Psych!

Don't you just love it when you get the entire week (or month or day) planned out and suddenly, wham, Life happens? Yeah, that was me this week, over and over. In fact, of the various activities I'd planned, only one went off according to plan.

I'd been planning on being up in York again this week, doing the next of the series of Conversation Analysis Training Workshops. So, since I'd have to be in York for Monday, noon, I figured, I'd really better go up on Sunday evening. And if I was going up Sunday, I could probably swing going up for Sunday all day, and catching Church in Sheffield. And if I was going to be up Sunday morning, I really ought to be up for Saturday. So I went to Sheffield Saturday morning (early) and spent Saturday and Sunday with Jill and Mark. Jill's my best friend from my Sheffield days. I don't get to see them nearly often enough. This visit was the only bit that went to plan.

Sunday evening I got a message from my adviser, Rebecca, telling me that . . . Celia (the woman running the course in York) had come down with bronchitis and tonsillitis, capped off with laryngitis. Clearly not her best week! So, that pretty well took out my entire week's plan. I was supposed to stay with my friend Christy again, but I couldn't get a hold of her to let her know of the cancellation and discuss how it was going to affect the rest of our week. So I had to drive up to York anyway.

I ended up staying the night Monday in York and having dinner with a good friend that I hadn't seen in nearly 2 years! It was great fun to hang with Rachel, and we had a marvelous Indian Dinner, too. Tuesday was an adventure of the Shopping Variety. Christy and I have been planning on attending the Ascot Races for months. She had found this great 1950's Vintage Dress to wear. I had a gorgeous 1950's Retro Inspired Dress. But Jan didn't have anything she really thought would be the most ideal. So she wanted to go shopping. We found several things over the course of the day that she thought would be ok, but wasn't really thrilled with any of it, until we got to M&S. There, she found a skirt and jacket that fit her style perfectly. We had some trouble getting the size skirt, though. Everything was just big enough to be worrisome. Shockingly, I found a fabulous skirt that I decided I couldn't live without. Yep, another unexpected event. I don't do my own shopping. I dislike shopping. Seriously. I often break down in tears. No kidding. Honest. Yes, I know I have great clothes. They're nearly all the result of my sister's relentless and tireless efforts to keep me stylishly attired. I feel fat and ugly when I go shopping. So me finding a skirt that I actually felt I needed to risk the water works for is quite a big surprise.

Since Christy and I had the week free, we decided we'd like to do something a bit different. We looked around and finally settled on going to a spa for a facial and massage. Well, we looked at so many different spas, we got a bit confused. We thought we'd settled on one out in North Kent, which is close-ish to where I live in Colchester. We checked the address, though, and found that in fact, it was in Surry! Just a bit further west than we thought. In fact, so much so that we rang them as we were getting ready to head down to mine to find out if they had room for us to stay the night. We didn't really fancy getting up at 6.00 am for a relaxing day at a spa! They did, but again, was a bit different from the original plan.

So Wednesday we spent the day at the Spa. Lovely fun. Not much else to be said, though.

Thursday we were going to go into town and look for a handbag for me to go with my dress. Then we'd sort of planned to take a walk out in one of the country parks around Colchester. Except that Christy didn't wake up until sometime past 3.00 pm! So I got the grass mowed and tidied up the garden generally. We did have dinner with Sarah, she came round, but we had oven trouble, so it did not go particularly smoothly. Jan was delayed a bit on her train down from York, but not overly. I'd more or less planned on getting into bed around 10.30, but it was gone 12.30 by the time we settled into our respective beds!

