It's funny how out of the loop I feel.
I know that things haven't changed that much since I left (or so you people say - you better not be lying!) but somehow it still seems like things will be so vastly different when I get back. I was just messaging Jacqueline, who gets to go home in a couple of days (lucky duck) and I told her to take pictures when she does. And part way through writing, I realized that it's because I want to see if something has changed, to see if all the people there are still the people I left behind. I know it's stupid, and maybe overly philosophical, but it's almost like I feel that I have changed so therefore everyone else must have changed as well. I don't know. I've been home alone all day and maybe have been thinking too much. Who knows.
But I just can't shake the feeling that something monumental has happened while I was gone and I missed out.

So I like England. It's a pretty good place to be, all things considered, and even though I am lonely and bored and whiny, it's a great country and I'm pretty glad I'm here.
I love looking at the houses, I love all of the old architecture (for serious. Did I write about town hall? I think I stopped breathing), I love that the small town feel actually exists, even when you're technically still in the city, and I love the accents. Most of the time. When I'm not trying to understand what someone on the phone is saying.

But there are things I miss, that's for sure.
I miss my friends, and my family, and to go along with that, hugs. I miss my dog (a lot), and sales people who actually smile when they help you (no matter how fake it is!).
And seasoning salt - oh man do I miss seasoning salt. British food really is everybit as bland as they say it is.
And Peanut Butter. Jam is ok by itself, but you can't really have a great sandwich without Peanut Butter.

But, I have a lot of good things going for me right now too, so that's something that makes me happy! I have a cute little house to stay in, with a brand new kitchen (sweet), and it's about a 10 minute walk to get anywhere, so I get lots of exercise as well! And, the manager of one of the Starbucks called me back this morning, so I have a tentative job, starting tomorrow, which is AWESOME, because then I will be getting paid in pounds and won't have to worry about the exchange rate - a 2.30 sanwich will be 2.30, not $5!!
So that's good.
And I have the house to myself all day, so I don't have to worry about looking lazy if I decide to go back to be at 11. Like I may do right now...
love you all!

So here's the thing.
I am in England (duh)
Manchester is a decent city, but I'm tired of being the tourist.
I have gone to all of the major attractions (that are in walking distance of my hostel. To be fair, I'm scared of the transit system here. Too many different stations and transfers and what have you) and I have gone to the 'Shopping Center,' Arndale, EVERY DAY. I have not purchased something everytime I've been there, but I could tell you what part of the mall a certain store is in and how far it is from either of the 2 Starbucks in that mall (it is a small mall).
What I'm trying to say is that I am bored. More than the loneliness, more than the homesickness, it's the boredom that is getting to me. I just don't know what to do anymore. At least loneliness and homesickness give you something to occupy your time. Boredom just makes you think about how you could be doing other things with your time, you just don't know what.
Plus, there is only so much time I can spend on facebook when everyone else I know is sleeping.

Everyone keeps saying 'Oh what an experience you're having! All the things you'll see!'
But remember folks, this is an adventure that I am experiencing on my own.
Thats another thing that I've been thinking about. Who actually reads this? I mean, I have a written journal that I keep with me (so that I don't look like a weirdo and just stare at people when I'm at a cafe all by myself), but I update this so that people know what's going on with me. But no one comments. If you read this, leave a comment. I like when people comment.

You have to remember, that I KNOW NO ONE IN THIS ENTIRE COUNTRY. Other than Scott, one of the guys that works here, I have not met a single Brit. So really, comment, because I live for email. For feedback from home. For something to occupy my time.

If you do read this, I'm sorry I'm whiny. Maybe I'm just tired. And grumpy. There are 20 something German teenagers chasing each other around the hostel lobby right now. It's making me a bit grumpy.
Sorry :(

So i would love to know which fashion maven told the Europeans that it was a good idea to have a mullet. I'm not sure if they think that it is cutting edge or what, but and alarming amount of people here have them. One of the guys at my hostel actually had a mullet with dreadlocks in it. And then at the mall, a guy with pink tips on the 'party' section and blue and yellow in the 'business' section. It was weird. And a little bit perplexing. I'm not entirely sure why you would even consider going out in public looking like that. It's not a cutting edge fashion statement, it's not punk or rocker, you just look like a fool who lost a fight with a weed whacker. Much like some of the people back in Edmonton. Or one. You know who.

Then on my way back to the hostel today, I saw a man standing in the corner store full-on dressed like a pirate. Eye patch and everything! What is it with this city?
In other news, I may have a place to live, which is SWEET. I'm kind of tired of having to find things to do while the cleaning crew is making up the beds of the people that have left. I could write a book about all the people that I've met here just in my room. The first night was a british girl who was in for one night to be in a play (don't know which one) plus two asian girls who both came in after 11:30 and woke me up :(. After that it was two Canadian girls from Ottawa - Genvieve and Kelly, and the Danish girl Mie. The last two nights were two German girls that were going home after working at hospitals in Wales for the past 4 weeks. It's been Michelle and her Rotating room of room mates. Sigh.

