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
Monday, 22 March 2010
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
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
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
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. :)
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.
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!
Well im out like Chaburn with his concussion.
Laters Chums
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.
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
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
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
Friday, 19 February 2010
Free Sandwich Day
Day 36
Woke up @ 1000. lets just say it was rough getting up and leave it at that. Well it was hard getting up until I realized it was FREE SANDWICH DAY!!!! I quickly ate a bowl of cereal, got ready and ran down to MRKT. It was another great class. We are still talking about Consumer Behavior and it is super interesting. AFter class, Grant, Wyatt, Natalie, Becca and I went to OTH and Grant and I had our free snadwich day. I chose to celebrate it with Tom's Le Club....Bacon, tomato chilli, cajun chicken, mozzerella, salsa....GLORIOUS!!!!! It was everything they said it would be....a messy, addictive monster. I also tacked on some fresh banana bread...well worth it!!!Grant got the Sicilian. He thoroughly enjoyed it. AFter OTH, we came back and picked up allison, Cailee, Sydney and Kel. We went to go feed the ducks. Got some more good pics. I attempted to feed a duck mouth to mouth. I chickened out. I will prevail though. We then headed to the open flea market deal that is on thursdays. it was closing so we headed to the Swan Castle Pub. they ahd a deal...fish, chips and tea...2.99. I didnt get any food. I sat there talking while they ate but I ended up falling asleep. I woke up to a stanger poking me telling me my mates left. both my legs were asleep and my left are was killing me. I had drooled all over. I quickly grabbed my bag and left only to find them waiting for me at the door. They had asked the guy to go wake me up. It was pretty funny. well it was until a good ways home I realized my nalgene was not in my backpack. No one went back with me to look for it (pooper scoopers) but I went and looked and no one had seen it. I dont think the workers were very concerned about finding "a green water bottle". Oh well. My first casualty of the trip...I think. I swung by Sainsbury's and picked up some frozen pizza and milk. I should mention that during this whole entire outing it has been raining and of all days I decide to try out my umbrella and just wear my fleece. Bad decision bc my umbrella might be a little small for me so my pants were soaked and my fleece was not much drier. It wasnt horrible but definitely a lesson learned to just wear my rain jacket.
When I got back, I started working on my hw. I skyped with mom and during that I was "invited" to dinner at the Lytle's with some other peeps. I was pretty excited. It was delicious spaghetti with salad and bread...classic! AFter dinner, I decided to go with Natalie to St. Aldates college group. Best decision in awhile!!! There were probably about 100 peeps there. We causght the very end of dinner and found Kel, Sydney, Brittany, Cailee and Allison. The worship was awesome even though I didnt know any songs but one. That is sometimes the best though cause then I really focus on the words. It was cool cause we jsut pickedup the table and chairs and sat on the ground. The lesson was about the speck and plank in Matthew. The youth pastor's (?) wife gave the lesson. She reminded me so much of Cailee. But what was crazy was the worhsip leader...looked like Jgroves' Irish twin!!! if Corbo and Jgroves morphed to become a super being....it would be Chris. I will get a pciture to prove it. It made me almost question Jgroves of his apparent duplicity (word of the day). But the lesson sparked a great convo with Cailee, Allison and me. We covered so much. I really need to start recording these convos I have been having lately. God is really putting me in these positions of convo. It is great. Engaging is the word that I keep hearing and seeing in the situations I am in. Engaging. Be engaging for God. Doesn't really make sense upfront and it can be taken a few different ways...all the better. One of the points that stuck with me from the lesson is Love without judgment is unreliable(unrealistic) and false. It is so intense and so challenging to the ways of thinking many Christians hold. In today's church, God is losing his "bite" and just getting more and more fluffy. God loves and He is love but with love comes judgment...hard judgment. There is almost not even a balance between love and judgment, but a coexistence...a reliance on eachother for true existence. Love without judgment is unreliable(unrealistic) and false. At church I heard a deep new song by an English artist Tim Hughes called "May the words of my mouth". Intense with meaning! Oh and I missed the first day of the 40 Days reading but I am going to do yesterday's today and just catch up tom hopefully. Im excited!! (you're excited?)
After church, natalie and Brittany stayed to go with a lot of the peeps to a pub which they do every week but we left to do hw. I came back, started hw adn have been working towards getting to bed since then. I have nothing standing in my way now seeing as how I finished bible and my mission statement and core values for MGMT on monday so....
Go GB Women's curling!!! Another dominate performance against Russia today. and now....
Im out like a bullet from a gun...eyes locked tight before my head hits the pillow.
Laters Chums
Woke up @ 1000. lets just say it was rough getting up and leave it at that. Well it was hard getting up until I realized it was FREE SANDWICH DAY!!!! I quickly ate a bowl of cereal, got ready and ran down to MRKT. It was another great class. We are still talking about Consumer Behavior and it is super interesting. AFter class, Grant, Wyatt, Natalie, Becca and I went to OTH and Grant and I had our free snadwich day. I chose to celebrate it with Tom's Le Club....Bacon, tomato chilli, cajun chicken, mozzerella, salsa....GLORIOUS!!!!! It was everything they said it would be....a messy, addictive monster. I also tacked on some fresh banana bread...well worth it!!!Grant got the Sicilian. He thoroughly enjoyed it. AFter OTH, we came back and picked up allison, Cailee, Sydney and Kel. We went to go feed the ducks. Got some more good pics. I attempted to feed a duck mouth to mouth. I chickened out. I will prevail though. We then headed to the open flea market deal that is on thursdays. it was closing so we headed to the Swan Castle Pub. they ahd a deal...fish, chips and tea...2.99. I didnt get any food. I sat there talking while they ate but I ended up falling asleep. I woke up to a stanger poking me telling me my mates left. both my legs were asleep and my left are was killing me. I had drooled all over. I quickly grabbed my bag and left only to find them waiting for me at the door. They had asked the guy to go wake me up. It was pretty funny. well it was until a good ways home I realized my nalgene was not in my backpack. No one went back with me to look for it (pooper scoopers) but I went and looked and no one had seen it. I dont think the workers were very concerned about finding "a green water bottle". Oh well. My first casualty of the trip...I think. I swung by Sainsbury's and picked up some frozen pizza and milk. I should mention that during this whole entire outing it has been raining and of all days I decide to try out my umbrella and just wear my fleece. Bad decision bc my umbrella might be a little small for me so my pants were soaked and my fleece was not much drier. It wasnt horrible but definitely a lesson learned to just wear my rain jacket.
