Thursday, September 30, 2010

Super American


My days in the North east English Countryside have been filled with lacrosse. It is the whole reason I am here isn't it. My teammates are very posh. Lacrosse is a boarding school sport here in jolly 'ol England, so when our teammates say something like, "Oh, yes it is a very cheap place to get your self a nice dinner.", we Americans doubt it. Several times we have spent the equivalent of fifteen dollars because we went out to eat with the girls. They also eat differently. Did you know pizza was meant to be eaten with a fork and knife? The knife is always in the right hand; you are to never put it down, and the fork stays in the left all upside down. Crazy. My American roommates/teammates and I practice at home on frozen pizza. It is flippin hard yo.


When I return to 'merica, I will have it down. You will all feel belittled by my fancy eating routine and how I pronounce all the 't's in my words instead of making them sound like 'd's. I plan on mentioning many times, "Oh, silly me I forgot that In the States you do it so differently. I played lacrosse in England you know, and I just picked up some of the finer points of life."


Just kidding. I say "dude" here so many times that the Americans think I am too ridiculous for this country. The Brits love my cheeky ways, and they are even learning some of my acronyms. I hope to Americanize the crap out of them.


LYMI- love you mean it

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

This is my life now.

This is my house.

This is my dryer.
This is my backyard.
This is my room.
This is my fridge.
This is my street.
This is my shortcut.
This is my bruise.
This is not just useless change; it's about 12 bucks!
These are my American roommates/teammates.
Any questions?

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

An Adventure

The first think you must know about the town of Durham is that everything is in walking distance. Me and my three American teammates must walk everywhere because A. it is possible and B. we don't have cars. The problem with walking is that after a very long grueling practice, one does not feel like it. The second thing you should know about Durham City is that it is hilly. I swear the two mile walk to practice is up hill both ways. So after our very first practice, we thought that we would try a short cut home. Yes internet, we were very aware that this was a bad idea and a cliche of an introduction to a classic anecdote. We were confident that we would be alright though because our teammates, neighbors, and administrators had given us directions of a well known footpath.


Well after walking in the middle of the freaken forest for a good long while, we realized that we were just lost in the woods; however, we were so stubborn that we said turning around would just be giving up, so we figured it was a great idea to take a trail that had the slope of .... (shit, I forget geometry. That would have been so clever if I knew what I was talking about.) Well it was steep. We saw that on top of this hill was a ray of sunshine. This must be where we can see how to get home. We were very confident that the op of the hill was the answer. As we made our collective way up this tiny path with little or no traction, we regretted our decision immediately because we were far too tired, yet we powered through and trudged toward this promising looking edge. The lactid acids surged through our quads and our over worked shins cried with pure pain. We wondered a loud in between huffing gasps for air and desperate giggles what would be beyond the edge. "What is this leads like right to our back yard?" "I bet this is cliff that completely drops off."

The first girl to approach disappears into the distant sun beam. All we hear is her burst our into a hearty gut laugh. The three of us pick up our pace in anticipation. Girl two disappears over the edge- laughter. Girl three- same thing. No one explains herself because all of them are far too busy laughing. Finally, I reach the source of hilarity and it is this.

Yes, we reached the top, but no, there were no answers. It was just a field. We all were laughing at our stupidity. We were lost. No way in hell would be turn back now! One girl with superb eyesight spots some buildings, and we all head toward them. Durham is surrounded by fields, farms, and trees, so a cluster of buildings must be the city, right? Here are some pictures of the buildings we saw.


They were completely broken down and desperate. We explore this tiny little ghost town, and then we see it. The castle that is the heart of Durham City. No, we were not close, but we at least now knew what direction to go. Once we go close to home, the giggles stopped and the grumpy kicked in. Needless to say, it was an adventure.







Monday, September 27, 2010

AFK

Dear Internet,


My dearest apologies for being AFW for oh so long. For you nonnerds , AFK = away from keyboard. I am enjoying the hell out of England, but my place will not have internet for at least another week or so. I try to steal wireless access where I can, but it isn't easy. The cafe is having issues with theirs. The free WiFi at the pub does not work on my computer for some reason. Any dorm is a freaken hike away. The library won't let me in until I get my school ID card. Life is hard for a blogger from the states.


Heart,

me


Wednesday, September 15, 2010

What I Will Miss: The HIgh Five

When I am in England, I will miss high fives.

Is there nothing more satisfying than the heroic slap of a friend's hand over a triumph of any measure? NO! Is there nothing worse than looking forward to the moment I just described and not getting it? NO! To be left 'hanging' is be to insulted.

