I found my plan for the upcoming break. Or weekend. Or month. I thought I'd gotten my hopes up. Nope! All that's standing in the way of a motorcycle trip is some bureaucratic paperwork. I. Am. Stoked!
I told Stella about that and she said she wanted to switch bodies with me but still look like her. In all honesty, I seriously lucked out with this Master's program. There's literally almost nothing to it. It's given this subpar student ample time to travel and do what he enjoys, and for that I'm thankful.
7/3 - As an update, since I'm unsure about what cc restrictions an m1 license carries (I don't think there are any, but I can't say for certain) the rental place recommended I get an International Driver Permit. That shouldn't be too difficult or expensive, and since I wasn't planning on going on a motorcycle trek in the very near future, I'm not too disappointed. It's just more paperwork.
Anyway, as Josh and I were eating the ritual Saturday morning breakfast in the Jolly Sailor, we were interrupted by the man who usually sits by himself near the window drinking bottles (plural) of white wine. He knew I'm American but wanted to know which state I'm from. He thought I was from Florida! But I brought this up because that man is always there on Saturday by himself drinking wine in the morning. You can tell he's aching for someone to talk to. He's obviously lonely, and it's a bit sad. Next Saturday if he's in the same spot, I'll introduce myself formally and eat breakfast with him. I have a feeling that would make his day.
8/3 - Last night Josh, Bill and I went to Poole Stadium to bet on greyhound races. This is the stadium where Poole Town used to play, but when the track was widened and the pitch inside became too narrow for a football pitch, the club had to move. I won one bet when my dog finished first, but I lost my other bets. I didn't lose that much money through betting though. Most of the damage to me came through drinking and bar hopping with Bill afterwards.
Greyhounds can run really fast; it's like a miniature horse race. They're going so fast you can hear their feet pounding the dirt. Bill taught me a funny reason to bet on a dog; you just bet on the one that relieves itself the most right before the race. But of course, that never worked. The races were a great time. I was a little surprised to see how nice the stadium was and the kind of people who were there. There were a lot of people my age and it was an opportunity to dress up a bit.
9/3 - I've mailed my application for an International Driver Permit. This is something I want to do, so I'm going to make it happen! It involved filling out the application, making a copy of my drivers license, signing it and including two passport-size photos.
11/3 - I went to Southbourne yesterday, a part of the city I haven't been to. I saw a lot of shops that sell antiques, but other than that it's not much different. I also felt like I was an outsider considering I don't know that neighborhood at all.
But after spending more than an hour on the bus, I walked to Grange Road to see the house my family will be staying in in May. It's three doors down from the cliff that drops down to the beach and overlooks both the Isle of Wight and the English Channel. I wandered down to the beach and got caught up playing in the sand, taking my shoes off and walking into the water. While the sand and sun was just warm enough to make me lie down and doze off, the water was so cold it hurt. That's March for you, I guess. But it was so relaxing to lie on a beach listening to the constant crashing of waves. Not that I need to relax; My course is so easy I think other people hate me for it!
Today I went to see Alex play in his final basketball game this season, and it ended 5-on-3 because three players from Southampton fouled out of the game. The final quarter of that game was, frankly, terrible basketball.
I also got up to go to rugby practice this morning. It's so different from football. I'm glad I'm learning another new thing. It's refreshing. But, damn. I need to get into shape and get running again. I was gassed after training!
But Naomi finished her video from the New Forest. It looks great! I'd like to do more of that.
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