After we left for Paris it was impossible to blog (and I had to pay for it in London so I was trying to type really fast and I didn’t have time to edit the way I needed to) so I just stopped blogging. I kept a journal so over the next few days I’m going to be posting from the journal as though we were still in Paris and London. It will be carefully edited because I’m not paying through the nose to use internet; Mom, you won’t have to cringe anymore. You’ll still get the feel of everything we experienced and all that happened on our trip.
Hope you enjoy because we had a marvelous time!
The plan…
Prince Charming
We started the day with an early morning wake-up call (me not being able to go back to sleep and making sure everyone got up on time), a lousy hostel breakfast (warm milk, corn flakes, and toast), and a tube trip to St. Paul’s Cathedral (and the day started looking up!) Oh. My. Gosh. Truly, St. Paul’s is incredible. The dome, and architecture, and the everything. I am completely amazed by this work of art. It is impossible not to be put in a mood of worship within that place.
Then we took off for the Tower of London (didn’t go in) and the Tower Bridge (because it’s pretty) followed by a trip to the British Library. Beowulf was out to rest away from the lights but they did put Sir Gawain and the Green Knight out for me to enjoy; I’m sure they were just thinking of me when they made that selection. Jane Austen’s writing desk was still there – it was good to see her again.
From their we went back to Trafalgar Square to a little cafe I found my last trip here, ordered sandwiches, and took them to the steps of the National Gallery for a picnic. We all went and got Phantom tickets (the other three decided to join Brandon and I) and then split up with Becca, David, and Katie Belle taking off for Harrods and shopping and Brandon and I headed for Egypt, Greece, Assyria, and China via the British Museum. We spent two hours there before running back to the hostel, taking a quick walk through Hyde Park to Kensington Palace and then catching a cab (because when you are in London you really must ride a cab at least once) to go see Phantom! We walked up the street to get a spinach pasty to go and enjoyed that while waiting for the doors to open.
This was the single best Phantom I have ever seen! His voice was perfect; deep, classically trained yes but with an edge that suited the character extremely well. I have never seen nor heard a better Phantom. He was just phenomenal! I cried at the end and again, Christine chose Raoul over the Phantom. Seriously, if she doesn’t want him (as she has proved all six times I have seen the show) then may I please have him?
Tomorrow I am off to Bath, The Cotswolds, and Stonehenge. Just a quick day tour but I am excited to get to see some countryside. Andrew (really nice guy from Scotland we met in the hostel) felt Bath was an excellent choice. Nothing like the approval of a Scotsman to solidify a girl’s plans…just saying.
Much love to everyone back home!
I should know better…
Life lesson of the day: Continetal Breakfasts are not worth it!
Sometime you should ask me about my first trip to Europe and my breakfast experience in Scotland. For those of you who know the story, I just had another one here in the hostel in London. After meeting Andrew in our hostel room last night (a perfectly charming Scotsman down from Inverness) I was thinking this hostel thing might just not be the worst idea I’ve ever had. Alas, breakfast rolled around and I am left once again wondering if maybe I’ve lost my marbles.
If I could impart one thing to the Brits it would be the idea of refrigerated buffets. Still not there so I downed some luke warm OJ and left. I figured a little vitamin C couldn’t be a bad thing. Brandon and I both came back upstairs for a little computer fix and I can only hope the other three will emerge from the dungeon shortly hopefully unscathed by the warm milk and crowds of children. Yes, there are children here but I’m still a little too bitter to comment. I thought we were staying at a hostel where only 18-35 year-old people were allowed. Boo
We are off!
Momma, I made it!
After an exhausting drive to Seattle (it is by God’s grace we made it – thanks for the prayers, Momma!), a restless flight to Atlanta (there were children in the seat behind who were allowed to throw toy cars at the back of my seat through the entire flight), and a sleep filled flight to London (fell asleep an hour outside of Atlanta and woke up an hour and half outside of London - no children in the near vicinity) we arrived. We made it through customs, to Paddington station just fine and found our hostel. We’ve taken advantage of the lovely weather and been to Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster, Trafalgar Square, and Piccadilly Circus.
