Chateau Musee rooftop in Dieppe, France


meh LAZY and damn busy with 4 essays due by monday. so, yay.
anyhoozlebeez, here are some LONG overdue pix. hope you remember the password!

went to Tate Britain for the Whistler/Turner/Monet exhibition and words cannot begin to describe the paintings i saw there. they were SO beautiful. im very disappointed i didnt try to sneak some pictures but since it was the last weekend before closing, it was PACKED to capacity. ah well, some other time...maybe at the louvre when i go to paris.

Stratford-upon-Avon for Shakespeare's Twelfth Night at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre

Glyndebourne for Mozart's The Magic Flute. It was unbelievable! and we got a backstage tour ;)

Windsor Castle was tastfully decorated with LOTS of gold (hard to believe it was tasteful eh?), and also kinda boring. someone saw the Queen, Charles, Camilla....but I didnt. and we werent allowed in the Royal residences cuz Her Majesty is a bit fussy about visitors :P
<official site>

WHOOO!! Dieppe trip was AWESOME and made me realize how sucktastic my French is. I miss pain au chocolats

Westminster Palace - sorry I couldnt get more pics but they prolly woulda chopped off my arm if i had tried (or something similar). The House of Commons/Lords part of it was cool, and nicely air conditioned. Churchill's toe was rubbed to a high shine.
<official site>

Portsmouth Dockyard for the "Trafalgar Experience". well, the ship was cool/scary/smelly and had SHORT ceilings (yes i DO realize it was a ship but people musta been VERY short back then) - although Nelson was only 4'11 so there you go.

finally, Stonehenge and Salisbury trip.
was very disappointed that i couldnt actually go touch the rocks at stonehenge, or wont be there for summer solstice

exam time already......................

Photos are up:

days 1 and 2

London

youll need a PASSWORD tho, so email (GMAIL)/msg me and i'll give it to you. im just too lazy to email everyone to let you know what it is. i figure its better for you to come to me :D
ya and password cuz there are weirdos out there that im sure frequents this blog.



ah so updates, since its been a week now, i'll just highlight some of the things that have happened:

The Plane Ride
since im a single (flier, not status :P ), i got shafted for seats and got stuck sitting in the middle aisle, in the middlemost seat. to my left was a fat and disabled man, and to my right was a couple who epitomized the snobby brit image. so yea, no moving for me cuz i couldnt always ask the fat guy to move - cuz he couldnt and cuz the seat in front of him was tilted all the way horizontal - and the couple to my right gave me such a scathing look when i asked them the first time, that i didnt dare upset them again for the remainder of the flight. bastards.
i'd never felt more restless in my life. i couldnt sleep at all for whatever annoying reason, and i couldnt move cuz they wouldnt let me.
i had complained to the flight attendants in the hopes that theyll have a free seat in first class. yea, no such luck and all i got offered was their seat near the aisle. oh well, at least they were superficially nice. and i got drinks.
speaking of food, wow such nice service from British Airways. besides the meals (which we got wine with dinner if we so choose), we got snacks and drinks every 15 min or so. compared to Air Canada, this was awesome! we had our own screens (attached to the headrest of the seat in front of us) and there were about 16 channels of movies/sitcoms/cartoon network ;) so 6 hrs passed by pretty quickly.

Arriving at Heathrow Airport
my goodness it was humid!! i was sweating like never before - mostly cuz i was lugging luggage and had my backpack on which was crammed full of stuff - and was wondering how on earth the men were able to wear three piece suits without dying from heat. since i was on the plane that arrived 2 hrs earlier than the rest of the group, i was stuck waiting for the other flight to come in. luckily i bumped into two of the guys from my floor in first year and we chatted away until we saw the organizers from the castle waving a sign around. we left the airport on the first bus to the castle - it took us 2.5 hrs to get to Herstmonceux Castle. we are literally in the middle of nowhere. well, not quite, we're 1.5 miles away from the nearest town(Herstmonceux), another .5 miles from that point to the bigger town of Halisham and 15 minutes drive away from the town of Eastborne in the other direction.

