Let the good times roll...

And the good days continue....
So I'm just going to start this story after class ended...because class is class and I'm sure you'd rather not be bored to tears with the dreary details.  This afternoon ended up being a very productive afternoon for me.  I first cleaned up my room and put my laundry in the washing machine.  Then I took a trip to the store...first to Primark for some very unneeded unmentionables which I managed to get on sale which was majorly exciting...and then it was off to Tesco because I was completely out of food and I really can't survive very long without my salt and vinegar crisps and dark chocolate covered digestives...I know that sounds gross, but believe me...they are amazing!!  So I came back to my room very stocked up on everything and feeling very accomplished.  Then I went downstairs to switch over my laundry to the dryer, and on my way back up the stairs I noticed that the vacuum cleaners were sitting under the stairs...they are usually not there...so I got really excited and grabbed one.  I had been needing to vacuum my room for a while, so I finally got to vacuum my room!!! I know I'm weird cause I got really excited about vacuuming but I don't care...I like having a clean room.  After I was done vacuuming, I got my laundry out of the dryer and put my clothes away.  And then my room was clean and organized and it was great!  So I rewarded myself with a little nap before dinner.  Now I'm going to fast forward again to about nine o'clock because that was when I started getting ready to go out...again.  This time I curled my hair and I wore the dress that I bought in London a week ago...which is super cute!!!  There were a whole bunch of us going out and a lot of them were chilling in the kitchen so I went out and joined them.  We all ended up playing spoons until about eleven...then it was time to head out.  We were going to a club called the Place.  I hadn't been there before but everyone had said that it was really fun and had great music. So I figured I might as well try it out, and that turned out to be a great decision.  The Place has two dance floors and is much bigger than Boogie Lounge.  And they also played fabulous music...granted their music is a lot louder than at Boogie and almost two hours after leaving, my ears are still ringing...but it was so much fun.  We didn't leave until two tonight and I still wanted more!!! England is really bringing out the dancer in me.  I'm pretty sure I could have easily danced the night away.  But I could not, so I am left thinking about it and looking forward to the next time I go out dancing.  It's always one of the highlights of my week. 

Totally Wicked!!!!

Wow...What a day...
So today I skipped class, but it was totally completely worth because I went to London with five other people to see Wicked!!!!!  To be perfectly honest, until today I didn't really know anything about Wicked.  I had heard several of the songs, but I didn't really know what it was about other than the Wicked Witch of the West.  So I was just kind of going along for fun and to find out what everyone raved about.  The group was me, Deanne, Bethany, Greg, Kelly, and Danielle...they're all Americans studying here through BCA.  We left on the nine forty-five bus to London and got there just after noon.  First we went to the Apollo Victoria Theatre to pick up our tickets.  The show didn't start until two thirty so we found a place to eat lunch...which ended up being a restaurant where a whole bunch of people in business suits were eating and meeting, so I felt slightly out of place.  But the waiters seated us out of the way and not by all the business people so it was okay.  We ate a leisurely lunch and got done close to two, so we made our way back to the Apollo Victoria Theatre.  We did stop to take some pictures on the way, but we soon were back at the theatre and were waiting until they would let us go in and seat ourselves. We didn't have to wait very long, so we went in and found our seats...which were really really good.  We were fifteen rows back on the left side.  The stage looked really awesome...there was a giant dragon that protruded out from the top of the stage and fabric draped above him...it looked great.  Then the play started and I was floored.  IT WAS TOTALLY COMPLETELY AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The actors were fantastic and their voices were awesome.  The costumes and sets and lighting and everything was so fabulous!!!!! I just couldn't get enough of it.  One of my favorite parts was the song Defying Gravity because the lighting at the end of that song is just so stunning you feel like Elphaba is really just hovering above you...it gave me the goosebumps.  I totally loved it!!!  I just loved how it flowed into the story of the Wizard of Oz....it's kind of like a behind the scenes of the Wizard of Oz and it totally works.  I was very pleasantly surprised with it.  I don't think I'll ever be able to watch the Wizard of Oz in the same way again.  If you haven't seen Wicked, you definitely should and then you'll understand what I mean.  It's amazing!!! It got done around five fifteen, so we all made our way back to the bus station...we were all kind of in a state of shock at how totally amazing Wicked was...but we made it, and went to Victoria Station for dinner...there's a bunch of different fast food places inside.  We ate and hung out til about six ten and then we had to go find our bus because it left at six thirty.  We got on the bus and headed back home.  I got back to my room at around nine thirty.  It wasn't much later that Deanne knocked on my door and told me that her, Bethany, and Suzie were going out to Boogie Lounge, so I decided to go with because I just love Boogie Lounge and it's always fun.  I got ready...basically changed my outfit and redid my makeup...and we left around eleven.  It was rather empty when we got there but it's hard to pass up good dancing music, so we were on the dance floor and just ignored the fact that there were only a few other people dancing.  That didn't last very long though and within half an hour the floor was filling up fast...but that's totally okay because that just makes everything just that much more fun!!!  Again they played great music and we stayed until nearly one.  But I do have a class tomorrow and can't stay out too terribly late dancing, as much as I would totally love that.  So my day has come to a close, but it was definitely an awesome day!!!!!!!!!

