j-nice and doogsy

Petrol

nicedoogs — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 17:10:34 +0000

For fun today I worked out that we pay $6.42 for 1 gallon of gas here in the UK. California’s average price of $3.32 doesn’t sound that bad anymore.

V-day

nicedoogs — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 08:50:12 +0000

Doogs left me today (Valentines Day) for a short break to Barcelona. We were singing this song this morning.

Boots

nicedoogs — Sat, 10 Feb 2007 19:50:06 +0000

Doogs and I went out and spent our Xmas money on some fancy hiking boots today. Living 5 minutes from the Peak District we knew we wanted to make hiking in it a regular activity. But before we went out and spent a fortune on boots we wanted to make sure we would actually use them. Unfortunately this meant we had to endure months of ridicule and funny looks from other hikers/walkers on the trails and salespeople in the outdoor clothing shops. I think on one occasion Doogs went into a shop to ask if there were any good places to hike nearby and the salesperson leaned over the counter, inspected her street clothing and trainers, and with disdain recommended just walking around the town. No more of that… We fit in now… WE BELONG!

Finished

nicedoogs — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 13:35:26 +0000

O happy day, my exams and projects are finally over. I was only unhappy with one of my projects – all other exams and papers seemed to go fine. I should get the results in a few weeks.

Since my last exam on Monday I’ve just been maxin’ around the house and doing things I didn’t have time for during the semester. Put in a new shower on Thursday. Actually read my emails yesterday. In general, relaxing and catching up. It all starts again on Monday with the new semester.

Progress

nicedoogs — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 07:58:54 +0000

How I feel switching from one subject to the next.

Exams this week

nicedoogs — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 20:57:28 +0000

Xmas tree – the season begins

nicedoogs — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 10:38:00 +0000

We set up the Christmas tree last night. I was imagining half the night being consumed with picking out the tree, then fitting it in/on the car, then positioning it in the living room, then decorating it. In reality, the whole process was really painless. As we walked out of the grocery store last night, the Xmas tree guy was packing up his goods when we asked if he could still sell one to us. Within 2 minutes we had the tree and the stand, and within 3 minutes we had them both in the car (because he had the tree wrapped up in this convenient netting). We got home, ate some dinner, then put up the tree. Later on, with the help of Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, and some Baileys we decorated the tree and put some lights around our front window. Classic.

Thanxgiving pt 2

nicedoogs — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 10:23:01 +0000

Last Sunday we had our Thanksgiving celebration with our neighbors. Being the first thanksgiving we’ve hosted together, it was a lot of work to cook the turkey and ham and sweet potato cassarole and stuffing and gravy and green beans and mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie and key lime pie. But it went very well. Our American neighbor down the road brought over a dvd of the Dallas Cowboys v. the Indianapolis Colts (American football, for those who don’t know), so we had that playing in the background during the whole meal… to simulate an authentic thanksgiving.

We had a lovely meal, after which we had a Thanksgiving quiz that Doogs made up to test everyone’s knowledge of the holiday. Sad to say that the American’s (myself & our down-the-road neighbor Demitri) didn’t get the highest score on the quiz. I then read the thanksgiving story to everyone – the somewhat official version- which was interesting. For example, did you know that the (supposed) true beginning of the current Thanksgiving Day comes from the pilgrim’s *3RD* year in their new home? And, did you know that it was because the summer was dry and hot and so Governor Bradford ordered a day of fasting and prayer – and it was soon after this that the rain came. So he proclaimed Nov 29 as a day of thanksgiving. Fantastic.

After some coffee and dessert we found ourselves in a contest to see who could name all 50 states and, subsequently, all English counties. Proud as I am, I was the only one who could name all 50 states. But there was some confusion as to how many English counties there are. Our neighbor Charlotte teamed up with Doogs, and they had the most counties listed, so we’ll give them the title.

So that was our evening. It was a lot of work, but fun. Afterwards, we suckered the neighbors into doing some dishes, which made life so much easier for us. All in all, hosting a party like this was a good experience. Given my lack of experience in/passion for hospitality (I’m usually the guy going along to the parties, not hosting them), this gave me a positive feeling. I can see us doing more of this.

There are a few pics up on flickr of the night.

Danielson in Nottingham

nicedoogs — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 20:26:13 +0000

I went to see Danielson in concert this last Saturday in Nottingham, and it was great. Unfortunately Doogs was sick and couldn’t come with me. It was a great venue and had a relaxed crowd. To be honest, I have owned the last album, Ships, for a while, but have found it difficult to listen to over and over. I was a teenager, into Nirvana, when I heard their first album’s demo in a Christian book store in the US. It freaked me out a bit, but intrigued me at the same time. Their sound takes some getting used to, although you can right away recognise the complexity, talent, and melodies. However, since last Saturday I’ve had Ships and another of his albums on repeat. I’ve been converted.

The concert was fun, interesting (just to see them performing in their seaman’s caps, and uniforms with their names on it), and happy. I met a guy from Australia who is travelling in England this month and came up to Nottingham exclusively for the show because the London show was sold out. They seem to be gaining a decent following. Here’s a review of an earlier, and very similar, concert this year. I put a couple pics up on flickr.

Thanxgiving part 1

nicedoogs — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 20:50:54 +0000

Last Thursday Doogs and I went to a Thanksgiving party hosted by the American Society at the University. We had a relatively authentic Thanksgiving meal (the pumpkin pie was cut into squares like brownies and the stuffing wasn’t right) with around 50 other people. We were amazed how many people were there. Only after we were personally introduced to the other Americans (all 2 of them) did we realize that the place was mainly filled with hungry, university student, Brits. The night was still worth it — the food was good and the two Americans we met were cool. It turns out that one of them lives on our street! He is an astrophysicist, researching dark matter at the university. He is smart. The other guy is here as an exchange student and is into quality beer. We had a long conversation about his home brewing kit and our favorite kinds of beer, over a Duvel.

Next Sunday we’re going to put on Thanksgiving for our neighbors. We had to delay it because one of our neighbors is on holiday in Iceland. I’m ordering some canned pumpkin pie filling and stovetop stuffing off the internet from some American guy who owns a Mexican restaurant in Edinburgh. Also, we just bought the turkey today. It was £15 ($29) for 4.6 kg (10 lbs). Is that a good price? Anyway, we’re looking forward to it.