None

So it has been exactly one week since I've arrived. Everything is falling into place-- the only thing I need now is my money o_o

Yep-- apparently it takes 3-6 weeks for student loans to be disbursed into a UK bank account. Which means I'll be surviving off my dwindling American funds for a month and a half, right? Well, not necessarily. The university has had this same problem every year with international student funds, and finally they decide to do something about it this time around (lucky for me). This entails allowing us to take out a pre-loan-disbursement £800 cheque (that's how they spell check over here, yanks), which still takes until October 7 to get here. Which I guess is better than 3-6 weeks. At this point, I'll have paid for 4 months worth of rent out of my own pocket, which I shouldn't have to do. Should I get back at them by blowing my loan money on travel? Not wise. Maybe it's a good thing that I'm spending all my American moolah first, so I have less to pay back to the US Dept of Education later. Very wise.

Okay, enough about that. Nobody wants to hear my funding problems, right? I bet you all want to hear about culture and the city and nights on the town! Well... I haven't had any nights out yet. I'm kind of wary about the safety of my neighborhood and I don't like to go walking anywhere after dark as of yet. I mean, every road has streetlights, unlike Ohio, but still. There are dark alleyways and corners and things, and sometimes when I'm walking by them I imagine this ghoulish creep in a long black overcoat swooping out to capture me and take me back to his lair. Maybe I'm thinking of the phantom of the opera. And if that's the case, then it would be incredibly cool to be snatched up into oblivion.

The other day, Jana and I went on a tour of Ancient Leicester, led by an eccentrically-dressed fellow with a flowery umbrella and that scatterbrained dialect of the old-fashioned academicals, who know so much about one subject that they don't know where to start. The tour went on for a good 3 hours, partially because the veteran student who was supposed to lead us to the tour got hopelessly lost trying to find a bridge by Castle Gardens, so we had to retrace our steps a few times.

The tour itself was pretty good-- our first stop was the quickest, which was unfortunate because it was also the most interesting-- a 12th century church where Geofferey Chaucer was married. First of all, when I hear things like that: 'Chaucer was married in this very church!' I get this glaze over my eyes and for a minute I see the world as I imagine it must have been like in the 1100s, and let me tell you-- it was really, really cool. Life was so much tougher back then, but when the sun shone, you could find some peace and write a ballad or two. Ah, romance.

As we snaked along the old foundation of the castle, most of it long gone, we soon grew weary of having nothing to see but one old brick from 1260, or trying to imagine a Roman bridge where a modern overpass now stands. We saw a bronze plaque, long greened, commemorating Richard III, which read that his body had been dumped in this very river! (all speculation, of course). It was a nice day, anyway, and I enjoyed my trip to the bathroom where I suddenly emerged onto an 18th century road when taking a wrong turn inside the museum building. The road itself is protected within the walls of the museum, and there were storefronts and everything stretched across 2 room-lengths. Jana missed it because she didn't have to pee.

So I was growing antsy, having promised to meet a friend I'd met last time I was in Leicester and the tour was running later and later. I hurried to the Jewry Wall museum, where I looked around at Roman bath artifacts until Philip arrived on the scene. I was surprised I recognized him as soon as I did, considering our friendship has mainly been internet-based for the past 2 years and I know I've changed quite a bit since then... my hair was very long and frizzy (perm) and I didn't wear glasses back then (this was pre-The Egypt Trip That Caused a Resistance to Contacts). We walked to the city centre and I had a traditional English breakfast (sans meat, of course).

Would you like to know what a traditional English breakfast looks like? Here, I'll describe it to you. Think of a long plate, and each side dish is in its own little pile. We've got white-bread toast with plenty of butter; sliced, fried potatoes; baked beans (yes, these are eaten for breakfast); one crisp tomato, cut in half; cooked mushrooms; and plenty of brown sauce. When Philip asked me if I knew what brown sauce was, I said I'd try some and see, and it turned out to be A1 steak sauce. Apparently they put this stuff on everything, but I did not. Anyway, the breakfast usually also comes with sausage links and bacon (not as crispy as American bacon, and cut thick and squareish), but I had the vegetarian option.

Yep, still going strong with the semi-vegetarianism. I say semi- because I guess a true vegetarian does not eat seafood... but I can't give up that yummy sushi! Mmmhh... sushi.

