A whale in the Thames?

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TV is my life!!

*hangs head and sighs loudly at this realization*

Watched a new series tonight called Life On Mars, about a British police officer that was investigating a crime, his girlfriend was kidnapped, then he got hit by a car and woke up in 1973. It's quite good. He's a police officer in London in the 70's where cops beat their suspects to get confessions and where women were nothing more than eye candy - or treated that way. Life On Mars, the name, came from the Bowie song that was playing on his iPod/Car Stereo when he was hit. I think I am really going to like the show.

ER started tonight too... Alex ran away and Luca and Sam drove to CO to find him. (Is that this season or are we one behind?)

They showed a trailer for Desperate Housewives in between ER drama, it starts next week. So I am out of the loop, but will hopefully catch up by summer. :)

Other shows that have caught my attention:

My Name Is Earl... Started Friday night. I liked the first one, reminds me of home (heeheehee). (Of course, I luv Jason Lee so it makes sense.) Only downside is that it airs on Friday nights - not that I have much of a social life, anyway, but still...

Invasion started Sunday, but I missed it. It looks good, though.

Sprinkle this mix with a few CSIs, The Simpsons and Without A Traces and you have my tele line up for the next few months.

So, I guess there is a lot to catch up writing to do...

Christmas was great. I had a blast on the tour and met some really cool people, most of whom were Aussies. (That's where I want to go next, Australia... Just give me a couple of years to save $$$). I danced the night away at a disco in York, attended a midnight church service in Edinburgh (slightly inebriated), played a twisted version of 'never-ever' with a drunk group of Aussies and Kiwis on Christmas Day, stayed in the hotel where the Titanic passengers stayed before they started their journey and watched married men hide their wedding bands at a club in Liverpool. Oh and I have lots of pictures of building and landscapes (because that's what always seems to end up on my digital camera). Good times, good times.

Greet Street (aka Green Street hooligans). I watched this film last weekend and was completely blown away. Mind you, after the warning we received in Liverpool it gave light to how much the English love their football. (Two local teams were playing each other and we were told to be very careful going out that night because of all of the potential fighting.) Side Note: I am now hooked on this idea of firms and football hooligans. I've rented a few DVDs to research the topic a little more. I just can't quite seem to get my head around it - but if you ask me about gangs, I'd say the same thing.

New Years' Eve was a quiet night for me. Tiina and I took the train into London around 10ish and headed for Trafalgar Square. The crowd was massive, but great fun to watch. Just before midnight, it started to rain, but we stuck it out and watched the fireworks. Then we headed home and I made a few "Happy New Year" phone calls. Like I said, a quiet night.

Valentine's Day in Paris (again). I booked my ticket to France for the February half-term. I'd like to spend a few days in Paris checking out the art museums. Then a few days southish. EJ - wanna meet up for a drink?

Harry Potter I finally saw the new one on Saturday. You know you have waited too long when they send you to the tiny theater in the corner of the movie house that only holds (maybe) fifty people. It's so hard to sit through Harry Potter when you've read ahead two whole stories and keep waiting for something familiar to show up. I sat through the entire movie and instead of enjoying the story on screen, I kept waiting for the battle in the Ministry of Magic and the secret Defense Against the Dark Arts meetings. It was a great film, but I can't wait for the next one.

Does anyone else find this amusing?

Christmas Day my parents drove to Huntsville with my grandparents to visit my aunt and uncle. When I called that day they had stopped for coffee at a Waffle House as it was the only thing open that morning along I-75.

I am afraid that the joke was lost on my Aussie friends in Scotland. I mean, how southern can you get!? [insert Redneck accent here] Momma and Daddy were at the Waffle House when I called to wish them a Happy Christmas. Ha!!

What else can I say? 

Getting close with Nessie on a frosty morning 

Christmas Day, a view of the back of the Royal Mile, Edinburgh 

St. John's College, Oxford 

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!

New Favorite Music

My latest iTunes downloads:

Kaiser Chiefs, Babyshambles, Supergrass, Bedouin Soundclash, The Charlatans and Kasbian.

I can't stop singing Bedouin Soundclash's "When The Night Feels My Song" in my head.

I am addicted to dog racing!

Good fun, good fun. I lost 8 quid, won 2. On 10 races, that's not TOO bad. I was just starting to get the hang of it: trios, forecasts, reverse forecasts, etc. This could mean trouble - I am two train stops away from the track... I've never been very lucky with these things, but it is a fun night out.

The Parcel Force Man

The last time he stopped by, it was 7:30 in the morning. He let me sleep in a bit this time. I awoke to a lovely BIG box from my parents. I am such a happy girl having received a box full of Sweetarts, Easymac and Mema's famous chocolate chip cookies. Mmm. They also sent a TN Vols fleece which will come in handy next week and the traditional Mary Englebreit calendar.

I am feeling very loved right now.

