Wednesday, April 4, 2007
One day I’ll update this blog on a regular
basis
Here is a breakdown of what I’ve been up to so far in Minnesota…
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
The longest day ever…
I managed to arrive safely in Minnesota (or ‘the colonies’, as my friend Ali likes to call the USA). It was the longest day ever, however. I, being the procrastinator that I am, didn’t start packing until about 10pm Monday night. I knew that there was no way that I’d be able to get to sleep on my own (as I had been going to bed at 3-4am for the last week or two), so I popped a sleeping pill. Unfortunately, it didn’t even kick in until after midnight, and I had to wake up at 3am (Scotland time) to get ready for my flight. I was beyond knackered, I was barely conscious. The previous day I had ordered a taxi to pick me up at 4am, and it arrived promptly on time. I thought that it would take 15-30 minutes to get to the airport…I was very wrong. I don’t know how he did it, but it only took about 10 minutes to get from my flat to the airport, so I was very, very early. I checked in and got my tickets in about 5 minutes, so I was stuck walking aimlessly around the tiny Aberdeen airport from 4:30am onwards. I went to go through security, only to be informed that they didn’t open until 5am! I couldn’t buy a paper or book because the little store was not yet open either. So, I sat down and tried to keep myself awake. I ended up texting Ali, who, thanks to his drinking that night, was still awake, so that kept me coherent enough until the security area opened up. At 5am we were finally let in and I proceeded through security…but not before being searched again! Can I just ask…do I look like a threat? Every single time that I’ve left out of Aberdeen airport, I’ve been searched by a woman security guard, regardless of the fact that I was not wearing any items containing metal or anything else that should have set off the metal detector. This is so annoying, and it’s really making me not want to leave from Aberdeen anymore! I really didn’t feel like getting felt up by some strange woman at 5am in the morning. Other than the molestation, the remainder of my airport experience was fairly uneventful (thankfully). There was a plethora of kilted Scottish men everywhere (whoo-hoo!), so that lightened up my mood again. I’m not sure where the large group were headed, but it made me want to change my plans and follow them…mmm, nothing like a kilted Scottish man to stare at (and listen to…I still get a smile on my face when I hear a distinguished Scottish accent). I did end up getting an exit row seat, so I had a lot of leg room…that was unexpected and nice. However, they didn’t ask me (as they are supposed to do) if I was able and willing to perform the duties required of me in the event of a crash…if they would have asked, with me being so incredibly tired, I most likely would have responded ‘no’!
We actually took off 10-15 minutes late because apparently Amsterdam Schipol airport was having radar issues, and were restricting the number of flights coming into the airport, so we sat on the tarmac for awhile waiting to take off. Evidently we had a favorable tail wind or something, because although we left late, we actually arrived in Amsterdam 5 minutes early! This fact was negated, however, when we had to suddenly change the gate that we were to arrive at. I’m not really sure why, but we had to taxi to another gate (just 2 down from where our original one was), so in the end, we arrived pretty much exactly on time: 8:55am (Amsterdam time)
I strolled to my gate, to be met with the longest line ever! The United States is so completely anal, that they require passengers coming in to go through another security checkpoint (just before the waiting area for the gate) before boarding the plane. Apparently, the first security checkpoint within the airport is not secure enough for the superior USA (*sarcasm alert!*). That is reason number 959 why I hate the U.S.! Anyhoo, berating the States aside, the actual plane ride from Amsterdam to Chicago was smooth (and very, very long). The plane that I was on was humongous, however. It was the first double-decker plane that I’ve ever been on (but of course, I wasn’t allowed to go upstairs, I think that was for the business class). I actually spent most of the flight sleeping, and even missed the meal that they served. I woke up briefly and saw that James Bond: Casino Royale was planning, and that’s all the encouragement I needed to go quickly back to sleep! When I woke up again, the movie Flushed Away was playing, so I stayed up and watched that, having seen it previously and thought it was a cute movie. By this time, the air steward came around with warm towels to freshen up with (which I had never before experienced in coach), so that was nice. Soon enough we were getting ready to land in Chicago. Again, though, we were forced to change our original gate and move to another one, as a plane was experiencing technical difficulties in the gate that we were supposed to use. Not really a big deal, but it was nonetheless getting kind of irritating. We arrived nearly on-time, around 12:05pm (Chicago time). After exiting the plane, we were ushered through customs. Boy, those custom officials really get an A+ for personality and job satisfaction (*sarcasm alert!*)…could they be any more dour and devoid of personality? I then proceeded to the luggage area to collect my bag. The stupid thing about this situation is that every single person, regardless of whether or not they were continuing on to another destination had to pick up their bags in Chicago (if they were continuing on, then they had to recheck their bags on their new flight)…I have no idea why…some strange U.S. regulation or something.
