Gettin there!

Hey everyone...well things are looking up today :) I am working through that essay and by the end of next week I will have my essay, both required presentations for my history classes, and my bio midterm done! I have a plan for the weekend and me and Ben are gonna take a break in a couple minutes and we are going to get burgers at the union.  I have been doing really well about eating healthy and working out, and I want to splurge! I figured better do it every now and then, or you'll go crazy.  So my essay is about how the rise in standards of living in Britain in the 20th century impacted its citizens and I have decided to focus on employment, urbanization, and healthcare.  Depending on how many words I can write on each, I might add another topic.  I already have 550 words on employment, and the essay is supposed to be 2000 words.  I might purposely go a little over because I am using this piece so I can pass off this history class as a writing credit.  Why I need yet another writing credit when I have done about a bajillion english classes I have no idea...but central says I need one, so I need one. 
I'm getting really excited about my plans for the next year...I mean I'll be living with Des and Scott and working to pay off the rest of my credit card debt (I have three of them all paid off! Only two to go!) and I will be able to get my EMT calls done and finish the two classes I need to get into the medic program.  I supposed I can take the math class online...I'm going with the easiest one they got-hey I got a 96% on the math compass test so I think I deserve a math break.  Well that and the fact that I got halfway through AP calc in high school means that I KNOW that I have definitely already learned the basics, though I can guarantee I have forgotten everything.  So I figure...I will take that online maybe fall or winter quarter, and then winter quarter I will take the exercise science class I need at Edmonds CC.  I'm really sad that I won't be living in Eburg, but lord knows I will be there all the time since all my friends and pretty much my whole social life is there too.  I think maybe it will be good for me though...depending on how certain things work out when I get back from Scotland.  It might be good living away for a while.  If anything, so far the main lesson I have learned while here so far from home is that I have to live my life for myself.  You still always have to take other people into consideration, but if you can't step away and see a different world without knowing that the people you love will be there waiting when you get back, then they must not really love you in return...or at least the way you need them to.  I miss everyone so much, especially of course the pooches :) but feeling missed is what keeps me optimistic! When I get home I will have a little more of the world in my pocket, and all my dreams staring me in the face...

Essay Time

Hey all! Well it's essay time once again...except the essay I have to write has got to be the most boring, pointless piece of boringness I have ever attempted to write. Sigh...it's supposed to be about how standards of living changed in Britain in the 20th century, except that means I have to read about economics! SNOOOZE. Plus right now I'm SO not in the mood because my internet in my room got shut off for downloading stuff.  Well they can hardly blame me when I only have class like 10 hours a week and I am stuck studying things that could make an insomniac sleepy!  Now you might say, 'Casey, you signed up for those classes you know'...well honest to goodness you would be right, I did! But who could have known that the history here would be centered around such boring topics like ECONOMICS! I swear, that is literally all they lecture about! It should be called British Economics in the 20th Century, or some such thing.  Gah! And it wouldn't be so bad if I could travel around but because I have tutorials, I can't travel during the week. 
I am officially procrastinating on this stupid paper :( I mean it's not due till next week but it is worth 30% of my grade, so I know I need to get my butt in gear.  Oh bloggers I am so sorry for whining, but I honestly just can't help it! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
I think I am going to go back to my room and watch Eat, Pray, Love.  Maybe that will help me relax so I can focus more on this pooptastic assignment.

Trip to St. Andrews

Today was a whole new adventure! Me and the three American exchange students Kali, Megan and Becca, along with Alan (from Ireland) and Simon (from Northern Ireland?) and Sarah (from Australia) all went to St. Andrews today.  St. Andrews is a smallish city about 20 minutes outside of Dundee; it's named after Andrew, who was apparently one of Christ's twelve disciples.  Well this is what their museum said anyway.  I'm not well versed on the subject though so I can't really confirm or deny that one :).  So we started out at about 9:30 AM and I met Kali and Megan and Becca at their flat across from mine...I ran back though and made a lunch and we ended up meeting up at Bonar Hall (haha). After that we all walked down Perth road to the main bus station.  It was quite a walk but all down hill, so no big deal.  I got some pretty cool pictures along the way.

