uncommonly common

today brings to an end the third week of me being in Bath, England. I never would have thought that it would go so fast. It seems like just yesterday that I was rushing to catch my flight from Rome to Gatwick. Instead of waking up at 4 to take the 445 train to Fiumicino for a 7 o'clock flight, I woke up at 520. I ended up taking a taxi from the Angelinis to the airport (SORRY MOM I KNOW) and just made the flight. It stunk to officially say goodbye to probably the last time in my life where I will ever be relatively stress free, but alas life moves on whether I'm ready or not. Once back in the UK I had to go pick up all that I had left behind. Including my over 50 lbs rolling duffel bag, backpack, computer and smaller duffel bag containing everyone gifties. I looked like a complete fool. The train was long and I was tired and I almost started crying when I saw my group of ASEers waiting outside the train station. Moving into Prior Park house was a struggle but I'll tell you this for free: unpacking everything in all my bags was the most euphoric experience. HUZZAH for not living out of a suitcase! The girls started to trickle in. And this is the part where I introduce them, in the same style that you all met the Stirling crew.

Berkley - 6'1''. Art major turned bio major. Loves to hike and eat veggies. Makes me feel inadequate in almost every way. But is my roommate and I love her more than I can say.
Brooks - Came a day late. When we are in a room together, the collective maturity levels pitfalls. When he first came, I thought she was going to be a bitch, but she is rapidly becoming one of my favorite people on the planet.
Diana - %100 Portugese. So nice. Enjoys speaking. Even if that means speaking over anyone who is talking. Always has a magic never-ending supply of skittles and sour patch kids.
Cait - Makes me laugh. Wants to be a mom (she will be the BEST mom). Is the most sorority person I have ever met and I love it.
Emily - DENISON! Yay for making more Denison friends while not being on campus. Brown hair, very short, and has this expression on her face that says "I either dont care, or I'm about to fall asleep". She's pretty fantastic.
Lisa - Long brown hair, walks like a dancer. Very high strung. Is not the kind of person you would expect to be late all the time, but she is. The first real mormon I have ever really met. Incredibly smart.
Aubrey - So beautiful. Always ready for anything. Recently discovered Pimms and cannot get enough of it (in a responsible way, of course). Super sweet and is not afraid to dance. Where ever.

So thats my house. Others of import:
Gina - DENISON! DELTA GAMMA!  No matter what the situation, she can always get someone to buy her a drink. It is a skill I'm hoping to learn, quickly because my funds are non-existent. She is hilarious and not afraid to speak her mind, or anyone elses mind.
Amanda - DENISON! DELTA GAMMA! Probably the most beautiful person I have ever seen in this life. I'm not joking or being nice, she is objectively stunning. So sweet and willing to listen.
Rachel - DENISON! DELTA GAMMA! Just a little baby DG. Calls everyone 'Darlin' which would be annoying, but when she says it it sounds nice. I wish I could claim her as my little, or just be her best friend.

So many Denison people.

Now I'm just trying to bust out as much info as possible before I get home so that this blog was not for nothing!

the seat of our pants and the skin of our teeth

oops I guess this kinda slipped through the cracks the past few weeks...

I wrote most of what happened when my parents came to visit, but I forgot a lot of it so if you really want to know the best person to ask would be my mother. But I shall transcribe what I have. 

I guess I will start from the beginning for thats a very good place to start.

Oh lord. Another Raino-Ogden family vacation come and gone. Another vacation spent wondering how on earth we survived with (most of) our sanity. Spending the first weekend in Edinburgh was wonderful. Walking to meet them at their B&B, I felt like I belonged there. Like Edinburgh was my town. Liza can have Bath or the whole European continent, but Edinburgh was mine. I also felt so incredibly relieved and euphoric walking through the doors and seeing Liza and Logan and Dad and Mom. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed them. I’ve never really thought about the relationship that my family and I shared; I knew that my friends families were similar, but mine feels special. I think spending all those hours in the car to Montana made us have to deal with each other no matter what. Its wonderful being able to sit on a bed and just listen to my sisters argue about makeup and cosmetics and the like. Its wonderful to hear about the number of times Liza said “annoying” since landing. Wonderful to hear that my father managed to have a semi drama free plane ride and that my mom was rushing till the last second. 

