Christmas in Ely

A late Merry Christmas to everyone!

So again, I went to Ely for Christmas. I went up Tuesday morning and came back Sunday night. It was a great time! Jenn's parents were there and that just made it even better. Sophia was adorable as always and very happy to see me.

Tuesday... we watched movies. I saw the first two Bourne movies which were cool and I so need to see the next one. But yeah nothing really went on that day. We got Chinese for dinner...yummy. Christmas Eve, we spent the morning in Ely walking around and getting something to eat. We had a round of Jagerbombs too. YUMMY. It confused Jenn's parents a little bit, but they both took their shots. Haha, awesome times.

Christmas Day, we got up around 9ish, ate, and then opened presents. Good times. Sophia didn't know what to do. She got a Winnie the Pooh airplane that she can ride, I got her a Piglet, she got a bowl and cup (Pooh Bear), a few books, and other stuff. I got DVDs, a few books, socks, pajamas, a scarf, and candy. I also got a Snuggie which I AM IN LOVE WITH! It's great. Not long after we opened presents, Vanessa and Gwen came over. Gwen is 10 months old and adorable. We kept high fiving! Hahah. She loved my Santa hat as well. We played for awhile on the floor and Sophia joined us after her nap. They were so cute together and in their little dresses. Sophia looked like a little angel. She did not wear that white dress to dinner since we had spagetti. Haha. We watched A Christmas Story twice that morning, (You'll shoot your eye out!) but for most of the day we listened to Christmas music.

Dinner was good. Spagetti, salad, and bread. Arthur made the sauce; it was meat sauce with sausage in it. I liked it.

Boxing Day, we went to Ely for lunch and then I stayed with Jenn's parents. Yeah, that was fun. We did a little pub crawl. Yep. Gooood times.

I'm home in Kingston now and finally done putting everything away and doing laundry. It was a great Christmas...calm for the most part and I got to see more movies that I've not seen before. That's always one really good part about going to Ely...their DVD collection I would still in two minutes. It's just extensive and a lot of movies that I loved. I watched Gladiator again, Arthur put it in for me. I Am Legend wasn't a bad movie, and Up wasn't as sad as they made it seem. Arthur was sure that I was going to cry. I DIDN'T! I kinda knew what was going to happen and the character who I knew was going to die lasted longer than I thought.

Ummm what else did we do? I got a good tour of the pubs in Ely since we ate lunch at one everyday but Sunday. We were going to go, but it started raining so we stayed in. We watched a Lie to Me marathon on Sunday. I kept saying that the channel could be changed, but no one changed it so it was on ALL DAY.

Merry Christmas

Hey, so this post is a few days early for Christmas, but I'll be going to Ely on Wednesday! Sooo excited!

So since I last wrote, I FINALLY GOT MY POWER CORD! Ah, how I have missed my computer. I would spend hours at the library or the John Goldsworthy building trying to stay there as long as possible so I wouldn't get too bored at the house. With only a MP3 Player, it would get really boring.

Semester is over. We had the last two semester classes on Tuesdays because Nicky had things to do on Thursday. That was fine by us, we like Nicky so we were happy to accommodate her. She's now in Australia.

Spring Grove was good the last week of classes as well. I went on Tuesday and then had the end of the semester party on Thursday. That place was insane. Half the MA was there and I didn't get to sit down all night. I was talking to Jill and Katie for awhile. Katie is American and Jill is writing a story that takes place in Montana. LOL, not sure why it takes place in Montana, but she was asking us questions about high school and teenagers in America. We answered a few questions and then I realized that Kathleen would be the ideal person to talk to. I told Jill that Kathleen would love to talk to her and then I texted her because you know that's the polite thing to do.

The whole gang was there for the party, and we were there until last call as always. Simon was a right mess really early in the night. It was so funny. It was snowing the whole time we were there, but it barely stuck to the ground. I walked home in it...so windy and still snowing, but I didn't really notice.

Hudson and Meaghan had their birthday party on Friday, which I went to. Again, the whole gang was there. It was birthday party/good bye party. I think everyone is home now, even the British kids. Another good time. It's weird, I have more of a social life than Kathleen. Which is weird for me, because last time we were here she and Amaya were the ones always out. I always invite them to hang out with us, and Kathleen had a good time at Thanksgiving, but they usually don't come out. I'm glad though that I've reached out and made new friends. I love hanging with Kathleen and Montana, but I didn't really put myself out that far last time, and now I have. I hang with Jenny a lot too, but she's been back and forth from Malta so much that's it hard to hang with her. Once Christmas is over she'll be here for at least a month. Haha. I need a Pizza Experts night with her.

Christmas, I will be in Ely. I'll be there until Sunday night. Last time, we sat and watched movies FOR DAYS, but not sure that will happen this time. Jenn's parents will be around. I can't wait to see Jager again and Ms Sophia. They fight (playfully) for my attention. It's adorable!

Alright, so that's it for me. Oh a picture for everyone...

While watching Dexter...