David and Becca are pretty conscious of the volume of their voices. Becca checks in every once in a while to see if her ”London voice” is quiet enough. They are trying so very hard to respect the culture they are experiencing.
I’ve found a kindred spirit in Brandon. He enjoys all the same things I do so we are spending our day tomorrow together. As a big group we are going to St Paul’s Cathedral, The Tower (to see from the outside, not actually go in)and Tower Bridge, and the British Library. I had to bribe two of them to go to the British Library by telling them there were free bathrooms and water fountains to fill up their water bottles. The other one only wanted to go because there are some Beatles song sheets there. Crush my soul! In one room are some of the greatest treasures of the world’s literature and the draw was free bathrooms. This caused me to launch into a lecture about the tenacity of the human spirit and the very soul of generations before us being captured within these writings. I was unable to change any minds with my impassioned plea. They also refuse to go to the British Museum – citing it as boring and preferring instead to go to Harrods and Oxford Street (a mile an a half of tourist stores and shopping centers). Again, my heart broke a little, but I refrained from a lecture this time. You can only do so much in one day. Brandon is my salvation; as I said, we like all very similar things so we are touring buddies for the week I imagine. He also shows the proper amount of awe when we see cool stuff.
Everyone was going to go to Phantom with us, but then they found out the guy who played Kramer in Seinfeld is in Arsenic and Old Lace and they want to go to that instead. Again, it’s just Brandon for Phantom. Which is fine – West End productions are worth it. I’m glad they are going to a play instead of hitting the bars. Never mind – Becca just looked up Arsenic and it closed March 5th. They’ll probably go see Wicked instead. Doesn’t matter to me – if my tookas is in the West End it is seeing Phantom! Christine dumped him for another man; you won’t find me doing the same thing!
I’m tired, dirty, and in desperate need of a shower. My feet are about ready to walk off my ankles they are so tired. We covered some ground today and Brandon and I are planning on covering a heck of a lot more tomorrow. In addition to the group’s happenings, we are headed to Westminster (we got to see the outside today but Brandon wants to see inside), The British Museum, The National Gallery, The Royal Albert Hall, a walk through Hyde Park, and whatever else our little brains cook up.
The culture shock isn’t huge for everyone because they still here their language as the dominate one. Little things, like how Londoners don’t smile and make eye contact and the fact that there are stairs everywhere are things they are picking up one but they haven’t quite picked up on the fact that the culture is vastly different. I’m not sure if within this week there is enough time for them to see – it takes a while to work through trying to make this culture fit your culture – which is pretty solidly where most of them are right now. It’s fun to watch how they react to things and the lens through which they see the world.
I’m going to close for now, go shower, and write in my journal. Love to everyone back home!
“Him” has now become Carter
In a follow up post to “It has now become him” – “him” has been born. Carter is three weeks old today. Tom and Shareana decided on Carter Maximus Steele Keys for his name. As one of my former RAs said, “That’s a seriously BA name…I wouldn’t mess with a kid who had a name like that.” He’s a little guy but apparently not afraid of voicing his thoughts or opinions on any topic that strikes his fancy.
Spencer is staying with Mom and Dad while I am in Europe and Mom and Dad plan on going up to see Carter in a little over a week. I’ll be interested in Spencer’s take on the little man. It will be the first time Spencer will have to really share his Gran with anyone. I can see Gran holding Carter and Spencer deciding it is his turn and just diving up into Gran’s arms without so much as a glance at the junior human he is trampling. That’s my boy…such a gentleman. Spencer has never really been a fan of children – he’s pretty patient with Leigh (an RD friend’s daughter) but that only lasts for 10 minutes at a time. It should be interesting…
I’m going back…
I’m 48 hours away from driving out of Corvallis headed towards Seattle which will ultimately take me back to the UK for Spring Break. Some friends and I got some truly amazing deals on tickets and we are taking off for Spring Break in Europe. I love the sound of that…slightly decadent, don’t you think? Anyhoo, we are flying over to see the sights as well as catch up with four of our friends who decided to abandon us for study abroad. Here’s the rough itinerary:
Saturday: Leave home for UK
Sunday: Arrive in London and kick off the London 2009 Tour with a trip to the British Museum and Library. I’m not flying thousands of miles and not making a trip to visit Beowulf of Jane Austen’s writing desk…that would be crazy! And since I am going with four people who have never been to London, I figure starting the trip with a tiny Brit Lit lesson followed up by some time spent in the Egyptian section of the British Museum is a good way to kick off our time there.