It's very true. There are some crazy things that I have seen, and I've only been in the country for three days. Like today, I saw a truck that had, written on the side "Impregnation services."
Now, I didn't get a good look at what exactly those services are, but I really have to say that is one of the weirdest possible things that you could have written on the side of your truck! Wouldn't that count as prostitution back home? Unless you're doing it for free...but still.
Then, when I was walking back to the hotel, I saw a sign that said "Humped zebra crossing" or something along those lines. I was like WHAT IS A HUMPED ZEBRA? And why are they only allowed to cross there?(KIDDING. I know that it's not actually a crossing for humped zebras. It's a people crosswalk too)
Also, the Starbucks count is now up to 6 within walking distance of my hostel. 6! That is absolutely ridiculous, but at the same time marvelous. Plus i heard back from the Timeplan people today, which is also marvy, because I really need a job if I'm going to get a place to live.

I don't know what else to write...I think of all these things to write when I'm out walking about, but as soon as I sit down here, I can't think of anything.
I could write about how I have no place to stay after Saturday morning, but that stresses me out, so i don't really want to write about that...i could write about what i've seen, but you all have my facebook, so you've seen pictures of that. So it's kind of frustrating to have a blog in that sense. I feel like I have to keep you all entertained with hilarious stories of my adventures in britland, but I haven't had any hilarious adventures yet. Although i did buy a phone today, and that's pretty sweet.
I do hang out a lot in the 'bar' that's in the hostel. Basically it's a glorified sitting room that looks as if the hostel got a discount at Ikea.
Ah! Speaking of Ikea I thought of something that I could tell you about. I went to Urbis today, which is basically a museum of Urban life. It sounds like it could be really weird, but it was cool. The first (well, top) floor was a collection of this guy Matthew's work in the fashion industry. I can't remember his last name right now, but some of the things he designs were pretty cool i took a couple of pictures there, but not many.
The floor after that was under renovations, but there was an Ikea sofa sitting outside the exhibit, and it had a placard beside it saying 'the klippan sofa, first produced in 199_ revolutionised the way Ikea....'(I stopped reading cause it looked weird that I was reading on the stairs)
YOU GUYS I MISSED A WHOLE EXHIBIT ABOUT IKEA!!!! Ikea is my life. And that is why talking about Ikea reminded me of what I could tell you about.
The floor after that was "How manga changed the world" and it was pretty awesome. I took a bunch of pictures, and if facebook ever stops hating me, I will totally post them so you can see.
Then I went and purchased my phone.
And now I'm back at the hostel, and things are good. I may go get some food in a bit, but who knows.

So, first thing that I learned today?
COWBOY BOOTS DO NOT MAKE GOOD TRAVEL FOOTWEAR. They are hot, and not easy to slip on and off on a plane.
Among the many other things that I've learned so far:
The squiggly lines on the road (i'll find pictures to post later) mean that you can't park there. It's been a good three years of me wondering that, and now I know. My life is virtually complete. Also, I learned never to fly Thomas Cook for long haul flights. The plane itself was nice, but eensy weensy. There were only 9 seats across, and I was very very cramped. The attendants were nice enough, and there was a camera that showed you the view from the front of the plane as well as the downward view which was very very cool.
Also cool? THE BATHROOMS WERE DOWNSTAIRS!!! There was a seperate area that was

EDIT:
I don't know why it cut off the end of my entry....there was a bit about how it was separate and you could stand there....weird. I have an entry on my first day too, so I'll post that now...

EDIT 2: Apparently Word no longer works on my computer, so negate that last bit...I have to find a patch in 11 minutes (before my internet runs out!!)

Well I have a new flight and a new city to go to once I'm in England...I fly in to Manchester now on the 14th. Only 10 days away. I feel more ready to go this time than I did the last time I thought I only had 10 days, so I guess that's pretty good. I'm still not ready to leave everyone though. Packing is also proving to be difficult for many reasons.
1)I am a horrible, horrible procrastinator. I have piles and piles of clean clothes on my floor waiting to be packed. They will probably be on my floor until the night before I leave,
2)I'm working quite a bit, so I have minimal time to do laundry so that I can even organize what I have in order to decide what to take, and
3)How in the world am I supposed to compartmentalize my whole life into 40lbs of luggage? As my family can attest to, I have a lot of stuff. A lot. I'm really quite jealous of the people that are able to backpack around Europe for 6 months or so and just have their one backpack. It baffles me that they can live off that.
I don't know. I guess an even bigger reason that I'm not sure about the packing thing is that I am incredibly lazy. I don't want to pack, I just want to sleep!