Egyptian Stories

I completely forgot to write about this... until just now, obviously. My dear friend Chelsea is studying in Egypt this semester. She says she is hesitant to post some of her adventures because she's afraid her family will worry about her more than they already are. However, Chelsea has relayed many a story to me via skype. I told her these stories are too good not to be told to a wider audience so I agreed to taking on the task of telling a few. I will tell you two now. Please excuse my liberty with some of the facts as these are now all second-hand stories.

According to Chelsea it is quite common for Egyptian men to propose marriage to American women within 30 seconds of meeting them. I'm not kidding. They want green cards that badly. So this one time Chelsea and her friend are riding in a cab and the cabbie says something to them and Chelsea, thinking he said something different, says "yes" in Arabic. Her friend leans over and asks, "did you know you just agreed to marry him." Of course, Chelsea, being a smart woman, hastily tries to remedy her mistake by practically screaming "NO!" many times in Arabic. I like to imagine this scenario in my head: a toothless cabbie proposing to my friend and for a moment she accepts. Can you imagine the elation this man felt for those few short seconds until Chelsea began forcibly screaming "NO!" in his ear? Not only did he think he'd scored a green card but his new wife was quite attractive as well. Poor Egyptian cabbie.

This might be my favorite story so far. So Chelsea and a friend of hers were in a part of Cairo where foreigners don't normally frequent. They're strolling along minding their own business and trying to blend in as much as possible. Well, I guess a mob of angry Egyptians with sticks come out of nowhere and start running at Chelsea and her friend. Let us pause here and imagine the horror, confusion and complete panic of their faces when they see this angry mob running at them. Sadly, this scenario makes me laugh... very hard. So Chelsea and her friend sprint for the nearest store to hide. Fortunately, the mob was not after Chelsea or her friend. I guess over the past weeks (maybe months) there has been a bread shortage in Egypt and the mob was after the bakers instead.

Perhaps it is only because I know Chelsea that I find these stories extremely amusing. I hope you enjoyed them half as much as I did because then you'll get at least a small giggle out of it.

Mmm... Obama Burgers

Is anyone else as excited about the election as I am? I am just about ready for all this campaign bull to over and done with. I just want to know who's going to be my next president and whether or not I need to get a visa to live in Canada or Edinburgh! Apparently the UK is very much into our election as well. This coming week has been dubbed "Stars and Stripes Week" by the Edinburgh student association. They're featuring food inspired by the candidates (the Obama and McCain burgers which have ingredients based on each candidate's background e.g. pineapple for Obama's Hawaiian roots and BBQ for McCain's southwestern home) and one of the student unions is staying open all night long on election night so we can see the results. Official results are supposed to come in around 5 am Edinburgh time. I'm so ready. I plan on drinking highly caffeinated beverages to keep me wired. I don't have class until the afternoon so I should be GOLD when it comes up to staying up all night. You, like my father, may ask why I insist on staying up all night. Why not just wake up at 5 to get the results? Frankly its because of the 2000 and 2004 elections. To quote a dear friend of mine in Claremont "I went to bed thinking one guy was going to be the next president and I woke up the next day and it was the other dude (Viv)!" So I'll be pulling an all-nighter but I feel like I've mastered the art of keeping myself awake and alive for almost 48 hours. I've decided that two things are going to definitely happen after I know the results, not matter who wins:

1. I will cry... out of a combination of exhaustion and a) elation or b) shock and horror.
2. I am partying very hard the next night to either a) celebrate or b) drown my sorrows.

This week God has stuck me down with a truly awful sinus infection. Now I know it doesn't sound so bad when you're reading that but think back on those times when you wake up in the middle of the night because you can't breathe or when you make those really awful noises with your nose whenever a room happens to go dead quiet. Yeah, it is no fun. I've pretty much been sick for the past 3 weeks on and off but this week has been the worst by far. I finally broke down and decided to see the doctor. I don't know how this works exactly but for some reason we American students qualify for national health care while studying here in the UK. So I called the student health center and made and appointment. I went in that afternoon and saw the doctor within 10 minutes of entering the building (how often can you say that about service in the US?). He assessed my illness and prescribed me some antibiotics and then sent me on my merry way. I got my medication for 5 pounds (which amounts to about $8) and am well on my way to healthy times! This is why the US needs national health care... things would be so much simpler and ten times less annoying. My ailing body will probably make a full recovery around Friday which means I will actually start going out again tomorrow (Thursday). Not the wisest choice, I know, but we're supposed to go to a ceilidh (pronounced kay-lee) which is a Scottish bash with everyone wearing traditional dress, drinking lots of booze and dancing around to amazing Scottish tunes. Did I mention that by traditional dress I mean tons of KILTS?! It is going to be superb.

