Woke up to wind this morning. THE WIND! That windstorm in the midwest a week or so ago? It visits London when its dark and I'm nestled in my bed attempting to get some shut eye.
So I woke up because I figured I would have a big day today. And I did. This morning, I made my way over to Buckingham Palace with the intent to watch The Changing of the Guards. On the way there, I saw a giant crowd of people by Westminster Abbey. It's apparently Remembrance Day and they honor their veterans by a ceremony thing at the Abbey. The bus stopped for a moment's silence at the Abbey out of respect.
It's lucky the Changing of the Guards was happening today. I later learned it happened every other day after 30 October. Anyway, soldiers in grey uniforms marched with a band, someone barked some orders, and there were sharp and crisp movements. Then some pacing as a second group of soldiers in the same uniform came with a band of their own. Again, some shouting and crisp movements. Then they did some not-fancy and not-complicated marching around the courtyard between the giant gates keeping out the pressing tourists and the Palace. They ended the show with the bands alternating between lively marches and slow melodies. I left somewhere around song 4. Somewhere between the music and the marching, a rich-looking carriage rode into the palace. It was good and red and the horse looked lively with high steps and such. Don't know if it was really the Queen herself or just a fake carriage, but it was cool nonetheless.
The crowd was abundant and I heard a couple Americans, a couple French or Italian people, saw a few people from the South Pacific. No one from Britain, I don't think. Anyway, I took pictures until my camera's battery life ended. Then I went away and walked through St. James' Park because, why not? It's there, I'm here, and there were lots of ducks to see. So I walked through and looked at all the ducks and decided that I didn't mind the wet pavement getting my jeans all wet because they'll dry by the radiator tonight anyway. And I discovered that St. James' Park is really close to Piccadilly Circus.
Upon arrival at said Circus, I saw the words plastered on a screen "HARRY POTTER SEVEN! WORLD PREMIERE TONIGHT! LEICESTER SQUARE!" And I thought "I actually know where that is" about the same time I thought "Crap, my camera died." But I didn't let that deter me. I found Leicester Square (pronounced "Lester Square" I should tell you. Took a few times for me to get it) and saw the posters and the hanging banners and the set ups for the lights and the gathering crowd. It looked really awesome. They even had the red carpet rolled up in front of the Empire Theater and the path for it blocked off by fences. I had my fill before I took my lunch and headed to class.
Learned about the ICA phonetics alphabet in Linguistics today. And then I learned the differences in British accents vs. American accents. But the professor didn't get angry at my work. He was like "Well, if you pronounce the R there, then I guess you'll have it." He's a chill dude. Too bad he's not more entertaining to listen to.
I told Andy about Leicester Square being all set up for the HP Premiere, and I asked if he wanted to check it out with me. He said sure, why not, and so we went. I was excited because it's Harry Potter but he hasn't read the books or seen the movies. His excuse was "I'm 28!" Should have told him about my Dad, who at least has seen the movies. Or Angela at Bemis, who read the books in college. Don't have to be a kid to enjoy Harry Potter.
We were lost in the crowd this time as well. Rupert Grint was being interviewed when we showed up and I smiled because it wasn't a recording I was hearing, it was his real voice! Which sounds exactly like it does in the movie, only a bit more natural. Anyway, I stuck around for an hour and half, maybe two hours. Andy only stuck around for an hour because he had to meet some people. I said "Okay, see you next week" and left it at that. Then I pushed my way forward until I was at the fence blocking access to the place where people can get autographs. There was a fence blocking access to another fence --- designed for people like me who were just passing by and wanted to get a closer look. All the while, I wondered if you needed tickets to get closer. Something in me doubts it, but I wouldn't put it past anyone with a business sense to do something like that. Anyway, I hung out in the crowd until I saw who I came to see (you know, those three and the JK Rowling herself). Once they started interviewing the producers and director, I decided to leave.
While eating dinner, Chris, Kevin, and Alice came in to make their dinner. Chris and I commented on the differences in bacon. Then all four of us complained about the Mysterious Dish Thief. Apparently, I'm not the only victim of said person. A lot of people on the 8th floor have had their dishes stolen as well. And Alice has had a few things taken from her. Like her small knife and a sauce pan that's bigger than mine (that I would use once in a while because my own sauce pan isn't very big). We had lunch together. Kevin asked if I would like to visit Amsterdam Thanksgiving Weekend. I said "sure" but we'll see what comes of this. If he approaches me with more details, then yes, I would be willing to go. If not, then I'm not going to bring up the subject.
And that leads me to now, with a charged camera battery (placed in the charger when I got back) and a few more science fiction emagazines in my bookmark bar.
[EDIT] Yesterday, I discovered that a piece on my headphones broke off. This morning, I attempted to fix said headphones with super glue. Just a few minutes ago, I played with said headphones and deemed them fixed. For how long is up in the air, but at least I still have headphones for now. (I hate buds. I will never get buds. *shiver*)
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