~ ANNE! ~

So the date is fixed. My bags are packed, I'm ready to go, I'm leaving on a jet plane, etc. I'll be out of here on September 27, arriving at Heathrow on the 28th. Only two weeks to go, which is bad in a way... I figured once I set a date, I'd be looking forward to going, but as it is I'm so stressed out about getting everything done that I can't even think about it. (Also I haven't been as productive as I'd like lately, which isn't helping).

One odd thing about the trip this time around - my grandma and great-aunt have decided to come with me! This came as somewhat of a shock, as we've been trying to convince Grandma to visit England for quite a while, and she's always resisted. But she called me up out of the blue and said she and Barb (the great-aunt) would like to come on the same flight with me and go visit some relatives. So one way or another, this will definitely be a unique trip. Unfortunately I won't be able to sit with them, as they've upgraded to business class (and I'm back in Economy with the rest of the cattle!) but I can go visit. Grandma and Barb are pretty entertaining in general. Barb is a seasoned world traveller, but Grandma has been known to hold up an entire plane for an hour while she looks through her purse! (Seriously - although this WAS just after 9-11, when not being able to find your ID was very much frowned upon).

So yeah, I've just been in Edmonton for the last little while, seeing my friends and trying to work on grad school applications. Played tennis with Chris last night. It was the first time I've ever tried tennis, and it was actually really fun. Doing things with Chris is always funny, because he finds it difficult to move out of soccer coach mode (and I always slip back into my erstwhile role as the mouthiest girl on the soccer team!) But it did mean he explained the game really well... leaving me to come to the conclusion that whoever invented the scoring system was really screwed up. Why the heck does "love" mean 0? And how does a score of 40 basically mean you have three points?

Anyway, the tennis was a good time, but I woke up at 5 am this morning and couldn't fall back asleep because my arm ached so much. I knew I pushed it way too hard, but I don't like to stop while I'm having fun! Ah well, I took a painkiller and it's not so bad now. I will probably try tennis again at some point.

In other news, Peter and Diane's new grandbaby arrived! Her name is Claudia Rose, and Peter says she is a "placid child". She's their son Matthew and his wife's second kid.

Anyway, I'm going to be late for dinner at Valerie's if I don't get my rear in gear...