"I Got In A Fight With The Stenographer"

Yesterday we went to Hampton Court Palace, which used by King Henry VIII. It was a very, very cool trip. We went through about a dozen bedrooms and dining rooms. There were paintings hanging everywhere. We went in the kitchens and the armory. Cameras weren't really allowed inside the palace, but I took some pictures nonetheless. Most of my pictures are from the massive garden that had dozens of birds, including seagulls, swans, and geese. There were more gardens along the side of the palace, but the one in the back was the biggest, and my favorite. Emily wanted me to post pictures, but I didn't really want to because for as nice as technology and blogs and Facebook can be, I like the old-fashioned way where you take a bunch of pictures and bring them home to show people. That way you can tell them stories about the trip. So I probably won't post too many photos in the future, unless something really cool happen. That said, I really hope you enjoy these. The vast majority are from the garden, but that's because I'm surrounded by buildings and rooms in London, and I was really happy to be back in nature.

The outside of the palace from the front.

To the right is a small courtyard with a fountain.

Astrological clock. Notice how the earth is in the center and the sun is on one of the hands, revolving around it.

One of the side gardens. Because, you know, this place had multiple gardens. This photo is taken through a window from inside, which is why it's a little dirty-looking.

The rear garden. There were 4 or 5 rows of those trees. They looked like mushrooms.

This isn't zoomed in at all - we were that close.

I think that's a magpie. Don't quote me on that. But I know it's not a watermelon.

This pool was put in by Elizabeth II.

Contrails=win

Let's see, what else is going on? Well, Peter Furler is leaving the Newsboys and is being replaced by Michael Tait. Not quite sure how that's going to work out, but we'll see. It's not like he's the founding member of the band and has been singing in it for over 20 years or anything...oh wait, he is.

Here are the grades I've gotten on my papers so far: B+, B+, B+, B-, B+. As of last week, my colloquy grade was a B+. Yay for consistency.

I have been collecting music like crazy here. Since coming to London, I've bought 1 Sigur Rós CD, 1 old-school country music CD (and when I mean old-school, I mean that half of the songs were recorded in the 1920's), 1 Glenn Miller CD, 2 Louis Armstrong CDs, 1 Gavin DeGraw CD, 2 Johnny Cash CDs, and 1 U2 CD. The trick is that sometimes newspapers and magazines give out CDs. That's how I got the Sigur Rós and country CDs. Also, thrift stores are a great way to get cheap music.

I have thought about the Original Pancake House every day for the past week and a half. I think I miss it more than I miss my bed. I need raspberry pancakes and I need them now.

As I said earlier, my family is coming to visit in 2 weeks. That's also when we go on a much-needed break. Right now, everyone is sort of exhausted. Plenaries, MAGs, and readings have gotten noticeably longer. Paper topics have gotten harder and more abstract. These things plus the fact that we've all been living in such close quarters for so long have added up to a lot of bad moods and short fuses. If we can just make it to break, we'll all be able to rest and relax and get refreshed...and then like a month later, I'm home.

Well, right now it's 11:15. I don't really have much else to say, so I'm going to say good night.