When I got back, I started working on my hw. I skyped with mom and during that I was "invited" to dinner at the Lytle's with some other peeps. I was pretty excited. It was delicious spaghetti with salad and bread...classic! AFter dinner, I decided to go with Natalie to St. Aldates college group. Best decision in awhile!!! There were probably about 100 peeps there. We causght the very end of dinner and found Kel, Sydney, Brittany, Cailee and Allison. The worship was awesome even though I didnt know any songs but one. That is sometimes the best though cause then I really focus on the words. It was cool cause we jsut pickedup the table and chairs and sat on the ground. The lesson was about the speck and plank in Matthew. The youth pastor's (?) wife gave the lesson. She reminded me so much of Cailee. But what was crazy was the worhsip leader...looked like Jgroves' Irish twin!!! if Corbo and Jgroves morphed to become a super being....it would be Chris. I will get a pciture to prove it. It made me almost question Jgroves of his apparent duplicity (word of the day). But the lesson sparked a great convo with Cailee, Allison and me. We covered so much. I really need to start recording these convos I have been having lately. God is really putting me in these positions of convo. It is great. Engaging is the word that I keep hearing and seeing in the situations I am in. Engaging. Be engaging for God. Doesn't really make sense upfront and it can be taken a few different ways...all the better. One of the points that stuck with me from the lesson is Love without judgment is unreliable(unrealistic) and false. It is so intense and so challenging to the ways of thinking many Christians hold. In today's church, God is losing his "bite" and just getting more and more fluffy. God loves and He is love but with love comes judgment...hard judgment. There is almost not even a balance between love and judgment, but a coexistence...a reliance on eachother for true existence. Love without judgment is unreliable(unrealistic) and false. At church I heard a deep new song by an English artist Tim Hughes called "May the words of my mouth". Intense with meaning! Oh and I missed the first day of the 40 Days reading but I am going to do yesterday's today and just catch up tom hopefully. Im excited!! (you're excited?)
After church, natalie and Brittany stayed to go with a lot of the peeps to a pub which they do every week but we left to do hw. I came back, started hw adn have been working towards getting to bed since then. I have nothing standing in my way now seeing as how I finished bible and my mission statement and core values for MGMT on monday so....
Go GB Women's curling!!! Another dominate performance against Russia today. and now....
Im out like a bullet from a gun...eyes locked tight before my head hits the pillow.
Laters Chums
Thursday, 18 February 2010
Time Flies When Your In A Foreign Country
Day 35
Woke up @ 1215. Realized it was day 35!!!! what the heck?! There is no way we have been here this long! Grant, Wyatt and I looked at the travel calendar...there is not much time left open for trips! We are coming down to the wire here...already. Its ridonkulous! oh well. Its been fun and we do still have a lot of time left but so much has gone by already...must be positive.
Today I had a nice big bowl of cereal with bananas. Nothing special except my milk was frozen. I dont know which way to turn the temp dial. Do higher numbers mean colder or warmer?! After breakfast, I worked on bible til OTA which didnt start until 1415 today because our tour at the Boldiean Library was not until later. The library was fantastic! Very prestigious place. They get a copy of every book and magazine printed in the UK thanks to the forsight of Thomas Boldiean. Genius. They have so many books that they store them in salt mines and in miles of tunnels underneath oxford. I really wish we could have seen the tunnels and the trains they ride through them to retrieve books. lucky oxford students. ha
After the tour I went to Sainburys with Cailee, Kel and hannah. We were supposed to feed the ducks but we never got there bc I went to the self checkout lane and it was the worst experience EVER!!! not only did two of them break, leaving only 1 working, a guy decided to buy half the store and do the "fastlane" self checkout. And of course he had never worked one before and had to search intensely for every bar code and then couldnt get it to read it. It was horrible. I spent over 25 minutes in line and I could have gotten out but i was at the point where I had invested so much time already that it was not worth it to go to another line bc I just knew things would pick up eventually...WRONG! geez it was bad. But i jsut chilled and watched people...very interesting.
Well after the store, we came back. I ate at Ali's. Got the jacket potato and i realized Im not a huge fan of them. next time im getting the chicken wrap! Jacque, Ruh va nee and Lauren decided to come with us to switzerland so it shoudl be fun. they actually got on the same flight and bus as us to the airport and might even be staying at the same hostel so that will be awesome! its me and five girls...suh weet! haha We did book our bus tickets tonight and they came out to only 11lbs round trip which is awesome! our bus leaves at 1am. should be a fun long long long long long long long day. Besides booking the bus, I have just hung out with a few peeps trying ot figure out the next breaks trip. Still not sure what I want to do but Im not too worried. I have been working on my mrkting research interview write up about price and ryanair for way too long but I have to say I have a sweet set up. the big screen tv right infront, speakers on either side of my and my notes and books spread all around me in a large wel lit room. Oh and food to munch on...Thanks Nane. I did actually finish my write up and I am very happy with it. now to see the grade I get.
Im out like I just got clobbered with a curling thing-a-ma-jib being hurled at bone breaking speeds.
Laters Chums
Woke up @ 1215. Realized it was day 35!!!! what the heck?! There is no way we have been here this long! Grant, Wyatt and I looked at the travel calendar...there is not much time left open for trips! We are coming down to the wire here...already. Its ridonkulous! oh well. Its been fun and we do still have a lot of time left but so much has gone by already...must be positive.
Today I had a nice big bowl of cereal with bananas. Nothing special except my milk was frozen. I dont know which way to turn the temp dial. Do higher numbers mean colder or warmer?! After breakfast, I worked on bible til OTA which didnt start until 1415 today because our tour at the Boldiean Library was not until later. The library was fantastic! Very prestigious place. They get a copy of every book and magazine printed in the UK thanks to the forsight of Thomas Boldiean. Genius. They have so many books that they store them in salt mines and in miles of tunnels underneath oxford. I really wish we could have seen the tunnels and the trains they ride through them to retrieve books. lucky oxford students. ha
After the tour I went to Sainburys with Cailee, Kel and hannah. We were supposed to feed the ducks but we never got there bc I went to the self checkout lane and it was the worst experience EVER!!! not only did two of them break, leaving only 1 working, a guy decided to buy half the store and do the "fastlane" self checkout. And of course he had never worked one before and had to search intensely for every bar code and then couldnt get it to read it. It was horrible. I spent over 25 minutes in line and I could have gotten out but i was at the point where I had invested so much time already that it was not worth it to go to another line bc I just knew things would pick up eventually...WRONG! geez it was bad. But i jsut chilled and watched people...very interesting.
