Life is a Song

Guten Tag, Ava!

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 03:18:16 GMT

So, here's a story!

I bought this truck. Well, my family and I bought this truck, little blue truck. It was a good truck. But it was a standard truck. I did not like driving standard. Nay, I hated driving standard. The truck and I did not get along. We, in fact, sent eachother evil thoughts as I drove. The truck to me, and me to the truck. The truck who had no name because it was so hated by me. So, my mother, being her badass self, decided that we would sell the truck and use the profit to buy a little automatic car. Woo! Well, we put the nameless one on craig's list and no one seemed to be interested. Sad day! But then, amazingly TWO PEOPLE! WOO! And one man was named Jim. I called Jim. Jim worked right by my grandparents (where the truck lives) and came to see the truck. Amazing! Well, he liked it, so we sat down to discuss price and Jim says, "Had you considered a trade!" and we were intrigued, and then Jim said "I HAVE A 2002 JETTA!!!" (well, it wasn't in all caps) and I was like "ZOMG. Dream car, what?" So, his wife brings the beauty over, and I drive her and it's instant love. And amazingly, the jetta is worth EXACTLY what the shitty truck is worth. So. We TRADED.

And now I have my one true love, Ava.

Isn't she GORGEOUS!?!

Um?

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:44:25 GMT

So.

They keep finding feet washing up on the shores in Canada.

Like, seriously...

Human FEET.

It's a little scary, and a little bit also hilarious.

Last night there were five...and then this morning, there were SIX. At least that one out of sorts foot found his friend.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/06/18/canada.feet/index.html

eeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:30:31 GMT

HELLZ YEAH OBAMA!

YOU CLENCH THAT NOMINATION!!!

...

Tue, 20 May 2008 02:10:17 GMT

James Wilson.

You are not only a little bitch, but you're in VERY LARGE AMOUNTS OF TROUBLE.

Get your ass back to that hospital and UNBREAK House who apparently would rather be DEAD than have you hate him.

-grumble-

A translation wouldn't be appropriate.

Thu, 15 May 2008 23:05:00 GMT

So, for those outside the know, I've been recently employed by a belgian bakery. I'm currently their lunch chef, which means a great deal of fun for me. The pay isn't astounding, but the place has a lot of love, and that really makes up for every penny.

Things I've learned in my first week at the bakery:

1. Soup in the crock pot on low is SCALDING. Do NOT spill it on your thumb(though the resulting 1/2 inch blister bubble is kinda cool).
2. A "butt" sandwhich is a good thing. A very very good thing.
3. You can never have enough stuff premade. If you can do it the day before, do.
4. Don't forget the Tortes in the hot oven. Forget them in the "little" oven.
5. Kyle loves peeled apples as much as he loves Chris.
6. Texas has some crazy laws about tip pooling.
7. Bandanas are again a stylish fashion statement.
8. "The Regulars" get curious when a small blonde college student begins making their food.
9. Standing and walking and moving and chopping and carrying for seven hours strait....ouch.
10. Mexican coke > american coke
11. Toddy's have a shitton of caffine. Do not drink them unless you want your brain and conversely your mouth to run a mile a minute (sorry Nicole)
12. Retired people are pretty freakin sweet.
13. Belgian people are even cooler
14. Every day should start with nutella toast
15. Pumba needs feeding...or she makes a ruckus.

The place is called "Rolling in Thyme and Dough". 's very witty.

I get myself into these things...

Wed, 14 May 2008 03:03:38 GMT

but this time, I completely blame tanzensiemit. She's a demon. But I love her.

Quoting is Fun
1. Friendship is a very taxing and arduous form of leisure activity. - Mortimer Adler
2. I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several attack me at once. - Ashleigh Brilliant
3. Performance is a crucifixion. - Charles Gounod
4. Imperious, choleric, extreme in everything, with a dissolute imagination the like of which has never been seen, atheistic to the point of fanaticism, there you have me in a nutshell... Kill me again or take me as I am, for I shall not change. - The Marquis de Sade
5. Hell is a spark from our consuming torments/Paradise, a moment from our space of reprieve. - Omar Khayyam
6. In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. - George Orwell
7. Sometimes it's hard to avoid the happiness of others. - David Assael
8. ...for all colours will agree in the dark. - Francis Bacon
9. Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you ever regret. - Laurence J Peter
10. No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings. - William Blake
11. Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane. - H.P. Lovecraft
12. The key is to commit crimes so confusing that police feel too stupid to even write a crime report about them. - Randy K Milholland
13. Things won are done; joy's soul lies in the doing. - William Shakespeare
14. Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a function. - Unknown
15. Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. - Isaac Asimov
16. It is simplicity that makes the uneducated more effective than the educated... - Aristotle
17. I adore simple pleasures. They are the last refuge of the complex. - Oscar Wilde
18. I tasted too what was called the sweet of revenge - but it was transient, it expired even with the object, that provoked it. - Ann Radcliffe
19. Judge of a man by his questions rather than his answers. - Voltaire
20. He plants trees to benefit another generation. - Caecilius Statius
21. Writer/Artist's Choice

