Journey into the unknown

I thought I knew what being drunk was...that is until last nite! never been more drunk in me life. And, as usual, with any story involving alcohol, I kinda went a little crazy, but we don't have to talk about that, do we?? noooo, we don't...

Earlier in the day, Carl and I went to see 'Batman Begins' which turned out to be freaking awesome! I didn't think I would like it much, but dammit if Christian Bale isn't one hell of an actor. That guy can go from being Mr. Nice Guy to being Psycho in a millisec. And man, he was ripped!! He actually looked swollen at one point. So now I like Batman. I really think it's the cape tho....can't be a superhero without one. Daredevil? Give him a cape and maybe I'd like him too. Afterwards, we went back to my flat, where we drank a small bottle of Malibu Rum I had left over from a while back. And so it begins....

As night came, I found out from Krupa that people weren't going to Bristol anymore. Good, seeing as how I don't really have room in me budget for extra train and cab fares. I asked Carl if he wanted to come along too; he said sure. EVERYBODY and their mother was out last nite, and seeing as how the majority of students ended their exams that day, I wasn't suprised. But this meant long-ass lines outside Bath's club like I'd never seen before. First place we went to had long lines, semi-good music. Second place, long ass line and 'Latin music', but I didn't hear a lick of Latin. The line at Poo's[aka Poo Na Na's] was short and moving so in we went.

And off we go!! Carl bought the first round: a Reef for himself, a vodka and Sprite for Krupa and a Southern Comfort and Coke[diet that is] for moi. Mr. Former Bartender spotted a bottle of absinthe on their shelves and I flashed him a smile. He bought us a couple of shots and man, did it sting. I could tell this shot was stronger than the ones I've had in the past and he told me that specific brand was 50% alcohol!! No wonder. Went to the dancefloor, where the music wasn't all that hot, so I knew I wouldn't be dropping it like it's heated tonite. After a little while, Carl let me know that "that absinthe hit the spot!" I replied in agreement and, seeing as how some girl had made him spill his whole drink anyway, back to the bar we go!

I bought us two more shots of the green monster[plus a Smirnoff Ice for myself] and Carl decided to buy a bottle of champagne. I told him I didn't really like champagne, but he assured me I'd like this one. Man was he right! Or maybe it was simply because I was so buzzed after a while that the champagne was actually drinkable. Actually, buzzed isn't the right word. Seeing as how we drank the whole bottle of champagne, I'd say I was tore up. Halfway through the bottle is where the craziness began: I was so gone I wouldn't be able to tell anybody the names of any songs that played for the rest of the nite seeing as how I had stopped focusing on the club entirely. Ill keep the details to myself, but lemme just say I've been completely underestimating the power of alcohol: its ability to impair abilities, cognition, judgment and reason. Not that I did anything THAT drastic, but man, it can really mess you up and have you doing things you might not normally do.

Hmmmm..drinks. I'm sure people were wondering why the hell I was taking a picture, but oh well!
Carl and myself. He was cool peeps.
Krupa and meself. She was extra cool peeps! She was very nice to me and I'll always be thankful.

As for today, I completely forgot to buy the apple cake I wanted to take home. The weather was crappy so I didn't go out for most of the day. I met Mabu tonite to watch Sin City, which was cool..bloody, but good. I wished her safe travel for her trip to Tanzania tomorrow and she wished me the same. Hopefully, Ill see her again. She's cool peeps.

Now I'm off to pack the rest of my crap; I'm catching the train bright and early tomorrow morn. See you when I'm on the other side of the Atlantic!

My two favourite contestants have won Celebrity Love Island! YAY!! Go Fran and Jayne!

This show was definitely my favourite of everything I've watched here. Basically, it's a reality show, where celebrities[and I use the term extra loosely] were put on a Fijian island in the hopes that sparks would fly. The show was so good because even tho they were 'celebrities', they would still make out and get it on like they were regular people and didn't have careers or an image to think about. awesome! I love no shame! i've never heard more lip-smacking and moaning in my life. The characters were great and I'll miss them all[sob]: Paul, Lady Isabella, Liz, Lee, Abi Titmuss[hahahaha], Rebecca[who needs to be SHOT], Calum[the fake-ass Jude Law that soooo needs to get another hairstyle] and of course Jayne[she's so funny] and Fran[now my favourite Irishman].

I even found myself watching the live feeds! I thought it would be boring, because ummmm....people's everyday lives usually are, but I would get caught up.