This past week was mostly uneventful because I spent most of my time in bed trying to stop being sick. We did make it to The Tron on Saturday to see our favorite band but that was about the extent of it. Tonight my friends are enjoying a pub crawl via a party bus but I opted out so that I could (hopefully) feel up to going to the ceilidh tomorrow. And, of course, Friday is Halloween so I am going out. I have devised the perfect costume: American tourist. Not only will I be extremely comfy (because I will be sporting tennis shoes, sweats and a Hawaiian shirt) but I think it will be exceptionally amusing - if not for others then definitely for myself. I plan on walking up to people and asking obnoxious questions that completely uniformed tourist often ask. This may actually be somewhat offensive to some but its all part of the character; American tourist have serious potential to offend natives. I'm still on the lookout for a visor and fanny pack (which are called bum bags here because fanny is a euphemism for a certain part of the female genitalia in the UK - I almost found out about that the hard way). Basically, the coming days should be some of the most exciting for me in Edinburgh... I'm ready for it.

California Dreamin' On Such A Winter's Day

I don't really have much to update you all on BUT allow me to briefly indulge in some self-promotion. I recently discovered that I made the Dean's List last semester at Scripps! For those who don't know, the Dean's List is the equivalent of High Honor Roll in college. You can click here to see for yourself (I'm listed under Juniors even though it was my sophomore year - something to do with credits). I was/am so thrilled about this! I feel very motivated to do well for the rest of my Scripps career and hopefully beyond that!

The weather has become increasingly colder and windier. I've been told this is only the beginning and it gets much worse. Yikes! I mean, its already around freezing temperatures and its only the middle of October. Its not even winter! Also, the rain is relentless. My friends and I think that Scotland has a daily rain quota that must be kept at all costs. I don't think we've seen a day when it hasn't rained, even if it is only for five minutes while the sun is shining. I think I might have to invest in an actual jacket - I don't think my sweatshirts and pea coat will cut it (plus one of the buttons fell off and its one of the ones I actually use to button the coat). The winds have been really fierce lately. I'm actually surprised my face isn't wind-burnt (you know that sunburn look people tend to get after some skiing... not too cute). The way the wind whips through the trees actually kind of reminds me of the way the ocean sounds when you're on the beach. Sometimes I close my eyes, listen to the wind in the trees and imagine myself on a beautiful beach. And sometimes it works.

Despite the fact that it is quite cold, I am really enjoying it. The air smells crisp and fresh and I'm already prepped for Christmas! I've even busted out my holiday tunes. I know, that's a little excessive but this is the first winter in 2 years that I've been able to fully experience - southern California doesn't really get cold weather and I have always associated the lead-up to Christmas with the cold weather. So I'm actually very excited. Apparently Christmas is huge here too so that is SPECTACULAR.

I've talked with a few of my friends and I think travel to mainland Europe and Ireland is being seriously considered and will happen sometime in the near future. I really want to go to Germany around Christmastime. Its supposed to look like a Christmas card... and we all know how much I LOVE everything even remotely related to Christmas. For now I'm in Edinburgh enduring rain, wind and freezing temperatures but loving every minute of it.

40 Pubs - But Where Can We Go To Dance?

A new week is about to begin and, as usual, I cannot explain how quickly the last few days went by. Thursday was the History Society pub crawl and I definitely had a grand old time. I did find an outfit for the "Summer of '69" which consisted of a long brown, kind of floral print-ish dress with a vest and butterfly belt, very round sunglasses and a lei to go around my head. Most of my other friends went as the spandex-fabulous 80s, though I think the 60s and the 20s came in at a close 2nd. I guess the 80s were probably the easiest because a lot of the styles from the eighties are coming back (that's slightly frightening). We made some new friends as we crawled from pub to pub - I think we went to 6 or 7 in all - and also bonded with some people while we queued (aka stood in a big, long line) for the main event in the student union. The following pictures are not my own because I didn't take any for some reason.

