Academic Achievements. . . ish

I guess I should maybe write a little bit about my academic life here.  In British Studies, that life is AWESOME!

I mentioned in my Poland blog that I had a marathon paper writing session the night before I left, because my draft was due that Monday and I was determined to turn in a full draft and not an outline.  Well, the week after I got back I realized that I had no idea what I was supposed to know about Belvoir Castle (where we went on a field trip earlier that month) so I went to see Dr. Green to 'have a chat' about the upcoming test.  So we talk about the test and how I should approach the question blah blah blah, he makes fun of me for being hungover, then he says he has read my paper.  Basically he told me that I don't need to change anything, just a few little things, write my conclusion and turn it in.  BALLER!  I was so excited.  Simon de Montfort will forever be my hero, for being so damn interesting that my 2500 word paper is 'excellent'.

So that was awesome.  Even better was the fact that I got a freaking A on that test (which I took on Nov. 5th I think), like the complete baller that I am.  I thought I did really bad because I didn't write a single date down on it, but oh well.  Either I did well or Dr. Green just loves me, either one is fine with me!  I also got an A on my British Studies presentation, the one that I stayed up until 3am the night I got BACK from Poland completing!  I've also done no worse than a B+ on all of the 5 quizzes we have, so barring a complete failure on this last test I think I'm set for at least a B!

Politics, on the other hand, is a nightmare.  I managed to scrape two B's on my papers so the D and the C paper are dropped, but our final is 40% of our grade and I can't motivate myself to try.  It's just so boring and uninteresting to me that it is literally painful to get out of bed to go to that class.  I don't even want to talk about it.

History is going to kick my ass.  I enjoy the subject and it's interesting, but this class is tough, and when you get a study guide with 136 people, places and events that you need to know, out of which she will pick 7, out of which you need to know 4, AND two essay questions . . . even Dr. Bujak looked at it and said, "Well, this is a bitch."  I got a B- on the midterm, a B+ on my paper and an okay grade on one of my quizzes, but she hasn't yet graded one of my papers and the final is . . . well, a bitch.

So academically speaking that's where I stand.  At least I'm doing well in British Studies, which is my favorite class for a few reasons :) and it's also my easiest one, which some people can't believe.  Someone told me that if I would have taken Genetics as well, I would have had the hardest schedule possible at Harlaxton, and I'm pretty sure I believe them.

Cymru = Wales

Ahhh!  Wales was so long ago I can hardly believe it!  I'll do my best to detail it though, it was a very nice, very relaxing weekend!

However, I slept in super late and woke up at 8am - when we had to leave at 8:30am.  I'm a complete badass, though, so I managed to get up, shower, and finish packing, and make the bus with about 5 minutes to spare.  AMAZING.  And I didn't even forget anything.

The coach ride wasn't too bad because Wales isn't that far away, obviously.  Our first stop was Chester, which is still in England.  It's a Roman town with pretty walls, it's really old and cool looking but I wasn't really into shopping so we just walked around and admired the prettiness.  Then we hopped on the coach and got to the town where we were staying, this BEAUTIFUL resort town on the Atlantic Ocean.  Here's the view from our hotel!

 That night Mallory, Alex and I just had dinner and a few drinks at a pub and called it a night pretty early.

The next day was probably my favorite part of the trip, Caernafron Castle.  I said in a previous post that Blarney was my favorite, but nope, now it's Caernafron.  Edward I built it just after his conquest, and it's so fun to just crawl through everything, take the stairs and find the secret rooms, and just pretend you're a medieval court member.

LOVED IT!  I bought a few souvenirs here, then we set off to Portmeiron Village, which is this lovely little Italian-style seaside village, really idyllic and such.  It was gorgeous, but we didn't do much there, just had a delicious ham-and-cheese panini for lunch and walked around admiring the general splendor.  After that it was off to the Victorian slate mines!  That was really fun, we got to wear helmets and descend into the mines and listen to the life of a Victorian slate miner in Wales.  Daniel got felt up by an old lady in the dark, and I laughed for literally fifteen minutes - so long I got a headache!

We then headed back to our hotel, where we were going to go out but since I didn't feel like clubbing we ended up just parking in the hotel bar and drinking a few, then Daniel, Kelley, Mallory and I just hung out on the beach at night in North Wales!  It was so 'chill' and awesome.

The next day we were headed back, but we got to sleep in till about 10!  That is unheard of here, so it was extra nice!  After breakfast we left and stopped at Swallow Falls, a crazy waterfall that was especially nuts because it had been raining for a few days before we got there!  Then it was back to good ol' Harlaxton and the disgusting Sunday 'roast' dinner we all know and love.

Oh, and I bought some souvenirs in Wales because -- guess what? -- I'm WELSH!  I love my Welsh dragon necklace!

Halloween at Harlaxton

Once again, bear with me -- I've been such a crappy blogger that I have to go back into the depths of my memory to grab the things that happened A MONTH AGO!  This time, it's Halloween at Harlaxton, yet another crazy night here in England.

So Chris and I were sitting around my room with Mary trying to figure out what to be for this party that wouldn't require a ton of money.  We tossed around really stupid ideas for a few minutes before he just said, randomly, "Let's be Jim and Pam."  So the next day we went to town and bought a few things, and this is the end result.

Pretty decent, huh?  So we got together with a bunch of people and did NOT at all drink beforehand, then walked up to The Greg where Harlaxton had rented out the entire thing for the night.  It was really fun, there were some great costumes -- Sam Baker was Michael Jackson, Mary Johnson was John Lennon, etc. -- and there was a dance floor, which was cool!  And it was extra nice because we didn't have to pay for a cab to get us there or back.  

On the way back -- oh dear.  Chris had a little too much to drink so Pam had to drag Jim's ass all the way back to the carriage house, where she ended up having to tuck him in and witnessed him be a complete ass to Manny, which was probably the funniest moment of her life!  Then Alex and I and a few others smoked some hookah, ate some delicious pizza and called it a night.  Altogether it was an excellent Halloween, definitely one I won't be forgetting any time soon!

POLSKA

WOW I SUCK! I've been completely and utterly slacking on these blogs, which is unforgivable. I just hope I can remember enough detail from a month ago -- A MONTH! That's how long ago I was in Poland. Crazy!

So I stayed up really late the night before we left for Poland to finish my British Studies paper. It was an intense marathon writing session but it paid off, as I will detail later. So I slept through politics since I was really tired and I hadn't packed yet. Ed was mad, but oh well. He saw me at lunch and glared at me. One of a few drawbacks of living in the same place as your teachers.

So right after lunch Jessica and I grabbed a cab to the train station, hopped on our train to Stansted, and got there in PLENTY of time. Jessica was nervous since she hadn't done any of this before, and I hadn't either, but I ended up taking charge and just pretending like I knew what I was doing. We ate in the airport and found Ryan and Sam, boarded our flight and all was peachy!

We landed in Poland and took a cab to our hostel Can I just say that this hostel was AMAZING!?

 It was nicer than our room at Harlaxton for sure. And the people were amazing. We met this drunk guy from Liverpool who sang me High School Musical songs, it was so great. But we were exhausted so after a dinner of Polish chips and a Carlsberg we went to bed.

Next morning was the beginning of a very long, but very awesome day! We woke up early and went to the Wieliczka Salt Mines which was amazing. I saw an entire cathedral carved out of the salt. After that we had lunch then we went to Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was incredibly depressing but I'm so glad I went. Not many people can say they have been to Auschwitz, but now I can, and it made me really proud that my papa and great-uncles fought to liberate the people from the camps.

We didn't get back to the hostel until about 9pm, but Jessica and I had to change hostels so we got our stuff and walked around Krakow looking for it. We found it and once again it was super nice and the people again were AMAZING, we got free hot dogs for dinner and free shots (Polish Mad Dogs, SO GOOD! And I'm not a shot person.) Then we met up with Sam and Ryan back at the old hostel and went to dinner. HOLY LORD IN HEAVEN, THE PIEROGIS! So so so so good.

Can I also mention that the currency, the Polish zloty, has an exchange rate of roughly 1 USD = 3 PLN? So I got a liter beer for 12 PLN which -- yes -- means I got a liter of beer for FOUR DOLLARS. AMAZING.

Then it was back to the hostel for Jessica and I, we got a good night's sleep then in the morning we checked out of our hostel, but they said we could leave our stuff all day since our flight wasn't until later that day. So we roamed around Krakow, went to THE BEST MALL I HAVE EVER SEEN, people-watched a souvenir shopped. It's an amazing city, I loved it so much.

