KC in the UK

2007-02-05T09:02:00.000-08:00

I made an old lady shreek today.... and not just a little scream, a full out, terror stricken, really shrill wail.

I was late for an appointment and took off running down bold street. I shoot up an alley and was rounding the corner onto the main street and nearly plowed her over.... but nimbly hopped in between her and her hubby at the last second. Her face, (which I only saw for a second) was sheet white. I kept running, so will never know if she fully recovered...

what is it with me and accidently attacking old ladies?

2007-01-10T04:55:00.000-08:00

so after much debate and anguish, I decided to again begin on my blog. I sort of miss retelling the random stories and crazy things that tend to happen everyday. Like right now for example...
Gen and i planned a "LP vaca" day for today. we're currently having beachy drinks in our swimsuits, getting tan by our space heaters.
ps every light in this room is on. Liverpool has never felt so sunny.
i love my life.

2006-05-09T15:06:00.000-07:00

My dream of being Elizabeth Bennett continues. Andy took this of me at Lyme Park, the ACTUAL house where Mr. Darcy is said to have lived in the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice

enjoying the Oregonia sunshine

2006-04-26T03:19:00.000-07:00

just some documentation so you guys will FINALLY believe me that "the dog that noone loves" (meggie) is actually quite healthy and happy. so THERE!!

2006-04-24T14:09:00.000-07:00

so you may be asking yourself "why hasn't kc posted in forever?" or better still "what's happened to her the last two weeks?"
now there's actually a perfectly logical explanation for the stream of questions, obviously being
I was on holiday.

what's that?
what did I do on holiday you ask?

well....

from seeing the oldest pub in England

to going wine tasting in Portugal

and finding buried treasure.

Having tea outside a massive estate

to going punting for the very first time.

My holiday was awesome.

2006-04-12T13:47:00.000-07:00

Things that make me sad...

the fact that this year is drawing to a close.

going to the agape conference this weekend just clenched the realization that my team is actually leaving soon. The final night there, there was a farewell to the team and the passage from the end of Acts 20 was read. you know, the part where we would "never see each other again".
yeah, that's when, in front of the entire agape staff, I kind of lost it.

apparently my face got all red too. You can ask those who were present.

yeah for the record, come the end of project I'm going to be a basketcase.

2006-03-21T00:51:00.000-08:00

I was curious to see how the UK spent St. Patrick's Day since it's such a major holiday in the states. I spent most of the morning at home so saw nothing out of the ordinary, until..

ang and I are sitting calmly on the 86 (on our way to prayer and praise with the Miami guys) when she spotted commotion up ahead and wisely made the suggestion that we exit the bus at the uni stop. So there we were walking down the street to this crowd ahead of us when we realized...
it was a PARADE!!
I went ballistically excited, lured by all the green. Ang actually saved my life at that point because I was running to catch up with all the people and narrowly missed an oncoming car.

We kept working our way toward them, me half walking half skipping and then there we were, past the police entourage, actually walking IN A PARADE.

Ang also found it highly amusing when the first thing I thought of was "I need to call my mom!" what followed was a really one sided conversation with the two of us just screaming into the phone "we're IN a parade" with the din of drunk older men and small children in the background. I couldn't hear a word my parents were saying so guess thought it would be smart to keep repeating the same thing over and over.

seriously my life could have ended at that point I was so happy.

sadly neither of us had our cameras so no pictures were taken of the momentous occasion.
but just for those of you who lack imagination this is what it was kind of like

2006-03-17T03:55:00.000-08:00

spring break madness is almost over, then back to a normal British existence. aaaahhhhh....

the past few weeks have been slightly odd with just a random mass of crazy stories (including the plethora of those that include our broken toilet seat) and one great snowfall.
Speaking of snow I want to again show off my incredible American jcrew product... my wellies.

(ahem) ode to my American made/trendy wellies. They did amazing in the snow; allowed me to walk through any dirty slush river that came along and kept my feet nice and dry. no taking the long way around to cross a street for me. I just plow on through

but seriously where else (but an American clothing website) would you find creative names for tshirt colors such as glacier, blade green (which I chose... and when it said blade it meant fluorescent), bright quartz and dutch blue.

Happy St. Patricks Day! if you see me, comment on my blade shirt. I guarantee I win the brightest green. (even though I think I'm only about 1/16th Irish)

2006-02-26T01:26:00.000-08:00

Stint changes you.

there are numerous examples I could give for this statement but I will just stick with one for now. I have, over the course of this year, become horribly impulsive.

Impulsiveness was always something that I aspired to have, even lied about it when taking the Myers Briggs but never was truly something that described me.
The tables have turned. I = impulse.

exhibit A: my hair. I watched Pride and Prejudice last week and thought "yeah I wanna look like Kiera Knightley" upon which I went out the next day and had my fringe (bangs) chopped. Rich took this shot, and afterward broke the news to me that alas, I in fact look NOTHING like Kiera Knightley....(on a positive note, I AM wearing my new Jack Johnson tshirt :)

2006-02-25T07:02:00.000-08:00

I feel off the bus the other day. yeah you guessed it. kc clumsiness strikes again. This time though, it wasn't even raining. I was just getting off the bus right in front of Urban and my feet somehow managed to go out from under me. I still held onto the railing with my hand so I ended up laying with my feet out in the street and my head at the top of the stairs looking up at the driver who appeared upside down.
This humiliation was nothing however, when upon entering Urban the place erupted in applause for my stunning performance.

ok that last bit didn't happen but made for an interesting thought.

also, last night went to the Jack Johnson concert in Manchester. it was seriously such a good time. so fun.

