Just some thoughts

• Already my room seems barer. As I take things down and organize my clothing, the usual anxieties about space constraints are here, but I’m also conscious of the melancholy strangeness of packing up my life here.
• I think I might just halfway  live out of my suitcase so I won’t have to keep unpacking and rearranging things.
• My essay is really boring to write, and I picked the most interesting topic. The fact that I was even given a choice of topics is odd. 
• My bread went moldy.
• There’s a chance I won’t have to pay excess baggage charges for my other bag. Also, I’m packing my life into two bags. What. 
• I still really love skype. 
• My big suitcase was dusty when I opened it back up today. 
• Perhaps I need a haircut. It is rather long. Longest it’s been in quite a few years actually. 
• My iPod battery dies so quickly now. At least it still works!
• There are so many fewer voices in the corridor now that people have gone home. It’s starting to feel lonely. 
• Back to essay writing interspersed with packing. 
• Playlist for this post: Up in Flames by Coldplay

The Final Lap

I’ll be on a plane back home to L.A. in 9 days. 9. That’s it. I can’t wait to see my family again, waiting for me to get out of customs, and hug my dog again, and feel constant sunshine on my skin, go to the beach and Disneyland and eat Mexican food and Goldfish crackers. All of these things are exciting to me, but I have to leave to do them. I realized that it’s so hard to leave because it isn’t just a vacation spot, a brief blip on my radar where I happened to be in York, but this is my life now. I have people here I care about, and routines, and things to look forward to, and I’ve just managed to figure it all out. So leaving feels…weird, to say the least. It is still a bit unreal to even think that I’ve been here long enough to have to say my goodbyes now. But this last week has been amazing so that makes it worth it. Time to update you all and I think I’ll try to go in chronological order!

• Last weekend, my friends and I went shopping for Ascot and bought our hats finally! (more on those later) and went to the York Dungeons as a big group. I thought it was going to be terrifying but it was just a sort of  fun scary thing. Since we were such a big group of giggling, screaming students we got picked on a lot by the people working there and many of us got to “volunteer” and go up to participate in some way, like screaming or being killed or executed or put on trial. It was silly and I’m actually really glad we went.
•  Then this past Monday I went to the X-Factor auditions in Newcastle. We had to wait outside in the queue area for a really long time, but once we got inside it was really fun. Most of the audition performances were actually good, so it felt more like a fun concert rather than a painful talent show.
• 
• The day after, the Olympic Torch came through York! It was super exciting; the streets were full of people, festive decorations were up, and people were just excited to see the torch bearers bring the torch through York. 
• Such a fun day!
• Then, on Wednesday, the event I’ve been waiting for all term finally came! ROYAL ASCOT! The Royal Ascot horse races happen every year outside of London and everyone gets dressed and has picnics and drinks and bets on the horses and well, it was wonderful. It was such a uniquely British experience, and one I don’t think I’ll be lucky enough to experience again. The day was just lovely, and the weather was spectacular too. Here’s some of my favorite pictures from the day:
• 
• My betting slips and a glass of Pimm’s!
• I love my hat so much. We saw the Queen! So exciting! (that’s her in the pink, sorry for the blurriness)
• 
• Also, on the journey back up to York we had a few hours to kill in King’s Cross Station so…this happened! I got to see Platform 9 3/4 from Harry Potter and fulfill another childhood dream. Gahh so lucky. It was a pretty amazing day, with such an amazing feel to the entire experience. It’s things like this are so worth being over here.
• I’m working on writing an essay that will be the last academic thing before I leave. But my marks in my other courses were all really good so I feel good about it.
• I eat mayo a lot more than I did before. With french fries I like mostly ketchup with a bit of mayo as well, and sandwiches taste better with it now. I don’t know who I am.
• Our oven is broken again so that means a depleted amount of foods that can be eaten warm.
• I have to start taking everything off of my walls and pretty much start packing which is bizarre.
• Everyone should watch The Legend of Korra. It’s wonderful.
• I’m kind of excited for my flight because it’s just exciting to travel.
• Saying goodbye is only getting harder. Two of my flatmates left uni yesterday and saying goodbye brought me to tears. I’m just going to miss them all so much.
• There’s some sort of surprise planned for me this weekend. I think I’m excited. hahaha
• When I think back on my Europe trip it almost doesn’t seem real, which is incredibly odd.
• I’m so excited for mine and my family’s various birthday plans this summer.
• I’m reading the first part of A Dance with Dragons, the latest book in the A Song of Ice and Fire Series, and I still absolutely love these characters. The books are just so rich and wonderful that I love being in their world.
• Is it bad that I’m excited to sleep on the plane back?
• Headaches are so annoying.
• I honestly love food so much. I can’t wait to properly cook again.
• I’m suddenly rather exhausted so I think I’ll read a bit more then go to sleep.
• Playlist for this post: The Weeknd

