Hey Hey

Well, I don't really have anything to say, but I'm writing anyhow.  I am doing well.  Speech class (public communications) is my favorite (yeah, go figure!).  I gave a speech on Wednesday which went well.  It was only 2 minutes, so no big.  :)  I have met so many cool new people...wow.  I could write a list of names, but it would be longer than anyone wants to read.  I have met a bunch of upperclassmen, and have lunch with sophomores and juniors most days.  I love meeting new people.  If I had a dollar for every time I told someone my name, I would be rich.  The funny thing is that there are about 10 Allisons in the freshman class!  I counted 29 on the current student list.  Yeah, it's crazy.  There are also a bunch of Zachs, Emilys, Robs, Lindseys, and Bens.  And a few others.  So weird, but cool and funny too. 

So anyhow, I am doing well and enjoying myself.  My cold is pretty much done, which is nice.  Still a little sniffley, but okay.  My voice is just a bit freaked out, but it's getting better.  Play auditions are next week, and if I do that I have to sing, so I hope it's okay by then.  :) 

This weekend, I am going to...sleep!  Play Nerf wars on Friday, go to a cookout for the Theatre department, and paint canvases with my Life Group.  And probably other fun things, but nothing else planned at the moment. 

Alrighty, I'll post more later...need to get the camera out and get some pictures on here!

"A Healthy Body Is A Guest Chamber For The Soul: A Sick Body Is A Prison"

Thank you, Francis Bacon.  :) 

So, yes, I am sick.  runny nose/cold something.  It's okay, but I have had runny nose in class for two days and all through church.  Yuck.  I slept a lot today, but that's okay, because I feel a lot better!

We're watching Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie in the commons tonight.  Actually in a few minutes...so I have to go.

But, it's going great.  Having a fantabulous time.  Played Nerf Wars with a bunch of people in the music/comm arts building on Saturday, which was the most fun I have had in as long as I can remember.  They do it every Friday night, so I am pretty excited.  :) 

So, that's it for now.  I'll write some more soon.

Union :)

Well, I am at Union.  :)  Today I had breakfast in the cafeteria (which I won't do normally, but it's free during orientation).  It was good.  In our focus (orientation) groups we played a couple of games with another group, and we took some pictures of the freshman class in the gym.  After lunch we took a tour of Jackson to see all the interesting things around here.  We had dinner with our academic department, and I only sat with the business people after realizing that I don't know if there is a difference between "theatre" and "communication arts"...and there were quite a few comm. arts tables, and only three for business.  We had ice cream at the Bowld Commons (it was supposed to be at the President's house, but for some reason they changed it). 

THEN...

At 8:30 we could either play capture the flag or listen/perform at the coffee shop.  I chose to play capture the flag, because I haven't in a long time and running around in the dark and being sneaky sounded fun.  :)  So.  We played two games, the first of which I got behind a row of bushes and crawled through them down the whole side of the building (and pretty much missed the whole game...my side won anyhow).  We had the "from TN" group and the "not from TN" group, which ended up being about equal.  (probably 25-35 people on each team)

For the second game, we traded sides, and mine was at the fountain (our flag was "hidden" on top of the fountain).  I got put in jail, after faking that I was on the other team while hanging out at the neutral road.  I got into their side, but I was with two other people and someone from our team busted us (can't imagine why, but that's okay).  Someone got in without actually being tagged and sent the whole team on a jailbreak, which was fabulous.  I went back to the neutral place and headed around the back of a building (which was across a big field).  Once safely on the other side, I stood near the building and pretended to be watching for other people (from that TN team!).  There were a few, and I'd act like I was going to tag them and then tell them I was on their team...I don't think they believed me, but hey.  I guess I faked good enough for no one to tag me!  I stayed there for a good long while, and then they said they were going to "change tactics" (and by this time they all thought I was on their team...besides the people guarding the jail, whom I stayed away from!).  They traded who was guarding what and I went for a "guard the flag" position (I knew roughly where it was).  I found where the flag was, and hung out there at least 10 minutes, with a few other people guarding with me.  I had a nice chat with a girl on the other team (and later apologized for lying that I was on her team!)  There was a guy trying to get at the flag (thank you!!) and they kept trying to get him, leaving me guarding the flag.  :)  About the third time no one was watching, I grabbed the flag (a t-shirt) and stuffed it in my shirt.  I stood there a minute, and then edged back around the row of bushes to where I had been "watching around the building".  I pretended to see someone coming, went over...and ran around the building, crossed the field and headed past the neutral place over to the fountain...just as someone was stealing our flag.  People started chasing him, and I said "hey, the game's over...I have their flag!!"  :) :)  I accidentally dropped it in the fountain, and then took it back to the other team.  I walked up with their wet flag and said "game over, the Tennessee girl has your flag!"  It was awesome.  I'm now the "crazy double agent girl".  Haha.  "She's a spy!"

