The Honda Saga

I am sitting at my desk in Leeds, my parents are back in Maryland, and I'm a little bummed to report that my honda is somewhere out in California.

If you remember my Honda post from about 4 weeks ago, you'll recall that my parents took my car for it's supposed last drive this past month on their cross country trip. We all assumed it'd be dead by Texas...guess that old clunker had a mind of its own. When I heard it was still intact by the time they hit the mid-west, I set my hopes on it being in the driveway upon my return to the States. Thus, I was a bit shocked when during a phone conversation with my Dad last week he mentioned them giving it to a charity in CA. Somehow we'd miscommunicated before I'd left home- my parents had no intention of driving back East once they'd hit CA. Funny, cuz we'd probably have 4 or 5 conversations about it; guess that week was a little hectic, and I missed that detail? Either way, the car is gone. Forever. ("FoooreVER"- The Sandlot haha)

Anyways, I feel the need to blog about it. The "Mar car" as we'd named it, due to it's license plate letters, M-A-R, was my first car, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a connection to the

old piece of crap.

Memorable Moments in the Mar Car:

1. Learning to drive the stick. Stalling in the intersection before Chaneyville. The tears. The honking. Dad calmly instructing from the passengers seat.

2. Driving to Chesapeake beach in a swimsuit, belting 'So Much Better' with Adrienne.

3. Taking it for spins around route 4 at 3am when sleep wouldn't come.

4. Parallel parking at Towson between two cars. In a stick. On a hill. In the rain. (GO ME.)

5. Changing the heat/air setting with plyers at stop lights after the knob broke off.

6. Getting completely lost in College Park with Leslie.

7. Watching Phoebe slide around the back seat everytime I shifted gears; cleaning Phoebe nose prints on the back left window.

8. Dying inside everytime I filled it with gas, Summer of '08.

9. Hitting a pole and no one noticing. Oh, the advantages to having a crap paint job :)

10. Any drive that involved opening of the sun roof and a good jam. Best feeling ever.

I've included two pictures. The first is of Mar in it's glory days. This is my 19th birthday when it was passed down to me (it's forth owner!). The second I swiped from Dad's blog; the honda being pulled away (with my totally rad bumper stickers) on some street in California.

I sure will miss it.

Here's to hoping the next is an automatic with windows that roll back up every time ;)

Leeds is covered in snow at the moment, and looking beautiful.

It was a quiet weekend here; got lots of reading done and worked on fighting off a little cold. It's hard being sick without my mom, I gotta say. Funny how independent and adult-like I feel one moment, when the next I'm upset cuz my mom's not here to make me noodle soup. Oh, life :)

Had a conversation with a German girl the other day that made me smile:

Me: I'm from around Washington DC.
Sylvia: Wow, have you met Obama? (I've been asked this a dozen times)
Me: Nah.
Sylvia: ...Have you ever seen anyone famous?
Me: Not really. My sister saw Queen Latifah in a Starbucks though! Have you heard of Queen Latifah?
Sylvia: Umm....I think so. She runs...which country does she run again?
Me: The country right next to Lady Gaga's.

Just kidding. I didn't say that. But I thought the exchange was pretty funny.

Had somewhat of a reality check this past week with my finances. As it turns out, living in England isn't cheap. Who knew? I've realized that I may not be able to see all the countries I'd hoped to see here (to be fair, there was quite the laundry list). It's been hard watching my friends plan trips all over the place, but if I notice myself getting down about it, I remind myself of how amazing it is that I'm here at all. I've been planning smaller trips around England itself that are within my means, and still incredibly exciting. Spring Break is a little up in the air at the moment. My parents offered to fly me home on them, which means lost time in Europe (not that I'd mind being at home for a week or so; I do miss it), or I can stay here, and come back owing them a chunk more than I'd planned. Both options have pros and cons. We'll see how that plays out. Coming home would also mean meeting my baby niece, which would be great. I don't think I've officially menioned Drew and Drea's first born, due on March 12th. Ah, that's coming up so soon! I couldn't be more excited for them; they are going to make excellent parents.

Classes have been going well. Even my marketing class wasn't all bad; the kids were really well behaved this week. I'm sure it's because they all read my rant blog the other day ;)

Shockingly interesting is my Human Resources class- could even see a possible career pathway in it one day. I'm not sure if this interest is legit, or if my subconcious is aware of the college time I have left, and is just clinging to any hint of a direction, career wise. Guess the next two or three years will tell, ay? I find not knowing exhilarating. I find being young exhilarating. Honestly, I wouldn't mind being 21 for another 5 years or so.

"Study" Abroad

Being an English major requires lots of reading (shocker, eh?). I'd be lying if I said that being abroad hasn't scrambled my priority list a little, my academics taking the most noteable fall. If I have the choice to stay in and read a novel, or spend the day in Manchester bringing in the Chinese New Year, well, that question's not even fully posed before I have my answer. Sorry, professor :/

This Tuesday found me exhasted from an awesome weekend, and completely unprepared for my Writing in a Time of Violence seminar. Honestly, I hadn't even cracked open a copy of the play I was meant to have read, so I was mildy horrified when my professor sat down and LITERALLY said "Good afternoon, everyone. Let's get started, um... (*avoids eye contact*)....Abby. What did you think of the play?"