So Philip and I had a good time. After breakfast-dinner, we went to the library and walked around a bit, and we're going to hang out again on Saturday. Maybe I should invite Jana along this time? I think they would get along.

By the way, I love Jana's roommates, Tom and Sonya. Tom is really laid back; he's related to Harry Potter, has a girlfriend from Wales (whoa!), and informed me of the fell walking society (translation: hiking club) at the university, and I think I will join in on that one. Sonya is from Germany-- Bavaria, in fact-- and of course she knows all about the Neuschwanstein castle (translation: new swan stone-- we spent a nice long time trying to pronounce it last night). Her English is a little rough, but of course she will get a lot better in a very short amount of time, as they all do-- and she has a thing against cheese.

It rained all day yesterday, so we introduced Tom to the Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup dinner. It was great.

Oh, and if you would like a quick update about my roommates, I still haven't really gotten to know them, but that's not because I'm unsocial, it's because two of them have already started a really grueling course and they're at the university half the time and the other half they're cooped up in their rooms, studying. Oh, but I find traces of them in the kitchen (particularly Michelle, I suspect-- I hear the Irish are messy, lol!) but nothing to pull my hair out over. I have to resign myself to living a little messier I guess... no student is quite as much of a clean freak as I am... I should have known that going in, though.

Becky is on a similar course as Jana, and her classes haven't started yet, either. She's very nice-- I see her in the kitchen every now and then and we chat it up nicely, if not a little shyly. I think once she warms up to me, we'll be friends. :P

I wish one of the roomies could have been a guy though, just to even it out :P As you all know, I'm not much of an all-girls girl.

Well, okay, long post. But I'm bored in the university library waiting for Orange (my phone service) to send a security code to my phone so I can enter it in the computer to get my balance and such online. It takes SO damn long though-- I figure it's been about 45 minutes now, or as long as I've been typing this up. I've tried to get this code several times before, and it always seem to come right after I get offline, and of course once you click the Orange screen off, you're finished. You can't re-enter a security code, you have to sign up for a new one and wait another 45 minutes. What a pain! Jana doesn't have this problem with her phone. She got to sign up for online updates right away.

Okay, so! Busy week ahead! Monday I'm getting a bank account and meeting with a prof about a project, and next Thursday is the first day of my course-- yippee! Study study study. I hope I'll have some free time, with which to run and fell-walk.

Peace!

Day 5

Okay, so I skipped a few days. I can't blog for long now because I'm on a public computer here-- still don't have internet at home, and I won't until Oct 22, thanks to my roommate getting us the absolute best internet provider, thus the busiest. :P But I do have a blog post on word processor from day one, about a page long cos I was really sleepy, and I might post that later when I get internet at my house-- so that could be about a month. Hang tight! Day one was a doozy, that's all you need to know for now.

Oh, I like my roommates, by the way! One's a little messy I suppose, but I'm a neat freak. Someone's been wiping their food-hands on my dish towel! Oh well. Gotta deal. I love my house. It's very cozy, and my room is nice too. I didn't have heat the first couple of nights because I couldn't figure out how to work the heater, but it's nice and warm now, thanks to Lea.

I arrived first, Lea arrived the next day, Becky showed up on Sunday afternoon, and Michelle found her way to the house at around midnight Sunday night. So we're all here! Michelle's accent is really cool! She's Irish. I think we are all going to get along very well.

I love where my house is located! About 2 mins from a co-op grocery store, where you can get cheap fruit while it lasts, and other items (including bakery--yum!). There's a library about 4 mins away, Jana's house about 6, another grocery store right next door to her... and a post office and banks right around the corner. Everything you need! My house is about a block from Victoria Park, which is a nice run. About 10 mins from the university, and about 20 mins from the city centre. Amazing!

I got an amazing pay-as-you-go phone for cheap, and I get free internet and 300 free texts every month for only £10pm! So I posted this on my facebook, but in case any of you don't use facebook often, I'll write it again here: if you would like to get in contact with me, send me an e-mail at darogasrainydaae@gmail.com and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! I would really like to hear from my friends! *hint hint*

It's been really drizzly the past few days, as expected. I got soaked on my run this morning, but the weather is perfect for exercise.

