HANNAH WE ARE WATCHING YOU.
WE KNOW EVERYTHING.
Monday 31 March 2008
the 10th of march. that epic day when the power went out all across europe for a record three weeks. why wasn't the blog updated? blame the power grids, probably the swedish ones. the vikings never really learned how to be civilized people. they're still rapacious vikings at heart, though they clothe themselves in a thin veneer of "tolerance" and "good-natured humor".
okay you don't believe us? that's fine. we've never written an honest word on this blog. you are being held captive in our fortress of lies.
.......
OR SO SAYS JOSH! i am here to whisk you away from josh's fanciful fortress of lies and deceit to inform you of the real situation which has unfolded over the past unblogged weeks. we've been overrun by a plague; the most glorious plague you can imagine! even better than locusts, about 1,453 macalester students descended upon london in the past week for spring break, and we had the time of our lives entertaining them and frolicking gayly amongst the beauteous wooded ceilings and flowing taps of the cheshire cheese.
we have not, however, posted on our blog, sadface :-(
we apologize to our myriad legions of adoring fans, spiteful haters, and creepy stalkers who have anxiously awaited this blog post. but rest assure, josh and i guarantee this epic blogpost will blow you out of the water, or blow your socks off, depending on whether you are in water, or wearing socks. if neither is true, stop reading now, or rectify the situation, because here we go:
ok so first off: london! with friends! we explored all the dripping decrepit corners of the city with our stalwart macalester contingent. from the gunshot riddled alleys of camberwell to the courtyard of scenic buckingham palace, made all the more impressive by a certain virulent hailstorm that pummeled us as we resolutely trudged up the mall, screaming at mother nature and cursing our parents for bringing us into this cruel world.
but it wasn't all crime and natural disaster!
indeed, there was more than enough ribaldry and mirth to cheer ourselves up. sitting next to the english hearth through the days and nights the sounds of hearty laughter intermingled with the police sirens and shrill cries that resound through the london night.
we spent one terrific night at caitlyn's pad in earl's court. we co-opted a certain shack in the back of her apartment complex (a "classroom") and we chilled there until the early hours of the morning, at which time we all collapsed upon each other on the floor in a big teeming pile of macalester friendship. conversations about how amazing the summer will be were non-stop. and when we woke up in the morning, the landlord, fabio, was angry at us because we had not checked in with him. so in order to rectify the situation, he thought he would read off some names of people who had supposedly arrived for the next program he was housing (as caitlyn and co. were vacating the apartments that night). so imagine his surprise when he discovered that none of the six groggy bodies splayed out on the floor were actually supposed to be there. but just as he was about to evict us, luckily caitlyn came down from her quarters and explained the situation and we cleaned up the wreck of a classroom and went our merry way.
thanks for visiting everyone! it was terrific to see all of you. we miss you a lot.
and now! for more exciting travel news updates, i am proudly sending you over to the desk of one E. Nib. esq., lower-level clerk for the legal war machine of the Scoopington Brothers, feared attorneys and polo enthusiasts.
I, one E. Nib. esq., would also like to convey my amorous affection for all the lovely folks who came and visited us. Great times were had by all!!!...except when I couldn't hang out because I was writing papers :-(
also, i am firm in my commitment to calling my essays papers, they are not essays, they are papers, and don't let any of these heady britons tell you anything different!
hmph. now that i'm done with my haughty semantic quip, lets talk about less obnoxious and more fun things, like amsterdam!
josh and i arrived early easter morn', right around the time when that misty glow of dawn
illuminates the pasture to show thousands of little easter bunnies carrying baskets with eggs and announcing jesus' ressurection. god bless those little bunnies, always there to remind us that pagan fertility worship is important, and that triumph over death itself is nothing unless we eat chocolate eggs! unfotunately, josh and i celebrated easter sans candy eggs or latin mass :-(
instead we hung out with great people, smoked quite a bit thanks to a treasure left to us from william, and went on an epic quest for pancakes!
this was a quest of messianic proportions, as if it were preordained to happen on easter. we set out from tim l's gorgeous apartment and josh and i faced our first trial: the pavement.
the courtyard outside tim's apartment is quite amazing. it is arranged of...um, my geometry fails me. trapezoidal(?) type shapes were arranged brilliantly in the courtyard so that they all fit together, and, astonishingly enough, are all the same size. josh and i were simply mesmerized, but with the help of megan, marissa and timl, we were able to snap ourselves out of it and continue on our quest. our first destination was unsuccessful, as the pancake stand we journeyed towards had vanished. yes, vanished. at least thats how i remember it...
so we journeyed on, but the weather soured; yet we did not let our spirits do the same, and our unflagging determination guided us through a veritable blizzard, a maelstrom of ice, hail and snowflakes the size of your head!...well they were pretty big anyways.
