Monday, August 31, 2009

Edinburgh, Scotland

We left this morning from SLC International. The check in was pretty uneventful, except for the TSA security official who decided that while he was checking out my passport that he'dquiz me about the origins of my last name--all while Shelley was waiting for me. He was all "Tell me about your last name. It's pretty unusual." I said, "Well, it's English, and I don't have one. That's about all I know." He laughed, handed me my passport, and after putting everything I had in a box, along with my shoes, I proceeded through security without anyother hassles.
The flight was fine. We each had a little screen to watch HGTV, Food Network, Spongebob, or even a music section to make your own playlist for the flight. It was fantastic! Not fantastic? The pilot kept announcing things over the system, interrupting the music witha volume that was about four clicks louder than what you had been listening to. I guess theyreally do want you to pay attention to all those silly announcements. Oh, the best part is thatone of the free shows that was playing was called, "The Flight that Fought Back" and was of the flight that crashed in the field during 911. Yeah, because that's what I want to watch when I'm flying all day on a plane.

When we arrived at JFK, I looked out the window hoping to see the Statue of Liberty around somewhere,but no luck! Drat! The landing was a bit rough, and then our pilot proceeded to tell us we may or may not be sitting on the runway for a bit because of the back up in flight traffic. Hey, our flight was actually like 45 minutes earlier than it should have been. Is there arule about speeding in the sky? :) Anyway, we only had to taxi for about ten minutes. But, I have decided that trying to get off a plane is like trying to merge into traffic in Utah--people just don't know how to do it. Seriously, it was a bit ridiculous.

We had a very expensive piece of pizza at the airport food court, and we're just waiting for our flight to board in oh, three hours or so. Woopdie doo. Hanging out in the airport is so exciting that I almost can't stand it.
* * *
Our flight across the Atlantic was very uneventful. And long. I felt like the plane wasn't moving at all on the moving map. I didn't sleeep at all, partly because of the time change (we gained 8 hours total), but mostly in part to some cute little Indian girls in front of us. At first, I thought that their whining was kind of funny. I may or may not have actually laughed. I don't know, but there's something about a kid whining in a different language that is less annoying than if it was a kid whining in English. Basically, she whined the whole flight and had only one volume: loud. In other flight news, I sat next to a kid who was trying to move to the UK. He was interesting. Upon landing, it was snowing at the higher altitutes and raining lightly in the city. Just outside the airport, there was a rabbit chasing a bird. It was seriously funny. :)
* * *
When we got to the airport, we took the bus to the city centre, and then walked to our hotel where we dropped off our bags. We couldn't check in yet, so we walked around the city, and eventually bought a 24-hour hop on/hop off bus pass so we could just ride around for awhile. We were tired. Some of the places we saw included St. Giles Cathedral, the Palace of Holyroodhouse (which is where the Queen of Scotland stays), and we walked through a really old cemetery where it proceeded to pour on us. This is a very rainy place!
Here are some of my favorite pictures from today.
A view of downtown Edinburgh.




Mostly, I like this headstone because it says, "Whose affection as a Wife and Mother were an example of every thing that is good."



This is at The Abbey at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Ruins of a 12th century abbey.


A memorial to Sir Walter Scott. Tomorrow, we are climbing the 278 stairs to the top of this tower for a panoramic view of the city.


Well, that's it for today. I will try to get more of our adventures posted tomorrow. Our hotel has free WiFi. Woot woo! I'm going to try to post my pictures in a slideshow, but that will have to wait for another day, as it's 9:15 on Monday, and I haven't slept since Saturday night. :)

Saturday, August 29, 2009

And I'm Off . . .

All my affairs are in order . . . or something. Well, ready or not, I'm getting on that plane in the morning to fly to the UK. I will be gone until Sept. 17th. I may or may not be updating this blog from abroad, depending on my abilities to access free WiFi or something. But, my hopes are good. Isn't it pretty much a global world (well, at least in Scotland)? So, have fun doing whatever you're doing for the next three weeks. Good luck with the heat! :) Wish me luck. I'll be looking at old buildings and beautiful scenes of nature in a very rainy country.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Undecided

So, I went to the DMV to get my renewal sticker so that I wouldn't keep getting pulled over. See below posts if you missed that fun weekend. Anyway, I got to the DMV at 5 and apparently, so did half the working population of Davis county. Seriously, there had to be about two hundred people in there. I told the lady I was just there for the sticker and showed her my registration. She said it was about an hour wait.

Yeah, then she said I could come back another day if I didn't want to wait. Somehow I have the feeling that every day is pretty much the same at the DMV. My other choice--the drive through registration. I gave that a shot, put my registration in a tube, and told the lady I needed a renewal sticker. She put one in, printed my registration, and I was done in under ten minutes. Which leaves me wondering: Why would anyone wait inside?

Seriously, something is wrong with this. Either it's a 50 minute wait or ten? I'm not too sure that I want a government agency running health care . . .

Interesting.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Illogical and Unidentified

I have an irrational fear of airplanes and more specifically, the toilets. Yes, I have flown to Hawaii, Mexico, Peru, and Florida, but not once I have used the airplane toilet. They freak me out.


Did I mention I'm flying to Scotland? Did I mention the flight from JFK leaves at 8 PM and gets to Edinburgh at 8:30 AM? Maybe I can just sleep through the whole thing . . .


Irrational, I know.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Something Like Irony

So, here's one for the Clinton cops. And that's not a good thing. Darn Clinton cops.

My roomie was driving my car Friday night over across the way to get a drink. She was driving my car because I was in the end of the driveway, and the easiest car to get out.

She got pulled over. Flashing lights, sirens, the whole deal.