The Countdown has begun.

A month from now it will be the 4th of July, and I will be home. Not one of the many places I’ve called home over the last few years, but back to my house with my family. That just feels crazy and almost nonsensical.

In unrelated news, it’s the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations the past few days. They’ve been rather fun and it’s cool to see the patriotism of my adopted country.  The River Pageant yesterday was a huge parade of boats down the Thames, and right now I’m listening to the eclectic mix of musicians performing for the Jubilee Concert on BBC radio. Pretty cool to be here for such an historic event.

Now for some updates!

• I’ve not been sleeping well and as such I feel run down and tired a lot. My usual headaches are worse too since I’m not properly rested. Hopefully this will pass soon though.
• In doing my reading for one of my presentations, I’ve come across some really interesting findings related to book covers. It’s nice to find my research interesting.
• There are actually so many hours of sunlight now. The sun rises really early and sets incredibly late as well.
• I’m trying to figure out the cheapest way to ship some of my stuff home ahead of me so I’ll have less to deal with when flying back.
• Skype is honestly the most amazing thing ever.
• I can’t wait for Ascot.
• There are so many things I have to look forward to this summer(birthdays, Disneyland, the beach, friends, family) that it almost makes leaving bearable.
• I really don’t have much else to report, and sorry there aren’t any pictures for this one. 😦
• Playlist for this post: Diamond Jubilee Concert on BBC Radio

An English Summer

As I’m writing this, it is a delightful 72°F outside. The sun is shining, there’s a breeze, the sky is so blue, and people keep walking by in shorts eating ice cream and popsicles. It’s fantastic. I couldn’t ask for better weather anywhere, much less the North of England.

•  I only have like 6 weeks left! It seems like a lot but nothing at all when I think about it.
• I watched the Eurovision Song Competition last night with half of my hall, and it was so fun. If you’ve never really heard of Eurovision or don’t know much about it, I recommend looking into it. It’s hilarious. The basic premise is that European countries pick a group or person to sing a song, sometimes in English other times in their native language, in hopes of receiving enough votes from the panel and phone-in votes to win. It’s actually really political in the voting, and the performances are cheesy fantastic. Just a lot of fun.
• My love for ice cream and fruit and salad has been rekindled by this warm weather. Yummmmm
• I finished “A Feast for Crows” in the A Song of Ice and Fire series, the books by George R. R. Martin that the TV show Game of Thrones is based on. The books are so detailed and crazy and I love them.
• I’m fairly certain I’m going to spontaneously combust when I touch down at LAX.
• My dreams came true this week when I visited the Harry Potter Studio Tour outside of London. It was incredible. I cried twice because it was so cool and I became overwhelmed with happiness (yea, it happens ok?). We were in the tour for over 4 hours, saw EVERYTHING, met the carpenter from the films who happens to still work there, accidentally got a free private tour from two of the Interactors that worked there for half of the tour, and were the last ones to leave for the day. It was just special and an experience I’ll definitely never forget.
• 
• This picture is actually from my friend Sahana, since at the moment he opened the Great Hall doors I started to flail around a little and tear up. It was so insane to walk in there after so  long picturing what it would be like.
• 
• Me with my hand in the hand print Daniel Radcliffe left. We’ve held hands now, no big deal.
• 
• In the Gyffindor common room, where I belong. Wish it wasn’t so blurry though.
• 
• Just some of the amazing props they had inside and at the Backlot. So cool.
• We also tried butterbeer, bought souvenirs, made friends with some security guards and all in all had an absolutely amazing time. So worth it
• I’m feeling a little ehhh about the presentations that are the final grade for this term in English. I hate doing group presentations because they’re stressful and awkward but my group mates are alright so far and we have some pretty cool ideas so now it’s just a matter of making it work.
• I cleaned my room and washed some clothes and made my bed today. Go me.
• I am very close to being broke. Very close. It’s a little scary but I’m sure somehow it will work out. After all, I still have just over 6 weeks left in England.
• My hair is SO LONG. Probably going to end up cutting it soon because it will start bugging me.
• I did not bring nearly enough warm weather clothing. I was so focused on not being cold that I never stopped to consider that it might get warm. Awkward.
• I think I don’t have anything else to say.
• Playlist for this post: Sigur Ros

