The Couch Surfing Project never ceases to amaze me. I don’t know of a community you can join that exposes you to a more diverse group of cultures. It’s always so interesting – learning about the places other people live, their culture, their interests…their lives. I’ve never met anyone from Jordan before, much less heard them talk about what it’s like to live there.

Then I got a request the other day from a family of 4 that were looking for a place in McKinney. They’re planning a 10 day family vacation through Texas to southeast New Mexico and back. The RV camper that they’re renting is here in McKinney, so they wanted a place to stay that was close to it. The timing of it all is working out great, too. They’re flying in to DFW Thurs April 2 in the evening, just around the time I’ll be getting back to Dallas from Nashville. I’ll already be downtown, so continuing to the airport to pick them up won’t really be out of my way. I’ve got the next day off to hang out with them before they head out to pick up their RV camper, which is less than 3 miles from my house.

I didn’t think I’d ever get the chance to host again, but now I do :)
I love the CS project.

Oh, an’ in case ye didna notice…today be National Talk Like A Pirate Day. :)

I started it off with a great trip to LA. The US national team started World Cup Qualifications on the 16th, and a few of us Dallasites made the trip. Not much to say about the game except they actually showed up this time. Oh, and it was
8-0! Yeah, yeah, it’s only Barbados. I know…it was still fun. The rest of LA was pretty much spent in pubs or our hotel pool. (by the way, there’s nothing wrong with swimming in your underwear when you don’t have your swim trunks!)

Back in Dallas, I just worked and ran errands. I did get to have a gathering with Inferno friends and with The Horde, though. I also managed to spend a day with my puppies who I miss very much.

Pictures:

I met up with Adelaide and Jose after the game and spent the next couple of days touring around London with them. I didn’t go everywhere I wanted, but the city’s not going anywhere…I can always go back. Here are some pictures of the game at Wembley Stadium, the BBC headquarters, QPR’s stadium, Craven Cottage, and the Sherlock Holmes Museum:

If you’ve never heard of CouchSurfing, you should check it out. It’s a very cool concept. I had a free place to stay, and my hosts even fed me dinner and breakfast. Lee and Heidi were extremely nice, and their neighbor Penelope was so cool that she even gave me a Neil Gaiman book! (Neverwhere)

The next day I was off to Preston to visit the National Football Museum. A lot of the stuff was out on loan, but I still got to see a lot of cool stuff. Check the pictures.

Here are my pictures from the weekend:

My apologies again for the brief post. It’s late and I need to get to bed!

Two weeks ago, I went to Edinburgh to work for a couple of days. I took that Friday off so I could stick around and see the sites. My friend Chris met up with me Thursday night and took me to Stirling where he goes to university. We went out with some of his friends Thursday and Friday night and I had a blast. Saturday morning I met up with a few new friends I met on Friday night to go to Stirling Castle. Good times.

Stirling and Stirling Castle:

Saturday afternoon I went back to Edinburgh with one of the guys I walked Stirling Castle with, ’cause he lived there and I needed a place in Edinburgh to stay. Sunday was filled with a tour of Edinburgh Castle and playing snooker with my host. Thanks to Kajetan and your girlfriend for offering your spare bedroom!

Edinburgh and Edinburgh Castle:

Now I’m going back to bed. :’-(

The train was a breeze. The Nottingham station is a 5-10 minute walk from my apartment, and the Derby station is a 10-15 minute walk from the stadium. All I had to do was follow the crowd once I got to Derby.

Here are some pictures: