Lil' Beers, Big BBQ's, and Beachy Head

(L to R) Ramsie, Lauren, and I at Font for Amy's 22nd birthday. I love these girls!
see all photos »

Okay, so I don't have a timeline to go with here in terms of what I've been doing since I last wrote, so I'll just go through some of the more fun things I've done.

One Sunday I went with Juliet and her boyfriend Dean to Beachy Head/Seven Sisters. This was probably one of the more fun and deliciously amazing days I've had in quite some time here. What Beachy Head/Seven Sisters essentially is is a huge expanse of white, chalk, cliffs overlooking the endless English Channel, and on clear days, you can even see across the Channel to France on the other side. Amongst the cliffs are green, rolling hills with sheep grazing in pastures, beautiful farmhouses, and a couple pubs. There's even an adorable red and white striped lighthouse situated at the bottom of the the cliffs with rocks crashing up against it. Some lucky person actually lives there! So, Juliet, Dean, and I spent took the number 12 bus the hour and a half ride outside of Brighton to get to this place. The bus ride is fun as well too because it affords you great views and you get to see some amazing tiny villages and hamlets you might not otherwise see. After arriving at Beachy Head, we just walked the miles of hills and cliffs until we came to The Beachy Head Pub. This place was so cool. We sat down for about two hours drinking a pint of beer each and snacking on a bowl of chips while having some great conversation and A LOT of laughs. I haven't laughed so much in so long. Juliet and Dean are two of my absolute favorite people here. Quirky and really decent people. It's only a shame that I forgot my camera that day, but Juliet took a ton of good photos, and I shall be getting those from her at some point.

In other words, I bought ONE girly cocktail that I had to sell my soul for, and then decided to leave about an hour after getting there.

At Pinxto Bar for Katie's 22nd Birthday. (L to R) Juliet, Greg, me, Dean, Marja.
see all photos »

Also, another thing that has been happening a lot lately is rampant drinking during the day and BBQ's. One day, my friends Carl, Jamie, and I decided it was so hot out that we needed to make some fruity vodka drinks in the middle of the early afternoon. We walked the 20 minute walk to Tesco and tried to buy cheap vodka, fruit, juice, and ice. However, we were stopped mid-buy. Turns out that at Tesco, you need to have a passport if you're not a British citizen. Despite the fact that all three of our licenses said we were over the age of 18 and Carl HAD his passport, the manager still would not sell us the vodka. The manager was completely unapologetic, and an obviously bureaucratic jerk. He thought Carl was trying to buy us "under-age minors" alcohol. Silly Brits...needless to say, we just bought it at the Threshers (a local alcohol shop) down the road. We then mashed all that deliciousness up in a smoothie blender, and BOY, was that delicious. It didn't even taste all that much like vodka, but it gave you a nice buzz on such a hot day. We made two pitchers and sat outside on the front stoop watching Carl go from normal coloring to "Asian-Red" as he calls it. It was a really great day. Later on that day, a bunch of us went to a BBQ. I didn't stay long because I was very much over the whole drinking thing by that time of the day.

(L to R) me, Lisa, and Kristin at Creation/Bamboogie dancing the night away!
see all photos »

Also, since I last wrote, we've had a couple of birthdays at Holland House. The first birthday was for Katie, "the ice queen", as I and others have so lovingly termed her. She is the quintessential cold bitch, but needless to say, it was her birthday, and she invited me, so I felt obliged to go. We all ended up at this place called Pinxto Bar down the road where Katie had booked a table. It was very nice-looking inside and there were waiters who catered to our every need, and that was my first tip off that I'd be spending a lot of money. In other words, I bought ONE girly cocktail that I had to sell my soul for, and then decided to leave about an hour after getting there. Greg and I went to Casba for a much-needed pickup, and I spent the rest of the night downstairs doing rather unimportant things. Seems that I missed all the fun, though, because Katie later, apparently, smacked Dean in the face, threw up, and yelled obscenities, and for much of the night, everyone tried to hide from her in James' room but to no apparel because she apparently didn't care that it was 2am and just ran around knocking on people's doors until someone woke up to hang out with her. Sad girl.

