverine and Luna), the lookalikes (Hippie and Jesus), the ones defined by some characteristic behavior (Angel, the Pirate and the Boss), the obvious(?) ones (Little Brother and Bluebox) and a touch of irony (Blackjack).

The Red Room

My red room, cut from an Ikea commercial and not to be mistaken for a walk in closet, has been my shelter for more than two years and now, when it's time to move out, there's a sadness in my heart. I put all the small things in little boxes and carried them down the spiral stairs to the car, the bed, sofa and Eniac (my computer) will stay for a few more days. I had packed my stuff very rationaly with labels like "winter clothes" (won't be needed for a while) and "towels" (seriously I have tons of them, I get at least one every Christmas). Little Brother helped me to carry everything up to my mother's attic. Now I'm back in my dorm room and, honestly, it feels naked when its BMI has gone from 30 to 24. And well, the final countdown continues, 10 days to go.

California Dreamin'

Two weeks to go!

I haven't left the country yet but still the journey began a long time ago, last summer when I started to dream about sandy Californian beaches. I've made a map from Dream to Reality via a long Application Process.


The Time Line has the following stops:

Thinking: California...nice
I have a dream...

Oct: Application (LTH)
Writing study plans that wont hold and a Statement of Purpose with every cliché (expand my horizons and so on) but not the the truth (girls just wanna have fun). When applying to UC the competition is fierce so always have a plan B.

Nov: Application interview
Only UC applicants. Code word "STARS" (= Students' abroad reporting system) and the enemy will love you.

Dec: Nomination
Hopefully not the end station.

Dec: Rewrite application (UC)
Rewrite the application, this time directed to UC officials. The goals is to get them to place you at the campus of your dreams (Santa Barbara off course).

Dec: IELTS / TOEFL
Inglish tests. Raiting, lissning, spiking and riding, jo hav to shåo dat jo kän kåmjonikeit in inglish.

Dec: Results IELTS / TOEFL
Don't fail. The test costs about 2000 SEK.

May: Campus placement
Time is relative here: plus-minus one month.

Jun: Money, money
Apply for CSN.

Jun: Visa
Get started on the visa application, book an appointment at the embassy a few weeks in advance.

Jun: Hotel California
Find housing. I didn't get it on campus but a second look on California Housing Board gave results *Waving to my roomies*.

Jun: Book flight tickets
STA travel had cheap tickets from CPH to Santa Barbara airport. In this case cheap means $1000.

Jul: Course enrollment
You wish. Contact professors, maybe you'll get an approval code so you're able to register for a course, but probably you won't even get an email, or my favorite: "Drop by my office" - yeah, I'll ask my secretary to schedule a transatlantic flight next Tuesday (I'm not bitter!).

Sep: GO!
Next stop...