5lbs, 11 inches, 10 fingers and 10 toes.

Thu, 08 May 2008 04:51:54 GMT

Welcome to the world Pheobe!!! We've been expecting you!!!

Congrats Stacia!

(yeah, I didn't lj-cut it. Everyone needed to see that beautiful baby!)

Harlaxton, my home.

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:05:32 GMT

Things I'll miss:

Colleen running around at Dinner
Talking to Mr. Pheasant on my way too and from the carraige house
Seeing the English countryside outside my window
Hot chocolate as a staple drink
The way outside smells first thing in the morning
My bench
Dr. Green
Yes, I'll miss British Studies lectures
My lunch and dinner group
Movies, all the time. ALL the time.
Cheese Toasties
Tea time with Molly every Monday and Wednesday
Singing off key in the bistro
My really uncomfortable top bunk bed
Teasing everyone, all the time.
Brandon.
Traveling on the weekends.
Matt and Brownwyn and working at SAO.
Reading outside in the italian garden.
Bob.
My Meet a Family
Grantham, and the little art store and everything else there.
Tea...aww...PG tips.
The rain
My British Politics class and cliff pettifor
Sitting on Nicole's bed for like, hours.
This wonderful group of people
Everything?

I'm not ready to go home.

Pretties.

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 00:20:44 GMT

So I'm hiding in Nicole's room, and she did this meme so I played too. We both stole it from jediravenclaw Nicole should be studying for a final. Bad ravenclaw.

1. Go to www.flickr.com
2. Type in your answer to the question in the "search" box
3. Use only the first page
4. Copy the html and paste for the answer.

a. what is your first name?

b. what is your favourite food?

c. where did you go to school?

d. what is your favorite colour?

e. who is your celebrity crush?

(Carmine wins out, only because there wasn't one of Thomas Paine. I wept. )

f. who is your favorite disney princess?

(okay, I cheated, this one's from google. Flickr had NO pics of Jasmine. Dude, she had a TIGER)

g. what is your favourite drink?

h. dream vacation

(Cruise on the Rhine!)

i. favourite dessert?

(because they didn't have "every dessert in the world")

j. what do you want to be when you grow up?

(this is Sandra Day O'Conner, she was the swing vote on the supreme court for many many years)

k. what do you love most in life?

(yeah, that about sums it up. Laughter, joy, life itself)

l. one word to describe you?

m. what do you dream about?

Langauge Meme

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 00:35:38 GMT

So maybe I'm a bit southern! Read this and let me know if you call them something different!

1. A body of water, smaller than a river, contained within relatively narrow banks.

Creek

2. What the thing you push around the grocery store is called.

Cart

3. A metal container to carry a meal in.

Lunchbox

4. The thing that you cook bacon and eggs in.

Skillet

5. The piece of furniture that seats three people.

Couch

6. The device on the outside of the house that carries rain off the roof.

Gutter

7. The covered area outside a house where people sit in the evening.

Porch

8. Carbonated, sweetened, non-alcoholic beverage.

Coke

9. A flat, round breakfast food served with syrup.

Pancakes

10. A long sandwich designed to be a whole meal in itself.

Sub

11. The piece of clothing worn by men at the beach.

Trunks

12. Shoes worn for sports.

Tennis Shoes, Sneakers

13. Putting a room in order.

Tidying Up

14. A flying insect that glows in the dark.

Firefly

15. The little insect that curls up into a ball.

Rolly Polly, Pill Bug

16. The children's playground equipment where one kid sits on one side and goes up while the other sits on the other side and goes down.

See-Saw

17. How do you eat your pizza?

With my hands, though over here (in the UK) I use a fork and knife.