Monday: Tour London with friends and go see Phantom of the Opera. At least that is what Brandon, Becca, and I are doing. I’m not sure if Sparky and Katie Belle are up for Phantom but I have faith I will be able to convince them.
Tuesday: Some of us are taking day trips outside of London, others are staying in London to see more sights. I’m going to see Stonehenge (could care less), Lacock (Cotswold village where they filmed part of the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice…be still my beating heart) and Bath (where Jane Austen lived for several years…soooo excited).
Wednesday: Chunneling to Paris and hooking up with Aisling who is flying up from Spain to see us. Look out Paris here we come!
Thursday: Hooking up with Kevin and Trevin who are coming up from Angers to see us and more Paris.
Friday: I think Kevin and I are going to Versailles for part of the day and then saying goodbye to Aisling, Kevin, and Trevin and chunneling back to London for one more night and to see Jaimie.
Saturday: Catching a plane to JFK (where I will spend 10 hours of my life in a layover I will never get back) before catching a plane back to Seattle.
Sunday: Arriving home sweet home back in Corvallis and kicking off Spring Term!
We have selected “home-base” locations that provide computer terminals so I will be able to post on my blog on a regular to semi-regular basis and keep you updated on all the fun and fantastic things we are doing and seeing.
Right now I’m concentrating on getting lots of sleep and rest to get over the crud I came down with as well as doing practice runs of packing. I’m committed to taking as few things as possible so I can pack gifts for everyone in my pack and not have to purchase another bag to get things home. I am currently taking 2 pairs of pants, two tops, jammies, extra underclothes, three pair of shoes (one is a shower shoe – because I don’t trust hostel showers), my little baggie of liquid products, a brush and toothbrush and my journal and camera. I have about 1/3 of my backpack full so as it stands everything goes in the carry on with plenty of room to spare.
I’m going to try to go back to sleep for a couple more hours. I went to bed super early last night. It felt deliciously divine to shut the ringer on my phone off and crawl into bed so early.
“It” has now become “him”
Tom (brother) called to tell me Shareana (sister-in-law) had her final ultrasound and officially found out they are having a little boy. I can stop calling the baby bump “It” and transition into official pronouns. It is now him.
Life Choices
The end of October found me sick and wishing I was dead. I came down with what the doctor termed as a “bad cold” but, at the time, I was pretty sure he was lying. I felt like I was suffering from some never before diagnosed plague upon mankind. My throat hurt like it had never hurt before, but to be honest, Mom pointed out I do say that every time I get sick and my throat hurts. Anyway, it just came at a bad time for me to be sick. Hall Council Boot Camp (sounds scarier than it is) fell during the weekend I was home laying on the bathroom floor, hugging the porcelain throne, contemplating my own mortality. I had planned to go to Boot Camp and power through feeling like death warmed over, but as I got out of bed, stood up, and threw up down the front of myself I realized perhaps the best part of judgment would be to stay home in my own special petri dish of germs and disease and not share with an unsuspecting world. On a side note, I am hard pressed to think of anything worse than puking down the front of one’s self and then, after showering, cleaning up one’s own puke off the carpet…this after having to lock one’s dog out of the room because he wanted to play vacuum cleaner. Gross.
