Movement

Snippets

* Arrived at Heathrow and got in line (a short one for once) to go to the ticket counter. I looked at the guy who was serving us. I swear I had met him before. But figured I must be wrong. We finished with checking in our bags and he said, “Hey…have I served you before? You look familiar.”. Bingo!

* Turned the wrong way while trying to find a pizza joint. Got a bit lost in downtown NYC. But in doing so found R. a few pairs of Levi 501s…2 pairs for less than the price of one in London. And I got to wander around Sephora.

* Finally found our way to Greenwhich Village/Soho area & found John’s Pizzaria. Soooo good. Definitely go if you are anywhere near Bleeker St. Mmmm. Even bought the cool black & red women’s tee.

* Keen’s Steakhouse. Try it. Great steak & cool atmosphere. Less than we thought it would be (though not cheap either).

* Driving through the flood waters to get to Pennsylvania. Glad daddy was driving and not me. We did make it. And there isn’t a flood. But it was close and a lot of roads are still closed. The bridge at the end of our road is out…but luckily we can go the opposite direction.

* GOT MY ENGAGEMENT RING! It’s simple, small and pefectly formed. It’s an 18K white gold band with a small tension set diamond. The diamond is a very good one. Love the sparkle! The magpie in me is quite pleased. R’s credit card is quite pleased that I didn’t do too much damage.

* Hanging with the fam. My brother & sister-in-law were evacuated so they stayed here with us. Luckily dad & step-mom have a big home. Poor R. was given a family quiz. He got an ‘A’ though! The fam is impressed!

So, we’re off to shop in a bit. Think the roads may be open to do so. Woohoo! More later…

The Flood

Can’t write much at this time…on my dad’s Mac (hate them…can’t do as much with this one). We had a good time in NYC even with the rain…and then arrived in PA to the potential of floods…and there have been evacuations. I’ve never seen such rain in my life. It’s crazy! My dad was pumping out the basement between 9:30pm and 4am…and up again at 6am to check on it. Luckily the crazy rain has stopped (just a shower here & there)…but we have to wait and see if the water will top the levees in the area…and many roads are closed. Wow. Puts a damper on things for sure!

Will write more later.

This is it!

The taxi is due in 10 minutes. See ya on the other side of the pond!

Countdown!

So excited! So very excited! Less than 24 hours to go until I leave the UK for New York City! I haven’t been back to the States for over a year and can’t wait to be back. I love living over here but there are a few things that I do miss (though not enough to move back):

• My family - while I’ve never been a homebody & my family is spread all over the place, it will be absolutely wonderful to see them all
• My friends - I haven’t seen a few of them in over 2 years…can’t wait! And I have to say that it’s a testimony to all of us that we’ve kept some of these friendships going.
• My dog - I truly miss Amber. She’s the cutest big ol’ lab…I’ll take pics when I go home to post them.
• Mexican food - you just can’t get a really good bit of Mexican or even a terrific burrito.
• Maine lobster
• Pierogies - again, you just can’t get them easily. I guess I could more easily get to Poland from here…but still!
• The rolling hills of PA - in the summer, there is such green that it’s gorgeous

The “Happy Happy Joy Joy” song is still being sung in my household (particularly by R.) and packing has begun. We’ve printed out all our reservations, found our passports & drivers licenses, saved up our dosh….yup, we’re ready to get a move on it. USA - here I come! Watch out NYC!

Happy 100th!

Like many little girls, I wrote in journals. I think there has to be a few of my old ones, from youth to young adulthood, up in the attic of my childhood home. I never really wrote more than a few at a time, which I think is a shame. I wish I could go back and get a better glimpse of what my life was at that time. The thing about growing older is that you start to lose some of your memories about your youth. There are small glimmers from high school, but so many less than I would have thought. I wish that I had wrote more about my thoughts back then…it would have helped me quite a bit in my current role.

And quite honestly, that’s one reason I decided to begin this blog. I didn’t want to lose out entirely on my first few years in London. I have already forgotten the beginning fears and angers and joys of my first year here, but at least I’ll always have something down on the rest of my life here. And I’ll be very proud of myself if I can keep it up!

I’ve moved a bit toward writing about more than life in Britian and have written about other things, but I think that just reflects on my state of mind at the time or what I’m being exposed to. I think it’ll make an interesting read in a few years. And if I have the ‘luck’ of having others read my blog and getting even a smidge of pleasure from it, then even better!

So, here I am, on my 100th posting. Not bad for a slacker like me.

In My Mind’s Eye…

So - how’s “No Fat Talk Week” going for you? I have stopped myself from talking abotu my body several times. It’s bringing to mind just how much I focus on my body. And I’m hoping that it’s going to get better as the week goes on. Perhaps some time in the future, I’ll focus more on how my brain is working…believe me, as you get older it’s something to truly think about!

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In London, it’s a law that you cannot ride your bike on the sidewalk. And most people don’t have a problem with this law. And I don’t mind the odd kid on the sidewalk as it scares me to see them on the busy streets. But today, on my way back home from grocery shopping, a guy, about my age or so, decided he needed to ride his bike on our crowded sidewalks. And he wasn’t weaving in and out, trying to get our of OUR way…no…he was expecting people to move for him. And people did.