I feel I've really improved as a music conoceur from my very first concert days back in middle school with TLC... and my mom's outrage (after we were already there) upon finding out that they are NOT a Christian group.

2006-02-19T15:02:00.000-08:00

tonight danny, ryan, sarah and I watched this thriller movie called Red Eye. It begins at first with a couple meeting for the first time in an airport and ryan asked if it was a romantic comedy. the film or rather our take of it derailed from there.
you would probably have a greater understanding if you were sitting in the guys living room, but try to imagine Ryan and Danny making horrible annoying noises in order to get the attention of the flight attendant and catch sarah's eerie impression of the girl from the Ring.

It took me back to the days of yore when we used to rent scary movies just to make fun of them, therefore creating the most hilarious films ever.

This one is my favorite. It's called Rumplestiltskin and I remember laughing unbelievably hard at it's stupidity

2006-02-09T14:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I received a Valentines Day package from my parents. It's standard procedure for me to get something from my dad, but every year I really really look forward to it.
Included in this years extravaganza were the following:

-- actual Christian conversation hearts with phrases like "Got God?" "Jesus bless me" and "Try God"

--Lollies (or suckers) wrapped in scripture for 64 of my closest friends.
The message at the top: "Scripture candy: Reaching the world One Piece at a Time!"

--also included was the most incredible Valentines day card I've ever gotten. It was from my dad....and was IN SPANISH. (Bear in mind that no one in my family has or ever will know Spanish.)

The following is the card helpfully translated into English by Sarah and Babblefish.com

Front:
For my precious wife,
your value is impossible to measure

I hope that you can see it in my eyes. I request to God that you feel it when I touch to you. I hope that you know with all of your heart how much you mean to me.

Inside:
If there were a thousand ways to show you how significant you are to me, it would not be sufficient to express the love and respect that I have for you. I feel deeply blessed to be the man who God made for you. And it is an honor to share my life with a person as wonderful as you. With love on Valentines Day and always

and finally my dad signed IN SPANISH "that there is my daughter, Father"

the verse at the bottom... you guessed it

Proverbs 31:10
"A excellent wife who can find. She is worth far more than precious jewels."

I am my father's daughter

2006-02-05T11:49:00.000-08:00

Things I learned from a sojourn in Spain...

Contrary to popular belief (in my head) I'm actually really short

I really really and I mean really cherish moments like this

my friends are eerily close to the parenting stage of life

Monkeys make everyone happy

I have more fun with my team than with anyone

2006-01-21T16:46:00.000-08:00

do you ever think that you're really good at something until you actually try it and then realize how rubbish your feable atempt actually is?

happens to me all the time considering I pretend I'm a super hero in disguise. calmly living out my clark kent identity, waiting precariously until the day I'm needed to save the world.

good thing I'm learning this year that I am in fact mortal. Like today. I bought some paint and attempted a calming forest scene with a pathway running across it. Granted you can tell there are some trees dotting the landscape but the picture is nothing like the Van Gogh in my mind.

or yesterday, made food for all my friends and was going for this amazing dinner with everything perfectly put together and the kitchen completely tidy at the end. but have yet to make a martha stewartish meal. (although I AM really glad she's out of prison)

and have finally concluded that if I dart in front of a car one more time at the intersection of smithdown place, I will most likely get hit "meet joe black" style.

so there you have it ladies and gentleman. I'm no superman.

2006-01-18T23:39:00.000-08:00

stiff upper lip? what does that really mean?

yesterday l spend a good amount of my day at Urban coffee. While there I was again faced with the British way of should I say...Resilience.

to give some background, the front door of urban has difficulty closing and therefore will swing open if not shut properly....which in fact happened repeatedly. (if this would have been only once I would have blown it off, twice felt a bit more annoyed but no, OH NO there were three separate occurences)

AND EVERYTIME, of the ten or so people sitting there enjoying coffee, ALL pretented as if nothing had happened

EVEN THOUGH A FREEZING COLD DRAFT WAS COMING IN AT RAPID SPEED.

I was forced to walk completely across the room and shut it myself.

Good thing there was an American there to save the day.

2006-01-16T00:58:00.000-08:00

as my time here in the pool grows longer I've found that I actually do live and breathe... and miss my home country every once in a while. So in no order whatsoever here are a few things I miss from home:

my car. Sadly Alex is no longer a part of my life as I sold her before coming here. This shot was taken during some of our last precious moments together....although I do look forward to the day when I will have a car that actually keeps rain OUTSIDE the vehicle.
(also guess just generally miss the act of driving itself..and books on tape. seriously so theraputic)

jif creamy peanut butter. I just got a package from my folks which contained mmmm peanut butter. When I'm at home I literally put it on EVERYTHING and as I've told you guys here multiple times...Brits pb is NAStay.