Well after the store, we came back. I ate at Ali's. Got the jacket potato and i realized Im not a huge fan of them. next time im getting the chicken wrap! Jacque, Ruh va nee and Lauren decided to come with us to switzerland so it shoudl be fun. they actually got on the same flight and bus as us to the airport and might even be staying at the same hostel so that will be awesome! its me and five girls...suh weet! haha We did book our bus tickets tonight and they came out to only 11lbs round trip which is awesome! our bus leaves at 1am. should be a fun long long long long long long long day. Besides booking the bus, I have just hung out with a few peeps trying ot figure out the next breaks trip. Still not sure what I want to do but Im not too worried. I have been working on my mrkting research interview write up about price and ryanair for way too long but I have to say I have a sweet set up. the big screen tv right infront, speakers on either side of my and my notes and books spread all around me in a large wel lit room. Oh and food to munch on...Thanks Nane. I did actually finish my write up and I am very happy with it. now to see the grade I get.
Well, that has been my day. One thing to add is that I have realized that i really really enjoy curling! It is such a peaceful thing turned into such fierce, non agggressive competition. very intriguing. What other olympic sport can the girls wear makeup and keep their hairdo's going strong? Brilliant.
Laters Chums
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
The Day of George
Day 34
Woke up @ 1130 with the test of the fire alarm. Realized I didnt need to be up so I went back to sleep. Woke up for real @ 1230. Took a shower. Went down stairs to make another delicious breakfast sandwich and realized that I was out of bagels and didnt have bread so off to OTH it was. OTH was super busy but amazing as usual. Came back to study for MRKT with Kris. Got through it super fast and then went off to class. Class was pretty informative. We are into Consumer Behavior which is a pretty cool topic. Rick finally let back on the hw. We still have the survey thing due thurs but we didnt get any more hw. And of course we still have the marketing journal to constantly be working on...which I havent started. Well I have...just not very much.
After class, I went to Green's Cafe with Kris to work on Bible. It was a case study about homosexuality and Christianity. I went real deep in it. It was about George, a homosexual who served in the church. We had to state our stance on it and research it in the Bible and see what other people thought. Many stances the Christian websites took were very attacking and not about showing God's love at all. I had quite a few deep convos today with Kris, Natalie, Jacque, Bradyn and Brittany. I probably spent close to four hours on bible when it could have taken about 45 mins. I enjoyed it alot. I cooked hawaiian pizza for dinner and then had a snack of the brownies that Nicholaus got as a Valentie's gift but gave to me cause he doesnt like chocolate and milk. It was great! Now I am chilling in the classroom with Ryker and Kris. They were dancing and now I we are watching the Women's snowboarding. It's legit! So many people are wiping out! An American won fifth. not too shabby. Of course, a Canadian won first.
Well thats it for today. nothing too crazy. Im heading off to bed soon after a little Marketing work. so...
I'm out like the Cowboy's in the playoffs...every single year!
Laters Chums
Woke up @ 1130 with the test of the fire alarm. Realized I didnt need to be up so I went back to sleep. Woke up for real @ 1230. Took a shower. Went down stairs to make another delicious breakfast sandwich and realized that I was out of bagels and didnt have bread so off to OTH it was. OTH was super busy but amazing as usual. Came back to study for MRKT with Kris. Got through it super fast and then went off to class. Class was pretty informative. We are into Consumer Behavior which is a pretty cool topic. Rick finally let back on the hw. We still have the survey thing due thurs but we didnt get any more hw. And of course we still have the marketing journal to constantly be working on...which I havent started. Well I have...just not very much.
After class, I went to Green's Cafe with Kris to work on Bible. It was a case study about homosexuality and Christianity. I went real deep in it. It was about George, a homosexual who served in the church. We had to state our stance on it and research it in the Bible and see what other people thought. Many stances the Christian websites took were very attacking and not about showing God's love at all. I had quite a few deep convos today with Kris, Natalie, Jacque, Bradyn and Brittany. I probably spent close to four hours on bible when it could have taken about 45 mins. I enjoyed it alot. I cooked hawaiian pizza for dinner and then had a snack of the brownies that Nicholaus got as a Valentie's gift but gave to me cause he doesnt like chocolate and milk. It was great! Now I am chilling in the classroom with Ryker and Kris. They were dancing and now I we are watching the Women's snowboarding. It's legit! So many people are wiping out! An American won fifth. not too shabby. Of course, a Canadian won first.
Well thats it for today. nothing too crazy. Im heading off to bed soon after a little Marketing work. so...
I'm out like the Cowboy's in the playoffs...every single year!
Laters Chums
The Day the Package Arrived
Day 33
Its been almost a week since my last entry. I have been so busy with school and what not but I have been recording on my VR. I did break my streak though of recording every day on Saturday. I was so tired. I tried to record about it on Sunday but I forgot what I did. There in lies the reason to record every day what happens. My memory stinks. But anywhoozers, its been a good time. Valentine's Day yesterday was awesome. Serenading Ruh va nee went flawlessly and ironically here presently were all kojo kai colors and the face towel I got here was cinderella which is what they are doing for sing song...it was all a very nice coincidence. haha But now for today....
Woke up @ 12:05. It felt like I closed my eyes and then just opened them right back up. Well that is actually exactly what I did but you get the point... I was super tired! My package from home finally arrived. It was well worth the wait. It was loaded with enough snacks and toiletries to open up my own convenience store! After corting out the goods, I made another delicious breakfast sandwich with fried egg, cheese, bacon on a bagel. Had grapes and some apple, raspberry and grape juice. Always a good way to start off the day. I then read my letters that came in the package from the fam. Made me miss them but they were nice to read. I then read for MGMT and printed off Mom's survey about me she filled out. Class was intense today. I realized that I dont have a big idea for life besides wanting to help people. I dont really even know what a big idea is. Im going to talk to Rick about it soon and just digress a bit. Im glad I record the classes though cause the one today will be one i can go back and listen to a few years from now and refresh myself of stuff. We talked about Ronald Reagan and his leadership abilities and we talked about the allegory of the cave. We read a pretty funny version of it. It was all about seeing other people's perspectives and what to do with the info once you know where they are coming from.
