5/31

Day Five

Normal waking up today, I would think. My neck is in about the same state as before, but slightly less stiff. Had my normal toast with butter for breakfast; then we took the dogs across the street to play around in the neighbour's huuuuge garden. Really though, it's absolutely massive. It must take ages to mow it and trim it and water it and do whatever needs to be done to it. But it's a nice house, so I guess that's one of the expenses of living there. After the dogs were done running about, we drove to Hay Tor. It was extremely windy, as expected in England's mountains and hills, so my hair had no prayer of staying nice. I eventually just gave up on it and let it run like mad with the breeze, as it continuously begs to do. I was actually getting pretty winded walking up the hill, which is a surprise. I usually don't tire out so fast... I guess it's because all of the heavy food I'm eating and how much I'm not exercising anymore! Need to get back on that, pronto. I'm starting to chub up again... eek!

For lunch, we went to the Rugglestone Inn, which I have eaten at twice now! It really is good, and it was a nice day to eat at the tables outside. I had a nice roast beef salad (Figures for being in England. FUN FACT: The French nickname the English "Roast beef" and the English give the title, "Frogs," to the French. Wanna know why? Because those are typical meals eaten there!). I actually think I got a little sunburnt while I was there. No matter; I need some sun anyway! I'm whiter than Casper.

After the lunch, we walked around the reservoir, where a good variety of flowers were beginning to bloom. There were SUPPOSED to be some rhododendron there, but the seasons have been all wonky lately, so we're a month behind normal functions. However, there were some very lovely bluebells-- I've already explained my absolute adoration for them-- that were scattered here and there. The walk was so, so calm. We were basically alone, maybe one or two people there. But the wind was so soft and cool, and the sun was so warm, and the water was falling ever so gently, and everything was so serene and wonderful. I'd like to go back there sometime with a towel to lay on and a book to read. After the reservoir, I went to the post to mail some postcards to a few of my friends! Sadly, they'll arrive around six days from now. I wish it didn't take that long, but C'est la vie*. I have to deal with it! I took a nice walk around the Abbey gardens while I was there.

Supper was a shepherd's pie (I was made a special gluten-free one), and a rhubarb crumble and custard for dessert. Oh, my, I ate WAY too much of that. But it's a good full. The kind of full where it's uncomfortable physically, but satisfying mentally. Yeah. That's a good full.

When I was at the reservoir, the inner peace I felt was spectacular. It's nice to finally be able to not stress about having quizzes, or tests, or finishing a paper. Make sure you have some time to yourself. I know keeping busy may be a priority to you, but have some "you" time and relax once in a while. You deserve it. You really do.

*French: Literally, "That is life"

5/30

Day Four

Qu'est-ce que tu aimes faire?* WELL. I will indeed tell you what I like to do! I like to wake up in the morning without my hair quite literally standing up, defying all possible laws of gravity. Oh, and I also like to have a normal range of neck movements. Yeah, that'd be lovely, thanks.

My complaining aside, today was actually fab. I got up and ate some toast, as always, dressed in my new blue and red flannel shirt! My, I really love it. It suits me. ANYWAY... We left for the steam train to Totnes, but we were actually quite early. We walked around, looking about until it arrived. The trip took about half an hour, but there was a lovely view of fields with all the newly-bloomed flowers. I couldn't stop looking at the bluebells; their blue-purple color is so breathtaking... When we arrived in Totnes, we went to the Rare Breeds Farm. There were owls, goats, ducks, squirrels, hedgehogs, and plenty more animals. Some of which you could actually feed! I fed the ducks because I love the feeling of a hard duck bill repeatedly pecking at your hand for the cheap, beige complementary food pellets you're given. It's like a free, natural hand massage! I like to visit that farm every time I visit England. It brings back the juvenile memories of amazement at the different breeds, the curiosity of what they look and sound like, and oh that time when that hedgehog bit me, yeah that was good, too. I bled. A lot. Darned thing.

After the farm, we headed into the shops in the town, where there were an assortment of wicked cool stores. There was this record shop that was FILLED with awesome vinyl and CDs and just everything possible. My dad bought a few things from there (although I had to persuade him not to buy much more...). We came back and went home on the train, the same way we came. The weather had turned from a cold, cloudy overcast into a very warm, lovely day.

