Wow... can't say that last post was my most articulate, well-ordered or coherent ever, but then *shakes head* when was I ever coherent, well-ordered or articulate *grins*?

Anyhow, thought I'd do a short update-y post-like thing before I headed off to England *nods*.

Lesse - the gifty thing was a fun success... man, I love Woburn, it was awesome... Em, Jess, Marc and I all had fun on Friday, despite the fact that we stood outside in the freezing cold for an hour before deciding we were lazy (and frozen solid :P) and returning home for yummy warm tea :D! Which, of course meant that people got in as soon as we left *shakes head in amusement*... I swear my life is constructed on the premise of a sit com... heehee, Jess's on thurs was also fun, as was the hot tub time in the snow before we went to meet marc at the train station:D! - which, I might add, I missed due to the fact that I had developed a drysocket and had to stop at the dentist's on the way *sigh* - see, sit com!!! Even more entertainingly however, as soon as I took my departure and headed toward the dentist, Em chipped her tooth *giggles*...

Then, it was off to the great white north - literally! it snowed the entire week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Still very fun though! Our group of 15 was an awesomely amazing mix of diverse people and our instructor, Robb, was incredible!!! I am also very proud to say that we are now all regestered Woofers *grins madly* ... that is, of course, that we are all Wilderness First Responders (WFR- pronounced Woofer) and can do crazy first aid stuff (like clear spines, fix certain dislocation and give injections *pause for evil smile*) so long as we are in the back country 2 hours away from diffinitive care (at which point you are all at my mercy *evil cackle*) *clears throat* right... so, yeah... that brings us up to now... hmmm... I suppose I should really go pack...

See you!
the ever-insane, Ally

Right...

*sighs and shakes head* I sooooo do not have time to be blogging right now but *shrug* blogging I am 'cause I really really really do need to do an update before I forget all that has happened in my life - sad ain't it? You know you're getting old when you can't remember your own life!!! (on a complete and utter side note: OMG! I can't believe I'm nineteen!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHAHHHHAHHHHAHHHHAHHHAHHHAHHHAHHHAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! okay, now I feel better *grins*)

hmmm... I suppose I should prolly start of with what's new... hmm... what is new????
lesse, I found out on wednesday that I would have to get my wisdom tooth (yes, tooth. I for some reason only had one *shrug* who knows, no one ever said I was wise :P.) taken out on thursday... I just got it back today (my dentist said I could keep it as a souvenir :D) The thing was huge!!!!! I have no idea how there isn't a masive gapping hole in the back of my mouth!!!!!! The strange thing is that I didn't swell up at all - so, of course, I took this as permission to run around visiting ppl, write essays and run errands in the days imediately following its removal in typical me fashion *grins (with a gapping hole)* *shakes head again* that thing was bloody gigantic!!!!
- speaking of bloody, I do not have an English accent :P!!!!!!!! *looks innocent* It's not my fault that I now occaisionally speak with a slight English lilt.... and that I say Bah-naah-nah.. and trousers rather than pants ... and toilet or loo rather than... okay, fine :P.

hmmm what else is new... I've been home for what? Almost three weeks now (6wk long breaks between terms are nice :D) so I've been visiting the Uof T-ers nearly everyday ('cause however much you deny it Ting, I know you miss me terribly *grins*). And I visited the York-ers on monday which was tons and tons of fun.. never made it to waterloo or western (I'm sorry you guys, I really do love you too!!!! Look, It even took me nearly 3 wks to visit york!!!!!). Visited Woburn, and Miller and yeah... man.. I can't believe I'm in Uni - or that the York ppl are almost done first year! That's just crazy!!!! OOOH!!!! I went up to Queens with Em and her mum to see Megan's recital which was AMAZING!!! and got jumped by Kav and Raza which was equally as Awesome and Cool and I'm sooooo glad they ran (quite litterally :P) in to me :D!!!!!!!!! And MIT came home for a visit too :D!!!!! lesse... what else... got run over by a little chinese man in a car last monday(???) which was incredibly funny (and painful) as he insisted on stopping and apologizing profusely WHILE HIS CAR WAS STILL PARTIALLY ON MY FOOT!!!!! *shakes head* it was quite the funny scene...