I know I'm subject-hopping like crazy, but let me update you guys on registration cos I know you all want to hear about it. So, I can't get a UK bank account until I register for classes through face-to-face registration. Which means I've been draining my American bank account, but thank GOD I sold my car before I left, otherwise I don't know how I'd be able to sustain! It's a pain in the butt using an American card over here, but I'll be able to sign up for a UK account on Wednesday! WOOHOO! I thought I'd have to wait until Oct4th, but my money might be gone by then, what with all the international fees they're throwing at me!

Well, I'm off. I miss Obi a lot, and I heard he's been lonely. I hope it gets better for him! I hope it gets better for me! I met a friendly cat yesterday who tried to get into my house, then decided to rub against my legs while purring like crazy for a while. Maybe he'll be my special friend. :)

Later all!

T-Minus 1 Day

I'll arrive in England on Thursday. I can't think of a more comfortable combination than sleep depravation and about 75 extra pounds of stuff to lug across a country or two. Optimistically, it will be the best day of my life-- I'll bump into Jude Law and he'll offer to take me to my destination via Lincoln town car. Then marry me.

Realistically, if I make it through the day without uttering one cuss word it will be a gorram miracle. I'm gonna make a deal with you now, Jana-- go easy on me for the next 36 hours and I'll do the same for you! I'm gonna try reeeaaal hard.

Real hard.

I'm Tao. I'm so Tao. I'm going to take the day as it comes at me. I'm going to get my key from the student center. I'm going to go home and take a shower. I'm going to be all alone in my house on Thursday so I can poke around and try to remember which room is mine. I'm going to write my adventures in word processor cos I won't have the internet for a while. I'm going to make my 2mi map around Victoria Park so I can run on Friday. I'm going to find a supermarket. And a hairdryer. I'm going to find out where I can sign up for high impact kickboxing. Hell yeah.

Later gators.

Words I'm Thinking About Right Now

Feral cat
Free
Masterpiece
Sky bridge

Thoughts associated with those words:
Feral cats get to run the desert as they please and climb things at dusk.
Philip Pullman is the most amazing author on Earth.
Wouldn't it be incredible to see a bridge through the aurora borealis?

...Seriously, wouldn't it!? I was just daydreaming about the final scene of The Northern Lights, and I was thinking about how much stuff can go down on a massive bridge of light in the middle of the night in the Arctic Circle. When I first started writing Dream Belamy I imagined a final confrontation scene on a huge bridge in the rain (Belamy lives in San Francisco, it would have been a perfect fit). The bridge did not make the final cut, and the final confrontation took place on a flying ship. I guess that leaves room for a bridgey ending to book two, if that is ever written.

I've been thinking a lot about school; or should I say university? (They don't call it "school" in England-- school is secondary education and under-- add that to your British vernacular!) Is it weird that I can't wait to start studying again? To do some research projects? I want to get my rusty brain a-workin'. My favorite part of research is the feeling of accomplishment after a study is complete. Sometimes I just look at the giant conference poster on my wall and get this warm feeling-- like, I spent a good half year putting this all together. It is mine, from start to finish. 6 months of my life is in that poster. And, it is a smashing good project.

I like to see the results of my efforts. Not just having the knowledge that I did something, but physical proof that I worked hard on something that I love. That is one of the reason why I like writing, and why I was able to finish my novel-- in which I invested an initial 20 weeks of my life (one chapter each week), and many many more after that for editing. I can look back on hundreds of pages and literally see where all the time went.

So, you see, time can be caught. With the advent of written language, humans were able to document that invisible force!

Humans snuff it as quickly as candles, and they need to leave their mud behind. Non-washable. All-stick. I'll be smearing mud around soon enough-- all in good time!

Jeez, and all this spurned from buying a daily planner at Wal-mart. Not even kidding.

T-minus 3 days!

A Day in the Windy City

1 drink spilled, hundreds of dollars spent, 1 speeding warning and 12 hours of driving later, Jana has her visa! Here's the story:

We woke up at 3:30 Wednesday morning to leave by 4. The plan was for me to sleep on the way there while Jana drove, so she could sleep on the way back while I drove. The first five hours went very smoothly. No stops, no bickering, but of course (knowing us) bickering was inevitible by hour 5 1/2, but it never got too bad. Jana almost hit a van (she would tell you otherwise), but everything worked out well.

