My Birthday!

OK, so my birthday was yesterday & I had the pleasure of not feeling well. Oh well ... granted Alice has been sick & now Freddy has a very bad case of the flu. :-( Anyway, Saturday Alice, Lan, Michelle, David (Lan's boyfriend), & I had a "luncheon" to celebrate 3 birthdays - Lan's on Jan. 3, Michelle's Jan. 18, & mine yesterday! So we made 2 cakes & mom sent me granma's recipe for chicken with water chestnuts & we made mashed potatoes & green beans. Very yummy! So here are some pics.

Snow!!!!!!

Oh yes! You know it! It's FINALLY snowing! So at 1am, Michelle, Shanu, & I had a snowball fight. Luckily Shell & I ganged up on Shanu (sorry dude, but girls watch each other's backs sometimes)! And we are experts at this whole snow thing. Here are some pics. Remember it's night, so they're kinda dark!

I don't know what to call this post in all honesty. Some of my readers may think it is humorous, others will see it as male bashing, and still others will come to view it as those "damn feminist classes" taking hold. However you interpret it, consider it all of the above. I like to call it my justification for hating Valentine's Day (a post of its own later on) ... so enjoy and I hope you get a nice chuckle out of it.

A Story Wet as Tears.
by Marge Piercy

Remember the princess who kissed the frog
so he became a prince? At first they danced
all weekend, toasted each other in the morning
with coffee, with champagne at night
and always with kisses. Perhaps it was
in bed after the first year had ground
around she notived he had become cold
With her. She had to sleep
with heating pad and down comforter.
His manner gew increasingly chilly
and damp when she entered a room.
He spent his time in water sports,
hydroponics, working on his insect
collection.

Then in the third year
when she said to him one day, my dearest,
are you taking your vitamins daily,
you look quite green, he leaped
away from her.

Finally on their
fifth anniversary she confronted him:
"My precious, don't you love me any
more?" He replied, "Rivet, Rivet."
Though courtship turns frogs into princes,
marriage turns them quietly back again.

from Stone, Paper, Knife (Alfred A. Knopf, 1983).

It's been a few days ...

So I realize I have posted in a few days ... ok, more than a week. But I have an excuse! I'm paper writing! Well, I was paper writing. I had 2 papers due last Monday that were going to be the death of me, I swear. One was 4000 words & the other was 1000 words. The short was cake - it was just an analysis of how I write papers, which, in essence, is crap in my opinion because how can you grade how I write about how I write? I mean really! I tell you I wait 'til the last minute to write the paper!! I should get 100% just for telling the truth. Oh yeah, that's right. They don't have 100s here. Their grading scale is so weird! Your goal is to get above a 70 which is distinction & then 2nd rate, i.e. passing, is 60-69. Though I did get a 72 on one of my papers which was a total surprise! Anyway, the long paper was, well, long - 15 pages in all. I don't think I answered the question like I should have. And I dreamt about it the night before I turned it in, got up the next morning, & rewrote half of it. So who knows if that was a good idea! And I really want to do well on the paper because I don't want to disappoint the professor. I know that's stupid, but I really liked Caroline's class & she always had good criticism. Plus she said I was very astute & I don't get that very often! So I finished those 2 papers & then procrastinated for a week on the one that is due this Thursday. But I wrote it over the weekend & will probably turn it in on Tuesday. Yes, I know, I can be an overachiever.

So what have I been up to? Well, nothing really to be honest. I sleep late - i.e. past noon which is glorious. But then there are days that I promise Chris & Zoe I will meet them at the library at 11am, which means getting up by 10am. *groan* That is not fun. I've watched some movies - Matt downloaded The Holiday for me which was SO good! Michelle & I want to go to Surrey where it was filmed because it looks so gorgeous. Also watched Jarhead which was sad, but very interesting view into the military. Ah, and I also watched Pride & Prejudice - the Keira Knightly version, though I would have much preferred the 5-hour Colin Firth version. Yummy! (Only Katie, Cynda, & Sarah can relate!)

I am currently doing what I do best - procrastinating. I need to read Jane Eyre, but I've read it 5 times & taught it last year, so I feel like I should be considered an expert on it! I have to have it read by Friday's class. Of course, between now & then, I plan on going horseback riding, playing the piano (BTW, I FOUND A PIANO & IT IS FABULOUS!!!!! OK, actually the piano is out of tune, but at least I get to play now!), go to the gym, & sleep. Probably not in that order though. I did go shopping at the semi annual sales - bought a pair of shoes (yes, I am my mother's child & she is her mother's child.), bought a pair of red pants that are super cute, & a pair of running pants. Was quite excited about those purchases. I found turkey bacon at Tesco too which SO completely made my day! It is quite delicious.