Decompressing

Well Europe Trip 2012 is a wrap everyone. I can’t believe I actually traveled all around Europe and saw so many incredible places. Parts of it don’t seem real, and I can’t wrap my mind around how much ground I traveled in a few weeks time. It also hasn’t really sunk in that I won’t have to pack up and move tomorrow and continue exploring. Which is good and bad, because that means the trip is over. Just craziness that all of it even happened in the first place and that it’s now over.

Settling back into life here at York has been really wonderful. It has truly become my home and flying back into England just affirmed that for me. On the plane I felt so at peace knowing I was going home, to my own little room in N Block surrounded by the ridiculous, adorable, fantastic people who have welcomed me. Being back has just felt good, despite the less than ideal rainy and gloomy weather. However, I still have much to recap from my whirlwind tour of Europe! So onwards to bulleted highlight blurbs!

• Of all of these places I visited, Prague and Florence were my favorite cities, followed by Madrid and Paris. I liked something about all the places I visited to be sure, but these ones felt comforting and surprising at the same time. There was something magical and intoxicating about them, which made me want to spend more time in their lovely streets.
• Me in Florence, on top of the Duomo
• 
• Me in front of the Prague Castle
• 
• Me in the Louvre Museum in Paris
• 
• At the Madrid Zoo and Aquarium in front of the Walt Disney nature statues, celebrating Walt’s love of nature. Or I think that’s what it was for.
• 
• It’s been raining off and on since I’ve come back and even though campus is starting to get a little flooded in places, I still feel like I can’t really complain. It hasn’t legitimately rained very much so I suppose some spring rains are to be expected.
• My body could not handle the stress of all of that traveling very well. I got sick 3 times on the whole trip, and each time I felt ridiculous. Luckily I didn’t miss much by taking time to recover but it was still frustrating to feel run down and not be able to push through it. Guess my body can’t handle 4 weeks of nonstop traveling. Or maybe it just isn’t used to it yet!
• Wearing the same clothes over and over again for 4 weeks somehow made me want to buy a bunch of new clothes but at the same time continue to be creative with the clothes I did have.
• This big trip definitely gave me the travel bug, more so than I already did. I want to see as much of the world as I can. African savannas, ancient ruins, trees, people, lakes, the rest of the States, glaciers, food I want it all. I want to be greedy with my life experiences, I want to soak them all in.
• American music is everywhere. Does no other country have enough popular music to play?
• I’ve been reading for my classes and listening to music and the rain all day and it’s been so lovely.
• I bought nail polish on a whim in Barcelona for a Euro. Turns out in glows in the dark! So cool!
• I seriously need to do laundry but with the rain and my general laziness, I have yet to actually do it. Soon…
