This past week.

It's been five days since my last posting, and for good reason! This week was my official start for classes, and all of them have been bombarding me with reading to do. I've also be worried about getting my immigration card, but I plan on taking care of that tomorrow. They require either a letter stating that my money for the semester has been issued, and although I have something like that, I'm not sure if it will work. If not, I will then have to get a Bank of Ireland account and wait a week to transfer all my goods. I'm stressed out about it, because I was given three weeks to get it done, and next week is my last one. I should have done this sooner, but with classes and navigating the city, it's just been too much and not enough time.

Today whipped me beat. I had my first theatre course, and it was three hours long with an hour and a half's worth of...yoga. I've never taken yoga before, let alone done anything to stretch out my limbs (I'm stiff as a feather), so of course when it came down to doing the downward dog position, I nearly cried my eyes out from all the weight. On the bright side, I'm glad I get this wonderful opportunity to do extensive exercises in order to prepare my mind and body for the challenges ahead. My goal is to be able to touch my toes and bust out a performance that would make anyone proud. :)

This blog is not only to share with family and friends, but also to inform future study abroad students. For that purpose, I will now be adding more factual statements and tidbits to full fill that requirement. So from now on, each of my posts will include lists or interesting things I learned that day.

Facts of the day:

1. No one cares if you ride your bike in the street around Cork City. A man almost got hit and the driver didn't even bother to honk at them! I also saw a girl riding in the streets yesterday afternoon, and the cars just sort of drove around her.

2. Upon entering a cafe, office, etc, the person at the desk/counter may ask: "Are you alright?" This has nothing to do with how you're feeling, instead it means "How may I help you?"

3. Never ever hold a peace sign turned to the right. I won't even bother explaining the meaning, just don't do it.

4. Most Irish students know about America. Just say which state you're from, and if they don't know where it is, then do tell. But for the love of all Irish, never say you're American because they already can tell!

5. The weather is like Kansas. One minute it's cold and windy, and the next there's bright sunshine and you have take off your jacket. Rain comes and goes, but it never pours too hard. Mostly just sprinkles.

Huzzah! Found something to do. :)

Several months back I complied a list and posted it on Facebook. I had forgotten all about it until now, and I'm glad I remembered, because I figured out how to spend my afternoon tomorrow. I'll be taking a 36 minute walk up to Cork City Gaol, an old prison from the 19th century. It's located to the north of Fitzgerald Park, which I might also go take a gander at if the museum isn't too long.

I just realized while looking at the directions on google maps that I have already visited Fitzgerald Park when I got lost for the first time on my way to campus. It's a very beautiful place with a walking trail thick with trees and a giant bridge that takes you to the other side where campus sits. It sounds so pleasant right now, I almost wish it was daylight!

I spent most of my day taking a four and a half hour nap, and for the first time by myself I successfully prepared and cooked spaghetti. I celebrated with the worst glass of sparkling wine I've ever tasted (the alcohol over powered the grape taste). It's no wonder though, because I bought it at the grocery store. Next time I'll just buy some at one of the local wine stores up by UCC, which I pass by all the time. They have a deal where you can purchase five bottles of wine for twenty euro, but I think I'll just stick to getting one, since it would be a pain to carry it all back. :P

Right now I'm cheering on the Wildcats while finishing off this glass of wine. I can't believe we haven't scored once and it's already third quarter. I wish I could watch it but I don't have any access, and reading the comments box on ESPN just isn't the same. I hope we win though as always. GO CATS!!

Cork City Tour

This morning I walked over to UCC for a campus tour provided by one of the local church groups. I got to see the inside of the Honan chapel, which by the way is GORGEOUS. The floor is decorated with colorful tiles that come together to form all kinds of wildlife. The isle consists of fishes moving upstream, and towards the pulpit are birds, deer, oxen, and squirrels, all which surround scriptures in Gaelic. Surrounding the entire building are stain glass windows depicting various saints and hundreds of different images crowding each other within the oblong window pane. Below each window is a golden square with a scene from the twelve stations of the cross painted on it. The architecture of the building itself is very exquisite looking, having been carved into pillars and Celtic designs on the inside.

