I LOVE MAIL!!!

Keel, I got your postcard, so exciting. It makes me feel so important. I'm sure it's sad how excited I get by mail, but I absolutely love it! :) It's the small things that make me happy.

P.S. Keel, that "...stupid sexy Ned Flanders..." comment was intended for you, slightly disappointed you didn't comment.

The most painful exam, ever!

I had a rugby match yesterday, making that two hour exam literally painful, in every sense of the word. I played loose-head in the scrums yesterday, meaning, the back of my neck was constantly being banged by the shoulders of some beefy ladies. And today was, by far, the most sore my neck has ever been, along with some other parts, arms, leg, back, fingers, calves, feet, etc. Anyway, looking down at my exam caused some serious throbbing in the neck region. Not sure how I did on the exam though, it definitely wasn't my best work, which is disappointing because I had SO much to say on the topics, but my poor, slow, sweaty hand couldn't keep up. It was one of those three-essays-in-two-hours kind of exams, which is fine, but I always run out of time, even though know I know the answer. (stupid sexy ned flanders!) My hands were profusely sweaty, too, I don't imagine that help with the hand cramps either. Are the exercises you can do for that? I wonder if there are competitions for speed writers...

Last Day of Class

Today was my last class of this academic year and it feels a little bit odd. Don't be fooled though, I still have 9 exams and two papers in front of me. I need to get studying because I have two exams next week, but I really don't want to. I think I might procrastinate a bit longer before I actually start studying.

What's been going on with me:

-A couple weeks ago my parents came to visit me and it was a great time (we saw Stonehenge!)

-I started a three week Vegan Challenge and I am currently on day 19 and I feel great. More physically energized and greater mental clarity. My housemates are always making fun of the food I eat, but I'm okay with it. The other night I made hummus, tomato, and lettuce toasties and Kuba, my housemate, got a kick out of that.

-Volunteering is going wonderfully. The kids are hilarious and so genuine.

-Went running with a friend, who kicks my a** everytime we run, but not the other day, I totally won. (Yeah we keep track...we're a little competetive)

-St. Patty's Day was Varsity (all teams play each other, medics vs. non-medics) and I played the most amazing game of rugby, and we lost, but it was incredibly fun. Later that day I might have had a little bit too much alcohol, but enjoy watching a great game of men's rugby by Imperial's medics vs. non-medics, again, non-medics lost.

-Spent time in my kitchen last night making vulgar jokes, eating, and laughing with housemates. Good times with housemates.

-Finally, the greatest thing happened today. Today was the last day of class, so, I went out with some friends to celebrate, well, this was my first time "going out to eat" since I started the vegan challenge. I was a little nervous about this because I was thinking if ordered vegan food it would taste "boring" (a.k.a. like crap), but when I got my food it was delicious! I got a falafel burger with chips (no salt) and it was so yummy. Granted, it wasn't the most healthy food I've eaten on this challenge, I am just so proud I didn't cave, I thought for sure I would.

humility is my middle name

Not by nature, but experience. It's the usual, me, the library, and 3:54 in the morning. In the attempts to pump myself up (I've been reading academic journals for-e-v-e-r) I decided to jam to Heart, oh yes, the one and only, "All I want to do is make love to you". Well, I'm sitting in one of the back rooms of the library, by myself, and I couldn't refrain from a little bit of lip-singing. Coincidentally, some dude happened to be walking by the glass wall and he gave me "the look". You know, the look where they're not really sure if they should be embarrassed for you or if they should just laugh.

Pick my box.

-Your mother is my father.

-Guess who broke up?

-I will set you ablaze.

-Woof.

-You know when you say that you're actually insulting yourself.

-And I say, 'Sally you need a break, let Bob pick up the kids from soccer practice.'

-You guys can stay, I'm just going to go.

-Have you ever seen a bald eagle?

-We are siamese...

-See what I mean, Sam?

peanut butter toasties are like heaven on earth...

