My Blog

Scotland day 4

Adena — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:39:33 GMT

Also not entirely as planned, but I blame the weather!!! Brena had class from 9-3 (with a lunch break in the middle of it) and the plan was for me to go to the castle and the cathedral at that time and then meet with her for lunch. It was cold and raining (pretty heavy) so I still havent been to the castle or the cathedral (which is kinda funny, as I have been spending so much time in St Andrews). But I met her for lunch and then went to the museum with her (where she was teaching the second class) and went through her (and her classmates) exhibition ("Cradles, Courtship and Coffin: Lifes Milestones in Fife" I had to ask was Fife was, but it turns out it is like a county (kinda) and is this part of Scotland, which made sense). The exhibit was really good and I really enjoyed it. I also went through the rest of the museum and it was also nice. There was one part that made me laugh (it is an Anthropological joke, and it sure was printed there in the museum. if you want to know what it is, let me know). We then went back through town, and to the castle gift shop (I have been to both gift shops, as they are literally both less then one block from brenas front door). We went through town, and I had dinner at this great little paninni place. it was the spicy Tuna one and it was SOOOOOO good! I think that I am in love with it. We went to Tescos (which is the local grocery store) and got things for lunch and dinner tomorrow in Ednibrough (as it is MUCH cheaper then eating there). We also bought Cider for Tabelero (which we taught to a bunch of people) and some other fun drinks (an apple mango juice, a black current and something that I cant remember but that I have never heard of before. Like Elderflower (that we had last night). We then went back to the common room for (guess what) more games!! Tabelero and others (I learned another new game today (well, 2 really; a**hole and this game called Mexico which is played with dice. They say that it is a gambling game which would have made it more interesting I think.) Tonight, at 4:30 they are doing the May Dip. back in the day, there were 4 martyers burned her in St andrews, Patrick (not henry, but ending with an H) harrison? or something. There is a PH on the ground in brick where it occured and if you are a student here, it is bad luck to step on it. If you do, on May 1st at Dawn you have to jump into the North Sea. Brena thinks that she is going to do it, so if she does, I will go with her to take pictures and commerate it with her. Till tomorrow!!!