18. What's it called when private citizens put up signs and sell their used stuff?

Garage Sale

19. What's the evening meal?

Supper

20. The thing under a house where the furnace and perhaps a rec room are?

Basement

21. What do you call the thing that you can get water out of to drink in public places?

Water Fountain

22. If something is diagonally located, where is it in relation to you?

Caddy Corner

23. What do you call the place where the water comes out of the sink?

Tap

ajkdkjadhahdakjdhsa Politics.

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:51:18 GMT

So, today during lunch I talked about American culture and values with some people. And then tonight I watched National Treasure - which always brings out the political demon in me. And...well,

So. I am a political science major. I geek out over politics. I have election parties, I watch C-Span when I'm bored and read articles like "How Thomas Paine's Ideas Affected the Framers of the American Constitution" (50 pages and amazing! Find it on JSTOR. I digress)for fun. I have CNN's election center hotlinked and I check it daily. In the states I listen to NPR in the morning and evenings and I read the paper. I realize that I am more politically aware than the average citizen. This is a direct result of my major, and the fact that I'm interested in the topics. However,

I do not find it excusable for any educated(this means us, college kids) American citizen to NOT know that we're electing the President of the United States in November. I find it even less so when a random Grecian woman who lives in a tiny provencial village that's in the middle of an electrical strike knows who won the Ohio primary. I can almost excuse not knowing who the primary candidates were, if it weren't EVERYWHERE (It's Hillary and Obama for the Democrats and McCain for the Republicans). I certainly don't expect everyone to know the history of the American political system. I certainly don't expect for people to know who introduced what legislation and when, or who's in congress now (though you should know your personal senator or representative) and I don't care if you don't have an opinion on every hot button topic that's currently in American politics.

But, for God's sake, you have a duty as an American citizen to know something about the political world you live in. We all have a duty to know some of how our political system works, to know who's in charge and who's making the laws. We have a civic responsibility to get out there and vote, to check the papers now and again, to know what these politicians are doing. It's not something that's off in washington! Politics isn't some distant concept we can ignore! Politics is your everyday life! Politics is the economy and jobs and civil liberties and laws. It defines if we have a school, if when we graduate if we've got a place to work. Hell, it'll decide if we're going to be drafted out of college to fight in a war against terrorism. Politics lives and breathes in nearly everything you do. It's not something you can just look away from. The framers of this country put the power of government to the people, but that only works if the people give a damn.

I don't accept the excuse that times are different now, that people don't need to care. I refuse to accept the idea that we can just leave it to the political science majors to make the decisions. And yeah, I'm a political idealist. I still have faith in a system that many think is broken beyond repair. I still have faith in the American people. I have faith in the fact that our generation can make a difference in politics and policy, that we can get off youtube and facebook and we can give a damn. And this isn't a call for people to march in the streets or support a candidate, I just...

I want people to care. And I have no idea how to make people care about politics. I can't force you to feel like politics matters. But I will ask that we be informed. That you know that on the first Tuesday of November this year we'll go to the polls and take part in the most spectacular of American institutions. One person, one vote. Together, we'll go to the polls and we'll decide who is going to have the power in our country. We'll decide who gets to make the laws that govern our everyday lives. That's what makes the American political system great. In the end, it really is the people. It really is us. We get to decide. And if we all get out there, if we all find it in ourselves to take an hour out of our lives and give a damn, then we can make a whole world of difference. It'll be amazing.

It's all Greek to Me.

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 19:34:46 GMT

So this weekend was outstanding. Stories soon.

Today while walking on the beach I made a comment about the water and my friend looked at me and went "Cheyenne, you're so poetic," it was in a bit of a bemused tone, with some affection, but she could not have given me a better complement. Life is splendid.

Anyone have something I can use to cleanse bad energy from my room? My roommate exudes it, and she had our room to herself all weekend. It's strangling. Bleh.

You see why I love this man?!?

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:41:32 GMT

"it is the great cause of all; it is the establishment of a new era, that shall blot despotism from the earth and fix, on the last principles of peace and citizenship, the great Repulic of Man." - Paine

"determined to follow his genius and not his fortune,"

"He constantly stressed the right of everyone to vote without qualification,"

"My religion is to do good. My mind is my own church." - Paine

"We all have natural rights, by virtue of being a member of the human race," - Paine

"Man has no property in man; neither has one generation a property in the generations that are to follow," -Paine (on hereditary succession)

"The constitution is the creation, not of the government, but of the people" - Paine

So, writing a paper on Thomas Paine is harder than I thought. And not for the reasons normally expected. It's crazy!hard because I keep finding articles that I want to read and then go "Dammit, Cheyenne, you can't spend time reading a 50 page article on Thomas Paine's effect on the American Constitution. You don't have time!" It makes me sad. But, I think I've really found a focus for my political study, and I really think I'm going to write my big Senior Sem paper on Thomas Paine. He's my hero!