Clean Sweep. a program I used to watch between classes last year. They find these obsessive hoarders and make them trash 99% of their stuff in a few rooms. It's fabulous. Three cheers to Andy who's letting me clean sweep his room this week. ah tension relief.

watching football. American. Nothing like it. Oh to be able to again waste my saturday afternoon on the couch watching college ball.

pad thai from phan shin. nothing this side of the atlantic's come close so far. I'm still not sure what it is about it that makes it so amazing, but getting some $6.50 take away will for sure be first priority the next time I'm in O town.

hugs. This one is BIG and calls for an ode to the days of 105 Ox Commons and senior year. Sometimes I just really miss those days of physical contact.

my dog. Her name is Luxie, short for Luxembourg (you know, like the country) and she's a Weimaraner. important pros...she has webbed feet, her ears feel like velvet and every morning she has to take a pill (for her lock jaw) disguised by my fav peanut butter on a dog biscuit.

2006-01-16T00:55:00.000-08:00

It's the moment you've all been waiting for..... my new years resolutions for 2006 are the following:
1. learn how to play (basic) guitar (which means aquiring a guitar and finding a tutor)

2. learn basic Greek (want to be able to read SOME of the Bible in the original language)

3. Memorize all countries and capitals (feel free to quiz me)

4. Memorize all of Colossians (don't feel so free in this area)

5. stop biting my nails (this one drives me crazy...i might just start smacking myself anytime it happens....except I never even realize I'm doing it)

6. get on the computer (esp msn) less
(I feel it's sort of attached to my arms most of the day)

2006-01-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

Noah Webster, whose Blue Back Speller (1788) sold 82 million copies within a century of its publication, was a great pioneer of US English as opposed to British English. He said that establishing a national language was as important as winning the American Revolution itself. The spelling of such terms at theater instead of theatre and color instead of colour is Webster's legacy.

Is the fact that he's in my bloodline a coincidence? I think not.

2006-01-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

I'll never let go Jack

Ang told Danny to just act like he was sniffing his armpit

The spring breakers will never know it's not your real hair

2006-01-08T05:56:00.000-08:00

This past week I've thought a lot about my new years resolutions. For most people resolutions are a January to March sort of thing. They're kept up for a while then slowly trickle off.

But for me they're this amazing chance to learn a new skill, change a bad habit, think something different about my world. (this sounds like that advert with the old one armed man) And the weird thing about me is that generally I actually keep them and they become part of me... guess you could call it the ever changing kc or maybe even kaci :)

HOWEVER all this aside.... this year I'm having a hard time coming up with really good new years resolutions... suggestions are welcome... within reason...
(although ryan and i WERE talking about base jumping while walking around the chester wall the other day)

I'm giving myself a week deadline, so by next sunday

2006-01-05T01:29:00.000-08:00

The inefficiency of the British postal service...

I have been waiting for a package from my sister sent circa December 26th. This on edge waiting is not new for me considering last week I received a package from my parents sent November 7th which contained trays to be used at Thanksgiving. Granted, it was accidentally sent by barge but still...

I blame bank holidays

2005-12-29T16:22:00.000-08:00

A collective effort, Willmollark
written by me and Anglicized (annoyingly edited) by the two looking over my shoulders

I'm currently being held hostage in Hampshire, England....living in fear. The past few days have ended up being very very unique. I never thought I would spend two more crazy/fun days with a couple of British guys in my life (and spending time with Kevin and Lauren). I have just been told the biggest lie EVER and I actually believed it!!! In case any of you are wondering, you do NOT throw purple powder in the House of Commons even if they are made from crushed up thistle originating in Edinburgh. I know this sounds absolutely unbelievable but I must in fact be the most gullible person EVER.... i hate my life...

Yesterday we went to the New Forest, which isn't very new... and where I apparently got a little too friendly with the wild horses, one by hugging and picking anothers nose. Afterwards I was Britanised by being forced to take a 2 and a half hour walk down freezing cold hardly exsisting paths where mud covered my shoes and hands lost feeling. Upon questioning the reason behind the ridiculous escapde I was told that it builds character.

Today we visited Oxford which consisted of going to the Eagle and Child for hours then on to Blackwells bookshop to check out the LOADS and LOADS of amazing books that must be read by the end of my lifetime. (eagle and child is where Tolkien and Lewis met with their literary group... our inspiration for our new bookish group name. Hilariously the pub was packed full of Americans, the most I've seen since coming to this country. ) We all bought some works by Lewis and felt deeply intellectual. Rich was actually right about the fact that there are not only one but TWO starbucks located down the main drag. No longer do I think of it as a quaint British town.

Also of note; Rich found out what spooning was today when Andy offered to share a bed with him at my house in Cincinnati with the promise that they could spoon...you could hear me laughing in Liverpool.
kc: Rich, do you want to be the big spoon or the little spoon?
rich: I woke up this morning in a Hampshire families garden room and they would NOT stop screaming.
andy: yeah, I'd probably be the big spoon.

Tonight we went to this amazing amazing pub in the middle of nowhere that at one time was an old mill. It was super cool and quite old. I've felt so scholarly all day and this was probably the crux with some interesting conversations sprinkled in there as a highlight (ruined later by the realization that I was lied to earlier)

2005-12-21T13:47:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!

some highlights from Italia:

walking down the main street in Solerno(with lights strung across the lamppost tops) and this pack of tiny kids all holding hands passing us singing "Jingle Bells" in Italian. SUPER cute! Also at this point Kevin mentioned that he really wants an adorable little Italian child.

taking a bus to the amalfi coast one day with a GINORMOUS bus full of middle age kids packed as tightly as they could...felt a little like sardines... Ang and Sarah laughing hysterically as one little chubby kid kept falling out when the doors opened and watching his facial expressions.

hanging out on the beach eating lunch in Positano and meeting our favorite dog following friend named Cane (literally. every dog we saw followed us)

gladiator style battles and modeling in both the Pompeii and Rome colosseums (pictures to come)

actually having bruises to write home about and being the most embarrassed I've ever been....ask me about it later.

