New Thing # 42

Date:- 26th November 2009
New Thing:- Thanksgiving in America

I've celebrated Thanksgiving before. Jen and I had a highly successful celebration with Luke and Bryan a few years ago. And chances are that we'll do it again. However, this was the first time I celebrated Thanksgiving in America, with Americans. I went to my friend Marnie's (she's the one who fed me the moose steak. She and her husband Del invited me in with open arms and I spent the day with them, Marnie's sister Karen and her two teenage kids Kate and George - who are very cool, and Marnie and Del's daughter Mariah, her husband Christopher and their absolutely beautiful little kids Hannah and Andrew.

It was a great day. When I arrived I watched the Macy's parade on the television, which is traditional. We had delicious food, including cranberry sauce straight from the can - it was sliced! After dinner Christopher took on the role of uncle who falls asleep and snores in the living room. It was a great day!

New Thing # 41

Date:- 21st November 2009
New Thing:- Hold a human brain

Now, I could have chosen "going to the Bodies exhibit" as my new thing, but it's much more fun to have that I held a human brain. I wrote about the exhibit in this blog, but here's a bit more and some pictures too.

It (the brain) was really heavy, but the guy said it was cos of the preservation technique. That they'd basically turned it into plastic. It took a while for my brain to realise that I wasn't just holding another model of a brain, that this one came from a real person and that it was a real brain. Then I nearly dropped it. It was very cool and very gross and very fascinating all at the same time. I couldn't help but think about all the thoughts that had gone through that brain, about all the memories in there.

We weren't allowed to take photos, but here's a picture of a random brain....



And here are a few more pictures...

New Thing # 40

Date:- 21st November 2009
New Thing:- See the Blue Man Group

Again, I've already written about this here, but it was a new thing, so it counts.

I SAW THE BLUE MAN GROUP!! They absolutely rocked. I had soooo much fun.





And this is a wad of the paper from the spectacular finale.



I've been to the theater a million times, but this one had a special significance because my darling Neil brought the ticket for my birthday present. Of course, he needed prompting, but I don't mind that. Thank you again handsome!

New Thing # 39

Date:- 19th November 2009
New Thing:- Visit Boston

I won't go into too much detail about this, because I've already written about my trip here, but I've never been to Boston, so it was a new thing. It was quite possibly my least favourite new thing of the lot. Being groped, mugged and being in a crash do not add up to a good experience in a new city. Having Sideshow Bob as your landlord is kinda cool though.



It's very blurry, but if you look you can see that the hostel was run by one Robert Terwilliger. SIDESHOW BOB!!!!

Awesome things

Somewhere on my internet travels I came across a blog called 1000 Awesome Things, where the guy counts down 1000 things that he thinks are awesome. Fairly obvious really. But it is very cool. Reading through it you find yourself chuckling and nodding your head in agreement and being amazed because you thought you were the only weirdo who found that cool. He's only down to number 625 at the moment, but here are the things I've agreed with so far. Some of them are links to the guys explanation of them. Actually, I think it might be a girl.