Now, I see myself as a kind, compassionate, caring person. I do the right thing toward people. I love my fellow man (especially R!). But right as the guy passed by me on the road side of the sidewalk, I wanted to push him into traffic. Yes, me, a nice girl, a caring mentor, could literally envision myself pushing his lame arse off the bike, onto the road, and could see him get squooshed like the cockroach that he was.

I am not a mean person. But man, sidewalk-rage really hit today.

The Travel Bug

Five more days!!! Only five more days and I’ll be on my way to the States. I am so excited to be heading away with R. And just as excited to see my family.

Last night I called my brother’s place as I knew my dad would be there. “Happy Father’s Day” and all that had to be said…but I also got to talk to my bro, my step-mom and my wonderful sis-in-law. It reminded me of who I had left behind. Not enough for me to want to move back to small town PA, but enough to REALLY, REALLY get me excited about coming over for a visit!

So the visit will go as follows:

A few days on our own in NYC. I haven’t been there in ages. In fact that last time I went I was there for a job interview. Not exactly a visit. And R. has never been (well, he’s never been to the States). So, we’re going to go and see the Empire States Building, take the hop-on-hop-off bus all over the place and ride the ferry to Lady Liberty & Ellis Island. And of course, we’ll do a lot of eating, walking around and window shopping! Then my step-mom and dad will show up to join us one night for dinner and a bit of touring around before taking us back to PA.

In Pa we’ll do the ring & clothing shopping as well as seeing family and friends. I’m sure there will be stories galore!

Off to Boston for lobster, then my cousin’s place on the beach in DE, followed by friends and fun in DC. A plane ride to Denver where my bestest of all friends live, Jnet, to go hiking, spa-ing and more food & fun.

Then finally the family in Albuquerque. Yup - LOTS of family.

So - in 5 days I’ll be heading toward an adventure of family & friends, food & shops…and I’ll try my best to keep y’all up to date. Cause there’s gotta be a bunch of stories to tell. And at the least, it will be a record for me to remember - R’s first visit to my home. Hopefully one we’ll take for many years in the future.

Summer Begins

Done and dusted. Finito. Au revoir. We are finished!

Yes, I am now a lady of leisure. Graduation happened on Friday and so I have off 2 months. According to R., I am now his “housewife” which means the place will stay all nice and clean and he’ll get lovely funky meals. As much as I hate to make him right…he is - I will spend more time cleaning and I’ll have a blast finding new & fun recipes to try.

So now come the stories of 2 months from work…well, at least 2 months from going into work. I got a grant to develop a curriculum using a new technology so I will spend some time doing that…but not until after my trip to the US (which is only 6 days away!!!!). Hope to take lots of pictures, check out small museums & shops and explore areas of London that I haven’t seen before (while still staying safe, of course).

So…hope to keep up with the blog as much as I did during the school time…but will probably have a few days off (particularly over my trip)…but also hope that each blog will be more interesting to read!

Thanks to a discussion on the Grrlgenius site about women and girls and their focus on being pretty - which leads to very unhealthy things - I have decided to start a movement in which next week will be declared “No Fat Talk Week”.

So, what’s the focus of the week? It’s to give yourself positive self-talk. We all know about how we focus on what’s wrong with ourselves…well, this week we focus on our positives! I love my muscles and I’m a smart & interesting chick! Positive! We won’t mention that eating something was “bad” or that we were “good” this week because we ate all the things we’re ’supposed to’ or cause we went to the gym. We are to tell at least one person a day why we think they are amazing - cause they are sweet, smart, lovely - especially a young man or woman.

Let’s make this a great week - if we can all focus on our other qualities, then perhaps the media will understand that we are multi-faceted and that we want more than a cute girl up on the screen or in print. I want to hear about the smart actresses, the ones who have bodies that haven’t been starved.

And let’s put out a shout out to those thin women who are there naturally - like my mum - who are told to feel badly about theirselves too…they don’t truly have it easier (my mum was constantly asked if she was anorexic and she ate more than moi!). Let’s appreciate everyone for who they are as a person. EVERYONE!

And have a great week next week…I’ll be reminding you!

Lost…in…space……

I had the best idea for a post while lying in bed last night. It was going to be awesome, something I would want to go back and read again (like everything on here, of course! hee hee). It flitted in and out of my consciousness, striking me with its brilliance. I was sure that I’d remember today. I was sure that it was such an amazing idea that there was no way I’d forget. I didn’t recall the power of my mind, or lack thereof. Yes, folks, it’s gone. Done and dusted. And like all night time fancies…it has trickled away. Perhaps somewhere my subconscious will bring it back another day. But until then…a sad memory.

It’s something I’ve kinda got used to, so I should have known better. I’m always being told that memory is lost as you age, and to be frank, I’m screwed. If confronted with having to remember a name, it’s gone - even if it’s having to introduce my best friend since I was 7. Being told about a meeting and not having paper is an absolute nightmare to me - by the time I walk to my office, not only will I forget when it is but also it’s existence. Sigh. I have more paper on me than one ought - but it keeps my life in tow. And if I ever lose my diary (calendar), then I will be lost…adrift. Just leaving it at home makes me squirm.

So the lesson is - write ideas down, let my future spouse know that he needs to introduce himself and never, ever, lose my diary!