The Wonderful Fun-derful No Bad Very Good Day

Today's self-motto was: Be courageous! Be bold! Be darling, be daring, make friends.

And, because it truly was a wonderful, fun-derful no bad very good day, I'm going to give you a wee play-by-play. No worries. It'll be sharp and,  hopefully, less than boring.

• I woke up in time for breakfast, ate chocolate o's, and did not kill any single one of the chirpy morning talkers. Really there was just one, but she's alive, folks! 
• Made it out to the bus stop at exactly the right time and got out at the correct bus stop. 
  
  (Who would have ever thought I would be the one at international orientation?)
• Met:
• Chelsea: Tulsan. (We're talking Oklahoman. What are the odds?!) Rides my bus, has lived here for 2 years due to her mom's job transfer, and is a first year. 
• Ryan: Texan. (I know. Weird. My first two meets are home turf). Here for a semester studying abroad for law. A third year student. Tall. Very. 
• Next came dumb American moment number 1: finding the correct line to stand in. In the end, I ended up in limbo and a very pretty, nice pregnant lady found my instruction letter for me. 
• [insert welcome intro here]
• Got shuffled to a new building for registration talk. Dumb American moment number 2: I was in the wrong building. Luckily, a very nice South Korean (of dentist studies) took the fall for the six or so of us who were in the wrong room and did not raise our hands when the room was asked, "Is there any of yoos who think you're gettin' a full degree here at Queen's? Well then, you're not in the right place." Had it not been for him, I would have stayed and been very attentive to things that absolutely did not pertain to me but that my pride wouldn't let me leave. :) 
• Lunch break. I went to a cafe called Sinnamon. THE RUMORS WERE TRUE: THEY HAD PUMPKIN SPICE LATTES THERE.
  
  Good. Moment. Had a lemon slice to attend my latte. It was like a dense, textured lemon pound cake with a thick layer of frost topped with I think coconut shavings. YUM. 
• Couldn't get the wifi to work, so I asked a guy with his phone out what magic he used to connect. Of course he was the owner...nice guy! And got on the internet. WOO
• Met: 
• An NI architect. Loves the rain, hates phone lingo. 
• Library tour. 
• THEY HAVE MAGICAL BOOKSHELVES. Bout 20 shelves all squished together, so you can't see the books at all. So, you press a button on either side of the open shelves and another button on the shelf you want open. Then PRESTO they slide closed and slide open. What. 
• My immediate first thoughts on bookshelves: 
1. Easy way to hide a body. (Okay Jamie. Maaaaybe you should ease up on the crime shows...)
2. Really cruel way to bully. (Hey kid, betcha can't fit in that empty shelf there! Bully closes shelf as soon as kid demonstrates ability)
3. The best hiding spot in hide and seek. (Would require partner. Preferably a new friend still trying to  make you like them and not a best friend. A best friend would close you in and leave you. I know. *Re: Broken-footed Hayhay deserted in a grocery cart in Walmart
• Met: 
• Joris. From Amsterdam, Holland. Originates from Volu, Holand. Studying Urban planning. Wears neon socks. I spent the most time with him based on his promise of knowing a street of bookshops. He did. :) 
• Again, reached the bus stop at exactly the right time and got off, for the first time, ladies and gents, at the correct bus stop! (and the crowd goes wild!) 

The end. Love Jamie. 

Looks like rain!

*crickets*

Okay, one day, someone is going to think that joke is funny.

Yes, it is another rainy day here in Northern Ireland. There's a weird thing about the rain here, though. It's not that it isn't wet, but it isn't normal rain. Or maybe it is normal rain and Oklahoma rain is abnormal.

The density and consistency is off somehow, as if they were dew drops instead of rain drops and falling at the speed of snowflakes. But thicker than a snowfall.

If you were to take an evening stroll in the midwest and it began to rain, you'd be soaked quickly and thoroughly. Not so here. You'd be very damp.

Because rainy days can be a wee bit depressing (yes, rain is lovely. I quite enjoy it. Days on end of rain, however...), I am keeping myself as busy as possible.

Yesterday and today have been spent organizing, writing, and reading.

"My, Jamie, what tidy linen closets you have!"
"All the better to appropriately outfit you with clean sheets and towels, my dear."