Here’s where things start to get interesting for me. Just the previous night, I noticed that I was supposed to arrive in Chicago O’Hare airport, but was due to leave from Chicago Midway airport! I had absolutely no idea how to transfer between airports. I eventually asked some help desk person, who informed me that there was an airport shuttle between airports that departed from just outside the door, so I went outside to wait for the mysterious shuttle. I should mention that it was almost 70 degrees F (21 degrees C), so I was boiling just standing around outside. I waited for almost an hour and the shuttle never materialized, so I went back into the airport to seek further assistance. I ended up taking the train to the terminal where Northwest Airlines was located, so that I could ask the ticket agent what I should do. A really nice bloke helped me out and basically told me that I could either take a taxi to Midway airport (for about $40-50) or I could take the El (elevated train) for $2. I opted for the cheaper option. He told me that I had to take the blue line to Lake/Clark and then transfer to the orange line. I was all like ‘huh?’ Still feeling very confused, he pointed me in the direction of the train station. I managed to buy a rail card and get on the train. Having never really taken the El before, I was paranoid that I would miss the stop, then travel around Chicago aimlessly for hours and miss my plane. Luckily, by paying strict attention to the stop announcements, I did get off at the right place. Then I had to follow miles of signs pointing me to the orange line, and after going up 3 escalators finally ended up in the right place. I boarded the train and began to relax…luckily, the last stop of the train was Midway airport, so there was no possibility of missing it. The whole trip from O’Hare to Midway took about an hour, plus, with the hour that I wasted standing outside O’Hare, I only had about an hour and a half before my plane left. I promptly got my new ticket and checked in my bag and proceeded to my departure gate. By the time I had bought some food and drink (a Fanta…which I will agree with Nathan when he said that American Fanta tastes different/worse than British Fanta), I only had to wait for about a half an hour before boarding the plane. Luckily, the trip from Chicago to Minneapolis is a very short one, so I finally arrived at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport at around 6pm (Minnesota time), where I was met by my mom and stepdad.
After getting dinner and settling in and whatnot, I finally went to bed at about midnight MN time, which meant that it had been 27 hours since I had first woken up in Aberdeen to begin my journey. Now, maybe you’ll agree that this truly was the longest day ever!
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
My baby has waited patiently…
My much anticipated re-emergence into the world of diving has arrived. I finally got behind the wheel of my precious baby after a separation of over 7 months. I very much missed the opportunity to simply jump in my car when I want to go somewhere. In Aberdeen, if I want to go somewhere, I either have to hoof it or catch a bus. If I want to go somewhere further a field, then too bad, as nobody I know ever wants to go for a long drive and show me more of Scotland. So, when I woke up, the first thing I did was to get ready, then collect my car keys and hit the road. Okay, so it’s not like I went anywhere special, just Wal-Mart, but the point remains…it felt so good to be behind the wheel of a car! It’s like riding a bike…you never forget how to drive. I was all paranoid that I would either try to get in the wrong side of the car or possibly accidentally drive on the opposite side of the road. None of these occurred, and I think my driving skills actually improved (I’m sure they’ll decline again after driving for a little while longer…lol). I’m going to include a few pictures of my car for my British friends, as they have absolutely no idea what a 2001 Pontiac Sunfire looks like, because Pontiac doesn’t make cars in Britain.
