The city is like a lover. It encompasses her when they’re together, all-consuming. It kisses and caresses her, wisps of charcoal grey and red pressing soft lips to her neck; it wraps tendrils of smoke-smog-clouds around her waist—safe, loved, home. The wind kicks up and rasps by her, fingertips trailing down her cheek, my beloved.
They haven’t had an argument yet, that final test of the strength of their love. They don’t need to. It doesn’t prove anything to fight, to struggle, to battle for dominance. Equal partners, they come and go as they please, neither giving fully to the other. But still, the city waits for her return and she’s never fully herself anywhere else.
Maybe, she thinks to herself, maybe I could be happy here. Here is a café in a small outlying town; here is a pub with its regulars and its noisy football fans yelling at the telly; here is a small room with windows that show her only the sky. Forever and ever and ever the sky, sometimes white, mostly grey, hardly ever blue.
That one’s her favorite. The never ending sky, the ever changing sky, that for millennia men and women have stared up at for answers. The others, the café, the pub, the streets and streets of shops—she’s already discovered those. Already conquered those. The sky, however, is like her city. She'll never know its secrets, try as she might.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
"When you have elimated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."*
What a couple of days! Sunday would've been boring, had it not been for April, a friend of mine from back home, who got stranded in London for another couple days after she missed her flight back to Spain. So she asked if she could stay with me for the night; I said yes, of course, and went to pick her up, we went to the King's Tun, then came back and watched BBC Sherlock, s2. (Well, just The Hound of Baskerville, because she'd only seen Scandal.)
Monday, then, I was supposed to meet Bella up at Waterloo at 10.30 for our Sherlock Holmes Day. April ended up coming along and we left Waterloo around 11, headed for, first:
+ the street where they shoot the 221B exteriors in BBC Sherlock. We got off at Euston and wandered a couple blocks to number 187, North Gower Street, which is the beautiful deep deep blue-black door I recognize from the show. I didn't go in and eat at Speedy's cafe (supposedly Mrs. Hudson's shop, in the show, but a cafe in real life), but it looked cute.
+ And I saw my first I Believe in Sherlock Holmes! It was a small white index card, taped to the right and a little down from the number on the door. Quick rundown, after the last episode in the second series (where, supposedly, he dies; but he doesn't and we the audience know that--but no one else in the show does), the fans launched a campaign to try and tell the world that Sherlock Holmes was a great man, that he isn't dead, that he needn't have "died" in disgrace. It's a wonderful example of fandom at its best and one I'd really like to use in an ethnography of online fandom moving into the Real World. Go here or just google it if you'd like to see more.
+ After that, we walked up to Camden Market, which they hadn't been to, and spent a couple hours wandering around there. I'm just going to put it out there that Mexican food here is not like Mexican food in the states and I was rather disappointed. Not nearly spicy enough, for my liking. The banana-nutella crepe I had for dessert, though, was marvelous.
+ We then got back on the tube, and took a set of semi-complicated steps to get us on the Bakerloo line and up to Baker Street Station!
+ As soon as we stepped off, into the station that's decorated with silhouettes of the famous pipe-and-hat image, I started fangirling hardcore and had a hard time containing myself.
+ Even more so once we actually made it down to 221B/the museum. The gift shop came first, because that's where you have to buy your tickets (oh, they're good at this making money thing) and I had to keep telling Bella, "Tell me not to get a Death Frisbee" (what BBC Sherlock calls the deerstalker) or "Tell me not to buy Jack the Ripper related books in the Sherlock Holmes museum, they are two separate interests," which she repeated back dutifully at me, without much conviction. I managed to make it out with only the ticket and a book for someone back home, though, go me.
+ Walking up the seventeen steps to the first floor of Baker Street was wonderful. I'm not a full-on Sherlockian, I can't tell you all the little canonical details, but I am a fangirl and I can appreciate it all. Holmes' room was nice, and upstairs Watson's and Mrs. Hudson's rooms, but the sitting room made me shiver. I want to live there.
+ One thing that only some of my audience will get: the building next to Mrs. Hudson's cafe is used by, get this, Moffatt and Associates. I just about died when Bella showed me that.
+ After that, we walked around for a little while, then got back on the tube and headed to Charing Cross Station, where we took a left down Northumberland Avenue and hit up The Sherlock Holmes Pub. We were all so full from lunch that we ended up just having drinks and some garlic bread, but it was a nice place and I will definitely go back. I was particularly happy with all the paraphernalia on the walls and the fact that the Granada series (starring Jeremy Brett as a perfect Holmes) was playing just above our table. We missed most of the first one, but the second was The Speckled Band. (Really not a favorite of mine, honestly, but I do love Brett...)
+ Since we weren't hungry, however, we didn't stay there all that long (maybe an hour), and then headed back to Waterloo and caught the train back to Berrylands. April came because her stuff was still at my house and Bella came because I bribed her with chocolate if she came back and watched the unaired Sherlock pilot with April and I. (April hadn't seen it.) So that happened and we were fangirls and it was nice.
+ Bella left, I walked April to the station so she could catch the train back into London to go stay at her friend's place (he wasn't in Sunday and didn't get back until about 7 last night), then I put up pictures of the day and hit my bed.
A very busy but very good day! Bella and I are tentatively planning another Sherlock-centric day, in which we visit various landmarks from the show. So far all we have is St. Bart's, but I'd like to find some of the exterior shots, maybe trace a couple of their routes, because really. Sherlock Holmes and London is one of the most important relationships in the stories and it happens to be two of my current loves. I'd love to discover Holmes' London.
*Holmes in The Sign of the Four, one of my very favorite stories and one that gave me my other very favorite quote (which is quite long, hence why that wasn't my title):
"My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation."
Monday, then, I was supposed to meet Bella up at Waterloo at 10.30 for our Sherlock Holmes Day. April ended up coming along and we left Waterloo around 11, headed for, first:
+ the street where they shoot the 221B exteriors in BBC Sherlock. We got off at Euston and wandered a couple blocks to number 187, North Gower Street, which is the beautiful deep deep blue-black door I recognize from the show. I didn't go in and eat at Speedy's cafe (supposedly Mrs. Hudson's shop, in the show, but a cafe in real life), but it looked cute.
+ And I saw my first I Believe in Sherlock Holmes! It was a small white index card, taped to the right and a little down from the number on the door. Quick rundown, after the last episode in the second series (where, supposedly, he dies; but he doesn't and we the audience know that--but no one else in the show does), the fans launched a campaign to try and tell the world that Sherlock Holmes was a great man, that he isn't dead, that he needn't have "died" in disgrace. It's a wonderful example of fandom at its best and one I'd really like to use in an ethnography of online fandom moving into the Real World. Go here or just google it if you'd like to see more.
+ After that, we walked up to Camden Market, which they hadn't been to, and spent a couple hours wandering around there. I'm just going to put it out there that Mexican food here is not like Mexican food in the states and I was rather disappointed. Not nearly spicy enough, for my liking. The banana-nutella crepe I had for dessert, though, was marvelous.
+ We then got back on the tube, and took a set of semi-complicated steps to get us on the Bakerloo line and up to Baker Street Station!
+ As soon as we stepped off, into the station that's decorated with silhouettes of the famous pipe-and-hat image, I started fangirling hardcore and had a hard time containing myself.
+ Even more so once we actually made it down to 221B/the museum. The gift shop came first, because that's where you have to buy your tickets (oh, they're good at this making money thing) and I had to keep telling Bella, "Tell me not to get a Death Frisbee" (what BBC Sherlock calls the deerstalker) or "Tell me not to buy Jack the Ripper related books in the Sherlock Holmes museum, they are two separate interests," which she repeated back dutifully at me, without much conviction. I managed to make it out with only the ticket and a book for someone back home, though, go me.
+ Walking up the seventeen steps to the first floor of Baker Street was wonderful. I'm not a full-on Sherlockian, I can't tell you all the little canonical details, but I am a fangirl and I can appreciate it all. Holmes' room was nice, and upstairs Watson's and Mrs. Hudson's rooms, but the sitting room made me shiver. I want to live there.
+ One thing that only some of my audience will get: the building next to Mrs. Hudson's cafe is used by, get this, Moffatt and Associates. I just about died when Bella showed me that.
+ After that, we walked around for a little while, then got back on the tube and headed to Charing Cross Station, where we took a left down Northumberland Avenue and hit up The Sherlock Holmes Pub. We were all so full from lunch that we ended up just having drinks and some garlic bread, but it was a nice place and I will definitely go back. I was particularly happy with all the paraphernalia on the walls and the fact that the Granada series (starring Jeremy Brett as a perfect Holmes) was playing just above our table. We missed most of the first one, but the second was The Speckled Band. (Really not a favorite of mine, honestly, but I do love Brett...)
+ Since we weren't hungry, however, we didn't stay there all that long (maybe an hour), and then headed back to Waterloo and caught the train back to Berrylands. April came because her stuff was still at my house and Bella came because I bribed her with chocolate if she came back and watched the unaired Sherlock pilot with April and I. (April hadn't seen it.) So that happened and we were fangirls and it was nice.
+ Bella left, I walked April to the station so she could catch the train back into London to go stay at her friend's place (he wasn't in Sunday and didn't get back until about 7 last night), then I put up pictures of the day and hit my bed.
A very busy but very good day! Bella and I are tentatively planning another Sherlock-centric day, in which we visit various landmarks from the show. So far all we have is St. Bart's, but I'd like to find some of the exterior shots, maybe trace a couple of their routes, because really. Sherlock Holmes and London is one of the most important relationships in the stories and it happens to be two of my current loves. I'd love to discover Holmes' London.
*Holmes in The Sign of the Four, one of my very favorite stories and one that gave me my other very favorite quote (which is quite long, hence why that wasn't my title):
"My mind," he said, "rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation."
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Fashion, put it all on me, don't you wanna see these clothes on me?
SO. London Fashion Weekend, Saturday, 25/2/2012.
On the whole: not exactly what I expected, but fun nonetheless.
Things of note:
+ We took a wander around the other end of the Strand and Aldwych and Fleet Street; ended up around the theatres (The Lyceum!!) and at the Twinings store.
+ I hate crowds. I'm fine with them on London streets, but not in small rooms where no one has any common courtesy because to the victor go the (overpriced) spoils.
+ I got my picture taken by some guy with a big-ass camera while Bri was getting her tickets. I'm just hoping it was because my outfit was adorable, not because he's going to put it online and ridicule it. (Cynical? Low self-esteem? Nope, I just know the internet.)
+ I knew almost none of the names, which I think is the reason the tickets for LFWeekend were so cheap. All the BIG names were a few days ago.
+ Unfortunately, of the cute stuff that wasn't particularly big brand name, none of it was my size or in my price range. There were two dresses I really liked and they happened to be the cheapest at about 120 pounds a pop.
+ But, as I put on facebook, let's face it, I was really only there for the runway show.
+ Prior to the catwalk, however, we had tea and cupcakes and listened to a two-person band play cute swing with banjos and ukeleles.
+ As we made our way to the showroom, about half an hour before the show, Bri wanted to buy sunglasses in the big room of stuff. I, having made the circuit already, was bored and decided to have a drink. Well, of the (very expensive!) drink list, the one that sounded best was a French Martini: vodka, Chambord, and pineapple juice. It came out magenta and frothy and was served by an amusing and talented bartender in a proper martini glass. While I waited for Bri, I got so many compliments/comments on the drink, which was hilarious. It was expensive, yes, but so delicious and totally worth spoiling myself, since I only bought food and drinks today.
+ However, we couldn't bring glass-glasses into the room and Bri took forever buying her shades, so after I'd gotten a plain plastic glass from the bartender, there were no seats left. We ended up making it in just before the lights went down and we had to stand in the back. Since it was such a small room, though, it didn't impede our sight.
+ The show showcased four different designers, none of whom I had heard of, and all of whom seemed to be more practical than I'm used to, when it comes to runway fashion. It was stuff real people would wear, things I could see on people wandering the streets of London. Still not much I'd wear, though.
+ I'd hoped for something...more. More energy, more clothes, more excitement. But, again, this was a small show with smaller names. Not Oscar de la Renta or Betsey Johnson (oh, to be at a Betsey Johnson show!!). But it was fun, I got to see the way the dresses flowed right in front of me, the way the models strutted, the finale of the three best looks from each collection walking the runway.
+ My favorite part of the show, actually, was when the coordinator of LFW came out and talked about the whole thing. When asked her best piece of fashion advice she said to have fun and wear what you love. "Fashion is fun, so enjoy it." Yes ma'am!
+ More Indian takeaway and another bottle of WKD Vodka Blue is a very good end to a very good day.
Pictures here! Title is Fashion by Lady Gaga.
On the whole: not exactly what I expected, but fun nonetheless.