- finding money you didn't even know you lost
- the smell of gasoline
- wearing underwear just out of the dryer
- picking your nose
- illegal naps
- sleeping in new bed sheets
- sneezing three or more times in a row
- using rock-paper-scissors to settle anything
- being the first person into a really crowded movie theater and getting the prime seats
- planning for snoozes
- when cashiers open up new check-out lanes at the grocery store
- rain hair
- the smell of rain on a hot sidewalk
- using Q-tips the way you're not supposed to use them
- a really cold glass of water on a really hot day
- finally getting out a piece of popcorn that's been stuck in your teeth all day
- the first scoop out of a jar of peanut butter
- the sound of scissors cutting construction paper
- when you're really tired and about to fall asleep and someone throws a blanket on you
- snow days
- peeling an orange in one shot
- bakery air
- hanging your hand out the window of a car
- getting something with actual handwriting on it in the mail
- the smell of frying onions
- roasting the perfect marshmallow
- picking scabs
- paying for something with exact change
- the sound of a solid crack from a good break in billiards
- taking your shoes and socks off after a really long day
- taking off your bra after wearing it for hours
- the smell and sound of a campfire
- the five second rule
- the other side of the pillow
- old, classic board games
- absolute perfect silence
- when your microwave pops microwave popcorn perfectly
- pushing those little buttons on the soft drink cup lid
- the smell of freshly cut grass
- popping bubble wrap
- remembering what movie that guy is from
- doing something half-assed at the last minute and getting away with it
- finding the tv remote after looking forever
- the smell of crayons
- that one really good pen that never gets lost
- the sound of rain from inside the tent
- watching something download really fast
- putting potato chips on a sandwich
- reading the nutritional label and eating it anyway
- getting into a bed with clean sheets after shaving your legs
- watching your odometer click over a major milestone
- when you arrive at a bus stop just as the bus is coming around the corner
- getting the booth side of a restaurant table
- celebrating your pet's birthday even though they have no idea what's goig on
- getting the last piece of sleep out of your eye
- dangling your feet in water
- the smell of play-doh
- sleeping with one leg under the covers and one leg out
- the final seconds of untangling a really big knot
- placing the last piece of the puzzle
- waking up to the smell of sizzling bacon
- emptying the recycling bin on your computer
- a long hug when you really need it
- taking the price tag off in one clean peel
- when you open your cell phone and there are a bunch of text messages waiting
- turning off all the lights during a thunderstorm
- when the person scratching your back finds that one really itchy spot
- screaming at characters in movies to do things
- sneaking cheaper candy into the movie theater
- vacuuming a dirty carpet and hearing all the tiny rocks going through the hose
- when the plane suddenly speeds up on the runway
- peeling that thin plastic film off new electronics
- the sound of steaks hitting a hot grill
- peeling your socks off under the sheets

And here are a couple of my own submissions...

- when you place a piece in Tetris that clears the whole screen
- the smell of old books
- having a fresh blank clean new notebook
- smell of freshly ironed clothes, especially ones that you haven't had to iron yourself

There will be more

Things I miss, and things I will miss

THINGS I MISS FROM ENGLAND

milkshakes
crunchie bars
Neil's arms
Jen's smell
Michaela's grin
Mum's cooking
caffe nero
my stash
stitch and bitch
my Brownies
my bed

THINGS I WILL MISS WHEN I LEAVE AMERICA

grape juice
Branden
barnes and noble
hulu
the accents
twizzlers
hershey's

Boston and New York - part three

Sunday was a bust. I woke up feeling really ill, and my fat issues had progressed to the point where it hurt like hell every time I moved. And while I'm a fan of pain in the right situations, this was not the right situation. So, despite feeling guilty for wasting a day in New York, I stayed in and rested. I had to go to the lobby and recheck in for the night, so while I was downstairs I went to the computer rooms and used all my single dollar bills on the internet machines. Lots of websites to check up on. After that I went back up to the dorm and spent the day alternately sleeping, reading, stitching and sitting in the windowsill people watching. What a waste.

Monday I woke up feeling better, and the fat issue had started to subside, which is just as well because I had a bus to catch and even if I'd been in excruciating pain I'd still have had to move. I caught the Megabus from New York, which was late. It got stuck in traffic, and decided to stop randomly outside a toll booth somewhere, making us even later, which meant that I missed my connection in Boston. This connection would have gotten me back to Maine at 8.15pm, with plenty of time to catch a public bus to Portland town center and another public bus to the Portland USM campus in time to get the last free shuttle bus at 10pm back to the Gorham campus where I live. Except that the bus was late, and I missed that nice handy connection.

The next bus from Boston would get me to Maine at 9.15pm. Not enough time for the barely-there public transportation system to get me to the campus in time for the last shuttle bus. After working this out I sat silently for a minute, with the word "crap" resounding in my head. I thought about it. It wasn't too bad. I could sit in the student center watching my shows on the computers all night until the first shuttle bus on the Tuesday. But wait, did they leave the student center open 24 hours? OH CRAP.

