Walking in a winter wonderland

My dear England,

I like you. We're having fun. I sincerely hope that we last. But really now...get over yourself. It's just a bit of snow.

Wonder of wonders, it snowed in the Midlands. And by snow I mean about an inch. Nothing to worry about. That is if you're not confused about this whole thing, like England seems to be. Allow me to explain something: snow is just frozen rain. You seem to be perfectly acquainted with rain. Snow is not some evil monster. It's awesome. But an inch of snow is nothing to be worried about. So why in the name of love are we all going crazy about this?

You see...traffic was a bloody nightmare all week. The wee bit of snow caused an accident one morning so it took the blasted bus 20 minutes to get from my bus stop to the next(around ¼ of a mile). 20 bloody minutes! And then of course, everybody was going 10mph. On the perfectly good road. Because it was snowing.

My campus looked like a kindergarten all week. Snow fights, snow men, snow. Great! That's the spirit! Enjoy the snow...just don't enjoy in the middle of the crowded sidewalk, when people are trying to walk. Sidewalk. Side...walk. It's not called sideplay for a reason. So how about we move the playground in the giant park right next to the campus? That way we can all be happy.

And just for those who still seem confused about this whole snow thing, here are a few ways to enjoy it:
-snowball fights
-build a snowman(or a snowwoman)
-make snow angels
-chase the flakes around, trying to catch one with your nose or tongue
-stay outside until your hands and nose and cheeks are bright red, then go inside and snuggle with a warm blanket and some hot chocolate or tea.

And heavens help me, it's snowing again. One more week like this and I will kill someone.

Welcome to Birmingham...we have nothing

Maybe not nothing. They have a bull.

Exhibit A:

Also a giant building that looks like it's covered in silver M&M's.

Exhibit B:

And a church.

Exhibit C:

And some rather exposed manequins:

Exhibit D:

Ignore the weather. It's British.

For those of you wondering why in heavens I went to Birmingham, the answer is simple. The original manuscript for “On the road” was there on exhibition and since I only read the book like 100 times and am somewhat obsessed with it, I had to go see it. Had to. I would have taken pictures but it was a museum, and while it may as well be a very un-Beat-like thing to do, I had to respect the rules. And there were guards and other people there.

But it was amazing, the manuscript looks awesome and I actually saw Kerouac's scribbles and notes on it. Awe. I was in complete awe. You could even see the parts where the scrolls had been taped together. And I found my favourite passage in the manuscript, which was beyond cool.

They also had a collection of various editions from different countries. I'd be permanently indebted if someone could explain this one to me:

Kinda like a really bad 80's flick, isn't it? A 5-years-later reunion of Grease? Any other ideas? I am confused.

And on that note, I leave you.

"They danced down the streets like dingledodies, and I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn..." s

In which I rant and whine(and organize an impromptu contest)

I hate exam week. With a burning passion. Whoever decided that we must have exams at the end of term is a sadist that would make even Sade weep in shame. For the last 3 days the only conversations I have had have been about exams. I am basically living on a diet of Red Bull, Pringles and peanut butter sandwiches. My bed looks like this:

It's sad. Painful. I want this bloody thing to be over already! I miss seeing people. Not feeling like my head will explode at any time. Having a drink without starting to ramble on about the oxidation of alcohols, preparation and that fucking H NMR. I hate NMR with a burning passion. If anyone can explain please do. I have given up. NMR sucks.

(For any normal person reading this, NMR is nuclear magnetic resonance, also known as nasty mangled rubbish. I am not particularly imaginative at this time of the night. If you can come with a better one, you get your very own special guest blog entry. Exciting.* I might even throw in a Twix bar. If I have any left).

And now if you will excuse me I must go and try to understand my notes. Kill me.

*I am serious about this. It doesn't happen often. Me being serious. So, go on, I am taking submissions. How would YOU like to be special guest star? Also, this contest wasn't planned when I started writing this entry. Hence the impromptu. And if I don't get any submissions I might cry. Baby, I am.

Oh, yeah…lesson learned!

So, first off, Happy New Year. This year I decided I am far less perfect then last year so I actually made a resolution. Which I promptly broke. It was to blog more. Alas, when the life gets boring the blog gets abandoned. Christmas was rather uneventful. I have been counting the days and hours left until I go back to England(which apparently is “so sad it’s cute” according to a friend).

But back to my original point. What lessons have I learned yesterday, kids? That just because you did something before and it turned out ok, it does not mean that it will work again. In fact, it probably won’t. The something I am talking about is dying my hair. So, for my use in the future, here are some rules:
1.Take your time. Rushing will cause awful consequences. See below.
2.Be careful when trying to tie your hair in a bun and wait for the dye to set it. Magenta stains on the ceiling are not pretty.
3.Also, be careful when untying said hair. Magenta stains on your mother’s good tablecloth are not pretty.
4.And in general, just be careful. When you have long hair you might try to wash your hair let’s say…oh, somewhere not in the bathtub. I now look like the pink version of the Incredible Hulk. Only with less muscles. And you know, female.
5.Trying to wash said pinkness off your body will not work. I am so not ready for bathing suit season. Thankfully it’s winter. And I don’t wear bathing suits. But if I did, it wouldn’t be pretty.

But let’s look on the bright side, shall we? At least I have awesome magenta hair lights again. And now if you’ll excuse me, I will go scrub myself some more. Would sulfuric acid be too much?

