whoa do tell

ok so... i'm irresponsible. we went to prague and it was magical. still. we were in austria and it was COLD and we ate 7 course dinners and just ate in general. we went to munich and i want to go back. now we're in london at our magnificent flat. I've taken no pictures. and i want to go home. i'm enjoying being abroad, i love europe, and yay for the u.k. but... can i come home now?

the obvious child

dad and john are here. the rain has stopped (for the most part) and now the hugs and back rubs (or at least someone to lean on while waiting to cross the street) are flowing in the streets. laminar flow, it's not out of control, distrubances dampened by viscous effects. easily modeled, parabolic velocity profile. reynolds number < 2000. you know.

OK EXAMS ARE OVER LINDY DROP IT.

but the streets are brighter and the days are longer and the walks are shorter when i'm with the people I love. too bad they're jetlagged now and went to bed at 6:30. i ought to sleep, too. or pack. sleep.

the hotel bed in leeds

luckily, subtlety is not a fruit of the spirit, and all i want for christmas is you. and a large if they fit like american apparel. p.s. i do not support american apparel it's poor quality and when it says "made in downtown l.a." it means the garment district, which is the closest I have ever come to a sweatshop and can't see how foreign sweatshops are much worse. also all of their clothes are super super small, which is frustrating.

and the way you would speak, and all that we wouldn't say

I made chocolate chip coffee cake tonight. sort of. I forgot to get chocolate chips so it was m&m's and chocolate buttons coffee cake, and I got creme fraische thinking it was sour cream, and i used wholewheat flour entirely, and I guessed on the measurements (but an educated guess, and i asked the opinions of others). I guess any time you mix chocolate, sugar, butter, flour, and cinnamon it will come out alright. And this time it was colorful!! oooh.

now the pan is soaking
and the stomachs are sitting
I need to pack up my bags
john and dad are arriving tomorrow! in 13 hours (and counting)

i had something witty and now i forgot it. dang. it wasn't even snarky either, just pure unadulterated and innocent wit. as my mom would say, "cheese! and! crackers!" (it means you're upset)

phish food

um so finals are over. YES FINALLY AND I AM FREE! kristin and I went to glasgow today. kristin = friend visiting from usc, will be my roomie next semester yay!! here's the hottest picture:

and now i'm going to bed. will update later. like... some time i don't know. we'll see.

murder on the dancefloor

i'm in bammental! yay! bammental via heidelberg, via mannheim, via frankfurt int'l, via lufthansa, via the wonderful edinburgh airport. well.... hmm... this time I took the train by myself all the way to bammental and there was no crying. true story. i even made some friends along the way.

me: [i show her my ticket] regionalbahnhof or fernbahnhof?
lady at help desk: fernbahnhof
me: fielen danke. (i think that's how its spelled)
lady at help desk: you're velcome.

also

me: "mannheim?"
man on train: "da."

me: "heidelberg?"
woman on other train: "da."

me: "bammental?"
girl on last train: ?
me: "neckargemund?"
girl on train: "da."

I'm tricksey, and I'm good at taking trains. And making friends (slash making conversation, and that's like 90% of it right?) Anyhow, today I played with Ellis who is like amazing, and Rachel. Well, she is amazing but I didn't play with her. She skeptically watched me make hot chocolate (but the kind you put warm milk into... it's harder than it sounds guys) and took me grocery shopping, and we went to the Heidelberg Christmas Market!

We got some gluhwein, which means glow wine. Apparently it makes you glow from the inside, but it kind of made me want to barf from the inside. sorry. Rachel suggested some kinderpunsch, but I defered. We got some hot schokolade instead. well, not much else to report. I hate finals, I would like to just fail them then have the university of edinburgh sink into the forth (ocean-like thing) then usc doesn't get my transcript oh well. is that allowed? i will allow it. now off to studying, then bed. then who knows!! this country is crazy and pretty jawsome. peace (on earth).

bologna

so my mom sent me some tea (with a cool foldy christmas tree card. i made a video of it and i'm trying to post it on this blog but having trouble. any tips?), anyhow the two kings are: eggnogg'n and ginger snappish (it has lemon, too). kelly and I approached them with skepticism, which is well-deserved. because they smell awesome and you lift up your mug to your lips and inhale: "oooh smooth creamy egg nog yum yum- WATER." and it's a let down. But the ginger tea is better, because ginger is a legitimate tea flavor (unlike egg nog, which is a legitimate flavor for EVERYTHING ELSE).

but i was drinking some ginger tea, studying for my exam (in 30 minutes so i gotta scoot) and i burped and it tasted like warm gingerbread. so not all is lost.

[event]:[BPA- British Points Awarded]

1."Kelly before we leave I need to top up my mobile": +10 points for "top up" +20 points for "mobile" = +30 points
2. wearing a shirt, sweater, sweatshirt, vest, scarf, jawsome hunting hat: +40 points for layering
3. still being cold: -50 points for being a wimp
4. i still don't understand cricket like at ALL: -25 points
5. but i do know that 'lorry' means 'big truck': +15 points
6. dislike rain: -30 points
7. but i understand how quickly the weather changes so it won't be here for long then i can make a run for it: +20 points
8. enjoy oasis: +15 points
9. do not enjoy having to 'top up' said 'mobile': -10 points
10. i'm going home in january, in case that wasn't clear: -100 points

-95 points. hmmm all this math reminds me to study for my finals (DEATH!)

millworker

lindy has some exciting travel plans coming up...

