My Life is Complete

I just watched, "On the Line," the movie Lance Bass made in 2001. I am the queen of cheese and even that was just a little too much for me. WOW!! Words don't do it justice. I guess I expected more of the BBC, even if it is late-night tele.

The United States of Leland

I watched this movie the other night. It has been so long since I have watched a film and thought, "wow" when the credits rolled. I guess I am a bit behind the times, considering it was released in 2003, but still... Better late than never, eh? There have been a lot of mixed reviews on the flick, at least on my ScreenSelect (like Netflix) website. Watch it and make up your own mind.

New Toy

Why is it, when you get a new piece of electronic equipment, you spend an entire day trying to make it work... Or is it just me?

I just bought a new MP3 player. The one I had died - it wouldn't take any new music and I got tired of listening to the same songs over and over again. Besides, it could only hold 60-some odd songs. I have held-out on the iPod bandwagon. Although, the new Nanos are very tempting. [I am always admiring the kids' when I confiscate them in lessons.] So, I broke down and bought a Creative Zen Plus. Nothing too fancy, really, but the FM radio on it sold me. Plus it holds approx. 500 songs. So, of course, I spent all day yesterday downloading software, organizing my music folders and trying to set up my new little toy. Oh well. I have the time and it's well worth it!

Its tough to admit to myself...

that something's gotta give. I had some high hopes for this school year, but I am struggling more than I ever did last year. Well, not really, just struggling in different ways. Things at the school are not going very well - at an administrative level - and it has affected us all. I have been ill this year more than I ever have before and I am stuck in this terrible cycle - the stress making me sick and then being sick making me stressed. I am having a very difficult time with the four high school level classes that I am teaching, and things are inevitably going to get worse after half term when I have to teach them chemistry and physics (Unfortunately, it's four different topics I have to freakin' teach myself before I can teach the kids).

So, I have decided to cancel my trip to France next week. It sucks, but if I can spend my holiday preparing for next term, then maybe I can keep my head above water. I'll have some time in June and July to travel, so all is not lost...

Its the sensible thing to do.

Damn I hate being sensible...

The Perfect Penis

This is the program I watched Monday night. Boy-o-boy, the Brits are not afraid to clog the airwaves with things that make this American blush. But with a title like that, how could I NOT watch... Of course, most of the people they interviewed were Americans, but I doubt the show will ever make US channels - too much frontal nudity. They showed some poor chap that went through extension surgery (looked painful for an inch and a half). Then they showed some guy who used the ancient Arabic art of jelqing to lengthen his member (A lot of pulling and twisting - I didn't know that could make a difference to the size?). And, the creme de la creme, they showed a man that chose injections to gain length and girth. Holy Bologna!! He said that he kept going back trying to see just how big he could make it... A scrotum the size of a freakin' football (the soccer kind) later, it was just scary!! Worthless for anything other than show, it was something I hope I never see again. The image is still on my mind three days later. I don't know how the man walks...

This is the station's theme for the week, so Tuesday night they aired a documentary about John Wayne Bobbitt (where is he now kinda programme) and tonight it is "The World's Biggest Penis." I'm not sure I can sit through another hour of schlong-city, so it may just be an early night for me.

In the words of Carrie Bradshaw...

Can you make a mistake and miss your fate?

Maybe our mistakes are what make our fate? Without them, what would shape our lives? Perhaps if we never veered off course we wouldn't fall in love or have babies or be who we are. After all, seasons change. So do cities. People come into our life and people go. But, it's comforting to know that the ones you love are always in your heart.

And, if you are very lucky, a plane ride away.

(I Heart NY, Sex and the City, Season 4)

Sex and the City Junkie

I've been on a kick lately. I can't say whether it is the fact that there is crap on tele between 7 and 9 or that I am getting ready for the big 3-0, but I have found myself reaching for the DVDs every evening as of late. Even the flattie (UK version of roomie?) is hooked.

Krissie used to say that she knew when I was watching Carrie and friends because she could always hear me giggling in my bedroom. I laugh, I cry, but no one can say it better than those four... Everyone has their favorite episodes, and this post, dear friends, is devoted to my Top 10 Sex and the City moments:

10. Carrie: "As I contemplated the fact that my relationship had gone to pot, literally, I realized no high or low would make this day any other day than the day I got broken up with by a post-it."
(The Post-it Always Sticks Twice Season six)

9. "Maybe there are no right moments, right guys, right answers. Maybe you just have to say what's in your heart."
Aidan's proposal.
(Just Say Yes Season 4)

8. "What was the allure of the 20's? On one hand there is great skin tone, the thrill of fresh experience and the sense of a consequence-free life full of seemingly endless possibilities. While on the other, there are horrible apartments, sexually inexperienced men and embarrassing errors in fashion judgment."
(Twenty-something Girls vs. Thirty-something Women Season two)

7. "Oh my god. She's fashion road kill!"
Carrie: "I had a choice, I could slink off the runway and let my inner model die of shame, or I could pick myself up, flaws and all, and finish. And that's just what I did. Because when real people fall down in life, they get right back up and keep walking."
(The Real Me Season four)

6. Explaining a Booty Boy to Charlotte...
Samantha: "He's not a slave, honey, he does have a life."
Miranda: "But you don't have to know about it."
Carrie: "And you're generally guaranteed delivery in six hours or less."
(The F*** Buddy Season two)

5. Samantha: "I'm dating a guy with the funkiest tasting spunk."
Charlotte stands and walks out of the cafe.
(Easy Come, Easy Go Season three)

4. Big & Natasha's engagement party. "I have one question for you... Why wasn't it me?"
Big: "I don't know. It just got so hard, and she's..."
Carrie: "Your girl is lovely, Hubble." ("The Way We Were" reference)
Big: "I don't get it."
Carrie: "You never did." And walks away...
"Then I had a thought, maybe I didn't break Big. Maybe the problem was that he couldn't break me. Maybe some women aren't meant to be tamed. Maybe they need to run free until they find someone just as wild to run with..."
(Ex and the City Season two finale)

3. Miranda always has the best lines: "He only has one ball and I have a lazy ovary. In what twisted world does that create a baby? It's like the Special Olympics of conception."
(Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda Season four)

2. "You can't leave New York. You're the Chrystler building. The Chrystler building would be all wrong in Napa." And Big and Carrie dancing to "Moon River" (one of my all-time favorite songs).
(I Heart NY Season four)

1. I have never laughed so hard: The Up the Bum Conversation... All four girls are in a taxi discussing Charlotte's boyfriend's request.
Miranda: "The question is, if he goes up your butt, will he respect you more or respect you less. That's the issue." Carrie lights a cigarette and the Cabbie says, "No Smoking."
Carrie: "Sir, we're talking up the butt. A cigarette is in order."
(Valley of the Twenty-Somethings Season one)

A whale in the Thames?

Read more from BBC News...

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! :)