so how did we face this powerful vortex of wintry weather that amsterdam assaulted us with? a picture at the "i amsterdam" sign of course!(publication of said photo on facebook is forthcoming)
that last part was crucial, remember kids, if ever caught outside in a blizzard whilst questing for pancakes, it is vital for your survival that you trudge through the mud to take pictures at the nearest and coolest tourist landmark you can find!
so finally we reached the pancake house. its a fantastic little restaurant in the middle of a park and it stands in what used to be a carousel! if that were not fantastic enough, the pancakes are incredible. not quite crepe, and not quite american pancake, but all deliciousness.
then we trudged back to timl's apartment, and ended our odyssey with a long nap, dominos pizza, and lots of arrested development.
and that was the first day we were here. um. oops. that was rather long. sorry about that, if my soapbox doesn't creak under my feet i forget i'm up there and keep pontificating. rest assured that josh and i will return post haste to enlighten you as to our subsequent amsterdammian adventures. i hope that our words are a bit more pithy and less rambly in the coming post, but i promise nothing, because, well, we're pretty much done with classes....so yeah, expect more, sorry for the delay, and we love you all
<3 niblorte
okay you don't believe us? that's fine. we've never written an honest word on this blog. you are being held captive in our fortress of lies.
.......
OR SO SAYS JOSH! i am here to whisk you away from josh's fanciful fortress of lies and deceit to inform you of the real situation which has unfolded over the past unblogged weeks. we've been overrun by a plague; the most glorious plague you can imagine! even better than locusts, about 1,453 macalester students descended upon london in the past week for spring break, and we had the time of our lives entertaining them and frolicking gayly amongst the beauteous wooded ceilings and flowing taps of the cheshire cheese.
we have not, however, posted on our blog, sadface :-(
we apologize to our myriad legions of adoring fans, spiteful haters, and creepy stalkers who have anxiously awaited this blog post. but rest assure, josh and i guarantee this epic blogpost will blow you out of the water, or blow your socks off, depending on whether you are in water, or wearing socks. if neither is true, stop reading now, or rectify the situation, because here we go:
ok so first off: london! with friends! we explored all the dripping decrepit corners of the city with our stalwart macalester contingent. from the gunshot riddled alleys of camberwell to the courtyard of scenic buckingham palace, made all the more impressive by a certain virulent hailstorm that pummeled us as we resolutely trudged up the mall, screaming at mother nature and cursing our parents for bringing us into this cruel world.
but it wasn't all crime and natural disaster!
indeed, there was more than enough ribaldry and mirth to cheer ourselves up. sitting next to the english hearth through the days and nights the sounds of hearty laughter intermingled with the police sirens and shrill cries that resound through the london night.
we spent one terrific night at caitlyn's pad in earl's court. we co-opted a certain shack in the back of her apartment complex (a "classroom") and we chilled there until the early hours of the morning, at which time we all collapsed upon each other on the floor in a big teeming pile of macalester friendship. conversations about how amazing the summer will be were non-stop. and when we woke up in the morning, the landlord, fabio, was angry at us because we had not checked in with him. so in order to rectify the situation, he thought he would read off some names of people who had supposedly arrived for the next program he was housing (as caitlyn and co. were vacating the apartments that night). so imagine his surprise when he discovered that none of the six groggy bodies splayed out on the floor were actually supposed to be there. but just as he was about to evict us, luckily caitlyn came down from her quarters and explained the situation and we cleaned up the wreck of a classroom and went our merry way.
thanks for visiting everyone! it was terrific to see all of you. we miss you a lot.
and now! for more exciting travel news updates, i am proudly sending you over to the desk of one E. Nib. esq., lower-level clerk for the legal war machine of the Scoopington Brothers, feared attorneys and polo enthusiasts.
I, one E. Nib. esq., would also like to convey my amorous affection for all the lovely folks who came and visited us. Great times were had by all!!!...except when I couldn't hang out because I was writing papers :-(
also, i am firm in my commitment to calling my essays papers, they are not essays, they are papers, and don't let any of these heady britons tell you anything different!
hmph. now that i'm done with my haughty semantic quip, lets talk about less obnoxious and more fun things, like amsterdam!
josh and i arrived early easter morn', right around the time when that misty glow of dawn
illuminates the pasture to show thousands of little easter bunnies carrying baskets with eggs and announcing jesus' ressurection. god bless those little bunnies, always there to remind us that pagan fertility worship is important, and that triumph over death itself is nothing unless we eat chocolate eggs! unfotunately, josh and i celebrated easter sans candy eggs or latin mass :-(
instead we hung out with great people, smoked quite a bit thanks to a treasure left to us from william, and went on an epic quest for pancakes!
