Back in the US of A!

I've been back since Monday night! Strange thing is, it feels like I never left. Being abroad already feels like it was so long ago, like a dream. I haven't had jet lag because my sleeping patterns were so off in the UK that they're pretty normal here. How... pleasantly odd?

I had a fantastic time abroad though. I know at times it was rough, but overall, I'm so glad I did it. If anything, it taught me to become more independent and self sufficient. It reinforced my belief that I can take care of myself. Plus, I got to see and do some pretty cool things. I'm also really excited to be back here so I can continue on to the next chapter of my life: my last year at NEU, the LSAT's, and applying to law school. I'm hoping to return to Europe next year, maybe in the spring? We'll see.

I keep having nightmares about not being able to fit everything into my suitcases to come home, even though I'm already home. Weird. The weather here has been beautiful, too. Yay!

In other news... I'm heading up to Boston to visit next Thursday thru Saturday. I'm trying to decipher the chinatown bus schedules from the Mohegan Sun. So as soon as I do that, I will be set. I'm going to visit MGH, UHCS, and my lovies. And the fountain at the reflecting pool is fixed! I am so psyched about that!

It turns out that Kev is staying in Boston for co-op. It was a very pleasant turn of events. I had already assumed that he'd be out of the country, or at least out of state for it, so I was already okay with that idea. I mean, we'd already been apart studying abroad, right? It'll be fun to have him in the same city again!

Hmm... that's basically it. I'm having a nice relaxing time in the EL so far... granted it's only been a couple of days, but it's been cool. I've seen my Kate*love, and that is phenomenal. I missed her like the dickens. I also got to see Brad and MegHan because they came to the airport when I got in -- what a fantastical surprise indeed! And today, I got an LSAT book, so I'm going to start looking through that. Emily comes home June 1st... I can't wait. It's going to be a good month at home.

I took tons of pictures of Edinburgh and London, so I will post those soon, I promise!

Happy Mothers' Day

It never fails; I'm always uncomfortable when I'm around family. I think it's because I'm forced to be the good little Indian girl and not myself. There is much more to me than the Good Little Indian girl. Hell, I don't even look like her. I'm glad I'm going home on the 22nd instead of the 27th -- I can go home and be myself.

My 3 year old cousin is the first child in my history of working and being around children that makes me want to hide. She's cute and precocious, but disobedient and a smart ass all at once. In ways that are far from adorable. My aunt and uncle need to learn how to discipline her. Example: we went out to go grocery shopping and to a flea market. Ten minute walk, tops. She's done it before, she did it yesterday. But today, she starts throwing a fit, saying her feet hurt and that she can't walk anymore. Umm... yeah, no. Since I carried her halfway on the way there. My uncle indulges her, but she's too big to carry easily, especially when trying to carry groceries. After he puts her down, she starts to throw a tantrum again, and my aunt and uncle clearly don't know what to do with her. So I just grab her by the hand and march her home. She was so surprised that someone wasn't bending over backwards for her that she forgot about her tantrum. When I was little, I was afraid of my mother and never acted that way. My mom told me so on the phone today. But this one? Eugh. Good luck to my aunt and uncle.

Tomorrow, I've got a lunch and Oxford Circus frolicking date with Emily. Yay! Naturally, we're going to Pret, because I love sandwiches to an almost unhealthy degree. Mmm... Wednesday, we've got drinking/poptart plans at night, and Andy gets here on Friday night. Wheeee. I'm tired of being stuck in Hounslow. My uncle doesn't want to go out if it's raining or looks like it will. If all Londoners did that, nobody would ever go outside.

I don't mean to make them sound bad. They're really nice people. I mean, I grew up playing with my uncle when I was little in India. It's just that they're the quintiessential FOB family, and it makes me uncomfortable because I'm from an entirely different culture and mindset. I feel like I'm back in India.

Hmm... yeah, that's it. Can't wait to go home and see my mom :-)

Londonia... Again!

Alrighty, after a week or two of hassle and contemplation, I figured out where I'll be leaving from, and when I'm going to London. Drumroll please...

Tomorrow, friday, May 12th, I'll be catching a train out of Wavery Station at 5:00PM, and will be getting into King's Cross station in London at 9:45PM. I will not be returning to Edinburgh. Instead of coming back the day before my flight, I'm going to be catching my Virgin Atlantic (or as Em would put it, Buttlantic) out of Heathrow on the 27th. Wheee!

The only reason I even contemplated coming back is because I didn't know how to get all my luggage to London. But as long as my train gets in after 8 PM, my uncle can pick me up at King's Cross, so all I need to do is get a taxi to Waverly and have the nice Taxi man help me get it to the platform. I've got a direct one way ticket, so no changes till King's Cross. It's also a first class ticket, because that's all that was left. Ohh my. Going out in style. My mom just told me to book it, since the 60 quid for the ticket is less than round trip fare between London and Edinburgh plus the excess baggage fee BMI would give me on my way out. For some reason, NEU booked us economy class tickets that won't allow more than one checked bag, weight limit of 20ish Kg. That is just nuts. They charge apparently 5 quid per Kg of excess luggage. I would be dying. So that is that!

