Now I HAVE to go to Finland

Yesterday, I discovered my monetary limit and decided not to spend anything until the load comes through.  So what do I do today?  Spend money. 

Genius.

Went to meet with Hanne at a Starbucks by Primark on Oxford Street around 11am.  We just talked and hung out.  She tried hazelnut hot chocolate and didn't like it because it tasted like she was drinking Nutella and she's not a fan of Nutella anyway.  I didn't mind it.  Then again, I like Nutella.  She had to go because her flight left around 1p and she had to be there at least ten minute beforehand.  So we parted fifteen after noon.

And I was left to my own devices for three hours.  I wasn't about to go back to the dorm because, well, what was I going to do?  So I walked into the Apple store on Regent Street.  Read a chapter of Winnie-the-Pooh on an iPod Touch.  Then I went to an iPad where I checked my Facebook, my Gmail, and then played a few rounds of Plants vs. Zombies.  Then I left because I was finished with screen-based technology. 

Picked up lunch at Mortimer's on the corner of Mortimer and Wells.  It's a really nice sandwich shop, and fairly cheap too.  I like their food.  Went to eat lunch in front of the classroom, but then I remembered there's a student common room in the basement of the building.  So I went there instead to eat said lunch and finish reading Harry Potter.  And that's about the time I realized that I should have brought another book with me because if you're that far into a book and you figure you're going to have a bunch of extra time to kill, why the hell do you not bring enough to do?  Besides writing, but writing isn't good when you're eating a sandwich as well.  The crumbs get all over the paper and you smear the ink when you wipe them away.  Why do I do this to myself?

Linguistics was the same as usual.  This is the class most similar to classes at Madison, so I like this class despite the teacher being really, really dull.  I sit next to a kid named Andy usually and he thinks I'm a genius of some sort.  I apparently "know everything" and I don't know why because I just pay attention and take what I've learned previously.  I also don't think he knows I'm approximately two years older than he is.  In the world of educational institutions, that's a boatload of educational information separating us.  But I'm not going to tell him that anytime soon.

Back at home, dinner was leftovers from last night.  And it was still delicious.

I was arbitrarily checking out travel prices to various places across the continent (mostly Scandinavia and Finland) when I found plane tickets from Helsinki to London for roughly 35 quid.  You read that right.  It would work out perfectly for my road trip too.  But I wanted to clear some things up before I actually booked it, so I went all the way to Oscar's room to ask a few "strange questions" as I phrased it.  I'll explain this as my intentions and then what was arranged with Oscar.

The intention was to leave my giant suitcase and giant duffel bag behind in London when I go for my trip so I don't have to worry about them.  Yes, it means laundry every three days, but I don't mind.  Said luggage would be left with a friend in the dorm because it would be free and, ideally, wouldn't take up much room.  Also, I would need a place to sleep for a night when I return to London.  My flight back to the States leaves 11 January which means I have to be back to London by 10 January.  I'm supposed to be out of the dorm by 7 January, which means I won't have a place to call my own for one night in London.  Again, I was planning on bumming with a friend because it's what friends do.

Oscar said I could stay the night for that one night.  And he could even see me off a Heathrow the next day (I asked if he could because I figure he would want to considering our relationship and all that).  He was uncertain about the Heathrow thing at first but I told him that you just take the Piccadilly line until the very end and he liked the idea of being able to take the Tube there.  Also, I could store my luggage under his bed for a week and a half.  I was iffy about asking him about that because I know his room is really small and I wasn't sure where it would fit.  But I guess it'll fit under the bed because they fit under my bed now.

Once that was squared away, I booked my Helsinski-London Gatwick flight, wrote down all the information I would need, and then celebrated by visiting Oscar again. 

Read some more Neverwhere which I'm starting to like quite a bit.  That's good.  And then my eyes started to hurt so I thought "I should go up and go to bed" which is a near two-hour process since my bedtime routine involves calling my parents and then updating this blog before finally turning in.  But here I am.

Also, while I was on Oxford Street today, I bought some keychains for friends in Madison.  But one keychain I'm keeping for myself.  It's a gold-colored figurine of Big Ben, and it's so cool I wasn't about to give it away.  The others were two figures of double-decker buses and two telephone booths.  They got me excited because I found them 5 for 5 quid.  They come 4 for 10 quid at Great Britannia, which is good to look around in but runs fairly pricey so you're better off buying from a cheap souvenir stall on Oxford Street if you can.

Walking back from class, there were some live models on the second level of a building dancing in the spotlight in their underwear.  I was with Andy and Hattie when we spotted them.  Hattie seemed aghast at them but Andy pointed out the one who had the best dancing.  I was just like "Oh, cool, live models" and didn't really judge them.  It's either a publicity stunt for the store or Britain's Next Top Model was doing a challenge.  But it was still neat to see it happen.  Now I wish I got a picture.

Still have lots of cookies left.  But I should really rephrase that to lots of sweets.  I have two giant Ben's cookies, two bags of homemade cookies from Mom, a big bag of pretzel M&Ms, and a sleeve and a half of English biscuits from a while ago.  Not to mention four sugar-loaded cupcakes in a box and half a bag of chocolate covered peanut butter balls.  So lots of sweets.  I better start walking long distances between bus stops . . . .