I have also been putting to good use book cover postcards that my sweet sister Cristin gave me. The proof of which is all over my face and hands. Ink and I have always had a way with one another. Though, personally, I think I look rather fetching with a goatee.

In addition, I've been spending time journalling and translating a chapter or so each day of the New Testament from French to English. Don't be impressed. My French is, in a general sense, very poor.

I love the way the scriptures unlock like little puzzle pieces (mixed metaphor. I'm okay with it) with the help of my dictionary. And I can't cheat if I happen to already know the scripture because it's worded in such a way as to make phrases I've read so many hundreds of times look new again.

Don't worry, I'm reading as well. This time I'm onto the autobiography of Maria Von Trapp of The Sound of Music fame. What a woman. And to think I supposed her to be fictional...

Well, that's about all for my rainy today. Don't mind me here as I wile away the rest of my afternoon in the sitting room with my cuppa tea, watching the awkward rain soak all of outside.

*Tomorrow international orientation begins! I am both totally floored and so anxious that I want to crawl under a couch and hide*

If You Give A Girl A Castle...

Continuing my series of saying yes to things, I said yes to a Saturday outing. Actually, I said no to the Saturday outing then changed my mind when one of the little cooks here said she would go if I would go. Sometimes all it takes to be brave is to know that someone is on your team.

*Saying "team" makes me miss my daddy. Growing up, my mom used to always say that my dad and I were in a club together. Mostly the club tag-team teases my mother and high-fives, but lemme tell ya. It's a good club. I found out years later that this club was really a way for my mom to bond me to my dad. It worked. Once a part of the club, always part of the club.

Anyway, the group of 14 headed  into the country (truly only 8 or so miles away, but the road and city set-up makes it seem like it's an impossible distance). Where we landed was a place called Hillsborough.

While there, we went on a tour of Hillsborough House (aka Hillsborough Castle). And no, it's not because it's in the hills that it's called so, but because the family of long-time ownership had the last name Hill. Tis true. Heard it from the tour guide herself! This is the place that the Queen visits or any other important person. 

This, my friends, is the castle (even though the church in the picture above looks more like my childhood fantasies). 

After tramping around the castle and its surrounding gardens, 

we went to a nearby fort (large grassy area with a wall around it) and its nearby lake: 

And, if you give a girl a castle, she's gonna want a waffle to go along with it. You know what I mean? 

Listen about this waffle. First of all, it's from a place entitled: Humble Pie, so obviously it gets points from location alone. 

Bottom to top: To waffle, add honeycomb (actual honeycomb) and vanilla ice cream, freshly whipped cream, toffee and chocolate chips and marshmallows, butterscotch syrup. 

What. 

Heaven is what. 

Heaven in my and Lauren's (you didn't think I ate all that by myself, did you?!) mouths. 

Came home from my waffle and castle ventures to a snuggly room and a skype date. A very long, very needed, very wonderful skype date. And, finally, sleep. The first time I've slept easily since my arrival. The perfect ending to an unexpectedly lovely day. 

Gettin' Wild

If anyone out there thought, at any point, that I was cool or normal, I need you to lay that high-minded idea to rest.

I am a thick glasses wearing, accidental hand inking, snort laughing nerd. Bookworm by day, wordsmith by night.

I tell you this  because I am going to nerd out for a moment. I've been working on an organization project. There were three full, full bookshelves in the library that were left to us and so totally unorganized. And, because organization happens to give me chills of joy and I needed to see if any of my coursebooks were hiding in those shelves, I gained permission to overhaul.

The Result of 3 days' work:

Far Left Case (starting from the top): 

• Bibles of all sorts
• Hymnals and books about hymns
• Derick Bingham (the deceased library's owner and prolific author)
• Religious books
• Bottom shelf are all Bible reference books

Middle case:

• General reference books about words and writing
• Books on Britain and travel
• Books on Ireland
• Fun books
• Poetry

Far Right Case:

• Art and history
• Bronte
• Tolkein and Tolstoy
• CS Lewis
• Winston Churchill
• Biographies

You're like, who cares, Jamie? You're in Ireland and all you can blog about are some dusty old books? I care! I love books and libraries and what they tell you about someone. 

For instance, I learned about Professor Bingham that he was enraptured by the Bronte sisters and Da Vinci and the story of the Irish people. He also had a thing for CS Lewis, but who doesn't? Not everyone has a book of his in Korean, though. Just sayin'. 