Hey,

So while I rewatch this season of Dexter before the finale next week, I figured I should inform the world that I'm still alive. Still no computer and it's killing me. The door bell rang this morning and I ran to get it... it was Parcel Force with a package for Montana. How unfair is this? It will two weeks since it got shipped on Wednesday.

So since I last posted, Thanksgiving came and went. It was great. Yeah, I didn't wake up to the smell of Turkey, no football, parade, or dog show, and no chips and dip...but I did get turkey. And cranberry sauce. Julie's flat had Thanksgiving and it was so good. I ate the stuffing that was not Stove Top, I had mashed potatoes with cheese in it, and even had some pumpkin pie that was a little too much for me, but the whipped cream was amazing. Invited to this party was: Simon (he woke up and drank all day...who's holiday is this), Tony, Aaron, Hudson, Kathleen, Lindsay, Victoria, Chris, Laurie plus bf, and me. There was another girl too who loves the Boosh, but I never caught a name. Montana didn't come because her mother was going to call her on Skype so she wanted to be there for that...she missed some great food. We had drinks, lots of food, and it was a lot of fun. I hear it went on until like 2am, but I left around 10pm because I ate too much and then got tired. Typical Thanksgiving. I did miss everyone, but we had a great time as well.

Other than Thanksgiving, just been spending time at the library on the computer all day. Trying to write my story, do homework, and stay sane without my own computer.

I've been to London twice in one week. I went in on Wednesday with Montana and Kathleen. They wanted to take the Christmas picture so we did that by Big Ben. They are working on it, maybe cleaning it so scaffolding was everywhere. We got a picture without it I believe. After that though, they went back to Kingston and I stayed around. I wanted to do some writing around Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and St. James Park. As soon as I started writing though it started raining. So I gave up that plan and went to Covent Garden to try and get Elyse's Christmas present. But they do the arts and crafts market on the weekend so that was strike two. It was now POURING! I got a new umbrella and walked down to Trafalgar Square. It was now raining more than pouring so I ducked into the National Portrait Gallery and looked at the portraits of the Tudors. It was fun and I was there for about an hour. When I left it had stopped raining. Went down to Trafalgar and started to write.

I will never get tired of Trafalgar Square. It is just so amazing and I love how you can see Big Ben from the stairs and just the fountains and the traffic. Ugh, I love it so much. I was there for awhile just writing everything I saw. I got ambushed by a tour group. I was standing looking at the National Gallery and all a sudden I have people all around me. The tour guide was behind me and just started talking. I decided it would be polite to get out of their way. The square was not that busy being like 3pm on a weekday and yet they pick ME to stand around and give the history of the square. THANKS!

I went down to the Arch next figuring I would head on to Buckingham, but it started raining again so I decided to go home. Well, I ended up at the library because it was around 5pm when I got home and I realized...that's 7 hours of being in my house without a computer. No way that could happen. I would die of boredom.

Saturday I went back into London with better luck. I walked ALL around and got the writing done that I needed. Even got Elyse's present. As I finished writing, it started raining. Big surprise. But it was a good day in London and I even found a cool fact. Jeremy Bentham, philosopher and reformer lived in a house where the Ministry of Justice building is now. Now, you might ask who is Jeremy Bentham??? LOCKE'S ALIAS ON LOST! I hate the writers of Lost. They are so freaking good. I stared at this sign just thinking, "Damn them." When Locke is trying to convince Jack, Kate, Sun, Sayid, and Hurley to go back to the island he uses the name Jeremy Bentham. This gets me soo excited for Lost which starts Feb 2!!!

I didn't do a lot on Sunday. I was at the library and James texted asking if anyone wanted pizza. He texted just as the Patriots game was about to start. I decided to stay with the Patriots just to listen to them lose. Errrrrr.

I have had fun listening to the Avalanche this past week. Mary Beth has been watching too so we facebook during the games. They got robbed both games first by Anderson being taken out in overtime and then by the Pens. They scored against Fleury, I saw the goal and yet it wasn't allowed because the whistle blew before the puck crossed the goal line. Oh wait, that's what they said happened, but I saw it and there's a two second delay between the puck crossing the goal line and the whistle. How was that not reviewed upstairs? It's clearly a goal. Ugh, I'm still upset because the articles about the game made it seem like the Pens killed the Avalanche. So did not happen. Mary Beth punched something when it happened. LOL.

So that's it for me. I'm just sitting in the house on Kathleen's computer. I finished watching the newest Dexter twice, and now I'm back to episode 7. This season is just TOOOO GOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!

Still Alive

Hey

Just wanted to update the world that I am still alive. Friday night my power cord decided that it wanted to start a fire. I was holding it trying to get it to charge...and I was like, "What's that smell?" OH, it was the other end of the cord letting out a lot of smoke! So I shut it off and ordered a new cord from Ebay. Boo.

