Ah, Young Love in Les Miz

So I just finished reading Les Miserables (yes, all 1222 pages of it). For the past few months, I've been obsessed with the musical and thoroughly enjoyed reading the book. Bawled my eyes out in the end, to tell the truth. What I really found funny yet oddly insightful were the parts about the love developing between Marius and Cosette--a love that seemed reminiscent of puppy love. I thought a couple points were both amusing and noteworthy, and wondered how viable these points are today. I have little to no experience in the realms of love at this point in my life, so I wanted to hear what others thought of them.

So, without further ado...

What Victor Hugo's Les Miserables Taught Me About Young Love:

1) "The first symptom of true love in a young man is timidity, in a young woman, boldness. This is surprising, and yet nothing is more natural. It is the two sexes tending to unite, and each acquiring the qualities of the other" (756).

Does anyone else think that is a fascinating idea? That a woman becomes bolder and a man more timid when faced with love (or attraction)?

2) "There is another law of these young years of suffering and care, of these sharp struggles of the first love against the first obstacles, the young girl does not allow herself to be caught in any toil, the young man falls into all" (758).

Okay, I just thought this was funny. The example in the book explained how Jean Valjean (the protective father figure) was suspicious of a developing relationship, but Cosette hid her feelings so well as to dispell any doubts. Marius, on the other hand, fell into all the traps set for him and behaved like an obviously love-struck puppy. Valjean concluded that: "This booby is madly in love with Cosette, but Cosette does not even know of his existence!" And yes, he really called Marius a "booby".

Both entertaining and enlightening. So what do you think? Post if you can, I'd love to hear your thoughts on these ideas, foster some discussion and whatnot.

New Gro Baby™ for my New Niece?

Well, it's official! My older sister has finally had her new baby, Lillian Michael. She was born on July 27th, at 8:36 a.m. She weighed 6 lbs, 3 oz, and was 19 inches long. I'm staying at their house right now, and she is one of the cutest little peanuts I've ever seen--besides Lily's older sister, Avery, of course.

My real reason for blogging today is as a favor to my older sister. You see, she heard about a diaper giveaway that was being awarded to bloggers, and it seemed like the perfect option to help her out. She's been planning on using cloth diapers for Lillian, and she finally narrowed it down to Gro Baby™ Cloth diapers brand. Of course, as the single and amazingly cool aunt, I don't have much personal experience with diapers just yet. I'm also not planning on having any kids soon, so I haven't had to consider whether I'd use cloth or disposable. However, from the info that I've read about Gro Baby™, it sounds to me like Chris and Michele have made a good choice. Using Gro Baby™ will help them to save money, as well as contribute to saving the environment, since cloth diapers are so much more ecologically friendly than disposable. Plus, from all accounts, my parents used cloth diapers when I was a baby, and I turned out okay, didn't I?

So all in all, Michele and Chris have decided that Gro Baby™ is the diaper for them and if it works out for them, I just might have to consider the possibilities...WAY in the future, that is.

FREE DIAPER GIVEAWAY RULES:
1) Must be a new blog/pic, etc.
2) You may blog about your likes/dislikes for Gro Baby™ OR post a new pic of your babe in Gro Baby™ OR blog that you'd like to try Gro Baby™ .
3) ALL, must be accompanied with this link,
http://www.thenaturalbabyco.com/grobaby%E2%84%A2-ic-11_16.html
4) Email your link/address to customerservice@thenaturalbabyco.com WITH BLOG
GIVEAWAY in the subject line.
5) We'll send each participant ONE FREE Pre Production Shell Set in
Blackberry (sorry no other colors available)
6) One per family please.

For Lillian's sake, I hope this works!

Yes, I Am Still Alive

I know it's been embarrassingly long since my last post, and I honestly have no excuse as to why that is. Plus, this post is not going to be the longest, either. I can only say I am sorry.

