Double-Stacked Bookshelves

55...the number of days until I fly home... 38...the number of days until my dissertation is due... 0...the number of words I have written on my dissertation... 37...the number of texts I have reviewed for my dissertation... 54...the number of texts I still have to review for my dissertation...not counting the ones in the National Library...or the ones I have to translate... 15...days I've been "researching/reviewing"... 7...days I've actually researched/reviewed... 0...level of stress I feel...which is nice! Goal: have my dissertation written by August 10th (26 days) at the latest. Fingers crossed that this actually happens. After this, I have to grow up and become an "adult"...we'll see about that. I'm such a slacker!

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -----Mark Twain Food for thought. I really think that Mr. Twain (aka Samuel Clemens) had it spot on. Makes me want to do thousands of things, but mainly it makes me want to be a pirate! Now what's so wrong with that? Drink up me matey's, yo ho! PS...I'm a knitting machine!

So it seems as if it has been years since I've posted anything. And it has...well, almost. Things are progressing ever so slowly in the good ole UK. By progression, I mean that the time is going by and, yes, I finally have a supervisor for my dissertation. Yikes...but in a good way. That said, I now wonder if my topic can actually garner a 60 page paper. May have to write five chapters instead of three. Ha! Most people who hear the foundations of my topic seem interested. But that could just be a polite front, to which I kindly say "Bugger off ye wee, mindless morons!" Haha. Other than that, not much going on. I will celebrate the fantastic-ness that is my birth this weekend. The quarter century mark. Whoa. Quarter century and what exactly have I accomplished with my life besides loads and loads of student debt and a bit of world traveling? Ah well...at least it's been fun. Maybe it's just me, but this post seems utterly eloquent and thought-provoking. Of course t

Long fingers wrap around my hand as we enter the tunnel of candy-apple red walls Your crystal-clear blue eyes smile at me with the innocence of youth A single red rose, an 'I love you' on the phone and then 4 years pass. We walked next to each other draped in the same eye-popping red that warm June Ironic how that worked out You smiled at me again with those familiar clear blue eyes I turned right, you turned left and then another five years...maybe more. Your eyes are haunted now They're still blue, but they no longer sparkle with the innocent youth they once did. Can we go back? Back to those days in red halls and warm, star-filled nights? Back to youth? It was all so easy then...

The more time that I spend living in Europe, the more I realize how much of an Oregonian I am at heart. As much as I love living abroad (Vienna was amazing and, I find it safe to say, Edinburgh is even better), I will always return to, and feel a special connection to, my 'home' in the Pacific Northwest. Though this is true and will always remain a fact, I have compiled a list of reason why I love and hate (or severely dislike) living in Edinburgh. I could do this with Oregon as well, but for now we'll stick with the current situation. Reasons why I love Edinburgh: 1. I love Scotland in general. The countryside is absolutely gorgeous and it's a great place to live. The Highlands have, by far, been my favorite physical attribute which the country has to offer. I only hope to see them toward the end of summer in order to witness hills that are completely and fantastically covered in bright purple heather. 2. Scottish people! I have come to the conclusion that Sc