After viewing the chapel, we all headed towards the Elizabeth Fort, which was a wall used to protect the city. Along the wall are narrow slots built so that archers could shoot from within. At the moment it is part of the enclosure where the Garda (police) station sits. After that, we looped back around towards an old brewery that was sadly closed a few years ago, and then we ended the tour at the city park, where we got to see the last of the original wall that protected Cork during medieval times.

That was pretty much the highlight of my day. I went to the store to pick up some plastic containers (I'm making spaghetti tonight and needed to put the leftovers somewhere), and some Coke. On my way home I almost bumped into a girl who came out of a rather small coffee shop, and stopped in there to get myself some hot chocolate and a toasted bagel ham sandwich.

Not sure how I'm going to spend the rest of my weekend. The roommates took off to Kilkenny for some castle sight seeing last night, and yesterday I wasn't feeling too well. There's the Crawford Art Gallery up near UCC that I have yet to look into, so I might do that tomorrow or late in the afternoon. I also want to go back to Fota Wildlife Park, but I'm sorta worn out from walking and standing for three hours today.

School! School! Let's go to school!

I finally had my first class today (19th Century European History), and it went pretty well, except I made a complete fool of myself. We were discussing the revolutions that took place in France and Germany, and I was trying to remember the time when Prussia took over Alsace-Lorraine in the Franco-Prussian war, but instead of asking if it was Prussia, I said Austria instead. Now it's one thing to have a class full of European youths listening to my mistakes, but when there are five 60 to 80 year old Irish men who know their history better than anyone, you can't help but realize that you sound like an empty headed American.

I'm not so sore about it anymore, though. The professor jumped in and told everyone that it was ok to make mistakes, and that people shouldn't be afraid to speak their minds. He still didn't know what I was talking about, though, because I kept thinking it was Austria, and when I got home I looked up the correct answer. It's been two years since I took Modern Era/European history, but I know with a little bit of time and some research, I should have it down pat.

I saw the English market for the first time today, and it was just as I thought it would be. Stalls everywhere stuffed with fresh fruits, veggies, and all sorts of different meats down different paths. There's also candies, pies, cakes, and lots of other sweets that looked delicious. I didn't bring a grocery bag, and I had to withdraw some euro, so I decided to buy stuff there another time.

Not much else going on. I got lost the other day on my way to school, but I made it somehow. I ended up being late to my theatre meeting, but it went alright. Now I need to go to the store and pick up some honey for my tea before it closes. Adios Amigos!

What a day.

Today was a very long day. I got up this morning around 11am, hung out in the living room with my roommate Jillian, and got ready for the zoo around 1:30pm. I then ventured out with my map, walking towards Kent Train Station, but I took a wrong turn. I asked some girls if they knew where it was located, and they pointed me in the right direction. It didn't take more than fifteen minutes to get there.

My ticket only cost $4.50 euro, which I was rather glad about and then I walked out onto the platform and found a seat. I originally thought that the train went straight to Fota Wildlife Park, but it made several stops along the way. When it did stop at Fota, I thought everyone was going to get off the train, but no one did, and so I stayed in my seat. We all ended up in Cobh (pronounced Cove), and everyone got off there. I decided to get off the train to ask the ticket vendor if there was a train back to Fota or Cork.

After the train left, I walked up some stairs and headed towards a gift shop/historical exhibit. I asked if this is where I should go for train tickets, and a lady at a booth pointed back towards where I had just gotten off. So I turned back, and as I got onto the platform, I realized that the train I was on had just turned right back towards Cork (it was a dead end). Plus, everything there was shut down. Not a single soul was near or around the platform, and I freaked out. After waiting twenty minutes or so, I wondered around and managed to find a schedule. I couldn't figure out which time the train came, or if it was going to come back. Then this guy who was about my age came walking down the stairs and asked me something (I couldn't understand him, not so much the accent but he had braces on, too), and I explained my situation. He walked away and sat to wait for the train. Another twenty minutes later, and this guy sits one seat over from me, and I asked if the train coming was going to Cork, and he said that the train always comes and goes the same route. I was so relieved! I ended up waiting an hour and a half for it to come back.

