This morning I didn't want to wake up for work because I was up late the previous night. Not only did I figure out how to conference call on Skype, but I also talked with Jessica until 1am. Sleep was glorious.
Had to scan in some text but since that wasn't working, I started typing it on a loud and clunky Mac keyboard. I kept coveting Tom's keyboard which was small and quiet. I started to miss my own computer keyboard which is quiet with keys that are easy to press. I told myself I do not mind Mac computers in general, but their accessories are the things that really annoy me. (I'm also annoyed by the mice on the MacBook laptops because they sit right where my hands like to sit on a keyboard.)
Took the tube home because it's faster than a bus and I didn't have much time. Realized there was a remarkable number of people on the tube who looked like it was their first time using it. I got annoyed at them. Five seconds later, I started to realize what this might mean.
Took the tube going back to class because, again, it's faster than a bus. Saw Sammy at the station and said hi. We walked to class together (since we were going to the same lecture anyway). Got separated briefly on Oxford Street and when she called my name and I found her again, I exclaimed "OY!" like a real Brit. Sign #2.
Once again annoyed at the influx of people going back home, so I took a back road to the next tube stop. Was annoyed by the crowds on Regent Street going to Piccadilly Circus. I was really looking for Crest of London which is a really cheap souvenir shop, but I stopped off at Great Britannia instead because it was closer and more flashy. Didn't buy anything, but was amused by the tea kettles shaped like double-decker buses and Big Ben tower. Saw keychains, 4 for 10 Pounds, but decided against buying them right away. That would mean figuring out who back at home would like a keychain and then there's probably more than 4 people who would so then I'd be spending more than 10 pounds. It wasn't a good idea at the time. So I didn't do it.
Tube back home. Breakfast for dinner. Vanessa's family is visiting and tonight I met her mother. Yesterday, I met her little sister and little brother. They're a nice family. Vanessa's mom looks like her.
Found some cool stuff on the Internetz today, such as John Scalzi's Canonical Bacon Page!! Also read an essay in which Charlie Stross complains about the modern influx of Steampunk. And, because it caught my attention, apparently badgers in the UK are digging up human graves. Animal badgers thankfully. I'd be deported if I were caught. (just kidding)
That's it for now. Once again, I won't have computer access while in Edinburgh, so the next post will be a long one covering three days of Scottish activities. Talk to you then and have a good weekend!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Anything but Editorial
Graphic design meeting at work today. Everyone gathered around the big conference table on the ground level and talked about different covers for a book about flags. Then we talked about the different pictures about a kids in a wild garden book. There was also some computer troubles since a few files weren't loading very fast. We thought it was because the contact sheets were of a massive size because they're, well, contact sheets and thus have multiple pictures on one file. Personally, I didn't think anything was particularly wrong. My own computer can get that slow when surfing the Internet so slow computers are nothing new to me. But hey, I don't own the company. If he says they're too slow and something's wrong with them, you gotta believe him.
Spent the rest of the day compiling an email list for marketing. Was introduced to a new intern today. Her name is Helen and she's most likely from the London area. Didn't get to know her that well but we did do some dishes together after the graphic design meeting.
Broke a bowl when I was cleaning up after lunch. Marianne told me where a brush and dustbin were so I could sweep it up. No one panicked because another bowl was broken because it apparently happens all the time.
Very sleepy afternoon. I needed a good stand so I went downstairs and did some dishes before I made tea.
Filled out the invoice for my travel expenses. First time I did an invoice, but it was really easy. Just said who I was, where I lived, who gets to pay me, how much they owe me. Told Marianne I can't accept cheques because my bank is in the US. But since I'm getting a fairly small amount a payment in cash shouldn't be too bad. I prefer cash, personally. Saves me a trip to the cash machine.
Topped up my mobile because I was out of minutes. Did that on the way TO work, actually.
Ordered pizza because I didn't feel like making food (even though I had noddles in which sauce on the brain). Told Oscar to come visit me, but he won't. One of those things you just know, you know? He mentioned that he looked hideous and he was really sleepy so even though we need to talk about some things, I think they can wait one more day. Besides, I gotta clean up the desk and do some dishes and return the Box o' Treats to the cupboard where I can't easily access them.
And then I decided to favorite the below video because it's hilarious:
And that was my homework-free day.
OH. Almost forgot. I took a different route coming home from work. I felt comfortable enough to say I was bored taking the 59 from King's Cross all the time, so I decided to walk all the way to Russell Square to hop on there instead. It's a nice little walk. I think I'll take it tomorrow because it's less crowded and touristy. Which should be taken as a good sign because now I'm working around tourists instead of through them.
Spent the rest of the day compiling an email list for marketing. Was introduced to a new intern today. Her name is Helen and she's most likely from the London area. Didn't get to know her that well but we did do some dishes together after the graphic design meeting.
Broke a bowl when I was cleaning up after lunch. Marianne told me where a brush and dustbin were so I could sweep it up. No one panicked because another bowl was broken because it apparently happens all the time.
Very sleepy afternoon. I needed a good stand so I went downstairs and did some dishes before I made tea.
Filled out the invoice for my travel expenses. First time I did an invoice, but it was really easy. Just said who I was, where I lived, who gets to pay me, how much they owe me. Told Marianne I can't accept cheques because my bank is in the US. But since I'm getting a fairly small amount a payment in cash shouldn't be too bad. I prefer cash, personally. Saves me a trip to the cash machine.
Topped up my mobile because I was out of minutes. Did that on the way TO work, actually.
Ordered pizza because I didn't feel like making food (even though I had noddles in which sauce on the brain). Told Oscar to come visit me, but he won't. One of those things you just know, you know? He mentioned that he looked hideous and he was really sleepy so even though we need to talk about some things, I think they can wait one more day. Besides, I gotta clean up the desk and do some dishes and return the Box o' Treats to the cupboard where I can't easily access them.
And then I decided to favorite the below video because it's hilarious:
And that was my homework-free day.
OH. Almost forgot. I took a different route coming home from work. I felt comfortable enough to say I was bored taking the 59 from King's Cross all the time, so I decided to walk all the way to Russell Square to hop on there instead. It's a nice little walk. I think I'll take it tomorrow because it's less crowded and touristy. Which should be taken as a good sign because now I'm working around tourists instead of through them.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Culture Clash: internship toolkit class
My bus was stuck in Parliament Square when I thought "I can't do this. I can't go to creative writing and still have this paper looming over me. I'd be very very distracted. I won't have enough time to finish it. Besides, I didn't sent it to myself so I can work on it in a computer lab on campus." So I got off while it was still stuck and tube'd it back home where I spent the next five hours until the internship toolkit class completing the rambling thoughts I've previously been writing and managed to form a solid thesis. Go me. Then I wrote the entire paper in two hours and sent ti to myself so I could print it on campus.
Remind me to email my creative writing instructor to say "Sorry I missed class. Where in the Tate Modern are we meeting next week?"
The internship toolkit, I realized today, is probably the biggest culture clash I'll ever witness this side of the pond. Here we have a classroom full of Americans, who only partially plan their careers because that's how we roll, taking part in a Britishified version of an internship class which makes us plan out our career goals to an uncomfortably specific tee. Shelby doesn't know what she's going to do in five years because the thought tends to freak her out. I don't know what I'm going to do in five years because I just don't think that far ahead in general. I don't have career goals. If an exciting opportunity comes up, I take it whether it was planned or not. You don't do that in Britain. Here, you know exactly what you're going to do after your first term at Uni and you spend your entire University career working towards that goal. I still don't have my future planned out ahead of me. I don't even have a preference of where I live (as long as it's near a big-ish city or metropolitan area similar to the Fox Valley). Okay, I do have a preference, but I didn't specifically way which city in which state I want to live in.
Today in the internship toolkit, we just sat around and discussed our career goals. Which hardly anyone did. Xanthy and another woman whom I don't know went around and talked to everyone about their goals. I said I didn't have one and she basically said "You'll be unemployed" in as many nicely thought-out words as possible. Shelby laughed at that. I did too. Culture clash. Seriously, no one in that class takes it seriously or thinks its any huge benefit. Shelby said that she had her meeting with Andrea at her internship the other day (Andrea the one that makes sure we're doing all right at the actual internship, the one who found us these internships Andrea). Andrea asked how the class was helping Shelby, Shelby just went "Um . . . ." and didn't really answer the question.
I tell you know, I don't really have career goals. It'd be nice to work in a publishing company, but I also want to be a writer. Perhaps I'll go down the path of John Scalzi and do something like he does. Or maybe I'll somehow make it like Patrick Rothfuss and spend my time working on my own gigantic novel. I hear you can make a living as a professional blogger too. So for my final project for the internship toolkit, which involves a portfolio of your work experience and a detailed explanation of your career goals (haha), I'm going to do some research on these different professions so I can adequately BS my way around that. And there you have it.
At the computer lab, did a final read-through of my paper, printed it off, and then took the train going the wrong way. No worries, I just sat at the Great Portland Street station for twenty minutes waiting for my train to come back. When it did come, I sat near a guy who was challenged -- he didn't sway with the train and he made weird noises and passed gas. I felt uncomfortable so I moved when someone else moved across the aisle. A woman gave me a sympathetic look that made me feel better for moving.
I asked two people where the homework drop box was before I found it. They do things differently here in terms of homework grading. Your professor is not the one looking over your work -- they have someone else read it over and grade it. And it does make me nervous, but I feel I put forth the best effort I could possibly give in that paper, so I hope it's adequate. As I was turning it in, a group of girls were turning in their own assignments. They kissed their papers and prayed for good grades and then they took pictures of them as they dumped them in the shoot. Is homework really that big of deal over here?
Dinner was leftovers, a mini pizza, and a giant orange. Then I called Oscar to see if he wanted to hang out, which we did. I ran out of money on my phone so I have to remember to top up tomorrow. Cieron stopped by quite often because he was bored and the three of us just hung about and talked and stuff. Got a minor Spanish Inquisition on political activities in the US. They asked questions like "What's a super liberal viewpoint for you?" which I couldn't answer because I'm not politically involved. Last person you want to ask about that stuff, right here. When Cieron left, Oscar and I watched Princess Mononoke which is still a good movie.
Reader Question: do you guys want me to post links about the things I talk about? Such as the links for Princess Mononoke, John Scalzi, and Patrick Rothfuss in this post? Let me know in the comments, please! Also, please don't be afraid to comment. Or openly follow me. *cute smile*
Remind me to email my creative writing instructor to say "Sorry I missed class. Where in the Tate Modern are we meeting next week?"
The internship toolkit, I realized today, is probably the biggest culture clash I'll ever witness this side of the pond. Here we have a classroom full of Americans, who only partially plan their careers because that's how we roll, taking part in a Britishified version of an internship class which makes us plan out our career goals to an uncomfortably specific tee. Shelby doesn't know what she's going to do in five years because the thought tends to freak her out. I don't know what I'm going to do in five years because I just don't think that far ahead in general. I don't have career goals. If an exciting opportunity comes up, I take it whether it was planned or not. You don't do that in Britain. Here, you know exactly what you're going to do after your first term at Uni and you spend your entire University career working towards that goal. I still don't have my future planned out ahead of me. I don't even have a preference of where I live (as long as it's near a big-ish city or metropolitan area similar to the Fox Valley). Okay, I do have a preference, but I didn't specifically way which city in which state I want to live in.
Today in the internship toolkit, we just sat around and discussed our career goals. Which hardly anyone did. Xanthy and another woman whom I don't know went around and talked to everyone about their goals. I said I didn't have one and she basically said "You'll be unemployed" in as many nicely thought-out words as possible. Shelby laughed at that. I did too. Culture clash. Seriously, no one in that class takes it seriously or thinks its any huge benefit. Shelby said that she had her meeting with Andrea at her internship the other day (Andrea the one that makes sure we're doing all right at the actual internship, the one who found us these internships Andrea). Andrea asked how the class was helping Shelby, Shelby just went "Um . . . ." and didn't really answer the question.
I tell you know, I don't really have career goals. It'd be nice to work in a publishing company, but I also want to be a writer. Perhaps I'll go down the path of John Scalzi and do something like he does. Or maybe I'll somehow make it like Patrick Rothfuss and spend my time working on my own gigantic novel. I hear you can make a living as a professional blogger too. So for my final project for the internship toolkit, which involves a portfolio of your work experience and a detailed explanation of your career goals (haha), I'm going to do some research on these different professions so I can adequately BS my way around that. And there you have it.
At the computer lab, did a final read-through of my paper, printed it off, and then took the train going the wrong way. No worries, I just sat at the Great Portland Street station for twenty minutes waiting for my train to come back. When it did come, I sat near a guy who was challenged -- he didn't sway with the train and he made weird noises and passed gas. I felt uncomfortable so I moved when someone else moved across the aisle. A woman gave me a sympathetic look that made me feel better for moving.
I asked two people where the homework drop box was before I found it. They do things differently here in terms of homework grading. Your professor is not the one looking over your work -- they have someone else read it over and grade it. And it does make me nervous, but I feel I put forth the best effort I could possibly give in that paper, so I hope it's adequate. As I was turning it in, a group of girls were turning in their own assignments. They kissed their papers and prayed for good grades and then they took pictures of them as they dumped them in the shoot. Is homework really that big of deal over here?
Dinner was leftovers, a mini pizza, and a giant orange. Then I called Oscar to see if he wanted to hang out, which we did. I ran out of money on my phone so I have to remember to top up tomorrow. Cieron stopped by quite often because he was bored and the three of us just hung about and talked and stuff. Got a minor Spanish Inquisition on political activities in the US. They asked questions like "What's a super liberal viewpoint for you?" which I couldn't answer because I'm not politically involved. Last person you want to ask about that stuff, right here. When Cieron left, Oscar and I watched Princess Mononoke which is still a good movie.
Reader Question: do you guys want me to post links about the things I talk about? Such as the links for Princess Mononoke, John Scalzi, and Patrick Rothfuss in this post? Let me know in the comments, please! Also, please don't be afraid to comment. Or openly follow me. *cute smile*
Monday, October 25, 2010
Food Pride and Mad-Town Housing News
Woke up and went to work. Rode backwards on the bus today. The only open seat faced backwards, so that's where I sat. Until another seat opened up with a better window view. I took that one when I could.
Continued to research email addresses at work. I compiled a giant email list for marketing. But now I guess I don't have to do that anymore. So what I will be doing on Wednesday is a bit up in the air.
My lunch consisted of a pile of spinach (newly bought on Sunday), along with half a sliced apple, croutons, a kiwi, turkey sandwich meat, cheddar cheese, sliced tomato, and I think that's everything. I debated bringing the ranch dressing with me to work, but I didn't want to carry it in my bag all day. So I left it at home. Salad was good even without dressing. Healthier too. It was a good salad. I'm proud of my salad. Quite proud. Also proud of the dinner I made. More on that later.
Work was only a half day today, so I spent the afternoon going all the way over to Victoria to pick up the bus tickets for Thursday night. Took a long time to get there, and I took the tube back to Lambeth because there weren't any buses going to that area from where I was. Sadness. Nothing interesting on the Tube. Not much is interesting on the tube which is why I like buses more. At least you can people watch on the sidewalk without looking like a creeper.
Becky booked a backpackers hostel for us. I checked it out online and it looks really nice. Really quaint and good services and all that. Can't wait to see it in real life.
Dinner was fried chicken with vegetables. I spiced it up with some recently bought Italian seasoning and some salt I took from Vanessa without her knowing. Yes, I'm mean. I also used to take some of her ketchup but now I have a bottle of my own. Now I'm stealing salt. I think it's a sign. Anyway, Hattie and another girl I didn't know (but Hattie did) were also in the kitchen as I was making my dinner. Hattie was making a pizza for herself and she and her friend kept commenting how my dinner looked really good. I had to agree because, well, it did. I used a pepper, a few mushrooms, a stick of celery, chicken, the Italian seasoning, and I cracked an egg over it just as it was getting really hot. So good. Except I kind of wanted some stir fry sauce to give it some more flavor. (Why I stole the salt in the first place). So now I know what to look for.
Which reminds me, I had bacon for breakfast. And this was bacon that was more closely related to the kind of bacon I'm used to. Still miss that old American bacon, but this stuff wasn't bad either. At least it tasted like bacon should and crunched when you bit into it.
I also learned that the version of Harry Potter I got was the adult version. In Britain, there's an adult version and kid version. They're both the same thing, just published with different covers and layouts. Hattie's friend made the comment that the books in the States are longer than the ones in Britain because the font is a bit bigger and the spacing between each line wider. She wondered why that is, and I said I don't know. Couldn't tell ya. And I can't tell you dear readers either. I don't know. Scholastic just decided to make things that way. I assume it's because it's more appealing to the children when a book is formatted a certain way, but that's about the limit of my speculation.
Then I started working on my essay, which I decided was a mess of jumbled thoughts on three different documents. So I wrote down my sources and their major points on tangible pieces of paper and wrote a rough thesis at the end of the list. Then I started writing. IM'd David to celebrate getting onto the second page before moving on. Now blogging is my second study break before breaking through the third page. This is all single spaced, mind you, which means I have about 1000 words for a 1500 word essay. Plus I still need to write the introduction. But I'm not going to quit until I have the entirety of my ideas down, even if it takes 2500 words because I'll cut out so many useless phrases when I go back to edit it. I might just get rid of a few paragraphs that can easily be summed up in two or three sentences while I'm at it.
The majority of my editing will probably be tomorrow. Yippie.
