Another visitor!

Viki came to stay with us on Thursday before packing up from Germany and heading back home to the States. She was on a quest for some UK edition hard-cover books by Terry Pratchett that were under £200 each, and we ended up finding some deals!

Viki inside the Divinity School

After going into the Divinity School and some bookstores, we headed out for another hunt. Although I knew that J.R.R. Tolkien was at Oxford, I never thought about the fact that he would be buried here too. Viki’s second quest was to take a photo of his tombstone, so we hopped on a bus to the Wolvercote Cemetery like a couple of fanatical tourists (even though I, myself, am not a fanatic), and surprisingly, we were the only ones standing around Tolkien’s grave taking photos like weirdos.

Tolkien tombstone

Happy is...

We went through the Museum of the History of Science, went to a couple pubs, and sat in a little coffee shop getting to know each other a little more. I especially enjoyed our time in the coffee shop since up until then, many of our conversations had revolved around physics, and it was the perfect opportunity to just sit and talk about life. Although Viki was only able to come for one and a half days, it was a nice one and a half days, and I’m glad that I didn’t cause any problems after feeding her guoi cuon that had some wheat flour!

Feeling useful

Birthdays

Happy belated birthday to Aunty Kiyoko & Uncle Russ!

☆Happy 1st Birthday, Lindsay!☆

♥Welcome to the world, Elyse! ♥

..º°˚*˚ºo..°˚°…oO*˚°º*..º°˚**o..O˚..º˚..oº˚°*o…°˚*..Oo°*

Birthdays, a wedding, and yoga

Happy belated bithday, Aunty Hideko, and happy birthday to Eimi & Barbara!

Last weekend, we went to a friend’s wedding dance party. Here in England, the ceremony usually starts in the morning with around 40 closest family and friends, is followed by a wedding brunch and dinner, and then the day is ended with a dance party where friends are invited to attend. It was really fun, and we danced quite a bit since just about everyone else there couldn’t dance well either.

The bride & groom

Yesterday morning, I went to my first yoga class ever (at 7:45AM!). I had always imagined yoga to be really difficult poses that I could only imagine doing when I was seven, but it turns out that I’ve been doing yoga almost everyday for many years thanks to tumbling and martial arts. I think I should set aside more time for stretching everyday though. I’m planning on going to another yoga class with a friend, but what sucks is not only getting up early but having to bike in the really cold weather. At least it wakes me up… only to make me tired by 9:00AM.

Another trap on the table

I’ve already got fluorescing atoms in this one.  Soon, we’ll puzzle out the wiring of all those dc voltage pins and be off to the races.

♥ Happy Birthday, AJ! ♥

Sorry attempt at carving

His & Hers Bento

Today I made us an obento, and I decided to make a bunny in the moonlight for Oxfraud J. So after who knows how many years of not boiling an egg, I boiled one. It ended up just shy of hard-boiled, so the yolk “moon” came out kind of pocked. I tried to carve the bunny from the egg white, but it ended up looking good only from far away.

The bento includes teriyaki vegetarian chicken, rice with black sesame seeds, sweet peas, carrot, broccoli, lemon, cherries, and egg for Oxfraud J.

A “plus” for the UK

Although we both used to hate eating mangoes in the US (not counting sorbet and dried mangoes), we love eating them in the UK! They are unbelievably delicious. The mangoes are imported to the UK from Pakistan and India whereas the mangoes in the US tend to come from Guam and the Philippines? There is no hint of bitterness in the mangoes we get here, and they are very sweet and not as fibery as the ones in the US. Mmmmmm!

One point for the UK.