Good times never seemed so good

James Taylor

This past weekend I traveled down south of uni to visit Birmingham and Dudley.

The boy showed me around his hometown and I realized how much bigger "small towns" in England are from small towns back home (like where I'm from). I can't tell you much of the history of the area, but it was very pretty. We headed out to see the Priory ruins. That was interesting but I forgot to get the camera out to take any pictures. Then we headed out to Himley Hall. It's built on the Earl of Dudley's land where his home used to be. It's a medieval manor house. Very pretty...After Himley Hall we headed over to the Crooked House. It really is crooked. Basically, it's an old house that started subsiding (lots of limestone caverns under Dudley) so they built some supports on one side, made the floors even, and turned it into a pub/restaurant. Pretty neat...but it makes you feel a bit dizzy when walking inside. Plus the doors either have to be pushed or pulled upwards to get them to open.

Overall it was a beautiful weekend. While everyone around me kept complaining about the heat (it was maybe 70 degrees!!!) I reminded them that it's much hotter than that back home. So, another quality weekend spent seeing new parts of this country. Hopefully more of those will come.

When the cream and the crop are the same

~Andrew Bird

"Summer" has officially begun. Well, our first bbq of the summer anyway, so that makes it summer right? Yesterday a bunch of us from class got together to have a cookout. It was quite an interesting affair, which surprised us all with the end result.

We had no proper grill on which to cook the most amazing pork burgers I have ever tasted. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever had pork burgers. But man, they were amazing. They were freshly made by a local butcher. So good....




It took a good 20 minutes to get the charcoal to light and stay lit. But then mother nature tried to ruin it all with a nice little shower. However, 4 of us sacrificed our dry backs to keep the rain off our tiny little "grill". We regretted that later in the evening when it began to get chilly.

It was a nice break from the frustration of the thesis project. I have narrowed down my topic and the group I'm actually going to focus on. So, if anyone knows anything about Native Americans and their water rights, please get in touch with me.

In other news, the weather here is crazy. I think I've finally discovered the truth about English weather. It tricks the newcomers into believing that it doesn't always rain, and then bam! everyday it rains. Although it does remind me of a Florida summer. You know, where it's sunny, then rain, then 30 minutes later you'd never know it had rained. But, and this is a big one, it's no where near that warm, it doesn't thunder, and it's more like 10 minutes of sun, 1 hour of rain, 10 minutes of sun, well...you get the picture.

Winding in and winding out, the shine of it has caught my eye

~Dashboard Confessional

My days of attending lectures has come to an end. As has my days of doing homework. It's really a rather bittersweet feeling right now. I mean, I'm so exhausted I can't figure out what day or time it is, and I honestly feel like I could sleep for 24 hours straight. But it also means that all of this will end soon. The friendships I've made will change, the work I do will be different, and my time in England will end. Even if that's all still 3 months away.

Today I officially started on my thesis project. Really that's all that's left (besides one exam) before I can officially say I have a masters degree. I've already decided that after September I'm finished. I only have 3 classes left to get another masters back at State, but honestly, what's the use. I mean, it'd look great on a resume I'm sure, but I'm tired and I'm really just looking forward to working a job and going home and spending time with my friends, family, dog, and whoever else that might include. Plus the last 3 classes I have to take to get that other degree are classes I don't want to take anyway. So, what's the point?

Yeah, thesis. I'm really torn and confused right now. I'm not totally sure what my project is, how to go about figuring that out, and what to do once I do have it all figured out. And I have 90 days until I have to turn in 60-120 pages. Any suggestions? I know I want to do something with water rights (as in who gets what water and how much) in America. But I'm really second guessing everything right now. That's this week's goal, get the project decided, write the aims, objectives, and scope, and figure out how I'm going to spend my time this summer. Help!

Take a deep breath, let it all in

~Legally Blonde - The Musical

I finally have a few minutes to sit back and relax. Albeit, I still have one major assignment left to finish...but right now, I'm catching up on the blog that several people have told me to write more on. So, here you go.

The past 3 weeks have been crazy! We were starting and completing our group project. It was by far the most stressful group project I've ever participated in. But it's over now and I'm really happy with the final result so let's just hope the grade reflects that. But anyway...here's been my last month or so.