Anyhooo…when I went to visit the doctor, he asked a ton of questions to which I wanted to say, “Seriously, I’m just here for the drugs, stop with the questions already.” But guessing that attitude would impress few medical professionals I kept it to myself and answered all his lovely questions. He asked if I was married, if I had kids, if I was a student (yes, I thought these were funky questions too, but I wanted the drugs so I played along) and finally what my job was. After a “no”, an emphatic “no”, and a slightly sad “not any more”, I talked to him about what being an RD means. His response – “You should think about finding a new job.” Followed by telling me I am borderline clinically exhausted and have trained my body to think it doesn’t need things it really needs and as a result I am progressively becoming more and more unhealthy and not even knowing it because I think I am okay. I promised I’d get more sleep until he explained that it wasn’t about sleeping more but about making smart life choices. Yes, sleep was a part of it, but I needed to lose weight (by this time I’d figured out I wasn’t going to get drugs so replied with a somewhat sarcastic, “No, really?!?!”), and in general make choices that lead to me doing things that reduce my stress, and overall lead a balanced lifestyle – which he said, potentially included getting a new job because as far as he could tell that was the main stress in my life. He recommended immediate sweeping changes in my life and rattled off a long list of things I immediately needed to do to become “healthy.” If I have learned anything from my mom (a medical professional) it’s that these people work for me and are not gods, so I told him I thought his advice was wrong. I know myself and sweeping changed don’t work. I won’t be successful and the first time I fail, I’ll feel horrid and won’t want to continue trying. His response – “You need to get over that.” My response to his response – “I can do this on my own – thanks for your time.” So I came home and did what I do best (after more hugging of the porcelain throne) and made a plan. I’m not tackling staying late in the office until next term because I know I won’t be successful at this point in time – this term is about Rolfing (a structural tissue reintegration process designed to reduce pain and give me better posture), thrice weekly trips to Curves, and painting.
Report on my progress thus far…
Rolfing: I went to my first appointment. The only person in Corvallis licensed to do this type of work is a man and the work is supposed to be done while the patient is in a bra and panties. *cough* I don’t hang out in my bra and underwear in front of my dog, I am certainly not going to do so in front of a complete stranger – which is basically what I told him. He asked if I had any tight work out type clothes that were shorts and skin tight top so he could see how my muscles worked with my bones etc. So I created an outfit from sweat pants (which I cut off mid-thigh…Clinton and Stacey would flip) and a pull over tank top that is just too small for me to wear in public. It works for him, I can still be modest and all’s right with the world.
He worked a lot on my arms, shoulders, ribcage and chest trying to open up my breathing and I’ve got to tell you, there is a difference in my posture. I still have to make choices about sitting and standing but just the breathing techniques he gives me to practice have been great min-breaks throughout each of my days.
Curves: Before grad school, I worked out at Curves. It’s nice to be back. This time they have different equipment and holy hannah – you really work on these things! So the deal this time around is they give you a computer chipped card that you pop into each machine on which you work out. This card has measured your personal abilities on each of the machines as a part of the sign up process and takes into consideration your goals both in inches to lose and fat to lose. The machines give you immediate feedback in that if you aren’t working out hard enough an amber light flashes, if you are working out too hard the green light flashes, if you are just right the green light stays steady. It also measures your range of motion so if you try to cheat by not really pushing and pulling your the red light shows you that your range of motion is bad. As you progess through the workouts and meet more and more of your loss goals (which is all measured and stored on the computer) the chip begins to expect more of you in the work out. The repetitions and speed with which I can do the machines is increased so I constantly have feedback and a specialized work out plan. It’s great…I’m continually competing against myself and my goals and targets. I kinda love it. Of course I feel like a puddle of goo when I leave Curves, but about an hour later I feel less like I am going to die and more like life is worth living.
Painting: Before grad school I really enjoyed painting, and by painting I mean slopping fun colors on canvas and moving it around with a brush and no real plan for any final product. I started painting the other night again (first time since I left Bend) and was so happy playing with the colors it was ridiculous. I just had the best time. Spencer ran around the living room dragging Lambie Lamb by his left ear and I happily mixed browns and golds to my little heart’s content. It was utterly divine.
Thus far the life revitalization plan, or the LRP (pronounced lerp) as I like to call it, is going well. I know I need to make choices and changes in order to be a healthier person but I also know that it is going to be a process. I’m not going to change the context in which I have lived for years in a few short days. But I think I’ve made some good first steps.
IKEA…Killer of Relationships
I was recently posed a choice – purchase a TV armoire from Pier One that was completely assembled for $370 or purchase a TV armoire from IKEA that required complete assembly for $310. I opted for the later thinking that the $60 I would save was worth the hour and half to put together the armoire. I should be slapped.