Since then, I've realized how much I love my computer. Thankfully, I had something going on Saturday night, and last night I slept a lot. When I lose sleep, I really make up for it. Saturday night was fun, it was Chris's birthday party at the Mill. I ended up at the Works... good times all around. Hudson, Simon, Amanda, her bf, Meghan...and I think that's it all were at the Works. They didn't let the birthday boy in...not sure why. I haven't spoken to him, but he did text me saying he couldn't get in. I really like this group I hang out with. We have fun on Thursday evenings after seminar, and this is what that party basically was.

So that's about it from me. Hoping to get my computer back online soon. Need computer. Until then, it's a lot of walking to the library. Sigh.

Scotland Day 3

Scotland Day 3. It was Loch Ness day. Woohoo. Again, the day started early at 8:30am. We made one stop before going to Loch Ness, well the sight for Nessie. Loch Ness is like 23 miles long. We stopped at a little forest that had a river going through it. According to Chris, J.M Barrie used to hang out in this area and sit on one of the bridges. It was nice little walk at 9am. A little cold as there was frost on the ground, but still it was good. It kinda reminded me of the woods from LOTR.



After a nice little walk around, it was time for LOCH NESS!

Now, I've always believed in the Loch Ness Monster. Like since the days at the cottage and Grammy telling me that the lone duck/goose/whatever that roamed around in the mornings was the Loch Ness Monster. So this was cool. Unfortunately, I didn't see Nessie. Chris says you see Nessie if everyone believes...so there was a nonbeliever.





I loved Loch Ness. I wish we could have taken a boat out and explored more. That also would have given me another chance at seeing Nessie. But oh well. We did a dance trying to get Nessie to emerge, but it didn't work because of the nonbeliever.

Another stop we made this fine morning was Urquhart Castle. You have to pay to go in, so we just go to the parking lot and stare at it. Yes, people make you pay to explore a ruined castle. It's not rebuilt or anything... it would be like being charged to go to the Roman Forum. Now I just realized that they charge you to go to the Palatine Hill, but at least that has a little bit of a museum and there's lots to see. So anyway, the people who run Urquhart Castle hate the tour groups because we just hang in the parking lot. They planted little trees to get in the way of getting a good shot of the ruined castle, so now you have to climb on a little wall to see over the trees. You aren't suppose to climb on the wall, but it's the only way to get a good shot. Hahah, yeah I climbed the wall. The castle is also ruined because a king said to the people who owned there, "Hey, would you mind destroying your home?" And they said, "SURE!" They did a really good job of it.



Other than Loch Ness, our big stop of the day was at Culloden, the Gettysburg of Scotland (kinda). It's this big open field with flags to indicate where the two armies stood. This battlefield is the reason the Highlands are so empty. It was the last battle between the English army and the Jacobites. The Highland people didn't fight in the open fields, but in the hills which is probably the reason they lost. They liked to be out numbered, but this wasn't good. MT, Julie, and I were the only ones who walked the battlefield. Not really sure why, or where everyone else went. We walked out to a really big cairn for the clan members. Along the way, there was cairns with markings on them saying who died where. There was one that we found on the way back, that said, "Here lies the dead English soldiers." It was a really interesting field, and really sad. You walk the field knowing that this is the reason the Highlands are empty, because so many men died, but so many had to leave because there was nothing left for him. A lot went to America, or the men remaining ended up joining the British army. Ironic as that is. I enjoyed walking the field though...but then I like war.





So after that it was back to Edinburgh. We stopped for lunch at Kinguisse a cute little town in Scotland. We went to a pub. I liked Kinguisse, a small town with mountains on either side. There was one main street and it was so deserted because it was a Sunday.

We made a pit stop at this little town, which I don't think I know the name of, or did I take pictures of, but its where Bellatrix Potter was written. Cute little place, but they charged to use the bathroom. That was unexpected.

Then there was one last stop... more woods. It's called Hermitage. SO BEAUTIFUL! We took like a 45 minute walk and saw a really nice waterfall, river, and woods. It was a great way to end the trip. It was about an hour or two outside of Edinburgh and just so beautiful. I had a fun time climbing the different rocks and seeing the waterfall from all different angles. If I lived nearby, I think I would walk this area every day! I loved it that much.





We went by the glen named after some Spanish soldiers that came to help against the British soldiers, but when they saw how many there was...they ran. The Highlanders appreciated the effort though so they named it after them. We went by a bridge built by Mr. Eiffel, and then entered Edinburgh. MT, Julie, and I hung around the city until our bus left at 10pm and came home. The bus was crowded and really hot.

It was a good trip though. So loved Scotland.

Scotland Day 2

Hey,
Okay, so sorry for the delay, but I've been trying to get my piece ready to workshop, and now I've caught Ms. Sophie's cold. Errrrr. I've already been sick for the year, and yet I have another sore throat. Not amused. I suppose I can forgive her, because she is cute and on her way to becoming a big Disney fan. Her face lights up at the sight of Pooh Bear!!!