2005-12-17T18:36:00.000-08:00

well I'm off to the world of pizza and gelato in about 19 min. First thoughts tonight were that I would head to bed around 10 considering we're leaving at 5am, but then realized it's me and that's scientifically impossible.
Second option... all nighter. (I'm not sure why it's extremes with me but just seemed like the logical step that if I don't get lots of sleep then should just not get any)

All nighters always bring forth a wave of memories from my old uni days (23 just feels so old!).... and give me this satisfaction of sort of cheating death. ok, I'll explain... sleep is something we all need/require/would die if we didn't have. Therefore by my lack of it, I'm actually showing my wimpy body who's boss! well that's the idea anyway...

once I stayed up for 62 hours stright...I wouldn't recomment it to anyone. I did it as a bet almost just to say that I had, like skydiving or eating marmite, (the last being on an equal plane with licking a burning candle.)

Most of my all nighters end up being rather lame, however, with me running/driving/jumping around in order to stay awake or just finishing up work for school that I had known about for 8 weeks but only the last 24 hours seemed logical to finish it.
...OR just sitting in my chair staring at nothing...hoping that it's 4am so I can get ready to go grab a flight to a warmer land.

anyway...hope you all reading have a lovely christmas and boxing day!

2005-12-15T16:49:00.000-08:00

It's finally starting to feel like Christmas...
Monday was our team night and we spent it decorating cookies and the tree at the guys house. The best part is that just plain old Christmas cut outs would be way too boring for the Liverpool agape team. I wish yall could watch the hilarious video of this whole process...

I call her Nessie

Brit's samurai snowman and a scally with an egg

a submarine, old wooden ship, and the ministry mobile with Ryan at the wheel

my posh sea horse

lamb banana

2005-12-12T00:17:00.000-08:00

I have often been called a very happy person....
for example:
Uncle Bob twice says:
i think your face must be stuck that way
Uncle Bob twice says:
no one can smile that much
Uncle Bob twice says:
you must have great facial muscles

For this reason, I find living in this country hilarious due to British obsession with equality among mannerisms and behaviors...ie continual attempts to break kc's spirit. this is performed through constant mick taking and most often patronizing looks (you know who you are)

Surprisingly my personality is much the same nearly four months later and I still absolutely love it here. perhaps it's this American resolution amidst the oppression of those Brits trying to squelch our independence or simply my resilience is an attempt to keep that idealisic spirit alive in all of us.... (Ann of Green Gables style)

Or maybe the real reason is quite possibly the most obvious... no one actually knows what I'm thinking, which might in fact be quite despairing :)

either way I will continue to live and thrive in the UK, daring all you Brits to go ahead and BRING IT ON!!

More favorites;

persistence

effort

failure

dysfunction

2005-12-09T18:50:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I had the joy of giving my first ever Tour de Liverpool, probably the greatest city in the world. It was seriously such a great day. I got to witness the many sides of Kevin Hawley, both modely and motherly and got to again see the coolness of the Maritime museum. I love this city....
Al, I hope you feel more "cultured"

2005-12-05T16:13:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I was away with a group of internationals at Cloverley Hall. The weekend was seriously amazing in every way. I could share numerous stories but will cut it down to two.
Upon first getting there at night the hall looked like this...

somewhat creepy? my thoughts exactly. The first night was totally fine concerning normalcy but on sat night something slightly odd happened that I will admit, really really scared me.
I was reading in bed with the bedside light on when all of a sudden it (being the light) started flickering. Initially it only did it a few times but after a couple of minutes the flickering became really rapid with the result being the light shutting off. I wasn't actually too phased and just went out into the hall to recomense reading. About 40 minutes later I again entered my room, only to find that the light had been SWITCHED BACK ON. This still was not that major in my eyes and I just continued reading in my room as if nothing had happened. However... I got a bit more worried when the light minutes later began to FLICKER AGAIN! The same process happened as before only this time I hid under my covers with Bethoven after it shut off again and tried to sleep. All I could think was...that was really weird.

Ok, next story involves the tower at Cloverley. A friend Simon and I decided to check it out after first arriving, and after climbing all the way to the top were ready to head back to our rooms, only to find.......that every door was LOCKED! The first few minutes it was kind of funny, but after a while all sorts of terrible images ran through my head, like the thought of getting trapped in a tower for an entire weekend or gasp even more... This panicy thought induced me to push even harder on one of the doors, only this time I also pulled back. yup, you guessed it...the doors were pull doors...probably one of the top moments in my life for feeling really really stupid, but at least I wasn't alone in that. thanks simon and so much for never speaking of it again.

I'm missing it already...

2005-12-04T14:04:00.000-08:00

A lot of people ask me what we actually do here on STINT. This is a perfect example of what goes on at a normal staff meeting...