At the moment, this blog is under construction--so to speak--as I try to revamp the idea and figure out if there's anything interesting about my life now that I'm back in Michigan. As I mentioned early on, I created this blog in order for my friends and family in the States to read about my experiences in England. So--as it says in one of my favorite books--if a thing was created for a reason, you better hope that reason still exists. Because when the one is gone, so is the other.

Don't worry, I'll be back soon though. Just give me some time to brainstorm and revamp the whole point of my blog.

So Much for the Countdown...

It is my last night in Surbiton...already. It's been a busy week, what with packing and last-minute sights to see. It seems to have sped by. I still have one more night to spend at a hotel in London, but then on Sunday, I'll be flying home to Michigan!

It's hard to believe that four months have gone by so quickly. It seems like just yesterday that I arrived in Surbiton, trying valiantly to stay awake to get with the time change. I'm sure Mom remembers me bawling my eyes out on Skype because I was so exhausted. In the time I've spent here, I've seen and done things that I never would have been able to had I not taken this opportunity. It's been amazing. I've made new friends, seen some awesome sights, tasted different (but not always appetizing) food, and just experienced and enjoyed life in a different country and on a different continent. So here's a brief lowdown of the highlights that have happened in the last four months. I know you'll understand if I don't really include anything about school...who would ever consider that a highlight?

Entertainment:

Musicals: The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Hairspray, Les Miserables

Plays: The Winslow Boy, Pitmen Painters, Romeo and Juliet

Movies: The Secret of Moonacre, He's Just Not That Into You, Confessions of a Shopaholic, Watchmen (which I DO NOT recommend), X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Young Victoria, The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Star Trek

Other: Carpet premiere of Night at the Museum 2

Cities:

England: London, Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surbiton, Brighton, Bath, Stonehenge, Chawton, Winchester, Oxford, Lacock, Manchester, Haworth, Liverpool, Stratford-Upon-Avon

France: Paris, Tours, Angers

Scotland: Edinburgh

Ireland: Dublin

Food:

Curry, Kebabs, Fish and chips, Toad in the Hole, Bangers and Mash, Haggis, Deep Fried Snickers Bar, Irish Stew, Crepes, Escargot, Yorkshire Pudding, Gelato, Creme brulee

Attractions:

Jane Austen House Museum, Sherlock Holmes Museum, Eiffel Tower, Arc de Tromphe, Notre Dame, Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh Dungeon, The Eagle and the Child pub, Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Houses of Parliaments, Westminster Abbey, London Eye...

Okay, I'm bored of this already. Suffice it to say, I've done and seen a lot and it's been amazing. But as I've been telling people, I'm thrilled to be going home...just not all that happy about leaving, if you get what I'm saying. On the one hand, I will be going back to my family and friends back in Michigan. Not to mention Frozen Cokes and Taco Bell and air conditioning...and a car. I will definitely not miss England's public transportation system, however handy it was to the stranded traveler. On the other hand, I've made some amazing friends here, that I had to say goodbye to tonight. I'm hoping to stay in touch with everyone through Facebook and such, but who knows how well that'll work?

All in all, Sunday's departure will be a very bittersweet event. And the next time you hear from me, I will probably be on American soil again!

From the Ghostbus to Fried Mars Bars!

I returned from Scotland yesterday, and fortunately I brought back a lot of new stories and memories! Unfortunately, my camera still won't transfer everything that I want it to. Oh, well. Anyway, I'm just going to post a brief recap of my trips to Ireland and Scotland.

Dublin, Ireland:

I flew to Dublin early last Thursday...VERY early. As in, I went to Luton Airport late Wednesday night and had to stay the night in the airport. My flight arrived at Dublin Airport around eight in the morning, but the hostel check-in time wasn't until two in the afternoon. You do the math. Needess to say, I got a lot of reading done waiting in a nearby cafe. I didn't get a lot accomplished in the first day, since I was trying to catch up on sleep. Plus, as embarrassing as it is to admit, I had no idea where the hostel was in the city. I was afraid of wandering too far away and not being able to find it again.

