This is so exciting.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
REGINA!
One of my favorite artists, Regina Spektor, has just announced that she is playing 3 gigs this summer in the UK! I'm so excited. One in Newcastle, one in Leeds and one in Cambridge. I have already been to Newcastle, but if Adam and I are in Scotland it only makes sense to go there since it's pretty close. Otherwise, I'm probably going to go to the Cambridge show. I have heard it is such an amazing city. http://reginaspektor.com/
This is so exciting.
This is so exciting.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
More updates, 'cause I got nothin' else at the moment.
Since our road trip up to Glasgow, things have been done.
It is very seldom that the sun meets the backs of the inhabitants of Wales. On those very rare occasions, regardless of the temperature, people make their way outdoors. Adam and I are not excluded from this common practice.
One day it was so sunny, I needed to wear my sunglasses...and my winter coat. We went to Roath Park, a beautiful botanical garden with an adjoining lake just 5 minutes walk from my house. While walking through the garden we stumbled upon a man-made waterfall.
How we had not stumbled upon it before, I have no clue. It's not small. We shared my famous (you know...to us) tuna salad and some OJ while watching the ducks swim away from the tiny motorized sailboats. Then I just maliciously watched as a swan pleaded for food. I refused. (They have a sign! "Do not feed the birds") 
On our way back we passed one of the nicer restaurants in the Heath area (where I live) that had sadly experienced some vandalism.
The next day, we went to make dinner and I shrieked! I remembered that I had placed two bottles of beer in Adam's freezer the night before to cool them quickly; I failed to remove them. New rule: don't put glass bottles in the freezer 'cause this is what happens. It makes a sad Adam.
A few weeks later, we were invited to an 80's party at one of Adam's friend's house. He wasn't too keen on going but after a lot (A LOT) of pleading on my part, he finally gave in. On the way home I yelled out, "I'm gonna do the craziest thing to my hair!" He calmly replied, "Please don't take long." Little did he know that he was going to look just as awesome as me by the time I was through with him. With some hair spray, a hair dryer, Adam's hands (and patience) and an insane amount of hair cement--it feels like glue--in 15 minutes, I accomplished my new favorite look--the mohawk. After Adam realized how cool I looked,
he was secretly jealous. He wouldn't openly admit it but I could tell. So I forced him to put on one of my cut off shirts, my tie (yes, that's mine), my sunglasses and for the pieceste resistance, eyeliner! 
We looked amazing. I cannot recall ever making that many heads turn as I walked by. I was pretty proud of us. This is my serious mohawk pose in front of the castle in Cardiff.
Two weeks later, it was Valentines Day.
The morning of, I left my house to get supplies for breakfast and found that a local church had tied a heart-shaped balloon to everyone's rubbish bin. It was a nice way to start the day. Now, our plan was to take a trip to Reading because it's the closest city to Cardiff that not only sells but actually makes KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS! But we waited too long to book our train tickets and it went from being a nice weekend to a very expensive weekend. So we opted to stay in Cardiff and just have a nice dinner. The morning of--because I am such an amazing girlfriend--I cooked Adam breakfast 
and put together a little surprise. Sidenote: Adam is the biggest candy freak I've ever met. Many men would get distracted when a beautiful woman past their way, or an expensive car. Not Adam. He has a weakness for Sweetie Shops. 
He can smell them from miles away. Pick & Mix is his worst enemy, or rather, his wallets worst enemy. So, this is what I made him for his Valentine's present.
That night we had a dressy dinner at a great little family-owned Mediterranean restaurant.
In the UK there is a commonly celebrated 'holiday' called "Pancake Tuesday." It is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday--for Catholics--and it's all about getting rid of the nice stuff in your cupboard so one is not tempted to eat it during Lent. So, basically all you eat on Tuesday is pancakes. We eat pancakes all the time so this was no new thing, but this time we put blueberries in them...smiley blueberries.
The next weekend we both--only because I begged and then promised to dance with Adam while in London (I don't dance)--participated in London's International Model United Nations. LIMUN is one of the biggest Model UN summits in the world. It was fantastic. Our team represented Burkina Faso. I was in the UN Development Program and Adam was in the Disarmament and Security department.