So there it is…the first car that I’ve ever bought and paid for entirely by myself (this is actually my second car, but my parents bought my first one for me)…my pride and joy…my baby.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
I am not as smart as a fifth grader
Well, today was another lazy day, as I think jet lag has taken over my body. I’m just so tired…it’s strange though, because the time difference usually doesn’t affect me as badly as it has the last few days. Ah well, I’ll just have to sleep a lot and wait it out. So basically, I just hung out with my mom and watched some good old fashioned American TV. There is this really cute game show that airs on Thursday nights called Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader? I assumed that being a university student (not just once but twice) would show that I was indeed smarter than a fifth grader. I thought that the questions would be so incredibly easy and that anyone who missed any of the questions was stupid. Well, don’t I feel sheepish? Some of those questions were actually really hard, and I only got about 4 out of 7 questions correct, proving quite concretely that I am indeed not smarter than a fifth grader. Boy do I feel foolish! It really is a cute program, and I recommend that those of you who live in the U.S. should definitely watch it…you’ll be surprised by how stupid you feel when the show is over!
Friday, March 30, 2007
B-I-N-G-O, and bingo was his name-oh!
Today is Friday, which of course means that it’s mother-daughter bonding day in the form of playing bingo. I don’t care what you nay-sayers out there think, bingo is not just a game for blue-haired grannies. Whenever I come back to visit, my mom and I always make time to play bingo. It’s only $20 for a half-session (about 2 ½ long), and there is the chance to win $100 or more for each game. Mind you, my luck is so bad that I rarely ever win, but my mom usually does, and we’ve agreed to share our winnings, so when she wins, I win! Unfortunately, this was not a lucky day for either one of us, and after 5 hours, we left in shame without winning a penny. Sad day. That’s alright, I have hope that we’ll win something next Friday!
Saturday, March 31, 2007
I want cookies…
Today is another lazy day for me. I know, I know, I’m supposed to be visiting with all my friends while I’m here, but I’m still just so knackered all the time. Therefore, there’s not really much to write about today, except for one thing…the best cookie ever made in the entire world! My step-dad was kind enough to buy me a couple of boxes of Girl Scout cookies, Caramel deLites to be specific. I go absolutely crazy over these little cookies…I have yet to taste another cookie anywhere else that is as delicious as these. I’ve included a picture of what these little devils look like…I won’t even begin to discuss how many calories and fat are included in each cookie…I’m in a don’t-ask-don’t-tell relationship with these cookies.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
April Fools
I would just like to say right off the bat that I hate April Fools jokes, so it’s a really good thing that my step-dad has abstained from such tomfoolery. I spent the day shopping and hanging out with my mom…we get along so well, that I love spending time with her. I ended up splurging on a watch worth $200. I really didn’t want to, but I needed a watch and I think it’s really cute, so I caved. However, because it’s a ‘real’ watch (no leather watchband) with a chain watchband, I was faced with the problem of getting it sized correctly. I called a couple of jewelers to inquire whether they remove links and was told that because it was a Swiss watch, I might have to send it to a special watch repair man, which I really didn’t want to do. I eventually found a place and quickly hopped in the car to drive down to Rosedale mall, where a very bored looking worker was nice enough to remove two links for free! I love getting services for free that I’m supposed to pay for. I have no idea why he didn’t charge me anything, but I’m not going to begrudge such a good event, so I’ll keep my mouth shut. I really need to curb my spending though…I’m really burning through both my American money and my Scottish money, which is not a good thing to do. I can’t help it though, using my Bank of Scotland card is so tempting, as the dollar is so weak that I can get so much merchandise for dirt cheap by using the pound sterling. I still have a few things left to buy, however, such as contacts, shoes, etc, so I’m going to have to spend a bit more money in the near future, but I’ll just have to try really hard not to go overboard.
Monday, April 2, 2007
I hate license plates!
