Hark Hark, the end is near

just 1 more week and I get to go home. I was trying to deny the homesickness from which I'm suffering, but I can't do it any longer. I miss home. I miss talking to my friends. I miss eating. I don't really get a lot of food here and am basically hungry all the time. ugh.... and to make matters worse, I can't concentrate on my work. 2 exams next friday. ugh... any way, I doubt I'll be taking many more photos while I'm here. These two are from the other day when I was at Parliament. Once again, we couldn't take pics inside, so I got these shots of Big ben. I thought Big ben was awesome. and Parliament looked sweet. Westminster is huge and this sorta golden color. Really cool. Any way, the first is my favority pic of big ben. I like funny angles. the second is sorta what he actually looks like. Hope any one who is reading likes. I miss you all.

A page of history is worth a volume of logic. Keep your pants zipped and your fountain pen dry

I'm not sure there is anything I can say that is greater than that picture. I found this sign the other day while walking around, but have yet to have seen any humped zebra. What the hell?!?! I mean, that's like holding an ice cream cone in front of a child. Cruel, man cruel. call me crazy, but I'd rather heat up pop tarts than be human. Today we are going to parliament. I actually saw parliament a few days ago when I went to london, but didn't go in. But today we get a tour and a lecture and stuff. So that should be pretty sweet. Big ben was pretty impressive to me. and the parliament building looks very cool. But yesterday I went out a little bit with like a ton of people from the program. It was fun. Nothing special, but fun. Tho, I did drink a bad beer that's sitting in my stomach like a rock. No more bad beer. I've put the kaibosh on that. an interesting side note. I've noticed that I've been doing Kevin-style hand gestures a lot recently. But just in Oxford. I think my Oxford persona that I've created tells stole his story telling style from Kevin. What is also funny is that Kevin's hand gestures are actually an amalgam of his own inherant actions and those of air quotes guy. So I'm like one generation on hand gestures away from air quotes guy. Next thing you know, Andrew is going to start air quoting. Watch out world, it's spreading like a disease. and watch out for humped zebra attacks. They are viscious bastards.

Everyone loves a good doughnut

Yesterday I went into London with this guy Asim from program. He is actually one of our Canadians on the trip, but he goes to case, lives on Cleveland, and thus is instantly on my good side. Soooo, yeah, we went to London, met a few people he new, had lunch, wandered around, then grabbed a tour bus and road for a few hours. I'll have pics of that later, tho I must admist that must of my pic came out kinda crappy. but I say, you try to take pictures while moving and listening to a guide named Ricky and sitting next to someone much taller than you. Anyway, after the ride, we went to Harrods, the world famous extradordinarly expenseive department store. It was AWESOME!!! They honestly had anything you would ever want to buy, but at amazing cost. You could shop for laundry detergent and diapers there. or Multiple-thousand dollar suits. or Krispy Kremes!!!!! When I saw this, I nearly peed myself. I mean, how awesome is that???? A freaking Krispy Kreme store right inside Harrods. Right near the Mega-huge cheese counter and the mega-huge fresh fish display (more on that later). Because after I spend gobs and gobs of money, I need to slam home a good old fashioned american doughnut. Or perhaps the traditional pre-buy doughnut. At one point we passed buy some Muslim women wearing those dresses that cover them from head-to-toe. (I'm sorry, I don't know what they are called, but I'm working on it right now. If you know, drop me a line). And I said to Asim that I think we just passed INCREDIBLE WEALTH. Everything about them screamed money, from the way they carried themselves to the little jewlery on their dresses. Awesome. Today, however, I'm stuck inside doing school work. Oh well. that's most of the rest of my trip... double oh well.

Paak the Caaa in the Haaavad Yaaaaad

So this is a picture of John Harvard's house. The guy who founded the university. or at least who it is named after. I was told that I couldn't miss it. Sure enough, the Stars and Bars hanging outside tipped me off. But in fact I did walk by it once. Right under the flag in fact. Its rather small and unassuming, you see, and right next to a pub... so I was fooled. Any way, this is from Stratford-upon-Avon as well. Avon, I've been told, is saxon for river. So what the hell is Avon Lake then? Any way, today has been rather unintersting. two cool things happened, tho. Sadly I didn't get a picture of either. First, there was a guy in the middle of towne who wrapped himself in a straight jacket and chains and got out. Pretty fast too. That was cool. Second, there was some Bollywood movie being filmed that we spied on. Cool as well. But tomorrow I'm going into London, so that should be extra cool. I'm pretty excited. And will be taking my camera, so hopefully I will return with many good pics. nice.

