Saturday, June 30, 2007
Everything's Cool
I'm starting to feel a lot better. I should be back to at least 75% by Monday, which is fantastic. However, I just wanted to leave a quick note for everyone letting them know that everything is fine here. Yes, we are the West side of London and are decently close to Picafdilly Circus, everything seems pretty okay in the city. Of course, I'm not really out and about today, but so far, everything is just fine. I'll let you know if I make any other interesting observations.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Thank god for insurance
So, it seems that I caught a bug on the plane. There's never yet been a time that I haven't gotten sick sometime after I've flown on a plane, despite taking airborne and washing my hands thoroughly. So, when I started coming down with a little cold, it wasn't entirely unexpected. Unfortunately, I wasn't getting better. I got sick on Tuesday night, and each day, I've felt worse, and have been running a nasty fever. Well, I can only assume it was a nasty fever, seeing as how we don't have a thermometer. Anyhow, I've been trying to keep up with everything, but have just been feeling worse and worse. Finally, one of the student life people at our program asked me why I didn't see a doctor. So, I called the insurance folks (I'm insured through the study abroad program), and they offered to see me at 10:30 or at 11:45. Bear in mind, this was at 10:00. So I took the 11:45 appointment and dragged my sick ass over to the doctor. He was super, SUPER nice, and the whole experience was really interesting. First off, I met with a secretary in a front offic to work out my personal details, then she walked me over to the doctor. We spent about 5 minutes chatting about what was wrong, any prescription drugs I was already on, and my medical history. He did a thorough exam (and he did agree that my throat looked pretty nasty), and he prescribed an antibiotic and sent me on my way. The worst part was that my fever had broken that morning, so I couldn't stop sweating in the waiting room, in the tube, walking to and front the tube, and etc. Oh well. I'm sure I'll be feeling better shortly, and I'm hoping I'll be able to get some rest since the weekend is here.
Speaking of which, it wasn't look like the roomies will be travelling this weekend (DAMN!), so I won't have the place to myself. However, I'm assuming they'll largely be out and about (and I've been politely told not to do anything over the next few days), so I'm hoping I will have some peace and quiet to get some reading in.
Oh, and very interestingly, I was in the Picadilly Circus station this morning while going to the doctor, and I didn't notice anything odd. However, I didn't have to go aboveground; I was just transferring stations.
Speaking of which, it wasn't look like the roomies will be travelling this weekend (DAMN!), so I won't have the place to myself. However, I'm assuming they'll largely be out and about (and I've been politely told not to do anything over the next few days), so I'm hoping I will have some peace and quiet to get some reading in.
Oh, and very interestingly, I was in the Picadilly Circus station this morning while going to the doctor, and I didn't notice anything odd. However, I didn't have to go aboveground; I was just transferring stations.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
June 27 Wrap-up
I'm still not feeling well. I'm tired, I have a sore through, and I had a really, really high fever this morning. I couldn't stop shivering, but it seems like the advil has mostly controlled that. I still don't feel like myself, but I think I'm on the mend. We had class from 10 until 2:30 this afternoon, and I could barely keep my eyes open. There are a total of 13 people in the english class, and the double-mint twins from my flat plopped down next to me and began to chat. They were talking throughout the entire class, and it finally pissed me off enough (and our prof wasn't doing anything about it), so I asked them to quit it. They stopped for a few minutes, then started talking quieter, then looking at me. Greeeeat. So after class, I came home and just collapsed. I thought that I just blinked my eyes, but I think I woke up like 3 hours later. Time is so weird around here. Every day is very long, and all of them blend together. Part of it is certainly the jet lag, but the other part is probably just how busy we are. Tomorrow we're going to Leeds and Canterbury, and I'm looking forward to both of them. Well, except for the walking up the stairs on the knees. I think I'll skip that part. I'm still not feeling like myself, but taking a day to relax has probably done me a lot of good.
Windsor Castle Recap
I have to keep journals for school, so this is actually for my assignment. I hope to keep these interesting, so I figured I might as well combine my purposes and put it on here. So here we go!
