Mom and Dad,
I just wanted to let you know that I set up a bank account
at Barclays. There are no fees and the $3,000 converted
into about �1,900 pounds. The exchange rate really wasn't
that bad.
Also, I took the free bus to Asda. It is a really cool
place. It's run by Walmart and has a huge grocery section. I spent
�20 on groceries, but got so much food. I also bought a
hair dryer and curling iron today because I just couldn't
live without them any more. I'm really under dressed for
this place. Everyone dresses really nice and I don't see
any jeans and sweatshirts.
I'm slowly learning how to work all the appliance in my
house too. This morning I had a breakfast of tea and
crumpets. A crumpet is really like an English muffin, but
spongier. I'm going to try and get to e-mail everyday, but
I can't guarantee I can do that.
Love,
MadGirl
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Jolly Old England
This is my first e-mail from England...oh, the memories!
Hello Everyone!
I just wanted to let you know that I'm here and I'm fine.
England is great. The flight here was fine, but it was a
pain at the airport. I feel as if all I've been doing
lately is standing in lines. I didn't find out that I was
going to get on a flight until the last minute so we had to
rush up to O'Hare. I spent about four hours in line
checking in and paying $100 for excess baggage because they
failed to let me know that my carry on was too heavy until
I got up to the counter. I had about five minutes to say
goodbye to my family and then I was off. There was a lot of
security, but that's fine by me. I was a little sick on
the plane at first, but once we got moving and I started
watching movies and playing with all the free stuff they
give you I was fine. When we finally landed in England the
real adventure began. I had not slept on the flight at all
and then we were trying to get off and they couldn't get
the airplane doors open! So there we are standing and
waiting to get off for a half and hour.
We made if off and cleared customs. We then met up with
the UKC people, but it turns out that we were not on the
list to get a coach to Canterbury. So, here we are; tired
and with 500 pounds of luggage and no way to get to our
school. We ended up taking a taxi (for£150) with this
Nigerian guy who was also going to school with us. He went
here last year so he was really helpful and made sure we
got to the University safely.
My flat is nice, but nothing fancy. It's very
institutional. Right now I only have four roommates (Liz
(American), Emma ( a first year British student) and Agnes
(She's from Mauritias which is an Island in the Indian
Ocean). We are still waiting on two more flat mates.
Here are some of the observations I've made about England:
-It really is cold and rainy here. That is no joke and I
don't think I've seen the sun in days. I probably didn't
need to bring any T-shirts. My umbrella is my constant
companion. Everything is ten times more green then at home
and now I know why...it never stops raining!
-English Directions are not like American Directions.
Nothing is easy to find. For example, when we were trying
to find the city of Canterbury a lady gave us directions
that said: turn right at the roundabout and then left and
take Whitstable Road to the city. To this day I do not
know where Whitstable Road is or what roundabout she was
talking about. It took us about three hours to find the
city and I'm sure we took the long way. It's a bit of a
jaunt, but I need the exercise.
-The city of Canterbury is beautiful. It has old
cobblestone streets and a cute little river. There's so
much to take in. I went to the Cathedral yesterday and it
was amazing. As a UKC student I get in for free. So, I
plan to go back and explore more.
-I'm going through total culture shock. I feel like an
idiot because I can't work anything. For example, in our
bathroom there are two taps, one for hot and one for cold,
this doesn't make sense to me. I couldn't figure out how
to wash my face for a day. I'd burn my left hand with hot
water. Finally, I realized that you plug the basin and
fill it with a mixture of both.
-English food is good. I don't know what the other people
mean when they put down the food here. Our first night we
ate at this place called the Weavers INN and I had Lamb and
Rosemary pie and a pint of cider. It was the best meal
ever. I've also had tea at a little French cafe.
I'm sorry this is so long, but there's so much to say.
I'll send more e-mails when I get a chance.
Cheers,
MadGirl
Hello Everyone!
I just wanted to let you know that I'm here and I'm fine.
England is great. The flight here was fine, but it was a
pain at the airport. I feel as if all I've been doing
lately is standing in lines. I didn't find out that I was
going to get on a flight until the last minute so we had to
rush up to O'Hare. I spent about four hours in line
checking in and paying $100 for excess baggage because they
failed to let me know that my carry on was too heavy until
I got up to the counter. I had about five minutes to say
goodbye to my family and then I was off. There was a lot of
security, but that's fine by me. I was a little sick on
the plane at first, but once we got moving and I started
watching movies and playing with all the free stuff they
give you I was fine. When we finally landed in England the
real adventure began. I had not slept on the flight at all
and then we were trying to get off and they couldn't get
the airplane doors open! So there we are standing and
waiting to get off for a half and hour.