2005-11-29T16:47:00.000-08:00

so today the worst thing I had always feared actually came true (slight exaggeration keeping in step with the fact that my nickname last year was often superlative girl)...
Sarah and I were waiting for an Arriva to take us to campus when a middle of the line blue vehicle drove by the bus stop, (too close I might add) and unnecessarily nailed this largesh puddle effectively shooting the resulting spray of dirty muddy water directly our way. I felt like I was in a movie where the heroine just has this really rubbish day with the complete soaking of entire left side of body being the very last straw. Fortunately for me, I saw the movie Carrie when I was younger and promised myself to A. never to go by my first name and B. never to let being covered with an unwanted liquid get to me. (for the 90% of you who haven't seen the film, this bit will make no sense but it actually does go along with what I'm saying) I also felt justified in my horror when a little old scouse lady got nailed by the next car in line making her give a shocked shriek...what is it with me and little old ladies these days?
The remainder of my day was absolutely fantastic, with the puddle incident being only an afterthought. And actually now that I think about it, it was pretty funny after all...

here's a shot I took of the guys house in the random snow storm we had yesterday morning. I'm kind of thinking about devoting my blog purely to Liverpool weather and it's incredible diversity

2005-11-23T10:34:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's actually time for the most well loved of all American holidays (drumroll)...Turkey day! This has always been by far my favorite holiday, so needless to say I'm quite excited...(such an understatement). I'm even more thrilled because I think this year will be the most unique thanksgiving experience of them all (although I spent one thanksgiving with all my fam at the hospital :)

However... I do think it should be required that British people celebrating Thanksgiving tomorrow at least need to know what it's all about! I'm appalled at the lack of education toward American holidays in this country.
I propose the following: you must take the quiz

and read the concise history of thanksgiving

more history for your reading pleasure.

so you motherlanders can know what we mean when mentioning the greatness that is our national "stuff your face" holiday, esp. that it's not just kicking the Indians off their land!!

2005-11-19T17:08:00.000-08:00

would just like to point out that this is the SIXTH day in a row that it hasn't rained, and that I am now getting texts thanking me for my gift to England of imported U.S. wellies.

2005-11-17T13:31:00.000-08:00

So I always say that I breed awkwardness, but apparently after today embarrassing situations must be in there as well. I was getting on a bus after meeting with a friend at Urban coffee, and due to the fact that it was REALLY REALLY COLD today (for the first time) I was doing the normal shake down of my coat sleeves when I got on the bus. Now this is kind of difficult to explain but I often sort of snap my arms out in order for my sleeves to kind of go down over my hands so as to warm them up. The idea itself is harmless, but at the front of a crowded bus...

A sweet dear old lady was standing next to the luggage carrier when it happened. I actually without thinking snapped my hands (as CK kept later pointing out and laughing) outward instead of downward and....

totally nailed her full force on the bum. Her look of surprise was outrageous, and mine of utter disbelief/embarrassment was I'm sure priceless as well. Although I was unable to snap a photo at the time, I feel this cartoon in a slight way is representative:

even better I think was the fact that I actually didn't say ANYTHING to her! Just humiliated walked two feet away and pretended to mess with my phone.

assulting an old lady was NOT on my list of things to do today...

2005-11-16T10:13:00.000-08:00

In a stroke of pure genius a few weeks back and being fed up with all the rain, I asked my parents if I could have a birthday/Christmas present early, a pair of wellies. I waited in anticipation for an entire week, all the while being drenched by torrential downpours 4 out of the 7 days the other 3 days only bringing slighter less scary showers. At one point on friday I literally left a store with a friend, was attacked by hail and heavy rain until reaching home, then miraculously the sun came out!
.......But anyway back to the wellies. A large package came bright and early Monday morning revealing all that I could have hoped for. Tuesday I woke up to see some fairly menacing clouds, in my head meaning that rain must be inevitable and knowing that I would be away all day, I in retrospect wrongly thought I could OUTWIT THE BRITISH WEATHER! Alas, my terrible judgment call made for a beautiful Liverpool day and more than ten people commenting that I looked like a horseback rider. Oh the irony.
Today was going to be attempt 2 in wearing my wellies (when they are actually needed) but the current view out my window reveals blue sky's with wispy clouds floating by. Anyone want to bet that there'll be some sort of freak shower later this afternoon?

Also relevant is this glossary of British and American weather terms:
American, drought: Crops die. Animals in danger. Water reserves low. Dust bowl time.
British, drought: Two cosecutive days without downpour.

American, you won't need your umbrella: Forecast predicts no rain. Hasn't been any for a week. Anyway, we'll be in the car.
British, you won't need your umbrella: Speaker is either: 1. impersonating a Brit or 2. no longer in Britain

2005-11-09T15:45:00.000-08:00

Well currently I'm sitting in Neil's room, while Evans is fixing my computer (and I'm convinced looking at every personal file while copying all my music). Today has been a really good day. I woke up thinking that I was born on the wrong continent.... even though it later started randomly hailing.
Reasons I love England:
1. the occasional beautiful days (like today)
2. the fact that the grass is green all on its own (without chemicals)
3. bbc.com
4. Cadburys
5. red man/leg in the air green man crossing signs
6. English people
7. tea with milk
8. money in coin form
9. people wearing poppys
10.kebabs (or as I apparently say it KEEBOBS)

this is a running list....