....wow.

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 07:48:29 GMT

Earthquake anyone?

Y'know...we don't HAVE those in Texas. It kinda would have been cool if someone had mentioned, "Hey, we have earthquakes here...so, if the entire world starts shaking at 1am, don't worry, kay?"

As it was...

Well. It was an adventure.

BERLIN!

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 23:30:50 GMT

Made it to BERLIN!

With only slightly minor mishaps of our train being delayed nearly 30 minutes and running to catch the next one and our flight being delayed almost an hour. But HOLY SHIT! BERLIN!

I'm so excited that I can't even express how much I want to jump around and squeel. Tomorrow we're doing a tour of the whole city and then playing at the zoo and then running around like crazy kids and then perhaps a pub crawl.

aslkjdlskajsajka

BERLIN!

asdasdkjladkjlakjldakjlasds

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 03:42:10 GMT

It's 3 fucking 45 in the goddamned morning.

I'm sitting in the goddamned computer lab because my fucking roommate when out tonight and got fucking shit faced and comes home and freakin types on skype loud enough that it fucking wakes me up. I let it go for a while. I got out of bed and GRABBED MY IPOD. I went "God, Shanlee, it's 3:30. We have class tomorrow." Her response? To turn off her lamp. The typing continues.

As I lay there testing the weight of shadowcat and my alarm clock. I realized I should get out of the room before I accidententally murdered her.

I'm really not a happy person right now.

AND I CAN NOW WRITE WITH PROPER PUNCTUATION!!!

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:33:15 GMT

,,,,,,,,,,,,

uuuuuuuuuu

YAY!

Translation? I got Vanyel back from the IT guy this morning and he was FIXED! He has a completely new keyboard so my comma key works, and my u key works and all those keys on the left side that are kinda important are no longer stuck together by dr. pepper! Woo!

^^

Though...he did give me a lecture about poor Van. Apparently Sony computers are crazy hard to fix if you're not a trained sony guy because the manuals are near impossible to find online. As he told me "You could have unscrewed every screw you could find on that computer and not have been able to fix it" but...I don't really care because he DID fix it and now I can type to my heart's content!

The stoleded him!

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 19:35:51 GMT

-frets-

Well. I got my new keyboard today (finally!) and took it to the IT guy. Before I hear the clamour of everyone going "WHY WOULD YOU TAKE IT TO HIIIIIIIM?!?!" a few points in my defense.

1. I don't know jack SHIT about repairing computers. I once took one apart...but it was already broken.
2. I didn't have the little screwdrivers to do it myself or have matt do it or call jason and have him walk me through it (so suggested nicole)
3. I hadn't heard the horror stories. meep.

So I took Vanyel too him and he was looking at my comp and then at the keyboard and was like "Well. I don't just want to start unscrewing and have it come apart and not be able to go back together...so I'll keep it overnight and download a manual or have sony help walk me through it". I am upset at having my drug of choice so quickly severed from my soul, but agree, knowing Van needs a new keyboard and I'd be likely to accidentally kill the harddrive. Again.

Then. At dinner. Nicole tells me the horror stories.

¬.¬

I am terrifed. As I explained to them, it's like leaving my baby for surgery with a doctor that has previously left sponges inside other babies. Not the most comforting feeling. I rescue Van tomorrow at noon...so we'll see. He shouldn't be able to turn it on for more than five minutes as the battery is drained and honestly, shouldn't be able to tinker with anything. So I have faith. PLEASE DON'T KILL MY BABY OR I WILL KILL YOU IT MAN.

Other fun quotes from the evening:
"Damn you endorphine enducing sun baby!" - me, expressing my discontent with being unable to keep from smiling while watching the teletubby sun

"I can't...tell time" - me, expressing the extent to which a lack of Van steals my soul. For the record...I can tell time.

"You should just strech! Lean back and accidentally run your fingers through his hair. Oh oh! or scoot your chair back and accidentally run into him! And then rub on him. Or OH! OH! yes! Stand up and TRIP! BACKWARDS! INTO HIS LAP!"

"I hate you all. Friendship Time-out for EVERYONE" - my friends and me respectively, reflecting on the fact that Green was sitting behind me.

