How to begin. . . and continue

It’s hard to figure out how to begin on my thesis when I have no idea how to start.  I believe the first step is to go grab my phone and the phone number for E3 and start asking for locations of Natterer’s Bats.  If that doesn’t work, I start asking Bevan to go bash some heads for me.  Maybe he’ll throw nesting Terns at people.  Vicious birds with pointy beaks, I’m avoiding them!!

Right now I have papers to write for that annoying field trip course to the land of vicious biting bugs and tasty foodages.  I miss Arneside food, but not Arneside/Roudsea Wood bugs.

Speaking of bugs, cicadas are out back home.  I hope everyone is having a great time with them.  I kind of miss them, kind of don’t.  I was home 4 years ago for them and seeing that many all over EVERYTHING just makes my skin crawl.  They give you an idea of what the world would be like if bugs/insects finally decided to just take over the world.  *shudder*

This week I will possibly learn how to drive on the “wrong side” of the road. . .  we’ll see how that works out.  Grant will help me keep to the left so I don’t go around a rotary the wrong way or forget which lane does what, etc.  Driving skills FTW!

In 1 week and 3 days Grant and I are heading down to Canterbury to see his mom and brother.  This should be a VERY interesting trip.  I hope I remember things about  Canterbury and Dover and the trains. . . I hope we find good food.  We’re staying at the same guest house my dad and I were at 2 years ago. FREAKY!  I’m excited though.  The weather was stunning in February of 2006, I can only hope that June of 2008 will prove just as nice.

But before that nice weekend trip: I NEED TO START MY BAT SURVEYS!!!  *whimper*

Too much

There is way too much homework and work going on for me to sit here and write about something other than bats.

This week I am being dragged off to Arneside with my coursemates for 3 days (we don’t get back until 9-pm ish on Wednesday and we leave tomorrow at 9 am) and then daily field trips that are “around Newcastle.”   We do go back to Houghall College outside of Durham, so that should be alright.  We know what to expect there and we know where the toilets are!

The spring weather has hit full blast.  Everyone is out and about in very short outfits.  And some people are sporting some serious sunburns.  I wonder why they don’t use sunblock.  Maybe because it’s frickin £8 (that’s the cheap stuff, £13 is where the “good stuff” is apparently) a bottle!!!  What is with this country?!? Our $8 bottles of sunscreen are rather large, these, are not.  If it were a Costco sized bottle for $13, yeah sure, that makes sense, but these are 300 mL if not less.

Mutter mutter gripe grumble.   Yup that’s me.  And just so you know, I splurged and got the “cheap” sunscreen in the hopes that I will not turn lobster red any time soon.  I burn quickly, although someone seems to have gotten sunburn on the back of his legs right above his knees and I hardly look like I got any sun at all (except for that sunburned part. . .oops, that got red).

Quick note

I have recently found out that my grandfather was doing better, and had even improved immensely when POW, he suddenly couldn’t talk any more.  They figured out it was a Urinary Tract Infection and now he seems to have meningitis (not sure which strain).  *eep*  This just sucks.

The good news is that my mom will be home by Wednesday.  My dad has been alone since April 1st (her flight left in the early morning) with the cat.  I hope the two of them have bonded.  He’s been enjoying his rowing and coaching.  He even made a comment in the BRC newsletter comparing learning to row to Dungeons and Dragons.  All about ogres and demons and nasty things you come across.  My dad. . . he never ceases to amaze me.

Now back to homework and such.  I have to get a lot done by next Friday.   Grant and I are going up to Edinburgh where we have planned out our two big things.  One costs money (the castle) the other does not (Arthur’s Seat).  There is always the whole food and exploring bit as well.  I hope we have a great time.

Off and away

In a few hours Grant and I leave for Prague.  I’m so freaking out about this trip and bringing the right papers and homework and blah blah blah blah blah.  It’s nuts, but I think I’ll live

It’s always annoying to bring 18 tons of winter clothing.  I don’t think I’ve really “overpacked” as much as things are just damn bulky.  I don’t even have any dress shoes.  That’s the worst part.

