Rock and Roll Half Marathon

Yes, yes, I know that I personally did not run the Rock and Roll Marathon in Seattle this last weekend, but my sister and bro bro did. Thanks Jonathan for this great picture of my siblings! I am so proud of both of them (good job!) that I thought it was worth a blog entry to celebrate. I love my family, they are a big part of my life. Even when I am on the other side of the ocean (as I am want to do) Erik and Kelly remain my close friends as well as my cool siblings. For those of you who don't know them, they are neat individuals.

I miss Kelly Belly and Earwick, so I dedicate this blog to them. Because they are always there for me when I run my proverbial rock and roll half-marathon of life, and because I couldn't be there in person to cheer them on and to run with them this time... this blog goes out to both of you. The best siblings I could hope to have, you inspire me. Thanks for being great.

English Weather

I am not sure if I am completely comprehending what is happening on this island...Am I to understand that it is both hot and rainy at the same time in manner of tropical paradise without many of the lovely big flowers but most of the bugs? Leeds, England? tropical paradise destination for the masses? I am also not entirely certain how I could have put sun screen on..liberally... and still be burnt after being outside for less than two hours on a predominately overcast day. At least it is warm outside enough to wear skirts shorts! hooray for skirts and shorts! :)

What I do understand... finally... is why the English make the weather such a frequent conversation topic... because it is warranted. When the weather is sunny and warm, then thunder showers, then muggy, then cold (maybe) then sunny again.. repeat... all in one day it bring a whole new layer to the need to pack for multiple situations.

As some of you have noted, I have been less than diligent at my blog posts as of late. This being particularly tragic because in recent past there was a week when two parts of my life that I love very much were brought together: cultural experience when traveling and (get this reader-land) my family! So I will be working on some blogs in order to give due space to this epic adventure that was the Eskesen Family Fun Times 2009. I know that the tens of tens of readers have been biting their nails waiting for these entries... I have also been working on my thesis and started a new job which involves me walking around for two hours a day in a bright yellow vest passing out information to students moving house. More on that later.

For now, I say if the weather is sufficient to be the lynch pin of many a passing conversation in this country, then it is good enough for a blog entry.

more about family, travel and jobs later. :)

DUCK!

This is so stinking adorable. I wish I could nestle into my own feathers.

Tracey's visit and the Lake District

Tracey and I lived together for two years, and because of our varied schedules we would sometimes not see each other until the evening... sometimes late evening. It was always amusing when we would (frequently) be wearing similar outfits. The picture above was taken at my university when Tracey arrived... I was happy to discover that though we have not lived together for months now... we are still able to be unintentionally matchy matchy. haha

Tracey makes amazing pancakes. The combination of Tracey's pancakes and Terry's coffee could make the world a place of perfect peace, it certainly made my morning much brighter!

Because my essays were completed and Tracey was in town we went off to the Lakes for the weekend. Where we could see the lovely sites of northern England. We were all in the need of a holiday. Off we went to the Lake District, Jim, Maddy, Tracey and I. :o) It was great weekend! We had this crazy luck with weather. When we were outside it was sunny and nice, then as soon as we got into the car/pub/hostel it would start pouring outside. Worked out quite well. :o)

The view from the top of a hill we climbed. I am holding Maddy's jacket in my fleece.

The bluebells were in bloom and there were fields of them through the woods... it was really quite breath taking. The forest floor seemed to glow.

I love the Lake District because it is full of little places like this, tucked away in the middle of the hills. Also I wore wool socks with my chacos and no one batted an eye. I will have to make more trips to this oasis up north.

Green fields everywhere.

I've successfully compartmentalized all my brain power

That's right! All my brain power... well most... I saved some for this blog entry... is temporarily, exclusively, allocated to the writing of two essays and life support essentials... aka food.

How do I know this? Well!I will tell you!Yesterday, we completed course evaluations for my Gender and Romanticism module. These evaluations involve various questions on how we found the course, what we would modify, what we learned, etc. You would think that the thought provoking questions would cause me to stumble, but no... no, no... it was, in fact, the first question:

What is your course of study?