So, that's my big exciting thing that happened today.  It's going great!  I have most of my things where they will stay.  I've talked to everyone I knew before getting here, and lots of people I didn't know beforehand. 

Well, there's another full day ahead tomorrow...

To Union...and beyond!

Okey dokey...here's what I'm up to:

This summer after England I worked for the Tennessee Arts Academy at Belmont University for a week and a half.  That was fun...getting a taste of office work and running errands all over campus...and getting to see a few performances.  :)  It was great.  I also babysat quite a bit.  I've babysat pretty regularly for the same family for 3 years now, and they have just moved to Charleston, SC, this week.  My whole family came over one night and brought pizza and helped them pack boxes, which was interesting.  We haven't moved since before I was born, so none of us know how it works!  But I think we got a lot of good work done...there were lots of new packed boxes, anyhow.  :) 

I am going to Union University this fall and am majoring in business administration with a management emphasis, and minoring in theatre.  :)  I am moving in on Friday for orientation and classes start on Tuesday.  I have three roommates, who all sound like great people and really fun girls.  I am so excited!  I've been looking forward to college for as long as I can remember...we'll see if it stands up to the expectations!  :)  I know I have a bunch of new blue things for my (my own!!) room. 

I don't know when my next "identity" will come along.  (identity = new character to breathe life into on stage ;) )  I haven't been on stage since May, and I am so ready!  I can't wait until I'm good and "used to" college so I can be in a show!!  (that sounds stupid, but I really want to be in a show!)  I'll have to come back home and see all the shows I'm not in because I'm at college.  Arsenic and Old Lace, The Sound of Music, and White Christmas are on the list...  :)

Ooh, I got my braces off today!  Awesome possum!  I got them on on December 10, 2008, so it's been about a year and a half.  Now maybe people will stop telling me I look 15!!  (Well...I guess there aren't many 15 year olds at college...)

 So, for the next couple of days I'll be running my feet off trying to get everything ready to leave.  I know, I spend too much time planning and thinking and making lists, and now I have to actually do the "to do" list!!  It has to happen sometime...before Friday. 

Over and out...  ;)

Chicago

Alrighty...it's been way too long since this happened to be just now writing about it...but here goes:

This is what was supposed to happen:
leave Wells at 7, get to the London airport around 10.
leave London airport around 11:50
arrive Chicago airport at 3 (local time)
leave Chicago airport at 6:30
arrive Nashville airport at 8.
go home. go to sleep.  (body clock says 2 am)

This is what actually happened (as far as I can remember...it's close):
Left Wells around 7
lots of traffic later, arrived at London airport around 11:15.  Said goodbye to the wonderful Paynes.

Checked in, walked what seemed like 5 miles to the gate, got on plane

Thought I was going to be next to an Indian-looking man, but he ended up moving to be with his kids and I was next to a lovely older lady from England who spends quite a bit of time in America (they have a house in both places, I think).  She was very nice.

The flight was 9 hours, and I read, watched TV, listened to the radio, looked out the window and the amazing sky, and took pictures.  :)  Alice in Wonderland was on, and I watched it (or most of it) three times.  I had never seen it before, and the screen was a 5 inch square, and it was hard to hear, so I watched it every time it came on until I actually understood what was going on.  :)

So...arrived at Chicago around 3:15.  Re-checked in, gave luggage to the right people, headed for the gate so I would know where it was, and then I would go get some food. 

Well, I got to the gate and got a drink, then they said my flight was delayed.  Okay.  Apparently there was a storm starting up.  Then they started cancelling flights right and left, and I was paranoid that they would cancel mine or that I would miss something important if I left the gate for long.  Every time someone would speak over the loud speaker, I was so afraid that they would cancel my flight!  But they just delayed it over and over.  It was supposed to leave at 6:30, then it was delayed to 8, then 8:50, then 9:30, 10:45, 11:50, 12:05...

