Other than running face first into a pole whilst walking distractedly by Big Ben, I had a pretty good time in London! My newest aspiration is to either build a very large nature spot in my backyard back home in Australia and then fill it with squirrels and pigeons OR to become a Squirrel myself and infiltrate their ranks.. They’re seriously such great little animals! I still like Rats more, but they’re up there! I bet they’re a huge pest to some folk, but to me they’re still innocent and adorable..
What else happened.. Squirrels have taken over my brain and I can’t remember..
Buckingham Palace
Oh yeah! I saw Buckingham Palace!
And Westminster Abbey.. That was pretty cool actually.
I got to do THIS!
And THIS! I could not believe it when it landed on my hand!
The weather was really nice the first day I arrived, which was LOVELY! I wandered around the gardens near the palace taking pictures and being a tourist.. Sadly, after that it got cold and wet and miserable. I spent so much time on the underground (subway) getting from place to place. I actually really like the underground system, it was sooo easy to get where I needed to go.
The first night I was there I went to see Les Miserables! It was really excellent.. The set design was neat too – the stage had a circular revolving platform built into the floor (a turntable I guess) which just meant people could move around a lot more.. And .. ah I can’t even explain the sets properly.. They were just really smart and looked really cool. Nice work John Napier (I think?)
I also spent an obscene amount of time in two different comic books shops and ended up spending toooo much money *sigh* but it was WORTH IT!
Thanks all for now..
If you can be bothered sitting through 8 minutes of me talking to myself / animals there are some cute bits in this video..
I like your Tube system.. I like your efficiently presented maps and time tables. I like your pretty parks and your free wifi at Starbucks. I like that you drive on the left hand side of the road and I like your hairstyles. I like that you have special seats designated for the elderly on the trains and buses with politely worded signs encouraging people to be considerate. I like that people obey these signs. I like Big Ben, but it’s not as big as I thought it would be. Buckingham Palace isn’t that amazing looking a building, but I like it too. I like Westminster Abbey but I don’t like that it was closed to pesky tourists today. I like all that you have lots of Musicals and I like that you have Porridge at McDonalds. I like how easy it was to find my way around and I like how cheap the beer was that I just drank.
Parts of my conversation with the border security lady at Gatwick airport went something like this: Lady: and where are you staying while in London? Me: with some people I found on the Internet Lady: and what’s their address? Me: I don’t know.. Lady pauses for a while Lady: and when do you fly out? Me: next Sunday Lady: can I see your return ticket? Me: *genuinely confused* um.. No.. It’s all on the internet.. Um.. Lady pauses for a while again. A sigh. Lady: do you know the name of the people with whom you are staying? Me: umm.. I think her name is Eve???
Long story short I got a (very kindly done) schooling on what I have to BRING WITH ME next time I fly.. I must have looked innocently bewildered enough that the nice lady took pity on me and let me into her country.. Nice lady..
Then there was some fun trying to locate my lift! An exercise which was complicated by my phone running out of credit.
But alls well that ends well and I ate a kebab and got to chill out in a really cool Victorian style house. The hosts are really friendly and very helpful.
I’m sitting with my back to the fireplace, a warm cup of coffee steaming by my side and fluffy white snow falling silently outside. I am still not used to snow not making a sound as it falls.. It just kind of creeps up while you’re asleep and gathers in little clumps on the ground, on the roof tops, on the branches of the trees..
It’s funny how some days you can wake up feeling so positive and thankful and other days wake up so grumpy and irritated by everything. I suppose there is a chemical reason for that? I wonder what it is.. I feel positive and thankful today though
This Sunday I head over to London for a week to hangout with my friend Rach! I’m really excited about that. Except for being a bit broke.. But I will have enough for food and I will have a place to stay.. I will have my camera and the company of a friend so it will be great!
Question: Why do animals sometimes act altruistically?
I’m halfway through listening to this Radiolab episode which asks the question: If natural selection is about ensuring your own survival, why do we see some animals sacrificing themselves for others?
I haven’t finished it yet.. It’s interesting so far though. Taya and I were listening to it before and she was asking a lot of questions It was cool! We were also talking last night about the Big Bang and I was trying to explain why I believed the theory and why I think it doesn’t have to mean that the Bible is wrong about where stuff came from. The funny thing about kids though is that they kind of get bored halfway through your explanation and just decide not to worry about it any more. Which was a relief for me because I don’t know if I was making any sense..
Here is a wideo of the train trip to Saas-Fee.. I went on a fancy train called the Glacier Express with big windows! It was cool..