Back to Hogwarts, and then out with Brits...

So last time I blogged I forgot something... 
Two Fridays ago Deanne, Bethany, and I went to Gloucester...which is basically the next town over from Cheltenham.  We were going to see the Gloucester Cathedral.  It was kind of strange to see this huge cathedral in Gloucester...I felt like it should have been in a bigger city or something. But anyways...the main reason that we were going to see it was because it was where parts of Harry Potter was filmed!!! So we were pretty excited...well me and Deanne were, Bethany isn't into Harry Potter.  When we got to the cathedral we asked if we could get a tour...Suzie and Jess had gone a few weeks before and had highly recommended that we ask to get a tour.  So this very nice old man gave us a tour.  He told us all about the cathedral...how it used to be bigger, that it was built in different eras, how it was expanded, how the roof was added on, how Edward II was crowned there, where historical people were buried, how the monks would sit in the cloisters and write...there was a ton of history there I actually forgot about Harry Potter.  Well not completely...after the tour we went back through the cathedral to take pictures...yes we were allowed to take pictures!!!!! When we got out to the cloisters I got excited again cause its part of Hogwarts!!!  So me and Deanne took some pictures of us dueling in the hallway with wands...well technically they were pens but it was still cool.  After we were finished at the cathedral, we wandered around Gloucester for a while...went to H&M to do some shopping...I wasn't really in a shopping mood so I didn't end up getting anything but that's okay.  Then we headed back to Cheltenham.  
Now I feel better.  When I realized that I had forgotten about something when I had done all my catching up a few days ago I was annoyed and it bothered me...so I just had to blog again.  While I'm at it I'll write about yesterday.  I had class, which was kinda boring...but that's not unusual.  I went and got my baguette after class...along with some shampoo and conditioner cause I didn't have any more.  When I came back to my room I made lunch...a baguette sandwich and blueberries.  Around one twenty Suzie knocked on my door to tell me that she was ready to leave for our meeting...me and her were going to Park Campus to meet with Sandy about spring break and what we had planned so far.  Trying to save money, we decided to walk to Park Campus.  There was only one problem to our plan...neither of us really knew where it was, so we ended up getting somewhat lost and it ended up taking us a lot longer to get there.  But we eventually got there.  I had never been to Park Campus before so I didn't know what to expect.  Well it turns out that the Park Campus is actually like a typical college campus...academic buildings and dorms and students milling around...it made me miss Messiah.  It was very different from FCH where it's just all academic buildings and you only go there if you have class.  Oh well....FCH is definitely way prettier and cooler looking than Park Campus, so it's okay.  But back to my day...we met with Sandy and told her our plans for spring break and she gave us some advice and help with some of the plans. The amount of information that she gave us could have easily only taken fifteen to twenty minutes, however the meeting went for an hour and a lot of it was just chit chat.  That's something that is very different over here.  When you talk with someone, they very easily tell you about their life and different things that they do.  So our meeting about spring break also included Sandy's weekend and how horrible it was and how she is planning to move in with her boyfriend.  So after we finally finished our meeting we took the bus back home...neither of us felt like walking back.  After getting back I just chilled in my room until dinner which was early because we had our class at five forty-five.  Unfortunately when I left my room to go to dinner, I grabbed my dishes but not my keys, so I was locked out of my room...our doors lock when you close them.  So I ended up skipping class because I had to wait until the security guy came and unlocked my door.  By the time he came class was already started and I really didn't want to walk ten blocks in the dark.  So I just didn't go.  I ended up doing some skyping with Nate instead...which I think was a much better use of my time.  At about eight forty Rachel, one of the British girls on my flat knocked on my door and asked if I still wanted to go and see Valentine's Day.  I said that I did, so I quickly changed and Me, Rachel, Sarah, and Jamie...all British girls on my flat...went out to the movies.  We made a quick run to One Stop first to get some cheap snacks.  It ended up being a lot of fun and I felt very British hanging out with them...I haven't hung out with just the British girls before, there's always been another American.  It was kinda cool.  But anyways...the movie was really really cute...lots of different stories going on, but they all seemed tied together so it worked.  I really enjoyed it.  We got back sometime after eleven and I didn't stay up much later.  I was in been just after midnight cause I was really tired.  Today nothing happened cause I didn't have class so I slept in and just relaxed inside, because it was a cold dreary English day outside.  Now I'm going to go to the kitchen and help with dinner. 