Poor Jayne..she was never lucky in love but she still won 50 grand! She told Lee she 'fancied' him, but like most dudes, big boobs grabbed his attention so he liked Abi, with her big boobs, distinct lack of ass, and weird, constant, rapid eye-blinking. I wanted her and Fran to hook up but sadly that never happened but apparently they've agreed to meet up after the show. BOO!! I wanna see it on camera. They love to laugh and seem like they would make a good couple.

Anyway, now I even find myself watching live feeds of Big Brother. Never heard so much cussing on TV in my life.....

Yesterday, due to a 'mix-up', Moussa never showed up for our lunch outing. So I ate by myself at The Boston Tea Party, a local cafe in the city centre where we were supposed to meet, and had the best Tomato and Basil soup of my life!! I was actually gonna go to Halal's Southern Fried Chicken at first to get some...you guessed it...fried chicken and fries! But good thing I stopped in there and took the 'healthier' high road...

So to make up for standing me up, he invited me to go to Chippenham with him to visit a friend, which is only one train stop away from Bath. I said sure and off to Chippenham we go!

His friend, Jean and his wife were really nice! Jean is from Cameroon, but his wife Emma is from England and they have the cutest little girl named Emmy. While there: Moussa and Jean spoke to each other in French while me and Emma talked about how rude it was to speak in another language in front of other people; there were heated discussions about Africa, some that had to be explained to me cuz I dunno what the hell is going on there sometimes; Jean played DVDs with music videos from Cameroon, Zaire, etc, some of which I really liked, especially the ones that were more of a Caribbean-African mix; Jean asked me if I ever wanted to go to Africa and I said Yeh, but I'd like to go to Nigeria first; then they started ragging on Nigerians, which was messed up, but I'm still gonna go anyway; me and Emma got into a discussion about why people hate America[I've had this discussion too many times to count since being here] and she explained it to me really well; then she gave me a book about that same subject and I said I would read it on the plane when I'm going back home...lol..that should scare the crap out of people; and I helped Emmy read her book before she had to go to bed...at 8:30!! But then again, she is only 5 years old. We ate dinner there, then back to Bath.

It was cool to see yet another little 'village' as they like to call it and it was cool to see a modern building for once, because their house looked like it couldn't have been built more than like 5 years ago. A nice change from Bath, where nothing is ever new...except the big ass movie theatre. I wouldn't mind having an apartment like that if I were to have one in the States.

Plans for today: veg, watch Big Brother, eat flapjacks, go to the movies with Carl, and go out later with either Krupa or the other girls. Let's hope they're all going to the same place cuz I don't wanna have to choose....I would feel guilt about my choice....

I've come to the conclusion that I'm not the best choice for a person to live with.

This is not because I'm messy, loud, obnoxious, offensive, like to walk around naked, don't like to take showers, or have any of the other 'typical traits' a bad roommate might have. No.

None of my roommates are here right now. They've all gone home because their exams finished last Monday: Shelly left that same day[because she began work on Tuesday], Claire left Friday[because she had to work for Wimbledon the next day], and Lydia left Saturday. I did hang out with them every so often during the time I lived with them in Bath: went to a couple movies, went out to eat, went out to the clubs, etc. I was hoping that I would eventually become 'real' friends with these people and, ya know, have someone else to visit when I come back to England and whatnot, but that never really happened. And that's because I'm crap at making friends with the people I live with. There are definite exceptions to this rule, mind you, but usually, that is the case.

I've come to realize one thing about myself: when I'm home, I don't want anyone else there...plain and simple. I've realized that after a while[sometimes even less than that, in the case of England, a month], I start 'resenting' people being in 'my' space, in 'my' air. And this has happened EVERY SINGLE YEAR since I've started living with people, i.e. the beginning of college. Whether me and whoever I lived with did become friends or not, this harbored 'resentment' is always there. This is not to say that I've wanted to murder or kill them or something; that's why I put 'resent' in quotes because it's not real resentment, more like 'annoyance' or 'frustration' or...I don't even have a word to describe what the feeling is really. This is also not to say that I can't have fun and hang out with the people I live with; I have done that in fact. But most of the time, when I'm at home, I don't talk or don't want to talk, so after a while, I start getting quieter and quieter. And then I start to get this uncomfortable feeling around them, and it makes me shut up even more. All this does is sever any little connection there may have been in the first place and I never let the people I live with see the 'real' me, the enthusiastic me, the funny me, the non-insecure me.

This can NEVER be blamed on the other people I live with. They are completely without fault and I blame myself for feeling that way. I honestly don't even know if anyone I've ever lived with has noticed this or not. I doubt they have. So I'm sure they could care less or not. But it in fact bothers me a whole lot. I don't want to resent people anymore so I've just decided to not live with anyone else unless: 1) we're family, 2) you're my husband, 3) we're already friends or 4) it's for a short period of time. Then I think it'll work out. But because any insecurities and crap I harbor usually requires quiet time and that quiet time I want at home, I'm gonna spare any future roommates and keep to myself.