What to do, what to do? I have no cell phone, and I hadn't taken my laptop. No way to contact any of the people I know who have cars. Bloody wonderful. Cue panic. I had a mild panic attack in Boston South Station. I really didn't want to spend 10 hours sat in the cold on a bench outside the student center. Not my idea of fun.

Now, I've lived alone for a decade, and I've always considered myself fairly independent and capable of taking care of myself - sort of. I'm not. Not at all. I take it back. I'm very very dependent. I couldn't do anything without Neil's help. Yep, I went running to Neil again. I dug $5 in dimes and nickels out of my bag because it's all I had left and brought an international calling card from a vendor in the station. Was NOT happy about the all the change. I used the calling card to ring my darling Neil's cell phone and hope he was awake. This is about midnight English time. No answer. I left a message on his answerphone explaining the situation and begging him to transfer some money into my bank account so I could get a taxi from the Portland bus depo to the Portland campus. I explained it all in a hurried and rushed voice, hung up, then promptly burst into tears. Right in Boston South Station. Have I mentioned that I do not like Boston?

I tried Neil again five minutes later. Still no answer. I believe the message I left him that time was mostly sobbing. I tried again in another five minutes and the wonderful darling perfect amazing man answered. He'd transferred me the money. So I had the cash and got the taxi and got to Portland in time to get the shuttle bus and made it home safe and sound and exhausted. I really don't know what I'd do or where I'd be without him. He's so good to me.

It was a long and exhausting weekend, but I had a good trip. Despite horrible Boston and sick days and panic attacks, I really enjoyed myself and I'm very glad I went. A little disappointed that I didn't get to do some of the things I'd planned. I never made it to Mood, or to the Garment District, and I never took my ride on the Staten Island ferry, and I never made my trip to a certain jewellers in honor of my darling best friend, and I never made it to the zoo, and I never made it to the natural history museum and all kinds of other things I'd had planned. But New York is not going anywhere, and neither are all the things I missed out on. I WILL be back. I just might not go through Boston next time.

Boston and New York - the pictures

All of the pictures I took can be seen on Facebook, these are just my favourites.

Boston and New York - part two

Today has been incredible. I'm utterly exhausted, but I've had a brilliant day. Starting off with getting lost, and having to take seven trains to go two stops, but that's okay. I like to people watch.

I SAW THE BLUE MAN GROUP!! The theatre was not so impressive. Very small, seats so tiny my ass is still bruised. But the show!! The show was magnificent. The Blue Men are so very cool. They don't speak, and they keep mostly straight faces, but they manage to show so much curiousity and passion and love and friendship and entertainment with their glances at one another. They did the famed paint drumming, and then some paint spitting, and various little bits and pieces that were all just so hilarious I can't begin to describe them. YOU MUST GO AND SEE THE BLUE MEN. BLUE MEN RULE!!! I wish to God I'd brought that DVD they had on sale. Very very very very very funny. And it had what is officially the best finale of all time. They switched on blacklights, and covered the audience in what was essentially toilet paper. Lots and lots of toilet paper. Rolls and rolls of the stuff. They fed it down from the back, and from the ceiling. And they had luminescent tubes of plastic swinging around, and there was strobe lighting and black lights and flashing and drumming and clapping and feet stamping and just general brilliantness. I can't rave about these guys enough. They were absolutely incredible. Side note to say thank you soooooo much to my darling Neil for buying me the ticket as a birthday present. I love you!!

After that I went for a wander around some shops and found a gorgeous one called Papyrus. Sells what it says on the tin. Paper. Mostly cards and notesets and things. They had some delicious journals. I picked one up and fell in love with it. It was thick and leather and a dark dark red with gold sketching and smooth soft paper and it smelt so good. And I knew it was going to be expensive, but I decided I'd splash out and buy myself a lovely gift. Until I saw the price. $80 is a little out of my price range for a journal I'm afraid. But it hurt to put it back on the shelf.