All this time I was so paranoid that I couldn't leave the gate long enough to really get some food, so I was mighty hungry.  And my body clock was at 2 am...so I was super sleepy.  I had to keep doing something...keep moving...so I wouldn't fall asleep!  Luckily, the big board with info on my flight was right next to the gate, so I just sat by it.  I had read all of my book on the plane (and purposefully stayed awake so I could get to sleep when I got home), so I didn't have anything to do!!  I read my program from Wicked, played solitaire, doodled in my notebook and drew random mindless pictures.  My laptop battery had died (don't know why, since it was fully charged that morning), and I didn't have a way to contact home other than a pay phone or borrowing someone else's.  And I didn't want to borrow a phone and call home every time they delayed because I still didn't really know anything new. 

They changed the gate twice, and said that as soon as the passengers got off we could board.  And it was taking forever...and then they said our flight was cancelled.  This was about midnight.  Everyone rushed to the customer service desk, which then decided to close ("we've been here a long time and we're going home...see ya tomorrow...").  There was only one open desk, so I stood in line for it for about two hours.  I was actually pacing next to the line...body clock was on 6 am, so I'd basically stayed up all night, and night was just starting.  Sick.  I was literally falling asleep standing up.  It was awful.  I finally got up to the desk, and they said there were no seats free for a flight to Nashville, and all they could do was put me on standby for one leaving at 7.  I said okay, knowing I probably wouldn't get on, since there were 30 people on standby ahead of me. 

The desk actually closed  right after I got through.  One person behind me was helped, but after that everyone working just left.  they said someone new would be there at 2:30 (in 30 minutes).  Everyone was totally exhausted and grumpy...there were way too many angry people there!!  It was really crowded anyhow, but the fact that everyone was tired and grouchy made it worse. 

So, after getting through the desk and being put on standby for a flight, I actually saw the lady I had been next to on the plane over.  She was going to Atlanta, but got stuck in the same mess as everyone else.  She took me to the Starbucks down the hall and bought me a coffee (at 2:30 in the morning!), and then we parted ways.  I tried a "pay computer" (like a pay phone) to email home.  It was $5 for 15 minutes of internet.  It took so long to send (for some unknown reason) that I ran out of time and had to buy another 15 minutes (when I only needed 5). 

Then I found a chair at the standby gate and dozed for about 2 hours.  I woke up to a lady asking if I was going to Nashville, and when I said yes she said my flight was cancelled.  So...I got back in line!  With everyone else.  It wasn't as long as before, but not many people were back (from where ever they were sleeping) because it was 4:30 in the morning.  Someone said the desk employees should be there at 5, but it was 5:50 before anyone came. 

I think it was about 6:30 when I got to the desk.  They put me on a flight to Charlotte, NC, with a connecting flight to Nashville.  I checked in at that gate and they told me the connecting flight was only five minutes after the arrival time of the first flight, so I'd miss the flight to Nashville. 
So...back to the line.  It wasn't too long (about 30 minutes) until I got back up to the counter.  They kept me on the same flight to Charlotte, but gave me a different connecting flight.  Okay.
That flight was delayed, so I had time to get breakfast (yea for McDonalds!).  I boarded around 9:45 and left Chicago!!  :) 

I got to Charlotte around 11:30 (I think), got some Starbucks (love the marble pound cake!), and went to the gate.  It was a nice airport, especially after Chicago.  :)  I waited there for half an hour or so until boarding time to Nashville.

I arrived in Nashville at 1:29pm.  It was insane.  I was so tired, and hungry, and my luggage was who knows where.  We waited around to see if my luggage had come on the next flight (from Chicago), but it hadn't, so we left our number at the luggage desk and left around 2:30.  :(  That was sad because I had a bunch of gifts and stuff I wanted to show everyone, but it was all gone.  I knew I would get it back, but I didn't know when.  It made it really anti-climactic. 

So, we went to Taco Bell and got some lunch.  Then we went home, and I didn't go to sleep right away, because I wanted to wait for a decent time.  I think I lasted until 6:30...maybe it was later...I don't know.  I was falling asleep on the couch, so I decided to go to bed.  :)

The next day we went to a farm in Kentucky to shuck corn and have some fun seeing friends.  We left around 9, and dad called at 9:30 and said the guy who runs lost luggage home had brought mine.  Yea!

So...that's about it for my Chicago experience.  Can't say I'm longing to go back, although I'm sure Chicago really isn't all that bad, and there are great things in that city (if not in the airport!).

