The last bit of the Top 10 Things I meant to Blog about during the Holidays

5.) The rift in language between American and British English is deeper than I had suspected. I think the British make their language cuter. They have a proclivity to add "ie" or "y" to the ends of words (such as Curly Wurly) and add extra vowels (famously, "u"). Oh, and their tendency to give suspicious names to yummy foods hasn't gone unnoticed either...such as "clotted cream", "spotted dick", and "bangers and mash". Of course, they also hide terrible foods behind seemingly innocuous names: white pudding, for instance. Then there's the confusion associated with words such as "pudding" and "tea". To an American, these both specify a single food or drink item, while to an Englishman pudding could mean dessert or various different foods ranging from blood and fat sausage to a bready accompaniment to roast beef, and tea could indicate a meal, a drink, or a fancy between-meal snack.

4.)Written during one of the flights to Rochester, NY from London...
It took the bankrupting of an airlines for me to realize the drama of the past day. As I sat listening to the most heartfelt Safety Speech I’d ever heard accompanied by a large dose of meaningful looks, I started to sum up what I’d seen, heard, and experienced. Our hostess named December took pictures of her friends while we were boarding and explained that they had been informed on Tuesday of the demise of Independence Airline. She was not the only one I observed making tearful last goodbyes, expounding on future plans, and expressing surprise and sadness at the situation. It felt odd observing the life-changing events whilest harboring my personal desires to be wisked home to my daughter. Certainly, missing her was one of the 2 reasons for my own drama. The other was for wont of my sweetheart. Leaving him caused me to cry in 2 countries, and in 2 states resulting in a pounding headache. I dehydrated myself and resultingly, drank a liter of water between flights.

3.) Inspired by a recent viewing of Dreamer-the 2005 movie with Dakota Fanning, Noel rode on Hocus Pocus the horse all by herself while visiting our family in Virginia. Before boarding she said, "I want to race!"; once in the saddle, she told Hocus Pocus, "Go slowly." That's my girl.

2.) I received both a radar/laser detector and a speeding ticket (in that order) over the holiday. I figured my brother who got me the detector was taking the piss out of me (I hadn't asked for one), but then again just maybe I deserved it.

1.) My trip to England made patently clear that I miss Noel when she's not around. I was heartbroken by the end of the trip and vowed that she needed to go with me in the future to experience wading in the sea with tall, rubber boots, the super cool Natural History museum with a movement sensing, life-sized T. Rex, the Castles (she's into queens and kings), and hikes in the forest.

Anyways, cheers to Virginia and England...both lovely destinations for the holidays....