Paris, London, new friends, group projects, and less sleep than ever. But it was all worth it and I'd do every bit of it again.

Sorry, I'm at a loss for words. Somehow 75 page reports, followed by another 30 page assignment, and 4 pages of reflection on my part of the project have left me not knowing what to say. So, here are some pictures. Enjoy!

Insert witty lyrics here...

After a fun filled week at home I headed back over to England, with my mom!! She had an amazing time here, and I'll really glad I got to show her around. I already posted about Nottingham, so I'll spare those details again.

Her third day here we went over to campus. I wanted her to see where it is I am going to school...and where all that money is going. It's such a different campus from NC State, but I like it. She seemed to like it as well.

We headed down to London for her final few days. London has almost become like a second home to me, since I can now navigate the underground without really needing a map. Too many trips there I suppose. We did the usual stuff, Parliament, Westminster, St Paul's, Tower, boat cruise...but we also threw in a few curve balls.

See, we were in London over Easter. It's the first year that I can remember where I didn't go to church on Easter Sunday. Oops. But we did make it to the Good Friday Service at St. Paul's Cathedral. Wow! What a service! Now, I grew up baptist...and had been attending a church prior to moving here that's rather contemporary. So, hearing the psalms sung and the passion sung was truly amazing. It was a really great experience and very moving. Something I highly recommend if you ever have the chance.

Of course though, for anyone that knows me, you know I can't go somewhere with great theatres and not see a musical. This trip was no different. I took my mom to see Billy Elliot. If you like dancing at all...GO SEE THIS MUSICAL! The boys that play Billy and his friend Michael were wonderful. For 11-13 year olds, they had some amazing talents. The girls on stage were very talented too. It's funny, sad, upbeat, and constantly moving. Do yourself a favor and see this! Oh, and if you know the movie...this is soooooooooo much better!

In love at the rock show

~Blink 182

Being home at the end of March/beginning of April was amazing! I got the chance to see some of my favorite people in the world (my parents!!!). I had every intention of spending my time at home doing some research on my thesis project, but that didn't quite happen. I honestly just think I was a bit burnt out and needed a few days of a break. So, I spent some time with my parents, the kids, and my brother and his wife. It was great! Even the part where my dad and I spent the better part of one night just making fun of this season of American Idol. Anyone else think it's time for a break from that show??

But no worries, the week wasn't a complete waste. I spent a day in Raleigh catching up with the former place of employment (hey to those reading and sorry if I didn't make it by the say hi in person). But the real purpose for that visit was to get some things squared away on my thesis and I have to tell you, I feel a ton better about the idea...if I only had time to work on the thing now.

The overall purpose of the trip though was the celebrate the wedding of one of my former roommates. They have to be one of the more romantic couples I've ever had the pleasure to call friends. And I have to tell you, they couldn't have been any luckier on the weather that day. 70 degrees and sunny while getting married at the Court of the Carolinas. Congrats guys!

The sun was out, the air was warm

~Ted Leo & The Pharmacists

It's been quite the whirlwind of spring breaks for me. By far, the best spring break ever! And it's still not over! Bear with me while I take a few posts to catch up on all the happenings. It's well worth it, well the pictures are anyway.

I headed home for a week at the beginning of my break, making the usual pit stop in London along the way. This time in London was a bit different because I had enough time to walk around, but no real desire to see or do anything. Especially since I'd be spending the next 2 weeks there. So, I checked into my hostel and just headed out around Picadilly for a while.

As I came up upon St. James's Park, I noticed quite a few people heading in one direction. Naturally (or stupidly) I thought to myself, "I wonder what those people are going over there for" and followed. I soon found myself at the Household Calvary Museum so I walked through and learned a bit about the guys on horseback that help guard the monarch. It was pretty cool. After finishing in the museum I walked back outside to see a bunch of people taking pictures. Same natural thought followed, "I wonder what they are taking pictures of." So, I rounded the building and found this:
I was rather happy about my curiosity. The rest of the day was rather low key as I really just couldn't wait to get home and see Phantom, Lucy, and the family. Plus, I was heading home for a totally amazing wedding...and who wouldn't be excited about that. By the way, London in spring time is rather beautiful.