dec 6th- fly to frankfurt to visit cousins
dec 10th- fly back to edinburgh to take rest of exams (boo)
dec 16th- edinburgh airport to pick up john + dad
dec 19th- fly to prague
dec 22nd- train to this place in austria to meet mom + greg + thomas
dec 29th- fly to london
jan 6th- fly to s.f.o.
jan 7th- drive back to l.a. (NO TURNOVER! i am at the mercy of jet lag)
jan 8th- classes start (actually i don't have any monday classes so it's jan 9th for me)

wow. life goes pretty fast. and i cringe at my CO2 emissions... maybe bike to l.a.? dragging my bed, etc. with me? I wouldn't make it past pacheco pass and would spend the rest of my days subsisting off casa de fruta nuts and malt balls. haha no one reading this probably gets that. but it's super funny, f.y.i. also super true.

borderline

things i love about train stations:

#1: TRAINS
#2: whistles and the blowing thereof
#3: very high vaulted ceilings and other 19th and turn of the century architecture
#4: TRAINS
#5: the cool info boards that change frequently
#6: lots of newsstands and places to get coffee
#7: the sounds of trains coming and going
#8: TRAINS

under the iron sea

I'm going to be on a train for five hours and then be in a different country!! (sort of)!! did you know that the queen is the queen of canada, too? and of australia i think!! are we the only ones who don't have a queen?! and if/when we get one... can it be me? that would be SUPERBE.

desperado

did you know that the difference between a latte and a cappuccino is the steamed milk : foamed milk ratio (and, by conservation of volume, the ratio of those two things to the espresso)? it'll all just turn into steamed milk by thermodynamics eventually.

I thought there was somthing monumentally different between them. And I sat down at the starbucks at bristo square and did my maths homework, and outlined some of my bio notes to begin studying, and read the 'latte' and 'cappuccino' posters several times. is the whole world built on ratios of the different phases of milk?? milk is a colloid, by the way. that's a gas dissolved in a liquid (right? someone please correct me). so it's sort of both phases all the time, when you think about it.

people are contracting aids at the rate of one new infection every 8 seconds. people are being bought and sold like lattes and cappuccinos. sometimes i wonder what good knowing the resultant moment on a beam does, or why I make 3 flashcards about it, and commit it to memory. why am i transfixed by all the different kinds of artificial sweetners I can put in my tea? i've gotten so lost in the world, and i'm sick of it. and all we argue about is if two men or two women can get married. there is nothing new under the sun, but people try to get excited about milk : milk ratios and i'm not impressed anymore. i don't know what i'm trying to say, or what I'm going to do now. buy fairtrade coffee and use linen grocery bags. turn off lights whenever possible. not have unprotected sex or start doing heroin or something. say 'thank you' more often.

cold feet

in my hands (but on the desk now since I'm typing) I have a letter. the letter is from my director of studies (like an advisor) to accomodation services.

i give the letter to accomodation
they shred the year-long lease and give me semester-long one
several people notify registry and adjust my account
my usc advisor gives me clearance for my spring classes
i take my exams
accomodation gets my flat keys back
i get on a plane
i'm back at usc for spring semester


gaaaaaaaaaaaaah piece of tri-folded A4 paper!!!

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." -Isaiah 30:21

"Rise Up With Fists!!" (Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins)

oh to heck with it everyone go buy "Rabbit Fur Coat" now.

What are you changing?
Who do you think you're changing?
You can't change things, we're all stuck in our ways

It's like trying to clean the ocean
What do you think you can drain it?
Well it was poison and dry long before you came

But you can wake up younger under the knife
And you can wake up sounder if you get analyzed
And I better wake up
There but for the grace of God go I

It's hard to believe your prophets
When they're asking you to change things
But with their suspect lives we look the other way
Are you really that pure, sir?
Thought I saw you in Vegas
It was not pretty, but she was (not your wife)

But she will wake up wealthy
And you will wake up 45
And she will wake up with babies
There but for the grace of God go I

What am I fighting for?
The cops are at my front door
I can't escape that way, the windows are in flames
And what's that on your ankle?
You say they're not coming for you
But house arrest is really just the same

Like when you wake up behind the bar
Trying to remember where you are
Having crushed all the pretty things
There but for the grace of God go I

But I still believe
And I will rise up with fists
And I will take what's mine mine mine
There but for the grace of God go I
There but for the grace of God go I
There but for the grace of God go I
There but for the grace of God go I

"Born Secular" (Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins)

I was born secular and inconsolable
I heard that he walked, he walked the earth

God goes where he wants
And who knows where he is not
Not in me

It's the way mothers greet their sons
When it's a moment too late
It's the law of the land
That sometimes the dam just breaks

God works in mysterious ways
And God gives, and then he takes
From me, from me, from me, from me, from me

It was a toss-up between this song and like every other song on the album... if i'm feeling uncreative the next post will be "Rise Up With Fists!!" (Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins)

rise up with fists!!

RUGBY GAME!!! whoa!!

it was awesome. we made outfits (we just wanted to wear red, one of the pacific islanders' colors) and it was freezing and an awesome time. i'm too tired/lazy to write about it, here's a jawsome picture. but i will tell you this: rugby players are SAVAGE. and they like kill people. example: each other. it's crazy i never want to play. at least in hockey they have lots of pads/a helmet.

p.s. this is an acknowledgment of the beautiful life of chase elder. i remember him riding at reckless speeds on his longboard around campus. i don't know who reads this blog, or if any of you knew him, but he was a gift from God, and remains so in memory and in experience.

a warm green hug

a nice update with pictures

I went to Dublin and it was fabulous. You want to actually hear about it? Then get yo'self over here. And hopefully there'll be a post about it soon. Here's us on Howth which is this island thing outside Dublin. It was very beautiful.

Then we had thanksgiving!! it was fabulous. I tried to make green beans and mashed potatoes. Mostly other people followed the directions/recipe and they turned out OK. saving grace = gravy packets my mom sent that arrived just in time! kelly and i drank a little too much bad pinot, and we watched ice age 2. it was the best thanksgiving ever. here's some people making hand turkeys. mmmmm american culture/elementary school...