Okay so Scotland Day 2. It started early...again. We, of course, meaning MT, Julie, and I were up nice and early and ready to get the front seats of the bus. MT's knee was still hurting, so she wanted the seat at the front which gave her a little room to stretch it out. I was feeling good after the time in the pub, so all was well.

Our first stop of the morning was the Field of Cairns and Loch Garry. Cairns are stone memorials to the dead, and there is this random field right by a loch full of cairns. These don't mean anything, well anything well known. It was beautiful though. The fog was still down in the loch, but rising. When we were leaving, I thought I saw a bridge going across the loch, but I couldn't be sure. It wasn't a large loch so it is a possibility that I saw something.



Part of the Field of Cairns.

Our next stop was unexpected. We went up this road, well road is one word for it...there was room for one car and our bus seemed a little too big for it. I believe it was off the road we were supposed to be on, but hey we saw a beautiful sight. We were across a loch from the Five Sister mountains. Guy wanted to preserve the beauty of his daughters so the faeries were like, "Sure we can do that for you." The next morning his daughters are gone and are mountains. Preserved forever. Gotta be careful with those faeries. So beautiful though. Both groups were there, and we had a fun time just staring and taking pictures. Here's one of the three of us.



So after the Five Sisters, we made one more stop before the Isle of Skye. A CASTLE! I really have a thing for castles. This castle, the Eilean Donan was used in Highlander (which I haven't seen), but I just saw it in another movie. Elizabeth: The Golden Age. I saw the movie the other day when I was in Ely, and I'm staring at the TV screen just thinking to myself...I know that castle. I thought it was unlikely that I could be right...but I was. I googled it. So when you watch that movie, the scenes with Mary Queen of Scots was filmed in Scotland at the Eilean Donan castle. Anyway, I walked all around the castle and was in heaven. It's in really good continue still. It was destroyed, but someone had a dream about what it used to look like and had it rebuilt. They found a sketch of the castle not too long ago, and the dream was pretty accurate.


So after that, we made our way to the Isle of Skye. I have to say this...I LOVE THE ISLE OF SKYE! It's so beautiful. It's all mountains and water and there is nothing wrong with that. I think Day 2 was the best day, and that's because everything was so beautiful. Loch Alsh was the most beautiful sight. I took a video there and like 25 pictures. We were in the land of the faeries, so as we through the gate we had to form a hug line. LOL! I was at the front of the line so I didn't have to hug anyone, just get a hug from MT. We stood by the cliffs and went down to get a better look at the waterfalls. There was even a ruin of a building down by the water and sheep were making a lot of noise. We took our group picture at Loch Alsh.




Hey,
I still cannot believe how beautiful it was. I could never tire at looking at the lochs and the mountains. We saw cool formations of mountains aka faerie folklore like the Kilt Rock or the giant and his wife's leg. I So love folklore. I think the most beautiful sight, other than Loch Alsh was when we went up higher int the mountains. A movies have been filmed up here and I don't blame them. It was amazing. I've been using that word a lot, but that's what it was. It took awhile to get up into the mountains, and the road up was really small. There was room for one car, and it had spots to pass along it. It was the most beautiful day...the visibility was good, it wasn't too cold, so aka it was a perfect day. Even Chris was impressed.




We stopped in Portee for lunch which was this really adorable town. It has the only high school on the Isle of Skye so some people have to travel an hour and a half to go to school. It's a really ugly building. We had a really good meal at the Granary. Most people ate there. The Isle of Skye is also where I stuck my head in the river, but that story was told on my video in the last post.

It really was an amazing day. There's not too much to really tell because we spent all day going from one beautiful sight to another. The best way to describe the day is to see the pictures of it. I loved sitting in front as well, we got to see some really cool sights. I admit to sleeping on the way back from to the hostel, but by then it was getting dark and a movie was on. That put me right to sleep. We were entertained all day by Chris's stories and jokes, and I think he was happy to have people sitting in front who did sleep the entire time like Days 1 and 3.

So that was Scotland Day 2 really. When we got back to the hostel, we grabbed dinner and hung around the bar. It was a boring night. A lot of people went to sleep early and a few went down to the town.

Video Post

While I try and remember what else I did on Day 2...here's a video post about one event that day.

Scotland Day 1

So I just realized that I don't have a journal. Which is usually okay, but when I'm traveling how do I write? Um. So scrap paper it is.

Julie, Montana (or MT) and I are traveling through the Highlands. Eric and Mary did this same trip last week, but they rented a car. They had an awesome time, so I'm really excited. To help us journey through Scotland, we took a tour with Haggis Adventures. I'm not a big tour person, but this was the best way to travel around Scotland other than renting a car. We took a three day tour from Edinburgh, Fort Augustus, Inverness, Isle of Skye, and of course Loch Ness. Being the animal lover/folklore lover I am...Loch Ness was like heaven for me.