• When we were in Paris we visited the Orangerie Gallery, home to Monet’s ‘Les Nympheas’ or Waterlilies paintings. We couldn’t take pictures, but the gallery was stunningly lovely. (Here’s a video someone took even though we were discouraged from that http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw03m1DGkmg to get a taste of it). His paintings are just so pretty and I bought a ton of postcards to function as art.
• I have my window open to listen to the rain better but it might be time to close it soon since the Thursday night party crowd has begun making noise.
• I have begun looking for my flight home, which is bizarre. It’s weird to even think about leaving, I’m not ready to even plan for it.
• My flatmates and I went proper grocery shopping last weekend and I have so much yummy, healthy, filling food now. Wonderful
• In all of my pictures from the trip, my flannel shirt is the most photographed thing. It’s ridiculous.
• To highlight some more delicious food;
• 
• My rather delicious salad from the cafe in the Louvre
• 
• Trois fromages sandwich. Simple and delicious.
• 
• Patatas bravas as a part of my tapas meal one night in Barcelona
• 
• Scrumptious falafel pita pocket. Probably the best falafel I’ve ever had
• 
• LADUREE. MACARONS. I have dreamed of tasting these little things and they were SO GOOD. Little bits of happiness. Ugh now I want some again.
• 
• Crema Catalana from the sweet shop inside San Miguel Mercado in Madrid.
• 
• Paella and sangria on our last night in Spain, inside the Mercado again. Yum yum yum.
• 
• Eating chocolate con churros at the world famous San Gines Chocolateria in Madrid. So delicious.
• And finally, the greatest meal I’ve ever eaten. No joke. Our first night in Paris we stopped at a little restaurant up near Sacre Ceour Cathedral that to us looked quintessentially French and also boasted a 3-course meal deal for 18 euro. And then the food was just delicious. My pictures don’t do it justice at all, but ohmygod incredible food. I repeat, best meal I’ve ever had. To put it in perspective, I ate green beans and I loathe green beans. I think they’re vile and smell weird. But I ate them because with the sauce and the fish… ohwow just so good I want to fly back to Paris and eat the whole meal again. 
• First course: tiny homemade cheese ravioli in a simple cheese and herb sauce.
• Second course: the food of angels. ohman this picture does nothing for this food. I was actually overwhelmed by how good it was. Fish on a bed of green beans in a beurre blanc sauce and just omg I want to eat it. 
• And creme brulee to finish it off. Just a fantastic meal.
• I’m too distracted by memories of that epic meal to write much else, so that might have to be it for now.
• Playlist for this post: Ingrid Michaelson’s newest album “Human Again”

Two months

I can’t believe it. I’ve actually been away for two whole months. It seems crazy that I’ve been here for so long, since it really hasn’t seemed like very long at all. I’ve been keeping myself busy recently, with school work, hanging out with my American friends, and staying in and enjoying the company of my hall. It’s nice to finally feel at home here, like I have a place where I fit in and I know how things work. Not that things have become dull, just that I feel comfortable here. It’s just nice to have people to spend time with.

I don’t have any large, main stories that warrant dominating this post so I suppose we’ll move on to the bulleted highlight blurbs yes?

