The Old Zoo

The Old Zoo is my favorite (or maybe 2nd favorite) of the gardens we've visited so far. (Actually, it was the first garden we visited.) Not only does it look like a rainforest...


But it has some really neat art. My favorite artist featured in the garden is Sophie Dickens, the great-great-...-great-grand-something of Charles Dickens. She did this one of a greyhound chasing bunnies:


These wood nymphs (also Dickens's work) hang provocatively around the trees:


And below, a fabulous illustration of penis envy:

England!

My group stopped for lunch one day at the Inn at Whitewell, set in the middle of an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the rough equivalent of an American national park. The Queen actually owns the land, and she recently dined at the Inn. A trail runs around the landscape, approximately 5 miles. "You can't get lost," our guide said, so Peter and I set off on the hike, crossing the river on stepping stones.


We hiked through a pasture of sheep, up an incredibly steep hill, and through someone's backyard, all the while following "footpath" signs. We crossed through a gate, scrambled up a muddy stone path, and found ourselves... in the middle of a cow pasture?


The "footpath" signs had disappeared. Peter and I hiked all across that pasture, and even taunted some cows, before giving up and turning back. "You can't get lost," my arse.

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Well, the bags are packed, the house plants are at my parents' house, everything is in order. I'm really looking forward to nursing this hangover on my 9 hour plane ride...

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Leave it to me to stock up on produce and perishable foods at the grocery store, 8 days before a month-long trip. That "don't go to the grocery store when you're hungry" thing? Es la verdad.

Wheat Checks and Passive Racism?

Notice the tan, blonde, idyllic American family enjoying fruit punch and Chex Mix in the backyard. Also notice the token Black woman, in a different plane and therefore out of focus, and also cut off partially by the frame. An example of "passive racism," to quote KW.

A counter argument could be made that the dark-haired child in the middle of the two blonde children promotes diversity, but I don't know if that justifies the other woman being out of focus and only parially in the picture.

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Ah, finals week. I took my last final yesterday, so today I was left with nothing to do except clean my room. (I would've cleaned even if I weren't done with finals; like I mentioned yesterday, finals week is my most productive time for doing normally boring tasks, just because I loathe studying.) So yes, in preparation for England (who wants to come home to a messy apartment?), I cleaned my room all day.

"But I probably really should have been at work." -Modest Mouse

Relating to England, but also relating to my goal of being immoral today (for 6-6-06), I wrote a Statement of Need and submitted it for a scholarship application due months ago.

You see, I thought this scholarship was need-based and never applied. I've been regretting this ever since, as I found out that everyone else going on my trip applied, and everyone who applied got the scholarship ($750). Today I got an email saying that they were missing the Statement of Need portion of my application, and that my scholarship could not be processed without it. The email requested that I resubmit the statement electronically as soon as possible.

How did I get on that contact list? I never did apply. But who cares; maybe they'll overlook that. I whipped up a Statement of Need and emailed it in with a note to let me know if they were missing anything else. Maybe I'll get some cash for England this way...

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Ten days until I leave for England. Still no topic, but I did buy a new digital camera! The Canon SD450 Digital Elph.

I haven't used it yet, though, because I was making myself wait until finals were over. They're over now, but I'm too tired tonight--I was up until 5:30 finishing my final design project, and I only managed 90 minutes of sleep before my 7:30 final. (Which wouldn't be that big of a deal, except I stayed up until 5:00 on Saturday night, too, and woke up yesterday morning at 8:30 to start said design project.) All finals plus a run makes Kristin fall asleep earlier than usual.

Maybe tomorrow I can play with my new toy.

Oh, What You've Missed!

It's finals week, that special time of year when, in an effort to avoid actually studying, I clean my room, organize the files on my computer, and upload 7 months' worth (or more) of pictures to the Internet.

In my latest photo album (I haven't posted on Kodak since October!), you'll find pictures from the following events:

• Aaron's and my trip to Delaware, September 2005
• My 23rd birthday drunkenness, September 2005
• St. Patrick's Day at the Char Bar, March 2006
• Dining at Schmidt's Sausage Haus, March? 2006
• Liz & James's wedding, March 2006
• Post-wedding outing to the Surly Girl, March 2006
• Post-wedding-and-Surly-Girl venture to Sam's party, March 2006
• A night at the Surly Girl, April 2006
• A day at Keeneland, April 2006

Pictures are in approximate chronological order.

Oh, What You've Missed!