27 August 2008

Every day I sit in front of my computer struggling to think of something interesting to write here. Unfortunately, nothing of note (or, indeed, even mildly interesting) happens to me during the daytime. And even if it did, I doubt I would be able to wittily relay it here. My true writing talent seems to only manifest itself during the night in the minutes before I fall asleep.

The majority of today was spent getting used to my new bridge (yes, after twelve-something years, I finally have all of my teeth and am free of orthodontic appliances!), bicycling around Scaggsville/Fulton, being a good friend, and making half-hearted attempts at packing. I'll admit, I'm a bit OCD when it comes to packing. I've been making lists for Oxford since around January. Unfortunately, I'm a tease; all talk, no action. And so my oversized suitcase lays dejectedly on my father's bedroom floor, haphazardly filled with too many pairs of socks and running spandex, and nowhere near enough pants. I suppose I will get down to business once we hit the 5 day mark. Definitely by the 1 day mark.

Lost motivation and inspiration right...here. :(

20 August 2008

14 days left until I leave.

Mailing Address:
Rebecca Kaisler
Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies
St. Michael's Hall
Shoe Lane
Oxford OX1 2DP
England

Skype: rebecca.kaisler
Email: rckaisler@smcm.edu

On Sunday, my friends threw Jasy and me a surprise goodbye party. What made it even better was the fact that I thought it was just a surprise party for Jasy, so I helped choose the decorations and party supplies. It was a British-themed party, of course, since Jasy is going to school in London while I am in Oxford. Anyways, it was an absolutely brilliant party. Everyone was dressed up nicely (since it was also the 'end of summer pretty party') and Christina made a British flag cake from strawberries and blueberries. We dined on the very classy traditional dish of fish and chips (fish sticks and french fries), as well as lemon tarts, pizza, and raspberry scones.

Afterwards, we went to Christie's house for our last bonfire of the summer. It was quite fun, even if the jiffy pop was defective and the boys used their best efforts to set Christie's yard on fire. However, we did come close to actually getting a song from Matt and Juicy, so that could be considered quite the achievement. Maybe next time we will get a song. We can hope, right?

Tonight is Amy's goodbye party. I can't believe that the fall is finally here. On Monday, my brother will head off on the bus for his final year of high school. How crazy is that? I remember when he was in third grade and would scream that he refused to go to fourth grade, that this was his final year of school. Now he is a senior and attending the community college part-time.

14 August 2008

20 days

Time, which appeared to be moving ever so slowly throughout most of the summer, appears to have finally crept up on me. Today is the 20 day point. 20 days from Oxford. 20 days away from reaching the goal I set myself two long years ago. 20 days until I find out for myself if I can truly hack it in another country on my own for more than a month. We shall see. Ok, so enough of this extreme sappiness. As you can probably imagine, I am extremely excited. Except I don't like to talk about the fact that I am excited (because that would entail sharing feelings...bleh), so I gave recently been accused of displaying extreme apathy. Don't worry, as the days dwindle down into the single digits, I will display more than enough excitement. And nervousness. And irritation (mainly due to the fact that I have to fit my life into a suitcase).

On the home front, things are as normal as ever. It has hit everyone that this is a transition year within our group, the dynamics of which will never entirely be the same again. Two of us are leaving abroad. Two are finishing up their final year at the local community college, and yet another two are transferring to Towson and Stevenson. The rest are continuing on with life as normal, whether here in Laurel or at their college town, but are faced with the realization that things will be different. As a result, our group spends almost every night hanging out, doing what we usually do (which, upon reflection, is not really anything at all). However, the past is dredged up more often than usual and a nostalgic atmosphere generally prevails over everything we do. Some are more upset than others, though I think this is mostly because we all have realized that we are getting older (practically ancient at 20, right?) and starting to go our separate ways.

I'm not upset, mostly because I am excited for the change. It will be interesting to see whether or not the years pans out as planned. Whatever happens, it will most definitely be interesting.
Mostly everyone...except for myself, of course, and Christina, who hates us and never hangs out :)

09 August 2008

The Plan


I found out today that I got all A's in my summer classes. Which means that I have earned all A's for the past year and a half, and have somewhat convinced myself that I will be able to get into graduate school somewhere. (Hopefully LSE! I'd love to go to graduate school in London!)

Anyways, Dad and I are having an Olympics party and watching the opening ceremonies for Beijing. It is absolutely amazing. Words alone could never adequately express exactly what I am feeling as I watch it. The technology used astounds me and time after time I have found myself asking my father 'How did they do it? Magic?' Of course, magic is not the answer. But still, my mind just can't grasp how an LCD screen could display such crystal-clear images on a grand scale.


The Chinese had a lot to prove with these games, especially since it is the first one that they have been allowed to hold in the entirety of their history. The grandeur and scale of their opening ceremonies is a sign to the world that have risen to the challenge and performed admirably. What remains to be seen is whether or not the rest of the games will flow as seamlessly.

Seriously. If you haven't seen the opening ceremonies, YouTube it.

(Picture source: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41439000/jpg/_41439385_opening_416.jpg}

07 August 2008

28 days until I leave. Less than a month. It's really happening, isn't it? I am really leaving!


Alright, enough of that. On a side note, I will be living on South College Street in Edinburgh in the spring. It's roughly two blocks north of George Square (where my classes will be) and five or six blocks west of the Crags.