---
The trains are different here. Going from the ciminally inefficient Amtrak to the thus-far reliable British railway system is pretty cool. Windsor is an easy hour-long train ride outside of the city. The scenery we travelled through was an interesting blend of old and modern buildings, and everything was lushly green because of the recent rain. It was a very interesting contrast to the brown and khaki landscape at home.
We walked up a long hill to get into the Windsor castle, and the streets were lined with tourist traps. It reminded me a lot of Solvang back home. However, once we got inside the gates, the tacky shops seemed very far removed. The castle's form reflects its intended function: a fortress. The walls are high and it makes for a wonderful view of the surrounding area. We went through to see the dollhouse, but that really didn't strike me. The next room we went into did, though. I was amazed by the sketch room, especially the Leonardo da Vinci sketches. They were so amazingly detailed, and it really made me appreciate how difficult this must have been in a world without photographs. Even the simplest studies for other, larger works were transcendentally beautiful.
As I walked through the apartments, I was really struck by the passage of time. I have mostly regarding history as "a long time agao" and made little distinction between time periods.
What fascinated me was the juxtaposition of the modern world (bobbies with assault rifles) and the armory room. It made me remember that this castle has been around for a long time, and visitors to the castle 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 years ago would have also regarded it as old. The point I'm trying to make is that history isn't just a matter of "recently" versus "a long time ago." I have always understood this fact intellectually, but this was the first time it really struck me in such a visceral way.
---
The trains are different here. Going from the ciminally inefficient Amtrak to the thus-far reliable British railway system is pretty cool. Windsor is an easy hour-long train ride outside of the city. The scenery we travelled through was an interesting blend of old and modern buildings, and everything was lushly green because of the recent rain. It was a very interesting contrast to the brown and khaki landscape at home.
We walked up a long hill to get into the Windsor castle, and the streets were lined with tourist traps. It reminded me a lot of Solvang back home. However, once we got inside the gates, the tacky shops seemed very far removed. The castle's form reflects its intended function: a fortress. The walls are high and it makes for a wonderful view of the surrounding area. We went through to see the dollhouse, but that really didn't strike me. The next room we went into did, though. I was amazed by the sketch room, especially the Leonardo da Vinci sketches. They were so amazingly detailed, and it really made me appreciate how difficult this must have been in a world without photographs. Even the simplest studies for other, larger works were transcendentally beautiful.
As I walked through the apartments, I was really struck by the passage of time. I have mostly regarding history as "a long time agao" and made little distinction between time periods.
What fascinated me was the juxtaposition of the modern world (bobbies with assault rifles) and the armory room. It made me remember that this castle has been around for a long time, and visitors to the castle 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 years ago would have also regarded it as old. The point I'm trying to make is that history isn't just a matter of "recently" versus "a long time ago." I have always understood this fact intellectually, but this was the first time it really struck me in such a visceral way.
It's *what* time?
Yeah, that's right. It's about 2:20 local time. Unfortunately, it feels like I'm coming down with a cold from the flight over (I ALWAYS get sick when we fly. Maybe I should stop licking the fixtures in the bathroom in the plane. Hmm, I'll try that on the way back.)
Anyhow, I'm up so late because of roommate issues. So, a little bit of background on our living quarters. We live in a house dedicated to our study abroad program. There are a bunch of us punk-ass american students living on this nice quiet block. Sorry, neighbors! Anyhow, our group of 13 is split up into three different flats. Each flat (except the guy's flat) has two rooms, and each room has either two or three girls. There are 10 girls split between two flats, and the three guys all share one flat. I've mentioned drippy girlfriend, I think. She has a boyfriend on the program, and I think she was under the impression that they were going to be together 100% of the time during the program, and that she would have his undivided attention. He's an ass for not setting her straight on that. Anyhow, drippy girlfriend was down in the guy's flat with asshole boyfriend (aside to Chris: he's the guy who wouldn't shut the fuck up during the orientation meeting). The other two guys were up in our flat, hanging out with the two girls who are inseperable and won't talk to anyone else. Actually, it's pretty cool: one of the guys, Cap't Smarmy, took it as a project to get the two doublemint twins to come out of their shell. He did a really good job of it, too. So anyhow, it ended up that everyone up here in our flat: Cap't Smarmy, the Double-Mint twins, Party Girl, and Token (he's a token because he's religiously conservative). We were all hanging out and chatting, and then it got late. Really late. I went to bed, and essentially broke up the little swaree. The two guys went down to their flat.... then came back in like 3 minutes. Bear in mind, they're two floors below, so it takes about 2 minutes to go down there. Guess who caught the little lovebirds in a compromising position, and they forgot to hang something on the door. Again, total asshole behavior in my mind. So yeah. They came back up here, and they're going to just sleep in here.
