the good (?) thing about DVR

The nice thing about DVR is you can fast forward through a significant amount of the 2 results shows of American Idol and Dancing with the Stars. You can skip the commercials, annoying montages and other performances you aren't interested in that merely drag out the results.

The bad thing? This year on American Idol they kept talking so long that the final results slipped past the 10pm cut off. (I think I remember this happening last year, too) So Ryan Seacrest said, "the winner of American Idol 2008 is..." and on the recording stopped and a message appeared that said, "Would you like to keep or delete this recording?" So we were left to run upstairs to get on the internet to find out who won...and the websites are a little slow at updating!

Congrats to David Cook.

another dance weekend

After another dance weekend my current status is:

knackered - /ˈnækərd/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[nak-erd] adjective. British Slang. exhausted; very tired

pear-shaped

Since I'm going away for the weekend I thought I'd leave you with another vocabulary lesson to hold you over. Have you ever heard someone say that something went "pear-shaped." Probably not.

To go pear-shaped means to go awry. "What is the origin?" you may ask. Good question. It seems to be like all the other British slang I've looked up - there is no clear origin. According to Wikipedia it probably originated in the Royal Air Force when referring to aerial maneuvers, such as loops, that end up distorted. However, it also provides a few other theories including normal distribution curves and balloons...

going to the theatre

Here is your British vocabulary lesson for the day. Here they call operating rooms, "theatres." So if someone asks you to go to the theatre you may want to clarify whether you're going to a West End production of Chicago, or to the hospital for surgery! But, they also call the regular doctor's office a "surgery." Did you follow that??

Also, if you want to go to the movies, be sure to say you want to see "a film at the cinema," since they rarely call them the movies or the theatre. That would obviously be confusing...

desperate

Britain's PM is considering appearing in a reality TV show to help boost his image?

home

I think a lot about home...what does it mean? Can I have two "homes?" How long will I stay in London? I don't think I could process all of this into one blog post but I rediscovered a Caedmon's Call song, "Faith my Eyes," which will be my song for awhile. It doesn't fit perfectly with my situation but I particularly like the lyrics, "I'll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes." I tend to over-analyze every situation but I am just trying to offer those thoughts as prayers to God instead.

As I survey the ground for ants
Looking for a place to sit and read
I'm reminded of the streets of my hometown
How they're much like this concrete that's warm beneath my feet

And how I'm all wrapped up in my mother's face
With a touch of my father just up around the eyes
And the sound of my [sister's] laugh
But more wrapped up in what binds our ever distant lives

But if I must go
Things I trust will be better off without me
But I don't want to know
Life is better off a mystery

So keep 'em coming these lines on the road
And keep me responsible be it a light or heavy load
And keep me guessing with these blessings in disguise
And I'll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes

Hometown weather is on TV
I imagine the lives of the people living there
And I'm curious if they imagine me
Cause they just wanna leave; I wish that I could stay
[not that those of you in Cincy want to leave!]

And to visit places from my past
But only for an hour or so
Which is long enough to smell the air
To tell the tale and find the door

But I get turned around
I mistake some happiness for blessing
But I'm blessed as the poor
Still I judge success by how I'm dressing

So I'll sing a song of my hometown
I'll breathe the air and walk the streets
Maybe find a place to sit and read
And the ants are welcome company

And I'll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes
And I'll walk with grace my feet and faith my eyes

side effects

It will be no surprise to most of you that European style is slightly different than American...particularly for men. Today I had an unfortunate brush with this as a side effect to the hot temperatures. I saw two - count them, two - guys wearing white fish net tank tops. That's just wrong.

It's a wonderful weekend

This weekend the weather in London is fabulous...almost a little too hot for life without air conditioning! Yesterday I went on a three hour walk (part of my training) in Richmond Park. Richmond Park is a nature preserve near Wimbledon, just on the outside of London. For those of us accustomed to wide open spaces it's not quite as impressive. However, after living in London for awhile I appreciate it more. I had my iPod shuffle full of some of my favorite Christian songs so I was enjoying the music along with God's creation! (It has solidified that Rich Mullins' "My Deliverer" is one of the best songs ever). It was a beautiful day. Here are some pictures from the park.

Let me think about it

Did you know that the word "think" is a noun as well as a verb? Most of my English and grammar-fiend friends reading this probably did (which is a significant portion of my readership!). In the UK people often say, "I'll have a think about that." Whereas I would usually say, "I'll think about that." So, in an effort to uncover another weird British phrase I went to dictionary.com to prove that think was a verb...only to find that it is also a noun.

I learn something new every day.

back in the game

Shout out to my dad who got the Slingbox working again...I was able to watch a new episode of The Office! Wow. The cringe factor was definitely there on "Dinner Party" but I also laughed a lot. It's good to have everyone back. Although, I'm not sure I can call anyone "babe" again!

too much to hope?

Is it too much to hope that the weather in London has turned a corner and we are now in spring? At least I can dream. Last year we had an amazing April and then the rest of the summer was, well...pretty much non-existent. This last weekend was a bank holiday and we actually had sun 2 out of 3 days (you can't tell from the above photo but it was sunny!) and the rest of this week shows sunny and lower 70s on the 5 day forecast. I better get out and enjoy it in case it rains the rest of the summer!

time warp

My flatmate, Cate, is a youth worker at our church. Today she had five 12-year old girls over. Needless to say I was a little nervous.