Finally I was at Fota Wildlife Park, but the woman handing me my ticket informed me that it closed at six, and the train came in twenty before six. So I only ended up having forty five minutes to wonder around. It is AMAZING. Everywhere you walk, there are hundreds of birds meandering around in front of you. There's also an island with lots of wooden structures and nets for all kinds of different monkeys to climb on. I stood right in front of a group of lemurs playing on a fence, and I walked right past lots of wallabies that were sitting next to flocks of geese. I also saw these very strange rabbits, but they had hooves instead of paws. I don't know what they're called, but they were lounging around all over the place.

I barely made it to the giraffes. I was looking all over for them, and it wasn't until I only had twenty minutes before the train came did I figure it out. It was a very long stretch of gravel, and the giraffes were standing at the end of it. On the left of me were the cheetahs, and on the right was a huge hill covered in crows with zebras and a giant ostrich nestled on a boulder. By the time I reached the giraffes, a man came out and opened up the shed behind then, and then he started to rally them all inside. I got a few pictures of them, and I was sad to see that there were two fences spaced out in front of me, so that I couldn't actually pet them as I thought I was going to be able too. I was excited to see them, though!

I ran. I had to rush as fast as I could, because there was only thirteen minutes before the train came. I kept wanting to stop and take pictures of the cheetahs, but I couldn't risk it and just kept on going. I reached the end of the park with ten minutes left before the train was scheduled to return. I was very fortunate, because instead of arriving at 5:40pm, it ended up getting there at 5:35pm and leaving a minute later. There was another train after that, but it wasn't coming until 7:20pm, and after waiting so long already today, I really didn't want to do it again.

Random facts of the day:

1. Jaywalking is your friend. Everyone does it, and it saves two seconds to a minute, depending on where you're crossing.

2. The official colors of Cork are red and white, which stand for blood and bandages.

3. Pubs are not like American clubs, in fact better. People respect your boundaries, and the music includes anything from ACDC, to The Killers. It's also less crowded, and there's none of that dirty dancing.

4. Chai is not chai tea. It is milk with cinnamon type spices, yet it is still just as tasty.

Lost.

This afternoon I set out on an adventure to find Kent train station, only to end up getting lost for two hours. The main road that I went walking on was beautiful with lush trees, but to either side of me was large, crumbling factories that mimicked old abandoned concentration camps. There were fences with barbed wire and iron gates going down this dead end path. By the time I realized there was no where to go, I decided to turn back around. I saw a lady jogging who was happy to help me figure out how to get back.

I ended up at Parnell Place, but I thought it might be Kent Station. The lady at the booth said it wasn't, and so I went my merry way back home. I still had three hours to visit FOTA wildlife park, but I was too tired. I'm still too tired, haha. I'm glad I did it though, because it was somewhat adventurous and now I know where is what the next time I decide to attempt going there.

This afternoon I'll be buying curtains and somethings to drink. I'll probably heat up my macaroni and cheese meal for this evening. Tomorrow I'll try and find the zoo again, and hopefully it will be less crowded because everyone will be at the pubs for the big soccer day. It's a huge event for Cork, almost equivalent to our super bowl. I just don't like soccer, so I'll be doing some sight seeing instead. :)

Sad day.

It was a rather difficult day for me. My roommates and I went up to the college for "roundabout", which is when students walk around tables to get information about classes. We were late, and most of the professors had left. After gathering what few information we could, all of us went outside and walked around for awhile before going on a tour. It went ok, just I was by myself the whole time. When it was over, I decided to go to the art gallery while they went back home.

The art gallery only had five pieces, most of which weren't all that interesting. I bought a postcard, and walked back towards the apartment while looking for the English Market. I couldn't find it, but I did see the Mcdonalds and decided to get some. The fries are the original recipe (the one that was changed a couple of years ago), so I was very happy about that!

I feel rather lonely here now. I hope to meet people once classes start, but I dunno about that. I just want to go home. I miss it so much. Tomorrow I'm going to the zoo, and even though I'll be traveling by myself, I hope it will lift my spirits up a bit. I love giraffes, and you can pet them there...so that should be exciting. I'm also riding the bus and then a 15 minute train ride there, which I'm guessing will be a lot of fun.

The Journey Begins

Today is my second here in Cork. The sky is gray throughout the day, and already once it's sprinkled. Right now it's sunny but cloudy, and the air is somewhat chilly. In fact, I'm wrapped up in my K-State purple throw blanket with the window cracked slightly.