So... Umm... I leave Scotland tomorrow. HOLY CRAP.


I'm excited to go home and get the next chapter of my life underway.

What Is Happening To Our Government?

When I was 18, I told my father I wanted to be president. We were driving up to Boston and discussing politics. I remember him turning to me and saying, "No, you could never do that. Try something else." as if it were some sort of unfathomably hilarious declaration for his daughter to be making.

From the moment I was conceived, the only thing I probably had going for me in favor of presidential aspirations was that I was an American citizen by birth (as much as we may try to deny it, New Jersey is part of the United States). I am a minority and female. I don't have old family money that affords me connections and security. In fact, I don't have that much money at all. I went to public school, got into college based on my own merits, and worked hard for the grades on my transcript, which are not fantastic, but I am proud of them because it represents me. All of that is quite possibly the complete opposite of what the current president amounted to in the first 20 years of his life.

I just finished reading a Boston Globe article outlining the ways in which President Bush has been blatantly throwing legislature to the dogs. In his entire presidency, he has not vetoed any bills presented to him by congress, however; after signing each bill with a flourish, he has written up signing statements outlining how he interprets the laws he just passed. In these statements, he 'specializes' the law, declaring that several sections are unconstitutional and that he is not required to abide by them because of his executive power as the president and commander in chief of the army. These laws include those that protect the privacy of U.S. citizens. Many of these bills have been passed by congress in efforts to check the president's power, to require him to report when he wiretaps private phone lines or "before diverting money from an authorized program in order to start a secret operation, such as the ''black sites" where suspected terrorists are secretly imprisoned (Boston Globe)".

The list goes on and on, but those are just a few of the laws that he has 'reshaped' that have struck me. Signing statements have become more popular in the last several administrations. Regan, Bush Sr., and Clinton all submitted signing statements with many bills that they signed. The range is in the 100-250 for each president. But these presidents also vetoed bills that they had serious disagreement with. The Current president has passed every bill put before him, and has issued 750 signing statements. Congress is supposed to check the power of the president, as outlined and intended by the U.S. constitution, but since congress is in a Republican majority, it is reluctant to confront a president whose interests are tied with their own. Must I really go on?

I know that politics is corrupt by definition. There is no ideal government, as I'm sure Marx can tell you. But this is a blatant defiance and ignorance of what the United States constitution stands for. By claiming all power to the executive office, President Bush is offsetting the system of balance that our government rests upon. We are not supposed to have just one source of power, we are supposed to balanced by the judicial, executive, and legislative branches. He is not only affecting the current administration but also influencing future administrations with his 'interpretations' of laws. I apologize to those of you who are supporters of the current president, but I just do not understand. I'd love to know what it is you see in him.

It may not be possible, but I would love to see a change. I would love to see someone elected to office who has integrity and the well being of his people in mind. Someone who earns his power through respect and the ability to see past his own beliefs, not with the influence of his family and money. Someone who has made mistakes and learned from them.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/04/30/bush_challenges_hundreds_of_laws

Penguin Weekend

These past several days have been nothing short of fantastical. Kevin came to see me on Thursday night and left early this afternoon. After he got in, we went to The Southern for drinks, and then just came back to chill and get reaquainted. Friday, we slept in, went to Snax for some amazing paninis, and then walked down Nicholson, North Bridge, Princes Street, and just explored that area a bit. We found a fun little pub called Jekyl and Hyde, and I had a drink called Wrath (Jack, amaretto, pepsi), and I must say, I was pretty pleased. They had a drink for each of the seven deadly sins. It was very fun. It was also supremely beautiful and nice out the entire weekend, quite uncharacteristic compared to Scottish weather thus far. We were able to enjoy some excellent chill time in the Princes Street Gardens. It felt like being back in Boston in the South Garden by the Pru again :-)

The rest of the weekend was pretty great. My exams did not totally kill me. In fact, the Science and Society one went pretty well, I think. I don't think I like how the exams are just two essay questions, because it's difficult to gauge an entire semester's worth of material and learning into two essays. But I think I did alright. Developmental psych was on Monday, and though it wasn't easy, I wasn't completely lost and was skipping on my way back to my room because I was so happy to be done with that one. Kev was fantastic at keeping me de-stressed, just as I'd predicted. The rest of the weekend kind of blurs in my head, but we had an awesome dinner at Bella Italia, drinks and fun stuff with Marky at Centro, and froze our asses off on Calton Hill for the Beltane Fire Festival, which was not as exciting as I thought it would be. There were so many drunk people that I think I enjoyed the idiots who were making fools of themselves on the stage before the show more than I enjoyed the actual festival. It was quite interesting, haha.