Herstmonceux Castle
there are many doors and staircases that all eventually lead to the same place. its great! a fantastic place to play hide and seek i say. its a very serene place - to read or to sit and watch nature/tour groups passing by. still havnt found the resident ghost yet, tho the castle people say that theyve never seen anything close to it in all their years of working there. how disappointing.

Classes (yes we have classes)
im taking:
British Studies - what makes the British british?
England since 1851
Elizabethan Shakespeare - studying 5 plays

all classes takes place in the castle with the day going from 830am till 1030pm. i have classes in both of those slots and some in between. no amount of coffee can keep me awake then.
speaking of coffee, its dispensed from coffee/cappucino machines and not in the pots that we're all familiar with. and this isnt just at the castle, its all over england it seems. i havnt been inside a coffee place where it doesnt come from machines - well, except starbucks - and its very odd. mostly cuz it all tastes the same.
meals are taken in the castle dining hall, but residence is about 3 min walk away in Bader Hall. just like a motel/cheap hotel where there are sheets and towels given, but no pillow mints.

oh! and COWS. there are COWS outside my window. well not RIGHT outside my window but closer to a cow than i have ever been in all my life. theyre funny looking and make amusing sounds. i wonder if this isnt the castle's personal slaughtering stash to be used in our meals. mmmmmmmm fresh meat. MOOO!! (will have to organize a cow-tipping party before we leave)
and by the same reasoning, we should also be eating duck and sheep (which we have actually - sheep, not duck)

London
is much more grimy than i thought it would be. i understand that it comes from the fact that its such an old city, but that still doesnt make the black building walls any less surprising. i guess im just used to seeing TO's shiny black buildings where none of the smog seems to stick to it. whereas here, the buildings are/were white and the dirt (smog from cars? factories?) is very noticable.
anyway, ya i love London, black buildings and all :D
all museums and art galleries have free admission which is awestastic!
English people are actually very nice - made very clear when i randomly stopped people to ask for directions.
(oh yea, i was stopping at intervals to ask for directions cuz i got lost from my group, and then lost the one other person i was walking with. so i was wandering around London by myself for much of the 3 hrs of free time we were given. it was wonderful. i love wandering by myself. ive figured that you cover more ground this way since you dont have to keep waiting for people to do their thing. and what is there to be afraid of? i dont understand. its an english speaking country and all major tourist attractions have road signs. )

Prices
absolutely ridiculously expensive! the prices are exactly the same as in canada, but instead of a dollar sign, put a pound sign in front of the numbers. outrageous.

The Globe Theatre
5 pounds to be in the pit and watch the play standing up. it was quite an experience(esp. for my legs!) and i would SO do it again! have you seen Shakespeare in Love? its exactly the same, and more awesome when youre actually standing there taking it all in. the actors were fantastic and i swear the one playing the female parts was more convincing a woman than i ever will be. he's the pretty boy i keep mentioning in my pictures. the pictures are actually quite blurry, but thats cuz they wouldnt keep still long enough for me to snap a photo. booourns.


thats about it for now. sorry it's all so incoherent. i really should have updated on a day-to-day basis instead of all at once now, but, oh well. hope you got a sense of my well being from my looooooooong blog.

next trip(s):
Twelfth Night at Stratford upon Avon
Turner Whistler Monet exhibition at Tate Britain (hopefully. im not actually in that clss)
Windsor Castle

will update in between. enjoy the photos!

yo doods so heres the jiggy: its 3 in the morning and i should be studying for exam the next day but, im not. surprise! betcha didnt see that one coming.

moving on...

random thoughts that keep popping into my head. and lets face it, if i dont clear my head of miscellaneously idiotic thoughts, how am i gonna cram more info into it? good logic? i thought as much. ('SHUT UP Will')

im craving some honey garlic chicken wings. or even, just chicken in general. not really sure why - mebbe cuz ive cut cow cold-turkey? (wow, thats a lot of animals ive jsut listed off...) ya, cow: evil = red meat in general. man i shoulda done this MUCH earlier...it dont even taste that good yo ('really? but thass not even yor style').