My mother recently presented me with an envelope from the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles)…I knew what it was and was not a happy camper. It was that time of year again: license plate tab renewal. I really hate the fact that I’ve only driven my car for a few weeks during the whole of last year, yet I now had to fork over $108.50 for two stupid blue stickers with an ‘08’ on it. For those of you know familiar with this process, every year we have to renew our license plate tabs (a color-coded sticker with the upcoming year printed on it) and affix it to our license plate. Every license plate has a month printed on it, and that is the month that you have to renew, and it just so happens that mine was March. Ugh! I think it’s pointless, but I’m sure the government would disagree with me. While I was there, I also decided to change the address on my license (as I haven’t lived at the address printed on my current license for over a year), so that was another $11. Therefore, in one fell swoop, I spent $120 on two things that I can’t really enjoy (hey, I could’ve used that for DVDs, books, clothes, shoes, anything but license junk!).
I decided to drown my sorrows at Barnes and Noble…nothing cheers me up like a book shopping spree! I recently bought the movie Marie Antoinette and have become enthralled with her and am excited to read more about her life, so I had to seek out some books to buy on that topic. In the end, I walked out of the bookstore with three books, which is pretty good…I have been known to buy half a dozen to a dozen books in one trip. After the bookstore, I went across the street to the public library. I got a book on the Crimean War, which is what I’m writing an essay about after Easter Break is over, and another book.
Oh yes, before I forget, I have to tell you about the funny package kerfuffle (a little homage there to Little Britain, my new favorite television show) that happened. Months back, I asked my mom to send me some stuff in the mail and she was nice enough to do it. She sent the package on January 4th, and I waited and waited for it to arrive, but it never did. We basically both just wrote it off as missing in action. However, just before I came back to Minnesota, the package resurfaced at my mom’s flat! I have no idea how this happened (you’ll see what I mean in a minute when you catch a glimpse at the state of the package), as the address was completely washed out. Somehow, they figured out my mom’s return address (also quite washed out) and sent it back to the U.S. The package was a bit worse for the wear, with stickers, stamps and rips all across it. It’s a wonder that the contents didn’t spill out during the poor package’s two and a half month journey across the Atlantic to the U.K. and then back across the Atlantic to MN! Here’s what my mom found on her doorstep the other day:
As you can see, there are no discernable letters remaining on the package, so it’s miraculous that it found its way back to my mom (and consequently me!).
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Oh the weather outside is frightful…
Today was quite a shock. It’s spring time and it’s snowing outside! I’ve waited all winter for a good old fashioned snowstorm in Aberdeen (it pretty much only snowed three days in the city during the whole course of the winter), and it wasn’t until I came back to MN in spring that I actually got to experience it! Crazy. I didn’t believe that it would really snow, and if it did, I was skeptical that there would be any significant accumulations, but I was wrong. The snow began by 10:30am and continued off and on throughout the remainder of the day. The heaviest snow fell during the evening and overnight hours, so of course I missed most of the action because I was sleeping (that’s always how it happens…damn you nocturnal snow!) Overall, Coon Rapids probably received from between 1-2 inches of fresh snow. No doubt, it’ll all be gone by Wednesday.
Not the best picture of snow that I’ve ever taken (it looks like rain, but I assure you from the goosebumps on my arm that it is indeed snow), but you get the idea…snow, April, abnormal, etc.
