Two Roads Converged

~Robert Frost

This past weekend is definitely one I won't forget. But that's how it's supposed to be right? After spending so much time working on the thesis, traveling to Spain, and just generally wondering what the future holds, I was very much looking forward to spending the weekend with the boy and celebrating his birthday. Little did I know what was in store.

Friday my journey began with about 2 hours worth of trains to get from point A (where I live) to point B (where he works). The first train was late by 8 minutes, then got stopped along the way because of signal malfunctions. When I arrived in Derby I had to run up a set of stairs, across a bridge connecting 4 platforms, and down a set of steps to barely catch my connecting train. Luckily I made it, or I'd have been waiting there for an hour. Made it down to the next stop only to miss the connection and have to stand on the platform breathing in lots of diesel exhaust. Not much fun. Caught the next train about 10 minutes later, made it to his stop, and the doors would not open. Talk about frustrating. So, I took the train to the next stop, ran up the ramp, across the tracks, down the ramp, and onto the train to go back one stop. Finally, I made it there! Trains are sometimes just not that much fun.

Saturday morning he took me out to the countryside. It was so beautiful. While we were walking, I told him how this park reminded me of the one where I had run my half marathon. We talked about trail running and the reasons why I loved that more than running on roads. He joked about getting lost in the woods. It was about that point that he decided to veer off the trail we were on and go up a different trail. After a few minutes he stopped, dropped his bag to the ground, got on one knee, and asked me to marry him. I haven't stopped smiling since.

The rest of the weekend was just icing on the cake at that point. He loved his birthday present, but said that my saying yes was the best present anyone could ever give him.

So, there you go...'Two roads converged in the wood.' This year just keeps getting better and better.

Siesta Time!

Yes, I'm still way behind on keeping this thing up to date. I have 3 weeks from today until my thesis is due. 3! So, it's high gear from here on out. Luckily I am already over halfway through, but there's still a lot of important things to do...like another case study and write my conclusions. But I have a few things I felt should be shared on here...in the series of a couple posts.

First...Spain was awesome! I went a couple weeks ago to Nerja, Spain. I highly recommend it if you like crystal clear waters, warm sunny days (with no clouds in the sky), and a laid back lifestyle where it's perfectly acceptable to take a nap from 2-4 PM everyday.

Despite all the wonderful things about being over in Spain (like meeting the boy's mom and stepdad)...I got real life experience about what I have been studying all year. You see, they have running water in all the houses there. But the first thing I was told was to not drink the water. Apparently there are way too many minerals in the water so you end up getting sick. Makes you wonder what people did prior to having bottled water so available. They also don't have constant water supplies. Monday morning we had to wait to take showers because the water was not working. Great fun!

And now, some pictures!

Peaceful reflections

I woke up this morning only to realize that I have 2 months left. 2! That's not a lot of time. That also means I have 1 month left until my thesis is due. But I'm not too worried about that...yet.

It's been quite the interesting 10 months here in England. Lots of highs, lots of lows. And looking at what I've experienced, I wouldn't trade any of it...well, except I'd give anything (including this past year) to still have my grandmother around...but that's understandable.

A year ago I was worried about how I'd pay for this whole thing. Now, I'm worried about how I'm going to pay it all back. I thought my dreams were about to come true. But now my dreams are so jumbled I don't really know what the real one is anymore. I've learned more than I thought I would, made some amazing friends, meet people from all over the world, met the guy I want to spend the rest of my life with, seen various places in England, been to Scotland and France, and as of today, going to Spain. I couldn't have imagined half of that a year ago.

So, with my last 2 months here I hope to take in everyday and experience as much as possible. It's going to be tough leaving this place. But I can't wait to get to land back home and see my parents are the airport. That moment will be one of the greatest.