I digress. We walked around, looking for food, mostly, and something my dad really wanted to see. I’m still not sure what it was. After a light lunch and the first legal drink I have shared with my parents (!) we made our way back to the B&B stopping a cute pub that was way to full of people. And ordered fish and chips that was way lacking in fish. My parents were very excited and ready to stay and experience the lively atmosphere of the pub.  I have no idea when the switch happens. When the adults are the ones rallying the kids to go out. Logan, Liza and I were little better than bumps on a log. The next morning we stopped at a farmers market. So many fantastic things. Then we proceeded to have the typical walk down from the castle to the Holyrood church or whatever. Stopping to purchase souvenirs (and to put them in our pouch for purchased souvenirs) and snacks and pints. The elephant house was obviously a highlight. And meeting the invisible man. And we ended at the Witchery. An AMAZING restaurant that sat at the top of the hill. Good lord. I honestly don’t remember what I had, but I remember that the wine was velvety and the desert was out of this world. I headed back to Stirling to work on a project, while everyone else headed back to sleep and prepare for their few days in Glasgow.

 

THURSDAY

We headed out. I was forced to downsize my luggage. Instead of taking 6 pairs of shoes, I took 4. It was hard, but I think I handled it well. The drive out to the highlands was long and twisty and beautiful. The Scottish landscape will never cease to amaze me. Nor will the sheep. Those buggers were chilling out on pretty much a vertical cliff face. Acting like its no big deal. WHAT ARE THESE ANIMALS? We finally made it to Glencoe, and stayed at the Claihaig Inn, the location where the 3^rd HP Hagrids hut was shot. Our little cottage was freezing, but welcoming and we all desperately needed sleep.

FRIDAY

Upon awakening, we milled into the car to head over to the Isle of Mull. Stops along the way included a small aquarium that was sadly lacking in otters. Once there, we set up a tour of the Oban Distillery, one of the more popular whisky distilleries in the area. But, of course, within the span of 10 minutes, we lost the father, hit another car, and got caught in a rainstorm. Since we are poor planners and even worse at finding lost family members, we had only about 30 minutes to eat lunch before our tour. And the woman at the desk in Oban stressed that we should not be late. Taking this advice to heart, we chose to eat at one of the fancier restaurants that was definitely going to make us late. A rushed meal of fish and chips made us only about 10 minutes late, and they were not happy. But whatevs cause the distillery was awesome. How olden times people figured out how to make alcohol boggles my mind. Honestly I don’t understand how half the things in the world were created, like cake or salads or cheese or anything food related. How many trial and errors did they go through? If you were bad, were you the one that tried to new food to see if it killed you or not? ….thats for another time though. Most of the distillery smelled really weird though. So no thanks. But otherwise, it was very enjoyable and interesting. Heading home though was terrible. When we were about an hour from the hotel when the snowstorm hit. It completely changed the landscape. It looked like a weird Mars landing setting. But, unfortunately, the people of Scotland apparently have no idea how to handle driving in the snow. We hit a line of cars about a mile long. We sat and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. Most of the cars had turned around and went back the other way. We almost did, but the Raino-Ogdens are a stubborn bunch. We stayed and when we were a few cars from the front, and after the police had left, we were able to help and push most of the cars up the hill and clear the way. Once my father got out of the car and started helping, I kid you not, it took less than 30 minutes to get people going. He was a miracle worker. After finally getting out of the hellhole that was the line of cars, we made it home in time to have chips and peanuts for dinner.

SATURDAY

Saturday we set of to explore the Isle of Skye and the adorable towns on the way. We saw many Harry Potter things, as is to be expected on a Raino-Ogden trip, and we took a lot of weird pictures, which is also expected. I was sick and grumpy for most of it, which I think only added to my sisters enjoyment. After stopping to invade a home that was getting ready for a wedding (Im still embarrassed about it Mom and Dad) we drove along the coast and tried to both chase the blue sky and run away from the storm that was fast approaching. But we were able to stop at a beach and swing on a rope swing. This was one of my favorite parts of the day.