My newest CD bought: Kaiser Chiefs.

I just saw them perform on 'T4 on the beach' and seeing as how I really like their current single and I liked the other song they performed at the event, I figured I'd just get the CD. And, of course, it was right up my price alley: 9.99 [even though that is in pounds]. Dammit!

I've always heard it, but never really thought there could be that much difference. But seriously, food in America is definitely served in MUCH bigger portions than in England[and I'm guessing the rest of the world] and I've come to this realization based on a few key moments I've had in Bath.

The first one was a couple of weeks after I got to Bath, when I went to the fancy Pizza Hut and ordered a 'medium' pizza. When I got it, I remember saying to myself "What the hell is this? This is not a medium, it's a small!" I don't even know if they do sell small, but it must be microscopic if what I got was a medium. I felt like a true American after that thought crossed my mind.

The second occurrence was the first time I went to a restaurant called 'Hong Kong Bistro', now one of my favorite places to eat. I remember saying to Moussa that I couldn't believe I just ate everything on my plate. At first I just attributed this to what I ordered being extremely delicious. He looked at me as if that was weird and I told him it really was because, at home, I've never ever been able to finish a meal...I always have to take some home with me. And this is the case with everybody in America. You ask for a box to take your leftovers home. I realize this doesn't really happen in England though. I've never seen a person walk out of a restaurant with something in their hand, unless it was specifically ordered 'to go'.

Translation: To go = Take away

Another occurence was yesterday, when I went to Caffe Uno by Pulteney Bridge. I ordered some sort of spaghetti dish and actually managed to eat it all. And this time, it wasn't because the food was sooo freaking delicious that I just had to eat it all. It was simply because it wasn't a shit load of food! Let's jut say I continue to be amazed by this little fact. At one point, Mabu brought up Cheesecake Factory in the US, saying she'd never been there before and she asked me if they served a lot of food. I told her both our plates combined would be ONE dish at the Factory of Cheesecake. Sad but true.

We also talked about how I should visit her when she's in Canada for school next year seeing as how she's gonna be there for a whole year. Yay. Montreal, here I come.

Dammit, there is this pain in the left side of my neck that doesn't want to go away! I've concluded it could be one of several things:

1. meningitis
2. a thrombus
3. an early[and very unusual] sign of a cold
4. a simple, stiff neck.

Please, Dear Lord, don't let it be either 1 or 2 cuz I would seriously freak out if I got sick in another country! I began to notice it yesterday when I was on the couch watching my new favourite soap opera, Hollyoaks[I'm seriously gonna write to Channel 4 and ask them if they can send it to the US cuz I'm so addicted now]. I tried to adjust myself so that I wasn't hurting my left side, and it kinda subsided, but I still feel the pain, even today! I can't really turn my head to the left, but I keep doing it because I'm trying to do little excercises in case it just needs to be stretched a little.

This whole thing makes me think of the joke about the guy who goes to his doctor and says "Doctor, it hurts when I do this" and the doctor's simple reply is "Well, don't do that then."

I have this dress that has a prints of black and white flowers all over it and MAN, this has got to be my favourite dress!! That's because everytime I wear it, I get compliments. From "Cute dress" to the latest one I heard today, which was totally over the top and came from some woman on the street!

So after going over to Mabu's place to get one of her suitcases[yay now I don't have to buy one!], I stood waiting at the bus stop and some woman that was walking towards me stopped, literally stopped!, and said "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but you look very nice in your dress." Then she went on about how the flower in my hair looked really nice too. I was actually very flatterred by her comments and so I smiled and said thanks! She left to go into some store, but then she stopped AGAIN on her way back, and told me that the reason she made her comments was that she thinks people never have anything positive to say, only negative, and that because she thought she had something nice to say, she shouldn't keep it to herself, even though it may have turned out to be embarassing for her. She then told me I should be happy I looked so nice. Very weird 5 minutes that was! But still, it was cool.

And I'm gonna resist my Freudian instinct to immediately conclude she was gay, because I don't think she was.

In other news, I went to the see 'the baby' on Saturday. Moussa even asked me not to mention that I'd been to his place before because he thought his woman/baby-momma/girlfriend/who-knows-what might get upset if she'd known I'd been there before. Her name was Noura and she's from the town of Lille in France, which is apparently the largest city in Northern France. Hey, the Eurostar stops there so she's probably telling the truth. She seemed like a very nice girl and I truly wish them the best of luck, even though Moussa told me things were still a little rough.

