A Lindsay Day

I've decided that I really need to get a life, but I'm unusually content to just sit here on Lindsay's couch and blog on a Saturday night while I'm supposed to be working on my Irish writing essay. Oh well, I have the rest of my life to have a life, so for now I'm just going to chill.

When I got back from Dublin, I decided that Saturday (today) I would take a mental health day. You'd probably argue that everyday over here seems like a mental health day to you, and it probably is, but I wanted a day of complete solitude. I didn't make any plans. My friend Chelsea wanted me to go to the gym and then on to get manis & pedis with her today, and even though I can't really afford it, I wouldn't mind having nice toes, but I told her that I wasn't going to be around. When pressed for further details by my friends, as was expected being that we're girls, I told them that I was going out of town and that I didn't know where I was going yet. I had an idea, but I wasn't 100% about it yet. I just needed a day. As such, I spent the night over Lindsay's last night and woke up this morning to go home and shower before my lone excursion. I haven't been hungry at all lately, and since Germany made me fat, I decided to go ahead and fast breakfast and lunch today. After I showered and pampered myself, I went for a long walk to the Sheffield Interchange coach station. This walk reiterated my love for walking. I listened to some sweet tunes during my walk, namely, "Come Pick me up" by Ryan Adams, "You're a God" by Vertical Horizon, "A Message" by Coldplay, "Fresh Pair of Eyes" by Brooke Waggoner, "Song for the Lonely" by Cher, "All at Once" by the Fray, and finally T.I. and Rihanna's "Live Your Life." Nothing more motivating than T.I. and Cher on a Saturday.

During my walk to the coach station, I decided that I'd like to walk across America someday. Even though I run a lot, I decided that running was for losers. Basically, I consider myself a loser, but walking really is so much better. Moreover, I've become so immune to dibilitating hills since coming to Sheffield, that I also want to start hiking, which I basically did today. I was really happy to be outside. I just want to soak up every ounce of sunlight that I can because I don't want to lose the color I was lucky to obtain during my trek through Europa. Anyway, besides my infatuation with walking, when I arrived at the coach station I decided to take the bus to Bakewell, a town in the Peak District. It's the National Park of the UK. During some of the drive, I actually thought I was in Ireland again... it was really pretty. I arrived in Bakewell and had no idea what to do from there. I was trying to make a mental note of my surroundings, so that I could anticipate the location of my return coach, but I was also distracted by a steep hill directly in front of me. Curiosity gets the best of me everytime, so I climbed the hill and found a graveyard and a really pretty church at the top. I spent some time reading the gravestones, which I've really taken a liking to since getting here because the elegies written on the gravestones are often very beautiful. In reading them you can also get a taste for the love shared between a man and woman and the rest of their families. I think it's pretty neat. A lot of gravestones over here have the inscription "Reunited at last" following the deaths of the couples, which is also very touching.

After the graveyard, I walked a little further up the hill and ran into a museum, but it cost 3 GBP to get in, so I quickly turned around. I was snapping pictures the whole time. I wandered down to Bakewell Square and followed signs for a market. It was a small market, but they were selling lot of reallyyyyyy cheap jewelry and being that I only had 5 GBP on me, I had to go withdraw some more. I got distracted and made 8 zillion detours that took me to a river, some mega-hills/mini-mountains, and a cricket match. People were eating ice cream everywhere since it was such a nice day. I really wanted to have some, but a) I was fasting and b) I knew that the dairy would cause some stomach problems 10 minutes after the ice cream consumption, so I kept walking. Eventually I wound back into the Square and withdrew some more money. The dog was there. That freaking dog is following me. I only hope it is a good omen and not a bad one. After this, I went back to the market and purchased about 6 pairs of earrings for like 11 GBP, which is great. I wanted to get something for Tegan because she left me a cute note in my mailbox yesterday morning, so she gets a pair of earrings too. :)

I blew some more time wandering around town, not talking to anyone, continually running into the dog, and eventually headed back to the bus. I read my book for the rest of trip home and almost missed my stop. I sent Linds a text letting her know that I was coming over; I got there and collapsed back on my bed away from my bed (Linds and Genna keep an extra mattress for me to sleep on). I hadn't talked to anyone all day until I saw Linds again. I kind of felt like a nun, but I just wanted to be with my thoughts all day, so I avoided communicating with people. Lindsay decided to watch some Lost Season 1 because I got her hooked while I read my book (for pleasure). At about 630, I decided that I would make us some dinner, so I walked up to Somerfield's to get some comida. Being that Somerfield's closes May 2, I'm not really sure what the heck I'm going to do for food, but at the rate I'm eating these days, my Nutri-Grain bars may sustain me long enough to get back home to Charlotte. When I get home I plan on eating at Monterrey's Mexican Restaurant, FIREBIRDS, and Chili's fo sho fo sho. I hope my parents are ready to fulfill a week of my food cravings before I head back to work in DC. Moving right along, I got the ingredients to make some homemade killer Sun-Dried Tomato and Chicken Farfalle pasta. It took me about 45 minutes to prepare, but Lindsay thought it was good and Genna-Bear tore up the leftovers when she got home, so my guess is that's a good sign. I paired it with some garlic bread, which is always a winner. Since then, we've all been chilling in the kitchen, procrastinating on our assignments. I was reading for a long time, now Lindsay's reading Breaking Dawn and watching Lost, and Genna's watching Prison Break and Grey's. Linds saw me grab my computer and she was like, "You're itching to blog now, aren't you?" She knows me too well. I don't really feel like anyone reads this that often anyway, so now I can be boring and say what I want. Good times. I love Navy SEALS.

Maybe I'll walk back home soon, but I'm not quite motivated. Maybe I'll get a life someday, but for now I'm just going to sit on the couch and chill. I hope you enjoyed your day in the life of Lindsay.

Peace and love.