After class, i started my hw. Ive been doing it ever since. That is not completely true, but close to it. We were supposed to go feed the ducks but hw got in the way. Humanities class has a huge test Wed that everyone is studying for. Thank the Lord I didnt take that class!!! combined with my other classes...I would lose it!! I worked on bible and that took me awhile for some reason even though it was easy. I really dont know where the time went today...it was just one of those days. I worked on INTS until midnight when it was due. I really enjoyed the article and I like my response to it. I had tomato and mozzerella tortellini for dinner. It was not half bad. I still prefer going out to Ali's. haha I didnt have lunch today seeing as that I woke up at noon.
I found the perfect study spot in the classroom. I just hooked up the speakers in the room and finally had LOUD music while I was doing hw. It was so nice. After I finished my hw, Kris came in and we danced a little to Nat King Cole. She says im good at dancing....yeah. We tried to do the Jitter bug/pretzel thing...It was interesting to say the least. haha
Well I was trying to get in bed fairly early tonight, meaning before one. Count that as a loss. I really need someone to vivify(word of the day) me. I am out of gas but I was about to wrap up my stuff when Durko walked in and we talked for well over an hour about everything from sing song to MGMT class to how we are getting to know people on the trip to leading people of different religions and such to Christ. Found out that we both like to play Devil's advocate in class because sometimes MGMT just gets too one way thinking. There are people other than happy sheep ready to be led and follow a decisive well-mannered person. ill just say the convo was crazy! I wish I had had my voice recorder on me to record it. ha I really enjoyed the talk. He did the exact opposite of vivifying me...the talk made me think too much and now im more tired. Overall, it was a good day...wait it was a great day because God made it and...its the day my package came! glad its bed time though.
I have to read a little MRKT before I close my eyes but
Im out like a clumsy dumb thug who has a gun but doesnt use it and decides to fight Walker Texas Ranger(aka CHUCK NORRIS).
Laters Chums
Its been almost a week since my last entry. I have been so busy with school and what not but I have been recording on my VR. I did break my streak though of recording every day on Saturday. I was so tired. I tried to record about it on Sunday but I forgot what I did. There in lies the reason to record every day what happens. My memory stinks. But anywhoozers, its been a good time. Valentine's Day yesterday was awesome. Serenading Ruh va nee went flawlessly and ironically here presently were all kojo kai colors and the face towel I got here was cinderella which is what they are doing for sing song...it was all a very nice coincidence. haha But now for today....
Woke up @ 12:05. It felt like I closed my eyes and then just opened them right back up. Well that is actually exactly what I did but you get the point... I was super tired! My package from home finally arrived. It was well worth the wait. It was loaded with enough snacks and toiletries to open up my own convenience store! After corting out the goods, I made another delicious breakfast sandwich with fried egg, cheese, bacon on a bagel. Had grapes and some apple, raspberry and grape juice. Always a good way to start off the day. I then read my letters that came in the package from the fam. Made me miss them but they were nice to read. I then read for MGMT and printed off Mom's survey about me she filled out. Class was intense today. I realized that I dont have a big idea for life besides wanting to help people. I dont really even know what a big idea is. Im going to talk to Rick about it soon and just digress a bit. Im glad I record the classes though cause the one today will be one i can go back and listen to a few years from now and refresh myself of stuff. We talked about Ronald Reagan and his leadership abilities and we talked about the allegory of the cave. We read a pretty funny version of it. It was all about seeing other people's perspectives and what to do with the info once you know where they are coming from.
After class, i started my hw. Ive been doing it ever since. That is not completely true, but close to it. We were supposed to go feed the ducks but hw got in the way. Humanities class has a huge test Wed that everyone is studying for. Thank the Lord I didnt take that class!!! combined with my other classes...I would lose it!! I worked on bible and that took me awhile for some reason even though it was easy. I really dont know where the time went today...it was just one of those days. I worked on INTS until midnight when it was due. I really enjoyed the article and I like my response to it. I had tomato and mozzerella tortellini for dinner. It was not half bad. I still prefer going out to Ali's. haha I didnt have lunch today seeing as that I woke up at noon.
I found the perfect study spot in the classroom. I just hooked up the speakers in the room and finally had LOUD music while I was doing hw. It was so nice. After I finished my hw, Kris came in and we danced a little to Nat King Cole. She says im good at dancing....yeah. We tried to do the Jitter bug/pretzel thing...It was interesting to say the least. haha
Well I was trying to get in bed fairly early tonight, meaning before one. Count that as a loss. I really need someone to vivify(word of the day) me. I am out of gas but I was about to wrap up my stuff when Durko walked in and we talked for well over an hour about everything from sing song to MGMT class to how we are getting to know people on the trip to leading people of different religions and such to Christ. Found out that we both like to play Devil's advocate in class because sometimes MGMT just gets too one way thinking. There are people other than happy sheep ready to be led and follow a decisive well-mannered person. ill just say the convo was crazy! I wish I had had my voice recorder on me to record it. ha I really enjoyed the talk. He did the exact opposite of vivifying me...the talk made me think too much and now im more tired. Overall, it was a good day...wait it was a great day because God made it and...its the day my package came! glad its bed time though.
I have to read a little MRKT before I close my eyes but
Im out like a clumsy dumb thug who has a gun but doesnt use it and decides to fight Walker Texas Ranger(aka CHUCK NORRIS).
Laters Chums
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Overcoming the Bummer Day
Day 27
Woke up @ 1300 seeing as how I didnt get in bed until 0400 last night. Today was a rough day. For some reason I just wasnt feeling the sweet breeze blowing my way. Things just looked dim. As the day progressed though, it got better I think because of prayers for me from back home after I skyped with them.