We caught a train to the airport, and camped out for a while because our flight didn't leave until about 10pm. I had a beer before I got on the plane, haha. When we landed in England we got a shuttle to our hotel at Stansted, which was nice, and once again I had a really great night's sleep. The next day we took a bus to London, walked around, went to the British Museum, took a picture at PLATFORM 9 3/4 at King's Cross (!!!), then caught our train back to Grantham and saw our friends Courtney and Mallory coming back from Ireland. That worked out well because then we just split a cab back to the Manor and got back by dinnertime!

POLSKA was fantastic and I would recommend that people go there. It's CHEAP, the people are so nice, the hostels are fantastic, and Krakow is incredible. But there are pigeons everywhere.

Week at the Manor!

The weekend of the 15th-16th-17th was actually quite nice, I stayed here at Harlaxton! Let me back up though, to that Wednesday which, as of right now, has gone down in history as the best day I have ever had at Harlaxton!

That day should have been awful. In preparation for our field trip the following week, we had double British Studies so, two lectures and two seminars. However, for the first seminar, we got split into groups and had to perform a scene from John Gay's The Beggar's Opera. My teacher challenged us to come up with something creative, but then said that most people just sit and read it. If you know me, this kind of stuff makes me SUPER excited. My group is awesome and we decided to set all the "airs" (songs) to the tune of QUEEN songs. We had Bohemian Rhapsody, Fat Bottom Girls, Another One Bites The Dust, and We Are The Champions. Also, I had to play a pregnant whore, so I had a scarf balled up under my shirt and I had to scream at my friend Sam for knocking me up and promising to marry another chick. My teacher LOVED it. We did so awesome. Far better than all the other groups who just read it out loud and sat in their seats.

So I was flying high after that, and it was pizza day at lunch so that was just icing on the cake. Then we had another lecture and my favorite person ever was giving it so Anne and I of course sat up front, then seminar afterward was good because Dr. Green said "I hate Romantic poetry, and I especially hate the daffodil poem." BALLER!!!! We didn't have to read the daffodil one. Then we got our tests back and I got an A-! So excited.

THEN it was Mexican Night for dinner! Another quality meal. Then it all came down to the Big Kahuna . . . 80s night in the Bistro. I went as Robin Sparkles from How I Met Your Mother, complete with shoulder pads, blazer, black net gloves, pearls, everything. It was amazing. Best night I've had in a long time. I peed in the faculty bathroom. I'm not sure if that's definitely off-limits or not, but it was totally awkward.

One of the best parts is that I didn't have Politics in the morning so . . . I got to sleep in! The day was just so good in so many ways.

Saturday was a day trip to York, which was fun. Kelley Boothe and I just basically walked around, climbed on more Roman walls, sat in a pretty park and talked about stupid sorority stuff--it was nice! That night I just chilled out in the room all by myself and watched The Young Victoria which is a pretty damn good movie.

More stuff to come -- I still have to blog about Poland and Halloween! Not to mention I'm leaving for Wales in about 8 hours! YIKES!

Oxford, Bath, and Stonehenge

Wow, loyal readers, I'm really sorry I've been so suck-tastic at blogging lately.  Truth be told, I'm just so busy/tired/lazy to do it, so here goes nothing!

The weekend of the 9th-10th-11th I went to Oxford, Bath and Stonehenge.  It was a really laid-back trip.  Oxford is a pretty cool place, the best part about it was Christchurch College which is where . . . yep . . . HARRY POTTER was filmed!  So awesome.  The other super cool thing about Oxford was Alice's Shop, because Lewis Carroll wrote a large chunk of Alice in Wonderland in Oxford.  They had some really cool stuff -- I bought some postcards and a copy of the book.  I sent Matt a postcard of the thingee smoking a hookah, which he loved.

We ate at a cute cafe where the guy gave me a free cookie for no reason, then hit up the bus again to go to Bath.  Bath is a really REALLY beautiful town, but our hostel was at the very top of Bathwick Hill which is a BEE-YOTCH to climb.  Sweating, panting, calves aching, the whole shebang.  It was far away from the center of town where all the cool stuff is, but we braved the hill and went to a cheap and awesome bar for dinner.  We were all pretty exhausted, though, and went to bed fairly early that night.

Saturday was nice -- we slept in for the first time in weeks!  Six girls getting ready in one hostel room was a challege, but I'm pretty laid back so I just let the girls hog the mirror and brushed my teeth and called it a day.  We set off down the freaking hill but soon split up because some people wanted to go shopping and some wanted to see sights (like me).  So me, Jessica, Danielle, and Alex went to the Jane Austen center which was so cool, I bought Northanger Abbey and Sense and Sensibility as well as a Colin Firth card for Katie.

Then we basically just wandered around, shopped a bit, went back to the hostel and took a nap.  We didn't feel like getting ready and going out, because that would entail walking ALL THE WAY there and back again, so we ended up in the hostel bar.  Unfortunately, they closed that at 9:30pm. REALLY?  So somehow I ended up at a pub with the Dean of Students (Ed), Alex, Matt and Danielle.  I got . . . intoxicated  . . . and when we woke up the next morning at 8am to go to the Roman baths let's just say I still felt it.

The baths were amazing!  The Roman stuff still kills me.  They were so advanced, and then civilization kind of reverted . . . I don't know, it's just very interesting.

I got to sleep on the bus on the way to Stonehenge so needless to say I was in MUCH better shape for that one.  It really is just a circle of rocks, but it's hard to explain how fascinating it is.  The stones were transported from Wales, aligned perfectly with the solstices, human remains were found in the Y and Z holes, and I'm standing there thousands of years later looking at it.  I wish you could get close to it, though.  I wanted to pull a Claire and get transported back in time to find my Jamie.  (Any Outlander fans here?  No?)

All in all it was a great weekend, pretty laid back but well worth it!

THE MOTHERLAND! Ireland!

It's been a while since I last updated but aside from two major trips, not too much has been going on.  I'm still hating the school aspect of school, but everything else is great!

Ireland!  I'm just going to begin by saying that it is hands-down the most beautiful place I have ever seen.  I felt like it wasn't real the entire time I was there.

Anyway,  after I bombed my British Studies exam on Wednesday, we took off on the coach to Wales where we caught a ferry over to the Emerald Isle.  The bus ride / ferry ride sucked because it was overnight, so sleep = none.  However, when we got to Ireland in the morning we stopped for a "full Irish breakfast" which was delicious.  Then it was back on the coach heading for Blarney Castle.  Yes, I kissed the Blarney Stone and I have a certificate to prove it!  The castle was my favorite so far I think -- you could explore all these random dungeons and passageways and see graffiti from the 19th century and stuff.  Pretty amazing stuff.  It's also really cool to go into gift shops and see your name all over everything!

We got back on the bus and headed over to Killarney, in County Kerry.  Such a cute little town!  I had some amazing Irish lasagna (sounds weird, but it wasn't Italian lasagna . . . ) which was freaking fantastic, and I tried Murphy's beer which was very good, tastes a lot like Guinness.  That night we were exhausted so after dinner we just went back to the room and watched Heathers on my computer and went to bed.

The next day -- holy shite.  The Ring of Kerry.  If anyone goes to Ireland ever, I mean it, do the Ring of Kerry tour.  It is gorgeous.  We began with a stop at the Red Fox Inn and Bog Village, and the Red Fox Inn has world famous Irish coffee, so I had coffee and Jameson's whiskey at 10am and it was beautiful!  The scenery was breathtaking.  Then it was off for more sightseeing on the bus, and we stopped at this gorgeous view of the Atlantic Ocean.  We ate Irish blackberries growing by the side of the road.  So quaint! haha.  Back on the bus, more awesome scenery, and we stopped in a little town for lunch.  This pub had 10 Irish men at the bar at 11:15am, and we watched them drink 4 Guinnesses each - and that's just what we SAW them drink.  It was just like O'Hara's :( .  I had another Irish coffee and this one was much stronger.  2 whiskys before noon -- I think I'm an O'Hara.

After that we stopped at Waterville, a tiny seaside town on Balinskelligs Bay, which again, was BEAUTIFUL.  I'm trying to find more adjectives, I apologize p

rofusely.  I took off my shoes and ran into the sea, but it was really cold so I basically ran right back out.  But now I can say I had my toes in Ballinskelligs Bay.  I stole some rocks from there too.