Scotland, days 1, 2 and 3

Adena — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 23:49:25 GMT

Sunday, April 27, 2008 Scotland Brena and I stayed up last night walking throught the town, and then finally talking till fairly late. We also proofread her two papers that are due tomorrow, 50% of her final grade. After that, we will be off to Edinburgh for the day ! Today, we had a lazy day around town, for two reasons a) I was still tired from the flight and b) my luggage still hadnt made it here and we had to stay around so that we could sign for it (and I didnt want to inflict the smell of traveling clothes from Friday morning on too many people) Since we stayed in town, we went to the Cathedral gift shop (the cathedral being DIRECTLY outside of Brenas house) to pick up some postcards to send home, finalized Brenas papers (mostly her), had Ice cream (apricot brandy for me!! YUMMM), walked throught some of the smaller shops (being sunday everything closes at 5 here today, if it was open at all), saw the castle from the outside (NEATO), went to lunch with some friends of hers here ( an Aussie, a Brit, a Canadian and an america) WHERE I HAD HAGGIS (dont care what anyone tells you, it was GOOD!!! Kinda like loose sausage) and went to where her department head building (where I am now). This building is right on the North sea, and actually has a semi famous spot out side. There is a spot overlook in the sea in that there is a famous picture of Winston Churchill and the Polish general comander (circa WWII). Kinda neat!!! I cant wait till tomorrow where we will be going to shop and the castles and museums in Edinbrough. WOO HOO!!! Monday, April 28, 2008 Scotland day 2 Today didnt turn out as planned, and becuase of that we had to change some things around, but it was still great fun! We had planned to be on the bus to Edinbrough by 8:15, but Brena had to get her paper done (worth 50% of her grade). We stayed up till 2 last night while she worked on it, but it was finally at the point that we were so tired she was going to make a mistake, so the plan was for her to sleep till 6 then work on it and we go into town. That didnt happen. we were up at 7, but the editing and arranging and printing took SO much longer that by the time we were totally done, it was noon. Well, there was no point in taking a 2 hour bus to town, not getting there till really 2:30 and having the castle and museums all close at 6, and it was an icky rainy out anyway. So we decided to stay in St Andrews. We went to a celebratory dinner with her classmates, revelry because the paper was turned in. it was really good, but a little pricy (as everything here is). I have decided to spend most of my money doing things rather then buying things, as I think that would be more fun. I say that, but since we were in town, we went shopping. We went to the tourist shop, and there is lots of cute things there (like stuffed animal haggis!!) and the kilt shop and a really great little yarn place. I will probably buy something there to nahlbind, but I am not sure what yet. We also went to some Charity shops (like Salvation Army) but I wasnt able to find too many things that I wanted/needed. Brena did show me this great little jewlery shop that was selling things made by this local artist that I now love (will post her name when Brena is back and I know it!!). For Dinner, I ate in her dinning hall, which is in the basement of this really cool building (their common room is upstairs). While it is not a castle, it really feels like one. i will try to take a picture of it without looking too much like a dork. I have been meeting many of Brenas friends, and so far they all seem great. We just got in from a 2 hour session of cards with the same guys that we went to lunch with on Sunday. (Ucher? Yucher? something like that, resembles Hearts or bridge). Tomorrow, we get on a bus for 3 hours to go to Stirling Castle and Wallace Monument. I am excited about those! Day 3 Today went entirely as planned, which was GREAT!. At 6 am, Brena and I awoke to take showers, head to the local bakery for breakfast, and then to the bus station to catch our 7:05 bus to Stirling. We passed the Wallace monument, but were not able to spare the time to go up, but it was beautiful with the morning mist setteling under it and the mountians (rolling green hills??) behind it. Once we could see the castle up on the hill, we remembered that we wernt quite sure where the bus was going to let us off, so when the bus took a turn South, and the Castle was North, we hopped off and decided to walk it. (really, who can miss a HUGE 16th cent castle? NOT US!). We got there right as the doors were opening, which was great, and we took the guided tour at 10 am. With that over at 10:45, we were then on our own to look around. (btw, for anyone planning on Scotland in the next little while, I have some information about saving money going to museums/castles. just let me know). So, some things that I learned while at Stirling Castle (lets see if I get this right, as my Scottish and Brittish history isnt as great as it could be): James the VI (of Scotland, and also known as James the I of England) was babtised there in the castle and was crowned King (at 17 months) there in the chruch (which we saw the outside of). The oldest part of the castle dates to the 14th century, but many of it was build in the 17th and the 18th (for the outside parts). The main part was buildt in the 16th (I think, early 17th?) by James the Ist for his French Bride Marie de Guise (just a guess on the spelling there). Because he wanted to treat her in a way that she was accoustomed, that part has a French Reniasance look to it (heck, it could have been taken directly from France!!) It was amazing and I have lots of pictures. Also, very amazing is that they are reproducing the Unicorn Tapestries ( the Hunt of the Unicorn ones). All 7 of them (though they are not sure about the 7th actually belonging and the 5 is only in pieces). They are the ones that are in the cloisters in New York (bought by Rockafeller and donated). They have 3 done, and one will be done tomorrow (though that was at the tapestery weaving school, and not at Stirling, but it will be). The 3 that are complete were hanging and they were AMAZING!!! it took 3 weavers, working 7 hours a day 3.5 years to complete it. I couldnt beleive it. There at the castle, they actually have the weavers and the GIANT loom (they are only 10% smaller then the originals, which are HUGE) and you can see them working. you arnt even allowed to talk to them. I did have some questions though, 1) why are they weaving them out of sequence? (which I didnt ask). 2) Are they going to recreate the parts of the missing number 5? ( the answer is yes, the are going to do their best). Those are the ones that bother me least. The others ones I really question 3) they are not using silk warp threads (like the original) but cotton. I asked why, and she said that the cotton is stronger (no argument there) but the original ones have lasted what, 500 years and they are still pretty okay (even after being stolen during the French revolution and later being found in a ladies barn covering her vegetables). So not as strong, yeah. not a durable, sure but really? as museum pieces i find it a little odd 4) They used chemical dyes. Again, the color in the originals is still pretty good, so why not use the same that they used? 5) they arnt recreating it exactly. There are initials in every corner of every piece, and they are going to leave them out. Granted, these tapestries never hung in Stirling Castle (they were Belgian and then resided in a castle in France but there were sometype of unicorn tapestries in Stirling, and rather then just make some up, they are recreating contemperaries.) I dont know. Part of me feels that if you are goign to spend SO much time to do these (all in all, while having 2 tapestries going at the same time it will still take over 15 years for the warping, weaving and finishing edges) and then not recreate them to the best of the ability. I dont know, maybe im just like that..... Anyway, it was great. Once we were back, Brena and I went to Dinner, and then (since it is light here till almost 9) we went to the dock and fed the ducks. It was the same beach where Chariots of Fire was filmed. Pretty cool huh!!! Then we went and played more cards with people in the common room. learned a new game. Others were watching this movie called The Recruit or something? (I dont know) but there is this part of it where they are telling the guy " The russians have this new technology that can be plugged into any wall socket in your house and allows it to insert a virus into your computer" (or something like that). hearing the Computer Science Grad students GROAN was too funny! All for now! Off to bed!!!

things I have learned since I got my house

Adena — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:47:34 GMT

I don’t own a plunger… instead I own 3 spider smooshers!! (Really, they work quite well. Red rubber ring around the spider. Smoosh away) The fancy toilet paper REALLY IS worth the extra 3 dollars (same for the paper towels) Painting naked really is less messy Just how many pairs of shoes I own (and books) There is no difference between the boxed and the bad cereal (sorry JP) It does get lonely sometimes. For some reason, bumps in the night don’t bother me as much There is noone to take care of me when I am sick (this one is the worst! And I am SICK right now!!!)