My Mom came down for my birthday weekend and while she multi tasked making 17 bazillion dozen cookies for a program I had and cleaned my apartment (yes, my mom is officially the coolest) I attempted to put together the TV armoire. The directions were semi-clear. When putting something together, I am exacting in following the directions…or I was prior to this little Norwegian excursion. There came a time that the directions became useless because it showed a series of four indentations into which I was supposed to screw the funkiest looking screws ever. Simple right? No! There were three sets of four indentations that looked exactly the same. Turns out, you have to be able to envision the end result and intuit that you are starting to build from the back forward for the directions to truly make sense. When I realized that I had used the wrong set of four indentations not once but twice I got a little edgy. Perhaps an understatement – I turned into a rabid dog intent on ripping to shreds the first thing that unwittingly crossed my path…in my case, my poor mom. Someone knocked on my door and I had decided not to answer (in a complete huff, mind you) and Mom simply asked “What if it’s Katie?” To which I replied (it should be noted that by replied I mean, spoke in the most condescending, clipped, self righteous tone I could possibly take with this woman who had driven all the way to Corvallis to help me celebrate my birthday and had spent the entire day cleaning and making cookies for my residents) “I said I don’t care who it is.” At which point she left the scene of the disastrous daughter and didn’t return. Small wonder – if I could have left me, I would have too. By now I was in hour three of the miserable process that was supposed to take an hour and a half.
Fast forward two hours (yes, you read that correctly) my mother has still not poked her head back into the living room, and why would she? Her daughter had become an unrecognizable, joy destroying monster. Everything was done with the TV armoire save the doors. Each door had two decorative hinges that needed to be screwed in and naturally the screws didn’t want to fit into the pre-drilled holes. They hula danced all over the placed which really, really ticked me off. As in at one point I pushed the door across the room (which while childish and immature to be sure, beat the heck out of drawing an effigy of the CEO of IKEA on the wall and beating it with the door, which is what I really wanted to do). Finally in a royal huff I decided I was done with the doors and I wasn’t going to mess with them because it wasn’t worth it.
I tossed myself on the ground and stretched out the muscles in my shoulders and arms that absolutely ached and told my mom (who had braved the fire-breathing dragon and her lair) I would do the doors later.
Fast forward five weeks. Stop judging…it was a busy five weeks. I have now attempted twice since my re-materialization into a real human being from that of a carnivorous rabid animal to screw the hinges onto the doors. At this point in time I decide the directions be dammed. It’s not going to work and I’m going to find a new way to take care of this crap. So off to Winco I go to find the strongest super glue I possibly can. Home I toddle and in less than five minutes the doors and their hinges are bonded in holy glue-tromony until death do them part. And seriously, when they part it will be the death of the TV armoire because I will take an ax to it. Thus far, I have had no problems but from this excursion into furniture assembly I have learned four important lessons.
1) If you can buy it assembled…do it. Penny pinching just isn’t worth it in this case.
2) Always assemble furniture by yourself. This is to protect your relationship with the ones you love.
3) Short cuts – say glue – are completely acceptable. In fact, these should be looked at as sparkles of genius by everyone.
Finally and most important…
4) I won’t ever put furniture together with Prince Charming. If furniture can’t be bought pre-assembled and delivered or we don’t have the money for it then we don’t need it/it’s not worth it.
Relationships and Ulcers
I’m not married. One day I would like to be married. Until that time comes, I am spending time watching married couples around me like a hawk to take away all the little lessons I possibly can during my single years that will make me a better wife and partner later in life. I’ve learned a lot from the people I spend time watching.
Mom and Dad: Their relationship has, of course, been foundational in how I think about marriage, husband/wife communication, and raising children. It reflects both things I think are good ideas and things I don’t plan on repeating. My Mom always tells my brother and I that we won’t make the same decisions she and dad made – we will make our own. It’s so true. In the past, I think Tom and I have gotten a little high and mighty and think we are going to have better marriages and be better parents (that’s definitely a Tom thing as I plan on not being a parent) because we saw the mistakes our parents made and therefore won’t repeat their mistakes. Having watched my brother in his almost two years of marriage I can see that we aren’t going to make all the same mistakes our parents did (some of them to be sure though) but we are going to make a brand new set of mistakes that belong solely to us.