Then we went up a mountain to another amazing view, where we met an Irish man who played the accordion and his little dog that played Frisbee with us.  Some people climbed up the rest of the mountain and we definitely enjoyed watching them try to book it down to make the bus. 

Our next stop was Sneem, a tiny town in which all the houses are painted a different color.  This way, when an Irishman is stumbling home from the pub piss drunk, he can find his house easily because it's the only one of that color.  I bought some great gifts for my aunties here :)

And after Sneem is the stop which basically made my entire trip.  We stopped at Ladies' View in Killarney National Forest, and I have a hard time believing that I took this picture with my camera.  It looks like a post card.

 The picture at the top of this post is from Ladies' View too.  Not gonna lie, I teared up a little bit looking at this.  After Ladies' View we stopped at a beautiful waterfall, then headed back to Killarney.  All in all the Ring of Kerry was SPECTACULAR.

That night in Killarney, we went out to a really good dinner, then even though I was starting to not feel well we went to a pub where WE FOUND O'HARA'S BEER!  I stole the bottles to bring home with me.  We got hit on by two Irish guys, it was weird.  

In the morning I woke up with a pretty bad sore throat but I trucked through and we made our way to the bus to head to Dublin.  The thing about Ireland is that even a 6-hour bus ride is awesome because of the landscape.  We stopped for lunch somewhere and I bought cold medicine and cough drops to get me through.  When we got to Dublin Alex and I booked it for the Guinness Factory since it closes at 5pm and it was already 3:30.  Needless to say we spent way too much time in the shop and barely any on the actual tour, but it's okay.  Then we did a little bit more shopping, went back to the hotel, watched a movie then went to a beer hall where they literally had over 300 kinds of beer.  Then it was back to the hotel and to bed.  I'm kind of sad we didn't get more time in Dublin, but I'm more sad that I was sick and couldn't get drunk in Ireland.  But we had to be on the bus at 6:30am on Sunday so I wasn't too upset!

The ferry ride back to Wales was much better because it wasn't the middle of the night.  I got coffee and shopped in the little shop and slept and read my stupid History book.  In Wales we stopped at Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch which is the city with the longest name in Europe.  I'm not lying.  All we did was eat lunch there though.  So basically, Ireland was a success, although I really wish I would not have been sick!  I'm bringing my parents there one day for sure :)

Edinburgh Adventures

Alright, now on to Edinburgh.  My mom says I write too much, but I don't care!  This is basically how I'm going to remember my trip, so suck it up, Ma!!!  (love you)

The bus (coach) ride SUCKED.  6 hours in seats that recline 1/2 inch.  It was reminiscent of my hellish plane ride here.  However, Alex and I decided to watch The Office on my computer in between our speed-reading of Shakespeare's Henry IV, so that made it pass a bit faster.

Our hotel was right in the middle of everything, not on the Royal Mile but on Princes Street, which is almost equally as busy and fashionable.  The hotel itself was eh, but better than our one in London because it had a hair dryer, soap and wireless internet.  

Alex and I set off to explore at about 3pm on Sunday.  We hit up Edinburgh Castle which is awesome--I really can't get enough of the castles.  We don't have those in America!  I love learning about all the horrifying things that happened in those places, I have no idea why.  After the castle we just walked around and did some shopping.  I spent so much money!  But I got a cashmere tam and matching scarf, which I love!  And I bought presents for a lot of people.

A note about Scottish people:  they are so nice!  In England, people are either indifferent or a little rude.  Not mean, exactly, they just don't really give a crap.  In Scotland, however, every single person we dealt with was fantastic.  In the souvenir shop, this guy helped us pick stuff out (he may have been flirting with us, but we didn't care) and then the other guy at the counter gave us free pens and golf balls and other little things because we seemed like "good girls"!  It was awesome.  The waitresses are very helpful, much more American-ish in that they will come to your table, take your order, bring it, come two or three times to ask you if you need anything, bring your check, and smile at you.  That doesn't happen in England, and we've eaten out quite a lot.  We ate at 3 different restaurants in 3 different areas of Edinburgh and the service was amazing!

Anyway, that night Alex and I set off in search of a hookah bar we had found online.  To our utter horror, it was closed for renovations.  So we just decided to go to a pub instead.  We walked down a close for quite some time, not liking the feel of this pub or thinking that one was too upscale, and then - lo and behold - we come to a pub called "Hogshead".  OF COURSE we had to go in, and it was definitely the right decision.  4 Homecoming Scotland 2009 Ales, 2 Guinnesses, and a whisky shot later, it was STILL the right decision.  Needless to say our adventure back to the hotel was interesting!  

The next day, we were both fairly hungover ( . . . sorry Mom)  so we stayed in bed until about 11am watching the BEST kid's show I have ever seen. It's called Den of Doom, and I can't even describe in words how awesome it is.  It's a game show similar to Guts or Double Dare or all those old Nickelodeon shows.  Google it and see what you find.

Saturday was a ton of fun.  We did a little bit of shopping, finally ate at Pret a Manger which is this environmentally friendly chain that pre-makes sandwiches and cookies and stuff, and you basically "shop" for your food and then pay and sit and eat it.  They are ALL OVER London, seriously on every street, so we decided to try it and it's really, really good.  Anyway, we went back over to the Royal Mile and did the Scottish Whisky Experience, which shows you how whisky is made and then you have a whisky tasting session.  It was awesome!  We got a little souvenir glass, and I bought two little whiskys to give as gifts.

We then had time to kill before it was time for our Haunted Graveyard Tour, so we just walked up and down the Royal Mile looking in basically every souvenir shop.  I found a book that details the history of Clan O'Hara!  I had to buy it.  Maybe I'll give it to my dad, but he doesn't read books.

Then it was the HAUNTED GRAVEYARD TOUR, by far my favorite part of the trip!  First of all, the tour guide was super hot.  Or at least I thought he was.  His name was Fred.  Then, he told us all about how Edinburgh was a horrible place to live for centuries, the sanitation was non-existent and there was poop ('jobby') and rats all over the streets, people were sick and disgusting and smelly, and everything just basically sucks, so they liked to torture people for fun.  They loved their witch trials.  He told us how they used to torture accused witches and their entire families, then they would die, and the city would apologize because they were found innocent and give them a nice Christian burial!

Then, Greyfriars Kirkyard.  First of all, it's dark.  We are in a graveyard which we later found out has hundreds of thousands of bodies buried in it, though there's only 400 headstones!  The graveyard used to be in a valley, but now it's a big hill -- literally, a hill of dead bodies.  AWESOME!  So we are creeped out to the max.  Then my man Fred made my crush on him expand tenfold because he told us that J.K. Rowling used to sit in Greyfriars and write, and there's a castle-like school visible from where she used to sit called Harriet's which was the inspiration for Hogwarts!  THEN -- it gets better!  -- there's a headstone that says THOMAS RIDDLE!!!!!!!  That is the only disappointment I have about Scotland, that I didn't go to see that grave.  But it was dark, and I wasn't about to leave the tour to go look at it, and afterward I was too shy to ask Fred to take us over there (haha).  

So he takes us to this creepy tomb where there used to be the world's first documented concentration camp (the one end of the graveyard used to be a prison).  The man that oversaw the prison was an awful, awful, awful person named MacKenzie, and apparently his poltergeist haunts the the kirkyard and is super active in this particular tomb.  So there's like 25 people crammed in this freaking SCARY ASS TOMB and Fred is freaking the hell out of us.  Then some girl in the corner kept moving around, and after we got out of there Fred asked her what was wrong, and she said she kept hearing something scratching the wall behind her.  Fred said, "Oh yeah, that's the side I always feel something tugging on my coat pockets."

So after all this we went back to the Creepy Wee Shop (haha!) and looked through the book where all the injuries from the poltergeist are documented.  Most of the pictures were taken right there in the shop so they are pretty legit.  Fred and his friends kept talking about wanting to go get Jack Daniels, which I thought was really weird.  I mean, you're in SCOTLAND, the land of WHISKY, and you want to drink janky Tennessee stuff?

On the way out, we witnessed some girl stumbling out of Bobby's Bar and she slammed into a parked car and fell on the ground.  We laughed really hard, felt bad, tried to stop, but couldn't.  We went back to the hotel and called it a night.

The next morning we set off for Hadrian's Wall, which was cool.  An old Roman fort!  We were just crawling around it like it was no big deal.  Awesome awesome awesome!