My cute friend Stacey and me in costume (which is called "fancy dress" here) pre-pub crawling.

Kara, Stacey and me at the Potterrow (part of the student union) with a guy who actually painted himself green so he could seem more Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-like. I think several of the societies and clubs were having pub crawls that night with various themes and everyone assembled at Potterrow for the final bit. That meant EVERYONE was dressed up and looking very fabulous.

On Friday a group of us went to St. Andrews to visit a friend of Kara's who attends there as a regular full-time student (not a just a semester/year abroad). The city is named St. Andrews because St. Rule allegedly brought with him the relics of Saint Andrew himself to the small fishing community when he was washed up onto the shore after his ship wrecked. The relics were placed in St. Andrews Cathedral after its construction but the whereabouts of those relics are not known now. We had a great time that night but St. Andrews just doesn't have the same night scene as Edinburgh. There are a lot of pubs (40 in that one small town) but no clubs... not "real" clubs at least. We mingled and met lots of people but I'm very glad I chose to come to Edinburgh. On Saturday Kara's friend gave us a tour of the city (which you can easily do in a few hours). We saw the ruins of St. Andrew's Cathedral, St. Rule's Tower, the beautiful beaches and North Sea, the first golf course EVER (called the Old Course) and much more. Kara's friend also showed us where Prince William and Emma Watson (Hermione from the Harry Potter films who currently goes to school at St. Andrews) lived during the school year. The University of St. Andrews has a lot of old traditions and history, meaning I loved it! Don't get me wrong, Edinburgh has a massive amount of history too, but the old time traditions are something that I haven't really come across yet, at least not at the University. I guess St. Andrews is the third oldest university in the Britain and the oldest university in Scotland so it is only natural that - being the first - they would have a ton of old, established traditions. After several hours of shameless tourist behavior, we left on the train for Edinburgh.

Ruins of St. Andrews Cathedral. It is enormous and it was a gorgeous day so everything looked spectacular!

St. Rule's Tower (on the left) and the ruins of the Cathedral. The ruins are now used as a graveyard. Most of the tombstones are from the 1800s onwards. They were sad but beautiful.

View of the ruins of St. Andrews Castle from the pier.

The Old Course - the first golf course ever! The wait to play this course can be up to two years! The golf club is very exclusive and only for the extremely wealthy (I believe you have to bring a bank statement confirming your funds in order to even be considered). Golf began when farmers got bored during their commutes from town to their farms. They would hit acorns across the wide fields and predict how many hits it would take them to get that acorn to a certain point in the field (par). From there the sport evolved and gained popularity. I believe there are 5 (maybe 6) golf courses in St. Andrews.

This beach is where that famous "Chariots of Fire" opening scene was filmed (the Old Course is also featured in that opening sequence). This beach is the absolutely enormous, especially at low tide. It is also the view from the Old Course.

This is the exact spot where Patrick Hamilton was burned at the stake as a heretic for his Protestant beliefs. It was raining when they burned him so it took him 7 hours to die. They say that if a student steps on these letters they will fail all their exams and never graduate. This myth is taken very seriously and the letters are intentionally avoided by all students.

I don't know if you can see it but there is a face in the middle stone (the 5th stone up if you're counting from the bottom of the picture). I think if you click the picture you can see a larger image. It is allegedly the face of Patrick Hamilton because the face first appeared after the smoke from Hamilton's burning cleared. It is looming and quite scary.

Last night a group of us went to The Tron to see our new favorite band, "White Heath." After their show we approached them and found out which of them found and commented on my little blog. We introduced ourselves, chatted for a bit and bought their CD (they only charged a pound... I think they should up that to at least 2!). We assured them that we would be back and decided (without the consent of any band members) that we would become their new best friends.

I know I've been here for a little more than a month but I feel like things are just getting started. We've finally met people who actually go to school at the university (and, therefore, are not American) and those people are not freshers! Yay for people who are our age! Time is passing so quickly and I still feel like I have so much I want to do. I'm sure things can only get better (cross your fingers)!

Nessie's Been Avoiding Me

Here I am again blogging for the first time in a week. I feel like I might be slacking a bit - I'll work on that. So this past weekend we went to Inverness and other parts of the Scottish Highlands. Allow me to fill you in on the adventures that ensued.

