Wednesday randoms.

Well, I’m back in England, where there is significantly less sunshine. Here are a few Wednesday randoms:

 

The highs here have been around 45 (7ish degrees C), and I’ve been wearing tights and scarves for about two months now. But when I got off the plane in Dallas, there was sunshine galore, and at 85 degrees (30ish degrees C) I instantly realized I was wearing too many clothes for Texas.  

 

The UK changes their clocks back a week earlier than the US. And since I was in the US a week after the time changed, I got to fall back twice this year. Which is fine with me – I can use all the extra time/sleep I can get.

 

With the time change, the sun sets earlier these days. Pretty standard, right? Except here, because we’re so far north, that means that by 4:30pm, the sun is gone. It’s really sad having so little daylight.

I missed out on being in the States for the presidential election by one day. Not that I was particularly heartbroken by this (I’d already voted absentee). Watching even an hour of election coverage at the airport was enough to make me want to run away from all things political.

 

You know how we say “what’s-her-name” when we can’t remember a name? Well here, a lot of people just say “thingy.” As in, “I was just talking to thingy.” It’s not my favorite bit of terminology.

 

Great news! I went to Asda the other day in search of tea, and guess what I found. Cocoa. HERSHEY’S cocoa. I haven’t seen it anywhere else in this country, so that made my day.

  

Wednesday randoms.

The other day, as I was getting ready to take my lunch break, I asked if it was raining. My coworker responded, "Well there are people going by with brollies up." What? Apparently "brollies" are umbrellas. Who knew?

 

This is kind of old news, but I still think it's wonderful. Thanks, Google.

 

I came home to this the other night. So thankful for sweet housemates who know that my love language is dessert.

 

Beautiful.

 

The problem (well one of the many problems) with cold weather is that it makes my hands shrink, which means that my rings start slipping and sliding all over the place whenever I type. I've readjusted the ring on my right hand 4 times while typing this. Weird, I know. Please tell me I'm not the only one...

 

I got my National Insurance number last week, so I'm officially official! Which means I get to...start paying taxes. Hooray.

 

The other day, one of my besties was talking about how it's weird working full time and that she was still trying to get used to this whole you only get a couple days off for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Well me, I'm still trying to get used to there is no Thanksgiving thing. And Halloween's not that big of a deal either. You pretty much just go straight into Christmas.

Seriously? But it's barely October.

 

It's terrible. I'm a huge proponent of letting each holiday have its own time, so I never do Christmassy until after Thanksgiving. But they started putting out the Christmas stuff at the beginning of October. Not cool.

 

I'm heading home for a little visit in just two weeks! Can't wait to see some of my favorite people in the world...and to eat some Mexican food.

 

Wednesday randoms.

Well, summer has finally hit London, and sunshine abounds! The highs this week have been in the upper 80s (20s and 30s for you Celsius lovers). I know that's nothing compared to the 105+ degree weather back home, but it certainly feels hot.

Say you want to shave some calories off your Starbucks beverage. You'd probably ask for "no whip," right? Well that would get you confused looks here. Instead, you'll be asked whether or not you want "cream." Whipped cream is the homemade stuff that you actually have to whip yourself. The stuff out of the can? That's "squirty cream."

To get the full effect, say it out loud.
But don't pronounce the 't'.

Now that the rain has stopped, I keep looking for excuses to be outside. The past few days, a bunch of us have gotten together to play football (European style), which has reminded me just how out of shape I am. Still, so much fun.

A fellow American and I really wanted to get an American football to throw around, so we went to this giant sports store in town to find one. It was four floors of every piece of sports equipment you could think of, including baseballs and bats, but alas...no pigskins. It worked out okay, though, because his brother is visiting, and he brought one. Since no one (and I mean no one) from here has ever thrown one, my sloppy spiral might actually look good for once!

The most frustrating thing about job searching is the fact that you don't often hear back if you're unsuccessful. And I guess I kind of understand. Companies get hundreds of applicants. But the not knowing just means you sit there waiting, indefinitely. It can be very frustrating. I'd so much rather get an outright rejection, even in the form of a mass email. And I'm not the only one...