Today after class Kelly and I met at a Princes Street Starbucks to study. actually just to read and comiserate about the poor quality of starbucks over here. no joke. this is what happens:

me: hi. I'll have a grande americano please, sit-in.
barista: americano... and what size?
me: grande please.
barista: okay... and would you like milk with that?

w. t. frappucino?! if i wanted milk i would have ordered a latte. i don't mean to be all coffee elitist or something because i only know what those things all mean because i looked them up with the nutritional info on the starbucks website. but if you work at starbucks... shouldn't you know these things? anyhow, i politely said, "no, just black" but yeah these people would never survive in the states. they were also mean to kelly and told her the 'cider' we get in the states is "just warmed up apple juice." i would slap-slap them but i don't think I could reach across the register.

but anyhow, i'm thankful for starbucks and their comfy chairs. kelly read "the unbearable lightness of being" which i recommended and we both agree is an amazing book. I read "extremely loud and incredibly close"- some chapters I love and some are only so-so. this is what happens when you have several narrators. anyhow, we had the best seats by the window and i watched the sunset and the sillhouette of the city against the sky disappear by like 5:30 because it gets dark that early. And we sat and drank and read and had a wonderful time.

then- SOUTHERN. this is our favorite bar. I/we love it. We got mozzarella, tomato, and basil paninis and i got a diet coke kelly got a mcewan's (which is a beer). But the main idea was for me to try absinthe, which kelly described as "a warm green hug". And it's illegal in the states, so I want to take advantage. kristin said I shouldn't because artists went like nuts when they drank it, but they had a lot. so I went up to the bar and ordered one. kelly told me the brand and I felt very smart and cool asking for that instead of just "an absinthe" and they make it like... there's this sugar cube on a spoon/strainer sort of thing. They pour the absinthe (it's green!) over it, then they burn the sugar cube (!!) then they pour a double shot of water over it. so after 5 minutes of my suppresing my excitement/wide grinning (definitely uncool) I paid my 3.20 and took it back to where we were sitting.

but... i didn't like it. it tasted like burning and smelled like black licorice. these are two things I don't like in my mouth. licorice i don't like in any context, and fire is pretty cool, just not in my mouth. i had two sips and made a 'gag reflex' face and kelly and i traded. she finished my absinthe, i finished her mcewan's. she said when they made hers they added 2 doubleshots of water... this i will ask for next time maybe i'll like it more. but when i tried whisky i was like, "my throat is on fire!!!" and she was like, "yeah... that's the idea..." so possibly i will stick to my diet coke? but anyhow, we traded and it was perfect. that's why we're friends. and now we're home. huzzah. tomorrow: rugby game. sweet.

ask staff for details

i am in... DUBLIN! yay! i came to visit bridget and orrin and silas. we went places. it'll be a better post when there are pictures (we took pictures!) so i'll tell you more about it later. mmkay. peace.

train in vain

at the check-out at sainsbury's

lady: [looking for type-in code for pastry thing]
me: oh, it's an olive one.
lady: oh you're american?

i thought: wow what keyed you in genius woman
i said: "yes"

lady: so what are you doing over here?

i thought: freezing
i said: "studying at uni"

lady: whereabouts in the states are you from?

i thought: don't make me think about it, it's too painful
i said: "california."

lady: california! why would you come over here? What's wrong with california

i thought: absolutely nothing.
i said: "absolutely nothing."

try again

i finally got a bank account. it was a long story, and it was all in mail you can't just go into a branch. it all had to go to 'corporate'. where is corporate, you ask? oh about 10 minutes from my house. it's taken 8 weeks. 8 weeks... 10 minutes... this country is retarded.

but i gave blood. there's a 12 week waiting period here b/w blood donations, so last time i went in i wasn't eligible again yet. yesterday i was eligible again, so yesterday i marched in and held out my arm (and finger for the iron test, my least favorite part). new least favorite part: they put the needle in sort of wonky and now the bruise is creeping out from underneath the bandaid. plus they can't like take the needle out and reinsert it so i'm sitting there for 5 minutes knowing it's going to bruise, and they'll make me apply pressure to it to prevent hematosis (is that the name? they told me and i forgot). Basically you get to apply pressure to a bruise.

I gave blood and all i got was this stupid bruise. actually that's not true i got orange juice and a chocolate biscuit. i was hoping for a sticker or something, but I realized little kids don't (normally) give blood so why would they have awesome stickers/prizes? oh well.

me: "I'm O positive. doesn't that mean my blood can go to a lot of people?"
nurse: "no that's O negative."
me: "oh."
nurse: "but that's still special. I'm O positive. It's very special."

I wonder if she says that to everyone... or just me, the girl looking for stickers and prizes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY THOMAS!!!

caroline: but what about all the girls in their slutty costumes?
lindy: i don't know. it's all fun and games until someone loses an unnecessary appendage.

it's been getting pretty cold lately.

bacci (that's kisses in italian)

I FOUND MY CALCULATOR IT WAS UNDER A CHAIR IN THE KITCHEN (WHICH WAS UNDER A DRYING TOWEL SO GIVE ME SOME CREDIT).

me: "calculator i was worried sick!! don't you ever do that to me again!"
calculator: *sheepish look* *holds out stubby arms for hug*
we embrace.

it was beautiful. and i am so happy. i still got a new calculator though after my friend told me there are only like 2 types of calculators allowed in university exams, of which james (calculator) is not. oh i am so happy. and such a huge nerd.

san bernardino

in this country, both sports betting and fireworks are legal. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN.