I am such a big fan of the high five that I even incorporate "The Todd" snap, which is just a snap after a high five. It is like celebrating three times over. Here is a nice example of "How to" The Todd online.

The Todd

Is your hero the misunderstood, hypersexual surgeon on Scrubs? Divert attention from pending sex-harassment suits by courting favor with coworkers. Snip the sleeves off your shirt and give 'em some skin!

1. If your mark is reluctant, play the pity card, imploring him to "show the [your name here] some love."

2. Now hit his hand as hard as you can. You should hear a whip-crack.

3. Snap your fingers.

Read More http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/magazine/16-07/st_howto#ixzz0zXVtP9zw



We Americans love this physical gesture almost as much as we love the word 'awesome'. We love it so much that we are extraordinarily reluctant to decline one. In my favorite cartoon show growing up, Rocko's Modern Life, there was an episode in which aliens wanted to kill us. They simply went around asking strangers for high fives, and then the high five would explode killing them. "If these Earth creatures have any weakness it is their inability to resist a request for a high five."

















It is not the same in England; I think they are apathetic about the high five, and that makes me sad.

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

What I Will Miss: LBI

When I am in England, I will miss my beach house in Long Beach Island. My grandparents bought a little yellow shack on a half empty street surrounded by marshland in the 70s. In the eighties my grandpa built it into a three story house. In the ninteis he died, and my grandma moved there permanently; she had a whole lot of rules. In the oughts (2000-2009), she died, and my mom, her sister, and her sister-in-law moved in for the summers. It became a party house.Here is the beach house in its early years. I am the adorable brunette baby, and that is the only picture of me you will see internet... unless we are friends on Facebook.

As you can see, I had a handful of cousins. We were not allowed in the house after a day at the beach until we showered. That makes sense and all, but since I was the youngest one, I had to stand outside and wait for 5 or 6 showers before I could have mine. Bugs would attack me, the sun would burn me, the water would lose all pressure, all the good Lipton iced tea would be drank leaving me only Crystal Light, and the sand on my body would create new and fun rashes. It was like torture! As an adult now, I only need to hose off my legs before I enter the house, relax in the shade, and enjoy a beer.

I will miss my family because this beach house is where we all go to be together. We are very close for an extended family that lives as far north as Rhode Island and as far south as Virginia. LBI- right in the middle. I could tell stories about how awesome my family is and how awesome my beach house is, but I fear it would not be funny. It would be bragging. I will just show you pictures.
Above is the street in front of our house.
You can see the bay as well as my family having a mini
parade to celebrate the Beer Olympics of 2010.
This is actually the opener for the games.
Above is my mom on my uncle's boat in the bay
watching a dolphin jump out of the water.

Above is a classic sunset as viewed from our deck.

Above is our deck.

Monday, September 13, 2010

What I Will Miss: My Cats


When I am in England, I will miss my cats. I suppose it is only natural for a lesbian to miss her cats. God I am cliche. Just know that I never played softball!

My cats are awesome though. In 2007, I just graduated college. I was moving in with my gay best friend Billy, a bi-curious nerd Cathy, and a straight girl from Mexico who was a grad student. We all decided that the little two bedroom needed one more to be complete, so we got our home a kitten. Her name was Rosalind (my second favorite Shakespeare character).

You will notice that Roz, pictured above, is rather round with a very pink belly. She has a womanly figure and an anxiety disorder. Roz tends to become overwhelmed when she feels feelings. If she is lonely, frightened, relieved, or happily excited, she tends to bite the hair off of her body.

Roz does not like many people. She is a bitch. She will bite, scratch, and hiss at an unwelcomed attempt to approach her. I love her because she loves me. I feel special that she misses me when I am gone and allows me to pick her up and hug her. She even sleeps by my feet when she is feeling frisky. She is not a hide under the bed kind of cat; she is always in view, and she is always watching you. I find it cute. My sister found it horrifying and did not visit me and Roz much.

In 2009 I was living alone with Roz and my girl friend moved in with me. She often complained that she didn't get to know Roz as a kitten. I did not have the capability to build a time machine, so like any other lezzie would do, I got a kitten. We named her Anyanka (my favorite Buffy character).
Anya, pictured above, is Roz's foil. She is as friendly as a mammal can get. She loves everyone instantly and wants to immediately show her affection with cute little meows and face rubs. Anya is a slut. I love her because she is loveable, but Roz's love makes me feel special because it is a rare gift given to only me and select others. Anya won't even notice that I will be away for a year.