We made if off and cleared customs. We then met up with
the UKC people, but it turns out that we were not on the
list to get a coach to Canterbury. So, here we are; tired
and with 500 pounds of luggage and no way to get to our
school. We ended up taking a taxi (for£150) with this
Nigerian guy who was also going to school with us. He went
here last year so he was really helpful and made sure we
got to the University safely.
My flat is nice, but nothing fancy. It's very
institutional. Right now I only have four roommates (Liz
(American), Emma ( a first year British student) and Agnes
(She's from Mauritias which is an Island in the Indian
Ocean). We are still waiting on two more flat mates.
Here are some of the observations I've made about England:
-It really is cold and rainy here. That is no joke and I
don't think I've seen the sun in days. I probably didn't
need to bring any T-shirts. My umbrella is my constant
companion. Everything is ten times more green then at home
and now I know why...it never stops raining!
-English Directions are not like American Directions.
Nothing is easy to find. For example, when we were trying
to find the city of Canterbury a lady gave us directions
that said: turn right at the roundabout and then left and
take Whitstable Road to the city. To this day I do not
know where Whitstable Road is or what roundabout she was
talking about. It took us about three hours to find the
city and I'm sure we took the long way. It's a bit of a
jaunt, but I need the exercise.
-The city of Canterbury is beautiful. It has old
cobblestone streets and a cute little river. There's so
much to take in. I went to the Cathedral yesterday and it
was amazing. As a UKC student I get in for free. So, I
plan to go back and explore more.
-I'm going through total culture shock. I feel like an
idiot because I can't work anything. For example, in our
bathroom there are two taps, one for hot and one for cold,
this doesn't make sense to me. I couldn't figure out how
to wash my face for a day. I'd burn my left hand with hot
water. Finally, I realized that you plug the basin and
fill it with a mixture of both.
-English food is good. I don't know what the other people
mean when they put down the food here. Our first night we
ate at this place called the Weavers INN and I had Lamb and
Rosemary pie and a pint of cider. It was the best meal
ever. I've also had tea at a little French cafe.
I'm sorry this is so long, but there's so much to say.
I'll send more e-mails when I get a chance.
Cheers,
MadGirl
Folkstone
I was cleaning up my yahoo mailbox and came across a folder of e-mails I sent to friends and family while living in England. I've decided to brush them off and pepper them into my blog. This first one is from October 22, 2001. I've decided to use covert spy names to protect the innocent.
Boy do I have a story for you! On Saturday night Candida,
her British roommate Carmen and I went out to the pubs. We
start out at our old standby, The Jolly Sailor, where Carmen
hits on the bartender and gets looked over by some really old men.
We decided to leave the Sailor and find a new pub so we
stumble upon this pub called King William IV. We go in and
there's this guy named Kevin Iverson playing! I don't
think he's related to Nick though. Well, this place is a
dive and we are like 'drink up and get outta here.' At
that very moment Sting comes on with Roxanne so we pound
our drinks, thank Sting, and leave.
At this point Candida has to pee so she makes me go back to
the sailor with her. We go in, pee, and as we are making
our way out these two hot British men hold the door for us.
Out on the street they are talking about where to go and
then head towards Simple Simons, another great pub. Well,
us girls mobilize and follow them there. Carmen and Candida
are behind them at the bar and I go outside to find a seat.
Well, a few minutes later these boys come and sit at my
table, but I'm trying to call my roommate, Puppettina, on the
mobile so we don't talk. Candida and Carmen come out and we
start talking to these men. Well, Nick sits across from me
and introduces himself and I start to realize that he's a
bit older and not as hot as I thought, but I'm still pretty
drunk so everything is good. Nick is a ground worker from
Folkstone (which is on the Channel and about an hour away).
So we're making small talk and then he says that we should
come and visit him sometime and gives me his number. Well,
being the asshole that I am I give him mine-the whole time
thinking 'what are you doing asshole' to myself.
Nick then says something to me that I really can't
understand and I make him repeat it 20 times and then I ask
Candida what he said and she says 'He thinks your a babe'!
Now, I am many things but a babe is not one of them...