We ate pizza and ice cream and we did their make-up and nails. Little girls are the same wherever you go in whatever decade you're in! That wasn't too bad. I was a little worried about how to entertain them but they were definitely entertaining themselves. The real twist came when I offered to drive them all to church in my mini-van. (I can hear you laughing already) My car was actually full...with kids. As I was driving and listening to them carrying on in the back I looked over at Cate with a panicked look on my face. I could tell we were thinking the same thing - both of us picturing ourselves as moms with our kids in the back seat! Yeah, that was enough to send my head spinning

If you've seen one...

Traveling in Europe you see a lot of cathedrals. I still go into most of them but sometimes I feel like if you've seen one you've seen them all. Having said that, I've come up with a few awards for the ones I've visited so far.

Most famous: Notre Dame, Paris

Best View: Sacre Coeur, Paris

Most Unique: Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

The Biggest/Most impressive/My Favorite: St. Paul's Cathedral, London (tied for best view)

Honorable Mention: Karlskirche, Vienna

I wanted to make an award for the most steps but I'm not actually sure who would win that one. Probably St. Paul's or the Sacre Coeur - Karlskirche had an elevator!

Top 10 Classic British Slang

Honestly I've only heard a few of these used in real life, but here they are anyway:

1. Blower - Telephone
2. Ton - 100
3. Kite - Check
4. Mate - Friend
5. Spiv - Shifty Character
6. Sticky Wicket - Risky
7. Sixes and Sevens - Confused State
8. Hairy Muff - Fair Enough (must be cockney rhyming slang)
9. Hank Marvin - Starving (must be cockney rhyming slang)
10. Kip - Nap

Top 10 Depressing British Phrases

I had a few British Top 10 lists land on my desk so I thought I'd share a couple with you. This one is the Top 10 Depressing British Phrases. I'll interpret where I can but some I'm not sure about:

1. Typical British Summer [as in there aren't any summers!]
2. Leaves on the line [not sure about this one, although it could have something to do with tube or train lines]
3. Bank Holiday Traffic [similar to the traffic you get on any US holiday]
4. Out on penalties [I guess this has something to do with football/soccer]
5. Aussies win Ashes [Ashes is a cricket tournament]
6. Henman crashes out [Henman has typically been the only hope the English have at having a player win Wimbledon]
7. Mud at Glastonbury [Glastonbury is one of the world's biggest, if not the biggest, outdoor music festival]
8. Big Brother returns [TV show]
9. Posh releases single [haha!]
10. Heather opens mouth [I'm guessing this is Heather Mills]

The British like their depressing phrases but I identify most with the first one!

that's how we do it

The other day I briefly broke my no sugar rule to have a hobnob (which,incidentally, are very high in fiber and made from whole grains so it's not that bad!) Afterwards I decided I needed to wash it down with some milk. My flatmate said, "Are you just going to drink plain milk??" I said, yeah, that's what I drink after I eat something sweet (or coffee). She said, "Why??" So I replied, "That's how we do it in America."

That same day I also received a birthday package from my parents. It wasn't yet my birthday but I opened it anyway (it was the day before!). Again, my flatmate was appalled. "You can't open that before your birthday!" Here, if someone gives you a birthday or Christmas present you wait to open it until the actual day, even if they aren't going to be around. I think this takes the fun out of gift giving as you can't even see their face when they open it. I didn't have a very good defense except to say again, "That's how we do it in America!"

Okay so far

Twenty-two was strange because twenty-one seemed like the pinnacle- something you look towards when you are growing up. Twenty-two just sounded so much older with that "two" on the end. Twenty-three and twenty-four were fine. Twenty-five was a little harder and inspired my list of things to do before I turn thirty. At that point I had crossed into a new age bracket on surveys. No longer was I in the 18-24 bracket, I was now in 25-34 which is significantly different! Twenty-six wasn't so bad but I had officially crossed the line into my late twenties. So twenty-seven is fairly inconsequential. I'm already in the older age bracket and already in my late twenties...but I'm not yet feeling precariously close to thirty. So I'm feeling good. Twenty-seven sounds nice.

my very English weekend

This weekend I felt very British. Saturday I went to a "Hen Party." (That's what they call Bachelorette Parties here). It was for a friend of my flatmate's and we had had high tea at Cannizaro House. There is nothing like tea, scones and other delights to make you feel very proper and English. Sunday afternoon we had a Ceroc tea dance on a boat on the Thames. I love being on the river and taking in the sites of London. Again, tea and cakes were included. To wrap things up we walked across Waterloo bridge to get to the station...in the pouring rain. It doesn't get much more British than that!

Open Enrollment

Speaking of adventure...

As I'm approaching my birthday I'm reminded of my list of things to do before I turn 30. I've decided that this year I will be hiking the Grand Canyon. Since I'll already be training for the 100k hike, it seems like perfect timing to use that training to hike the Grand Canyon.

I've found a few good guide companies online and have been looking at my options. I think I might do a 3-4 day hike rim to rim - how cool would that be? If not that then I'll definitely hike down to Bright Angel and back. Anyone up for coming with me? I'm looking for a group of 5. I can join another group but, of course, I would love to be going with people I know. It will be a BIG ADVENTURE you won't want to miss. Hurry - space is limited!

Euro-whiff

Those darn Europeans... I think they're just blaming it on the Europeans because they are still upset about being knocked out of Euro 2008.