This whole things is fascinating to me because I never had that quintessential college dorm experience, and I never noticed things like this when I went to camp in high school. It's very funny viewing it from (what I feel is an) outside view. I mean, I'm automatically outside the drama because I'm always off doing my own thing. I don't feel like doing what they're doing? No one reads anything into it. I want to go to bed early (heh, still hasn't happened)? I certainly can do so without any drama. Everone, myself included, already recognizes me as "not one of them" and so I don't get wrapped up into the so-and-so said this, and isn't this other person being a bitch, and blah blah blah. It kind of makes me realize that high school didn't have to be as miserable and cliquey as it was... well, if I had been a different person. It's also interesting to watch the interactions of other folks and be able to pick out what's going to happen and why about 5 minutes before everything does. Kind of a weird sociology experiement, I guess. Like living among the natives, don't you know?
See what I did there? See, I did the two meanings in one. (Oh, and it cracked me up that one of our orientation people, a Londoner, did the "see what I did there?" schtick. It really is a global community!
Anyhow, I'm up so late because of roommate issues. So, a little bit of background on our living quarters. We live in a house dedicated to our study abroad program. There are a bunch of us punk-ass american students living on this nice quiet block. Sorry, neighbors! Anyhow, our group of 13 is split up into three different flats. Each flat (except the guy's flat) has two rooms, and each room has either two or three girls. There are 10 girls split between two flats, and the three guys all share one flat. I've mentioned drippy girlfriend, I think. She has a boyfriend on the program, and I think she was under the impression that they were going to be together 100% of the time during the program, and that she would have his undivided attention. He's an ass for not setting her straight on that. Anyhow, drippy girlfriend was down in the guy's flat with asshole boyfriend (aside to Chris: he's the guy who wouldn't shut the fuck up during the orientation meeting). The other two guys were up in our flat, hanging out with the two girls who are inseperable and won't talk to anyone else. Actually, it's pretty cool: one of the guys, Cap't Smarmy, took it as a project to get the two doublemint twins to come out of their shell. He did a really good job of it, too. So anyhow, it ended up that everyone up here in our flat: Cap't Smarmy, the Double-Mint twins, Party Girl, and Token (he's a token because he's religiously conservative). We were all hanging out and chatting, and then it got late. Really late. I went to bed, and essentially broke up the little swaree. The two guys went down to their flat.... then came back in like 3 minutes. Bear in mind, they're two floors below, so it takes about 2 minutes to go down there. Guess who caught the little lovebirds in a compromising position, and they forgot to hang something on the door. Again, total asshole behavior in my mind. So yeah. They came back up here, and they're going to just sleep in here.
This whole things is fascinating to me because I never had that quintessential college dorm experience, and I never noticed things like this when I went to camp in high school. It's very funny viewing it from (what I feel is an) outside view. I mean, I'm automatically outside the drama because I'm always off doing my own thing. I don't feel like doing what they're doing? No one reads anything into it. I want to go to bed early (heh, still hasn't happened)? I certainly can do so without any drama. Everone, myself included, already recognizes me as "not one of them" and so I don't get wrapped up into the so-and-so said this, and isn't this other person being a bitch, and blah blah blah. It kind of makes me realize that high school didn't have to be as miserable and cliquey as it was... well, if I had been a different person. It's also interesting to watch the interactions of other folks and be able to pick out what's going to happen and why about 5 minutes before everything does. Kind of a weird sociology experiement, I guess. Like living among the natives, don't you know?
See what I did there? See, I did the two meanings in one. (Oh, and it cracked me up that one of our orientation people, a Londoner, did the "see what I did there?" schtick. It really is a global community!