Also for all the Brits out there... could you guys tell me where you're from. I'm putting pins in my map of England with names on them :)

2005-11-07T23:59:00.000-08:00

current events from the past week... I put up Christmas lights in my room. For some reason it just thrills me to no end to have this sort of dim lighting effect in addition to candles and music. It definitely makes my room feel more like home. any other opinions?

in other news, I got to experience my first Guy Fawkes day/bonfire night this past sat. I become like a little kid around fireworks, and apropriately was doing a little dance of joy while they were going on. And props to all the Brits out there who actually proved me wrong and applauded at the end. Much more emotion than I thought was possible from England :)

Sing star has now become one of my favorite things to do with our team. I love it when I laugh so hard that I can't breathe. Ryan, congrats on the amazing new rendition of one of my favorite songs, complicated by avril lavigne. I actually have it on video, and look forward to sharing this 'rising star' with the world.

2005-10-28T15:22:00.000-07:00

Top 2 things I'm afraid of...

1. people that dress up like cartoon characters, mascots, santa, Easter bunny etc. Not so much of a run screaming fear but more like a strong inward tension of having to know where they are around me at all times.

2. umbrellas. I have this terrible image of getting poked in the eye with one, and judging by the way the puddlians throw them around here, my fear could become reality.

2005-10-25T14:02:00.000-07:00

This past weekend a few of us got the incredible opportunity to go to the lake district, proving again why this country is so great (if I knew the words and tune to 'God save the queen' they would be popping up right now) The most memorable part, I think, was just getting the chance to hang out with good friends in a cool location...

(check out the looks on Danny and Angie's faces)

Thanks to Danny and Rich so much again for all the time and energy you put into it. you guys are completely amazing

Long live the Danny monster.

2005-10-25T13:33:00.000-07:00

So when did you know
you wanted to be a model?

It would have to be the first time
I went through the second grade.

I caught my reflection in a spoon
while I was eating my cereal...

and I remember thinking,
"Wow, you're ridiculously good-looking.

Maybe you could do that
for a career"

2005-10-19T02:12:00.000-07:00

There's something about an eating contest that just brings joy to my heart. Not only do you get to chow on amazing food (high on the list of favorite things to do) but it's also highly competitive. Perfect. In the future, might be advantageous to implement a standard on eating contests. "Now required for living in England." Think of all the extra free time we would have from finishing so quickly and the pride of defeating opponents. Indigestion, sickness, lack of communication, depression... all minor defects compared to the glory of having McDonalds apple pie smeared all over your face.

I need to stop posting late at night...get more and more bizarre

2005-10-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

If you would have told me a year ago that this would be my life, I wouldn't have believed you...
This weekend our team minus Ed (missed you buddy) went to Edinburgh to see the sights and stay with the team there. The city was amazing and has completely passed Prague by in the "KC's favorite city" award. I loved every minute.
Some highlights were...

-dancing in an Italian restaurant

-Ryan imitating a pregnant Mary Queen of Scots

-disguisting chocolate soup, but worth a bc point

-the after effects

-hiking a mountain...with shopping bags

-seeing the world from the top of Arthur's seat

-singing "your love is extravagant" with Steph, looking at this

...then rounding a bend to see a lake COVERED with swans and being completely blown away

If you ever get a chance.... visit Edinburgh, live in Liverpool, go on STINT!!!

Brit think Ameri think

2005-10-12T00:59:00.000-07:00

I was hoping this would go unwritten but due to the commonality of relationship conversations that have occurred since I arrived in the lovely (it's pouring outside as I write this) Great Britain, there is no help for it. A common joke that will always start Angie and I laughing are the vast differences in how relationships pan out here and back in the states. Namely the fact that the concept of dtr is replaced by snogging. Just to clarify, instead of a period of uncomfortable behavior before discussing relationship possibilities (dtr), there is instead as one Brit put it "months of awkwardness" where nothing is really solved until one person snaps and goes for it, finding either sheer joy or utter ruin. I guess I just can't get over this ability to try all or nothing... must be the same tenacity that pulled em through WWII.
If I'm honest though, the idea does seem somewhat romantic and appealing, and due to the amount of relationships going on around me, must be working.

also, on another note apparently type o's can and in fact are in the Bible. While reading Mark this morning, he mentioned "Mary, the mother of Joses" I thought... Joses who's that? and wracked my brain for a few seconds before realizing that Joses was not a new mystery character in the story of the crucifixion but in fact much less dramatic (or more?) Jesus himself. If you have any further information on the identity of Joses and his adventures let me know.

Scallies

2005-10-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

so I wouldn't really consider myself a rageful person, but there's something about being harassed, chased with sticks in my own city that really makes me angry. And what's the deal with the jump suits that seem a huge throwback from the 80's? or speaking in an unintelligible tongue, smoking pot on the 75, snogging EVERYWHERE. Questions that I've asked myself for the past few weeks, making me feel old beyond my years when I feel the strong urge to yell down the street at 10 am "why aren't you in school?"
how is it possible that they can look so ridiculous yet cause such insatiable fear in the hearts of every good citizen around
arch nemesis.....scallies

on another note, I apparently am revealing my extreme dislike for scallies by abusing a Lancashire native in their stead. Sorry Danny about punching you in the neck... and unfortunately spilling a drink all over your lap. I'll think twice next time before becoming too animated in my coaster game... In the meantime you should probably fear for your life due to the startling reality you brought up earlier. I've only been here a month.

