Monday 22 March 2010

Goodbye and Hello Europe

Day 66

So its been awhile eh? Life has been craaaaazzzzy here. I have recorded most days on my voice recorder so all is not fogotten. Just thought it should be known that I am alive and all is well. Life is great and just keeps getting better...minus the increasing amount of hw. But now for today....

Woke up @ 0545. It was brutal!! The bed was so comfy and it was soooo early. But such early rising was necessary to be able to catch our airport shuttle bus which left at 0645. We told the "happy" old blind man who ran the place that we would be leaving early in the morning. He said if he wastn up we could just call him. Well calling didnt work as we couldnt get the room phone to work and we didnt know the German area code either. We were just going to leave the key on the bed with a note praying that in his blindness, he would stumble upon it. Just as we were leaving, we came out so all was saved! This did however make us late so we speed-walked to the bus station. The bus was about an hour long ride and we ended up at a small airport in the middle of nowhere, Lubeck airport. Nice one Ryanair. It was ghetto. Super small. We got out of their without a hitch though and landed in Stansted a few minutes early. The whole flight though was like a sales pitch selliing everything from lottery tickets to smokeless cigarettes. The bus and everything went fine. We did eat in the airport, me having a meal deal thing from the little store in there and toppping it off with a great milkshake from BK. The bus driver was crazy and drove super fast. WE got back to Oxford at 1507. My watch decided to suddenly stop working today too. The display went away but the night light is constantly on. Walmart watch is all I have to say. Cole lent me one of his watches. It is ginormous but it tells time so its fine. Once back, I basically talked to people until Natalie, Claire and I went to Posh Fish. i go the large stupidly adn didnt even come close to finishing it. It was then time for 9@9. Ryker led. He seemed nervous but what he said was awesome. It was about the last supper but he also tied in how we are a community and we have so much potential if we love another like God loves us. Very good. I then went with Kris to get a milkshake at Rainbows. it was DELICIOUS! she got a galaxy chocolate one and I got an oreo one. Oh, Hannah and I also had a little....i dont know what to call it. She tried to put lip gloss on me but it definitely ended up all over her face. ha. A pen also exploded on her hands. i did feel fairly bad. it was hilarious though. She was very interested in Amsterdam as mosst people were so i told them about it all. funny stuff.

Well, as travis would say...its about that time. I still hve hw seeing as i came back to a huge amount that I forgot about, which completely trashes the plan I had made for these next few days to get some of my projects done. Oh well. Thats how the cookie crumbles. Oh...the trip, Shock and Awe Europe, was a complete SUCCESS!!! Europe, I hope we stay in touch cause I really like you. ha So...

Im out like Commies in Berlin.
Laters Chums

Friday 5 March 2010

When I grow up I want to be Banking Queen

Day 50


Yesterday somehow slipped by me. i barely remember anything I did besides actually working on my Marketing Journal. That could be a good or bad thing depending on how you look at it. When I type like this, its all coming back to me now. I woke up @ 950 which was not very good considering i went to bed...late.  But I made it through class which was awesome as usual.  i then attempted hw most of the day after OTH, having gotten a sausage, mozzarella and brown sauce sandwich on ciabatta bread.  Delicious!   I did sit out on Kris and Malia's balcony for a long while working on hw and listening to music. It was fantastic.  At 7, I went to church at St. Aldate's. the message was awesome and very interesting. Seeing as i was super tired, it kept me awake, it entertained and it taught me. It was about jumping off the cliff WHENEVER God calls you whether or not you know why.  After church we booked out Italy trip flights. It took way longer than expected bc Jacque will be back so some have to be here for their humanities class therefore making it impossible to get the early cheap flight into Genoa. Seeing as that flight was the only flight that day into Genoa, we had to try to find the best alternative which ended up being flying into Milan later that night and we will just train it to Cinque Terre that night. We pass up the Riviera but thats the way the cookie crumbles. Well now onto today...