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Totally bitchin'
I was walking to the tube station this morning, and a man asked me for directions... and I was totally able to direct him. I'm so awesome.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Monday Evening
So, my wrap-up for the day:
In the morning, we took a bus tour of the city. It seems pretty wasteful that they use a huge coach for just the 16 of us, but I can't complain too much. It seems like the only roomy place in the city.
Speaking of complaining, yeah, I found out that they put us all together because they just don't have any other rooms available. *sigh* At least my two roomies will be travelling on the weekends, so I'll be able to have the place to myself whenever they're out and I'm in. Only 27 more days, right? So, I take out the 6 days they'll be travlling and we're looking at only 21 more days. I can deal with that! :)
Anyhow, after the bus tour we had lunchtime to ourselves, so I went to some oddly-named place for lunch (Pret A Manger, I think) which was pretty tasty. We had our orientation meeting at the FIE place, then we went to Imperial College to go work with the travel agency to plan our weekend trips. (Whoo, more on that another time.) A few of us stopped in for a quick drink, then I took a walk in Hyde Park. I came home, putzed on the computer (oh, how I miss you, fiber-optic connection at home!), then attempted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe. Oh, that turned out interesting. Long story short, people should not doubt me when I say "You need to hurry up, quick, quick" when I'm telling them to get on the tube. Our group got split up, and Hard Rock had a 1.5 hour wait. This is at 9:30 at night on a Monday. Good god. Anyhow, I ended up just walking home because... well, because I'm an idiot. I know that I'll get familiar with the neighborhood and stop ending up on these long excursions, but in the meantime, I'm freakin' beat.
So, my fun story of the day was on my way home. I didn't have dinner, and I hadn't eaten a thing since lunchtime, so I was hungry and tired. I stopped into a Marks and Spencer fancy-pants grocery/snack place, and picked up a *tiny* thing of grapes (maybe about 3/4 of a cup... 130 grams is you want to do the math: $2.10), a 4-pack of chocolate mousse ($3.58) and box of 80 teabags ($4.18). Yeah, everything is definitely more expensive here (except the tea!), but I was just scandalized by the price of fruit. Anyhow, I was about to go check out, and I realized that I forgot to get teabags, but I hadn't seen them. So here's my conversation with the girl who was stocking the stuff in the back:
Me: Excuse me. Sorry to bother you, but do you carry tea?
Her: Carry tea? No, but we certainly have tea. You're so fancy!
So yeah. I was called "fancy" by a Londoner. Worship me! Actually, she was really funny, and pretty amused with my valley girl impression, ohmygawd! So my day has ended on an up-note, and I'm going to go take a nice shower and try to fall alseep before my roomies get in. We'll see how that goes.
In the morning, we took a bus tour of the city. It seems pretty wasteful that they use a huge coach for just the 16 of us, but I can't complain too much. It seems like the only roomy place in the city.
Speaking of complaining, yeah, I found out that they put us all together because they just don't have any other rooms available. *sigh* At least my two roomies will be travelling on the weekends, so I'll be able to have the place to myself whenever they're out and I'm in. Only 27 more days, right? So, I take out the 6 days they'll be travlling and we're looking at only 21 more days. I can deal with that! :)
Anyhow, after the bus tour we had lunchtime to ourselves, so I went to some oddly-named place for lunch (Pret A Manger, I think) which was pretty tasty. We had our orientation meeting at the FIE place, then we went to Imperial College to go work with the travel agency to plan our weekend trips. (Whoo, more on that another time.) A few of us stopped in for a quick drink, then I took a walk in Hyde Park. I came home, putzed on the computer (oh, how I miss you, fiber-optic connection at home!), then attempted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe. Oh, that turned out interesting. Long story short, people should not doubt me when I say "You need to hurry up, quick, quick" when I'm telling them to get on the tube. Our group got split up, and Hard Rock had a 1.5 hour wait. This is at 9:30 at night on a Monday. Good god. Anyhow, I ended up just walking home because... well, because I'm an idiot. I know that I'll get familiar with the neighborhood and stop ending up on these long excursions, but in the meantime, I'm freakin' beat.