Of Charlie Brown-esque trees and whatnot

Blog roll post



As you can see the blog roll is alive again. Maybe now I will remember to post more. A snowball's chance in hell of that happening but I have hope. I am rather idiotic. So today's topic is Christmas memories.



Now, I love Christmas. Christmas Eve to be more exact. It the second best day of the year(after my birthday). What's not to like? There's food and chocolate and chocolate and more chocolate. Did I mention the chocolate? Every year we'd get a nice tree, then try to make the same old and tired string of lights work(seriously, the things are 35 years old. They don't work anymore. We still try them every year.). Of course, every year our nice tree always looks exactly like the Charlie Brown tree once we get it home. No problem, it's still loved. We also repeat this story every single year(seriously, if you haven't read it last year go do it now. It's awesome...but why trust me, after all I've written it! You should check it out. It's here)* And then we go on our merry(get it...merry? I kill me) separate ways. Too much family time can kill.



Ok, back on topic. Christmas memories. You see, I always had a Santa growing up. Some family friend would dress up as Santa and come to our house and make me tell him a poem or sing. It was nice. But fore some reason, the Christmas that sticks in my mind is the one 5 years ago. You see, for the 2 weeks prior to the day, I had been angry and sad. My boyfriend then had cheated on me, which is the-end-of-the-world, woe-is-me, what-ever-shall-I-do now for any respectable 16 year old girl. We had had a major blow-up on Christmas Eve. It was not good. So, that Christmas I went to my favourite pub and hung out with the bartender(a good friend), made fun of all the kids trying to sneak up and buy alcohol, laughed when the computer played the same stupid carol for the third time in an hour(it hated us. Really. It did.) and just relaxed. No stress, no fighting, no anger. And then the boyfriend came, apologized and all was good once more in the land of the repeating carols.


Before I go here is a picture of me and Santa!


(Warning: the following picture contains some nudity but is completely SFW).



(See what I mean about the tree? They all look so sad and pathetic).


I was not going to put my doll down! I did not trust that man! Evident in this picture:
Also, you can check out what other people had to say:
http://philangelus.wordpress.com/2008/12/25/weblog-tour-a-holiday-memory/
http://robandkrista.blogspot.com/2008/12/ding-dong-blog-rolls-back.html
http://dutifuldanielle.blogspot.com/2008/12/grandma-got-run-over-by-reindeer.html

*Excuse the oh, so subtle story placement. I like it. The story, not the placement. Did I mention you can check it out here?

*Looks around sheepishly* I'm sorry

Well, can we pretend it's weekend? Or Monday? Nope? Oh, well. Sorry but life is crazy. I am studying. Lots and lots of studying. And Nano-ing. And with both those things going on and somewhat of a social life I really don't have that much time left for blogging. But I will be better, I promise. Or at least try to be better.

Let's see what you've missed.

• I messed up a lab two weeks ago. It took me 7 labs to fuck things up so it's not bad. Oh well, I still got a decent grade on it. Of course, this Monday I was completely terrified that I was going to mess things up again.
• The people who write my tutorial sheets are fun. I had one that said something like “You were visiting a chemical plant and fell into a vat with an unknown (but harmless!) substance).” Well, thank god I didn't fall into acid then, right?
• My kitchen is crazy. I will have to learn to live without food because every time I go there there is someone who will distract me. And I welcome the distraction.
• I'm behind on my nano. In fact, I have my laptop with me today to catch up with that, instead of this. Oh, damn it, sleep is for the weak and I will win.
• I bought my plane tickets for Christmas. Expect lots of “I'm boooooreeeeed” entries. I am still a whining baby.
• I'm trying to make time to go get a tattoo. That's my birthday/Christmas/nano present to myself. Sadly, I would have to take my chem books with me right now. Bro, if you are reading this, don't tell mum.
• I'm turning British, according to my best friend. Apparently now I have an accent. I have threatened to smack her if she calls me Madonna.
• But it's not so bad. In fact, I could write a list called “You know you're turning British when...”. It would include the use of the words “chips” and “loo” in normal conversation without thinking about it. Yes, I say chips.
• I have learned how to do laundry. It's not so bad. Just expensive. But seeing as I don't have time to breathe lately I now have to schedule time in my week planner for laundry. Yes, I have an entry that says “laundry”. If that's not sad I don't know what is.
• And, yes, I am mostly busy with studying, contrary to what some people think*pointed looks*. And sleep. Sheesh, I miss sleep. It was nice, right? I actually fell asleep hugging my chem notes on Monday night. Feel free to mock this and the previous statement.
• And while we're in the “let's mock Addie” mood I also have scheduled “get drunk”. It's in my week planner. I would die without that thing. But I have to drink on Friday night. Mostly because I have an exam on Friday. Wish me luck.
• I think I am moving in with Latvian flatmate and a couple of other friends next year. Who knew you had to start looking in December?

I am sure there are more things but I can't think of anything else right now. Oh, yeah, my blog is 1 year old! Everybody, wish blog a Happy birthday!!! I'd sing but then everybody would run. My thanks to everyone who drops by here and of course, special thanks to those who comment. *hands slices of cake*

Happy birthday, blog!

Short entry(again!)

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Life is hectic. I'll try to update the blog sometime this weekend. Or next week. I'm trying, ok? In other news, the Queen is coming to visit my uni in 2 weeks! I'm gonna see the Queen! How exciting is that? Yes, I am a geek.

And just to make you laugh:

Brilliant, isn't it?