We got to Chicago, there was lots of traffic, and we were looping around Michigan Ave trying to find a place to park when we found a lot right next to the pizza joint where we wanted to eat. Perfect, right? Unfortunately we got all turned around coming out of the lot, which I will refer to from here on out as THE LABYRINTH OF CRETE, and we spent a half an hour bickering some more until we found a Mexican cafe called XOCO stamped with the name of Rick Bayless, where all our morning's troubles subsided with some outstanding Mexican cocoa.

Then it started to rain. And we still couldn't find Michigan Ave, which I knew was only a couple blocks away in one of the four directions (now that I think about it, it was probably in the unnamed fifth direction... but we won't talk about that one.) I zipped Jana's visa paperwork into my jacket, looking like I had swallowed the dictionary, and we ran through an annoyingly average rainfall that succeeded to make Jana look like a hobo, but not a drowned rat. I had a hood, so. I just looked like me. Having swallowed a dictionary.

We found the street at long last and arrived at the Wrigley Building, where everything is kept under tight security-- but they still let me in without checking my ID-- go figure. I guess they thought it was good enough that they had to make Jana scan her eyeballs and pass Gandalf in order to get by the security counter. Then, up to the 13th floor, where the British Consulate is housed-- and I will tell you something straight up-- they do not accept any phone calls (the bane of my latest Tuesday), and I swear to god you would never see or hear one phone within that office. Granted, the waiting room gave little away, but the consulate was right behind a glass window, and we knew. We could tell. We could only imagine winning a game of "What is missing here?" while nobody (besides Jana and I) knew that the answer was something as ordinary as telephones. TELEPHONES! We knew.

Well, after all that hullaballoo, Jana was told her passport photo was too small, which is ridiculous because it was the same size as mine, down to the millimeter, and they accepted mine. Go figure. Well, you already know the story turns out well, so do not worry about this unfortunate news! 13 floors, 1 lost Jana, 1 detangler (she looked like a hobo), and 5 minutes processing time later, and Jana had a new passport photo from a conveniently placed Walgreens photo center. All's well that ends well. Or maybe, all's well for Jana always.

Right. So Jana turned in her completed application, and we had 3 hours to kill while they made the visa. We went to Pizzeria Due, got our delicious pizzas, then went to the mall where everything was too expensive except for a fancy-looking Forever 21 where I bought a couple of shirts. Jana found this elephant thing at a Sanrio store and insisted I send a picture of it to Stefani... who then called us about fifty times and threatened Jana to either buy the animal or not bother coming home. We convinced her that it could probably be purchased cheaper on Amazon.

OK, skip ahead some more wait time and Jana has her visa in hand, and we're on our way home. Of course parking at THE LABYRINTH OF CRETE was not as expensive as we had initially imagined it would be (because all's well for Jana always), so that was a major bonus. Jana drove out of the city (more bickering), then I took the wheel for a few hours so she could sleep. She woke up very suddenly at about hour 4 and I said, "Great, you can drive again" (I hate driving), and I slept all the rest of the way home (I didn't really sleep on the way to Chicago).

Oh, and then this morning, I was able to register with the university! I am trying to figure out how to get back into my old e-mail account from when I studied abroad last time (to get my registration confirmation), but other than that, everything is all right. At this point, nothing can really phase me... I can just blow everything off until I get there and figure it out in person, which is a heck of a lot easier than playing e-mail tag. Or in my case, one-way e-mail chase, where the person I am chasing is 4,000 miles away and can ignore me really, really effectively.

T-minus 5 days!

New Stuff on My Blog!

No longer will I post "Hooray, I ran this much today!"-- now, I have added those posts conveniently to my sidebar under the title Running Journal, complements of twitter.

By the way, my visa arrived today! That was quick! Now, off to Chicago tomorrow to get Jana her visa-- then, hanging out with friends until next week, giving myself one day to pack and before you or I know it, I'll be in England! Of course I will keep up this blog and write all about life overseas, giving you information on travel, weather, psychology, and of course, British dialect.

The first new word I will teach you today is dongle. This word can be used like so:

Let's not buy cable for the internet in our new house; it is much cheaper to use a dongle.

