Day 2!

Hello!

I'm sitting zoology not paying attention as I will probably end up having to take this course again next semester and I figured, hey, I can spend this time not studying for my Spanish test and type up a blog post! Genius!

So without further ado:

Day 2: 10 likes and dislikes.

Likes

1.Doctor Who:

Okay. To be honest I haven't actually been a Doctor Who fan for as long as others. It's actually an obsession that's maybe been a little less than a year. I started watching them all on Netflix and I couldn't stop. It's a fantastic show, and someday (probably this summer) I'll watch all of the Classic Who so I'm all caught up before the 50th Anniversary special. It's a fantastic show, if you haven't watched it I highly recommend it! Though I feel like anyone reading this I would just be preaching to the choir.

2. Alex Kingston

Okay, yes, I have a 3rd level girl crush on Alex Kingston according to the Jenna Marbles scale of girl crushes. (If you are unaware of the levels just click here). But you know, it happens. And she's fantastic and I'm going to see her as Lady Macbeth! It's all very exciting!

3. West Side Story

Okay, so I haven't always liked this musical. Apparently it's one of those that I had to actually sit down and watch before I could actually enjoy it. I'm excited that one of the theatre's is doing it, but I'm not much of a dancer...so I don't know if I'll actually get in...but that's okay! We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. 

4. Grilled Cheese Sandwiches 

How can you not love grilled cheeses? It's bread and cheese all warmed up and delicous. 

5. Bacon

Hello. It's bacon. Add this to a grilled cheese and the fantastic magic becomes almost incalculable. But, for me at least, it has to be SUPER crispy. As in if you dropped it on the ground it would just fall apart. I really should go have lunch...

6. Bubble baths

Isn't this picture precious? I think so. Anyways, they're relaxing and fun. All things I really enjoy. 

7. Chocolate

I want to say this is pretty self explanatory. It's delicious and makes me real happy. You can make chocolate cakes, eat it plain, chocolate strawberries. The possibilities are endlessly delicous. 

8. Boyfriend

I don't want to get to gushy here, as I don't want to bore all of you, but he's pretty fantastic. He makes me very happy and I wouldn't trade him for the world. And Boyfriend, if you're reading this, don't be jealous that you are number eight on this list and Alex Kingston is number two.    

9. Vintage things

Cookbooks. Pyrex. Dresses. Skirts. Shirts. Shoes. Jewlry. Almost anything in that lovely shade of pink. I like pretty things and these things are pretty in a way that you don't see anymore. 

10. Going to antique stores/flea markets/estate sales/garage sales/thrift stores

You don't find the pretty things that I listed above at the mall. Well, sometimes you do but it's a rare day in the neighborhood. And they're a bunch of fun to go to and you can see cool houses and find interesting things. It's an all around fun activity. 

Dislikes:

1. Zoology

I used to think that if I studied zoology then I could work in a Zoo and be a zookeeper. It was only in my later years that I would come to discover that is not the case. Also, I don't like dissecting things or sciencey sciences. The more you know. 

2. Hamburgers

If you remember from the last post I had a bad experience with beef. From the age of 3 to 17 I didn't eat much meat at all. It wasn't until Boyfriend stepped in and showed me the ways of chicken and how delicious it is that I slowly started eating more things. Thank you Boyfriend!

3.Wasps

I understand this thing is tiny, but look how terrifying that little thing looks! One chased me the other day for no reason, I just walked by and apparently looked at it the wrong way. Yuck. 

4. Reality shows

Okay, I understand that sometimes these shows provide mindless amusment, but when half of the TV time at night is devoted to the mindless amusment I say enough. Give me Doctor Who, Sherlock, Pushing Daisies, or Mad Men any day of the week. 

5. Fishing

I don't want to touch a fish. I don't want to get a hook caught in it's mouth or eye. I don't want to eat the fish. Just let the fish be. 

6.Waking up early

A self portrait of me in the moring. Isn't it attractive? I like sleeping. A lot. If it can't be done after 10am is it really worth doing it? 

People

7. Hypocrites

They make me upset and I don't like being upset. 

8. Rap music

It's loud and obnoxious. Need I say more?