...which would explain why I'm out of peanut butter and bread. Today's been a lovely day except for that nagging pain that comes once a month. I soooo didn't want to get out of bed this morning.

Not much going on here, just reading a little bit of this and a little bit of that (like academic journals on neuro science that are over my head and nutritional tidbits, also looking at a couple accident reports I have to read for one of my classes, but the reports are like 300 pages and I'm really hoping he's not expecting us to read all of it, so I emailed him and am waiting for a reply). I'm going to try to study for a bit, stop by home and get something to eat because I'm hungry and then I have a volunteering meeting later. I'm all pumped up for some reason and I didn't even jog today. When I woke up this morning I thought about jogging and then I laughed.

My New Hero

Hyde Park is lovely

Currently on a high from a nice little jog through Hyde Park. I went three miles but my time was so terrible I didn't even bother to check it, but I feel good. I love the endorphins I get after a run, they get me all pumped. The run was nice, I didn't feel too winded, surprisingly, but it was colder than I anticipated. After I take a quick shower I think I'm going to dedicate some time for studying. I started "Steels: Microstructure & Properties" yesterday and its pretty bad-*ss, so, I might read a little more of that and of course, my pride and joy, "Solidification".

And my Challenge = FAIL. I was tired or reading last night and I caved and watched, "Law & Order: SVU". What can I say it's my weak spot? Not sure how to proceed, I feel so...so...so...defeated. I'll wait for my wounds to heal and I'll try again.


Current obsessions:

-The Weepies, still
-Overall and complete health
-The fact that I can't sit in a hot bath and read a book, boo
-Missing the pleasant view of corn fields

The more things change the more things stay the same

Today my insomniac ways were the cause of me being late for "History of Medicine", shame on me. On a positive note, I'm to 18 hours of being television free, and the challenge presses on.

So in class today our professor was describing a case in the late 19th century about a woman who was surgically sterlized because she was deemed "feeble minded". Apparently such an operation was legal for medics in the United States (shocking!) and the Scandinavian countries. It's such a violation of the basic human rights that I find it appalling. Then it got me thinking about the lack of humanity in the world today. Exploitation, starvation, trafficking, and the devaluing of individuals, but as Rene Debos would say, as long as there are young rebels in our midst there is hope. So, I am hopeful.

Current obsessions:

-The Weepies, still

A lazy Sunday

Yesterday I spent most of my day at Body & Soul which is an inspiring place for those with HIV/AIDS or are closely affected by it. It's a place where they can go for therapy, assistance, and support. I've been trying to volunteer there for months, but it's been a slow process and I hopefully I'll be working there soon. After a day of training I realize how misunderstood HIV is and how hard it is for them, but it is encouraging that they have a place like Body & Soul. The atmosphere there is so positive and lively and I look forward to being a part of it.

NEW CHALLENGE:

One of my many addictions is.....television. So, I will attempt to refrain from watching it and I'm going to try my best to go as long as I can without it. It degrades the mind and turns it to mush. Boo. Right now is a really important time for my mind and I need to get it into shape. Anyone who has the same problem can feel free to join in. :)

Currently obsessed with:

-The Weepies, I keep listening to their musics, over and over, but the lyrics are soooo good and so inspiring

-Biomaterials, not so much obsessed at trying to learn it all

Other than that there is not much new to report. I suppose I should be out an about exploring the world, but I do what I can. I was so exhausted from yesterday I didn't have it in me to do much today.

All the things I haven't told you and the reason I didn't see you for Christmas

It's 3 AM and we just had a fire alarm. Seriously? I suppose I would have been more upset if I actually was sleeping. Yes, I am such a night owl. I suppose it's in my blood, a few of my siblings have the same gene.

Lately, I've been busy with school, rugby, and friends. I've been finding myself quite happy here in the big city. But recently, I've realized that I need to focus more on my studies if I want to do well on my exams. So, I spent about six hours at the library this evening, I didn't get as much done as I wanted to, but it's a start.