Well, I start to freak out because I'm sobering up and
realizing that these men are way older and slimier then I
thought when Jack and coke were my conscience.
At this point another bloke shows up and says his name is
Soap. Soap takes a liking to Candida and calls her a
diamond. Candida and Carmen then leave me there to talk with
Soap and Nick and all I want to do is run off. Finally,
Soap asks if we want to come back to Folkstone with them
and that they will be sure that we get home safe in the
morning! Ugggg! I think all of us girls where like no way
in hell, but Candida just made up some lie about how we had
stuff to do the next day.
So, finally these men leave and we are left giggling and
I'm cringing because Nick would not stop calling me a babe
and that just made me really uncomfortable. He hasn't
called me yet and hope to god he doesn't because I'd die.
There is also a very important moral to the story: You
can't expect to meet decent men at the pubs. Trust me on
this. From now on I go to pubs to have fun and meet new
people, but not to find Mr. Right.
Love
MadGirl
P.S: I need your address and phone number. I can call you
for super cheap so that means you'll be the lucky recipient
of a drunken call from a pub one night!
=====
University of Kent
1 Ellenden Court, Park Wood
CT2 7SH Canterbury, England
Side note to the e-mail: Candida is still convinced that Soap looked like Thom York from Radiohead. He did not. Give a girl enough Jack and Coke and any loser is going to look like George Clooney.
Boy do I have a story for you! On Saturday night Candida,
her British roommate Carmen and I went out to the pubs. We
start out at our old standby, The Jolly Sailor, where Carmen
hits on the bartender and gets looked over by some really old men.
We decided to leave the Sailor and find a new pub so we
stumble upon this pub called King William IV. We go in and
there's this guy named Kevin Iverson playing! I don't
think he's related to Nick though. Well, this place is a
dive and we are like 'drink up and get outta here.' At
that very moment Sting comes on with Roxanne so we pound
our drinks, thank Sting, and leave.
At this point Candida has to pee so she makes me go back to
the sailor with her. We go in, pee, and as we are making
our way out these two hot British men hold the door for us.
Out on the street they are talking about where to go and
then head towards Simple Simons, another great pub. Well,
us girls mobilize and follow them there. Carmen and Candida
are behind them at the bar and I go outside to find a seat.
Well, a few minutes later these boys come and sit at my
table, but I'm trying to call my roommate, Puppettina, on the
mobile so we don't talk. Candida and Carmen come out and we
start talking to these men. Well, Nick sits across from me
and introduces himself and I start to realize that he's a
bit older and not as hot as I thought, but I'm still pretty
drunk so everything is good. Nick is a ground worker from
Folkstone (which is on the Channel and about an hour away).
So we're making small talk and then he says that we should
come and visit him sometime and gives me his number. Well,
being the asshole that I am I give him mine-the whole time
thinking 'what are you doing asshole' to myself.
Nick then says something to me that I really can't
understand and I make him repeat it 20 times and then I ask
Candida what he said and she says 'He thinks your a babe'!
Now, I am many things but a babe is not one of them...
Well, I start to freak out because I'm sobering up and
realizing that these men are way older and slimier then I
thought when Jack and coke were my conscience.
At this point another bloke shows up and says his name is
Soap. Soap takes a liking to Candida and calls her a
diamond. Candida and Carmen then leave me there to talk with
Soap and Nick and all I want to do is run off. Finally,
Soap asks if we want to come back to Folkstone with them
and that they will be sure that we get home safe in the
morning! Ugggg! I think all of us girls where like no way
in hell, but Candida just made up some lie about how we had
stuff to do the next day.
So, finally these men leave and we are left giggling and
I'm cringing because Nick would not stop calling me a babe
and that just made me really uncomfortable. He hasn't
called me yet and hope to god he doesn't because I'd die.
There is also a very important moral to the story: You
can't expect to meet decent men at the pubs. Trust me on
this. From now on I go to pubs to have fun and meet new
people, but not to find Mr. Right.
Love
MadGirl
P.S: I need your address and phone number. I can call you
for super cheap so that means you'll be the lucky recipient
of a drunken call from a pub one night!
=====
University of Kent
1 Ellenden Court, Park Wood
CT2 7SH Canterbury, England
Side note to the e-mail: Candida is still convinced that Soap looked like Thom York from Radiohead. He did not. Give a girl enough Jack and Coke and any loser is going to look like George Clooney.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Am I a Cuddlemonster?