A&P lies like a rug. what ever happened to my "sashimi grade tuna"??? huh? huh!?! punk. i want some sashimi...or sushi...or jap food. but ya casper, you betta have that japfood gathering all planned out by the time i get back to TO or therell be HELL to pay! grr. arg.

seriously want to "DQ something different", but of course, cant yet cuz i dont gots anozzer person to go claim this with me. but ya, go get yours.
speaking of free things, go get some newly renovated, mucho absorbancy product curtesy of STAYFREE. i hear its good for mopping up kitchen spills.

stupid contractors (?) honestly need to get a move on. its been 1.5 yrs now since the bar was supposed to open and this summer isnt gonna be any different. it was slated to open this May, but, snot. how much longer is this gonna take??
i need to learn how to play pool, and start hustling for money.

what else. oh ya, my mp3 player STILL sucks major ASS. like, monkey ass. sucks more than my sexist prof who favours guys in her class and ignored me while i was asking her questions during her office hours (honestly now, WTF kind of attitude is that? go to a bar - like say Cocamo - and pick yourself up a lil 20yr old somethin'somethin' and stop taking it out on the rest of the female population. frick woman, do your job!). right, mp3/cd player: damn thing now skips playing REAL cds! 'holy crapola batman, thats quite a piece of junk you bought yourself! you dont say robin.'
i have no resolution to this problem cuz im now DIRT poor having paid stupid queens tuition for england.

i really hate admin people. theyre idiotic and all they know is how to transfer you to different departments. "oh well, if you go across the hall there, that kind old lady will take care of you." ya well that kind old lady sent me to see you in the first place!
"oh we'll give you your letter of confirmation once youve paid the min. downpayment."
"sorry, cant release your award until we get that letter of confirmation"
WTF??? IT'S.A.CIRCLE. and its just gonna keep going round and round till somebody does something. so what was done? ME paying THEM. it's all about money. obviously ('silly girl, tricks are for kids'). i better be enrolled in my classes, have the roomie i requested, and be LET INTO THE UK! pfft. letter of confirmation.
customs: "so young lady, what brings you to the UK?"
me: "oh well, you know, business is just so slow over in canada that i thought i'd try my luck in the red light district here, in the UK. that and sell some hard drugs in my spare time"
(im really not sure why all my money-making schemes always end up with me prostituting myself and selling crack. well, im sure dr. phil will be able to help me soon...any day now)

england: land of...prince william. why else do you think im going? :P
so yes, going to queen's castle in east sussex for a period of 6 weeks to complete 3 elective courses and travel europe afterwards. its gonna be FLY. MUST go to paris and recyle any french i MAY remember from my high school days and wow is it ever going to be brutal. but since (from movies as reference of course) parisians hardly ever utter a word and only raise their ONE eyebrow oh-so-haughtily to deliver that patented look of disdain, i figure i'll fit right in. mums the word....now if i can only muster that one eyebrow thing, im set.

cant wait till the 27th at noon when its all ovar!! raaaaaaaar. done done done and oh so free!

was into some punk a lil while back and managed to procure myself a coupla kickasstic bands. not all of them are punk - there are some other mellow stuff - but it was a phase. and GC is NOT hardcore punk, so dont kid yourself :P i'd likely put them in the same category as avril, or kelly clarkson now that avril has so obviously gotten to her. anyway, checkit out:

(if theyre not narrowed down to an album, then i havnt actually narrowed them down yet. 'elementary, my dear watson!')

The Postal Service
Catch 22 - Keasby Knights
Fugazi
Propaghandi
Gorillaz
The Verve - Urban Hymns
Tegan and Sara
oh and Frank Sinatra
('oh and Hugh Jackman' 'but Hugh Jackman's wolverine. how dare he')

and the long overdue random picture of the day:

ahahahaha!!

more...
i think these are quite fitting:

You are a maniac
killer.
It doesn't matter who they are and what they
have or haven't done. You still want to kill
them. And for a simple reason only; it's fun.
Seeing people in pain is like ecstasy. Maybe
you have some sort of mental problems or you
are this way because of previous deep scars,
only you know. But now you are sadistic and
maybe you only like to see a special group of
people be in pain (e.g. preps). However you are
not the most social person in the bunch and
people think you are weird. That bothers you
somewhat but atleast you can entertain yourself
with daydreaming about killing them. After all,
they have no idea what's coming.