Woke up @ 0636 for the trip to London. I was going to make a rather large breakfast but realized I didnt have bread to use my eggs and i didnt have time so I just have frosties with bananas and then my last piece of bread with raspberry jam on it.  It was good overall.  I ironed my pants that Claire hemmed for me and quickly got dressed.  After having to run back in cause I forgot my jacket, I basically got on the bus and fell asleep.  I woke up and we were at St. Paul's Church. It was BEAUTIFUL!! We were basically just wasting time til our tour of Lloyd's Banking Group started.  I went to Marks and Spencer and got a delicious shortbread cookie with chocolate chips and a chocolate croissant thing. I also bought chocolate milk but it was dark chocolate milk so I was not a huge fan. We just chilled in starbucks then.  We took some pics infront of the church before we left and walked to Lloyd's.  The building of LBG was so cool. It was basically all glass.  It was very official with badges and everything. We went to the 9th (top) floor into a meeting room where they had tea and cookies for us. The guy was hilarious. his son goes to ACU and that is how we got the hook up.  WE rotated in three groups throughout 3 stations: Credit, Money Market and Bank ideology i guess.All the employees seemed to have a large sense of fealty(Word of the Day) to Lloyd's which was cool to see.  The credit guys were fairly boring but I heard something really cool saying that they primarily care for the first customer (the person who gives the bank their money) because they need to build trust. The second customer (the borrower of the 1st customer's money) is treated in respect of the 1st customer. I just thought that relationship was cool. And i loved their motto "for the journey" bc after having the credit guys explain to me how they deal with the companies, especially when they say "no" to loan requests, it really does seem like LBG is there with you for the journey and they care about the outcome.  The bank ideology was cool too seeing the difference between USA and UK. I thought is was so cool how scottish banks can print their own money. Just throwing that out there.  USA banking is much more service oriented and we have SOOOO many more banks than they have here. UK is more about getting the transaction done and getting you out on your way and they really only have four main banks throughout the UK.  Lunch was fantastic. They had so many different Hourdourves (the finger food things). A few drinks were spilt....by people other than me!! After lunch, my group went to the traders, where they talk to the customer and trade money. We got paired up with a person and talked with them and got to listen in on the calls.  My guy Pete was awesome!! It was so interesting. He straight up played this one lady because he knew how she worked. He said he would ask the head floor trader...he simply put it on hold and explained the call to me and then got back on the call and said the trader said that the quoted price was the best offered. Then she asked if he could do a lower price and he said he would go ask...he didnt. He got back on and said that he COULD do it. He later explained that he knew how that particular lady bargained bc of the caller memos about her. He also said he dropped the price bc even though the bank didnt make the full amount, they still made more than they would have if he didnt give her the lower price and she walked.  Very very very interesting how companies would call in to loan the bank 1000000GBP just for the weekend to make 16GBP interest off of it. Such small margins!


Well after Lloyd's, we went ot Parliament.  On the way we got stuck in traffic bc of a demonstration by the British National Party and the English Defense League. i have never seen so many police in my life!! Very cool. We finally got to Parliament and did the tour. It was so decorated on the inside and supe cool to see the throne where the queen sits in the House of Lords which is completely painted in 24 kt gold. The house of commons was cool to see since we watched the prime minister questions. The lady that gave us the tour actually works for the conservative party. She showed us the books where since the 19th century, they had written down ever word spoken in the hosue of commons. they were big! A random fact is that no king or queen has ever or will ever set foot in the house of commons simply as an act of separation showing that common people do have power.


The bus ride back was great. We took a scenic route through London and saw lots of pretty lit up things. I sat with Hannah and we talked about life while listening to Miley Cirus...Nothing better than that. Overall...An awesome day!!!! I found out that with a rail card i can get a one way ticket to london for 2.68 GBP so i will definitely be making one more day trip back to do a little more actual sight seeing. Very cool.