company man

once again, i think my choice of clothes should influence the weather. i was watching some 'arrested development', and it was like being back in southern california for 45 minute intervals. kelly and i were also doing a load of towels in the laundry. i paused the episode, grabbed my keys and some 20p coins, and ran out to change the load from wash to dry. I went downstairs, out the door, sprinted over to the building where the laundry room is, and as i fumbled with my keys in the dark, in my boxers and grey shirt, i realized, I am in SCOTLAND. and it is COLD. furthermore, i am getting WETTER the longer i fumble with these keys.

note to self: boxers and grey shirt not sufficient for arctic temperatures. invest in some mittens and some common sense.

haiku for my lost calculator

gentle seas of trig
with your wind behind my sails
how i have loved you

fall line

i will ponder these things in my heart, and bundle up on the outside because it is getting COLD. i looked up the weather forecast and the high/low numbers go down further every day. getting one of those i-will-rob-you ski masks is probably a bad idea... but a prudently bad one! i don't know how else my face will stay warm. spankies and scarves only cover so much of the body...

story of my freakin life

Whom have you so dreaded and feared
that you have been false to me?

-God


please tell me where you want me to be.

lay my head down

kelly's mom arrived today. she took us out for dinner at this indian restaurant that kelly and i pass all the time and always want to go in. there are prety flowers (like a single big one) on the tables- which i found out tonight are fake!! this is heresy. the food was spectacular, but all respect is lost. fake flowers? that's crap. in the form of plastic. but-

Check out those bloomin' flowers!! but seriously... 'bloomin' like... but it also means... BRITISH PUN!! in just a day. now i have to take a wet kleenex and wipe off the pollen-y parts before i stain all my clothes while leaning in real close to smell the amazingness of the flowers. I wish i could post a scent. you would all be nose-and-screen with your computer. sniffin away. but not in the drug way. ok time to get off the computer.

bestselling author

two fabulously wonderful things happened today.

Firstly, I saw Trey! Yay! I knew he was going to be in Edinburgh this week, but he hadn't called or anything (some cousin... i tell ya the American family is falling apart). But, as I was walking into the building my bio class is- there was Trey! he just got out of this interview/presentation that i think went something like this:

trey: I am clearly very smart and going to save the world.
people: while you're at it let us give you all of our grant money.
trey: brilliant.

i had a half-hour until bio so we went to a cafe on the 7th floor (which only trey knew about... i spend all day on this campus yet don't even know if the doors open out or in). then i was like, "this lecture is repeated at 4" so we went to high street area to a pub. We were planning to get something to eat, too, but then the wait staff (of one) performed this amazing disappearing act and we just had our respective pints. mine was okay, i wish i knew how to drink beer and judge it.

we talked about lovely things like his research and his baby (one of the prettiest white babies i've ever seen. no offense all you crackers, but we got the short end of the stick in average baby cuteness), and american politics and how trey saw the same guy in this pub three years ago and we speculated as to if he'd ever actually left the pub in that time. I left at 3:30 to get on a bus back to campus, but not before getting a muffin at starbucks because you shouldn't drink on an empty stomach. or a stomach that will not soon be filled...? don't question this logic! it's all i have!

in class we talked about flowers... again. we talked about them on monday and i was like, "oooh flowers" all during class. which was repeated from 4-5 today while i was like, "oooh flowers" and tried to pay enough attention to take notes. after class i got new guitar strings and second thing of wonderfulness-

I got flowers! and a vase!


well not technically a vase but isn't it awesome and sort of americana? i think so i think it's adorable and you're all jealous. I got the beautiful flowers that will bloom over the next week. and you walk out of the kitchen and 5 minutes later walk back in and you think, "you've been blooming... don't deny it you've been blooming and i can tell!" and they are so stunning. i'll take pictures every few hours/days and you can watch the beauty unfold. oh hooray.

they're in the kitchen but when i'm feeling lonely (and selfish) i will move them to my room.

i don't feel like dancin

Ok so some of you may know this, I'm trying to decide whether to stay for the year as I intended or leave after this semester. Kelly said I should make a pro/con list. So I present... the list. (if you click on it it will open bigger in a new window i think)



not like this makes the decision any easier. any ideas?

california show your teeth

i hiked ben nevis! it's the tallest mountain in the UK! at about 4400 feet i think. and my legs are feeling every inch. It's a nice hike, but LOOONG. i didn't realize how long it was until i was hiking down at which time i was like, "i hiked up this? I hiked up this?" and yes, i did. now i will show you:

I started pretty early in the morning. sometime before 8. i'd arrived the night before when it was dark, so i didn't actually know which way to go. I asked some other hikers who pointed me in the right direction (the one with the signpost that said "Ben Nevis", but like i said it was early) and i started the ascent.

See, the trail is very pretty! A little wet. And rocks the whole way, which i don't really like. But you're walking along this other mountain/hill and it's pleasant. I saw some other hikers (saw them pass me) and it was lovely.

You get up to this little part between mountains when you switch to another one that takes you closer to Ben Nevis, it's here:

See? so pretty! a little loch then the trail continues and it's LOOSE ROCK. WHICH I HATE. it's like running on sand, you're getting nowhere slow. but there was this tour group behind me and i was like, "ok there is no way i'm getting behind that tour group" so i just kept walking. I was going at a snail's pace, but i didn't stop and I made pretty good time. I looked online and it said allow 5-6 hours and i made it in 4. So, about 1-1.5 hours on the nice side of mountain trail, another 30 minutes on the second mountain nice trail, and the last 2 hours on all loose rock. but here's the best part: the fog.

I knew that climbing by myself wasn't smart. But at first i was like, "ok you don't hike or in the morning because of bears and mountain lions" i am such a california girl. but then i thought, "bear- indigenous to the pacific rim" (right?) and "mountain lions- just north america" (also right?) so i was like, "full speed ahead!" well, hiking by yourself is not smart especially in 10-20 meter visibility. near the top there are these gullys like above that you don't see until you're basically falling down them. But I stayed on the "trail" if you can call it that up there. It's all loose rock, with big piles of rocks every 15 meters or so to let you know where to go. But after asking around I found the peak and here is me!