Next stop - The Bodies Exhibit. You know that Dr Gunther guy who did autopsies on the TV and has exhibitions of bodies and things? Well it's not by him (or endorsed or associated with in any way - according to the signs) but it's that kind of thing. Look it up. It's brilliant. I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it, and I'm still not sure whether I did or not, but it was certainly interesting. The exhibits were creepy, amazing and so intricate. I had no idea about some of that stuff. It was really cool. I nearly burst into tears when I saw a slice of an emphysema infected lung, but I didn't. It's gross. I touched a lung too. I touched part of a healthy one which was kinda gross and spongy, and then I touched a lung from a smoker. Hard as a rock. And black too. Very unhealthy. I've never smoked, never wanted to, but if I did, I'd have quit today. One of the exhibit rooms was a little hard to cope with and they did provide a bypass for people who didn't want to see it. Fetuses. Very teeny tiny babies. Right from 4 days after conception to full term. So small. So very small and disturbing. It was hard to think that they were real babies, not models. They were real, dead babies. Very disturbing, but fascinating. They had a pair of conjoined twins too. Joined at the stomach. It was weird. The reproductive exhibit was kinda weird too. I had no idea how small the uterus is. A baby fits in that?!! No fricking way. And the vaginal canal? That thing is tiny. No more sex for me!! And if that hadn't put me off, then I saw a cross section of a penis. No way I'm going near one of those things ever again. I think the weirdest thing in the exhibit though was in one of the first rooms, demonstrating skeletal and muscular structures. They had a skeleton linking fingers with a muscle body and they were both leaning back, but supporting each other. Pretty cool. Then I read the sign. It was the same dude!! They'd taken the skeleton out and stood it next to its body!! Freaky! It was pricey, but I'm very glad I went. Amazing stuff.

After the heaviness of dead babies and black lungs and penis aversion therapy, I needed some light relief. So I rode the buses around randomly for a while before heading to another movie. Planet 51. Very good. Lots of jokes for the grown ups too, and lots of references to other movies. Made me laugh a lot. Will definitely be getting it when it comes out on DVD.

Not sure what the plan is for tomorrow. I had planned on going to the Bronx Zoo and/or the Museum of Natural History (plus spaceshow), but my ankle is really really killing me and both those activities involve lots of walking. Also, I'm having a bit of a fat girl issue which is making walking uncomfortable at the moment. I'm tempted to head to the Garment District. I still have to go to Mood, and I cannot possibly leave the city without visiting at least six or seven of those trimming stores I saw on the way in. Maybe an open bus tour too? We'll see.

Boston and New York - part one

So I arrived in Boston safely, after a nice comfy coach trip with free movie and snack. Very cool. Boston, however, is ugly. It's ugly and mean. I was groped by some pervert on the subway, when I went to get a drink in Dunkin Donuts a twat tried to steal my bag, and when I went on a random bus journey to calm down, the flipping bus crashed! It hit a stop and shattered the windows. Joy.

I ended up in the only good thing about Boston. It's beautiful public library. It's like a mansion! So gorgeous. I'll be adding pictures when I'm back at my own computer. Oh, the second good thing about Boston is that I won some money on a scratchcard. Woohoo.

I was supposed to be spending another night in Boston on Sunday but I decided I wasn't having any of that and made arrangements to stay here in New York another night instead, and I am sooooo glad I did. I love New York. From the second we crossed the bridge I felt so much better. This city is amazing.

Of course, being me, the first thing I did when I got settled at the hostel was something I could do absolutely anywhere. I went to see a movie. 2012. Now, I know that global disaster movies terrify the pants off me. This is not news. So why did I go see one on my own? Why did I go see THAT one? Cos I'm completely insane. I spent most of the movie with my hands over my face peeking through my fingers. I think, for the first time in my life, had Neil been there I would have buried my head in a man's shoulder during the movie. Oh, another comment. Of all the dog breeds on the planet, they had to save that one?! Seriously? It's not a dog!! It spends about two seconds walking on the ground on it's own. A dog that can be carried is not a dog!!