Do not confuse dongle with a general world like doohickey; a dongle is a type of flash drive or memory stick that may specifically be used to form an internet connection. Of course, I will add other such words to my blog as I learn them. Aren't you excited to speak like a Brit?

T-minus 7 days!

My heart leapt as I realized...

I'm leaving in 10 days! A week and a half. I don't have much more to do-- just pack. And I'm still waiting on my visa. I checked the Border Agency website and it has updated its visa processing times-- now they say that 93% of visas will be processed within 10 business days. It has been five. I will wait until 8 and then call to see if I can pick up my visa at the British Consulate in Chicago. I feel like this is something they will not allow, but I'll try anyhow. They told me they would send an e-mail when my visa has been shipped. I hope this happens sometime between tomorrow and Wednesday because Jana and I are going to Chicago on Thursday. At any rate, the visa is my last and only travel worry, and once it is safely in my hands, I will be able to relax!

I can't wait to be back in Leicester! Jana has never been, but I know she'll love it. The university has such a great feel to it, especially the brand-new library (where I saw the Queen of England come to cut the red ribbon!)-- it is very modern and has lots of study space. It is also full of textbooks and relevant materials, unlike the outdated Kent State library where dust lines every shelf from nonuse. Well, I can't say the KSU library is all bad-- we did catch a glimpse of the Rosetta Stone tucked away behind locked doors one fateful afternoon... ha ha! Ancient secrets are hidden here. Or maybe just ancient references, whatevs.

All of England feels different. It's just different, in a very very good way. It's old and green and temperate and beautiful-- all of it! Even London with its constant smog cover. Even the small towns comparable to Streetsboro (you know, connection towns, just going through to get from one place to another) have fifty times the charm and beauty and history.

I've been reading blogs lately about young people who teach english in Korea. More kids than ever are doing it fresh out of college, because it's so darn easy. All you need is a bachelor's degree, preferably in english (but it could really be anything). And there's such a demand right now for english teachers, academies will pay for your housing and plane ticket on top of giving you a job with a salary and benefits. I applied last year when I didn't want to work at Borders for another year, but it never came of anything. I admit I didn't try very hard. But I fantasize about life in a non-western country... and Korean food looks AMAZING. I will have to take a trip someday, at any rate. But I am a little jealous of the adventurers who travel across the world to submerse themselves into another language and culture for a year...

I might still do this one day. :P

I've realized that I tend to dream of distant lands, and every time I reach one, I dream of something even further. Should I be grateful that I've traveled twice overseas? Yes, and I am. But I will not settle-- not until I have explored the whole earth, and probably not even then! This yearning that I have to travel to other countries is deeper than almost any other-- it's a constant ache, like a soul ache (not a soul cake-- LOL Sting!)-- and I know it will never subside! I feel like it is instict, that kind of everlasting, primal, powerful feeling. How is that human nature? How is that evolutionary? Isn't a creature supposed to stake out its territory and roam within those boundaries? Most people end up living and dying within 20 miles of where they were born, but already I have shaken that statistic. Maybe I have the blood in me of the ice age travelers who crossed the Bering land bridge- my heart is running on the blood of the restless.

Okay, enough poetry. I'm going to go vacuum the house.

T-minus 10 days!

I have a feeling Jana was more on top of things than she let on...

Jana's favorite hobby is raising my blood pressure. Oh yeah-- she's back, and I forgot to blog about it! Oh well, we've been busy taking care of her visa problems. Now that that's taken care of, we're all ready to take a road trip to the British Consultate in Chicago, which will probably happen sometime next week. Oo, Chicago! Sounds like so much fun! It might be, but we might just make a very long day trip out of it because I'm cheap and I want enough money to buy laundry detergent, toilet paper,,, and pillows when I arrive in England. See how I did that with the commas? Laura told us the definition of the Oxford comma yesterday. She also said that Stephen respects and enjoys it. Well, Stephen, if you're reading, take TRIPLE Oxford comma action!

There's so much that has happened in the past few days... picking Jana up from the airport... coaxing Jana to blister her feet... gaining bun advice from strange Chinese men... newspapering the bathroom so I could put grassy mud in my hair... Boja leaving as mysteriously as he'd appeared...

But really, I missed blogging about these things as they happened, and it wouldn't be fair to post in retrospect. Just assume my life is amazing and leave it at that.