Friday was supposed to be the highlight of my week, for several reasons. One: Ascot Race Day! I'd planned on getting up at 8.00 am. Christy was going to be getting up at 7.30 so that she could get her hair washed. Her alarm didn't go off. Mine did, but I was so exhausted that I didn't hear it. I managed to turn it off, but not make it out of bed. Fortunately, Christy spontaneously awoke at 8.00, and asked me if I was awake at 8.30. Oops. Never mind. I threw my clothes on faster than I have in a long time. Then I put my hair up, and called Christy to come so I could do her's. What most people don't realise is, when wearing hats, one must always do one's hair. It is not sufficient to plunk a hat down on some unkempt pile, as if it were a cover to mask the chaos. This is one reason why so many women opt for the enormous envelopments that completely obscure the hair. Unfortunately, this also results in a top heavy appearance and no artistry or elegant lines. Thus the importance of doing our hair. Unfortunately, we'd run out of time. I didn't get a chance to do Jan's hair, or my makeup. So I grabbed my makeup bag and a bunch of bobby (kirby) pins for Jan's hair. We drove to Ascot, even managing to get there on time, even though we left half an hour late, and got stuck in traffic.



Upon arrival at Ascot, we finished getting ready.
It was red lipstick and fancy frocks all the way.

Once we went inside, the people watching took on Olympic Sport conditions. There was so much going on that you literally could not see it all. I'd see something and say, 'Oh wow, look at that _____' and the others would turn, and find something which fit the description which I had not seen. It was amazing. Definitely a people watchers paradise.

The first thing we did was head off to the paddock where they were warming the horses up. Before each Race they walk the horses around. This prevents the horses from sustaining injury during the race, obviously, but also gives bettors a chance to check out the paces. This particular horse was the favourite for the first race.

Then we went out to the track. Christy decided she wanted the full experience, including losing a bit of money on a long shot. So she and I went back out and she placed the minimum bet on horse #6 for the First Race. We got it placed seconds before the Race was due to start, and rushed back to where we'd left Jan, arriving just in time to see the horses come rushing by. Unfortunately, it's a rather blurry photo, since I didn't have time to get set up properly beforehand. I'm just pleased I got one at all! And the result? #7! Sorry, Christy.

After the First Race, we decided to walk around a bit. We went down to the grass at the edge of the track. We'd been on our feet for quite a while by this point, so we took a seat on the green. The races are separated by some 30-45 minutes. So we had a bit of time to relax. The dress code for the 'Royal Enclosure' is for men: Morning Suit (what most Americans refer to as Top Hat and Tails, though not the black tails. Grey ones.) and women: dress, which must not come more than two inches above the knee, and must have at least a 2 inch strap on the shoulders. They must also wear a hat. These dress rules are relaxed somewhat for the general admission. They become more guidelines than rules. The men only have to wear a shirt and tie. The woman don't have to wear a hat, though most do, nor even a dress, though again, most do. They are supposed to be smart, though, even if it's a trouser suit instead of a skirt. However, the rules are clearly not as strictly enforced in the general admission. Whilst most woman were wearing tasteful skirts and jackets or blouses, there were a lot of women who were wearing completely strapless numbers. And a lot of women misunderstand the directive for formal/smart day wear, and instead come in formal evening wear. There is a difference. Unfortunately, these sadly deluded women were not the worst of the lot. Neither were those who were sadly misguided in their assumption that tiny skirts, bare shoulders and plunging necklines (all combined) are anything other than tartish. Now, I agree that singly these elements can be done tastefully, but these overwhelmingly were not. And yet, they were not the shocking site of the day. That award belonged to the woman who wore this lovely delicate lace dress that ordinarily I'd have lauded. Unfortunately, the lace (Remember I said delicate? Read sheer.) was all she was wearing (on top. She had on a lovely skirt!) That includes bra. So, all intents and purposes, she was naked from the waist up!

When they started getting set up for the Second Race, we moved up to the fence to await the start. Means we got an exceptional view of the final bit of the race.






It really was quite exciting to hear and feel the thunder of the hooves as the horses pounded past our post.




I managed to get a bit of footage from the Third Race.


But after the Third Race, it started to threaten a bit of rain. Not much of a threat, just a few drops, but enough that it dropped the temperature, and we decided we didn't want to risk it. So we headed back to the car.