Tonight, I'm going to see if I can stay up late enough to Skype into Working Title. At least to say hello, London is awesome, have fun at the Hoofers scary story thing.
Speaking of events back in Madison:
- managed to find a possible roommate for next year. We're still working out finer details. She pays about $500 a month including utilities which isn't so bad I guess. It's quite close to campus, right on a bus line, and services a bunch of other students. Plus it can't hold as many people as the house on Emerald Street, so there's less to split.
- Sienko wants to move out for the Spring semester. Makes me sad because I was looking forward to living with her, but she's gotta do what she's gotta do. She asked if I wanted her to find a subletter, and I said she can if it'll help her financially. As long as I pay what I was told I would pay, I'm ambivalent either way. Which means there's a possibility I'll have an even bigger room to myself when I get back. Which means I can get a giant desk from Craigslist. Well, maybe not a giant desk. But a desk with drawers and stuff.
- NaNoWriMo starts in November. A part of me wants to do it, but a more rational part of me says "Girl, you cannot travel Europe and write 2,000 words a day. Not gonna happen, sistah." Not only that, but I'm already slowly working on another story, the same story that I worked on in August for my personal NaNoWriMo. Still didn't stop me from thinking about something that's been on my mind for a while off and on. If that idea stays in my head for another year, then I'll NaNo that next November. Until then, I'll just continue to collect the random hodge-podge of notes I've been gathering.
And now back to my essay. I could really use my own personal cheer squad right about now.
Continued to research email addresses at work. I compiled a giant email list for marketing. But now I guess I don't have to do that anymore. So what I will be doing on Wednesday is a bit up in the air.
My lunch consisted of a pile of spinach (newly bought on Sunday), along with half a sliced apple, croutons, a kiwi, turkey sandwich meat, cheddar cheese, sliced tomato, and I think that's everything. I debated bringing the ranch dressing with me to work, but I didn't want to carry it in my bag all day. So I left it at home. Salad was good even without dressing. Healthier too. It was a good salad. I'm proud of my salad. Quite proud. Also proud of the dinner I made. More on that later.
Work was only a half day today, so I spent the afternoon going all the way over to Victoria to pick up the bus tickets for Thursday night. Took a long time to get there, and I took the tube back to Lambeth because there weren't any buses going to that area from where I was. Sadness. Nothing interesting on the Tube. Not much is interesting on the tube which is why I like buses more. At least you can people watch on the sidewalk without looking like a creeper.
Becky booked a backpackers hostel for us. I checked it out online and it looks really nice. Really quaint and good services and all that. Can't wait to see it in real life.
Dinner was fried chicken with vegetables. I spiced it up with some recently bought Italian seasoning and some salt I took from Vanessa without her knowing. Yes, I'm mean. I also used to take some of her ketchup but now I have a bottle of my own. Now I'm stealing salt. I think it's a sign. Anyway, Hattie and another girl I didn't know (but Hattie did) were also in the kitchen as I was making my dinner. Hattie was making a pizza for herself and she and her friend kept commenting how my dinner looked really good. I had to agree because, well, it did. I used a pepper, a few mushrooms, a stick of celery, chicken, the Italian seasoning, and I cracked an egg over it just as it was getting really hot. So good. Except I kind of wanted some stir fry sauce to give it some more flavor. (Why I stole the salt in the first place). So now I know what to look for.
Which reminds me, I had bacon for breakfast. And this was bacon that was more closely related to the kind of bacon I'm used to. Still miss that old American bacon, but this stuff wasn't bad either. At least it tasted like bacon should and crunched when you bit into it.
I also learned that the version of Harry Potter I got was the adult version. In Britain, there's an adult version and kid version. They're both the same thing, just published with different covers and layouts. Hattie's friend made the comment that the books in the States are longer than the ones in Britain because the font is a bit bigger and the spacing between each line wider. She wondered why that is, and I said I don't know. Couldn't tell ya. And I can't tell you dear readers either. I don't know. Scholastic just decided to make things that way. I assume it's because it's more appealing to the children when a book is formatted a certain way, but that's about the limit of my speculation.
Then I started working on my essay, which I decided was a mess of jumbled thoughts on three different documents. So I wrote down my sources and their major points on tangible pieces of paper and wrote a rough thesis at the end of the list. Then I started writing. IM'd David to celebrate getting onto the second page before moving on. Now blogging is my second study break before breaking through the third page. This is all single spaced, mind you, which means I have about 1000 words for a 1500 word essay. Plus I still need to write the introduction. But I'm not going to quit until I have the entirety of my ideas down, even if it takes 2500 words because I'll cut out so many useless phrases when I go back to edit it. I might just get rid of a few paragraphs that can easily be summed up in two or three sentences while I'm at it.
The majority of my editing will probably be tomorrow. Yippie.
Tonight, I'm going to see if I can stay up late enough to Skype into Working Title. At least to say hello, London is awesome, have fun at the Hoofers scary story thing.
Speaking of events back in Madison:
- managed to find a possible roommate for next year. We're still working out finer details. She pays about $500 a month including utilities which isn't so bad I guess. It's quite close to campus, right on a bus line, and services a bunch of other students. Plus it can't hold as many people as the house on Emerald Street, so there's less to split.
- Sienko wants to move out for the Spring semester. Makes me sad because I was looking forward to living with her, but she's gotta do what she's gotta do. She asked if I wanted her to find a subletter, and I said she can if it'll help her financially. As long as I pay what I was told I would pay, I'm ambivalent either way. Which means there's a possibility I'll have an even bigger room to myself when I get back. Which means I can get a giant desk from Craigslist. Well, maybe not a giant desk. But a desk with drawers and stuff.
- NaNoWriMo starts in November. A part of me wants to do it, but a more rational part of me says "Girl, you cannot travel Europe and write 2,000 words a day. Not gonna happen, sistah." Not only that, but I'm already slowly working on another story, the same story that I worked on in August for my personal NaNoWriMo. Still didn't stop me from thinking about something that's been on my mind for a while off and on. If that idea stays in my head for another year, then I'll NaNo that next November. Until then, I'll just continue to collect the random hodge-podge of notes I've been gathering.
And now back to my essay. I could really use my own personal cheer squad right about now.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Chores 'n Homework
The first thing I did this morning, besides pee, eat breakfast, and get decently enough dressed, was walk all the way down to Tesco to get groceries. Because I had maybe four or five meals left and that would last me about two days and those are two fairly busy days, which means today was the day to do it. And I did it early because I thought I could pick up some cash from an ATM on the way there. Except I didn't find an ATM on the way there. Darn.
Bought so much food one of my tote bags broke. It was the Kashi one I got for free last summer too. Sadness. It was supposed to last longer. I guess it wasn't very good quality. Free stuff generally isn't. But anyway, I was able to rearrange my food in the bags I already had so no worries there. About a quarter of the way home I thought "Man, this is such a long walk!" So I took a bus to the corner of Lambeth and Kennington. Still no ATM. After putting my food away, I went to the Natwest down the street to see if that ATM was working yet, which it wasn't. And since I didn't know of any other ATM in the immediate area that dishes out free cash, I went to the silly one that charges you by the convenience store. Traded in 20 pounds for 10 singles and a 10 pound note at another store, and then I got back and took a shower.
And then I did laundry, which was the reason I wanted the ATM for the cash. No cards for the laundry services in the dorm. Made a sandwich with some of the stuff I got from Tesco, including the bread and RANCH SAUCE! Only place I found Rance sauce was Tesco. Also found bacon that's most similar to the bacon in the States. Eating that for breakfast tomorrow. Can't wait! Just for fun, I got some Italian spices for when I fry chicken and stuff. I feel special now.
And then I sat down to write my essay, but apparently I'm doing everything in my power not to write it. I'm about 2/3 of the way through writing it, so I guess it's not too bad. But even so, I would like to be done with it. Uuuggghhh. Oh, get this, I started doing OTHER homework to distract me from the homework I want to do. Aren't I odd?
Dinner was leftovers.
I want to take the time to point out that the Harry Potter book I got is a really nice size for a book. It's thin enough and small enough and looks really cool and elegant. And you know what makes it even better? It's hardcover. Yeah, baby! If I'm getting the British Harry Potter, I'm getting it in style.
Been talking with Sarah for the past hour and a half on Facebook chat. Also been plucking away at my essay. Ugh, essay. Ugh, homework. Ugh . . . responsibilities. Excuse me while I go complain some more.
Bought so much food one of my tote bags broke. It was the Kashi one I got for free last summer too. Sadness. It was supposed to last longer. I guess it wasn't very good quality. Free stuff generally isn't. But anyway, I was able to rearrange my food in the bags I already had so no worries there. About a quarter of the way home I thought "Man, this is such a long walk!" So I took a bus to the corner of Lambeth and Kennington. Still no ATM. After putting my food away, I went to the Natwest down the street to see if that ATM was working yet, which it wasn't. And since I didn't know of any other ATM in the immediate area that dishes out free cash, I went to the silly one that charges you by the convenience store. Traded in 20 pounds for 10 singles and a 10 pound note at another store, and then I got back and took a shower.
And then I did laundry, which was the reason I wanted the ATM for the cash. No cards for the laundry services in the dorm. Made a sandwich with some of the stuff I got from Tesco, including the bread and RANCH SAUCE! Only place I found Rance sauce was Tesco. Also found bacon that's most similar to the bacon in the States. Eating that for breakfast tomorrow. Can't wait! Just for fun, I got some Italian spices for when I fry chicken and stuff. I feel special now.
And then I sat down to write my essay, but apparently I'm doing everything in my power not to write it. I'm about 2/3 of the way through writing it, so I guess it's not too bad. But even so, I would like to be done with it. Uuuggghhh. Oh, get this, I started doing OTHER homework to distract me from the homework I want to do. Aren't I odd?
Dinner was leftovers.
I want to take the time to point out that the Harry Potter book I got is a really nice size for a book. It's thin enough and small enough and looks really cool and elegant. And you know what makes it even better? It's hardcover. Yeah, baby! If I'm getting the British Harry Potter, I'm getting it in style.
Been talking with Sarah for the past hour and a half on Facebook chat. Also been plucking away at my essay. Ugh, essay. Ugh, homework. Ugh . . . responsibilities. Excuse me while I go complain some more.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
More Bloomsbury Festival and Homework
I was woken up at quarter to four in the morning by the drunken loudness of Chris and Kevin on my side of the hallway. Of course, I glared at the darkness to see if they would shut up, and it didn't seem like they were letting up anytime soon. There was a girl's voice who was probably trying to calm them down, but they weren't having it. At least I think she was trying to say there were other people in the building. It could very well be wishful thinking. So after I suffered through five minutes of this, I got up and walked outside. My groggy presence caught their attention and I politely said "Hey, could you shut the hell up?" Their faces fell, and I was escorted back to my room by a lot of "Sorry, KT." "Sorry." "Sorry." "Sorry, KT." Nonetheless, they did shut up.
Woke up several hours later, better refreshed and less pissy. Had the last of my bacon for breakfast. Did I mention how different British bacon is from American bacon? It's less crunchy, more actual meat. Tastes like ham and such. Which upsets me because I want the real bacon with the crunch. My search for said stuff over here will continue.
Picked up Oscar a little past ten and we took a bus to Russell Square for the Bloomsbury Festival, which was much less people than I thought. Walked around their tiny market for a bit but didn't buy anything. Wrote my name in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs though. That was fun. Also planted a small pot of rice for some people doing some sort of research. Then I wrote a comment about hands (and how you should take care of them) and stuck it on Henry the Skeleton in another tent. Wanted to buy a crepe at a booth, but I decided against it because I wasn't wiling to drop 4 quid. But I did get a cup of hot apple juice flavored with ginger. That was good. Then Oscar and I each wrote our names on a paper bird and hung it from a net thing under another tent. It was part of an exhibition for the British Museum all about Ancient Egyptian death rituals. As long as your name is remembered, you'll be immortal, is what they believe. So I guess Oscar and I are now immortal because our names will be remembered in museum history. Ain't that cool?
We walked to the Petrie Museum some distance away because it's all about Ancient Egypt, which Oscar loves. I like it too, and it was interesting reading about all the different quirks and articles found in Ancient Egypt. Took some pictures too. While at the Petrie, I realized that I didn't reinsert my memory card from last night's uploading of pictures. So I put in my spare and now I'm wondering how I'm going to get the pictures on my camera's internal memory onto my computer. I guess I'll ask around for a USB cable of some sort. I'll work it out.
Went into Waterstone's after that. Waterstone's is the British equivalent of Barnes and Noble or Borders. So, naturally, I fell in love with it. Also bought the British version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Thought about getting Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman because it's a Neil Gaiman book based in London (yeah!!), but I figured I'll get it cheaper on Amazon.co.uk. And I did. Oscar dragged me out because he was bored already. Also, while at Waterstone's, I sampled a bit of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, the graphic novel version of it. And I really want to read it now! That'll be my library project once I get back (along with finishing Y: The Last Man. I must know how that one ends!!)
Got some ice cream on the way back because Oscar was distracted by a posh-looking bakery. I forgot the flavor I had, but it was vanilla with some chocolate and some sort of nuts? It was good. It's also a French name which is why I can't remember it. Ferrera something? I don't know.
Took the Tube back. I was game for getting off at Waterloo and walking the rest of the way, but Oscar wanted to transfer and get off at Lambeth North. I told him that I'll see him at the dorm. It was a nice walk. His excuse was that it was too cold outside, but I was just fine. So many people complain about the cold, but I just smile and say "I've had worse." Really, I did. You don't know cold until you trek through two feet of snow to class, uphill both ways.
That phrase always makes me smile, and now I can say that it is genuinely true. You may not think so, but think about it for a bit. If you go uphill both ways, that means you're going to go downhill both ways as well. Grandpa never talks about going downhill because going downhill is easy. You see, there used to be a giant hill between me and class. That's how "uphill both ways" works.
Anyway, got back and made some spring rolls which were spicier than I thought. Ordered four used books from Amazon. Four books for twenty US dollars is a pretty sweet deal, I think. Especially when shipping is included. Which books? Well, happy you asked. I got the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, which includes the titles Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars. I also bought Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman because I just had to. If I love the guy, I need to buy at least one of his books. Besides, my current reading book is not grand at all. So much stuff can be better executed and the characters are quite flat. I think if that story worked more on character, I would be more involved in it. That's my critique for my current reading book.
Then Oscar came up to hang out. He's playing Sims 3 on my desk at the moment. Throughout the entire day, he kept complaining about the pimple that appeared on his chin. He called it very colorful names that made me smile because those names would come out of the blue. It was oh so puny.
I read an article for my essay and wondered how I could incorporate it into my essay. Still working on that, but in the meantime, I'm making progress! Send me good thoughts about this essay because I will wrote those 1000 words tomorrow if it kills me! Also have to do laundry and buy groceries. Which reminds me, I have to make a list of food to bring.
Tomorrow is chore day. But I'm actually looking forward to it. You know you're growing up when you do chores for the refreshed feeling of everything being clean and in it's placed.
Woke up several hours later, better refreshed and less pissy. Had the last of my bacon for breakfast. Did I mention how different British bacon is from American bacon? It's less crunchy, more actual meat. Tastes like ham and such. Which upsets me because I want the real bacon with the crunch. My search for said stuff over here will continue.
Picked up Oscar a little past ten and we took a bus to Russell Square for the Bloomsbury Festival, which was much less people than I thought. Walked around their tiny market for a bit but didn't buy anything. Wrote my name in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs though. That was fun. Also planted a small pot of rice for some people doing some sort of research. Then I wrote a comment about hands (and how you should take care of them) and stuck it on Henry the Skeleton in another tent. Wanted to buy a crepe at a booth, but I decided against it because I wasn't wiling to drop 4 quid. But I did get a cup of hot apple juice flavored with ginger. That was good. Then Oscar and I each wrote our names on a paper bird and hung it from a net thing under another tent. It was part of an exhibition for the British Museum all about Ancient Egyptian death rituals. As long as your name is remembered, you'll be immortal, is what they believe. So I guess Oscar and I are now immortal because our names will be remembered in museum history. Ain't that cool?
We walked to the Petrie Museum some distance away because it's all about Ancient Egypt, which Oscar loves. I like it too, and it was interesting reading about all the different quirks and articles found in Ancient Egypt. Took some pictures too. While at the Petrie, I realized that I didn't reinsert my memory card from last night's uploading of pictures. So I put in my spare and now I'm wondering how I'm going to get the pictures on my camera's internal memory onto my computer. I guess I'll ask around for a USB cable of some sort. I'll work it out.
Went into Waterstone's after that. Waterstone's is the British equivalent of Barnes and Noble or Borders. So, naturally, I fell in love with it. Also bought the British version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Thought about getting Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman because it's a Neil Gaiman book based in London (yeah!!), but I figured I'll get it cheaper on Amazon.co.uk. And I did. Oscar dragged me out because he was bored already. Also, while at Waterstone's, I sampled a bit of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, the graphic novel version of it. And I really want to read it now! That'll be my library project once I get back (along with finishing Y: The Last Man. I must know how that one ends!!)
Got some ice cream on the way back because Oscar was distracted by a posh-looking bakery. I forgot the flavor I had, but it was vanilla with some chocolate and some sort of nuts? It was good. It's also a French name which is why I can't remember it. Ferrera something? I don't know.