OOOOH!!!! And Em and Gillian and I went down to see Al's band and they were AMAZING!!!! Omg! I had no clue Al could sing!!!! I'm totally looking forward to hearing them again!!!! I also saw the Taming of The Shrew In ballet form which I love for my birthday and we saw the Canadian production of We Will Rock You for Nal's which was also incredibly good... OOOH! and ma and I saw Blood Brothers when she droped me off in England... And yeah... now I should totally be preparing a speach-ey thing to give at woburn before I head off to Jess's for the night... but yeah... when have I ever been known to write something when I was supposed to...

Heehee... I suppose that since I am (finally) doing the update I promised I should start off where my last update ended.... hmmmm... for that, we must travel back in time *erie time-travelly music comes on* to the beggining of the school year *dundundun*

it was a bright and early morning with all of the birds chirping and the - what?! I'm not allowed to get creative with my life??? :P lol. Nah. while my first couple of weeks in oxford were bright n' sunny (despite the prevailing view point, it does not always rain in England :P), it prolly makes more sense to discuss the nights - and no, don't go yelling at me - I didn't do anything naughty :P (just ignore all of those pictures of me with poles up on facebook* wide-eyed innocent look*). Freshers (that's frosh for most normal people :D) week was incredibly insanely fun - and the endless nightly clubbing and packed days were a great prelude to the lack of sleep that is the 8 weeks of term time in Oxford *grins* But yeah, Hetford is a great college and boy do we know how to party *shakes head* Anyhow, loads of experiences and many friends later (and all in one week too), term started... and My God! There are just too may experiences to recount *sigh* I knew I shouldda updated sooner :P!!!! lol! Suffice it to say that Oxford during term time is loads of fun. My Tutors (profs - oxford speaks its own language) are great. I love my Ballet teacher despite the fact that I think she's insane. Ballroom is... fun? interesting to learn though I don't know how much longer I can cope with having to work with a partner :P (I'm far too independant aren't I... *shakes head* ppl should really start picking up on that one... hmmm) . OOOH!!! my team (I'm on the oxford ballroom team) won the F team competition at Sheffield (yes, I know, it was F team... *shrug* It was still a pleasant surprise *grins*) this past term. OH! And Odin (a fellow dancer and exchange student from Germany) and I came in the top 10 out of 40 in Rock and Roll at Nationals after only 3.5 hours of practice (which included teaching me the style and choreographing the routine) - so that was pretty cool :D!

Hmmm... what else? I really do need to try rowing next term and I can't wait to go punting on the river!!!!! OOOH! and I'm now playing on the college women's football (aka soccer) team - which should be really interesting due to how much I suck *shakes head and grins* Who knows... hmmm.... what else... on top of getting everyone addicted to Timmy's, I've gotten them addicted to peanut butter cookies made with canadian peanut butter - which of course means that I am relegated to the kitchen at least 3 times a term to bake :P.