this was a quest of messianic proportions, as if it were preordained to happen on easter. we set out from tim l's gorgeous apartment and josh and i faced our first trial: the pavement.
the courtyard outside tim's apartment is quite amazing. it is arranged of...um, my geometry fails me. trapezoidal(?) type shapes were arranged brilliantly in the courtyard so that they all fit together, and, astonishingly enough, are all the same size. josh and i were simply mesmerized, but with the help of megan, marissa and timl, we were able to snap ourselves out of it and continue on our quest. our first destination was unsuccessful, as the pancake stand we journeyed towards had vanished. yes, vanished. at least thats how i remember it...
so we journeyed on, but the weather soured; yet we did not let our spirits do the same, and our unflagging determination guided us through a veritable blizzard, a maelstrom of ice, hail and snowflakes the size of your head!...well they were pretty big anyways.
so how did we face this powerful vortex of wintry weather that amsterdam assaulted us with? a picture at the "i amsterdam" sign of course!(publication of said photo on facebook is forthcoming)
that last part was crucial, remember kids, if ever caught outside in a blizzard whilst questing for pancakes, it is vital for your survival that you trudge through the mud to take pictures at the nearest and coolest tourist landmark you can find!
so finally we reached the pancake house. its a fantastic little restaurant in the middle of a park and it stands in what used to be a carousel! if that were not fantastic enough, the pancakes are incredible. not quite crepe, and not quite american pancake, but all deliciousness.
then we trudged back to timl's apartment, and ended our odyssey with a long nap, dominos pizza, and lots of arrested development.
and that was the first day we were here. um. oops. that was rather long. sorry about that, if my soapbox doesn't creak under my feet i forget i'm up there and keep pontificating. rest assured that josh and i will return post haste to enlighten you as to our subsequent amsterdammian adventures. i hope that our words are a bit more pithy and less rambly in the coming post, but i promise nothing, because, well, we're pretty much done with classes....so yeah, expect more, sorry for the delay, and we love you all
<3 niblorte
Monday 10 March 2008
'stick to coffee and alcohol'
well josh, i'm afraid i shan't be rising to the challenge of your injunction to write a better post. instead of providing a cogent narrative of the recent events in our lives, i'm going to provide anecdotal musings on two subjects which lie very close to my heart: coffee and bicycles.
coffee shops are not a big thing here. it makes me sad. they have starbucks, caffe nero (they spell it with two f's here because they like consonants more than us midwesterners with our extended vowels), and a few small coffee shops such as the wonderful caffee silvers near our campus in central london where they specialize in being friendly to punk kids like me, and making delicious candy bar milkshakes. i had a ferror roche (sp?) milkshake, and i've heard the kit-kat milkshakes are great too.
the starbucks here are exactly the same as our starbucks in every way except for 3 outlying differences.
1) everything is exactly twice as much because our currency is shit
2) the music. they play A LOT of bob marley. this is a good thing. they play some opera. this is a weird thing, but not exactly a bad thing.
3) the no smoking signs. yesterday when i was daydreaming instead of contemplating women's changing position within the 13th century family, i noticed that starbucks' no smoking sign says "To protect the quality of our coffee, we ask you not to smoke."
bicycling. less terrifying than i'd thought it'd be, but i miss st paul. i miss the midtown greenway crazy. they don't really do bikepaths here, and they also aren't so consistent with bike lanes on streets. sometimes a major street will have one and then it will just disappear, only to reappear inexplicably 4 or 5 blocks later.
also, roundabouts are awesome. at first i thought they were scary and strange, but now i think they're funashell! everytime i go around one and then go off on one of the streets i feel like the starship enterprise orbiting the sun and using its gravity to catapult itself off somewhere. or maybe it wasn't the enterprise, i dunno, something in startrek, ben, stephen, help me out here.
so thats about it, now i'm actually going to start writing my paper, and i'll have to leave it to josh to make more substantive and interesting posts than my anecdotal ramblings.
love to all!
coffee shops are not a big thing here. it makes me sad. they have starbucks, caffe nero (they spell it with two f's here because they like consonants more than us midwesterners with our extended vowels), and a few small coffee shops such as the wonderful caffee silvers near our campus in central london where they specialize in being friendly to punk kids like me, and making delicious candy bar milkshakes. i had a ferror roche (sp?) milkshake, and i've heard the kit-kat milkshakes are great too.
the starbucks here are exactly the same as our starbucks in every way except for 3 outlying differences.
1) everything is exactly twice as much because our currency is shit
2) the music. they play A LOT of bob marley. this is a good thing. they play some opera. this is a weird thing, but not exactly a bad thing.
