Grocery Store Wars!

Long ago in a galaxy far, far away, someone e-mailed me this amazing little movie, Grocery Store Wars. If you've ever seen Star Wars or have even a casual interest in vegetables, this is hilarious! Chewbroccoli and Ham Solo! Darth and Luke (Cuke!) Skywalker facing off with tiny lightsabers in a produce scale! Hah! It is nothing short of brilliant, I assure you! Go watch it! It's fantastic! Seriously. You won’t be sorry. May the Farm be with you.

Happy Birthday to ME! =)

Though I am living in a country far, far away, all of my peeps both here and abroad made me feel very special for by 31st birthday! =) First, Gordon took us on a Magical Mystery Tour (literally) of Liverpool for a surprise birthday weekend! =) Europe’s Capital of Culture for 2008, L-pool was up to its eyeballs in museums, cathedrals, awesome architecture, Beatles-related sights, and- well- cranes. There’s a lot of construction that goes along with being a capital of culture, it seems, but sometimes even cranes can look really cool if you have enough of them! We stayed in a lovely hotel right by the water and had a fantasic view from the 9th floor of the docks and/or fog, depending on the weather. =) My highlight was our tour, which took us to some of the houses where the Beatles were born and/or have lived as well as to Penny Lane and Strawberry Field. Penny Lane has always been in my ears, but now it’s in my eyes, too!

My actual birthday fell on the Monday, so I went to work. =) I arrived to a stack of birthday cards and I even had a few prizes! Notably a cool book about a motorcycle trip through New Zealand and lots of packs of stickers (thanks, Jo!) and a paua shell necklace from the consultants for whom I work. Totally unexpected to have so many well wishes at work, but really appreciated! Made me feel quite special! I also had calls from people in the US and Britain, some sweet e-mails and e-cards, a very fancy homemade card and prizes from my mom- the queen of die-cutting, and had a beautiful bouquet of tropical flowers delivered from my brother and sister-in-law in Atlanta! All of you guys are awesome! A huge THANK YOU to everyone! =)

My birthday is a big holiday here- it’s Guy Fawkes Day (sometimes called Bonfire Night) where traditionally little kids make effigies of Guy Fawkes (the dude who famously conspired to blow up the Houses of Parliament 402 years ago), they get put on a big bonfire (the effigies, not the kids! What kind of country do you think this is?!?!), and then there are fireworks. (Recently there has been controversy about burning Guy- see one article here.) “Remember, remember, the 5th of November,” they say. There is also a tooth-threatening kind of toffee made with treacle and black carbon paste, a small quantity of which my cultural ambassador Jo was kind enough to procure for me. Actually quite good, though sickeningly sweet, as one might imagine. (Do I have to plant something green to offset my black carbon paste footprint?) So Jo and Jess (another City Council friend) came over for a little pasta (see recipe here) and apple crumble, which Jo made (delicious!), then we all took hot chocolate to go and headed off to see the fireworks at the Forest Recreation Ground. It was crazy! Hundreds of people, a giant fire, and a bunch of fairground rides! Always a fun adventure to have fireworks for your birthday! =) Afterward Gordon, Jess, and I went to a small club to see Jess’s friend’s band, who extended birthday greetings between poppy punk tunes. Rockin’! Who could ask for a better birthday? So official thanks to all of my peeps- you guys are so sweet to remember little ol’ me! And just think- next year my birthday will be in the summer and you're all invited to celebrate it in New Zealand! =)

GameCity!

I met Alexey Pajitnov! I met Alexey Pajitnov! =) It was just like meeting a rock star, only wayyy more geeky. ;) It wasn’t awesome Alexey himself who was geeky; moreso the huge herd o’ nerds who jumped up at the end of the seminar to get their GameBoys and Nintendo cartridges signed. (I only mock because I am envious. I have no GameBoy. Curses!)

This Fete des Nerds was all a part of GameCity, a video games fest held annually here in Nottingham. They showed a documentary made for Brit tv called “Tetris: From Russia with Love” and had a question and answer period with the game’s creator, the brilliant and lovely Mr. Alexey Pajitnov.

I wouldn’t have thought of myself as a gamer, really- at least not in recent years. But my borderline fanatical excitement at the possibility of meeting Señor Tetris totally made me rethink the role games have played in my life. It seems a good chunk of my youth was spent controller-in-hand… In front of the telly, chewing on an Atari 2600 joystick (my brother hated that), playing Frogger, PacMan, Pitfall… Games on the Commodore 64 that you had to load on the tape drive for 20 minutes before you could even start playing… We had an Odyssey for a while- I seem to remember something Pong-like on that one… Oregon Trail on the Apple at school, Super Mario on my friend Chris Duncan’s Nintendo… I’m pretty sure we played that one every day before we watched the MTV video countdown. =) Good times. =) And then came TETRIS. Game of all games. Surely the best computer game I have ever played. Simple. Addictive. Excellent music. =) I could play for hours at a time, and I remember when I used to go to bed and lie there and play it in my head for another hour before I fell asleep…

Almost 20 years after I first played it, Tetris is still my favourite game, and Alexey is my second favourite games designer. (Second after Gordon, of course! You can play Gordon's last game, Sproing, at irRegularGames.com. Go play it. Go now. Go. It looks like this.) It was an honour to meet the man who helped me waste away countless hours of my trying teenage years. =) On behalf of all of us who have whittled away what could have been boring, productive days and years of our lives playing Tetris, I would like to say an official thank you to the man who changed the world with his game. =) Danke, Herr Pajitnov. (I don't know any Russian. German was as close as I could get.) Now I have to go. The game beckons...

Scotland!