The most exciting part was the keynote speaker: Luis Moreno-Ocampo. 
He is the Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC.) Basically, if Hitler was still around and was to be prosecuted this guy would be the one to do it. It was fascinating to hear him speak. We had a great time in London--and we ate A LOT of Krispy Kremes.
Just a few weeks later, my flatmate, Jess, turned 21. The theme of her party was "Headlines of the Last Year." This could be anything from pop culture, gossip column, politics, religion, movie headlines and the like. One of my flatmates, Hannah, decided to go as an Avatar.
Other headlines seen were: Tiger Woods, Alice in Wonderland, Snow (the UK got dumped on this winter which is very unusual,) and many others. There is an political scandal going on in Britain with their MPs (Members of Parliament) and their expenses. Many of them have used tax dollars to claim expenses on many frivolous things such as duck islands in their back yards and children's allowances. So, Adam and I decided to do something with that, as we're both very interested in politics. He was my MP and I was his expense bill.
His button says, "Vote for Cheaters." My 'bill-dress' says "1. 2nd House--£100,000" and so on and so on. I'm not gonna lie, it was a pretty brilliant idea.
Alright, thanks for dropping by! More to come later on.
It is very seldom that the sun meets the backs of the inhabitants of Wales. On those very rare occasions, regardless of the temperature, people make their way outdoors. Adam and I are not excluded from this common practice.
One day it was so sunny, I needed to wear my sunglasses...and my winter coat. We went to Roath Park, a beautiful botanical garden with an adjoining lake just 5 minutes walk from my house. While walking through the garden we stumbled upon a man-made waterfall.
How we had not stumbled upon it before, I have no clue. It's not small. We shared my famous (you know...to us) tuna salad and some OJ while watching the ducks swim away from the tiny motorized sailboats. Then I just maliciously watched as a swan pleaded for food. I refused. (They have a sign! "Do not feed the birds") 
On our way back we passed one of the nicer restaurants in the Heath area (where I live) that had sadly experienced some vandalism.
The next day, we went to make dinner and I shrieked! I remembered that I had placed two bottles of beer in Adam's freezer the night before to cool them quickly; I failed to remove them. New rule: don't put glass bottles in the freezer 'cause this is what happens. It makes a sad Adam.
A few weeks later, we were invited to an 80's party at one of Adam's friend's house. He wasn't too keen on going but after a lot (A LOT) of pleading on my part, he finally gave in. On the way home I yelled out, "I'm gonna do the craziest thing to my hair!" He calmly replied, "Please don't take long." Little did he know that he was going to look just as awesome as me by the time I was through with him. With some hair spray, a hair dryer, Adam's hands (and patience) and an insane amount of hair cement--it feels like glue--in 15 minutes, I accomplished my new favorite look--the mohawk. After Adam realized how cool I looked,
he was secretly jealous. He wouldn't openly admit it but I could tell. So I forced him to put on one of my cut off shirts, my tie (yes, that's mine), my sunglasses and for the pieceste resistance, eyeliner! 
We looked amazing. I cannot recall ever making that many heads turn as I walked by. I was pretty proud of us. This is my serious mohawk pose in front of the castle in Cardiff.
Two weeks later, it was Valentines Day.
The morning of, I left my house to get supplies for breakfast and found that a local church had tied a heart-shaped balloon to everyone's rubbish bin. It was a nice way to start the day. Now, our plan was to take a trip to Reading because it's the closest city to Cardiff that not only sells but actually makes KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS! But we waited too long to book our train tickets and it went from being a nice weekend to a very expensive weekend. So we opted to stay in Cardiff and just have a nice dinner. The morning of--because I am such an amazing girlfriend--I cooked Adam breakfast 
and put together a little surprise. Sidenote: Adam is the biggest candy freak I've ever met. Many men would get distracted when a beautiful woman past their way, or an expensive car. Not Adam. He has a weakness for Sweetie Shops. 
He can smell them from miles away. Pick & Mix is his worst enemy, or rather, his wallets worst enemy. So, this is what I made him for his Valentine's present.
That night we had a dressy dinner at a great little family-owned Mediterranean restaurant.