Took the Tube back. I was game for getting off at Waterloo and walking the rest of the way, but Oscar wanted to transfer and get off at Lambeth North. I told him that I'll see him at the dorm. It was a nice walk. His excuse was that it was too cold outside, but I was just fine. So many people complain about the cold, but I just smile and say "I've had worse." Really, I did. You don't know cold until you trek through two feet of snow to class, uphill both ways.
That phrase always makes me smile, and now I can say that it is genuinely true. You may not think so, but think about it for a bit. If you go uphill both ways, that means you're going to go downhill both ways as well. Grandpa never talks about going downhill because going downhill is easy. You see, there used to be a giant hill between me and class. That's how "uphill both ways" works.
Anyway, got back and made some spring rolls which were spicier than I thought. Ordered four used books from Amazon. Four books for twenty US dollars is a pretty sweet deal, I think. Especially when shipping is included. Which books? Well, happy you asked. I got the Mars trilogy by Kim Stanley Robinson, which includes the titles Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars. I also bought Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman because I just had to. If I love the guy, I need to buy at least one of his books. Besides, my current reading book is not grand at all. So much stuff can be better executed and the characters are quite flat. I think if that story worked more on character, I would be more involved in it. That's my critique for my current reading book.
Then Oscar came up to hang out. He's playing Sims 3 on my desk at the moment. Throughout the entire day, he kept complaining about the pimple that appeared on his chin. He called it very colorful names that made me smile because those names would come out of the blue. It was oh so puny.
I read an article for my essay and wondered how I could incorporate it into my essay. Still working on that, but in the meantime, I'm making progress! Send me good thoughts about this essay because I will wrote those 1000 words tomorrow if it kills me! Also have to do laundry and buy groceries. Which reminds me, I have to make a list of food to bring.
Tomorrow is chore day. But I'm actually looking forward to it. You know you're growing up when you do chores for the refreshed feeling of everything being clean and in it's placed.
Friday, October 22, 2010
A list about random things on the bus
Went to work. Made a giant email list. Watered the garden. Couldn't eat enough biscuits! (The biscuits were delicious!!!) Read through some text. It was work. Tomato soup for lunch because I didn't have anything else of substance in my cupboard. I have to go shopping one of these days.
After work, I went over to turn in my time card at the Marlyebone campus, but the office was closed. So that's a job for Monday. Then I called Oscar to meet me in Russell Square for the opening ceremonies for the Bloomsbury Festival. He was like "What? No, I don't feel like going out. What museum do you want to see tomorrow?" So I said "Okay, see you when I get back and we'll talk about weekend plans. I want to go to this Bloomsbury Festival again just to see what it's like. There's an Asian Market and a writer's workshop tomorrow. I want to check those out."
"Writer's workshop? I'm not much of a writer. That's more your thing."
"It's more than a writing festival. Like I said, Asian Market. We'll talk when I get home."
"Okay. See you then."
There was a parade of lights and very loud drums playing the same rhythm over and over again. I joined in the parade eventually and was too shy to ask if anyone wanted to share their stick of lights. But I bobbed to the beat nonetheless and had a good time. At night. In London. Alone.
Surprisingly, I wasn't scared. I know how to defend myself, and I took the bus all the way to my front door, so that's good. Big City, you don't scare me at night! Mwahaha! Just try to mess with me, I dare ya!
(but no, please don't)
And now a real treat, an excerpt from my personal journal because I made a list of cool things I saw while riding the bus today. This encompasses the whole day so there's a mixture of things that happened on the way to work, on the way to Marlyebone, and on the way to Russell Square and then back home:
- Just saw a truck with Babcock written on it. Makes me smile. ^_^
- Pigeon lady in Euston Square right outside Euston Station. Wore a bubishka and had a big suitcase next to her. ^_^
- Accidentially read "repressing" instead of "representing" on a sign explaining the union Unison.
- Building near British Library with people as columns. (people = statues) Major headaches all around.
- Woman on street with gorgeous red scarf near Russell Square. I want that scarf for mom. I think she'll like it.
- Far guy wearing Packers sweatshirt. Noticed when he was leaving.
- Old bus going other way at Holborn Station stop. Made me smile.
After work, I went over to turn in my time card at the Marlyebone campus, but the office was closed. So that's a job for Monday. Then I called Oscar to meet me in Russell Square for the opening ceremonies for the Bloomsbury Festival. He was like "What? No, I don't feel like going out. What museum do you want to see tomorrow?" So I said "Okay, see you when I get back and we'll talk about weekend plans. I want to go to this Bloomsbury Festival again just to see what it's like. There's an Asian Market and a writer's workshop tomorrow. I want to check those out."
"Writer's workshop? I'm not much of a writer. That's more your thing."
"It's more than a writing festival. Like I said, Asian Market. We'll talk when I get home."
"Okay. See you then."
There was a parade of lights and very loud drums playing the same rhythm over and over again. I joined in the parade eventually and was too shy to ask if anyone wanted to share their stick of lights. But I bobbed to the beat nonetheless and had a good time. At night. In London. Alone.
Surprisingly, I wasn't scared. I know how to defend myself, and I took the bus all the way to my front door, so that's good. Big City, you don't scare me at night! Mwahaha! Just try to mess with me, I dare ya!
(but no, please don't)
And now a real treat, an excerpt from my personal journal because I made a list of cool things I saw while riding the bus today. This encompasses the whole day so there's a mixture of things that happened on the way to work, on the way to Marlyebone, and on the way to Russell Square and then back home:
- Just saw a truck with Babcock written on it. Makes me smile. ^_^
- Pigeon lady in Euston Square right outside Euston Station. Wore a bubishka and had a big suitcase next to her. ^_^
- Accidentially read "repressing" instead of "representing" on a sign explaining the union Unison.
- Building near British Library with people as columns. (people = statues) Major headaches all around.
- Woman on street with gorgeous red scarf near Russell Square. I want that scarf for mom. I think she'll like it.
- Far guy wearing Packers sweatshirt. Noticed when he was leaving.
- Old bus going other way at Holborn Station stop. Made me smile.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Ramblings of a Tired Woman
By all accounts, I was supposed to go to bed an hour ago.
As you know, I woke up with travel plans on the brain. See previous post for details.
The hallway right outside my door was littered with little gel-like balls that glimmered in the sunlight. I stepped around them on my way to and from the toilet and shower.
The majority of my day was spent holed up on my bed, attempting to write more of this essay that I have to write. I read the first half of an article I could barely understand, decided to read another one, and understood that one much better. There was a lot of reading and a lot of staring at a computer screen and there may have beena YouTube video or two as well. In either case, I have about 500 words for a 1500 word essay. Yippie.
Almost didn't make it to Linguistics because I was reading so much about narrative structure in film. But it was a nice break. A really nice break. Sort of. The lecturer could be more interesting. But this is the class that resembles teaching in Madison more than the others, so it's actually quite a relief to walk into a class and feel like you actually learned something. I don't get that in the Internship Toolkit, of which both lecturer and students are trying to figure out how to get the best out of that class. Neither do I have that in creative writing. A lot of the conclusions drawn from that class I already discussed with my fellow writers in Working Title. In a lot of the cases, we went on to talk about topics beyond those conclusions, so I can say a lot about what the lecturer in that class wants to say. But she prefers to have us talk about it on our own, which I can respect. And for Storytelling and Fiction Film, Gail does just ramble about something that I've never heard of before so it's hard to follow. (This is the part where I refuse to admit that I didn't do any reading.) I try to keep up, though. The content does seem interesting. It's just so hard to get the books (from the library).
Whereas I walk into Linguistics and I KNOW that I'm going to be taking notes from a power point, I know that I don't have to listen to three minutes of rambling to write down a topic sentence that sums up the past three minutes. I go in knowing that I'm going to learn something new about the study of language. And it makes me feel more at school than the other classes. I miss tangible notes on the screen.
Came home, Facebooked while eating dinner. Vicky came up on chat to see what I was doing. She wanted me to get a meal in Harrow. Sorry, already ate. Emanuele had some Italian friends staying over. The three of them walked in and he said that I was welcome to join them for dinner. Whoops. Maybe I should have waited on dinner. Talked with them for a few minutes. They seem nice, just uncertain around strangers I guess. I didn't get the vibe that they would start a conversation with me unless I instigated it. But maybe that's how Italians are? Who knows.
Sorted through bank stuff, email stuff, and made plans to meet an old friend visiting London for a few days beginning of November. This same friend said she would house me for a few days after Christmas. We met through the Brigade in Neenah and haven't been keeping in contact as much as I liked. But I think about her from time to time and that's how I came to ask if I could stay with her a while in Denmark. I'm excited. Now I need final dates for my road trip, which is now "a few days in Denmark, a few days in Norway, a few in Stockholm, and the final few in Helinski." I know Finland isn't technically Scandinavia (you didn't know?), but I still wanna go there! Prague would have to be worked in there too. Or maybe a small Czech town? Suddenly reminded of Drunk Czeck Dude who could barely speak English. Yeah . . . .
Am I rambling? I'm sorry, I'm really tired.
Figured out why I wasn't getting email from my wisc.edu account. But now that it's all sorted out, I spent an hour going through and deleting a LOT of emails that were several weeks old. Including a few from Working Title I didn't get. I was wondering about that . . . . Anyway, it's fixed now. I'll get your emails no matter which address you send it to.
Whoa, bad ramblings. I'll be less tired tomorrow, I swear!
As you know, I woke up with travel plans on the brain. See previous post for details.
The hallway right outside my door was littered with little gel-like balls that glimmered in the sunlight. I stepped around them on my way to and from the toilet and shower.
The majority of my day was spent holed up on my bed, attempting to write more of this essay that I have to write. I read the first half of an article I could barely understand, decided to read another one, and understood that one much better. There was a lot of reading and a lot of staring at a computer screen and there may have beena YouTube video or two as well. In either case, I have about 500 words for a 1500 word essay. Yippie.
Almost didn't make it to Linguistics because I was reading so much about narrative structure in film. But it was a nice break. A really nice break. Sort of. The lecturer could be more interesting. But this is the class that resembles teaching in Madison more than the others, so it's actually quite a relief to walk into a class and feel like you actually learned something. I don't get that in the Internship Toolkit, of which both lecturer and students are trying to figure out how to get the best out of that class. Neither do I have that in creative writing. A lot of the conclusions drawn from that class I already discussed with my fellow writers in Working Title. In a lot of the cases, we went on to talk about topics beyond those conclusions, so I can say a lot about what the lecturer in that class wants to say. But she prefers to have us talk about it on our own, which I can respect. And for Storytelling and Fiction Film, Gail does just ramble about something that I've never heard of before so it's hard to follow. (This is the part where I refuse to admit that I didn't do any reading.) I try to keep up, though. The content does seem interesting. It's just so hard to get the books (from the library).
Whereas I walk into Linguistics and I KNOW that I'm going to be taking notes from a power point, I know that I don't have to listen to three minutes of rambling to write down a topic sentence that sums up the past three minutes. I go in knowing that I'm going to learn something new about the study of language. And it makes me feel more at school than the other classes. I miss tangible notes on the screen.
Came home, Facebooked while eating dinner. Vicky came up on chat to see what I was doing. She wanted me to get a meal in Harrow. Sorry, already ate. Emanuele had some Italian friends staying over. The three of them walked in and he said that I was welcome to join them for dinner. Whoops. Maybe I should have waited on dinner. Talked with them for a few minutes. They seem nice, just uncertain around strangers I guess. I didn't get the vibe that they would start a conversation with me unless I instigated it. But maybe that's how Italians are? Who knows.
Sorted through bank stuff, email stuff, and made plans to meet an old friend visiting London for a few days beginning of November. This same friend said she would house me for a few days after Christmas. We met through the Brigade in Neenah and haven't been keeping in contact as much as I liked. But I think about her from time to time and that's how I came to ask if I could stay with her a while in Denmark. I'm excited. Now I need final dates for my road trip, which is now "a few days in Denmark, a few days in Norway, a few in Stockholm, and the final few in Helinski." I know Finland isn't technically Scandinavia (you didn't know?), but I still wanna go there! Prague would have to be worked in there too. Or maybe a small Czech town? Suddenly reminded of Drunk Czeck Dude who could barely speak English. Yeah . . . .
Am I rambling? I'm sorry, I'm really tired.
Figured out why I wasn't getting email from my wisc.edu account. But now that it's all sorted out, I spent an hour going through and deleting a LOT of emails that were several weeks old. Including a few from Working Title I didn't get. I was wondering about that . . . . Anyway, it's fixed now. I'll get your emails no matter which address you send it to.
Whoa, bad ramblings. I'll be less tired tomorrow, I swear!
Work, Play, Travel
20 Oct --
Went to work and compiled email lists so marketing can send "Will you sell this book?" emails. Luckily, I don't have to be the one writing those emails, I just make lists of the souls who have to read them. Surprisingly time consuming, email finding. I had to go to all these individual websites to track down contact emails that are harder to find than you realize. As a work break, I wrote a flash fiction about Internet surfing. As me about it in two weeks.
Got home and made a burger and fries for dinner. Delicious delicious delicious. Except they make their patties with onions over here. Mlegh.
Read an article and a half for my essay. Took notes on them and now I'll have to compile a list of how these ideas fit with my own. I'll be writing about opposition and conflict and how it relates to the narrative of a film. Simply put, conflict creates narrative, but now I have to write six more pages detailing HOW and what structuralists might make of it. I have a feeling I'm going to get to ramble! Yay academic tangents.
Talked to David on Skype. I showed off my new sonic screwdriver toy and the decorative pictures upon my wall. Then he showed me up by showing his bedroom walls, which are covered with pictures that he took. More covered than mine are. You win, David. I also told him to have Jessica come online because we haven't talked in a long time. He texted her, she said she'll be online around 5:30p WI Time. I can do that. It's my late night anyway.
Between David and Jessica, I talked with Smoky a little bit. He told me funny stories of the guys he used to live with and we had a generally good time like we always do. We parted when Jessica called.
Jess and I talked until about 3am my time. Which was nice. My computer kept wanting to shut down because it had just installed a couple important updates. So I just shut it down when the conversation ended. The majority of our conversation was about the story she's thinking about writing for NaNoWriMo. Once again, she had two different directions the story could go. I convinced her about one way because that idea seemed the more stable of the two. The other just felt like a passing fad in my opinion. Besides, the first idea involved souls kept in crystal form, less stereotypical characters, and something resembling the Yakuza of Japan. Interesting? Yeah. Sorry for telling the world about this, Jessica. But I really told them nothing about it, if you take a closer look. Mwahaha.
Woke up this morning a LOT earlier than I thought because I had lack of travel plans on the brain. I still had to research how much it'll cost to get to Brussels and get bus tickets for Edinburgh. As of now, Becky and I are going to take an overnight bus there and an overnight bus back. Arrive Friday morning, spend Friday night and Saturday night in Edinburgh, and leave Sunday evening to arrive in London Monday morning. Here's to sleeping on public transport. Don't worry, I hear this lack of sleep thing is normal.
Becky and I agreed to take a haunted tour of the castle. This is a given because 1). it's a haunted tour and 2). it's Halloween. It's just plain stupid not to. Seriously.
Anyway, it's about 115 quid a person to FLY to Brussels, but it's only 60 quid by train. Just sent Oscar a message about that to see what he thinks. Hopefully, he'll come by within the next five hours.
I've been thinking (which isn't always a good thing). More specifically, I've been thinking about my lack of travel plans. I got a good look at Becky's calendar, and she's literally going somewhere new every weekend. Smoky pointed out that she might have the money to do that too. While that is a good point, I still can't help but look at my travel plans, still not fully planned out, and not as diverse as the places she's going. It brings me back to what my Mom told me earlier in my trip that I've always done things different than others -- I've always done things MY way because that's the only way I know how to do things. My way makes sense to me. But I still feel like I'm not taking the opportunities to go see more of Europe now that I'm over here. I guess I could always come back, but Smoky thought he would go back to Europe too. But I'm different, aren't I, because I had said I would study abroad and now I am. I had said I wanted to be a writer and now I consider myself to be one (and I actually do write). And I've traveled without my family before. Just this past year, I went to Chicago with Sarah and Ann Arbor with Jessica to meet David. I've been to Florida, through Appalachia, St. Louis, and New York. So I guess traveling and the opportunities to travel, no matter how sparse and sporadic, are always going to be in my life. And I'm going to keep taking them because I like to travel. I like to see new places and meet new people and grow closer with the people I'm traveling with.
I have this wonderful opportunity to travel Europe, and I wanted to see a lot more of it than I am seeing, but you know what? It's just too gosh darn big! At least too big to fit into my schedule. So that small town in France, yeah you little village not on the map, I'll see you in ten years! You got that? And you Prague? I'll get to you eventually. Just watch me.
Thanks for listening to all that. A part of me wants to be concerned I'm not traveling as much as Becky, but there's another part that says "So what? Then explore more of London. It's so huge, you haven't even been to Camden yet!" Well, I haven't. And there are plenty of museums to visit. And I still have to get to Buckingham Palace (what's wrong with me?? Why haven't I done that yet?).
So thanks again for listening to myself accept what I'm doing here.
Today will be a work day. Wish me luck on my essay writing ~
Went to work and compiled email lists so marketing can send "Will you sell this book?" emails. Luckily, I don't have to be the one writing those emails, I just make lists of the souls who have to read them. Surprisingly time consuming, email finding. I had to go to all these individual websites to track down contact emails that are harder to find than you realize. As a work break, I wrote a flash fiction about Internet surfing. As me about it in two weeks.
Got home and made a burger and fries for dinner. Delicious delicious delicious. Except they make their patties with onions over here. Mlegh.