3) the no smoking signs. yesterday when i was daydreaming instead of contemplating women's changing position within the 13th century family, i noticed that starbucks' no smoking sign says "To protect the quality of our coffee, we ask you not to smoke."
bicycling. less terrifying than i'd thought it'd be, but i miss st paul. i miss the midtown greenway crazy. they don't really do bikepaths here, and they also aren't so consistent with bike lanes on streets. sometimes a major street will have one and then it will just disappear, only to reappear inexplicably 4 or 5 blocks later.
also, roundabouts are awesome. at first i thought they were scary and strange, but now i think they're funashell! everytime i go around one and then go off on one of the streets i feel like the starship enterprise orbiting the sun and using its gravity to catapult itself off somewhere. or maybe it wasn't the enterprise, i dunno, something in startrek, ben, stephen, help me out here.
so thats about it, now i'm actually going to start writing my paper, and i'll have to leave it to josh to make more substantive and interesting posts than my anecdotal ramblings.
love to all!
Wednesday 5 March 2008
i turn my tape up, i let my tape rock
hey duders
i hope everyone is alive and kicking lots of ass. at the moment i'm procrastinating from writing my paper on my most riveting topic to date: that glorious beaver-infested, timber-strewn wasteland that is our friendly neighbor to the north -- canada! oh and australia and the other dominions of the british empire as well (but mostly canada). basically i spend half my time thinking about what to write and glancing around my room to decide which tool i should use to remove my eyeballs as to guilt trip my professor so he can't hold me responsible for turning in any work on the topic.
but on to even more exciting topics! earlier tonight was the study abroad humanities students reception / gala event! we feasted on exotic dishes such as microwaved mini-quiches, still-half-frozen chicken fingers, and my personal favorite, apple pie squares stuffed with tiny ice coated cheese cubes. needless to say it was a classy event complete with delightfully vapid speeches made by the president of the college (an american!) and the dean of the school of humanities (a german?). but in the end the whole thing was worthwhile -- together ari and i made off with 10 pieces of fruit. mostly apples. they're coated with some sort of sticky substance? but it least it's not frost!
ok so thus far this post has consisted of how boring things are in my life, but check THIS one out: we went to see girl talk on monday! and we danced like savage wildebeests. for some reason there was a chair on stage, and this girl was chilling in it in the midst of everyone dancing? anyways i got knocked into her and she kicked me in the chest and yelled at me! and that's the story of my stomach legions. that crazy harpy. but on a much sweeter note, we hung out with girl talk after the show. he was in his briefs and i have a great picture of him smoking a cigarette that jenna gave him with his arms around her and elliott on my phone! but i don't know how to transfer it to the computer? frustrations! but yeah! we touched his mostly naked body!
so that's my installment! now i'm gonna pong the ball back over to niblock. you people are insatiable. stay tuned for more exciting tales about...bad catering? okay this was a weak post, elliott do better!
love all
jp
i hope everyone is alive and kicking lots of ass. at the moment i'm procrastinating from writing my paper on my most riveting topic to date: that glorious beaver-infested, timber-strewn wasteland that is our friendly neighbor to the north -- canada! oh and australia and the other dominions of the british empire as well (but mostly canada). basically i spend half my time thinking about what to write and glancing around my room to decide which tool i should use to remove my eyeballs as to guilt trip my professor so he can't hold me responsible for turning in any work on the topic.
but on to even more exciting topics! earlier tonight was the study abroad humanities students reception / gala event! we feasted on exotic dishes such as microwaved mini-quiches, still-half-frozen chicken fingers, and my personal favorite, apple pie squares stuffed with tiny ice coated cheese cubes. needless to say it was a classy event complete with delightfully vapid speeches made by the president of the college (an american!) and the dean of the school of humanities (a german?). but in the end the whole thing was worthwhile -- together ari and i made off with 10 pieces of fruit. mostly apples. they're coated with some sort of sticky substance? but it least it's not frost!
ok so thus far this post has consisted of how boring things are in my life, but check THIS one out: we went to see girl talk on monday! and we danced like savage wildebeests. for some reason there was a chair on stage, and this girl was chilling in it in the midst of everyone dancing? anyways i got knocked into her and she kicked me in the chest and yelled at me! and that's the story of my stomach legions. that crazy harpy. but on a much sweeter note, we hung out with girl talk after the show. he was in his briefs and i have a great picture of him smoking a cigarette that jenna gave him with his arms around her and elliott on my phone! but i don't know how to transfer it to the computer? frustrations! but yeah! we touched his mostly naked body!
so that's my installment! now i'm gonna pong the ball back over to niblock. you people are insatiable. stay tuned for more exciting tales about...bad catering? okay this was a weak post, elliott do better!
love all
jp
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)