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So my housemate, Nina from Finland, and I were heading out to do some grocery shopping and buy stuff for the house when we run in Esther, the Warden. She tells us that she is headed to Guildford to go to the ASDA, I have no idea what she’s talking about so she clarifies by saying “they sell things much cheaper there”.

“Take us with you” I reply in a half-joking manner.

“Alright, let me see if you can fit in my car” says Esther

An hour or so later, I cram into Esther’s Fiat with 4 girls and we’re off to ASDA. Turns out ASDA is the British spin-off of Wal-Mart, and the experience is quite the same, except I don’t recognise any of the brands and products, so I am basically shopping by scent and just using the Force to see if something is good or not.

On the way back we passed a B&Q Warehouse, which I suspect is the British version of Home Depot, they have the same Orange color, but that doesn’t mean much because ASDA uses bright green and blue instead of royal blue and yellow.

Cool vocab of the day:

Fishmonger = Fishmarket
Trolley = Shopping Cart
Car Park = Parking Lot

Arrived in Farnham with little fuss. Found my house and got settled in with little consequence. The train ride was relaxing and damn near empty (well, it was a reverse commute at 9:48 am).

After a day of running about buying things, not shopping around for the best prices ): went and made friends with the Wardens. They made me cappuccino, how do you like that.

Let the games begin.

I forgot what London was really like. I forgot that 7 million people live here and somehow they all do their shopping on Oxford St. It’s actually somewhat comforting to move among the masses, weaving in and out as I have done so many times in the hallways of Columbia High School and on the streets of NYC.

Perhaps, I should have stopped for just a second and landed some of these shots which, aside from being quite blurry, would have come out nicely.

Back to the Hostel afterwards for beer, cigarettes and conversations with foreign nationals. Funny how I have an easier time understand the Slovenians and Italians than the Australians or South Africans.

A sunny morning in London. Hyde Park is filled with joggers, dogwalkers, Japanese tourists, and other folks just out enjoying a brisk late-summer morning.

I found it funny that a pair of overly-affectionate Asians were watching a pair of rabbits chase each other about. You know how rabbits tend to be.

And Speakers’ Corner. I thought this was going to be interesting, turns out it was just a bunch of religious zealots who are mad at everything and feel compelled to yell at Polish teenagers telling them they are all going to Hell because they don’t believe. (Anyone who doesn’t believe in Hell is automatically going there. Love that logic.) There is something not-quite-convincing about an 80-year-old Indian man screaming about how ignorant we all are and how he met Jesus and all that.

However, the highlight of the morning was the old man who was railing against the US and the campaigns for oil in the mideast and Russia. He even had visual aides with roughly drawn maps and the whole lot.

I made the worst mistake anyone can make when traveling. I left my most comfortable pair of shoes at home. Now the blisters on my feet are so bad I am forced to wear flip-flops, which in themselves are not terribly comfortable. Good one Scott.

I’m in London. For good. Currently at the house of `john Hughes, suffering with his `british keyboard and its odd and borderline-superfluous keys. `loving it.

More as it develops.

London!

My parents are good sports. They came to aeroport with me at 5 am and helped me through a baggage scandal and then waited for a while before I boarded.

Dear parents, don’t worry about me, I’ll do fine overseas. You’ve raised a fine Lieutenant, and when I return, I’ll be an Admiral.

Gotta love the naval analogies on my way to London.

And is also 11 September, 3 years after. Not much else to say about that, I don’t have any links handy, sorry.

If ever there was a stranger feeling than having an entire half of your face completely numb and yet completely in pain, I haven’t found it.

I have been spending far too much time in the dentists office these last two weeks, mainly because all the previous dentists I have been using have not been handling their shit, apparently. Cavities, which I thought I was rid of sometime in high school, seem to be prevalent once again. Thus, I am not poked, proded, injected, drilled, filled, pushed, pulled, and everything else that goes along with it.

“Don’t chew for an hour” she says,

Not a problem considering I can’t open my jaw past a quarter of an inch and can’t swallow. Consuming food is just about outmoded.

Agony, thy name is dentist.

“You’ll be alright with jacked up teeth in England” says Curtis

Somehow, it was fun watching my friends get drunk. Curtis, Bonetti, Kelly, Pete and Eddie and myself sitting around a table making fun of one another and reminiscing about days spent at the pool, and such. Good times.

I could have done without the trip to St. James’ Gate, bars don’t interest me much. It’s funny to watch Pete complain about the price of a pint and then buy 3 because its last call.

Curtis likes to flirt when he gets a little alcohol in him. Not that’s funny.