Things of note:
+ We took a wander around the other end of the Strand and Aldwych and Fleet Street; ended up around the theatres (The Lyceum!!) and at the Twinings store.
+ I hate crowds. I'm fine with them on London streets, but not in small rooms where no one has any common courtesy because to the victor go the (overpriced) spoils.
+ I got my picture taken by some guy with a big-ass camera while Bri was getting her tickets. I'm just hoping it was because my outfit was adorable, not because he's going to put it online and ridicule it. (Cynical? Low self-esteem? Nope, I just know the internet.)
+ I knew almost none of the names, which I think is the reason the tickets for LFWeekend were so cheap. All the BIG names were a few days ago.
+ Unfortunately, of the cute stuff that wasn't particularly big brand name, none of it was my size or in my price range. There were two dresses I really liked and they happened to be the cheapest at about 120 pounds a pop.
+ But, as I put on facebook, let's face it, I was really only there for the runway show.
+ Prior to the catwalk, however, we had tea and cupcakes and listened to a two-person band play cute swing with banjos and ukeleles.
+ As we made our way to the showroom, about half an hour before the show, Bri wanted to buy sunglasses in the big room of stuff. I, having made the circuit already, was bored and decided to have a drink. Well, of the (very expensive!) drink list, the one that sounded best was a French Martini: vodka, Chambord, and pineapple juice. It came out magenta and frothy and was served by an amusing and talented bartender in a proper martini glass. While I waited for Bri, I got so many compliments/comments on the drink, which was hilarious. It was expensive, yes, but so delicious and totally worth spoiling myself, since I only bought food and drinks today.
+ However, we couldn't bring glass-glasses into the room and Bri took forever buying her shades, so after I'd gotten a plain plastic glass from the bartender, there were no seats left. We ended up making it in just before the lights went down and we had to stand in the back. Since it was such a small room, though, it didn't impede our sight.
+ The show showcased four different designers, none of whom I had heard of, and all of whom seemed to be more practical than I'm used to, when it comes to runway fashion. It was stuff real people would wear, things I could see on people wandering the streets of London. Still not much I'd wear, though.
+ I'd hoped for something...more. More energy, more clothes, more excitement. But, again, this was a small show with smaller names. Not Oscar de la Renta or Betsey Johnson (oh, to be at a Betsey Johnson show!!). But it was fun, I got to see the way the dresses flowed right in front of me, the way the models strutted, the finale of the three best looks from each collection walking the runway.
+ My favorite part of the show, actually, was when the coordinator of LFW came out and talked about the whole thing. When asked her best piece of fashion advice she said to have fun and wear what you love. "Fashion is fun, so enjoy it." Yes ma'am!
+ More Indian takeaway and another bottle of WKD Vodka Blue is a very good end to a very good day.
Pictures here! Title is Fashion by Lady Gaga.
Just keep on swinging, keep on swinging, keep on swinging, slick*
Today's the day! London Fashion Weekend, the closest I will ever get to a Fashion Week, is here!
My ticket lets me enter at 3.30, for the shopping part (not that I'll be able to afford anything I'm seeing, but being in the same room as a Betsy Johnson anything is enough), then the 6.00 catwalk. I'm going to a runway show. Ugh, I can't explain how I'm feeling about this. I have no idea who I'm seeing, but I am very, very excited.
What I'm wearing:
+ Red dress from Topshop
+ Leather jacket from Camden Market
+ Black stockings
+ Heeled oxfords
+ Velvet-look top hat from Camden Market
+ Bag from Primark
All told, I think this outfit cost me about 70 pounds. Maybe. I love when inexpensive (not cheap, as that has a different connotation) clothing doesn't look inexpensive. I mean, it doesn't look a million bucks, but I quite like it.
The plan is take the noon train in with Bri, have lunch in Central, wander for a bit, then go in. Bringing my camera, in case I get the chance to take pics of all the shiny stuff.
See you on the flip side, slick!
*Peroxide Swing, Michael Buble
Friday, February 24, 2012
That didn't work out quite how I planned it.
I wanted to go stargazing tonight. I had the plan to go into Kingston, cross the bridge towards Richmond, and find a secluded place on the banks of the Thames to lie back and stargaze and think deep thoughts.
That didn't really happen. But I did wander around Kingston and the river and I did walk up and down the Richmond side and I did buy cigarettes and alcohol (like an adult! Or a rebellious teen), but it's too cloudy and there are too many lights, even on the dark side of the river, and I don't really get the point of smoking.
However, I love WKD drinks. (I just finished the "purple vodka" one and I may open the "blue vodka" one; they're basically alcoholic kool-aid drinks in a bottle.) They make me happy. And I'm getting super pumped for tomorrow!
So, things I did today, since y'all seem to like my lists:
+ Wandered around Berrylands this morning
+ Bought tandoori chicken in a baguette and a mocha for lunch
+ Watched half of the first episode of Downton Abbey
+ Wrote a little more of my love letter to London
+ Learned about soap operas in Genre Studies
+ Wandered around Kingston, Richmond, and the river
+ Bought alcohol and cigarettes
+ And am now currently deciding a) what episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to use for my textual analysis assignment for Genre Studies and b) whether or not to wear my velvet-looking top hat with my outfit tomorrow.
That didn't really happen. But I did wander around Kingston and the river and I did walk up and down the Richmond side and I did buy cigarettes and alcohol (like an adult! Or a rebellious teen), but it's too cloudy and there are too many lights, even on the dark side of the river, and I don't really get the point of smoking.
However, I love WKD drinks. (I just finished the "purple vodka" one and I may open the "blue vodka" one; they're basically alcoholic kool-aid drinks in a bottle.) They make me happy. And I'm getting super pumped for tomorrow!
So, things I did today, since y'all seem to like my lists:
+ Wandered around Berrylands this morning
+ Bought tandoori chicken in a baguette and a mocha for lunch
+ Watched half of the first episode of Downton Abbey
+ Wrote a little more of my love letter to London
+ Learned about soap operas in Genre Studies
+ Wandered around Kingston, Richmond, and the river
+ Bought alcohol and cigarettes
+ And am now currently deciding a) what episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to use for my textual analysis assignment for Genre Studies and b) whether or not to wear my velvet-looking top hat with my outfit tomorrow.
Wanderlust: a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.
I've found that the weekdays are kind of boring here.
No, I'm not bored, I'm just finding the week kind of boring. I find myself not knowing what to do during the hours between classes, because I have a very odd schedule. I don't know what to do in the evenings. I'm waiting for the weekends, which is what I hear people in Real World (eg, people not at college) do, and I'm itching to do something, because it's been fairly nice.
What I really want to do is throw myself head-first into London. My wander on Monday struck up the love for the city inside me, made me adore it even more. The city is like a lover, I wrote in my journal. (More on that to come). This Monday, though, instead of having the day to myself, I am quite excited to do it up Sherlock Holmes style with Bella. Baker St., North Gower St. (where they film the exterior 221B shots for Sherlock), hopefully the museum and the pub. That'll be nice.
But before that, I'll be doing something particularly exciting tomorrow: London Fashion Weekend. See, this week has been London Fashion Week, where the designers come and present their fall/winter 2012 collections on the runway, where all the famous faces sit and watch the shows, and it's something I've always loved. I used to want to be a designer, did you know? I can remember, when E! still showed fashion things (before it moved to Style--and before the Style channel essentially became the lifestyle channel), Saturday morning runway shows, especially around the Fashion Weeks. And I would sit there, Saturday mornings before my parents were up, switching between the runway shows and the cartoons the next channel over during commercials. I never thought I'd get this close to the runway.
But of course, I have to wait until 3.00 tomorrow before any of that can happen. I've got today, one class, and maybe doing things with people to get through before I can do what I'm really itching to do. I love Berrylands, I love Kingston Uni, just the other day I wrote in my journal at a Kingston cafe I could be happy here, but I'm done with this now. I just want London, where I can keep exploring and finding things and new streets and new people and new buildings. Where I can just keep going and going for five hours and not have to decide where to go because the only things to do there are shop, eat or drink. I can just keep walking there. Keep moving on and on and on.
I never thought I was restless--I'm usually too lazy to be restless--but I'm feeling it. It makes me want to skip all my classes and take my bag with a couple shirts and a pair of jeans and just go.
No, I'm not bored, I'm just finding the week kind of boring. I find myself not knowing what to do during the hours between classes, because I have a very odd schedule. I don't know what to do in the evenings. I'm waiting for the weekends, which is what I hear people in Real World (eg, people not at college) do, and I'm itching to do something, because it's been fairly nice.
What I really want to do is throw myself head-first into London. My wander on Monday struck up the love for the city inside me, made me adore it even more. The city is like a lover, I wrote in my journal. (More on that to come). This Monday, though, instead of having the day to myself, I am quite excited to do it up Sherlock Holmes style with Bella. Baker St., North Gower St. (where they film the exterior 221B shots for Sherlock), hopefully the museum and the pub. That'll be nice.
But before that, I'll be doing something particularly exciting tomorrow: London Fashion Weekend. See, this week has been London Fashion Week, where the designers come and present their fall/winter 2012 collections on the runway, where all the famous faces sit and watch the shows, and it's something I've always loved. I used to want to be a designer, did you know? I can remember, when E! still showed fashion things (before it moved to Style--and before the Style channel essentially became the lifestyle channel), Saturday morning runway shows, especially around the Fashion Weeks. And I would sit there, Saturday mornings before my parents were up, switching between the runway shows and the cartoons the next channel over during commercials. I never thought I'd get this close to the runway.
But of course, I have to wait until 3.00 tomorrow before any of that can happen. I've got today, one class, and maybe doing things with people to get through before I can do what I'm really itching to do. I love Berrylands, I love Kingston Uni, just the other day I wrote in my journal at a Kingston cafe I could be happy here, but I'm done with this now. I just want London, where I can keep exploring and finding things and new streets and new people and new buildings. Where I can just keep going and going for five hours and not have to decide where to go because the only things to do there are shop, eat or drink. I can just keep walking there. Keep moving on and on and on.
I never thought I was restless--I'm usually too lazy to be restless--but I'm feeling it. It makes me want to skip all my classes and take my bag with a couple shirts and a pair of jeans and just go.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Busy, busy day in Londontown!
Let's list, shall we?
+ Caught the 10.04 train to Waterloo, from there, took the tube to Camden Town. (arrived a little before 11)
+ Took a stroll through Camden Market and ohmygoodness! So much stuff! All the clothes and jewelry and art and food! Things I bought in my hour-long journey through the market: a (fake) leather bomber jacket (which is adorable, if I do say so myself, and worth a little bit of splurging); a velvet-looking top hat for 5 pounds (!!!!); three prints of famous London sights, two of which will be gifts and one which is mine; a latte and a banana and nutella crepe (hnnng, so good) which I ate while lounging by the Thames.
+ I will definitely be taking my parents and Danes and Jules (cough, if she ever gets back to me, cough) to Camden Market, because there are things for all of them! Leather-bound journals (not bought with leather-bound pounds, mum :P), fantasy paintings, canes for 20 pounds (Daaaanes!), etc. Such amazing stuff.
+ From there, took the tube back the way I came, only I got off at Tottenham Court Road, just to see what it was all about. And then my adventure really began. About 4 1/2 hours later, I made it back to Waterloo to catch my train, but I made a huge circuit first:
+ Tottenham Court Road
+ Goodge Street, where I got lost. (It runs right into Tottenham Court Road, though.)
+ Wandering around Soho. Such a very nice place; it has such a different clientele than Camden Market, I'll tell you that right now--tres chic
+ Shaftesbury Avenue; found the Gielgud Theatre where I'll be going to see The Ladykillers!
+ Piccadilly Circus!
+ Regent Street! Oh, my gorgeous, gorgeous Regent Street. The curvy road at Piccadilly with all the nice nice shops
+ Oxford Circus and Carnaby Street--where I turned down an alley and found myself in a cute little tower filled with shops and a proper tea room! So I sat down and had a cream tea with their "afternoon" type of tea. Dee-lic-ious!
+ Back down Regent Street and Piccadilly, though I took a different route to get back to Trafalgar Square (through Pall Mall; I have such love for Pall Mall! It's a fancy-schmancy street, with places to eat and to live that I could never, ever afford) and didn't actually go to Trafalgar Square, but somehow ended up at Parliament square
+ Took another turn and ended up at The Mall and then to St James Park, which is very nice.
+ Found my way very close to Parliament, somewhere between Parliament and Westminster Abbey
+ There's another park on the other side of Parliament where I stayed for a little while
+ Then took a stroll down the Embankment to Vauxhall Bridge, where I could've gotten on the train at Vauxhall Station, but decided not to because I am so very in love that I couldn't bring myself to part with the city that soon. (It was about 4 at this point)
+ So took a stroll back down the other side (Albert Embankment) to where I knew where I was: the London Eye and finally
+ Waterloo Station, where, with some running, I caught my train and arrive home just after 5.