Anyway, I digress. After the movie I treated myself to dinner at a place that wasn't a major fastfood/sub sandwich chain. I went to a semi fancy cafe. When I say fancy, I mean that my water glass never had a chance to get empty cos there was a guy who's whole job was to wander round topping everyone's glass up. Forget that, when was the last time I went to a place that provided glasses of water?

Next up was Times Square. I'll quickly brush over my several hour long visit to the M&M store and the Hershey's store. The receipts have been burned. No one can prove how much money I spent. I'll never tell!! Let's just say I won't need to buy chocolate for about a year. In theory.

I'm back in the hostel now, about to go up to bed, but I have one last bit of news to share. I was sat in McDonalds writing postcards and enjoying a McFlurry and this middle-aged couple comes up to me and asks me if I know the way to the Lincoln Center. I tell them which way I think it is and they (like every other American I've ever met) pick up on the accent.

"Oh, you're from England? Here for business or pleasure?"
"Pleasure, just a vacation."
"Can we ask a question? My wife has always wanted to have sex with a larger lady...."

At this point I told them to go away. Now, I'm not sure whether I got hit on by a middle-aged couple, or whether they were taking the piss. If it was the latter, they were REALLY good at keeping a straight face. It was very weird. I felt ridiculously uncomfortable. So I left. With my McFlurry.

More adventures to come.

HSKS 9 - Thanksgiving themed assignment

This week Celticmommy (aka our team captain Siobhan Mooney) challenged us to blog about what we are thankful for. She demonstrated with a nice colourful tree painting with little leaves. I love that idea, it's one I do with my Brownies nearly every year, but this year I'm 3000 miles away from all my crafty stuff, so I don't have the stuff I need to make a tree, so I'm just going to a plain old blog post. However, here is a nice tree picture...



And because it's a thanksgiving themed post, here's a picture of a turkey.



Yummy yummy!

I'm thankful for a lot of things. A lot more than I was thankful for a year ago. This time last year I was stressing about university, and Neil and I were broken up, and my best friend had just been dumped and things were just generally very messy. This year things are a lot lot better.

I'm thankful for my best friend Jen. I love you dearly and I miss you so much.

I'm thankful for the second chance I've been given with Neil. Being apart from you last year was hell and having you back in my life makes the empty hole inside me go away.

I'm thankful for my family. For Jennie and Michaela and Mum. I still have a lot of issues with my family, with my Dad's side mostly, but thanks to Jennie and Michaela and Mum refusing to give up on me - no matter how screwed up I am - I still have a family I can turn to.

Speaking of family, I am very very very thankful for my Mum. We've had some major ups and downs and there were a lot of times we didn't like each other very much. But she has been a wonderful, forgiving, understanding and open-minded mother. So many of my friends have had to face horrible disappointment and judgment from their family for decisions they make. My mum has never ever done that, and even after all I put her through, she is still there for me. And everyone else in the world.

I'm thankful for the opportunity to come to America and fulfil a lifelong dream, even if it has made me realise that I don't want to continue with university.

I'm thankful for Ravelry, and all the new friends I've made there, and for the wonderful swaps. There is nothing quite like receiving packages of goodies on a day that isn't a birthday or christmas.

I'm thankful for my health. I'm morbidly overweight, incredibly unfit, I suffer from terrible headaches, my shoulder aches 75% of the time and my ankle is screwed. But I can see, and I can touch, and I have full use of my hands and legs. I can breathe okay, I'm not riddled with any fatal diseases. I am alive, and I'm thankful for that.

I'm thankful for everyone in my life who makes me glad to be alive. In the past I've spent a lot of time wishing I wasn't, and the people in my life at the moment bring me out of that suicidal mess. There is nothing you can do for a person that is more special and precious than making them glad to be alive.