I think I'm going to go do karaoke now (or watch. My singing voice is like a dying cat I've been told..which is sad. I once was in choir.) and try to avoid withdrawal. and terror.

Coolest ever? Yes.

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:41:44 GMT

So...tanzensiemit is my freakin hero...and made the lovely icon of Thomas Paine now used on this entry.

If you want to know why he's so cool and therefore she wins all the brownie points ever? Read the post below this one.

Best day ever...keeps gettin better!

Geekout.

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 09:41:31 GMT

ZOMG!!!!

TODAY'S "HAPPENING HERE" WAS ALL ABOUT THOMAS PAINE!!!!!!

ZOMG!!!!

AND HE LIVED IN GRANTHAM AND WORKED HERE AND AND AND HE'S SO COOL.

I loves me some Thomas Paine. Yes I does.

GREECE GREECE GREECE

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:53:14 GMT

OMG BOOKED PLANE TICKETS FOR GREEEEEEEECE. WOO!

Families!

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:26:14 GMT

I got my meet-a-family family last night and the only I can really express about them is slakdlsajdsakldlakjsdjkalk!!!!!!! EEEEE!!!!!!...and more coherently...they're SO COOL. It's a single mom and her son, Eileen and Killian respectively, she's originally from ireland but then moved over about 20 years ago. He's a just graduated Uni student who majored in films and really likes to hang out in Denton Texas. I share them with a great girl named Jessica from O'Clare (sp?) and she's really nice too! We had an awesome reception with them and talked so much we were literally the last family to leave, they have a dog named Copper and we're meeting this sunday to go have a sunday roast (mmm real food!) and go for a walk around the countryside. I'm really really thrilled! They're super sweet and gave Jessica and I a local cell phone to "y'know...call cabs if you're drunk or order pizza if you need to feel american" and have told us if we're ever feeling homesick to come use their phone cause they have free calls to the US.

Basically they're quite possibly the nicest, neatest people I've met so far!

ALSO! VANYEL (my laptop for those not in the know) IS FINALLY GETTING A NEW KEYBOARD!!! It's ordered and in the mail and should (hopefully) be here in two weeks. Yaaaaaaaaay. His comma key and alt key have been broken for most of last semester and just this week his U key broke off again and that's not good. BUT BEING FIXEEEEED. yes.

WTF

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 23:40:03 GMT

Heath Ledger!

I luvs you.

I cry.

Cause I never post...you get a marathon.

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:04:07 GMT

Our second weekend at the Manor started on thursday night with a lovely bit of fun called a Ceilidh (pronounced Kay-lee) which is basically an excuse to get college kids somewhat inebriated and then have them dance it all off in the Great hall with an irish band. It was a blast. The theme of the night seemed to be "sorta kinda explain the dances that we're going to do - tell them where they're from and then start and watch the fun" and it was a great bit of fun and we were all sweaty and gross and exhausted by the end of it. Which really wasn't the best for remembering what to pack for London.

We left for London at 8:30 am on friday morning (apparently mornings are a theme here - I don't much like them but it's okay cause neither does my roommate and we wake up and bitch for about 45 minutes every day about how it's too early to be awake) and all slept on the bus again until we got to this little reststop and I indulged in a mcdonald's hashbrown (shh. Don't tell alma) and a cup of good coffee (the stuff at the manor is a lot like asphalt) and then we jumped back on the bus in the rain and commenced more sleeping. Apparently I'm not the only college kid who doesn't do well with mornings after 3 hours of irish dancing the night before. We made it to London about noon but apparently checking 160 students into a hotel takes some effort so we threw our professors out and then went on a bus tour of London with our ridiculously fun british bus drivers who cuss frequently. We saw all of the main sights in London and then headed back to our hotel. My friend Ash and I were in the "hotel next door" the Tavestock and that was pretty cool because we got a full english breakfast instead of just toast.

Our group left the hotel and decided it'd be a smart idea to walk from Russel Square to Baker St. and that was fun...kinda. We had a couple annoying travel buddies with us that had never been in a big city before and we were constantly having to wait for them and mother them through but we eventually made it after about an hour passing the infamous Madame Taussands (woah I butched that spelling!) and a couple other big expensive sights on our way to 221B Baker Street and - you guessed it - the Sherlock Holmes Museum. It was so much fun. They had a real life watson and we got the chance to sit in sherlock's chair as they had the whole flat decked out like Sherlock lived there and we saw his detective case and all sorts of fun things. And then upstairs they had wax figures of all of the villians in their various demises. It was so cool. After Sherlock and posing with one of the police men we headed to the beatles store and got patches and enjoyed beatles music. Then we walked back to our hotel and tried to find somewhere to eat. Woahs . That was an ordeal. Finding something 6 people can agree on when some of them are dumb (obviously not me of couse -snicker-) is rather difficult. But we finally settled on this little french bakery that wasn't very good and a bit overpriced but it was food and we were hungry.

