Why do today what you can put off unti

It's happening again. The part of my brain that wants procrastination is taking over and forcing me to do nothing but watch endless hours of Youtube videos before I realize the day has passed without work.

I had one goal for the day: To write one essay on The Intended, which I would proceed to study all week so that on Monday, June 6, I would write the most glorious of essays into a blue booklet to be given a grade of 100%. Or 75. Which is also an A. Whatever those Brits think is best.

You know what I have accomplished? Waking up. Showering. Eating. Placing The Intended on my desk. Taking an article on The Intended out of my binder and placing it next to the book on my desk. Typing the two questions on The Intended from previous years' exams onto a Word document. Watching 2590987452 Youtube videos. And chilling with the sheep that followed me home from Wales.

Our friendly neighborhood barista: "Nerita"

Rocking out to country music today. Not sure why I felt the need to do this. Then again, "country music" on my itunes is essentially just Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, and Rascal Flatts. With the occasional Blake Shelton or Kenny Chesney. I really don't have much. So to be more accurate, I'm rocking out to very pop-like country. Anyway.

I told you to expect a picture with the Caffe Nero staff. Looks like your anxious waiting and sleepless nights have paid off:

Me and Lauren with an unnamed Caffe Nero staff member. Let's call her Nerita. (See what I did there? Only Nerita means sea snail in Spanish. Oh well.) Yes, it is a little sad that we did not learn her name, but now parting will be less personal and sad. Plus we get to call her Nerita. The magic would be ruined if her name was actually Jane or something.

After Lauren got on the bus and Emma, Veronique, and I waved goodbye from a rainy bus stop, life got slightly more boring. Emma is sadly awaiting the day I too leave, for as she often points out, at least Lauren and I are going back to the same country.

After a few hours of watching Youtube videos, I returned Lauren's library books. She may be going home, but she still has to write and send in a final paper. Unfortunately for me, it was quite a rainy day, and I was saving coins for laundry. So I bypassed the bus and walked. You know in movies, when people are having rough days and a large vehicle drives by and a huge puddle wave drenches the poor sap on the sidewalk? Welcome to my life. Okay it wasn't that bad. But it did happen thanks to a speedy bus, a large puddle, and a narrow sidewalk. Really only my calves were wet. But that's beside the point.

Here is the entrance to the library. I am waiting to return the books. There are the gate things where you must swipe both in and out. One of my more interesting pictures, yes. Just look at those fluorescent lights. And the blue queueing rope thing. (It took me about ten minutes to find the correct spelling of "queueing".)

In other news, I went over to Caffe Nero earlier for a drink, and Nerita was there. She served me and gave me the saddest, most sympathetic look before saying, "You're on your own now?" Aw man. I then told her I only had a week left and she exclaimed, "You guys! You guys are all leaving me." Aw again.

British houses: in which people put washing machines in the kitchen

I had a non-boring day today! And I even spent a good chunk of it on a couch watching TV. Or should I say, the telly. Because said TV was in a British house!

So after Lauren finished her final exam this morning, we met Emma and took a short train ride over to Urmston, where we walked around the little town center with Emma. We almost met her mum, who was working in a bank, but she was busy, so we settled with a wave. Then we walked to her house, which was about ten minutes away. It was a lovely day and a lovely little neighborhood, and Lauren and I gushed about all of it while Emma remained slightly baffled and amused by our fascination.

Here is one of the streets. It's not Emma's street, but that really doesn't matter, because they all look the same. As you can see, each and every house (which is actually a duplex) is red brick. I was waiting for Hermione to emerge from one and start walking down the street carrying nothing but a beaded bag.

We were given the grand tour, and though the house was quite small, it was very clean and modern. Every room is literally a room with its own door, which was interesting. And there is a sun room attached to the living room which was quite lovely. Emma called it a "conservatry." I thought of the Dursley's house. Although their conservatory is not all glass. It's not sad I know this, right? I didn't think so.

There you go, living room and conservatory. There was also a doggy named Barney, who reminded me of a smaller version of Trevor, but was actually, I believe, some sort of terrier.

So after the tour came the telly watching, and since it was the middle of the day, just like in the US, there was nothing on. Or as Emma put it, everything was rubbish. So we watched Jeremy Kyle, which was essentially Maury with British accents and more of Jeremy yelling at his guests.