Because of this sudden weather change, I took advantage of the opportunity and attempted to tan outside, in my grandmother's garden. I stayed out there for a good hour or so, and I think I got a little color. Even if I didn't, it was worth it to have that relaxing time. Always nice to be able to sit down for a bit in the sun (Even if the dogs kept pestering me to play with them! Love the little guys, though). And for dinner, I had a chicken salad with eggs and cucumber and roast potatoes... and probably a liiiittle too much ice cream for dessert. Ah, well. I'll be okay... probably. We'll see..?

On the train, I was sitting by an absolutely adorable Irish family with three kids. There was the smallest boy, a slightly older girl, and then an even slightly older boy. I can't resist a cute little redhead! Yes, they would fuss a lot and mess about as kids always do, but in the end they managed to keep relative control of themselves. It was funny to watch, because little accidents kept happening throughout the train ride, and the mother just stopped and laughed. I couldn't help but laugh with her; it was funny. It made me think about my family, and how much we can fight. But in the end, we always manage to make up and unite again. In honor of my mother's birthday, let's all just be kind to our families today, and rejoice in the fact that we have them.

Happy birthday, Mom.

*French, "What do you like to do?"

5/29

Day Three

I woke up this morning at around 9 A.M. to find my neck unable to turn left. It was very difficult to get out of bed to take a shower. Doing anything at all took more than twice as long as it would have if I didn't feel this pain shooting up my spine every time I turn my head westward.  My grandmother and my father had to walk the dogs to occupy their time, rather than waiting for me to get ready. AND my hair also would not blow-dry correctly after fussing with it for at least 20 minutes... Alas, I managed to keep it relatively maintained and proceeded to eat some toast and continue preparing for the day. I actually felt really good about my outfit, though, despite the hair malfunction. ... although I wish I had had something warmer on my legs; tights don't exactly withstand the chilly Devon air.

I went out shopping to Trago Mills as my first step of the day, which is such an interesting place. I can't decide whether it's like a much larger Wal-Mart or a Savers but with unused items. Anyway, you can get the idea of the place. It wasn't too full there, which was good, seeing as I do not like shopping when many people surround me and basically suffocate me in proximity... I found un tee-shirt génial* that is red white and blue plaid flannel with a few patches on it. It sounds like a drab shirt, but honestly, it was a good find! After Trago Mills, we went home.

But, of course, it wouldn't be a vacation without something messing about with your original plans. As we got home, we opened the door, and walked toward the living room area to go up stairs, where we were planning on putting our shopping. But, we installed a lock on that door that leads to the stairs... And forgot to unlock it before we left for shopping. So, we were forced out of that side of the house, only the kitchen and the eating area open. My dad, being the COMPLETE GENIUS that he is, did his... work things... and managed to open the door! (ask me for specific details; I'm not revealing his ...genius... publicly) With the door open, we could put things away and begin dinner, which was chicken, veg, and roast potatoes. Of course, it was delicious as always. And after that I began to browse around on the computer for my daily Facebook check and began to write this entry! We've caught up to date now... not sure what to say...

Oh, yes! Have you (given that someone is actually reading these blogs) noticed how I've been ending my blogs with some sort of mystical life lesson, or something to think about? I think I'm going to make that a habitual thing, ending all my posts with one. And also, I'd like to add a french word or saying in my posts as well, giving the translation for all those who don't speak the beautiful language (which I would strongly advise you learn how to do so). So here's something to ponder over:

How boring would life be without culture? Growing up without a way of living, creating your own memories with your family, and learning new things about your ancestors... Be glad that you have the family that you have to teach you these things about your culture. Embrace the diversity of others, and don't be afraid to be your own person. 

* French, "an awesome tee-shirt"

5/28

Day Two

Much shopping was done today at many different stores around the area. In search of food that falls under the requirements of my gluten-free diet, we managed to acquire some tasty, reasonably-priced things. It was nice going out and shopping, seeing all the things that are different here than my home. Like, the food is sometimes called a different thing, or spelled a different way, or maybe they have different flavours of crisps, or things like that. Overall, it was a good shopping trip, I would like to think.

Once I got home, we unpacked, and I felt like the dogs needed a little attention, for we had been out all day and had left them alone for quite a while. So for a little more than half an hour, that's precisely what I did. But a certain television program came on at four, so I went inside to watch it. It's a funny little game show called Tipping Point. Look it up. And for supper, I went to an Indian restaurant which was exquisite.