Main weapon: Explosives and torture
equpiment
Quote: "Insanity: a perfect
rational adjustment to an insane world" -
R.D. Lang
Facial expression: Wicked smile

What Type of Killer Are You? [cool pictures]
brought to you by Quizilla



Your element is Fire. Like fire, you have a hot
temper and you can be warm and loving as well
and angry and wild. It all really comes down to
what you are feeling. You have a lot of close
friends who you are very protective over, and
with your temper probably some enemies too. You
are not Miss Popular in school since you are
your own person and don't want to be forced
into behaving this or that way. You are the
untamed wild horse, the kind that everyone
wants to catch. But you don't want to be tied
down for the moment and just keep going with
your little crushes. Your will is strong and if
you set your mind to do something, you will
most likely succeed. But beware, your friends
may not always accept your mood-swinging
behaviour. Even if you don't mean to be mean,
they can still feel hurt. You just need to
start thinking some things through before you
do them, and not always jump in with so much
courage. One day you may be hurt because of
that, but then again, your element isn't fire
if you start to analyse situations before you
act. After all, your nature is to shoot first
and ask the questions later.


What is your element? [with pics + 7 outcomes + detailed answeres!]
brought to you by Quizilla



You are 'Gregg shorthand'. Originally designed to
enable people to write faster, it is also very
useful for writing things which one does not
want other people to read, inasmuch as almost
no one knows shorthand any more.

You know how important it is to do things
efficiently and on time. You also value your
privacy, and (unlike some people) you do not
pretend to be friends with just everyone; that
would be ridiculous. When you do make friends,
you take them seriously, and faithfully keep
what they confide in you to yourself.
Unfortunately, the work which you do (which is
very important, of course) sometimes keeps you
away from social activities, and you are often
lonely. Your problem is that Gregg shorthand
has been obsolete for a long time.


What obsolete skill are you?
brought to you by Quizilla



Your wise quote is: "Fashion is a form of
ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter
it every six months" by Oscar Wilde.
You are a very sarcastic person with a sharp
tongue. You may not be the one always talking,
but your mind is nevertheless critizing. You
tend to have a cynical view on life itself and
be somewhat withdrawn with who you really are.
Society now is in your eyes corrupted and you
wonder how the world will survive. And people
are in your mind very ignorant and blind to the
reality.


What wise quote fits you?(pics) UPDATED
brought to you by Quizilla

meh more later

Awesome!

You scored as Satanism. Your beliefs most closely resemble those of Satanism! Before you scream, do a bit of research on it. To be a Satanist, you don't actually have to believe in Satan. Satanism generally focuses upon the spiritual advancement of the self, rather than upon submission to a deity or a set of moral codes. Do some research if you immediately think of the satanic cult stereotype. Your beliefs may also resemble those of earth-based religions such as paganism. Satanism 71% Paganism 71% Buddhism 63% agnosticism 63% atheism 58% Judaism 50% Islam 46% Hinduism 42% Christianity 25% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Sloth. Sloth 69% Pride 63% Greed 56% Wrath 56% Envy 50% Gluttony 50% Lust 19% Seven deadly sins created with QuizFarm.com

Idiot people need to STOP wasting my time and effort. No. I am tired of having to make up sugar-coated excuses for you just so you can feel justified of your actions. I'll make you a recording of my lies and you can play it over and over again whenever you feel the need to hear my inputs.

I am NOT "Mary fucking sunshine" 24/7 so stop making me slap on a fake smile for YOUR sake. I'm not here to make you feel good about yourself. All is not well in the world and life sucks & blows at the same time.

Wanna feel better? Go hug someone who actually gives a fuck, because I don't.

Why are you still carrying on with this charade? Let's face it, I don't mean as much to you as you may think; stop lying to yourself. You think you have me all figured out when really, you have absolutely no idea. Loser. There will be no more chances. I am who you want me to be, unfortunately.