And though this will have no impact on anyone else's life, I'd just like you to know that someone just scared someone else in the kitchen across the hall by screaming, and I practically had a heart attack. I'd also like you to know that I am now watching a low quality version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 online, because a) I like it, and b) I am a nerdy perfectionist and needed to make sure that Hermione does indeed emerge from a red brick duplex carrying nothing but a beaded bag. She does, in case you were wondering, which you probably weren't.

She may not be Emma Watson, but here is my own version of an Emma walking out of a red brick home. If you look closely, you can also spot Barney gazing longingly out the second story window.

After we returned and ate dinner, I depressingly watched Lauren pack up her room, as she is leaving tomorrow morning, and this time, for good. [HEDWIG JUST DIED! Why am I still watching this?] It's so strange to think that the next time I leave here, I will never come back. I'm also not looking forward to the next couple weeks without Lauren.

As a side note, Lauren stopped at Caffe Nero this morning and one of the girls automatically started making a latte, before discovering that Lauren was leaving tomorrow, to which she replied, "Forever???" And made sure Lauren would stop for a coffee before leaving. Expect some parting pictures with the Caffe Nero staff soon. We're going to miss them. And as we now know, they will miss us. As they should. We gave them some good, consistent business.

Our evening closed with McDonald's Oreo McFlurries, the only ice cream option available to us. Yum, yum, yum.

Oh yeah, and I suppose the title is self explanatory, but I learned that Brits keep their washing machines in their kitchens, like they are dishwashers or ovens. SO WEIRD! Right? Right.

blah blah title blah

I'm so bored I don't even want to write anything. Got my second final out of the way this morning. Now I don't have another one until June 6. I have almost two weeks to prepare, so I have not started. And now I'm bored. I don't even have enough laundry to do. Or things to clean. Or new shows to watch. And Scabbers wins all our staring contests. So what is one to do?

One hour and thirty six minutes until dinner.

Here's a story: yesterday as I was paying for that chai latte, the one that took eternity to cool, a young man came up to me and said, "Excuse me, but is your name Lisa?" And I shook my head. He apologized. And left. I then saw him down the street talking to another girl who looked nothing like me.

One hour and thirty three minutes.

This blog is putting me to sleep, so I'm going to go before I make anything worse.

(One hour and twenty four minutes! No, I haven't been staring at the screen for 9 minutes. Stop judging me!)

Still waiting for it to be June...

So many things to say, and yet so much studying left to do. At the moment I'm waiting for a chai latte to cool, so that I may drink without fear of a scorched tongue. I'm also waiting for essays to materialize so that I can study them, but my notebook remains blank. I know I'll at least do fine on half of this American studies final, because half of it is a general essay on a general question, like the conditions of women in the 60s. The second half, however, is writing an essay on the significance of a document, like MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech. Only we have a book of 50+ documents, and only 6 will be on the exam. So I'm freaking out over here, man. FREAKING OUT!

On the bright side, I got my last paper back, the one I wrote after Easter break for my religion class, and got an A-! I was not expecting a good grade on that paper. So go me!

(The latte is now one step below boiling, but still hovering around uncomfortably hot.)

Speaking of lattes, several of the girls who work at Caffe Nero now know Lauren and me very well, to the point where they see us and start whipping out cups for Lauren's "usual," a regular latte no foam, and my semi-usual, a regular tea with milk. What I will do without this cafe, I do not know.

I do know, however, that I will not miss filling my sink to create warm water. It literally takes 15 seconds for the hot water faucet to reach its boiling point and burn my hands. Not nice. Do you think Brits go on holiday to the US and realize that there are such things as one faucet for hot, cold, AND warm water?

Well, I'd better drink this latte before it goes cold, and study for my exam before I'm sitting in the lecture theater having a panic attack because I don't know anything. If only the US History classes we took every year of our lives actually made it past WWII.

(almost) time to party!

First final: Done.

First celebratory McFlurry: Eaten.

I have accomplished the first of three finals. Written the first two of six exam essays. (My poor, aching hand.) I have said my first official goodbye to a class friend. And my not-as-emotional goodbye to my religion course as I clicked my heels together outside the building. Feels good to get one out of the way. Except in my hand. That doesn't feel so good. Shut up, hand.

And finally, FINALLY, after about a straight week of clouds and rain and wind and ugh, the sun is back. Well, it made its reappearance yesterday, when Lauren and I walked over a mile to the pharmacy and saw the cool Google maps camera car. But I hope it knows we are happy to see it.

Now to rest and prepare myself for more studying, as my next exam is Tuesday. Saturday Lauren and I are taking an International Society day trip to Anglesey, Wales. I'm excited, although I have no idea where we're actually going. I didn't realize how large of an island Anglesey is, and the description tells me nothing of what we'll actually see. Maybe I'll go to lunch and bump into Princess Kate. I'll keep you posted.