Now, my original plan for the day was that Christy and I would go to the Reading YSA Dance after the race. I'd promised my Stake YSA friends that I'd meet them there. But I did all that before Christy told me that Jan was coming along. Jan's not really into the YSA Dance scene (partly because she's not a YSA!) so obviously wasn't much interested in hanging about. So, we had to figure something else out. The thing was, it's just too far for me to have driven them home, then come all the way back to within 15 minutes of where we'd been all day! So we ended up having dinner together at a pub, then I rang my next door neighbour and arranged for her to give my spare key to Christy when they got in. Then I went on to the dance. Yet another not planned event.

The dance contained another unplanned event. Remember my date from the other week? Well, we'd arranged to meet over the weekend in Sheffield. That date went well, and we'd arranged to meet again at the Reading Dance. But, he never showed. Never got a text, or anything, either. I didn't find out till Sunday night what the deal was. He got a girlfriend. Only, he never told me. Instead he posted his new relationship status on Facebook. I was so not impressed. Sure, it's disappointing that he chose someone else he'd prefer to pursue a further relationship with. But it's disrespectful of him not to tell me that he'd decided to be exclusive with someone else. Guys, never do this to a woman! Have more respect for a woman than to just disappear. It's not ok to just ditch her. That's completely rude and disrespectful. Posting that you're 'In a Relationship' with someone is a way of telling your friends you've started dating someone seriously. It's not an appropriate way to let the other women you've been dating that you're no longer going to be asking them out. All I can say? Lucky escape! I don't want a boyfriend/husband who would treat anyone like that. And the worst part is? He's the second guy to have done that to me in the last 3 months. Happened at the end of March, too. On my birthday. I'm disappointed that I'm (yet again) not the chosen one. But I'm angry and disgusted that he treated me so poorly.

Cheese Rolling, 665.5 Miles and Montana

The last Bank Holiday of May plays host to the Cheese Rolling Festival. It's an event held outside Gloucester. The organisers roll a Gloucester cheese wheel down a very steep hill. In some places it's a 1:1 gradient. Then, the 'chasers' go running (read tumbling) down after it. First person to lay hands on it wins. Yep, nuts. It's an event that's been held for some 200 years. Why it was started? No idea. It's quite a dangerous event, and the paramedics are always inundated with injuries ranging from minor scratches and bruises to more serious sprains and broken bones. Yes, I'm probably insane for wanting to do this. But it sounded like fun, too. Christy and I had been talking about going to it for months. So we made plans to meet up in Gloucester. The weather, however, conspired against us. I got stuck in some torrential downpours that meant we didn't meet up on time, and by the time we arrived at the hill, it had finished. Very sad. But next year I'm totally doing it!

So, I ended up in Gloucestershire, the far side of England from where I live, with Christy and 3 of her friends from the States who are over visiting.







We went over to Bath and had a very fun afternoon. We went through the Roman Baths, which I'd never done before, funnily enough! And I've been to Bath 3 prior times. But something has always prevented me from visiting. I'd seen the main pool, which is still standing, but I'd never been through the museum and seen the ruins of the temple, etc. And of course the water from the spring is supposed to have all sorts of healing remedies. Unfortunately, they have to treat it, which I'm sure renders it the same as all city water. Oh well. Still a fun fountain!

So, I had a car full of people staying in York. It worked out to be much cheaper for me to drive them back to York, and them pay the petrol. So, I ended up driving from Colchester to Gloucester (182 miles), to Bath (35.5 miles), to York (235 miles), and back to Colchester (213 miles) = 665.5 Miles Round Trip. Got home at 5.00 am today. Christy offered to let me stay the night at hers, but I just decided I had too much to get done today, and I'd sleep better if I was in my own house. And I wouldn't be worried about messing up their plans with mine.

