I know everyone has already seen this.

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)

But it's so great, that I don't care.

Plus, I saw he (of course) has a website and looked it over. There is just something about the whole idea that I like, plus his "about me" is pretty well written.

my one day in Ireland

That's right. I've been to Ireland. For a whole twelve hours or so.

I've only been to Northern Ireland, not the Republic. I went to Belfast for a conference in November a year and a half ago now.

And I took a picture of the ground, just in case from it you could tell I was standing on awesome Irish soil

things that happened while i was in the uk

the tea party movement

justin bieber/katy perry/lady gaga

wikileaks

those kindle things for ebooks

miss list

What I miss about London
being able to walk places.
awesome people from all sorts of countries.
St. Helens.
Tower Bridge, the South Bank, the Thames.
meatball curry.
taking the tube places.
awesome architecture everywhere.

What I don’t miss about London
being cold outside and hot inside the tube.
no sun.
the five hour time difference.
health and safety (seriously a class to use a ladder?).
no water fountains.

first glimpse of the mediterranean.

yes, it was from a bus. but still, look at that water.

devon.

I don't know much about it, but I am going there this weekend.

I'll let you know how it is.

the rumors were true

I can now personally verify that Stonehenge exists.



I saw it on Friday!




You'll notice that the pictures are from a distance and through some chain-link fence. That's because you had to pay and we were too cheap to pay seven pounds to just get 50 feet closer.

feet around the uk.

I am not an avid photographer, if you know me, and I never really do photo projects. This one started casually and was months in the making. Finally, it's finished enough to show someone. Be merciful.

i'm over it.

I give up. I'll acculturate.

I'll say something is "rubbish"; I'll call it "uni"; I'll say, "I have this friend called Phyllis". I'll say in a class, not "taking a class".

I am even thinking of softening my accent and going for a British/American hybrid. My American accent has sounded too open, so cowboy-cavalier lately when mirrored by my British friends' imitations.

This was, of course, necessitated when, last week, I said to another native English speaker. "Would you pass me that pitcher of water?" and he couldn't grasp what I was saying. Something about a picture? Jug. Jug. I should have said jug.

this is what i heard.

They say, to be proper Cockney, one has to be born within hearing distance of the Bow Bells of Bow Church in the East End of London.

I've been to the Bow stop before, but I haven't sought out the church yet.

urban ducks.

nests in the financial district around the thames.

back in the city.

As a team, we spent the past week down in a little town just a few miles away from Dover, England (think cliffs, WWII, and the English Channel).

We swam in the Channel, and by swam, I mean jumped in and scrambled out of the freezing water. The beach isn't sandy at all, so it hurt like the dickens trying to walk out of the water with numb toes.

I apologize for talking about how I was switching blog locations and all and then going off and leaving for a full seven days.

One of the best things about the week was there was so much nice weather. We only had one rainy day out of the seven. For England, that is divine intervention.

Oh, and I've been hating my blog header for a while (withdrawals from trying to wean myself of wordpress. I still like you too, blogger). So this one will have to do until I can craft something I like.

what i wore

in Florida

sundress, sandals


in London

sundress, long sleeve shirt, leggings, cardigan, jacket, socks, boots

still novel

Even though I live just a few minutes from the Tower Bridge, I am still finding any excuse to walk over the bridge. It's just so spectacular. And cool.

here and abroad

:: I'm going to England

:: A friend is going to teach in Taiwan

:: My former roommate just got offered a nanny job in Finland

Wow. We're going to be all over.