Used Books and More | Manchester, England

While in Manchester, we found this amazing used bookstore. I'm kicking myself in the bum, because I can't remember the name of the store. We found it as we were strolling about in the city center. It was quite dusty, but also cozy. In the front there were heaps of old novels and paperbacks. They even had sections specifically for Doctor Who. I spent most of my time perusing that area. I was able to purchase a tiny little Dalek, Weeping Angel and Cyberman. I know they're meant to be menacing, but when they're so tiny, all I can say is, "aw".

I really enjoy used bookstores like this. Manchester and Edinburgh had many similar kinds of establishments. In Florida, we used to have this amazing used bookstore, All Books and Records. It was huge and filled with books, DVDs, CDs and comics. It was a haven for Markus and I. Then one Saturday we drove there and it was unexpectedly closed. We never found out why, it was boarded up and the sign was gone. It was like a piece of us had suddenly gone missing. In the growing age of technology, stores like this are slowly disappearing. It makes me sad, but it makes me cherish the ones that are still open even more.

Twelve Days of Christmas Cinema | Week 2

In the second week of Twelve Days of Christmas Cinema, I watched two of my least favorite movies so far. It was a bit of an off week, but I expected it. Half of the movies, I've seen, and the other half were a hodgepodge of genres and eras. I'm more than happy to broaden my horizons and watch things I wouldn't normally watch. If there was one thing I learned from Creepy Cinema 2012, it was that films I didn't think I would like, I loved. These two films just ended up being ones that I would never watch again. 

1. A Christmas Story (1984)
The first time I watched A Christmas Story was 2010 with one of our best friends, who is from Cleveland, Ohio. He said that this was one of the best Christmas films and one that is very special. We decided to include this film on this year's list because I think people would've been appalled if we didn't.

This was one of the films that I feel deserves the hype. I think A Christmas Story is one of the quintessential Christmas films. I know that TBS plays it non-stop on Christmas day. It's something that has become synonymous with the holiday. I knew quite a bit about the plot before I watched it, but it didn't reduce any of my enjoyment. This is one of the better 80s Christmas movies, it's not my favorite, but it's still quite good. I think I liked it better the second time around. The first time, I wasn't as interested, but during this viewing, I paid more attention to the details and the story. I noticed that it had a similar feeling as National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, but A Christmas Story is much more likeable. Maybe because the main character is a child and you can excuse all of his shenanigans. It's much harder to forgive similar shenanigans in a grown man.

2. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964)
After we finished watching this movie, the only thing I said was, "well, that was weird." I don't even really know how to describe it. Markus and I decided to put it on the list because he had heard it was one of those peculiar cult classics, also because of its interesting title and premise. It's the only film of its kind on the list. I haven't seen very many B-movies and this was definitely a B-movie.

Basically, the plot focuses on the Martians and a problem that they face with their children. Martian kids have become distracted and uninterested in Martian life. They only care about watching Earth programs. The solution that the Martians receive from their 800 year old sage is that they need Santa. So naturally, the Martians come to Earth and kidnap Santa. You would assume from the title that Santa Claus comes in and kicks some Martian booty, but the exact opposite happens. He just sort of bumbles about cheerfully. He does no conquering or anything really special. It's such a strange film. I've never seen anything like it and would never watch it again. Although, I'm glad that we did, because how often do you get to see Santa on Mars?

3. Love Actually (2003)
Words cannot describe how much I adore this movie. Love Actually has to be one of the best ensemble films I've ever seen. There are so many amazing actors in this film: Colin Firth, Martin Freeman, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson, I could really go on forever. I remember the first time I watched it in the theater. I was so affected by the stories and they resonated with me deeply. I love that not every story is a happy ending, which added a hint of realism.

Even though I've watched it many times, the stories never get old. I think that's the beauty of having multiple intertwining stories. They give you a little taste of one and then they move to another before you can get bored.  It's not hard to have a favorite storyline. I like almost all of them, but it's easy to have a least favorite. I always feel so bad for the woman with the troubled brother. Just when you think she's going to end up with the love of her life, fate deals her a bad hand and she misses her chance. Despite the not so happy ending in some of the stories, the film ends on a happy note. I love the message of the film, "love actually is all around." It's true. Sometimes we get caught up in our everyday lives and forget to notice what's going on around us. Love is such a beautiful thing and I'm thankful to be reminded of it.

4. Die Hard (1988) 
After watching Die Hard, I've learned something very important about myself. I do not like 80's guy movies. They're not my cup of tea and I don't enjoy them. It's strange because I love a lot of recent guy movies and I used to watch kung-fu flicks a lot when I was a kid. I think that my distaste is strictly specific to the 80s. This year alone, I watched Predator, Commando and Die Hard and I disliked every single one of those films.