I'm a camera whore. I just thought the sun was gorgeous coming in from my window.
see all photos »

The next birthday was MUCh better and for an ACTUAL friend of mine, Amy. It was her 22nd birthday, and it was going to start at 7 or so in her room for some good ol' fashioned "pre-gaming." We spent a couple hours in there drinking with a bunch of people and hanging out. After that, everyone headed to Font, a really great sports bar with multi-levels that I've mentioned in a previous post. We all had some more drinks there and some more great conversation, and then after about an hour and a half, we decided to head to the last part of the night at Creation/Bamboogie--two nightclubs by the seafront. I would have to say that out of all the nightclubs I've been to, this one was my favorite. It had two levels, and two bars on each side of each level, fully stocked. There was a dance floor for techno music, and on the second floor, there was also a dance floor for R&B music. I was completely sober, which was nice, so I had a great time just dancing the night away with some new and some old friends. Some crazy shenanigans went down with my friend Ryan that night, but apparently, boys are insane, so I'll leave it at that, haha. Overall, a great night. Poor Amy, though, got into a fight with her boyfriend and left early. I was going to leave with her, but she insisted I stay, so I stayed until about 2am, and then we all went to Golden Grill and Casba for some food. I didn't get anything, though. I've decided to take a break from all the late night Casba eating--makes you gain weight like crazy especially when you spend your nights drinking beer, haha.

At Pinxto sipping on the most expensive girly cocktail ever with one of my favorite people ever.
see all photos »

Last night was our second official movie night. Greg, unfortunately wasn't here to join in the fun because he was in Copenhagen with his girlfriend, but we had movie night without him anyways. Ryan, Ramsie, Lauren, Urvi, and I watched "Fun with Dick and Jane" in my room. I'd already seen the movie, but it was a nice change of pace from all the drinking/going out I'd been doing in the past week or so. Afterwards, we sat around for an hour or so talking about adopting babies, Brangelina, Woody Allen and his craziness, and other nonsense. I called it an early night because I had to get up at 6:45am this morning to go to my aunts to do laundry. I have to tell you that getting up early really isn't all that bad. I got to see a view of the city of Brighton that not many people get to see. It was so quiet and peaceful and serene on the walk to Celias. I walked along the beach for a bit to feel the early morning sea breeze on my face. It was REALLY pleasant. I love watching the day go from being silent and chilly to bustling and warm. It was also nice spending the early morning/day with Ray and Celia. After I put my laundry on the line, Celia, Ray, and I went to the Marina because I hadn't been there for three years. We walked around making jokes about what boat we were going to buy and saying things like "oh, well, that 64k boat is WAY too cheap..etc." It really was a pleasant day. We had a small lunch outside of Asda after walking around for a bit, and then we took the bus back to Western Road to Greggs where we got some cakes for the road. I left them there because I was starting to feel the early morning wake-up. I got back to Holland House and spent some time on the computer doing some things, and then took WAY too long of a nap, and now am probably not going to be able to get to sleep tonight until very late, but that is the price you pay, I suppose.

BBQ on the beach! :)
see all photos »

I'm very excited because I booked my Ireland trip today. I really wanted to go to Scotland and Wales as well, but money-wise, it's just not possible, and since I have a friend coming to Dublin...Ireland is a much better choice. I am leaving May 10th and coming back May 13th. I am meeting my friend Kristin there, and it is going to an AWESOME trip. Juliet was supposed to join me, but it turns out that she can't anymore, but that's alright because I believe that Lauren and Ramsie will be in Dublin the same time as me anyways.

Another day, Celia and I took a trip to Preston Manor. Preston Manor is an old mansion built in the late 1600s for a family that lived in Brighton. The tour of the house was great because you could wander as you please, and there were hardly any barricades between you and the future. It was like walking through a house that you owned yourself. The house was furnished so elegantly yet almost comfortably. It was so cool seeing the old family photos on desks, along the walls, and in cabinets. I am so amazed by things like that. That's probably why I want to be an historical archaeologist because things like that interest me so much. After walking through the multi-level house, Celia and I walked through Preston Park (a gorgeous park with little cafes, etc.) and decided to get something to drink/snack on at a small cafe. We spent about a half hour there eating and talking and enjoying the beautiful day.

Oh, as a side note, I saw "An Inconvenient Truth" with Celia and Ray, and WOW, that movie terrified me--in a good way, of course. I really see where Maddie is coming from when she is so passionate about the environment. Al Gore did a really incredible job with the film, and it was a really interesting and informative movie. Glad I saw it...finally.

Well, on that note, I am going to go and do something of probable unimportance. Tomorrow I begin my decline in unproductivity; I have to start writing a 4,000 word essay and a 3,000 word essay that are both due in a matter of a few weeks. Till my next post, safe travels, everyone! :)