• My hall mates and I finished watching the extended edition versions of the LOTR trilogy last night. It was quite the undertaking but so worth it.
• I will be flying to Italy in less than two weeks to start my whirlwind spring break tour. I seriously can’t believe it.
• I’m starting work on my final essays for my classes since one is due in week 10 and the other once I come back from break. But since I won’t really be essay writing then I’m starting that one now too.
• The parentals put my paycheck into my bank account for me. Yay for my money!
• It’s been unseasonably warm recently, like 55 during the day. That’s not even unbearable anymore which is somewhat impressive but also makes my California soul cry a little bit.
• The girls in my hall and I went out this week and had a ton of fun bar hopping and just being gossipy and silly all night. So fun.
• 
• I am officially all caught up on Supernatural. It’s a big deal get excited people.
• My friend and I took a day trip over to Leeds last weekend. We got a bit lost on the way there, but exploring a new city and doing some shopping once we got there was super fun. We plan to go back and check out the nightlife with a bigger group of people.
•  Me and Julia on our way!
•  The inside of Leeds railway station.
•  One of the beautiful arcades; indoor shopping centers in town. So gorgeous.
• I started to think about what to pack for the trip and then it seemed too unreal to do that so I stopped.
• I might need to buy new sheets because the ones that the school gave me are pilling oddly and retain scent really weirdly. So maybe time for another set.
• I love shoes. I think since I came here with so few pairs, my addiction and appreciation for shoes has become ridiculous. At least I can contain myself most of the time, and only spend very small amounts of money on shoes. But oh how I love them.
• There’s a bruise underneath one of my toe nails. SO PAINFUL
• I bought a bag of spinach, rocket, and watercress salad at M&S (a grocery store that’s also a department store). It’s delicious
• My sleeping habits are a bit better, but it’s still very hit or miss. Some nights are good others aren’t.
• Being away makes me realize exactly who is important in my life. Some people I miss a lot, others I don’t particularly care that I’m out of their presence. It’s a nice sort of re-evaluation of my relationships.
• I haven’t had a bowl of cereal in forever. That sounds really good all of a sudden.
• My Kindle continues to be one of the coolest things ever.
• The Hunger Games is going to premiere while I’m in Croatia. Huh.
• A few of my hall mates and I made tentative plans to go to the Royal Ascot horse races in June. It looks fantastic and I hope we actually go.
• Playlist for this post: Judas by Lady Gaga (on repeat)

Well it’s been a while everyone

I’m just going to go straight to the bulleted highlight blurbs for this one. If there are any longer stories I want to share, then they will simply be longer bullet points! Also, I’m not sure how many pictures this one is going to have so fair warning.

• I’ve been missing my old job a lot recently. Not just because I’m poor and it would be nice to be getting a paycheck, but because I really did enjoy working. Ahh well something to look forward to next year!
• I think I’m going to go to either Leeds or the Lake District here in England this weekend for like a day trip, and then hopefully London the weekend after that. I need to explore more!
• I made actual progress on my essays due at the end of this week so that’s encouraging.
• My new coat came in the mail! It’s long and covers my butt so I’m extra warm and it’s really nice.  I can’t wait to actually wear it out in some rain! (Just checked. It’s supposed to rain next week!)
• It’s been slightly warm recently. Like not shockingly frigid cold every time I walk outside, but only crisp. It’s quite nice
• There are a lot of things I’m wishing would have fit in my suitcase but there’s really no point in worrying about it.
• Wizard Week was fantastic! We got to ride on the Hogwarts Express; the actual steam engine and one of the rail cars used in the filming of the movies! It was really exciting and I felt like a little kid again, about to get on the train to finally take me away to Hogwarts.
•    Giddy before getting on the train
•  Rocking my sword of Gryffindor shirt in the compartment!
•  I didn’t want to leave
• The exchange rate is still killer.
• I am pretty much officially nocturnal, plus a bit of an insomniac. It’s super fun.
• The cafeteria serves fish and chips on Fridays and it’s really the only meal to look forward to.
• I bought purple hair dye and am going to dye the ends of my hair purple! I’ve never dyed it before, but I’ve been wanting to try something different. And this way if it looks bad it won’t ruin the color of my entire head and I can easily cut it off.
• I feel more confident here. Maybe it’s the independence; but even on my anti-social, reclusive days I feel a sense of self-assurance that wasn’t there before. It’s a good feeling.
• I’ve been able to find my allergy medications for really cheap which is nice because at home it’s quite expensive.
• People still seem to find my accent endearing and attractive. I have no idea why because I mean, have any of these people heard themselves? You all sound magnificent, not me.
• Chocolate is a food group.
• Lipstick makes me feel so glamorous.
• All of my weird dreams I’ve had lately are just about the people I miss. At least I think that’s what my brain is trying to tell me.
• I’ve really been thinking about my future a lot recently as well. I want to do a lot of things, so it’s more about structuring and finding time to do them all. Having big dreams just means I have to work for them.
• Mardi Gras is this Tuesday, or as it is known here, Shrove Tuesday. From what I can gather it is also Pancake Day (or crepe day since they’re not really pancakes) so it should be interesting to see some different traditions for this day.
• Playlist for this post: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Soundtrack by Alexandre Desplat (which should have been nominated for an Oscar AND won the Grammy it was nominated for.)