Afterwards we took a couple hours to recover in our hotels - shower and nap and all of that - and then met up to go to a pub. We ended up (orginally) in the London Pub and had a good time drinking legally at 19 and chatting. We had to explain to a couple of our friends that Pubs are not places to get drunk and we were all amused when the other table of americans was asked to leave for being too loud and drunk. That encouraged our two friends to hush. Then - being lame - Ash and I went home and watched the end of The Manchurian Candidate which just really confused her and made me want to watch the movie again.

My alarm didn't go off the next mornign but we still made it to breakfast and to meet our friends at 9am. Then we all headed over to Trafalgar sqaure where the people of London severly messed up our picture taking by having a concert there later in the evening and thinking they should set up for said concert at 9am. Because obviously the world revolves around our tourism. So we worked around it and then walked under the Victoria arch and down the mall to find spots at Buckinham palace right against the gate for the changing of the gaurd. Then we waited for an hour and a half and then woo! Changing of the gaurd! it was so cool! Especially when the new gaurd played the imperial march from starwars. That happened for about an hour and it was totally neat and then we escaped the crowd to walk through hyde park. We had cider and played with the squirrels (Who are quite friendly and will come put their little paws on your leg to ask for food) and then had lunch at a little cafe by the water. After lunch we made our way to find Peter Pan and the Princess Di Memorial and took pictures at both stopping to play at the playground and oggle at...er...observe the sport of football being played by british men. Leaving Hyde Park we went to Notting Hill and Portabello Road and Market (per my request because it's one of my favorite movies! But no one else in our group had seen it!) and I indulged in a new coat. It's white - which is totally impractical but I figured you only live once and I like it. I met a british woman and helped her pick a coat and she lived in san antonio for college for 6 years and she missed Texas very very much. That was neat. We wandered in the shops for a long time and then headed to the Tate Modern Museum. We spent about 3 hours there looking at all the art - y'know picassos and stuff - and then walked across the new millenium bridge and took pictures of the Thames and london at night.

Satisfied with our photographic excellence we headed back to the tube and popped over to westminster abbey and the houses of parliment and big ben to take pictures of them at night which was really neat but it was cold and raining so we jumped back on the tube and headed home. Another Dinner ordeal and then we settled on an indian food resturant that was absolutely amazing and we spent a few hours there talking and eating good food. Back to the hotel to crash and then we left London sunday at 10 am having already made plans to come back.

After london we drove to Hampton Court Palace and there was much exploring there. We loved the Tudor Kitchens and the maze - which we triumphed over- and especially the worlds largest grape vine. But my favorite part was the queen and kings apartment suites. We tagged on the end of a costumed tour (where the guide is all dressed up and stays in character) which was neat cause it was free and very very informative. And then we spent a lot of time running around the italian garden and the servants quaters and finally collapsed on the bus about 3 to go home. We got back to the manor at 6 or so and then collapsed into dinner and then pretty much into our beds.

Today was class far too early in the morning and my first Abnormal Psych class which was really interesting and then we had a dancing exhibition tonight! This group of people from Nottingham showed us traditional english dancing (they made ME dance too!) and it was super cool and then we saw a different group do "clogging" which is kinda like tapdancing and then tehy ended with a hilarious skit reminiscent of (apparently) what would happen on "ploughing day" and they concluded with a sword dance. And then we all went to the pub to listen to some singing. They shared with us a few of their folk songs and then asked us for an American one. What lovely piece of American culture did we pass on to our English Brethren? Some stirring balad perhaps? Or a comedy? Oh no. We all - through a second of deliberation - sang them a rousing version of "Friends in Low Places" that probably would have brought tears to Garth's eyes. Whether they be tears of pain or joy we have yet to say. The englishmen were...intrigued. And then we all raised a glass (I still don't like beer) and toasted eachother and I headed home.

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:02:03 GMT

7 am.

Fire drill.

Boxers and tank and wool coat and no glasses.

Cold.

HAVING TO DO IT AGAIN BECAUSE THREE FUCKERS DIDN'T GET OUT OF BED.

Death to the WORLD.