Thursday, December 31, 2009

Catching Up..

Happy Thursday Everyone!
I apologize for my lack of blog-age. The last days haven't been uber exciting, but instead filled with mundane (not meant in a negative way), everyday, sort of things, not that I didn't enjoy every minute of that as well! Kass, another girl that goes to the college that I hadn't had the chance to meet yet, did come over last night. We had a bit of a chat with her, so that was lovely.
Nevertheless, today was a completely different change of pace. Now mom, if you're reading this, don't freak out. But I went to Oxford town by myself. Yep, I felt like a big kid! Ha. Yesterday Bex, another college mate, had said she'd love to meet up in Oxford tomorrow and have lunch and go shopping. Well actually she said, "Can I shout you lunch?", which I immediately asked for a translation. Anyway, She text me directions. LOVE TECHNOLOGY because I'm simply rubbish at reading maps. So, at exactly 11:15, I headed to the bus stop that is about five minutes from my house. I bought a return ticket into city centre, and kept my eyes peeled for George Street.



We had plans to meet at Carfax, see above picture, and so I was heading straight there after I got off the bus. I got a bit sidetracked at the only Starbucks in Oxford, but thats okay, because she was running a bit late herself. So after I bought myself a Toffee Nut Latte, I was going for the Eggnog Latte but they were out of eggnog, I walked back out onto the rainy street and started walking in the direction of Carfax. Being the silly goose that I am, I saw a pretty good sized building that looked old and MUST BE Carfax straight up ahead, so I kept my eyes on that and kept walking towards it. I'm absolutely enjoying drinking in the sights of downtown Oxford and loving the people hustling beside me, who are probably trying to not get whacked by my over sized but protective umbrella, that I neglected to answer my phone when it rang. I stopped once I hit the pretty building and read the sign. "Christ Church" it read. Oops.. wrong building. I got my phone out to call Bex, and realized I had just missed her call. After calling her while she was calling me, don't you just absolutely HATE that when it happens?, I was directed to just go back to the Starbucks I had started from. So as I'm walking back, I spot her, and realize that Carfax was directly to the left from the Starbucks. Had I just read the text she sent me and didn't get distracted from the pretty buildings I would've not gotten lost! Well, it ended nicely, we finally found each other. Well, not finally, it all really took five minutes, and I was actually quite proud of myself.
Moving on....
We said a few hellos. HSBC, my new bank, was right across the street. At this point, I still hadn't opened a bank account anywhere so all my money is still safe and sound in good 'ol USA. Anyway, I asked if she'd be okay with going in there really quick so I can finally tick that off the to-do list. She obliged happily. We walked in and out within thirty minutes. Good, finally got that done. Well, not quite, I still have to transfer the money over online somehow, but I got an account open.
Next....
After banks, we went to eat! She took me to one of her favorite places called Pizza Express. MMMMMMMMM is the best way I can describe it. It was DELICIOUS. I was going to take a picture if my food, but i thought I'd try to act a little more sophisticated so I refrained. But I'll try to describe it to you. It was pizza, on a thin crust, with some kind of meat, cheese, and banana peppers on it. The pizza had a hole in the middle, like a doughnut, and in the middle, was a salad! Brilliant! It was uber nuber tastey. It felt like we sat and talked for hours. It was really lovely just getting to know each other. To talk. To laugh. To share our dreams.



After lunch and dessert, we walked out onto Cornmarket street and headed to the "car park". We were on our way to Abingdon, a small town in Oxfordshire. There was a fabric shop she had heard, Masons, that was supposed to be like an "Aladdin's cave" as she described it. When we got into the car to head to Abingdon, she said, "Prepare to know your Maker! You're about to meet Him!". She then continues to explain to me that she is a less than confident driver, and i say, "That's okay, I have enough confidence in my driving to make up for both of us." (That's for you, mommy!) We make it to Abingdon and we can't find a parking space for about fifteen minutes. We seriously went in circles for fifteen minutes looking for parking spaces. It was great times! Ha. Its funny just how much you get to see of people when they are in said situations.