Well im exhausted. I did some work on my finances and got them completely up to date and looking even better. I have spent a good bit of money but it is actually much less than I thought i would have spent having booked the rest of my trip's travel. Basically all that is left to spend money on here is hostels, tours, FOOD and one or two more gifts.  Tom is HOMEWORK day!!! and Malia's bday!!! and doing KEEN(hopefully if it doesn't interfere with Malia's dinner)!!


Im out like superman when he sees krypton.
Laters Chums

Thursday 4 March 2010

Pants for Cheap

Day 48


Woke up @ 940 and got ready to go to the market.  I ate a bowl of cereal and got to the other house at 1015. Grant and I waited for the girls until 1032 when they finally came down. Then Grant, Sydney, Kel, Allison and myself headed off to the park to feed the ducks. We met a super cool little dog and talked with his owner for a little bit.  We then headed off to the market. I bought some bananas and grapes and got my watch fixed.  Afterwards Grant and I went to OTH. I got a wrap with cranberry sauce, brie and chicken. Delicious!! I felt a eructation(word of the day) was very needed but I with held it.  I hung out for a few minutes until class started. We went to Christ church Meadows and the Oxford Museum. i realized that the final for OxTA is going to be ridonkulously hard and I need to start reading the book. bleh. the museum was fairly interesting with lots of Oxford artifacts and history on the city.


After class, Cole, hannah and I went to Uncle Sam's vintage Clothing shop to find me some dress pants.  AFter searching for awhile, I ended up finding some Calvin Klein pants that still had the tag for $115 and were only 18 GBP. They werent hemmed so claire hooked me up and did a great job on them!  We went to this amazing restaurant called Frevd which is in this really old church awesomely redone. The pizza was super good and the waiter brought ice cream out for sydney and jacque since it was there bdays.


After and before dinner, I was talking ot peeps about the confusion of the groups to italy bc some peeps were pretty sad and a lot of the emotion was rightfully felt.  I really enjoyed talking to them though trying to lift their spirits. I think it all worked out in the end.  After dinner, we had awesome cupcakes with sprinkles, ice cream and "squitry cream" as they call whipped cream over here.  It was all fantastic.


I then watched the bachelor with Kel, Hannah, Michelle and Kris but Kris left early. Jake is dumb and I dont like him. i think that him and his choice girl will get along well though and im glad the girl whose name starts with a "T" didnt get picked cause she deserves better.  AFter the bachelor, I talked for a bit and then started hw but was quickly distracted by a great convo with Nicholas that lasted close to 3 hours. It was very insightful and I really really enjoyed talking with him. I mean this in the nicest way possible...when we talk it is almost like we are from different planets cause he just sees things so differently as me a lot and I love it!


Well its time for doing actual hw. This blog was really quick. Im proud of myself.


Im out like a slow aging wine.
Laters chums

Wednesday 3 March 2010

Is it really ultimate or just above average?

Day 47


Woke up @ 1100 which was way before my alarm. i decided to read for MRKT. I got a little bit into it and got real tired so I flipped back around on my bed and started counting sheep again around 1145. I slept until my actual alarm went off at 1249. Some how 1249 makes me feel better about myself than if I were to set my alarm for 1250 cause that just seems too close to one which is way too late to be sleeping in.


I eventually got up and hit the shower and got ready. It was the most beautiful day I have ever experienced in Europe my whole life!! i walked to OTH and got a roasted chicken pesto rosso on a panini bc they were out of brown baps so I didnt get the cajun chicken as I was planning.  I came back and found Kris and Malia on their "balcony" and they invited me up. It was a sight for me trying to get through the small opening in the window caused by the blocks installed to probably keep us from going out there.  It was really the tightest spot I have ever squeezed through. i had to take out my wallet, take off my hoodie and belt and I still was peeling paint of the window sill.  but it was totally worth it...eating my delicious OTH sandwich, studying for MRKT and getting a tan!!  