 



Another short drive and we were in the town that would provide the ferry that would take us to the Isle of Skye. And once inside a café, my entire family took out their phones and proceeded to sit in silence for about 30 minutes. Oh wait, I lied, they talked to the waiter when they ordered their drinks. I expected more from you, mother. We the hopped on the ferry and sailed our way over to the Isle of Skye. Oh rainbows galore. So many rainbows. Twas beautiful. Driving along the coast and pretty much always being able o see the water where ever you are on the island is pretty amazing. And the mountains are literally right in front of you. Just chilling out like its no big deal they are mountains. After stopping for a few photo ops (I’m still trying to find my new facebook prof pic) we started to look for the restaurant that everyone had recommended, The 3 Chimneys. Im almost positive the GPS was reprogrammed to try and kill us because it took us through the most backwoods(mountains) road that was covered in sheep. We could have opened the door and hauled one in without leaving the car. Also sheeps eyes glow when the head lights hit them and its terrifying. As always, we were chasing the sunset so we could watch it set of the water while we ate at this apparently fantastic restaurant. We got lost about 5 times, but we finally made it. And this place turned out to be the most uppity restaurant ever. The waiter who greeted my parents looked like he wasn’t even going to let them look inside. And it was booked. So we piled back in the car and hoofed it to another small coastal town inn that was infinitely better. The food was hot and comforting and its making me hungry right now which is a bummer because I only have cocopops and no milk….and I’m not sure if I killed the spider that was just walking next to me so I’m now sitting in the opposite corner writing this. But I think Kristine Raino-Ogden deserve a medal of honor for driving everyday for who knows how long. Well, actually the drive back was 3 hours, but still. She is amazing. We made it back safely and promptly PTFO.

SUNDAY

We woke up and walked around the grounds of Clahaig hoping to find Signal Rock. I still don’t really know what Signal Rock is, but I don’t think we found it. At least I didn’t cause I left the hike due to my sickness. But Dad made it look like he was wearing pantaloons and I don’t think that is a sight I will soon forget. We packed up and headed off to our next destination….the actual town of Glencoe about 10 minutes away. After a lovely little lunch of smoked salmon and a hot totty (not my fave) we went to what would be the most amazing hotel I have ever stayed in, and probably will ever stay in. The Glencoe House used to be a maternity ward or a old peoples home, I’m not really sure. What I am sure about though, is that I want to know what choices I have to make in order to live in a hotel like that forever. As we walked in the door, we were given a glass of champagne to welcome us. Because why the hell not. We were then led to our room, with the dining room table set in a window nook overlooking the loch and the surrounding mountains. And the table was already set with the most delicious scones or muffins I don’t really care which but they were AMAZING. Mom’s work friends had sent flowers ahead of time and everyone started crying because it was so sweet. Logan, Liza and I had the “master bedroom” that had 3 beds for us and a vanity. OH there was also a nesspresso machine. Super fancy. But my favorite part of the whole place was the bathroom. An open door glass shower with a huge rain type showerhead, plush robes, slippers, AVEDA shampoo and Kiehls lotion and TWO BEARCLAW BATHTUBS RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER! I don’t even care why they thought it was a good idea because I loved it. I sat in one of the tubs for over 45 minutes sipping on my champagne and wondering how in the world we were staying there. For dinner we went to a hotel right on the water with a very cute waiter and huge dancing shrimp (courtesy of my father and his creepy meal).

MONDAY

Early in the morning we set out to hike up an actual mountain. But not before a healthy and delicious breakfast that was brought up to our room. I ate in my robe, which has always been a dream of mine. We started out the hike with high spirits and a ‘can-do’ attitude. We ended the hike crawling on our knees. Not really but we did almost die several times. The first part of the hike is pretty cool cause we got to kinda scale this rock wall using a rope. And it wasn’t that steep of rocky. But then you turn this corner and BAM! The skinniest trail you have ever seen runs along the quickest drop you will ever see. Into the roaring waterfall that lies below. But we persevered. We lost the trail a few times, and Dad had gone so far ahead because he cares so much about our safety, so we just had to hope we didn’t run into any crazy sheep or highland cows. Half of the trail was covered in ice, so that was fun. But I had my bean boots on so everything was fine. When we finally made it up, I felt like I was in a movie. Lord of the Rings or something. Below us was a valley covered in snow. It was breathtaking. And this little old man who had been behind us kept going down into the valley like it was no thaaang. We finally made it down and we all smelled like a farm. It was so bad. And instead of going to try to see some loch, I was dropped off at the hotel so I could take a bath and relax. (my ankle was NOT happy with my decision to climb the rocks). Taking a bath has never felt better. I lit a candle, opened the window a little so I could hear the birds, but on some music, and read my book. It was heavenly. For dinner we stayed in, and dinner was served to us at our dining room table. The food was, obviously, amazing. And there were dessert shots!! The first one was a banana shot..? I’m not positive what it was exactly, but nonetheless I wanted more. And HUZZAH my wish was granted. The chef was trying out a new shot which was blueberry lemon..? Again, I’m not sure. After dinner was cleared and I put on my stretchy pants, we settled in to watch both Dogma with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and then The Constant Gardner with Ralph Fiennes. Dogma was hilarious, and The Constant Gardner was…not what we expected. It mostly just made us feel terrible about being people.

