The Tale of Two Earmuffs

I came home with the expectation of doing some work. I have already said these next two weeks will be used wisely to put me in a good position to enjoy my birthday next weekend. Yet I came home and did nothing. LIE. I did laundry. But this is how my body and my brain work. I have been going non-stop for the past 4-5 weeks so with this downtime, it is a challenge to get going again. But go, I must. I will open up the books after I finish this. But it was my lovely lass who had me googling Ugg earmuffs. Aren't they beautiful?

OMG. (sob sob)

I have actually been looking for some nice earmuffs on a student salary, aka my allowance (lol) and the best I have seen are the M&S muffs, but then I have not looked really hard. I just pull my hat over my ears and recite a Novena (I am also at the doubling up gloves stage of sufferation). The Primark muffs were horrid. I chuckle at myself cause I always go into this store and always complain about the shit they sell and yet I keep going. The fact of the matter is I may be a Selfridges personality but I am on a Primark budget. Mind you, I got some long sleeved tees for bedtime and a scarf but that was it. I did like their warm and comfy bedtime robes as well though, so okay...they do serve a purpose. Bed wear for the winter. Nothing I would wear at home in 35 degree weather. That calls for silky niceness. But I digress.

I would love some Ugg earmuffs but they cost about 73 quid. That's a bit much for earmuffs, even if I was making a real salary. I stood on the platform today, waiting for my train to Sandwich (again, the train goes to a place named SANDWICH...I laugh every single time) and all the women were coming down the ramp with stylish shopping bags packed with Christmas goodies. I had a shopping bag on Saturday - from Poundland. lol. I got myself a new soup mug and some fake tupperware to store my soup in the fridge. I miss employment. God, I never thought I would say the words. Maybe I should be more specific and not mislead you wonderful people. I miss a hefty allowance. I chose those words carefully because it may not necessarily be a salary but maybe an allowance from a benefactor aka a husband. In any event, window shopping is zero fun when you cannot afford to actually buy anything. It's merely torture. I used to walk into stores, swinging my backside with confidence as I pulled out my Visa and swiped it. Now I pull out my Visa with dread and ogle the receipt, while doing the math in my mind. They say it's a small sacrifice for a Masters degree but it seems like a Herculean demand on my senses to live like this. lol. I am not like an obsessive diva or anything but I do love shopping and cute things. Sigh.

I tortured myself some more this morning by going on to the Macy's website to check out their Cyber Monday deals and there was a great little sweater dress, and a nice turquoise sweater, on ridiculous sale, that would have looked nice on my brown frame come Christmas morning and evening, but boo to Macy's for not shipping to the UK. Boo to my US contacts for not being online so I could beg them to receive said items for me and just forward it. No love for the poor, helpless student. This is the first birthday in eons where I will not be taking a shopping trip to Miami and it's a strange and not so wonderful feeling. But I will survive. I must.

I know my parents will not be expecting presents for Christmas but I would still love to get my cousin something nice, for putting me up and putting up with me. Just not sure what that will be yet. I just reminded him about my birthday so at least the suckage would not extend into that day. I know he would at least get me a card and maybe some nice white wine cause he knows I love my pinot grigio and my sauv blanc. And maybe some chocolates. I may be poor, but I drink well. Very well. I can drink away my sorrows in style. Not to mention the cold. They say snow tonight. I wait to see. God!

Read more »

How I Have Managed to Survive Grad School

My status on Facebook today read:

If UK food chains like Sainsbury's and Marks and Sparks did not have ready-to-go meals, I think I would be dead.

I told you on Saturday that I went to the store and got some veggies and seasonings, including a great piece of pumpkin and some mushrooms. I managed to find time to finish seasoning the cuts of chicken and shove it all in a pan and into the oven. That's easy. As for the rest...no time allotted. I ended up hitting my neighbourhood Sainsbury's and getting some 2-minute meals to once again, fill the pasta drawer. I also bought stuff like bread and ham for breakfast-on-the-run.
 

The bread never made it into the real world this morning. In my morning "dash for the bus that comes whenever it damn well feels like coming" moment, the most effort I could put into breakfast was shoving a packet of Nescafe mocha mix into my bag. Thank God for Marks and Spencer's at Waterloo, and their cheese sandwiches. I also grabbed a bottle of water and I was reassured that I would not pass out from hunger at school.
 
I came home tonight and had an awesome salad with my chicken and some pasta - the salad being out of a ready-to-go box from Sainsbury's as was the pasta. I have 2 sets of research to do tonight, one for assessment and cooking is not really an option. So you see, despite my best efforts to "turn a pot", I always fall back on M&S, and Sainsbury's and now with the new Tesco's having opened near my final bus stop, well...I am surely the perfect choice for ready meals spokesperson/spokesblogger. Anyone out there willing to pay me to review these meals? 
 
This is probably why I have been unable to effect the same kind of weight loss I managed during my undergrad because with the exception of fast food, ready meals in supermarkets in Jamaica were nasty and few. It was either eat the nasty Grace ready meals, face the microwave and the ramen noodles cupboard or face the stove. In my first semester, I had every flavour of ramen noodles ever made. My mother did not recognise me when I got home that Christmas and her mission was to fatten me up, which she did. Here, I just go to frickin' Sainsbury's and have a decent meal, and worse if they are on special. They are in fact very good and I am really picky and finicky about food so that is saying plenty. I will though make some time for my pumpkin and mushrooms this week before they go bad. The life of a struggling student!!!
 
And speaking of my cheese sandwich, the Brits have some really odd names for towns here. It has now become a pasttime of mine to listen out for new place names while waiting for trains, and have a laugh. Today I got on a train heading to Sandwich. I kid you not...the place is called SANDWICH. Can you imagine sending a letter to someone living in Sandwich, United Kingdom? Hilarious. I also sometimes get on a train heading to Battle. That one is worse...
 
Oh where are you going?
I'm off to Battle.
 
Gotta love the Brits. Gotta love 'em.

Read more »