This is Abingdon. I apologize for the picture quality; it was getting a little dark. We found Masons and we explored! Bex is into making jewelry and sewing different things, so all the fabrics, buttons, and beads, were really exciting for her. I just enjoyed browsing and feeling the different textured fabric.


This is some building in Abingdon. Looks like a church maybe? We just used it as our reminder for where we parked. We made it back to the car with the help of this pointy building. Thank-you Pointy Building. Bex drove me home so I didn't have to take the bus back. Thank-you sweet Bex!

It was probably 5:30 when I got home. I made dinner tonight for the first time since being here! I made "Italian Sausage soup with Tortellini" and I thought it was good! Everybody else seemed to think so too, which is always the most important thing! I picked the recipe out myself. Ha, not really sure why I mentioned that, but I did.. I'll post the link to the recipe, because if you get a chance, you should try it!

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/6631/italian-sausage-soup-with-tortellini.aspx

Tonight was movie night at my house. We had a mini party with a few college friends over and projected a couple movies on to our wall and enjoyed! We had the Clarks, Lawtons, and Henry over. We watched A Mighty Heart and Up. We were going for kinda heavy then a comedy, but Up was terrible!! It was so sad and I'm pretty sure that one pulled more at my heart strings then A Mighty Heart did! Funny story about Up though: (Forgive me if i already mentioned this) it was playing on my plane ride over here and I saw it on the screen. I'm thinking to myself, "How can anyone enjoy watching a movie with no sound!?" because nothing was coming out of the tv screens. It wasn't until the last 30 minutes of the movie, that a see the guy beside me pull out his head phones, and plug them into his arm rest, and proceed to watch the ending of the movie playing. I just sit there for a moment, and silently chuckle to myself. Sometimes I can be so retarded, but I find it quite amusing.

Well, I plan on sleeping in today since I plan on staying up late bringing in the NEW YEAR! Whoop Whoop!

Everyone, have a Happy Safe New Year!!
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9 comments:

  1. Happy New Year. I was catching up on your blog the last of our family got on the road today. It's been a great Christmas getting to hang out with our children and grandchildren. Love you girl, your adventures warm my heart.

    amy

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  2. Love you too Amy! I'm glad that everyone was able to come home for Christmas!

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  3. Aeriole, I'm so proud of you going out on your own! Wow. Really. I think (actually I KNOW) you are braver than I am. I laughed out loud at the "Thank you, Pointy Building" part. Too funny. Enjoy, my dear, and we miss you!

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  4. Hey, my post didn't post last night:( Usere error I am sure!
    - I absolutely laughed when I read the part about the headphones! I can SOOOO see the light bulb going off in your head and you chuckling out load with that "oops" smirk you get figure something out! Too Cute!
    -OK- so you know what the FIRST thing I thought when I was reading along and out of the corner I was seeing those pictures and realizing it was getting dusk (amazing how many things your mind can do at once!)was GREAT, she probably had so much fun she didn't leave to go home by herself till DARK, (minor panic, minor panic), then I read the part about her taking you home, THANK YOU Jesus for thoughtful friends! :)
    - Glad you have a cell phone for times like these!
    - How far is this place from where you live?
    - The part about her driving, I was afraid you were going to say that she offered to let you drive :) LOL
    - Glad you are having a wonderful time playing tourist, enjoy every minute of it! Love you my dear!

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  5. mommy, that comment made me tear up a bit! I just absolutely love how your brain works!! Love you mommy dearest!

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  6. Oh, and I answered on FB, but downtown is only like a 10/15 minute bus ride..not too far..

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  7. Aeriole, I've been reading you and your mom's posts on FB and then she mentioned your blog, so I wandered over here! I LOVE your adventuresome spirit! It's fun to read how you're doing and all the lovely things you are experiencing! I'll be dropping by often! Happy New Year!!

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  8. I've suspected all along that you had a blog and I finally found it! I loved reading about all the adventures you've had so far - you write just like you talk, and you had me laughing on every post! You're a riot, girl! We're trying to soak up the last few weeks we have left here in Korea - the time goes by so fast! Enjoy every minute of it! Love ya, Sarah

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  9. HA! You are silly! Loved the ear phones bit.

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