But who cares now, we’re heading to Prague, Vienna and Brussels.  YAY!!!

DONE!

I am done with classes for the term.  NO MORE!!!!  I have two projects and 2 exams to go, but in 2 days I leave for Prague (that’s right, I like the number 2!)

My biggest worry right now is the trains in Europe.  Can we just walk into the station and go to Brussels from Vienna?? Do we need to plan this out better?  WHAT DO WE DO?!?!?!  Should I run into STA Travel first thing Monday morning screaming?  I have no idea.

Mildly stressed.  Not too bad.  Hopefully I can figure things out and all will be good.

I have new boots, I am excited.  I have my gaiters, waterproofs (dirty, but soon to be fixed) and uh. . . a room to clean.

This was going somewhere, I’ve since lost my train of thought.  CHOO CHOO!!!!!!

Irish send-off

Last night was my BRC J. Pats send off.  There were the cards people signed, the big picture of all of us two springs ago and lastly. . . a cake we didn’t get to until rather late.  Ooops.  It was tasty though.

I got to J. Pats near 8 pm because I was starving and darn it, I wanted my lamb stew (Sharyn gets it and it looks amazing, so I was going to try it on my last night there).  There was another event going on as well run by an-ex BRC member. So that was kind of a nice surprise.  Apparently you could get a free drink out of them if you asked for a yellow ticket.  It was either a shot or whiskey or a free glass of beer.  I got myself a free cider.

A few people seemed to come just because I was leaving, and others came because it’s just what you do after practice.  I haven’t been to the boatclub to row AT ALL this year, so I wasn’t surprised to find that there was a small turnout to see me.  There was a good turnout of rowers, but it was more for the foodages and beerages than anything else.

Even two of my con friends showed up and that was especially nice as I haven’t seen Gabe in forever.  It’s always nice to have friends show up.

At some point late into the festivities I asked Patrick to take the picture to the boathouse for more people to sign since not too many signed it already.  I guess it will have to be shipped to me once I get to England.  Anyways, in asking Patrick made some comment and this led to me being picked up and, no surprise here, smacked on me bum!  Sharyn claims it was an arm spasm. . .  Tom well. . . he wanted one last grab before I left. . or something.

I’m going to miss this rowing club.  But it’s time I move on to greener pastures. Literally. . .  there is a VERY green park right next to my  accommodation building, and well, it’s England.  BRC has some greenish grass, and some lovely brown grass too. . .and let’s not forget the dirt areas where no grass will grow.  *sigh*

Anyways, upon having to part ways with Gabe, we had our moment of, “Aww no more hanging out for a while!!”  That was kind of sad and hard to deal with.  I love my friends and Gabe is one of those guys from cons I am glad I never lost touch with.  I might have gone 6 years without seeing him in person, but we talked online an awful lot.  I guess we’ll just have to go back to that habit.  He and Sharyn can be each other’s Bean-rebounders.  Teehee.

*Note* Winston is currently having tonal farts.  Seriously, they do a tiny little scale.  It’s funny, but stinky.

Too sweet for my own good

You would think that I would believe the infamous “they” when I hear, “they say mosquitoes are becoming immune to most bug repellents.”  No, instead I need to put on bug spray and receive about 8 new bug bites before I start believing any of this.  It’s officially true though.  I was covered in that Cutter Bug Spray stuff. . .I have one on my left wrist, back of my right arm, 3 on my leg, one below my knee.  I am itching like CRAZY!  It’s making me a bit batty.

I took Winston for a walk, and that’s how I acquired these bites (and talking on the cell phone on the front porch of Anna and Dorian’s), but c’est la vie. My puppy has bad stools!!!  So he’s going into the vets tomorrow and I have to pay for his doctor bill.  I’m nervous about this.  I am going into the doctors for myself before that just because I should for various reasons and I need a bit more paperwork from them before I go to England.  I’m hoping a list of updated shots is good enough.  I will hate to have to go back there and get a physical. I’ll do it if I have to, but I’d really rather not.