In the UK there is a commonly celebrated 'holiday' called "Pancake Tuesday." It is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday--for Catholics--and it's all about getting rid of the nice stuff in your cupboard so one is not tempted to eat it during Lent. So, basically all you eat on Tuesday is pancakes. We eat pancakes all the time so this was no new thing, but this time we put blueberries in them...smiley blueberries.
The next weekend we both--only because I begged and then promised to dance with Adam while in London (I don't dance)--participated in London's International Model United Nations. LIMUN is one of the biggest Model UN summits in the world. It was fantastic. Our team represented Burkina Faso. I was in the UN Development Program and Adam was in the Disarmament and Security department.
The most exciting part was the keynote speaker: Luis Moreno-Ocampo. 
He is the Chief Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC.) Basically, if Hitler was still around and was to be prosecuted this guy would be the one to do it. It was fascinating to hear him speak. We had a great time in London--and we ate A LOT of Krispy Kremes.Just a few weeks later, my flatmate, Jess, turned 21. The theme of her party was "Headlines of the Last Year." This could be anything from pop culture, gossip column, politics, religion, movie headlines and the like. One of my flatmates, Hannah, decided to go as an Avatar.
Other headlines seen were: Tiger Woods, Alice in Wonderland, Snow (the UK got dumped on this winter which is very unusual,) and many others. There is an political scandal going on in Britain with their MPs (Members of Parliament) and their expenses. Many of them have used tax dollars to claim expenses on many frivolous things such as duck islands in their back yards and children's allowances. So, Adam and I decided to do something with that, as we're both very interested in politics. He was my MP and I was his expense bill.
His button says, "Vote for Cheaters." My 'bill-dress' says "1. 2nd House--£100,000" and so on and so on. I'm not gonna lie, it was a pretty brilliant idea.Alright, thanks for dropping by! More to come later on.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Wow, it's been a long time.
So, I started getting all of these great blog updates from Kendra and realized I have not updated mine since...well forever.
Ok, so here goes.
I'm in love. His name is Adam.
He's amazing. I've never felt more adored in my life. More than that, however, we have tons of fun.
Let's start off with our adventures. About 2 weeks after we started dating, he asked me to go up to his hometown, Glasgow, Scotland. He is a trustee for a charity called The John John Trust, in memory of a friend of his who died on a build in Africa. The trustees put on a ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee)--a traditional Scottish dance--raising money to put kids in Africa through elementary and secondary school. I was going to go to Ireland that weekend to listen to Noam Chomsky speak, but I lost my visa so I couldn't leave the UK. And while it was a bit soon to go "meet the parents" I realized I was here for a cultural experience. What better way to start that off than watching real Scottish men dance in kilts with real Scottish women? Needless to say, I made the right decision. I hopped on a bus, drove 8 hours and tried to dance the night away (I get dizzy really easily.) More than anything, it was great to see Adam in action. He is a natural leader with an insane amount of charisma. Looking back I realize that I never stood a chance. He was just too good to pass up.
After the ceilidh, we became inseparable. We started having mini adventures in Cardiff, discovering new places and trying new things. We went to rugby games,
visited his Aunt and Uncle at their amazing house in southern England (I touched a wild pony!), celebrated Guy Fawkes Day ("Remember, remember the 5th of November), hosted 'A British Thanksgiving' (yes, that is me chewing) 
and had a 'Very Scottish Birthday' for Adam. 
Sadly, you do not get the joy of seeing him in his kilt in this picture. During this, I began planning for Christmas. I had a great idea. We would leave the Monday after the term ended and take a week to get to Glasgow for Christmas. Adam thought it was a good idea as well, so we did it.
During this week we took the train from Cardiff to Bath. In Bath there is an amazing spa. We spent tons of time just soaking and enjoying the sauna--there are 4, each with different therapy oils. It was amazing. After this we jumped on a late train and headed to Oxford. All the next day we walked around the university. The buildings are phenomenal. The highlight of Oxford? Christ Church. It's where a lot of Harry Potter was filmed. I stood inside the GREAT HALL!