Back home, I made a frozen pizza and tried on some outfits with my new pieces. Then I got a message from Bri inviting me to the Slug and Lettuce with a group, if I wanted to go. So I did, which was a very good idea. Got a cider and a dessert, which was both delicious and inexpensive (it's 50% on Mondays).
Sorry this post is so jerky; I am quite tired. Tomorrow will be a lazier day (and a day to rest my feet!), even though it's Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras.
+ Caught the 10.04 train to Waterloo, from there, took the tube to Camden Town. (arrived a little before 11)
+ Took a stroll through Camden Market and ohmygoodness! So much stuff! All the clothes and jewelry and art and food! Things I bought in my hour-long journey through the market: a (fake) leather bomber jacket (which is adorable, if I do say so myself, and worth a little bit of splurging); a velvet-looking top hat for 5 pounds (!!!!); three prints of famous London sights, two of which will be gifts and one which is mine; a latte and a banana and nutella crepe (hnnng, so good) which I ate while lounging by the Thames.
+ I will definitely be taking my parents and Danes and Jules (cough, if she ever gets back to me, cough) to Camden Market, because there are things for all of them! Leather-bound journals (not bought with leather-bound pounds, mum :P), fantasy paintings, canes for 20 pounds (Daaaanes!), etc. Such amazing stuff.
+ From there, took the tube back the way I came, only I got off at Tottenham Court Road, just to see what it was all about. And then my adventure really began. About 4 1/2 hours later, I made it back to Waterloo to catch my train, but I made a huge circuit first:
+ Tottenham Court Road
+ Goodge Street, where I got lost. (It runs right into Tottenham Court Road, though.)
+ Wandering around Soho. Such a very nice place; it has such a different clientele than Camden Market, I'll tell you that right now--tres chic
+ Shaftesbury Avenue; found the Gielgud Theatre where I'll be going to see The Ladykillers!
+ Piccadilly Circus!
+ Regent Street! Oh, my gorgeous, gorgeous Regent Street. The curvy road at Piccadilly with all the nice nice shops
+ Oxford Circus and Carnaby Street--where I turned down an alley and found myself in a cute little tower filled with shops and a proper tea room! So I sat down and had a cream tea with their "afternoon" type of tea. Dee-lic-ious!
+ Back down Regent Street and Piccadilly, though I took a different route to get back to Trafalgar Square (through Pall Mall; I have such love for Pall Mall! It's a fancy-schmancy street, with places to eat and to live that I could never, ever afford) and didn't actually go to Trafalgar Square, but somehow ended up at Parliament square
+ Took another turn and ended up at The Mall and then to St James Park, which is very nice.
+ Found my way very close to Parliament, somewhere between Parliament and Westminster Abbey
+ There's another park on the other side of Parliament where I stayed for a little while
+ Then took a stroll down the Embankment to Vauxhall Bridge, where I could've gotten on the train at Vauxhall Station, but decided not to because I am so very in love that I couldn't bring myself to part with the city that soon. (It was about 4 at this point)
+ So took a stroll back down the other side (Albert Embankment) to where I knew where I was: the London Eye and finally
+ Waterloo Station, where, with some running, I caught my train and arrive home just after 5.
Back home, I made a frozen pizza and tried on some outfits with my new pieces. Then I got a message from Bri inviting me to the Slug and Lettuce with a group, if I wanted to go. So I did, which was a very good idea. Got a cider and a dessert, which was both delicious and inexpensive (it's 50% on Mondays).
Sorry this post is so jerky; I am quite tired. Tomorrow will be a lazier day (and a day to rest my feet!), even though it's Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
It goes around the world, just lalalala*
I've only just now started to think about traveling places. Unlike most of my comrades of the study abroad variety, I've been to the UK and Europe before, so it's kind of old hat. (:P) Ireland was lovely and I'll be seeing Wales to visit Jules and I'm going back to Paris to visit Lauren, but I don't have much of an interest in Scotland or Germany or Amsterdam, like many of my peers. I really came here to get inside London.
That said, there are still places I'd like to visit. Unfortunately, they're weird, kind of out of the way places. Apart from Cardiff and Paris, they're not places I can get to as easily. The time frame on this is April 14-April 20 (During my break, the Williams'+co are before and I'm visiting Stratford upon Avon with Lauren for Shakespeare day at the other end.)
1. Venice
2. Switzerland
3. Istanbul
4. Budapest
5. The English Moors
The most feasible, money-wise, are Switzerland and the Moors. (Shut up, the Moors is a legit place. It features heavily in The Secret Garden and Wuthering Heights, for example. Two books I'm fond of.) Venice is a little more expensive, but still doable. I have a couple ideas to put forth to you, my audience, if you'd be so kind as to weigh in.
1. Start in Switzerland (April 14 flight); travel to Venice on the 18th; back home midday on the 20th.
2. Start in Venice (April 14 flight); spend 4 days in Venice; travel to Switzerland on the 18th; back home afternoon on the 20th.
3. Istanbul: leave Sun April 15, return Wed (18) or Thurs (19)
Those are the best ideas I have. Istanbul is really expensive and I don't think I'd go anywhere else, but maybe that'd be worth it, as I have always wanted to go. Budapest is an idea, but again, I don't know if I'd travel anywhere else and I'm a little wary going that far away.
The Moors is a weekend trip, really. But my weekends are filling up rapidly. Weekend things I want to do/have already planned:
+ London Fashion Weekend
+ Danes is here
+ My parents are here
+ Oxford/Stratford with Lauren
+ My Paris adventure with Lauren at the end of May
+ One or two plays
+ Oscar Wilde tours are only on Saturdays
+ Ripper tours are late-night affairs, probably best on a weekend.
So what do you think?
* Around the World by ATC
That said, there are still places I'd like to visit. Unfortunately, they're weird, kind of out of the way places. Apart from Cardiff and Paris, they're not places I can get to as easily. The time frame on this is April 14-April 20 (During my break, the Williams'+co are before and I'm visiting Stratford upon Avon with Lauren for Shakespeare day at the other end.)
1. Venice
2. Switzerland
3. Istanbul
4. Budapest
5. The English Moors
The most feasible, money-wise, are Switzerland and the Moors. (Shut up, the Moors is a legit place. It features heavily in The Secret Garden and Wuthering Heights, for example. Two books I'm fond of.) Venice is a little more expensive, but still doable. I have a couple ideas to put forth to you, my audience, if you'd be so kind as to weigh in.
1. Start in Switzerland (April 14 flight); travel to Venice on the 18th; back home midday on the 20th.
2. Start in Venice (April 14 flight); spend 4 days in Venice; travel to Switzerland on the 18th; back home afternoon on the 20th.
3. Istanbul: leave Sun April 15, return Wed (18) or Thurs (19)
Those are the best ideas I have. Istanbul is really expensive and I don't think I'd go anywhere else, but maybe that'd be worth it, as I have always wanted to go. Budapest is an idea, but again, I don't know if I'd travel anywhere else and I'm a little wary going that far away.
The Moors is a weekend trip, really. But my weekends are filling up rapidly. Weekend things I want to do/have already planned:
+ London Fashion Weekend
+ Danes is here
+ My parents are here
+ Oxford/Stratford with Lauren
+ My Paris adventure with Lauren at the end of May
+ One or two plays
+ Oscar Wilde tours are only on Saturdays
+ Ripper tours are late-night affairs, probably best on a weekend.
So what do you think?
* Around the World by ATC
She picks his heart like it's a pocket, she wears her hair like it's a crown*
I guess I'm going to give you a soundtrack to listen to while you read my blog. I have a habit of titling things (stories, blog posts, etc.) with song lyrics, which is unfair if you don't know the song.
Did not go see The Artist last night; wasn't really in the mood for a silent film and besides, mum wanted to see it with me. So instead I went to A Dangerous Method, about Freud and Jung and the woman that divided them. Except not really. She didn't have that much to do with it, actually. I won't talk about it much, because I know my family reads this (hello, aunts!) and the film was rather naughty, but if you want to know my thoughts, they're here. All in all, a good film, but not worth the 7.80 (with a student discount!).
On the way home, I stopped by the Chinese takeaway down the road and got myself some Singapore curry rice noodles. So good!
Had a lazy morning. Lounged in bed with my computer while watching Something For the Weekend--and I got rickrolled! Really, SftW? Went for a walk after that, down to Tolworth, found the hotel Danes will stay at when he gets her, then came back. Missed my turn and ended up wandering through a park because it's such a gorgeous day. The only problem with today is that I am having a hankering for coffee--and the cafes I like aren't open. I am seriously craving a mocha. (Well, what I'm actually craving is just coffee, the smell of it brewing, black or with twenty-five sugars, it doesn't matter. I want coffee. And no, Starbucks doesn't count.)
Currently, I'm back in my room, with hours to go yet until I skype with the 'rents and I'm not sure what to do. My options include (but are not limited to):
+ Reading for Shakespeare on Wednesday
+ Seeking out coffee
+ Researching how much it will cost to travel to: Venice, Istanbul, or Switzerland.
+ Attempting to write
+ Hitting up the local pub to see if they have a match on.
That last one, I'm still hesitant on. I'm a young, solo woman--am I, I dunno, allowed to go into a local pub and sit down with all the old men and ask, "so, who are we rooting for?" Is that kosher? It feels like it'd be a bit of a faux pas. See, this is why I need someone who also likes pubs and football here. I need a pub partner.
* No Mercy by Racoon.
Did not go see The Artist last night; wasn't really in the mood for a silent film and besides, mum wanted to see it with me. So instead I went to A Dangerous Method, about Freud and Jung and the woman that divided them. Except not really. She didn't have that much to do with it, actually. I won't talk about it much, because I know my family reads this (hello, aunts!) and the film was rather naughty, but if you want to know my thoughts, they're here. All in all, a good film, but not worth the 7.80 (with a student discount!).
On the way home, I stopped by the Chinese takeaway down the road and got myself some Singapore curry rice noodles. So good!
Had a lazy morning. Lounged in bed with my computer while watching Something For the Weekend--and I got rickrolled! Really, SftW? Went for a walk after that, down to Tolworth, found the hotel Danes will stay at when he gets her, then came back. Missed my turn and ended up wandering through a park because it's such a gorgeous day. The only problem with today is that I am having a hankering for coffee--and the cafes I like aren't open. I am seriously craving a mocha. (Well, what I'm actually craving is just coffee, the smell of it brewing, black or with twenty-five sugars, it doesn't matter. I want coffee. And no, Starbucks doesn't count.)
Currently, I'm back in my room, with hours to go yet until I skype with the 'rents and I'm not sure what to do. My options include (but are not limited to):
+ Reading for Shakespeare on Wednesday
+ Seeking out coffee
+ Researching how much it will cost to travel to: Venice, Istanbul, or Switzerland.
+ Attempting to write
+ Hitting up the local pub to see if they have a match on.
That last one, I'm still hesitant on. I'm a young, solo woman--am I, I dunno, allowed to go into a local pub and sit down with all the old men and ask, "so, who are we rooting for?" Is that kosher? It feels like it'd be a bit of a faux pas. See, this is why I need someone who also likes pubs and football here. I need a pub partner.
* No Mercy by Racoon.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
And no rivers and no lakes, can put the fire out *
Today has been very good indeed. A successful shopping trip and I'm thinking of going to see The Artist tonight.
Things what I bought:
+ A pair of jeans (to replace the ones that have a rip in the knee) at Primark. Love it, cheap store, good stuff.
+ A cute black purse, also at Primark
+ A lamp (to replace the bedside lamp I broke; it's still functioning, but the nice thing to do is replace it) at Wilkinsons.
+ A mobile phone (finally!)
+ A red dress, a cheetah-print pencil skirt, and black ballet flats at TopShop
I am very happy with my haul right now, curled up in my new jeans with a cuppa.
So I'm thinking, for London Fashion Weekend next Saturday, this red dress, with black tights and my heeled oxfords. All I need now is a black jacket (preferably fake leather) or a black blazer to go over it. And maybe some new accessories. Which means another (small) shopping trip in the next week. Maybe I'll find something in Central on Monday. I'm also on the lookout for a big black stick umbrella; both Mr and Mrs H seemed very confused by this, since it's unwieldy and impractical. But it's a thing I want, so I will find one.
A brolly would've been particularly helpful today, as it started raining (as it's wont, here) while I was in M&S. I've been listening to a lot of Florence lately and I'm starting to see why a lot of British artists I like are so...weird and depressing. It's always gloomy here, between the clouds and the grey and the rain, and the old-style houses that always look empty and the bare branches against the greygrey sky...