9. Action movies

If there's a good plot line  I can gut an action movie here or there. But overall if it's just about blowing stuff up and kicking ass and taking names I'm not really too interested. Sorry. 

10. People/Crowded places

Okay, so saying I don't like people just sounds bad. I do like people a individuals, but as a whole I just have to say we're all pretty stupid. And when you have a bunch of us all together it gets crazy uncomfortable for me, so I generally avoid these situations if at all possible. 

Thanks for listening!

-Pat

It's Time For A Change

Hello!

London is 65 days away. Two months and a little bit extra. Goodness gracious. The trip itself has been paid for as of last Thursday. I'm beginning to worry about the little things now. When is the refund check coming in so I can order train tickets and book hotels? What am I going to eat? I've seen some of the food...dear God, I don't even like fish. How am I getting to the airport? What am I going to pack? I'm going to have to pick shoes to take. I love all of my shoes. I want to take them all. I also love all of my dresses. I can't wear dresses every day in London...can I?!

It's all happening faster than I thought it would back in January! But underneath all of that silly worrying I really am very excited! My refund check went through, so in about 5 days time I will be able to purchase all of those pesky things like train tickets and hotels that are important to the traveling experience.

I'm really a very laid back kinda person, so the planning aspect of this blog has kinda gone unused. I'm more excited about doing than planning! It's nice to have a plan, but once I'm there I think everything will hit me and it will be amazing!

But until that time, I think I'm going to do some rethinking about the things I'll post here. I mean, I'd love to keep this a strictly study abroad blog, but I'm having so much fun posting things! Even though I don't post all the time, I'd like to make a habit of it. It's very relaxing to write this way, and I mean, I was never one to keep journals as a kid because I always ended up doodling in them and then forgetting about them.

I also don't like the feeling of being constricted to one category. Not to say that doing that is bad or anything, I just do a lot of things and I mean, sharing is caring right? So that's why I'm going to try this 30 Day Blogging Challenge as an attempt to:

A. Post more often! (A post a day?! What the what?!)
B. Expand what I post about
C. And get used to the posting once a day like I ideally would like to do in London, even if it's just a picture or two as a sneak preview for a bigger blog post ;)

In all serious though, I really do want to expand on my posts. I like a lot of things and it'd be neat to find the people who like the same things I do! So let's kick of that challenge now, shall we?

I know, I know. It's made for tumblr. I'll probably indulge there as well while I'm at it. Yes, I have a tumblr. It's mainly me fangirling over Alex Kingston. You thought I did it here? You haven't seen my tumblr page. It's quite scary actually. Oh! And inappropriate jokes! Maybe not inappropriate in the way you're probably thinking, just bad taste jokes that make me smile.

Anyways! On to the challenge!

Day 1: Write some basic things about yourself.

This won't be too difficult. I'm 20 years old. I currently reside in Boring Small Town, Texas. Yes, you could probably find it on a map if you tried hard enough. Anyway, there's really not much to do in Boring Small Town, so you make your own fun. And when that doesn't work you go to Boyfriend's swanky lake cabin. Guess which one I do more often? Anyways, I'm going to school right now and earning my Bachelor's in Psychology with a minor in Sociology. I'm kind of a nerd like that. Psychology and sociology are really the only things that interest me in school nowadays. I work at the local Jimmy John's as a delivery driver. I've been searching for new work, but to no avail. But the tips can be good and the managers (for the most part) like me enough that my schedule is catered to my needs. Like I don't really work weekends. Or nights. That's nice. And in return I try to cater school to where I'll have decent hours for them. It doesn't always work out, but I do try. I also enjoy doing community theatre in my spare time too. There are two theatre's in town, and I jump back and forth between the two. I haven't done anything since the Christmas show Miracle on 34th Street. I played a legal secretary named Clara. I had about four lines. I'm kind of a big deal. Haha!

Playing secretaries seems to be a trend though. As in Zombie Prom I played Eddie Flagrante's secretary, and then in Thoroughly Modern Millie I played Miss Flannery who is head of all the secretaries. It was the year of secretaries.

That's me as Miss Flannery!