I got ready for the day and headed to OTH where I got my first cold sandwich. It was red pesto chicken salad on a baguette. Delicious as always. Just four more sandwiches until I get my card full!! That translates into free food for Jacob. I then went to do my normal study session with Rah va nee, Luz and Kris for Marketing. I was not in the mood to study and nothing clicked. Luckily in class there was no quiz. Class was great as usual! learned about Walmarts marketing through a marketing strategy company who does nothing but collect data. At the end of class, we found out we have a test thurs and ontop of that we got slammed with more flippin hw. It will be interesting hw seeing how we have to interview people again only it has to be about our product we are doing our marketing journal over. we have to do a survey, record the results and read ch. 5 all while studying for a test. We do have until tuesday to do the hw stuff though.
After class, I did Bible/work on 9@9 lesson/listen to music/facebook for a good 2.5 hours. Bible was cool bc we had to describe our perfect worship and critique churches ways of worship. Very thought inspiring. While doing this i soaked my jeans to try and get the stains out. Since we didnt end up having sing song, I went and did laundry finally since they were all taken for a stinkin long time. I then left and went to Ali's with Kel and Cailee. Well we didnt leave right away because Kel and Cailee hid in their closets for 15 mins waiting to scare me when I came in looking for them. Little did they know that i was downstairs watching a movie, perfectly content, waiting for them. Eventually I went up but they were getting out as i came up so epic fail for them. At Ali's, I got a jacket potato with (stay with me now) cheese, butter, chicken curry, lettuce, tomato, burger sauce, some hot sauce and fries....for 3lbs!!!! I think he remembered me cause he kept saying how he was adding stuff just for me. he didnt charge the extra pound for the butter and cheese so maybe he was being sincere. Anywhoozers, It weighed more than what it cost. I literally had to switch hands on the walk back bc it was so heavy. I then went to the laundry room to move my stuff to the dryers only to find out one of my washers didnt start. I proceeded to move the clean clothes to the dryer and put in money only in the wrong slot so it just added time to the girls dryer below mine. I put ore money in the right slot and chilled for 35 mins until the washer was done. I took out my dry clothes and put in the wet ones. My stains in my jeans didnt come out AT ALL!!! They might have even gotten more dirty. I took my wet, stained jeans and my nice dry clothes back to the house and watched A Knight's Tale until the dryer was done. I then hung out for a while waiting for Kel and cailee to become available to do our Switzerland trip stuff. We finally went over the plans and figured out what hostel we are staying at. We ended up booking our hostel, the Lazy Falken, and im super happy with it. So now, hell or high water...more like hell or freezing mounds of snow...we are going to switzerland some how. Tom we are going to the train station to work out tickets to the airport for the flights we want and then we are booking our flights. Sounds a little backwards but when your plane leaves at 0700 you need to make sure trains will get you there in time first.
So that was my day. It was one of the less happy-go-lucky days I have had here for some reason. It is probably the lack of sleep which I am not helping right now. As the day went on though, it got better until I could barely stop laughing with Kel and Cailee while planning our trip...again probably due to sheer exhaustion. Not having Sing song definitely helped out the day too. How could a Christian school put on something so evil?!?! Only two more years of sing song...just two more years.
Oh, I went down and hung with the Lytle's for a bit today because I had a question about the stain remover I was using. It is always a pleasant trip to the Lytle dungeon. And while I was down there, Hannah and I called Luke and Alice(the people we met at church on sunday) to get them our number. We are friends on facebook now too. i also had two run-ins with Rona today while doing laundry. Three completely random meetings in the laundry room all three times I have gone there...intriguing. I figured I would never see her again but now since I didnt call her after the first meeting I felt...awkward. We are now friends on facebook so that will help out. I think hanging with her and her friends would actually be pretty interesting. Shes pretty crazy. She plays collegiate rugby for pete's sake! Well thats all folks.
Oh, I went down and hung with the Lytle's for a bit today because I had a question about the stain remover I was using. It is always a pleasant trip to the Lytle dungeon. And while I was down there, Hannah and I called Luke and Alice(the people we met at church on sunday) to get them our number. We are friends on facebook now too. i also had two run-ins with Rona today while doing laundry. Three completely random meetings in the laundry room all three times I have gone there...intriguing. I figured I would never see her again but now since I didnt call her after the first meeting I felt...awkward. We are now friends on facebook so that will help out. I think hanging with her and her friends would actually be pretty interesting. Shes pretty crazy. She plays collegiate rugby for pete's sake! Well thats all folks.
Im out like Al Pacino's cash.
Laters Chums
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Sing Song is EVIL
Day 26
Yesterday I did not get a chance to type my blog due to the crazy amount of hw I had, but I did voice record it. So how about those Saints?! CRAZY!! Anywhoozers...now for today.
Woke up @ 1200 and read a little for MGMT. Went to OTH with Corbo and got the BBC (Brie Bacon and Chicken) on a bap. it was heaven in sandwich form!!! Went to MGMT. It was another awesome class. We did a case study which I could go on a tangent about but I will refrain. It was very interesting about the idea of building a Latino Cultural Center at a university. Class today was a lot of discussion. I didnt talk much at first because of my back hurting and me not really wanting to talk but towards the end I couldnt resist.
After class, I worked on my INTS reflection over the Prime Minister Questions and the football game we went to. Took forever to get that done because I was uploading pics and messing around on the pc. Went to Sing Song practice at 1900. I might have caused some problems because I was bored out of my mind! The biggest thing I did was light bradyns paper on fire without him knowing....it got big real fast! HILARIOUS...at least I thought it was. Not to knock everyone else but I got the motions and the words for the song super easy and we just kept going them over and over. I dont know how I will make it through real sing song next year! Our act is pretty much a full blown real act only we are putting it together in three days. Pretty impressive.
After practice around 2300, I started planning Cailee, Kel and mine's trip to Switzerland. It is going to be amazing!!! I just cant decide which hostel to stay at and whether or not to fork over a little extra dough and spend another day in Geneva. or to just not stay in Interlaken for three nights and spend one in Geneva...decisions decisions. I worked on the trip until about 0315 and now Im headed to bed. Pretty uneventful day. Didnt even leave the house except for OTH and to go to the other house. I ate my pizza for dinner so now I have no food in the house. Sainsbury's is calling my name tom!!!!
Oh. I found out today that PPP's(actually I dont know if I can call them that anymore), Ben and I are doing 9@9 this sunday and I am doing the lesson. Im super excited. Im already almost done with it. It was about Mary and Martha preparing the meal for Jesus so it was pretty easy to do.
Well thats it. The internet has been super homo here lately. Hopefully that gets straightened out.
Im out like roadkill.