In case you can't tell, I LOVE SCOTLAND!  Ireland might take its place as my favorite country soon, but right now I'm all about Scotland.

School-ish update

Hello loyal followers.  I've been super busy with school so I didn't really get a chance to blog about Lincoln or Cambridge, which is where I went last weekend.

Neither day was particularly eventful.  Lincoln we went to for a British Studies field trip so everyone had to go.  It was cool--the cathedral is amazing, and so is the castle.  We also saw Roman ruins, which is just crazy to think about.  I think they were built in like 45 A.D.  I walked on them!

Cambridge was a really cool little town, but mostly Alex and I just shopped at this AMAZING street fair that was going on!  They had the funniest T-shirts and handmade scarves and stuff.  We also bought a Cambridge t-shirt so we can seem really smart when we get back to the US of A.

School is difficult and somewhat annoying.  My first big paper is due tomorrow and it's probably the worst thing I've ever written, but whatever.  I have another whopper due on Thursday as well.

Anyway -- I'll get to work on my blog about Scotland!  CHEERS!

Londinium, Day 2, and Day 3 at Hampton Court Palace

Day 2

SO!  On to Day 2 of my London adventure.  Though Alex and I were beyond exhausted, we knew we only had a limited amount of time so we were out of our hotel by 9:30 to see the sights.  Our first stop was the British Museum, which has some really awesome stuff.  However, it gets a bit redundant after awhile, looking at a bunch of old rocks.  The Reading Room and Main Atrium, though, was a sight in itself!  Absolutely stunning.  

We left there and stopped at a souvenir shop and bought a few things.  Then it was off to the Tower of London!  We bought an all-day pass for the Underground which was an AMAZING decision, it saved us so much time, money and walking!

I think the Tower of London is my favorite place in London.  Just looking at it and thinking of all the history, the torture, royalty that lived there, mystery, and the fact that it's still in use today -- the first part of it was built in 1078!  The Crown Jewels were utterly breathtaking.  You would not believe them unless you see them, which you have to -- you're not allowed to take pictures!  And the story about Edward IV's sons being imprisoned in the Tower and then just disappearing, only later they found the bones of a 12- and 10-yr old boy under the stairs of the White Tower!  Just because they were a threat to Richard III's claim on the throne.  Anne Boleyn was beheaded there, and Queen Elizabeth I was even imprisoned there for a while.  Funny enough, some important prisoners had entire apartments where they lived in luxury with their wives, children and servants.  Others just rotted in cells.  NICE!

After that it was back on the Tube to Waterloo for the London Eye.  That was insane!  It's basically a huge Ferris wheel and you get FANTASTIC views of the entire city.  If you've been to London before it's not a must-see, but if it's your first time I would definitely recommend it because you get a scope of how huge the city is.

Our next adventure was to Kensington Gardens, which I insisted on due to my lifelong infatuation with Peter Pan. For those that don't know, in the book, Peter's mother took him to Kensington Gardens when he was a baby.  His pram rolled away down the hill and he was lost, so the fairies took him to Neverland.  There's a statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens that  I needed to take a picture with.  It was awesome.

At this point we were exhausted and hungry, so we went back to the hotel and ate at this really cool buffet place in the hotel lobby, then proceeded to go back to London Pub because it was just a really fun place!  While we were there, on our third Carlsberg, Eminem's "Lose Yourself" video came on with footage of 8 Mile and the Ambassador Bridge, and Alex and I were both indescribably happy.  I've never been so excited to see 8 Mile!  

Day 3

Day 3 took us to Hampton Court Palace, Henry VIII's "summer home" and later the retreat of William III and Mary II.  This place was un-freaking-believable.  You never really think about how people lived back then beyond the fancy "costumes" and court jesters, but just touring the kitchens made my mind go insane.  Alex took a picture of me standing in a fireplace that was bigger than my bedroom -- no lie.  We did an audio tour which was awesome, so we learned all these cool facts about the people that lived there, and there were play-actors around dressed as Henry VIII, Kateryn Parr, and members of court (it was "Henry and Kateryn's Wedding Day", and we had to bow when we saw him, and Alex and I had to hold a door open for him and we freaked out and thought we were going to be beheaded . . . haha).

All in all it was a FANTASTIC trip.  I can't wait to go back!  We are heading down there in November to see Phantom of the Opera in London's West End and do some souvenir shopping and hit up the Hookah Lounge again.  This weekend it's a trip to Lincoln and Cambridge so . . . stay tuned!

London Calling, Day 1

London. I never really thought I would go there. I mean, I always wanted to, I always said that I wanted to go to London before I died, but until I decided to go to England about 9 months ago I truly did not think I would ever go.

Well, I WENT!

It was nothing short of amazing. My legs are aching, my feet hate me, and I'm so tired I could collapse right here and sleep for 4 days, but it was so worth it!

Day 1

We woke up bright and early and left Harlaxton at 8:30am. The bus ride was LONG, about 3 and a half hours, but it was okay because we were just so excited! We went on a short bus tour of the city just to get us oriented with our surroundings. The bus driver dropped us off at our hotel, which left a little to be desired, but it was fine for sleeping -- which was all I needed!

Alex and I set off right away for the walking tour our school recommended. London is a great town to walk in. There is ALWAYS something to look at, and maps are fairly easy to decipher. Anyway, we headed through Russell Square to Piccadilly Circus, which is basically like the Times Square of London. It's crazy--we didn't stop there or anything, just looked around and snapped pictures. Then we headed to Leicester Square, which is a touristy place with a lot of clubs and stuff. Again, we just looked around and marveled. Trafalgar Square was next, with the National Gallery and Nelson's Column. We took a picture with someone painted to look like a statue! Alex gave him 50p :)

Then it was off toward the Big Kahunas, Big Ben, Parliament and Westminster Abbey. When I saw Big Ben from the street, I got chills! I just kept thinking of Peter Pan, when they land on the clock as they are flying by.

Parliament is insanely intimidating, but awesome! Just seeing it up close, you marvel at the intricacy. I can't even believe it's a building, let alone that people work there.

Westminster Abbey is awesome. I wish we would have gone inside, but there wouldn't have been enough time. I'm just a bit disappointed that I didn't see all the famous dead people there. You all know I'm not much a church person, but I really wanted to see Isaac Newton and kings and queens! I love celebrities, even dead ones!

We walked down Birdcage Walk past St. James Park, which is gorgeous. This took us right up to Buckingham Palace! Alex and I were trying to figure out what the queen was probably doing. We decided that she was either napping, brushing her hair or taking a dump. The guards are cool, but you can't get near them, which is really depressing. Oh, and they move. It's a total myth that they are perfectly still! Then we ate dinner at this really cool, really old pub called the Red Lion or something, it was near the War Building.

After that, we decided it was time to go in search of hookah, which lead us on the most adventurous and crazy leg of our trip. The closest hookah bar we could find to our hotel was near Liverpool Street, so we hopped on the Underground and got off at that stop. We found ourselves in the financial district of London, where everyone looked super important with their suits and briefcases and Blackberries. Using Alex's iPhone, we managed to walk through a NOT VERY GOOD area of London, in which we saw maybe 2 people and were walking down roads that had no buildings on them. We turned down a street and saw that it was just brick walls covered with graffiti, and there were people spray-painting them! We could not stop laughing at ourselves. By this point we had walked at least a mile. Then, suddenly, we emerged on a trendy, young, hip street called Brick Lane, where we found the Hookah Lounge. This place was hilarious. You can't smoke inside in London, so they had tables set up outside basically right on the street, and the guy brings out this hookah with tissue stuffed into the part where the ball usually goes. Alex laughed so hard she was crying. Then this guy sits down next to me and lights up a joint. I mean, right next to me - - I was on a bench thing. More laughter ensued. This guy did not speak one word the entire time he was sitting there. THEN, some guy asks me and Alex if we know where a specific bar is! We got mistaken for locals!

By the time our bowl was finished, we were exhausted. It was still light outside, so we walked back to Liverpool Street and hailed a taxi. When we got back to the hotel, we got ready and went to this little pub, where we drank Carlsberg sitting by a fireplace while cricket was on TV.

All in all it was a great first day in London! Days 2 and 3 will be documented shortly.

And we're off . . .

Well I've had all of my classes. Let me tell you, this is gonna be a tough semester. But I'll be fine. I'll be VERY busy so hopefully I won't have time to miss people too much :) Just kidding. I miss everyone a lot, but it's getting a bit better. I just want this whole thing to go by FAST and have a lot of fun so I can get back and be with everyone!