It was then off to class which took awhile getting back through the window.  It was a very interesting class as usual.  i didnt do so hot on the quiz bc he pulled some stuff from the class a week ago that I didnt study. AFter class, Rick, hannah, Michelle, Corbo, Durko, Bradyn, Nicholas, Allison, Wyatt and myself played ultimate frisbee in the back yard. we were wearing shorts and t shirts. It was amazing!!! We lost by one stinkin point. I blame it on the fact we took it easy on the girls so we didnt hurt them...being gentlemen ya know?  Nicholas had the quote of the day for sure. I thought it was quite the stroke of genius. When he threw off, instead of yelling "ULTIMATE!", he simply said "Above Average!". IT cracked me up. We threw around the football a little bit and then I headed in and made dinner which consisted of me trying to thaw the chicken casserole that Nicholas made a while back.  I forgot to set it out to thaw so i embarked on a journey which involved me cutting the "brick" into pieces with a serrated bread knife and then heating those up until I could mash them apart. it turned out to be more like slop when I was done with it but it still tasted good. :) 


I then started on bible hw after buying my eurail pass.  It says it should be here march 8th.  Its cutting it close but it should be good.  I talked with Jgroves a bit and did a little facebookin'.  Later I went to plan Italy with sydney, grant, ben, malia, katie, becca and kris but malia and kris ended up leaving the group because we had too many people which we did.  I left when they said we had to decide on the groups cause I dont like confrontation. ha  We pretty much got down everything and tom we are booking our flights.  the tenative schedule is genoa, camogli, cinque terre, lucca, florence and rome.  Our stay in each place ranges from over two days to less than half a day.  Im stoked!! There was some problems with the other groups about who was going with who. It is a sticky situation bc basically everyone is wanting to do what they want and there is a problem bc some are not getting what they want. There are two solutions to tis problem for every person on this trip....you can give something up to help make others happy or not.  The problem with the problem is that since everyone has a way to fix the problem (yes some have easier ways than others), no one is fixing it bc someone else can do it just the same.  Followin what im saying? It seems like we just need to temporize(Word of the day) before we make any decisions that might hurt some feelings. Its quite the Anthropological study.


Anywhoozers, God will make whatever work. im confident of that. He basically slapped me straight when i was so bummed about my rooming assignment. It has turned out amazing!! if you put your trust in Him, you cant go wrong. it may not turn out exactly like you planned it, but something good will come out of it.


Well its bed time cause tom is Wed and that means market and a new table cloth for the kitchen table!!! Wed has also come to mean feeding the ducks too! so Stoked!!


So Im out like a burnt out lightbulb.
Laters Chums

Tuesday 2 March 2010

John Cooper's Day

Day 46

So its been a a week since my last blog. Shame shame. I have been recording and I did record whil ein Switzerland which just for the record...WAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE I HAVE EVER SEEN!! Paragliding was mindblowing(of which I have discreetly interjected pictures). Hiking was revitalizing. It was fantastic. Yesterday was teh second time I did not blog or record but nothing big happened except for dinner with the Lytles and Alice, Becky, James, Caleb, Tim and Austin.  It was great hanging out with those Brits. ha I did miss church but 9@9 was great. it was about humility and that being humble does not mean to think that you are lesser than some one but just to recognize your purpose and use of your gifts. Well now onto today...

Woke up @ 0650. i was way tired seeing as I went to bed at 0230.  The reason we were all up this early was because we were leaving for the Mini Cooper factory tour at 0730.  We rode the city bus there.  The tour was unreal!! I could easily spend way too much time writing about it but I will try to refrain from doing that.  The craziest thing was that every cooper in the world was assembled in that factory and ever car that was being built was already sold so it was custom ordered.  That requires everything to be JIS (just in sequence). So like the cockpits came in built for a specific car going to a specific owner. The logistics of it al blew my mind. they also had JIT (just in time) which allows them to keep minimum inventory.  For example the cockpits were not allowed on site more than two hours prior to when it was needed. And almost every car leaves the factory within 24 hours of it first starting to be built. Absolutely insane! We got to wear cool black lab coats, had little walkie talkie things and safety goggles...we looked official! After the tour, we sang The Lord Bless You and Keep You to the two guys that lead us around. they thought we were a choir. I still dont know about all the amen's at the end of that song. I get lost every time.