Long story short, she didn't turn the lights all the way on. Just the running lights. No amount of convincing would persuade the officer that she just forgot to turn them on. She was given a fix it ticket for faulty equipment for both tail lights.

I tried to get this taken care of Saturday morning before I went out of town with no luck. I thought police stations were always open. Turns out, Law and Order isn't real life. Monday to Friday 8 to 5 is. Drat! Who has time to go to the police station during the week? Not I said the busy girl. So, I just left town, hoping that something would work out.

Fast forward to Sunday morning. I'm driving home at the butt crack of dawn (for those who don't know--that means it's earlier than anyone wants to be up), when what do I see in my mirror by the flashing lights of the UHP. What a way to start a Sunday. No, I wasn't speeding.

My registration, though current, doesn't show that way because HELLO Division of Motor Vehicles--Send those stinking stickers already! My temporary registration expired on the 14th. But, what can I do with no stickers? The officer said that it was called, "Improper Display" but didn't cite me. Basically, my car is registered in the system, but my stickers aren't correct. The nice officer and I had a discussion about what to do.

Then, I pulled out the fix it ticket. This may sound silly, but I had been thinking about getting pulled over and getting this ticket signed. It's like I thought about it and the universe made it happen.

"While I have you here," I said, "would you mind signing this off for me?" I proceed to tell him about the ticket and what happened, to which he gave a disgusted look and the eye roll. He was like, "They cited her?! Where was this?" He signed the ticket and said good luck. So, I left the incident better off then when I began. No citations, and a signed fix it ticket. Woot! I know, you are all wishing you had this luck with the UHP, too.

Yes, I did drive home under the cover of darkness, hoping no officers would see my expired registration. Three times in three days would just put me over the edge.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

There's No Sarcasm in Third Grade!

I heart my class this year! They are in third grade, and already they are funny. Part of me thinks they can't help but be funny because they are mine. :)



I always joke with them. We play a memory-type game with our vocabulary each week. I usually say, "Read, set . . . " and then end will a silly phrase or word like "banana pudding" or "Supercalifragilistic." Then, as they're groaning and saying, "Teacher, why?" I trick them (or so I like to think) and say "Go!" really fast. I know they like it because they giggle.



Well, today I was teasing them, as usual, with the phrase, "If you don't _________, I'm going to ________." Fill in the blanks with one thing you want them to do and anything ridiculous.This phrase goes something like this: "If you don't put your chairs up quickly and quietly, I'm going to take away your birthday." This is usually followed by many giggles, a few strange looks (always the stragglers), and the desired effect. :) Today I said, "If you're not quiet walking in the hall, I'm going to . . ." to which a student burst out, "take away our allowance!"



I laughed and replied, "You are cooler than the flip side of my pillow."

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

A Good Deal

So, I've been wanting something new for awhile. I contacted this lady through the internet. We decided on a place and time to meet, and a price for the goods. I left my teaching job, drove down to a well packed park and ride at the end of the Salt Lake valley, and waited there in my black car. Pretty soon, a black jeep pulled up next to me. She motioned for me to come over. I got in her car, we chatted a bit, and she showed me what she was selling. I looked it over, gave it a try, and made sure I was getting a great deal. I was! So, I went to my car, handed her a bank envelope full of cash. We swapped the goods, and we both climbed into our cars and were off.

I bought a new camera! :) I heart it, and will post pictures from Scotland.

What were you thinking?

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Things that Suck

20 dollar lightbulbs
40 minutes to put it in
6 guys trying to figure it out

misunderstandings
no callbacks
obligations

unused tickets
having to decline
not enough time

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Boomerang . . . SMACK.

So, just like a boomerang, this story constantly comes back:

One semester in college, oh 6 or 7 years ago (Wow--I know, huh), I had a really stupid history class that I loathed. Yep, it's true. Why was history my minor? I do not know. Anyway, so out of frustration, one day I wrote on a piece of paper something like this: "History? Why do I need History? All I want to do is stay at home, crochet, and make canned goods." If there is more to the quote, I'm not sure. You'd have to ask Cami. Now, why do I say this, you ask? Well, Cami found this on the floor one day, and proceeded to hang it on the fridge of our apartment. We had a good laugh about it. Now, fast forward about every 2 years, including this one. I got together with Cami and friends last night. What came up? That quote. Every time we get together it seems to come up. Cami STILL has it hanging on her fridge in her apartment in Missoula, Montana. This means she has kept it not only through few different moves, but even through moving out of state! She claims she loves it. :) Nick and Cami see it every day. What a riot. I have nothing to say for myself.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Lucky!

I am the luckiest aunt ever! Look at these cute kids! :) We have the princess who's like, "What? Smile? What's that?" We have the Big Cheese, and The Professor (the serious one). I heart them!






Saturday, August 8, 2009

5 K--Check!

This weekend I participated in the Sandy Midnight Moon 5K Fun Run. If you're laughing, I know. I basically was, too. Here are some of my thoughts:
-People do this for fun?! In the heat of the day? Are they crazy?
-Am I there yet?
-Why is the majority of this race straight uphill?
-I SO should be sleeping right now.
-Where is everyone?
-I heart my iphone/ipod.
-Water, water, where is the water?
-I have to beat that lady pushing the double stroller . . .
-Run, Forrest, Run.
-These glowsticks are neato.
-Why did I wear a jacket?
-There's the finish line!
-Hey, I know those people!
-They're cheering for me. Yay!
-I beat my projected time. Go go gadget legs.
-Let's go home! I'm beat!
-I ran a 5k, and all I got was a T-shirt. It glows in the dark.
-What? The Turkey Run? I'll have to think about it . . .