My Dad got a new job! In Montana. He found out about this job at the end of April. He flew to Montana on Monday, last week. Had his interview with them on Tuesday. Got offered the Job on Wednesday. Saw houses on Thursday. Bought a house on Friday. Flew back to Mississippi yesterday. Starts his new job on 16th of June. Pretty nuts!

Maybe I Should Get a Flat in York . . .

It's Wednesday! Aaaah! Where has my week gone? I'm sorry. My only excuse is that I've been out of town again, so didn't get to post Sunday. And to my credit, I did start this Monday. But Monday was rather difficult. And Monday ran into Tuesday. And now it's Wednesday. I'm sorry! Eeeeek! It's FRIDAY!!! I will get this posted today!

So yes, once again I've been in York for the week. It's exhausting travelling back and forth between here and there. Of course, it's even more exhausting attending these conferences. However, this is the last one for a while. That's both a good and a bad thing. It's good because it means I can get back to my life. Specifically, get back to my teaching responsibilities. Thank you Jenny for saving me and teaching my classes for two weeks! You're such a star, and you so own me. I think I'll need to be your slave forever to repay you. I also get to get on with my own research, which is very good and the real test of whether or not these two weeks were well spent or not. I'm confident that they were. The bad news is that I have to do my own work without anyone holding my hand the whole way through. That's not to say that Rebecca won't help me, because she will, but it's not the same as working through things with an expert sitting at your elbow. But it's time for the bird to leave the nest. Scary, but good for me. However, I probably am not totally done with my York visits. There are several other courses on offer to be done: Repair, Word Selection and I forget what all else. Poor Christy has had to put up with me for so long, so often, I figure I ought to get a flat! Last time I was in York, Christy had said something about wondering why there is no "I (heart) Y" for I love York, instead of "I (heart) NY", tshirt. So, as a thank you for taking such good care of me, I photoshoped the NY version, uploaded it, and ordered a tshirt for her. She loved it!









In the middle of the week, of course, we had S.A.D. (That's 'Single Awareness Day' for those of you unlucky enough to get to celebrate it every year.) To commemorate our state of unmarrital bliss, we made sugar cookies.
Mmmmm....










Then we decorated them with cream cheese icing. MMMMMmmmmMMMM! Well thought out Christy! (totally her idea).








After the exhausting routine of 9.30-5.30 CA days, Christy and I spent Friday evening at the movie Penelope. I totally recommend it. It's a Fairy Tail, and a Love Story, but it's very different from the ones you've seen before. Very fun!












Saturday, Christy and I went to Riveaux Abbey, North Yorkshire. As with nearly all the Abbeys in England, it was emptied during the Disolusionment of the Monastaries by Henry VIII. Christy's doing one of her essays on the architecture of Riveaux Abbey, and as she's already been to Fountains Abbey, which is the other grand Abbey near York, we thought it would be good for her essay to visit Riveaux. It was a gorgeous day, and we had a grand time exploring the ruins. The sky was so clear and beautiful, the sun made some great shadows. But the clear sky also meant that the temperature was very low. Freezing cold. But the beautiful arches with the gorgeous sun and shadows.













Some of the remains are kind of funny. There's this one bit that's the base of the vaulted ceilings. It looked so odd just standing there all by its onesie, and really, rather forlorn, too.











But the most wonderful bit was the remains of the colonnade in the cloisters. It was this little corner bit, just 2 arches on either side, meeting in the middle, but was stunning. I can only just imagine what it once looked like. It must have been fabulous.








Yet again, Christy, thanks for a fabulous visit!

Close Encounters

This week was hugely different from my average week, so sit back and get comfortable. This is going to be long. However, I hope it will be as entertaining to you to read, as it was for me to live. Ok, so that's probably not possible, but I still hope you enjoy it.

Monday afternoon I threw my bags in the car and drove up to Sheffield. I spent the evening with my best friend, Jill. We hadn't seen each other since a couple weeks before Christmas, so it was really nice to spend some time with her. It happened to be that it was Mark's birthday . . . but he was out of town on business! I didn't forget, though, and took up his birthday present (Jiffy Cornbread Mix!) which was waiting for him on the kitchen counter for his arrival. Jill had an orchestra rehearsal, so I drove her down and marked essays whilst she played with the orchestra. I just about survived the essays :S and we had a lovely evening at home.