*sigh* Amazing. From Oxford, we went to Liverpool and stayed with one of my flatmates for a couple of days. She was an fantastic tour guide, taking us to the quirky, historical and beautiful parts of Liverpool. We spent a lot of time in the Cavern, the club where the Beatles started. That night there was a John Lennon tribute with a John Lennon impersonator. It was so much fun; we sang "Imagine" with 'John Lennon' at the club where it all started. After Liverpool, we headed to York. What a beautiful city! The original castle walls are still standing protecting the city from the outside world. Once inside the city, you can walk the castle walls, which we did, because I am American and must do those things. 
York Minster (it's big church) was awe-inspiring. It started to snow hard that night, but we didn't mind. We went on a walking ghost-tour of York. Our guide was so good; very funny. The tour ended at a street called "The Shambles." In it, flats are built on top of the shops and the shops are very close together. There are two flats that actually lean towards each other so that if two people stuck their arms out of their respective flats, they would be able to touch. This street is the model for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. It actually looks like it too! 
After York we headed to Newcastle and enjoyed the bustling city. They have a China Town, so Adam and I decided we were hittin' the buffet. We spent over 2 hours stuffing ourselves. Adam took a picture of me out-eating him. 
I was so sick because of how much I ate. Our clothes also smelled so bad after that--like prawn crackers. We could hardly come near them; so they were promptly washed when we got to Glasgow. After Newcastle our last stop was in Carlisle. We went to Carlisle so that we could go to Hadrian's Wall, a Roman wall built to keep Scotland out of England (or maybe the other way around.) But, apparently it's 'closed' for the winter, in that no buses go up there. We could have braved the 1-foot of freshly laid snow and walked the four miles, but neither of us were up to the challenge. So, we went to the Carlisle castle instead. 
I'm obviously doing a terrible job of holding it up. It was the biggest one I'd seen yet (Cardiff, Oxford, Newcastle). But the best part of Carlisle was our fancy dinner. We decided that we would splurge on one fancy dinner during our trip. We went to this Italian boutique restaurant. We were the first ones to arrive when it opened at 5:30pm. We bought a bottle of wine and two appetizers. Oh my goodness, the appetizers were some of the best food I've eaten; garlic mushrooms in a white wine sauce over garlic toast and soft mini bread sticks brushed with garlic butter and served with a bleu cheese dip and marinara. We could have just eaten that all night. Then the entrees came out and they were HUGE! Mine was amazingly cheesy, with a lot of mince and tomato. We just ate and ate and ate. Then we both had dessert. I couldn't move. It was a pretty expensive meal (around £80, so about $120) but honestly, it was totally worth it. Plus, we were there for hours just talking and learning more and more about each other. It was as romantic as it could get considering the two people who think romance in general is pretty cheesy (hm...maybe that's just me.) The next day we went to Glasgow and spent 10 days hanging out with his family, who are so lovely.
One day during that 10 days, we went to Stirling to see the William Wallace (Braveheart guy) monument. I got to see his real sword. It's HUGE!
The monument overlooks the site of Wallace's token battle, The Battle on Stirling Bridge. That was pretty cool. Then we went to Stirling Castle. It was massive! It was also very fun because some of the rooms had wax people so you could get a feel for what would have gone on inside the room.
Also during our stay in Glasgow, I had been craving oysters on a half shell. So, Adam found one of the only places that serves them and took me. It was an hour and a half north of Glasgow in a tiny village on the shore of Loch Fyne. (Loch means Lake.) His sister Heather and her friend Lisa came along with us. We all had a blast. It was great to look out the window and see the Loch where the oysters that I was eating had called their home just before hitting my plate. The drive up and back was great. Scotland is so beautiful!
Then on the 30th, we went to Edinburgh to celebrate Hogmany (New Years.) New Years Eve was fun--a huge street party with tons of food and live music. But the best part of our trip to Edinburgh was the night of the 30th. The city called the event, "The Fire and Lights Show." What it ended up being was a heaven for pyros. There were so many fires all over the place on the Royal Mile and sparks were flying everywhere. The pictures are insane.