Where for art thou???

So I think I have fixed the problem with my comments... they should all be posted, and posting now. Great to hear from everyone. And I apologize. aparently you do read.... awwwww...

so the other day we went to Stratford-on-Avon to see Romeo and Juliet by the Royal Shakespeare Company. It was really cool. The picture above is of Shakespeare's birth-house. I thougth it was pretty neat, except for the guy walking acorss the frame. CURSE YOU!!! any way, what made it even better was the picture below.
that is a Christmas themed store immediatly opposite Shakespeare's house. You see, Stratford is like mega touristy. So Shakespeare's house was like in the middle of a bunch of fudge shops and ice cream parlors. and a subway was about two stores down (that 's the sandwich place, not th e mode of transportation). Still, it was cool . I wandered around for like 2 hours, got lost, found out that almost everything closes at 6, then went to see the play.The picture above is of Shakespeare's grave. It is in a church, right by the Altar of Thomas a Beckett. The play itself was really good. The actors fought by tap dancing and with sticks. A lot of people would have preferred swords and other pointy things, but I liked it. Ugh. It is crazy hot here. Tomorrow is supposed to get up near 100. Ugh... Normally I don't complain about the heat, but I just can stop it.

Party like its 1789

So the other day (July 14) was Bastille Day, and I got to hang out with a bunch of french guys, 2 polish guys, and at least a few English guys (and a lone girl) to celebrate. They all work at St. Anne's for the summer and are all awesome!!! you guys rule! Charles invited me. He's the guy to the left with the white shirt on and the all too serious look on his face. I had a great time. Thanks everyone!!!! The pic above is on of the largest 'henges in the world. Yup, Stonehenge. And I thought it was pretty cool. I took a ton of pics (and I will probably put a few more up tomorrow or some time soon), but this was my favorite. I took it from ground level and at a good distance. Sadly, we were not allowed in the circle of stones. That would have been really cool. And there were lots and lots of people. Stonehenge has that feel like you should be there only at dusk or dawn, totally silent, and with only a few mates (as they say here). But oh well. The rocks are really big. Many tons of stone. And the Druids, complete with long white beards (early transvestites, I've heard) held the ocassional human sacrifice over there. NEAT-O!!!! Any hoo, now I'm totally exhausted and don't have it in me to do... any... thing... else. I've had my fun, I've stretched and yawned and all is said and done I'm going to bed!!!!

Run run pass PUNT

This here is a punt. It is a flat bottomed boat that you sorta push along the river with that stick thing the guy in the back has. I haven't been punting, but I'm told that it is the THING TO DO in Oxford. To be honest, I dont really care about punting. Me and boats are not necessarily friends. I don't like them, mainly because I don't let getting wet too much. but whatever. I may still do it. So the weekend is here and I'm trying to figure out what to do. Last night I hung out with a bunch of French guys for Bastille day. That was pretty cool. But we barely spoke each other's languages. So communication was, to put it mildly, difficult. Still, it was fun. I have a picture of the event, and I may post it, but I'm not totally convinced that it was entirely kosher for me to be hanging out with them. I mean, it was okay for me.... but for them, I was kinda scared that they could get in trouble. Not that anyone would be reading this blog, but ya know.... Any way, its funny how many stereotypes they have about Americans. They kept asking me things, like if we all drink a lot of Coke. And were suprised to hear that I was against the war. Sad... any hoo.... Gotta do something.... taaa

