london calling

um once again it's been a while. for which i apologize.
did i mention that i went to london? it's true. and to make it even better, i went all alone!
i left on the train from leeds station on sunday and went straight into kings cross station. during the train ride i was nervous for my solitary adventure. it didn't help much when i came above ground at the notting hill station and the wind was blowing and it was pouring down rain. not encouraging. my umbrella blew inside out five or six times during my walk in the wrong direction (i was a little disoriented) (but what can you expect? i was there two years ago!). when i realized my mistake i about faced and walked back along notting hill gate to holland park avenue and onto the little pathway leading into the park and to the hostel. when i finally got to the gate that should have taken me into the park it was closed and i had an irrational mini-breakdown as i thought "maybe i was supposed to check in before the park closed!" duh. it's a hostel. people aren't going to stay in or out starting at 6 pm. i called to find out where the night entrance was. as i did so i saw a sign straight in front of me with two lines:
day entrance <----
night entrance ---->
boy did i feel dumb. but it was okay.
the next morning was sunny and did give me some encouragement.
we'll make the rest of the trip short for all our sakes.
on monday i walked for about ten hours and saw all of the outsides of all of the buildings and soaked in the feeling and listened to the sounds and watched the busy people and smelled the london air. i found a new favorite park (okay, second favorite. nothing beats kensington gardens) in st. james' park. daffodils around every tree and small enough that you don't wonder what end of the park you're in. i felt ridiculously conspicuous as a tourist. i'm certain that everyone was watching me.
when i was there two years ago i was so careful to not stand out. i didn't say anything when i didn't have to and i purposely got used to saying "sorry" in an english accent because that was really the only word i exchanged with the locals.
this time i didn't care if i stood out. imagine, if you will, a girl in an orange sweater with a back pack and a camera around her neck walking along with a huge grin on her face and every so often saying things to herself.
so here's the question-- was i naive in 2004? did people watch me? and i was just silly enough to think that i somehow fit in? or did i really stand out differently this time because i didn't care? i would have thought that trying to fit in would immediately expose you as an impostor. but maybe not in this case? i'm still not sure of the answer.
on tuesday night i went to the london centre for some memories and a tina dinner. wade jacoby, my professor when i was in london, is the director of the study abroad program now. he and his wife were quite hospitable and accompanied me to a play that evening.
the next morning i did the things i hadn't had time to do on monday and tuesday. namely shop on kensington high street and see st. paul's.
overall the london trip was a good thing.
i saw some lovely things and ate a pain au chocolat.
i thrilled to the sound of the underground train rushing to the platform.
i even rode a bus.
#23 to be exact.
and i learned that it's good to be alone. but it's almost always better to be with people.

luck be a gentleman

so it's been a while. how are you?
i've been pretty good!
the new cottage is amazing. it's in a picturesque place just a few minutes away from the peak district national park. i love it here. for many reasons. one of them being that it feels more like home because you can go up on a hill and look down and see the valley. i love that feeling.
yesterday i drove to the top of a peak in the national park and stopped at a look out point overlooking the holme valley. i watched the clouds move quickly across the sky and the sun pop out in different places every few seconds. i sat there in amazement as i tried to grasp the fact that i was living here... that this was my life. could i really be this lucky?
i guess i can.
because just before that, i had gone to a charity shop in holmfirth and found two skirts and a suit (a suit!) for less than £18. i'm not sure where all this is coming from... is the cottage going to burn down?
this last wednesday we had a meeting where we introduced the ward employment specialists in the ashton stake to the workshop we're teaching. it was an hour and a half whirlwind tour of a 12 hour workshop. it went fantastically well. all this being in front of people stuff is getting easier. i think it's one of those fake it til you make it things.
i guess i've had my share of bad luck, too. on wednesday erika and i tried to go to the yorkshire sculpture park, which is a huge outdoor park with sculptures too big to be inside. kind of. it's a cool idea. but really. not in england. as we were driving there the sun was shining and it was even decently warm. when we first got there, we went into the visitor's center place to get a map and we ended up spending about ten minutes in the gift shop. when we came back outside the wind had started blowing and it had started raining a really cold, hard rain. i tried to bear it. really i did. i walked to about 4 different sculptures. and then i realized: i am not having fun. erika had already given up and gone back to the gift shop. so i went inside, determined to redeem this experience. we went to the overpriced restaurant and i bought myself a scone and a hot chocolate. both were extremely good. and yes, even redeeming. but the whole thing ended up being much too expensive.
i guess that's why they say to save your pennies for a rainy day.