Over Christmas break I visited Rome, Dublin, and Scotland where I finally was able to fulfill my yearning for adventure and excitement. And what an adventure it was. I found it to be one of the most exciting things I have ever done and hopefully it's just the beginning.

Here's a synopsis:

Before I departed for Rome, I had to pack my bag and make sure all my ducks were in a row because it was the first time I would be traveling around Europe and I was on my own. And as usual, I was pressed until the very last minute. Before I know it I am literally running back to Wilson at 4 AM so I can make my flight on time. In my defense, the website I need to print my boarding pass from was "malfunctioning"...for several hours and without my pass I was s.o.l. So, there I am sweating my ass off, at who knows what hour, and running around Hyde Park to get to my dorm as fast as possible. Yes, I said around Hyde Park, not through. You see, if I were able to go through Hyde Park I wouldn't be running because it's only a half an hour walk, but since it was past midnight I had to haul my ass all the way around the park, which was a good hour or so. It was possible to cut through the park, but at night that's a bit of a risky deal, if you don't want to get jumped, that is. So, I'm just jogging along and minding my own business when out of nowhere a fox appears. I jog past him and he jogs past me, and for a moment it was as if we were thinking the same thing, "WTF?" A fox randomly walking along the streets of London??? Some girl going for a jog in the middle of the night with her bookbag on??? Needless to say, it was an odd sight.

Fast forward, I'm sitting there waiting for the shuttle to the airport until I see it approaching and it just keeps on driving. I'm wondering what just happened and I start to panic. If I don't get to the airport on time, I'll miss my flight, and then I'll miss my other three flights, and I'll have to spend Christmas doing nothing and be all alone in London. I feel a lump in my throat and I am about to start crying. I tell myself to calm down. I start walking, no where in particular, I am just walking about and trying to figure out what to do, and I'm not sure at that point. Finally, I flag down a taxi. He can tell that I'm about to burst into tears and he offers to give me a ride to where I need to be to catch the shuttle. He drops me off, I pay him and thank him. Once I get on the shuttle I feel a huge surge of relief and I pass out until we get to the airport.


Somewhere over France on the plane ride to Rome as excitement ran through my veins


My first view of Italy and when I started to feel a little nervous


I made it from the airport to the city centre, okay I can do this


Yay, my hostel! In just a few hours time I would be crashed up in my assigned bed, I was exhausted at this point


The best pizza in the world!


This was my first day to roam around Rome and one of my favorite pictures from my trip


Don't be fooled, I froze my ass off this day, along with every other day


A beautiful view of Rome


Huge! Me, right outside the Pantheon


I was very excited by this, I totally did not know that this was a real beer.


Oh my gosh, I will never forget this! I was on the way to the Colosseum with a friend I met in our hostel and it was cold and rainy and the one day I didn't take my hat


I love this one, it was when I was just wandering around taking snap shots


This was a garden that totally creeped my shit out, nobody was around and I thought I was going to get murdered here, it was eerie but I was curious, needless to say, I didn't stay long.


This is reminiscent of the most romantic date I've ever had and an evening in Rome I'll never forget


Me out on a pub crawl in Dublin with my new found friend


Streets of Dublin before the dawn


When I first got to Edinburgh and was totally taken by it all


These baked potatoes were glorious


Street view


Traditional meal of haggis and beer, and it was lovely


Edinburgh was the home to some of the first skyscrapers


This makes me wish I was there, *tear*


One of the New Year's celebrations, a bunch of people with torches. Then we went to the top of a hill and lit stuff on fire, it was awesome


I got to hold a torch! I felt like it was 200 years ago and I was in a mob of angry townspeople


A night on the town with my amazing Aussie mates and it started snowing


The highlands I want to move to


See, it's like I belong here...now I just need a Scottish guy, hmmmm...


The word "beautiful" doesn't do it justice



A WWII monument which the Scottish people hold a great respect for


My heart broke a little when I had to leave

Need some suggestions, please!