Twister n' London...

Wow I'm totally failing at keeping up on here, so now I have to press stop and rewind my life a bit...
The last time I wrote was last Wednesday, so I'll start there.  Thursday I don't think much of anything happened because I don't really remember anything happening then.  Friday was pretty relaxed as well, up until dinner ended.  After dinner Deanne, Suzie, and I watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  I hadn't seen it before.  When we got towards the end when poor Dumbledore finished drinking the potion and Harry goes to give him water, Deanne and Suzie were really tense because they had seen it before and they were making me really nervous, so when that thing grabbed Harry, we all jumped and got scared.  The movie ended around one, so we all said goodnight and went to our rooms.  However I was not tired, so I got out my scissors and went to the bathroom.  I had been wanting to cut my hair for a few days so I decided to do it right then.  I was about halfway through when Deanne knocked on my door to ask me something.  Then Suzie came out cause she heard us talking and it turned out that none of us were tired.  So we went to the kitchen and chatted, danced, and just hung out for a while.  Finally after a while we started to get tired and headed to our rooms again.  I finished cutting my hair and then went to bed.  Saturday was the same way and didn't get interesting and fun until after dinner.  Since Suzie, Deanne, and I were the only people on our flat...everyone else had left for the weekend...we planned to have a twister night.  However we didn't have a twister board...so Suzie and Bethany made one.  They painted different colored circles on pieces of paper and suck them on the floor and the walls in our hallway. It was a little while before we actually started playing twister because we had to wait for more people to come, but once we started it got really intense.  There were six of us all playing twister in the hallway and trying to take each other out.  It was really hysterical. After playing two rounds of it I was all out of energy.  So I helped call the different colors.  Finally everyone was all tired out so we said goodnight and headed to our rooms.  On Sunday Deanne, Suzie, and I went out to the store to get supplies for the Valentines Party we were planning on having that night.  We got all dressed up and sometime after nine people started to show up.  We all just hung out in our kitchen, listened to music, played cards, and ate snacks.  It ended up being a lot of fun.  I left the party at around two, but some people stayed up later and played twister again.  I just didn't have any energy left to do that so I went to bed.  On Monday I didn't have class because it was canceled, so I spent the entire day in my room writing my paper that was due on Thursday.  I did get it completely done which was a huge relief.  I was so tired that I ended up going to bed at ten thirty...I haven't gone to bed that early in a really long time, but my body was screaming at me for sleep so I gave in.  Tuesday nothing really happened.  I went to class, came back, had dinner, hung out, eventually went to bed...although I did get woken up at four thirty in the morning by drunken British students because Tuesday night was a major night to go out.  It was Carnage which is basically a night of club hopping and getting ridiculously drunk.  Thankfully it's only a once a year event so I won't have to deal with that again.  Nothing really happened on Wednesday either.  Thursday was awesome!!!! Deanne and I went to see Owl City in London!!!! We left on the nine forty-five bus and got to London around noon.  We first stopped to get lunch in the Victoria station.  Then we went to the Tube and got day passes because the Electric Ballroom...the club where the concert was at...was not close to the bus station.  So we took the tube to the Electric Ballroom because we had to pick up our tickets.  However when we got there, the security guard standing outside told us that we would have to wait in line and once the doors opened...which was at seven...we would just pick up our tickets and go in.  And we found out that there were already people in line!!  It was only two o'clock and there were probably like seven people in line already.  So Deanne and I decided to just wander around that area of town and check the line every so often to see how long it was.  So we wandered around and found a few different markets in the area with really cute stuff.  So I ended up buying a pink scarf and a cute black dress that has a white bow on the front.  At about four we stopped in a cafe for something to eat because we knew we would probably be getting in line soon and wouldn't have time to eat until after the concert.  We ended up getting into the line at four-thirty.  It was not a nice day to wait outside for two and a half hours.  It rained off and on, so I ended up getting soaked.  It was a long wait, but it was definitely worth it because we were really really close to the stage when we finally got inside.  It was really packed inside.  It wasn't too bad for the opening act, which was Lights...a girl from Canada who does the same sort of music as Owl City.  She was really good.  Then once she was done and Owl City came out, everyone pushed forward and I was completely sandwiched between people.  I literally could not move.  But it was okay because I had a perfect view of Adam Young and was standing almost directly in front of him.  He was fabulous!!!!!!!  I felt kind of bad for him though because he was sick so every so often he would start coughing during a song, but he still sounded amazing!!!!  The concert ended around ten fifteen, so once we got out of the mob of people and picked up our coats from the coat check, me and Deanne got on the tube made our way back to Victoria station...where we had to pick up our bus.  We were both really hungry so we picked up a snack on the way.  We finally got on the bus at eleven thirty, and it was a very quiet ride back home.  We were both exhausted.  We didn't get back to Regency until nearly three in the morning and once I got in my room I collapsed into bed and slept until three the next afternoon.  Nothing terribly exciting has happened since then.  I just relaxed all day yesterday.  I did stay up rather late...like until four am...talking to my mom on the phone, but that's okay because I slept in again today.  And that brings everything back up to date.  I'd say that I won't let myself get that much behind again, but I know I probably will at some point, but I'll try not to.  