Bastard. How can you live with yourself? Are you sure that's all you want? All you require? In that case, all my initial good thoughts of you have been destroyed. We'll start afresh and I'll just classify you as a shallow, hollow, weak, and utterly superficial fool who will never know the true value of ANYTHING. Why? For the simple reason that it's all about materialism for you - and this includes an individual's intrisic worth. So much for virtues because you can't even recognize any of them.


Don't flatter yourself, it's not...


If you think you know then go ahead and click.

Sorry, fresh out of sincerity but perhaps you'll settle for some sarcasm...?

i must commend the music quality of the new shows that have premiered this year. while the WB produces pretty craptastic shows - with the exception of gilmore girls of course - but they have excellent soundtracks. problem is, the songs are pretty hard to find unless some fanatic of the show decides to compile a complete soundtrack.

since im waaay too lazy to limewire all those songs individually, i appreciate those hardcore and dedicated enough to do that for me :D

new show that im watching now and have a pretty good soundtrack is Grey's Anatomy. the first episode that aired wasnt...completely disappointing. there were some funny lines but the main character is boring enough to turn me off the show. potentially.

"katie brice is a pain in the ass. if i hadn't taken the hippocratic oath, i'd Kevorkain her with my bare hands."
hehehe

songs

Metisse - Boom boom ba
The Killers - Somebody told me
Dan Bedingfield - Gotta get thru this
Bif Naked - I love myself today

as featured on Grey's Anatomy:

The Ditty Bops - Walk
But all songs are pretty catchy :)

Jem - They

Rilo Kiley - Portions for foxes

The Butterfly Boucher - Life is short

the good thing about indie bands, you can always find their music online.


and of course, the random picture of the day:
"My love for iMac"

AHAHAHAHA!

ya for Bento!!! she is wonderful in all her gloriousness!
she bought us SPÖKA!!! it's a nightlight that GLOWS when you press its head.

meet the family everybody:

this is my Fatso


Kobuta's Rosebud


and Bento's...well, we havnt decided the name yet


Ikea has awesome stuff.

will take pictures of them glowing in a darkened room soon.

SICK! sick AGAIN!!
theres nothing anybody can do, stupid sniffles and sinuses. they all suck. a sore throat always gets me - and catepults everything into hyperspeed, so here i am now. frick.

anyhoozle, so ive been told that coffee does craptastic things to the immune system. i think i'll just blame the wacked out kingston weather and its hot,warm, chilly, cold, freezing cold temperatures.

having a cold blows big time. cant taste food, but boy can i ever FEEL my nose burning. 3-ply my ass. and what ever happened to Puffs plus lotion and aloe 4-ply kleenex??? curses to shoppers cuz it doesnt carry it! bah, humbug!

stuffy nose and bad temper aside,

YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL (lol wheeee!!! hahaha)



("Just because you are unique does not mean you are useful")

i got a COFFEE MAKER today at loblaws and it ABSOLUTELY ROCKS!! $11 BUX of non film-y goodness! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...!

SO exciting! it's so cutes! cant really find a picture cuz it's one of those random loblaws exclusive dealy-madoodles. mmmm permanent filters are awesome.

on a somewhat related note, our HOOJ mugs have a 4 cup capacity. im not sure if this discovery is alarming or ...um...well, just alarming - still, that's not gonna stop me ;P

YAY! for schmalexer installing programs on my puter and now i can exploit qlink..err..i mean use my qlink storage space as it was entitled to me (actually thats true too). so finally my pix are back up and running and stupid yahoo for always crapping out. so goody for you cuz you finally get to see what i get so excited about - in all my twisted disturbing glory.

thats all...more angry posts later when im not so elated.
and speaking of elations:




songs
sixpence none the richer - too far gone
gabrielle - out of reach
gavin degraw - over rated

OH! and my sassy girl is HILARIOUS. the main character is who i aspire to be - shes awwwwesome :D
"you're not drinking coke, drink coffee! you wanna die!?"

random picture of the day:



great eh? perhaps i shouldnt be so gleeful of his pain. errrm...yea

spent my time writing out my notes for CrazyProf's class today in prep for midterm Tues. this is why you should copy out your notes as SOON as you have free time cuz after a couple of weeks...who knows WHAT i was talking about?! i think i have the right words recopied - good thing i draw pretty graphs, it's all about the graphs ;) .YaY.