OOOH!!!! Speaking of baking! I flew home for the weekend back in october for my comencement (graduation) - (yes. I am insane. but, then, we already knew that didn't we :P! *grins*) Which was loads of fun 'cause I got to see everyone again :D!!! And I got to bake pumpkin pie!!!!! Fall just isn't fall without pumpkin pie :D! Or the smell of fall... england doesn't know what it's missing!!!!!!! I also came home and baked again at christmas. But, not before staying at Charlotte's just outside of london for a week and seeing The Producers before going skiing in the Alps :D!!!! It was pretty interesting. It's really weirdly different from the rockies 'cause there are virtually no trees!!!! (which meant no glades *pouts*) It was pretty cool though 'cause we were at Les Deux Alpes and there is a glacier at the top!!!! Not the hardest thing to ski (it's blues and greens) but fun anyhow. The fact that there are no trees makes it really interesting though 'cause the equivalent of double blacks are "off piste" which is steep and rocky and involves many cliffs (one of which I watched a friend go over - all the while having no idea who he was and thinking him an idiot :P - he survived perfectly fine... his skis and poles didn't though :P). So, of course, being me and having skied with Tash and Beck all my life, I spent the first two days skiing off piste :D! ... luckily, I also spent those days skiing the other open blacks and blues on the mountain since, on the last run of the second day I was skiing the flat part of a blue run at virtually no speed when I fell over and sliced my knee open to the bone *wrinkles nose* ... all in all, it was a pretty fun experience... the french rescue ppl thought I was nuts and teased me mercilessly for how excited I was about the gurney ride down (what?! It was fun!!!!) and by my attempts to describe a roller coaster (I forgot that it was a montagne rousse *pouts*) and the doctor and nurse were equally as entertaned by my watching them stitch my knee closed... the trip also wasn't a complete loss as the doctor let me ski again 2 days later for the last two days of the trip :D! Although he did bind my knee so that I couldn't bend it and made me promise to stay on easy hills *pouts again* Skiing with a straight knee is hard!!!! *shrug* it was still fun, and an experience :D! And it meant that I had an excuse to explore the glacier and ski with my not-so-adept-friends :D!!!!!! It also made the plane flight home interesting.. if somewhat uncomfortable...

I stayed at Charlotte's again for a couple of days after this term ended, I love Charlotte's family! They are totally awesome :D!!! and we went in to London for my bday and spent the day playing on a Heath!!!! It was soo coool!!!! I'd never been to a heath before!!!!!!!! afterward we left Hampstead Heath and headed into London central where we met up with a couple of the guys (after being hit on by a random british-canadian *weird look* and charlotte being propositioned by an old man at the market :P) and went to see Blood Diamond (which was really really good) and had yummy frozen yogurt :D.

Home at x-mas was also fun! The gifted family dinner at frankie tomatoes that we planned the night before (as per usual :P) and Baldwin's New Years Party and living at everyone's house but my own for 2 weeks :D!!! and... yeah... *nods* I'd say that was a pretty good summary... especially 'cause I really, really, truly do need to be going to pack now... oh, yes! and write that speach (eeeeekkk!!!!) we're running a gifted intervention since all of the younger gifties are apparently thinking of dropping out *shakes head* they have no idea what they'd be giving up.

OMG!!!! How could I have forgotten!!!! I'm a member of the Oxford Union, which is a debating and speaking society and, among others, I have seen Emma Watson (Hermione) speak (she's surprisingly intelligent and articulate, a lot like her character actually) and met Natalie Portman!!!!! She was amazing!!!!She's extremely intelligent and down to earth (she was giving a talk on micro-economics). OOOH!!!! And through the Canadian Society, I got to meet Paul Martin. Paul Martin!!!!!!He is an incredible man. the reason he always seems so slow is because when he is asked a question is because he actually Thinks about his answer! And he is willing to take criticim afterward in order to improve. He also doesn't balk at admitting to not kowing something and has no problem asking the advice or opinions of those who know more!!!! He was just amazing and I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to shake his hand.

Anyhow, I suppose I must be off... My luguage is calling me (eek). I'm out clubbing with Jess and Em and Marc (YAY!!!! Marc!!) tomorrow night before heading up north to burks falls for 9 days in a wilderness first aid course (and it's supposed to snow this weekend!!!!!!!!) before I head straight back to England for trinity term (I told you that Oxford had it's own language :P)... and then, after exams and Amanda's visit (and our suggested vagrancy), I fly to Peru where I am digging for 6wks :D! .. after that it's home for a week or so for Megan's wedding before I fly off to Hawaii... *shakes head* sometimes I love my life - other times I think I'm insane *grins*

See you all in August!