How I Am An Idiot (And Other Stories)

Hi friends! It's 2 AM! That means it is time to write another post! Here goes.

Snowing Again... Dwight Is Not Pleased.

     Saturday, I took a day trip to London. Either that or I was having a nightmare. 4:30 AM came bright... er... dark and early for me as I walked through the snow to the bus stop. Luckily, I got to go right back to sleep because I missed my bus to the city centre by two minutes. That meant that I also missed my bus to London. No problem. Only four pounds down the drain. My sleepy brain was able to buy a ticket for 11 AM before I promptly fell back asleep. After my long nap, I went back to the bus stop at 9:45 and in the 300 meter walk, I managed to be yelled and gawked at from two separate, male-filled vehicles. The ride into Birmingham was uneventful, but I do have to mention that Blockbuster lives on in England. I soon realized I had no idea which stop to get off on, but after asking the driver for help, I finally made it to my bus to London. Unfortunately, my character shoes were not okay on wet, freezing pavement and the heel decided to part from the shoe. At this point, I have a bad feeling about the day but I am trying to look on the bright side. You're okay. When you walk you hobble just enough to repel unwanted male attention. Yes. This was my bright side.

Dwight's Favorite Musical

     I finally made it to London after a really cold, three hour bus trip. Hallelujah. I had only half an hour until Les Miserables began, so I decided to take a taxi alone for the first time. Expensive, but effective. On the way, I had a mini heart attack because Nathaneal texted me saying he didn't think he would be able to collect our tickets on time. I'm about to turn into Bad Mood Sally, but right when I pulled up to The Queen's Theatre, Nate ran up with the tickets. Whew. 40+ pounds, not wasted. The show was phenomenal. I cried at least three times. I don't think Nate noticed. Shh... (He'll undoubtedly know now) The lighting of the show was very artfully done. Ben Juhnke would have loved it! Marius was perfect, Enjolras was as well, Jean Val Jean was great in his lower register, but when he changed to higher notes, his voice changed completely. It was weird. Javert was also fantastic. I disliked Eponine, but only because I want that part so badly. Ha!
     After the show, I only had an hour until my bus to Birmingham departed. When I missed my first bus, I really diminished my time in London. Nate and I took the Underground to Victoria and spent the remaining hour looking for my bus. -__- I'm hopeless without Google Maps on my iPhone and my iPhone is just a glorified iPod out of the US. It only runs on wifi.
     I bought a sandwich. I was hungry. It was tasty.

Red Packet From Kelly

     That deserved its own paragraph. When I returned to Birmingham city centre, I was cold, damp, and alone waiting for the bus stop. I got on the bus and rode it all the way to the end of the route until I realized I missed my stop. (This day sucked enough already. Why not add more?) Fortunately, the bus driver was nice and had to turn around anyway after a six minute break and do the route backwards. This time, he pointed out my stop and told me where to go. Since I took the 22 instead of the 23, I had a bit of a midnight walk ahead of me. I'll tell you this: I will never take driving for granted again. When I saw Newman ahead of me, it had never felt more like home than at that moment. I made it safely back. Honestly, I don't know why I do things sometimes, but I was determined to go to London alone; so I did. And by the grace of God, I survived it.
     More stuff happened since then. I skyped Brittany, Genesis, Blake, Uncus, Alaina, Mom, Dad, Loni, and Pancho. Shout out to Genesis because she asked me to.
     Sunday was Chinese New Year! And guess what?! We got to celebrate in real Chinese fashion, with real Chinese people! Daisy and Kelly from Hong Kong were kind enough to include 24 other people in their celebrations. We all went to Shanghai Blues and had a feast! Each of us ordered our own meals and shared them with the table. Simply scrumptious. Om nom nom. I want more. It was my first time celebrating that holiday and I have to admit, I had been missing out. Kelly gave my a red packet with a note and a Chinese coin in it. Apparently, this is a tradition for her culture. After, we went to a pub and just hung out for an hour or so. There was an interesting girl who decided to try and make friends with me. Those that were there know EXACTLY what I'm talking about.

Naomi Pancake On Pancake Day!

     Guess what else?! England has a Pancake Day and that was Tuesday. Everyone seemed to take it really seriously, so I joined in and made American Pancakes while Naomi and Kris made Dutch pancakes. Theirs were really thin, like crepes and they rolled it up with either cheese or Nutella in it. Mine were just plain thick pancakes, but they had never had that kind before so it was really fun to have them try it.
     Moving on to Wednesday. Ash Wednesday to be precise. I didn't make it to mass because I was in class, but I did make it to the 6:30 Ash service. Only three people attended, but that was alright. It made me feel good to go to church again. The preacher? priest? whatever she was asked what we each were giving up for Lent. I haven't really done much in the past, but I decided to give up alcohol. Although I don't drink much in the US, it is a big part of daily life here. Not drinking to get drunk per say, but just drinking with dinner or at a pub. I thought it was an appropriate sacrifice because it is a tough, but realistic goal and I want to challenge myself.
     On another note, I just finished season three of Downton Abbey. UGH. WHY DOES EVERYONE DIE?! That is all.

Happy Valentines Day to my valentine, Ethan Menke.

Russell x