Mea Culpa

So first things first. I have to issue a public apology. The other day I totally misspelled Damaris' name on my blog. She is one of the Swiss girls I met at the hostel. Being a stupid American, I thought her name was Damarishu, but as it turns out, "hu" is her last name. Alas, I screwed up. Mea culpa. any way, today i proved just how much of a loser i truly am. I went to a chinese language film in oxford, mainly because it isn't comming out in the states until september and I wanted to be all sweet and see it way before anyone else. So there... I did it. and i'm not ashamed. Then, I went to coffee republic and drank some americano (lots of places don't even have brewed coffee avaliable), did my reading for EU, and took some pics. here's me staring in their latest ad campaign. at least, that's what it should be. I was thinking about photoshopping this pic and seeing if I could screw with this one... truth be told tho, I love the pic. I love my camera..... thanks Santa (mom).... but not a hole lot interesting other than that. We had a lecture about the conservative party in england who aparently is trying to jack votes from the left. weird... at least you can be sure in the US that el presidente will never try to get the greens in his pocket..... any hoo... should do some work then maybe I'll walk around (as with most nights).... By the way, anyone stopping by should leave a comment. I check several times a day if anyone has written anything, but recently, nothing.... soooo lemme know what you think.... please... :(

Feel the rhythm with your hands

While I've been here I've been taking pictures of the sweet cars I've seen. A couple of days ago I saw a Ferrari, but it was moving and I didn't get a chance to snap the shot. Now, of course, a mazda RX8 is really not all that special. But check out that license plate! I was slightly scared that some big thuggish guy would beat the crap out of me because this was like a drug dealer's car or something, but I took the risk. And god is it awesome!!! I went wondering thru the major retail world that is much of Oxford. At first I was suprised at the tons of shopping, but now, not so much. I was suprised at how touristy everything is, but I've gotten used to it by now. And, its kinda cool to have centuries old buildings juxtaposed with malls and stuff. Today, however, I hope to come back with better pics than from yesterday's walk. I went into a pub yesterday called the lamb and the flag. I hoped to get a pint and a few pics. but after 2 minutes of standing at the bar with no bartender in sight, i realized how lame I feel getting a drink by myself...so i left. today I hope for better... we shall see

When the gas runs out just wreck it, you insured the thing

Well.... what to write about today? Nothing really has happened today. I had class for the first time in what feels like about a month. I'm starting to get the feel that a bunch of people are already sick of each other. (Secret... it could be just me. There is an extremely long and arduous qualification procedure you must go thru to be my friend. and one of the hardest parts is figuring out when you've actually passed. actually, knowing could be passing... but I'll never tell... because that would be contrary to the procedure.) Whoooooboy, where did that come from? Any hoo... so I spent most of the day inside dealing with EU law and professional responsibility. Sadly, today is probably the nicest day since we got here. any way, then I went out to the park and finally walked downtown to read jPod a bit. I sat under this statute that I was going to photograph, but my camera battery died. I swear, it has a life of around 20 pics. Oh well... it smelled like pee where I was sitting so I didn't stay long. Today's pic is from the Bodlien library. I went there yesterday in the rain. Its like a castle. This sculpture was way high up on one wall and I couldn't get a good angle on it lest I be out in the rain, but I did my best and it looks decent. No plans for tonight yet. I have some work I'd like to do, but I think I may end up breaking my personal rule of not going out to drink on my own. There are a couple of places that I really want to go... pub sorta places..... and i'm not willing to wait for people any longer. I also really want to try Pimm's. Aparently its like alcoholic ginger ale.... sounds sweet. So I feel bad that I forgot to mention the names of the two pre-laws that I drank with the other day. Actually, I drank, they hung out. Anyway, it wasn't really forgetting, but I hate screwing up the spelling of people's names (seeing as how often people write my name 'Steven.') Either way, since I'm way to shy to ask them now, I'll just take my best shot. From left to right Devon and Kayla (and me). That's my best shot.... Now you all can say hi to them and if you are incorrect in spelling, blame me.... my bad, as the kids say.... there has been some serious babbeling in this post..... .w00t woot \/\/ 0 0 7. but hey, i've got personality. personality goes a long way. May a moody baby doom a yam!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What does the city have to offer me... I just can't see

