London Calling

I won't even lie to you, today I accidentally missed Pyschology. See, I had woken up early to finish up a paper which (as always) took longer than expected. Then my Internet frazzled out and it took me 20 minutes to print the thing. Needless to say, I'm a mess and it's only nine in the morning. But I digress. So I missed class and found myself with an hour of free time. Granted most of it will be taken up by showering, trying not to look like a mess and eating waffles but do you know what I did with the rest of that time? I Google-map stalked this place. (Am I the only one who does that? Plunk that little yellow person down and stalk the places that I love? Maybe I am a creep :x)

My old London home. And I miss it. I don't think I realized quite how much until just today, 'strolling' down the virtual street and taking in the sights that are still so familiar. It's only been three months but I'm ready to get back. I don't know know if it was the people or the experiences or what contributed to a truly unforgettable semester but all I know is that I'm ready. Pack me up and ship me off.

I absolutely adore Texas, don't get me wrong but there's something about London that has my heart, too and I'll tell you it's not the outrageously priced everything over there or cold and foggy weather.

I never had a bucket list but I think writing one might be pretty cool and to start it off, here's something: Live in London again. Even if it's just for a month. Even if it becomes a few years. I want to go back and get my fill of the city.

I'll probably be all nostalgic today which will hopefully keep me sane in the midst of what promises to be a HORRIBLY HECTIC WEEK. Caps for emphasis.

Wish me luck!

Excuse Me?

I won't lie to you- there is something weird about my school. I know I say this a lot (and after the whole pajama thing, how could you not know?) but recent events have led me to believe this more than ever. See, everyone at my school gets married. We seriously have what is probably the highest undergraduate engagement rate in the country. Now I'm not saying anything for or against marrying young since I know couples who have made it work and couples who weren't able to. I've always been a big believer that the success of a marriage really depends on the strength of the couple going into the commitment and the strength of the individuals who compose that couple but what do I know? Up until two years ago, I was the most romantically challenged person in this universe.

Anyway, while I've always been aware of this engagement phenomenon (seriously, the school even has a nickname for this), it's finally hit close to home with a friend I've known since my freshman year getting engaged. Just like that. While J and I were debating where to put our newly acquired Panda picture we acquired over Spring Break, she was acquiring a fiance. A fiancee. I don't know why but this is kind of alarming to me. I guess it's just a foreign concept to me. My parents married in their late 20s and my mom has always been a huge proponent of experiencing life as a single person before settling down. The way I see it is that you can't help when you meet that special someone and you shouldn't have to give up anything to be with them. Obviously, you're not going to be able to hit up the strip clubs or do anything like that but if you want to go live in India... do it. If it's meant to be, they'll be there for you. NOW, I'm not saying moving to India permanently while your loved one has a job in Canada or anything but for a few months... why not?

Like I said, all these things are far beyond my realm of knowledge. It just... stresses me out.

In other news, Spring Break was fantastic. I feel like it deserves its own post which I'll type up as soon as I'm not completely exhausted. A and her boyfriend are back from their New Mexican escapades and I'm excited to see them again.... But am I the only one who dislikes talking about breaks and things like that for hours??? I love to catch up and everything but every once in a while, you meet those people who just cannot stop talking. Really, I love you but I don't need to know that the blanket you had was of a fleece-like texture with faint orange stripes :| Bah.

LASTLY, I've becoming obsessed with baking these little things lately:

(Google images)

In all shapes and sizes and flavors. I haven't progressed past the boxed-mix stage, I've bookmarked a few recipes I'm excited to try out this week!

Slightly Outrageous

Since I'm procrastinating a midterm essay right now, I'm going to have to make this brief. I just wanted to share my outrage with someone concerning my university's policy on student appearance. And I shall paraphrase so no one can go Google it and find out :)

Students will not attend any meals, with the inclusion of breakfast, in any form of sleepwear, under any circumstances.

That's right, folks. Late night food runs? Want to go to class in comfy PJ pants? NOPE. Not here. :/ Sometimes I wish I had read this thing before I applied. Ah well. C'est la vie!