It's gloomy and glorious. I can see why they (Florence, especially) derive so much art from the depressing beauty. It makes me feel a little off-kilter, but it's absolutely stunning. Then again, I just really like gloomy, cloudy days.
*Seven Devils by Florence and the Machine
Things what I bought:
+ A pair of jeans (to replace the ones that have a rip in the knee) at Primark. Love it, cheap store, good stuff.
+ A cute black purse, also at Primark
+ A lamp (to replace the bedside lamp I broke; it's still functioning, but the nice thing to do is replace it) at Wilkinsons.
+ A mobile phone (finally!)
+ A red dress, a cheetah-print pencil skirt, and black ballet flats at TopShop
I am very happy with my haul right now, curled up in my new jeans with a cuppa.
So I'm thinking, for London Fashion Weekend next Saturday, this red dress, with black tights and my heeled oxfords. All I need now is a black jacket (preferably fake leather) or a black blazer to go over it. And maybe some new accessories. Which means another (small) shopping trip in the next week. Maybe I'll find something in Central on Monday. I'm also on the lookout for a big black stick umbrella; both Mr and Mrs H seemed very confused by this, since it's unwieldy and impractical. But it's a thing I want, so I will find one.
A brolly would've been particularly helpful today, as it started raining (as it's wont, here) while I was in M&S. I've been listening to a lot of Florence lately and I'm starting to see why a lot of British artists I like are so...weird and depressing. It's always gloomy here, between the clouds and the grey and the rain, and the old-style houses that always look empty and the bare branches against the greygrey sky...
It's gloomy and glorious. I can see why they (Florence, especially) derive so much art from the depressing beauty. It makes me feel a little off-kilter, but it's absolutely stunning. Then again, I just really like gloomy, cloudy days.
*Seven Devils by Florence and the Machine
It's getting to the point where I can't remember what I did on what day
That's not good, I don't think. Things are blending together, blurring the lines between distinctions like what day it is. The Doctor Who Experience feels like so long ago. Guess my internal clock is just being all wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey.
Anywho, if I remember correctly, I definitely did something new yesterday. Well, first, I walked to Genre Studies class, where we studied the costume drama as a quintessentially British genre and watched clips from the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice, Bleak House, and Downton Abbey. Excellent class. Then I walked back, made myself dinner (which mostly consisted of leftover chocolate, shhh), and went to a comedy show alone.
This is a big deal for me, I think, and if I'm not presuming too much, most other people, as well. We, as a general rule, don't like doing things alone. I'm perfectly fine wandering around a city alone or eating alone, but to this day, I've only gone to a movie solo once (and that was supposed to be a date, ahem) and I've never gone to a play by myself, I don't think. But I've found that, while I may be bored during the intermission without someone by my side, I'm more comfortable going places alone than I thought.
There were four acts, two breaks, and one crazy MC. She was a little wacky, but funny. Not as funny as the acts, though. Unfortunately, since it was such a small room, I spoke up once and promptly got picked on for being American. Which I suppose was to be expected. It was all really funny, though, I have to say. (I think my favorite American riff was the last guy mocking the Marine who was sitting near me and I felt a little awkward and must've looked it because he goes, "Yeah, even the American is going, 'just drop it already.'")
So that was fun. Today, I'm going to laze about this morning then go shopping, wheee! Not sure what I'm doing tonight. People don't seem to want to make plans (I think it's because I often turn down their plans because they're so last-minute that I've already made my own by the time they tell me. It's not my fault if I want to do something, I just do it.) and Bella is off in Edinburgh this weekend. So maybe I'll go see a movie or find a jazz bar or something.
Not going to lie, this makes me a little worried about how I'm going to be when I move somewhere. I don't remember how to make friends. It's always happened organically or been facilitated by someone. (My best friend at school was in my group in a class we had first semester of school; my two housemates came as a packaged deal through my freshman roommate; Danes, well, killed me in Humans vs Zombies; etc.) I don't know how to go out and be like, "You seem like a nice person. Let's hang out for the day." I can go up and talk to people and hope for the best, but everyone else seems to hang out so easily.
That said, I really do love it here. I just keep itching to get back into London. Mondays can't come soon enough.
Anywho, if I remember correctly, I definitely did something new yesterday. Well, first, I walked to Genre Studies class, where we studied the costume drama as a quintessentially British genre and watched clips from the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice, Bleak House, and Downton Abbey. Excellent class. Then I walked back, made myself dinner (which mostly consisted of leftover chocolate, shhh), and went to a comedy show alone.
This is a big deal for me, I think, and if I'm not presuming too much, most other people, as well. We, as a general rule, don't like doing things alone. I'm perfectly fine wandering around a city alone or eating alone, but to this day, I've only gone to a movie solo once (and that was supposed to be a date, ahem) and I've never gone to a play by myself, I don't think. But I've found that, while I may be bored during the intermission without someone by my side, I'm more comfortable going places alone than I thought.
There were four acts, two breaks, and one crazy MC. She was a little wacky, but funny. Not as funny as the acts, though. Unfortunately, since it was such a small room, I spoke up once and promptly got picked on for being American. Which I suppose was to be expected. It was all really funny, though, I have to say. (I think my favorite American riff was the last guy mocking the Marine who was sitting near me and I felt a little awkward and must've looked it because he goes, "Yeah, even the American is going, 'just drop it already.'")
So that was fun. Today, I'm going to laze about this morning then go shopping, wheee! Not sure what I'm doing tonight. People don't seem to want to make plans (I think it's because I often turn down their plans because they're so last-minute that I've already made my own by the time they tell me. It's not my fault if I want to do something, I just do it.) and Bella is off in Edinburgh this weekend. So maybe I'll go see a movie or find a jazz bar or something.
Not going to lie, this makes me a little worried about how I'm going to be when I move somewhere. I don't remember how to make friends. It's always happened organically or been facilitated by someone. (My best friend at school was in my group in a class we had first semester of school; my two housemates came as a packaged deal through my freshman roommate; Danes, well, killed me in Humans vs Zombies; etc.) I don't know how to go out and be like, "You seem like a nice person. Let's hang out for the day." I can go up and talk to people and hope for the best, but everyone else seems to hang out so easily.
That said, I really do love it here. I just keep itching to get back into London. Mondays can't come soon enough.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Youtube needs a repeat button, the way I listen to music
I did a whole bunch of walking and exploring today, because it was finally nice! It was high 40s, slightly windy, and there was even sun for a couple minutes! Weatherwise, it was a glorious day.
I walked to my 9.00 class (it's a nice walk and takes about as long as the bus ride does), absorbed some knowledge (and was used in an example of the word epitome: "Victoria is the epitome of American dynamism." Which I'm not sure was a compliment because he was being snarky about his other examples. Oh well. I like him. He's entertaining.), then wandered around desperately looking for lunch. All the cafes I wanted to go to were full, so I ended up stopping into Tasty Bite or something like that, and having curry and a mango lassi. Not a proper Indian place, but definitely a gathering place for people of Indian and Middle Eastern descent, which was really interesting.
After that, since it was so nice, I went for a walk down by the river. What a lovely day. I plan on doing much lazing on the riverside when it gets really nice. But I still had three and a half hours to kill before I had to be back for my Arabic class, so I decided to walk to the Surbiton library. Of the three libraries, it's probably my favorite; the Kingston library is too small, the Uni library doesn't have anywhere I want to plop myself, and the Surbiton library is also small, but very cute and has a good selection of books. I stayed there for half an hour or so, read a little more of my book, then wandered back to my house by a different route.
Two hours at home, then I walked back for Arabic. My class is strange; it alternates between being so boring and actually being really interesting. See, it's information and vocab I've already done before, but she actually teaches us the rules behind the grammar. Akil had us memorize words and phrases (often before we had any context for what they meant; my personal favorite was how in the first semester, he'd give us vocab that consisted mainly of letters we hadn't learned yet) but didn't tell us the process of making them. So today was how to make adjectives; I didn't know there was a hard and fast rule for creating adjectives, but there is, apparently.
After that, I wandered up the stairs to watch Alien with the Sci-Fi part of the Gaming, Anime and Sci-Fi Society here on campus. There were only five of us, but they all seem nice and apparently there are plans for a) a Firefly marathon and b) a Star Wars original trilogy marathon. Nice, solid nerds. My favorite.
I have no plans for the weekend as of yet, but I'm deciding right now: if I end up on my own again, I am not staying in my room all weekend. I need to go shopping on Saturday (I should really get my own mobile and I need a good outfit for London Fashion Weekend next week), but after that, maybe I'll head into Central. Actually, maybe I'll go shopping in Central! Anyway, my point is, since it's getting nicer, I need to actually do things. That is why I'm here, after all.
I walked to my 9.00 class (it's a nice walk and takes about as long as the bus ride does), absorbed some knowledge (and was used in an example of the word epitome: "Victoria is the epitome of American dynamism." Which I'm not sure was a compliment because he was being snarky about his other examples. Oh well. I like him. He's entertaining.), then wandered around desperately looking for lunch. All the cafes I wanted to go to were full, so I ended up stopping into Tasty Bite or something like that, and having curry and a mango lassi. Not a proper Indian place, but definitely a gathering place for people of Indian and Middle Eastern descent, which was really interesting.
After that, since it was so nice, I went for a walk down by the river. What a lovely day. I plan on doing much lazing on the riverside when it gets really nice. But I still had three and a half hours to kill before I had to be back for my Arabic class, so I decided to walk to the Surbiton library. Of the three libraries, it's probably my favorite; the Kingston library is too small, the Uni library doesn't have anywhere I want to plop myself, and the Surbiton library is also small, but very cute and has a good selection of books. I stayed there for half an hour or so, read a little more of my book, then wandered back to my house by a different route.
Two hours at home, then I walked back for Arabic. My class is strange; it alternates between being so boring and actually being really interesting. See, it's information and vocab I've already done before, but she actually teaches us the rules behind the grammar. Akil had us memorize words and phrases (often before we had any context for what they meant; my personal favorite was how in the first semester, he'd give us vocab that consisted mainly of letters we hadn't learned yet) but didn't tell us the process of making them. So today was how to make adjectives; I didn't know there was a hard and fast rule for creating adjectives, but there is, apparently.
After that, I wandered up the stairs to watch Alien with the Sci-Fi part of the Gaming, Anime and Sci-Fi Society here on campus. There were only five of us, but they all seem nice and apparently there are plans for a) a Firefly marathon and b) a Star Wars original trilogy marathon. Nice, solid nerds. My favorite.
I have no plans for the weekend as of yet, but I'm deciding right now: if I end up on my own again, I am not staying in my room all weekend. I need to go shopping on Saturday (I should really get my own mobile and I need a good outfit for London Fashion Weekend next week), but after that, maybe I'll head into Central. Actually, maybe I'll go shopping in Central! Anyway, my point is, since it's getting nicer, I need to actually do things. That is why I'm here, after all.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
A month in, I'm finally looking at things to do
My lists of things to do in London keeps growing, especially now that I've found the website Official London Theatre.
Shows I want to go see:
+ The Ladykillers with Peter Capaldi and Ben Miller (♥)
+ The Recruiting Officer with Mark Gatiss (♥)
+ Midnight Tango
+ Lord of the Dance (which is only on until early March)
+ Shakespeare's Island
+ And any one of a whole list of Shakespeares at The Globe
Maybe I'll sit down and choose dates and tickets tonight. Because, oh, I want to go see them all.
Shows I want to go see:
+ The Ladykillers with Peter Capaldi and Ben Miller (♥)
+ The Recruiting Officer with Mark Gatiss (♥)
+ Midnight Tango
+ Lord of the Dance (which is only on until early March)
+ Shakespeare's Island+ And any one of a whole list of Shakespeares at The Globe
Maybe I'll sit down and choose dates and tickets tonight. Because, oh, I want to go see them all.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Like the sailor said quote, "ain't that a hole in the boat"
Valentine's Day seems to be the same over here as back home. Deep, lipsticky reds all over the place, bundles of roses, heart boxes of chocolates, Sinatra cds on sale next to the wines.
I bought myself roses yesterday. A half dozen red roses, some of them a little rough around the edges, but it doesn't matter because they're for me and only me. I have a boyfriend, but today I look like The Single Girl on Valentine's Day. My shopping today included frozen pizzas, a UK Cosmo and two Cadbury chocolate bars.
So what am I doing for this holiday? Curling up in my room with chocolate and tea and reading (kinda angsty) love stories, of course.
It's days like this that I really miss Danes. I don't know if he reads this, but if you do, happy Valentine's Day, darling. Here, enjoy our song. (Well, our most recent song, anyway. We don't really have a song, we just tend to send each other sappy songs we like.)