Just to clarify, that's hyperbolic language.
I promise she didn't mean it.

Hannah showed me this months ago. I still laugh out loud.

Imagine you're sitting in your room trying to get some work done, and all of the sudden, you hear this blaring from your flatmate's speakers. You may or may not almost fall out of your chair laughing, like I did...after a brief moment of pure horror, of course.

And finally, since today is July 25, I want to wish you a happy Christmas in July! Take some time to celebrate with these boys.

Enjoy your Wednesday.

Wednesday randoms.

The other day, I was asked how to make a particular sweet treat, which meant that, for the first time in my life (though hopefully not the last!), I got to give directions that started with, "Bake a whole cake." How fun is that?

You know those red solo cups that you see everywhere in the States? When I first moved here, I had a conversation with my flatmates about them. They were wondering if they were as prolific as TV made them seem. I told them yes. Of course. They're everywhere...especially in college. Well guess what, guys. They've made it to London...

Who knew these were such a big deal?

This was a pretty interesting read. I knew those parakeets I saw at Richmond Park weren't just somebody's escaped pets!

I've been applying for jobs like crazy lately. It's not the most enjoyable thing ever, but I actually don't mind it as much as most. I actually like cover letters. Editing and tailoring information to fit a specific audience is what I like to do (and what I hope to do), so it doesn't bother me. What bothers me is the waiting game. It can be tough to be patient.

I used to hate broccoli, so I never dreamed that something like this would have such a negative impact on my life. But it does.

One awesome thing about working with kids is it pretty much requires that you buy art supplies and get your craft on. I'm loving it. There's something incredibly therapeutic about coloring.

Good news! It looks like we might actually get some summery weather next week! And it's about time. So cross your fingers for us.
 

Wednesday randoms.

This week, I learned an important lesson. The quickest way to NOT hate the rain (even if it hasn't stopped in weeks) is to go outside and play in it.

We saw this ad in the underground. Now, I'm quite familiar with Mexican food, so my first thought was, "Oh no. Those white gloves were a bad decision." Obviously.

This made me laugh a lot.

Speaking of "a lot," my friend recently reminded me of this hilarious blog post on that phrase. Being that I too am a huge grammar snob (I swear, text speak kills my soul), I can so relate.

After 10 months of living abroad, I finally saw my first Baylor shirt in London! After a brief (but enthusiastic, on my part) chat, it was quite obvious that the guy knew nothing about my fair alma mater. But I gave him a smile, a "Go Bears!" and a assured him he'd made an excellent choice before dashing off to catch my train.

Remember when I said I hated those forks with only 3 tines? Well, my friend took it upon herself to make me feel better about the whole situation.

And I found this video really clever. I wonder what my 12-year-old self would have to say to me now...

Enjoy your Wednesday!

Wednesday randoms.

This morning, I woke up at 5am for no reason and couldn't get back to sleep. I was not happy about it. But thankfully, I had Kim to entertain me via text. And entertained I was. I swear I have the funniest friends in the world. No lie.

We finally had a good sunset! That's a big deal guys, because (1) I love sunsets, and (2) we don't really get them here. But this was definitely one of the best yet.

Makes me thankful for my west-facing window.

This recipe makes me sad that there's thousands of miles between me and my bundt pan. But I suppose I could make it into loaves...though it just wouldn't be as pretty.

I got a surprise delivery this morning! Pie tins and graham crackers! (Neither of which I've been able to find here.) And just in time for some 4th of July pie making. My mom is a star. (This one's first up.)

This fork is stupid and I hate it. I don't need a trident. These guys know what I'm talking about.

Dumb.

This made me smile. How to feel classy in three easy steps.

England might be out, but the Euro Cup continues on without them tonight. Spain v. Portugal. It's nice living in a country that actually likes this sport, especially during a big tournament like this one.

Apparently the Tower Bridge just got some bling. I'm excited to see it in person. Only one more month till the Olympics.

Kira's done with her study abroad in Italy, so she's coming to stay with me for a week! Sad to say that there London is seriously lacking in sunshine and gelato, but we'll make the best of it.