Yay me! I'm wearing my spankies (see rachel? they totally come in handy) wool socks and shorts over them. spankies on top, day camp shirt, rain shell. which of course wasn't enough. it was super wet and incredibly windy up there. there's ruins of an observatory up there (though i don't know what you'd see other than cloud) but they provided little to now shelter, being ruins and all. So i stayed for like 10 minutes and read two psalms (8 and 139) and went back down.

You see what i mean about the no visibility? and the stone piles? seriously i'm glad i made it down ok. even though my ankles are about to secede from the union that is my aching body.

But the highlands are beautiful! here's the picture that's currently my desktop background (yeah it made the cut)

And now I'm back in Edinburgh. I got a bus home. I fell asleep of course (Ben Nevis + dramamine = coma) and when i woke up could hardly get off the bus. I feel like an old lady when i walk up or down stairs (or walk at all). I finished my lab report (3 days early! it's an early christmas miracle!) and although I should do my astrophysics, I'd rather look at flights to germany and ireland. Although, it has occured to me that i could take a BOAT to ireland!! a boat!! bridget i could take a boat!! so i'll keep that in mind. BOAT! i'd pull a titanic the whole way, though.

i am so excited about this boat! a ferry! i'll wear my rain shell the whole way, after i've gotten my sea legs.

p.s. rachel (and anyone else who is interested) a 'munro' is a mountain over 3000 feet. there's upwards of 200 of them in scotland and some people make it a point to climb all of them. in cali there's the 14000 club (or something like that. fourteeners? much less creative anyhow) and somewhere between 20-30 of them in cali and people make it a point to climb all of them. so they're sort of dinky in comparison... but they're our dinky mountains. but actually not that dinky. for all intensive purposes they are super tall and i am therefore a BADASS CLIMBER.

p.p.s. i saw "english muffins" in tesco today but of course they only said "muffins" and i was like, "wait a minute.... OH I AM SO CLEVER!" yeah, i'm going a little slower these days. intellectually and on my feet.

homeslices

can you spot all the things god has given me?
- a mom who sends halloween sticky things
- the sunset
- edinburgh and the opportunity to study here
- jawsome curtains and a mom who knows how to hang them
- a digital camera to share this with you
- other stuff.


some cousins were going to visit this weekend but their plans changed (i.e. didn't materialize as i had hoped) so i'm hiking ben nevis instead! it's the tallest mountain in britain at a staggering 4400 feet or so!! haha, you scots with your 'munros'. anyhow, that's going to be awesome. and if the weather is crappy there's other stuff to do, smaller mountains to climb, etc. but now i have to get my work done so i can actually take my saturday 'off'. peace.

three county highway

as of today I have been here for one month!! and have accumulated the following:
- 2 sets of sheets which I have actually changed (my mom will want to read that)
- 7 edinburgh facebook friends
- 5 classes (3 difficult, 2 medium)
- 2 new sweaters
- 3 pairs of stockings/tights
- 1 new word in my vernacular: "cheers!"
- 1 guitar, 3 guitar books, 1000 new songs i want to learn
- 0 new bags (I am so proud of this one)
- 1 new pair of shoes, birkenstocks... in scotland...
- 1 grocery store card (like a ralph's card)
- 0 bank accounts (not proud of this one)

and other stuff.

but it hit me today- a month! that is so long... but it's so short, too. I have a year calendar on my wall where I check off the days. Less in a count of monte cristo way, more just for my own edification. and I will be here for so long!

part of me says, "Ok guys, this was fun. I'm ready to go home now. I learned some new words and your accents are pretty coo, too. But I'm ready to go home." is that wimpy? or pathetic? I thought a year was the way to go, and there are no negative things making me way to leave... more reasons I want to return home.

There are things I can't do here that I want to do. I want to wake up at 8 a.m. and call brooke to go to breakfast/chano's with me. or call caroline at any time of the day to get an omelette at eat street. and tuesday night worship at a.g.o., and jesusfruit (our jawsome bible study), and pushing my homework off my desk and going to santa monica. and seeing my j.e.p. kids and teaching them math (or reading, like happened this past semester). and going home for the weekend and volunteering at m.p.p.c. because they know me and i know them and I can just slide in and be comfortable. or just randomly seeing people I know around campus. those things don't happen here.

God has blessed me with people: my roommate, my small group, the people I know in my classes. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. You hem me in- behind and before; you have laid your hand on me. I have friends at home I can call, and friends here that you have prepared for me. And a church. And tonight (!!) a woman at church invited Kelly and me over to her house to have dinner with her husband and their two children, and it was amazing! They are so generous and welcoming.

I think about that and I'm glad I'm here, but i definitely miss home and get myself in a little funk. On saturday night my small group got together to hang out and watch a movie. And how it's set up is a PC connected to a projector so we have like a 14' screen, which is sah-weet. For whatever reason we ended up google earth-ing our houses. And I got so excited! watching it zoom in on the bay area, into atherton, to my house. you can see my dad's car and the pool and the cabana. I showed them USC- the coliseum, the rose garden, tommy trojan, my apartment building.

I can't quite explain it- I miss USC but I'm happy here. I'm gonna pull a chekhov- "any idiot can face a crisis, it's this day-to-day living that wears you out."

beurre corporel

why am i still up?!? because i wrote a bitchin' 9 page fluid mechanics lab report, that's why.

money made you mean

#1: MY MOM LOVES ME. last year in bible study the question was asked "who loves you and how do you know?" and i was like, "my mom because she tells me, 'lindy there are things you don't want to do that you have to do' ". but there are other reasons. and they arrived yesterday via airmail. She sent me: my guitar music, other guitar stuff (capo, picks, etc.), the new indigo girls c.d. (hence the title of this post, my current fave song on the album), and HALLOWEEN THINGS!!! sticky ghost and graveyard scene for my window, light up jack o'lantern that can be turned around to last through thanksgiving, ghost playing card, flash light that has different caps so you can project halloween-y pictures on the wall, candy corn stickers, basically one of everything in the target halloween section. even the new indigo girls album is orange!! my flat is awesome now. and very... spooky.