British Studies is crazy. Everyone in the whole school is in the lecture session from 8:30-9:30 in the morning on Mondays and Wednesdays, and it's held in this amazing room called the Long Gallery, so all I want to do is stare at the ceiling because it's so pretty. Then I have a little break, and my British Studies seminar is at 11:00-12:00pm. That's just a section where we have individualized instruction from a professor. Mine seems pretty cool. He has the quintessential British accent (at least, the one Americans think is quintessential) - deep voiced, very articulate, like he's from a Jane Austen movie.

Renaissance and Reformation European History is on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, 4:10-5:00. That will be a little different, it's taught by an American professor. It's a small class - only 7 people! I thought I left LTU! Haha. But everyone else in the class is a History major, so we'll see how that goes. It seems interesting enough.

British Politics I had this morning, Tuesday and Thursday from 10:15-11:30. I don't know how I feel about that class yet. The professor is actually the Dean of Students, and one girl here has a huge crush on him -- she says he looks like a combination of Jude Law and Viggo Mortensen. But the class seems hard! And for something I'm not interested in, that's not a good sign. Oh well.

Alex got here finally which is AWESOME. It is so much easier with her here - we know the same people back home at LTU, we both have boyfriends so we're not like the other girls trying to pick up dudes, we both would prefer to stay in on schoolnights and do homework in the Bistro with a beer than go out to Grantham and get shitfaced every night, but I will definitely do my share of partying like I always do. Just not every night. :) And the other kids I know, none of them are going on the school trips because they say they are too expensive. They are traveling independently almost everywhere. Well, Alex and I are like, ummm, no. I'm going on the school trips. We don't trust ourselves AT ALL. Plus I think you lose the money you paid.

Anyway, I have to go read. Tonight is the trip briefing for London, which is where we are going this weekend. I'm super excited!

My continually updated British slang post

Just in case you are all wondering, sometimes it's REALLY hard to figure out what people are saying here.  Here are just a few of the slang terms I've learned (learnt!) so just in case any of you decide to pick up and travel here, you'll have a better head start than I did.  I'll update it as I learn more.

1.  line = queue (pronounced "q")

2.  curling iron = styling tongs

3.  truck = lorry

4.  bathroom = loo /w.c. /toilet

5.  elevator = lift

6.  diapers = nappies 

7.  hello / goodbye / thank you / you're welcome / anything pleasant = cheers 

8.  p = pence

9.  bus = coach

10.  bar = pub

11.  trash can = rubbish bin

12.  insane = batty

13.  for rent = to let

14.  apartment = flat

15.  pissed = drunk

16.  stroller = pushchair

17.  exit = way out

18.  awesome = brilliant

19.  subway = tube / underground

To The Motherland For Realsies

Yes, I'm in England! Today has been just nonstop craziness. Well, the past day and a half. I don't know what day it is, really.

It started in Chicago with my parents and I staying with my cousins Karin, Pat and Liam. That was so much fun -- Liam is so smart and funny. Anywho, Thursday morning I walked around downtown Chicago with my mom and dad. I went to the American Girl store and had a mini meltdown because I wanted Kirsten's entire collection. Needless to say my parents had to peel me out of there.

Then--the flight. Okay, I don't know why I had to be there at 4:30pm when my flight was at 8:30pm. It was so boring. And I'm a loner so I just sat there and read "Me Talk Pretty One Day" while everyone who knew each other already congregated around me playing euchre on the floor.

The flight was . . . kinda horrible. Not for any particular reason, I mean, I watched The Hangover which is always awesome, and I watched an episode of "The Office" and one of "How I Met Your Mother", but it was overnight and I was uncomfortable and I couldn't sleep and I was just altogether out of sorts. My flight departed at 8:30pm Chicago time and landed at 9:45am London time. British customs was a breeze, though. Then the bus ride--OHHHHHH THE BUS RIDE! I dozed off maybe twice but it was almost 2pm before we pulled up to Harlaxton.

HOLY COW this place is amazing. No pictures can do it justice. I didn't get any good ones today because it was raining when I got here, but I will definitely post some soon. This place is crazy, let's leave it at that.

My dorm is in the Carriage House which is separate from the main Manor House, and to be honest I'm kind of glad. It gives me a chance to get out of the manor. My roommate's name is Mary and she likes Harry Potter, Gilmore Girls and musicals so we are good to go! Our room is pretty cool. I've never shared community bathrooms before, though, so this will be a challenge.

Today, once we got settled, we had orientation stuff which was dumb, but then me, Mary, and some other students walked about two miles up to Gregory's, which is a pub at the end of our driveway. It was pretty cool, but I'm 21 and they're all like 19 so it was way cooler for them!

By far the best part of the night was talking to a middle-aged English couple outside the pub. They were telling us everything about how they feel about the NHS, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair, national identity, etc. so it was awesome!

Then we walked back to the manor in the dark, which was funny because it's a lot harder when you've had a beer. Now I'm just getting ready to go to bed, because I am freaking exhausted.

More to come! Keep reading!

FREAKOUTAGE BEGINNING!

I had a horrible dream last night.  

I arrived in London and like a dumbass forgot to pick up my luggage, just decided to hop into a cab and go to Harlaxton.  I get to Harlaxton and it's in a suburban neighborhood crammed between a factory and a freeway.  Basically everyone I've ever known is going there, and I'm the only one rooming with a stranger.  I get depressed and go outside to smoke hookah in my car (apparently I have a car there) and then Matt and Amy Foster from Canada are in there, so we decide to go driving.  I forget you have to drive on the opposite side of the road and almost get us killed by 4 swerving semi-trucks.  I turn to go back to Harlaxton and I see Annette Traub and Bryan Wojiechowski, two people I haven't seen in like 3 years.  They are like, "Wow, you're here too?  We're teaching at Harlaxton."  

So then I almost get us killed again on the way back to Harlaxton.  And I woke up.

WHAT?!?!

T-minus 37 days!

It's coming closer and closer and I'm so nervous yet so excited!  On August 26th I'll be heading down to the cuzzo's house, Karin and Pat, to stay the night with my parents.  August 27th at 6pm I'll board my flight for LONDON HEATHROW!  

[Side note:  I got my voltage converter and it's crazy.  Maybe I'll post a picture at some point.  Why do the English make their outlets so damn big?]

A few things I decided that I have to do:

1) Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross.  I heard they have a little sign there, even though Katie says it looks nothing like the movie.

2)  Take a picture in one of those red phone booths.

3) Pose like a gargoyle with Alex at Harlaxton.  

4) Germany!  I have to find a way to go there.  Oktoberfest perhaps?  Maybe I'll pass up the Lake District trip.

I'm already going to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, France, and Italy.

Any more suggestions?

How I Met Your Mother and The Sims 3

Basically the title of this blog sums up my leisure activities for the summer.  I feel like I'm working all the time, and when I get home I do not even feel like going out with friends, though I usually end up at Matt's house at some point or another.

But has anyone ever watched How I Met Your Mother?  That show is just AWESOME.  No other word to describe it.  Besides maybe LEGENDARY.  Neil Patrick Harris just cracks me up.  I borrowed season 1 and 2 from my friend Mike, and I'm obsessed.  I highly recommend it.

Also, The Sims 3!  I know this is cliche but OMG!  It's so awesome.  I waste my life away making weird families that hate each other and have 4 babies, or having a single workaholic woman that wants to be a superstar athlete, or a mom and son that are creepily obsessed with each other . . . it's addicting. You just can't wait to see what they do next!

I'm at work . . . and the HVAC guys are investigating a leak in the ceiling, and they are totally fighting.  Like, being completely bitchy to each other.  One is fat and one is skinny.  I love this.

I know I've been a really crappy blogger.  But I'll make it a point to blog when I'm in Europe.  Aren't you excited?

Craptastic Blogger

I PROMISE I will blog again as soon as some worthwhile things occur. Truthfully I'm not really on the computer for more than 10-15 minutes at a time so it's hard to contemplate life's awesomeness in that span of time, what with Facebook, HogwartsLive and my newfound love of Twitter.

Follow me on Twitter!  @janelle_ohara.  I want to be a Twitter celebrity but I only have like 37 followers.

Summer Plans.

I have lofty goals for the summer.  I'm a dreamer/realist.  I have these amazing plans, I talk about them all the time, I swear up and down and around town that I'm going to accomplish them. 