"All I ever wanted..."

What a day...

After I got out of my history class this morning, I decided I was in need of a baguette so I stopped at Tesco and picked one up.  Of course I started eating it on my way back to Regency...and as I was walking back there was a guy playing an accordion on High Street...which made my walk back just that much more enjoyable.  When I got back to Regency I went and made myself a Turkey baguette for lunch.  Right as I finished eating, Deanne facebook messaged me and asked if I still wanted to go out shopping...naturally I said yes...and we left a few minutes later for the shops.  We were specifically looking for skirts...like mini skirts...it's definitely the style here to wear them with leggings...and we were also planning on going out to Boogie Lounge again tonight and needed outfits.  We looked at a bunch of stores...I ended up finding a really cute black skirt...and I found a really fun blue party dress that I just had to get...don't worry they were both on sale so it was totally worth it.  After we finished shopping we went back to Regency...and then it was time for dinner.  After dinner I was actually a good student and did some research for my paper that is due in a week.  But at about nine thirty it was time to start getting ready for Boogie Lounge.   I curled my hair, did my makeup, then put on my outfit...I had decided to wear the blue dress I had just bought with black leggings.  We left for Boogie Lounge at around eleven.  When we got there it was rather empty and there were only a few people on the dance floor...so we just stood around for a while and chatted until more people filled in the space.  Then a good song came on...and it was time to dance!!!! Once again they played great music and we danced until about one.  Right before we left something fabulous happened.  I've been a fan of Basshunter...a Swedish artist...since this past summer...thanks to Zachary!!!  And right before we left, one of my favorite Basshunter songs came on...All I Ever Wanted.  I have secretly always wanted to dance to Basshunter at a club, so having that actually happen completely made my night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We left Boogie Lounge after that song...if I didn't have class in the morning I probably would have stayed and danced the night away. 

Ketchup...