While there, I held Fallou Gallas[I'm still shocked that the baby doesn't even have ONE French name], marveled at its puniness[maannnn, it's weird how little we start out], laughed at its inability to keep its own head up straight, felt slightly shocked/weirded out when Noura literally popped her boob out of a hole in her bra to feed the baby, and felt happy for Moussa when he said he loved being a dad. Awwww.

I'm gonna post pictures of the baby eventually, as soon as I can use my own computer where I have the pictures.

American = British

pants = trousers

underwear = pants [ I learned this one the embarassing way]

The O.C. = Florida [actually, this refers to only one girl who, when I told her I was from FL, asked me if I lived in the O.C....whhhaattt??]

hot/physically attractive = fit

movies = cinema

slut/ho = slag

stupid woman = cow

school = grades 1 - 10

community college = college

college = university

trunk = boot

gas station = garage

cart = trolley

tests/finals = exams [they get offended if you call them tests, because apparently exams sound MUCH more difficult]

and finally.....

sport utility vehicle [SUV] = what's that?

.....the UK has the highest teenage pregnancy rate of all the countries in Europe??

No wonder I kept seeing these 16-year-old-looking girls with babies. I thought I was going crazy. This can also be seen in many a TV show, where stories about teenage mothers are not uncommon.

ONE MORE WEEK TO GO!!!!!! I'm almost outta here. I don't have anything to do this week work-wise, so I'm sure the damn time is just gonna CRAWL by and torture me to death. I'm already packing, for Christ's sake! By the time Friday comes, I'll have nothing to pack. But that may be a good thing cuz I have the catch the train first thing in the morning on Saturday for London.

I'm actually gonna miss Bath. It was a good time. I never thought myself capable of meeting people and making friends that easily, but I've proved myself wrong. I thought I was gonna be lonely most of the time I was over here, but that wasn't the case. I'm sure if I had gotten any REAL work done, it would've been even better, but I'm over that and I'm just waiting to do that at home instead.

Before I leave though, I'm hoping to go out at some point during this week cuz I haven't been out in a while and I just want to go out at least one more time before I leave, kinda going out with a bang, ya know? The last time I went out[which was to Poo Na Na's], this girl Nana had told me that she and some of her friends[the same people I kept seeing over and over] would be going to Bristol the Thursday before I have to leave and that I should come along. When I spoke to Krupa last week, she told me Nana had asked for my number and so I wasn't too surprised when she texted me today to ask me if I wanted to go to Alton Towers with them on the 26th. I told her, unfortunately, the 25th is my last day. I asked her if they were still going to Bristol this week but she said they'd be going out in Bath instead and that she would text me the details then. Dunno where they're going, but who cares! They're cool people and I wouldn't mind hanging out with them one last time. I didn't even know what the hell Alton Towers was, but Krupa explained to me that it's some kinda of theme park.

Anywhoo, I've come to realize that absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder because I've missed my family and friends and car more than I ever thought I would. I miss my car! lol. but the sad thing is, I'm sure I'll be complaining how much I have to drive once I do get back. Ta ta..somebody just knocked on my door.

I just realized I never finished with my notes about my trip, so....on with it!!

Paris - Day 2 - Sunday
1. Walked/metro-ed/train-ed to all the different sites in Paris: Arc de Triomphe, Eiffel Tower[paid the 10.70 Euro to all go to the way to the top, but really, all you need to go to is the second level), Champs Elysee[at least that's what we agreed we'd tell people], Notre Dame, etc etc.

2. Saw an internet shop across the street from our hostel, so me and Elizabeth went in. To our suprise, the French keyboard was TOTALLY different. I mean, I freaking had to press the shift button just to get the period..what's up with that?? Commonly used punctuation should not require extra effort. So therefore, it took us like 10 minutes just to write really short emails.

3. During the night, Elizabeth went to phone home and I went back to my room. I passed these two guys all decked out in the hip-hop uniform so my first thought was "Oh God." Then they asked me if I had a bottle opener...as in a champagne bottle opener! I said no and they went elsewhere to try and find it. I went to my room to get some reading done before bed and I left the door slightly open. A little while later, they passed by again and asked me if I had a lighter! Don't these fools have anything they need? They left and I'm assuming they did eventually find it cuz damn Europe is full of smokers. They passed by again and asked me if I wanted a drink in a cup with a Canadian flag on it, but since I hate champagne, I refused. They came into my room though and they chilled for a bit.