Jenn's plane got in on Friday afternoon, and that's when the real vacation started. We checked in at a different hostel and this time, I made sure to find out where it was on the map. We didn't have much time left in the day, so we mostly wandered around O'Connell Street, looking around the souvenir shops and picking up dinner.

On Saturday, we took a free walking tour of Dublin, where the tour guide explained the history of the Vikings, Celts, and Normans. The tour took two hours, and luckily the rain held off long enough for us to get safely inside. We were able to explore Grafton Street for a while, which was fascinating due to the street performers and different shops. My personal favorite was a puppetmaster and his wooden puppet. The guy was so gifted that the puppet seemed to be alive...and he was that funny, too! That was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip; that or the tour I took that night. We bought tickets to Dublin's Ghostbus Tour...Amazing! The guide was hilarious, and the tour took us to a cemetary and the Forty Steps, which is supposed to be one of the most haunted places in Ireland. I can't honestly say that I saw any ghosts or spirits, or even that I believe in them any more than I did before. But the tour was fun regardless.

Our flights left Sunday night, which still left enough time for one last adventure. We ended up--where else?-- at the Dublin's Writer's Museum. I mean, come on! Jonathon Swift, Oscar Wilde...what literary enthusiast could resist? I certainly couldn't.

Looking back on this trip, I can't say that Jenn and I did that much in terms of events or activities. Rather, we just enjoyed being in Dublin, seeing the sights, and relaxing rather than running all over the place trying to do everything at once. I certainly got a lot of pictures anyway!

Edinburgh, Scotland:

I took this trip with four friends from the Kingston Study Abroad program, and it was just as fun, though in a different way. We took a taxi to catch the early flight this time, so at least there was no staying the night in the airport. I don't know if I could've handled that a second time!

We flew out on Tuesday morning and returned Thursday evening. In that time, we took a walking tour of Edinburgh (free, of course), visited the Palace and Edinburgh Castles, and went to the Edinburgh Dungeons. Just like the Ireland trip, this was pretty "chill." We even made a habit of taking a nap--our siesta--in the middle of the day. Although the first day, we definitely went a little overboard in the nap department. The scenery was gorgeous; there was nothing better than walking down the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and hearing the slight sounds of bagpipe music (I'm not kidding about the bagpipes; performers were everywhere!) I even tried haggis, which, if you don't know what it is...well, it's probably better if you remain ignorant. It didn't taste bad, though. The flavor and spice was good, even if the texture was somewhat weird. Another Scottish delicacy I tried was...a deep fried Snickers bar. I know, it sounds like a heart attack waiting to happen, and it looked disgusting. But it was delicious! I could've easily eaten another one, it tasted so good! Speaking of which...in Scotland, they deep-fry everything! Pizza, Mars Bars, Snickers, pickles, even cheeseburgers! And I thought I was adventurous by trying the Snickers bar!

Edinburgh is also a big place for Harry Potter fans, since J.K. Rowling got much of her inspiration from the city. Hogwarts is there, as is the inspiration for names she used, such as Tom Riddle and Minerva McGonagall. Just a couple fun facts, I guess. I was also interested to visit the Elephant House Cafe, which was where the writer first penned Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone. J.K. Rowling isn't the only literary figure from the Edinburgh area, nor the most significant. Sarah and I went to the Edinburgh Writer's Museum, where we explored exhibits about Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott. Sir Walter Scott is especially renowned in Scotland, as he helped to bring the kilt back into the culture. Who knew?

We returned late last night after spending a pretty relaxing last day exploring the shops and taking pictures of everything. Needless to say, though, we were pretty exhausted when we got back, especially since we missed out on our siesta yesterday! :(

And I know I've neglected Edinburgh a little when you compare this account with the one I've written about Dublin. But I hope you'll forgive me! My time's running short, figuratively and literally! Not only do I have to meet a friend for dinner, but I only have ten days left to spend in England! So expect to see the return of the countdown!

Camera Complaints

Since the last time I wrote, I have seen two other musicals, a play at the Rose Theatre, and been to Ireland. But I can't find the motivation to write about those events right now because I'm so ticked off. No, not ticked off, because ticked off sounds more like I'm mad at a person or something. Rather, I am frustrated beyond belief at technology and ruing the day digital cameras ever replaced film.