#2: today I went to princes street to get a sweater and some tights and some underwear. you know, the essentials. i also looked for boots but i think i'm gonna end up getting some uggs. this whole 'shoes with heels' thing ain't gonna fly. but, i was in body shop smelling all the wonderful things there (brazil nut- who knew?! i got lotion and i smell like a divine goddess of brazil nut now) and there was this techno music i was like, "whoa, body shop is awesome!" then all of a sudden it stopped. and i realized i had missed a phone call. but seriously, no one calls me so i forget what my phone sounds like! maybe i'll make some friends with generous phone plans. and a penchant for techno music. specifically, the kind that comes standard on a motorola.

boogaloos

2 wonderful things of note:

1. All we need now is the jackets (that's my flatmate Kelly)


















2. SOMEone sent me dvd's of recent m.p.p.c. services!! I haven't watched them yet, i have to send something to a friend and give in and buy a stats book because my lecturer is worthless. but it means SOMEone is thinking of me and I don't know who!! which is sort of better than knowing. or at least I'll relish it for now.

brother of mine

this summer i taught my pandas and kangaroos and incoming 1st graders (like 4-6 years old about, my classes at m.p.p.c. over the summer. m.p.p.c. = home church. i don't know who reads this blog so i don't know how much i have to explain), about Daniel. And how the king has a dream, and nobody knows what it means so Daniel prays for God to tell him what the dream meant. God tells him and when Daniel goes to the king he doesn't say "this is what you dream means" he says "I'm only telling you because there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries and he revealed this mstery to me" (or something like that) and the lesson was: God wants us to tell other people what he does for us.

so i'm telling you this:

On Friday before classes (which start at 12) I went guitar shopping. Because I really miss playing here. And I went to a few places. I didn't want to spend a lot but I also didn't want like a log with some steel strings on it. I ended up getting this 55 pound (sorry I don't have that symbol on my keyboard) guitar that sounded OK. Other options were a 70 pound one... but I got a new guitar book so I went with a cheaper guitar. I went home and played for a while and it sounded like crap. It sounded twangy, not full like my seagull at home (seagull = guitar brand, i.e. the kind i have), I played songs I knew and they didn't sound right. I tuned it to itself (no tuner yet) and it sounded a bit better, but still unfortunate.

But it was too late to bring it back because I had to leave for London. So I left and I was like, "I'll return it when I get back." which I did today. Or rather, which I tried to do today. To make what could be a long story short, I walked down to the guitar shop with it and prayed, "God please give me the right words and strength" because I feel so awkward returning things and I knew this would be wierd to just say, "I don't like how it sounds."

I got in the store and was told that I couldn't return it. He proceeded to tell me I couldn't sell it back to him, that I wasn't in America anymore (he brought it up, i was like, "yes i'm aware..."), that no there was no written no-return policy, no he would not put one up for future customers, and this is now my problem. That makes it sound pretty one-sided, it wasn't. There was a pretty long back-and-forth because his reasons were like, "But what if someone just bought it to play for a weekend and make money then return it" and a lot of what if's, none of which were valid. But, after he told me all the reasons (none of which were valid in this situation) why I couldn't return it, he told me "there's no argument here". So I left.

I meant to stop by the grocery store when I went home but I couldn't because I was (still) carrying this guitar. And I was so angry at the guy at the store. I wasn't angry at anything I'd said, or hadn't said. I knew whatever the argument (or non-argument) he wouldn't have let me return it. But I was angry at him for being so stubborn and condescending. I stewed in that for about two or three blocks, but being angry and upset really sucks. And I didn't want to remain in it so i was like, "God please take my anger because I don't want it." I immediately felt better. For about 1 block.

I remembered I was still carrying around a crappy guitar which I couldn't return, and would only get like 20 pounds for if i sold it somewhere else. So I had a crappy guitar, and didn't want to invest in another one. I especially didn't want to invest in another one after the aforementioned incident. I was angry at the guy again, mad that I couldn't go to the grocery store, upset that I had a crappy guitar. So I prayed, "God please make this guitar good." That's the main problem, the quality of the guitar, so I prayed that God would make it sound good or somehow get me a new guitar and get rid of this one. Or something. I just didn't want to be in this situation, and expecially wanted this guitar that I had to sound better.

By this time I was back to my flat. I went up to my room, got a diet coke, and opened my guitar case. I know this is going to sound wacko or something, but my guitar sounded better! I played it and it didn't twang or make that wierd low noise when the strings aren't on just right. It sounded fuller, and just better! I might still change the strings (who knows how long they've been on there), but seriously you guys GOD HEALED MY GUITAR. did you know god can heal guitars? he can! my family's sending me my guitar stuff so I will actually be able to play on a GOOD guitar that God gave me (really. I bought a crappy guitar and God gave me a good one). I'm so happy and God is so good to me.

