urgent announcement from across the pond

Ah, Westminster...Who knew how much I would come to adore you?
Westminster is beyond impressive. It's beautiful and massive and the wonder of it can stand on it's own. They have a free audio tour, though, which tells you all about it on this little phone thing. There are numbers around the Abbey telling you what to dial to have it tell you about certain locations. After listening to the introduction, I started walking toward the first one, but stopped to read the inscriptions on memorials. As I stood there, a tall, dark, and handsome man came and asked me if he had missed the first station. I assured him he hadn't, and we shared a smile, both saying we didn't want to miss anything.
We then continued around the cathedral at the same pace, reading things other people were passing, taking the time to look in every nook and cranny. It was like we were there together, but not. At the end there's a place where you can walk down one nave to leave or another to go to a museum. He walked down the first nave. I got annoyed with him. He was ruining my plan. I had decided to ask him to tea, and here he had left. But then he came back, so we were good. But then there was a place where you could go to a courtyard that had a cafe, or head out through the gift shop. He went to the courtyard. Then I was very annoyed. Hello, how can I ask you to tea if you're out having tea without me? Why didn't you ask me to join you, you dolt?
I went to the gift shop but took my time. And he didn't come. And he didn't come. Finally I went to buy some postcards. As I was in line, he came in. And so I made my purchase, then walked around aimlessly, trying to look like I had a reason to be there. I passed him looking at some umbrellas and asked him how he could come to London without one, he laughed at himself, and went back to shopping (smartly refusing to pay £10 for an umbrella). I didn't want to look like I was stalking him completely, so I went and made a purchase; he made one right after me. And so we ended up at the door together. (Yeah, so I took a long time opening my umbrella. What's your point?)
And so, being in Europe where I said I was determined to come out of my shell, I be-ed a hussy.
'You're welcome to share my umbrella, but you'd have to be going in my direction.'
'What direction are you headed?'
'I don't know yet, but I was thinking of lunch.'
'I was thinking that, too.'
'Well, if you don't want to eat alone, you can join me.'
'That'd be nice.'
Oh, and did I mention he's Australian? Cuz he is. Though his parents imigrated there from Italy in the '60s. So he's all dark and handsome and all Aussie sounding.
We took a look at Big Ben, then headed toward Trefalger Square. We found a restaurant along the way where we stopped to dry off and have our late lunch. (And I sat there repeating to myself over and over, 'Oh my gosh, I just asked a guy out! A handsome stranger - I asked him out! I rock!' But I actually didn't feel giddy. I felt relaxed...and proud.)
Then we headed across the square to the National Gallery, and spent time looking at and discussing the art. It was lovely. We got along so well, and he was so easy to talk to. So nice.
And then his girlfriend called to say she was done with work and ready to meet up with him.

to quote me:

Sept. 11 2011
"i was also hoping to get some kind of clue as to what to do when i grow up. after six years stuck in a job that is below my skill level, i would have hoped to have some clue where to go or what to do. but no. anything i'm interested in still isn't a real job. so i vented that at HIM. and begged HIM to show me something, anything. any sign of what to do. but all i got was a feeling that i'll never know until i go to the place where my passion for words lies, namely england, and, because of my tolkien affinities, oxford, england at that. whether that's me or GOD, i don't know..."
 Jan. 15, 2012
"I have to go to england. i don't know when or how or why or what for, but i feel like i have to. darn the olympics being there this year. although really, i don't know how i'd manage it anyway. part of me feels like i have to go alone, which scares me considerably, especially when at this point, the only way i can see is as a tourist, which leaves me with no one (unlike if i were to go for school or something so i could meet someone there). part of me also feels, though, like it should be for a long time, which would mean giving up a job and not being able to find one when i get back. darn the whole thing."

Sept. 11, 2012
"i still feel like i'm not going to know who i am or have any idea what to do with myself until i go to england. preferably for a year or more, but even a month or two would be nice. england and wales. england to see all the sites and see where my family's from and visit oxford and tolkien's grave. wales to wander the rolling hills and sit by the water and think or write...finding a man over there could be an added bonus, but that's not why i want to go. i want to go to find myself."

and the winner of best tweet of the day...