Take me as I am

2005-10-06T10:09:00.000-07:00

What is it about the Christian life that is so frustrating/perplexing. There’s this deep feeling in my gut that won’t leave, a splinter in my brain telling me that something’s not right. Reading Mark 14 was like that this morning… when everything it seems begins to go terribly wrong. Denying Him seems like such an impossibility until I realize that the tendency is there, looming. My eyes are heavy… I can’t stay awake as He asks, and then I run away. Left feeling hurt, afraid, alone. I love this Nichole Nordeman song, esp. now due to the way I feel, the inadequacy that won’t go away…

O For a heart that does not ache
And for a backbone that won’t break
For some steady feet or sturdy ground
A road that isn’t gonna let me turn around and run
For a thousand tongues to sing
To wear wisdom like Solomon’s robe
For the patience and perspective of a man like Job
Just to soar on wings of eagles
For no other reason that the birds eye view
For a fly or two

And the list gets longer
Who I wish I was and was no longer
I never could be good enough to measure up
But You want to take me as I come
You’re the only one that can
So take me as I am

Oh to feel hope in hopeless times
Nevermind the silver lining cause the clouds are fine
To breathe prayers that move the heavens
Or save hundreds from the flames
To KNOW my place
To Know my name

But the gap grows wider
Between who I am
And all I aspire to be
I never could be good enough to measure up
But You want to take me as I come
You’re the only one that can
So take me as I am

At the end of myself at the end of the day
I can find little else but the courage to say
I need You, that’s all
I need You, that’s all

thirty things to do before I’m 30

2005-10-05T10:15:00.000-07:00

I've actually had people ask to see this list I made about a year ago. It's kind of embarrassing, but I guess all you who read this will be able to hold me accountable. That is... as long as you still know me when we're 30...

1. Go to an Ohio St/Michigan game
2. Live in a different country
3. Write a book (on the flood)
4. Take piano lessons
5. Continually becoming more passionate about my faith
6. Read and study the entire Bible
7. See close friends come to Christ
8. Be a cowboy aka ride horses out west
9. Run a marathon
10. Own a Weim
11. Get scuba license
12. Live in Colorado
13. Spend a night in a monastery
14. Random road trip
15. Take ballroom dance lessons
16. Pilot’s license
17. Memorize a book of the Bible
18. Make a demo cd
19. Visit 30 countries by the time I’m 30
20. Win a photography contest
21. Learn a different language
22. Know all countries location and capitals
23. Learn all parts of a car
24. Become a painter
25. Go bungee jumping and or sky diving
26. Support Missions
27. Know what was going on in the world at any given date
28. Play soccer on a team again
29. Read all great historical works (Herodotus, Plutarch,etc)
30. Keep a journal (reflect on life more)

2005-10-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

so my friend Andy and I were brainstorming last night about how we could make a conker championship into an evangelistic outreach. After much soul searching... we felt this would be extremely effective...

life is fragile. One day you might be conker in the semi-final of the Liverpool invitational only conker championship, and the next oh so many nut fragments littering the pavement. Will that conker make it to heaven? Well probably not as conkers are unable to accept the substitutional sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but you can. Make a commitment today!

also found this... hilarious:
http://www.worldconkerchampionships.com/html/2005_parrots.html

Conway

2005-10-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

yesterday the fellowship of seven (Ryan, Sarah, Steph, Rich, DK, Kevin, me) set off on an adventure to a far away land called Wales... again something completely different than previous expectations. We went to a little neck of the woods called Conway. Tiny little hamlet containing this rather large rambling castle. It was so fun to explore and dream about what feet had walked there before mine a couple hundred years ago. Not surprisingly though, my favorite part of the day was when we squished into a tiny booth at a cafe called the dungeon and bonded over fantastic hot beverages. (The sole part of the day where I was warm)

2005-09-30T01:30:00.000-07:00

So my life would be a lot easier if I paid attention to directions.

Thus said I will tell you a little story... Due to the fact that our house has no dryer (meaning I have to again get used to the reality of crispy jeans) I had some clothes hanging on a drying rack in my room. Now normally this would be no problem to let them dry through the night, but apparently the policy here is 72 hours min. After last night and today my jeans were still pretty much soaking wet. Then comes the "brilliant" idea...

Angie suggested I hang them by the heater in my room. Good idea, but (in my lack of common sense head) the next best thing would be to just throw them on the heater itself (obviously missing the clearly marked label on top stating "DO NOT COVER"...)

Fast forward five minutes... My sweet housemate Steph had given me a rose, so I proceeded to make my concoction of lukewarm water/sugar, choose just the right glass to put it in... never realizing that all the while disaster was erupting from my room....

I walk upstairs to see smoke billowing from my heater.
My jeans were burning.

First thoughts... I actually used the C word (crap). These were brand new as of three weeks ago. Classic KC move. Now my room as Sarah said "smells like burnt marshmallows" and I'm left to wonder if I can walk around Liverpool with a brown bum. Probably not.

How did I make it through school again?