After the tour, i went ot OTH and get the Sexy Brazilian on a brown bap for the first time. It was darn good.  After that, i wanted to take a nap but Nicholas and I planned our long trip. We are not goign to be able to get to Austria or Auschwitz but I am so excited for our trip!!! We even figured out what Eurail pass we need and are ordering that tom. The beginning of our trip is a little crazy and hectic but then it slows down ending with over two full days in Berlin and a day in Hamburg. Very Nice!

I then to the grocery store with Kris and Malia. We were late for MGMT by like 10 mins. Oh just to have it documentized....Kel and Cailee missed the tour this morning. It was just a misunderstanding though. they werew actually up and just misheard something. But class started at 3 today and then at 4 MAry from OxFam came to talk. I felt really bad cause it was so hard to stay awake. Me being up this late certainly doesnt help. ha But after class, I went back to work on the trip and get it done. I then started on hw...more or less. I decided on going with Sydney, Grant, Ben, Malia and Kris for Italy so im super stoked! The highlight of the day though was definitely skyping Jro just a little while ago!! GOsh i miss that guy. I saw spence too!! I was also looking at some flights to Italy trying to find the cheapest and then seeing about a weekend trip to malta. That is probably a no go. SUPER expensive.

Well anywhoozers...its been another great day in which I didnt get any work done on my MRKT journal. Im sure some would say I could be doing it now but i just put documenting my trip over it in priorities. Call me weird but thats how I am. Memories first. lol I never recorded about dad getting moved to a new position. it sounds like a pretty cool thing. He is working under todd again who I think he really likes. He is over every desktop and virtual pc in USAA. pretty stinkin cool!

Well im out like Chaburn with his concussion.
Laters Chums

Tuesday 23 February 2010

The Day of Resolved Confrontation

Day 39

Woke up @ 1000. It was snowing like crazy but just after lunch it had all melted.  I had a little bowl of cereal and started reading for MGMT. I then went with Nicholas to OTH and we both got Clara's Sahara which is roasted potatoes with spinach and chorizo and yougurt and mango chetne(no clue how to spell it) with some cheese all on a panini. It was mind blowing!!! it was 3.50lbs so i wont be getting it al the time but it was still so so good. AFter lunch, I read some for INTS and then headed off to class. It was another intense class. Rick covered Big Ideas again for me cause I mentioned I was still lost on the issue. It helped...a lot. We did another case study and got a personal mission statement portfolio thing assigned which will be super good for job interviews down the road. The case study was over COBA and Rick's struggles as Dean. We were divided up into different teams. I was on the nonCOBA faculty team. It was fun playing devils advocate but it kinda got me thinking about it from their perspective...the other tower per se. After class I had a fairly "heated" discussion about salaries between COBA and the rest of the unviersity with Chase and Stephanie. It would take a long time to explain and it is rather late so the bottom line is that I was trying to see through the other tower. See and push the other sides idea and see the reaction I got. Both sides made sense to me by the end and it boiled down to God could open a door for you to get a higher paying job or a lower paying job. It all depends on his will for you. It was a great convo where we all came together at the end even after some intense debating.  good times. 

Well after that Nicholas and I went to the store to buy stuff for dinner tom. Chicken and rice casserole. its going to be amazing! AFter we went to the store, nicholas and I had a bit of a disagreement....well I basically did something that made him mad basically having to do with the penny pincher coming out in me. We settled it though and hugged so things are all good. It was just one of those times where the convo just didnt go like you had planned it would. I will say that it was handled very well by both...him not holding in his feelings and I guess me by accepting responsiblity which both enabled us to get over it and move on. good times.