Oh, Michelle & I exchanged Christmas/birthday presents. I gave her BBW stuff because she is as much a fan as I & she gave me a spa kit, complete with a bottle of wine! No, I have not opened it yet. I got her housemates a box of bourbon balls. I do believe they were a hit! BTW, for those of you who may need a little reminder, my birthday is Feb. 6. I accept money in any currency, especially if it is deposited directly into my bank account. Otherwise, I accept American food - Taco Bell grilled stuft chicken burrito, O'Charley's chicken harvest soup or potato soup sans bacon, Cracker Barrel's hash brown casserole, or any food that is not cooked by me. Otherwise, plane tickets to various places around the world & a hotel are always nice. Be sure to throw in a hot guy to look at. I prefer warm destinations right now as well. Thank you.

What else? Oh! We had a new housemate move in. Name's Ella from Utah, though she is in NC at school. Her parents helped her move in. And then helped her move out. She found an apartment that was the same price as this, but MUCH nicer though that's not much of a stretch. If I wasn't stuck in a contract, I'd move out of here. As would Freddy. But alas, we can't.

Everything else is pretty much normal at the house. Ravi is currently in India because his father (84) passed away over Christmas. Lan is dating our 30-year-old British next door neighbor David who seems quite nice. Lan is very happy anyway. Alice got to spend Christmas with Jeremy & then went to Dublin last weekend to see him. I swear she is gone almost every weekend! :-) Matt spent Christmas with Freddy in Germany, they did some traveling, & then Matt went to Nice to see his girlfriend Denise. He has been in a remarkably pleasant mood these days. Freddy & I banter as always. His girlfriend broke up with him over Christmas, so he was in a funk. We've hung out a little since I've been back which has been quite fun. His New Year's Resolution was to get out of the Village more which I think will do him a lot of good. Ayan is Ayan. Though I hardly see her these days which is always pleasant.

Planning a trip to London the weekend after Valentine's Day - probably do a girls' weekend out. One of my sorority sisters is at school in London, another friend is in Grantham which is 1.5 hours away, so they'll hang with us. We'll go see a play, though I'm not sure which yet. I'd love to see Phantom of the Opera again, but I feel I should I give the others a chance.

Oh, am starting to look for jobs beginning September 1, so if you know of something super cool & exciting, let me know. I may be interested.

Well, I should probably at least get through chapter 1 of Jane Eyre ... good thing I don't have any obligations other than sleeping in tomorrow. ;-)

Owensboro to Swansea & Everything in Between

Well ... after many hassles, delays, and frustrations, I'm back in Swansea. And guess what it is doing here?! You guessed it! RAINING!

So Friday morning, mom and dad were to drive me to Evansville to catch my 2pm flight to Chicago which would then connect with a flight to London. I had everything plotted out perfectly. I'd get into London at 7am, clear customs in time to catch the 10:15 bus to Swansea, and be in Swansea by 2:30. Of course, all well made plans must go awry in each and every stage.

We started off running a little late Friday morning because mom and I had to catch Monkey (cat) and take her to the vets. Monkey is not an easy one to catch because she just knows everyone and everything is out to get her, which was true this time. It didn't take much to catch her - cornered her in the kitchen, I grabbed her, mom put her in the carrier while I held the carrier. So by the time we got to dad's office from the vets, it was a little before noon. (We had planned to leave between 11:15 and 11:30.)

We got on the road to Evansville and guess what it is doing - raining. Checking in at the American Airlines counter, they immediately tell me that my flight has been delayed from the 2pm departure to, hopefully, boarding at 3:40. This meant I would miss the 5:15 connection and my bus. So I had to pay $7.95 to log on to the internet and then spend another $80 on a bus ticket because National Express would not refund or change my first one since it was less than 72 hours before the departure. Frankly, it was crap and I was more than a little pissed.

We finally begin boarding the plane at 3:40pm, but the pilot comes on the intercom to tell us that Chicago won't let us land because they had been infiltrated by planes (everyone else was delayed because of bad weather which meant everyone was late getting into Chicago already). So we sit on the plane until 5pm (it was raining and we had to walk outside to get to the plane, so the pilot thought it best to keep everyone on the plane and the flight attendant served drinks) when we start moving to the runway. By this time, my rowmate and I had struck up quite a conversation. She works for a plastics company and was doing some training in the area with some new software they were installing. She is from Milwaukee, had just returned previously from France, and then began telling me about flying Midwest which serves frshly baked chocolate chip cookies after 10am on every flight, no matter the length! (Mom we should look into this one!) By 5:30, we were finally taking off, though our captain informed us we would be in Chicago at 6pm. Really, I think he was a little optimistic!

We landed in Chicago about 6:30 and I was thinking I had an hour before my next flight would start boarding to leave at 8:05. I paid an arm and a leg at a smoothie place for a Strawberry Banana smoothie and chicken salad - $12.99 actually. They just rob you once you're in the airport these days! But I hadn't eaten at all that day, other than some caramel filled Dove chocolate, and didn't know when I would eat again. So I grabbed food and took it to my gate to eat and wait.