I bought myself roses yesterday. A half dozen red roses, some of them a little rough around the edges, but it doesn't matter because they're for me and only me. I have a boyfriend, but today I look like The Single Girl on Valentine's Day. My shopping today included frozen pizzas, a UK Cosmo and two Cadbury chocolate bars.
So what am I doing for this holiday? Curling up in my room with chocolate and tea and reading (kinda angsty) love stories, of course.
It's days like this that I really miss Danes. I don't know if he reads this, but if you do, happy Valentine's Day, darling. Here, enjoy our song. (Well, our most recent song, anyway. We don't really have a song, we just tend to send each other sappy songs we like.)
Monday, February 13, 2012
The Doctor Who Experience!
Dust off your Converse, it’s time to save the universe! When you enter the Doctor Who Experience, you enter the Whoniverse itself, complete with danger, spacey-wacey knick-knacks, and a mad man with a box.
If you don’t get this, I highly suggest you watch an episode or two. Not only will this entry make more sense if you do, you’ll also understand some of my obscure references more. But if you don’t want to read through all my gooey, giggly fangirling, then you should at least check out the photos. Some of them are pretty dang cool.
We start by getting our tickets in a fairly normal looking convention building. Normal, that is, until you see, on your right, the shop where you can buy all sorts of bits and bobs in varying shades of TARDIS blues, and on your left, the Time Vortex itself. If you follow the Vortex, falling down the rabbit hole, as it were, you find yourself in that most British of places…a queue. But this is a fun queue, because, while you’re waiting for The Experience to begin, you’re surrounded by costumes and props from various episodes of s5. There’s the cape and mask Queen Liz wore in The Beast Below; then the 1940s Daleks from Victory of the Daleks; and the spiky dress the regal fish queen wore in Vampires of Venice. And then the doors open.
The guide comes forward to tell you no flash photography is allowed and there will be moving floors, strobe lights, and fog machines. You enter the room and sit on the benches to watch the introductory video. It’s part reminder of what happened in series 5 and who the Eleventh Doctor is, and part set-up for the plot of the Experience. The crack in the universe becomes a crack in the wall and the wall itself slides apart to reveal the National Museum aboard Starship UK (The Beast Below). As you walk through and enter the Museum, a bodiless guide (just a face—like in Silence in the Library) turns your attention to the gorgeous Van Gogh piece of the TARDIS bursting with light in one corner; then the great telescope from Tooth and Claw in another corner; but before she can show you anything else, the sirens start up and the television goes all fuzzy.
A transmission from the Doctor himself! It seems he’s gotten himself trapped in the Pandorica yet again and needs our help. Or, well, Amy’s help. He’s really disappointed that we’re not Amy, we’re not even Rory, we’re…shoppers. But we’ll do. We’re to follow his instructions to the letter and enter the TARDIS. Which materializes from behind the wall to our left. The doors pull back and we file in, good little companions. (I drag my hand along the blue door as I pass. It’s my first and last time to feel the old girl and I could swear I feel the Time Vortex running through the bright blue paint.) The corridor leads to the main TARDIS console room.
The Doctor appears on our screens once more. He tells the kids to take the TARDIS controls; he needs there to be no mistakes and, besides, adults are boring. They “drink coffee and say ‘ughh’ all the time.” I happen to agree and I’d love to take the old girl flying, but every available control is taken. Probably better that the kids have it. Can’t have any mistakes, not with the Doctor trapped and River off godknowswhere. Then we’re off, the TARDIS shaking and billowing smoke from the console. And as soon as we take off, we land. And apparently it’s dangerous. But we all file out the back doors, down the back corridor…
And right into the Dalek’s hands! It turns out the Doctor, in his infinite wisdom (note the sarcasm), sent the TARDIS onto a Dalek ship! Just as we’re surrounded by three Daleks (not the old ones, but the new candy-colour ones from Victory of the Daleks)…up pops another Dalek ship. The old ones this time, and there’s a feud between the two factions. They fight, which allows us to escape.
I’m lucky enough to pass through the next corridor without any trouble, but the Doctor warns us to be careful as we go along. He tells us not to blink. Lucky me, at the head of the line, I don’t see a single Weeping Angel. But, of course, that doesn’t mean they aren’t there.
Another hallway and then they give us glasses. Protection, the Doctor says. I think he just likes 3D glasses. He’s such a hipster child. The Pandorica! I’m not really sure what we did, I don’t even think the Doctor is, but our being there with the TARDIS allows him to escape. There’s just one problem. There always is, with the Doctor. Turns out that when the most feared being in the cosmos escapes his bonds a second time, it reopens the Crack in the universe. But lucky for us, the Doctor is…well, not prepared, but he’s clever. Just as we’re swirling through the Vortex, with Daleks and Cybermen and Angels (oh my!) all reaching out for us, he reverses it and sends us back to where we’re supposed to be.
He thanks us and we exit. Back into the real world. And while the Experience was by far my favorite part, seeing all the props and sets and costumes was really, really wonderful.
My favorite parts of the second half:
+ The TARDIS sets. I had a bit of a love affair with the TARDIS today, because, even though it’s called Doctor Who, how much of a time traveler can you be without a time machine? The show, the plot, the Doctor himself, wouldn’t work without the old girl. I want one.
+ The monsters. Seeing an entire row of Daleks, from each era, and how they progressed (the section was called Evolution of the Daleks, ha), was pretty dang awesome. And then the Silence. And the Slitheen and the Scarecrow (from Human Nature/Family of Blood *shudders*) and the dolls (from Night Terrors—curse you, Mark Gatiss!). Ah, it was really awesome.
+ Watching a guy (I think he does work for DW, though he made it sound like he’s worked for a bunch of other films/shows) work with clay to make a model head of some monster or another. I could’ve sat and watched him for hours. How does that become your life? I’d kill to get a job doing something I loved on a show like DW.
+ Watching all the kids. I came into DW rather late; I was 14 when Rose aired on SyFy in place of SGA reruns. I love it, I love the magic and the scifi and the mythos—but I don’t love it in the same way 8 year olds do. I can think more ~complex thoughts about it, but the Doctor is right to place so much faith in children; they see things entirely differently. And it was glorious to watch all the little kids run around going “LOOK, IT’S A DALEK” or whispering to their dad, “there’s a Slitheen around the corner.” (And most precious award goes to that little boy, omg.)
Sunday, February 12, 2012
The Woman in Black
B. and I hit up the 8.30 Woman in Black showing last night...and ended up buying wine and chocolate and then watching Star Wars instead of falling asleep. It was that scary. And so good!
For those who don't know, when my parents and I were here in London back when I was 13 (that 12-day period when I fell in love with London and promised myself I'd be back), one of the three plays we saw in the West End was The Woman in Black. It was a two-man play with about three props, in a small theatre, with stark lighting, fog machines, and a terrifying finale. There are about three things I remember about that experience: the three boxes being used as all sorts of props, the rocking chair scene, and not being able to get to sleep the next few nights. The DanRad film kept two of those three things; the only difference was the background, it being an actual film and all.
I made a list whilst watching The Phantom Menace last night: (Spoilers, sweetie!)
+ Surprise Roger Allam in the beginning! And Ciaran Hinds, who played a rather major character! Oh, England, land of the twelve British actors who are in everything together...
+ Surprise Arthur Conan Doyle reference, which made me squee. Though known mostly for his logic-loving detective, towards the end (middle?) of his life, ACD became a huge proponent of spiritualism, that phenomenon that gripped the late 1800s that included mediums, seances, and ghosts of all kinds.
+ We should bring back frock coats. DanRad looks really good in a frock coat. I really like frock coats.
+ There were many times when I just sat there grinning like an idiot because it was fun getting scared. This is a relatively new development for me. Late high school, maybe. I never really liked horror movies (I now like real horror movies, not gore) or haunted houses (I still don't like haunted houses), but once I started watching things like Supernatural and Buffy, I began to see the value of it.
+ Mind, there were a few times in the middle when my tummy knotted and I went "Oh, that's not fun anymore. Stop it." This is the mark of a great scary movie. Another great mark is scaring me so much I couldn't fall asleep because the big empty house (no wonder B. wanted me to stay over; she was the only one alone in the creepy, creaky house) was making noises and the curtains were open and the fear gripped me. I can't explain it, but I felt like The Woman was there in the window behind me and so I curled up in a little ball and actively had to tell my brain to not open my eyes.
What you don't see is always scarier than what you do see, except when your self-preservation instinct tells you if you don't see it, it can't hurt you. This is not a particularly good self-preservation technique, but it's what my tired, sluggish, fearful instinct told me. I would be hopeless on my own in the wild.
+ The rocking chair scene is basically all I remembered from the play and was bloody terrifying in the movie. If you can guess, it's a scene where the empty rocking chair upstage on the set (upstairs in the film) starts rocking. By itself. Only in the film, from the back there's no one in it, but when it cuts to the upswing in front of the chair, The Woman is there. Just for a split second.
+ The scariest elements of a good scary story are not to be found in gore. But I love the elements that made this movie. Suspense, seeing things out of the corner of your eye, mirrors (mirrors are the scariest bloody things in scary movies), shadows, expecting the unexpected. You know something is coming and you're on the lookout; you're trained by either instinct or the preponderance of horror films to look anywhere but the main character's face. For instance, DanRad has very pretty eyes, but when there are close-ups on his face in the darkened house, you're not looking at his bright blue eyes. You're glaring at the shadows behind his head, to the right of the screen, because was there a flicker of candlelight? Was that movement or just the camera work? Is there something there? Ugh, so creepy and so good.
+ There's something so wonderful about getting scared. There is so much to be analyzed and written on cinema-goers at a horror film. Every single time something scary happened, everyone jumped (and/or screamed) and then laughed. Nervous laughter. (See also: when someone sneezed really loudly during a tense scene and everyone started giggling.) It's the release. Adrenaline? Endorphins, maybe? To be researched. But there really is something delicious about slowly sinking into the feeling, letting your guard down enough to be scared.
+ I like old things and broken-down things, cemeteries and weeping angels, and the beauty of stark countryside. Broken trees in winter, that sort of thing. And this movie is full of that. Exists on that aesthetic, actually.
+ Between this movie, A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss and the Criminal Minds episode that was on when we got back to the house...what is with the death of a child in horror/drama? Fascinating. So much could be written on that, too.
+ I forgot it wasn't a happy ending. Or, well, a traditional happy ending, anyway.
+ DanRad is a great actor and I'm so glad he's turned out to be far more than a one-trick wizard. BUT. Because he's Harry and my age and I know he's only 21...I don't buy him having a four year old son and a dead wife. That's the only problem I had with that casting. He was excellent otherwise, though.
For those who don't know, when my parents and I were here in London back when I was 13 (that 12-day period when I fell in love with London and promised myself I'd be back), one of the three plays we saw in the West End was The Woman in Black. It was a two-man play with about three props, in a small theatre, with stark lighting, fog machines, and a terrifying finale. There are about three things I remember about that experience: the three boxes being used as all sorts of props, the rocking chair scene, and not being able to get to sleep the next few nights. The DanRad film kept two of those three things; the only difference was the background, it being an actual film and all.
I made a list whilst watching The Phantom Menace last night: (Spoilers, sweetie!)
+ Surprise Roger Allam in the beginning! And Ciaran Hinds, who played a rather major character! Oh, England, land of the twelve British actors who are in everything together...
+ Surprise Arthur Conan Doyle reference, which made me squee. Though known mostly for his logic-loving detective, towards the end (middle?) of his life, ACD became a huge proponent of spiritualism, that phenomenon that gripped the late 1800s that included mediums, seances, and ghosts of all kinds.
+ We should bring back frock coats. DanRad looks really good in a frock coat. I really like frock coats.
+ There were many times when I just sat there grinning like an idiot because it was fun getting scared. This is a relatively new development for me. Late high school, maybe. I never really liked horror movies (I now like real horror movies, not gore) or haunted houses (I still don't like haunted houses), but once I started watching things like Supernatural and Buffy, I began to see the value of it.
+ Mind, there were a few times in the middle when my tummy knotted and I went "Oh, that's not fun anymore. Stop it." This is the mark of a great scary movie. Another great mark is scaring me so much I couldn't fall asleep because the big empty house (no wonder B. wanted me to stay over; she was the only one alone in the creepy, creaky house) was making noises and the curtains were open and the fear gripped me. I can't explain it, but I felt like The Woman was there in the window behind me and so I curled up in a little ball and actively had to tell my brain to not open my eyes.
What you don't see is always scarier than what you do see, except when your self-preservation instinct tells you if you don't see it, it can't hurt you. This is not a particularly good self-preservation technique, but it's what my tired, sluggish, fearful instinct told me. I would be hopeless on my own in the wild.
