I bid a due.

I’ll be brief.
Yes, yes I know, I’ve been slacking majorly, and I really don’t have any excuse. Uni started well over two months ago and we’ve just finished our second trail of exams. I’ll be honest, as resilient as I have been in writing this blog for the past year or so, I feel that I have no time in typing this out. As I’m progressing through uni, the courses are getting harder and require more time, along with keeping up the house, interacting with Sebastian and spending time with my soon-to-be-wife. Everything I seem to type out just comes out in a list, with less definition, clarity, description or imagery, but I suppose it’s the price I pay spending so much time on a ‘scientific’ major (not to say it’s unimaginative, of course). By the look of the statistics, the blog isn’t getting as much hits and it used to, which leads me to think that starting this up was a gimmick of sorts. Also, the new blog scene thing appears to be ‘tumblr’, I guess that’s where all the hipsters go. As a matter of fact, and feeling a little bit ashamed, I might (a very big might) jump on the bandwagon just like everybody else. I feel that I don’t have to be obliged to make long posts every few weeks – I feel that small quaint posts would suffice on tumblr. However, time being of the essence, I don’t seem to have as much time to type up this blog like I did last year, as my classes are scheduled as such.
And another thing, the internet we were leeching off at the apartment dissipated, so internet usage has been severely cut.
So, as a general update before I turn to the dark side:
Classes this semester: Child Psych, Experimental Psych, French 2, and Biology 2.
Also, me and Amy viewed our wedding venue – a quaint little vineyard out in a place called Turkey Creek. Lovely interior design – it’s not your typical venue with white washed walls, the place has a lot of character, which suits me and Amy. The owner designs pretty much everything herself: trinkets placed on modern shelving, and a bar that’s laced with foreign money, with fairy lights lit up in bottles. It’s honestly something you have to appreciate when you see it, but for whatever reason we failed to bring a camera that day. Amy always wanted an outdoor wedding and in May when it happens, all the flowers and trees will be fully bloomed – the archway will be decorated with daisies the size of your fist. Statues and fountains situated around the flowers, overlooking a swamp (contrary to Hollywood, swamps look quite pretty).
Upcoming is Jasmine’s and Sebastian’s birthday: Sebastian’s getting his first train set, since every little boy needs one, and Jasmine’s getting a camera, as she seems to be interested in following Amy’s photography footsteps.
As you might recall from last year, this weekend (as in right now before I leave to head out) is the Cotton Festival weekend with fair rides and a parade. Jasmine started kindergarten this year and has been in a flurry of activities, including the Cotton Festival Parade that she will be walking in tomorrow. Speaking of which, yesterday was my first experience of a high school football game. Teenage boys in urban armour, bashing their heads against one another, with the two paint lines underneath each eye painted with their fingers. We only went for half time to watch Jasmine cheerlead for her team, I wasn’t too interested in the game. However, the most amusing part was the half time game with the 5 year olds playing American football, with the helmet being the third of their body size: cute, but kind of awkward to see five year olds be so actively violent. When they tackled each other, they tumbled like ragdolls across the field, and got up straight after seemingly and surprisingly unaffected. I actually saw one of the kids claw one of the players on the opposing team, and the coach actually had to pull him back! But I guess it’s not that much more different then kids slid tackling each other in football, heh.
I will carry on keeping this blog up, but I won’t update nearly as often, so don’t expect to see anything any time soon. If you want to catch up or talk with me, Amy or Sebastian, you know where to find us.
I don’t know when we’ll be heading back to England to visit, but I’m sure those who are loyal will still keep in contact.
Well then, friends, I bid you farewell.

Bears with sandpaper paws

Do chinchillas make you glittery?

After two weeks of complete nostalgia and reminiscence, connecting the old with my better halves, we three arrive safetly back into the States. With us just getting over the jetlag our sleeping habits have temporarily aged a few decades – sleeping at 9:30pm and waking up at 6:30am. Considering the more hours of sunlight I’m receiving, I feel that I’m typing this a little bit prematurely; but so, a blog post nonetheless.

Hands locked like handcuffs

Catching up on the backlog of books that I have yet to read, and reviving my love affair with traditional art; alas, the last blog post before me, Amy and Sebastian hit up Ol’ Britannia.

Smells like summer

Summer has finally crept around the corner – rid of all the stress of exams and term papers. Finally, we have free time, amongst all the ‘free’ time everyone already had. Plans for the summer, anyone?

Mongoose: it’s a type of goose, right?

