An Interesting Development

There’s a really cute guy in my classes.  On these pages he shall be known as The Slacker because he never does the readings for class.  I met him the very first day and we chatted a little bit.  I could tell right away that we should be friends.  He was a little sarcastic and a bit of a tease.  He’s got dark hair, light eyes, and a scruffy beard.  I do love me some good facial hair, darn it.  I've hesitated to say anything about him since our interactions have been scarce.  Since that first day, we haven’t had much of a chance to chat…until last class.  I’ve tried to sort of position myself in class so we could sit next to each other, but have been thwarted in my efforts.  Well this time, it worked.  We were in the library for a session on how to use the library to help us find what we need.  Since I’m the daughter of a trained librarian, and since I'm not stupid, I already knew most of what they were telling me.  This made it possible to spend most of class flirting with The Slacker.  We sat next to each other at the back of the classroom and exchanged witty banter throughout the hour we were there.  I won’t bore you with the details of the repartee (unless you ask for them,) but suffice it to say, I was pleased with the developments.  

Get your freak on

So, some of you know I went to a dance last weekend.  It's the first dance I've been to in quite a few years.  I now remember why it's been so long.  I really must be getting old.  All I could think about was how loud the music was and how lame the kids looked flailing about to the noise. Also, there was a kid there who was wearing overalls unbuckled and dangling from the waist.  Yep, just like we used to in the late 90s. Also, they didn't have one slow dance.  What kind of Church dance doesn't have a single slow dance?  Isn't the point for us to share wholesome, romantic moments with some guy in whom we have absolutely no interest while our friends watch and laugh?  That's what I had always thought.  Also, they played music that I've never heard before and which I have no idea how to dance to.  Give me some Tupac or Snoop Dogg and you'll see magic.  Techno though... not so much.  

Another problem I faced that night is that I typically rely on my wit and charm to win people over, which is difficult to do when you can't be heard.  This time though, I had to rely on my good looks and straight teeth.  Luckily, I looked hot.  Perhaps needless to say, success was still mine.  I met a couple of black guys, so we're getting that on track.  I chatted up a couple of the guys I've met and thought were cute.  I made eyes with a few others.  Did my thing.  So I guess it wasn't a total loss.  Tweed was there and spent a good chunk of the dance near my side.  After the dance we had a bunch of people over to our house and it has to be said, he was flirting with me.  I'll admit that I flirted back.  I do enjoy talking to him.  He's quite intriguing.  (I'm sure you're wondering, so I will tell you.  He was not wearing his blazer this time.)  I also talked to the overalls kid.  Not impressed.  

Well anyway, they have one of these every month.  Hopefully next month will see me hanging out in the dark in one of the classrooms with some hot british guy.  If it does, you better believe you'll hear about it.  

A Tweed Update

Since I know you guys are all dying to know, here are the details of what's happened since our date.  On Sunday, he sat next to me at Sacrament meeting, and at the fireside we had later that evening.  My roommates noticed that he pays me quite a bit of attention.  He spends most of his time talking to me and trying to get me to pay attention to him.  I haven’t decided how I feel about this.  I saw him Monday at FHE as well, where again, I caught him looking at me a lot.  In contrast to most guys, he doesn’t look away when caught.  It’s a little disconcerting.  Then on Wednesday at Institute he came in late and took the seat next to me.  He also made quite a production of leaning over several times to look at my scriptures or the lesson manual.  After class, when it was time to play the game, he positioned himself next to me again.  He is being quite deliberate in my humble opinion. 

(By way of further explanation and because a few people have asked, Tweed is 27 and getting ready to go law school.  I find him inexplicably attractive.  I’m not sure what it is.  He’s not conventionally good looking.  He’s very skinny and balding, but somehow cute.  His eyes crinkle up on the sides when he smiles and I like that.  He does have a tendency to sort of stare at me, which I don’t like, but can you blame him really.  I met him the first day I was here and thought he was very nice and accommodating, but not my type.  But, the more I talk to him, the more I enjoy talking to him, so that’s a good sign.  We’ll see.  I’m not ready to say that I’d date him, but I would go out with him again. I have a feeling that he’s not a real snogger, though.)

By popular demand...

