Dippy Jones Across the Pond: Day 49 - Don't feed the trolls; it's just common interweb sense!

Things I have learned from my first package in the UK:

-the address I've been giving people is correct!!!
-mail between Canada and the UK is so slow! Like, molasses slow. This package was postmarked the 8th of May and it arrived the 12th of June. O.O
-stuffed animals wind up deformed when crammed into a box so tightly for that long. Poor Slush needed some love before he looked like himself again.
-Cadbury mini-eggs do not travel well. The ones that were in this package are nearly powder, but I'm sure they'll still be delicious.

I do have to wonder who gave up their easter chocolates so I could have them; I'm pretty sure I ate my Laura Secord egg on Easter. But I will enjoy it none the less, maybe it will be my dessert tonight!

In any case, I finally have Slush to cuddle, my Norwegian Troll to keep my company and some easter chocolates I've been sharing around the office (well, with Miriam; she seems to be the only on in today). And now that I know my mailing address is accurate, I could theoretically order things, and people can send me things safe in the knowledge that it will get here eventually!

In other news, exams ended on the 11th and now the campus is rather empty. My house hasn't changed at all because nursing students have classes and stuff all year, but the hours of everything on campus have changed.

Comus is operating at a reduced capacity, and Vite & Eat's selection of sandwiches is feeling rather lacking. Maybe I'll actually start bringing a lunch! I finally have a space in the freezer, so I could start stocking it with foods I can go back to my place and cook for lunch. Peas maybe... or corn. mmmm... On the bright side of hour changes, it means I'm better off buying lunch at the grocery store (better sandwich selection) where I can get Jones Fufu Berry Soda, imported from Canada! XP Love it!

I watched Food Inc. last night. It was really good. If you've seen my twitter, you know my reactions. Basically, when they were showing the poor bay-bee chickens in the factory, going down chutes and across assembly lines, I just about cried. Their demonstration of today's chickens vs. those from the 1950s and previous was really disturbing too, I was feeling really sick from it. I did have one complaint though, when they're demonstrating all the things that have corn derivatives in them (ie/ my nemesis HFCS) they said "Juice" and showed a Tropicana carton. I paused the film a second, thinking "wth, I know Tropicana doesn't have HFCS or anything in it" because I, like anyone else watching, would think Tropicana = their delicious fresh squeezed Orange Juice with only one thing on the ingredients list: juice from oranges. Then I saw what they'd done, oh very clever Food Inc., pull a fast one on us; they were showing Tropicana's Orangeade carton instead of their Orange Juice carton. *facepalm* Well duh! With a name like Orangeade you certainly don't expect wholesome goodness. If it's not 100% fruit juice (with the exception of the occasional lemonade) I would rather not drink it; juice-wise anyways.

As well, I finished reading Percy Jackson and the Olympians and am now on the hunt for a new book. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find a copy of "Talking Hands: What Sign Language Tells Us About The Mind", though I did find "The Language Instinct" so maybe that'll do for now. I'm considering taking on the insane task of reading all the Discworld books. With 36 books in the series, it'll certainly last me longer than the Southern Vampire Mysteries (10) or Percy Jackson (5).

I don't think I've talked about it yet, but at the beginning of the month, I registered for my classes; and man am I excited for this coming year! It's just irrepressible! I suppose I get like this every year, but I'm taking some really rockin' awesome classes! Vampires in Cinema? YES! The Science Fiction Film? Awesome! American Sign Language level 2? THANK YOU! Plus I got into Alt, editing and sound this year, so my options are wide open. I might do the second semester of editing, or maybe sound, or both... maybe even neither. I have those options! I'm also taking a 3 credit course called "Nutritional Anthropology" which is about the relationship between food, eating and identity, which I think will be really interesting, but I'm crazy so... ya. I've even got an emergency list of 3 credit courses running in the Winter semester should I find that I'm short on anything. Fingers crossed I won't have to use it, although I'm not going to lie, Eco-feminist perspectives looks quite interesting. I think my eclectic selection is really telling about my interests; lots of philosophy and politics courses, computers, science, art, religion, language and debate.

Also, my allergies have been killing me! It really got bad Saturday night (I swear my eyes were exploding they itched so bad!) and ever since I'm having to take my allergy meds a little more often than once every 24 hours, otherwise it gets out of control. In fact, right now my eyes are starting to itch and my nose is leaking like a broken faucet; and I just took my reactine when I woke up this morning at 7! Bummer...

Yet again, this weekend I didn't travel. I did however get to go see Darrell conduct the Keele Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir! It was great! I sat (kinda) with Miriam and her sister + friend, the orchestra did a great job and it was just really enjoyable; even if it was during the England-USA football match! I felt like my sneezing was a bit disruptive, but that was just the start of my allergy troubles so I hadn't known it was going to be an issue.

Over the weekend I also went grocery shopping and indulged my unfortunate and expensive addiction: Raspberries. I ate a whole tray of them before I was even home. The second tray is gone now too, but I get to rationalize that with the fact that today was their best before date. Still, it feels like they were gone too fast for such a delicious and succulent treat. Mmmmmmm....