downloaded new winamp skin and that made me very happy. i can change the colour themes and this provides an excellent procrastination tool.

songs:
The Wiseguys - Ooh La La
Jude - Everything I Own
S.E.S. - Dreams Come True
Maria - I Give, You Take

tip of the day: rye bread with strawberry jam brings out the rye-ness taste of the bread. do not attempt.

my skin is too dry, so dry that it itches - despite the fact that i moisturize every night! kind of frustrating cuz i cant be scratching my skin too often: people will think i have body lice or something. bah! to you stupid kingston weather of dryness!

things of yum:
tea
almond sunrise (or surprise or sunset...)

songs
Delta Goodrem - out of the blue
Michael Buble - dream a little dream, home
Sixpence none the richer - loser like me
Gavin DeGraw - follow through
Scissor Sisters - Laura

also
food

anyone wanna pitch in and buy a hockey team with me?

random photo of the day :D

you know what's great? lemon flavoured tea :D Ever since my first cup at Marche the day of schmalexers bday party, ive grown to crave it. too bad theres only two makers at the moment, but i will go check tara foods and see if theyve got something i can get excited about.


(so yea, have decided to not continue with my angry boys-are-stupid post cuz ppl will always be bastard-coated-bastards-with-bastard-filling and ive come to accept that. and remember, im a chocolate covered coffee bean so it's ok that im so bitter...or vice versa, either or, yippee switcheroo cuz it all works ::insert thumbs-up here:: )

am going to resume my posts of randomness from now on cuz ive forgotten the gloriousness of blogging as a means of procrastinating so, go me for finding myself again. YaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaY!

*am i original? yeaaaaa-ah. am i the only one? yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-ah. am i sexual? yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-ah. am i everything you need, you bettah rock yer body now* ;)
- and on that same note, BSB's new song "Beautiful Woman" sucks asmar. wow its bad. (but where did the other members go??)

TO ALL YOU SELF-IMPORTANT, NARCISSISTIC BASTARDS OUT THERE: No, I'm NOT after your body.

"It's not for you!"

1) to certain male friends who shall remain nameless: realize that i love your girlfriend, i adore your gf, and i would consider her a friend if i could only see her more often, so RELAX cuz I DONT WANT YOUR BODY. just because i dont verbally insult you every time we see each other, or occastionally hug you, or *gasp* touch your arm, doesnt mean that im in love with you, or AM falling in love with you, or will ever love you for anything more than a friend. so buddy, get over yourself and try to find out the REAL reason(s) behind those insecurities you seem to have about your relationship. don't make me suffer for it.

2) we met thru mutual friends, and as a CASUAL acquaintance we kept bumping into each other at the bus stop cuz we both had early (830) classes. seeing as how we dont actually know each other, we usually just say "hi", talk about the weather, etc., until the bus comes - after which we sit as far from each other as possible so as to decrease this awkwardness. this is all fine with me, no problemo, glad to see we're on the same page here.

I was at the Cat. center (kingston's "mall") one friday afternoon, and as i was walking along, i saw him walking towards me with some girl in tow - a pasty, soulless stick-figure with too much makeup - ok so maybe that was uncalled for, meh oh well moving on. so thinking that i should be polite, i figured i'll just give him a wave hello and keep walking. instead, he STOPS me and proceeds with "oh hi, hows it going? doing some shopping eh? so this is my girlfriend [insert forgettable name here]."

WTF?? when have i EVER expressed an interest in you such that you felt you had to MAKE SURE i knew you had a gf?? oh i know, mustve been those overly friendly "hows the weather" conversations we've been having at the bus stop, those come-hither looks i've been throwing to you as i sat down on the bus, and those disappointed little sighs ive been exhaling when you walk to the back of the bus.

honestly man, where's your self-esteem?? ya right. somebody needs to deflate that overblown ego of yours. you betta start running punk cuz im nocked, aimed and ready.

*a preview, more to come since ive been bugged endlessly to update...