Nott What You'd Expected...

7 Days of Pain....oh...and HAPPY MOTHER's DAY

The weekend began with a hastily-organized and quickly-dissolved slumber party/sleepover in the living room, in which we guzzled down tea, ate freshly baked (a-thankyou) chocolate chip cookies, and watched Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring.

Suffice to say, I passed out before Orlando Bloom showed his pale, almost albino face, and slept well into the morning, waking only for the changing of Disc One, the end credits, and the sun- which shown brightly at 5am...(sidenote: if it's light until 10, and bright by 5, where the hell does the sun go? 7 hours of night? It's like bloody Alaska here)
Mark and Carol cheerily arrived at 9:35, and packed us into the car for a rain-soaked trip to Hardwick Hall, a local masterpiece of architecture and design that is more glass than stone- a testament to the wealth of local regents in the past, and a decent place to visit, even while wet.

Our first stop was a Well Dressing, a traditional (although almost unheard of outside of Derbyshire) festival in which the wells of a town are decorated for the coming of spring. Tissington is the most famous, drawing tens of thousands of visitors, but we instead opted for Milford's maybe 50 spectators and a few pints.
This year's theme was SPACE, THE FINAL FRONTIER, and the 'traditional' dancers did their best to dress the part. Taking cues from Dr Who (superfamous tv show here that's been running for 30 years- very scifi, very unwatched by the flat), they dressed up as famous characters from the show, and confused the hell out of the visiting Americans in the process.
As noted, we grabbed a pint while Carol imbibed on some tea, thus the cause of countless stops at the loo.
We paused for lunch at an old flour mill, before heading to Hardwick. We gazed upon tapestry after tapestry, almost fell into the HaHa, paid entirely too much to get into the Old Hall, and walked over cattle guards to look at the Stone Mason's building. Then it rained harder, I bought some crisps, and Ryan got soaked.
Wandering in the gardens, practicing our awkward "No, Carol, you're a great driver... I'm always carsick...." smiles.My night concluded with LOST catchup with Hil and otherwise pointless insomnia.

Today, my cup hath runneth over with maternal love. Mom, Stepmama Cheryl, faux-momma Carol, Grandma Carol, yet another Grandma Carol, Grandma Peg, and of course the vicarious maternal waves brought through the flat via the life lessons, motherly advice, and otherwise subtle motherly hints that radiate from each flat member. The phone was white hot today, and mothers across the Midwestern United States cooed with motherly love as each flatmate took his or her time to do some long distance wellwishing. Top off the evening with a Carol-centric Mother's Day tea, and my study habits were as good as busted. Happy Mother's DAY!
Needless to say, I woke up at noon and did some 'preliminary research' for a paper due Thursday, all while dreading tomorrow's lecture, a Novel test on Tuesday, and a TV final on Friday. Just when I became jaded from hearing certain Lutheran College students bitching about papers and finals, the Week to End All Weeks appears to beat me senselessly into the rain soaked English soil.

The pressure is on. Without it, there's no motivation, nobody pushing me out of the plane. So it's a good thing, I tell myself, that this week will drain highlighters and render me sleep deprived and aching after having typed for 29 hours straight. It's the little things in life. Tomorrow will be ok- study novel, think about thesis, go to TV lecture, study some more. Tuesday? Aside from Novel test, Tuesday is a wash- (See also, Jim Gaffigan) " I have to study on my birthday?" It's not happening. So Wednesday it is... the Wednesday to end all Wednesdays. That's a lot of pressure, but if anyone can handle it, it's Wednesday.

posted by Kevin @ 11:24 PM