From Boyfriend's Blog

That's the dress I wore as the secretary in Zombie Prom. That's another thing I do enjoy. I've recently found myself loving vintage clothes more and more. It doesn't help that I follow a lot of fashion blogs that take adorable pictures of the cute outfits they wear. I'm not very photogenic or else I'd really like to turn this into one of those kinds of blogs. I'll see how London works out and if I can get more photogenic between now and then I'll try it out. 

I do like to dress up. Getting all fancy (even if it's just a sun dress and heels) always makes me feel good. It's right up there with bubble baths, chocolate, and Doctor Who. Not necessarily at the same time, but individually. I used to hate dresses, but I really don't know why looking back. I mean, you don't have to wear pants! It's quite magical actually. My closet is overflowing with all of my dresses. Someday I'll have racks for my clothes, those always look more neat and I can see everything. Closets and dressers and trunks aren't working out for me. 

I'm 5'7. When I wear heels I'm even taller. I like being taller, though not necessarily the bigger boned aspect. Do you understand how hard it is to find vintage dresses in my size? It's really hard with my Mexican hips and boobs. Oh yeah, I'm Mexican. Mexican-American technically, as I wasn't actually born in Mexico and have never been. (Though I suppose I should make the journey someday). I speak awful Spanish. 

I like musicals. They're fun to listen to and be in. Singing and dancing and fantastic costumes really just need to be a part of life full time already. I like to bake. I've gotten into a habit of buying old cook books. Someday I'll actually cook from them. For now I just pick and choose the recipes that sound good. Maybe it'll be like a Julie & Julia thing. That could be fun. If I had the time. Or the money. 

My favorite color is purple. I have a dog (corgi mix named Corabelle). She's precious and socially awkward. Kinda like me! Except I'm not so much precious as I am feisty. My favorite food shall always and eternally be grilled cheese sandwiches. I used to be a sort of vegetarian. Bad experience with hamburger meat as a child, I still don't eat hamburgers. 

And there ya go! That was fun! I apologize if it was basically me rambling, but it feels like a hundred degrees in my room right now and the windows are open and the ceiling fan is on and nothing is working. It's really sad actually.

I'll let you be now...but if you got this far congratulations! Stay tuned for Day 2 tomorrow!

Thanks for listening!

-Pat

Happy Anniversary!

Hello!

I know...this is supposed to be a London Study Abroad blog. I am vividly aware. However, it's my blog and I think it needs to be an accurate representation of me and all the things I like/do. Maybe this first part is really just the get-to-know-me phase until I actually...you know...board the plane and am actually on a different continent.

Anyways, I really love Doctor Who in a completely unhealthy obsessional way that can be explained by this video right here:

And if you haven't seen season 6 of Doctor Who, then you just need to be aware:

On April 22, 2011 The Doctor dies at Lake Silencio, Utah at 5:02 P.M. What the what?! That's today!!! 

But anyone who is still reading past this point is aware (or is unaware and about to be made aware) this is also the day in which River "kills" the doctor. In a series of events that can be explained by the series 6 finales episode entitled The Wedding of River Song, River refuses to kill the Doctor and creates and alternate reality in which all of history is happening at once. 

Train in the middle of London air?!

Pterodactyls in a park?!

Romans in the street!?

United States Area 52 in the Egyptian pyramids?! With a cast of completely British people manning the base?!

Time is dying. The Doctor must fix it, but River doesn't want to kill him or see him die. So what do they do? What anyone in this dire situation would do: they get hitched in an alternate timeline!

In a clip, Alex Kingston says that River would probably have wanted something a bit more splendid than the wedding she got. However, I must say that getting married on top of the pyramids (no matter how plain of a ceremony) is pretty splendid. Not to say I'm going to drag Boyfriend to the pyramids to get married, as it is too terribly hot to get married in a desert. 

But yeah, Happy Anniversary to River and the Doctor! 

Don't give me that look either, this was completely worth of a blog post. Now go celebrate their anniversary by doing something exciting! Or just go have a drink. Or watch Doctor Who. Or just stalk the River Song tag on tumblr until all your feels overwhelm you. It's whatever really. Anyways...

Thanks for listening!

-Pat

Kingston, Alex Kingston

Hello!

Thanks to my friend over at Across the Pond I have discovered something very incredible that I must share immediately.