But I know I won't.  However, I will enlighten you.

1)  Learn the Hoedown Throwdown from Hannah Montana Movie.  And the Thriller dance.

2)  Get Gus Van Sant to notice Katie and I on Youtube and cast us in his next movie.

3)  Lose 10 lbs.

4)  Make a comedy web series.

5) Shoot Season 2 of The Glass Office with my new camera.

6)  Be a professional celebrity.

My mom never, ever told me that I could do whatever I wanted to do in life -- probably because she heard me say things like the above.  She told me that I could TRY whatever I wanted to.  There is a big difference there. If my daughter wakes up and says to me, "Mommy, I want to be an astronaut."  I would say, "That is a lot of physics, math, and science classes.  Are you up for it?  You can try it if you want to."  Yes, I would say this to a 5 year old.

So many things to blog about.

TOTALLY PROCRASTINATING!  

1)  Swine flu.  The word SWINE just makes me laugh.  Of course, the disease itself is not funny.  But the word swine?  Come on.  Not to mention the fact that in editing class today we watched Luciano's dad gut and stuff a pig.  Very timely.

2) Jon&Kate+8 = WHAAAT?  Apparently Jon is having an affair.  This devastates me.  I really hope they don't get divorced.  I love the Gosselins.  Most people can't stand Kate, but I think she's funny and she is a good mother to her kids.  Even if you don't like her, you can't wish such a public divorce on that family.  

3)  School.  HATE IT!  I can't wait for it to be over with.  However, I'm not doing a very good job of getting my stuff done.  I should do that . . . but I really don't feel like writing a speech on the negatives of teaching creationism in public schools for tomorrow.  Bleh.

4)  Moving home is going to be very difficult and very stressful just because I have SO MUCH STUFF.  I have mini-panic attacks every time I think about it.  Tom's going to move me out so that will be helpful, he has a big truck.  But it will probably rain just like it has on EVERY. SINGLE. MOVE. OUT. DAY. since I started here.

Life with Harry / Song and Skit

So I have decided to post the rough cut of my editing project.  It's not finished (the bars and tone have been omitted . . . !!!) and I ended up changing the graphics at the beginning, but you can get the general idea of it.

I have to do a project for editing and a documentary for Camera for Broadcast, so I'm doing them both on Harry Potter.  However, this is more of a "showcase" video and not a documentary.  I'll end up using the majority of the footage in the documentary, but it will be totally different--more of a Maysle Brothers feel.  

If I had access to a good camera, I was going to do a short narrative film but, alas, my camera time is limited.  I need to invest in a good camcorder.

I hope you all enjoy this stupid video.  I laugh when I watch it, but that doesn't mean anything.

Oh, and there's Song and Skit :)

Movie Snobs

I suppose one could call me a movie snob, if by movie snob you mean someone that has seen a ton of movies.  However, I wouldn't call myself a snob because I like almost every movie I've ever seen in some way or another.  There are a few exceptions.  I hate the movie Without a Paddle and probably one of the worst cinematic experiences I've had in a few years was going to see The Happening.  But altogether, I'm not a big movie-hater.

Which I why I don't have patience for movie snobs.  Some of my favorite movies are notoriously "bad" by film critic standards.  Breakin' 2:  Electric Boogaloo?  AWESOME.  However, it's so bad that "electric boogaloo" has become movie industry slang for "unnecessary sequel".  Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the movie, not the show) is one of the best movies of all time, definitely on my Top Ten.  The Hot Chick with Rob Schneider?  I NEVER get sick of that.  The Lost Boys?  All I have to say is THE COREYS.

I'm fully aware that these movies are "bad", but to me that's part of the charm.  You can laugh at it and make fun of it.  But what I don't like is when someone talks about how bad something is--even when they know I like it.  I don't like to argue.  Unlike some, I don't get pleasure out of a good debate or putting down other people's taste in movies, music and TV.  I get anxious and sweaty and altogether uncomfortable in an argumentative situation, so most likely my only defense to a movie preference attack is, "I don't care, I still like it!"

I don't want to hear about how cheesy the acting is in Center Stage, because I love that movie.  I don't want to hear about the formulaic storyline of The Wedding Date because I love that movie.  And I don't want to hear about the shotty production value of High School Musical because GUESS WHAT?!?!  I LOVE THAT MOVIE!!!

Oh Lou!

My boss cracks me up.  I have several bosses, but he is kind of the super-boss since he's the Dean of the department I work for.  Anyway, this is a typical conversation I have with him.

Dean:  What is your major again?

Me:  Media communication.

Dean:  So you can do power points?

Me:  Yes.  I can do power points.

Dean:  Can you make this power point look jazzy?

Me:  I think so.

Dean:  OK I need it by May 18th.

(. . . 10 minutes later . . . )

Dean:  Nevermind I changed the power point.

Me:  Did you send it to me?

Dean:  No.

Me:  OK.

Dean:  I guess I should send it to you.

Me:  I think so. 

( . . . Today, about a week later . . . )

Dean:  Come with me, let's talk to Lisa.

Me:  OK.

(go to Lisa's office)

Dean:  Lisa, her major is Media Technology and I want her to help with our website.

Lisa:  Oh!  Do you know HTML?

Me:  No.  I can make videos, and I can write.

Dean:  I think we can give her more hours this summer to help with the website.

Lisa:  OK.  I need help re-writing everything.  Do you know how to do search engine optimization?

Me:  No.

Dean:  But she can learn it!

Me:  Yes, I can learn it.

Lisa:  Great!

Dean:  She can do power point too!

( . . . another day . . . )

Dean:  Can you do Excel?

Me:  Kinda.  (I'm thinking some uber-difficult spreadsheet with a ton of formulas)

Dean:  Can you make this look better?

(he hands me a table of pre-requisites, no numbers involved)

Me:  Yes, I think I can make this look better.

(he makes me re-do it 4 times, each time changing something little like the width of a border)

Dean:  Your major is Mass Media, you should be able to do this! (laughs)

Me:  Yes, I should be able to do this.

One time I had to order him something out of a baseball catalogue.  He coaches a little league team and wanted this special bat thing that was about $50 bucks.  He said "order this, it gives free shipping" and gave me his credit card. However, in big letters on the front of the catalogue it said "FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $200."  I waited about 10 minutes before I went into his office and told him.  He laughed and told me to order it anyway.

The best story ever:  One day I walked in there and he was on Facebook.

End-of-the-Yearitis

Remember how when you were in elementary school and it got to the end of may/early June?  All you wanted to do was go out for recess.  Even when it was raining or muddy and they made it a "black top only day" (those were mean) you wanted to go outside just to get out of the stupid classroom you had been in since September.  You dug out your bike and your jump ropes and your hula hoops only to have to stare at them forlornly while you were stuck inside doing your spelling homework or copying a report by hand word-for-word from the encyclopedia.  

I have that same feeling now.  I just want to be at home sitting on my deck reading a book and listening to the Bangles.  I want to be settled in at home, going to Matt's house sitting around the bonfire listening to sports games on the radio and drinking beer.  I want to dig out my bike and jump rope and hula hoop and be stupid with my sister.  

It's bittersweet, though, because these are my last two weeks living in the dorms at LTU.  They have been my home for the past three years and I have had some good times here.  I am definitely going to miss having my own bathroom, my own kitchen, and my own living room, which I have had for the past two years because I was on the bitch-brigade known as Housing Staff.  There's also the minor detail of having to fit a whole apartment's worth of stuff into my 10x12 bedroom at my house.  Hopefully my dad will invest in a shed for the backyard because most of my stuff won't fit above the garage and I don't want to crowd our basement with junk.  I guess we could use the attic but there's a whole lot of fiberglass insulation up there which scares the bejeezus out of me.

[side note:  I'm scared of insulation because one time my dad let me and my sister look at our attic when we were small but said we couldn't actually walk around because of the pink fluffy stuff, he told us if we fell through it we would be shredded into a thousand pieces.  WAY TO GO DAD.]

So my time as a resident of Southfield is coming to an end shortly.  I love summer but I'm going to be cooped up in an office and cooped up at a cashier's counter all summer until I leave for the U.K.  So we shall see how this all goes.

Mel Gibson is single

I just read on Yahoo! news (my source for world events) that Mel Gibson and his wife of 28 years are getting a divorce.  This is very, very sad, of course.  Divorce is always sad, unless it's Elizabeth Taylor or Britney Spears.