Read an article and a half for my essay. Took notes on them and now I'll have to compile a list of how these ideas fit with my own. I'll be writing about opposition and conflict and how it relates to the narrative of a film. Simply put, conflict creates narrative, but now I have to write six more pages detailing HOW and what structuralists might make of it. I have a feeling I'm going to get to ramble! Yay academic tangents.
Talked to David on Skype. I showed off my new sonic screwdriver toy and the decorative pictures upon my wall. Then he showed me up by showing his bedroom walls, which are covered with pictures that he took. More covered than mine are. You win, David. I also told him to have Jessica come online because we haven't talked in a long time. He texted her, she said she'll be online around 5:30p WI Time. I can do that. It's my late night anyway.
Between David and Jessica, I talked with Smoky a little bit. He told me funny stories of the guys he used to live with and we had a generally good time like we always do. We parted when Jessica called.
Jess and I talked until about 3am my time. Which was nice. My computer kept wanting to shut down because it had just installed a couple important updates. So I just shut it down when the conversation ended. The majority of our conversation was about the story she's thinking about writing for NaNoWriMo. Once again, she had two different directions the story could go. I convinced her about one way because that idea seemed the more stable of the two. The other just felt like a passing fad in my opinion. Besides, the first idea involved souls kept in crystal form, less stereotypical characters, and something resembling the Yakuza of Japan. Interesting? Yeah. Sorry for telling the world about this, Jessica. But I really told them nothing about it, if you take a closer look. Mwahaha.
Woke up this morning a LOT earlier than I thought because I had lack of travel plans on the brain. I still had to research how much it'll cost to get to Brussels and get bus tickets for Edinburgh. As of now, Becky and I are going to take an overnight bus there and an overnight bus back. Arrive Friday morning, spend Friday night and Saturday night in Edinburgh, and leave Sunday evening to arrive in London Monday morning. Here's to sleeping on public transport. Don't worry, I hear this lack of sleep thing is normal.
Becky and I agreed to take a haunted tour of the castle. This is a given because 1). it's a haunted tour and 2). it's Halloween. It's just plain stupid not to. Seriously.
Anyway, it's about 115 quid a person to FLY to Brussels, but it's only 60 quid by train. Just sent Oscar a message about that to see what he thinks. Hopefully, he'll come by within the next five hours.
I've been thinking (which isn't always a good thing). More specifically, I've been thinking about my lack of travel plans. I got a good look at Becky's calendar, and she's literally going somewhere new every weekend. Smoky pointed out that she might have the money to do that too. While that is a good point, I still can't help but look at my travel plans, still not fully planned out, and not as diverse as the places she's going. It brings me back to what my Mom told me earlier in my trip that I've always done things different than others -- I've always done things MY way because that's the only way I know how to do things. My way makes sense to me. But I still feel like I'm not taking the opportunities to go see more of Europe now that I'm over here. I guess I could always come back, but Smoky thought he would go back to Europe too. But I'm different, aren't I, because I had said I would study abroad and now I am. I had said I wanted to be a writer and now I consider myself to be one (and I actually do write). And I've traveled without my family before. Just this past year, I went to Chicago with Sarah and Ann Arbor with Jessica to meet David. I've been to Florida, through Appalachia, St. Louis, and New York. So I guess traveling and the opportunities to travel, no matter how sparse and sporadic, are always going to be in my life. And I'm going to keep taking them because I like to travel. I like to see new places and meet new people and grow closer with the people I'm traveling with.
I have this wonderful opportunity to travel Europe, and I wanted to see a lot more of it than I am seeing, but you know what? It's just too gosh darn big! At least too big to fit into my schedule. So that small town in France, yeah you little village not on the map, I'll see you in ten years! You got that? And you Prague? I'll get to you eventually. Just watch me.
Thanks for listening to all that. A part of me wants to be concerned I'm not traveling as much as Becky, but there's another part that says "So what? Then explore more of London. It's so huge, you haven't even been to Camden yet!" Well, I haven't. And there are plenty of museums to visit. And I still have to get to Buckingham Palace (what's wrong with me?? Why haven't I done that yet?).
So thanks again for listening to myself accept what I'm doing here.
Today will be a work day. Wish me luck on my essay writing ~
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Lots of homework but lack of productivity feel
There's a message on my Dashboard saying that image uploads are going through maintenance 20th October. This is good news for me because then it means I can show you pictures of my weekend. Facebook hasn't been cooperating with photo uploads either, so let's hope that gets resolved quickly too.
This morning, I completely forgot about the creative writing assignment I had to do. The assignment was to take a newspaper article and write a short fiction based on it. Whatever happened in the article had to happen in London (the name of the course is officially Creative Writing About London). Except . . . I forgot given the fact that I was traveling last weekend. In any case, I got through class without doing it and it worked so far. I compensated by talking a lot. Let's hope it balances.
I was so sleepy during that class that I took a nap during the break. I also decided that I wanted to skip my internship class, which would include a lecturer trying to do something she doesn't understand because the students who speak up about anything don't explain anything properly. There is that tension between teacher that wants to genuinely help you and show you that the course is worth something and the arrogant American students that say "Well, I already know all this, so what do I care?"
Yeah, I wasn't going to that. On my way home, I stopped at Ryman's which sells stationary and looked at journals because I've only been here a month and already my paper journal is halfway done. So I'm going to need another journal within the next month. And not just any journal. Oh no. I'm picky about what I write in. So I'm going to do some serious looking around before I find what I want. The paper size and line width must meet certain requirements, there should be a lack of margin lines, preferably not spiral bound and resembles a book, and within a certain price range. Preferably under 4 quid but will pay 5 quid if I really really like it. Anything over is just ridiculous. Also finally bought milk on the way home. Go me.
Besides, I have three weeks of journals for two classes to write, a paper due next Wednesday, and a surprising amount of procrastination to get done. So when I got home, after I ate lunch, I went online. Attempted to upload photos again and failed (because the uploading bar stops about 5/8 of the way through. Facebook chatted with Sarah about nonsense and OSU. Downloaded a bunch of e-readings for my essay to read over, wrote my initial thoughts about the essay topic to discuss, completed my creative writing journal, started my internship reflection journal, Oscar came over, did some more surfing, caught up on my YouTube subscriptions, and then Oscar pointed out that Cieron is mentioned more than him on my blog. Hence the previous post.
For dinner, I started to fry some vegetables and sausages, cooked noodles, and added the tomato sauce to the vegetables and meat. Heated that up and sprinkled with the last of my shredded cheese. Couldn't eat it all because it was a frickin' huge amount of pasta, so I split it up into my three tupperware containers. Will eat them for leftovers at work and such in the next few days.
While I was making dinner, Oscar returned to his room. I visited for a bit, but he was mostly sleeping. And I was coloring (what can I say? I wasn't dragging my computer six floors. Besides, stress relief). On my way back up, I encountered Denise and followed her to Cieron's room where Francie, Lynn, Cieron, and Denise were drinking before going out. I hung about for a while just because. Cieron was watching a live Arsenal game on the computer, the others were fairly tipsy if not drunk and just talking. I listened in, didn't contribute much. Left a few minutes before they probably did.
Back in my room, watched an episode of a show called Single Father on the BBC iPlayer. It was interesting -- about a fairly large family. The mother, Rita, was biking to an important exam when she's hit and killed by a police car. There's lots of drama with the oldest daughter, Lucy, who's fifteen and apparently from a previous relationship of Rita's? I just know that Dave, the main character, is not her father and after Rita dies, she stopped going to school. Oh, the drama. Drama Drama Drama. Where's the Drama Llama? Drama Llama would be all over that show. There's also issues regarding Rita's sister, Anna, who I'm not sure about but the guy named Paul, either Rita's brother or her brother-in-law, seems kind of iffy too. And then Dave and his wife's best friend kissed (oh no!) and that's how the episode ended. Drama Llama.
So yes, today had a lot of procrastination, but I also did more homework that I did the past three weeks combined.
Also, I got home and I was sitting for a bit when it started to rain. I didn't notice it was so cloudy outside because it was really sunny earlier today. But there was this strange cloud that hovered over London and I got cool view of the cloud edge and then I was disappointed I wouldn't be able to see the rainbow. But then I got over myself and texted Oscar to come hang out with me.
I don't feel like I accomplished much, but I do feel better about the essay now that I have my initial thoughts down. Now I just have to take ideas from other people and incorporate my ideas with their ideas and take the child of those two ideas and run with it. I shall sprint like my little brother at a meet!! (Watch out, Adam)
Today while coloring, I made Jasmine a burnette and Ariel and blonde. Why yes, I do color inside the lines. But who said I had to obey by the rules?
This morning, I completely forgot about the creative writing assignment I had to do. The assignment was to take a newspaper article and write a short fiction based on it. Whatever happened in the article had to happen in London (the name of the course is officially Creative Writing About London). Except . . . I forgot given the fact that I was traveling last weekend. In any case, I got through class without doing it and it worked so far. I compensated by talking a lot. Let's hope it balances.
I was so sleepy during that class that I took a nap during the break. I also decided that I wanted to skip my internship class, which would include a lecturer trying to do something she doesn't understand because the students who speak up about anything don't explain anything properly. There is that tension between teacher that wants to genuinely help you and show you that the course is worth something and the arrogant American students that say "Well, I already know all this, so what do I care?"
Yeah, I wasn't going to that. On my way home, I stopped at Ryman's which sells stationary and looked at journals because I've only been here a month and already my paper journal is halfway done. So I'm going to need another journal within the next month. And not just any journal. Oh no. I'm picky about what I write in. So I'm going to do some serious looking around before I find what I want. The paper size and line width must meet certain requirements, there should be a lack of margin lines, preferably not spiral bound and resembles a book, and within a certain price range. Preferably under 4 quid but will pay 5 quid if I really really like it. Anything over is just ridiculous. Also finally bought milk on the way home. Go me.
Besides, I have three weeks of journals for two classes to write, a paper due next Wednesday, and a surprising amount of procrastination to get done. So when I got home, after I ate lunch, I went online. Attempted to upload photos again and failed (because the uploading bar stops about 5/8 of the way through. Facebook chatted with Sarah about nonsense and OSU. Downloaded a bunch of e-readings for my essay to read over, wrote my initial thoughts about the essay topic to discuss, completed my creative writing journal, started my internship reflection journal, Oscar came over, did some more surfing, caught up on my YouTube subscriptions, and then Oscar pointed out that Cieron is mentioned more than him on my blog. Hence the previous post.
For dinner, I started to fry some vegetables and sausages, cooked noodles, and added the tomato sauce to the vegetables and meat. Heated that up and sprinkled with the last of my shredded cheese. Couldn't eat it all because it was a frickin' huge amount of pasta, so I split it up into my three tupperware containers. Will eat them for leftovers at work and such in the next few days.
While I was making dinner, Oscar returned to his room. I visited for a bit, but he was mostly sleeping. And I was coloring (what can I say? I wasn't dragging my computer six floors. Besides, stress relief). On my way back up, I encountered Denise and followed her to Cieron's room where Francie, Lynn, Cieron, and Denise were drinking before going out. I hung about for a while just because. Cieron was watching a live Arsenal game on the computer, the others were fairly tipsy if not drunk and just talking. I listened in, didn't contribute much. Left a few minutes before they probably did.
Back in my room, watched an episode of a show called Single Father on the BBC iPlayer. It was interesting -- about a fairly large family. The mother, Rita, was biking to an important exam when she's hit and killed by a police car. There's lots of drama with the oldest daughter, Lucy, who's fifteen and apparently from a previous relationship of Rita's? I just know that Dave, the main character, is not her father and after Rita dies, she stopped going to school. Oh, the drama. Drama Drama Drama. Where's the Drama Llama? Drama Llama would be all over that show. There's also issues regarding Rita's sister, Anna, who I'm not sure about but the guy named Paul, either Rita's brother or her brother-in-law, seems kind of iffy too. And then Dave and his wife's best friend kissed (oh no!) and that's how the episode ended. Drama Llama.
So yes, today had a lot of procrastination, but I also did more homework that I did the past three weeks combined.
Also, I got home and I was sitting for a bit when it started to rain. I didn't notice it was so cloudy outside because it was really sunny earlier today. But there was this strange cloud that hovered over London and I got cool view of the cloud edge and then I was disappointed I wouldn't be able to see the rainbow. But then I got over myself and texted Oscar to come hang out with me.
I don't feel like I accomplished much, but I do feel better about the essay now that I have my initial thoughts down. Now I just have to take ideas from other people and incorporate my ideas with their ideas and take the child of those two ideas and run with it. I shall sprint like my little brother at a meet!! (Watch out, Adam)
Today while coloring, I made Jasmine a burnette and Ariel and blonde. Why yes, I do color inside the lines. But who said I had to obey by the rules?
Dedication: Oscar
I dedicate this blog post to Oscar Tercel of the Exeter area. Because he's awesome, takes me to museums, and bought me brunch once. I owe him approximately 13 quid (give or take) and he's the one that pointed out I mention Cieron more than him.
He's also the guy I text when I'm feeling down and need a friend. So thanks for being there for me and keep being awesome.
So here's to you Oscar. A special post dedicated just for you. Which is loads better than being mentioned several times, right? You have your own BLOG POST!
Stay smexy mah friend.
 |
| Smexy, no? |
So here's to you Oscar. A special post dedicated just for you. Which is loads better than being mentioned several times, right? You have your own BLOG POST!
Stay smexy mah friend.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Street Markets and Emotional Crises
This morning, the first thing I did was blog about my weekend. I also attempted to upload my photos over the weekend. That attempt failed so now I'm currently trying again. We'll see how this goes.
Breakfast with eggs and more-ham-than-bacon bacon. Their eggs taste strange over here, but that might just be me. Took a shower, got ready for the day, and went to meet Becky at the Convent Garden underground station. We wandered to the Convent Garden Market and fell in love with it. It was such a cool place to wander. But we had business to take care of so we quickly found a place to sit down and eat. I had Chinese. Becky had a hot dog and chips (fries for you Americans). She was unsure about the hot dog but I assured her it tasted like the one I got on the South Bank. She relaxed a little after that, but she was still very doubtful about that hot dog. At least she had a pile of chips.
Over lunch, we talked about travel plans. Becky wants to go to Rome the same weekend I wanted to do the Brussels-Burges tour, but I think I'll go to Rome with a friend. At least now that the opportunity is here and presenting itself, I might as well. So we planned on leaving really early Friday morning and getting back on Monday, so we have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to explore Italy. I'm really excited. I'm going to Rome!!!!
I'll have to find someone to check out the Brussels Christmas Market with me another time. Maybe I'll get Oscar to go if I can convince him to spend the money. I texted him to come and visit me, but I'm not sure if the text will go through in time. My phone here is weird -- doesn't send texts the moment I send them sometimes for some reason. Silly.
Anyway, Becky had to get back to work, and I found a cash machine and withdrew some money so I can buy Ryan a present. Not saying what I got him because he probably reads this. Or at least hears about it from my parents. Hey Ryan, leave a comment and follow me if you're reading this! Found a bunch of interesting stuff at the market. There was a booth that sold creatively bound journals. They were really awesome journals going for around 20 pounds, which is about 18 pounds too much for me even though I do need a new journal sometime soon. There were also really awesome signs that I was looking through. Found one that seemed relevant to my friends on Emerald Street, but I was unwilling to spend the money just then. Maybe next time, guys. Did I mention the street performer? He was pretty fun to watch for a bit. Gave a little girl a five pound note for helping him out, which I thought had to mean something.
Also found a Disney Store. Wandered in, looked around. Found a Tinker Bell gel pen set about 5 pounds out of my price range. Also found a cute little Mickey plush where he's wearing armor and bearing the English flag. I thought it would be a cute souvenir toy, but he was about 9 pounds and I wondered if that was too pricey or not. In the end, I decided not to get him. Haven't been thinking about him since then, so I guess it's a sign. But now that I blogged about it, I will think about it.
READER CHALLENGE! Leave a comment saying your opinion on the matter. Should I return to buy the Mickey souvenir plush or not?
Went to class afterwards. Attempted to map out an essay via matching events in North by Northwest to Propp's Theory of fairy tales. Did about a page and a half of grueling work, then the lecturer handed out the very thing I was trying to do (only done better). Irony, thou art a bitch. Struggled through this lecture a bit in the beginning, but it was easier the second half because Devon and Chloe were gone and Vicky and I were paying attention and taking notes. Chloe and Devon left during the break because they couldn't focus or something. Vicky and I stayed behind because I believe valuable information was coming my way. After class, Vicky went to talk with Gail (the lecturer) and I joined in because it's a chance to talk with a lecturer I haven't approached. Vicky kept commenting how I was smart on the subject and how I could easily write my paper about conflict in narrative. I decided to give it a go when I got home. (Currently written half a page, then had to call parents to help with minor emotional crisis. More later).
Visited Becky afterwards so we can book our flight to Rome. Did that. Saw that she had something going on every weekend and got jealous. But now that I'm looking at my schedule, I can be happy with what I have. I'm going to Edinburgh and Rome and The Bloomsbury Festival in London. And I just learned about some awesome stuff going on at the Barbican involving Japanese culture that would be really fun to check out. Will have to drag someone to go to that (even though it costs a couple pounds, but I think it's worth it). Also, there's lots of museums Oscar wants to see with me. He's going to miss his museum buddy when I go back home. I want to drag him to the planetarium in Greenwich. It's a planetarium. Also, I want to see another show with Hattie. She wants to see more shows, I'm sure. I wonder if she's interested in Jersey Boys at all. Or Wicked. So although I may not be going to Dublin and Munich and Amsterdam, I'm still having a different sort of experience. But Dublin would be awesome.