One great thing about Anya is that she likes to spoon. It's true. She will allow me to hold her in my arms while I sleep. She also will get tangled in my hair some nights and purr happily because there is no way for her to be any closer to me while Roz is by my feet anxiously dreading the moment when my toe accidentally touches her paw.

They are magical things my kittens.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

What I Will Miss: Awesome

When I am in England, I will miss the word "awesome".
Awesome is supposed to be a very special and rarely used word. To consider something awesome, you have to be so impressed by it that you cannot even express your understanding. The universe is awesome. God's love is awesome. This is how the English understand the word. We Americans butcher the hell out of awesome, and I love it. It is such an overstatement that it makes me giggle every time.

Friday, September 10, 2010

What I Will Miss: Atlantic City


When I am in England, I will miss "Fantic Romantic Atlantic City on the Jersey Shore". When I turned 21 and was finaly allowed to gamble, Atlantic City became my new favorite vacation spot; it was only an hour away. I spent many a dollars on slot machines and black jack. I spent many a night wandering the boardwalk and drinking far too much. I saw Chris Rock, Sarah Silverman, and some other nameless comedians perform stand up in AC. I busted many a dance moves in the various bars at the Quarter, and I have loved the whole damn place. Actually I even used to get dragged along by my party-too-hard family when I was under age. My brother and I would sit in the hotel room and sneak beers from our parents' stash. Ah, good good times. I hope I continue to get promotional emails from casinos that beg me to come with a free room on a weekday.

Do me a favor friends, and go to Atlantic City for me while I am gone.



To the right is the first Miss America crowned in... you guessed it.... Atlantic City! Isn't she grand?

Thursday, September 9, 2010

What I Will Miss: Bagels, Pork Rolls, and Pizza




Yesterday's blog made me realize that when I am in England, I will miss bagels. There is nothing better than a good bagel. Really, there isn't. It is NOT a piece of bread with a hole in it; it is a work of art.


My love for bagels leads me to think about another but very non-Kosher thing to miss: Pork Roll. I am not sure if I will find a roll of pork in England as brilliantly fried into a disc as are found in NJ. Slap that on a bagel with cheese and an egg: baby, you got yourself a sandwich.


The last thing I will miss today is pizza. Pizza, like bagels, tend to get worse the further from New York City you get. It also, like bagels, depends on a specific ethnic group. I grew up ordering pizza from a large obnoxious Italian man named Nikki for 20 years. He called everyone bums, and he would give the neighbor hood kids free pizza if we folded enough boxes.

I will miss these foods, but I do enjoy tea!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

What I Will Miss: Yiddish

When I am in North East England, I will miss Jewish People.

You read correctly Internet. I am from central New Jersey, and here we have a moderate Jewish population. I spent almost every weekend in eighth grade going to a Bar or Bat Mizpah. Many of my friends were non practicing Jews; I even had a few years where I only had crushes on Jews. I think that was a coincidence, but never the less the Jewish culture is embedded in mine. It probably is for you too even though you do not have any many Jewish friends as I did. How many of you eat bagels? That's right; a heavenly treat delivered to us by the all too kind Chosen People.

In England there are like no Jews. I found it hard living in South Jersey where the Jewish population was minimal, but now they will be nonexistent. I know this because I met a British girl in Malaysia, and she told me she didn't know one Jew. She also was confused by several of my words. These words were Yiddish words that are just a part of New Jersey language. These words I used also confused folks out in Alabama.

Words I won't be able to use in England:
smear- which won't be a problem because there will be no bagels for me to smear cream cheese on
shlep- how will i describe carrying heavy objects from one place to another?
schmuck- I think I will be able to think of other insults
klutz- who knew this wasn't English
nosh- snacking just doesn't sound right
putz- as a verb I use it too often and will miss it. "I'm sorry that I didn't do my homework; I don't even have an excuse. I was just puttzing around all weekend."
shpiel- I think I used this word at least twice a week while teaching
cockamamy- is just too fun to say, and it's a lot less harsh than bullshit

My very favorite word is the hardest to spell. It means an upset stomach because of stress. It is a feeling that runs my life. Anyone out there know how to spell it?

Damnit all. Thanks to m pal Katie I now know the word is Agita and it is ITALITAN! I will miss Italians too I guess.

What I Will Miss: WaWa















When I am in England, I will miss WaWa. If you don't know what WaWa is, drive to the Jersey Shore, and go there. I wrote a bad poem about the wonderfulness that is WaWa.

