I SO Want This Job!

Top Gear, this BBC show, amazes me every time I catch it! Now, I am not a gearhead, but you don't have to be in order to enjoy the mischief these guys get up to... I would love to have their job. Every week they get to do crazy things in beautiful cars...

This week's episode had an Olympics theme, so the boys raced a Jaguar and an Olympic speed skater on the ice rink... The Jaguar has only two-wheel-drive, so it was all over the ice and it gave little competition for the speed skater. Next, they took the Jaguar on a frozen lake in Norway. They made a huge track, full of twists and turns, and raced the Jaguar with a four-wheel-drive Range Rover. While the Jag was a much prettier car, it still could not handle the ice. Then they raced a Rally Car and a Bobsled. Finally, they used the Lillihammer ski jump and sent a Mini down the jump. They attached rockets to the rear for power, attached skis to the tires, created a huge snow drift at the bottom to stop the car... And launched the baby. It was definitely something to see.

And this is what the show is like on a regular basis. It's like an expensive version of Jackass, with grown men and without the pain. I'm hooked!! Check it out for yourself...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/downloads/ They have a couple of clips at the bottom of the page.

My favorite part of this week's show was the "hockey" match. They filled a snow-covered rink with Suzuki Swifts and had a huge inflatable puck. It was like watching bumper cars with a hockey puck in the middle!! Fabulous!!

Just A Matter Of Days

34 days until Laura arrives on British soil. So, yes, Laura is coming to visit. This is why I love Laura so much: I got an email Thursday titled, "I'm coming," and three days later the wheels are in motion. There's talk of catching a show and a quick trip to Amsterdam. I can't wait!!

43 days until I meet Kristin in Rome. The big Italian trip we've been planning for months. I'm so excited!! We'll see Pisa, Florence, Milan, Venice, Pompeii, Isle of Capri and Rome. I just purchased my plane tickets last night. :) Somehow it just seems more concrete when you have a plane ticket...

172 days until I turn 30 years old! I am hoping to be somewhere in eastern Europe for the actual day... Right now it looks like Budapest. This will be my last big trip in Europe before I head home, but it should be a good one.

184 days until I arrive on US soil. This is both good and bad news. I have really had a tough year at work and am ready to come home to a middle school environment. It is what I studied at school. I chose middle school for a reason and I am reminded daily that high school is not for me... On the other hand, I have really enjoyed my time here and there's a part of me that doesn't want to see it end.