+ The rocking chair scene is basically all I remembered from the play and was bloody terrifying in the movie. If you can guess, it's a scene where the empty rocking chair upstage on the set (upstairs in the film) starts rocking. By itself. Only in the film, from the back there's no one in it, but when it cuts to the upswing in front of the chair, The Woman is there. Just for a split second.
+ The scariest elements of a good scary story are not to be found in gore. But I love the elements that made this movie. Suspense, seeing things out of the corner of your eye, mirrors (mirrors are the scariest bloody things in scary movies), shadows, expecting the unexpected. You know something is coming and you're on the lookout; you're trained by either instinct or the preponderance of horror films to look anywhere but the main character's face. For instance, DanRad has very pretty eyes, but when there are close-ups on his face in the darkened house, you're not looking at his bright blue eyes. You're glaring at the shadows behind his head, to the right of the screen, because was there a flicker of candlelight? Was that movement or just the camera work? Is there something there? Ugh, so creepy and so good.
+ There's something so wonderful about getting scared. There is so much to be analyzed and written on cinema-goers at a horror film. Every single time something scary happened, everyone jumped (and/or screamed) and then laughed. Nervous laughter. (See also: when someone sneezed really loudly during a tense scene and everyone started giggling.) It's the release. Adrenaline? Endorphins, maybe? To be researched. But there really is something delicious about slowly sinking into the feeling, letting your guard down enough to be scared.
+ I like old things and broken-down things, cemeteries and weeping angels, and the beauty of stark countryside. Broken trees in winter, that sort of thing. And this movie is full of that. Exists on that aesthetic, actually.
+ Between this movie, A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss and the Criminal Minds episode that was on when we got back to the house...what is with the death of a child in horror/drama? Fascinating. So much could be written on that, too.
+ I forgot it wasn't a happy ending. Or, well, a traditional happy ending, anyway.
+ DanRad is a great actor and I'm so glad he's turned out to be far more than a one-trick wizard. BUT. Because he's Harry and my age and I know he's only 21...I don't buy him having a four year old son and a dead wife. That's the only problem I had with that casting. He was excellent otherwise, though.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Why is it that when I write an angsty blog post and go all introspective, I end up having a really good rest of my day? I think it's the universe's way of saying shut up and enjoy your life, you're in bloody England!
Took a wander around the neighborhood and surrounding streets and took pictures of how pretty everything was in the melting snow, then headed to class where we spent an hour and a half looking at the rise of the horror genre. Except it was more rise of the science-fiction-horror genre since the 1950s, which was awesome because we started with all the excellent B movies of the 50s. In the words of Eddie Izzard "THE THING THAT CAME FROM SOMEWHERE" and other such excellently dramatic titles. And then afterwards, I asked her about the connection between sci-fi and horror and she, also being a huge sf buff, said she'd send me some scholarly sci-fi links so I can write about the genre for our final assessment. Ugh, I love uni. Why can't I make a living off of being an academic fangirl?
The best part, though, was how towards the end when she was running out of time, she had a slide that linked to a documentary and she told us to go watch that documentary for more in-depth info on the horror genre. That documentary was A History of Horror, as put together and narrated by an actor/writer I'm particularly fond of. Most excellent. So I spent the next hour watching part one and doing research for our first assessment, which is due mid-March.
5.30 saw me awkwardly introducing myself to a small part of the Skate and Longboard Society, which was really weird, but the guy who posted the info on the movie session said it was open to anyone who wanted to come. So we hung out for a little while and then watched The Rum Diary. You know, the one that just looked like it would be Johnny Depp playing Jack Sparrow in the modern day? Well, it was actually based on a book by Hunter S. Thompson and it was actually really good. So after that I declined going out for drinks with the cute but awkward boys and decided to hit up the local off-license as I went home. Things to love about England #475: two litre bottles of Strongbow cider. Mmm, yummy!
And now I will either continue watching A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss or finish the episode of Sherlock I was rewatching last night (also ironically co-starring Mr. Gatiss) whilst drinking my new favorite drink.
Took a wander around the neighborhood and surrounding streets and took pictures of how pretty everything was in the melting snow, then headed to class where we spent an hour and a half looking at the rise of the horror genre. Except it was more rise of the science-fiction-horror genre since the 1950s, which was awesome because we started with all the excellent B movies of the 50s. In the words of Eddie Izzard "THE THING THAT CAME FROM SOMEWHERE" and other such excellently dramatic titles. And then afterwards, I asked her about the connection between sci-fi and horror and she, also being a huge sf buff, said she'd send me some scholarly sci-fi links so I can write about the genre for our final assessment. Ugh, I love uni. Why can't I make a living off of being an academic fangirl?
The best part, though, was how towards the end when she was running out of time, she had a slide that linked to a documentary and she told us to go watch that documentary for more in-depth info on the horror genre. That documentary was A History of Horror, as put together and narrated by an actor/writer I'm particularly fond of. Most excellent. So I spent the next hour watching part one and doing research for our first assessment, which is due mid-March.
5.30 saw me awkwardly introducing myself to a small part of the Skate and Longboard Society, which was really weird, but the guy who posted the info on the movie session said it was open to anyone who wanted to come. So we hung out for a little while and then watched The Rum Diary. You know, the one that just looked like it would be Johnny Depp playing Jack Sparrow in the modern day? Well, it was actually based on a book by Hunter S. Thompson and it was actually really good. So after that I declined going out for drinks with the cute but awkward boys and decided to hit up the local off-license as I went home. Things to love about England #475: two litre bottles of Strongbow cider. Mmm, yummy!
And now I will either continue watching A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss or finish the episode of Sherlock I was rewatching last night (also ironically co-starring Mr. Gatiss) whilst drinking my new favorite drink.
I think I've found the problem
Well, it's not really a problem per se; I don't see it as such, but other people might.
I'm too much in my own head. I'm in England and I'm still living inside my head. Which is a stupid thing to say because of course I'm living in my own head, where else would I be but my own mind, but I mean I respond internally, even to external stimuli. I wish I had one of my friends with me to make stupid comments to or discuss certain things with, but that's what my brain is for. I dissect it and analyze it and create whole paragraphs about it (whatever topic it might happen to be) in my head.
Is that weird? Is that what other people do? I'm sitting in my room, listening to silence at the mo (I was listening to music just a little while ago; I've found I don't really like silence as it makes far too much room for my thoughts), and it's absolutely gorgeous outside (snow is pretty from inside your cozy warm room) and I just started going on about how pretty it all is in my head. I take in all this stuff (reading, art, the natural world, my classes) and mull it over and keep it all internally. I think that's part of the reason I like to blog--and also part of the reason I haven't found a story to write that is my story to tell.
Time will tell. I have class 2.00-4.00 today and then, after facebooking the Sci-Fi/Gaming/Anime society, there's a showing of The Rum Diaries by the Skate and Longboard Society at 5.30, which I may drop by. Other than that, my day is fairly lazy, hence my introspective thoughts.
I'm too much in my own head. I'm in England and I'm still living inside my head. Which is a stupid thing to say because of course I'm living in my own head, where else would I be but my own mind, but I mean I respond internally, even to external stimuli. I wish I had one of my friends with me to make stupid comments to or discuss certain things with, but that's what my brain is for. I dissect it and analyze it and create whole paragraphs about it (whatever topic it might happen to be) in my head.
Is that weird? Is that what other people do? I'm sitting in my room, listening to silence at the mo (I was listening to music just a little while ago; I've found I don't really like silence as it makes far too much room for my thoughts), and it's absolutely gorgeous outside (snow is pretty from inside your cozy warm room) and I just started going on about how pretty it all is in my head. I take in all this stuff (reading, art, the natural world, my classes) and mull it over and keep it all internally. I think that's part of the reason I like to blog--and also part of the reason I haven't found a story to write that is my story to tell.
Time will tell. I have class 2.00-4.00 today and then, after facebooking the Sci-Fi/Gaming/Anime society, there's a showing of The Rum Diaries by the Skate and Longboard Society at 5.30, which I may drop by. Other than that, my day is fairly lazy, hence my introspective thoughts.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Note to self: take the bus on Thursday mornings
Literally stood for 35 minutes while buses passed full of kids off to school. Guess I'm walking to my 9.00 am class on Thursdays now.
Yesterday:
+ Shakespeare was wonderful. King Lear is really not my favorite, but he's so passionate about it and it makes me miss my HRSC darlings.
+ I broke from the study abroad kids and went to Patisserie Valerie for lunch where I had a Belgian waffle heaped with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. So decadent. The little English ladies next to me looked askance, but I didn't care. I have a very good relationship with my taste buds and the pleasure center in my brain and I don't care who knows it.
+ Went back to school, found the quiet study section in the library with a friend, and read for Shakespeare until around 5...
+ ...when I went to the Irish pub O'Neill's to meet B. Had a Strongbow, fish and chips (!!! yes, you read that right! I had fish and chips--with vinegar!), and then a Bailey's latte.
Today:
+ I still love my On the Box class, but sometimes I strongly disagree with Ian's statements. He's the prof and therefore, when I write my papers, I'll have to at least sort of lean that way, but I think half of what he says is bullshit.
+ It's interesting to hear what British people have to say about an American commercial and how it reflects America (specifically, NYC. Ugh, don't even get me started on how he kept looking at me to talk about NYC. I am an upstater; I go to Montreal more than I go to the Big Apple). Not good interesting, not entirely bad interesting, just interesting.
+ Just bought my silver ticket to the Doctor Who Experience on Monday!! I get extras and a goody bag I think and I enter at 1.30 in the afternoon. I'm so excited!
I am currently deciding what I want to do for the rest of the day. What I should do is go to my Arabic class (which is boring); what I want to do is curl up and read all day. (Don't worry, it's mostly for class.)
Yesterday:
+ Shakespeare was wonderful. King Lear is really not my favorite, but he's so passionate about it and it makes me miss my HRSC darlings.
+ I broke from the study abroad kids and went to Patisserie Valerie for lunch where I had a Belgian waffle heaped with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce. So decadent. The little English ladies next to me looked askance, but I didn't care. I have a very good relationship with my taste buds and the pleasure center in my brain and I don't care who knows it.
+ Went back to school, found the quiet study section in the library with a friend, and read for Shakespeare until around 5...
+ ...when I went to the Irish pub O'Neill's to meet B. Had a Strongbow, fish and chips (!!! yes, you read that right! I had fish and chips--with vinegar!), and then a Bailey's latte.
Today:
+ I still love my On the Box class, but sometimes I strongly disagree with Ian's statements. He's the prof and therefore, when I write my papers, I'll have to at least sort of lean that way, but I think half of what he says is bullshit.
+ It's interesting to hear what British people have to say about an American commercial and how it reflects America (specifically, NYC. Ugh, don't even get me started on how he kept looking at me to talk about NYC. I am an upstater; I go to Montreal more than I go to the Big Apple). Not good interesting, not entirely bad interesting, just interesting.
+ Just bought my silver ticket to the Doctor Who Experience on Monday!! I get extras and a goody bag I think and I enter at 1.30 in the afternoon. I'm so excited!
I am currently deciding what I want to do for the rest of the day. What I should do is go to my Arabic class (which is boring); what I want to do is curl up and read all day. (Don't worry, it's mostly for class.)
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
What a feeling in my soul, love burns brighter than sunshine.
Do you ever get that feeling like you want to giggle and cry both, your heart is so light and happy? You want to sing love songs and skip down the walk and say hello to everyone you pass and it's like a musical in your head, even just for an hour?
I'm having one of those days. I needed to be persuaded to leave the house (I always need to be persuaded to actually do something), but once I did, I've had a good day. All I did was go get the groceries, get some stamps, have a coffee in a cafe and buy myself some more flowers, but it's been glorious. It's bright and sunshiney (which might just be England's way of warning us more bad weather is coming; according to Mr H, it's supposed to get really chilly the next couple of days.) and there's blue sky to be seen! For the record, listening to Brighter than Sunshine (such a gorgeous song) while walking in the bright British sunshine and buying yourself daffodils is really the best feeling in the world.
I feel big emotions all the time, so I guess that explains why small things make me happiest. The big things cause such a huge surge of feeling, but the little things keep me floating along in happiness throughout the day.
Little things that have made me happy today:
+ There is a new cafe in Berrylands, seated right next to that bookstore. I had a mocha and a brownie (both to die for) and watched people come in and out of the pub across the way. I'm here for London, but I could definitely be happy here in Berrylands.
+ Mountain Dew from Sainsbury's! I finally got my fix and it's so good.
+ Daffodils. Buying oneself flowers really is the best feeling.
+ There is a pub in Surbiton called The Victoria. Guess who is totally hitting that up sometime in a fit of egotism?
+ Tickets are doable to go see an actor I like in The Ladykillers. All I have to do is decide when I want to go and buy it!
+ I bought bacon last week and eggs this week and since my Arabic class isn't until 6.30, I am totally making myself breakfast-for-dinner tonight.
