Birthday without presence.

Well. So much for updating it a few days after my last post. A few weeks isn't much different... A lot has gone on over the past month. Let me describe to you a glimpse...

It was my birthday on the 12th of November. I had a really good day despite my friends, my family and my love being 5,000 miles away. I have met some amazing people here over the past few months, however, and hanging out with them was fantastic. I had a few presents sent through to me from my parents and some money put into my account from my grandparents. I opened them with my girlfriend over skype and it was one of the best birthday mornings I have ever had. Later on a couple of people went to a café/restaurant and had a nice evening meal. It was a great day and a lovely way to enter my 24th year of life.

I went to Oregon for Thanksgiving. It is interesting to be part of a celebration in which people are enjoying not being associated with England any more. The meal was nice. Littered with "Oh, you must think this is so strange because you're English" and other such comments. I did not think it was strange. It was a nice day - I got to fulfill my dream of watching an American Football game on Thanksgiving afternoon. The whole week, overall, was very enjoyable. I did have four projects on the go, but to have a little bit of time off was much appreciated. A great deal of that time off was spent playing Modern Warfare II and getting my mate's level up by a great deal. Upon my return home (after having to pay a second time to put my bag on the plane I was on), I went to the fridge to get myself something to eat. As I'm sure some of you will know, going to the fridge after being away on holiday is not one of the things that is at the top of the to-do list. I found food that should not have been found. Food that should not have been there for much more than a day after I left, let alone a week. After throwing out the inedible I was left with two pop tarts and half a jar of peaches. What a feast.

One of the more memorable things I've seen here this semester was a billboard on one of the highways. It was simply telling people to "Eat smaller". That's right. There was a huge sign telling people not to eat as much as they do. Oh, America.

Well. This post was worth the wait.