I had to post this picture. I saw this dude playing out on the street today and he was freaking awesome. I mean, check it out. He was playing a Didgeriddo, a djembe, a foot drum and a stringed instrument all at the same time. And he was like amazing. amazing. If you're reading this Oxford Instrument Dude... you rule. way way way better than the two dudes playing good riddence a little down the road. Didn't anyone tell them that you only play that song at parties to prove you can play the guitar and to pick up drunk chicks? guess not. Shortly there after, it started to rain. a steady, slow, and sorta obnoxious rain. Aparently, this part of England was angry at being compared to San Diego earlier. and to prove me wrong, it never got nice. oh well. at least this guy was awesome. you are going to reseda to make love to a model from ohio you don't even know. whoops... lost my train of thought. fortunately, no one is actually reading this, so I can pretty much write whatever I want. uh zoom zip and I wake up. Tomorrow I actually have class. It has been a while. damn class.... gets in the way. beating me down like a rain storm, i need to feel it what the rain starts comming on. i know the skin is a jealous skin. i know the sky is its competition... Even if no one is reading this, I still like documenting my trip. and i like on line representation... it makes me feel like i'm real, like my non-adventures in oxford are way more adventurous than they actually are. because they are happening. I'm not just sitting in my room writing my blog. see. I can't fake that picture stuff. I mean, i suppose I could, but I'm not.... that and I write something, and it becomes part of the inter-net-ther. It is a little mark of me....lost in a crowd, maybe, but still there. and I say, little sister don't you do as you're big sister does...

England is a lot like San Diego

In San Diego, when I was there a couple years ago, they suffer from something called the "june gloom." Aparently, from like mid may thru june, it is cloudy a lot there because the heat from the deserts suck clouds off of the ocean and onto the land. We noticed that it would spend most of the early part of the day kinda gross looking and then clear up by the afternoon. Its just like that here, but not as hot. And not filled with Californians (who are sorta their own breed, ya know). Here, the mornings seem to start out cold and rainy and then it has been getting nicer in the afternoon. Actually, its not rainy so much as it is spritzing. Like the heavens are misting me with a spray bottle. Today I haven't really done anything yet. I walked into towne, got some coffee, and read EU law stuff for a few hours. To be truthful, I dont feel so good. I haven't been eating so great since I got here, and its catching up with me. I can only handle so many potatoes before my insides revolt. But I plan to suck it up and go back into towne later and maybe check out the Bodlein, or something else. I haven't really decided. Any way, the pic from this post is of a knight templar thing on the floor of Middle Temple church. If you pay attention in the Da Vinci Code movie, you can see these guys lying on the ground. It was difficult getting good shots of them because they were approximatly life sized, on the ground, and I couldn't get a good angle. To take this one, I was leaning way back up against a pillar. But I like how it came out.... it's an odd angle. I also took it without flash, because I didn't like the reflection off of the stone. Which means that the shutter speed was really slow. Thus, its a little fuzzy... but again, I don't mind so much.... ehh... any way.... lunch soon. BTW, the pic below is a close up of a different templar. It looks to me like this guy has a 'stash. nice.

Snotty beamed me twice last night. It was wonderful...

So I just realized that I have made two spaceball references on this blog in the past week. ahhhh.... beautiful geek-i-ness. I am also a sometimes moderator over at slashdot. I love being a geek. Any way, I felt the need to blog again today because of the pics I have. The first is the memorial at Runnymede honoring the signing of the Magna Carta. If you don't know, that was when, in 1215, law as we know it today basically began. Out in the field somewhere in England. Some field that made me dream of angry scots running to go smite some evil imperialistic english. sigh...

Picture two is of Windsor castle. I kept saying Westminster all day, knowing full well that it wasn't Westminster at all. But whatever. I think my problem is that all I can think of when you say windsor is 19 year old american's drinking and gambling. forgive me. Any way, I'm pretty happy with how it came out, even tho you can't really see everything there. But I like the pretty clouds. ahhh... clouds. one looks like a pig with a long snout, dontchathink
And finally, a picture of capatilism. That's right, Windsor Royal Shopping. Nice. Where is the best place to put a mall??? Right down the hill from a castle. I imagine the queen herself must go and try on jeans and handbags and stylish belts and other assorted overpriced stuff. I tried on a pair of jeans there and they fit all funny. In fact, they fit like girls pants. Big ass, short inseam. huh??? maybe guys in england are built like girls. or maybe the helper lady just gave me a pair of girls jeans. Or maybe I'm supposed to have an ass, but I don't.... hrmmmmm... interesting query. Whatever the case, this little mall sorta is right below the castle. Where a siege was held, once long ago, perhaps. And instead of barbaric hordes flinging heavy things at the castle walls, barbaric hordes of shoppers now search for things they don't need. I love capitalism. ahhhh.... :-p