Lately, I have had this extreme urge to cuddle with someone and it's kind of freaking me out. I've never been a very affectionate person, but suddenly I think about what it would be like if one of my bachelors hung around and spent the night. Okay, part of that desire is because I really dig morning sex and in order to get good morning sex you need to wake up next to each other.
I remember when Bachelor #3 first tried to play the cuddle card with me. After sex he would wrap himself around me, snore really loud and fuck me when we work up in the morning. The first couple of times he spent the night I got really annoyed. I couldn't sleep and frankly, the guy lived at the end of my block so it wasn't a long trek home. However, now I miss that. I realize that he was willing to provide me with the sex and the intimacy.
I think in my quest to be sexually adventurous I forgot to consider intimacy and honestly, I think I need a little cuddle time now and then. It's funny how I can easily bring a guy to my bed with very little inhibitions, but asking for anything more turns me right back into that timid girl that I am trying to leave behind.. I've managed to compartmentalize my relationships and take what I need from each one, but what I'm not getting, and certainly craving, is some cuddle time.
I remember when Bachelor #3 first tried to play the cuddle card with me. After sex he would wrap himself around me, snore really loud and fuck me when we work up in the morning. The first couple of times he spent the night I got really annoyed. I couldn't sleep and frankly, the guy lived at the end of my block so it wasn't a long trek home. However, now I miss that. I realize that he was willing to provide me with the sex and the intimacy.
I think in my quest to be sexually adventurous I forgot to consider intimacy and honestly, I think I need a little cuddle time now and then. It's funny how I can easily bring a guy to my bed with very little inhibitions, but asking for anything more turns me right back into that timid girl that I am trying to leave behind.. I've managed to compartmentalize my relationships and take what I need from each one, but what I'm not getting, and certainly craving, is some cuddle time.
Ghosts of Bachelors Past
I got an e-mail from Bachelor #2 today. He just wanted to see how I was doing and if I was drinking any IPA. To refresh your memory I went on one date with Bachelor #2 and had a good time, but was also dating Bachelor #1 at the time and was way more into Bachelor #1. I ended up e-mailing Bachelor #2 to tell him I was getting serious with someone else and then a few weeks later Bachelor #1 dropped off the face of the earth. This is when I learned a valuable lesson: don't put all you eggs in one basket. I have since learned that it is okay to date multiple men at the same time because chances are a few of them are going to turn out to be flakes and if I'm lucky one will actually stick around.
I have mixed feelings about Bachelor #2. I enjoyed his company, but just wasn't' feeling a connection that would lead to more than friendship. However, I like to give guys a second try and that's why I decided to respond to his e-mail. I also kind of like the idea that there was someone out there who was still thinking about me. It's a nice feeling to know that you are liked. We'll see where this takes us, but I feel that as long as I am upfront with him then it should be okay.
This whole electronic communication thing can get quite frustrating. I hate the weeks of e-mails back and forth and then the weeks of trying to meet up. I'd say about 50% of the potential bachelors make it past e-mail and only about 75% actually end up in a real date. For example, I have exchanged numbers and have dates pending with 3 guys right now. If I'm lucky one of them will end up in a date and the rest will just fall into some sort of dating black hole. It's all very bizarre and I just feel it should not be this complicated. If it were up to me I'd just like to exchange a few basic e-mails and then meet up to see if we really connect. If date 1 and 2 go well and they turn out to be a good kisser then I think there could be a future.
I have mixed feelings about Bachelor #2. I enjoyed his company, but just wasn't' feeling a connection that would lead to more than friendship. However, I like to give guys a second try and that's why I decided to respond to his e-mail. I also kind of like the idea that there was someone out there who was still thinking about me. It's a nice feeling to know that you are liked. We'll see where this takes us, but I feel that as long as I am upfront with him then it should be okay.
This whole electronic communication thing can get quite frustrating. I hate the weeks of e-mails back and forth and then the weeks of trying to meet up. I'd say about 50% of the potential bachelors make it past e-mail and only about 75% actually end up in a real date. For example, I have exchanged numbers and have dates pending with 3 guys right now. If I'm lucky one of them will end up in a date and the rest will just fall into some sort of dating black hole. It's all very bizarre and I just feel it should not be this complicated. If it were up to me I'd just like to exchange a few basic e-mails and then meet up to see if we really connect. If date 1 and 2 go well and they turn out to be a good kisser then I think there could be a future.
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