Alex Kingston, THE Alex Kingston will be in England during the month of July to play Lady Macbeth in the Manchester International Festival production of Macbeth.


All the tickets, however, were sold out BEFORE they even announced Alex Kingston's role in the production!! Which, I mean, Kenneth Branagh is Macbeth/co-directing it...but still...I just don't understand! I looked him up, as I had no idea who he was off of the top of my head, and he voiced Miguel in The Road to El Dorado and played Gilderoy Lockhart in the Harry Potter movies...so that's cool.

But Alex Kingston!!! Lady Macbeth!! I actually even know what Macbeth is about because we studied it in my senior year in High School and I actually enjoyed it!! Luckily they are showing a live broadcasting of it for one night only. At first I was confused, as I figured they would film it and then broadcast it...however I forgot that live means LIVE. We'll get to see it, just as like...a picnic version. Which is probably for the best as the whole time I'll probably just cling to my pillow and weep silently to myself. (I know, I'm pathetic but I'm really excited!) But my excitement level has shot through the roof!! I can't handle it...so I'm going to show you a collage of the reasons why I love Alex Kingston...in GIF format.

Reasons Why I Love Alex Kingston: 
A GIF Diary

Fin

Oh What A Sad Day

Hello!

So I have some good news and I have some bad news.

I'll start with the good news, this post is going to be a bunch of GIFS from tumblr that describe my emotions! It'll be a fun journey for all!

Here's the bad news:

So this morning while I'm in class, I get a call from the study abroad lady asking me to call her or stop by and see her.

Naturally, I'm assuming the worst. You see, a few weeks back she warned me that the Sociology program that I signed up for might not make the cut which would be the first time in...well, a really really long time. So I just assume, "Nah! That won't happen!"

This sums up how that went...

I decide to go straight to the office, which is in the same building I'm having class in and hope for the best. When I walk in, and hear the man overseeing everything on the phone talking with a sense of panic/urgency I know something is up. The lady asks if I have time to sit down for a bit and so I sit expecting what I already feel to be true. She then informs me that the Sociology didn't go through. Apparently only four people, including myself, signed up for that particular program. 

Now comes the time where she asks if I'd like my refund check back or if there was another class I could take. Well, I had talked to my adviser about this in case this situation before me actually happened, and we had agreed that I could perhaps take the Shakespeare course and use it towards a humanities credit. When I suggest this new course of action, I become informed that the Shakespeare course also didn't quite make the cut, and that the Study Abroad office had been frantically calling people to let them know all morning. Great...The next few gifs are all internal, as I had to keep my cool and try not to start bawling because my Highclere Castle ticket has been purchased for months...

The original emotional response...

continued

and continued

Gave way to sad feelings

with this

and this

and a nice mixture of the two. "YOU'RE TEARING ME APART!" 

Study Abroad Lady takes me through the other options available, and calls my adviser in an attempt to get this sorted out at once. I'm a Psychology major with a minor in Sociology so getting anything like Theatre or Photography to fit was a large stretch. I already had my history credits thanks to my short time at UNT and so those were out. The language one was a stretch for my humanities. However, there was one Criminal Justice course left that had, for some strange reason that I don't understand how people signed up for it over Sociology, made it through. The Head Honcho guy in charge used to be real big in the Sociology department before he switched over to the study abroad area of the school, and he came out after talking to one of the other Professors going and asked what was going on. He proceeded to talk to my adviser  explaining that the Criminal Justice should fit in place of some Sociology course we have on campus. Upon hearing that, my emotions changed to:

Excitement!

Awkward victory dance!

Hell yeah!

He even said that if she was having trouble convincing the Sociology heads that it wouldn't work, just have them call him and he'd sort it all out. 

What I could've done

Thank you!!!

My adviser still hasn't called me, so nothing is sorted out yet. I am very disappointed that I'm not going to get to have an actual Sociology class, as it's one of my favorite areas of study. And to be honest I know very little about Criminal Justice, nor have I ever had the inclination to take it as a course with the exception of the small phase when I wanted to be in the FBI or CIA. We'll see how this goes though, whatever class I manage to get into I will be grateful for the opportunity. Here's to hoping!

Thanks for listening!

-Pat