Snow and shenanigans

Here you have a lovely selection of pictures from my day in the snow! I was super excited that not only was I getting to see real, flaky, powdery snow fall for the first time; but that the first time happened to be in England! I discovered the “Snow” setting on my camera that I never had use for until now, and I think some of my photos turned out quite beautifully. Seeing the city blanketed in snow was so magical.

In related news, I’ve been published! The Highlander; the school newspaper at UCR; had me write a piece for their “Around the World” series. The link to read it online is here: http://www.highlandernews.org/1370/ucr-around-the-world-york-united-kingdom/ and if you wanted to see how it looks in the format of the paper, in the bottom right corner of the page there is an e-edition of the paper you can scroll through. I must admit, it feels pretty cool to have something I wrote actually published. Hopefully this isn’t the last time!

Although the snow has been the highlight of this week, there are still enough little things to warrant some bulleted highlight blurbs!

• My eating habits have finally stabilized somewhat. I just need to make sure I have enough snacks to make it through the days and actual meals for weekends. But it’s finally working out.
• My bulletin board is nearly finished. It’s not like it’s difficult but I keep getting distracted or busy so I have yet to finish it.
• Having clean laundry and fresh sheets is such a luxury.
• Bought a magazine today (Elle UK) and it came with a free tube of mascara! Sweet! Also I realized I haven’t read a single magazine since I’ve been here and somehow that seemed wrong.
• Drinking enough water recently has made me feel so much healthier. I need to be remember how something so simple makes me feel so much better.
• Awkwardness with friends can sometimes be kind of good. Other times it’s annoying.
• The snow hasn’t completely melted. Probably because it hasn’t really been above freezing. It’s -6 right now.
• I went to Viking Raid with my friend Tracy last night. It was basically a huge, school-wide pub crawl and everyone got shirts with a map on them. It was a silly night; walking from each spot to the next, people watching while sipping a drink, dancing, laughing at drunk people; the usual. It was just fun to do something as a part of the student body.
• Next week we’re going to Wizard Week! Can’t wait to ride the Hogwarts Express!
• I think I’m actually going to look for a job. I need some sort of income.
• Now for a shower then sleep before two classes tomorrow!
• Playlist for this post: Songs to Fly playlist on 8tracks

Well it’s been a month folks

I can’t believe it. I’ve officially been abroad for a month and the utterly surreal feeling hasn’t gone away. I still walk around campus marveling at everything I pass, and I smile each time the bus takes me into town. What’s even more bizarre is the fact that I still have 5!!! months here. Ridiculous.

As far as school goes, I took a mini field trip with my Milton seminar class to the York Minster Palace Library Archives today. I was a bit late because I forgot it does actually take a while to get into town on the bus, but nevertheless I got there in time to see and touch some really old books. We looked at a few books whose authors touched on major themes reflected in Paradise Lost as well as an extremely old copy of Paradise Lost itself. We had to be careful with the delicate pages and the fragile binding, and the entire time we were in a reading room with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves packed with old books. So cool. I couldn’t take any pictures, but the university website has this one of the inside which gives you an idea.

It was cool. Walking to the library gave me a really neat view of the backside of the Minster and Dean’s Park that I was walking through. Here are some of the shots I snapped on my little walk through

  

Gahh so pretty. The grass was still a bit icy from the below zero temperatures the night before but the sun was shining bright and the sky was clear as you can see.

Here are some more pictures I’ve taken of the outside of the Minster since I’ve been here.

        

It’s pretty spectacular, and quite hard to fit into a frame by itself but I’ll keep trying. After our library visit today, I sat outside the Minster and had some lunch on a little bench.

 See? (That lady behind me is confused why I’m taking a picture. I don’t care)

Now to wrap things up with  bulleted highlight blurbs!