I'm gonna be famous!

I'm 95% positive I saw a car today with the cameras they must use for the Google maps street view.

And this is what it would look like, according to Google, which should be the most accurate source of confirmation.

So in a few weeks or months or however long it may take for them to update the street view, I will anxiously view Oxford Road in search of Lauren and myself, who were walking innocently to Boots pharmacy. In case you are looking, and they blur our faces, I am wearing my Wellesley sweatshirt. Representin, yo.

The toothbrush the dove and the wardrobe

Just lost one new Dove deodorant and my extra toothbrush to the depths of space between my shelves and wardrobe.

This is not the first time the wardrobe has claimed something of mine, although I've managed to get my things back. This time, all efforts of retrieval seem futile. The wardrobe has an empty space beneath it, but only opens to this space in the back. I tried once to move my wardrobe in a similar situation and though I managed a few inches, couldn't push it back. And I'm pretty sure the shelves are attached to the wall.

The flash reveals my lost things, except for that little black thing, which I cannot identify. RIP deodorant and toothbrush, unless I find a long cane or a stick... It's a good thing you're the only toiletries of which I have pairs of.

Airports are where the airplanes go to take their naps, young padawan. You have much to learn.

I have successfully spent the past two days studying. Well, I mean, basically. Right? At least I've studied through the afternoons and after dinner, so there. It's been a lot of reading and I know too much about Martin Luther and Jean Calvin and the Catholics in Spain and the stupid peasants in Germany and I cannot wait to get this final over with on Thursday.

All three of my final exams consist of writing 2 essays from a choice of 8-10 questions. In two hours. Even Wellesley gives us two and a half hours. And I remember the two and a half hours spent furiously writing for my Shakespeare exam last semester. I do not look forward to the aching hand. But maybe I'll go buy myself some special pens.

Oh dang it. There was this cool yellow pen at the Manchester Art Gallery of Crazytown and I didn't get it.

*regret*

Anyway. Yesterday, Lauren and I studied for hours in Caffe Nero, which makes for a lovely atmosphere, and then moved our studies to the dining hall in our dorm, which is nice and quiet and has become our new spot.

Lauren's finance textbook is ridiculous though, going through complicated situations before admitting the absurdity and then explaining that the problem is actually impossible. It also makes sure to explain things like "an airline is an airline because it deals with airplanes". Just in case you didn't know. This book might be on to something though. I mean I was planning to one day write a best selling novel with the first line of "The bedroom was where I kept my bed." It's going to be a mystery novel about a robot.

And the misadventures continue

Bet you didn't think this would be back. Well I didn't either. For some reason I hadn't bought them in a while, plus the same ones repeat a lot. In any case, Berry and Pear are back, and I'm sure you're just bursting with excitement. I know I am. Then again, I'm the one eating the snack. Yum yum yum.

You'd think they'd know better than to laugh at evil. But they're probs just jealous they don't have thumbs to play the game with.

...I used to love claw games...

Poor fruits.

The Manchester Art Gallery: Where art meets chocolate factory meets Barbie meets desk lamp.

Can anyone explain how days slowly and lazily drag into each other when at the same time you're not sure how almost another week has passed so quickly? This is what my time here has become, apparently. Slow days turning into split second weeks.

Thursday, when I falsely thought Lauren would be back from her five week American break, I actually went out and occupied myself with things other than my computer. I ventured to the Manchester Art Gallery in the City Center, which was surprisingly easy to get to, and though large, not quite as large and impressive as I expected it to be. Sure, I probably can appreciate an art museum more than some people I know, but I'm still a sucker for big name, cliche pieces, and the only artist name I recognized there was "Caldecott" on a tiny painting. And I only know his name because of the literary award named for him. In any case, I still amused myself and documented it all for you. Here are the highlights:

The main entrance.

"Modern Art

You cannot be serious!" :)

Friggin modern art.

My only thought looking at this.

"Wish You Were Where?" An interactive piece where you could write a place you wanted to be and tie it on.

The winner.

Cause America is the place to be. Right on.

Surprisingly, this is not by me.

Barbie? How did you get in here? I can't explain this. There were no signs. But I do not disapprove.

Crazy huge chariot race painting.

These horses be crazy.

lol.

In case you didn't, go ahead and click on the horse picture for the full effect. You won't be disappointed. You may, however, be slightly frightened, and for that, I am sorry.

