What now?

On Thursday, I printed out my paper, ripped it to shreds and reworked it. At 4:35 I was out the door with the final copy safely tucked into my coat, protected from the wind and rain. As I biked to campus I noticed the bike I was riding was a little wobbly, but I pushed on. My I made it to the Social Sciences building at 4:53 or something... the traffic was worse around rush hour than I remembered... I filled out a cover sheet and turned in my paper just in time. On my much less hurried ride home I was making my way up the hill just a little under a mile away from the flat and the pedals suddenly flew... the chain had slid off ... and much to my dismay... as the bike is a hardy, three speed, bum-around-bike... there was a cover on the chain so I couldn't put it back on. I was fine with that and made my way home, thankful that the rain held off until I made my way safely back.

After a leisurely dinner with the flatmates (which included a Bailey's hot chocolate) I read some and reveled in the need to do nothing and watched a movie with Mary. It was wonderful to join my flatmates in the don't-have-anything-to-do trend that is this week/month. I have turned in all of my final papers and only have one final exam left which isn't for two weeks. Although I have a little work to do for Mark and Carol and a bit of studying for my final, the present relaxation is much appreciated. Friday was relaxed and after sleeping in and reading for several hours, I started cooking dinner. No one else had signed up to cook so I threw together a potato and leek soup with garlic cheese toast on the side... both of which actually turned out quite well. Another relaxed dinner and a good chat with my mom proved for a beginning to a good night. A few of us headed out later and visited two new pubs. It was surprising to see some of the oldest pubs in England filled with younger adults (wait, do I count as a younger adult? what is going on...) and still very busy places. On the way home we avoided the rain just barely and headed to bed after a few wasted hours.

Today proved to be another lazy day. Fortunately, Mark and Carol finagled money out of Luther to buy us a new washing machine. Now, we can finally wash all of our laundry from break (we had done a few loads at their place earlier, but only the essentials) so that provided our morning excitement. I finally finished the book Eragon (I suppose it only took me four days to finish, but still...) and I am excited to read something else. Although the book was very entertaining, it was much like other fantasy books that I have read. It is filled with elaborate descriptions, but lacks depth and development of characters which does nothing to entice the reader's emotional attachment. However, the book was a nice change from what I read over break {Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island which M&C had asked us to read... it was good and proved to be quite diverting on the long train rides... and John Updike's Pigeon Feathers which was really good, but very intellectually engaging as each short story was entirely different and sparked analytical thought for hours after one finished the story}

I am excited to be figuring out travel plans for the next few months. Kim will be in Paris and then Berlin over the next few weeks, so I am quite excited to visit her and finally meet Stephen! My dad is coming over sometime in February or March - but figuring out that date has proved challenging as M&C have yet to provide us with an accurate itinerary - either way I am excited to go back to Wales and explore with my Dad. Also, Molly (my roommate from last year) is now in Ireland so I have to arrange a visit to her as well as her visit here. Whew...

As for now, I'm headed to bed and maybe tomorrow I will start the reliving of the month of travel... along that train of thought, we have now been here over four months. One of those months was spent traveling across Europe. One quarter of our time here has been spent traveling ... not to mention our time traveling in England. In the end, it will be nearly three months of travel with six months spent here in Nott. No complaints, whatsoever, I love it... but...Who knew?