I live in a sea of blessings, I'm wrapped up in a duvet/comforter/blankie thing of God's goodness. I'm gonna write a lab report I feel so good.

mancation

it should come as no surprise to you that the bane of my existence is now facebook news feeds. every time i log on it's like, "200 of your friends are attending a.g.o. barbecue- and you can't go!", "13 of your friends are going to a party you were also invited to but you're in scotland", "none of your friends have to deal with stockings", "1 person on the facebook network actually thinks new feeds were a good idea."

it hurts, facebook, you cut me deep.


but here's the ashlee pic!! oh... hard to the core.

bent

let it be known, I saw ashlee simpson in 'chicago' here in london.

let it also be known, she was horrible. i mean, i love ashlee. i think we could be friends... just not friends who let friends perform when they clearly have inadequate talent. friends you can trust to say, "get off the stage before someone gets seriously hurt"

i have a picture, i'll post it as soon as i get back to my puter in edinburgh. it's wierd that i can travel for quite a few hours on trains and a plane and a bus... and still be in a foreign country.

tinted glass

kelly and i are TOTALLY joining the curling club!! how can we not?!? we are a) amazing, b) so freakin good for beginners, and c) CURLING!! the best part will be the sweatshirts. and the bragging rights. that's right, suckers, i won the "roaring game".

also, i tried irn bru (pronounced "iron brew"), which at one time was more popular than coke in scotland. it might still be, i'm not sure. anyhow, it's disgusting. it's like liquefied bubbleyum. those scots, they sure know how to make a soda.... or an upset stomach. I came home and made some iced tea while i bound my curling wounds (bruises, rather) and made dinner with my chicken marinated in soy sauce (!)


lindy: we are listening to justin timberlake and we're going curling.
kelly: can life get any better? i submit that it cannot!

jawsome = joyous + awesome

ok first off, I have a friend named Anne D. She is fabulous and studying abroad in florence. I hope to visit her some time this semester. But guess who's going to london next weekend? guess who will ALSO be in london that weekend? OHHHHHHHHHH we are meant to be together. i've already told her I want a june wedding. On top of a mountain.

ALSO! i did find soy sauce. but seriously what a coincidence that annie and i will both be in london the same weekend!!!! i blame/thank God on that one.


But here are the classes I'm taking (in alphabetical order!)
Astrophysics: it's intense. the name sounds totally savage, too. It will probably be my hardest class.
worst part: the professor who lectures as if this is all review while we develop carpel tunnel trying to take notes
best part: the unit of a Jansky, which measures... something? anyhow, i think it should be slang for something like, "Aww man I got the janskies!" or like, "I am totally janskyin' right now..." just gotta find a meaning (other than the scientific one)

Biology: Origin and Diversity of Life: I suck at Biology, so I have to take it somewhere the grade doesn't matter (unless I fail... which I won't)
worst part: the fact that it's biology and there aren't 3 equations I can use to do anything (see also: physics)
best part: the guy in class with the shirt- "dip me in chocolate and throw me to the lesbians" (i know! wtf?)

Fluid Mechanics: I get to take another Fluid class next semester for it to transfer back to USC. Riveting.
worst part: the lecture theatre that feels like the rainforest. seriously, all the irresponsible ones should just stop coming to lecture so I can breathe.
best part: my friend dave is in this class! this means two things: 1- I can make friends! (seriously guys I was worried about this one), 2- study buddy! but apparently they don't have midterms, etc. just one big thing at the end... so it'll be minor on the study buddying

Math for Electrical/Mechanical Engineers 3: it's basically differential equations
worst part: this review sheet he gave us that I have NO idea how to do.... crap... i mean when were we supposed to learn how to complete the square?! because everyone knows but I never learned! same with the quadratic equation- I blame Keck for every failure in math I have. Keck = 'experimental' high school math curriculum, evil.
best part: I am so excited to take notes in this class. I get out my pencil and pen and eraser and little pencil sharpener and I'm like, "teach me!"- math is cool like that.

Statistics: and it's not with business students!! amazing! and it's something I ought to know.
worst part: I'm probably going to fall asleep in his class
best part: lookin to be soooooooooo easy.... yesssssssss.

viscosity

i asked God for a good flat. He gave me a three-girl flat halfway between the two campuses I'll be going to, with a beautiful west-facing window to watch the sunset, with a big fridge, with a cleaning service.

i asked God for good friends- he gave me a flat mate who loves jesus and is open about her faith and herself. God gave me this wonderful small group where we can talk about faith and about his word, and come together as people who love jesus and want to reflect that in our lives.

i asked God for a good church home here, and he gave me this church i absolutely love where I'll (hopefully!) be volunteering with children's ministries. I already know two other people who go to this church, too!

i asked God for classes that will transfer back to USC- he gave me a class schedule full of classes I am interested in, some of which will go back to USC in the fall. He gave me two classes where I already know someone (study buddy!).

Now, the only things I still need are: soy sauce and bacon bits. I'll even take teriyaki! I just want something to marinate my chicken in! And the second one, this may sound so pathetic, but I think spinach salads are like 300% better with bacon bits. I don't know why, but that combination is just heavenly. Maybe with vinaigrette? So my small group prayed for my soy sauce, and tomorrow I'm hunting for the chinese grocery store that does exist we're just not sure where.

life is lovely and if God played baseball he would bat 2.000

thank YOU darby conley

harmonic oscillator

I went to my first day of classes today... but the REAL story is: I went to the dollar store (though I guess technically it would be a "pound" store) and got myself a pitcher. I went home, brewed two mugs of tea, poured said mugs over ice in the pitcher, added much more ice, and drank. I drank one glass so fast I feel a little sick now. WORTH IT.

pour some sugar on

This is the basic skeleton of a conversation I have now had several times:

"Hi, can I have an iced tea please?"
"I'm sorry you american scum we don't do that here."
"But you have ice, and you have tea."
"You disgust me little american girl. Go back to your walmarts and frat parties."

I am not making such a horrible request! Come on! Your menu doesn't say "toasted bagel" but you still toast them for Kelly! And I make sure I ask for this "special, painstaking" request when there's not one else in line so I won't be holding anyone up. Even at the cafe down the street that I frequent (i'm there right now actually) where they know us kelly and I go so frequently, he was like, "um no we don't have that" yes you do! you just don't know it yet!

