Lets Get Bizaaayy!!!

So as I write this, our bratwurst is soaking in 3 liters of simmering Stella Artois beer and onions. I just finished chopping carrots which will soon become caramelized as well. Our seasoned potatoes are in the oven as well, and Cait is whipping up a batch of her mom's deviled eggs with Mindy. It's my birthday dinner! We're going all out. Should be a fun evening. Earlier today Cait took me out to Camden Market for a mini-shopping spree on her bill as part of my b-day. Didn't get much. Some jeans, a vintage t-shirt from 1985 which I haggled down £3 because I told the guy I was born in '85, and a mousepad created from recycled computer chips. Cait got some earrings made from the same material, just to wear when we go investigate the London club scene high on E, of course, because those are usually the kind of people into it.

Anyway, this last week has had its fun twists and turns...like when I went to work on Tuesday and Cait's Mac was frozen, meaning she couldn't do any work. After fooling around with it, I determined the only solution to induce a restart was by unplugging it. So, I found the cord in back and pulled it out. About a second and a half later all the lights went out and an alarm began to buzz in another room. Yep!! We spent the next hour navigating around with cellphone and iPod light, playing with the circuit board before calling an "engineer" to solve the problem. We went out for coffee, came back, still no power. A productive day at work while our boss was in Jerusalem giving a lecture!! We realized that the wiring below the computer was nuts...3 power cords, one plugged into another...it turned out the mother-board on the computer was completely shot. That computer is out of use at the moment. Classes have been entertaining enough - - these NYU kids are a bit over the top though, asking pointless questions that have been answered during the lecture or one could easily deduce with the provided information. I'm probably just being an ass, but there is just a noticable difference from classes at UR, which is interesting. On a separate note, a friend of mine from 1st-3rd grade named Samer ended up being in my Politics of the Middle East class...small world. I still have to hang out with my RA from sophomore year who is here as well, and another girl I knew from Jacksonville who's studying abroad here.

Last weekend was the Thames festival as well, which I think I mentioned before. The second night consisted of fireworks following a parade of dancers and musicians from all over the world. Needless to say it was packed, and three of us were lucky enough to wedge a spot on the Embankment along the river for a front row seet. My favorite character was a costumed character from a London Theatre group, who looked like a crazed axe murderer wearing a chef's apron...then for the picture with him he suddenly raised his apron to reveal a bit more cloth on the costume that protruded from his crotch. Most enjoyable!!! Tomorrow we head out to Leeds and Canterbury for the day. Finally making the pilgrimmage to visit ol' Tom Becket. Amsterdam is in a week too. A few of us have also been planning trips to other places during our time here. Dublin, Prague, Krakow, Rome, Greece...the last two which will be the hardest to save money for. Oh well. All worth it in the end.

I've finally started to run here too, since Regents park is pretty much our backyard. My first run there was only supposed to be 20ish minutes, but it turned into 45 minutes when I got lost. Eventually found my way back thanks to the BT Tower in the distance (its about 3 blocks from our flat). But I ran past some incredible homes, some of which had their own security forces armed with automatic weapons. I was sore for 2 days, despite stretching.

Anyway, I'll post some pics fromt the festival a little later. Gotta get back to the kitchen and help out. Oh, and it still hasn't rained here yet. =)