So let's start with yesterday and our 10 hour bus ride. It wasn't that bad. Of course, MT would say in response to that, "Because you slept for more than half of it." I admit, I did. I fell asleep around northern London, woke up for lunch, fell back asleep, woke up around Newcastle, and I think I was awake from then on. So for Scotland. What I saw was nice and Newcastle looks cool. I did have my eyes on the alert for Hadrian's wall, but we were close but not eyesight close. I did see signs for it...sooo close. One day I will make it to Hadrian's Wall.

Now, the one thing that really got me was the size of the roads. I thought I was on Pine Hill Road for more than 50 miles. It was horrible. That road makes me sick even when I'm driving and it went on forever. The drivers changed three times. We had a really good driver for the first part and then it just downhill from there. The third driver hit a curb or two. As we got near Edinburgh, we saw the fireworks for Guy Fawkes Night. They were alright. Nothing like the 4th of July or Disney.

Edinburgh was really nice. They are doing a lot of construction which made getting through the city really slow at 7:30pm. Our hostel was by the Royal Mile right in the old part of the city and by the castle. It was a sweet hostel. We stayed in the Latin Room and my bed was Pontinus Pilate. Sweet.

After we dropped our bags in our room, we explored Edinburgh. I brought the girls to The Elephant Head aka the home of Harry Potter. This might have excited me more than them, but based on their reactions at Oxford I thought this would be something they would both really enjoy. They were so-so about it, while I was jumping.




Even though it was dark, I really enjoyed the city. It's full of cobblestone, small side streets, and really cool looking buildings. I didn't feel that I was in the UK but in Europe. It's very Gothic style looking and seriously I could have been in Germany. I loved it. The castle is, of course, at the top of the city and MT and Julie did not enjoy the walk up. I was in full traveling mode- don't ask directions, don't pull a map out every 5 seconds, and act like you belong. Walk with confidence even though you have a huge bag on your back. The first person they saw they asked for directions. He was standing outside the bus station asking if anyone needed a hostel or directions, so he wasn't some homeless guy, but seriously guys. I blew him off, but they had no problems asking for directions. Yeah, I was going in the wrong direction, but I would have figured that out in a few seconds. They told me to calm down, but sorry not in the mood for people to know that I don't know where I'm going. My bags says I'm traveling, but not that I'm lost. Anyway, castle...cooool. I really want to go in, but it's not open in the hours we are there. But there are great views. We walked around the Royal Mile and just around for a few hours and then headed to the hostel. For the number of hours I had already slept that day, I slept well.

We got up early the next morning to take pictures of Edinburgh when it was light out. Again, so beautiful. We didn't go far from the Royal Mile which was god since around 8:10ish I realized that I had only one motion sickness wristband. Not good. I ran to the castle because they had been in my jeans pocket with my cell phone, and I took it out there. But I didn't see it in the parking lot, so I ran to the hostel and the guy gave me a key to the room I had been in. I found it in the sheets. Lucky, I know. I got back to the Haggis Adventure building about 10 minutes before we had to board.




Our tour guide was Chris. He was funny though only MT, Julie, and I laughed at the majority of his jokes. Some of them are just wrong or really bad, but he's up front about that. I like him; he tells god stories and he's interested in the history of Scotland. One of our first stops was the William Wallace memorial. Okay people of Scotland...why did you build a memorial on top of a really big hill? It took like 8 minutes to walk up and it was a steep hill. It's really nice though and you can see all of Stirling. The local high school is Wallace High School. Chris told us the real story of William Wallace and what Hollywood made up. He didn't say the Scottish mooning the British soldiers was made up...hahah. But yeah a lot was made up. Boo.

One of my favorite places was Glencoe. Chris told the story of the MacDonalds and Campbells. The MacDonalds lived in Glencoe and when William of Orange aka King William III made all of the clan leaders sign a proclamation of allegiance, the leader of the MacDonalds held out until like the last second and then went to the wrong place. Opps. So he was four days late signing it, but it was cool. Well apparently not. The King sent their rivals- the Campbells to kill them. For a clan, a huge number of men went like 130 or something to the MacDonalds in the middle of winter and asked for hospitality. That basically means shelter, food, and water. You can't turn down hospitality...it's tradition. So the MacDonalds put them up for 12 days and on the 12th night...the Campbells killed everyone. Well everyone who didn't escape, but since it was winter they died anyway. If you think elephants remember everything then you haven't met people in Scotland. Those who remain and have MacDonald blood in them still hate the Campbells. A Canadian man was traveling and stopped in Glencoe for the night. He tried to pay for a room with a credit card, but his last name was Campbell. The woman wouldn't let him pay for a room, but basically kicked him out. He was pretty rich so he went back to Canada after his trip and sued the pub. This case went all the way to the EU and they voted in favor of the pub. So now a sign outside says that they don't serve anyone selling stuff, Campbells or British people. They had to remove the British people part of it, but they don't serve Campbells.

Glencoe is sooooooo beautiful though. It was raining when we were there so I don't have that many pictures of it, but omg. It was a mixture of hills with really green grass and water. We stopped a few times to take pictures of the hills and waterfalls.