Hoo boy

Well, I've been away for a bit, but with a sorta excuse this time. On friday we went to Middle temple and then yesterday we went to windsor castle. And on Thursday night I actually went out to the Eagle and the Child (finally) and drank a beer with some pre-law students. There are two programs from OSU here: us, the law students... and like maybe 30 pre-law undergrads. They seem pretty cool (especially the ones who let me drink with them), but there is an odd rift between the two groups. So I'd like to bridge the gap. Or at least, for the gap to be bridged. First, tho, this pic from Windor. I figured that since I was doing the most touristy thing I could do there, I may as well make as much of it as possible... hence the face. It's funny, no? The bag in my hand is my sac lunch for the day. I carried that thing for like 3 hours. It had a kit kat in it. Kit Kat's are so much better here than in the states. the chocolate is like a billion times better. honestly. Any way, The castle was pretty cool, but we couldn't take any pictures inside any where, so I don't have that much from the trip other than some outside stuff. I also have a few shots from middle temple church, but they wouldnt let us take pictures inside the law office part until after lunch, and at that point we had to go any way.... so no pictures of me and my fellow Ohio Staters dinning at the high table (that was made from a single oak tree, cut into four slabs, something like 500 years ago... its was sweet... 29 feet long... royalty had dined there). Any way, today should be slow... its cold and rainy out..... But I'm going to walk into towne nonetheless and see what's up.... maybe visit ye olde borders. I can't seem to stay away... :) Any way, to complete this post, I decided to post my pic with the pre-laws. I think that I scared them a little with my rapid fire questions and theories on life. I kinda like scaring people... I more than kinda like it... teee heee... but they were cool. And put up with me for like 1.5 hours... which is worthy of praise.
God... that picture is awesome! I hadn't looked at it until just now, and it totally looks like it was taken in a cheap-o picture boothe at like a carnival or something. Rock on!!!!

Dunno

Nothing happened today. It rained all morning, got nice around dinner, and then I went out for a walk. Thants about it. The picture is from a couple days ago. This Purple turtle place is kinda nuts. First, its down this way shady alley. Second, it is like a basement. and the arches in the celing are so low that I had to duck when I went in. Then the place went back for about forever. We never reached the end. Evidently it is some sorta student hang out. ehhhh... Didn't stay long because I had class the next day, but I suspect I will be back. Either way, you may have noticed that there is an american flag in the top right of the pic. Yup, it was 4th of July, and even the Brits were celebrating. Or at least the Purple Turtle thought they could get American money. Probably the later. Any way, tomorrow I go to middle temple and hopefully I will return with all kinds of sweet photos. Night.

the old man is snoring...

The weather finally broke today and it is raining. I kinda like it. I bitch alot about the rain in cleveland, but a lot of times I don't really mind it. just when its been raining for like all month.... with no sun except that nasty grey, yellow sky and gross humidity. ewwwww... Here, not so humid. but the rain is just a steady drizzle. that's not too bad. I don't mind walking in rain anyway, and the drizzle even less so.
So this time's pic is of these two Swiss girls I met at the hostel I where I stayed for one night. They sat out on the porch place near me. Aparently they were nursing students in Switzerland which is a post-high school programme. And they both spoke many more langauges than I did. Apparently Swiss german is like way different than german germanWe chatted for a bit with this guy who was a prof at some school in NJ... he didn't really elaborate too much on that. In fact, I saw him at the pub last night, and I mentioned that I never learned his name, and he didn't really tell me that either. But the hostel itself was pretty fun.... I really just sat outside and read the Watchmen (someone tell Dave that I'm finished and I liked it and a movie could be good, but they would only screw it up something aweful). And there was like a huge contingency of Aussie's. you can see one of them in the back of the pic. And I was up most of the night because of some club that was bump-bump-bumpin till the wee hours. oh well. yeah... say hi to Damarishu and Barbara (sorry about the red eye)...