I got my lovely errands done today too.  I went to get my russian books back from the Russian Teacher.  We had a lovely chat about random things with hearing russian and how it’s a handy language and that it takes a lot of work to keep getting conversational at it and blah blah blah.  It was very nice.  He’s a neat teacher.  And it turns out his wife worked in HULL for a little bit.  He is the only other person who has talked about Hull besides my friend who studied there, her sister and myself.   SOOO weird.  And yet so neat.  Teehee.  Apparently she didn’t like it there either.  It’s not a fun place. It does have a Woolworths though.

I also went back to the Dentists office to have my fillings fixed up a bit.  They still hurt to chew on the right side of my mouth.  And temperature is a BIG factor. Hopefully it will feel better soon!  Stupid teeth, they’re not being very nice.

OW!

I felt fine from my shots yesterday.

Today I can’t lift my left arm straight out.  Don’t even think about me raising it above my head.  I hate this feeling.  My muscles in my upper left arm are screaming their worst insults at me, and I can’t do too much about it.  The nurse who put it in my arm said, “It’s like feeling liquid lead.”  Great. . thanks. . OW!!

On the upside, I went to the Aquarium today for my Aviculture volunteer job.  That was fun.  I actually really enjoy my time there even if it does involve a lot of dish washing.  I even feel slightly awake even though I’ve been up for 6 hours and usually I don’t stir until 9:30/10ish when I am all alone.  I am trying to convince myself I SHOULD NOT take a nap.  I think it’s a lost cause.  I just want to lie down away from all the heat and horrid weather.  9 days to go, and my mom is home in . .  3 or 4ish (she gets in after midnight on the 11th, so technically it’s the 12th).  I have to get my room slightly functioning and cleaned up before she gets back or else I will never EVER hear the end of it.

My dad is off at the Head of the Fort Regatta hosted by our rowing club.  He’s doing launch driving.  I hope he remembered his hat.  Or at least has his green umbrella he loves so much.

I cannot stop sneezing.  UGH!

I think I shall go and take a shower to wash off the gunk from ARF (Amazon Rain Forest) and then see how I feel.

Stupid. . visa. . grrrrr

So the British Consulate has rejected my application for a UK Visa.  I’m stupid and didn’t have all the right papers with my form.  Stupid me right?  Well that is all my fault.

Today, I am going to photocopy a bazillion papers including bank statements, my acceptance to the University, my Undergrad Transcript from BU (they better take student copies of the damn thing)  and a few other various things.  They apparently also want my old passport.  Ew.  Good thing I kept it nice and safe.

So let the fun being and hopefully the British Consulate will finally give me my visa and I can get that stuff underway.

On the UPSIDE of things I have my accommodation for the school year.  *giddy bounce* I am so thrilled to finally have my housing done with.  I am all set to move in on the 18th.  I have opted to get their overly priced bedding package and hopefully things will all work out nicely.  I hope they give me a comfy pillow.  I’ll be forced to find a cheap pillow of uber-comfyness if not.

So now that I have my accommodation everyone is welcome to visit me, just not all at once.  There is an amazing guest house to stay at that is VERY close to the University and everything else that I love to pieces.  They man that owns it is from the farmlands of Aberdeen, Scotland and he is wonderful.  He’s super friendly, has great stories and really does a lot to make sure you’re comfortable.  I think my dad really got attached to him.  Not quite like the little boy at the guest house in Norwich was to me, that kid was leaning on me.  Hehehe Awwww I’m so happy to know I have a place at the University.

I will post the address of “how to send me mail” later.  I’m not sure what my mailing address will be since I doubt they bring you mail to your room.  It’s not that fancy.

Anyways, the day is beckoning and our morning thunderstorm is turning into a sunny humid day with a few more mosquitoes than I’d care to think about.

To chew or not to chew?

I just had some fillings fixed today and man do my teeth hurt.  I just tried to eat some vegetable soup . . I can’t chew for crap.  The numb mouth was fairly fun, but now that the puffy face feeling is gone, the pain has set in.

I am getting my teeth ready to face the British food!! YES!

And I am so brining my own jar of peanut butter.