I then worked on bible with Wyatt and then did INTS.
I feel asleep while reading for INTS after I ate my delicious hawaiian pizza for dinner. I eventually got the paper done and have been working on figuring out my european expedition with Nicholas coming up. The goal is to hit Germany, Poland, Austria, Czech Rep, Luxenbourg, Belguim and Netherlands. Poland may get scrapped for logistical reasons but it is so close to berlin that its hard to pass it up. Austria is the other candidate for getting the can. We shall see. The big picture is to fly into berlin and then horseshoe it around to amsterdam/rotterdam on train via the eurail pass. It very well has the potential to be of EPIC proportions.

Well, seeing as we actually have INTS in the morning and MRKT and our bus leaves in 21 hrs and 15 mins for the airport and i stil have to shower....

Im out like a fish in the desert.
Laters Chums

Monday 22 February 2010

Omelettes and Church

Day 38

Since I just recorded my day yesterday and didnt get it written down, let me do a quick catch up. Ryker, Malia, Kris and I went to Windsor. We toured the castle and walked around. It was absolutely beautiful!!! I took lots of pics but with so much hw, trying to plan trips, exploring oxford and what not, uploading pics on facebook and what not is pretty low on my list. So anywhoozers, that was my day yesterday. Onward to today....

Woke up at 1320. It was so nice to sleep in. As you can probably see, I did not go to church this morning but you will also see that I make up for it later. I cook a delicious 3 eggs omelet with cheese and bacon and had toast and jam and apple juice with it. The apple juice was partially frozen so it was more like the AJ slush from sonic so it was great! I then proceeded to try and read for MGMT after a shower and what not.  I got pretty far but my mind kept drifting so it took awhile. I then got ready to go to St. Aldates with Brittany. We left at 1715 for church to stop by the phone place for her but it was closed so we got to church pretty early. It started at six. It was awesome!!! I love st aldates so much. I wish it was back home. The worship was spot on and the sermon fit right into what alot of the convos Ive been having are about. I took notes on it so I wont go into too much detail besides that i loved it!! We decided to stay as long as we could for the 2015 service which is the one al the students come to. they take out all the chairs like on thurs night but they add colored lights all around the room and the music is much louder and lots more peeps. I really hope we get to skip 9@9 one of these nights and get to experience the whole service. 9@9 was a little lacking for me personally tonight. I didnt know alot of the songs, they didnt have words for most of them and i couldnt make out the words they were singing. I did like the time to just reflect seeing as it was just scripture reading and songs and communion. We had quite a few visitors tonight...6 I think. All in all, tonight brittany and I got 4 straight hours of church and I loved it!!

After 9@9, I talked for awhile with peeps until PPPx2 decided I need to go to bed. I succumbed to their demands and headed off towards bed. I made a pit stop for Luz's brownies in Adri's and Chelsea's room. i found out I can go wiht the Lytle's to Italy which is cool. I personally would like to find someone else to go with me so I wouldnt have to stay by myself seeing as how they already booked the places. We shall see. Im going to pray about it. I have several options of options to decide and it needs to be done quickly so i can get good prices. Im really not worried about it cause whatever I do will be fun. Stress from trip planning is not something i am going to allow. On the other side of things, I am so stinkin excited for Switzerland!!! Its going to unbelievable....hopefully.

As you can tell I am still not in bed but the deal i made was to be in bed by 0045 so I have some time. I talked with PPPx2 for awhile about random stuff and now im blogging. Actually talking to Nicholas right now about life and personality types. Really interesting. Nicholas is saying I discuss/vent about lots of things and I appear negative yet I am always happy. This convo is great! ha

Well it is now 0046. Oops. time for bed. Its been a fantastic day.

Im out like I made a promised to be in bed by a certain time and am late.
Laters Chums