The next morning I dragged myself North for the real reason I had braved the roads. I had to attend a workshop at the University of York. I had only found out about the workshop a week before. Rebecca sent me a forwarded email saying if I could make it to the workshop, it would be quite useful. Well, when one's adviser says go . . . one goes! Even if one is less than thrilled with the prospect. In fact, I was petrified. I was absolutely dead sure that I was going to be miserable all week, in over my head, struggling to keep up. I had this dread because over the past year and a half I have been struggling every Monday morning to keep up in the 2 hour Data Session I attend with Rebecca, and this was going to be a 4 day, 9.30-5.30 long Data Session. Well, 10 minutes into the workshop and I thought, 'Actually, I think I'll be ok. I'm at about the same level as everyone else here'. By the end of the week, though, it was clear that all those Data Sessions with Rebecca had paid off and I was actually quite a bit ahead of most everyone. I vowed to return to Essex and kiss Rebecca's feet in repayment. Today, when I arrived at the previously Dreaded Data Session, Rebecca said, 'You've got a fan up North!' Apparently Celia (the Conversation Analyst running the workshop) had sent not one, but two emails to Rebecca (they're quite good friends, both being very prominent Conversation Analysts) saying that she had really enjoyed having me on the course, that I was bright, enthusiastic, talented . . . and several other flattering adjectives, and that they should do whatever necessary to get me the funding necessary to get me back up North for the second half of the workshop I was on last week. Rebecca is currently trying to get the Department to authorise some money (any at all) to help ease the way, and Celia has arranged a Bursary which covers half of the tuition. So it seems I'll be heading back up to York next week.

At the end of the workshop my friend Christy (whom I'd been staying with. She's getting her MA in Art History at the University of York, and lives across the courtyard from where the workshop was held) and I jumped in my car and drove further North yet! We drove clear up to Loch Lomond in Scotland. We stopped around 11.00 pm at the top of the Loch, at this little hotel. They let us have their really posh room which is normally 100 gbp for half price. So, we got this fabulous room, with really nice bed, amazing shower (which we didn't figure out till too late to use!), sitting room and fabulous view of the loch (which we could only JUST make out that evening. The full glory wasn't revealed until the next morning). Christy, a true SoCal girl, was freezing, so the first thing she did was cuddle up to the heater in the room.

The next morning, the view out the window was spectacular. The mountains were cut off by the low lying clouds, and the snow was clean and new. We'd driven through the beginning of a reasonably heavy snow the previous night. It looked lovely, if cold. The loch especially looked uninviting. Not somewhere particularly warm at any time, especially frigid in February!

We turned from the vista and made our way further North still. Christy had never been to anywhere other than Edinburgh, so she was keen to see the country side. Of course, because it is mid-winter, most of the attractions were closed. Not many people travel to the North of Scotland (in fact, not many people travel to Scotland!) between November and March. But the country side in winter is gorgeous! I've been up there before, but always in June or July. Never in winter. It was fabulous!

The best part of the trip happened later Saturday morning. We had driven through most of the Glen Cloe area, and were just climbing up the North side of the valley when the vista opened up. It was stunning, just as Loch Lomond was, but in a completely different way. So we were looking for a spot to pull off the road and take a photo, when we saw a sign saying Parking area 500 meters. I pulled off the road at the top of the road, just as it was curving round to the right, about to crest the mountain (or hill). All the sudden, we realised that at the far side of the parking are were two deer! They were just having a drink off the water, not bothered by all the people and cars and buses and cameras snapping their photos. We got within 5 feet of these enormous deer. They could have made a whole lot of mess if they'd decided to attack with those antlers. Instead, they either ignored us, or stepped back a bit. Christy agreed that seeing these deer was the best part of the whole trip. However, she laughed at my enthusiasm. I admit it; I was perhaps a bit overly enthusiastic. In my rush to make friends with the fauna, I left the door to my car standing wide open! Christy comes over a moment after me and says, 'Do you realise you didn't close your door?' I was absolutely shocked! But I wouldn't have changed my reaction for the world. A little door forgetting is good for the soul.
Christy got the best shot of the day, though. Well, best shot of the whole trip.Amazing. Looks more like it came out of a National Geographic Magazine than off an Art History MA student's brand new camera that she is still trying to figure out how it works. Good Job Christy!