2005-09-28T01:45:00.001-07:00

for more info check out:

http://www.lawrencehallofscience.org/foss/fossweb/teachers/materials/plantanimal/chickeneggs.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_chicken_or_the_egg

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/zoo00/zoo00136.htm

A day in the life of Angie and KC: a collaborative operation

2005-09-28T01:45:00.000-07:00

First of all, we begin our day with not knowing what we're going to do with our lives. Plan of action...Making calls at Starbucks. We play it cool by calling people who's names we can actually pronounce first. A couple people hang up on me (kc) which sends me into a downward spiral of eating a double chocolate muffin.

The next phase is calling students with names like Fagbonungbe Kolade who again hangs up on me (kc). There was a success however when two lovely students agreed to meet with us next week.

2pm time to go. But not before some random Scouser asked us to spare some change for McDonalds. He had a limp so I (angie) asked him what was wrong. He told us he got smacked in the bum with a pint glass... I hate it when that happens.

Phase three: walking through a sudden downpour to our appointment. On the way a kid jumps off a bus, grabs the stone wall around the Catholic Cathedral and yells "It's a house made of wood!! Feel it!) to some other kids around him. I (kc) said to Angie "neither is that a house nor is it made of wood" Educational systems here sure are different...

Moving on, I (kc) pointed out the fact that never in America would a man wear a tight pink dress shirt, a short pink striped tie and tight gray trousers and live through the day. Also because it was raining out and the shirt was already tight, Angie mentioned (direct quote) "you could probably see his nips"
we saw him later....and you could

next we wait at the library for our appt. only to call and find out... we're at the wrong library... and the one we want... is on the COMPLETE OPPOSITE SIDE OF CAMPUS...more walking through the rain with see through shoes and mud between my (kc)toes. (cracking up the whole time)

we'll end our day with a trip to McDonalds and a question...does every egg contain dead chickens? Answer: "Danny: they're all fertilized by one rooster that lives on the farm, runs through the coup and is so excited in the morning that he wakes the farm with his (Dk's arms outstretched) woohoo!!"
"Brittney: girls...gir..girls.. make things called e e egg eggs"
"KC: chickens are people... people are chickens!!"

and just a few words...chicken mating...sexual organs under their wings?...broken down bus... hilarity

Disclaimer; we hope no Brit's feelings were harmed during the making of this blog post. we quite enjoy them and their quirks.

2005-09-26T16:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it happened, I actually got to sit on a bench outside the bombed out church. (I'd wanted to go since I got here) I was there with Brit and Steph and it was just so nice to chat about life, drink Starbucks and my favorite part... watch a giant rat make a run to the bush behind us... this is my first time ever seeing a rat, so I feel like it makes Liverpool all the more memorable.

But honestly, even though there are definite things to get used to in city life, I feel that Liverpool and even Britain in general has this certain something about it that's irresistible... it's gotta be the people. Even though I get the mick taken out of me 3400 times daily, I'm learning that it's a new way of showing you care. Judging from how much I get teased... I feel very loved.

These photos are from the party we had at our place the other night. Although I'm obviously biased I felt it was a grand success. A good way to get to chat with the cool British students that I don't know too well yet, and to eat my first (and second and sixth) oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that have been lacking from my life for the past three weeks. (even a stronger favorite when not so readily obtained)

conkers and freshers fairs

2005-09-24T14:16:00.000-07:00

well I'm supposed to be in Wales at the moment but due to a switch in schedule am sitting in my room instead. It's (shockingly) actually kind of nice to just be at home for the day, nothing on the agenda. This morning I got up and went running down Penny Lane to what I thought was Sefton Park (again got lost in the four mile radius around my house), saw a crane nab a fish, and found a couple "conkers" for my collection. It still infuriates me that my beloved Buckeyes are defiled by a made up British term... (for more information on correct terminology http://www.lima.ohio-state.edu/trees/buckname.html)

Giving surveys at Freshers Fairs this past week was... well, just a bit different than I had expected...The second years even did a great job of highlighting how different they are here from the states, but nothing really could have prepaired us except the physical act of going and experiencing.. I was even chased around by a man wearing a diaper and screaming "Naughty naughty" (scared for life) Makes it kind of hard to concentrate coupled with the fact that I swear some of the students I gave surveys too weren't speaking English. I felt so absolutely awful having to ask them over and over "um how do you spell that?" Never in my life did I think that a common language could be so dividing...
surely it has to get worse before it gets better right?

I do realize that my days working with Keyhole photo at Kings Island has prepaired me in a sense to boldly approach people and tell them what I'm about in under 3 seconds. The fact that I no longer get commission is kind of a bummer but I'm sure that impacting students lives for eternity is way more rewarding than getting ten minutes added to my break so I could ride Adventure Express one more time...

Week 1

2005-09-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

Well... it's day 5 in my new home. FIrst thoughts, excited but really really overwhelmed. What did I get myself into? (DK kept saying that over and over on our transatlantic flight) I feel really dumb looking the wrong way every time I try to cross the street, and have already had multiple disasters with the language. (the luggage carts at the airport...called trolleys) The hardest thing to get used to I think will be the weather. The thought of continually being either wet or damp made me go out and buy a space heater. But there are lots of good things as well... the people are really wonderful and excited to meet/ get to know all of us new comers. I've had the amazing opportunity to drink french press coffee almost every day and my room is starting to feel more and more like home. It's good to remind myself why I'm here, to take the focus off myself and realize that Christ endured to the billionth my tiny speck of culture shock...

2005-09-01T15:55:00.000-07:00