When we stopped for lunch, we met a cool Cow aka COO. Hammish. He was big. Not very adorable, but big. Chris fed him an apple and he came as soon as Chris started calling him. He's so famous, he has tee shirts, postcards, mugs all with his face on them.

We also stopped at a loch owned by Bond...James Bond. Yes, Sean Connery. It was once owned by Ian Fleming but after he died Sean Connery bought it. It wasn't raining then so I got some nice pictures of it.



We also went by Fort William where only a small part of the wall is left. There was more, but it was destroyed to make room for a MacDonalds and a grocery store. Well done. We saw a castle at Inverlochy. So beautiful and while in ruins still nice. We saw where they filmed the village scenes from Braveheart, a full rainbow, and our last stop was where they trained troops for WWII.

We stopped for the night at Fort Augustus which is near Loch Ness. It's one of the three forts that William of Orange had built. I ate dinner at a pub and then went to a show about clan life. It was so cool. The guy has original swords, clothes, and just stuff from the clans. He killed me five times with a sword that has died clan blood on it. I think the sword belonged to the clan leader of the Frasers. He beheaded me, put the sword right through my skull, through my chest...wait he might have beheaded me twice. I loved every second of it. Gotta love swords. He got two people to dress like clan folk and with the guy he told him that for the first time in his life he would be dressing like a real man. LOL. The guy then had to remove his pants in front of all of us cause Scottish men don't wear anything under kilts. He got to keep his boxers on, but no jeans. Thankfully (for him) he wasn't wearing any embarrassing underwear. The girl was like, "Do I have to strip too?" She didn't.





It was a great day though. MT fell at the William Wallace memorial and had trouble walking the rest of the day. Update on MT since I'm home now... they think she bruised it. She should be fine, but it's going to hurt for awhile. She could have done so much more to it though and she knows it.

That night was fun too. We hung out in the bar and had a pub quiz and everyone wore kilts. Yep I did. I had on a fake kilt, but I took off my jeans so it counted. LOL. We were in the bar until like midnight and I had only woken up that morning at like 6:30am. Well worth it though.

It's been three years since Spain

Yes, the title says it all. Three years since Spain. If I remember correctly, we were on our way to Barcelona today. We caught an evening bus, spent tomorrow in the city and caught a late bus back. On Guy Fawkes's Day we left Spain. Three years since that lovely night in Barcelona, which is all I'm saying about it. Weird.

Since I last wrote, I have been doing nothing...like I haven't left the house since ummm getting back from Spring Grove Thursday night. I'm very impressed with myself. I stayed up until like 4am on Friday night listening to the Avs, and Saturday was Halloween. Julie came over, we ordered Pizza Experts and watched scary movies. Kathleen is in Dublin right now having fun with Eric and Mary.

So we watched Silence of the Lambs (my personal favorite), Hocus Pocus, and Scream 1 and 2. Scream 2 took like 3 hours to download. I had one good version of it, but it was Spanish. Kinda funny to hear Foreman (Omar Epps) speak in Spanish. He's in the first victim in Scream 2, and then Will Smith's wife gets gutted next. Well not gutted, just stabbed 7 times at a movie she didn't want to go to. Julie and MT were so funny during the Screams. They were clutching blankets and MT suddenly moved and Julie SCREAMED! When we were watching Silence, MT asked what part scared Jodie Foster so much that she wouldn't do Hannibal, and I handed her Bowl Jr since it was at that part. It was when she walks into Buffalo Bill's house without realizing who he is. Opps. The whole rest of the night, MT kept saying, "Check your corner!" In Silence, when Clarice is training, she forgets to check her corner and she "dies".

It was sooo funny. We stayed up until 4am and then MT called it a night. Julie stayed in Kathleen's room and I didn't open my eyes until 1pm. Woohoo. I was impressed. Sunday was a thinking day, but I didn't get much thinking done.

Scotland is in two days. Looking forward to that.

And I think that's all I got.

Second part

So let me finish catching everyone up with what I've been up to. There is one topic that I've been thinking a lot about. The differences between last time and now. We are branching out more and meeting more people. Last time, Amaya, Kathleen, and I hung out with Jenna, Nye, and the boys we lived with. We really didn't hang out with a lot of British kids. Now every Thursday, we hang out at Spring Grove after class with other MA Creative Writing students. We have a few American friends- Julie and Lindsay, but also Jenny from Malta, and of course the boys. Spring Grove is great though; my teacher goes and there are a few familiar faces. We have a lot of fun. Now some of the similarities- Kingston is the same, Pizza Experts is still good, the British need to pick a side when walking down the street or down stairs, and classes are about the same. I think I eat the same things I did before, though I don't make it to the market as much. I went today, but they were already closing down and it wasn't even 3pm. We still shop at Sainsbury's, but now it's the big one by the car park. And once again, I don't mind walking 25 minutes to class. In Maine, I wouldn't walk down the street, and yet I walked 45 minutes for Pizza Experts once.

