Nothin' but Nerves

Today, I realized how right Rachel was when she told me, "It'll go by fast, soon you'll be like WHERE DID MY SIX DAYS GO?!"

And so now, I'm wondering where did my six days go?  Did they even happen?

Needless to say, the London bridge did indeed fall down quite a few times that day

Mom's idea of a British flag ^

As the weekend flew by, Boyfriend made it a point to help me celebrate the completion of my second novel:

That's also my birthstone.  Yeah, I know.  It's better than yours (exception being Lydia who shares my awesome birfday month)

And then Monday came.  Boyfriend went away for home but the decorations stayed.  And then I had to pack.  It sucked (see below)

Before (during which I misplaced my sanity)

After.  Oh, looks easy doesn't it?  No, chump.  That suitcase didn't pack itself.

However, there were some fallen soldiers in the aftermath of this process.  I'm not proud of this.

Nobody puts Wellies in the corner.

The only thing I bought six months ahead of time for England had to stay behind!  The boots weighed five pounds together and my suitcase was already on a diet.

And with my bags finally packed I had one more thing coming my way:

A wild Boyfriend appeared!  Annie used "take not-so photogenic picture"!

Mom started screaming about a cat on the patio, so naturally I was eager to sprint to catch a glimpse.  It wasn't a cat.  But I guess I can't really be that upset.

Next stop: England.

Cheers!

My Last Week Countdown

Honestly, I don't really have a last week countdown.  It seems as if I rushed LAST week to get everything done, that I've run out of things to do.  The only thing I can do is, well, wait.

Last night, almost as if the universe was rubbing in the fact that I'm still in Ohio, I received a phone call from my sister.

"Hey, this is a surprise," I answered.
"Hi!  Well, I thought I'd call because you're fleeing the country!"
"Yeah...  I am...  But not until next week," I responded, utterly confused.
"What?  Oh, I thought you were leaving tomorrow!"

Thank you, Universe, because I really needed to be reminded that I am not leaving for six more days.

Also, I'd like to say thanks again to the Universe who scammed me by means of my worthless American money being converted into 100 pounds.

Might as well be Monopoly money

I can take solace in the fact that my last weekend in the States should be explosively fun with Mom decorating the kitchen lamp and insisting that "red, white, and blue stars are completely reflective of the British flag", Boyfriend coming from Wooster, and reading Meg Cabot's newest book (thanks Dad).

And despite not being at the College of Wooster, I am excited at my chances of seeing Rachel at orientation as well as Kate, if I can ever pull her out of Italy : )

Cheers!

The Sorting Hat Speaks

As I have recently discovered about Lancaster having eight "colleges" within itself in order to create smaller and closer communities of students, I reckoned that it shouldn't be long now that I am Sorted into one (and I am assuming I have very few Muggles following this blog).

 The Colleges:

Bowland
Cartmel
The County College
Furness
Fylde
Grizedale
Lonsdale
Pendle


Each of these colleges have their own dorm and bar I believe, and from the Lancaster website, own insignia.  I was hoping I'd be Sorted into Pendle because it has A.) a cool name and B.) a freaking witch flying on a broom for it's symbol.  But, Jacki emailed me and informed me that I'd be in Furness.  At first I was slightly disappointed since every time I say "Furness" it sounds like I'll be living inside a furnace.  Also, this is our symbol:

Hello, I'm a bunch of lame purple mountains!

BUT good news seemed to lurk around the corner when I read the description, "Furness is the Gryffindor of Lancaster University...  The College that everyone secretly wants to be in."  This confirmed I did indeed choose the right UK school since they speak Harry Potter and answered my summer long question if I'd be Sorted into Gryffindor or the ADD Hufflepuffs.

I'll be sharing a kitchen and bathroom with five girls (including myself), and apparently Furness is one of the smallest colleges on the University campus.  After registering, I also received what the strange UK students call a timetable, which is a fancy way of saying schedule, during orientation week.  It looks like a way less strenuous version of my Freshmen year at Wooster, with only one safety lecture each day.

Other than that, mother is insistent on cracking down on last minute shopping while I'm counting down exactly two weeks today until I depart to the UK.

Cheers!

Check, mate

Upon realizing that it is now the beginning of September and I have approximately 22 days before I begin living in a new country, I made the formal decision to send in my portfolio last night.  From the sound of Jacki's response, I expect she is grateful that I am boldly moving forward, especially after my frantic calls to Arcadia to see if I am landing in the correct airport for orientation (thanks to the parents' nervous breakdown).

At the moment, I find myself asking questions that make me apprhensive about the upcoming months:

-"Dad, how do I take the train in England?" (Asked after we had just gotten off the train in Boston this past week and proceeded to become completely lost)
-"Wait, is the Underground the same as the Tube?  That's what Rick Steves told me!!" (This was posed after looking at the pocket map in the new London travel guide my sister gave me)
-"Mom, can I get high heeled boots for England?" (This question was quickly shot down by my sister, immediately deterring me from this idea because "Annie, the streets are 75% cobblestone.")
-"Can someone explain to me the pound in ratio to my American money?" (I have yet to hear a response to this question in which I understand).

Mom, if you are reading this, this boot is totally at Nordstrom!  And I swear I won't fall over!

I think I will begin to feel less anxious (and nauseous) when I receive more information from Arcadia, which of course is 2 weeks prior to going over there--apparently the UK universities are slower to get things done than American ones.

With everything done for now, all I have to do is wait, and perhaps enjoy the colder weather that September has brought Ohio!

Cheers!