Ahoy ahoy, and it’s time for another spread of activities on this very blog toast. No better thing to do than to write my blog on my mobile when sitting in the back seat of a car that’s blasting out Bright Eyes, doncha think?
Though my apologies are pretty drawn out by now, I apologise for the lateness of this update. With my parents coming down for spring break, uni work piling up and keeping the house in order, it’s no wonder that I haven’t even touched a computer for over two weeks (apart from when downloading Inuyasha, ahha). I’m thinking of just cutting down my updates to about once a month because I can’t honestly keep up.
Yes, once a month – something to keep Aunt Flow busy with for a few minutes before she flushes the red sea (ergh, how crude). I just don’t want you to think that I’ve abandoned you all (brits). In fact, I’m looking up plane tickets to visit you guys for the summer (late June, early July), with Amy and Sebastian.. so!
Anyway, hope y’all are enjoying the spring time – I’m sure you brits are sick and tired of the snow by now. The sky down here is a cloudless blue, and it’s just warm enough to wear shorts. In fact, it’s such nice weather that I’m typing this outside, missing the rat terrier by my legs (I’ll explain later). Also, the breeze feels nice on my patchy leg hair (yeah, laugh it up). I’d be wearing sunglasses too if it weren’t for these god forsaken goggles that I’ve been wearing since I was 6. But anyway, alas, an update as promised.

Those are some huge clunkers!

My deepest apologises for this well overdue blog post – I see that my views have plummeted in the past month or so and I can understand that.
Ever since the trip from NOLA, things around here have been getting pretty hectic, and even though that trip was almost a month ago, I’ll still update you guys on it.

You’re as sweet as Kool-Aid

Long and awaited, lengthy and sketchy, but alas, a blog update.

A mohawk is a type of hat

The first month of the year has passed and everyone has now fell comfortable into the year 2010. New jobs, new schedules for the semester, and the old worn out saying said of retailing clothing stores – “A new year, a new you!”, supposedly.

I deny that I’m in denial

I’m afraid it’s not much of an update this week; ever since the New Year, everything’s been fairly consistant and routine. Cooking, cleaning, sleeping (cough and watching Inuyasha, cough) and looking after Sebastian. Speaking of which, he’s fallen ill. He can barely breathe because his nose and chest is congested and he can barely sleep at night, which goes the same with me and Amy. We took him to paediatrician and they didn’t really diagnose him with a certain illness – either way, he gave us a big list of medication – steroids and antibiotics. They make him very irratible, and make him stay up crazy hours, poor baby.
Uni has started again, and my classes have been harder than ever. You know, when all the 6th form teachers said that there was going to be a lot of reading, well they sure as hell weren’t lying! $600 worth of books and any free time I get I read, and even then there isn’t enough time.
Last weekend we went to Baton Rouge and went to Amy’s old friends’ house, Chloe and Lea. Big and modern, with an open kitchen – something I wish to obtain after my degree! Lea had a pet baby flying squirrel that she saved from her late cat – it’s no bigger than the size of your palm, and it’s very domesticated, very cute!
Whilst we were there, were heard a rumbling in the attack – turns out that there has been possums living in the attic, and their dad just caught one in a cat cage. He didn’t let it free because it would more than likely climb back into the attack from the outside, but instead he kept it inside because it was cold out. Sympathy for these creatures, amirite?
We went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie and in a way I guess it made me a little bit homesick – the accents, the comedy, the culture. However, aside from that, it was a pretty good movie. Robert Downey Jr played Holmes outstandingly, and he looked exactly like a guy I used to know called Mark Jackson; it’s that trademark smile, I’m sure of it.
This February will be my first year celebrating Mardi Gras, which is on the same day as the Brit’s pancake day. I will be experiencing a flurry of parades and floats, carnival celebrations, and traditional food home to New Orleans. I’ve already had my first King Cake, which is a cinnamon type roll, which can have various flillings, with a layer of icing. The sugar colours purple, gold and green coat the top (the Mardi Gras colours). There’s a small plastic baby inside the cake, and whoever gets the slice with the baby in it has to buy the king cake for next year.
My half-arsed New Years resolution is to get back into my art, as a hobby (and who knows, I might sell something, baha), so if you’re interested, be sure to look out for my deviantart page.
Until next time then, I bid you fair well. Or as Amy says, “Peace out, girl scout” ~

No pictures of me this post. Maybe ’cause you guys keep making fun about my FLIPPIN’ FACIAL HAIR – I’m still not going to shave it. Also, I have skype now, but it lags like nobody’s business on my lappy, I’m gona have to sort that. Either way, the username is benjamin.ng3 – feel free to add.