5 Things I Did Today

1.  I got harassed by Fran, our cleaning lady.  She speaks in a really hard-to-understand accent.... think thick Scottish accent meets Ozzie Osbourne.  Fran scares everyone. Today I left my room to go two doors down to knock on Irene's door to ask her when she was going to lunch.  Fran was in the hallway watching me, and as soon as I took ONE step down the hall away from my door she charged after me and shouted for a solid ten minutes about the dangers of walking away from my unlocked door.  I understood about 10% of what she was saying.  I understand the premise why she was upset, but I was only going to stand in the hall in front of Irene's door, being less than 15 feet from my door.  But I said "Sorry Fran, sorry Fran" over and over.  But she was still very angry at me.  She also calls me Katie, and pronounces it Key-tey.  When I left my room an hour later to take a shower and (locked my door!) I came back to find my desk chair missing.  I know it was Fran because no one else has the key to my room.  I think she is punishing me.

2.  I tried Cadbury's Flake chocolate.  Amazing.

3.  I went to the university creative writing club, which was an...interesting group of people.  We wrote poems.  One girl wrote about the latest episode of Merlin (a BBC show).  It was a very intense, passionate sonnet about Merlin going into a cave.  And something about a crystal.  She brought a crystal as a visual aid.  I was really confused, but everyone else was really enthralled.  I sat next to a guy who was pretty cool, but then he wrote a poem about his "friend"-- we discovered in the last verse he was talking about his Blackberry phone.  Again, I was confused.  I wrote a poem about the sheep I made friends with on the farm in Cumbria.  If you remember, I mentioned the sheep Pet-- she had lost an eye and an ear because she never moved when sheepdogs wanted her too.  My poem was titled "Pet's Vietnam" and it was all about the sheep uniting in a peaceful movement against the sheepdogs herding tactics.  They were conscientious objectors.  I liked my poem, but it was no sonnet about Merlin.  I will definitely go back next week.


4.  I wore my best purchase yet-- a blue cashmere sweater from a vintage shop I pass every day on the way to class.  It was a steal- 20 pounds!  I have been looking for weeks for a big chunky sweater.  It is so warm and cozy and I get so many compliments when I wear it!!!  It's always a good day when I wear my true blue sweater.

5.  I joined the Edinburgh Pony Trekking Society.  (http://www.exmoorponytrekking.co.uk/)   The breed is Exmoor ponies, which are smaller than normal horses.  This works out perfectly because I am smaller than normal people.   Once I get on the pony, I think it will proportionately be exactly what normal people experience when they ride normal sized horses.  Kind of like how I have to buy special short jeans to achieve the same proportioned clothes as taller girls.

Busy day.  Halloween coming up...still deciding what I should be.

Love,
Kate