The answer is English Literature... which if had been oral feedback I would have expressed eloquently and with flare; as it was, I had to write it... and it went something like this:

English Let... no that's not right... English Lit... hmmm... what comes next.... English Liturature... that doesn't look right, what did Fiona write? oh! okay. yah. English Literature. *laughs*

I mean.... really??? Okay, at least I had the write idea...Back to my essays, and thank goodness for spell check and friends to help with the editing process...

I want my muffin. please.

I have been working lately... doing a great deal of work actually... and it seems that no matter how much of this work I finish, there is still work to be done. Been there before? Everyone has their own experience with this, for me and my English Literature comrades it is now the few weeks before our essay deadline. My essays, one for each of my modules, 4000 words each... are due on May 11Th. That is two weeks from yesterday!! not a lot of time. Essays alone would be fine, but coupled with completing reports from my work in Connecticut, researching my thesis, course work for my modules, revising my resume (Brit: reviewing my CV) writing cover letters and applying for jobs... all this has necessitated that I am more efficient than usual with my time management.

Which means, when I stop in the coffee shop for a muffin and juice, I am not looking for a laugh. I am looking for a muffin. food. hungry. am in library for hours on end. Just sell me the muffin as quickly possible please. Yesterday when I went to buy this muffin and juice I came across someone who thought it would be fun and playful to joke with me whilst withholding my food. Anyone who has ever met me knows that this is a bad idea in general, the withholding of food, but especially these days. Turns, out, it isn't funny. It caught me off guard because I am not used to banter or much customer service in England, you ask for it, they give it to you, you pay and say thank you and goodbye. perfect. But NO.

Here is an approximation of the exchange I had yesterday with Mr. Funny Man:

me: Can I have a blueberry muffin please?
man behind the counter puts the muffin on a plate
me: I would actually like that muffin to go please.
man behind counter puts muffin in bag and says: that is 2.00 for the bag
me: then I don't want the bag
man: is too late
me: are you serious
man: yes it is 2.00 pound for the bag and 1.95 for the muffin
me: (blank stare)
man: I am just kidding
me: don't do that. not when people have essays due. I can't process that right now.
man: Are you from Germany?
me: no, i just have blonde hair.
man: really? huh.. most people from Germany don't get that joke. are you German?
me: yes
man: see, I can tell.

I mean REALLY? The thing is, that in this country, they do have different prices for to-go and to eat in, so it is not out of the question. But Tim pointed out that the joke he may have been trying to make was the whole, "oh that's 2 pounds for the bag but we'll give you the muffin free" key to that joke, is to not raise the price. I think also it was a factor that he was a non-native speaker of English, so the tone of the joke was not brilliantly presented. To be fair, making jokes in a second language is one of the more difficult levels of language acquisition.

Good news is that the muffin was tasty but I will most likely wait until I am under less pressure to eat in that cafe again.

Okay. Off to do those essays that I previously mentioned. hugs.

update one week later: I reluctantly brave this same cafe where the muffin fiasco took place the previous week, and the same muffin man was working. I ventured forward to obtain some much needed coffee and was greeted with "Guten Tag!"

I don't know much German, but neither does he,; I know enough to respond to basic greetings and make small talk... he thinks I am German, and so I am. That is very amusing to me.

I've had a very successful day

accomplishing next to nothing... the weather was too beautiful to keep me indoors to read any of the books or essays I have with me... or tempt me to write a single word on a report of any of my students. Instead, I went running on a trail through the woods. It was so lovely that after I ran back to the car, I picked up my camera and walked the same trail taking some pictures.

Then returning to my motel room (as a side note I don't know what I am going to do when I have to start cleaning my own room everyday, and making my own bed again) I showered and grabbed my journal and some poetry, walked around the quaint town of New Milford and settled on a bench in the park until the sun began to slip behind the trees.

It was a really good day.

The kind that makes you want to read Robert Frost... so I will help you with that. I am mad for this poem at the moment:

Flower-Gathering

I left you in the morning,
And in the morning glow,
You walked a way beside me
To make me sad to go.
Do you know me in the gloaming,
Gaunt and dusty gray with roaming?
Are you dumb because you know me not,
Or dumb because you know?

All for me And not a question
For the faded flowers gay
That could take me from beside you
For the ages of a day?
They are yours, and be the measure
Of their worth for you to treasure,
The measure of the little while
That I've been long away.