I've got one last exam this coming monday, and then I am FREE. I am starting to realize just how soon I will be going home, and I have that funny antsy nervous feeling in my stomach whenever I think about it. Excitement and anticipation mixed with that surreal feeling of "I can't even believe I just did this". I also got the research assistant position in Professor Pearlmutter's lab! I now have my directed study and can co-op in the spring! I was so happy when I got that e-mail that I was acting like a total fool.

I'm going to go work on keeping myself awake so I can head to bed at a reasonable hour and sleep for at least 10 hours straight. I've been severely sleep deprived. But in a good way.

Hope everyone finishes up the last bit of their semesters with no fuss or severe mental damage!

PS- Kev got me the best earrings from Prague! A dangly spangly pair, and another that I don't even know how to describe except that they are perfect for me. What a smart boy :-)

(Pictures are of the Princes Street Gardens, Kev with a life sized Scottish Winnie the Pooh in the Disney Store, and me and the Penguin at Centro)

Happy Thursday!

Today is April 27th. This time next month, my plane will be landing at Boston Logan Airport in an hour and half. How crazy is that?! I cannot believe that I'm almost done. I've got a lot planned for my last month here, so it won't be dull, either.

My camera is finally back in my hands. It took forever for it to be repaired and sent back to me, but now I can take more pictures of Edinburgh -- this place is absolutely gorgeous in the spring time. Whenever I am outside now (not often due to studying) I just marvel at Arthur's Seat looming in the background of Pollock Halls. I live in a postcard. This is glorious. I'm also going to the Beltane Fire Festival on sunday, so I hope to get pictures of that to share with everyone too.

This is a quick entry because I still have tons of articles I want to review and take notes on for my Science and Society final on saturday morning, and I am leaving to pick up Kevin at the airport in a hour. I'm so excited to see him here! I really want to show him around this place. First stop tonight is to The Southern for a few drinks. It's one of my favorite places; the bartender's are really nice, it's not a crazy crowded loud place, and the atmosphere is very comfortable -- low lit with candles and lots of comfy couches. And then tomorrow we'll probably walk around to the Royal Mile, Princes Street, George Square, and other stuff.

A lot more to follow after his visit is over, I promise :-)

I Am Exactly Where I Was 3 1/2 Hours Ago

But in between 11:30 and now, I was at Liquid Rooms with Kelly and Cailin. It was an alright time. I mostly went because I needed to get out. I've been holed up in my room trying to study since I got back from break. I say "try" because I clearly have not been getting anywhere. There's so much material that I don't know how to know it all well enough to write essays on it. I wish we knew the topics that will be on the exams. In my Science and Society class, the professor gave us the topics, which is wonderful because I still need to study, but I know what to study. We covered a lot of ground in my psychology classes, and it seems ridiculous to base an entire semester's grade on two essays. I'm also freaking out because I've never had an exam like that. I'm used to multiple choice and short answer tests, which I like for classes that cover so much information.

Tomorrow, I'm going to lock myself up in the psychology library. The lecture slides and notes that I have aren't helping, so I'm hoping just to read all of the references and figure stuff out that way. Why is it that I know more about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes (they had the baby by the way, guess it's not fake) than I do about this stuff? I really wish that professors taught in a more interesting way. Looking back on these notes, I find that they're not terribly cohesive or geared toward keeping the student interested. It's just information. If I end up as a professor, I've decided that I'm going to make it the class that students look forward to coming to. There's nothing worse than being eager for a class and then hating it, not because the material is boring, but the professor is.

Next week is freakout week. My first exam is next saturday, the 29th at 9:30 AM. I'll be okay for it, since it's Science and Society (that professor is pretty good). But I will have to make sure I'm prepared for Developmental Psych as well, which is that following Monday, the 1st, because Kev is coming to visit on the 27th until the 2nd of May. I really wish my exam dates hadn't gotten changed on me. They weren't even supposed to start until the 8th for me, and now they end on the 8th. In a way, it gets them out of the way, but damn, it kind of puts a damper on Kev's visit.

The Beltane Fire Festival is on the 30th! I'm so excited! I bought my tickets earlier tonight. I've been looking forward to this since before I got here. It's a celebration for the coming of spring that happens anually on Calton Hill. There will definitely be pictures!

Also, After my last exam (May 8th), Ethan is coming to see me! He'll be here from the 8-10. Then I believe I'll be heading to London for the rest of my stay to be with family that live in Hounslow, right near Heathrow. During my last weekend in Europe, Andy is coming to see me! I'm very excited.

I think that once the academic stress that has been eating me alive for the past 5 months is gone, I will be having more fun. Here's to hoping!