We departed on Friday at 8am (which I almost missed because I woke up 15 minutes before we were all supposed to meet up). Since it was a trip organized by Butler (the program that is taking care of us while we're abroad) it was only American study abroad students from Butler programs all over Scotland. These programs are at: University of Edinburgh (yay!), Stirling University, University of Glasgow and the Internship at the Scottish Parliament. There were A LOT of us. I mean, they had four buses and I only recognized about a quarter of the people on the trip. Anyway, we began our journey with our lovely bus driver Blair and our slightly annoying and crazy tour guide Jean. Jean liked to give a lot of commentary on, well, everything. She was fond of saying, "Wakey, wakey!" in attempts to get us to listen to random facts that may or may not have been interesting. Our first stop was at Scone Palace (pronounced Skoon) where people actually still live! Apparently they live on the top floors while the main level is kept open for museum/touristy stuff. We saw Boot Hill there were the kings of Scotland were crowned (until Scotland no longer had kings) and also had a falconry display. The next stop was the sheepdog farm. I think the majority of the females (and even some males) began drooling when they brought out the cute little puppies. There was a mad scramble for the baskets with the puppies and I wouldn't be surprised if some people were physically assaulted so that others could nab a puppy first.

Scone Palace where people actually still live!

Replica of the Stone of Scone or the Stone of Destiny on Boot Hill. The Scottish kings were crowned on the stone for 700 years until the English took it and used it when they crowned their kings and queens! The real stone was finally returned to Scotland in 1996 and is displayed at Edinburgh Castle.

Another view of Scone Palace.

We finally arrived at the hostel in Inverness (which, by the way, was WAY nicer than the one in San Francisco). We had a dinner of pizza and then decided to go out on the town. We had a blast playing "never have I ever" and exchanging deep, dark (yet extremely hilarious) secrets. At one of our many pub/bar stops, my friend purchased a inflatable sheep from the naughty vending machine in the bathroom. We dubbed her Dolly and she had a great life filled with many kisses from random strangers until my friend deflated her. We were unable to revive her. During the course of that night we ran into the same 2 (not very cute and somewhat old) guys at least 4 times. It was weird and I was thoroughly creeped out. I should address the fact that the entire population of Inverness seems to be above the age of 35. Seriously, I don't think I saw one person, besides the other America kids I was traveling with, that was around our age. I am going to say its because all the Inverness kids are away at university... Friday was also my brother Gabriel's 9th birthday! Happy late Birthday Gabe!!

Saturday was slightly disappointing. We went to Cairngorm Mountain where we were supposed to take a train up to the top. Unfortunately, the winds were too high and we settled for a short trek up the side of the mountain and a picture slide show/presentation. Our next stop was Glen Grant Distillery where we got a tour and learned how whiskey is made. We also got a free whiskey tasting... I'm not a fan, not even when most of the drink is water. That night we ate dinner at a restaurant in Inverness along with the hoard of other Americans. We went out again but were in bed by 11pm.

View from Cairngorm Mountain (not from the top, but about half-way up).

Glen Grant Distillery where I discovered that whiskey may smell nice when it is being made but it tastes nasty.

Sunday we checked out of the hostel and made our way to Culloden Battlefield. This was the site of the last battle fought on British soil and was also the last standoff between the British and the Jacobites (many of which were Highlanders from various clans). Bonnie Prince Charlie led the Jacobites and the Highlanders into battle on April 16, 1746 where they were swiftly and brutally defeated. Apparently no British regiment will honor the Battle of Culloden in their list battles won because of the atrocities the Highlanders were subjected to. After we left Culloden we came to the highlight of the weekend (for me): Loch Ness! We got to go on a little cruise across the loch and we learned some neat little facts which I will rattle off now. Fact: Loch Ness is 24 miles long and is up to 900 feet deep in some places. Because of its depth and expanse, the myth and study of the Loch Ness monster (often referred to as Nessie) has been more prevalent here than in other lochs/lakes where there are also legends of monsters. Fact: the legend of the Loch Ness monster began in the 6th century with St. Columba who recorded an encounter with a monster (which he drove back into the depths) while traveling around the loch. The myth really exploded and the loch became a place of great international interest in the 1930s when a "photograph" of Nessie emerged. It is now widely known that the photo was a hoax. Fact: Some people have devoted their entire lives to finding Nessie and scientists continue to study the loch for her (like I said in my last post, they will pay you if you capture a real picture of her). Locals are convinced that she exists and they almost all have a story to tell about the monster. I was not fortunate enough to come across Nessie despite several attempts at what I thought was a mating call.