Hair

This post is a little more girly than I usually write, but forgive me. I need to have a small rant.

I'm not one of those girls that will get up five hours early in order to sort their hair and pile on the makeup and try on every outfit in their wardrobe. I don't wear makeup, apart from those occasions when Jen does it for me, and I tend to wear whatever I feel comfortable in. As for my hair, well it's usually pulled up and out of the way because I get too hot with it down. But I love my hair. Aside from a disturbing tendency to molt - EVERYWHERE - I love my hair. It's deliciously soft and silky, and I pay £50 every few months to get the best hairdresser in the world to trim it and colour it. In January I plan on going back and getting my bleached highlights put back in so I can have streaks of bright colour again.

I like my hair.

Why am I telling the whole wide internet this? Because America does not like my hair. Everytime I wash it out here, it feels scratchy and tight and horrible. At first I assumed it was just the cheap shampoo I'd brought at Walmart because it smelt nice. So I changed the shampoo. I went and got some Head n Shoulders type stuff. Still the same. Considering the fact that at home I don't use conditioner, and I wash it with £1 bottles of strawberry scented shampoo, I'm beginning to suspect it isn't the shampoo I'm using here. I think it might be the water. Is that a reasonable assumption? Is it possible for water here to be so very very different from water back in England?

Whatever it is, it's annoying. I'm going to try a third shampoo, but I can't wait to get back home. I can't wait to get back to David (the amazing hairdresser) so he can work his magic. I miss my silky soft hair. I do not like it at the moment.

Let me sum it up for knitters. At home my hair is cashmere. Here, it's 100% acrylic. Not good.

The Great Blackout of 2009

Written on notepad while the internet was down.

Since I've been here at USM there have been one or two blackouts. Mostly at the start of term, and I don't think any of them lasted more than an hour. Until today.

Today I woke up at about five pm, to the setting sun, to be informed by my roommates that we haven't had any power for about an hour. Our dorm is completely out, other dorms have lost some or all power. I don't think there's a single building on campus that has full power.

That was two hours ago. There is still no power. I'm sat up on my bed, looking out the window, and I'm mildly amused by the gang of 7 or 8 mechanics gathered around the big fuse box looking completely perplexed. I wonder if we'll ever get any power back. I hope so. My laptop battery can only last another 19 minutes. What am I gonna do after it dies? I have no torch. Go back to sleep? I'm tempted to go have a shower. The bathroom is fun at the best of times. There are no windows, so if you don't turn the light on, it's pitch black. I went in earlier and there wasn't even any ambient light from outside coming under the door. It was soooo much fun. One of the things eon my bucket list is to experience one of those sensory deprivation chambers. The bathroom during a blackout came pretty close, for my optical senses at least. Not a single bit of light. And my eyes were doing those kind of kaleidoscope light things. It was gorgeous. And a little mesmerising.

Another mesmerising sight during this powerout is the sky. I'm in Maine, and I'd always expected to see a few stars at night, but with the lights from campus there's never really been any visible. Until today. I went and sat on the steps outside for a while. It was beautiful! The stars were so bright. There are two constellations I can always recognise. The plough, and Orion. I couldn't stop Orion tonight, but I found the plough. Took me a while though, I was looking for something smaller. It was HUGE. I wish I could have taken a picture of it. I did try, but I guess I wasn't using the right technique. The best I got was a blurry picture from some dude's headlights. My sister Jennie is an excellent photographer, and she has a degree in astro something or other. I used to know, I've forgotten now. Stars and space and all that stuff. I'll ask her how to take photos of stars. I'm guessing I'd need a tripod, and a long exposure. I don't have a tripod, so I'm screwed for now.



In the meantime, I'm going to have a pitch black shower. Either that, or go back to sleep. I wonder how long this power out is gonna last.

Note: the blackout lasted about four hours. I fell asleep and when I woke up the power was back.