This weekend is Halloween and there's a party on Saturday, need help with ideas. As some of you know, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and I LOVE finding the perfect costume and then dressing up, but I need a good one. Last year me and my roomie were the Spartan cheerleaders from SNL, it was a hit, and the year before that I was Princess Leia, which was just okay. Anyway, I am welcoming all ideas and hoping you leave a comment, thanks!

Pity, if you call me a nerd...

...you're probably right. Got up about 4:45 am, studied for two hours, showered, got ready for class, drank tea and reviewed some notes, walked to class, had a three hour lecture, but she let us out a half hour early. Woo hoo! Not that it really matters because I'm just at the library getting ready to study, I just got out of class.

New developments:

-Starting to love polymers & composites, it's absolutely lovely, crack propagation, creep, mechnical properties is music to my ear. Last week I found it a bit boring, but it's taken a turn for the best

-Nanomaterials I is my new favorite class, in fact, I was so inspired I might just enroll for Nano. 2, for some emotions there are just no words.

-I've replaced my dearest "dew" with tea. Quite magnificent, same ole caffine (sp? too lazy to spell it correctly, "See you Wed-, see you wedn-, see you tomorrow." I praise anyone who can pick up that reference) without the fat.

-I like to study (Yeah, Poe, be jealous. Side note - I'm missing you)!?!?!

X-ray diffraction is calling me. Peace.

Thanks Karen and Ron...

The other night I was talking to my mom over Skype and my youngest brother was being insubordinate and arguing with my folks. They were yelling at each other and it got quite hostile at one point. My brother is known for being a "brat" and has a bit of a temper at times, but at heart he's the sweetest kid I know. Anyway, in a moment of hostility and anger it made me smile and realize how lucky I was growing up.

Me and the Crazy Latvian

Before...



During...




After...





Oh and this is what happened when Signe tried to open my bottle...


Signe is one of my new best friends from Rugby and last night she helped me dye my hair. Other than the massively dark marks left around my hairline and on my back, I think it was a success. I've already received lots of complements and I think I like it. Thanks for the help girl!

Tell me how you feel after you watch this, "Love Signal"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2CvZ6MzMX0&feature=related

Girl on a Mission

Where to begin??? I had a three hour lecture this morning and FROZE during lecture because the windows were open and the room was so cold. After class I went to the dining hall and got the most delicious lunch I've had in a while. It consisted of bread, hot soup, and some noodles with chicken, it was heavenly and definitely beats the 37 pence canned spaghetti I eat on a regular basis. I mean I am living in London in a beautiful part of the city, so, I don't have it too rough, but there's nothing like a good meal. Then I made my way back home. When I did arrive back to my humble abode I had a wonderful chat with my folks about my plans for the holiday season, and after some intense research I am ecstatic about traveling for Christmas. It will be a new and mind-widening experience; it shall be a one of my great adventures. While my head was in the clouds, I forgot I needed to be heading to class and I left late. My walk to class takes about a half an hour and I was down to twenty minutes, dammit. Before I moved to London I heard horror stories about students being late for class, PROFs DO NOT LIKE IT and the other day in lecture my other professor called out many of the late students. I did not want to be that student. Despite my many mishaps with being on time, I ingrained it in my mind that I WOULD NOT BE LATE FOR CLASSES. So, there I am sprinting through Hyde Park, with my book bag, an extra sweater and gloves on (because the incident of freezing in my first lecture), and pants that will not stay on my butt. I'm sure it was an interesting sight. By the time I get to class, which I was NOT late for, I'm drenched in sweat. I pull my phone from my pocket, it's wet...from sweat, my book bag zipper was wide open I'm sure I lost a few things, my back was wet and sticky, and my jeans had that really uncomfortable feel to them. Wonderful. I walk home after class and admire the lovely sights that have now become routine for me, but I never cease to be amazed. Managed to get to the grocery store before swim practice and I am quite excited about having some decent food, no, I don't mean canned spaghetti, I passed on that this time. It kind of grosses my out when I think about it now, probably because my mother spoiled me with the most wonderful home cooked meals. I could go for one of those, mmmmm. Oh, and the then swim practice, it started off as a humbling experience and then was just utterly embarrassing. I don't know think it was so much that I got lapped, twice, but more the fact that the coach asked me to let the other people pass me. That stung, just a little bit. There I was, unable to keep up with the slowest swimmer in the pool. On the bright side, I figured if I could endure that kind of ego torture, what's to stop me from attempting the impossible? Because believe me, I don't think it could be worse than tonight. Water polo was better though, I think I'm better at rough sports. I love how attractive I am to the opposite sex. ("I'm pretty sure you're more butch than me." -yeah, you know who you are) I do love the sports I play, it just turns out that they are rough sports, perhaps I enjoy unleashing my anger and wrath on random strangers. Hey, I'm not the only one, during a scrimmage tonight some dude cow kicked me right in the thigh, it hurt like a mother, maybe if I'm lucky I'll have a nice bruise tomorrow. At least they would match my arms, in a tank top I look like a victim of spousal abuse.

