so sweet

i discovered this clip through heather armstrong's blog, dooce, which i read religiously.  she writes:

Just in case you are one of the only people in the world who hasn't seen this, I just had to post it here because I cannot stop watching it.
Here is Iker Casillas, the goalkeeper and captain for Spain's World Cup team. That's his girlfriend Sara Carbonero, a reporter for Spanish network Telecinco. Spain had just won the Cup, beating the Netherlands one to nothing. Now, I was rooting for Holland, and was sick at my stomach when the game was over. Until I saw this.
The world needs so much more of this.


and ohmygod it's totally worth watching.  so you should.

paul the psychic octopus

okay, i do see some problems with this...paul the octopus may have picked spain because it was the closer box to him and he's hungry for a yummy mussel...but this is REAL NEWS on this continent, and which team paul would pick to win the world cup final has been highly anticipated.  now we just have to wait and see if he picked correctly...

(and i love that you can hear the cameras clicking away as paul makes his choice.  paul is a very famous psychic octopus.  perhaps the most famous psychic octopus ever!)

funny british things, part 1

1. i had kind of forgotten about man-pris (my name for capris worn by men), but england is full of them and they continue to crack me up.  i mean, women wear capris.  and men in america wear shorts that are shorter than man-pris and pants that are longer than man-pris, so what's so funny about them?  I CAN'T EXPLAIN IT, OKAY?  maybe it's that man-pris kind of taper in to follow the leg like pants do, but are shorter than pants.  they are EVERYWHERE.  the best link i could find to show you a picture was this one, and these men are models, which makes it look even sillier.  but you get the picture.

2. before the us-ghana soccer game, the sports channel here was doing a little pre-game show with interviews and commentary, and at the bottom of the screen they ran headlines...so-and-so will be back for germany for the next game, the british team is training in this location, etc.  and this was an actual headline, deemed worthy of being put on the screen: "on sunday, england will wear all red for the second game in a row."  this was its own headline!  and then i found this link: http://www.thefa.com/England/News/match-centre/2010/SloveniavEngland/MatchPreviews/RedKit  i have now learned that this wearing all red thing is DIFFERENT and LUCKY and IMPORTANT and obviously worthy of its own headline.  but can you imagine this kind of headline, detailing information about what jersey will be worn, on ESPN?  i cannot.

3. last summer i blogged about one of my favorite places to eat in oxford, but we ate there recently and i was reminded of how much i love it.  it's a pub called the old tom and i love it for two reasons: one, it if you walk all the way through the pub and out the back door, there is an outdoor seating area that fits about 20 people.  it is walled in, with thick ivy covering every wall, and you feel like you're on your own little island.  so cozy, and so peaceful.  two, it serves a full british pub menu plus a full thai menu.  yes, A PUB THAT SERVES THAI FOOD.  and it is hands down some of the best green curry i've ever had - coconut broth, just spicy enough, with lots of vegetables and meat or tofu.  IT IS A PUB WITH TOFU. let's just have a moment for that.  a nice metaphor for england maybe...tradition with a dash of modernity mixed in.

oxford, take 2

i'm in oxford!  i got in on sunday, and i can't help comparing last year's arrival to this year's. 

last year: i take the train from bath, where i'd been sightseeing, and then proceed to take the longest possible route, on foot with all my belongings, from the train station to pembroke college, where i'm staying.  i feel really lost the whole time, because, in fact, i sort of am.

this year: i take the bus from london, a bus i have taken before, and i know that it has a stop literally across the street from pembroke.  i get off at that stop, cross the street, and i'm here.  i feel very proud of my navigation abilities.

last year: by accident i meet a coworker-to-be at the college gate at the very moment i arrive.  he takes me on a little walking tour of town and makes sure i get to our first meeting on time.

this year: i don't meet anyone at the gate, but i do recognize the porter on duty and we chat a bit.  i've prearranged to meet two friends/coworkers from last year to find a pub and watch the england v. germany soccer game.  one of those friends is the stranger from last year who took me around on the first day.  we meet at our predesignated time, hug, tell stories, and watch soccer until our first meeting.  [side story: england loses.  the pub is NOT AMUSED.  every time england gets the ball, people from all over the pub start yelling "come on england!" - that EXACT PHRASE - and every time their star rooney gets the ball they yell "come on rooney!"  every person who cheers is saying one of these two phrases.  this is apparently how you cheer for football here.  when england scored "the goal that wasn't" YOU SHOULD HAVE HEARD THIS PUB.  to say they were angry that that goal didn't count IS THE UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR.]

last year: at our first meeting i am introduced to a bunch of people whose names i promptly forget. i feel overwhelmed, but excited.

this year: at our first meeting i know two thirds of the people there, and there is all sorts of hugging and laughing and "i didn't know you were coming back!" and catching up, and it is the most amazing feeling to be in a city 4,000 miles away from home and to know so many people so well.  i am overwhelmed by it in a way i didn't expect to be.


all of this is to say: life is very good right now.

goal!

i pretty much can't believe that just we won that game and WON OUR GROUP!  oh the us deserved to win that game and i'm so happy that we did.  yay hooray!

(in true claire fashion, i spent a lot of time this morning talking to the tv.  and it worked!  now i need to work on lowering my blood pressure because it is currently VERY HIGH.)

daily schedule

i know exactly as much as the rest of america about international soccer teams and how good they are.  that is to say: i know nothing.  but i love watching world cup soccer, as i've said before, so i keep this link open on my computer all day and refer to it when necessary: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_World_Rankings  brazil vs. the ivory coast - who should win?  well, the fifa rankings will tell me.  and this lets me enjoy the game just a little bit more - when new zealand ties italy, well that IS an upset.*  since the world cup began, this is my typical morning:
set alarm for 9:30am.  snooze it while i get used to the idea of waking up.  pull out computer and watch highlights of the 7am game.  hold computer really close to face so i don't have to find and put on my glasses.
stumble out of bed and into the living room by 10am.
turn on tv in time to watch the second game of the day.
lie on couch and watch world cup soccer until noon.
at noon, actually begin day.

I LOVE SUMMER.


*this is one of my favorite things about soccer: you can have an UPSET TIE.  you tie.  and that can be an upset.  this entertains me greatly.