It was so windy that it turned into a "Fire Brigade and No Lights Show." It was funny. After that, we went and had Kurdish food. Yum! Edinburgh castle was the biggest of them all. It was literally like a preserved medieval city in behind castle walls in the middle of Edinburgh. After that, our journey was over. We went back to Cardiff where it was surprisingly warm in comparison to all the snow we'd encountered on our journey and rejoined regular life again. We took tons of pictures and video though, so at some point things will be posted. There are some pictures at: http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=1624148209#!/album.php?aid=2248357&id=27207199
Two weekends ago, we went to the coast of southwest Wales and enjoyed a coastal town called Tenby. So beautiful! It looks like Greece,
but feels like Wales. We had a blast. It was the first time Adam had ever had lobster. Needless to say, he's hooked. Last weekend, we went to Barry Island, just 30 minutes outside of Cardiff for a Sunday picnic. We played in the water--well our feet did--and I killed Adam in miniature golf. To be fair, he murdered me at air hockey. Why do I always suck at that?
Anyway, that's what we've been doing thus far. He leaves for an internship on Sunday in London with BBC World Service for two weeks. I am going to miss him. But I guess it's practice for the 4 months that I am in San Francisco finishing my degree. Blah.
Alright, I'll let you get back to your life. More to come though!
Ok, so here goes.
I'm in love. His name is Adam.
He's amazing. I've never felt more adored in my life. More than that, however, we have tons of fun.Let's start off with our adventures. About 2 weeks after we started dating, he asked me to go up to his hometown, Glasgow, Scotland. He is a trustee for a charity called The John John Trust, in memory of a friend of his who died on a build in Africa. The trustees put on a ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee)--a traditional Scottish dance--raising money to put kids in Africa through elementary and secondary school. I was going to go to Ireland that weekend to listen to Noam Chomsky speak, but I lost my visa so I couldn't leave the UK. And while it was a bit soon to go "meet the parents" I realized I was here for a cultural experience. What better way to start that off than watching real Scottish men dance in kilts with real Scottish women? Needless to say, I made the right decision. I hopped on a bus, drove 8 hours and tried to dance the night away (I get dizzy really easily.) More than anything, it was great to see Adam in action. He is a natural leader with an insane amount of charisma. Looking back I realize that I never stood a chance. He was just too good to pass up.
After the ceilidh, we became inseparable. We started having mini adventures in Cardiff, discovering new places and trying new things. We went to rugby games,
visited his Aunt and Uncle at their amazing house in southern England (I touched a wild pony!), celebrated Guy Fawkes Day ("Remember, remember the 5th of November), hosted 'A British Thanksgiving' (yes, that is me chewing) 
and had a 'Very Scottish Birthday' for Adam. 
Sadly, you do not get the joy of seeing him in his kilt in this picture. During this, I began planning for Christmas. I had a great idea. We would leave the Monday after the term ended and take a week to get to Glasgow for Christmas. Adam thought it was a good idea as well, so we did it.During this week we took the train from Cardiff to Bath. In Bath there is an amazing spa. We spent tons of time just soaking and enjoying the sauna--there are 4, each with different therapy oils. It was amazing. After this we jumped on a late train and headed to Oxford. All the next day we walked around the university. The buildings are phenomenal. The highlight of Oxford? Christ Church. It's where a lot of Harry Potter was filmed. I stood inside the GREAT HALL!
*sigh* Amazing. From Oxford, we went to Liverpool and stayed with one of my flatmates for a couple of days. She was an fantastic tour guide, taking us to the quirky, historical and beautiful parts of Liverpool. We spent a lot of time in the Cavern, the club where the Beatles started. That night there was a John Lennon tribute with a John Lennon impersonator. It was so much fun; we sang "Imagine" with 'John Lennon' at the club where it all started. After Liverpool, we headed to York. What a beautiful city! The original castle walls are still standing protecting the city from the outside world. Once inside the city, you can walk the castle walls, which we did, because I am American and must do those things. 
York Minster (it's big church) was awe-inspiring. It started to snow hard that night, but we didn't mind. We went on a walking ghost-tour of York. Our guide was so good; very funny. The tour ended at a street called "The Shambles." In it, flats are built on top of the shops and the shops are very close together. There are two flats that actually lean towards each other so that if two people stuck their arms out of their respective flats, they would be able to touch. This street is the model for Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. It actually looks like it too! 
After York we headed to Newcastle and enjoyed the bustling city. They have a China Town, so Adam and I decided we were hittin' the buffet. We spent over 2 hours stuffing ourselves. Adam took a picture of me out-eating him. 