Oh dear me...
I seem to have been neglecting this lately. I tended to remember that I needed to record things...right as I turned off my lights and climbed into bed...so naturally I just kept putting it off. So now I need to do some catching up.
This past Saturday BCA...the organization that I'm doing my study abroad through...organized a trip for us to Windsor Castle. We left Regency at around eight thirty that morning and got to Windsor about two hours later. We had to hustle to get to the castle because we wanted to see the changing of the guard, which was at eleven. After getting our ticket and going through security...which was like going through security at the airport and, if you remember, I am really not a fan of that...we found our way to the courtyard where the guards were. We were just in time and a minute or two later the ceremony began. Honestly I found it to be rather dull after the first two minutes. After the band played a song or two and led the guards in, there was just a lot of standing around, shouting of orders that no one could really understand, stomping, moving their guns from arm to arm, and shuffling...although I have to say that the shuffling was rather funny. The head guard would shout something and then the whole group would shuffle like two inches to one side...they couldn't just take a step over...no, they had to shuffle. I thought the whole ceremony was rather drawn out and long. But when that was over, a group of us went to St. George's Chapel. That was really cool...complete with high ceilings and arches...but my favorite thing was the ceiling. It had lots of decorations on it and was very ornately carved...absolutely gorgeous!! Of course we weren't allowed to take pictures...which is rather annoying...but I survived. When we finally finished looking through the chapel, everyone in our group was hungry so we left the castle...we got wristbands so we could come back later...and went to get some lunch. We ended up eating at a pub in town. After lunch we headed back to the castle...there was still so much to see!! Unfortunately to get back in we had to go through security again...I was less than thrilled about that. Once back inside, we went to go see the famous dollhouse and the state apartments. First we saw the dollhouse. It was awesome. It made me wish I were the doll that could live there...it had everything from electricity and running water to a grand piano. Of course we couldn't take pictures...but my camera was just hanging around my neck and my hand was just conveniently resting on it...so I couldn't help it if my finger just accidentally pressed the button and took a few pictures while we were in there...and they actually turned out...yes, I'm just that sneaky. After the dollhouse we moved onto the state apartments. Wow. The lavishness of those rooms is incredible. Every room had a chandelier and things inlaid with gold...some rooms even had ceilings with paintings on them. It was fabulous!!! At one point we had to walk up a grand staircase covered in thick red carpet...I couldn't help imagining that I was grand princess dressing in a lovely flowing gown...ascending the grand stairs to meet with the queen and socialize with the nobles of society...too bad it's not real. There was just no end to the grandeur of the rooms...I could have stayed there all day. But sadly we ran out of time, and before I was ready it was time to go back to the bus. I ended up sleeping the whole way back.
As for Sunday and today...I have nothing really to report. I have actually started working on a paper that is due next week, which is pretty good for me since I usually procrastinate doing papers until the very last minute. But I figure I should probably get going on it since they take papers a lot more seriously here...and because it's practically half of my grade for that class. Well now I can go to bed and not feel bad about not having written for a while.

A dream is a wish your heart makes...

Tuesdays are so sweet...
I had such an absolutely lovely day today. I didn't wake up until nearly noon because I didn't have class until one fifteen. And my class today was my prose class...my favorite class. We talked about dialogue and ways to utilize it properly in stories, and then my group had our workshop. I gotten an idea for a story a few days ago and I was very excited about it. So when my group critiqued what I had written so far, I was majorly pleased to find out that they all really liked it and wanted to know more. Of course I couldn't tell them what was going to happen because that would have killed the story for them and I wouldn't have been able to drag out the suspense as much. But a few of them were on the right track as to where it was going...I didn't let them know this of course. I came back to my room after class and relaxed for a little while before dinner. After dinner I wanted to watch a movie...a cute romantic sort of movie...so I watched Pride and Prejudice. Definitely a great movie. It makes me think that maybe love does still exist out there and that there are men like Mr. Darcy...those men that are caring, loving, honorable, and the gentlemen that every girl dreams of finding...well at least I do. It makes me think like Cinderella and believe that dreams can come true...maybe you just have to look a bit harder to find them. I know, this is fairy tale sort of stuff...but what if it can be real...I'm rambling now....that's what a good love movie does to me...oh well I guess I'll just let my dreams take over for the time being and head off to bed...