 

Wednesday randoms.

Some Italian lessons:

Kira and I are culinary wizards...and resourceful too. But despite being able to whip up dinner for under 2 euros, we never did figure out what to do with this little guy:

An octopus! Cool...but how are you supposed to cook it?

Feeling down? Don't worry, just walk past a random Italian guy, and you're almost sure to get a creative compliment. Shameless, hilarious, and always entertaining.  

The cherries. Oh my gosh, the cherries. We ended up buying a huge bag of them in the mornings and then just devouring them all day.

Lemons can grow to the size of my face. 

And this was one of the smaller ones.

The perfect combination of gelato? That would be dark dark chocolate and coffee. Without a doubt.

Boardshorts over Speedos...always. Seriously, guys.

I was certain popped collars died in the 90s, but [unfortunately] they live on here.

Street bands are exponentially cooler when there's an accordion involved. 

Best ever.

I could eat Brie with breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

Open air cafes are the best place to watch the Euro Cup. Especially when Italy's playing.

And finally, you don't need to speak Italian, you just need to know how to gesture animatedly. (Thanks to Francesco for that one. It proved to be so very true.)

  

Wednesday randoms.

Thoughts on getting to Italy:

Airports are great. There's a never ending stream of people to watch, which is probably one of my favorite pastimes.

My plane didn't have a row 13. Guess they were superstitious. But just because you don't label it doesn't mean it's not there. So even though I was seated in row 14, I know what row it really was...

The Linate airport at Milan is more of a shopping mall than an airport. I know that all airports have little shops things, but this takes that to the extreme. You legitimately have to walk through stores to get to the gates.

The flight attendants would make two sets of announcements, first in Italian, then in English. But sometimes their accent was so thick that I wasn't sure which language they were speaking. Italian English just sounds like Italian.

Gnocchi is delicious.

We met up with my friend's classmates, and all they wanted to do was go to an English pub. On my first night in Italy. Seriously?

It's got little English flags and a sign for fish and chips.
So you know it's legit.

When you think you're too full for gelato, you're wrong. There's always room for gelato.

 

Wednesday Randoms.

So the Jubilee is over, but I wanted to share this sweet video with you. It's from Stevie Wonder's performance at the concert at Buckingham Palace Monday night. Not only did he sing "Isn't She Lovely" (which just happens to be my absolute favorite Stevie Wonder song), but he also changed the lyrics to make them fit the occasion. It was fantastic.

This made me smile. It also made me realize that the Google homepage is tailored to fit the country it's accessed in. Which, when you think about it, is kind of a no-brainer. But I hadn't really considered it till now.

Remember that church service I told you about? The one in honor of the Jubilee? Well here's a pretty good video of it.

I've been working on job applications the past week. There's one in particular that I'd really really like to get. So prayers are appreciated.

If you're a nerd like me, you might find this reading speed test interesting. Not sure how accurate it is, in terms of rankings, but it's still neat.

I had the best Skype session today when my dog heard my voice and then pranced around the room trying to find me. When my mom finally put her on the screen, she was more than a little confused. It was the cutest thing ever.

This cover makes me want to dance with somebody. Somebody named Ben Rector.

I made cobbler this week. It was interesting how many people had no idea what it was. Crazy, considering how it's pretty much a staple where I'm from.

One week from today, I'll be in Italy! Can't wait.

Enjoy your Wednesday.

Wednesday randoms.

Is it really Wednesday already? I have a hard time knowing what day it is when I'm not in class.

It's been sunny all week, so I've spent a lot of time outdoors, which I love. I especially love the days when I can convince someone to go play tennis with me. But the other day, we found something out...something that was not so pleasant. Apparently, most of the tennis courts here, despite being found in public parks, are not free. Even the ones we'd gone to like 5 times without ever paying. It costs like £6, and there's a time limit. Lame. But we did end up finding some nearby courts that are free. At least we're pretty sure they're free. So that's good.

This made me laugh out loud. Single ladies out there, take note.

