Camping in Dorset

This weekend Dave and I drove down to Dorset and camped on Northdown Farm, in between Osmington and Weymouth.

Gratuitous couple picture. Upon arriving at the campsite, before we got all gross and dirty from nature.

The forecast was iffy. But it only rained twice, while we were sleeping. Woo!

The farm campsite was fresh, spacious, an easy half hour walk to the beach, and close to lots of country pubs.

One day we drove to Weymouth, where the Olympic sailing events were happening. We couldn't see much - just a distant fleet of white sails, which was pretty - but we enjoyed iced coffees and scones at a cafe called The Tea Bush. We returned a couple days later for breakfast.  Yum. Recommended.

We intended on cooking for ourselves. I bought a new cookstove and everything!  But it was so windy, and the gas cartridges were moderately complicated, so we ended up going to pubs instead. Fish and chips. Pan fried sea bass. Crab sandwiches. Cottage pie. One morning, we acquired some boiling water from the campsite shop and made lukewarm oatmeal and coffee.  Cooking?  Check.

Dave and I have a long history of failed campfires. It's turned into a thing. Every time we (he) fail(s) to build a successful fire, I get sad and irritable. But on our third night, lo and behold, despite my skepticism, after an hour of poking and prodding, Dave built an awesome fire.  It was hot and cracklin' and it burned all our firewood down to ash. We were both very pleased. I started calling Dave 'Fire Maker.'

As always, getting out of London was refreshing. I've missed camping!

Happy Monday,
mb

PS, if any of you are following the Olympics, be sure to watch the USA v. Canada women's soccer match today.  The winner goes to gold on Thursday, and I'll be there!

The Capital Ring (and my sister met Obama)

London is great, but it's a city and when you live here, you do city things. Like going out for coffee and pastries, or beers, or your choice of ethnic food, or dancing, or theater. I love it all.  But most of it doesn't involve nature or exercise. And last weekend, I was craving nature and exercise.

Refusing to wallow in city woes (okay, I wallowed for a few hours), I did some research and discovered the Capital Ring, a 78-mile walking path around the edges of London, through some of the city's prettiest and oft forgotten green spaces. Despite gloomy weather forecasts, Dave and I headed to west London and walked seven miles through Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park. What a beautiful, blustery, refreshing day. We saw a historic flour mill, stood on the historic hill where Henry VIII hung out while Anne Boleyn was beheaded, watched ducks and squirrels, climbed ancient oaks, and most lovely of all, gave our legs a good stretching and our lungs some clean forest air. I'm going to walk as much of the Capital Ring as I can during the next few months. Nature's beauty aside, it's a fun way to explore new parts of London.

And oh yeah!


In case you didn't hear, my sister met President Obama on Thursday. 

Yes, they are smiling at each other in that photo, bonding over student activism and education policy, no doubt. And yes, this is the coolest thing my blog will ever report.


Analyzing my jealousy, I realized I may have a slight celebrity crush on Barack Obama.


Analyzing my crush, I realized it's because he's intelligent, witty, fun, not bad looking, and progressive... and because of this video.

I watch this video whenever I'm worried about jobs, unemployment, and the future. Yes, that's correct. I watch it every day. It makes me laugh and gives me hope and I temporarily forget about economic policies that may or may not be affecting my job prospects.  Thanks, Barack and Carly Rae (and whoever put the two of you together).

Love,
mb

Breakfast in Bristol

Happy late Thanksgiving!

This is the third consecutive year I've been outside America for Thanksgiving. In 2009, I cooked a big summery meal for thirteen Australians. In 2010, I ate pineapple and chocolate cake on a Guatemalan beach with other volunteers. And this year, I had dinner with two South Africans and two Brits at a yummy Turkish restaurant. Oh, what will two thousand and twelve bring?