So, my fun story of the day was on my way home. I didn't have dinner, and I hadn't eaten a thing since lunchtime, so I was hungry and tired. I stopped into a Marks and Spencer fancy-pants grocery/snack place, and picked up a *tiny* thing of grapes (maybe about 3/4 of a cup... 130 grams is you want to do the math: $2.10), a 4-pack of chocolate mousse ($3.58) and box of 80 teabags ($4.18). Yeah, everything is definitely more expensive here (except the tea!), but I was just scandalized by the price of fruit. Anyhow, I was about to go check out, and I realized that I forgot to get teabags, but I hadn't seen them. So here's my conversation with the girl who was stocking the stuff in the back:
Me: Excuse me. Sorry to bother you, but do you carry tea?
Her: Carry tea? No, but we certainly have tea. You're so fancy!
So yeah. I was called "fancy" by a Londoner. Worship me! Actually, she was really funny, and pretty amused with my valley girl impression, ohmygawd! So my day has ended on an up-note, and I'm going to go take a nice shower and try to fall alseep before my roomies get in. We'll see how that goes.
He tried to kill me, he did! (written Monday morning in the cafe)
I took a walking tour on my own this morning. You know, I know that traffic is on the wrong side of the street, but in practice, it's a bit different. The cyclists, both motor and otherwise, are absolutely insane over here. It will definitely take a while to get used to the traffic. I'm used to LA traffic but these tiny little streets make my eyeballs itch. There are a ton more diesels and, interestingly enough, 2-stroke engines. Being a vegetarian seems much simpler here, and it seems that they love their aubergine (not sure if I spelled that right. "Eggplant" is so much simpler.) So, score one for me who has managed not to get run over by a double-decker bus. Now, if I could just figure out the coins, I'd be doing great.
It's the next morning...
And after a shower and a few hours of sleep, things are looking up. On the agenda for the day is a 1/2 day bus tour of the city, and an orientation program for the study-abroad program. Oh the fun that will be .... for them. They're going to get to explain what happened to my single room. Hooray!
Monday, June 25th, 1:00am GMT
So we're all settled into the flat after about 20 hours of travel time and much agita. We all pretty much agree that it's kind of a dump, and everyone feels pretty gypped. Anyhow, a few of us were just sitting around chatting about how we could have gotten a hotel for the month for the same amount of money and could have booked our own travel and blah blah blah. But I think the point is that we're all so very fried right now. No one has had a proper night of sleep. No one has had a good solid meal. So things will probably start looking a lot better tomorrow.
As for myself, I requested a single room and was willing to pay more for this privilege. I didn't care about whether I shared a bathroom or kitchen; I just wanted a bedroom to myself. Well guess what: instead of putting me alone or just with one person, they put me with two. Uh whee? At least the two people I'm with are both pretty mellow and mature, so that's all to the good.
I know that I said that I knew that things weren't going to work out as I expected, but Jesus H Christ was I right. *sigh* But again, we all have to realise that we're just feeling tired and bitchy. The problem is that I've just gotten my... well, I guess it would be 4th wind at this point, and I'm not sure sleep will be coming my nay soon. Nothing I can do right now but wade through everything and just take things one at a time.
The only problem: I tried to fall asleep earlier, and I realized that during my fitful bits of sleep, I felt so much better.... and upon waking, I felt worse. I realised it was because I was upset and I was happier in my dreams. Kind of sad, but it's just the first night blues. Thinks will look better tomorrow.
As for myself, I requested a single room and was willing to pay more for this privilege. I didn't care about whether I shared a bathroom or kitchen; I just wanted a bedroom to myself. Well guess what: instead of putting me alone or just with one person, they put me with two. Uh whee? At least the two people I'm with are both pretty mellow and mature, so that's all to the good.
I know that I said that I knew that things weren't going to work out as I expected, but Jesus H Christ was I right. *sigh* But again, we all have to realise that we're just feeling tired and bitchy. The problem is that I've just gotten my... well, I guess it would be 4th wind at this point, and I'm not sure sleep will be coming my nay soon. Nothing I can do right now but wade through everything and just take things one at a time.