Laters Chums
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Down by the Sea, Where the Watermelons Grow
Day 24
So....Whitby and York were more than incredible!! I will try and shoot off a quick summary due to the asinine amount of hw I have due Monday. We are talking 124 pages plus 5 worksheets plus an analysis thing of one of our readings. And then on Tues we have a 500-700 word reflection due over our experience at the football(aka soccer) game we went to and the Prime Minister's Questions. I did record everything down on my voice recorder so what I do not write I will remember still. This blog thing is just way too addicting for something that takes so long!! So for the summary....
York was awesome. ACU decided to give us 10lbs to help cover the cost of attractions since it was a group trip. It was awfully nice. In York, it was super cold and the ancient city walls that you could walk on were closed due to ice. Becca and I climbed the tower of the York Minster. 275 steps. Super high. Then we went to the train museum FOR FREE! it was crazy cool! we ate at the most haunted site in York called the Golden Fleece. Got Lasagne. It was good. Left for Whitby at 1630.
Whitby was covered in fog when we got there. Our hostel was right next to the abbey and a huge graveyard with dates going back to the 1700s which all looked super creepy in the fog. Plus the stinkin church bells rang non-stop whenever they pleased and the door to the church was wide open. That just adds to the creepiness. That night, Ben, Corbo, Bradyn and I hung out on the rocks by the cliffs. hung out means climbed we climbed them along the base of the cliffs by the ocean. Super cool....
This is taking way long and I need sleep and to read so here is the super duper quick version of the trip.
The next day we all went off on our own ways and the group I with had an awesome time! we found the coolest playground ever, hung on the beach, climb rocks to avoid the tide, found whale bones and just walked around the place. Oh, in the morning a few of us got up for the sunrise...epic fall seeing as the sun doesnt really ever show there until April we found out. That night some of us went back to the pier area and hung out. I talked to Brittany about how interesting waves were. haha They are actually really amazing and I got pretty deep about how they represent/mimic Christians really well. Another long story short...I went for a little swim in the North Sea. Tried to run on some rocks in the ocean. Didnt make it before the next wave and I got soaked past my waist. I then ran back the mile or so and up 199 stairs to the hostel to change before I got hypothermia. Sounds bad but it was awesome!
Today on the way back we went to a Nottingham Forest football game vs Sheffield Wednesday. It was pretty intense!!! The SW fans got really crazy when their team scored to tie it up at 1's. The security had to run out and tackle and hold them from getting on the field. pretty stinkin cool!! NF's Reds(Their mascot was robin hood...Sheriff of Nottingham and we drove by the Sherwood Forest) scored their first goal on a penalty kick which was awesome and then they scored another one later which I got a pretty good pic of. Great game! Good showing of culture. haha
When we got back around 1930, I went with some Ryker, Kris, Grant, Wyatt and Steph to Peppers and had a great burger as always. Figured out about church tom and then caught the end of Hot Rod which I had to watch seeing as it is one of the best movies of all time!!!! that is in my opinion of course.
Well that was the trip for the most part. It was so incredible. Now to the not so fun part of studying abroad.....studying. bleh. but....SUPER BOWL TOMORROW!!!!! (technically its on monday because it will be on around 0200 over here) oh...I missed the England vs Wales rugby game today but I got to hear a little of it because Dave our bus driver was listening to it upfront. England won like usual but I am watching Scotland vs Ireland tom. Its almost as big of a rivalry, if not bigger for a lot of peeps. tom will be a GREAT day for sports. we shall see how good of a day it turns out to be for doing hw.
creepy churches, oceanic oceans and fierce football made quite a nice trip. Im out like an innocent convict (because I am imprisoned by hw but really want to go to sleep...get it?)
Laters chums
So....Whitby and York were more than incredible!! I will try and shoot off a quick summary due to the asinine amount of hw I have due Monday. We are talking 124 pages plus 5 worksheets plus an analysis thing of one of our readings. And then on Tues we have a 500-700 word reflection due over our experience at the football(aka soccer) game we went to and the Prime Minister's Questions. I did record everything down on my voice recorder so what I do not write I will remember still. This blog thing is just way too addicting for something that takes so long!! So for the summary....
This is taking way long and I need sleep and to read so here is the super duper quick version of the trip.
When we got back around 1930, I went with some Ryker, Kris, Grant, Wyatt and Steph to Peppers and had a great burger as always. Figured out about church tom and then caught the end of Hot Rod which I had to watch seeing as it is one of the best movies of all time!!!! that is in my opinion of course.
Well that was the trip for the most part. It was so incredible. Now to the not so fun part of studying abroad.....studying. bleh. but....SUPER BOWL TOMORROW!!!!! (technically its on monday because it will be on around 0200 over here) oh...I missed the England vs Wales rugby game today but I got to hear a little of it because Dave our bus driver was listening to it upfront. England won like usual but I am watching Scotland vs Ireland tom. Its almost as big of a rivalry, if not bigger for a lot of peeps. tom will be a GREAT day for sports. we shall see how good of a day it turns out to be for doing hw.
creepy churches, oceanic oceans and fierce football made quite a nice trip. Im out like an innocent convict (because I am imprisoned by hw but really want to go to sleep...get it?)
Laters chums
Thursday, 4 February 2010
Dare I Say It Was A Typical Day?
Day 21
Woke up @ 1000. Three weeks gone. Boom. Never coming back. So I made a delicious breakfast of a fried egg on a baguette with cheese and ground beef. it was superb. I was then off to the open market with Kel to find a beanie. Had an indecisive moment over which beanie and how many to get. Well it ended up while we were there, the beanies at one stand went on sale so I got a crazy neon one from there and a nicer wool one from another all for the price of one back home. Pretty sweet deal. It was fun trying them on with Kel. Also we had a run in with a street preacher. It was nice to be able to tell him we already know Jesus and have been saved. It was a pretty stinkin funny convo after that. He got so happy I thought he might burst.And just for the record, that is Lauren in the picture and not Kel. Thought it might need clarification since I was talking about Kel and I and then I put a pic of Lauren and I.
We got back just as the Prime Minister Questions started which we had to watch for INTS. If you think politics are dull and boring, watch the PMQ every wed at noon. Im sure its on youtube. It is the most unorganized, rowdy mob, cuts being dished out like candy, furthest thing from cspan ever!!!! i loved it! you had congressmen chanting and going crazy. I would love to see Obama get up and do the same impromptu type thing as Gordon Brown has to. Very enlightening.