This phrase has been floating around the Internet lately. Till I moved to London, I'd have definitely agreed. But now? Not so sure. Because have you ever heard a Liverpool accent? You don't want to sound like that.

Let's clarify...which British accent do you mean?

My building had a barbeque last night. Let it be known that, here, "barbeque" does not involve barbeque sauce. It's just grilling out. But it was a lot of fun.

This weekend is the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. It's to celebrate her 60 years as monarch. And accordingly, London is covered in red, white and blue (the Union Jack kind, not the Stars and Bars kind) right now. There's bunting (I had to learn what that meant from Sheila) everywhere, and all the shops are filled with patriotic gear. Not to mention this sweet portrait of the Queen made out of Legos.

And, best of all, two of my favorite people will be visiting me this weekend! Countdown to glorious reunion at 9am on Friday starts now. I can barely handle the excitement. Can't wait to see ya, Alexis and Phil! Forget hugs, I'm gonna tackle you with love.

Wednesday randoms.

My favorite food is anything breakfast, so I was really really excited to see that this exists.

We went to a pub in Surbiton to watch the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea. Since Chelsea is a London team, pretty much everyone there was wearing blue and singing songs like, "You are my Chelsea..." The game went to overtime, and then penalty kicks. And then Chelsea won, and all hell broke loose. Half the guys immediately ripped off their shirts and started swinging them around their heads. Others climbed onto the tables to lead a celebratory sing along. A couple glasses went flying, and we decided that was our cue to leave. It was certainly entertaining, though. And the whole bus ride home, these guys behind us were singing this song. Quite the night.

I submitted my final essay of the term today! I had over 16,000 words in this month, so I'm not as worried about my 10,000 word dissertation as I used to be.

McDonald's McFlurries choices are severely limited here. They choices are all Cadbury's stuff...no Oreos, no M&M...and, worst of all, no Reese's! Disgraceful.

The best email a girl can get? "Two pairs of pretty, but occasionally impractical shoes headed to you tomorrow." Thanks, Dad!

On the subject, mail is quickly becoming my love language. Especially when there's coffee involved. And the tank was just in time -- the next day, it was 75 degrees (F) and sunny! Lovely.

I'm really excited for June. Friends are coming the first and last weeks, and about mid-month, I'm headed to Italy! The last time I was in Italy, I was only 5. All I remember is getting stung by wasps, my uncle's cracked rear-view mirror, and people burning trash on the side of the road. So I'm hoping this go around will help to redeem the country for me. And with Google images like this, I'm thinking that might just happen.

Happy Wednesday!
 

Wednesday randoms.

I met a Texan on the Tube this weekend. Even though Tube etiquette necessitates that no one make eye contact, let alone speak to anyone else, I noticed his Texas A&M hat and just had to ask. "I'm sorry, but did you actually go to A&M?" His response: "Well, yes ma'am, I did." Ma'am! I haven't been called ma'am in months. My heart smiled. It made me miss Texas boys.


Other things that made my heart smile this week include:

This video. It's pretty much my life.

This other video. I'm so proud.

This handy dandy website. Super helpful in the kitchen.

This cheddar cheese. I haven't seen yellow cheddar since I moved here. Apparently, it's called "coloured cheddar." Who knew?

This picture.

Skyping with my sweet sweet friend to figure out what we're gonna do when she visits me here soon!

The flowers Hannah and I bought ourselves because it was Friday and, well, why not?



Things that have not made me smile? Well that'd be:

Forms that make me list my address history. Where have I lived in the past 5 years? More like, where haven't I lived in the past 5 years...

Running out of vanilla while I'm trying to make frosting.

Finding a massive run in my new gray tights the first time I wore them..after I'd already left the house.

Not being sure whether the proper spelling is "g-r-A-y" or "g-r-E-y."

Realizing that I'm rapidly approaching the real-life-adult status that requires that I find a full time job.

Not being able to play tennis because of the rain.

The absurdly high price that the university charges for color prints. 40p per page? Seriously? I'm a poor grad student.



But, let's be honest. Even though the things on this second list may be frustrating or inconvenient, they definitely don't outnumber or overwhelm the good stuff. I spend most of my life smiling.