I may have to invest in a pitcher. I've already started regularly dumping out my ice trays and refilling them so that, when the time comes, I'll be ready. Sometimes if you want something done right you just have to do it yourself! Then I will proceed to take my iced tea down to the cafe and drink it with more pleasure than is due. They'll change their minds I'm sure.

soulful shade of blue

we're figuring out skypein, etc. my dad and brother (greg) were playing golf, my mom was doing worky things, so it was up to thomas. He called and left voicemails, and when we finally connected:

"it was this british voice that answered so I didn't know if I had the right number. it was like, 'the number you have dialed is not here... righto. cheerio.' "



I MISS MY FAMILY.

the train from kansas city

well, in the words of my flatmate kelly, my ceilidh cherry's been popped. (i know, we are like perfect for each other i think. she said and we both blushed, then laughed, then kept going).

What is a ceilidh, you ask? Well, it's pronounced KAY-lee (i know i know, wasn't there a 'd' you are thinking?) and it's like line/square dancing in the us. Except, awesome. Because it incorporates waltzes and polka, etc. I mostly danced with guys I knew from my small group, one dance with Kelly, and another dance with another girl. And after we were appropriately sweaty, it ended with that I can only describe as a polka mosh pit. Good thing I wore boxers under my skirt. If I weren't so tired I might explain more... oh well this is what you get! I made a video of my flat room (it's like 10 seconds of panning... that still counts)- any tips on posting video to this blog? hosting options? let me know, loyal techy readers (if there are any).

cheers!

Contact Info

Ok, there are several ways to reach me. And I will update this post when new information comes along...

Snail Mail:
Lindy Liggett
7/4 East Newington Place
Edinburgh
EH91QP
UNITED KINGDOM

(and specify airmail or it'll come really slowly... like by packmule i think)

Email:
mlligget@usc.edu

Skype:
lindy.liggett

Phone:
UK Cell Phone: 011 44 (0) 778 947 5899 (don't dial the (0) if calling from US)
UK Land Line: 011 44 (0) 870 085 6000 (don't dial (0) if calling from US)
Skype In Number (forwards to my computer, where you can leave a message): (213) 814-2650

mr. jones and me

here's the thing about scotland: they're all scottish.

consequently, the most frequently used word/phrase is "pardon?"

I'll update more later. I don't have internet in my room yet but there's a cafe a block from my flat with free wi-fi. Have ethernet will travel.



edit: actually, they're british. or, from somewhere that is not the united states but they still speak english. and they're like, "oh I'm from northern ireland, wales, southern england, etc. etc." people this does not matter I can't understand any of you!!!!

train

i just got back from a romantic rooftop dinner in prague. with my mom. Before that a walk along the river, a few days in Vienna, a few days in Budapest, 3-4 hour train rides through Central Europe. With candlelit dinners and cozy cafes along the way.

lindy: "I feel like I've been on a weeklong date with you."
mom: "why, because I pay for everything?"

But hey, I'm not making you go exchange currency or anything. I just expect it.

bammental

did you know I have my own defense mechanism? this is what it is: I stop caring what I wear as the temperature drops. Because it's super cold and I'm wear purple spankies (long underwear) underneath and peaking out from some khaki capris. man, there is nothing as hot as RAW SURVIVAL.

bitte

I'm in Germany! And I'm safe! Finally! I miss knowing how to communicate, but I do know bitte (please), danke (thanks), schnell (faster, from die hard), and guten tag (hello).

Finding the right train at the Frankfurt airport was a nightmare because some tracks were closed. They don't tell you that you can go to any track and eventually get to the one you want, so we were sitting there trying to figure out how to get to track 5 when it was cut off. One man even laughed at how lost we must be. If I knew a German swear word I probably would have used it.

Finally we got on a train and I rolled my two huge and heavy suitcases on to the train with my huge clunky walking shoes I got before I left. They're german looking (they're german shoes), black, pretty heavy. They are also quite ugly, but they are so comfy I don't think I can complain that much. Brooke saw them and tried to tell me that they weren't 'that bad'. But then we agreed that she was lying, and I'll do best to wear long pants with/over them. Bot for now I'll pretend I can blend in with the locals. And I do, they are hella european shoes. hella.

I got to the Mannheim train station where I had to switch to a local train. My mom caught another train back to the Frankfurt airport for her flight to Bremen (she's on a business trip, I'm visiting cousins for a few days).

Then I got to the Heidelburg train station, which was as far as I was supposed to go before my cousin Rachel would pick me up. Problem: how do I tell her I'm here? My mom didn't have a SIM card yet, so I didn't know if she had called Rachel. I tried to use a payphone and failed miserably, and the machine ate all my euro coins. I had her address, but I didn't want to take a taxi in case my mom had called and she was coming. So I waited for a little while outside the train station. And then it began to rain, and then I began to cry.

Because I was in a foreign country where I can only say please and thank you, I didn't know who was picking me up if at all, I didn't know how to get anything to drink and I hated to pull around my suitcases (which weigh 100 lbs together... i know because I weighed them. twice.). When I think of 'cry' I usually think of a lot of noise involved, in which case mine was a 'weep' because there was little to no sound. So I sat there and wept for a while, and got out of the rain, and thought about my options. None of which seemed to be working. But then crying/weeping didn't make me feel any better because I was still tired in the middle of Germany. So I stopped.

I stood up and walked back over to the curb to sit down and wait again after the rain stopped. I got up to look at oncoming cars (another mistake... she also came on a train because she doesn't have a German license yet), and I realized the following: my feet feel fanTAStic.



postlude: she did come, my mom had called her, I played with her new baby while we waited for the train. I had some white bean chili at her house and took a long nap. Now I'm gonna try to go to sleep to get on German time. but I will def have to learn German, today was a nightmare.