Okay, so maybe that's not the whole truth. I love my camera, frustrating as it can be. It was a Christmas present this past year, probably the most perfect idea for a study abroad student. And it's not so bad. After all, I can take a lot more pictures on my digital camera than I ever could using a film camera. And who doesn't like being able to see the result seconds after snapping the shot?

But there is a definite downside, at least to the camera I own. Who knows, maybe this is just a freak thing and everyone else's Kodak works perfectly. But all I know is that my camera is filled with over 400 pictures that refuse to transfer to the computer. They're taking up the memory, but I don't want to delete them because they're my memories! But it is becoming more and more frustrating, because the situation seems to be getting worse.

I thought it was bad when my picture of the Eagle and the Child pub in Oxford didn't transfer, which meant that I couldn't post about the pub made famous by C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the other Inklings. I figured it couldn't get much worse when twice--twice--some pictures I'd taken of friends and promised to send them refused to upload to the screen. How am I supposed to post a picture on Facebook when I can't even post it on my computer?

But this just takes the cake. I went to Ireland this past weekend, met Jenn there, and we stayed and explored Dublin. It was awesome, but I'll write more about it in another post, I promise. What I'm trying to say is, I took quite a few pictures. This is saying something for me, because although I love having the memories on film--or the computer--in front of me, I tend to forget that the memories have to be captured first. But this wasn't the case in Dublin. I probably took over seventy pictures over the weekend, which is a pretty substantial number for me. I even took a short video of a street performer with a funny puppet. And do you want to know how many of my pictures transferred to the computer for me to attempt to upload on Facebook for friends and relatives to see?

21. Twenty-one. Not even a third.

Now can you understand my frustration?

But hey, I'm a girl who usually looks on the bright side; I typically see the glass as half-full and whatnot. There's a positive side to every situation, as long as you look for it.

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At least I was able to transfer the video of the funny puppet.

London's Blue Carpet Premiere

Today I met Ben Stiller. How many people can say that? Well, I guess "met" isn't quite the word for it. By "met," I mean I saw him at the premiere of Night at the Museum 2 and he autographed my day planner (I didn't have any other paper on me and come on, it's not like I'll ever lose THAT). Hank Azaria and Ricky Gervais made an appearance, too, but I didn't get to see them up close. I was disappointed not to have seen Robin Williams or Amy Adams or Owen Wilson, or any of the other great actors in the film. Still, it was a rather exciting occurrence.

The premiere was interesting for other reasons as well. First of all, my friends and I showed up at least two hours early in order to get places along the railing. It was a good thing we did, too, because people became very pushy and rude when it came closer to the event's beginning; I guess no one stands between some fans and their star. It was very uncomfortable after a while; people were pushing and--shall we say?--jabbing with their elbows to get a better view even before anyone arrived! Plus, a friend of mine was spooned by some person who was a bit too eager to see some action.

Did you know that the London premiere does not use the red carpet? No, the carpet put down in Leicester Square was bright blue--very pretty, if I might add a random thought. I thought it was better than the red, but I was one of the only ones in my group who thought so. Erice even said that she would've refused to walk down a carpet that wasn't red--but I think she was joking.


Probably the most interesting part about the experience was seeing how people behaved. I was appalled, to be honest. I mean, they're just people, whether they're on the big screen or not. Yeah, it was great to see Ben Stiller and Ricky Gervais and such; how many people can say they've ever had a chance? But the way that some people were acting...screaming out stars' names like they were best friends, reaching out to touch them, shrieking and pushing and stepping all over the "little people" just to get a glimpse. Wow.

Well, I got some pictures, what little I could see, and I'll post them here for everyone to enjoy. For those who have me as a facebook friend, my friend Sarah should be posting and tagging a picture of me with Ben Stiller...or rather, Ben Stiller in the foreground while I just happen to be in the shot. Sarah seemed pretty excited about it, though.