Hope you do too.

Wednesday randoms.

I've learned quite a lot since I moved over here. And I'm not talking about academic stuff -- though I've learned plenty of that too...don't worry mom! Here's a little look at some of the things these past eight months (eight months?!) of living in London have taught me:

----------

How to make a good cup of tea. 

That my impression of a British accent is absolute rubbish.

To eat chips (french fries) with a fork.

To look right-left-right before crossing the street.

That, in the absence of syrup (because it's pretty impossible to find), butter and brown sugar makes an excellent pancake-topping. 

That I prefer American pancakes to British pancakes.

To queue.

How to set my spell check to UK English.

To always carry an umbrella.

To order at the bar instead of waiting to be served.

To avoid eye contact on the underground.

That 350 degrees F is 176 degrees C (a baking essential). 

That hugs (even Skype hugs!) can make your problems seem significantly smaller. 

To say sorry when someone runs into me...even if it's clearly not my fault.

That I should really buy butter in bulk.

To say "no thank you," when asked if you'd like black pudding with your full English breakfast.

That people have no idea where New Mexico is.

That people think Texas is like living in a western film.

To say "film" instead of "movie."

That I look like an American...whatever that means.

 

 ----------

It's been a wonderful, crazy, fun, occasionally-stressful-but-mostly-beautiful eight months. 

I'm excited to see what the next few hold.

Proper Wednesday randoms...

...will return shortly. 

That is, after I conquer the 5 essays I'm working on. These babies are seriously limiting my ideas for randoms, because thanks to them I'm not going anywhere fun or learning anything new.

Oh wait, yes I am. I'm going to the kitchen to make more tea and learning loads about the construction of online identities and how to do critical discourse analysis.

But that doesn't count.

To maintain some semblance of sanity, I've been taking time off every so often to watch old episodes of The Office online or hit refresh while staring at Twitter...you know, so I can live vicariously through all you lovely people and the neat stuff you've got going on.

Did I just say neat? Anyway...

So until I have something exciting to tell you, I'm going to try not to waste your time. Or mine. Because I've seriously got to get these essays done.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with this picture, because it accurately sums up how I feel after pounding away at my poor keyboard for hours upon end:

"Me? I am never going to be happy again.
So I'm just gonna go curl up in my sock drawer and sleep for days."

Wednesday randoms.

More happenings and observations for you!

The whole floor numbering system in the UK is different than in the US. Here, when something is located on the first floor, they don't mean the first floor. They mean the second floor. Because, here, the actual first floor is called the ground floor. This is particularly unsettling when you're faced with a stairway. At home, if I need to get to the second floor, I climb up one flight of stairs. Here, I've got to climb up a bonus one too. Yay for cardio, I suppose.

We spent St. Patrick's Day in a pub in Twickenham, watching rugby, and I learned a very important lesson: I don't know anything about rugby. Which was really frustrating, because I'm used to being the only, or at least one of very few girls who actually knows what's going on at sporting events. But not this time. Not even close. 

It's March Madness -- one of my favorite times of the year. Unfortunately, there's a 6 hour time difference between home and here, so the games don't start till like 11pm. And now that I've found a shady website that streams most of them (I tried to pay for the CBS service, but no...), I start watching about the time I should be going to bed, and before I know it, I'm up at 4am watching Kansas beat Detroit. Did I mention I still have classes to attend? Madness, indeed.

I mailed my first letters home! I sent my mom and Kim their birthday cards on Friday. I was told it'd take 5-6 business days, so I was expecting them to arrive around Thursday. But no! My mom got hers on Monday! Which was such a relief, as that was her actual birthday. Thanks, Royal Mail.

Honey Loops are not as good as Honey Nut Cherrios. Sorry, England.