Urquhart Castle is on the banks of Loch Ness and has been home to clan leaders, kings and other important political figures (dukes, earls, etc.). The castle is now in ruins. It was mostly destroyed during the l690s in a last stand against the Jacobite army because the residents of the castle did not want it to become a stronghold for the Jacobites. We departed about an hour later and made our last futile attempts at spotting Nessie. The next stop was Glencoe which is quintessentially Highland-ish meaning it is sparsely populated and full of tall mountains and low valleys (glens). I got really excited when Jean told us that parts of Harry Potter were filmed in Glencoe - mainly Hagrid's hut! Whoa! Sadly, we didn't figure out exactly where that was. Glencoe was breathtakingly beautiful. Words cannot fully describe how amazing it is. On the way back we had a quiz on all the random facts Jean had spewed during the course of the trip. I am happy to report that Team Unicorn (which was comprised of me and my friend Amanda) WON! I got a little key-chain with a furry haggis - complete with eyeballs. Its kind of hilarious. All that was left after that was the final stretch back to Edinburgh.

Culloden Battlefield. Last stand of the Jacobite army and the last battle on British soil.

Memorial at Culloden Battlefield. The plaque reads "The Battle of Culloden was fought on this moor 16 April 1746. The graves of the gallant Highlanders who fought for Scotland & Prince Charlie are marked by the names of their clans."

Loch Ness... is that Nessie making waves?!

Gives you an idea of how huge Loch Ness really is.

View of Urquhart Castle ruins from the loch.

Walking up to the castle.

Some of the castle ruins with view of the loch.

I saw Thomas at the castle! Apparently he's taken up stone-masonry.

At Glencoe - a very pretty view of a loch between the mountains.

One of the three mountains known as the "Three Sisters" at Glencoe. I believe this is Sister #1.

This week has been fine so far. Thursday is the History Society's pub crawl which I plan on attending. And because it is the history pub crawl we are supposed to dress as different time periods. I'm going for the summer of '69 (someone suggested I go naked... I feel like that's not the wisest choice for Edinburgh in October). This weekend a group of us are going to St. Andrews but we will be returning on Saturday so that we can see "White Heath" at the Tron. :)

TO MY FAMILY: I listened to "You Never Even Call Me By My Name" by David Allan Coe today and sang the lyrics really loudly and obnoxiously. I'm pretty sure my entire hall hates me now but it reminded me of you all and made me very happy.

The Bowels of Google

I don't know if the five people who read this blog actually read the comments too, but from now on its a must. I mentioned in my last entry the band "White Heath" that was at the Tron on Saturday night. Well, much to my surprise an alleged member of this band found my blog and commented on it! WHAT?? But honestly, how on earth did you find this obscure blog by a girl from small-town USA who happens to be in Edinburgh for the semester? There must have been some serious searching done - I mean, we're talking sifting through the bowels of a google search. I'm also quite flattered that you (by you I mean this certain member of "White Heath," if he is actually reading this) took the time to personally invite me to future gigs. I feel like I can now become a legitimate groupie - if everyone's down with that. I will also apologize for the age comment - its not as if I knew you guys would even come close to knowing about this blog or that I even existed on this planet. Thank God I didn't say anything offensive or rude (yes, I really do think the band was talented and great. Keep on keepin' on). And by the way, my friends and I do plan on returning to the Tron to see "White Heath" (not this Saturday though. I have a date with Nessie) and I'm going to find out which of you went beyond the call of duty to find this blog. October 18th, 2008... Be prepared.


Anyway, I just had to address that crazy issue. Nothing of substance has happened in the 24 hours. First the girl from Joplin and now that comment from a member of the band that I mentioned in my blog... There are so many reasons to love Edinburgh (if John McCain wins I may never come home)!

That Cute British Boy In The Corner Distracted Me

Well it has been an entire week and I haven't blogged anything! I know, I'm shocked too. I guess I'll recap using a "day-by-day" approach. So here it goes.

