Monday Monday

Wanna hear a joke? Ralph Waldo Emerson.

***

The guy drives me nuts! Talk about self-centered writing- I mean, can you get more egotistic than when comprising the equation, "Me = God"?! Ugh. Get a life, Waldo. Or don't. Just stay out of mine.

Whew.

Anyways, I don't want this post to be a rant-n-raver, but I just had to get that off my chest. In other news, I'm having a really good semester! Haha. I am, though. Last Saturday night, in particular, was very fun. 10 or so of us went out to the pub for some good ol' Irish music and dancing and cider, then to Brock's for more of the similar, and finally to the University Cafe for a wee early hours snack of cheesy fries and quesadillas. mm mm good.

I'm in a totally chaotic mood, so this post is liable to shift gears very fast.

I have been LOVING my babysitting job this semester. The kids are terrific- so full of life and energy, but quiet and peaceful at the right times (bedtime). They have been cracking me up with their one-liners and goofy laughs. One thing that continually amazes me, though, is how little they eat for dinner. I'll admit, I'm not the best at judging portions b/c, as we all know, Little Bubba ain't always so little (at Mar-Lu I was probably the worst Juniors' Lunch Server- I would slop on heaps of mac n' cheese only a dawg could devour. Or, you know, Lil Bubs). But anyways, the first night I was at their house, I gave them what seemed like a small portion to me, but I swear they only ate an eighth a cup's worth of food! It's nuts. Somehow, they always have room for a treat, though. Amazing how that works.

And now, for a micro poem:


Creative Writer, read

your Jamaica Kinkaid

and scorn

yourself for being

a "ugly tourist," but

most of all

for not being

enough

of one. Dripping

with creative juices

doesn't

help you think outside

the box if you're

stuck sitting

in one.

What's Been Goin' On

Hey all,

Eesh keeping a blog is sometimes harder than tomorrow's geography test! I think it's worthwhile, though (keeping a blog, that is...not memorizing the 70+ obscure countries and capitals in Europe & Transcaucasia on my study sheet)Ugh...but let's not go there :)

So, senior year is well underway, and I've been experiencing the BITTERsweet effect to the max. I don't want to graduate! I want to stay in college forever! No really, I do. At least I've got my grad year to look forward to...

In happier news...

1. Clare's "golden" birthday is tomorrow! She's turning 22 on the 22nd.
2. Dad and Grandma are visiting this weekend! & the Mulreys too!
3. I've been making nice new friends :)
4. I got skype!
5. I started my first day of practicum today- 6th grade science!
6. I'm running the study abroad table for Advanced Studies in England on Friday.
7. I got pretty new dangling earrings.
8. I LOVE the kids I'm babysitting this semester- on Friday night we played "camping." We set up a cute little pretend campsite in their backyard, collected firewood, had a pretend campfire, used their soccer goal as our tent, found big walking sticks, and hiked around their backyard.

Eight's my lucky number, so I guess I'll stop there...though I'm sure I can think of more things. I'm feeling really blessed these days. Life is good :)

Till Next Time,

Kelly

Kazaam

So, I lasted a little over a week in my efforts to cut back on sweets and six packs (the drinkable kind). It all ended with these 2 words: Hershey Park. The land of chocolate. Oh, also these 2 words: Ben & Josh.

In summary, last weekend's meals revolved around reeses, Hershey's kisses, Goldschlager, some random Canadian beer, and pizza, while my celery sticks back home probably grew questionable at best in "consumability." A weekend with the boys.

It's ok, though. I've decided that living it up in my twenties is a much more admirable trait than holding back. "Live Live Live!" cries Auntie Mame, and I just can't help but join the collegiate bandwagon. Also, for the record, it's REALLY hard to go on the Hershey Park factory tour and not crave two pounds of chocolate afterwards.

So yes- the weekend was fun and full of splurging! We went on every roller coaster in the park, including 3 runs on the Lightning Racer (there are 2 sets of cars racing each other on the roller coaster- one is called Thunder and the other Lightning). Ben and I managed to beat Josh on Thunder 2 times out of 3. Also, we saved Fahrenheit for last- a really intense coaster w/ several vertical climbs and drops. Man, I love theme parks!

Now, I'm back at school, writing this from the Education building. My next class is in 14 minutes, so I guess I'd better gather up my books.

Oh, and sorry for the break from posting. I really will try to be better about keeping this up-to-date.

Till next time,

Kelly

Little Debbie Smirked at Me

Dearest Bloggerific Chums,

Sorry for that brief hiatus from blogging goodness. While inevitably you were clicking and refreshing this web address for a new piece of profound fat to chew on, I was selfishly living it up all over the state of Massachusetts.

The occasion? Uncle Donald's 56 birthdays. And no, that is no S typo. There were many birthday celebrations on our trip- 4 of 'em to be exact. and 5 cakes. Each a different flavor. Oy. Little Bubba (if you kept up with my England blog, you'll know this name is the one and only for my stomach) is pudging out in full peacock-esque glory. Sick, I know. Good thing we have a gym.

In other pudge-reducing efforts, I have decided to turn a cold shoulder to unnecessary sweets and beers for a while. Mrs. Fields and Bud, please accept my apologies and kind regards.

Mouse clicks and carrot sticks,

Kelly

Home Again, Out Again

When I got off my British Airways plane at Dulles, collected my luggage off the carousel, and rounded the corner, I was immediately met with an excited Dad hugging me across the rail :)

The next 48 hours were kind of a blur, and, before I knew it, I was on the road again- bound for Busch Gardens and Anna Key's house. We had a great visit! We went to Busch Gardens that Monday (July 13th), and rode just about everything (including front row seats on the Griffon!) I think the highlight of the day for both of us, though, was the end result of our hilarious caricature:



On Tuesday, July 14, we went to Virginia Beach and relaxed in the sun. I'm pretty sure that was the first real relaxing I'd done since May. Though Bath was a blast, we were pretty much always on the go!

Here We Go Again!

Hi Everyone,

Just because I'm back in America, I don't have to stop blogging, right? Right! So I've created kkinamerica.blogspot.com as a sort of continuation of kkinengland.blogspot.com, my study abroad journal. Same me, different location now.

I don't really have any sort of goal for the blog- life commentaries, pieces of writing, humorous anecdotes...you'll find them all here :)

Enjoy the read!

Love, Kelly