After our close encounter with the animal kingdom, we continued our journey North. Are you getting the sense that North was the theme of my week? Until I had to come home, of course! We ended our Northerly push at Urquhart Castle, on the Western shore of Loch Ness. One of the things that surprised me was how little snow the Loch Ness valley had. As we'd driven into the valley, the snow just (forgive the pun) melted away. Only a light dusting, where other areas had several inches of accumulation. It was still beautiful, though. I was reminded of postcards. You always see postcards of places dusted with, or covered in, snow, but you're always there during summer (barring ski trips). Well this time I got to see the postcard version.

My favourite sign in the world is up at the edge of Loch Ness . . .

'Disabled Driver of Horse Pulled Carrage In the Area.' How great a sign is that? I've laughed at that sign for years. I used to have a photo of it, but it was on my old computer, which was stolen. One of the few that I didn't have backed up else where. Never mind. I have a new one!

Eventually we had to turn around and head South. It was getting dark, which means we weren't going to see anything fun, or at least our fun was going to be limited. So, we figured we might as well get a start on the next day's return trip home. As we headed out of the Loch Ness valley, it started to snow. As we got into the Glen Cloe area, the snow got harder, and started to accumulate. And worse? It was dark. It has been years since I drove regularly in the snow, I've never driven this particular car through snow, I didn't know these roads, and -- of course -- it was dark. I decided to slow down. A lot. We crept along at about 25 mph, just keeping safe. After a while we came up to a switchback. There was a bit of oncoming traffic, so I decided to slow down further and wait till it had past. I didn't want to be on the curve with anyone else. And boy did it turn out to be a good thing! Just as the first oncoming car got to the critical point of the curve, he lost control, spun out, fishtailed, and I was SURE we were going to have to call someone to fish him out of the ravine. He came within centimeters of hitting the guard rail. On MY side of the road! He managed to avoid it, then nearly hit the one on his side. And then came back around and nearly hit it on my side again. He eventually got control, but if I had continued on at my original speed, we would have been sideswiped at best, head on-ed at worst, and easily could have ended up in the ravine ourselves. Another very close call. Fortunately we were protected, and we were safe on the near side of the curve. Hopefully, he learned his lesson about driving in the snow!

We stopped for the night in Carlisle, Cumbria for the night. The next morning we got on the road and headed home, -ish. We weren't in any hurry, though, so we took the back roads for a while. We stopped off at one of the various Hadrian's Wall points. Then we headed over towards New Castle.

Over there (which was well East of where we stopped to see the Wall) we were getting hungry, and saw a sign for the National Trust Gibson 18th Century Pleasure Grounds property. They always have good cafes with lovely food, so we thought we'd take a look. Since we're both members of the National Trust, it was free to get in. We had a nice little wander, but it was really freezing, so we only stayed out for about half an hour, forty-five minutes. We headed into the blessedly warm tea shop, and cuddled up to a mug of hot chocolate and an amazing 'Sunday Stew'. That consisted of potatoes, pork and apple sausages, carrots and parsnips, all served up on an enormous Yorkshire Pudding. Delightful! And exactly the right remedy for cold hands and noses.

We finally made it back to York and I dropped Christy off at her dorm and headed back to Essex. Thanks, Christy, for such a fabulous week and weekend!

Parting shot: Christy and Adele, Scotland.