My mom blames me for the crappy weather that we’ve been having lately, and I’m actually starting to believe her. The day before I came back, the temperature reached 81 degrees F (27 degrees C), and then the day I arrived, it was rainy and near 50 degrees F (10 degrees C). Since then, every day it has been rainy, with the high averaging about 45 degrees F (7 degrees C). The windchill today was 0 degrees F (-18 degrees C)! I keep joking that the day after I depart the U.S. the temperature will probably shoot up to 91 degrees…the way things have been going, I wouldn’t put it past the weather gods (they obviously have a problem with me). And how have things been shaping up for Aberdeen while I’ve been away? Well, as I haven’t been there, I can’t attest to the definitive status, but from what I’ve been monitoring on the Met Office page, it’s been averaging about 14 degrees C (57 degrees F) and has been dry and sunny. So you see, I actually have brought the Scottish weather back to MN with me!! Sucks for all those Minnesotans who have to suffer through this mess while I’m back…sorry guys, I’ll make sure to take it back with me to Scotland.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
I feel like Samson…
Today was a traumatic day for me. I got a haircut. Now I’m sure that many of you out there are rolling your eyes and saying ‘whatever’, but it’s true…I can dye my hair every color of the rainbow and not bat an eye, but once scissors come anywhere near me, I turn into a scared schoolgirl. I have no idea why it’s so hard for me to get a haircut, but it is. It usually takes me anywhere from a couple of months to a year to pluck up the courage to chop my locks off, and today was no exception. I have been thinking about taking the plunge, so to speak, for a couple of months now, and although I resisted the thought all day today, I finally made myself get dressed and go to the salon. But of course, being me, nothing went as planned! My mom had a coupon for a $5.99 haircut, which is pretty good, so I went in. The stylist ushered me to the seat and I took it, very apprehensively. After she had wet my hair down, I noticed something very unusual about my stylist…she had no fingers. I’m being absolutely serious, she was devoid of digits on her hands. Somehow though, she managed to hold the scissors and comb and whatnot, and I try not to judge people too quickly, so I overlooked it. As long as she did her job, who was I to say anything? I told her that I just wanted a trim and to put in some long layers. She was pretty slow, but had a wonderful personality, so I couldn’t really complain. When she was done I looked in the mirror and couldn’t really notice any difference, but as I was only getting a trim, I figured that I wouldn’t see anything different anyways. When I was paying her, I happened to look down at the floor and noticed that there was hardly any of my hair there…she had cut off maybe a quarter-inch from just the bottom of my hair. That’s not really what I asked for, but I really didn’t want to tell her to do it again (plus, we probably would have been there for the next 2 hours!), so I just left, feeling unsatisfied.
I next went to Wal-Mart to order some more boxes of contacts, as I was beginning to run out, and have yet to figure out if I can even purchase contacts in Scotland, and if so, then how much would they cost, do they have my brand, etc. Therefore, to save myself grief, I just decided to buy some more when I was back in the States. I forgot how expensive the little buggers were! I bought three boxes of Acuvue Advance for my right eye and three boxes of Acuvue Advance for Astigmatism for my left eye. The grand total was just over $200…ouch! This is one of those times when I like to play the exchange rate game. Every time that I buy something that costs over a hundred bucks, I use my Bank of Scotland card, so that it really only costs me half that (in pounds sterling). So, it still set me back about 100 quid, but as I find it really useful to be able to see, I figured that it was worth it. Unfortunately, I forgot that they have to order my astigmatism contacts from the warehouse, and she said that it would take between a week and ten days to come in, and as I leave for Scotland in one week and a day, that’s a pretty thin timeframe. So, knowing my luck, my contacts will arrive the day after I depart and my mom will then have to send them via a package to Scotland, and I haven’t had very good luck with packages from my mom lately (see above)!
After I was done at Wal-Mart, I decided that I really did need to get my haircut, and as that was the whole reason that I dragged myself out of bed, I was going to get it done. I found another salon and went in. Luckily, this new stylist was in possession of all of her fingers and knew what she was doing. She asked how much I wanted taken off, and I reluctantly told her four inches. I really hoped that I wouldn’t regret it later, as it would take forever to grow back (I believe it is ½ inch of new hair growth per month). When she was done, I had to admit that I did like it, and hopefully will still like it tomorrow (buyers remorse on a haircut is the worst…you can never get your hair back, no matter how much you yell at the cashier…lol). I’m still getting used to it though…I look down, expecting to see my long hair lying across my shoulders and down my back, but sadly it is missing. You know, I did try to lift something a while ago and found that it was difficult and that I was very weak…maybe I did lose my strength just like Samson when they cut his hair off…oh wait, no, I remember now, I’ve always been as weak as a 2-year-old…my bad. :-)