Wednesday: Nothing much really happened during the day besides me going to lecture. That night three girls and myself decided to have a "haggis experience" (this is the term we have dubbed to that epic night). The haggis was surprisingly good and came with traditional tatties and neaps (that is mashed potatoes and turnips). It kind of tasted like meatloaf. We had been informed that if we finished a whole plate of haggis, tatties and neaps we would have Scottish accents. To our dismay, this was not the case. After this epic meal, we decided we could all do with a drink and bought large quantities of cider and wine (which we polished off fairly quickly). Slightly inebriated, we then made our way to Vodka Revolution - a trendy club near my friend's flat. We stayed for a bit but were informed that a better shindig was going on at Lava Ignite (known as "Cav" by the locals). So we caught a cab there and enjoyed the fabulous music, dancing and awkward British people. Finally, we left the club only to discover that we had no idea where we were (because we had taken a cab to get there). Instead of getting a cab, which would have been practical and smart, we walked about a mile trying to figure out what was going on (I should note that shortly after leaving the club I removed my painful new boots and walked in my socks which are now disgustingly dirty). It soon became apparent that we were REALLY far from our respective homes and hailing a cab was a must.

Thursday & Friday: I went to my one lecture Thursday during the day. I also went out these two nights but not a whole lot happened (at least nothing of the proportions from Wednesday night) aside from the fact that I didn't get back to my dorm until almost 4 am. Thank God I didn't have class the next day(s).

Saturday: I slept most of the day and recovered from the previous nights of having very little sleep. Three girls and myself (all the same girls from Wednesday except one) went out to dinner at the famous The World's End (a pub and bar). It is famous because the furthest part of the wall around the city (built sometime in the 1500s I think) reached this bar and, according to the back of the menu, "as far as the people of Edinburgh were concerned, this was the world's end." Hence, the name. Click here for the best pictures and review of this fabulous place. We then made our way to The Tron which is more like a bar than a pub and has 3 levels! There was a spectacular local band playing called "White Heath" but all the band members looked like they were between the ages of 14 and 17. However, they were all drinking so I guess they are all actually 18 or older... hmm. They mostly played "alternative rock" or something along that line. On our way down to the lower bar I completely embarrassed myself. So, I make it through the door and I'm automatically distracted by a cute British boy standing near the bar. Unfortunately, because my attention was entirely directed towards the cute boy, I neglected to see the two steps in front of me (I think you know where this is going). I proceeded to almost face-plant in the middle of the bar and yet another cute boy sees this and asks, "God! Are you alright?!" I tried to look really nonchalant and cool by getting up quickly, leaning against one of the unoccupied tables and sweeping my hair out of my mouth and face. I'm pretty sure I failed miserably. It was another late night because I went back to my friend's flat and we talked until almost 5am.

Sunday: Sleep and homework. I also took a break and went to a screening of the vice presidential debate. How many times can Sarah Palin say "maverick" in one minute? I can't believe she winked (3 times!) and gave a "shout-out" to those third graders. What is this world coming to?

Monday & Tuesday: These are my most jammed packed days academically. On both days I have two classes and one tutorial (which is like a discussion group for the lectures). My tutorials went well and its safe to say that American History is my favorite class. I like all of the people in that discussion group and they all seem quite smart. The same is not that true for my Criminology course but I have feeling a lot of it may have to do with our discussion leader (who, by the way, wore a lime green dress and leopard print leggings today! So fabulous!). Today (Tuesday) we had our Butler Reunion Dinner which was for all the American study abroad kids from the Butler program. We got free, decent Italian food so I loved it. I also got my absentee ballot! I just voted in my first presidential election! So exciting!

Overall, a lot has happened. Well, now that I say that not a lot has happened. I mean, nothing really substantial, life-altering or incredible has happened but its definitely been fun! This weekend I am going to Inverness and the Highlands where Loch Ness is! Did you know that if you get a picture of Nessie (the Loch Ness monster) the scientists studying the loch will give you 250,000 pounds (that's almost half a million dollars)? If I do get that picture I'll give one copy to the scientists for that half a million and then I'll sell another picture to the highest media bidder for 10 times that amount. I leave you with some pictures from the past week.

Haggis, tatties and neaps. They didn't do the haggis in the "traditional" way which would have meant it was served in the stomach of a sheep. I'm not kidding.

My crazy friends, Kara and Noelle.

Maggie and myself.

This couple was really going at it on the dance floor. I saw this as a perfect photo-op.

I ALMOST FORGOT! Grandma - I am so excited that you read my blog! Your comment made my day. I think you and my friend from school (who will remain unnamed) are my most loyal followers! I love and miss you all.