I've mentioned that queuing is all the rage here. But it also can incite rage. I went to the bank the other day to exchange some dollars. At my bank, the tellers are all in a row, with the travel services window at the far left. There was a queue when I walked in, but I didn't need a teller. I needed the travel services window, which had just become available. So I walked right up. And then I got yelled at. "EXCUSE ME. THERE'S A QUEUE HERE," shouted a very large, imposing man from the middle of the line. Now, there's something you should know about me. I hate conflict. I hate being the center of attention. My heart freaks out when people stare at me. And people were staring. I felt like an idiot. I looked up, startled, and pointed to the sign above the teller. "Travel services," I said in my foreign accent. "I need to exchange some currency." He went red, mumbled an apology, and turned away, embarrassed. Now, he was the idiot. So that situation ended up being both panic-inducing, and extremely gratifying.

And now, back to being studious. These essays won't write themselves...unfortunately.

Wednesday randoms.

And here we are. Wednesday again. And mid-March, too! Time flies, doesn't it?

Something you've got to know if you ever spend time here is the letter "x". Why? Because it's a kiss, and people use it alllllll the time. I was familiar with "xoxo," but even then, it's not that common to see at home. Here, it's pretty much included in every message. Text, email, Facebook post...it doesn't matter. For example: "See you tomorrow!xx" There's just so much love going around over here!

Okay, real talk. Deodorant. We all wear it. (I hope...) But I, like most Americans (I assume), am most familiar with the solid kind that twists up from the bottom. And when I say "most familiar," I mean, that's all I've ever used. So imagine my surprise when I went to buy some and saw this:

My choices are limited to the few hiding in the bottom corner...

Yes, spray deodorant is the norm here. Weird.

My friend Kathy was in the country this week doing touristy stuff, so we grabbed dinner the other night. We met at Baylor my freshman year, when she walked up and said, "I see you everywhere. Hi, I'm Kathy." So it was great that the whole seeing each other everywhere also applies when we're living on different continents. It was so good to get to spend time with someone from home. Oh, and another thing about Kathy: she meets celebrities everywhere she goes. And London was no exception. I've lived here for seven months, and haven't seen a single famous person (not that I'm aware of, anyway). She was in the country for like three days, and she somehow managed to meet and get a picture with Zach Braff. How??

It's March Madness time! So exciting! Baylor women are #1 in the nation (undefeated, still!), and the men got a pretty decent seed. I'm pumped! And, yes, I'm definitely forking over the $3.99 to get all the games on demand online. Can't even wait.

Also, a quick shout out to my incredible mom, whose birthday was Monday! She's the best. And to Kim as well, who's 24 today. Happy mid-twenties, soul friend! You don't look a day over 23. 

 

Wednesday randoms.

Today and tomorrow, we're basically doing a presentation marathon in my intercultural communication class. We did two hours today, and are scheduled to go from 9-1 tomorrow. Plus, our questions of censorship presentations are scheduled for tomorrow as well, from 1-3...so that's a grand total of eight hours of sitting through PowerPoints in two days. Six of which will be straight through. Kill me.

But at least I got one of mine out of the way today. And since I couldn't bring myself to do anything remotely academic when I got home, I baked. Normally, I've got an open-kitchen policy when I bake. I just leave stuff on the table, and people from our building are welcome to take what they'd like. But I've decided to bring these to class tomorrow (you know, to lesson the blow of hours upon hours of presentations), so for once they're not up for grabs.

My sweet grandpa sent me a check for Valentine's Day. The problem is, if I want to cash it here, I've got to pay a fee, and it could take up to 2 months for it to process. Lame.

The weather was gorgeous over the weekend, so a few of us went down to a nearby park and played football (soccer). I haven't played in ages (and it showed), and I'm also pretty out of shape (and it showed), but it was still a lot of fun. Hopefully that'll happen more often, once its a little warmer.

I recently busted out an old jump drive that I got from Baylor about 4 years ago. On one side, it says Baylor, and has our mascot. I always knew that. But what I just noticed was that it says Kingston on the other side! Foreshadowing? Crazy.

Well, that's all I can manage for now. The exhaustion is setting in and I don't have the energy to type anymore. Okay, so I'm being a little dramatic. (But seriously...)

Happy Wednesday!
 

Wednesday randoms.

First of all, happy Leap Year! (Or is it Leap Day? I don't know...)

From someecards.

