the routine

I can't believe I've been here for over two weeks.  It seriously amazes me every day that I get to live in this beautiful city that is so full of history and good cider.  But alas, wherever I live, there is a routine that follows.  I have begun the monotonous life of the college student once more.  Although I don't have to be in class as often, which is quite nice.  The initial awe has gone and the day to day thinking about what exactly I need from the grocery story or how I should procrastinate has started to set in.  That's not to say I'm not enjoying it--I am--but I'm becoming a student again.  A resident.  I have a library card, I have a grocery store, I have a favorite movie theater, I know where the post office is.  And really, what else do you need?  (Besides an H&M, which is in my backyard...)   It's actually nice to take a day to just relax, sit in my dining room, and do homework (and by homework I mean read Shakespeare or Northern Lights--which is the real title of The Golden Compass).  And not have to worry that I'm not going to have enough time to see the Roman Baths or the Pump Room or the Fashion Museum.  I love that I have all this time.

Here's another thing I have not yet told you all about my life (because really all I did today was homework and watch Glee and The Chicago Code, which I love because it shows all the Chicago neighborhoods): I am the housing rep for Linley.  Which means every Wednesday, I wake up early--I mean 10:30, I love my life--and go and talk with the other housing reps and Peta, who is in charge of all the residences.  She makes sure that all the buildings and appliances in the buildings are working properly--you know, helps us with power outages, broken washing machines... stuff like that.  Today we learned how to change a light bulb (some of the light bulbs they have over here are very different).

I've also started to get into my cooking routine--I can now time meals perfectly. As in the pasta will be done at roughly the same time as the chicken.  Also, all my meals seem to involve either red peppers or pasta.  But usually both.  I specialize in tortellini (this is nice because it only takes about five minutes to cook), stir fry with noodles and chicken and vegetables (cous cous didn't work out so well), and quesadillas.  Also Jarlsberg cheese.  So, the moral of the story is... HELP!!!!  You all can comment on the bottom of this blog, and I'm pretty sure that most of you reading this are either a parent, a grandparent, or an aunt or an uncle. SO, give me some recipes!  Preferably easy ones that don't involve pasta.  Or fish.  (We don't have a very good ventilation system--I mean we don't have one at all--so the fish smell stays for a while.) Keep in mind I also have only one shelf in a refrigerator only slightly bigger than the one I have at school.  So, click where it says "0 comments" and you can leave me a recipe.  This would be lovely!  (Also, if you have a really good recipe that involves pasta, that's okay too!)

So that's that.  I love you all, sorry this is not a very informative post, but things should get more interesting soon, as I am taking a day trip to the Cotswolds on Friday and I'm going up the Broadway tower where I will be able to see four different countries.  I'll let you work out which ones those are.  I have to get back to reading King Lear (who is a second grade girl with a bad temper, by the way).  I'm only half way through.  Luckily I have until 1:50 tomorrow. I love you all more than minutes it will take me to finish all the homework I will do over the next twelve weeks.

Lots of love,
-L Pro