I have hung my Tarro artwork and am listening to my Toad CD as I clean my room. I have started doing my laundry for my trip. I have waited too long and now I have to prioritize what can wait until I get back. Boy do I miss dryers. I miss doing 3 loads of laundry in one day. I miss the days of last-minute packing where you did laundry at midnight and it was dry and in the suitcase the next morning. I am lucky if my clothes dry in three days...

Enough complaining. I am off to find some new ________ for my trip. I am not exactly sure what I am looking for. Shoes, pants, sweaters. I have a list, but really I just want something new.

"Vaginas have tastebuds. Why else would they make flavoured condoms?"

That was just one of the comments that had me in stitches Monday night. This is how our year 7s think... Scary, eh?

Monday night was a great success. It has been a long time since the whole department was together and laughing like that. It reminds me why I like working here. And makes me sad that it takes a night out for us to really enjoy each other - it wasn't always that way.

My first holiday package arrived early Monday morning - 5 pounds of cookies and fudge from my grandmother! Mmm!! Friday I received a package from my sister and brother-in-law - lots of goodies to keep my hands and feet warm. :) Cashmere socks are heavenly. Plus, some art to hang on my walls (pictures of the darling Tarro, their australian shepherd) and a Toad the Wet Sprocket CD. Sisters send wonderful packages!!

Yesterday I woke early to be at the school by half 6 (6:30). I had signed up for a WWI history tour of Ypres. We spent the day in Belgium, visiting various WWI sites near Ypres. My knowledge of WWI history is shite but I was still moved by what we saw. It was interesting to see that the area was fairly flat with gentle slopes and that is why the trenches were so important. We visited Bayernwald, a German trench system and ate our lunch inside the trenches. We drove past many war memorials and cemeteries, stopping at a few. There were just so many. I couldn't believe how much that history is a part of their everyday life. Can you imagine having abandoned bunkers amongst your sheep or vegetable gardens or cemeteries lined with white gravestones just across the street from your neighbor? They say that there are still mines that did not go off in some of the fields. We watched a re-enactment of the Christmas Truce in the very area that it broke out between German and English troops and where a game of football was played before killing resumed. The trip ended in Ypres, a town completely destroyed in the war but has since been rebuilt. At the Menin Gate Memorial we watched the Last Post ceremony which has been sounded every night since 1929, except for the four years that German troops occupied Ypres during the second World War. It was a pretty spectacular day. We even had snow.

Tomorrow I am heading to dinner at a co-worker's then we're off to the Dog Races. I also have to start packing... Thursday I leave for my trip: Oxford, York, Edinburgh, Loch Ness, Glasgow and Liverpool. Lots of stuff happening and all I can think about is:

I DON'T HAVE TO WAKE UP FOR SCHOOL IN THE MORNING!!

I'm such a little kid! :)

Space Cadets

A British reality television programme that sucked me in...

They told these poor kids that they were going to be the first British civilians in space. They made them go through all sorts of training exercises. Then they whisked them off to 'Russia.' Finally, they sent three kids and one actor into 'space' with two astronauts (actors). The punchline: they were just in a simulator a few miles away.

I didn't start to watch it until late in the series, but what I did see I couldn't get enough. The three cadets were hilarious. The Russian astronaut was actually a British actor with not the best russian accent. The American astronaut (Canadian - Yes, Canada is considered part of America) was just obnoxious. And the cadet actor kept me in stitches. The production crew kept talking to him through a secret hole in the closet, handing him things and sending people in to interview him. They had an issue with a moth one episode where it got into the simulator and everyone was in a panic that it would be seen by the three cadets and give the whole game away.

But as I watched, I got more and more annoyed by the whole thing. I mean, how stupid do you have to be? Wouldn't you start to question things when your feet were firmly planted on the floor of the 'space ship' (as in GRAVITY was still holding you in place)? Wouldn't you start to ask questions when your bed was a sleeping bag on the floor? Would you not start to wonder when they had a real toilet in the corner of the bathroom? Why on earth would you not question the fact that the 'science experiments' they wanted you to perform while you were orbiting earth consisted of making balloon animals?

I missed the reveal on Friday. I wished I could have seen how the cadets took the news. Of course they won some big bucks for being made to look like fools. And a day in a flight simulator, a real one this time... in Russia.

Chinese Firewater

Friday night was the Year Team dinner. The plan was to meet at the pub at 7 for drinks, then Dinner at the Peking at 8. I had a couple of errands to run after school, so I got dressed for dinner in the girl's loo (it was fun trying to touch up my makeup in a wavy plastic reflective thing that they hang in school bathrooms! I refuse to call it a mirror - I felt like I was at a fun house!) before heading into town. One of my errands was to get my hair cut. I had been meaning to for quite a while and it always feels nice to go somewhere after you've had your hair professionally done... God knows I can never make it look that good! This girl went a little crazy with the scissors and it took her an hour and a half to trim my hair and straighten it. I'm really not sure WHY it took so long, there's not a whole lot of hair to cut!? But, it looked good, so I was happy. Met up with the Year Team gang for a few minutes at the pub, then we made our way to the Chinese Restaurant. Dinner was nice and our table closed down the joint. I'll just hit the highlights: 1) The Year Head ordered a round of shots of "something stronger than sake," 2) One of my students was serving us, 3) Head of Year ordered another round of the firewater, then a round of (ugh!) brandy, and 4) I slept at my Head of Department's house.