Youtube said that my video looked shaky and would I like them to fix it.. and I said yes… which is why it zooms all crazy! Kinda like the effect though..
This was a work in progress postcard I was making for a friend of mine. We didn’t end up using it, but I wanted to share it with the world anyway! I just love the guys face.. Makes me laugh every time.
Today was good Friday.. I find it absurd that I had a fun day in a ridiculously beautiful and awesome place on a such a day. Actually, I have found ordinary life strange and surprising almost everyday since coming to Switzerland.. The whole exercise of obtaining bread for the day, for instance, is exciting. “IM WALKING DOWN A MOUNTAIN IN THE ALPS TO THE SHOP! OH MY GOD THERE’S SOME SNOW! HOLY SHIT MAYBE I’LL BUY MILK! SOMEONE JUST SAID HELLO!!!!!!!!!” and etc.. Of course I am exaggerating but how it be if I lived everyday for the rest of my existence in constant delight over “ordinary” things? Some part of me thinks that would be to live more in touch with reality… Another part just thinks it would be tiring.
Here are the things tumbling around in my mind.. Like a big load of sudsy washing in my brain-machine.
Where is the cat? Is he ok? How do I pack snowboard boots? They’re huge! I ate too much asparagus. How will I know when to switch from a train to a bus tomorrow? I need to borrow that phone from Nick. How much is it to send an sms here? I hope my Citybank letter arrives soon. What about visa? Will I get a fine? How much money will this weekend cost? What is it to live in the spirit? Are wrist tattoo’s really a lesbian thing? I hope my washing dries before tomorrow morning. Will there be food on the train? Will the snow be any good at saas-fee? Will I get on with Kylies friends? I’m I going to get my period while snowboarding? Do I have pain killers? What will I do if I lose my painkillers? I mustn’t forget to clean up my room before I go. Don’t forget the garbage. I should have used less water when I stewed those apples. Am I keeping the place clean enough? Where is the cat? Is he ok? How do I pack……..
And so on and so forth.. I realised I was doing it before and made me laugh.
Approaching strangers at the train station, looking for someone to share a 2-for-one deal with me.
Apologising in advance to the Italian skier on the lift with me if I took him out.
Falling off the t-bar. Walk / snowboard of shame back down to the bottom.
Falling off the t-bar again. Walk / snowboard of shame again.
Friendly German man rides the t-bar with me and gets me up safely. We have a disjointed conversation half english, half german.
The run of DOOM which goes FOREVER but is still fun.
Slushy snow in the afternoon..
A blissful kitkat moment.
Cold beer before the train home.
Really, really sore ass. Egg on the knee.
Have you ever seen a confident yet inexperienced person pick up a lit fire-twirling stick and have a go? For a second any natural ability they might have might make it seem like they know what they’re doing.. But their reckless handling of it quickly makes it obvious that they don’t.
I suspect that describes me when I’m snowboarding.. I can’t tell. Maybe I’m actually just really awesome at it.
All of us got sick at some point or another this week. I actually lay in bed ALL DAY on Friday. I felt so gross but it was also just sort of nice being snuggled up all day. Anybody seen Firefly? I watched about a billion episodes while bedridden. I still don’t know what I think about it. You know when something is kind of so ridiculous that it’s kind of good?
Anyway, yesterday Abby and Georgia had more ski races so we all went to watch. I discovered that Nat’s snowboots while very waterproof have BUGGER ALL GRIP. So I had a great time trying to walk across the steep ski-fields to where the race was. I secretly liked it though. Those girls were amazing! I mean all the kids were but I liked Abby and Georgia the best. Georgia came 1st in her age group! She was pretty happy about that. They were doing slalom.. So cool. I’d have no chance of doing it.
I was sitting at some little tables up on top of the mountain and taking in the views and enjoying the warm sun and just thinking.. “This is friggin ridiculous!” I feel really lucky to be here doing this stuff I like that it’s work & play mixed in together. I think if it was all play I would go a bit crazy.
I had a bit of a moment earlier this week thinking about parents.. I was thinking “How can it be that I am inevitably going to be a part of stuffing up my kids – before they’re even born! That hardly seems fair!” Because I’m sure not perfect, and even though I might be trying my best I’m going to make mistakes.. And the things I do – good and bad – are going to affect my kids for the rest of their life.
If you’re looking for a worthwhile reason to make sure you’re becoming the best person you can be, there it is.
Today I have been trying to figure out how to make the perfect rice.