• I cannot seem to make nail polish stay on my nails longer than 2 days. It’s lame.
• It’s been really cold the last two days. Like bone chilling cold; with below freezing temperatures at night and barely above during the day AND slight winds which make it so much worse. But it just means more layers!
• I’m starting to become familiar with slang here. Some things just can’t be explained so I’ve just been picking up things here and there. It’s kind of fun
• My sinuses are all messed up again because the weather changed. Oh well
• Spray on deodorant is slightly exciting.
• Their chips here (french fries) always need salt for me.
• I found a patisserie while wandering through town today that had absolutely fantastic looking desserts. I plan to go back and have an afternoon of sampling while reading.
• It’s Wizard Week at the National Railway Museum here in York  starting next weekend and I’m so excited! (More info here: http://www.nrm.org.uk/PlanaVisit/Events/wizardweek2012.aspx)
• Boys talked to me at the club last night. Sweet. I’m not completely unappealing.
• I need to do laundry again but it’s quite expensive. Ahh well what can you do.
• I have re-discovered my ability to nap again recently and it has been wonderful.
• I’ve been having Disneyland withdrawals but then I remembered that I’m going to visit Disneyland Paris soon and felt better.
• There’s a gnarly bruise on my thigh from someone bumping me into a table while I was out and it hurts really bad and is turning all sorts of fun colors.
• My bulletin board will soon have a border on it. Pictures will be taken!
• Having friends here really is the most magical thing. I love having people to talk to; both my hallmates and my girlfriends. Fantastic I tell you.
• Now to turn in for an early night.
• Playlist for this post: William Fitzsimmons and Bon Iver

The last few days

So just some brief bulleted highlight blurbs:

• Dorothy Perkins is becoming my latest clothing store obsession. They have been having a clearance sale online and in their stores and the deals are insane. I’ve bought some really good pieces in the last week for ridiculous prices and the things I bought are making me very happy.
• My throat still hurts pretty bad left over from my little cold so if it doesn’t go away that’s one more question to ask at the health centre.
• I am ridiculously excited for Glee’s Michael Jackson episode. It just looks so fun I can’t wait.
•  My cool new ring (from Dorothy Perkins) and a fresh manicure. I’m quite pleased with myself for keeping my nails nice and not biting them.
• I started to catch up on the TV show Supernatural again and I’ve been entertaining myself by drawing parallels and making connections to Milton’s Paradise Lost. Super nerdy.
• We still need to finalize a lot of our trip plans but it’s still way too exciting!
• Cookies are delicious.
• My sense of style is a lot different here, I guess you could say it’s better. For some reason I felt like I could sort of re-invent myself and the way I usually dress and wear things that I would usually think I can’t pull off. There’s something sort of nice about putting together outfits that I’ve thought would look awful on me, and being pleasantly surprised when I like the result. It’s fun to be one the stylish girls too.
• Speaking of clothes, I took a picture of my outfit yesterday because I really liked it and was complimented on it too. (here’s my face)  (a view of the actual outfit)
• I need to take more pictures. And have people take pictures of me too. I want these memories to look back on
• Sometimes I don’t like leaving my room when I hear people outside because I feel nosy or like I’m interrupting something. But I think that’s just me being weird because everyone is always so friendly but still. Nobody wants to be the weird kid.
• I think the International Student’s Association is going to be really good for me. Their meeting was very relaxed, and they had food. I think this could work. Also, I’m going to the Harry Potter Society meeting sometime this week. Hopefully it’s fun!
• My tiny Nutella jar is now a pencil holder on my desk.
• All I’ve done today is read and think of essay topics. Blah I’ve been shut in my room all day I should probably have some sort of human interaction today.
• I had dinner at Pizza Express last night with a few friends and it was even better than before. Our advisers took us to the one in Edinburgh, and I had a gift card from them to use so we went last night. My pizza was delicious.  I got the Soho with rocket and olives. It was so yummy and I definitely ate the entire thing. And still had room for cheesecake. Yep.
• I need to cook more. Especially on the weekends. It makes me happy and keeps me healthy.
• Alright, time for more food. To the kitchen I go!
• Playlist for this post: Supernatural Season 6. I took a break from reading to watch and write this post.