Still looking for someone to house me over Christmas. Also looking for a road trip buddy after Christmas. Must find these soon.
Got home, made dinner, didn't book the flight to Madrid Becky wanted me to do. Will do that tomorrow. I was uncertain because then I started doubting whether I was legitly invited. Which is crazy because Becky wrote everything down for me so I could. And then there was the fact that Madrid is the weekend before all our homework is due. And yes, it's Madrid and I would like to leave the country again and see something else, but I would really like to see Brussels instead.
Brussels anyone?
Sent an email to the editors at Blackdog explaining which Fridays I would like to split. Then apologizing because one is really close to the current date, but at least I'm giving them a heads up about what's coming. I said that we can talk about issues and the like on Wednesday when I come in. I hope it's not an issue. I know I'm not working on much in terms of definite projects, but I did sign a contract for two full days a week. However, I guess I guess I should have discussed possible travel plans with them beforehand or something. Whoops. Nothing left to do now but tread carefully, I guess.
Had an emotional freak out when I realized that the person who had been previously using my dishes also took my frying pan and spatula. Borrowed a pen and scribbled an angry note to said person to put in their cabinet. Then washed those dishes and put them away properly. Went back to my room, emotional crises, wah wah wah. Talked to Smoky and told him about my day and he said "Why the hell are you upset? You had a really nice day? What else is bothering you?" I told him about Saturday night in Bath, and he said "Well, you handled yourself and nothing happened, so you can just forget about it now." To which I thought "What about learning something from that?" but our conversation ended before it got that far.
Then talked to Mom and she said "I see a pattern here. First, you freaked out because you had to pay for drying clothes. Now you're freaking out because someone isn't putting away your dishes. Go remove that mean note and talk to whoever is using them face to face. You freak out whenever you come back from traveling, do you know that?" To which I said, "Yeah, I guess I do. I'll go remove that note now." The note said "STOP STEALING MY SHIT" and Mom laughed when she saw it. Don't know why. Maybe it was the angry exclamation point face. So then we got to talking and all that and now I feel much better about things. Showed Mom the presents I got for Ryan and Adam. She said that Mrs. Bowen was really excited she got a postcard from me. I told her I send them out to people I don't normally keep in contact with, like my friends and such. Also told Adam I was going to Rome (partly to make him jealous, but also because he wants me to go to Italy for him).
Now it's almost two in the morning on my end and I have to get to bed. Good night.
Breakfast with eggs and more-ham-than-bacon bacon. Their eggs taste strange over here, but that might just be me. Took a shower, got ready for the day, and went to meet Becky at the Convent Garden underground station. We wandered to the Convent Garden Market and fell in love with it. It was such a cool place to wander. But we had business to take care of so we quickly found a place to sit down and eat. I had Chinese. Becky had a hot dog and chips (fries for you Americans). She was unsure about the hot dog but I assured her it tasted like the one I got on the South Bank. She relaxed a little after that, but she was still very doubtful about that hot dog. At least she had a pile of chips.
Over lunch, we talked about travel plans. Becky wants to go to Rome the same weekend I wanted to do the Brussels-Burges tour, but I think I'll go to Rome with a friend. At least now that the opportunity is here and presenting itself, I might as well. So we planned on leaving really early Friday morning and getting back on Monday, so we have Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to explore Italy. I'm really excited. I'm going to Rome!!!!
I'll have to find someone to check out the Brussels Christmas Market with me another time. Maybe I'll get Oscar to go if I can convince him to spend the money. I texted him to come and visit me, but I'm not sure if the text will go through in time. My phone here is weird -- doesn't send texts the moment I send them sometimes for some reason. Silly.
Anyway, Becky had to get back to work, and I found a cash machine and withdrew some money so I can buy Ryan a present. Not saying what I got him because he probably reads this. Or at least hears about it from my parents. Hey Ryan, leave a comment and follow me if you're reading this! Found a bunch of interesting stuff at the market. There was a booth that sold creatively bound journals. They were really awesome journals going for around 20 pounds, which is about 18 pounds too much for me even though I do need a new journal sometime soon. There were also really awesome signs that I was looking through. Found one that seemed relevant to my friends on Emerald Street, but I was unwilling to spend the money just then. Maybe next time, guys. Did I mention the street performer? He was pretty fun to watch for a bit. Gave a little girl a five pound note for helping him out, which I thought had to mean something.
Also found a Disney Store. Wandered in, looked around. Found a Tinker Bell gel pen set about 5 pounds out of my price range. Also found a cute little Mickey plush where he's wearing armor and bearing the English flag. I thought it would be a cute souvenir toy, but he was about 9 pounds and I wondered if that was too pricey or not. In the end, I decided not to get him. Haven't been thinking about him since then, so I guess it's a sign. But now that I blogged about it, I will think about it.
READER CHALLENGE! Leave a comment saying your opinion on the matter. Should I return to buy the Mickey souvenir plush or not?
Went to class afterwards. Attempted to map out an essay via matching events in North by Northwest to Propp's Theory of fairy tales. Did about a page and a half of grueling work, then the lecturer handed out the very thing I was trying to do (only done better). Irony, thou art a bitch. Struggled through this lecture a bit in the beginning, but it was easier the second half because Devon and Chloe were gone and Vicky and I were paying attention and taking notes. Chloe and Devon left during the break because they couldn't focus or something. Vicky and I stayed behind because I believe valuable information was coming my way. After class, Vicky went to talk with Gail (the lecturer) and I joined in because it's a chance to talk with a lecturer I haven't approached. Vicky kept commenting how I was smart on the subject and how I could easily write my paper about conflict in narrative. I decided to give it a go when I got home. (Currently written half a page, then had to call parents to help with minor emotional crisis. More later).
Visited Becky afterwards so we can book our flight to Rome. Did that. Saw that she had something going on every weekend and got jealous. But now that I'm looking at my schedule, I can be happy with what I have. I'm going to Edinburgh and Rome and The Bloomsbury Festival in London. And I just learned about some awesome stuff going on at the Barbican involving Japanese culture that would be really fun to check out. Will have to drag someone to go to that (even though it costs a couple pounds, but I think it's worth it). Also, there's lots of museums Oscar wants to see with me. He's going to miss his museum buddy when I go back home. I want to drag him to the planetarium in Greenwich. It's a planetarium. Also, I want to see another show with Hattie. She wants to see more shows, I'm sure. I wonder if she's interested in Jersey Boys at all. Or Wicked. So although I may not be going to Dublin and Munich and Amsterdam, I'm still having a different sort of experience. But Dublin would be awesome.
Still looking for someone to house me over Christmas. Also looking for a road trip buddy after Christmas. Must find these soon.
Got home, made dinner, didn't book the flight to Madrid Becky wanted me to do. Will do that tomorrow. I was uncertain because then I started doubting whether I was legitly invited. Which is crazy because Becky wrote everything down for me so I could. And then there was the fact that Madrid is the weekend before all our homework is due. And yes, it's Madrid and I would like to leave the country again and see something else, but I would really like to see Brussels instead.
Brussels anyone?
Sent an email to the editors at Blackdog explaining which Fridays I would like to split. Then apologizing because one is really close to the current date, but at least I'm giving them a heads up about what's coming. I said that we can talk about issues and the like on Wednesday when I come in. I hope it's not an issue. I know I'm not working on much in terms of definite projects, but I did sign a contract for two full days a week. However, I guess I guess I should have discussed possible travel plans with them beforehand or something. Whoops. Nothing left to do now but tread carefully, I guess.
Had an emotional freak out when I realized that the person who had been previously using my dishes also took my frying pan and spatula. Borrowed a pen and scribbled an angry note to said person to put in their cabinet. Then washed those dishes and put them away properly. Went back to my room, emotional crises, wah wah wah. Talked to Smoky and told him about my day and he said "Why the hell are you upset? You had a really nice day? What else is bothering you?" I told him about Saturday night in Bath, and he said "Well, you handled yourself and nothing happened, so you can just forget about it now." To which I thought "What about learning something from that?" but our conversation ended before it got that far.
Then talked to Mom and she said "I see a pattern here. First, you freaked out because you had to pay for drying clothes. Now you're freaking out because someone isn't putting away your dishes. Go remove that mean note and talk to whoever is using them face to face. You freak out whenever you come back from traveling, do you know that?" To which I said, "Yeah, I guess I do. I'll go remove that note now." The note said "STOP STEALING MY SHIT" and Mom laughed when she saw it. Don't know why. Maybe it was the angry exclamation point face. So then we got to talking and all that and now I feel much better about things. Showed Mom the presents I got for Ryan and Adam. She said that Mrs. Bowen was really excited she got a postcard from me. I told her I send them out to people I don't normally keep in contact with, like my friends and such. Also told Adam I was going to Rome (partly to make him jealous, but also because he wants me to go to Italy for him).
Now it's almost two in the morning on my end and I have to get to bed. Good night.
Oxford - Stonehenge - Bath - London
15 Oct -- Oxford
I arrive at Victoria Station and get a text and a call from Devon saying that we have a problem. It turns out the place where we were supposed to pick up our tickets opens just as our bus is supposed to leave. Devon is freaking out, so I said "Let's just wait until these guys open, explain our situation, and see what they say. And if they turn out to be really huge dicks as well, then I guess we're kind of screwed." As it turns out, we weren't screwed. The woman who helped us said "Here are your tickets. Just catch the next bus out of here." Devon asked if there was an extra charge, and the woman said no. This was so much like the coach buses in the States that I suddenly grew more comfortable with this leaving bit.
Couldn't sleep the entire ride to Oxford because I didn't want to miss the pretty countryside. Upon arrival in Oxford, we went looking for our hostel, which we didn't find right away. Instead, we found a tourist information center who told us where to go to get to our hostel. We followed their directions and got to the right place. We couldn't check in right away (check in is at 1:30p and we were there around 11a or so) but we could leave our bags behind so we didn't have to carry them.
Returned to the visitor information center and booked a walking tour of the city that went to all the different colleges. The Oxford University campus was quite a distance away and we were saving our money for a trip to Stonehenge we liked so we decided to be frugal. In retrospect, I would really like to return to Oxford for the whole weekend this time. Anyway, we had about two hours to kill before the walking tour started, so we went to check out Christ Church.
We wandered in front of it for a while, debating if we could see it all before the walking tour. We walked down a path nearby to a river. There were some cows grazing nearby and Devon took a picture of me with them in the background. She was amused by my enthusiasm for cows.
It was beautiful! We had to pay about 5 pounds to get in . . . or, Devon had to pay 5 pounds. I didn't have any cash and the guy at the till wanted to rush us along so we can see the Hall before it closes. So in the general hype of "Move your butt or you'll miss it!", I was shepherded in without paying anything. Good for me.
The Hall is where they filmed the Great Hall scenes in the Harry Potter movies. Devon and I recognized it right away. Sorry I can't post pictures yet. But if you friend me on Facebook, you'll be able to see my entire weekend in picture form. One day, when the Internet connection is better, I'll upload the photos to the correlating posts. Until then, you'll just have to get text. Sorry.
Wandered into the chapel afterward and took some beautiful pictures of that as well. We got a sheet with a mini-guide of the chapel. The sheets came in all sorts of languages, so for kicks and giggles I got it in Japanese as well as English. While in the chapel, there was a spot where you could light a candle (like the spot in the back of St. Margaret Mary's back home). So I lit a candle and said a little prayer for my Grandmas Mary and Hazel. And, because there was a donation box, I donated the three two pence pieces I had. The two pence pieces because I'm confused about when to use them and I always seem to acquire so much of them. Also, I felt guilty seeing the entire thing free when everyone else has to pay. So that was my tribute.
Moved on to the courtyard, and then the shop. And then we left to make the walking tour. Picked up lunch at Pret a Manger and ate on the way there. It was a really good baguette sandwich. I'm going to miss baguette sandwiches when I get back home. I know they're like subs, but they're really not. Baguettes are smaller and easier to bit into and subs are quite large and takes three bites to get the length of the entire sandwich. It's only two for baguettes.
Our walking tour guide was named Joan and she was a wonderful woman. She had a sense of humor and made a few comments about people who built the colleges that made me laugh. The first college we went to, she explained how the couple acquired the land and then the husband died, so his wife took over building the school and founding it and such. Joan said she must have been a very grim woman because the entire courtyard is symmetrical -- there's even a false door to balance out the real door to the chapel on the other end of the courtyard! This was also the college with the brilliant idea to have the kitchens right above the dining hall. So the warmth of the fires rose to the dining students above and the food wouldn't get cold delivering it across the campus. The false door is under the dining hall.
Moving on, we saw a chapel for one of the smaller colleges. It was pretty, but it was hard to hear Joan because someone was practicing their piano in the back. It was very pretty piano and it gave the whole place atmosphere. Joan talked about the stained glass windows (which may have really been painted glass) and the artist of the glass. We also got to sit in the choir seats, which was pretty cool. The choir seats face each other, and they're not very comfortable at all. But I guess it prevents slouching and relaxing and falling asleep in church.
Talked a lot outside. Was led through an outdoors pub that looked pretty cool and talked about the graduation ceremonies outside a grand building. There was another building under construction and Joan complained about that. Devon complained about construction too. I said that the prestige of the school correlates to how much construction it has year-round, then I said that Madison must be really prestigious because I'm pretty sure we have about four things going on at once. Giant things, mind you. What it all boils down to is the fact that it's the same everywhere you go. There's always going to be construction on a college campus (er, University campus. College and University are two different things over here).
It was really cold outside. I just had a tee shirt and a sweatshirt and I started to question why I didn't bring my fleece along too. But I had a long sleeve shirt in my backpack so I was going to wear that the next day. It didn't help the fact that I was cold THEN and I wanted to be able to feel my fingers again. Thankfully, we walked into a small museum dedicated to someone by name of John Aubrey. The exhibition is called "John Aubrey and the Development of Experimental Science". I didn't care much about the exhibition, just the fact that I wanted to warm up. I also picked up a small brochure on it just to make sure I remembered it. Also, learned that the first science fiction-like novel was written in 1836 and was entitled The First Man on the Moone. Forget the author, but I wouldn't mind looking that up eventually.
We moved on from there and froze some more. Went into Radcliffe Square and learned about the library in the center of it. The library looked like an observatory, which I thought was neat. We also learned about the origin of the name Brasenose Lane. The house on Brasenose Lane had a brass nose for a knocker. One day, the knocker was stolen. A few years later, it was found again on a house in the countryside. The college had to buy the entire house to get the brass nose knocker back. Brass Nose because Brasenose and that's how the street got it's name.
Another interesting fact about streets. The tourist information center is on Broad Street, named so because it used to be the sight of a very broad ditch that marked the outer wall of Oxford back in the middle ages. Must learn more about the origins of street names in the UK because it's just so interesting!
We then went into the dining hall of another college and had a pretty good chat. Joan talked about a few places to get tea. Outside, Devon and Joan talked for a bit. She got her picture with her but I didn't. I did manage to get a picture of Joan, which can once again be seen on Facebook. (Stupid Internet)
To warm up, Devon and I went to a place called the Vault and Garden Cafe, which is connected to a church and all profit goes to the church. I had hot apple juice (which wasn't very hot because the girl had to make a new batch) and a scone with strawberry jam. Devon got tea with a scone. She shared some of her tea with me, and it was deliciously scalding. But we had tea and scones. TEA AND SCONES. How British. Also took a picture of the cafe because it was off the beaten path and we were probably the only tourists to venture there. It was a really cute cafe. Good scones too.
We returned to the hostel just then and was walked through the process of checking in. A youth hostel is a cheap place for young travelers like ourselves to spend the night when in another city. You see, people in Europe have the tendency to travel to a lot of different places. Like how in the States it's completely normal to travel around the country with your family on vacation, it's completely normal for you and a few friends to hop to a different country and spend a week there. Youth hostels are cheap and are typically dorm style, that is, multiple bunk beds in a single room.
This hostel was also a backpackers hostel. Meaning, it was cheap probably had a few other services other hostels would not. Like free Internet (or Internet in general), a self-service kitchen, free breakfast in the morning, satellite TV in the lounge, etc. It was a pretty cool place, but Devon seemed to be on edge. She didn't like the reception person we had -- apparently wasn't friendly enough -- and our room had a lot of people in it. I went cheap when I was booking.
For dinner, we went to Tesco about two blocks away and bought some penne and sauce. We made that in the kitchen and ate it in the lounge where we met an Australian guy who was touring Europe for a while. He said he had a part time job back home to help fund his travels. He also said that he didn't continue onto University yet, but he figured he could always do so later. Until then, he was going to work and travel.
Also watching real TV for the first time since the States. Commercials and clear signal and everything. Two episodes of friends and a movie called Rocknrollas starring Gerald Butler. I only half paid attention because my eyes were really droopy. Devon told me to go to bed, and going to bed alone with a travel buddy caught me off guard but I did anyway. The next morning, I learned that Devon wasn't too far behind me.
I slept right by the heater that first night. It was nice. Devon slept across the room. I also had my valuables tucked away in my sweatshirt and curled up with that for the night. Giant room of possible thieves. Call me paranoid, but I wasn't going to risk anything.