T-minus 14 days! SO THERE.

My Very Own Second Grade Wisdom (checked for spelling but words remain the same)

If I could be different, I would be a brown bear.

Mrs Stewart wrote:
Reshanne,
What do you like best about yourself?

I replied:
Being a brown bear.




I was really looking for some old school reading lists to add forgotten books to my Shelfari when I found a milk box labeled "2nd grade" deep in basement storage. Inside the box were two spiral-bound notebooks (one for Jana and one for me) which had been used to write journal entries back and forth to the teacher (whose name was Mrs Stewart). The wisdom penned here was derived from these journals of ages past. Enjoy.

Jana's Second Grade Wisdom (checked for spelling, but words remain the same)

If I was twelve feet tall, I would throw up in a river because I'll be too big for the toilet.



The best dream I ever had was when I had a very very white dream it was black too without any color.



Instead of water, I wish it would rain real hamsters and kittens and puppies.



If I were a dragon, I would never ever go by castles because they will kill me.



If I were a bat I would fly around the dark and scare ans(?) that are outside and inside my cave. Continued on the next page: And I live with my friend Aroomfis. (Picture of a mouse)
I have no idea what inspired Jana to name a mouse Aroomfis.



Sometimes I pretend that I'm lots and lots of animals and even this morning I was even a peacock.



If I could invent a candy, I would call it athingee thing.



The color red makes me feel mad because boys always say it is a boy's color and then tease me, saying "You like a boy's color"...



I would like to ask Martin Luther King how he got friends with Rosa Parks.



I like being a kid because I never want to grow up. I think it would hurt.



And my very favorite:
I wish I could fly and have magic powers to kill Reshanne and to vanish her from the Earth for ever and ever until she's bones in the dirt and they're all broken.

Freeeeee!

So, my last day of Borders has come and gone. My farewell present from the co. was an extra 4 hours tacked onto my shift when the GM decided to have a breakdown the day the VP visited the store. Wee!

We went to a bar called The Blue Fig for my going away party-- our usual Thursday haunt, where you can get 39 cent wings and listen to drunk people sing karaoke; also, it's been held up at least twice already. But it's a hip place with a good vibe, especially on the roof where you can spot the elusive praying mantis in his natural habitat, drinking a beer (no joke).

A lot of friends were able to show up, including this weirdo I knew in high school who has since moved to Maryland. That weirdo is my good friend Boja, who drove all the way to Ohio so he could watch me cut myself, eat NO pie, and say "Whatever you want to do," in this chill, Tao kind of way. He's reminiscent of a young Tim Roth, without the accent or the impossible amount of blood. He squints right before he says something snarky, and apparently he used to be a gymnast (he claims he can still do a front handspring). Whoa.

So I'm picking Jana up at the airport tonight. She's comin' home! I was just reading a journal of hers from 2nd grade, where she literally wrote, "I wish Reshanne was bones in the dirt." We are so past that now. I wrote in a 5th grade journal, "I don't really like being a twin." Then I cut all my hair off and turned psycho for a couple of years.

Oh, and we must go to Chicago at one point, but right now I don't know when. Jana has yet to obtain her visa. I don't have mine yet either, but I'm working on it. I received a message yesterday that my application is being reviewed by the border agency, which will determine whether I am worthy of dishing out thousands of US dollars overseas. My biggest fear of the day is that they won't accept my visa picture because it was taken by an idiot at the licensing bureau and that idiot didn't ask me to take off my GLASSES. Cool blue Chicago might not be impressed by small town idiots. Also, it can take up to 15 days for my visa to be reviewed, so I am cutting it really close. Whatever, I've left my life up to fate-- which usually doesn't turn out so well. Well, we shall see.


Hey!-- JOFFREY BALLET TOMORROW-- I completely forgot! Another weirdo just called to remind me about it. Exciting!

Also, I made tapioca! This is how you do it: Dish 3 tbsp of tapioca into a pan, add 1/3 cup sugar, 2 3/4 cup of (soy) milk and add one egg. Stir constantly until it comes to a boil, remove from heat, add 1 tsp vanilla, let cool for 20 minutes, then enjoy your pudding while watching 13 episodes of Hey Arnold on Netflix Instant Play.

T-minus 18 days!