Steve Wilson ‏@_SteveWilson      

"Would you like to supersize that?"

"No thanks."

"Ok sir. Can I take your name?"

"Stephen. With a 'ph'."

"Great."

darn it!

my lecture lunch for next sunday got cancelled, so i'm in london with nothing to do that day. josh groban is there this sunday. he also is here the week before i get home.

the fates are unkind.

jasper's woo-woo brother update

he's not rude, just painfully reserved. i know this because jeanie had a crush on him for one day, too.

hair update

I called my cousin and she broke up the blonde streaks, so I'm pretty now. :)

NOOO!!!!!

got my hair done tonight - i hate it! there's a great big blob of blonde right in the middle of my forehead! lightish reddish brown highlights does not mean yellow!!! and here i'm going on my vacation! i'm about ready to cry!
what i was thinking:

what i got:

and it doesn't even cover the roots :`(

to lighten the mood

alright, time for another switch. so long harry connick, jr.

josh groban is now on my list.

 he's not just adorkable:

as my friend april said, he's nerdilicious.

even pre-coffee.

crap

My Sutton Hoo lecture was cancelled. I so wanted to go to that! It's the whole reason I was going to England a week before Oxonmoot. It was to take my whole Sunday, what with travel time, as it's outside of London, and there would be a lecture and a lunch. The lecture I was looking forward to because it sounded interesting, the lunch I was looking forward to because it sounded all hoity-toity, and since I'm not getting to go to my Tolkien/Lewis tea, it sounded extra nice. Not only all this, but my train tickets are already booked, leaving me there for about 9 hours. I'll get free entrance and tour of the grounds, but that won't take more than an hour or two. As it was I had about an hour and a half that I didn't know what to do with, now it's more like 7. And even if the travel agent is able to switch the tickets, I'll have all sorts of time in London, on a Sunday no less so things are closed, that I don't know what to do with.
At least it's better than my other plans being cancelled. I'm a little nervous about the Welsh school. You have to have at least 6 people for them to hold classes, and right now I think there are 3. If that gets cancelled, not only will I be out something I really want to do, but out a week's worth of place to stay. Please, please, please let that one at least come through.

also during the service

i could see the back of jasper's woo-woo brother's head. my thought: 'honey, i'm so over you. i feel sorry for you for missing out on something so great. i'm glad you can be my brother, though. happy sunday.'

Communion

I'll just come out and say it: I'm a horrible person. I don't like Communion. To me the once a month repetitive I Cor. 11 thing gets old and tired, and everything about it is rote and devoid of life. And if you don't get I Cor. 11 thrown at you, you get a sermon that has nothing to do with anything, then at the end a desperate attempt by the pastor to make Communion relevant.
I try. I do try. I want desperately to look forward to Communion. I want desperately for it to mean something to me. I want desperately to give it the respect it deserves. I've even thought about bringing it up at small group as something I need help with in order to further my walk.
So when I walked into church this morning, my automatic reaction was, 'Oh crap, I forgot it's the first Sunday of the month. Fine, whatever.'
And then our intern gave a sermon about the road to Emmaus.
I like that story. It's all marked up in my Bible. Any time the NT says, 'Look, it's all right there in the OT,' I get happy. What can I say? I'm a Jew. I like the thought of being able to look at the OT and see JESUS right there.
Things I took away from the sermon (whether the intern said them or not):
1) Cleopas and his friend were already talking about JESUS when HE came into their midst
2) Cleopas and his friend were followers of JESUS, well-versed in the Scriptures and eager to hear more
3 (this I know the intern said, though he said it better)) Cleopas and his friend invited JESUS into the home at which they were staying, and yet JESUS was the one serving. HE was the one who took, broke, and served the bread. As soon as JESUS was invited to the table, HE became the Host. It became HIS table, the LORD's table.
4) And that's when their eyes were opened