While at the gate, a lady asked if she could sit next to me. She was from Chicago and was heading to London for her grandmother's funeral (the grandmother was 98 years old). She was waiting on her brother to get in from another flight (which was delayed), so we sat and talked about London (her mother is British) and school. And she actually knew where Swansea was! In fact, she had been there! How crazy! So we took turns watching one another's bags while we ran to the bathroom 'cause those bathrooms were teeny tiny!

By then, she decided to check on our flight since it was 8pm and nothing had happened. Turns out the flight wasn't even at the gate yet. The crew was standing there waiting on it as well. It finally showed up at 8:15, the crew got settled and we began boarding at 8:30. I had a 2:15pm bus ticket, so I figured if we ran a little late, it wouldn't be that big of a deal anymore. So I get settled in the very BACK on the plane! (Which was nice 'cause I could put my seat all the way back without disturbing anyone and I was close to the bathroom.)

My rowmate was a British guy - London born - very nice. He was going to London for his dad's 80th birthday. He hasn't been to the UK in 8 years because he got married to an American and is living with her in Chicago. Very interesting guy - used to work for the British police and a security company. He has his unconditional permanent residence card and is debating about becoming an US citizen within the next 14 years (when he has to renew the residence card). We had an interesting discussion on exchange rates and the wonderful world of Target and how the British are really missing out on not having a Target. Oh! And he told me I can find turkey bacon at Tesco! So I may have to check that one out!

By 10:30pm, a whole 2 hours LATER, we finally took off. We had to wait for people making the connecting flight. And, of course, their flights were delayed. I mean really - why can't the AirFrance international flights leave late!? Why did they have to leave CDG without me to go to Cincy when I came in town? They really need to take a lesson from American. I slept a bit on the plane, since I had a window seat. And I randomly woke up and saw the sunrise which was very pretty! And we had warm croissants for breakfast - almost as good as a pain au chocolat!

We landed at 11:15, I went through customs quite quickly, got my bags (thankfully), and headed to the bus terminal. I went to collect my new ticket and while talking to the agent, asked if I could possibly catch the 12:15 but to Swansea since it was 12:05. She said to check with the bus driver. And the bus driver was kind enough to let me aboard! So instead of waiting around for 2 more hours, I get settled into my seat next to another interesting person.

This lady I was sitting next to was born in Wales and was on her way to Cardiff to stay with an 80-something year old with no children aunt. The lady's husband passed away 2 years ago so she was kind of "wandering" she said. She had sold her house and was now living with her daughter. In fact, she was living in the US. She had moved over there 46 years ago and settled on the southern border of Georgia. She asked where I was going and when I mentioned Swansea, she immediately began naming places - the Gower, Mumbles, etc. So we had a nice chat about Wales and what I should see while I was here. And then we got into Wales and it started raining.

2:30 we pull into the bus station. I was actually kind of excited to see Swansea since it had been such a pain in the you know what to get to by this time. And I was tired. It was pouring down rain, but not like what KY was getting at the time. Think of the weather in Owensboro Christmas Day. That's what we had, except a little bit harder. I didn't even have to wait 5 minutes for a cab. The gentleman helped me load my stuff up and off we headed to the Village. He asked where I was from - apparently I was his 3rd American to take to the Village, so I explained to him that exams began Monday. He asked where I was from - had no clue where Kentucky was. I said SouthEast, he thought Florida. :-) Apparently he, his wife, and his 2 children are going to DisneyWorld in June/July (they leave 5 July) and so he was asking about Florida. I warmed him about the humidity and the sun and told him to pack lots of sunscreen. He was a very pleasant driver compared to some I have had and it only cost 7 GBP to get to the Village.

I was at the house by 3pm. Freddy and Alice were both home which was super exciting since I thought they came in on Sunday. Freddy gave me a hug and then helped carry my bags upstairs. And I began the fun process of unpacking everything. I really need to stop shopping. I have no more drawer space! I burned my passion fruit and guava oil that I had brought back, and set the candles out so my room smells like a strawberry margarita in my opinion, minus the alcohol of course. I gave Alice her Christmas present (cherry blossom lotion, shower gel, candle, and red fuzzy socks) and she gave me mine - Camembert cheese that she so graciously brought back from Lyon! I haven't given Freddy his present yet. We are the only ones here right now which is quite nice. Freddy and I ate dinner together - he made some strange concoction of chicken fingers and veges in a sauce and I had soup and OJ. On my way back from the Spar earlier this evening I stopped by Michelle's house and saw some of her housemates - Crystal, Stefan, and Mus. (Michelle doesn't come back until the 22nd, according to Crystal).

It is still raining. It is 9pm, later than I thought I would make it. Everything is unpacked and put away, I'm full, and I'm tired. So I think I'm going to hop off here, take a shower, brush my teeth, and crawl into bed and pass out asleep. I have no plans of getting up early tomorrow. I figure I'll get up when I'm good and ready, and then I'll walk to Killay and go grocery shopping for some much needed supplies.

So I'm back, safe and sound after horrendous delays and travel issues, but I did meet some pretty cool people along the way.