I'm having one of those days. I needed to be persuaded to leave the house (I always need to be persuaded to actually do something), but once I did, I've had a good day. All I did was go get the groceries, get some stamps, have a coffee in a cafe and buy myself some more flowers, but it's been glorious. It's bright and sunshiney (which might just be England's way of warning us more bad weather is coming; according to Mr H, it's supposed to get really chilly the next couple of days.) and there's blue sky to be seen! For the record, listening to Brighter than Sunshine (such a gorgeous song) while walking in the bright British sunshine and buying yourself daffodils is really the best feeling in the world.
I feel big emotions all the time, so I guess that explains why small things make me happiest. The big things cause such a huge surge of feeling, but the little things keep me floating along in happiness throughout the day.
Little things that have made me happy today:
+ There is a new cafe in Berrylands, seated right next to that bookstore. I had a mocha and a brownie (both to die for) and watched people come in and out of the pub across the way. I'm here for London, but I could definitely be happy here in Berrylands.
+ Mountain Dew from Sainsbury's! I finally got my fix and it's so good.
+ Daffodils. Buying oneself flowers really is the best feeling.
+ There is a pub in Surbiton called The Victoria. Guess who is totally hitting that up sometime in a fit of egotism?
+ Tickets are doable to go see an actor I like in The Ladykillers. All I have to do is decide when I want to go and buy it!
+ I bought bacon last week and eggs this week and since my Arabic class isn't until 6.30, I am totally making myself breakfast-for-dinner tonight.
Monday, February 6, 2012
The British Museum had lost its charm.
That subject line? Is a lie. The British Museum is fantastic.
Left the house by 11.15, caught the 11.34 train to Waterloo, took a bus that dropped me close to the British Museum and was in by 12.30 or so. Oh, it was even lovelier than I remembered! Time for bullet points.
+ There is an exhibition entitled Hajj: Journey to the Center of Islam or something to that effect and I almost went in, but it was a bit pricey. I'll look into if they have student discounts, because it sounded fascinating and right up my alley.
- The other side of that, however, is that the temporary exhibits (of which Hajj is one) have taken over the Reading Room. I couldn't find a way in to just see it again. Sigh. Hopefully it'll be open when they leave.
+ Took a stroll through, let's see: Ur/Assyria/Babylonia/Early Mesopotamia, Early Turkey, Nubia (in its relations with Egypt and Christianity), almost the entirety of the Egypt section where I spent most of my time (and no one is surprised), then one long room entitled Enlightenment, which was all 19th century exploration (cough, colonization) and the spoils of conquering.
+ Enlightenment was an amazing room, but it made me feel a lot of emotions. On the one hand, I would love to own a private collection like that; it was the stereotypical mid-1800s study--scientific odds and ends, china from...China of all places, Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, flint knives, shiny gold from India...everything you could think of. And oh, the books! I don't think the books in the cases along the edge of the wall were supposed to catch your eye so much as just be part of the scene, but I spent a good long while staring at the old, faded spines with the gold lettering that had cracked and flaked but was still legible and French.
But on the other hand, I was reminded constantly that my passions (old Egypt, archaeology, anthropology, the study of other cultures in the specific way we do it now) arose out of colonialism and the belief that the European White Man (TM) was the pinnacle of evolution. I still cringe when I think of the early anthropologists categorizing people into one of three boxes: savage, barbaric, and civilized.
So this huge room, the huge building, boasting of its successes in India and the Mid East and various and sundry wars in which they stole from the rest of the world (which, granted, had stolen a great number of the artifacts from other people) made me drool with its beauty but also made me uncomfortable.
+ I found the Centre for Anthropology, which, having a look through the doors, seems to be the archives. It didn't actually shake down this way, but just picture the comedic scene of me, pressed flat against the glass doors, mouth open and drooling at the old books and archives that were so close, but so very far away. Siiiiigh.
+ Near the Centre for Anthropology was a smallish gallery of Islamic Art. And I have to say, between that room and the giant Egyptian artifacts (I had to sit down and stare at a giant head of Ramses II, it was breathtaking) and some of the beautiful old texts, I literally had to bite my lip to keep the sighs and pathetic little sounds of the academic from actually being heard. It was gorgeous. I was in heaven...until my heeled Oxfords made my feet hurt after hours of standing in them. And so I had to leave.
+ But not before taking another stroll down the large room of giant Egyptian stone statues and proving myself to be a true museum girl. There was a giant red stone arm that had broken off of some statue or another (I put a bid in for Ramses II. When in doubt, it was Ramses II.) and at one end it said "please no touching" and the other had the sign explaining where it came from. This guy didn't see the no touching sign and so ran his hand up and down the red stone (red marble?) and, like, squeezed the bicep. I walked away and, legit, mumbled, "yes, that's brilliant, go ahead and caress the ancient artifacts" with a bite on the end of the last two words.
I don't think anyone heard me, but I am becoming That Person. Maybe it comes from working in a museum, maybe it comes from knowing that things that are thousands of years old shouldn't be touched by the masses (see: Stonehenge), who knows.
+ I'll be going back (and most likely visiting the gift shop again) so I don't feel too silly saying that, for 3 pounds 99, I bought a sparkly gold and purple masquerade mask. Why the British Museum was selling masquerade masks, I'll never know, but I took advantage of it. Hee!
And that was the end of my tour. Not much too exciting to say after that other than a creepy guy hit on me on the bus all the way back to Waterloo (I ignored him, but I was so close to just turning and saying STFU) and I got more Krispy Kreme right before hurrying to catch my train back just on time.
I would've liked to had a pub dinner, but didn't make plans soon enough and so had leftover spicy chicken. All in all, a good day.
Left the house by 11.15, caught the 11.34 train to Waterloo, took a bus that dropped me close to the British Museum and was in by 12.30 or so. Oh, it was even lovelier than I remembered! Time for bullet points.
+ There is an exhibition entitled Hajj: Journey to the Center of Islam or something to that effect and I almost went in, but it was a bit pricey. I'll look into if they have student discounts, because it sounded fascinating and right up my alley.
- The other side of that, however, is that the temporary exhibits (of which Hajj is one) have taken over the Reading Room. I couldn't find a way in to just see it again. Sigh. Hopefully it'll be open when they leave.
+ Took a stroll through, let's see: Ur/Assyria/Babylonia/Early Mesopotamia, Early Turkey, Nubia (in its relations with Egypt and Christianity), almost the entirety of the Egypt section where I spent most of my time (and no one is surprised), then one long room entitled Enlightenment, which was all 19th century exploration (cough, colonization) and the spoils of conquering.
+ Enlightenment was an amazing room, but it made me feel a lot of emotions. On the one hand, I would love to own a private collection like that; it was the stereotypical mid-1800s study--scientific odds and ends, china from...China of all places, Egyptian hieroglyphic texts, flint knives, shiny gold from India...everything you could think of. And oh, the books! I don't think the books in the cases along the edge of the wall were supposed to catch your eye so much as just be part of the scene, but I spent a good long while staring at the old, faded spines with the gold lettering that had cracked and flaked but was still legible and French.
But on the other hand, I was reminded constantly that my passions (old Egypt, archaeology, anthropology, the study of other cultures in the specific way we do it now) arose out of colonialism and the belief that the European White Man (TM) was the pinnacle of evolution. I still cringe when I think of the early anthropologists categorizing people into one of three boxes: savage, barbaric, and civilized.
So this huge room, the huge building, boasting of its successes in India and the Mid East and various and sundry wars in which they stole from the rest of the world (which, granted, had stolen a great number of the artifacts from other people) made me drool with its beauty but also made me uncomfortable.
+ I found the Centre for Anthropology, which, having a look through the doors, seems to be the archives. It didn't actually shake down this way, but just picture the comedic scene of me, pressed flat against the glass doors, mouth open and drooling at the old books and archives that were so close, but so very far away. Siiiiigh.
+ Near the Centre for Anthropology was a smallish gallery of Islamic Art. And I have to say, between that room and the giant Egyptian artifacts (I had to sit down and stare at a giant head of Ramses II, it was breathtaking) and some of the beautiful old texts, I literally had to bite my lip to keep the sighs and pathetic little sounds of the academic from actually being heard. It was gorgeous. I was in heaven...until my heeled Oxfords made my feet hurt after hours of standing in them. And so I had to leave.
+ But not before taking another stroll down the large room of giant Egyptian stone statues and proving myself to be a true museum girl. There was a giant red stone arm that had broken off of some statue or another (I put a bid in for Ramses II. When in doubt, it was Ramses II.) and at one end it said "please no touching" and the other had the sign explaining where it came from. This guy didn't see the no touching sign and so ran his hand up and down the red stone (red marble?) and, like, squeezed the bicep. I walked away and, legit, mumbled, "yes, that's brilliant, go ahead and caress the ancient artifacts" with a bite on the end of the last two words.
I don't think anyone heard me, but I am becoming That Person. Maybe it comes from working in a museum, maybe it comes from knowing that things that are thousands of years old shouldn't be touched by the masses (see: Stonehenge), who knows.
+ I'll be going back (and most likely visiting the gift shop again) so I don't feel too silly saying that, for 3 pounds 99, I bought a sparkly gold and purple masquerade mask. Why the British Museum was selling masquerade masks, I'll never know, but I took advantage of it. Hee!
And that was the end of my tour. Not much too exciting to say after that other than a creepy guy hit on me on the bus all the way back to Waterloo (I ignored him, but I was so close to just turning and saying STFU) and I got more Krispy Kreme right before hurrying to catch my train back just on time.
I would've liked to had a pub dinner, but didn't make plans soon enough and so had leftover spicy chicken. All in all, a good day.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Now I understand why all the Brits complain about the weather.
It's like being back home or at school! Except you lot are warm and sunshiney, whereas we've got cold and snow here. As I put on Facebook last night: I miss you too, Geneseo, but take your bloody weather back. I came here to get away from that weather! And I didn't bring my warm coat.
Apart from the complaining, yesterday was a really, really good day. The Harry Potter walking tour of Central London! Which ended up being the Harry Potter public transport tour of Central London, because our tour guide (really nice lady, good geek, good speaker, loves her HP) took pity on us (and herself) and we took many a bus and then the tube.
We started at Waterloo Station, where I made a friend! I want you all to know that I walked up to a group of people I didn't know and just started talking. This is not something I do. My friend making skills have always been facilitated by other people or the situation. This was all my doing. And I apparently have good taste because Bella is just the sort of friend I was looking for. A good geek as well, with good taste in tv shows. We bonded throughout the 3-hour tour (in which we took a look at some of the inspirations for the writing and filming of, took a stroll towards Diagon Alley, and ended at Platform 9 3/4 in King's Cross station) and then found our way on the tube back to Waterloo and to a pub.
The Slug and Lettuce never sounded appetizing to me, but it is actually delicious. I had a burger and chips, with a Strongbow cider (easily the best cider I've had all trip. I now have a new drink to order) and then the most delicious thing I've ever tasted: hot chocolate with creme de menthe. Oh my gosh, only expletives can explain how yummy it was. And after that, apparently it was 2-4-1 cocktail night, so Bella ordered a Sex on the Beach to share and we ended up with our own. We ended up staying there for hours, just talking and watching it flurry. After which, we went back to Waterloo and bought, get this, Krispy Kreme doughnuts! Yes, there is a Krispy Kreme in Waterloo Station. And it is delicious. We each got two (the same kinds, haha) and I saved the second for breakfast this morning. Mmmm.
Our trains were both delayed, so I didn't get home until 11.30 or so. Except for the last 10 minutes or so (in which I was grumping to myself as I walked home through the snow in my Converse), I was a very happy bunny.
I slept in and today there is supposed to be this Photo Frenzy thing, but yesterday did nothing for my cough and I am not spending 6 hours wandering around London in the snow just to take pictures of sights I've already taken pictures of in nice weather. I will, however, go in on Monday. Maybe go to the British Museum and the Sherlock Holmes pub. Maybe see if Bella wants to do something. Either way, I'll be back to London. Just not outside for 6 hours straight in the snow.
Guess I'll venture downstairs (into the cold!) to make more tea and read King Lear now. And watch the Ian McKellen version. Drat, what wretched homework I have.
Photos of the day!
Apart from the complaining, yesterday was a really, really good day. The Harry Potter walking tour of Central London! Which ended up being the Harry Potter public transport tour of Central London, because our tour guide (really nice lady, good geek, good speaker, loves her HP) took pity on us (and herself) and we took many a bus and then the tube.