The Science Department Do is tomorrow night. This is not a firewater kind of crowd, thank goodness. Although, they sure do like to have a good time with wine and beer. I'd better rest-up.

Memory Lane

I am on a loud music kick at the moment. Makes me miss Uphonik shows. Makes me miss dancing into the wee hours of the morning. Hell, that was any show that Krissie and I went to, really...

Heeheehee. Hey, K, flashback: Joe doing the Joe Boxer dance at a JQ show at the Venue. That still makes me giggle. Those were the days.

It's that time of year again...

Holiday Dos are bit around here. There are three for school that I have been invited to join. The first is tomorrow night - Year Team Christmas 'Do.' Monday is the Science Department one. Thursday is the whole school disco (yes, that's really what they call them here). Then Friday is the last day of school.

I am SO ready for a break... And a few shots.

Happy Holidays ya'll.

Sound Bites of My Week

"You look like you listen to Blink 182 and Green Day." A comment from one of my homeroom students. I don't see it myself...

"You know Miss has had a bad day when she comes into school with a new pair of shoes." My head of department knows me too well. Funny, I said something to my Dad about the comment and he said he'd always go shopping for a new shirt. I come by it honestly, just always thought it was my Mom's genes...

"I'm going to tell you a secret." I watched Madonna's new documentary last week.

"Admit it, Miss. The real reason you are here is because you are hiding from the US government." Okay, so maybe I said too much the other day. Don't ask me how the conversation about marching on Washington started...

"I was your age when that song was released." Students singing MC Hammer's "Hammer Time" and Whitney Houston's "Greatest Love of All."

"Don't want to be an American idiot." This is all I heard this morning from some darling students. Unfortunately, the poor kid had no idea what the song is really about... And, well, I agree I don't want to be an American idiot.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I thought of you all today. No, seriously, I did. I thought, "Man this sucks! I am stuck at work when everyone back home is stuffing their faces!" Actually, it was a pretty decent day with a few surprises (I had a semi-break-through with a particularly tough kid. It won't last but it felt good). The department wished me a Happy Turkey Day and one woman even offered to do a Turkey Dance. :) We chatted about Thanksgiving traditions and I promised pumpkin pie tomorrow.

I just got off the phone with the family. Mom and Dad had 25 guests for Turkey dinner (and that wasn't even the whole family!). They passed the phone around, so I got to feel like I was there - well, minus the food.

I've got two pumpkin pies cooling on the kitchen counter to take in to the Science department tomorrow, with whipped cream and all. Not really sure how they will taste. I had to get a little creative with the recipe. I figure, they'll never know - crazy Brits!

So, Happy Turkey Day all! I hope you are thoroughly stuffed with huge smiles on your faces. Miss ya'll!

Holiday Plans and the Future

I was looking at a tour of Russia for Christmas. It would have been eight days starting in St. Petersburg and ending in Moscow. I was really tempted to go. Then I started thinking about the weather, the airfare and the cost of a visa. It was just going to be too much £££. I was not dying to go to Russia. It did not make it onto my "Gotta See" list. It would have been cool, but in a "why not?" kinda way.

So, instead I will be visiting the "Must See" cities of Great Britain between December 22 and the 29th. I will stay in Oxford, York, Glasgow and Liverpool and will spend Christmas Eve in Edinburgh. It will be weird to be away from the family for the holidays (especially since Hanukkah begins this year on the 25th this year) but traveling and meeting others who are also away from home should make it better.

I've also been thinking about the rest of my time here. I talked to the airline and have confirmed a flight home on the 22nd of August, 2006. It is weird to think of this all coming to an end. Until then, I have travel plans galore: In April Kristin is coming to visit and we are going to tackle either Spain or Italy... We are having a tough time making a decision. In February (or May, depending on when/if my parents decide to visit) I want to go back to France to see Versailles and Mont St Michel (and probably spend a bit more time in Paris' art museums). And, finally, in August I am going to see what I can of Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Krakow and Warsaw. I have a long list of things I want to see before I go home for good. I am not expecting to see everything but it would be nice to cover most.

I also have a long list of things I want to see once I get back to the States. It's funny how an experience like this makes you realize how little of your own country you've seen. I hatraveledled up and down the eastern coast, seen California and Oregon, and yet there's so much more of the US to see. So much more of the world that I want to see, too. I spent too much time working when I was in Charlotte, too much time trying to pay for things that I really didn't need. When I go back I'd like to save up for holidays and spend my free time exploring instead of working...