Where to begin?

As my dear friend and housemate, the lovely Eleta Andrews, exclaimed rather randomly and endearingly last week:

I have so much to blog about!

That's her on the left.

First things first: I ran another cross country race last Saturday. I ran my 5K in a little over 20 minutes, that's like 6:20 miles or so. That's a great time for me, but it's pretty humbling when all of your teammates are running theirs in 16 minutes.

And, of course, it was my 21st birthday last Sunday. On that particular day, I decided I'm the luckiest guy in the world.

The festivities consisted of breakfast for supper (my favorite these days) and a cake that my housemates surprised me with, complete with a turtle made out of frosting. Lately, I've taken to shouting I LIKE TURTLES quite a bit. Too much, really, by any standard. But I still can't get over Jonathon. This is the best YouTube clip I've ever seen, just because it's 17 seconds long and still cracks me up every time.





Breakfast for dinner was stellar. Fried eggs, bacon, grits. All delicious.


Then we went out to our favorite little pub, St. Aldate's. In good ol' American
fashion, all my friends bought me shots all night. And, like a good Midwestern boy, I took them, and still walked home of my own accord. I didn't even have a headache for my lecture at 11:00 on Monday morning.

My housemates also made me a birthday crown. I have the best housemates in the world.

So that was that.

I also went to Dublin this weekend with my good friends Janeane and Tony. The Guinness was unmatched in quality, and, unfortunately, in price as well. I thought, hmmm, since it's the local brew, it seems like some of the pubs will have it pretty cheap. Not true. Not true at all.

Thumbs up, Christ Church!

What? Guinness Storehouse? Yes, please.

At the top of the museum, dedicated entirely to Guinness beer and its 250-year history, was a bar with a panoramic view of Dublin. The free pint was great; the view of the city was not. Dublin is a very dirty, industrial, drab, gray town. But you can't beat the beer, so that's how it goes.

This is a terribly undetailed post, and I apologize. I have a lot of work to do for my two tutorials this week, and I have, as mentioned at the beginning of this post, a lot to blog about. I'm getting further and further behind. But I'll get to it, just you wait and see.

Hope all is well back in the U.S. of A. I'll leave you with my other favorite YouTube video as of late:



PL&C

Allow myself to reintroduce . . . myself.

So it's totally been, like, a million years since my last post.

What motivated me to post today?

I can't really say. Suffice it to say, I feel like a million - nay! - a brazillion dollars. Or pounds sterling, I suppose, over here, but it still doesn't feel exactly like real money, even though it's worth much more than our tired, our poor, our weary Washingtons and Lincolns and Jacksons.

Since November 29, 2007, the date of my last post, I have had a couple experiences I'd like to tell you about. The first, obviously, was my little jaunt around northern Europe with my buddy Janeane and my brother bear. I told myself to jump back on the blog train when I got back here and post my pictures and tell everyone out there that reads this - which is probably somewhere between two and twenty people, most likely closer to the former, from what I surmise - that I had a great time and, against all odds, and despite a scare with an Italian escalator, came out of the whole ordeal (relatively) alive and well. And I did, indeed, have the time of my life . . . so far . . . ladies?

I've also had my share of sweet happenings since then. For instance:

1. There's a burrito joint called "The Mission" opening in Oxford. Probably the best news I've had since I've been here. Reading the items below, you may be confused as to why I put this first, but my burrito cravings get the best of me sometimes.

second-of-ly. I'm running in the London Marathon on April 13th with 46,000 of my closest friends. They're showing it on the television over here . . . maybe you can tune in.

3. I'm studying the New Testament and Political and Economic Transitions in Eastern Europe this term. New Testament is probably the greatest thing I've ever done, and my tutor is among the best teachers I've ever had. So that's nice.

4. I totally went to Bournemouth, on the south coast of England, last weekend. It was cold, and I felt like Joel Barish in the opening scene of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind all weekend. But it was really great to see the ocean and collect my thoughts.



5. I'm going to Dublin weekend after this one to celebrate my birthday a week late. It's going to be pretty Raven.

I may feel like a brazillion dollars, but I still don't feel quite up to the task of recounting the story of my trip yet. Soon, though. Soon. Stay tuned.

PL&C

Here Goes Nothing.

I'm off to see the world.

Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Munich, Venice, Rome. Home on Christmas Eve.

A laundry list of European cultural centers. Your prayers are appreciated. Off I go . . .

P.S. This is the greatest shirt I've ever owned. It's a bit small, but who am I to complain? Thanks, Aunt Janna!

Pick up the Bags, Get in the Limousine

That's from 'You Never Give Me Your Money' on Abbey Road, in case you're wondering.

One sweet dream
Pick up the bags, get in the limousine.
Soon we'll be away from here
Step on the gas and wipe that tear away.
One sweet dream
Came true.
Today.

And how!

Zach and I left for Liverpool on Sunday at one o'clock in the morning. There really weren't any great options for getting there. The other buses got in at 1:00 in the afternoon, and the trains were the same story. So I thought we could get some sleep on the bus and make it through. We didn't get any sleep, but we made it through.

Believe it or not, there's not much to do in Liverpool at 6:00 on a Sunday morning. The streets were empty. So we sat in a McDonald's for an hour and a half, then made our way down to Albert Dock. Back in the day, Liverpool was a booming port city, and the buildings that make up what is now the cultural center - where the museums and fancy restaurants are - were, ironically, highly unglamorous warehouses. It was freezing cold and rainy when we got there and the rest of the time. But that didn't stop us.