Die Hard is definitely a guy movie. It's all guns, action and catchphrases. The premise is quite unbelievable, but are any of them believable? Bruce Willis isn't bad in this movie, I actually like him. I also loved that Alan Rickman was the villain. He's such a phenomenal actor and I like him in almost everything. What I didn't like was the length of the movie and some of the nonsensical plot points. For instance, why does John McClane have to run around barefoot the entire movie? Are you telling me that when he first heard the gun shots, he was physically unable put on some shoes? My golly. I know it's meant to show how B.A. he is, but I just think it's unnecessary. For me, the movie was just a lot of action and not much depth.

The Eagle and Child | Oxford, England | 3 of 4

In honor of the recent release of The Hobbit, I wanted to share our time at The Eagle and Child pub, also commonly known as the Bird and Baby. This Oxford pub is famously known as the meeting place for The Inklings, a literary group comprised of many writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. They would meet and discuss their unpublished works. My dream was to go to Pemberley and this was where Markus wanted to go. He is an avid fan of Tolkien and his works. Markus is a bit of a hobbit himself and it would only be fitting to have a pint at such a famous place.

The actual pub is quite small, but The Inklings would meet in the back room for privacy. I loved the feel of the place. It was definitely the quintessential British pub, warm and cozy. We sat for about an hour and sampled some local beer. We spent our time at the pub talking and enjoying each other's company, much like The Inkling must have done.

Dongbaek Island Hike

Last month, the library took the day off and we met at Dongbaek, an area of Busan near the ocean. It's very common in Korea to go day hiking with your co-workers. Usually in schools, you go hiking after you've taught, but at the library, we get the whole day off, which I enjoy. I don't mind missing out on a day of sitting at my desk to go hiking in a beautiful city.

We met at 10am and spent the next few hours walking from Dongbaek through Haeundae Beach and ended up at Songjeong Beach. I enjoyed the company and the views were beautiful. I've never been to Dongbaek or Songjeong and the areas are beautiful. When we finally reached the end, I was ready to relax and eat. 

Usually, when we go hiking they take us to a meat restaurant. The last time we went hiking the food was amazing. I stuffed myself full of grilled beef. It was great. This time, we ended up at a raw fish restaurant. They said it was sashimi, but this wasn't sashimi. I know from the pictures it looks delicious, but it really wasn't. The fish was really chewy and had no flavor. It wasn't my favorite. 

Also during the meal, there are heaps of toasts. It doesn't matter that it's noon on a Monday, Koreans love to drink. It's also considered rude if you don't drink with your boss or co-worker if they want to drink a shot with you. So, it's common to see people walking around with soju bottles doing shots with others.

After lunch, a few of us wandered over to noreabang or karaoke. It was fun seeing a different side of my coworkers. At work, everyone is reserved but they relaxed a bit. I liked seeing that side of them.  By then, most of the people escaped, but Kelly, Doug and I stuck it out. Earlier, we had planned to escape together, but we ended up staying the whole time. I'm glad we did because it was a great afternoon!

Little John's Grave | Peak District, England

After we left Chatsworth House, we were on a mission. I was determined to find a specific place from a scene in

Pride and Prejudice

. There's a scene where Lizzy is standing on a peak in the middle of the Peak District. I looked it up and found out it was

Stanage Edge

and very close to Chatsworth House. I was determined to stand on the same edge as Lizzy because it's one of my favorite scenes. 

While we were driving, we were using the GPS and it told us to drive up and into a small village full of hills. We finally reached the smallest road I've ever seen. We decided that it was the right way and continued onward. Once we reached the end, we quickly realized it was a dead end. 

The tiny road led us to a small church and graveyard. We parked the car to see if we could figure out where we were or how to get to Stanage Edge. Sadly, we realized that we would have to hike about an hour or so to get there. After spending the entire day at Chatsworth, we were all knackered and decided to pass. I was sad, but it was a decision that had to be made. At least, I was able to go to

Pemberley

!

Ari and I decided to explore a bit and we walked around the graveyard. We kept seeing signs pointing to "Little John's grave". We thought this was interesting, so we followed the signs.

Surely, it couldn't be the grave of Little John from

Robin Hood

. When we finally reached the tombstone, we found that it was. We called the boys over and we all stood in awe. I'm not sure if it was really his grave, but it was still exciting. Despite not being able to go to Stanage Edge, we were still able to stumble upon something quite cool.