Things that made me laugh out loud today:

-When I thought about how the coach asked me to let the others pass, seeing as how I was holding up the flow of things

-When I was walking down a desolate street, lip singing, and busting a move, or two, only to find an old man walking right in front of me...embarrassing

-Random things that my sisters have said in the past (I think there are people that see me laughing with my earphones on and think, "crazy")

-Thinking about when Elliot from "Scrubs" is talking to herself and she says, "Omg, maybe I'm crazy. I'm not crazy. Am I? No, shh shh shh." Then J.D. walks up and sees all of this and obviously thinks she's crazy. Maybe you had to see it, either way, it's hilarious and continues to be funny in my head.


Facts for the Day:

Currently listening to: "From a Distance" Bette Midler (yeah, I know)

My current mission is drastically improve my swim times, oh, it's going to happen, if I feel like swimming tomorrow that is.

Be Happy! :)

What would you do

If the world was free

And there wasn't anything

That you couldn't be

Would you paint a picture

Or seek every truth

Would you make a better tomorrow

For all of our youth

Perhaps you're still searching

For the secret of life,

A passion in your heart,

Or something worth the strife

If you're lucky

You've got it all

In the smile of your child

And your soul mate's call

You've found someone

You can't be without

They hold you afloat

In the sea of doubt

The rest of us

Found a different path

Moments to live for

And ways to make us laugh

Do what you do

Be who you are

And happiness will never

Wander too far

Smile for today

Its blessings in disguise

Look at all the wonderfuls

And forget about the whys

~KP

Facts for the Day:

-Currently obsessed with the following: love songs, romance films, lecture slide from school, orange juice, and the local grocery store's brand of pizza

-New favorite sports: Rugby and Water Polo(<-did that for 3 hours tonight, my ass will hurt in the morning, but I love it just the same)

What she does when nobody's looking...

Lovely Day

I woke up today about quarter 'til 7, kudos for me that was an accomplishment in itself. Then walked to campus with the hope that I would swim a few laps, yeah, that didn't happen, but this is what did happen...I went to the library and rented a couple books for my classes, they don't start until next Friday, but I'm trying to stay on top, for a change. I read a bit of "Biomaterials" at the library. Then I headed for the gym, but I couldn't get the door open so I interpreted that as a sign that I shouldn't go for a swim. Went to H&M and browsed around the store and looked at the accessories like they were candy. After that I felt a little blah and a little down. Headed back to campus for a meeting with my personal tutor (we have those here, which is pretty cool). I got there an hour early, so while I waited I started my other book, "Nanostructures and nanomaterials", AMAZING. At the meeting I found out that to be considered a full-time third year student I would have to take another class and also do a design project, I was stoked. This is the most excited I've been about classes since I got here, I think it's going to be great, I'll get to learn all I need to know about materials! WOOHOO! Since then I've been having a joyous day! Tonight's the boat party, and I'm hoping that will be a good time.

Facts for the Day:

New favorite candy: Maoam:Stripes
Reading list: Elements of X-ray Diffraction, Nanostructures and nanomaterials, Biomaterials