The official tour August 13, 2008
Posted by meigrowstall in Uncategorized.Tags: cardiff, colchester ave, Life, whales
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Here stands the record of mum’s tiny, shared flat on Colechester Ave.
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- bedroom
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- kitchen, side one
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- kitchen/ living room side 2
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- shower closet.
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- Toliet
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- My favorite place – the post office
I dunno why she swallowed the fly. August 1, 2008
Posted by meigrowstall in Uncategorized.Tags: flies, Life, whales
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(july 27)
For several days, there has been a silent swarm of flies hovering in the center of our living/ dining room. It’s bad enough that there is a dingy, tiny shower, no privacy, and a bed that should not be shared with a mother – but flies too? Rough calculations say that there were 15-20. Once or twice I’ve just sat down and watched them, diving and charging each other like all the ships do in Star Wars. I had enough – I went went hunting.
We have no fly swatter, no chemically sprays or cleaners to shoot them with. So instead, I designed a highly sensitive device. A glass with conditioner squirted in the bottom, and someone’s folded electric bill served as a lid. i spent 40 mintues pouncing and slinging the cup around. My theory was that the conditioner was sticky enough for the flies to be caught, and thick enough that it wouldn’t slide out of the glass. I felt like a genius, but it was much more difficult than i anticipated. I only caught four of them, drown them in my cup, and flushed the whole cloudy mess down the toliet. I am ruthless.
Dramatics with the Neighbors July 21, 2008
Posted by meigrowstall in Uncategorized.Tags: cardiff, Life, thoughts, whales
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So here are the living arrangements – Me and my mum, Rahf the Iranian guy and Maria the Welsh woman, the polish couple down the hall all crammed into tiny bedrooms. Maybe 7×7. Children were not meant to live in such close quarters to their parents. lol. I’m driving myself up a wall. Alas, that is the only place I can find space. We all share a crammed living room/kitchen / eating area, a small bathroom, and a dingy little shower closet that makes me uneasy if I look at it too close. Oh well.
Last night Rahf cooked dinner for me, mum, and Maria. He’s got some mad kitchen skills for sure, and I ate a ridiculous amount – stir fried chicken and vegetables, some sort of flat bread, and rice Turkish style with noodles in it. Mmm.
It’s weird, because before i arrived, mum made it sound like Rahf and Maria were not ones to hang around. I met the Polish couple and they seemed nice. But after our last dinner, The Polish couple seem like the Villans and other two seem almost jolly. There is quite the drama that unfolds in that tiny little flat, and I would just love to spell it all out right here, right now. However, I’ll have to save all the retelling for later when I’m long gone. Who knows if they shall ever see this blog? I wouldn’t want to offend anyone. Or worse – join the disfunctional episode myself. Point: Our perception of people can be as different as who’s telling the story.
The Cardiff Castle, Museum, and other fun July 21, 2008
Posted by meigrowstall in Uncategorized.Tags: Cardiff Castle, misadventures, whales
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On Sunday, Mum and I woke up early so we could reach the city centre by 9am. We booked a 12pm tour of Cardiff Castle, grabbed some lunch and made several unscheduled visits to Jewelry shops along the way, finally making our way back to SEE the darn thing. The castle was just gorgeous! I remember standing in one of the windows of the tower and just thinking, “I wish I hadn’t cut my hair now. The Rapunzel bit would be so cool.” It’s crazy the way the wind whips around up there, and the stairs are incredibly steep and narrow. Me and Mum both were in skirt type dress – geting back to the ground was a feat.
While we were around we toured the house, watched a short film about the property, got some hot chocolate, and climbed up to the keep. The tour guide was so cool, because when he saw my bag, he asked if I was a Beatles fan, had I been to liverpool yet, etc. We were having a real chat. He had the perfect Welsh “wow i think my jokes are funny” bit. Of course, he got a lot of chuckles. And I know a lot of men with the same mentality, so perhaps that aspect is a global thing.
Also, the Museum who’s name I can’t remember was really good. There was alot of french art and 15th-18th Century Portraits which were interesting, though somewhat stereotypical. The Art guard people were especially friendly. Like most other times, one gentleman just couldn’t believe my mum was old enough to be my Mum. ha. He semed to think that she held the key to the fountain of youth, taking detailed notes on her diet, excercise, and ‘gin seng’. They had a whole exhibition on ceramics too, so my Mum was just bursting full of teapot excitement…I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it, but her latest crazes are housewares, antiques, old dishes, and jade jewelry. Oye.
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- In the gates
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- Illegal Shot! the library
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- Illegal shot! The banquet hall
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- my ‘ha ha’ face becasue she couldn’t get enough light for a picture.
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- Cherries on the wall
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- steep stairs. really.
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- maka would love this. ha
I forgot to mention…Taking pictures inside the Mansion is strictly a no-no, due to conservation purposes. Not only did my mum lag behind so she could break this rule when our guide wasn’t looking, but she used the flash too! She denied this when I asked her about it, but I’ve got the photographic evidence! I was sure we’d be turned out of the house any second. I was disgruntled.
Cardiff Double Decker July 21, 2008
Posted by meigrowstall in Uncategorized.Tags: cardiff, colchester ave, double decker bus, whales
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Here it is, folks. My first passage on a double decker bus, commencement having taken place on 20 July, 2008 via Cardiff City Center to the corner of Colchester ave and Waterloo rd. Yes dears, there is a prominent Waterloo rd. I see familiar street names all the time. Eerie. Also, there’s a shot down our street. It doesn’t look very special becasue I didn’t have time to look for the best vantage point, but I assure you, the street is quite attractive.
And guess what? I made my first trip to the post office today!
She hails from Whales! July 15, 2008
Posted by meigrowstall in Uncategorized.Tags: cardiff, train, travel, whales
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I’m newly arrived in Whales, and 6 hours in, the place is feeling fresh. Yahoo! tells me that it’s 63F today, i hear seagulls echoing outside, and though there is just as much secondhand smoke as Manchester, Cardiff smells good – like fabric softener and sweet sea breezes. We took the train in this morning at 5am, rode for about 4 hours, and got here just in time for mum to make it to work. There were plenty of splendid countryside veiws, and i saw more animals! Cows, ducks, sheep, hogs, and horses. Next I will have to herd a few. ha.
Up top there is my early morning face with mum snoozing away next to me. I had not a drop of makeup on and florescent lightning never did much for me. However, we got on pretty well. Cardiff itself is lovely. The city is bustling and the architecture is very distinct and old, but it still feels very clean and small and cozy. Again, it’s only been 6 hours. The university here, UWIC, is just 5 or 10 minutes from our cramped little room that will get it’s very own post, let me tell you. Today I had lunch with my mum and her coworker, Rachel, in the starbucks cafe of a swanky bathroom store. Quirky, huh? My orange juice bottle was actually fizzy inside, and we found out that the seal had broken and the juice went all bad. Just my luck. I should have figured it out when the juice spewed out everywhere.
The people here just seem really nice and funny – a breath of fresh air in itself. At the bus stop, we saw a guy with cat years and a tail pinned on his rear walk by. the older guy on the bench next to me laughed too and said, “The world’s gone barking mad, hasn’t it?”