It is a connivence store,
but it is oh so much more.
WaWa, dear Wawa
How do you make hoagies so well?
WaWa, dear WaWa
You even have healthy selections
Ah hell, there is snacking for all
salads, boiled eggs, protein bars,
soda, candy, chips, and cookies
WaWa, dear WaWa
The magical store for everyone!



Okay so I gave up about four lines in, but I still love you WaWa.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

What I will miss: Introduction


I have a little over a week before I begin my adventure in England. That is right; I am going to play lacrosse and get my maters degree in jolly 'ol England. That is the whole reason I started the blog. Once I get there, I will post stories for friends and families about my adventures, and then I won't have to write so many emails to keep everyone in the loop.

Right now I have no stories. I am just living with my parents, saying long painful goodbyes, packing up my stuff, and nervously panicking about whether or not my Visa will get here on time. You don't want to hear about that crap.

What you may want to hear is a list of things I will miss and why. This will help you appreciate your world as it is. I will begin my list tomorrow because I am too busy having an anxiety attack about this Visa thing.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Goodbye Asia


After about two weeks in Asia, it was time to return home to New Jersey. My sister and I shared many tearful goodbyes. Well she had tears; I am bad ass and with out emotion. I got on a subway, which took me to the train, which sped me along to the airport, which flew me to an Indian airport, which flew me to Newark. That was a 22 hour experience, and I landed around 5:30 am.

The only ride I could find was my dear friend Adi who I have known since before I had boobs. I.e. sixth grade. Adi lives in California now, and I flew in almost exactly 12 hours before he had to leave. It was the first time we got to see each other in almost a year, so we decided to use our limited time together do to what we do best: DRINK. That is right internet. Adi and I started pounding down beers at 6am.

Well we weren't alone. Our mutual friend Tim joined in on the fun because well he had nothing better to do. Tim goes by several nick names: Tim, Timmybear, Homeless Tim, and Jesus. I met Tim about ten years ago, and I have never seen in with a clean face. He is always fuzzy. This is why we called him Jesus. Well he is also always wandering and is a pacifist. If Jesus were around today and smoked a lot of pot, he would be my friend Timmybear.

We spend the whole day drinking beers. Around 9am, Adi's mom woke up. She made us a nice Indian breakfast. Around 10am, we woke up Adi's neighbor and our good friend Gee. Around noon his sister woke up, and she made us Mimosas. Needless to say, my first day back in the states was perfect.
Can you guess which friend this is?

Sunday, September 5, 2010

My Dearest Apologies to Most of India

I am sorry for this.

So when I flew home from Malaysia, I had a layover in India again. Only this time it was in Deli and not Mumbai. Turns out only people from Mumbai suck. The Deli airport was amazing, the people were clean, the lines were organized, and the experience was pleasant. I would like to take this moment to deeply apologize to all of my Indian friends as well as the Indians I don't know who read my blog. Your country it not all that bad.

Also I watched some awesome Bollywood films, and as always I was raptured. He taught the middle school children with self esteem issues the importance of self worth via DANCE! It was almost as good as that one Bollywood movie I once saw about how 20 Indian girls united the country via FIELD HOCKEY!




The movie poster of the inflight film. Yes, it is as awesome as it looks.







Saturday, September 4, 2010

You want more aquarium stories?


Well okay! As I stated in yesterday's post, I visited the aquarium one day wet, dirty, and alone. It was actually really nice. The fish were polite, and most people kept their distance from me Actually at one point the distance was unnerving.

I, all by myself, look into a grounded tank that reached about 3 feet high and had no cover. Of course I peer in closely to see what kind of magical creatures this thing houses. Here is a photo that sort of shows you the type of tank I'm talking about.

As I stood next to the wall of this thing, no lie, a giant sting ray jumps out of the water as if he is trying to escape. He does a cool side dive and splashes the hell out of me.
I pull one of my famous little girl squeals of fear, and jump back in horror. Once I catch my breath and realize no aquatic animal is trying to harm me, I smile and look around for someone to laugh with about how stupid I looked. A small group of French girls, or maybe they were Swiss I can honestly not tell the difference, giggle politely at my horror and social embarrassment, and then quickly speed walk away.

I understand that there was a language barrier and that I smelled something awful, but it still hurt that no one made fun of my misfortune. I suppose the only solace I had was the thought that I'd be able to blog about it later so that the world at large can join in and mock me.


Friday, September 3, 2010

Me vs. The Help

One morning in Malaysia I decide to take advantage of my free time and my sister's high end apartment building. I work out. There are many nifty cardio machines and lifting machines. I spend a good hour getting all in shape.