Up until today, the weather has been pretty wonderful. So I've started running again. The thing about running is, I love how I feel afterward, but I completely forget about that shortly thereafter. Without fail, the next time I try to drag myself out of bed for a run, I'm overwhelmed by this horrible sense of dread by even the thought of running. Half the time, I don't make it out the door. It's a battle every single time.

I seriously miss pick up trucks. Is that weird? I've only seen a handful here, and they're all commercial vehicles.

This week was my monthly UKBA check-in. Basically, the Border Agency doesn't trust that I'm actually attending classes, so they make me swipe my ID card with university staff once a month to prove it*. However, they send me a notification a week in advance, so if I happened to be in Spain (or anywhere, really), I could just arrange to be back in time to check in. Major flaw in the system, there.

My grandpa sent me a Valentine!

Isn't he the sweetest?

I'm doing a research paper on flaming online, which means I have to read through pages and pages of YouTube comments in search of the awful ones. It kind of makes you lose faith in humanity...if not just for the considerable lack of grammar.

Sometimes when I think about the amount of coursework I have to do this semester, I have a mild panic attack. And then I eat a piece of chocolate (or five) and watch an episode (or five) of How I Met Your Mother, and I'm okay again. Kind of counterproductive, but hey, it works for me.

That's all for now! Tomorrow is March. Can you believe it??

------------------

*Just to be clear, it's not just me that they don't trust. It's everyone. I think...

Wednesday randoms.

My Wednesdays start early. Thankfully, they also end early, so I usually have time for a nap. I know. I'm a grandma.

Last week marked 6 months since I moved in. Crazy.

Whenever I'm listening to something like Spotify, and an advert comes on, it's got a British accent. When I was home for Christmas, that wasn't the case. I still find it funny.

Also, the adverts on other web sites are just as British, using words like "mum" and speaking in terms of stones and pounds (the money kind, not the weight kind). Like these:

I finally got one of my marks back from last semester. I'm pretty happy with it. But it's the other one (the one I'm still waiting for, a month and a half later) that I'm mildly terrified about.

I don't wear a lot of makeup. Just your basics. But I realized the other day that the only stuff I wear (at least on a regular basis) is CoverGirl. It's all I've ever really worn. And I still haven't been able to find here. Uh oh.

(Just FYI, CoverGirl isn't paying me to say this or anything. Unfortunately.)

Hannah made us pancakes for tea (dinner) on Shrove Tuesday. So yummy! Also, I've volunteered to join her in giving up Digestives for Lent (I'm not Catholic, just supportive), which will probably be pretty difficult. It's strange how something I didn't know existed 6 months ago can be such a big part of my life now. But I guess that's what happens when you move. So I'm really glad she didn't decide to give up tea...

Oh, and a big congrats to my Baylor Lady Bears! Still undefeated, and now Big 12 champs! Hooray!

Wednesday randoms.

Another week down. And classes are really starting to pick up. Holy cow.

I still don't have my marks back for last semester. Boo.

Sarah and I came up with a proposed dissertation topic: "Reactions of Penhryn Road Campus library users to the hysterics of sleep deprived and over emotional Media and Communication MA students." (AKA, what it'd look like if we all just sat in the library and cried for a bit...which is bound to happen eventually.) Should be fun.

I really want to watch The Sandlot, but nobody here has even heard of it, and my Netflix account doesn't work outside the States, so never mind that.

And The Sandlot makes me want to eat s'mores. But those are also unheard of here, since there are no graham crackers.

We went to Richmond Park yesterday. Because it's winter, it was kind of grey and gloomy, but the place was huge, and I'd really like to go in the spring or summer. I'm sure it's beautiful when it's green. Also, there were a ton of deer, just chilling and not even bothered by the fact that you were standing a mere 5 feet away.

Hey guy!

Something I've noticed is that people use the term "called" instead of "named." For example, one might hear, "I have a friend called Joe." It's never, "I have a friend named Joe." Interesting.

I can't be trusted around Nutella. I already knew that, deep down, but I went ahead and bought some. It was in a glass jar (as is the peanut butter), which I still haven't gotten used to. Anyway, it's all gone now. I have no self control.