The way here was somewhat rough but not too difficult. I flew from Kansas City to Chicago, which was a mere one hour flight. From O'Hare, I went to straight my gate, ready to fly to England. The front of the plane surprised me, because there were large gray circular areas with chairs and big screen TVs. At the back of the plane where I sat, there were three rows in the middle (just like the movies!), and I only had one person sitting next to me. She was an older lady from England who was very kind and talked to me throughout the seven hours. We also had TVs, but they were smaller and the only films I was interested in was Robin Hood (Russel Crowe and Cate Blanchette), and Merry Poppins. I was able to fall asleep when I first got on, but the lady beside me woke me up for a snack and then dinner. I tried going back to sleep, but that didn't turn out so well because there was baby screaming for a good three minutes.

Landing was the best part. It was dark when we flew over London, and with all the little lights shining in clumps, it looked as if they were their own islands. After making it to Heathrow Airport, I got off and went straight to customs. I ended up being in the wrong line and was directed to the Irish side. After informing the lady about why I was staying here, I was allowed to go on through. The worst part of the trip was sitting in the airport for two hours. The airport doesn't show which gate to go to for the airplane until about thirty minutes before it takes off. I was afraid that someone would try and steal my carry on or purse. After talking to a group of people who were flying off to Portugal, I felt a little bit better and didn't freak out as much. You hear so much about people stealing things or trying to pick pocket you, but I guess due to the 6am crowd being so few, it was less likely to happen.

The airplane to Cork was so-so. By then I was starving but the only snacks offered were for sterling, and I kept nodding off to sleep. It was only an hour and we were there in no time, so I didn't mind it much.

I had to go through customs again, but this time I panicked a bit because the lady looked like she couldn't find something on the computer, and I was praying to God that she would let me through. Then she handed me my passport and I was on my way (PHEW)! I went straight to luggage claim, and to my relief both of my bags made it. Then I hailed a taxi, but the driver didn't know what street I was talking about. Then he asked the cabbie behind us and was able to get me to the right place. The whole way there I was trying to call my land lord, but the phone number didn't work. After about nine or ten times, I took out the zero in front of the number given to me and was able to get a hold of her. Then the cabbie dropped me off, but it ended up being the wrong building. It was the white building with the red door across the street, and about two minutes of sitting, my roommate and her dad appeared.

My apartment is really cute. It's got a good view of the large hill full of houses from my bedroom window, and in the living is a view of one of the many narrow city streets. The kitchen is small with the tiniest washer and dryer (combined may I add!), and the fridge is just a bit bigger than the small ones you take to college. Copley House is one of the most convenient locations you'll ever find! Right around the corner is a juice shop, and just down from there is hundreds of stores! Books, shoes, phones, grocery, Chinese, Irish pubs, literally everything. It's so easy to get lost in, but I know I'll eventually figure my way around. There's also lots of bridges due to very long river that winds around the city.

I LOVE my roomates! I share a bedroom with Jillian, who's from New York, and then my other roomie, Jamie is from Minnesota but she attends OSU. It's so nice having Americans to live with, because they speak English, and it's just nice to have someone that understands where you're coming from. I do want to make an effort to meet new people that live here and befriend them, though. I'll probably get that opportunity once classes start.

Classes are exactly like KSU, only less work. You get two essays, one after the first semester and then another one at the end. Both are three thousand words. There are rarely any textbooks, and most of the classes are lecture. The only disappointment would be scheduling, because there is only one lecture per class. So if two conflict, you can't pick a different time. It's pretty much note taking all the way through, and preparing for the big paper at the end. I'm hoping to take Fridays or Mondays off. Oh, another cool thing is you don't permanently schedule for the first two weeks. You just pick the classes you want to sit in, and decide if that's what you want to take. For my theatre courses, I have to go to a meeting with the professor in charge and go from there. I won't be able too until next week, so I'll sit in on three or four until I figure it all out.

Random facts:

-Most women dress mix matched. They also wear lots of ballet flats with the same color tights (White shoes with white tights, black shoes with black tights, etc).

-The hot water and the cold water have their own water sprouts.

-Coca-Cola is the BEST. It's a lot sweeter, and you can get it served right from the bottle at the local pubs. It's probably the original recipe.

