New

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Christmas was alright. It wasn't as depressing as I thought it might be, but it wasn't white or romantic either. Oh well. I was glad to give some of my favorite people here gifts I genuinely wanted to give them--and more to come. I basically spent Christmas Eve and Christmas evening doing the same thing--dinner at Kendra's--but with different people and different levels of drunkenness and different commitments to cleaning up afterward. Tomorrow is New Year's, which is kind of like Christmas for Turks, just without Jesus or Santa Claus or December 25th and with more drunkenness and fireworks. So basically the best parts of Christmas and New Year's combined. Like literally, there are a large number of cultural memes basically transplanted directly to contemporary Turkish culture, but with "Christmas" replaced with "New Years." For example, decorated trees, gift-giving, and Coca Cola polar bears.

I've been busy with a number of things lately--namely, finals, final projects (my jazz class final project was the best--we had to analyze a song we were given no information about), taking a stupidly large amount of time and energy figuring out going to Syria and whether or not/in what capacity my presence is actually desired (the issue has mostly been settled, and I am aaaaalmost definitely going), waiting for my fucking bank card to arrive STILL, being poor because I can't withdraw money (but in a kind of fun way, seeing how far I can go spending as little money as possible), hanging out with people I love and like before they leave, getting used to EMMA WHITE MOVING INTO MY APARTMENT WHICH HAS BEEN FUCKING AWESOME, Christmas stuff, and...kinda making music, among other things. Tomorrow evening for New Year's Eve I am going on a boat trip onto the Bosphorus with abotu 199 other university students. Free drinks plus water? Sounds like a great idea! I hope not too many of us drown. Either way I am excited.

After that it's work work work, play play play, pwn finals pwn finals pwn finals, and then hopefully leave asap for eastern Turkey and then Syria. Definitely looking forward to blogging about that. Then I hopefully won't be back until February 12thish, and then a whoooole new semester starts! New people, more free time, and other stuff. By then I'll definitely have started one of my new projects of writing for the internet music magazine wirelessbollinger.com (which will hopefully get me at least a cooooouuuple gig hook-ups in Istanbul). One of my other main projects for next semester: photographically document how amazingly awesome the neighborhood I live in, Rumelihisarüstü (direct translation: "above Rumeli castle") is from an architectural standpoint. I've been exploring a bit more lately, and I've really come to appreciate the amazingly cool, organic, and sometimes bizarre architecture of my neighborhood. Also on the list for next semester is starting to make money teaching english. I can earn up to 100 lira an HOUR doing that ish! Convenient way to stay the summer potentially, eh?

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Photos

Christmas Eve
at Kendra's.

One of the most beautiful Christmas presents I've ever received
Featuring two of my favorite people ever/in Istanbul: Kendra L and Ariel R

A comparison between me and German pop star Gunther
You know...with my newish mullet.

My father with my Christmas presents for him
This is his pleased face, to be sure