Friends are friends forever??

Adena — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 22:16:01 GMT

Coming to realizations about ones-self is always a little scary. Realizing what you are doing wrong in life is always easier then seeing what you are doing right. Why is it that criticism is easier than praise? I have had to think a LOT about relationships in the last week or so. Someone I thought that I was never going to deal with again has popped into my life. It certainly isn’t a bad thing, but I am not 100% sure how to deal with it. She was a good person, but she made a mistake. I believe that she still IS a good person, but she is a person that I don’t know. Not yet. I spent some time at an event in the past month, someone that many people find annoying. But I KNOW that she is a good person. Can she be a little abrasive? Yes. Can she get on your nerves? Yes. I cant think of one person who DOESN’T do this. I also cant think of ONE reason NOT to be friends with her. Everyone needs more good people in their life. Speaking of, I have friends in my life who I DON’T think are good people. They annoy me and then don’t make me happy. Why are they in my life still? That is something that I plan on remedying. I used to think that it would be easier to be friends with someone that I would have to see often. I thought that being friends would be easier then not, and creating animosity. I was wrong. Spending time with that person drains me. I want to say mean things. I don’t want to be a mean person. I want to bring up the things that they have done to me in the past. I don’t want to dwell on the past. I want to tell them how much I dislike them. I wish that they hadn’t done what it is that makes me dislike them. The biggest problem here is that this person not only believes that they are a friend of mine, but that they are a good one. They arnt, not anymore. That was another realization that I came to. When you are young, you are friends with people because you see them often. You are friends because you spend time together. You are not friends because you have lots in common. You are friends because it is easy. I don’t want easy friends. I don’t want to be friends with people because it is easier then not. I wont do it anymore. My only question now is what do I do when I know that cutting this person out of my life is going to affect other relationships, other friendships. Telling the truth as to why this person is no longer my friend will hurt more then help, and I don’t want to be the one to influence someones thought about someone else. It should be an individual decision to like or dislike someone, not because of what they have done to me. I wish people could see this person for who she really is. If they did, they certainly wouldn’t like her as much, if at all.

Una

Adena — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 01:52:47 GMT

I took Una to the vet this morning, as she has been sick for a couple of days (was with Ky, I just got her back) She had Parvo I had to put her to sleep. She was just a puppy, and I know that I hadnt even had her a month, but it sure does hurt. It is amazing how those little guys can worm their way into your heart so quickly.

my party

Adena — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 13:10:44 GMT

Cleaning supplies for your housewarming party………21$ Food for the housewarming party…..$32 Liquor drank at the housewarming party…… 12 bottles Disturbing the peace ticket from the police… $287 (maybe) Not remembering the police being there the second time…… priceless!

Naked...

Adena — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 02:18:22 GMT

1) the best way to eat a Mango... Take off all your clothes, then get in a bathtub. 2) Painting. SO MUCH EASIER WHEN YOU ARNT WEARING CLOTHES!! Of course, I was by myself.....(who thinks that I am joking about the naked Painting. How well do you think you know me??) Anyone for painting and mangos?

!!!!!!!!!

Adena — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 03:48:59 GMT

My previous Blog that I had "bought a house" was a litte preemptive, but now it is final. I HAVE A HOUSE!! It is washer and dryer and fridge-less (ever wonder why Fridge is spelled with a D and Refrigerator isnt??), but it is ALL MINE!! I am so excited. EVERYONE needs to come to Norman and see it!

packing...

Adena — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 03:31:02 GMT

I now feel that I have many, MANY boxes of plain crap. I am even getting rid of the crappiest of the crap, but there is still a crap ton of stuff left over. Crap. That makes me depressed!

...

Adena — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 06:02:33 GMT

I bought a house!!

my Kingdom for a house

Adena — Sun, 27 May 2007 04:16:20 GMT

Ok, not really, but now that I have been preapproved for the loan for a house, I just have to find one that I like. 2 bedroom by myself, or 3, and then having to depend on a friend for a roommate? SInce so many people dont buy thier first house till they are either married or in a long term relationship, I feel very much like I am going at this alone. I know that I have the support of my friends (hello? are you out there), but it is still something that I am doing all by myself, and that is kinda scary. BUT when I do get a place, party there!!!