They are Mohammed and Mike, brothers from Montreal that were originally born in Lebanon. I told them 'Mike' doesn't sound very Muslim and he told me his name is really Yacine. Why couldn't he call himself Bob or something?? No more Mike's. Anywhoo, I noticed that they kept singing hip-hop songs, with Lil Jon sticking out in my mind mostly so I asked them if they like that kinda music and it was ON like Donkey Kong. They wouldn't stop singing. At one point they started singing Pitbull[I was taken aback cuz I didn't know he reached as far north as Montreal], and I told Mike that he kinda looked like Pitbull. He laughed and said yeh, people have told him that before. When they found out I was from Miami[which is where I've been telling people I live], they got all excited, and when they found out I was originally from Jamaica, of course they asked me if I smoked weed. Jerks. Turns out they're really into reggae music too cuz then they started reciting reggae songs.

All in all, they were pretty cool. After a while, Mohammed left and I spent the rest of the nite talking with Mike, with me occassionaly helping him with his Englsih and him helping me practice my French. He was there till about 2am, when his brother came back and annouced that some drunk Moroccan was in their room. They went to check it out and said they didn't feel comfortable with him in there with their stuff. Since I was the only person in my room that night, I offered them the beds. It might have been a crazy thing to do, but everything turned out fine and they checked out the next morning.

I'm scared to death right now because I keep envisioning myself being stricken with cancer! And because I don't think there is anything anyone can do to completely rid themselves of the risk of getting cancer, I'm even more sick with worry.

My death scare started with the day I spent in the Chemotherapy pharmacy with watching all the chemo drugs get prepared and continued yesterday when I sat in on a counseling session a pharmacist was having with a chemo patient. During the interview, I heard her say to the patient that "You know, unfortunately, that we're not gonna be able to get rid of everything, right?" I was very taken aback by this because I was wondering why she was basically telling the lady that she will never be rid of her cancer. Turns out that really was the case, because when I told the pharmacist about my reaction to what she said, I was told that the lady had metastatic breast cancer. So basically, she is going to die, and the chemo drugs are for palliative care only. That's when we started talking about that bitch cancer.

What it comes down to is that EVERYBODY has a chance of getting cancer. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that even though some people are unfortunate enough to have the disease, some might actually be luckier than others and get a certain type of cancer, due to the fact that some have a better prognosis than others. For example, breast = good[if caught early], pancreas = hella bad. Pancreatic cancer?? WTF?? Anyway, we got into a discussion about cancer and I was basically scratching my head and asking her what can be done to avoid it. She basically told me 'nothing' and that it's the luck of the draw whether you get it or not, and if you do have it, which one you have the unfortunate luck to come down with. On top of that[!!], once you're past those two stages, it comes down to whether your cancer spreads or not, because once it spreads, that's definitely it.

Personally, I don't think anybody can avoid cancer because its incidence is someway, somehow directly linked to all the crap that is in our surrounding environment, from the air that we breathe to what is in our food and there is no way of avoiding it or getting around it. What exactly causes cancer? I don't think anybody really knows[of course they always try to put a 'genetic link' in there, but to me that's bollocks most of the time]. I think the way our food is produced nowadays in the main culprit. People have tried to 'purify' how food is made, as seen in the popularity of organic foods. I know that organic food is out there and everything, blah blah blah, but UNLESS you plan to eat organic food at EVERY meal, EVERY day, for THE REST of your life, you are going to be at risk. Nobody out there eats like this...you are gonna have non-organic bread and drink a Smirnoff Ice every once in a while and who knows what artficial flavors and preservatives they use to make those. It's not to say that eating organic isn't good, but if I'm gonna be at risk for cancer anyway, should I just save my money and by the regular junk? Who knows. Also, they always have news items talking about how eating this, or eating that might lower your risk for cancer. But I'm not gonna be eating tomatoes and drinking red wine everyday, so I think all that is crap too.

So all I'm gonna do is cross my fingers and hope that I am one of the lucky ones. [fingers crossed NOW]

ON A LIGHTER NOTE, in the continuing saga of Juan....actually this time, Juan isn't in the story[although I did see him in the pharmacy yesterday and stopped to say hi]. I spent part of the day yesterday with a pharmacist named Amanda who was in charge of the aseptic unit of the hospital. When I went in there, I was introduced to yet ANOTHER Spanish fellow, this one by the name of Fran [at least I think that's what I heard, but I thought to myself that ain't no damn Spanish name]. We all got to talking in there and he too started asking me about pharmacy back home and then specifically about Florida.

