Life as of Late

I have absolutely no excuse for not having updated in such a long time.  Aside from the fact that the weather has been, for the most part, extremely gloomy.  And that I've been avoiding it through hundreds of pages of reading and several hours of film throughout the last two weeks.  Fortunately, a few small happenings here and there have built up since my last post, and I will attempt to make this one as entertaining as it can be.

First off, in perhaps the most exciting news I will report today, is that Leigh Anne, Clem and I purchased our tickets to Dublin, Ireland for St. Patrick's Day!  I am beyond excited -- this is the first major travel aside from Liverpool and London that I will have done so far.  But not to worry, I am planning a route for the month-long break in April and May that includes Amsterdam, Germany, Italy, and Spain!  More on that when I'm more sure of the details.

So, as for outings, there have been few.  Leigh Anne and I have went out a couple of times for dinner and drinks... and rugby!  We finally made our way to The Monument, a pub in town that many people suggest for watching matches.

Not to mention they have a beyond-cute "mascot" dog, Bella Shakespeare:

(Photo courtesy of her very own Facebook page!)

Seeing dogs here always makes me miss my family's back home!  But I digress.  We ordered what came out to be a monstrously large pitcher of cider and black and attempted to keep up with the England vs. Wales match -- which resulted in our deciding that watching rugby matches may quite possibly be as good, if not better than watching American football games in that 1.) The players are doing the same kind of work, without wearing major protection, 2.) There is constant action. When a guy gets hurt, you see the medic working on him in the background while the game continues around him, 3.)  There are no commercials, 4.) The crowd is in constant singing/wave/cheering mode, 5.) Awesome tackles and try landings (touchdowns) are permitted, and 6.) Toby Flood is does the viewer's eyes much good  :)

Bella barked alongside the pub-goers' and match-viewers' cheers when England won after an intense last ten minutes.  Then, we decided to head out with some of the swim team we had run into.  They were going to another bar and then a club.  We made it as far as the line at the club, but deciding we felt too old, too lazy, and too poor to hand over four pounds for a few minutes of dancing to the guy at the door, we turned around and headed for the bus station, making a pit-stop at McDonald's for a cheeseburger fix for Leigh Anne and an ice cream fix for myself (yes, we were those Americans who fit the stereotype well that evening!)

Super Bowl Sunday, I wasn't feeling too well and although a bar on campus was playing the game, it didn't start until 11 p.m. England time -- at which point I was in bed!  I had a few crummy days sleeping off whatever it may have been and getting ahead in my studies.  Which doesn't really count for much now, because I find myself behind again already!

I am working towards a very assignment-filled week at the end of February.  On the 24th, I have an oral presentation for my language course.  On the 25th, I have a 2,500 word essay due for my film course.  On the 28th, I have a 2,500 word essay due for my literature course.  And then I get a break!  Until March 11th, when I have a 2,000 word essay due for the language course.  That's thousands of words to write, millions of words to read, and endless hours sorting it all out.  Fortunately, I get a few days off here and there as "Reading Week" is next week, so I hope to, by that point, only need to tidy up my work and get a little bit of traveling in.

To get away from stressing about my future stress, I took advantage of the beautiful sun and warm weather on Tuesday and made my way into town, where I explored some of the side streets I hadn't been to yet:

The King's English Bookstore - yes, it is really that slanted!

I was so busy admiring the sun and the swans on the River Stour that I almost didn't notice the signs of Spring right under my feet:

I decided to walk back to campus, and take a little detour onto the grounds of Orlando Bloom's old school:

Unfortunately, this was the only gorgeous day out of the week (click here for all of the pictures), as the sun hid away and the drizzle fell, so did my motivation.  I found it so difficult to read the nearly 500 pages of The Moonstone (sorry, Wilkie Collins) that I instead found the audio version online and listened while looking up top European tourist attractions.  I was perked up immediately on Friday, though, in getting to Skype with Demetri, accompanied by his dachshund, Ralph, who I learned can box as well as any human might :)  At the same time, I received an e-mail from mom letting me know that my financial aid for the semester had finally come through!  

Saturday morning, I made an early trip to the library to watch a film for class and to look into some sources (of which I found many) for my essays.  To top it off, I returned to my flat and moments later had a delivery of flowers and truffles come my way.  Thanks to my wonderful mother!  It was a brilliant weekend indeed.

That brings me to today... and although I'm not much for Valentine's Day (thanks to my time at Hallmark), I feel I should give a little shout out to my significant other - who also has a birthday on Friday!

It was almost a year ago that Deme started writing me little notes on folded notebook paper and passing them to me as I clocked out of work and he clocked in.  What started out as a simple "I hope you have a good day" turned into funny drawings, and then silly poems, and then long talks and laughs and love.

  

I don't know many guys who would start dating a girl knowing she's leaving the country in a few months to study abroad because he "thinks she's worth the wait."  I don't know many guys who would convince a girl, last minute, to take a trip to Mexico and drive her to Chicago to get her passport two days before takeoff, or sweet talk an airline representative into giving her a great deal on the flight.  

I don't know many guys who would drive over 50 miles every Friday night after a week of twelve-hour workdays to spend the weekend with his girl, going places and doing things he probably couldn't care less about.

I don't know many guys who would pull off of the interstate immediately after his girlfriend tears up upon seeing a truck full of chickens off to slaughter in order to drive into a Burger King and order two vegetarian burgers, "in honor of the animals" and then suffer his way through the unmanly meatless meal.  Or tell her stories in Spanish when she can't sleep.  Or wake her up after she's fallen asleep just to say "hi."  Or tell her he feels like going out just because she looks beautiful and he wants everyone to see them together.

  

I don't know many guys who can make me laugh, cry, feel inspired, and believe in so much all at once --  even with 4,000 miles and an ocean in between.  But I do know of one.

I love you, Demetri.

I hope this finds you in good weather, in good health, in good spirits, and in good love.

Until next time,

Aly