~~~
16 Oct -- Bath/Stonehenge
Checked out of the hostel around 9:30a and hopped on the next bus to Bath. Didn't take any pictures of the scenery because my camera was starting to go from just that one day. I suspect the battery didn't charge as it should have the night before we left, but there was nothing I could do about it. I just had to deal.
Still, I was determined to get a picture of sheep. They're about as common as cows here, but every uncommon in WI. So I just had to. (Those with access to me on Facebook know that I got my picture of sheep later that day.)
Upon arrival in Bath, we quickly located our hostel, which was the same company as the previous hostel. But we agree that this hostel was nicer. The receptionist was friendlier and took us through check in when we got there. We left our backpacks behind but I took out the bread, peanut butter, and jelly (plus knife and paper towels) that I packed for lunches. After getting directions to the tourist information center, that's where we went.
There were two companies with tours to Stonehenge. One was Mad Max which was about 15 pounds not including Stonehenge admission cost and was four hours. They went to Stonehenge and another small village where a few more Harry Potter scenes were apparently filmed. We didn't go on this one because the tourist center couldn't get through to them to book last minute. Also, they were probably full. Instead, we went through Scarper Tours, which was fourteen pounds not including Stonehenge admission and was just three hours. They have an obnoxiously purple bus announcing their company and destination so it's really hard to miss. Booked last minute through the tourist info center and then rushed to find our way to the meeting place.
Got there and thought there was some trouble because the tour guides had to converse with themselves about cancellations and what not. But it all worked out in the end. What happened was that so much stuff happened within the same minute that it took another two minutes to figure out what had just happened. Ever get one of those? Reminds me of the days when I was stage manager in high school. In any case, we got our spots for a Stonehenge tour.
It's about 55 minutes through beautiful countryside to Stonehenge. On the way, we saw thatched roofs, a chalked white horse on the hillside in the distance, a tiny and very unpleasant looking jail in a small village, a hotel that looked like a small castle, and a free range pig farm. Unfortunately, we didn't see any crop circles being as there aren't any crops at the moment.
Got to Stonehenge and was really excited! Because it's Stonehenge. We had an hour to do as we please around the sight. Devon and I both got an audio tour (it's free with admission). We took pictures, we listened to the mysteries and what we actually do know about the sight. I found the entire thing fascinating because of the mysteries and what we know and how the pieces we have don't seem to fit together into anything resembling a solid answer to our questions about the site. And it made me think of a story idea that I wrote down as soon as I had my notebook again. But it was a pain keeping that idea in my head for two hours. Just had to write it down, you know?
There was some sheep on the outskirts of the site. I got a picture with them, naturally.
I thought there would have been a mention of Doctor Who filming at Stonehenge, but there wasn't. Last season ended with the Doctor being locked in a box called the Pandorica under Stonehenge. It was a strategy formulated by every species that hated the Doctor! Oh no! But my inner geek is showing and taking this off topic. *ahem* Moving on . . .
Bought a gift for Adam at the gift shop. I thought it was witty so he better appreciate it. Also bought postcards. Got postcards at Oxford too, but not very many.
Ate a sandwich on the way back to Bath. Also just watched the scenery and got a better view of the white horse on the hillside.
Returned to Bath and wandered for a bit. We went shopping down the main avenue of shops. Then I got distracted by the church bell ringers in the middle of the lane so I went to check it out. I learned how to ring church bells and they tried to recruit me into their bell ringing guild. I find it funny. They gave me a brochure and everything. They attempted to recruit me by asking where I'm from.
"Wisconsin."
"That's no good. Where do you go to school?"
"Madison."
"That's no good either."
Amused me so much. But they had a place in Texas Devon could join if she wanted even if she didn't ring any church bells. Didn't get a picture of the church bell ringing because, well, I just didn't. Devon didn't whip out her camera and I was too busy to whip out mine. Oh well. You'll just have to take my word on this.
We each bought a pizza in Iceland to make in the hostel. While eating and sitting in the TV room, we talked with a few people. A Polish Dude started talking with us and said that his friend Cam is usually the one who gets to talk to Americans. He's charismatic with them for some reason or other. I got to play with the guy's iPhone so I was happy. Also, he friended me on Facebook for a while. More on this later.
Drunk Czech Guy started handing out free Stella Artois, which I finally tried. It was pretty good, but it'll taste better cold. Then DCG wanted to go out. I dragged Devon along and the Polish Dude came just because I guess. But I later learned Polish Dude's real intentions and said "No. Waaay too fast, buddy!" when he tried to kiss me. Drunk Czech Guy paid for the beers in the pub. He also didn't speak very good English. And he kept disappearing for unknown reasons. When Devon and I were alone at the table (Polish Dude finding a place with dancing because the bar was closing around 11p), she said "You see? This is why we say 'No, we're tired' when Drunk Czech Guy wants to go out." I know what she means. So, while the guys were gone, we left. Told Polish Dude at the door that we were going back. He wanted to walk us back, but we were really firm. We can take care of ourselves. Go away. He got the message.
Slept better that night than the one previous because there were less people in our room. Only ten beds instead of sixteen. Once again, slept with valuables in my sweatshirt and snuggled with that. At about five in the morning, I woke up by myself and just had to journal. I hadn't journaled all day so I wrote about my day and the happenings and what I learned about staying hostels. My UK phone has a flashlight built into it so I used that for light. Then I went back to sleep and woke up when the Polish guys in our room left.
~ ~ ~
17 Oct -- Bath/London
Breakfast was toast a la the bread I brought along with me. Devon and I went and bought tickets for the Roman baths and wandered those. We had audio tours for those as well, and it was fun to listen to. I tried to take as many pictures as I could before my camera finally died. Too bad. It had a good life, I think. When I return to the states, will have to look into investing into a second battery. (Dad, it's a FujiFilm Lithium Ion NP-45 in case you're interested -- which I know you probably are.)
The Roman Bath Museum had screens that would show replications of Roman daily life in Bath. They were good and all, but then I saw one with a stone masoner and his apprentice. The apprentice had a very modern haircut. It made me laugh because I don't think they would have had that kind of hair way back then. Whoops. Or maybe they really did, but long bangs and short in the back seems too modern for the ancients.
We caught a free walking tour around the town at around 10:30a. It was a fun tour. Couldn't get any pictures. Outside a theater, we learned about an actor in Bath who played Romeo in Romeo and Juliet so horribly that it became a nationwide sensation and he went on tour so people could laugh at him. Reminds me of those movies that are so horrible that they're actually quite enjoyable. Much like Jesus Christ Vampire Slayer (which I've never seen but have heard things about) and Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (yes, that is a legit movie. Don't believe me? I have a link). Also learned that Jane Austen, who spent quite a bit of time in Bath, hated the town. There was also talk about a architects and people in the area with certain reputations.
There was a series of fancy townhouses that I tried to snap a picture of before the camera actually died. As in, refused to turn on and acknowledge the low battery level after that point. One of the townhouses had a lemon yellow door. Apparently, years and years ago, the woman who lived there painted it yellow. Her neighbors and the city council didn't approve that they took it to court. The case went all the way up to the hightest court in the UK, which then decreed that she can have her yellow door if she wanted a yellow door. It's been yellow ever since, even after she died.
A legend on the healing powers of Bath's hot spring:
There was once a man destined to become a councilman for court. However, he acquired leprosy so he was forced to become a lowly pig shepherd in the countryside (before Bath was built). His pigs eventually acquired the disease themselves. One day, they started playing in the mud surrounding the hot spring. This man used acorns to lure the pigs out of the mud. When they emerged, he realized that they were cured of their leprosy. So he took a bath in the waters and was himself cured as well. Then he went on to fulfill his destiny as a councilman.
Of course, that's just a very old legend.
We got a free glass of water from the hot springs at a really fancy restaurant called The Pump Room with purchase of our museum ticket. We waited a while for the water and when it did come, it was warm and not very good. But I still drank half a glass because I didn't think it was as bad as Devon made it out to be. All I needed was one of those oliver crackers (or whatever they were called) and my systems would have been cleared and healed! (according to ancient healing tradition)
Devon also kept complaining about the weather. Not sure how cool it was, but it was quite cool. She said it was Christmas weather and I said "Are you kidding? This isn't even close to cold!" She rolled her eyes. Then again, she is from San Antonio. I am from Madison (in a manner of speaking). Different climates.
Our bus for London left about quarter to two. This changed since I last told people because I didn't buy the bus ticket when I was supposed to. So we bought it when we got to Bath the previous day, before we found our hostel. Anyway, it was a good time to leave because there wasn't much else to see in the small town. Got into Victoria Station around 6p. Returned to the dorm and went to see if Oscar wanted to have dinner together.
Hung out with him for a while. We were invited to see The Social Network that night with Denise, Lynn, and Cieron. The theater was in Piccadilly Circus, which is a wonderful place at night. So many lights and tourists and the atmosphere is really fantastic. There was a small premiere thing going on, but we didn't know for what movie or anything. It cleared out a few minutes after we got there anyway, so we'll probably never know. Tickets to the movie were 10.50 pounds. Which is a LOT! The screen wasn't very big and the seats weren't stadium style like they are in Marcus Cinemas in the States. As always, there were 20 minutes of commercials before the movie actually started.
And that's how I learned that the founder of Facebook is a really big asshole. Pardon my language, but he is. In any case, it's a really good movie and I recommend it to anyone who wants a good movie. It kept me engaged in the happenings, I understood what was going on, but the only thing resolved was the court case. And I like that about it.
Ordered pizza with Oscar when we got back. Delicious pepperonni. Reminds me of home.
I was told by Ryan (who has long since returned to Syria) that you never stop missing your family and friends back home. That never goes away. He's been in Syria for all of a year now and he still misses his family. It's just something you come to live with. You talk with them when you can, you keep in touch, but you can still miss them.
I miss you Mom and Dad. I miss you when I sit in my room for two hours by myself blogging about my entire weekend. I miss you when I'm sitting on a coach bus and watching the stone cottages fly by because they remind me of fairy tales and if you saw them they will remind you of me. And I keep thinking about the coming day in January when I finally arrive in Minneapolis all jet-lagged and travel worn. And we'll lay in the hotel bed like we did before I left, the three of us snuggling together (and then getting tackled by Ryan and Adam -- it's a package deal I wouldn't trade for the world). But even though I'm across the world and having new experiences and making new friends, know that I still miss the close companionship of home and people who understand my subtle signs. I miss you and I love you.
I have another day ahead of me. I'm meeting with Becky to talk about travel plans in the coming months (she invited me to Rome!) and I have an entire essay to plan out for next week. Shit, I have an essay due in a week. You'll hear about that later today. Until then . . . [witty and cheesy closing line here].
I arrive at Victoria Station and get a text and a call from Devon saying that we have a problem. It turns out the place where we were supposed to pick up our tickets opens just as our bus is supposed to leave. Devon is freaking out, so I said "Let's just wait until these guys open, explain our situation, and see what they say. And if they turn out to be really huge dicks as well, then I guess we're kind of screwed." As it turns out, we weren't screwed. The woman who helped us said "Here are your tickets. Just catch the next bus out of here." Devon asked if there was an extra charge, and the woman said no. This was so much like the coach buses in the States that I suddenly grew more comfortable with this leaving bit.
Couldn't sleep the entire ride to Oxford because I didn't want to miss the pretty countryside. Upon arrival in Oxford, we went looking for our hostel, which we didn't find right away. Instead, we found a tourist information center who told us where to go to get to our hostel. We followed their directions and got to the right place. We couldn't check in right away (check in is at 1:30p and we were there around 11a or so) but we could leave our bags behind so we didn't have to carry them.
Returned to the visitor information center and booked a walking tour of the city that went to all the different colleges. The Oxford University campus was quite a distance away and we were saving our money for a trip to Stonehenge we liked so we decided to be frugal. In retrospect, I would really like to return to Oxford for the whole weekend this time. Anyway, we had about two hours to kill before the walking tour started, so we went to check out Christ Church.
We wandered in front of it for a while, debating if we could see it all before the walking tour. We walked down a path nearby to a river. There were some cows grazing nearby and Devon took a picture of me with them in the background. She was amused by my enthusiasm for cows.
It was beautiful! We had to pay about 5 pounds to get in . . . or, Devon had to pay 5 pounds. I didn't have any cash and the guy at the till wanted to rush us along so we can see the Hall before it closes. So in the general hype of "Move your butt or you'll miss it!", I was shepherded in without paying anything. Good for me.
The Hall is where they filmed the Great Hall scenes in the Harry Potter movies. Devon and I recognized it right away. Sorry I can't post pictures yet. But if you friend me on Facebook, you'll be able to see my entire weekend in picture form. One day, when the Internet connection is better, I'll upload the photos to the correlating posts. Until then, you'll just have to get text. Sorry.
Wandered into the chapel afterward and took some beautiful pictures of that as well. We got a sheet with a mini-guide of the chapel. The sheets came in all sorts of languages, so for kicks and giggles I got it in Japanese as well as English. While in the chapel, there was a spot where you could light a candle (like the spot in the back of St. Margaret Mary's back home). So I lit a candle and said a little prayer for my Grandmas Mary and Hazel. And, because there was a donation box, I donated the three two pence pieces I had. The two pence pieces because I'm confused about when to use them and I always seem to acquire so much of them. Also, I felt guilty seeing the entire thing free when everyone else has to pay. So that was my tribute.
Moved on to the courtyard, and then the shop. And then we left to make the walking tour. Picked up lunch at Pret a Manger and ate on the way there. It was a really good baguette sandwich. I'm going to miss baguette sandwiches when I get back home. I know they're like subs, but they're really not. Baguettes are smaller and easier to bit into and subs are quite large and takes three bites to get the length of the entire sandwich. It's only two for baguettes.
Our walking tour guide was named Joan and she was a wonderful woman. She had a sense of humor and made a few comments about people who built the colleges that made me laugh. The first college we went to, she explained how the couple acquired the land and then the husband died, so his wife took over building the school and founding it and such. Joan said she must have been a very grim woman because the entire courtyard is symmetrical -- there's even a false door to balance out the real door to the chapel on the other end of the courtyard! This was also the college with the brilliant idea to have the kitchens right above the dining hall. So the warmth of the fires rose to the dining students above and the food wouldn't get cold delivering it across the campus. The false door is under the dining hall.
Moving on, we saw a chapel for one of the smaller colleges. It was pretty, but it was hard to hear Joan because someone was practicing their piano in the back. It was very pretty piano and it gave the whole place atmosphere. Joan talked about the stained glass windows (which may have really been painted glass) and the artist of the glass. We also got to sit in the choir seats, which was pretty cool. The choir seats face each other, and they're not very comfortable at all. But I guess it prevents slouching and relaxing and falling asleep in church.
Talked a lot outside. Was led through an outdoors pub that looked pretty cool and talked about the graduation ceremonies outside a grand building. There was another building under construction and Joan complained about that. Devon complained about construction too. I said that the prestige of the school correlates to how much construction it has year-round, then I said that Madison must be really prestigious because I'm pretty sure we have about four things going on at once. Giant things, mind you. What it all boils down to is the fact that it's the same everywhere you go. There's always going to be construction on a college campus (er, University campus. College and University are two different things over here).
It was really cold outside. I just had a tee shirt and a sweatshirt and I started to question why I didn't bring my fleece along too. But I had a long sleeve shirt in my backpack so I was going to wear that the next day. It didn't help the fact that I was cold THEN and I wanted to be able to feel my fingers again. Thankfully, we walked into a small museum dedicated to someone by name of John Aubrey. The exhibition is called "John Aubrey and the Development of Experimental Science". I didn't care much about the exhibition, just the fact that I wanted to warm up. I also picked up a small brochure on it just to make sure I remembered it. Also, learned that the first science fiction-like novel was written in 1836 and was entitled The First Man on the Moone. Forget the author, but I wouldn't mind looking that up eventually.
We moved on from there and froze some more. Went into Radcliffe Square and learned about the library in the center of it. The library looked like an observatory, which I thought was neat. We also learned about the origin of the name Brasenose Lane. The house on Brasenose Lane had a brass nose for a knocker. One day, the knocker was stolen. A few years later, it was found again on a house in the countryside. The college had to buy the entire house to get the brass nose knocker back. Brass Nose because Brasenose and that's how the street got it's name.
Another interesting fact about streets. The tourist information center is on Broad Street, named so because it used to be the sight of a very broad ditch that marked the outer wall of Oxford back in the middle ages. Must learn more about the origins of street names in the UK because it's just so interesting!
We then went into the dining hall of another college and had a pretty good chat. Joan talked about a few places to get tea. Outside, Devon and Joan talked for a bit. She got her picture with her but I didn't. I did manage to get a picture of Joan, which can once again be seen on Facebook. (Stupid Internet)
To warm up, Devon and I went to a place called the Vault and Garden Cafe, which is connected to a church and all profit goes to the church. I had hot apple juice (which wasn't very hot because the girl had to make a new batch) and a scone with strawberry jam. Devon got tea with a scone. She shared some of her tea with me, and it was deliciously scalding. But we had tea and scones. TEA AND SCONES. How British. Also took a picture of the cafe because it was off the beaten path and we were probably the only tourists to venture there. It was a really cute cafe. Good scones too.
We returned to the hostel just then and was walked through the process of checking in. A youth hostel is a cheap place for young travelers like ourselves to spend the night when in another city. You see, people in Europe have the tendency to travel to a lot of different places. Like how in the States it's completely normal to travel around the country with your family on vacation, it's completely normal for you and a few friends to hop to a different country and spend a week there. Youth hostels are cheap and are typically dorm style, that is, multiple bunk beds in a single room.