-It takes forever for the toilet to refill the tank. You have to wait at least three minutes!

-You have to pay extra for trash, and for plastic bags at the grocery.

-Soda cans are a lot smaller and cost about $1.30 in American money (one euro).

-The people of Cork are extremely nice. Many of them are cheery and like to help out. However, that wasn't the case last night when a man at the pub started yelling and got kicked out. Lol.

-Over due books cost one euro per day from the school library. Also, only students and staff with ID cards can enter. The best part about the library is the giant screen computers on the 5th floor next to all of the DVDs. Too bad I can't play them on my laptop. :(

-Even Kansans have an accent! I got complemented on mine today. :)

Will write more in the next few days. I'm very tired and sore from carrying my extremely heavy backpack and standing and walking around all day. Off to the store to get some food in the next hour or two.

T- one day and twelve hours

Right now, I'm starting to put all of my contacts inside the journal that I will be writing in (hopefully on a regular basis!) and just thinking about all the things I will need to pack up tomorrow. My room is a disaster zone, I still have laundry to finish and despite writing a list, I've already found five or six things I forgot to write down. With that said, I'll either be up all night re-writing my travel list or spending time tomorrow double and triple checking that I packed every essential. Or both. It's funny how things pop up into my head last minute, things that I never really thought about before. Oh, and note to self: poster stickers. I'll kick myself if I cannot hang a single one of my film posters while I'm over there.

These last three days have been a blessing, and I thank God for the family and friends that I have in my life, because without them I don't know how I would be able to pick up and just leave. Their encouragement and love has given me the strength to move forward in my life without looking back, and without moments hesitation (although I do get butterflies, I can't really deny it!). That being said, I will always dedicate my life's journey and work to the good lord, and to everyone who helped me live to the fullest. I'll never forget them for a minute while experiencing this great opportunity. I owe a lot to them for their kindness and love.

In other news, I've been struggling with my knee for the past week. I started out taking ibuprofen, and that worked until yesterday night, and now I'm on Aleve, which is working ok, and I was able to enjoy Renfest without any complications. It's just stressful knowing that I'll have to walk and pull around heavy objects for the next few days, making my leg continue it's downward spiral known as PMS. Haha, ok, not really, but it's constant cycle of being ok one minute, and then catching on fire the next cannot possibly make me think other wise.

Alrighty, time for me to get a move on. I'll be sure to post something while I'm waiting the 3-5 hours in London at Heathrow airport, since there won't be much to do. I'll probably be brain dead by the time I get there, considering my plan to watch movies, read, sleep, and play video games will be in full force. Which reminds me, I want to pick up a Vogue at the airport before I leave...

Huzzah!

It donned on me that I should try typing in "bus routes to University College Cork", and what do you know? There is a bus! Originally I thought that both places marked on the map were one way stops, but the bus actually travels to the station closest to my apartment before arriving near campus. Yay for public transit! And for those of you who are exercise nuts, fear not, for I will walk plenty around the city, as well as hiking near the ocean and of course, walking to the bus stop, haha.

In other news, I charged up my camera and placed another pair of pajama pants in my suitcase. I have a lot of laundry to do tomorrow, as well as Monday. I also have to call up the bank and ask where I can purchase Euros. I've decided not to fully pack until Monday, because I'll have all day to do it and I'm fast at getting my things together.

I'm so excited for tomorrow! Vintage shopping with my friends! I'm on the look out for some cute rings, or at least a necklace or two. Maybe I'll find some in Ireland, who knows. :P

Frustrated

I don't know how this is going to work out, but by the looks of it, I don't have a bus route. In the email I received for housing accommodation, it did state that the apartment I chose was a 25 minute walk from campus. However, on the website for Copley House it states that it is only 12 minutes away, and it even shows a map that would make it appear as such.

Well, I checked google maps, and it says it's about 23 minutes away. The thing is, I don't want to have to walk that far when it reaches 30 degrees on a snowy morning. Plus, if I have classes on the same day with several hours apart, then that just makes it even more frustrating. I could sit at the library and do homework or whatever, but if there's 4-5 hours in between....then there's no point.

When I did check the bus routes, the only ones that did stop near UCC were 23-28 minute walks away, so there's no reason for me to walk that far to the bus when I could just walk to school.