Now about this date.  It began as any other Friday night in recent memory.  I had no plans.  My roommates were both going out, but I was alone.  (As I have no phone, it’s difficult for me to make plans.  Just by way of explanation.  I’m sure if I had a phone things would be vastly different.)  I had just eaten dinner and was settling down for an evening with my friend the Internet when there was a knock on the door.  This is slightly out of the ordinary thus far in my England experience.  I went to the door and peeped through the peephole, which incidentally is the perfect name for what it is.  Not like some things whose names are completely unrelated to what they do.  Anyway, on the other side of the door there stood a guy from my ward in a tweed blazer who will henceforth be referred to as ‘Tweed’ thus protecting his guilt or innocence, whichever it may turn out to be.  Since I knew who he was, I let him in.  We chatted for a few moments and I had the feeling he was gearing up to invite me out to do something.  Before he could, however, his phone rang and it was the missionaries reminding him that he had correlation meeting that night.  He took his leave, but promised to return at the conclusion of the meeting.  I said that would be lovely and we parted company for a time.  An hour and a half later, there was still no sign of him and, again lacking a phone with which to be kept apprised of the developments, I was waiting patiently on couch trying not to get too nervous.  Then the knock on the door came again and there he was.  He came in, I asked if he had something in mind, and he suggested the cinema.  I realize I should have let him get there on his own, but I had already been waiting patiently for hours.  I was in no mood to wait for him to get around to it.  So we headed into town, on foot, which normally would have frustrated me, but people here walk everywhere, so no big deal.  It also gave us a chance to chat, which often doesn’t happen much on first dates.  He’s a very smart person and I’m still full of questions about Britain, which made for quite a pleasant walk.  When we arrived at the theatre, he made me choose the movie.  For the record, I hate choosing the movie.  What if you choose something offensive?  Or worse, what if you choose something lame?  Hopefully my choice hasn’t destroyed any possible future we may have.  Anyway, I laughed and covered my eyes quite a lot, but ultimately enjoyed myself.  I think he did too.  Then we walked home and he came in for a while.  We sat on the couch and talked until long after midnight.  All in all, not a bad start.  Stay tuned.  

Back in the Saddle

I had a date last night.  Just thought you’d all like to know.  

Close, but no cigar

September 30, 2009

I ventured onto campus yesterday.  It is astir with people and activities.  I was comforted to see what appeared to be a juggling club.  It reminded me of the sword and quill club of BYU days.  I went to the library to use the internet and was chatting away with my good friend Tara when out of the corner of my eye I saw someone approaching.  I thought at first he was going to use the computer next to me, but I was mistaken.  He, in fact, was coming to talk to me.  The first words out of his mouth were not hello as one might expect, but “I like your hair.”  I’m pretty sure that’s the first time that particular thing has happened to me.  I made some comment about them not having anything like it where he’s from and then he told me he was from Africa, which I had already surmised.  I was nice enough to him without encouraging him and after a few moments he left.  I have a feeling that this may not end up being an isolated event.  Tara was disappointed that I didn’t take advantage of him for my first snog blog entry.  I have decided to clarify for the purposes of future reference.  While I do like black guys, I prefer them not to be fresh off the boat, as it were.  I like them with a little white in them and a general knowledge of appropriate social interaction according to our culture.  It also doesn’t hurt if they have diamond stud earrings, a couple of tattoos, and a ghetto-fabulous strut.  

Really?!?!

September 21, 2009

Today we arrived in Prague early in the morning after a horrible nights’ sleep aboard the “most dangerous train in Europe.”  I think I woke up every time the train slowed down.  Plus the cabin next to us had an amazing snorer who could be heard through the wall.  Suffice it to say, I was not in top form, appearance-wise or mental state-wise.  After dropping our luggage off we heading into town.  I needed to eat so we stopped at a café for a quick bite.  Megan had disappeared, to take a picture most likely.  Two men sat down at the table next to me and I heard them speaking English with what I thought was an American accent.  It turned out to be Canadian, but same thing anyway right?  Anyway, it bears mentioning that they were both at least 40.  So we chatted for a little while about what we each did and such.  Then one of the guys, Terry, who had an earring, asked where we were staying.  Remembering everything I’ve learned in movies, I evasively answered that we were staying a little ways out of town.  He then told us he and his friend Bill were staying in a friend’s apartment not far from there.  He then suggested that we join them for dinner.  I was caught completely off guard.  Megan even dropped that she was married and it didn’t deter him.  We put him off by saying that we wanted to try some good Czech food.  We visited for a little longer and as we were preparing to leave, Terry again invited us to dinner.  We politely refused again and left.  I’m not entirely sure what dinner would have been but I’m pretty sure I know what he had in mind for dessert.  

Dang it!

(editor's note: My sister and I took a trip through Eastern Europe before school started.  Some of these early experiences are from that trip.)

We arrived in Krakow the day before yesterday.  It's quite a nice city, surprisingly enough.  We wandered around all day and I had my eye out for a potential candidate for the first snog of the European era. There seemed to be a severe lack of worthy young men.   I saw a couple, but nothing outstanding. Last night, as we were sitting on the platform waiting for our night train to Prague, another train arrived and hundreds of young Polish guys spilled onto the platform singing and cheering a recent Polish soccer victory.  The mystery of where all of the cute Polish guys had gone was solved.  Had we been just twenty minutes later in getting to the station, there might have been an entry for the snog blog.  AAARRRGGGHHH!

By Way of Introduction...

Hello gentle readers,

My name is Andrea and I live in England.  This is a fairly recent development.  I previously lived in America, but have decided to cast my net into a different pond as it were.  I intend to experience life in England to the fullest.  In pursuit of that goal, I plan to snog as many guys as I can.  Now, before you go judging me too harshly, remember they have accents.  And I have no power to resist.  Plus, I have lovely American teeth, so I'm equally irresistible.  I expect great things, but don't be disappointed if sometimes the entries don't contain any actual snogging.  I'll do my best, but as the saying goes, it takes two to tango.