Here is a picture of a highland cow that I didn't take. In fact, I haven't seen any yet, but I'm very much looking forward to the opportunity to see one (and maybe hug it?) while we're here in Scotland. =) We are currently at the home of Gordon's cousin Ella in Edinburgh, who is absolutely lovely, and who has broadband internet. =) It's heaven here- for both reasons! We've awoken to nice breakfasts and a hot kettle in the mornings, toured around in the afternoons, watched the rugby in the evenings, AND I get to update my blog. =) Fantastic. So far one of the highlights was seeing sheep that look like this! (I didn't take this picture, either, I'm afraid.) I really thought they were very tiny cows until we got closer! I have never seen splotchy sheeps before! =) Baaaaa! Tomorrow Gordon, his brother, and I head up to Perth to see his Auntie and then drive back down to the Lake District, where we're booked in at a lovely vegan B&B. =) Tuesday it's home to Notts and Wednesday back to the salt mines, but I hope someday to return to Scotland for a proper look around, because what I've seen so far has been beautiful! =) And so many cute sheepies! I hear there are even PINK ones! Definitely worth another visit if only to see the pink sheep! Baaaaa! =)

I've Got Mail!

Travelling is awesome, especially when you live in England and have all of the rest of Europe right at your fingertips. There’s all the different food, scenery, languages, cultures… But one of the very best things about getting away for a few days is all the mail that’s waiting for you when you get home!!! =) Okay, so we just got home from Paris, which was (of course) wonderful, and I’ll write more about that soon. But since we’d been gone for four days, I had three pieces of mail! =) I love mail! =) I even like bank statements and bills, but this time there were two real letters. From people! =) And I must say, there’s really nothing like a nice, hand-written letter from a friend. =) (Or type-written is okay, as long as it comes in the mail)! It’s so nice to sit and read all about what’s happening with far away friends and family- it really makes my day. Maybe this is why I still have a pen pal after more than a decade… We have met in person and talked on the phone or e-mailed a handful of times, but mostly it’s been kept to stamped correspondence, which I think is awesome. =) I know we have e-mail and blogs and everything these days, and I think I have done quite well to become as technologically advanced as I have- I even joined facebook a couple of weeks ago! But nothing can replace a bit of nice stationery or an envelope in the mailbox with stickers on it. =) I’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who brightens my days by keeping in touch in every way, but a special shout out to those who do it the old-fashioned way. =) Keepin’ it real- paper and pen style. I like that. =) S.W.A.K. =)

Things I like About the UK, Vol. 1

Crumpets with fake butter and Lyle’s Golden Syrup; Liverpudlian accents; footie on telly all the time; being able to live in the same country as my cute boyfriend; gravy granules; proximity to mainland Europe; trains that go anywhere I want to go and on which I can take my bike; Primark; rolling, green hills dotted with fluffy, white sheep; delicious strawberry monkey licorice from the Aldi; the word “poorly” to mean “sick”, as in “no, Perpetua is not in the office today; she’s off poorly”; refrigerated grocery store vegetable samosas that you can just pop in the oven that are better than restaurant samosas; London; tea that gets so instantly strong that I have to ask for it weak when someone else makes it; Scottish accents; our sweet apartment; an abundance of inexpensive leeks; all things Robin Hood; panel “game shows” where famous people rack up points by saying really funny things in response to the host’s questions, but nobody really cares who wins; “brilliant,” said gazillions of times a day, meaning something similar to “fantastic” or “sweeeet”- sometimes shortened to “brill”; vegan bangers and mash; David Beckham- oh wait- he moved!; nail polish remover pads from Boots; more sheep; QE2...

Sometimes I Work

I am now officially a Working Girl! =) It’s just like the movie only better! Firstly, I don’t have an evil Sigourney Weaver for a boss at some giant, corrupt corporation. Second, and far more importantly, there’s no need for me to wear shoulder pads that make me look like a linebacker in order to be taken seriously. On the flipside, I don’t get to meet Harrison Ford, but that’s okay- after you get to know someone as Han Solo it’s really all downhill, isn’t it? I fear he might be just slightly less impressive without his wookie… Anyhow, I have a job, and so far I love it! I’m working for the government! They made me jump through all kinds of hoops just to get myself into this country and now I’m running it! :o Okay, so I’m not exactly the Queen or anything, but I am working for the Nottingham City Council. I’m doing administrative stuff having to do with education. Though I had to go buy a book of British English grammar (20p at a car boot sale) in order to carry out my duties (I am far from fluent in the language here), I am helping to ensure that the rugrats of the East Midlands get a good primary school education- helping little Nigels and Fionas learn to spell “colour” and “favourite” with all of the necessary vowels, making sure tiny Tarquins and Pippas remember to stick the extra "me" on the end of "programme"… It’s a tough job for a Yank, but I’m always up for a good challenge. The people with whom I work are great so far- extremely friendly and helpful- and one of them volunteers to make tea for the whole office just about every fifteen minutes, so there is never a lack of caffeine. The days are short- I am only meant to work a little over seven hours a day, as I am not to exceed full-time, which is only 37 hours here, apparently. I get to wear cute clothes and do lots of things that require organisation (with an “s”). I get to play with paper and staples and binder clips and Post-its and pens. (I bring my own pens. I love pens. Very specific pens.) I even get to laminate things, which may very well be my favourite part so far. (Besides, of course, all of the writing with pens.) So, not only do I finally have some pounds and pence flowing into my current account (that means “checking account”), but I get to talk to actual people during the day instead of just a stuffed pig. No offence to the pig, but for me it feels like a step up. (And then there are the pens!) Gotta run- have to go pick out a stylish-yet-appropriate ensemble (sans shoulder pads) to wear to the office tomorrow! (p.s. I did not choose to include a picture of pens here, as all of the pictures I could find were of substandard pens. I did, however, include a picture of a guinea pig that I met a few weeks ago, because he is extremely cute.)