You should all know one thing about this country. It is hot. I mean it is unbearably hot. Ask my mom one thing about the entire country, she visited in March, and she will reply with one word, "Hot". The sun is oppressive. The air is thick and heavy. The rain is boiling and does not cool a thing down. So after an hour of sweating my ass off, I visit this place.

This is the pool in my sister's building. It is out of control beautiful. There are waterfalls and little rivers with bridges. The plant life and furniture looks as if it is floating on the clean water's heavenly surface. I jumped into this magical place with all of my cloths on.
After my nice fully clothed swim, I head back to the apartment. I am a little ashamed that I am dripping with water, but I will be safe soon enough. I walk into the apartment and... dumdumdummmm.... the maid is there cleaning all of the messes we left.

I hate interacting with people who are technically servants. I would prefer to clean my own filth rather than potentially talk to someone who has handled my dirty underwear. Immediately I spin around and bolt out the the building. I spend the rest of the day wandering the streets in my filthy wet cloths.

So of course I spend most of the day at the aquarium. I felt as though fish would not judge because they are always wet, and they poop in their air.

Non Judgmental Fish

Thursday, September 2, 2010

International Relationships

As you can tell from previous posts, my sister and I left the city of Kuala Lumpur one weekend and went to the beach. The island is called Penang, and it was amazing. The water was not a magical blue or anything, but the weather was cool, and we were at a resort that overlooked the horizon. We were relaxed, young, generally good looking, and with much free time.

After various hand stand contests and bed jumping, my sister, her roommate, and I decide to be a tad more adventurous than 12 year olds and do some water sports. Meg, my sister's roommate, confidently chooses wake-boarding even though my sister and I wanted to do the banana boat. The banana boat is a wonderful thing because it requires no skill. Here is what it would look like: imgres.jpg

No, we wake board, and it looked mostly like this: imgres.jpg

It is actually a more interesting story than just sucking. It is a story of the Malaysian people and Americans acting like asses. The three of us excitedly sign up for our ride and, stupidly, pay for it in advance. We flirt with the half naked workers of various levels of attractiveness for laughs, and order a few more beers for the boat ride. The workers ask us for beers, and we honestly promise them a round if they make sure we have a good time.

We then suit up in our life vests and walk toward the boat beers in hand. The workers set up the boat and then tell us NOT to get on right away. We chat excitedly while the workers do something else. After about 10 min we ask why we are waiting. They laugh, say "No problem", and tell us to take a swim while we wait. 10 more min pass, and we notice them setting up the parasail. We say "We didn't sign up for the parasail." They laugh and say "No problem". We then get annoyed. We return to the water, and then get yelled at for swimming. We are confused because they told us to swim. We notice that they are setting up the boat to parasail people who came after us. We are pissed because they did not tell us, nor did they warn us. We look like idiots floating in out vests drinking our beers.

At this point a rather attractive worker with out a shirt. He tells us that we will get double time because we waited so long. We honestly didn't care about the wait; we just hated not being told what was going on, so we agree and sit on the sand watching people parasail. It was kind of nice.

We then wake board after waiting about an hour. My sister sucked. Meg was awesome. I sucked. They then turn to the shore. We all demand that we get our full time, and argue that we get half time. Honestly they wanted to go in before our regular time was up. I, from the middle of the water, shout that I will get my full time. They give us one more attempt. Then they leave me in the middle of the water, and drive the boat into shore. I am floating about 40 yards out with a wake board attached to my feet feeling well- I was feeling abandoned.

I awkwardly swim to the shore, and the boat is setting up for more parasailors; I only assume that is the big ticket water sport. Meg argues with the people that we were supposed to get half time. She gives up. I, with my loud teacher voice, bellow that they left me in the middle of the water. It was embarrassing for all around. Needless to say, we got half of our money back.

Americans are ass holes, and Malaysians have terrible customer service. If you travel to that country know this: they hate loud noises. Yelling will get you anything!



Wednesday, September 1, 2010

It Has Come to My Attention....

It has recently come to my attention that I may or may not have mentioned why the hell I was in South East Asia with my sister in my blog. (thank you Crystal)

My sister works for the international British based sales company known as GDS. Below is the logo on top of their web page. I have no idea what the hell they do there.






Well my sister wanted to go from sales to HR because she likes telling people how to get along I guess. There were no openings, and she has absolutely no experience out side of sales. Well that had one office that she was qualified for; the office that did not yet exist. In January 2010, GDS International opened an office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Sure miss Manhattan was not looking to move literally to the other side of the world, but with this experience perhaps she could get an HR job in another city in the same company because they are all over the freaken world even though no one can really accurately identify what they do.