However, my lifelong dream is now come true:  Mel Gibson is single.  Of course, he is a lot older than me, but when I was younger my favorite movies were Lethal Weapon and a little-seen war movie called Gallipoli.  Both starred a studly young Mel Gibson.

So while it is sad that he is divorced, I can now watch Gallipoli and Lethal Weapon and think:  he is single.

Why I Don't Exercise

I'm one of the most unhealthy people on this Earth, I think.  Not only do I eat TERRIBLE foods, but I don't exercise.  This is sad because in high school I was constantly on the go.  I danced for 11 years, played slow-pitch softball in elementary school, played baseball for the blink of an eye, played fast pitch softball from age 11 to 18, played basketball for the blink of an eye, played volleyball from age 12-15--so I was an active kid until I graduated high school.  I ate unhealthily, of course, but my mom packed my lunch from kindergarten to senior year so I was forced to eat relatively healthy at school, meaning sandwiches, apples, pretzels and if I was lucky, a Ho-Ho.

I was used to eating whatever I wanted and staying between 100-110 pounds.  Not so when I got to college.  Suddenly I realized that without sports I was a heifer.  I gained 20 pounds in one semester.  I lost about 5 of those but that's just because I live by myself now and can't afford food.

I'm still relatively thin, I suppose, but I no longer have that sleek toned look and I could lose 10 lbs and still be well within the healthy weight for my height.

However, I am LAZY.  I am lazy and I am picky.  When I had a structured, regimented activity every day after school -- mainly the crazy athletic softball practices for 7 straight years -- that was one thing.  But the motivation disappeared once I realized that I had to resort to running, which I LOATHE, or going to the gym which I also hate.  I get BORED.  I need to be doing something and having fun.

Yesterday Katie and I had to learn a dance for our sorority's Song and Skit.  It was a lot of fun, but we were laughing at how out of shape we were.  Today I woke up and I literally could not move, my whole body was so sore.  It was so hard to sit down and get up off the toilet which, of course, is essential to daily functioning.  And this was from DANCING, which I did basically my whole life from age 4-15.

It reminded me of why I don't exercise, but then it also reminded me of why I used to dance/play sports.  I enjoy it a lot.  I wish LTU wasn't such a nerd school and had dance classes and/or there was a laid-back, cheap dance studio around here.  And they don't really have adult fastpitch teams, which sucks.  Slow pitch is fun and all, but it's not much exercise.  I like fastpitch because you can steal bases!

So yeah.  Maybe this summer my sister and I will just make up our own dances in the basement.  We are pretty good at that.

PSA - rough cut.

So for those of you that have been eagerly awaiting my PSA, here goes.  I'll post the semi-finished one and I'll also post the cartoon.  I can't post the PSA on Youtube because of copyright laws (I used a song for the background since it's for strictly educational purposes -- wrong, I know, but I'm not making any money off of this and I think the song is PERFECT!!) so here goes.

Special thanks to Courtney for the name of the herione, "Daisy", and to Andrea and Tommy for being Oscar-worthy actors.  The song is "My Little Corner of the World" by Yo La Tengo.

Enjoy :)

Finally . . . a decent Thursday

I feel like today will be one of the better Thursdays in a long time.  There are a few reasons for this.  

I still have to work, but my boss is on vacation.  Which could mean either more or less work, but this way she will not be staring at me and watching my every move allll day long.  I do my work, lady, do you really care if I check my email three or four times over the course of six hours?

I don't have rhetoric tonight!!!!  I skipped on Tuesday just because I didn't feel like going.  I was in no mood to deal with . . . people.  But it's cancelled tonight so I have a whole Rhetoric-free week.  I DO NOT find any of it interesting in the least.  But I am constantly told that it is very interesting.  I don't think it's working, people.  No matter how often you tell me it's interesting, I will still see it as boring.

The next reason today should be decent is that we're going to WDIV!  I'm super excited for that.  We have always watched Channel 4 in my house.  I'm not really sure why, I think it's because my mom likes the Today show and she doesn't have to change the station.  I think it will be really cool to see an actual news studio.  Maybe then I can make a semi - decision as to what kind of internship I want to pursue.  

And last but not least, there are TWO new episodes of The Office plus the premiere of Parks and Recreation!  I might not be able to watch them, depending on when we get back from our field trip.  But it's just comforting to know that they will be waiting for me on my mom's DVR back home so I can watch them on Easter Sunday.

I apologize if my blogs in the next few weeks are really whiny and bitchy.  I have a ton of stuff coming up, projects, Greek Week stuff, formal, etc. so I'm going to be in "I hate the world" mode for awhile.

Kumar Goes to the White House

I can't really stop laughing.  Did you all hear that Kumar from Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle is working for the Obama administration?!   That's just awesome and scary at the same time.  

His character on House committed suicide so he could be released from the show to go work in D.C.  This is just too weird.  I guess he won't be making any more Harold & Kumar movies.  I am going to miss another chance to watch Neil Patrick Harris in those.

Top Ten Things I Love About My Life Right Now

No need for embellishments.  Here goes:

1)  Getting marked down in a camera class for bad acting.

2)  Having to meet up with random classmates to work on projects that don't really require help.  And getting graded on it.

3)  Not being allowed to have more qualified people help me on my projects because they are not in my class.

4)  Being told that this is how things are in the "real world".

5)  Knowing that lectures at a university is not the "real world".

6)  Being excited to go downtown on Thursday to actually witness the "real world" and ask someone if they ever got marked down in a camera class for bad acting.

7)  Working my butt off on a project that is sure to be skewered for "continuity problems".

8)  Using all the bad actors I can amass to help me in my projects from here on out.

9)  Having to bite my tongue from saying truthful things in response to hypocritical statements for the sole reason of saving my grade.  Don't want to be blackballed.

10)  Shooting my final project for Editing because it's going to be FREAKING AWESOME provided I am allowed to use the camera.

I just needed a place to vent.  I'm sorry y'all.

Review of Greek

I will now review one of my favorite shows, Greek.  

Recently, Casey got a new boyfriend, Max.  Max is alright.  He's smart (he majors in polymer science like Rusty) and he's pretty cute.  He's played by the same guy that played Kostos in the Traveling Pants movies!  Woop woop.  Anyway, Max and Casey are very different but they seem to work.  I'm not a fan of Casey in general, but she has been a lot more tolerable lately.  Although since the actor that plays Max is still listed as a guest star, I don't imagine it will last the entire season.  Sad but juicy!

There's a plot twist in which Rebecca Logan and Franny start their own sorority.  I hope this doesn't last long, because it's annoying.  Franny is ridiculous and scheming and conniving.  I suppose she makes the show more interesting, but her characterization is just nothing but evil, so it's hard to sympathize with her at all.  At least with Rebecca, you get some reason for why she is the way she is (senator's daughter, dad is absent, cheating on her mother, big scandal, always tries to buy her off).  

And Cappie!  I still love him.  He's charming and seems clueless, but he's actually very smart and knows a lot about people and relationships.  He knows he wants Casey back but sees that Casey is so happy with Max that he tries to be friends with him.  Last season, Casey and Cappie were kind of each others' go-to person for relationship advice, which is weird but awesome!  I'm glad he and Rebecca broke up because Rebecca is totally wrong for him.

Rusty needs to get a girl!  I'm sick of him being the cliche unlucky-in-love geek.  I kind of hope he starts dating a ZBZ.  Casey's reaction would be priceless.

And I want more of Dale, Rusty's old roommate.  He's super funny and I want him to get a girlfriend, too.  THAT would be awesome to watch.  He's socially awkward but thinks he isn't.  BEST combination ever!

I guess I need more practice writing reviews . . . that was more of a rant.

GREEK!

This is not a difficult blog for me!  I write about my favorite shows all the time; however, I think I will try to pick one that I have not blogged about yet.  I think I will pick the show Greek, which airs on Monday nights on ABC Family.

Many people may think that Greek is a stupid teenage show that glorifies the fraternity/sorority system and perpetuates stereotypes associated with Greek life.  In a way, I guess it is.  However, it also demonstrates that people can learn a lot from the Greek system; how to deal with all types of people, how to remain diplomatic even when your emotions get in the way, how to deal with silly politics, how to manage but not micromanage, and in many ways, how to run a business. 