This hostel was also a backpackers hostel. Meaning, it was cheap probably had a few other services other hostels would not. Like free Internet (or Internet in general), a self-service kitchen, free breakfast in the morning, satellite TV in the lounge, etc. It was a pretty cool place, but Devon seemed to be on edge. She didn't like the reception person we had -- apparently wasn't friendly enough -- and our room had a lot of people in it. I went cheap when I was booking.
For dinner, we went to Tesco about two blocks away and bought some penne and sauce. We made that in the kitchen and ate it in the lounge where we met an Australian guy who was touring Europe for a while. He said he had a part time job back home to help fund his travels. He also said that he didn't continue onto University yet, but he figured he could always do so later. Until then, he was going to work and travel.
Also watching real TV for the first time since the States. Commercials and clear signal and everything. Two episodes of friends and a movie called Rocknrollas starring Gerald Butler. I only half paid attention because my eyes were really droopy. Devon told me to go to bed, and going to bed alone with a travel buddy caught me off guard but I did anyway. The next morning, I learned that Devon wasn't too far behind me.
I slept right by the heater that first night. It was nice. Devon slept across the room. I also had my valuables tucked away in my sweatshirt and curled up with that for the night. Giant room of possible thieves. Call me paranoid, but I wasn't going to risk anything.
~~~
16 Oct -- Bath/Stonehenge
Checked out of the hostel around 9:30a and hopped on the next bus to Bath. Didn't take any pictures of the scenery because my camera was starting to go from just that one day. I suspect the battery didn't charge as it should have the night before we left, but there was nothing I could do about it. I just had to deal.
Still, I was determined to get a picture of sheep. They're about as common as cows here, but every uncommon in WI. So I just had to. (Those with access to me on Facebook know that I got my picture of sheep later that day.)
Upon arrival in Bath, we quickly located our hostel, which was the same company as the previous hostel. But we agree that this hostel was nicer. The receptionist was friendlier and took us through check in when we got there. We left our backpacks behind but I took out the bread, peanut butter, and jelly (plus knife and paper towels) that I packed for lunches. After getting directions to the tourist information center, that's where we went.
There were two companies with tours to Stonehenge. One was Mad Max which was about 15 pounds not including Stonehenge admission cost and was four hours. They went to Stonehenge and another small village where a few more Harry Potter scenes were apparently filmed. We didn't go on this one because the tourist center couldn't get through to them to book last minute. Also, they were probably full. Instead, we went through Scarper Tours, which was fourteen pounds not including Stonehenge admission and was just three hours. They have an obnoxiously purple bus announcing their company and destination so it's really hard to miss. Booked last minute through the tourist info center and then rushed to find our way to the meeting place.
Got there and thought there was some trouble because the tour guides had to converse with themselves about cancellations and what not. But it all worked out in the end. What happened was that so much stuff happened within the same minute that it took another two minutes to figure out what had just happened. Ever get one of those? Reminds me of the days when I was stage manager in high school. In any case, we got our spots for a Stonehenge tour.
It's about 55 minutes through beautiful countryside to Stonehenge. On the way, we saw thatched roofs, a chalked white horse on the hillside in the distance, a tiny and very unpleasant looking jail in a small village, a hotel that looked like a small castle, and a free range pig farm. Unfortunately, we didn't see any crop circles being as there aren't any crops at the moment.
Got to Stonehenge and was really excited! Because it's Stonehenge. We had an hour to do as we please around the sight. Devon and I both got an audio tour (it's free with admission). We took pictures, we listened to the mysteries and what we actually do know about the sight. I found the entire thing fascinating because of the mysteries and what we know and how the pieces we have don't seem to fit together into anything resembling a solid answer to our questions about the site. And it made me think of a story idea that I wrote down as soon as I had my notebook again. But it was a pain keeping that idea in my head for two hours. Just had to write it down, you know?
There was some sheep on the outskirts of the site. I got a picture with them, naturally.
I thought there would have been a mention of Doctor Who filming at Stonehenge, but there wasn't. Last season ended with the Doctor being locked in a box called the Pandorica under Stonehenge. It was a strategy formulated by every species that hated the Doctor! Oh no! But my inner geek is showing and taking this off topic. *ahem* Moving on . . .
Bought a gift for Adam at the gift shop. I thought it was witty so he better appreciate it. Also bought postcards. Got postcards at Oxford too, but not very many.
Ate a sandwich on the way back to Bath. Also just watched the scenery and got a better view of the white horse on the hillside.
Returned to Bath and wandered for a bit. We went shopping down the main avenue of shops. Then I got distracted by the church bell ringers in the middle of the lane so I went to check it out. I learned how to ring church bells and they tried to recruit me into their bell ringing guild. I find it funny. They gave me a brochure and everything. They attempted to recruit me by asking where I'm from.
"Wisconsin."
"That's no good. Where do you go to school?"
"Madison."
"That's no good either."
Amused me so much. But they had a place in Texas Devon could join if she wanted even if she didn't ring any church bells. Didn't get a picture of the church bell ringing because, well, I just didn't. Devon didn't whip out her camera and I was too busy to whip out mine. Oh well. You'll just have to take my word on this.
We each bought a pizza in Iceland to make in the hostel. While eating and sitting in the TV room, we talked with a few people. A Polish Dude started talking with us and said that his friend Cam is usually the one who gets to talk to Americans. He's charismatic with them for some reason or other. I got to play with the guy's iPhone so I was happy. Also, he friended me on Facebook for a while. More on this later.
Drunk Czech Guy started handing out free Stella Artois, which I finally tried. It was pretty good, but it'll taste better cold. Then DCG wanted to go out. I dragged Devon along and the Polish Dude came just because I guess. But I later learned Polish Dude's real intentions and said "No. Waaay too fast, buddy!" when he tried to kiss me. Drunk Czech Guy paid for the beers in the pub. He also didn't speak very good English. And he kept disappearing for unknown reasons. When Devon and I were alone at the table (Polish Dude finding a place with dancing because the bar was closing around 11p), she said "You see? This is why we say 'No, we're tired' when Drunk Czech Guy wants to go out." I know what she means. So, while the guys were gone, we left. Told Polish Dude at the door that we were going back. He wanted to walk us back, but we were really firm. We can take care of ourselves. Go away. He got the message.
Slept better that night than the one previous because there were less people in our room. Only ten beds instead of sixteen. Once again, slept with valuables in my sweatshirt and snuggled with that. At about five in the morning, I woke up by myself and just had to journal. I hadn't journaled all day so I wrote about my day and the happenings and what I learned about staying hostels. My UK phone has a flashlight built into it so I used that for light. Then I went back to sleep and woke up when the Polish guys in our room left.
~ ~ ~
17 Oct -- Bath/London
Breakfast was toast a la the bread I brought along with me. Devon and I went and bought tickets for the Roman baths and wandered those. We had audio tours for those as well, and it was fun to listen to. I tried to take as many pictures as I could before my camera finally died. Too bad. It had a good life, I think. When I return to the states, will have to look into investing into a second battery. (Dad, it's a FujiFilm Lithium Ion NP-45 in case you're interested -- which I know you probably are.)
The Roman Bath Museum had screens that would show replications of Roman daily life in Bath. They were good and all, but then I saw one with a stone masoner and his apprentice. The apprentice had a very modern haircut. It made me laugh because I don't think they would have had that kind of hair way back then. Whoops. Or maybe they really did, but long bangs and short in the back seems too modern for the ancients.
We caught a free walking tour around the town at around 10:30a. It was a fun tour. Couldn't get any pictures. Outside a theater, we learned about an actor in Bath who played Romeo in Romeo and Juliet so horribly that it became a nationwide sensation and he went on tour so people could laugh at him. Reminds me of those movies that are so horrible that they're actually quite enjoyable. Much like Jesus Christ Vampire Slayer (which I've never seen but have heard things about) and Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (yes, that is a legit movie. Don't believe me? I have a link). Also learned that Jane Austen, who spent quite a bit of time in Bath, hated the town. There was also talk about a architects and people in the area with certain reputations.
There was a series of fancy townhouses that I tried to snap a picture of before the camera actually died. As in, refused to turn on and acknowledge the low battery level after that point. One of the townhouses had a lemon yellow door. Apparently, years and years ago, the woman who lived there painted it yellow. Her neighbors and the city council didn't approve that they took it to court. The case went all the way up to the hightest court in the UK, which then decreed that she can have her yellow door if she wanted a yellow door. It's been yellow ever since, even after she died.
A legend on the healing powers of Bath's hot spring:
There was once a man destined to become a councilman for court. However, he acquired leprosy so he was forced to become a lowly pig shepherd in the countryside (before Bath was built). His pigs eventually acquired the disease themselves. One day, they started playing in the mud surrounding the hot spring. This man used acorns to lure the pigs out of the mud. When they emerged, he realized that they were cured of their leprosy. So he took a bath in the waters and was himself cured as well. Then he went on to fulfill his destiny as a councilman.
Of course, that's just a very old legend.
We got a free glass of water from the hot springs at a really fancy restaurant called The Pump Room with purchase of our museum ticket. We waited a while for the water and when it did come, it was warm and not very good. But I still drank half a glass because I didn't think it was as bad as Devon made it out to be. All I needed was one of those oliver crackers (or whatever they were called) and my systems would have been cleared and healed! (according to ancient healing tradition)
Devon also kept complaining about the weather. Not sure how cool it was, but it was quite cool. She said it was Christmas weather and I said "Are you kidding? This isn't even close to cold!" She rolled her eyes. Then again, she is from San Antonio. I am from Madison (in a manner of speaking). Different climates.
Our bus for London left about quarter to two. This changed since I last told people because I didn't buy the bus ticket when I was supposed to. So we bought it when we got to Bath the previous day, before we found our hostel. Anyway, it was a good time to leave because there wasn't much else to see in the small town. Got into Victoria Station around 6p. Returned to the dorm and went to see if Oscar wanted to have dinner together.
Hung out with him for a while. We were invited to see The Social Network that night with Denise, Lynn, and Cieron. The theater was in Piccadilly Circus, which is a wonderful place at night. So many lights and tourists and the atmosphere is really fantastic. There was a small premiere thing going on, but we didn't know for what movie or anything. It cleared out a few minutes after we got there anyway, so we'll probably never know. Tickets to the movie were 10.50 pounds. Which is a LOT! The screen wasn't very big and the seats weren't stadium style like they are in Marcus Cinemas in the States. As always, there were 20 minutes of commercials before the movie actually started.
And that's how I learned that the founder of Facebook is a really big asshole. Pardon my language, but he is. In any case, it's a really good movie and I recommend it to anyone who wants a good movie. It kept me engaged in the happenings, I understood what was going on, but the only thing resolved was the court case. And I like that about it.
Ordered pizza with Oscar when we got back. Delicious pepperonni. Reminds me of home.
I was told by Ryan (who has long since returned to Syria) that you never stop missing your family and friends back home. That never goes away. He's been in Syria for all of a year now and he still misses his family. It's just something you come to live with. You talk with them when you can, you keep in touch, but you can still miss them.
I miss you Mom and Dad. I miss you when I sit in my room for two hours by myself blogging about my entire weekend. I miss you when I'm sitting on a coach bus and watching the stone cottages fly by because they remind me of fairy tales and if you saw them they will remind you of me. And I keep thinking about the coming day in January when I finally arrive in Minneapolis all jet-lagged and travel worn. And we'll lay in the hotel bed like we did before I left, the three of us snuggling together (and then getting tackled by Ryan and Adam -- it's a package deal I wouldn't trade for the world). But even though I'm across the world and having new experiences and making new friends, know that I still miss the close companionship of home and people who understand my subtle signs. I miss you and I love you.
I have another day ahead of me. I'm meeting with Becky to talk about travel plans in the coming months (she invited me to Rome!) and I have an entire essay to plan out for next week. Shit, I have an essay due in a week. You'll hear about that later today. Until then . . . [witty and cheesy closing line here].
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Spontaneious Shopping and Strangers
Today, I went to work and researched tapestry galleries. Felt like I didn't do much because it was really hard finding galleries displaying tapestries. But I managed to come up with a strategy to do it next week if it's what they want me to do when I come in next. We'll see, though.
After class, I took an unfamiliar bus that was supposed to stop at Tottenham Court Road. So I got off there and decided to walk to class. Except I saw a pasty shop on the way to class, so I bought a steak pasty. I waited until I was inside the building and nestled into my part of the wall before I ate it. I ate is slowly to enjoy it more. And it was good. Could have been hotter, but I blame the cold outside.
There is a guy in my class that came into the hallway and said "Darn, you beat me again!" Because I'm always the first one in class because I'm both paranoid and bored so I leave really early to get there really early. We had a nice chat. He brought some cookies, and actually called them cookies but he's British. He has such an American accent though! And dresses like one of those ghetto gangsters with a super baggy sweatshirt and the hat with the straight brim. But he's British. He doesn't know why he sounds American, but he does. He asked if I was American or Canadian. First time I had someone ask if I was Canadian. But I told him that he's not far. Wisconsin is almost on the Canadian border anyway.
I was talking with a Scottish guy in class during break, and of course it was the usual conversation. Only here a semester, going home in January, want to travel Finland and Sweden before I go. He said he knew a couple people in Finland and a bunch of people from Sweden. Told me to look them up on Facebook, friend them, explain my connection, and they should be all "Yeah, come a visit! We'll show you around!" My previous experiences with people that far north have been really positive, so I'm going to ask him for his name (so I can Friend him) and then ask for the names of his Swedish and Finish friends. Road trip is looking considerably cheaper but considerably more adventurous! (go me)
Walking home to the bus stop, I came across the store New Look, which Alysia described as being similar to Kohl's in the States. So I went in to check it out. Yeah, the prices were pretty decent. Decent enough to buy me a new watch (finally!!) and a present for Mom. Whether it's for her birthday or Christmas is yet to be determined. I figure I'll get her two things and the better one would be for Christmas. You're welcome, dear mother.
Still wandered around looking for my bus stop. So many buses stop at Oxford Circus that all the stops are sprawled within a three block radius. Managed to find myself by Hemley's Toy Store, which I walked past at first but then I turned right around. Why the hell not? I had thought to myself.
I swear, my eyes were as wide as the kid next to me. Seriously, five plus floors of toys, (TOYS) and games (GAMES)! Girls and Boys each have their own floor! Their own floor!! I figured they had to have Doctor Who something or other, so I looked around the boy's section and sure enough, there it was. A worker saw my age and my interest and asked which Doctor was mine. He displayed a giant box with all the doctors as action figures, and I said that I started with David Tennant. He gave me that "Oh, you're one of those people" and my look said "Yes, I am." I picked up the Eleventh Doctor's sonic screwdriver. Pricey, but I love it to death! My original thought was something along the lines of "Well, might as well now that I'm spending all this money." So glad I did!
On my way down, someone gave me a controller for this unique little care. The front wheels spun vertically so the car could do a bunch of nifty tricks against a wall and on the floor and all that. The guy was trying to sell it to me and I was just "Uh-huh, that's cool. Yes, that does sound versatile." A little boy and his dad walked up to observe, and before the sales man could attempt to sell it some more, I reached over to give the controller to the little kid. His father asked if I was really done, and I said yes, he can have it. The kid's eyes lit up so much! Like he was saying "I get to play with it? Really?" Yes, kid, really.
I'm totally going back to wander around when the Christmas season starts. That place must be AMAZING then.
Boarded another unfamiliar bus that was bound for Lambeth North. When I first got on, the machine wasn't reading my card. I thought it was my card's fault when a woman said "It's the machine, love, you don't have to do anything." I followed her to her seat and had the best conversation with a stranger I have ever had. It was mostly about me, but it was also about London and it's attractions and why the buses were better than the tubes and how I will go to Charing Cross Road one day for the book stores and a little bit of how I miss home mostly for the companionship of friends who've shared the best and the worst together, but I'll get back eventually. For now, I'm in LONDON. I told her I've been coming to Piccadilly Circus quite often recently and I've never been on the London Eye (she hasn't either and she's born and bred Londoner) but I can see it from the kitchen window. I told her about the Bloomsbury Festival, which she hasn't heard about before, and she told me about the Christmas market that goes on in Hyde Park. She said I've been doing a lot since coming here. When we parted, she wished me luck on my studies and best of luck on the rest of my time here. I told her to take care as well.
Best conversation with a stranger, ever.
Showed off my new toy to Oscar. He thought I was a loon, but you probably do too. Hung out with Denise, Lynn, and Oscar for a little bit. We were supposed to watch a movie, but they were waiting for Cieron and I had stuff to do (like pack) so I left when Oscar went to get some more food from the shop.
According to my plans, I should have been in bed an hour ago. But I still have to call my parents.
Expect the next post to be on Sunday night, and expect a really long one! You'll have three whole days to read up on when I come back (plus pictures), so at least you have something to look forward to.
After class, I took an unfamiliar bus that was supposed to stop at Tottenham Court Road. So I got off there and decided to walk to class. Except I saw a pasty shop on the way to class, so I bought a steak pasty. I waited until I was inside the building and nestled into my part of the wall before I ate it. I ate is slowly to enjoy it more. And it was good. Could have been hotter, but I blame the cold outside.
There is a guy in my class that came into the hallway and said "Darn, you beat me again!" Because I'm always the first one in class because I'm both paranoid and bored so I leave really early to get there really early. We had a nice chat. He brought some cookies, and actually called them cookies but he's British. He has such an American accent though! And dresses like one of those ghetto gangsters with a super baggy sweatshirt and the hat with the straight brim. But he's British. He doesn't know why he sounds American, but he does. He asked if I was American or Canadian. First time I had someone ask if I was Canadian. But I told him that he's not far. Wisconsin is almost on the Canadian border anyway.