After that, I went and read for OxTA, then went to OxTA. We visited the botanical gardens which are more like a garden for the science department of the university and we went to University college and went to the church of St. Mary's the Virgin which has the highest tower in Oxford. We got to climb it. Tons of fun. Once again, PPP and I were the last ones there so we went and roamed the town. Got my watch fixed during that excursion for 2lbs.
Then I came back and convinced Malia to go running with me even though it was drizzly and cold (we are in England) so we ran up to summertown and back. Nothing too much but it felt so good!! and Malia almost got hit by a car. Not funny at the moment but very funny afterward. If I didnt mention it yesterday, we went running then too to the park, around it and back. So we are on a roll, two days in a row. We are taking running stuff to York and Whitby too. We shall see how that goes.
After running, I showered and cooked another delicious egg sandwich for dinner (had to finish my eggs and bread). Oh, for a snack during the day, I had the white chocolate cookies I bought from Sainsbury and milk. Good stuff. After dinner, I tried to upload some pics to facebook and only got a few done. Headed to G&Ds for a snack with a group. Got the cookie monster. It was two worlds of cookie monsters colliding...food and man. It was epic!!!!
After that delectable treat, I came back and started working on stuff and trying to get packed. I had to run over to talk to Kel about skyping Jacob later and I found out that people are already planning trips for the breaks we have. We are talking like booking flights. I need to get on that and get hooked up with a group. No too worried about it but its something that needs to get done if I dont want to fork over a bag of dough to go. yeah that rhymes.
I just finished skyping with my pod. Its always a love hate thing. I love seeing them and talking but then I always miss them even more. They are some pretty cool cats. I also got a message from Joel from Kanakuk. It was more or less asking me to work 3rd term. I need to decide about that by friday aka TOMORROW!!! God better answer fast.
Well I have done zero hw once again but I have had a day to remember...once again. I wont be posting anything atleast until Saturday night...probably more like Sunday. And please, if you read this...Mom too... leave me comments. I like responses even though i am writing this more for myself than anything. Anywhoozers, seeing as how I still have to pack for the trip tom and I have to get up at 0600...Im out like Apollo Creed.
Remember, Love God...live distinctively for Him.
laters chums
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
The Uncelebrated Day of the Groundhog
Day 20
Woke up @ 0846. Had a nice big bowl of frosted flakes with banana. Downed it and had the bowl clean in five minutes. I thought it was pretty impressive. Took off to the last INTS that Jacque will be here for for a while. It was awesome for the first part because we watched an episode of a tv show. The episode was called Waldorf Salad. It was quite hilarious. It made fun of a British hotel owner dealing with the guests, one being an american who wanted a waldorf salad. The Brit had no idea how to make it. Very funny. Well the middle of class was pretty boring but the end got a little interesting as we covered the other countries that make up the UK. WE just brushed the top of each of their histories. Very interesting.
After class, I was headed to the store with Kel and Nat but they thought I had already left so they took off. I ended up finding them at the store so it was all good. Finally found some chapstick here!!!!! Also...I had my world rocked by eating my first Ben's Cookie. It was hands down, the best white chocolate chip cookie I have EVER EATEN!!!!!!! It was truly mind blowing with gooey chocolate oozing in the middle. Wow.
Got back and studied with Rah va nee and Kris for MRKT. ch 3 was pretty easy as it was an overview for what was to come in the book. I decided I am doing RyanAir for my big MRKT project so now the stuff we are about to cover in class will really come in handy. MRKT was another great class by Dr Lytle. The quiz was super easy.
After class, Malia and I went running. We ran to the park, around it and back. It felt amazing both to get out and run and the temp was just cold enough where you didnt sweat a lot but you didnt lose feeling in your body. lol Figured it was about 1.6 miles. Took about 15 minutes.
Showered after that and went to take Hannah's pedometer back to her. Walked in on the Lytle's having dinner and they invited me to stay...so I did. It was chicken pesto pasta with corn. I also had kiwi for the first time. It was darn good. I told them a lot about myself like high points in my life, like from the journey chart we had to do for Rick. I also got into all about how I got to ACU and how I thinking about transferring. It got fairly deep. They invited me to go with them to Italy. I might take them up on it. The Lytle's are stinkin awesome! just throwing that out there in case one of them reads it and they let Dr Lytle know and he maybe gives me some extra credit. haha OVerall dinner was great tonight!
Showered after that and went to take Hannah's pedometer back to her. Walked in on the Lytle's having dinner and they invited me to stay...so I did. It was chicken pesto pasta with corn. I also had kiwi for the first time. It was darn good. I told them a lot about myself like high points in my life, like from the journey chart we had to do for Rick. I also got into all about how I got to ACU and how I thinking about transferring. It got fairly deep. They invited me to go with them to Italy. I might take them up on it. The Lytle's are stinkin awesome! just throwing that out there in case one of them reads it and they let Dr Lytle know and he maybe gives me some extra credit. haha OVerall dinner was great tonight!
I then talked with Cailee and Kel and Sydney for a long time about club and other stuff along the lines of friends back in a-town. Then I talked to just Cailee for a while about what we wanted to do with our lives. The convos I had today were top notch. Ben, Syd, Kel, Cailee and I checked out 9 2nd's attic. Found absolutely nothing interesting. We did however discover that Ben Lang is incredible at catching things in his mouth when dropped from very high up...like from 2nd to 0 down the stairwell. he caught 3 in a row. impressive indeed! I watched Ben, Syd, Corbo, and Ryker do some yoga with me jumping in a little bit. I sat and talked with Kris a bit and I discovered (or was discovered for me) a book that I should read...not that I just lay around looking for extra things to read. But I think if I get caught up in an easy, gripping read that my love for reading might recover a little which in turn will help me read for hw. This plan really is a stroke of genius...if it works.
Well that is about all that occurred today. Tom is going to be super busy. It is basically already planned out. I have yet to have a completely filled schedule since Ive been here. It is kinda nice...in a strange restricting way.
