Thursday, June 30, 2005

I heart KOK to the max...

because this is what I did today at work.

KOK2

I cannot believe I actually get paid for playing with kids. It's the greatest job ever! I get to hear the most adorable things, such as:

"I can't eat apples. I can't eat corn. I can't eat snowcones. It's a hard life without your two front teeth." --Nathaniel, 7

On Tuesday, I begin my second job. I am trying to approach it as being just another job where I work with kids...only much older kids. They probably won't hang on me like the elementary school kids do, but they will probably roll their eyes and trash-talk me more. It should be an adventure!

But, hey...it's always good for me to have something to motivate me to get out of bed before 11am, other than my favorite television programs. Now I get up at 7, but I am up and out of the house and making some form of income, which is definitely better than what I was doing, which was...jack, really.

Monday, June 27, 2005

It's a long way to Tipperary...

Do any of you know this old Irish folk song?

It's a long way to Tipperary,
it's a long way to go.
It's a long way to Tipperary,
to the sweetest girl I know.
Goodbye Piccadilly!
Farewell Leicester Square!
It's a long, long way to Tipperary,
but my heart's right there.

One morning, I looked out of the window as we were driving and saw a sign that read "Tipperary County". I realized then that I had come quite a long way.

Here are several of the promised photographs from my trip. I will write more about the actual ongoings later, but right now, I just want to look through photos.

drinkswiththegirls
Having drinks at a pub in Dublin with Alicia and Stephanie. After this night, it became somewhat of a ritual.

river

This river ran parallel to the street our hotel was on in Dublin.

dovecottage
Dove Cottage: Home of William Wordsworth.


meinireland

The Irish Countryside.

salisbury
Salisbury Cathedral.


bagpipes
This Scottish guy was all dressed up to play the bagpipes.


castle
Taken from a castle in Ireland.

coffee2
Irish Coffee is fabulous. I think, if American coffee was made this way, we would all be much more friendly early in the morning. It's made with Irish Whiskey, coffee, and thick cream.


stream
A beautiful stream somewhere in England.

baths

The Roman Baths in Bath.

stonehenge

Stonehenge. While there my mind kept replaying the song from "This is Spinal Tap". Stonehenge...where the midgets dance with the pipes of Pan.

meandthequeen
Buckingham Palace. The Queen stood me up for our afternoon tea-and-crumpets party. You can tell by the photo that I was somewhat disappointed. More about the crumpets than meeting the Queen.


londoneye2
The London Eye.

london

Across from our hotel in the Docklands, a quick tube ride from central London.

uncomfortable

I wasn't too sure about this guy. I don't think he was too sure about me either.

castle2
Another photograph taken from a castle in Ireland.

kerryfarms

A farmhouse in Kerry.

castlestairs

Castle stairs.

guinness

Guinness' for everyone! My first Guinness, but certainly not my last.

bigben
Big Ben.


alley
A narrow street somewhere in England.

pier2

Brighton Pier. This is where we stayed our first night in England. Actually we stayed across the street, not on the carousel, silly.

towerbridge

The Tower Bridge, right beside the Tower of London.

queensgarden

The Queens gardens at her summer home...or rather, summer castle.

castlethrurocks

Taken on a tour of a castle.

bengal

The Bay of Bengal.

momandmesoho
Mom and me after lunch in Soho.

Sunday, June 26, 2005

Saturday, June 25, 2005

Winds are whipping waves up...

Silent Sea by KT Tunstall

I was happy in my harbour
when you cut me loose.
Floating on an ocean
and confused.
Winds are whipping waves up
like sky scrapers,
and the harder they hit me
the less I seem to bruise.

Oh when I
find the controls
I'll go where I like.
I'll know where I want to be.
But maybe for now,
I'll stay right here
on a silent sea...
on a silent sea.

Friday, June 24, 2005

Slowly, slowly love...

...slow down my bleeding heart. A man dreams one day to fly. A man takes a rocketship into the sky. He lives on a star that's dying in the night, and follows in the trail the scatter of light. Turn it on. Turn it on. You turn me on. --U2

I am back from Great Britain and missing the cool weather in a big way. I stepped off of my flight into DFW and was tempted turn right back around, taking a return flight to London, when the hot summer air basically slapped me in the face.

I have so much to write about and so many photographs I want to post, but right now there is not enough time. I am trying to make some employment decisions, figuring out which job I want to take. I am not too sure about this whole "adult" thing. Money is nice, but deciding who you want to work for and weighing who you will be working with, how much you will be making, etc. kind of sucks. Maybe I will crack the code and figure out how to be several places at once. That way I could say yes to all three jobs and have three sources of income...that would be nice. Hey, if any of you have the code, pass it along this way. It will be our secret.

Speaking of secrets...Tuesday, 5 am, Denny's. You know who you are.

I promise to get photos and stories up soon. Tonight The Core 47, formerly known as Core 47 (just) will be playing, and they are adding a few new songs to the docket. Excitement!

And to those of you that hung out last night, I had a great time. There is nothing better to come home to than a group of your best friends. I seriously haven't laughed that hard in...as long as I can remember. I didn't even have anything to add to the conversation, just sitting back and listening to your quick-witted back and forth comedy (albeit often crude) was almost too much to handle. This morning I woke up and my sides actually hurt...that's a sure sign that you guys are the funniest people in the world!

And to Cliff...thank you for my welcome home present. You know how I love classics, and "The Scarlet Letter" somehow seems so fitting. Hawthorne would be proud of your scholarly-dark humor. I know Ashley and I most definitely are.

Okay...I have to go. More to follow.

Slainte!

Monday, June 06, 2005

Explore. Dream. Discover...

"Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."--Mark Twain

I leave for Europe on Wednesday and I will be back at the end of the month. I hope June treats all of you well. When I get back I will post photographs and any entertaining vignettes from my trip. I will miss all of you very much and I look forward to partying the summer nights away when I get back.

I think I love you...

innocently.

This photo was taken seconds before we beat up the photographer. You can tell something's up by the fact that Ashley's hat is sideways.
braintwins

I will miss my brain twin and our Tee Cake while I am gone. Don't have too much fun without me.

Goulet!