New Design

Look what a great picture I found for a background!!!!  It was so great that I decided to change the look of my blog.  And no, unfortunately, I did not take this picture.  :( 

So, I promise I'll update soon...hopefully this week!  Life is crazytown.  :)

Almost the End

So, my trip to England is almost over.  Wow.  I don't even know what to say.  London was so wonderful.  Wells is so wonderful.  They are so different, but both so English!  I still have to go back and fill in some things, like Bath, but I thought I should write tonight...my last night in England.  It was wonderful...I went to town with Mrs. Marilyn and we went in some shops, then had tea.  Then she went to run some more errands and home to make phone calls and I wandered around the village a bit more.  It is really small...if I knew the way I could walk from one end of it to the other in a day...probably less.  The other day we went to Glastonbury and went up on the "tor", which is the "legendary burial place of King Arthur".  (that's the tower in the picture post)  From the top where the tower was you could see Wells...six miles away!

Anyhow, after wandering the shops a bit I went back to the house and left a couple things I had bought and headed out to the fields.  There's a great footpath right down the road (it leads right into the city) with a field beside it (the picture of close-up grass with field in the background).  I went through the field instead of the paved walkway, and then got an ice cream cone and started out on the little path which actually leads to the next village.  It's a big open field with a little paved path through it.  I went a ways down that (I could still see the gate back into Wells) and then sat under a big tree for a while and wrote in my journal.  Then I headed back to town and went in a bunch more shops.  I got a lovely black with white polkadots dress and some earrings before I decided I should go home before I buy anything else!! 

So, I came home, called some people, watered the grass (just got new sod), and had dinner (great rice with "spanish chicken" sauce and veggies), watered the garden, had dessert (biscuits with clotted cream and strawberries!) and just emailed and such until now. 

Tomorrow: leaving here at 7:30, arriving at the London airport around 10, plane leaves at 12:20, arrive Chicago around 3:30, leave Chicago around 6:15, arrive Nashville about 8.  Sleep.  :)

^^The Cemetery in Oxford where we ate lunch^^

Isn't it gorgeous??

Bath: The Prologue

We went to Bath today.  It was great.  So pretty.  I'll have to write a big long post on it, but right now i am sleepy and need to go to bed so I can go wander the countryside tomorrow.  Open fields, big trees, tall grass, my journal, and a good book...sounds like bliss.  If only I had a horse and buggy...  :)

Wells

Just some pictures from Wells.  I am in love.

In Love With This Day

 "I am in love with this day!" ~India Mayer (6-17-10)

Today was good and sad.  Lillie and Mrs. Shepherd left us at 8:00, and we had breakfast and headed to the market around 9:15.  We spent a while at the market (LOVE markets!) and then Mr. D and I went back to the hotel to get my luggage and go to Paddington station.  We got to Paddington and I bought some flowers for the Paynes (they look lovely on the table...sitting in a teapot with some other flowers from their garden!!) and hopped on the train at 12:20.  The train pulled out of the station at 12:35 (so close to 12:40!!).  It was sad to be leaving London, but I will be going back there to the airport, so it's not goodbye yet.  :)  And I was glad about the lovely ride through the beautiful countryside and staying with the Paynes.  The land is so gorgeous! I could be here a whole month every summer and never get tired of it!! 

Anyhow, when I got off the train at Castle Cary I turned around and Mr. Payne was standing right there!  How perfect!  So, we drove through Castle Cary (they actually live in Wells, which is a little way from the station).  We went by their son's house, which is enchanting.  It used to be an old mill, so it is just wonderful, plus there is a huge field right out the front door and a lovely garden where their son is getting married in a few weeks!  We had a cup of tea and looked around a bit before heading home.  We put together some lunch and took it to the cathedral green.  It was a lovely walk, and there is a castle-type building (that I just forgot the name of!) with a moat around it!!  It is just a *perfect* English countryside town. 

We ate on the green (big open field/courtyard) and then Mrs. Payne and I went to Evensong at the cathedral.  There was a boy's choir, which was wonderful.  After that we wandered around the town a little, looking at shops (which were all closed, but we looked in the windows) and almost going to a coffee shop, but it was closed.  The city is called Wells because there are little springs everywhere that used to be wells.  There is a kind of drainage path/moat thing in the sidewalk for the water that is constantly running through the city. 

So, we had dinner and watched a Hercule Poirot (written by Agatha Christie...I know, I sound like a broken record...) movie.  I had some strawberries with meringue and clotted cream...**love**.

Tomorrow we're going to church, then there is a lunch at the church, then I'm not sure what we'll do.  I think we may go to Bath, but there's several options of things to do around here and I'm not doing well at keeping them straight!  :)  Night!