I was so sick because of how much I ate. Our clothes also smelled so bad after that--like prawn crackers. We could hardly come near them; so they were promptly washed when we got to Glasgow. After Newcastle our last stop was in Carlisle. We went to Carlisle so that we could go to Hadrian's Wall, a Roman wall built to keep Scotland out of England (or maybe the other way around.) But, apparently it's 'closed' for the winter, in that no buses go up there. We could have braved the 1-foot of freshly laid snow and walked the four miles, but neither of us were up to the challenge. So, we went to the Carlisle castle instead. 
I'm obviously doing a terrible job of holding it up. It was the biggest one I'd seen yet (Cardiff, Oxford, Newcastle). But the best part of Carlisle was our fancy dinner. We decided that we would splurge on one fancy dinner during our trip. We went to this Italian boutique restaurant. We were the first ones to arrive when it opened at 5:30pm. We bought a bottle of wine and two appetizers. Oh my goodness, the appetizers were some of the best food I've eaten; garlic mushrooms in a white wine sauce over garlic toast and soft mini bread sticks brushed with garlic butter and served with a bleu cheese dip and marinara. We could have just eaten that all night. Then the entrees came out and they were HUGE! Mine was amazingly cheesy, with a lot of mince and tomato. We just ate and ate and ate. Then we both had dessert. I couldn't move. It was a pretty expensive meal (around £80, so about $120) but honestly, it was totally worth it. Plus, we were there for hours just talking and learning more and more about each other. It was as romantic as it could get considering the two people who think romance in general is pretty cheesy (hm...maybe that's just me.) The next day we went to Glasgow and spent 10 days hanging out with his family, who are so lovely.One day during that 10 days, we went to Stirling to see the William Wallace (Braveheart guy) monument. I got to see his real sword. It's HUGE!
The monument overlooks the site of Wallace's token battle, The Battle on Stirling Bridge. That was pretty cool. Then we went to Stirling Castle. It was massive! It was also very fun because some of the rooms had wax people so you could get a feel for what would have gone on inside the room.
Also during our stay in Glasgow, I had been craving oysters on a half shell. So, Adam found one of the only places that serves them and took me. It was an hour and a half north of Glasgow in a tiny village on the shore of Loch Fyne. (Loch means Lake.) His sister Heather and her friend Lisa came along with us. We all had a blast. It was great to look out the window and see the Loch where the oysters that I was eating had called their home just before hitting my plate. The drive up and back was great. Scotland is so beautiful!
Then on the 30th, we went to Edinburgh to celebrate Hogmany (New Years.) New Years Eve was fun--a huge street party with tons of food and live music. But the best part of our trip to Edinburgh was the night of the 30th. The city called the event, "The Fire and Lights Show." What it ended up being was a heaven for pyros. There were so many fires all over the place on the Royal Mile and sparks were flying everywhere. The pictures are insane.
It was so windy that it turned into a "Fire Brigade and No Lights Show." It was funny. After that, we went and had Kurdish food. Yum! Edinburgh castle was the biggest of them all. It was literally like a preserved medieval city in behind castle walls in the middle of Edinburgh. After that, our journey was over. We went back to Cardiff where it was surprisingly warm in comparison to all the snow we'd encountered on our journey and rejoined regular life again. We took tons of pictures and video though, so at some point things will be posted. There are some pictures at: http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=1624148209#!/album.php?aid=2248357&id=27207199Two weekends ago, we went to the coast of southwest Wales and enjoyed a coastal town called Tenby. So beautiful! It looks like Greece,
but feels like Wales. We had a blast. It was the first time Adam had ever had lobster. Needless to say, he's hooked. Last weekend, we went to Barry Island, just 30 minutes outside of Cardiff for a Sunday picnic. We played in the water--well our feet did--and I killed Adam in miniature golf. To be fair, he murdered me at air hockey. Why do I always suck at that?Anyway, that's what we've been doing thus far. He leaves for an internship on Sunday in London with BBC World Service for two weeks. I am going to miss him. But I guess it's practice for the 4 months that I am in San Francisco finishing my degree. Blah.
Alright, I'll let you get back to your life. More to come though!
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