...it's ludicrously tasty

Crunchy Nut was described to me this morning at breakfast as cereal crack. So, obviously I had to try it. And you know what? It's pretty damn good. I don't know if its Oatmeal squares or reese's puffs, but its pretty good. ludicrously tasty, even. I wonder if when it flys overhead, it produces a plaid pattern? hrm..... any way, last night I went out. I was hoping to watch some of the game, but no such luck. Actually, the going out part was a bit of a fiasco at time because some drama led to a schism amongst the people (I was not included in this split, but I ended up migrating to one side.). SO I don't have any pics of the whole group. I tried to take a couple, but they came out crappy. No where near as good as my one action shot of my classmates back in Washington DC. That was great. I remeber the pic perfectly. ahhhhh... Any hoo, more pics later maybe.... now, back to professional responsibility.

Captain America

So today is the 4th of July. I almost totally forgot. But aparently dinner is some sort of bar-b-que for our american sake. as if most of us didn't intentionally flee the country. well, I fled.... so I assume that everyone was with me on that one. We have a Canadian or two on this program, and that is extra fun.. honestly. Because we get to make canada jokes and self-deprecating american jokes at the same time. Honestly, its all a hoot, as they say. Any way, you may have noticed that my pic this time around is Borders, Oxford. Note the doors being open. That's because there is no air condiditon. or if there is, it is extremely crappy. Most places around here have no A/C, which is okay for me, but its still pretty hot right now. You may also notice about the Borders that it is like EXACTLY like any other borders. Exactly. even the prices are like exactly the same.... except in pounds. so a $9.99 CD at home costs 9.99 pounds (or like almost twice as much, in reality.). But there are two major differences. at least two. One, its is way nice inside. All the displays are filled. Nothing is really a mess... things seem to be in order, from my casual audit. and 2, they had a starbucks. not SBC bullshit, but a regular starbucks.... curiouser and curiouser. oh well, more to come later. back to eu law

you gotta know what a crumpet is before you can understand cricket

so we had a lecture today about the history of Oxford University by this guy who was 89 years old. Holy crap that was cool I mean, the lecture itself was okay. It has been pretty damn hot here recently (about 30C--that's about 85F) and being cramped up together was not so fun. but whatever. Any hoo.... I took a walk today thru this park sorta thing and saw a real live organized cricket match going on. I watched for a couple minutes, but of course didn't really know what was going on. Still, it was amusing. I especially like the suits that these guys put on before playing. and the huge bats. The pic isn't that great, but I was scared to get too close. I mean, its a lot like playing baseball with an oar as a bad and a bocce ball as the ball.... getting closer than absolutly necessary sounds like a bad idea to me... hrmmm.... any hoo, I think I'm going to walk around the city some... perhaps I'll return with more pictures.

A little something for Kevin

for some reason I though Kevin (or Maybe John, who is definately not checking this blog) would get a kick out of this picture. It is the Oxford University Press (closed to the public, by the way). that guy in the middle wouldn't get out of the way, so pretend that he is there intentionally to give the picture scale. yeah.... any way, I had to post it...

A little more for today.

that there is 1 Bevington. or Bev 1, as they call it. That's my house for the neext few weeks. my room is crappy, so no need to show you pics of that. actually, my house is on the right, bev 2 is on the left. see the dividing line? yeah... well, i walked around a bit again today (forgot the camera this time), and discovered a place called the eagle and the child. It is a pub that was evidently frequented by cs lewis and jrr tolkien. I didn't go in... I generaly don't go drinking by myself. but I plan to. just for the history factor of it. cause that's sweet. oh yeah, check this out.


That's a freaking LOTUS that I saw on the street. Its way smaller than I expected. and totally rad. yeah...

Day 3, post 1

Had some problems with getting the internet in my room, so here is my first blogger post. I posted a few times over on my myspace account, which you could go read, but I'm not going to put the link on right now. Any hoo, I should be putting some pictures up here soon... today is a tester picture. should be good. I hope. But not too much is going on. I've been reading a lot today because I have a bunch for my EU law class. my other class doesnt meet at all until next week, so no need to worry about that. And did I mention that I had class today, sunday. that's evil. pure evil. I would throw a swear word in there, but I'm keeping this one pg-13 in case my mom decides to check it. for the adult version, go to my myspace blog.

btw, the pic is me bored and waiting for my plane in cleveland. real europe pics should be comming later, but I thought this was a good intro....

and please, post comments/observations/just letting me know that you stopped bys.... because I want to hear from my friends.... tee hee.

but back to EU law.... fun fun