The only problem: I tried to fall asleep earlier, and I realized that during my fitful bits of sleep, I felt so much better.... and upon waking, I felt worse. I realised it was because I was upset and I was happier in my dreams. Kind of sad, but it's just the first night blues. Thinks will look better tomorrow.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Sunday June 24th - 8am Pacific (4pm London time)
I'm still on the plane. We're making good time (they've said that the actual flight time is actually more like 9.5 hours instead of 10.5, and that seems to be pretty true thus far. At this point, I left the house around 16 hours ago, and I still have about 3 or 4 more hours of travel in front of me. The plane ride has been smooth as glass, and the little in-seat screens are pretty nifty. I've been able to coserve the battery on my iPod which has been pretty nice. They had three episodes of my favorite bitchy doctor show, and so that wasted a few hours.
I've catnapped for a few minutes here and there, but I've been pretty good about staying awake so far. I know I've hit my second wind and I will crash pretty hard, but for now, I'm fine.
I think I mentioned that part of travelling is appreciating all of the small differences. One of them actually gave me goosebumps just because it was so surreal. They have the british release of the House TV show, and they use a different theme. I can't remember exactly why (something about Massive Attack being more popular over there, or some such nonsense), but it was so weird seeing something so familiar in such a foreign way. I know I'll be experiecing this a lot over the next couple of weeks, but for now, I'm amused by the novelty of it.
I've catnapped for a few minutes here and there, but I've been pretty good about staying awake so far. I know I've hit my second wind and I will crash pretty hard, but for now, I'm fine.
I think I mentioned that part of travelling is appreciating all of the small differences. One of them actually gave me goosebumps just because it was so surreal. They have the british release of the House TV show, and they use a different theme. I can't remember exactly why (something about Massive Attack being more popular over there, or some such nonsense), but it was so weird seeing something so familiar in such a foreign way. I know I'll be experiecing this a lot over the next couple of weeks, but for now, I'm amused by the novelty of it.
Saturday June 23rd, 8:05pm PST
I'm at the airport, and my flight was scheduled to leave at 8:50 tonight. Chris dropped me off at the airport at 5:30, so I've been here for coming up on three hours now. By now, we should have been onboard the plane and getting ready to go, but unfortunately, our flight has been delayed three hours. I didn't think to check that before I left the house, so what can you do? Hell, even if I had known, would I have come to the airport later? Maybe not. I mean, Chris did have to get to the concert.
I'm not proud nor ashamed to admit that I was pretty broken-up when we said goodbye. It's really hard to imagine 4 weeks without him, and the distance between us seems to be so much. I did get over it, and I pulled myself together before I met up with the group. I mean, I have a reputation to keep, right? I'm sure it will hit me in little unexpected ways how much I miss him, but facts are facts. The only thing I can change is how I deal with it. At least that's going to be my mantra.
So I'm sitting in the airport, overwraught, overheated, and overtired, and I still have a 3.5 hour wait, then a 10.5 hour flight before I'll even be to the other airport, much less my flat. I'm crampy and tired and grumpy, and working hard not to cry because I miss Chris so much. Only 4 more weeks.
I'm not proud nor ashamed to admit that I was pretty broken-up when we said goodbye. It's really hard to imagine 4 weeks without him, and the distance between us seems to be so much. I did get over it, and I pulled myself together before I met up with the group. I mean, I have a reputation to keep, right? I'm sure it will hit me in little unexpected ways how much I miss him, but facts are facts. The only thing I can change is how I deal with it. At least that's going to be my mantra.
So I'm sitting in the airport, overwraught, overheated, and overtired, and I still have a 3.5 hour wait, then a 10.5 hour flight before I'll even be to the other airport, much less my flat. I'm crampy and tired and grumpy, and working hard not to cry because I miss Chris so much. Only 4 more weeks.
Monday, June 18, 2007
My last Monday in SoCal
Alright, just a little bit over-the-top melodramatic there, but that's okay. After today, I only have 4 more days of work, but I'm starting to feel like I have things a bit more under control. I got all of my clothes washed and ready to go, and I'm starting to pack stuff that I won't need for this week. Then on Saturday, I'll be able to just do a quick load of laundry, toss the remainder of my stuff in a duffel bag, and be good to go. I wanted to keep it down to only a rolling suitcase, but it looks like I'll have to carry a duffel bag too. That's still not too bad.