I was talking with a Scottish guy in class during break, and of course it was the usual conversation. Only here a semester, going home in January, want to travel Finland and Sweden before I go. He said he knew a couple people in Finland and a bunch of people from Sweden. Told me to look them up on Facebook, friend them, explain my connection, and they should be all "Yeah, come a visit! We'll show you around!" My previous experiences with people that far north have been really positive, so I'm going to ask him for his name (so I can Friend him) and then ask for the names of his Swedish and Finish friends. Road trip is looking considerably cheaper but considerably more adventurous! (go me)
Walking home to the bus stop, I came across the store New Look, which Alysia described as being similar to Kohl's in the States. So I went in to check it out. Yeah, the prices were pretty decent. Decent enough to buy me a new watch (finally!!) and a present for Mom. Whether it's for her birthday or Christmas is yet to be determined. I figure I'll get her two things and the better one would be for Christmas. You're welcome, dear mother.
Still wandered around looking for my bus stop. So many buses stop at Oxford Circus that all the stops are sprawled within a three block radius. Managed to find myself by Hemley's Toy Store, which I walked past at first but then I turned right around. Why the hell not? I had thought to myself.
I swear, my eyes were as wide as the kid next to me. Seriously, five plus floors of toys, (TOYS) and games (GAMES)! Girls and Boys each have their own floor! Their own floor!! I figured they had to have Doctor Who something or other, so I looked around the boy's section and sure enough, there it was. A worker saw my age and my interest and asked which Doctor was mine. He displayed a giant box with all the doctors as action figures, and I said that I started with David Tennant. He gave me that "Oh, you're one of those people" and my look said "Yes, I am." I picked up the Eleventh Doctor's sonic screwdriver. Pricey, but I love it to death! My original thought was something along the lines of "Well, might as well now that I'm spending all this money." So glad I did!
On my way down, someone gave me a controller for this unique little care. The front wheels spun vertically so the car could do a bunch of nifty tricks against a wall and on the floor and all that. The guy was trying to sell it to me and I was just "Uh-huh, that's cool. Yes, that does sound versatile." A little boy and his dad walked up to observe, and before the sales man could attempt to sell it some more, I reached over to give the controller to the little kid. His father asked if I was really done, and I said yes, he can have it. The kid's eyes lit up so much! Like he was saying "I get to play with it? Really?" Yes, kid, really.
I'm totally going back to wander around when the Christmas season starts. That place must be AMAZING then.
Boarded another unfamiliar bus that was bound for Lambeth North. When I first got on, the machine wasn't reading my card. I thought it was my card's fault when a woman said "It's the machine, love, you don't have to do anything." I followed her to her seat and had the best conversation with a stranger I have ever had. It was mostly about me, but it was also about London and it's attractions and why the buses were better than the tubes and how I will go to Charing Cross Road one day for the book stores and a little bit of how I miss home mostly for the companionship of friends who've shared the best and the worst together, but I'll get back eventually. For now, I'm in LONDON. I told her I've been coming to Piccadilly Circus quite often recently and I've never been on the London Eye (she hasn't either and she's born and bred Londoner) but I can see it from the kitchen window. I told her about the Bloomsbury Festival, which she hasn't heard about before, and she told me about the Christmas market that goes on in Hyde Park. She said I've been doing a lot since coming here. When we parted, she wished me luck on my studies and best of luck on the rest of my time here. I told her to take care as well.
Best conversation with a stranger, ever.
Showed off my new toy to Oscar. He thought I was a loon, but you probably do too. Hung out with Denise, Lynn, and Oscar for a little bit. We were supposed to watch a movie, but they were waiting for Cieron and I had stuff to do (like pack) so I left when Oscar went to get some more food from the shop.
According to my plans, I should have been in bed an hour ago. But I still have to call my parents.
Expect the next post to be on Sunday night, and expect a really long one! You'll have three whole days to read up on when I come back (plus pictures), so at least you have something to look forward to.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Nighttime Sharpens, Heightens Each Sensation . . .
Woke up this morning. Went to work. Lunch included leftover sweet and sour beef from the other night and some cucumber slices. Also brought a candy bar with me, but I didn't eat it all day. Also went to the post office. Felt less incompetent than last time by a lot. Guy was also friendlier. I think there's a correlation.
Left work about five minutes early because I finished my task and Pheobe said I could. Arrived in Piccadilly Circus, debated taking the bus to Haymarket, but why? It's right around the corner! So I walked instead. Ben bailed on the show, but two girls named Hattie and Melissa invited themselves instead. I didn't mind. I guess Americans are less polite when it comes to stuff like that. Last night, when Ben asked if he could come, he said "I know this is rude, but can I come too?" They learn manners differently over here. Or maybe I'm just really chill?
Ate dinner at a Pizza Express. Seen them all over and first time in one. Really good pizza.
Her Majesty's Theater is the perfect place for the Phantom because it has that 19th century, gaudy and extravagant look. The lighting isn't the greatest. Mel made the comment that it was kind of eerie. I loved it, though. Suits the show very well. The theater itself isn't very large, from what I saw. Reminded me of the Grand Opera House in Oshkosh in terms of size and style. Lots of red. Red carpet, red walls, gold details. The illusion of being rich.
As for the show itself . . . .
Of course it was amazing. I smiled when things were getting good because I knew what was going to happen and because I love the drama of seeing it live. I prefer the stage show to the movie, but I'm most familiar with the original London cast recording. With this in mind, I thought that some of the slower tempo'd music in the soundtrack was sped up slightly for the stage. But that could be because there's a bit more freedom with a recording studio in terms of what can all be pulled together than on stage, where everything is live.
Caught a missed line on Raoul's part. In the first act, after the "Music of the Night" number, when he bursts into the manager's office he repeated "I want an answer" instead of saying "I mean Miss Daae" and then saying "I want an answer". (Inner geek, meet world.)
The second thing was the woman who played Christine, an actress from Portugal. I knew English wasn't her first language because of the way she sang and spoke. It's a good accent, but you can just tell, you know? Also, her acting. There was a lot of bending over on her part, as if every time something bad was happening she was kicked in the gut. I don't remember Christine bending over in fear that often. Or it could be I want Christine to be afraid but not act like she was abused by this guy. You know? I want the fear, not the over dramatization. Otherwise, she was pretty decent. It took a bit for me to warm up to her voice.
Also, the audience didn't jump very high when the chandelier fell. I remember that happening at the PAC. Literally, the entire first floor jumped a mile when the chandelier fell. Had my heart going.
Our seats were on the ground floor below the higher levels, so we didn't get to see how high the theater reached. Only saw a bit of the chandelier's ascent as well. It was a bit of a strain to see the top of the proscenium, but you could still see it. Otherwise, they were really good seats for 40 pounds. Or maybe that's an average price? Not sure.
Also had a head block a portion of stage left for me. Grr.
And now I'm home and realizing that I have one day until I leave for the weekend. I don't plan on having free Internet access during the weekend, so tomorrow will be my last blog until Sunday night. I'll be sure to update my location in the corner for your convenience.
On a side note, I told Hattie that I think of the Phantom's title song "The Music of the Night" as being an orgasm in a song. She said she didn't expect that kind of comment from me. But really. It's the "Music of the Night". And the passion you see on stage. It's just so . . . beautiful. *swoon*
Left work about five minutes early because I finished my task and Pheobe said I could. Arrived in Piccadilly Circus, debated taking the bus to Haymarket, but why? It's right around the corner! So I walked instead. Ben bailed on the show, but two girls named Hattie and Melissa invited themselves instead. I didn't mind. I guess Americans are less polite when it comes to stuff like that. Last night, when Ben asked if he could come, he said "I know this is rude, but can I come too?" They learn manners differently over here. Or maybe I'm just really chill?
Ate dinner at a Pizza Express. Seen them all over and first time in one. Really good pizza.
Her Majesty's Theater is the perfect place for the Phantom because it has that 19th century, gaudy and extravagant look. The lighting isn't the greatest. Mel made the comment that it was kind of eerie. I loved it, though. Suits the show very well. The theater itself isn't very large, from what I saw. Reminded me of the Grand Opera House in Oshkosh in terms of size and style. Lots of red. Red carpet, red walls, gold details. The illusion of being rich.
As for the show itself . . . .
Of course it was amazing. I smiled when things were getting good because I knew what was going to happen and because I love the drama of seeing it live. I prefer the stage show to the movie, but I'm most familiar with the original London cast recording. With this in mind, I thought that some of the slower tempo'd music in the soundtrack was sped up slightly for the stage. But that could be because there's a bit more freedom with a recording studio in terms of what can all be pulled together than on stage, where everything is live.
Caught a missed line on Raoul's part. In the first act, after the "Music of the Night" number, when he bursts into the manager's office he repeated "I want an answer" instead of saying "I mean Miss Daae" and then saying "I want an answer". (Inner geek, meet world.)
The second thing was the woman who played Christine, an actress from Portugal. I knew English wasn't her first language because of the way she sang and spoke. It's a good accent, but you can just tell, you know? Also, her acting. There was a lot of bending over on her part, as if every time something bad was happening she was kicked in the gut. I don't remember Christine bending over in fear that often. Or it could be I want Christine to be afraid but not act like she was abused by this guy. You know? I want the fear, not the over dramatization. Otherwise, she was pretty decent. It took a bit for me to warm up to her voice.
Also, the audience didn't jump very high when the chandelier fell. I remember that happening at the PAC. Literally, the entire first floor jumped a mile when the chandelier fell. Had my heart going.
Our seats were on the ground floor below the higher levels, so we didn't get to see how high the theater reached. Only saw a bit of the chandelier's ascent as well. It was a bit of a strain to see the top of the proscenium, but you could still see it. Otherwise, they were really good seats for 40 pounds. Or maybe that's an average price? Not sure.
Also had a head block a portion of stage left for me. Grr.
And now I'm home and realizing that I have one day until I leave for the weekend. I don't plan on having free Internet access during the weekend, so tomorrow will be my last blog until Sunday night. I'll be sure to update my location in the corner for your convenience.
On a side note, I told Hattie that I think of the Phantom's title song "The Music of the Night" as being an orgasm in a song. She said she didn't expect that kind of comment from me. But really. It's the "Music of the Night". And the passion you see on stage. It's just so . . . beautiful. *swoon*
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Small Things Make Life Nice
Today, I realized that I had a lot of homework to do. I also realized that only one thing is due in October. Which led me to believe that I had a lot of reading to do. Which is hard because all the readings are online, on a thing called Blackboard (which resembles Learn@UW in a way) that suffers from lots and lots of problems. One of these days, I'll learn to save all the readings on my computer to read at me leisure. One day, I will learn.
After Creative Writing About London, went shopping to a store called Top Shop with Shannon and Ana. We complained about the prices, but I found a few earrings that were pretty decent. Didn't buy them, though. Somehow, we got separated in the store and I spent a while looking for them. Then it was twenty to two and I figured they were both gone to their next class. So I left for my next class.
Caught a take away sandwich at a place called Mustard Cafe around the corner from the Regent Campus. The dude serving me knew I was American because of the way I sounded and because I didn't want mayonnaise on my sandwich. What is it with Britians and mayonnaise? He joked that his American accent wasn't very good at all. His co-worker teased saying he was American. But he was South American, which isn't the same thing. It was a good laugh. Got the same treatment a week earlier from another small sandwich shop. Must go to more small sandwich shops. They were nice enough to let me leave for a few minutes so I can get some cash from a cash machine (ATM to you). They didn't accept cards. Left the shop feeling chirper.
Spent the internship class going over the class objectives because no one seems to understand them. Ugh. Can't you just accept the fact that you have to take this class? It's not like you're doing any work anyway.
During the break between the lecture and seminar, I went to the vending machine to get a candy bar. I was debating between a Twirl and a Yorkie; both were very tempting. The Yorkie because of the giant "NOT FOR GIRLS" written along the side, and the Twirl because there was one hanging out and I thought I would get two. So I got two Twirl bars. Delicious!
After seminar, which just a bunch of discussion about our personal experiences on the internship, I went to Devon's room to finish booking for the weekend. Once again, my card was locked because my bank doesn't know I'm in the UK. It's not like I've been spending money over here for the past month or so. Devon booked the bus, failed at the hostel, and I said I would take care of it when I got home -- she should really get going if she was going to make that play.
Bus ride was long. There's lots of traffic going through Piccadilly Circus at night. Then we had to go buy Parliament Square, which is just as crowded. Felt like I had a long day when I got home. Which I guess I did. Made pizza for dinner and had to deal with crappy Internet. So I restarted my computer because I wasn't going to wait anymore. Internet has been normal as it usually is ever since. Which is still kind of crappy, but hey. At least I have Internet.
A boy named Ben came by to say "hi". I told him I was booking hostels and I lost my free Gold Card that came with the room. He gave me his because he wasn't using it. So I activated his under my name and now I don't have to pay any booking fees for hostels on Hostelworld.com for a whole year. Score! Also, since Ben is from Oxford, he told me about a bunch of places to visit when I'm there. A lot are restaurants and pubs, but at least I know what's nice now. Also said Bath was beautiful. Lots of hills, but beautiful.
He left to hang with friends, but came back a few minutes later looking kind of sheepish and with Hattie. He asked if he could come with us to the Phantom of the Opera tomorrow. I said I didn't mind, of course he could come! Then we planned to meet at Her Majesty's Theatre at 6p, buy the tickets, catch dinner, and then be back for the show. Can't wait for tomorrow! It'll be a REALLY long day tomorrow, but I'll be sure to blog before I collapse back into my bed for the night. Don't worry.
Called Mom and told her about how I sorted out my bank matters. They flagged my account until January. I'll be sure to call them whenever I'm traveling out of the UK. Two weeks notice. Must remember this!
Currently jamming to some tunes I got from good friend Jessica when I went to Ann Arbor last August. Made a list of things to take this weekend. Will sort out my bag for tomorrow and then get ready for bed. Early and long day tomorrow!
After Creative Writing About London, went shopping to a store called Top Shop with Shannon and Ana. We complained about the prices, but I found a few earrings that were pretty decent. Didn't buy them, though. Somehow, we got separated in the store and I spent a while looking for them. Then it was twenty to two and I figured they were both gone to their next class. So I left for my next class.
Caught a take away sandwich at a place called Mustard Cafe around the corner from the Regent Campus. The dude serving me knew I was American because of the way I sounded and because I didn't want mayonnaise on my sandwich. What is it with Britians and mayonnaise? He joked that his American accent wasn't very good at all. His co-worker teased saying he was American. But he was South American, which isn't the same thing. It was a good laugh. Got the same treatment a week earlier from another small sandwich shop. Must go to more small sandwich shops. They were nice enough to let me leave for a few minutes so I can get some cash from a cash machine (ATM to you). They didn't accept cards. Left the shop feeling chirper.
Spent the internship class going over the class objectives because no one seems to understand them. Ugh. Can't you just accept the fact that you have to take this class? It's not like you're doing any work anyway.
During the break between the lecture and seminar, I went to the vending machine to get a candy bar. I was debating between a Twirl and a Yorkie; both were very tempting. The Yorkie because of the giant "NOT FOR GIRLS" written along the side, and the Twirl because there was one hanging out and I thought I would get two. So I got two Twirl bars. Delicious!
After seminar, which just a bunch of discussion about our personal experiences on the internship, I went to Devon's room to finish booking for the weekend. Once again, my card was locked because my bank doesn't know I'm in the UK. It's not like I've been spending money over here for the past month or so. Devon booked the bus, failed at the hostel, and I said I would take care of it when I got home -- she should really get going if she was going to make that play.
Bus ride was long. There's lots of traffic going through Piccadilly Circus at night. Then we had to go buy Parliament Square, which is just as crowded. Felt like I had a long day when I got home. Which I guess I did. Made pizza for dinner and had to deal with crappy Internet. So I restarted my computer because I wasn't going to wait anymore. Internet has been normal as it usually is ever since. Which is still kind of crappy, but hey. At least I have Internet.
A boy named Ben came by to say "hi". I told him I was booking hostels and I lost my free Gold Card that came with the room. He gave me his because he wasn't using it. So I activated his under my name and now I don't have to pay any booking fees for hostels on Hostelworld.com for a whole year. Score! Also, since Ben is from Oxford, he told me about a bunch of places to visit when I'm there. A lot are restaurants and pubs, but at least I know what's nice now. Also said Bath was beautiful. Lots of hills, but beautiful.
He left to hang with friends, but came back a few minutes later looking kind of sheepish and with Hattie. He asked if he could come with us to the Phantom of the Opera tomorrow. I said I didn't mind, of course he could come! Then we planned to meet at Her Majesty's Theatre at 6p, buy the tickets, catch dinner, and then be back for the show. Can't wait for tomorrow! It'll be a REALLY long day tomorrow, but I'll be sure to blog before I collapse back into my bed for the night. Don't worry.
Called Mom and told her about how I sorted out my bank matters. They flagged my account until January. I'll be sure to call them whenever I'm traveling out of the UK. Two weeks notice. Must remember this!
Currently jamming to some tunes I got from good friend Jessica when I went to Ann Arbor last August. Made a list of things to take this weekend. Will sort out my bag for tomorrow and then get ready for bed. Early and long day tomorrow!
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