TUESDAY

Tuesday we were scheduled to hop over to the land of Ire. On the way to the airport, we stopped in a cute little pub with the most adorable waitress. She was like a punk rocker chick with the thickest accent and the sassiest attitude and the most Scottish kilt I have ever seen. Logan took an awkward picture with a stuffed bear and a man in a kilt. We got on the plane, broke our irish rent a car within 10 minutes, went to eat Indian food at a pub, and I managed to make a huge fool of myself. This is extremely embarrassing for me, but seeing as I have lost all sense of dignity, I will tell you the story. I may have some of the detail wrong though, but I’m sure my family will be quick to correct me. at the pub, we were watching a game of hurling with a local man. I would look up the rules because I still have no idea what this game actually is. But the man was explaining how the point system worked. And due to his accent, I heard “you get one pint for over the goalpost, and 2 pints for blah blah blah” that’s not completely true, but something like that. I was confused AND TIRED and I said something to the effect of “oh you call them pints over here?” I could see my family physically trying to restrain their laughter. I immediately realized my mistake and tried to hide my head in the shelf nook that was to my left. It takes a lot to embarrass me. And this was a lot. Plus a little. I became the laughing stock of my family and they were all crying actual tears because they were laughing so hard once we got back in the car. But alas, I go on.

WEDNESDAY

The B&B that we stayed in was wonderful. We had this entire section to ourselves and the bathrooms had just been redone. And out back…SHEEP. I told the owner that I was going to catch one before we left. He laughed. But this man is amazing. He literally built the entire house. Well, both houses. There was the B&B and then there was their house. Everything was repurposed and it looked amazing. I wish I could better explain it, but it was like a hodge podge of all these awesome pieces of old buildings and materials. There was also a cat that I petted. The first cat that I had seen in maybe 2 months. And now for the sheep. I was told that the sheep would have been little. Like babies. And there was a young one, but he was already pretty hefty. And there was one with shifty eyes that did NOT like me. and one with actual crazy devil eyes. I thought it wouldn’t be that hard, but let me tell you, sheep are fast. Very fast. Those little toothpicks legs and WORK. After about 45 minutes of luring them in with food, I gave up and decided to let my father chase them around. Out next stop was Kilkenny, were we did a little bit of sightseeing and shopping. I’d say we were gone about 4 hours. We when came back to the carpark, we realized that someone (LIZA) had left the door open the ENTIRE time. Out in public. And nothing was taken. But good lord mother was upset. And Logan thought she lost her phone/wallet, but we were just sitting on it. We were then on our way to Kinsale, where we would rest for the night. We were in the tallest tower of this place and our room had a spiral staircase in it!!! And scones whenever we wanted them. For dindin we went to the Blue Haven and wouldn’t you know, there was a live performance. A fiddle person, a singer, and someone else that did something. They were quite good. But then the singer got up and she started irish dancing/stomping/tapdancing and it was AMAZING. The things this girl could do was mindblowing. We later found out that she is famous in Ireland and we got to see her for freez in a little coastal town.

THURSDAY

Uhhmmm I think this day started out with a lot of scary drives. I thhhiiiiink this is when we literally drove up a mountain and could have fallen off at any moment and we were surrounded by herds of sheep just hanging out in the road. Sorry, but the more I write, the less I remember and the less I feel like typing everything out. I was feeling gross and we stopped at my parents friends hometown, and I bought most of my souvenirs. We got candy, and we drove to the most amazing lookout point. It was by this famous golf course, but we weren’t allowed to go in. but the view was still amazing. It was a straight drop with rocks below and waves crashing  against them. And we saw a seal? A whale? Probably a seal. Pretty cool. We kept driving along the coast and

aaand this is where my short memory terminates. Now I think I still have to do my Amsterdam trip AND my last few weeks at Stirling. Which should be another difficult task seeing as I dont think I wrote very much down...put im going to publish this anyways cause I probably should.