I woke up this morning to an unexpected, but not unpleasant, phone call from a friend in the US whom I have talked to twice a week this semester until just recently. It was nice to hear from him again, because it's been awhile. And even though I didn't get that last half hour of sleep, at least it got me up and moving, because this morning was busy.
Once I finally woke up and got dressed, I hung up my laundry. Here, I have a washing machine, but no dryer, so everything must be line dried. It's actually not that bad, but it does require a little planning to make sure I have enough clean clothes. I'm excited that I only have two more loads of laundry to do: pre- and post-Ireland. Then I got ready to go into town to finish my photography portfolio.
Last night, it poured. Of course, that had to be the only night this semester that I left my bike outside. I also finally took the plastic bag off the seat of my bike yesterday; in retrospect, it was a dumb move. So, on went the plastic bag again so I could bike. The morning was grey and drizzly, and I wasn't excited to go out and take photos. Still, rain or shine, the photographer has got to be there (could we get any more cliche? I think not.)
So, skip to the train station. I parked my bike under an awning so it wouldn't get soaked (like I was . . . thank god for gortex). I walk into the train station to do my drill, just like any other day. But, unlike any other day, this time a security guard approached me. I pulled my standard "Ik sprek geen Nederlands," routine, but he wasn't having any of it.
Apparently, he said, it's illegal to take photos in the train station. "Security, miss." Huh. Maybe the homeless bum from the other night was right. So I left the train station, tears welling in my eyes, because I'm sensitive like that. Somehow, whenever people tell me I can't do something, I either get horribly contrary or really upset. In retrospect, I wish that I had gotten horribly contrary and just did it.
So, now I'm stuck with 24 exposures, and only really ten exposures worth of pictures I need to get done. The rest were for the train station, and that's a no go now. I went to school to pick up envelopes to turn in my film, since my last photo location is near the photo lab.
At my school, there were so many people. Our director, Steef, was there, as was Dennis (the assistant), Jan Theun (my art teacher), and a random guy. After explaining the situation, and getting made fun of a little (Dutch people really like to poke fun, in a serious way. And I thought I got made fun of a lot when I'm at home . . . ), Jan Theun told me that I had to go take a picture of the security guard, since I couldn't finish my assignment. We determined that it's strange that you can't take photos in the train station, since it's an obviously public place. We also decided that people are way too uptight about security these days. Yes, it's a big deal, but is the girl who looks 16 really gonna hurt your train station? I mean, I look like a little kid!
Random note: The girl on the computer next to me is surfing the net for pictures of people with tattos so she can find a cool tatto. Honestly, can we got some originality here? I mean, I don't have a tat, but if I did, I'd design it myself or get someone else to do it. How lame is it to have the exact same tattoo as someone else?
So I went back to the train station to seek out my security guard. I finally found him, and was all "So, um, I have a question. Can I take a photo of you? My photo teacher sent me back here to finish the assignment, and he wants a photo of you." Well, he hemmed and hawed, and finally came out with, "We looked it up. It's not illegal to take photos in the train station, so you can finish your assignment. But you can't take photos of me, because that's not allowed. Company policy." After all this, I think the security guard was just trying to mess with me. What an ass.
Finally, I get my last pictures of the train station. I hope they're awesome *fingers crossed* I go to the bridge, take photos of that, then go to the photo lab to drop off my film.
I ran into Amy at the photo lab, which was serendipitous and wonderful for me. We had lunch together in the Lak mensa (which has a new name, but it's stupid, so everyone still calls it the Lak b/c it's attached to the Lak theatre). Lunch pickings were slim, so we both had cheese soufflé (tho it's not really soufflé . . . it's like a cheese breaded slab or something) and vla. And I had a banana, so yay for potassium. We had excellent lunchtime conversation; I'm really gonna miss hanging out with Amy when I have to leave. She's a wonderful peep. There are several amazing things about Amy. First, she says "Cheers" all the time, in this totally unrestrained way. (side path: I went to Six Flags with Amy, her boyfriend Martijn, and Annika. Even Martijn says cheers now, but in this totally restrained and quiet way. He is adorable, and a wonderful foil to Amy. I'm gonna miss Martijn too). Second, Amy loves the "ly"s. To sum her up, I could just say "truly." Third . . . "it's the whole notion of." Amy just has these great Amy-isms, and I love just paying attention to the way she talks.
After lunch, we went over to Webster so I could write all of you an amazing post about my day. As I sat down to type, my lips felt dry, so I reached into my bag for chapstick and came up with . . . slide film? Ack! Slide film!!! Slide film needs to be at the photo lab being processed right now. Like, right now right now.
I biked my ass over there, sprinted up the stairs, and made it just in time. The slide film will be developed, the world will not end, and my photo portfolio will be turned in my 9 pm this evening at the end of class. And then Amy and I will chill again, and I will give her all the adorable photos I have of her and Martijn. And all will be right with the world again.
UPDATE: My photo portfolio is done! It's 147 pictures. Yay.