Needless to say, I'll be dedicating some time to my studies this weekend. Can't tell you how easy it is to forget I'm here for educational purposes.

Have been feeling a cold coming on, so I went by the store today to pick up some cough drops and medicine. They asked for my ID, which threw me off. You have to be 21 to buy so much as a kitchen knife here, no joke, which is a head scratcher when you consider the drinking laws. Funny how the world works. I actually hopped into the drivers seat of a taxi cab the other week after the driver had been helping my friends and I load groceries into the trunk. He had a good laugh. Oh, to be a foreigner ;)

The Love Post

I have a lot to say about love.

Valentines Day is a tricky little day, isn't it. To sum up, my Valentines Days have gone like so:

My first decade of Valentines Days were mainly spent watching Adrienne get smothered with stuffed bears, and pillows with sweet nothings like "I Heart You" or "Hug Me" stitched on them. If my memory serves, she actually had a whole drawer full of them by age 11. I kinda just sat there with my little boy hair cut, waiting for Matt Lohr to finally make his move, Ha ;)

In High School, I was pretty indifferent about Valentines Day. Sure, if I was with someone, things were all sunshine and lollipops, but if I wasn't- eh. Mom always gets me chocolate, right? I do have a hilarious diary entry on Valentines Day, 2004. It's an all out rant, really. Something along the lines of 'I'm already 15- where is he??' Haha. Ooooh my...

I can honestly say that this years Valentines Day has been one of my favorites yet. Feb 13th, my friend Noah surprised all of us girls at dinner with roses and cards that said "You are beautiful, fill-in-the-blank. Happy Valentines Day." Then he gave all the boys power bars, because "everyone deserves to feel special on Valentines Day." What a sweet heart. Emma, Danielle and I actually wrote his mother to tell her what an outstanding job she did raising her son :)

I spent Valentines Day with some friends in Manchester. A whole bunch of us went to see the Chinese New Year, which was great. Lots of crowds, but good food and a great cultural experience (check out facebook for photos). Emma and I ended up getting seperated from the group, and spent most of the day in a coffee shop discussing life and love. We kind of swapped life stories, which is something you should be doing, if you're not already. There is so much to gain from sharing, and even more to gain from listening. When I laid my head on my pillow that night, I felt so overwhelmed with gratitude for the love I have in my life, I got a little teary. To have a family that loves me, no matter what, is something I hope I never take for granted. To have friends who support me in the way mine do; to be able to make such strong relationships here in England- I am truly blessed. A love I am becoming more and more aware of is Christ's. I couldn't put a price on it. Not in dollars or even pounds ;)

In the end, our conversation left me with lots to think about, and this is what I make of it:

Love is the single most important thing in the whole wide world.
If you're not giving love, start.

If it weren't such a pain to read, this title would be in CAPS LOCK!

Had a class today that left me nothing short of infuriated. The class is in a seminar room where there are easily 200 chairs. There are about 30 students. Poor planning on the Universities part, but whatever. So kids are obviously dispersed around the room; I sit up front and to the right, always have. I think it has to do with elementary school when they'd seat us alphabetically- Ackermanns are always in the front right corners- and some things just stick. Either way, I've got crap for vision, so it all works out.

As my professor, one of those nervous, stuttering types, is going on about quantitative and qualitative data, which in all fairness is incredibly boring, there is this row of kids in the back snickering, talking and literally throwing things at one another. Okay. I've debated whether or not to blog on this, seeing as how it's quite negative, but oh well. I need a vent.

VENT:

This is freakin college. It's not high school, no one's forcing you to be here. If you can't act like an adult and sit still for an hour, leave. I was honestly amazed by one, how ridiculously rude they were being, and two, how anyone can seriously take their education THAT lightly. I am no over achiever. It'd be a stretch to even call me studious, but even I realize when something is to be valued. It disgusted me so much to see them care so so little. I had these flash backs to middle school. I felt like I was in class with 13 year olds.

And to watch my professor deal with it was the worst. He looked so degraded, I felt bad for him. At the same time, I couldn't understand why he was putting up with it. It makes me crazy when someone so obviously needs to just put their foot down, and won't. I left feeling so angry, I half stomped the whole way home and blasted my Paramore. (Yeah, Paramore's about as hard core as I get.) I came home, and let it out on the elliptical at my gym. Oh yeah! I'm going to the gym now! More on that later, cuz I'm still SO MAD. Why can't people have a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T and find out what it means to me??

(big overdramatic sigh) Moving on.