Is it June yet?

Guess what I did today? If you're thinking sleep in, watch online videos, and eat, you're very smart. I lead a wild and crazy life.

The end.

You tell 'em, New Hampshire.

Whoa, when did it become Monday? My last paper has been turned in, I am one seminar away from finishing classes...crazy. Friday I also turned in Lauren's paper, since she has not yet returned to the UK. What a rebel. She's back Thursday though! Yay!

So Friday Veronique, Rishika, Moka and I went to the "cinema" and saw Something Borrowed, which was cute, and only really good because John Krasinski was great as his character. Everyone else I wanted to slap. It was a whole lot of Ginnifer Goodwin's character going "but I love him and he loves me and I'm a terrible person for cheating with my bff's fiance" and the cheating fiance going "I love you but I am getting married and I don't know what to do" and John Krasinski metaphorically slapping everyone in the face going THIS IS RIDIC! DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT IF YOU CARE! He was awesome.

My next outing on Saturday was to the mall, where I discovered this shirt in various colors in an Urban Outfitters store:

Granted, the store is American. But isn't it just hilarious to know that people in the UK are potentially walking around with "Live Free or Die" on their shirts? The late, great Old Man in the Mountain has even found his way over here.

Then I stopped at Starbucks and indulged in a strawberries and cream frappuccino, indulging because Starbucks is unnecessarily more expensive than other cafes here and also because I am aware that this is one of the worst drinks there. But it tasted like rainbows and unicorns in Heaven.

I forget what this place is called, but it's behind the mall, and I've seen it on postcards. I think it's just an old building that is a pub or bar. And it was crazy packed. I walked by it to visit the Cathedral, which I actually went into. It was very nice in there, and welcoming to anyone who wants to walk in. There are brochures and everything. I walked in in the middle of a service though, not that it really mattered. The service itself takes place in the center and there are walls around most of that area, so I couldn't really see anything. I just heard the organ and the choir singing. Thankfully since I was not a disturbance, it was a great time to walk around.

I lit that candle. And donated 50 p because I'm nice.

I love stained glass.

That is the middle area where the service is. This is towards the back, and after the service was over, where you can see in.

The back entrance, possibly.

From the back entrance looking toward the front. You can see how the middle section is separated.

The altar.

I'm in the middle! Whoa! It's cool in there.

Prettiness.

And outside, where I entered.

I'm glad I ventured inside. Cathedrals are so cool. I even read a sign mentioning something about services during the Reformation in the 16th century. Cathedrals are cool and old. Which makes them super cool.

May the 4th be with you.

Walked into my seminar today in the midst of a conversation about how one girl hurt her knee over break and was now on crutches. And by the way, British people use these crutches:

Ours seem so much more comfortable, right?

So this launched my professor into his "when I take over the world, I will start changing body parts" speech, since he seemed so against the make up of knees, which only move forward and backward, rather than pivoting. A reasonable point from my professor: "I will give people extra important things, like, why don't we have an extra liver? That would come in handy." Also, in a future ruled by Brian Ward, humans will have removable bladders, for when you really just don't want to have to go, and you can just ask someone to take your bladder for you. And when another girl piped up in sympathy for the injured girl - "I broke my ankle last summer, falling into a bush while getting up from a bench...I drank a little too much wine..." - my professor exclaimed with much enthusiasm, "And you were probably getting up to use the bathroom, weren't you! Removable bladders would cause less injury. You could have someone like a designated driver, only it would be a sober guy taking everyone's bladders." Well wouldn't that be the worst job ever.

"What's at Taco Bell?" "...Tacos."

I'm scared to mention the amazing weather again for fear that I will jinx it, but man it's been nice out. I should have done work outside today. Instead I froze in the library. I had a break between my two classes from 10 am to 3 pm, which dragged. And I always forget the library treats us like penguins in a zoo. I think my toes were going numb. And my fingers felt frozen no matter how long I buried them in my sweatshirt pocket.

So one lecture and one seminar down. One more tomorrow, and then two out of three classes will be finished. Can. Not. Wait. Mostly I can't wait until Thursday, when I hand in the paper I have yet to write. The mere fact that I have zero motivation to write it slightly depresses me. Giving us a three week break was not a good idea. Isn't it summer already?

I did get one paper back today though, for the evil English class, and got a 69! Which seems kind of awful in American grades...in fact at Wellesley I would cry over this grade...But here apparently that's really good. Anything 70 and above is apparently a "first class" grade, which is the best you can do. And hey, I wrote that paper between the hours of 11 pm and 6 am. So take that UK.