Also, today I was sent an email regarding the timetables/class periods for the school year, and it was very confusing. I just plan on working it out once I get there, since I'll have help picking my courses. From the looks of it though, classes only meet once a week for thirty minutes at a time! The exception would be the film class I want to take, as it's an hour and thirty minutes long but I guess that's so they can show movies or whatever else it is. And see how that would make this bus route thing even more frustrating? Thirty minute classes, making the time in between other classes more likely to be longer...ugh.

The ignorance of my ways.

It all started when I wanted to get out of the Little Apple and venture out on my own. I planned all the places I wanted to go, what to do and what to see, but just recently I realized that I totally lack the knowledge that I should be getting familiar with. Think about it. If someone from another country were to land in the United States, would it not to be expected that they knew where New York was, or at least Texas?

It's not so much that I don't anything (I can point out where Dublin, Cork, Killarney, and Waterford are on a map), but I wouldn't have been able to tell someone that we were in the Provence of Munster, or that the city of Cork lies on the River Lee. That flying from Kansas to Ireland was the same distance as the United States from one side to the other, and the Welsh live right next door (How could I not have known that, despite it being underneath the UK?) It's only a miracle that I thought about checking up on these things five days before I went flying on over there.

The important thing here is that I at least know my way around, and I've already checked out how to get to the bus station, and the best place to shop for groceries. On the other hand, I really don't want to labeled as the typical "stupid American", the one that doesn't do their research and won't even bother looking up information that the average Cork citizen would know. So, now that I've gone the extra step (and in good timing), I'm hoping that I can prove wrong any harsh American stereotype, and for those who do decide to travel, make sure to do the same and save yourself any unneeded ridicule.

One more week!

So, tomorrow after lunch with family, I'll be on my way to packing things up. I've already started putting clothes in my suitcase, and surprisingly enough, I'll be able to fit everything inside. This afternoon it donned on me that I can put stuff in the large outside pockets. The only thing I'm concerned about is if someone were to attempt stealing the contents of those pockets. Cork is a tourist attraction, and there's likely to be pickpockets looking out for unsuspecting international travelers. So I'll probably only stick things in there that are convenient to have, but won't cost me much to replace.

Since I'm pretty busy Friday through Sunday, I'll probably go ahead and pack a lot of things on Thursday, and then just check my packing list off on Monday. I'm traveling light (one big suitcase), and then I'll be bringing along an empty carry on to put stuff in while I'm over there. It's hard, because I want to bring a lot of my winter clothes, and most of them can go, but I'll have to be choosy in order to fit everything in. I will also miss all of my shoes...seriously, forget diamonds, shoes are a girls best friend! Although I rather do like emeralds...

Orientation! Woohoo!

Starting on the second day of my new home, I will be attending orientation before the start of the school year. I had no idea that school would start the following week, which is wonderful because I'll have the whole weekend to explore!

For those of you who want to check out my "exciting" day, here is my schedule:

https://webmail.k-state.edu/service/home/~/JYA%20Orientation%202010.doc?auth=co&loc=en_US&id=10781&part=2&view=html

I'll probably be very eager to skip out on all the lectures and venture out into the wide open green, but I think it is very important for me to understand the whole education system over there and just get to know people from all over the world. So I will sit, behave and try and listen in as best as I can. Which equates to my doodling in a notebook, and looking up every so often, while allowing the words to wiggle their way into my head.

I'm very nervous/excited! Only one more week before heading off to autumn pastures. Today I went shopping with a very good friend of mine, and I bought myself a cute new scarf, necklace and bracelet. I shouldn't be splurging, but at the same time, I don't have much jewelery, and I wanted to look nice when I went over there.

The rest of this week will be spent watching American television, and films while playing Pokemon on my Gameboy, and vintage shopping at the end of the week. Then for the weekend, my family will be visiting from Topeka (Huzzah!) to send me off, and on Sunday it's the Ren fest! I'm so thankful for having such good family and friends. They're so good to me. :)

More on Cork

Yes, this is another post from the same exact day, if not ten minutes after posting my last one. Anyway, I forgot to mention information about my trip. I know, silly me, what is this blog for? Oh I know, me yammering away about how to bake muffins and take out the trash...