ERGGGGGGGHGHGHGHGHHGHG

Adena — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 02:57:49 GMT

I really do get sick of hearing some things. I dont want to get into them, as people will disagree, but there is only so many times that someone can hear something that they believe is totally false without breaking down and telling everone that they think it is a big fat load of crap. I am not sure how many times I am expected to hear it, but it hurts more every time and it feels less true. man, life sucks sometimes.!!!

FORMER FRIEND

Adena — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 04:01:11 GMT

hard It is So hard to WANT to be friends with someone, but know that you cant, for whatever reason. Does it hurt more not being with them, or bringing yourself to be with them, and think about how they hurt you? Is it better to have loved, lost and forget, or love, lost and be reminded of it every day? Does it amaze anyone else how two people can be SO alike, but cant be friends. Should they both compromise, or one, or neither? Is the person who was in the wrong required to be the first one to make the step, or the person who was hurt? If i was more eloquent, I would write a poem. But I am not. I posted the above messaage on my Myspace site. talking about a former (best) friend who royally screwed me over. The above is how I feel. I am (a little) ashamed to say that I still check up on her. This is what she posted " A note for a friend... Current mood: confused Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes I am not sure how to go forward when there has been so much pain. Causing pain was never my intention, but it happened. And I have fought very hard to live with the consequences. Do I try to make a friend even though I would forever wonder if it was always on their mind, judging everything I did because of it, and them never being able to accept that which I love? Or Do I ignore my heart and cut the tie that binds? How do I heal one wound and at the same time keep one open? On one hand, I am afraid that nothing will ever be good enough, so is there a point to trying? And on the other hand if I do not try, will I always be reminded of what there was, and wondering if it was enough to last through troubled times? All I can do is Pray....." I know that her post was specifically for me. It wouldnt have been any more obvious then if she had put FOR ADENA on it. Now, what do I do? I dont know. My heart hurts just thinking about her. Physically, I hurt. Maybe I cant be happy for her untill I am happy with myself?

Friends galore!

Adena — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 19:31:36 GMT

It sure seems like I was busy a lot this past weekend (and week) and that I have nothing to exactly show for it, but I know that I was out having fun!. I started by having lunch with Elizabeth Sahlsteen early in the week, which was nice, as I don’t think I have seen her in years. Thursday, Michelle and I went to Tulsa to spend time with JP before she leaves (we will sure miss her). The three of us met with Brena and a guy, Tyler, for Korean food, and then we were off to the bar. Dancing, drinking and more dancing. Ivan/Marti met us there, and we had a blast. Friday was much the same, except there was some pre-bar shopping at my favorite store Cato. I think we all ended up spending $50 there. (or close to). I had to leave Tulsa at 6 am to be back in Norman and ready to go to Amanda Reeds Wedding at 10 am. Me and Missy drive out there, talking the whole way. It was really nice to talk to her, she is doing very well. She may have to take custody of a lowlife friends kids, but they will be better off for it. I wish her the best with that situation. I admire her, as I am not sure that I would be able to do it, no matter how much I would like to. She is a strong woman, and I hope that we continue to be able to hang out more. The wedding was BEAUTIFUL! It was an autumn themed wedding, held in a wonderful little chapel. It was all glass, metal and rock. The walls and ceiling were glass, so you could see nothing but the trees. It was so Amanda. Amanda looked radiant and beautiful, and the wedding was very short, the longest part being the kiss. Just the way I like my weddings. I did have to deal with someone that I don’t like dealing with. Being Civil wasn’t the problem, as it was a celebration, so being civil was easy. I believe that I went above and beyond just “civil” but it really was a nice night. Interacting with her was harder then I thought it would be. I always thought that just ignoring her would be the easiest, and it probably would have been. I realized that she hasn’t changed, she is much the same person that she used to be. That means that I do still care about her. It is so hard to care that much, even after all these years, and still not be able to bring yourself to be friends with her. I wonder if others have that same problem. Maybe it is just me. Now, if only I can exercise this self control when it comes to guys. I tend to let them screw me over, and then befriend them again, but I really don’t want to do that anymore. If someone has that kind of blatant disregard for my feelings, why should I give them chance after chance. I think that is something I will be working on (among other things). I hope that it works!! on the way home from the wedding, me and Missy stopped at the Cherokee Casino in Catoosa, and it was really nice. We may be heading out to the new one here in Norman this weekend? Any takers??

BAM

Adena — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 04:13:39 GMT

Sadly, I will be unable to attend BoarderMarch this weekend, but I wish that all who are going have extra fun for me. Drink, debauch and be loud. BUT, dont do anything I wouldnt do.... Have fun!