Turns out, he's best friends with Juan and they are planning on moving together! He told me that Juan was all excited when he talked to me the previous day when I was telling him what I knew and he said he wanted a chance to question me too. He told me that he and Juan moved from Spain to Bath together, they're going to Thailand, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand together, and now on to the US together. He joked and said people sometimes ask if they are gay but he said they've just known each other for a very long time. He was no Juan, but he was good-looking as well, and was much funnier [I laughed so hard when he told me one of his friends that had moved to the US was an actual gigolo..the stereotype is true]. So with those two together, 'who knows how many hearts they've broken,' to quote another pharmacist named Denise. I told him to pick Florida too [lol] and he said that a lot of people have told him the same thing.

Too bad today was my last day. Hope they have a good time when they move!

Why do Spanish people always have four names? That I'll never know. But what I do know is that Mr. Juan Gomez[how generic] has got to be the most attractive man I've ever seen in my entire lifetime!! The last one, this one, and the next lifetime, I'm sure.

So I've been 'working' at the Royal United Hospital[RUH] in Bath for the past week and am continuing to do so this week. I put working in quotes because basically all I do is shadow all the pharmacists there to see what they do in their jobs....this is because of insurance regulations, blah blah whatever. At least I have something to do and I think I might have actually come away with a career option. The couple of days I spent in the Drug Information center were pretty cool, and so I've concluded that I wouldn't mind having to research questions and tell people what I've found, which is basically their job while in the center. At first, I figured the majority of questions they get would be pretty simple, but they get some complex questions. So it was fun and I'll keep that in the back of my mind.

....now unto Juan. I'd been seeing him around the hospital but today I was in the Chemotherapy pharmacy and that's where he mainly works. This man is soooo DISGUSTINGLY attractive, I still can't believe it. I wouldn't say he's fine, or cute even....just attractive. And I say this because I think that pretty much every woman he meets probably thinks the same way. Not every woman will think a guy is fine, or even cute, but they have to acknowledge when someone looks good and this man does.

His background: he's a pharmacist originally from Spain, and he moved to England to learn and practice his English. He's moving to the States next year[!!!]. I know this because he was asking me all these questions about pharmacy in the States, particularly about how much money they make. I kept accusing him of only thinking about money, but he said he just wants to work for a year or two and make up some money and save it up. He wants to move to either California or Florida, so you KNOW I tried to convince him to move to FL. But I told him either would be good seeing as how he's bilingual and all and that's a very marketable skill. He chose those two states because he said their climate is similar to the weather in Spain. I asked him about Spain and, even though I've never really though about going there, the way he was talking, I wanted to hop on the next plane.

I totally wish I had a picture of this man to remember him by. His JET BLACK hair, moussed up into a messy mohawk by all the damn products that I've noticed a lot of British guys use, but looks really good anyway. His 5 o'clock shadow. His friendly attitude. The way he said the word 'Asia'[pronounced 'Acea'] LORD! I gotta stop talking about him. Enough is enough.

JUAN!!!

...not for me actually since I'm done with classes! It's exam time for the students at the University of Bath, and let me tell you, it is some serious ish.

First of all, the majority of these tests....excuuuuse me, exams[I've called them tests or finals and I've been corrected many times] are the ONLY exams that has been given all semester. So basically, I dunno if it applies to other Universities as well, but the University of Bath is run like an American law school. That is just nuts to me. AND, to make thing worse, they're not even multiple choice!! Straight essay. I couldn't tell you the last time I had an essay test in college. Oh yeh that's right, NEVER. Maybe if I wasn't in health and science, and say majored in History, I would've definitely done essays by now.

So I guess the American system might be a little easier or whatever, but I'm definitely not ashamed of how we do things. Nor do I feel any less academically competent than the people here. I'm sure I could do it too....if a gun was put to my head.

So yeh, I see my roommates for basically a total of half-hour each day. They are constantly locked up in their rooms and whatnot. Same goes for everybody that I call...Mabu, Carl, Krupa. It's like they're all on lock-down and can't do anything. So Im hella bored.

laters.

So I'm the the Bath University Library at the mo', and there are ports all over the library where people can plug in their laptops and use the University's internet.

Why have I just seen a young man pull out a whole computer and a flat screen monitor out of his gym bag and sit down at one of the ports?? I really hope that's not supposed to be his version of a laptop, cuz, even though I'm broke, I will gladly donate the money to him to get a real one.

No, he didn't.

UMMMMMMMM....

[sigh] Why did Moussa call me up the other day and told me he just had a baby. A baby!