My landlord emailed me back with the information regarding my bed and where to meet up. My bed is four feet long (I'm really confused on that one), and I will be meeting her at my apartment to get the full tour. I'm very excited to view my living arrangements! The inside looks really nice from what I've seen (for those of you who have yet to see pictures): http://www.southmallcourt.com/accommodation.html

I don't know what floor I'll be living on or what room number, but I won't post that here for safety sake when I do find out. ;)

My shopping will be heavy for the first day. I have to spend the 15th and 16th doing orientation stuff, so the day I get there I'll be buying a phone, and purchasing hangers, toilet paper, bedding, and anything else I can think of. I'm going to be so exhausted, for sure, but hopefully I can put up with it. I might take some posters with me, but I would be heart broken if I were to lose my luggage. I love my film posters, and to have them gone would mean spending 40+ bucks to order new ones, and I would rather not.

Anyway, that's pretty much all I have so far in regards to what's going on and everything. I'll post some more later this week.

Now I'm almost set! :)

Today I sold my icat football tickets, which was nice because I made some mullah, but on the other hand, I won't be going to any of the home games for the first time in three years. Which is even more disappointing knowing that I could have seen the UCLA game, but it was that game alone that pretty much made my ticket package a really sweet deal. Then there's Texas, and if we beat them a third time, those goal posts are going straight to the ground, never to be resurrected again...

This afternoon I compiled my list of things to pack, mainly clothing, electronics (camera included of course!), and all of my shoes. Which brings up the latest pair of shoes that I bought today, a pair of Sperry's Topsiders. I really wanted some slip on waterproof shoes, because the moment my flats touch water logged pavement, they are done for the day. Did I say day? Make that two or three, because anything wet get's absorbed by their all too thick cotton texture, causing me to sit there during lecture thinking how much I would just love to grab a bathing suit and call it good. It's one thing having to wear pants and a T-shirt with wet feet, but with a bathing suit you can get it soaked too, and then it just doesn't matter anymore.

You know how last weekend I was going to make pancakes? Well that never happened. I did end up making some very tasty banana nut muffins from a mix, but it still got complicated. The veggie oil in the top shelf was expired, and after finding the answer on the good 'ol web, it was determined that that stuff was done for. It would ruin my babies, so in it would not go. My major issue was that I had already taken the liberty of throwing in the milk, so what was a girl to do?

Up on the fourth level shelving unit was a bottle of olive oil. This one had to be googled, because olive in banana nut muffins? Yuck to my stomach. Yuck to my mouth. This bottle was more ancient than the expired vegetable oil, so I had to check out the answers for it, too. Away my fingers went, typing in the help I sought from Yahoo! Answers. Low and behold, it was safe for the first four or five years. I can tell you that this olive oil was at the very least ten years old. On the plus side, it was a great alternative, and since I couldn't find an expiration date anywhere, I figured it wouldn't hurt.

And so ends the story of my best muffins ever. They were finished off in three days (because George wasn't home when I baked them). I also learned that ten year old oil is probably not the best solution, but it makes for tasty bakery goods. So ladies of the kitchen, if you or someone you know is a lone wolf who forgets to sort out their old cooking ingredients, remember to google before throwing them out into the old dumpster at the back of the house, or that little tin pail you keep out of the way under the sink or in the dusty closet, because you never know, it could make for some awesome goodies that get eaten in three days. Yep.

So yeah, I was thinking about making those pancakes this weekend, but I'll be at Worlds of Fun all day Saturday, Sunday I'll be attending a fish fry, and Monday I'll be vintage shopping with a very good friend of mine. Weekends are the best time to make them, because I'll have help devouring the rest of the seven pancakes. There's also the weekend after that, my last one, but George will be gone Saturday and Sunday I'm attending the Ren Fest! Yay for fortune telling and foot long corn dogs! :)

I'm so happy to be doing things before I leave. Things that mean so much to me, because I normally don't get to do them anyway, so I'll have fond memories of home while I'm gone. Like yesterday, when my very close friend and I went out to see a movie, and then we had very yummy all American Winsteads. Sure, I'll have a blast in Ireland, but I will really miss greasy food, films I can understand, and those who have played a big part in my life. It's a big step moving far off into distant pastures, and I don't want to forget what I love most while adding a new chapter to my life, that's for sure.