Yes Man.

Yes Woman to be precise.

My new plan is to say yes where I normally would say no. Okay, so last night's saying yes to the museum poetry discussion then backing out last minute was kind of antithetical to this plan, but today, while I was cheerily organizing the library bookshelves (my current project), Elaine asked if I'd like to join her to Lisburn.

"No thanks."

Then, despite my desire to not put on outing-acceptable clothing, I went. It was very good for me, I think. I spent a bit of time with Elaine, got out of Belfast in something other than a bus, and it was out of my comfort zone.

In Lisburn, I walked about the shopping area then found the words "Castle Gardens" on a sign-post heading up the road. Those are two words I like.

 Lisburn

 Garden and sunken gate

Why yes, sunken gate, I will enter you! 

It was approaching the time when I needed to head back to meet Elaine, but there is always time for a bakery...

I'm not all sure what was in this, but my best guess is lemon-caramel cupcake with chocolate drizzle and caramel popcorn topping. It was both odd and delectable, a sweet end to my outing. 

A Day in the Life

Would you like to hear my current favorite joke? Yah? Okay.
"Looks like rain!"

You're not laughing.
It's ok. I get it. No one else laughs at it either.
I, however, think it's hilarious. It always looks like rain, so...you know what? Forget it. My hilarity is lost on you.

Today was a day for adventure.
After a chat with my best friend (currently living in China), I was challenged with getting out of my house and exploring NI.

Therefore, I explored.

First, my travels took me to Belfast City Centre where I went about on a quest for Chinese and chocolate. I don't know where anything's about, so when I quest, I have to talk to a lot of locals. Actually, asking for directions is a great way to bond with locals.

My wanderings brought me three different PoundWorlds (don't even know why, they just felt less intimidating than anything else. and really? three? why three in the same centre? I had to find out.) and Chopstix.

DO NOT get Chinese food in Ireland. Such a bad idea. I don't even want to talk about it. This picture, though, is gold. My chocolate craving was solved by PoundWorld. They sell Nutella at PoundWorld. ZINGO. 

Then back home to a housefull of childrens (20 year old childrens). Oh, and I missed my bus stop again. 

Okay, okay, now the good part. So, a group of the students were going for a wee dander (short walk) out to a place called Giant's Circle. A big, old rock. I decided to join! 

The walk there was green, green, green and very near our home. We passed near Shaw's Bridge, and actually, you can rent canoes and kayaks there and a water polo set is right there in the river. Weird, yah? 

And the smell. MMM. The wet air was sweet and so familiar smelling but so out of context I couldn't trace it. It was the kind of smell you want to put in a vitamin water (never tried it. don't trust my judgement) or bottle and wear as a perfume or wrap in your arms and snuggle. 

We never found the rock, but we did find...

No caption necessary. :)

I finished out my big day by helping with curtains. Some people have really, really strong opinions about curtains. 2 hours worth of opinions. 

Future husband, future family, if they are functional, well-priced, and don't make me puke to look at 'em, the curtains in our home will find no animosity in me. 

I've a Stash. Shhh!

Good evening! And greetings to all of you who do not have the pleasure of living in the beautiful land of Norn Iron.

Although some of you reading may actually be residents here, I wouldn't know. I may not even know who all of you are.

Cheers all around, then! Welcome, welcome.

I think it's high time we have a good chat on tea, don't you?

As you can tell by my windowsill, tea and I are having a smashing tryst with one another. On average, I go through three to four cups of tea a day. It's the solution to cold, exhaustion, extroversion, sleepiness, need-to-get-sleepiness, and boredom and the perfect companion to a nice chat with a friend, a movie, or a book. Today it joined me while I finished-up PS I Love You.

Once you down a cuppa tea, though, and have snuggled down deep into a den of warmth, you are faced with a problem: the cup. Therein lies my current windowsill issue. I hoard my dishes and hide them with the curtain.

This is particularly ironic considering the fact that I am the one responsible for house tidiness and keep my students vigilant about their dish clean-up. Thus, the curtain.

But I ask you, my dear friends and compatriots, when faced with the task of maintaining a proper body heat for survival and you've finally regained feeling in your hands--minus your fingers. a lost cause, that one--would you venture into the frozen tundra that is your bedroom, hallway, and kitchen, to return a wee mug? I should think not.

I shudder to consider the alternative.