Well it has been a good two weeks :) perhaps a bit unproductive but nonetheless, nice. I had last week off lectures (minus a lab on friday…ugh) but of course i contracted some sort of illness and spent most of the week in bed trying to recooperate. le sigh. Did get a bit of work done so that was good anyway. I also watched a horrific yet powerful documentary called “Earthlings” (link to full movie) and have henceforth decided to go vegan. I recommend it, but not for the faint of heart. There’s some seriously disturbing footage in there, but i guess that’s what makes it hard-hitting. I can’t look at dairy or eggs he same now that i have those images flashing behind my eyes every time i consider consuming them.  Let alone meat, which now makes me rather nauseous :P

On the monday i saw First Aid Kit and Lykke Li with Luke.  oh my amazingness. i can hardly put the show into words, but lets just call it impressive for now :P i got a picture with first aid kit after the show which i believe i posted. Lykke Li was her crazy good self. I dressed as a tiger cause it was halloween :P

as Friday rolled around, it was time to go see Luke in Sheffield :D It was only my second time going so i was pretty excited, but still nervous because i’m quite shy and still havent spoken much to his flatmates. Anyway i met him at the train station and unfortunately it was dark and rainy =/ so we popped into Varsity (bar/pub), got a drink and had some potato wedges. Quite enjoyable :) He made us a delicious vegan curry which i found highly enjoyable, and we chilled for the rest of the night :)

Saturday was the best day!!! Even though it was a bit wet and cold out :P Luke had a place he wanted to take me so we set off for that as soon as we’d eaten breakfast. I was very pleased to discover that he’d brought us to ‘the botanical gardens’ :D it was a beautiful park (yes, pictures will be posted following this) that had a big greenhouse and all sorts of gorgeous colourful foliage. We walked through the greenhouse which was organised by continent/countries/regions kinda deal. Was really neat! Afterwards we went out to explore the rest of what the place had to offer. Little did we know what kind of fun awaited :P
We were strolling through a lightly wooded area, trying to snap pictures of a few elusive squirrels, when there was suddenly a pigeon invasion o_o it started with one swooping down and landing in front of us, only to be followed  by many more quickly after. There mustve been 20 or 30 pigeons :O and they were more brazen than any pigeon i’d ever come across in my life! inches from our feet, encricling us. Some would even fly up towards your face and hover there for a few moments before landing again.
at first i thought they were being aggressive or something, but i soon noticed they were outstretching their feet when they got close as if wanting to land on something. In a burst of courage i held my arm out. before i knew i had a wild pigeon perched on my arm, happily checking my hand for seeds. it was unreal. Luke tried it soon after and the pigeons did not discriminate, happily landing on him as well :P we mustve stayed there for at least half an hour playing around with the pigeons and lolling at how cool it was :L 

the pigeons weren’t the only brazen thing we soon came to find.  Soon we had squirrels inching as close to our feet as the pigeons- which is very intimidating! Maybe because i was brought up to fear squirrels who dare come close :P It was so cool to see them up close. The whole experience felt quite surreal but so so awesome. At one with nature :) as corny as it sounds, truly did feel that way!
needless to say we’ll definitely be returning…and with seeds!!

after the pigeon adventure, Luke took me to the next surprise destination, which happened to be a cute little vegetarian/vegan shop :) we browsed the shelves and got ourselves some vanilla vegan icecream :D after being refused entry to an art gallery which closes stupidly early, we located spoons and munched on some icecream. my god it was delicious. Swedish Glace for any of you who are curious :) it’s about the same price as regular icecream, at least, if you’re in the UK it is :P in my opinion it tasted AMAZING - better than regular vanilla icecream! Luke agreed ;) unfortunately we were forced to eat the entire package of it because we didnt have a freezer to store it in :P

Afterwards, Luke led me to a few other places. He brought me into a record shop that he visits now and again, which was really cool, and then to Forbidden Planet. For those unfamiliar, Forbidden Planet is the ultimate geek shop xD Manga, Comics, Action Figures, memorabilia, they have it all. I’ve been thinking about picking up a manga recently, and had a look through their selection. Unfortunately nothing particularly caught my interest (slash i hadnt done enough research to sort out if i wanted to commit to anything :P) that said, i didnt leave empty handed! upon looking through the comic books i spotted Static Shock, which was a cartoon show i used to watch when i was younger. I was really surprised to see it in comic book form so i picked it up and had a look. Ended up leaving with the first three issues :P i know, mega geek ;) they were well worth the money!

We wandered back into the city and my man had another place to take me. Sadly the church was closed, but it was such a sweet thought. He was going to take me up to the altar where his great great great grandfather got married :):):) SO CUTE!
The closed church sent us back into the winter gardens to sit while he told me the story of his ancestors, which included how his relatives in Pennsylvania got there. It was really cool to hear about! I think it’s great that he can trace his lineage back like that, to the very spot that his greatx3 grandfather was standing :) I dont know much about my ancestors, which i think is mostly due to the fact that i didnt know most of my grandparents/they died when i was quite young. I do have a grandfather but i barely see and/or talk to him ever since he got remarried. Which is a shame i guess, but ah well. 

We popped in and out of a couple stores before finally heading back because i was freezing to death :P When we returned he showed me how to make stir fry, which is fucking delicious :O i’ve been missing out on so much!!!! Cant wait to make it myself :) Except with tofu instead of quorn. nom nom nom nom

It was bonfire night so we were going to a pub with his flatmates to watch some fireworks and see a bonfire :P i focused all my energy on trying not to look dumb in front of them :L still didnt talk much to anybody, but it was still cool. Got a few drinks when we arrived and we seperated from the group to cozy up inside to have a chat. We ended up talking about him visiting America for much of the night, which is set for next summer hopefully! Can’t wait to show him around my homeland :L :D The fireworks were decent, and overall it was a really nice night, if cold. 
Sunday was time for me to go home, and time for Luke to head home for his week off school. We hit up starbucks for some hot beverages and then bid farewell and went our seperate ways :) 

So there you have it! I’m on the cusp of veganism, I chilled with some wild pigeons, and i have a lovely thoughtful boyfriend :) you’re all jealous. 
 

As for the future, on the 24th of November (thanksgiving for all you USAians like me) I’m going to see EMA and Zola Jesus. Both come highly recommended ;) So excited for that! Will definitely give it a review and take some pictures. Meanwhile, i’ll update you guys if anything else interesting comes along!
in the meantime, time to get some work done. :)
peace 

first aid kit opened for Lykke Li, and were amazing!!! they stuck around to sign CDs and take pictures after so me and my boy got in there :P i’m dressed as a tiger cause it was halloween ;)