Woke up later than usual. But that's alright because my weekend involved very broken sleep for two nights in a row. And besides, it wasn't like I had to be anywhere anytime soon.
Got to talk to my parents in the morning for once because they're on vacation! Yay see the 'rents in their pajamas! And yay for talking to Mrs. Lewis from two doors down!
Set out to class at 3pm because class is at 4pm and I thought it would be enough time. It's only a half-hour to get to the Harrow Campus. It's plenty of time. Except the Bakerloo line got stalled around Paddington which lead the rest of the line to be delayed for a few minutes. Perhaps I should have waited, but I was impatient so I took off for another route to get to campus. I get to the Northern Line, get off at Euston for the Euston Square station.
As I'm walking out of Euston, a guy comes up to me and says that he's part of the BBC and is looking for contestants for the show Wipeout. You know, the one that premiered in Japan as MXC and moved to the US as Wipeout. Yeah, British version. He said I had an interesting look and if I'd be interested. I said "No, I have to be somewhere." What was really going through my mind was "I'm only here until December, dude. You got the wrong girl." Then I started to wonder why my look would be interesting, and I guess I know why. Brown pleather jacket, black and white striped scarf, a grey newsie hat . . . I guess it's an interesting look you don't see every day. So yay, I have a style other people notice!
Get to Euston Square Station and see that nearly every train that passes through there is even more delayed than the Bakerloo line. Grr. It is now 4pm and, by my calculations, I would make it to Harrow at 5:30p which is why too late to get to class. So I give up and decide to go wander. But so you know, I really did TRY to get to class.
It's at this time I notice my proximity to Gower Street and, thus, Oxford Street. Of course, the first thing that popped into my mind were "clearance boots and heattech leggings". So off I went. Got the leggings first because they were closest. Got a pair in black and another in burgundy. I feel so trendy. Then I went to check out the boots I wanted that were only £10. Except that they didn't fit right and they felt like they would be really really cold. So I gave up and moved on. I was told New Look would be a cool place to pick up a pair of shoes, so I set off to there. New Look isn't as cheap as Primark but at least it doesn't have a Wal-Mart reputation. The shoe gallery was on the third floor and I spent a good while wandering around to make sure I checked out their entire selection before making a decision. It is here where I finally bought a pair of black boots that actually fit around my calves, that are comfortable enough to walk in, and that I like. So I got them.
Two hours later, I remembered that I forgot to ask for my student discount. Gotta remember to ask for that in stores here. Student discounts are EVERYWHERE! I hear, at least. They're such a rarity in the US that I don't think to ask for them.
Boots and leggings in tow, I made my way to the South Bank because I kept on thinking about a Something to get Mom for her birthday. Took a bus I didn't take before which dropped off at Westminster Abbey. Walked that short distance to the South Bank and wandered the stalls a bit looking for the one with the Special Birthday Something. I looked at their wares and decided on one. Bought it. Then I wandered some more.
There was a stall that sold gingerbread candy and chocolate covered apples. The apples are what caught me. They looked so much like caramel apples that I couldn't resist. So I got a chocolate covered apple with sprinkles on it and ate it as I wandered about some more. It's at this point that I realized that I was alone in my venture and I didn't mind at all. Nope, didn't mind at all. Then again, I knew that I can walk twenty minutes to talk with people close to me, so I guess that reassurance that I'm grounded in London is what made me not mind. As long as I keep my computer safe in Scandinavia, I'm sure I'll be just fine traveling around up there.
Got back home and tried my hand at making lamb with pasta. Cooked the ham, chopped the veggies, stir fried the veggies, heated the sauce as the pasta cooked, and then I mixed it all together. I invited Oscar to eat with me and he came to visit but he said he wasn't hungry. Then he saw how much I made and had a small bowl. He didn't like the lamb cuz it was chewy and I didn't realize anything was wrong with the lamb because I've never really made it before. Maybe I overcooked it? Talking with Sarah later, she said that lamb is supposed to be tender. It was a somewhat cheap brand of lamb, so that could also be it. Anyway, we hung out for a bit.
Oscar tried to help me clean up but the 7th floor kitchen isn't as well-equiped as the first floor. For instance, we don't have gloves to cover our hands against the hot water we use to soak the dishes. We're also out of dish soap again so I've been using Vanessa's until someone cracks and buys another (that person might just be me, eventually). He didn't like dipping his hands in the really hot water, so I ended up washing. He rinsed and dried though, so at least he helped in that regard.
Went down to his room afterwards where I read the play I was supposed to read for Creative Writing the next day. When I got bored, I turned on my computer. Oscar caught up with his television shows. He introduced me to a show called Miranda which is about a woman in Britain and her adventures in shopkeeping and romance (or lack thereof). It was pretty good, but of course it was British humor so I didn't think some of the jokes were as funny as Oscar did. Then he started to watch Desperate Housewives which he absolutely loves. I left for that because I wasn't interested and I wanted to Skype people. So I did.
Talked with Smoky, looked into hostels for Finland, and finally waited for Jessica to call on Skype. This being Monday, Jessica has Working Title (along with quite a few of my other friends). Her class gets done 5:30p WI time (11:30p London time). I told her to bring her computer to class so she can Skype me from the Union when she gets there. That way, I can not only talk to just her, but I can also talk with my other friends (like Teagan who's never really on when I'm on which is also a pain because I miss Teagan). And that's how I managed to participate in the hanging-out period before Working Title. I left at 2a my time (approx 8pm WI time) because I was really tired and I kept on thinking that I had to wake up at 8:30a the next morning.
Remembered about blogging as I was getting into bed. But I wasn't about to get up and blog right there, so I decided to blog at the IT lab in the Marlyebone campus before the Internship Toolkit. So that's where I am right now. Got my lunch and now I'm ready to go to class.
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