After we got to the bus station, we just had a short while to wait...the ticket counter was closed and so we just bought our tickets after we got on the bus.  It was 5 pounds for a two way ticket with our student cards.  The bus station charges about 35 cents to use the bathroom!! haha I thought that was crazy! Here are some pictures of the station.

 Can't believe they CHARGE for the bathroom!!!

Here are some videos of the first part of the bus ride as we were crossing the Tay Bridge.

The last picture was taken from aboard the bus.  Here are the pictures of the countryside I got along the way...some of them are blurry but I tried to get good ones!

 Haha well at least some things don't change.

After our short bus ride we got to St. Andrews! Here are the photos from just walking through the town on our way to the cathedral.

 Me and Becca

 Me and Sarah

 Whoo Subway!

 Saw this awesome fountain and we had to get pictures! It's really really old and a centerpiece of the town!

 The Bottle Shop

 This was the inside of the garden through the gates...unfortunately it was locked and we couldn't get in :(

 There were quite a few of these little gardens throughout the town.

 I thought this was super cute! Kid on a leash!

We finally came to the street with St. Andrews Cathedral and after that we crossed the street and walked into the graveyard...totally awesome!  It was beautiful.  We tried to get a mid-air shot jumping in the arch but it didn't really work haha. Anyway here are the pics from that...

 We were trying to get a midair picture :)

After we walked through the cathedral's graveyard we went through a rear gate in the stone and it opened onto this beautiful walkway and all the way down to this pier that we walked onto. I tried to talk a bunch of photos of this too...here they are! The tombstone above says James Patterson like the author-ha I though that was cool...

 I saw this hole and looked inside and found :

I think it was most likely a good luck place that people threw coins!

 I didn't realize it was so zoomed in...

 That's better

 The pier

After we walked the pier we came back through the cathedral; it was quite a walk back up the hill to the cathedral and then quite a walk back through the graveyard!
We walked back through the city and stopped for food at the Grill House.  The food was fairly cheap and good, but the service was terrible.  The manager stopped by and shushed us! It was actually really offensive because the room was loud and it wasn't exactly a classy restaurant.  All of the other patrons were being extremely loud as well.  I felt targeted.  After that I went to pay and the manager was really rude to me when I paid with my card.  I always hand them my card and my drivers license because I don't sign the back of my card.  I find this makes it easier to steal, so I just have them check my ID for my signature.  It is perfectly legal and it gives them more incentive to check the ID. Well the manager gave me a really dirty look and said "well you should know that we don't actually have to accept this if it isn't signed" and I thought it was really poor behavior for a manager! Aside from that though the experience was alright-I know that everyone else in my party was upset about it but we brushed it aside and didn't let it ruin our day! After food we walked to the golf course. The St. Andrews golf course is an international one and supposedly one of the biggest in Scotland-it was really pretty!  Unfortunately my camera died right after we got there :( but hopefully I can post the pictures that the others took once I can get them from them.
Here are the rest of the pics I got from our trip!

 From the restaurant

 hahahaha old people crossing sign!

 This was the wishing tree that was in the museum we stopped at; we all hung wishes :)

The only shot of the golf course I got.

After we let the golf course we just walked back to the bus station and headed home.  We were all pretty tired.  Overall it was a great trip!

The other night, I went to a new restaurant with my friend Sharon.  It's called Ketchup...it was interesting.  The food was decent. They normally have a two for one special on burgers before 5PM but otherwise their burgers are between 8 and 15 pounds (of money not food ha)! So they are pricey and don't come with any sides or drinks.  We just split something because we came after five...it was pretty good :) But they don't have pickles :( I have never heard of a burger place not having pickles.  I am going CRAZY without pickles!!!! But I will just have to survive!

The counter at Ketchup. (their ketchup tastes really weird too lol not like ketchup at all-but still tasty!)On my way to meet my friend before we went to Ketchup I actually found this Strongbow glass on the side of the road and snagged it :)
I picked up a bottle of a popular beer here so celebrate my new find and it will be a fun experience to try a new beer.

Well that's all for now:) more soon! Miss everyone!