Awesome Writing Workshop and Travel Worries

This morning at creative writing, we had a guest speaker.  His name is Ben Musgrave and he's a playwright in London.  He talked about growing up in Bangladesh and India and eventually London and how that influenced his debut play Pretend You Have Big Buildings which we had to read before we got there.  The play debuted in Manchester in 2007 even though it takes place in London.  He found it kind of ironic.

Other than Ben's background, he also led a discussion about how setting is used in relation to the characters.  More specifically, we talked about how characters and people in general interact with their environment.  The major point I got was how we present ourselves based on who we're with and where we are.  You wouldn't show up to work in sweats and slack off all day, will you?  No!  It's that sort of thing we talked about.  We also did a writing exercise I thought was really awesome.  I think I'm going to use that exercise to make me write the dialogue I'm supposed to write for my portfolio.  Because I'm not sure how to write effective dialogue anyway.  That, and it was just a really awesome exercise.

Got lunch at Mortimer's Cafe.  I love that place.  So cheap, so delicious.  One of these days, I'm going to eat there even though it's a bit more expensive.  But I just want to sit down and enjoy a hot sandwich knowing that it's freshly made, you know?

Blogged about yesterday in the IT lab at Marlyebone before the internship class.  Then I went to class.  Ate my sandwich before class.  Shelby wasn't there because her parents are here for the week and she's spending the entire time with them.  But Matt was there (against his better judgment but still there).  We laughed about various things, I proved myself to be a bit of an airhead because I sometimes can't understand him all the time.  And his humor is out there but some of it flies over my head, mostly because I don't know what to say in response to what he says.  But sometimes I give a good response back.  It's fun.

Internship Toolkit featured a movie recorded last year when a professional speaker came up and talked about networking and how to market yourself.  It was interesting and I did pay attention for a bit and the information could be useful, but I can't help but feel like I've heard it all before.  Lectures on careers with my parents come to mind.  Mom, Dad, you guys say the same things everyone else here does.  Which sort of makes my "learn how to have a good career" classes here useless.  Why take classes when I can talk to you for free, right?

The seminar focused more on our resume/CV.  Students and Xanthy clashed with the style and presentation of the resume, but that's about it this time.  Just the style of how a resume should be written.  Or how a resume should be presented.  That's all.  And there really is no set rule, is there, because it's all a matter of what the company notices when they look at the resume.  You just gotta use words that others would be familiar with and make sure you upsell your skills so they will want YOU and not that other person who's probably better than you but can't present themselves as well as you can.

Got back and went to get milk because I was thirsty.  Vanessa was cooking fish and I was brusquely reminded why I dislike fish in the first place.  The smell is still in the kitchen, if I remember correctly.  Anyway, got my milk, talked with Sarah on Facebook who found a quaint little flat on Gilman by James Madison Park that would include a garage and a really nice-looking kitchen.  That house looks really nice.  I wouldn't mind that one.  In the meantime, I started looking into Norway after I booked my flight to Denmark.

There is a small city in Norway called Tromso that offers a lot in terms of awesome winter stuff.  Like dog sledding and leading your own team of dogs on a dog sledding tour.  And the Northern Lights which I have ALWAYS wanted to see myself!  And sleigh rides pulled by reindeer.  And snowshoeing, and cross country skiing.  And it just sounds so cool because I would love to do all those things.  I tried to look for a hostel, but there was only one and it was more hotel than hostel.  So then I looked up where Tromso is on a map.  Wanna know why there isn't a backpackers hostel in Tromso? 

Because it's in the very deep North!!

Not even a train goes there.  You take the train to Bodo and then you take a bus to Tromso if you ever want to get there.  Or you fly but that seems like too much work.  I can handle a bus.  Or a ferry.  But researching that will involve a knowledge of Norwegian so I'm going to have to ask Marianne or Siri to help translate for me.  Or at least see what they recommend me doing to get there and back.  I'm determined to get there?  Why?  Did I not explain before?  Northern Lights!!!  Dog sledding!!!  I'd go just for that!

Speaking of travels:
There are two hostels in Helsinki, Finland that I am torn between.  One is an actual hostel and features rooms for under 20quid a night.  This sounds interesting because the room would be an actual 12-bed female-only room.  And it sounds like a nice hostel.  HOWEVER.  The second one I'm torn between is about 23quid a night and only has private rooms.  Which might be nice because it's a private room and I can talk with my parents online without worrying about someone else overhearing my conversation and whatever.  But it costs extra.  But I'll be traveling alone so wouldn't I want the company with a chance to make a friend for a few days?  But this would be the first private room I'd have in, like, a week!  Maybe.  Depends.  I think the Norway tours would offer private rooms if I find one cheap enough.  What do you guys think?  After writing this, I'm more inclined to go with the cheaper one for the chance to make a friend and because I might be running that low on cash by the time I get to Finland.  And who cares if someone overhears me talking with my parents, right?  If I'm that uncomfortable, we can always just IM back and forth.  Or you could just keep up with the blog and hope that I'll call you eventually. 

Also today, I was feeling slightly overwhelmed by everything I had to do before I leave for my Scandinavian road trip.  Like all the assignments I had to turn in before I leave, and all the trips I'll be taking with Becky and Ryan.  But now that I sat down and actually started working on stuff, I feel better and like I can handle and manage everything.  Well, finding cheap tickets to Germany and Paris and back to London would be a bit of a pain, but I'm sure I can manage.  It's more under control now.

This feeling of overwhelm-ment almost made me not want to travel.  But I can't do that.  I came over here to travel!  Life would suck and I'd hate myself if I came all this way and didn't do what I had to do!  So I thought I would talk about it later, but I didn't have to, because I worked it out myself.  That, and when I proposed to Sarah and I have an opportunity to go winter camping for two days with a dog sled team and experts, she said "Winter camping could be cool

DO IT

Or one day you'll look back and be like

Damn

I should have done that

And if it sucks you'll say

Damn

that sucked"

(copy and pasted from Facebook chat because it's how we communicate so that's how she wrote it)

But I think I can apply that sort of thinking to more than just dog sledding and winter camping.  

In the meantime, I'm still searching for winter tours in Tromso in Norway.  Don't know why I'm so set on that little town, but I am.  Probably because it's the only one I found in my research.  I'm going to go ask Siri about awesome small towns in Norway that offer cool winter things to do.  Must also research what to do in Stockholm and Helsinki, but those are actually planned more or less so I can always wait on that.

Still have to research things to do in Odense with Hanne.  Must get on that.