The oddest part of all this is knowing that I'm going to be waking up in a strange place starting next week. I keep going over in my mind how I anticipate things are going to be, and I know that they're never quite right, but it doesn't stop me from trying to figure out how everything will look and feel. In the end, I suppose that the best part of travelling is being continually surprised by all the little differences.
The oddest part of all this is knowing that I'm going to be waking up in a strange place starting next week. I keep going over in my mind how I anticipate things are going to be, and I know that they're never quite right, but it doesn't stop me from trying to figure out how everything will look and feel. In the end, I suppose that the best part of travelling is being continually surprised by all the little differences.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
The countdown keeps counting down
Chris and I went to an organizational meeting today to go over the details of the trip and to meet everyone. Suddenly it hit me how much older I am than everyone. I mean, it's really nice because I'll definitely have a bit more... well, freedom, I guess. The person running the trip, Mary, asked that everyone travel in pairs if we're going out of the country because, in her words, "ya'll are kids," but she caught my eye when she said that. I feel like I definitely will be able to appreciate the trip on a different level, if for no other reason than I'm paying for it myself, you know?
So, final plans are in order and I'm going to mail out the URL for this blog shortly. I'm not going to make it private or anything, but I don't think I'll share this with the folks. I'm sure that I won't have anything bad to say, but just in case I need to say "motherfucker," "fucking dumbshit," or "frisky lemurs," I want to feel free to do so.
So, final plans are in order and I'm going to mail out the URL for this blog shortly. I'm not going to make it private or anything, but I don't think I'll share this with the folks. I'm sure that I won't have anything bad to say, but just in case I need to say "motherfucker," "fucking dumbshit," or "frisky lemurs," I want to feel free to do so.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Umbrella (Test Message from Flickr)
This is a test message. I only have two more weekends in California, and I can't quite get it through my thick skull that yes, I'm leaving; yes, I need to get a ton of work done around the house before I go, and; yes, I still have to finish out this silly semester of school before I go. Yeesh. I'm so antsy yet unprepared.
So anyhow, instead of doing useful stuff, such as finishing a paper, finishing a speech, or doing housework, I'm working on getting all of my electronics together and working before I go. I'm linked up my flickr stream with this blog so I can easily post pictures on flickr, then write a more extended entry about them on here. Kind of a really neat concept, but it relies on several different items. First off, I have to get an adapter for the laptop. Then I have to get an adapter for the digital camera (or just use film for everything and get things scanned at the camera shop). Then I have to make sure that I actually have good connectivity and actually have time to do all this blogging while I'm on the road.
So I've set up ANOTHER bit of technology, but this one's a bit older. My old visor PDA that my husband gave me for our 1st anniversary (about 7 years ago) is still very functional, and the fold-out keyboard still works great. Since it runs on batteries, I don't have to worry about pesky adapters or anything and it's tiny, so I can take it on the road. But again, this hinges on having something that I sync it up with, then connect to the internet. Who knew that living abroad for a month would be so difficult!
So anyhow, instead of doing useful stuff, such as finishing a paper, finishing a speech, or doing housework, I'm working on getting all of my electronics together and working before I go. I'm linked up my flickr stream with this blog so I can easily post pictures on flickr, then write a more extended entry about them on here. Kind of a really neat concept, but it relies on several different items. First off, I have to get an adapter for the laptop. Then I have to get an adapter for the digital camera (or just use film for everything and get things scanned at the camera shop). Then I have to make sure that I actually have good connectivity and actually have time to do all this blogging while I'm on the road.
So I've set up ANOTHER bit of technology, but this one's a bit older. My old visor PDA that my husband gave me for our 1st anniversary (about 7 years ago) is still very functional, and the fold-out keyboard still works great. Since it runs on batteries, I don't have to worry about pesky adapters or anything and it's tiny, so I can take it on the road. But again, this hinges on having something that I sync it up with, then connect to the internet. Who knew that living abroad for a month would be so difficult!
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