Greek is about the Cartwright siblings.  Casey Cartwright is a student at Cyprus Rhodes University and the ultimate sorority girl.  She has been a member of Zeta Beta Zeta, the best sorority on campus, since her freshman year and aspires to be the President.  She is dating the big man on campus, rich kid Evan Chambers, a member of Omega Chi (appropriately, the best fraternity on campus).  Casey has the seemingly perfect life; however, things are always complicated by her ex-boyfriend, Cappie (no last name, no first name, no one knows!), who is the President of Kappa Tau Gamma, the slacker fraternity.

Enter Rusty Cartwright, Casey's younger brother, a freshman at CRU.  He's super-smart and majoring in polymer science.  He wants to pledge a fraternity to help his social skills and reinvent his geeky image.  At first, Rusty is interested in Omega Chi like all the other freshman.  However, when he witnesses Evan cheating on his sister Casey, he decides to join Kappa Tau -- with Casey's ex-boyfriend. 

 The show explores the relationships between college students in a fairly realistic manner.  I wouldn't say that it is always an accurate depiction of Greek life, since I'm in a sorority.  However, the show gets many things right.

I love the show because it's fun and funny.  It's surprisingly addicting, and I am constantly rooting for Cappie and Casey to get back together!  

You should all give it a try, and don't immediately write it off.  It took me a good 4 episodes to really get hooked.

SCHOOL. MUST. END.

I'm so sick of school right now!  I know that's not unique, it's what most all students start to feel this time of year.  Projects are piling up, I'm neglecting my housing duties, I'm doing "just enough" work, not going above and beyond like I should.  I always start the semester strong, and then slack off heavily during the last month or so.  Well, it's the last month or so, so my internal clock is set to "slack" mode.

On the plus side, I have something to look forward to besides a summer of being locked inside earning next-to-nothing.  I booked some of my school trips for the Fall, so I'm signed up to go to London, Stonehenge, Edinburgh, Ireland, Paris and Italy!  For my independent trips I want to try to go to Germany (don't really care what city) and Prague, maybe Vienna!  Actually, I want to go to Salzburg to walk on the fountain like the kids do in the Sound of Music.  I would video that for Katie.  I also registered for classes, and will be taking "The British Experience from the Celts to the Present Day", "Modern British Politics" and "The Birth of the Modern West: Europe, 1350-1603".  HISTORY!  I'm so excited.  I've always loved History and LTU just doesn't have much of a history curriculum.

I can't wait to get out of here for a semester, but I'm nervous too!  I just need something different for a small period of time--I'll still be taking classes, and they will probably be difficult.  But it will be something out of the ordinary!  That way, hopefully, when I come back I'll be more motivated and dedicated to this school.  Because right now, it's just a hobby.  Seriously, I place more priority on work and family and friends than school.  Which, I know, is awful and I should be beaten, scourged, dragged across pavement, and burned at the stake for saying that.  But the amount of time I devote to school is roughly equivalent to what most people devote to playing a recreational sport or volunteering at a hospital or something.  I spend more time on HogwartsLive and doing stuff for my sorority than I spend on schoolwork.  

SAD.

Harvey Milk

I love it when I watch a movie that has a profound impact on me.  I mean, don't get me wrong, I love movies that are pure fluff, feel-good pieces of entertainment.  But once in a while it feels good to watch something that gives me a better perspective on humanity, that things aren't always just black-and-white, that there is ALWAYS a different way to do things.

I just got done watching the movie Milk.  Honestly, I watched it for three reasons.  One, because Sean Penn won an Academy Award for it, and two, because Lucas Grabeel from High School Musical is in it, three, James Franco is in it and he is amazing.

But I'm glad I watched it for totally different reasons.  Yes, Sean Penn is masterful, yes, Lucas is still one of my heroes, and yes, James Franco is delicious even when he is making out with Spicoli.  But beyond all that, the movie has an awesome message.

I consider myself politically moderate, but I guess I would say I'm an uneducated liberal.  Not uneducated in that I can't read or was raised in the backwoods and am "ign'ant", but uneducated in that I don't take the time to research an issue enough to have a concrete reason to back it up.  However, I often find myself leaning toward the left more often than not, and I'm not sure why.

I think Milk let me feel a little more comfortable with my hazy political labels.  For those who don't know, the movie is about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay person elected to a major political office.  He was elected to be a city supervisor of San Francisco, and he and the Mayor of San Francisco were both assassinated by a fellow city supervisor.  

Harvey Milk was a Democrat, but honestly I had to look that up on Wikipedia.  I do not recall them ever mentioning his political party in the movie.  His whole campaign was about the rights of humans.  Any human in America has rights, the right not to be fired from a job they have already obtained based on qualification and performance, simply because he chooses to have sex with a man instead of a woman in the privacy of his own home.

I'll be honest; I'm not an open supporter of the GLBT movement.  I don't attend rallies, I don't buy t shirts, I don't plaster Facebook with it.  However, I am an open supporter of humanity.  I don't think the government can legislate who we can love.  I don't think that America is going to disintegrate into moral chaos if we allow gay people to get married.  I don't think that all gay people have a less stable home life than heterosexuals.  And guess what?  I was raised Catholic.  It's cliche, but there are many parallels between the story in Milk and the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s.  

I DO think that people should be judged by their character, by their choices, and by their actions.  I would oppose a gay couple adopting a baby if they were abusive and malicious, the same way I would oppose a heterosexual couple adopting a baby if they were abusive and malicious, the same way I would oppose an interracial couple adopting a baby if they were abusive and malicious.

I think what Harvey Milk did was honorable and courageous.  He had his faults, he had his failures; but that proves that he was human just like all of us, homosexual or not.  He was a human, and he loved humanity enough to make the ultimate sacrifice.  I read that something like 30,000 mourners turned up on Milk's home turf of Castro Street and marched quietly to City Hall, holding a candlelight vigil in memory of their hero.  That is remarkable.

I Know What You Did Last Night . . .

Intriguing and slightly menacing title, right?  I know.  I don't really know what you did last night.  I wish I did, because I am nosy and I love gossip, but I do not have the ability to know what you did last night without physically being there.

The title stems from this program we are doing in housing.  My fellow RA/sorority sister Sam and I are in charge of it because we like to volunteer to do more work than we are required to do.  So basically residents sign up for it and every day for a week they will get an envelope under their door.  On Sunday, the envelope will be their new identity (Joe the hockey player, Anna the StuGov president, etc.).  During the week, though, they will get a new envelope every day with the phrase "I know what you did last night . . . " and then it will say something like "you studied" or "you gave Lucy oral sex" or "you had unprotected sex with Kevin".  

At the end of the program, all the participants gather for a party in which they can see the whole web.  Even though Gina may have only had unprotected sex with Kevin once, he had unprotected sex with Lisa who gave Justin oral sex and Justin has herpes, so now Gina has herpes.  It's just a sexual education awareness program, and at the end everyone gets to meet and eat pizza and find out who they had sex with.

Anyway, Sam and I spent the last four hours assigning identities, making the web, and assigning and tracking STDs and pregnancies.  It was kind of depressing, we got really excited when someone had protected sex twice in the week with the same person.

But it made Sam and I think about it, so I hope it makes the residents think about it as well.  It gets kind of dirty, I mean, one girl has HIV, crabs, and she's pregnant, but she's pregnant by a different guy than the one that gave her HIV.  And then one guy had unprotected sex with another guy, and that guy gave his girlfriend chlamydia.  

The message:  ALWAYS BE SAFE!!!

New Medicine

This isn't good!  I tried this new form of Albuterol, which I need to take occasionally for the mucus build-up in my lungs (yucky, I know).  Normally I take it through breathing treatments, which means I empty a cartridge of liquid Albuterol into this cup thingee with a mouthpiece, turn on the machine, and it vaporizes it so I inhale it.  Afterward, I'm shaky for about a half hour, but it goes away and I feel better.

Lately I'm so busy I don't really have time to sit down for an hour, breathe out of a machine, and then wait for the effects to wear off, so I tried a 12-hour Albuterol pill before I went to bed last night.  I slept fine, but I woke up this morning SO SHAKY!  Like, I could barely get out of bed.  I had to sit down in the shower and it took me an hour to get ready for work!  Usually I get up a half hour early and try to do Pilates (when I'm not sick, and I thought I would feel good enough to do it this morning) but I could barely stand!  

I feel a little bit better now, because I took it at about midnight last night so I'm expecting it to wear off at around noon.  But that's the last time I take the Albuterol pill unless I'm planning on lying around for 12 hours!  

Because even though I'm shaky and messed up . . . at least I'm not coughing!