We went to the Tate Modern Art Gallery first. Pretty cool, though much of it is way too artsy for me. A blue canvas? That's it? It expresses something . . . I'm not quite sure what . . . but I'll be damned if it's not prestigious art. The minimalist stuff is beyond me, but we got to see some of Andy Warhol's first prints. That was pretty awesome.











Here's me with Marilyn Monroe.
And the Chairman. No, not Sinatra.

After that, we set out on the Magical Mystery Tour, a bus tour of Beatles sites in Liverpool. So we saw all of their childhood homes. John's is now in the National Trust, a government organization that usually only buys old Victorian-era houses and the like. We couldn't go in, because it's closed for the winter for some reason, but it was really cool to stand there and see where John and Paul wrote so many of their early tunes.

We also went to the church where John and Paul at a picnic one fateful afternoon . . . CRAZY!

And, of course, Strawberry Field and Penny Lane.




















Seeing these places sent chills up my spine. We also went to the Cavern Club on Mathew Street, where they performed 292 times in the course of two years before they invaded America. This is me on Mathew Street.



And, finally, the Beatles Story, a very touristy 'museum' of artifacts and cheesy mannequins. It was alright, I guess, but a little disappointing. It only served to make me wish I had been born 40 years earlier and in Liverpool. But it was a great couple of days and well worth the trip.

Hello, goodbye.

PL&C

And(rew) Bird Can Sing.

But he can't see me.
He can't see
Meeeeeee
(George Harrison guitar lick)

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A few of us went into London on Friday to go to a concert by Andrew Bird, violinist, whistler, and guitarist extraordinaire. He did not disappoint.

But more on that later. First we went to the British Museum (my second time, but their first) and, believe it or not, I had my camera with me and charged. So I got pictures of my favorite works of art and history. Here are some of the highlights:

It's huge. Like, 18 acres huge.

Oh! The grandeur.

This is the Cyrus Cylinder. On it, the king of Babylon is proclaiming he's king of the world. We learned about this in my religion class. That is neat.

My favorite section was the clocks. They were all built centuries ago, and with a little help, still keep perfect time. The various parts show the day of the week, month, and year, a zodiac calendar, and, of course, the time of day. Pretty incredible.

They have stuff from every continent at the British Museum. This is from South America. I'm pretty sure they got the art at Chipotle from this thing. And thus began a new round of burrito withdrawals.

We thought this sculpture's face was great, so Mikey and I tried to imitate it.

I'm not really sure what it's trying to convey. My theory? He fussy, 'cause he a baby.

After a stroll through the Camden markets, which were very cool, we went to the concert. The venue was AMAZING. It seemed to be an old opera theatre with four levels, packed to the top. The disco ball work was exquisite.

Dot took this picture. Great shot, Dot.

So Andrew Bird went to work plucking and bowing on his violin, then stomping a pedal to record it and play it back, over which he would play some more violin, or whistle and clap, and play his guitar and sing. You have to wonder what's going through his mind - how he could have all of those parts in his head, all at his disposal at any time, ready to whip out a violin or guitar and just play his heart out. It was just jaw-dropping to watch.



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A little less impressive, but he was also proficient at this thing. The rooster says: a brilliant show, and a wonderful afternoon in foggy Londontown.

PL&C

Hills! Water! Mud! Running!

I ran in the Birmingham Cross Challenge this weekend. It was a lot of fun. It was what our captain called a 'proper cross country race,' with lots of hills and a jump over a big old puddle of water. Or, for the rest of us, a run through it. There were, oh, about 600 people running. There were teams from universities around the area, but most of the guys were older - like 40's, 50's, and some of them were probably in their 60's. I got beat by A LOT of those people. It was a 10K (about 6.2 miles), and I've never raced at that distance before, much less on ridiculous hills over the entire course on a chilly day.

Coming in to the race, I had two goals:
1. Don't get injured.
2. Don't finish in the last 10%.

And I accomplished both of them! Hooray!

It was a tough race, but it was great to be in a competition like that again. And words can't describe how much fun it was to run through that puddle of mud, everyone cheering you on, though really hoping to see you face plant into it . . . you could tell from the other side of the park when someone had fallen in from the huge cheer that went up. One of my teammates did, he told me after the race. It was pretty obvious, because he was covered in it. Pretty funny, glad it wasn't me.

The winner ran a 29:41 10K. RIDICULOUS! I finished in 42:25, which I was really really happy with - 6:49 miles, and with less than optimal training and preparation. Here are my results . . . they kind of slaughtered my name. 'Ryan Gebtzier.' But I don't do it to be famous, so I think I'll be alright.

And yes, Mom, I was the cutest one out there.

















PL&C

Big News, Faithful Readers.

I made it onto the Global leader board for Scrabulous. No small accomplishment, if I do say so myself.





It's hard to see, but that's my name. Possibly my proudest achievement ever.

Let's see . . . I got two packages today, one from my best friend and another from Jewell's Christian Student Ministries. I feel very loved.

The race is tomorrow. I am excited.

Oh, and I emailed Chipotle last week asking how fast they could open a restaurant in London. I got a reply today:

Hello Ryan,

It is going to be a while my friend. Right now, Chipotle is focusing on expanding our business domestically and pursuing American markets that have not yet been explored by us. International expansion is way out on the time line and I am told that may take many years to accomplish. But I hope you will visit the states soon and enjoy another burrito. We send our International Burrito Love.

Sincerely,

Ken Marley
Chipotle

I still love you, Chipotle.

I'll update tomorrow with news about my race. Until then,

PL&C