[sigh again] So while I was flat ironing my hair on Wednesday, getting ready to go to Pizza Hut with Mabu [I haven't had pizza in a while and I was craving it; plus I wanted to eat in a 'fancy' pizza hut], I receive a call from my good buddy Moussa, aka Moses. Chitter-chattering for a bit, I told him that unfortunately, Id have to call him back cuz Im in the middle of a process. He then proceeded to tell me that he'd have a surprise to tell me the next time we talked. Of course I asked if this surprise would be of benefit to me, but he said no. Crackers. So I told him to give me a hint or just tell me now. He then proceeded to tell me he'd just had a baby.

UMMMMMM....this was VERY surprising news to me since I didn't even know that he had impregnated some woman out there. I aired my disbelief and he told me the girl was his ex-girlfriend, the French girl he had moved to Bath with from France. I remember him telling me about her, but he DISTINCTLY forgot that little tidbit about them expecting a freaking spawn. That's kinda important info...I certainly wished he would've shared.

Im theorizing he didn't tell me because he had liked me before and seeing as how the news of impending fatherhood for some other woman might turn a girl off, I can see why he hadn't told me. However, now that I think back on it, I do remember that sometimes he would make jokes about how he had a son, but I was would always say "whatever" and basically dismiss him. I guess he meant to say he was EXPECTING a son.

I just talked to him again now and apparently, 'its' name is Gallas or something or other. Apparently that's African. I couldn't hear him too well over the phone, but I was asking a whole buncha questions and I think he said that the happy family are gonna be living together now. He even told me that next week, he wanted to invite people over to see 'the baby.'

You know I gotta go and see this little concoction.

Ahhh la France. 'They' hate us, 'we' hate them. They meaning the French and we meaning Americans. Or that's how it's supposed to go apparently. Here's what happened while I was in France:
DAY 1 - Saturday
1. On the train to London, I just happened to bump into this kid named Carl. He was the one who did a Jamaican poem in the ACS show a while back[even though he's Nigerian! man, do they need me to represent??]; when he found out I was Jamaican, he kept asking if he was saying stuff right[he was pretty good]. Anyway, I kept seeing him here and there around Bath and I know he knows that I know him, so finally the night before, I had seen him in town when I was going out, and in my alcohol-induced haze, decided enough was enough and stopped him on the street and introduced meself. He told me he was going to London the next day too[the Sat.] and so good luck would have it that we'd see each other cuz having someone to talk to certainly makes that hour and a half trip to Paddington shorter. At the end of the trip, I got his number[since I still don't know mine yet!] and of course he bust out with two fones! What's with these people....

2. As I was going thru the security checkpoint at London Heathrow, a loud BLEEEEEPPP could be heard as my bag went thru the X-ray machine so I knew there was trouble. Apparently, I had accidentally brought a pair of ridiculously sharp scissors along with a ridiculously sharp nail file in my carry-on luggage. So you know them bitches was confiscated. And dammit! Those were my FAVORITE scissors!! They were so sharp. I learned then that I can have that stuff, but they must be in my checked luggage, not carry-on. At this point, I make a mental note to put the souvenir lighter I bought I London in my checked luggage for when I go back home.

2. Got to Paris...it was 9:30pm...yet the sun was still freaking up!! It was just setting at 10pm by the time I got to the train station at the airport to buy my ticket. I started practicing my Francais right away. Actually, I didn't get to practice that much because as soon as she picked up on the fac that English was my first language, she bust out with the English too. Got my ticket and proceeded to the train station that was tainted with a lovely urine odor. HMMMMMM. Saw TONS of black people everywhere.

3. As I got to the connecting point where I was to take the Metro, a girl sat down beside me and I saw she was holding a bunch of maps. I asked if she spoke English and asked her where she got the maps. She offered me one since she had a few, for which I was udderly grateful. We got to talking and realized we were going to the exact same hostel. yay! cuz I was getting kinda nervous as it was late at night. Her name is Elizabeth and she is from Kentucky. She was mad cool and she would become my roll dog for Paris.

4. Got to the hostel. It was late, but we could tell the neighborhood wasn't too hot, ya heard. But we checked in, dropped our stuff off, and decided we were both hungry so we were gonna wander around the 'hood and see what we could find. The only thing open was some convenience store. As we stood outside talking, three French guys passed us and then shouted "WE HATE AMERICANS." UGH! WHAT A BITCH!! I then replied "WE HATE YOU TOO." Elizabeth laughed and said not to get us killed in France. Now, I really didn't mean for that to be my reply, because really, I have not a damn thing against the French. And I wish most people know that most Americans could give two shits about hating the French...theyre too busy for that mess. I really wanted to say "HOW DO YOU KNOW IM NOT CANADIAN?" Damn him! He's lucky I dunno how to cuss in French cuz I certainly wouldve given him a piece of my mind. And as a consolation, I know no one likes the French either, so I was happy.