Let's Be Honest

Alright now, let's be honest. We all remember that breakout song of 2000, Graduation (Friends Forever). I remember chilling in my best friend's car freshman year, already feeling nostalgic about what our graduation would be like. I don't remember exactly what sort of goals I had for myself back then; I just remember feeling as though the next four years were going to take their dear, sweet time to pass and then I'd go off to college somewhere. At least I was right on one account! I did make it to college but in retrospect, the years flew. Honestly, it's a little insane.

Anyway, this song was on the 69 cent list on iTunes and I felt compelled to buy it since it had played such a big role in my formative years. As I was jamming out to my new purchase, I came across this which is probably the stark honest depiction of what actually happens after graduation (with a few token exceptions of some of my still-best friends).



On another completely irrelevant note but slightly related to the whole 'change is swift' thing: I had to buy my baby sister a pregnancy test yesterday. Traumatizing experience? I think yes. Still processing.

Snow Day 2011

Just last week, temperatures hit an all-time low here in University Town and it started snowing. Not quite London snow but a pretty impressive fall nonetheless. Class was canceled and so, after sleeping in, we gallivanted about taking the obligatory snowscape pictures.

J shoving me into a pile of snow. If I hadn't been wearing about 10 layers, I probably would've killed him right then and there.

The ever adorable A and S! In a completely staged yet completely adorable walking while laughing picture.

Our amazing snowman, coming in at 12 inches, Gertrude! By the time we got around to building him, the snow had started to melt and there just wasn't enough to make him very impressive so we got creative with accessories.

The roommates and I with Gertrude :) He lived well into the next day, bringing smiles to the faces of anyone who happened to walk by our lovely apartment.

The Great Spring Break Debate

As Spring Break draws tantalizingly near (only 23 more days!!), people like me and J are looking forward to the warmer weather. We had another ice day today (not that I'm complaining) and another windchill temperature in the negatives. Not to beat a dead horse or anything but yeah, I really hate the cold. Which is WHY, for Spring Break, J and I are going to begin planning our trip to THIS lovely place!

(Google Images)

We're lucky enough to have similar tastes in vacation destinations so this was a no-brainer. My friend, A, however, is not as lucky. See, she's also a warm-weather creature like myself. Her boyfriend, S, is some sort of polar bear or something. His greatest love in life is probably snowboarding and A's is taking cruises. Normally, this isn't a big deal but for Spring Break, it has sparked some debate. See, their group of friends and my former "friends" are going skiing in New Mexico. I, not being invited and being the resilient person I am, didn't let it phase me too much. It was fine. J couldn't have cared less but S lost himself in complete happiness. This was his dream come true.

Now A was a little distressed. She had wanted to go somewhere warm for the vacation and she felt a little uncomfortable about going with this particular group since Evil Roommate has been trying to make moves on her man since freshman year. Still, they're going. A, on a daily basis, cannot decide if this is what she wants to do or not. She wants to share in something that S enjoys and she wants to spend the break with him. However, it is quite a costly trip for broke college students such as ourselves and if it weren't for S, it would be a no-brainer: she wouldn't go. This has caused tension in their relationship lately. As of now, she's going but arguably, unhappily. 

So I ask you, blogosphere, what do you think she should do? Clearly, this is nothing something she wants to do. And it doesn't help that S has yet to go to California with her though she's been begging since their first date. Should A go to the winter wonderland and be miserable? Would you go with your SO to a place you weren't fond of, even if it didn't seem too thrilled to have you accompany him? These are issues beyond my knowledge.

On a much brighter note, we had an Ice Day today and made Mexican hot chocolate and taquitos. We curled up in big, fluffy bathrobes and watched Fried Green Tomatoes which is actually a really adorable movie and ate Chinese food that left me feeling incredibly bloated. I guess it's the little things.

This is all I have to say.

One of the reasons I chose to stay in Texas was because of the weather. Sunny. Wonderful. But then something happened and it became nineteen degrees outside and, to borrow a post from my Ally Abroad post, this is STILL exactly how I feel.