We just had our first "tea" back in "uni," meaning everyone's back and we just ate dinner. It actually wasn't too bad. Chicken, broccoli, carrots, mashed potatoes...that's normal, right? Everyone asks how different the food is here and it really is hard to describe because the differences are so subtle, and I don't know what British mums are cooking for their families. Wellesley certainly doesn't serve meatloaf or steak but my mom will. So I'm sure I'm missing out on some things. But tonight my British friend Becky was asking, "You guys eat the exact same things in America, right?" which is a very difficult question. In general, I suppose so.

Eventually we all just sat around and compared cultures, a favorite pastime over dinner. It's extremely amusing. Veronique and I gave our American input, Emma, Becky, and Helen gave British, and Kozue and Moka Japanese. We discussed fast food:

"You don't have Wendy's?"

"What's that?"

"It's like McDonald's and Burger King."

"Only bigger?"

"No, it's exactly the same."

"Oh I think I've heard of it! On TV! I think it's in Friends! And I've heard of Taco Bell. You have that right? What's at Taco Bell?"

". . .Tacos . . . . And burritos."

"What are burritos?"

"What?! They're like Mexican wraps."

And stores:

"You guys don't have Primark do you?"

"No. We have...Macy's?"

"Is that cheap?"

"Uh. Kind of. We also have TJ Maxx. Like TK Maxx."

"Oh, but TK Maxx isn't cheap."

"TJ Maxx is pretty cheap for us."

"I spent 77 pounds at Primark today! It's awful. You go into Primark and there are such great deals and you go mad! And then you get to the till and spend 77 pounds."

And Easter:

"Do you celebrate Easter in Japan?"

"No. Just Christmas."

"You celebrate it in America right?"

"Yeah!"

"It's just a great excuse for eggs!"

"And candy and presents!"

"Haha. Candy. That's so funny."

"What? You don't say candy?"

"No. Chocolate."

A night at dinner is a fun night indeed.

Now look at the equivalent of $23 in 1 pound coins! This is what I have amassed in my purse, not including 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 pence pieces. I miss you, dollar bills.

Go Banks! Maybe.

Happy Bank Holiday! I'm not quite sure why we have a day off and why it's simply called a "bank holiday," and I was too lazy to completely read the Wikipedia article on UK holidays. But I think it's just a random day off. Who am I to complain? It just means I don't have to start class until tomorrow. Fine by me, UK.

I don't have much to say, since explaining my day would simply cause me shame. I did much too much of nothing. Though the dining hall was open for "brunch" from 11:30 to 2:30, and let me tell you, I have not missed that food. Then again it was lame breakfast food, which is mostly lame to me because the bacon is just gross, fatty ham. I had that, toast, and a baked potato. Because who doesn't eat baked potatoes for breakfast? Oh right, Americans. LOL.

Anyway, for dinner, Veronique and I figured we'd just go get Subway, but at about 6:30, we discovered Subway was closed. This is twice now, Subway. You're on my list. We kept walking though, and low and behold, two blocks down, the second Subway was open! That Subway is now the superior of the two, despite its distance. Then again, the poor Subway guy in there could have been attempting to close, but people kept coming in. His loss. Our delicious gain.

Better get ready to seriously go back to school. Thanks to this unexplainable bank holiday, my evil English lecture has been rescheduled for tomorrow at 9am. Evil.

I wanna be a Starship Ranger!

The Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 trailer finally came out Wednesday night, and I'm pretty sure I've spent every day since then watching said trailer at least three times in a row. Today I've found the one thing that has taken precedence over this important video: the newest Starkid musical, Starship. Although I just watched the HP trailer to get my daily fill of epicness, Starship filled much of my day. Though I did break up the musical with other things, such as showering, going to the library (isn't it enough that I flew 3,000 miles back to school, why do I have to do work too?), and eating dinner.

I also stopped at Caffe Nero for a tea, and sat and watched this woman, oldish man (I couldn't quite figure out their relation to each other), and little boy at the table next to me. We were at a couple tables near the windows and door, with big comfy chairs. These other people spoke some Germanic sounding language, and the kid, probably 2, was running around, and on the floor, on his stomach crawling under chairs, including the ones around my table. He was cute but refused to listen to his mother, no matter how stern she sounded. I have no idea what she was saying, but it clearly wasn't working.

Two young boys also rode by on one bicycle. One sat on the seat while the other stood on the pedals, pedaling. Pretty innovative.

Now what are you waiting for?! Go watch Starship!