Which brings me to…
Tom and Shareana: I’ve learned that marriage is a transitional process and that while you are in the middle of the lovey-dovey-mush-and-bilge-water crap of the first few months of your relationship as well as the nitty gritty work of learning how to live together and what give and take truly means, it is important to be cognizant of your relationship with your family. For example, when and if I find Price Charming, I am going to make sure I come home by myself to visit my family on occasion. It’s important to be a big, inclusive family, but it’s also important to recognize that this is a relationship change for the people that have been used to having you all to themselves for however many years and that those relationships need special nurturing through this transition. It’s a balancing act to be sure, but I really think it is important to make sure you are integrating your new other half into the family as well as continuing to build your own individual relationship with your family members which can’t be done if you are connected at the hip 24/7 to the new Mr. and Mrs. Another thing the brother and sister-in-law have affirmed in my mind is the importance of your own individual activities and friends. Is it important to do things together…well, duh. Is it important to spend time together in mutually exciting activities? You betcha! Should every spare moment of free time be spent together, should his friends be my friends and vica versa, and should we never do anything unless we are together? Dear God I hope not because if that is the prerequisite for marriage I am probably going to fail that course.
And then there is…
Gramma and Grampa: When you have been together over 60 years there is most definitely something there to teach younger generations. Gramma gave to Grampa in the first half of their marriage in that she moved all over the world so he could pursue is career in the Army. And now Grampa is giving back to Gramma in that he has let her choose the place and home where they are spending the end of their life right down to the ugly maroon carpet. If approving of and paying for maroon carpeting isn’t love then, friends, I don’t know what is. I think I would prefer to have a more give and take in the moment relationship. I know it worked for Gramma and Grampa but I also know my personality well enough to know that all give for 30 years in exchange for all take in the next 30 years (a slight exaggeration but you get the point) is not going to work for me.
Which makes me think of…
Brad and Kaylene: Didn’t expect to see your name here did you, Kaylene? These two have just recently celebrated their second anniversary so I have been gotten to watch their formative marriage process. I don’t know if I could have constructed a sentence that sounds more clinical and less personal, but given time I probably could. Seriously though, this was an opportunity for me to watch a relationship of my peers form. I watched my brother’s relationship but because I was so close to one half of the relationship I couldn’t really objectively observe. With Brad and Kaylene I have been able to watch as they give and take in their relationship. I love the way that Brad genuinely cared for Kaylene through all the ups and downs of grad school. Friends, there are some serious emotions involved in grad school; my mom had to deal with me most of the time but Brad was helping his new wife. That’s a lot of pressure, but the way he worked with the stress was impressive. There were times when he was firm and told her to just let it go and other times when he was gentle and reassuring and still other times where I am sure he missed the boat completely and his response was less than what Kaylene needed. The point being he tried and I loved that. Perhaps my greatest learning from this couple came, when at the end of the first year of grad school, Brad applied for and got a job in White Salmon, Washington. This necessitated a move for the Herman family to Washington…three hours away from Corvallis. I remember thinking as Kaylene told me Brad had gotten the job, “Wow, that is going to be hard on their marriage. For her to stay in Albany and him to be in Washington. I feel for them.” And then Kaylene told me she was going to move with him and if that meant she didn’t get her Master’s then that is what it meant. I think a tiny part of my brain blew up at that thought. I remember actually being mad at Brad that he would jeopardize her degree that way but Kaylene’s response confused me. She was willing to give up her degree for her family. I knew in my heart what she was doing was the right thing but I also knew there is no way I would have made that choice (probably why the Lord has not sent Prince Charming my way). I have watched over and over how the Lord has blessed that choice – which frankly must have been a really super scary leap off a cliff into oblivion and I am so proud of her. Kaylene has truly set a Godly example for me through how she thinks and works within her marriage.
Last but not least….
IKEA: I find at this point that I am a little too tired to complete this final section but tune in next time to the great relationship wisdom imparted to me by IKEA.
All this watching processing, thinking, and learning…relationships are work, a lot of it. I wonder if they give people ulcers.