Before I went out to play with the dogs, though, I noticed something. I went in the little conservatory with glass windows and just sat down to relax for a moment. Some of the windows were open, and a bee curiously flew in. It kept trying and trying to fly through the glass, over and over, but of course kept failing to exit the room. Every once in a while, it edged toward the opening of the window next to it, but failed to see the opening and returned to its futile attempts at going through the glass. It's a simple, stupid process in nature, but it really made me think. It couldn't possibly be that stupid, could it? Why doesn't it just go out of the open window? It's right there. Me, being the deep-thinker that I am-- at least, I like to call myself that-- I related that to my own life. I keep trying to do something that is futile. Why do I even bother? I could save so much of my time just going with the flow and not going against the grain for my own personal gain. I may not know what I am doing won't work, but others do. And they tell me so. But I may not believe them. This silly little bee almost sparked something inside of me: the willingness to stop getting in my own way. So thank you, nature, for giving me that little bit of inspiration. Let's see where that takes me.

5/27

Day One

I have arrived here, in England. It was a smooth drive over, as I slept almost the entire drive over and caught some Z's on the airplane, as well. It is rainy, as I expected it would be, and actually rather drearily cold. I mean, I do like the cold, but the wind makes it all the more unbearable. So, basically, typical weather.

I have unpacked and settled in quickly and comfortably, feeling as if this were a second home of mine. Is it wrong to say that I wish this were a second home? I do love my house back in the USA, but this home, this place, this atmosphere... the Devon air is so much more pleasant than the dry air back home. Having this as a place to go as I please would be a dream. I only wish my whole family were here with me; then it would feel like a true home.

All these "home"-y feelings aside, I am preparing to eat my dinner: salmon, cauliflower, an assortment of vegetables, and mashed potatoes. My, have I missed my grandmother's house with the smell of all these foods cooking, and the dogs in the kitchen waiting for their supper, and the old-fashioned style of the blankets on the couch, and the foggy overcast that looms in the sky, and the feeling of complete bliss in a non-vacation-y way... I feel like this is the start of a great, great month, and I can't wait to see what happens. Feel free to take the journey with me as you read along.

Nothing

I suppose you can't be doing nothing. Of course, EVERYTHING is something, so you MUST be doing something, but you say you are doing nothing, which completely contradicts everything. But nothing MUST be something, but the definition of nothing is nothing, but the definition of nothing is something, because everything is something, which means nothing's new definition will always be something. Of course, definitions are something, but nothing has one, so nothing should really be something. How can nothing even exist? It MUST be something! And all the letters of nothing are something, for letters are something, but nothing itself means nothing, and there is such a thing as nothing, but negative space is something, and that's what nothing is. All space is something, so nothing has nowhere to be, therefore nothing is nowhere. But, nowhere is something, because you can't be in the middle of nothing. Of course, you can be in the middle of something, which is a commonly known fact, but nothing is a useless word if you can do nothing with it. Then again, if you can do nothing with or of something, that must be doing something. So, there CANNOT be such a thing as nothing, right?

In 24 Hours

It seems to me as if everything is happening at once. I mean, we open our morning papers with our legs crossed, coffee in-hand, ready to start our morning by catching up on the daily news. And what do we read? Shooting. Bombing. Disease. Conflicts. Tornadoes. 

We can't open our newspapers anymore without seeing an ominous bold title, reporting recent tragedies in our world. Why is this? Is the world slowly turning into a place of utter disaster? Or is it that we are actually noticing these tragedies, rather than hearing it at school in a casual conversation? We get our news from many places, such as our papers, our favorite news channels on the TV, or online in a reporter's blog. And they're always active. There wasn't always this 24-hour news cycle that we have now; people learned about the news through someone who had read the paper, not by turning on the TV to watch SpongeBob, but the the TV was last left on the news channel when it was turned off, so you hear a snippet of information that catches your attention and sucks you into the addictive world of this news cycle. Because of this constant, live-streaming of news, events in the world are covered more extensively and more into detail. As a result, things are iterated over and over, until we know every aspect of the story that we can get a grasp on. And then what happens? We hear another mind-blowing news story, which earns its fair share of press like every other headline.

Is is that this 24-hour news cycle is making us more aware of current events? Or is it repeating words in our heads to argue about with some sort of confidence behind us?

2012 wasn't the end of the world. We all know that; we're still here, alive, breathing on this Earth. But maybe, just maybe, it was the beginning of the end.