a crisp winter evening!

Good evening everyone,
Bret and I have just returned from a night out to the Gala- our mini movie theatre here in Durham. They play two movies a day, and they change the movies every week. Last week we saw Darjeeling Ltd. (not bad) and tonite we saw Fred Claus (v cute). We use our Penn State ids to get a student discount, so the movie comes out to a bargain 3.60 ($7.40) instead of 5.00 ($10.20).

Anyway, so it was a gorgeous evening because it's now freezing, so the dew has frozen onto the sidewalks (pavement) and the grass, and everything looks like its been sprinkled with magic fairy dust! I just love it when it's cold and still, and you can smell the clean air. There was no wind, just beautiful stars, haze above the river, and glittery sidewalks. I miss the snow, but these brisk, tranquil nights are wonderful, too.

Aside from the gradual weather change, life has really picked up for us here in the Northeast. Bret is working on his research as intended, and I am temping for the time being. I've been working as a bookseller at Waterstone's and a receptionist at one of the University dorms. Both jobs are easy and a good way to pass the time, get out of the house, and earn a little money. But come January, I hope to get a permanent office job in Newcastle. We hope to move there in April when our lease runs out. We have realised that we enjoy urban life too much. Durham is quaint, but lacks cultural resources. If we lived in Newcastle, we'd have plenty of restaurants, shops, and gyms to choose from. Not to mention that Newcastle has both a bus and a metro system. It's much more action-packed and diverse. So if I get a job in Newcastle, essentially, we'd have a reason to move there. If I get a job in Durham, we'd "be stuck" in Durham cuz it wouldn't make sense to move to Newcastle if we both had to commute (the train is pricey). I'm sure either way it'll be fine. But it would be great to get out of these country 'burbs and move to a metropolis.

We are very excited for our upcoming future. We'll be going to Barcelona for Christmas (don't worry, I'll tell you all about it!). It's great cuz my cousins live there, and my other cousins are going there, and best of all, my parents are meeting us there too! Bret and I are excited to eat snails, rabbit, and octopus (which we don't get here in mince and mash land). A few months after Barcelona, we plan on going up to Edinburgh, the gorgeous and super hip city of Scotland. I was hoping to go to Russia this summer, but it looks like that one might have to wait...