I have also been back to Oxford. Julie, Jenny, Kathleen, MT, and I went a few weeks ago for the day. We went to Christ Church, New College, and walked everywhere. They loved colleges, Radcliffe Camera, and the Sheldonian Theatre. We ate and had a drink at The Eagle and Child and had a snack at the Cow Place. I had my first cup of tea at the Cow Place. Kathleen and I were the only ones who had ever been to Oxford, but only I remembered it enough to be the tour guide. Not that I didn't get us lost once or twice but hey. I missed Oxford. I love the history and of course it's where Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings. Jenny and Julie are big Harry Potter fans so we had a good time at New College and Christ Church. I thought Jenny was going to have a heart attack being where they filmed parts of the movies. We had so much fun that Kathleen and Jenny dueled at New College. Yeah, dueled with sticks. Got evidence of this event too.




Two pictures from Oxford. The one of the group has me in the middle, Kathleen to my left, and MT on my right. Behind me is Julie and next to MT is Jenny. The other picture is Jenny and Kathleen dueling.

So other than going to Oxford and hanging out in London...I've been going to school. I have two classes...one on Tuesday night and the other on Thursday. I like my Thursday class since its seminar. My group is pretty cool and has Lindsay and Julie in it. Nicky Brown is the teacher and she's a children's writer. Very down to earth and cool. I do have to get on my papers and figuring out my thesis but I have time. I think the theory part of it will have to do with the history of travel writing since if you think about it The Odyssey is an example of travel writing. YES! My creative thesis will, of course, be about our time in England three years ago and it will focus on Amaya.

So I think that is it for now. I should clean my room and waste a few more hours before the Avalanche play tonight. Game just starts at 1:30am...no biggie.

Back...again

Okay I'm back. Again. It's been way too difficult to blog since I didn't have internet. I did use the Big Guy Palace's internet and schools, but I always had a hundred things to do in a short amount of time. But finally, internet has come to 215 Kings Road. Finally. Let me see if I can get everyone caught up.

So we, being Kathleen, MT and I moved into Kings Road a week before my birthday. MT had not arrived yet; she arrived on the 23rd and Kathleen and I picked her up. I was glad that she didn't arrive until we moved out of the Big Guy Palace because I'm not sure where she would have slept. I wasn't giving up my couch. Nye and James helped us move aka dragged our bags down the street. Nye also carried my big red bag up the stairs. Our house has three bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom. No living room. Boo. But it’s in a nice area, close to school (25 minute walk) and a few streets down from the boys. That's one of the big things. When we were looking at a place in Surbiton, the boys were upset that we weren't close by. Now, of course, they joke that we will never see them again since we have internet. They miss us already! Anyway, back to our place. I have the room in the back, MT has the room in the front across from mine, and Kathleen has the room downstairs. It's nice and we are making it all work.



There's a picture of my room.

We have been to London a few times. Last weekend, JJ was visiting. He's Kathleen's friend from Montana and he stopped by on his way home from Kenya. He was working as an engineer. Julie and MT decided to in early and go to Westminster Abbey. However, before they got there MT found a haunted pub in one of her books, so we agreed to meet at the pub near St. Paul’s for lunch. So it's so haunted, it wasn't opened. MT called us while we were walking from Waterloo to St. Paul’s and they decided to find a pub nearby. Well they walked to Holborn! I couldn't believe it. We walked for like 45 minutes. It was the weekend though so not a lot was open in the 'city of London'. Holborn is right outside so they have stuff open. The pub they were at though was really expensive, so once we got there, we left and went down to Tottenham Court Road which was like two stops away on the Underground. We found The Pillars of Hercules off Charing Cross Road and by now it's like 3pm. We had only been looking for somewhere to eat since 1-1:30pm. We had a good time though. JJ was cool and had some good stories about Kenya. We talked for awhile and ate lunch before splitting up again. Julie and MT were in sight seeing mode so they went to Harrods. JJ had been to London before so we went in search of bad postcards. Kathleen wanted a postcard of Prince Charles's head which you can find anywhere...except when you are looking for it. We got gelato in Leicester Square, and then got delayed because Jenny was nearby. She met us in Leicester Square and we went in search of bad postcards. We did find Skicat. It's a postcard of a cat's head with a winter hat on...aka Skicat. It makes me think of London. We never did find Charles's head though.

We ended up going down to Trafalgar Square and headed to a Wetherspoon's pub. We wanted to be near Trafalgar Square when the sun went down. Trafalgar Square is so beautiful at night and when Big Ben is lit...ahhhhh so wonderful. So Jenny got Scrumpy’s. HAHA! It's like 7% cider that you can buy in a jug at ASDA for 4 pounds. Nye got Kathleen drinking it who introduced it to Jenny. I'll take Bulmer’s any day of the week. We were at this pub for a few hours and it was a great time. Julie and MT met us there after they finished with Harrods, and by that time it was time to go to Trafalgar Square. We ended up playing on the lions and then sitting on the stairs just enjoying the views. Kathleen and I love Trafalgar Square at night or any time of the day. It's our favorite place in London. We stayed there for awhile, but ended up going to another pub off Trafalgar Square. Kathleen tried to find "the pub", but only did that for a few minutes. We went to this pub three years ago...and Kathleen and I cannot remember where it is. It's cool though. We need to find it. Anyway that day was fun. The next day, Kathleen and JJ spent in Kingston just walking around and hanging around the Thames. He left early Monday for Montana.