Being placed in the front right corners of classrooms isn't the only thing being an Ackermann entails. I'm pretty sure the definition of 'ackermann' is 'fast metabolism.' Seriously, if you look at my Dads side, everyone looks the same- tall, lean...and with glassess. True to my genes, I eat whatever I want, excersize as little as I want, and see no real consequence. However, what may seem like a blessing, really isn't. Leeds is hilly, have I mentioned that? I find myself huffing and puffing over the teeniest hill. It's sad. SO. I have decided to take better care of myself from here on out. There is a gym in my building, and I've decided to get the most out of my rent money. BAM. Look out world, somebody just got motivated.

I've already been twice this week (woo hoo!) and I gotta say, it feels really good. Once I get going, I don't wanna stop! I go with my friends Emma and Danielle, and we are a good team. They make fun of me a little cuz one, I didn't bring sneakers over here. If you can believe this, I don't actually own sneakers. I'm pretty sure I have a pair somewhere that I used to wear when I worked at Coldstone in high school.....and two, I can't help but almost dance on my elliptical. I've got this "musicians OCD", as I call it, and I can't not run to the beat. If it's slow, I'll up the "effort level" and vise versa if it's fast, just to keep myself on beat. If it's Party In The USA, I'll nod my head and move my hips like yeah. Just can't help it :D

Moldy beans? Cool beans.

Got a package from my parents with my new glassess (I can see clearly now, the rain is...well...), vitamins from mom (I may have "forgotten" them), and outlet adapters. I have been using one plug since I got here, so I was really excited to see them. Now I can blow-dry and listen to music at the same time! Score.

There is a pot of baked beans in my kitchen at the moment. It's been there since Wednesday. I'm over stressing about how filthy my enviroment is, and am decidedly amused. It's like a science experiment; that's how I'm choosing to look at it. Really. Who doesn't LOVE moldy science growing in their kitchen. One thing I'm am learning here- you can't sweat the small stuff. Rain+ my curls = a bad hair day. So what if this is my bad hair semester? I'm over it. Rainy or moldy, this is Europe. And I'm lucky to be here :)

I am taking a Human Resources Management course here that's been interesting. My dad worked HR, so it's kinda cool learning what he did for a living. ps- Weird talking about my dads job in past tense, eh. (ps- He and my mom are still on their road trip. Guess who's still with them? None other than my trusty honda. What a tropper.)

Monday nights my friends and I have "family night", which is us all crammed into one kitchen, BYO dinner style. Tonight I taught them Mafia- great game. It felt like home a little :)

ps- This just in- Sara Newman and Heather Wilkinson are coming in June and we are gonna hit up London and Paris. Life is SO SWEET :D

"It's Electric- boogy woogy woogy"

I think I may have electrocuted myself today. How's that for an opener?

This morning I unplugged my laptop, and got a shock. Ouch. Then later in the day, I plugged in my laptop and literally felt a current go through my right arm, and down one side of my body, where it kinda circulated for 15 minutes or so in my right foot. OUCH! What's that about? I want to google it, or maybe even ask Schneids what the deal is. I've been lotioning my hands everyime I use the outlet since. Scary times, people.

Had AMAZING pancakes made by a good Aussie friend of mine, Emma last night. High light of the day. Also sang in the shower (mostly Little Mermaid tunes) for the first time since my arrival. Hard to believe, but when living with new people, I can be a little timid about my vocal habits.

In other news, I am planning travels. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be (that seems to be a common theme over here), but I am learning (another common theme :). I am very nervous to travel alone, which I need to get over. When done right, traveling alone can be very safe. It's my personal goal to by the end of this, have planned and traveled a day trip all by myself. Sounds kinda lame, but for me, it's certainly something to work towards.

ps- Cooking more! Eating better! Three cheers for me! Hip hip, horray. Life is better with something other than souly carbs in my system :)

Rain on my Poetry Parade :(

Had my first class of the semester today- Writing in a Time of Violence. I can't tell you how much I enjoy my writing classes; it's not even really school. At Towson, everyone in my writing class ends up being one big family. In order to be a good writer some vulnerability is required, so you have to get brave and share- hence closeness in the classroom. LOVE IT. Another thing I love about my writing classes, is that everyone in them is excited. It's not like Bio majors who just whine to each other (hope I didn't offend there...); we actually like what we're doing.

I expected somewhat of the same here in Leeds. Mmmm not so much.

In class, we read a poem I'd never heard of before, and while it was 8 pages long (yikes- who does ths poet think he is, Dylan?), I was excited to discuss it. My classmates, however, were not so enthusiastic. Most comments consisted of "this is stupid", "what's the point" and so on. Really, guys? This is poetry, not math.

It bummed me out. Seemed to bum my professor out too, poor fella.

ps- Bought five dohnuts yesterday for forty pence. Already ate four :/ THEY ARE SO GOOD.
pps- Met another Abby today, which makes 3 in the past month. What's the deal?
ppps- I have realized that, at least for my life, needing God more than ever= loving God more than ever. I dig it.