This weekend Dave and I were in Bristol visiting some of his university friends. I arrived at two in the afternoon and everyone went out for brunch at Deco Lounge.  I was starving. And when my food came, Dave captured the unflattering but heartfelt love I have for good breakfast. You can see a few more photos on his tumblr.

Dorset weekend

Last weekend lots of Mountbatten interns spent the weekend in Dorset, a beautiful green, cliffy area on the south coast. We ate and slept at an outdoors activity center. There was a fire pit and a kitchen where I made a cup of tea every 20 minutes because I was never quite warm and plenty of green hills and footpaths to explore.

We hiked (strolled, compared to the Grand Tetons standard... I'm just saying) down to the rocky beach and did some rock climbing. I loved this Dancing Ledge marker. And I discovered that climbing up a rock face scares me while abseiling down a rock face does not.

We went on a scavenger hunt and I used my map-reading and wilderness skills. (Don't stand too close to the cow that's staring at you, etc.)

We also participated in team-building/leadership development activities, all of which reminded me that I (a) don't like team work and (b) zone out as soon as I discover a task requires substantial quantitative or spatial reasoning. However, I did enjoy our morning at a high-ropes course where I reconquered my natural fear of heights several times. That adrenaline, the healthy dose of country air, and my afternoon nap on the return train to London made for a lovely weekend away.

PS, funny and true

How much should you care about the royal wedding? 

Via Cup of Jo

Vague plans & stuff

Howdy folks!

I'm having a productive night.  So far, I've cooked green chicken curry for dinner, emailed a professor, messaged a friend in NYC about staying with him when I fly up for an interview (!), and written a postcard to my friend Lauren who recently moved to Bulgaria with the Peace Corps. The remainder of the night will include a workout and some research and essay planning.

Operation UK update:

Since my first offer, I've gotten a second university offer and an interview in New York for a business internship program.  It's official --- I've got options!

When I went home last weekend, several people made comments like, "so you're moving to London, huh?"  This confused me because, at that point, I hadn't definitely decided to move to London. It's a big and complicated decision. But the bottom line is, I want and need to move to London. And already I have two, maybe three, ways to do it.

So, I would like to officially declare that I am officially moving to London in the fall! I don't have a visa yet, or a plane ticket, and goodness knows things could change. But screw being cautious --- if I can help it, when the leaves go orange, I'll be moving into a tiny flat and drying my clothes on radiators and buying my groceries at Sainsbury's (and being a teeny tiny 2ish mile walk from Dave --- what?  no jet lag?). I've already researched community gardens where I can grow organic tomatoes and cool choirs that maybe someday will let me sing with them.

Hip hip hooray :).

Notes from work

A Facebook friend's status that I liked:  


The best things in life are free.
But money would be nice too.


It's totally pretentious of me on multiple levels, but I can't help it.  Tonight I'm getting really irritated every time this happens...


Customer: I'd like a latte please.  


Me (shamelessly profiling customer to determine likely socioeconomic status and knowledge of coffee, then):  Do you want your latte really really sweet?


Customer (giving me an almost horrified look at the idea of a latte that wasn't really really sweet, then): Yeah.  Sweet.  


So I add four pumps of vanilla syrup to their latte.  Then the customer takes a small sip, makes an "eww this takes like super strong coffee!" face, and proceeds to stir in three to (record) twelve sugar packets.  I blame gas stations and their liberal use of espresso terminology.  Sigh.


My favorite bridge in the whole wide world. 

http://www.desktop-nature-wallpaper.com/bridges/tower-bridge-london-wallpaper.htm

If you've ever been confused by the concepts of Great Britain, the United Kingdom, the British Isles, England, Northern Ireland, etc., then the YouTube video The United Kingdom Explained is for you!   It's a fun to watch.

Getting unexpected phone calls is the best.  On Monday, I got unexpected calls from boyfriend Dave, grandfather Grandaddy, and DC-resident and friend Erika.  All conversations were lovely.  (Erika might meet Dave and I in New Orleans next month.  Fingers crossed!)