Well That's a Bit of a Sticky Wicket, Now Innit?

I'm going to London this weekend! 

Here's my plan of places to go. Will I be able to do it all? Will I get lost? Will I hear people speaking Cockney? Will I piss someone off and get called a "bloody wanker"? Maybe have a spot of tea with the pinky out? I have no idea!

I'm taking a train from Lille to London. Some of you geographically savvy people will note that France and the United Kingdom are separated by a body of water. So then how can I take a train? Well Dr. Know-It-All, this train goes under water. I'm pretty excited to see what it's like. I'm a big fan of traveling by train.

Speaking of trains, there is a band I really like (who just happen to be from the UK) called iLiKETRAiNS. Here's a video they made. I'm not entirely sure what's going on in the video, but that doesn't make it any less pretty.

Sea of Regrets (HQ) from I LIKE TRAINS on Vimeo.

I Want to Wear a Bowler Hat at a Rakish Angle

Oh god, I haven't posted in a while and I'm sorry. Busy! I went to Brussels and it was one of the prettiest cities I've been to. I went to a bar called the Delirium Cafe, which holds the world record for serving the most number of different beers. 2000+ from all over the world! (I was so very close to ordering a Tecate, but when you're in Belgium you have to get a Belgian beer. I'm pretty sure it's the law.)

Since then, I've been busy with school and exploring Lille when I have the chance. Here are some pictures of things!

"Cheval" is French for "horse". Yup. It sure it.

This cheese was recommended to me by my French teacher. It comes in a fancy wooden box!

I have no idea what she sees in this cheese. It smells bad, it tastes bad, and it's texture is super soft. Yuck. Never listen to her again.

These chips (crisps, I guess) are SO GOOD! They remind me of Tim's chips back home. They're cut a bit thinner and not as crunchy, but they're crazy delicious. No jalapeño flavor though.

The same people make vegetable chips. I don't know if they are any healthier, but they are damn good. Beet root, parsnip, and carrot.

Next time I'll try it.

Lille already has a Christmas market up. Christmas comes early all over the world!

Nothing says Christmas like a Dora balloon. I guess a Christmas tree also.

Pretty ferris wheel at night.

Where would the world be without you, Mr. Carnot?

Happy feet?

Le Royale with Cheese

I went to the Palais des Beaux Arts museum today, but I decided against posting pictures. Do people find museums interesting? Do people find pictures of museums interesting? I'm not sure I would.

What's more interesting is that I went to a French McDonald's (which everyone insists on calling McDo's). Right away, I see they have a "Royale Deluxe", which did indeed have cheese. I couldn't NOT get it, right? A friend recommended I get their jojos, so I got some of those too. The jojos weren't anything special, but the Royale Deluxe...ohhhhhh man. Beef patty, cheddar, lettuce, onion, and tomato on a bun. AND some crazy good mustard sauce; a little peppery, a little mustardy, very delicious, very fatty.

Also, I'm going to try and go to Brussels sometime soon. I'm super excited for chocolate, waffles, and beer. If nothing else, I can say I went to the home of the legend himself: Jean-Claude Van Damme, The Muscles from Brussels.

Bloodsport has always been one of my favorite movies. The broken English from Bolo, the hilarious faces Van Damme makes, the guy that says "OK! USA!", the wonderful trailer, it's all good!


His latest movie is a weird sort of meta-movie where he pretty much plays himself as a washed up action star. He goes into a post office, and it gets robbed by some guys. A tense hostage situation develops and the robbers notice they have Jean-Claude Van Damme as a hostage. Here's my favorite scene where he breaks the fourth wall and talks directly to the audience. Amazing, heartfelt acting! Or maybe, he wasn't actually acting?

Watch Pigeons to Sleep

I saw this video and it was so strikingly weird and funny that I had to share it. Maybe it will help if you have trouble sleeping.

WATCH PIGEONS TO SLEEP from john campbell on Vimeo.

This was made by the talented / bleak / hilarious webcomic guy, John Campbell. Here, he explains how time travel works.
http://picturesforsadchildren.com/index.php?comicID=272

I'm Gonna Get Fat, and That's Okay

I bought some cheese the other day and I almost lost it when I tasted how good it was:



It's called Coulommiers cheese, named after a town in France. It's similar to Brie but a bit thicker, so I think it has a nicer texture. Very rich and creamy and delightful! According to wiki it has a bit of a nuttier flavor, but I couldn't tell. Interesting little wiki-fact, Andre the Giant was born in Coulommiers!

Whiskey at 7am Makes You a Programming Genius

Everyone! Here are some pictures of where I live and some things that make me happy.

A picture of my bedroom and my messy bed. I was probably programming.

Ek-ohl Cent-hral duh Leel. My school.

The entire campus area is called Cité Scientifique. I literally live in a place called Scientific City.

My home away from home.

All the streets here are named after famous French mathematicians and engineers.

Hot air balloons! Outside my window!

I bought these at the store because I like the name. If you cover the "C", it spells "hipster." I miss you, Seattle.

Jack Daniel's! In France! 1,0 litre! Words cannot express how happy I was to see Jack at the store. The perfect thing for transcontinental birthday shots.

I bought these just because they're ridiculous. Wine in a juice box.

Bieber or Die

Here is a quick list of funny things I've noticed in my first week in France.

- I could be walking around campus, or on the train, or sitting in my room looking out my window. Eventually, I will see someone carrying around a baguette.

- My professor brought some goat cheese to a picnic. Apparently, different regions in France are known for different cheeses. Lille is known for its goat cheese. It smelled horrible, but it was tasty!

- A lot of engineers here don't look you in the eye either.

- Hygiene is not a top priority for some people.

- People wear scarves at all times of the day during all kinds of weather. It could be 70 F (21 C!) outside and people will still have their silly little scarves. (I went to a mall the other day, and scarves are cheap! I'm pretty sure I want to buy a few.)

- People here like cheesy American music. I heard Creed playing at said mall. Then I heard "Mr. Mister - Take These Broken Wings" at the grocery store and it made everything okay.

- I updated my twitter to show trends in France. The first thing I noticed trending was "BIEBER OR DIE".

- FORTRAN is a weird-ass language.

- I've gotten stopped on the street multiple times by people asking for directions. They go off in French and I kindly tell them I don't speak French. Do I really look all that French?

- There are hot air balloons that fly every so often outside my window. I need to figure out how to get on one of them.

- There aren't many lights around my building, so you can see the stars really clearly at night. It's nice.

Also, I stayed up watching the Seahawks game. They put up a good fight!

Crazy American Boy in France

Everyone! Here is where I'm living these days!

France is going good. There is delicious bread EVERYWHERE. I'm going to get fat. Classes are busy. Classmates are cool. Professors are some of the friendliest people I've ever met. My advisor dude bought me bed sheets! They're all really, REALLY freaking smart, too.

Gonna try and do some exploring this weekend. We'll see how that goes!

The Most Important French Phrase

Maybe This is All a Horrible Mistake.

It might be.