Jenny and I sitting in Trafalgar Square.

So before I leave the topic of London, I thought I should mention one other time we went to Central. We had this great day, it was Jenny, MT, Kathleen, and I. We went to Trafalgar Square, Hyde Park, Harrods, Kensington Gardens, and Kings Cross. We went from Trafalgar Square to Harrods and then walked to Kensington Gardens. Queen Victoria was walking around and that was cool. She looks good for her age. We ended up at King's Cross because Jenny is a huge Harry Potter fan. Going to King's Cross is like me going to Rome. So we went and when we got to Platform 9 3/4, IT WAS GONE! They are doing construction and they moved the Platform to the other side of Platform 9. I thought Jenny was going to have a heart attack when we saw it was gone. But we did find it and Jenny was as happy as can be. I so missed King's Cross.

This post is getting long so let me introduce my friends and then I'll end this. I've talked about the boys so moving onto Jenny. Ms Malta. Kathleen and MT met her at the MA History induction. There are about 15 students in the MA History program and most of them are older students. After their induction was the Postgraduate Social. Kathleen and MT saw her, waved her over, we all started talking, and the rest you can say is history. When she said where she was from, I thought she was saying, "Mordor." I thought, "Oh cool!" Her local pub in Malta is where Oliver Reed died while filming Gladiator. She won Kathleen over when she downed two or three glasses of wine at the social. We also saw Julie and Lindsay there who we met at the North American social. I have a class with Lindsay and Julie. Lindsay is from the south, and Julie is from Ohio. Lindsay is friends with Hudson who is from SF and growing on me. We see each other at Spring Grove every Thursday when the Creative Writing students hang out together. Julie is a MA Publishing/Creative Writing student and Lindsay and Hudson are doing the two year Creative Writing program.

And that is it for this post.

A new start

Hey
So welcome to my first post of round two of my blog. I'm back in Kingston. Yes, back in the same town and being reunited with some of the same people. I'm sitting at the boy's kitchen table and Kathleen is next to me. The boys (Nye, CJ, Tony and two guys I just met- Martin and James) live in a house right by Norbiton. Nye, CJ and Tony were friends of the two boys we lived with at the Bridge House. Nye said we could crash at their place until we found a flat of our own. We might have a place....maybe. It's closer to Kingston Hill campus than Penhryn Road, but that's okay. It's a nice walk...when it's nice out.

So I got in this morning (Saturday, September 12) at 5:15am and yeah I got detained at Heathrow. Apparently, my passport that I stressed over and wanted to kill people over had a giant mistake on it. The visa wasn't valid until November and school starts in two weeks. So after sitting and waiting for something to happen for 50 minutes, they canceled my visa and gave me a stamp that says I'm good to be in England until 2011. But yeah I was not amused. I thought I would have to get back on the plane and go home...and I was not feeling well from the plane. But then when do I ever feel well after flying?

SO. With that solved I started trying to find my way to Kingston. The 285 bus goes straight there, but I was in Terminal 5 which I have never flown into before. Usually I just go up to the Central Bus Station and jump on the 285. But since it was almost 6:40 am and I had an hour of sleep, I forgot about the Central Bus Station and thought the bus stops outside of Terminal 5 were it. I dragged my bags EVERYWHERE! I finally asked and got directions to the Bus Station. By the time I got there, it was a little past 7am, and I was supposed to meet Kathleen at the Bridge House at quarter to 7. Opps.

So I got to the Bridge House around 9ish and there was Kathleen waiting for me. Now we were not the brightest kids around when we decided to walk from the Bridge House to Nye's house. It was like a 45 minute walk with my bags. By the time we got to Nye's I thought I was going to pass out. I was so far behind Kathleen since I had my red bag and my backpack on my back. Aka like 80 pounds.


Nye is the same as is CJ and Tony. Apparently, Nye hasn't mentioned Amaya's name at all and Kathleen is too afraid to bring up the topic with him. Kind of weird. Kathleen and I mention her name at least 10 times a day. It's weird being back because I fully expect Amaya and Jenna to appear and hang out with us at Lloyds or whenever.

So this post I started a few days ago, but I didn't finish it because of jet lag. Since starting this post, I have not done that much. Mostly have been having computer parties with the boys and Kathleen. Yes, we all sit around in the living room with our computers and do not talk to each other. It's fun. Kathleen and I have visited Lloyds, Pizza Experts, and we sat by the Thames twice.

We are close to getting a flat. Close, but the place we are looking at might not be available for 10 days. Booooooo.

All right, time to go. Hope everyone enjoys the blog again.