5. Got some crackers/cookies, went back to hostel and agreed we'd go see the sites together. Said goodnite and I went to use the showers. 1. The bathroom had NO hand soap available. Umm, isn't that some sort of health violation?? But Im not surprised, cuz I was told that France still had toilets that were literally holes in the ground, so their lack of hygiene doesn't surprise me. 2. The faucets were the type that you had to push and then some water would come out, then stop. Turns out the shower was the same!! Now I would have to take a shower, pressing the button repeatedly while Im in there! Weird....but one positive was that the water pressure was REALLY good, so it was actually a pretty refreshing shower.

Next day, off to explore!

DAY 6 - BRUSSELS

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The Belgian version of Sacre Coeur...let's just say, for the 5th largest church in the world, not too many people are breaking their necks to get to it[i.e. it's not very impressive...dirty green domes don't do it for me].

Stained glass window inside Sacre Coeur.

Chocolates at Leonidas, one of the more famous Belgian chocolatiers. It's basically the cheaper version of Neuhaus or Godiva, but still very good.

Perching myself on a 'seat' in the Comic Strip Museum. Yes, there is such a thing as a comic strip museum. Apparently, Belgium is in love with comic strips.

DAY 5 - BRUSSELS

Manneken-Pis. Basically, picture a one-and-a-half year old baby pissing from 10 feet away and you get this statue! I thought it would've been much bigger, but it wasn't.

Jeanneke-Pis. The female counterpart of Manneken-Pis, but nobody acknowedges her. Equally small, but only two feet away and behind iron bars! Like anyone would steal it....

The Atomium. I think Europeans have a thing for building big ass structures and then originally planning to tear them down, but never do[ a la Eiffel Tower]. It was closed for renovation, which is evident by all the open spaces in the balls.

Cathedrale for the two patron saints on Belgium. This was the first cathedral I went into where you could actually take pictures, so of course, I took some.

The Grand Place. Literally that...a big square. This pictures the Museum of Brussels aka Musee de Bruxelles.

Royal Galeries de St. Hubert. A covered shopping passageway/street.

A Belgian metro station.

Parc de Bruxelles. If you've ever wanted to see a park with UNPAVED roads, this is for you.

At the Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate. These heads are made completely of chocolate!! What a waste...

DAY 4 - PARIS

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A lit and much more attractive Eiffel Tower.

Lit Eiffel Tower from the front.

An illegal snapshot of a Dali work that I'd never seen before. Hey, nobody was watching the museum so I broke out my camera...

Versailles Palace, or what I like to call a f---ing monstrosity! It's like Disney World with no rides. It has the size but not the entertainment....

Me on the bike I used to ride around 1/20th of Versailles.

[sigh] Louis XIV had some serious issues because Versailles, especially the gardens, as seen in this picture, are RIDICULOUSLY BIG!!

A swan on the lake in Versailles.

One of the many passageways that can be found in the gardens at Versailles.

There were many of these cute little statues on flower pots in the garden.

DAY 3 - PARIS

La Tour Eiffel AKA Eiffel Tower

The Seine River as seen from the second level of the Eiffel Tower.

Me and Elizabeth....well, you can BARELY see me, but it's me.

I guess they were excited to see the top of the Eiffel Tower cuz they kept making out wherever we went.



Arc de Triomphe. I love how the sun is shining RIGHT on it!

Hotel des Invalides with its golden dome. Had to use my finger sometimes. Lol



The Moulin Rouge, now a regular playhouse rather than some skanky whorehouse.

Sacre Coeur.

A little girl running up the millions of steps that lead up to Sacre Coeur.

Sacre Coeur.

Panoramic view from Sacre Coeur.

A better picture of me and Elizabeth, my Paris pahtnah.

I've said it time and time again, but I really need to stop meeting people named Mike. Actually, his name was really Yacine, but he goes by Mike.

DAY 2 - PARIS

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Arc de Triomphe in all it glory. Didn't get the chance to get too close because there was some military ceremony thingamajig going on.

Spot the Eiffel Tower!

The Pyramid at the Louvre. If you've read "The Da Vinci Code", you should be very familiar with this structure.

Notre Dame, one of many H-shaped cathedrals I saw.

Aww he's looking up at the Eiffel Tower. This statue is part of the bridge at Pont Alexandre III, which leads into Hotel des Invalides.

Me on a LONG walkway in the Paris metro.

DAY 1 - PARIS

Hmmm...French 'coast'.

Now I can know where I am at all times! Cool!

The beautiful sky as seen from British Airways flight 9592.