Anywhoozers...I only got 4.75 hrs of sleep last night and I need to read a little before my eyes get their rest so....Im out like a bullet from a gun. Keep the prayers coming. I think they are working. :)
Laters Chums
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
The Three S's of Life: School, Swans and Spencer
Day 19
Let me shoot off a side note real fast. Yesterday was officially the first day I did not post a blog while having access to a computer. I still do not claim that I have missed a day of recording the events that took place because I did take time to record the events on my voice recorder thing-a-ma-bob. I just did not have the time, energy or patience to sit down and type it out. Yesterday was a terrific day in every sense of the word. This was mostly being because of my new friend Yitong Li. I met him playing bball and we talked...a lot. We covered everything from how he is a pool (billiards) shark to how people in China are under too much pressure to have time to "worry" about religion. Very interesting and enlightening! Much more to share about yesterday after I get Scotland and London written down....someday. But let it be known it is recorded somewhere in the binary world of my pc. Now...time to talk about today.
Woke up several times starting around 0700 until my alarm went off at 1130. I needed the sleep so I wasnt too disappointed about me sleeping until my "safety" alarm. I got ready and headed to OTH with Kris. I ordered the Chicken and Brie on a baguette but I got chicken with Bacon. No biggie...it was still delicious. That just makes the choice of what to get tom that much easier!
After that we headed to MGMT. Today was super powerful and moving. I know those words usually describe something along the lines of a church service but...wow. I learned so much today in class. What a crazy concept? I actually learned something in a class! Told you it was powerful and moving. haha Dr. Lytle (i still dont know about just calling him Rick) told us about his family and his dad dying. We learned about importance to have a perspective to be able lead...a teachable point of view. We presented our findings from our video interviews and then did a journey map or journey line thing. Basically you draw a line graph for your life, going up or down hinging on pivotal points in your life. I was Rah va nees partner. Her life was eeriely similar to mine. We didnt finish in class and met afterwards to finish talking about it and still didnt finish. It was a great convo and I learned so much about rah va nee. It really was a great assignment. It was super hard and my line doesnt really match my life at all but it made me think about my life and i eventually got many of the important factors in my life down on paper in some way or another. I think we are eventually sharing ours with the class and I am really looking forward to that. MGMT is really more like a bible class on developing yourself to become a disciple of Christ. It is one of the best classes I have ever taken and it is only the second time we have met. This all comes at a price though. He assigned us over 120 pages plus a sorta writing assignment to do in a week. Yes you may think I am complaining and I am. That is a lot to do in a week just by itself but with a trip to York and Whitby and other hw ontop of it...WOW! Its going to be tough but I would say it is worth it so I....guess Ill do it?
After class, I tried to finish my talk with Rah va nee like I said and didnt get finished. After that Natalie, Kelkel, Cailee and I went to the park to feed the ducks/geese/swans...duhn duhn duhn!!!! They were so afraid of the swans. I was talking all big, telling them that they are just big ducks until I saw them and they started after me. THEY WERE HUGE!! I will definitely say I was afraid at the first initial shock but by the end I was sitting on the ground having them all around me, eating out of my hand (this does not mean the swans turned gentle and nice by any means). There were Asians taking pics of us feeding them and a English family that were SO scared of the swans. It was hilarious. Natalie, I found out, has an absolute animosity for the swans. I mean pure hatred for the poor little teethless creatures. Such extremity for a overgrown duck is a little creepy but I can kind of see where she is coming from...maybe. I eventually persuaded Kel to feed them by hand and after one successful attempt she looked and her hand was bleeding. No matter what they say, we can not prove that it was because of the swan. After further examination of the wound, in my professional opinion, I completely rule out the possibility of the swan being the cause. (tangent begin) In my other professional opinion, I believe that the swans are horribly misunderstood. While the swans come up to you, trying to be social, and if that is not their intent, then atleast they are not like the ducks who just sit back welfare, waiting for their food to be given to them without work. And heaven forbid that the swans do what the geese do....sitting back like the ducks but hissing at you whenever you try to deliver the life-giving bread. In my opinion, swans are the most heart-felt, genuine creatures of the pond. Why else does disney use them to portray love? and why else are two swans able to create a heart using nothing more than their necks? I dont see ducks, geese or even us humans doing that!!! I hear a chant rising up and it will not fade away...EQUALITY AT THE POND! JUSTICE FOR THE SWAN! (tangent end)
After the pond we headed back and dinner was started. I was invited to eat with 9 1st floor but it took awhile to cook. In the meantime I was offered some tuna pasta stuff by Malia which was delicious and I also ventured up to 9 2nd floor where they were finishing up dinner. There I was offered some chicken breaded with corn flakes and sweet mashed potatoes...all very good. When dinner was ready on 9 1st...boy was the wait worth it!!! Chicken alfredo with breaded chicken, salad, garlic bread and apple cobbler. LIFE IS SOOOO GOOD!!! During dinner I did happen to make a little mess. While trying to cut off the small burnt piece on the bread, the knife slipped splashing the ranch on my plate in Jacque's hair, my face and hair and all over Bradyn. Very funny. I cleaned Bradyn up...kind of. After dinner I cleaned the dishes and took out their trash so i felt like I atleast did something for my meal. Did I mention it was SOOOO GOOD!!!
After dinner I came to work on my INTS reflection about the term Englishness which I procrastinated on until the very end. It was due by midnight and with several distractions while working, I finished it with ten minutes to spare. I really need to figure out a way ot finish my hw before my roommate does. He is not the best to be in the room with when he is watching "Harry Potter: The Musical". He laughs A LOT and VERY VERY LOUDLY. I am not saying that it is bad because laughing is very healthy for you....I just need to finish mine before he does from now on. I do suppose I could go to the pc lab but....even with him laughing, I am less distracted in my room than down there.
After I finished my hw, I went down and talked to Malia for awhile. Good convo ranging from repelling to working at Power Shack and DQ. She went running today and from the sound of her run...I think I found my running partner. We are going running tom after MRKT. We shall see how it goes.
Well this turned out to be super duper long and now it is super duper late. Class in the morning should be fun....but it wont be. At least we get a tea break.
Oh. Today, Lytle talked a lot about what I wrote in a blog awhile back about living out what you believe and the whole character and habit thing. It was really cool to here it coming from him, incorporated into the lesson. Spencer messaged me today on facebook. He talked about how I talked about what he wrote. It was good. I have to get the house thing figure out soon too. Prayers for everything working out with living arrangements next year.
Well stay strong and be distinctive for God. Im out like a bumble bee.
Laters Chums
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