We started at Waterloo Station, where I made a friend! I want you all to know that I walked up to a group of people I didn't know and just started talking. This is not something I do. My friend making skills have always been facilitated by other people or the situation. This was all my doing. And I apparently have good taste because Bella is just the sort of friend I was looking for. A good geek as well, with good taste in tv shows. We bonded throughout the 3-hour tour (in which we took a look at some of the inspirations for the writing and filming of, took a stroll towards Diagon Alley, and ended at Platform 9 3/4 in King's Cross station) and then found our way on the tube back to Waterloo and to a pub.
The Slug and Lettuce never sounded appetizing to me, but it is actually delicious. I had a burger and chips, with a Strongbow cider (easily the best cider I've had all trip. I now have a new drink to order) and then the most delicious thing I've ever tasted: hot chocolate with creme de menthe. Oh my gosh, only expletives can explain how yummy it was. And after that, apparently it was 2-4-1 cocktail night, so Bella ordered a Sex on the Beach to share and we ended up with our own. We ended up staying there for hours, just talking and watching it flurry. After which, we went back to Waterloo and bought, get this, Krispy Kreme doughnuts! Yes, there is a Krispy Kreme in Waterloo Station. And it is delicious. We each got two (the same kinds, haha) and I saved the second for breakfast this morning. Mmmm.
Our trains were both delayed, so I didn't get home until 11.30 or so. Except for the last 10 minutes or so (in which I was grumping to myself as I walked home through the snow in my Converse), I was a very happy bunny.
I slept in and today there is supposed to be this Photo Frenzy thing, but yesterday did nothing for my cough and I am not spending 6 hours wandering around London in the snow just to take pictures of sights I've already taken pictures of in nice weather. I will, however, go in on Monday. Maybe go to the British Museum and the Sherlock Holmes pub. Maybe see if Bella wants to do something. Either way, I'll be back to London. Just not outside for 6 hours straight in the snow.
Guess I'll venture downstairs (into the cold!) to make more tea and read King Lear now. And watch the Ian McKellen version. Drat, what wretched homework I have.
Photos of the day!
Friday, February 3, 2012
I am such a lightweight.
It's not even 10.00 and I'm already at home with a glass of water and a powerful need to sleep. I declined going clubbing again and no one seemed remotely surprised.
Genre Studies is going to be a very good class. There were mentions of ST and Firefly being Space Westerns and Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie series) and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen being Steampunky. I'm really excited for the assessments, but I seem to be the only one in the class who's, like, properly excited about it. I'm reminded of the quote by John Green, "…because nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff… Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it. Hank, when people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is ‘you like stuff.’ Which is just not a good insult at all. Like, ‘you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness’." Yeah, I'm a nerd and proud of it. I'm enthusiastic about everything. I genuinely love a lot of really interesting topics and I love showing that.
After class, I waited around for an hour for Bri, she and I went to another pub called The Ram, which has the exact same menu as The Druid's Head, but is far slower and sloppier. I ordered (get this) a half pint of Old Speckled Hen...and hated it. Ugh! So icky. But I can drink the cider (Aspall's is my favorite, though I tried this really sweet pear cider later) like water. I'm proud of myself for that.
Then Bri and I met up with a bunch of study abroad kids at The King's Tun, the local Wetherspoon's. (Where I had the pear cider.) Stayed there for two hours, in which I was bored out of my mind. Boredboredbored. I know it's an exciting life, drinking since you were 14 and clubbing and grinding with new guys every night, but I find the conversation with people who do that tends to bore me. (The exceptions being the Writer's House kids from freshman year. Hipsters who love their alcohol and drugs almost as much as their obscure literature. They'll make good characters for a story someday.) I mean, okay, obviously the conversation was not going to turn to Doctor Who, but between getting sleepy (I get really tired when I have alcohol in me. Go figure.) and the cool people from Turkey leaving early, I was starved for stimulating conversation.
There was an interesting convo going on nearby, though, as Bri talked to a study abroad guy from Syria. He is fascinating. And the most interesting part of the convo dealt with compliments and insults. One of the girls had two different driver's licenses with her and in one picture, she was nervous and 16, and in the other, she was definitely far dressier and confident. The Syrian guy made a comment about how one was a better/prettier picture than the other and she and Bri went into an explanation that, in the States, you don't say that. At least, not to someone you don't really know. You present it in a way that saves face. Whereas, in his culture, if you're asking someone for an opinion, you're going to get an opinion, whether or not it's a flattering one. Very interesting.
Genre Studies is going to be a very good class. There were mentions of ST and Firefly being Space Westerns and Sherlock Holmes (Guy Ritchie series) and League of Extraordinary Gentlemen being Steampunky. I'm really excited for the assessments, but I seem to be the only one in the class who's, like, properly excited about it. I'm reminded of the quote by John Green, "…because nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff… Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself love it. Hank, when people call people nerds, mostly what they’re saying is ‘you like stuff.’ Which is just not a good insult at all. Like, ‘you are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness’." Yeah, I'm a nerd and proud of it. I'm enthusiastic about everything. I genuinely love a lot of really interesting topics and I love showing that.
After class, I waited around for an hour for Bri, she and I went to another pub called The Ram, which has the exact same menu as The Druid's Head, but is far slower and sloppier. I ordered (get this) a half pint of Old Speckled Hen...and hated it. Ugh! So icky. But I can drink the cider (Aspall's is my favorite, though I tried this really sweet pear cider later) like water. I'm proud of myself for that.
Then Bri and I met up with a bunch of study abroad kids at The King's Tun, the local Wetherspoon's. (Where I had the pear cider.) Stayed there for two hours, in which I was bored out of my mind. Boredboredbored. I know it's an exciting life, drinking since you were 14 and clubbing and grinding with new guys every night, but I find the conversation with people who do that tends to bore me. (The exceptions being the Writer's House kids from freshman year. Hipsters who love their alcohol and drugs almost as much as their obscure literature. They'll make good characters for a story someday.) I mean, okay, obviously the conversation was not going to turn to Doctor Who, but between getting sleepy (I get really tired when I have alcohol in me. Go figure.) and the cool people from Turkey leaving early, I was starved for stimulating conversation.
There was an interesting convo going on nearby, though, as Bri talked to a study abroad guy from Syria. He is fascinating. And the most interesting part of the convo dealt with compliments and insults. One of the girls had two different driver's licenses with her and in one picture, she was nervous and 16, and in the other, she was definitely far dressier and confident. The Syrian guy made a comment about how one was a better/prettier picture than the other and she and Bri went into an explanation that, in the States, you don't say that. At least, not to someone you don't really know. You present it in a way that saves face. Whereas, in his culture, if you're asking someone for an opinion, you're going to get an opinion, whether or not it's a flattering one. Very interesting.
Quick round-up:
+ Arabic is good, but I'm advanced for the class. They're working on nationalities and will be starting the tenses soon, all of which I did, well, this time last year. However, it's the highest level they're offering this semester, so I think I'm going to stay in it, just to keep up on the language. I do need help with the speaking aspect, as evidenced by last night, so that'll be good.
+ Went back to The Druid's Head with Bri and a couple other girls after class. Had cider, a burger (ughhh, I'd been craving burgers), and split a pudding tray which included a divine brownie with caramel sauce and a deep chocolate cake something or other. SO good.
+ (Hopefully) signed up for Understanding Britian, a mini British Life and Culture, with no assessment at the end and a shortened schedule. It sounds fun.
+ I don't have Genre Studies until 2.00, so I've just been lazing about this morning. Will be going to dinner again after class today, too.
I just realized I hadn't taken any pictures of my room for you all! And so, without further ado, here is my little attic. (You'll notice I haven't taken any of the rest of the house or the family. Maybe a little later, when I'm entirely comfortable, but at the moment, it seems creepy. An invasion of privacy they didn't sign up for.)
+ Arabic is good, but I'm advanced for the class. They're working on nationalities and will be starting the tenses soon, all of which I did, well, this time last year. However, it's the highest level they're offering this semester, so I think I'm going to stay in it, just to keep up on the language. I do need help with the speaking aspect, as evidenced by last night, so that'll be good.
+ Went back to The Druid's Head with Bri and a couple other girls after class. Had cider, a burger (ughhh, I'd been craving burgers), and split a pudding tray which included a divine brownie with caramel sauce and a deep chocolate cake something or other. SO good.
+ (Hopefully) signed up for Understanding Britian, a mini British Life and Culture, with no assessment at the end and a shortened schedule. It sounds fun.
+ I don't have Genre Studies until 2.00, so I've just been lazing about this morning. Will be going to dinner again after class today, too.
I just realized I hadn't taken any pictures of my room for you all! And so, without further ado, here is my little attic. (You'll notice I haven't taken any of the rest of the house or the family. Maybe a little later, when I'm entirely comfortable, but at the moment, it seems creepy. An invasion of privacy they didn't sign up for.)
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Not a clever title in sight, I'm afraid
Today's been very good, indeed. And it's only three as I write this! I still have Arabic later.
Woke up early, made myself some tea and toast, got out to the bus stop around 8.20 (takes 25 minutes usually, class was at 9), but didn't get on the (very, very crowded) bus till 8.35. I was worried, but I made it t0 class on time (earlier than the professor, actually) and managed to make a friend because of my accent and obvious New Girl status. She's a first year TV & Film student who's in my lecture for On the Box and my seminar right after.
I should probably explain. Rather than 90 minutes of the professor talking at you and you taking notes and spitting it back at the prof in exams every couple of weeks, they have 1-2 hour lectures (where the prof, well, lectures) and then an hour-long seminar afterward, in which you split into smaller groups. As far as I can gather, it's a study group, a way of discussing the material so you understand it. Which is helpful because they rely on you to do the learning, rather than the professors to knock it into your brain.
So, On the Box: Analysing TV Texts. I'm so, so excited for this class. My lecturer (for both lecture and seminar) is Ian Smith, who spent most of our seminar recounting anecdotes about working with Harold Pinter (!!!) and doing New York accents, while also giving serious notes about subliminal messaging in television. He's absolutely wonderful. If I attempted to describe him, I'd say he was a (marginally) younger, British, more prone to swearing Wes Kennison (my Humn prof whom I adore). Absolutely fantastic. I'm going to love this class. Not least because we started off today watching Derren Brown and watching how his mental manipulation techniques are used in television every day.* (OH. MY. GOD. I was having trouble not squeeing to myself through the whole three hours.)
So I met that one girl, another girl (who was wearing a Bazinga! hoodie, which gave me the perfect convo opener. She ended up bringing me to the library), and this one guy who's apparently been everywhere and knows more about anthropology and anthro schools in the US than I do. (Omaha, Nebraska apparently has a really good program, focusing on NA studies. Who knew.) Went to the library to look at my key card (which hasn't been opening doors...which is a problem. Emailed the lady and now it's all fixed. We'll see when I go to class later.), then wandered to a cafe down the street. Had a mocha and a chicken tikka panini. Caught the bus back and got off a couple stops before mine, on a whim.
Wandering around Berrylands this weekend, I found a cute second-hand bookshop that is only open Tues-Fri, at random hours. I need my own copies for Shakespeare (and it's expensive for mum to ship me my Big Book O' Shakespeare that I got for Walker's Billy Shakes class freshman year) and I told mum I'd go in, so I did. And oh, goodness, was it magical.
Things I bought for less than 20 quid (technically, it added up to 20 exactly, but the sweet old man I had a long conversation with knocked it down to 18):
+ My three plays for Shakespeare
+ Oscar Wilde's London, for continuing my obsession with Victorian London
+ Underground London: Travels Beneath the City Streets
+ And just a little something for Uncle E (shh, don't tell, but it's to do with transport, his favorite.)
There was a gorgeously full London section that I will go back to. And old fiction. And poetry. And an eclectic mix of loads of fascinating old books.
Now I am home, having tea (learning to take it with milk) and cookies (actually called cookies on the package) and I still have an hour and a half until I need to get on the bus to go back. I will need to get more money out, as the past week and a half has been more expensive than I had planned. But all in all, a good day indeed.
* If you would like another post just on that topic, I'd be happy to oblige. It was absolutely fascinating.
Woke up early, made myself some tea and toast, got out to the bus stop around 8.20 (takes 25 minutes usually, class was at 9), but didn't get on the (very, very crowded) bus till 8.35. I was worried, but I made it t0 class on time (earlier than the professor, actually) and managed to make a friend because of my accent and obvious New Girl status. She's a first year TV & Film student who's in my lecture for On the Box and my seminar right after.
I should probably explain. Rather than 90 minutes of the professor talking at you and you taking notes and spitting it back at the prof in exams every couple of weeks, they have 1-2 hour lectures (where the prof, well, lectures) and then an hour-long seminar afterward, in which you split into smaller groups. As far as I can gather, it's a study group, a way of discussing the material so you understand it. Which is helpful because they rely on you to do the learning, rather than the professors to knock it into your brain.
So, On the Box: Analysing TV Texts. I'm so, so excited for this class. My lecturer (for both lecture and seminar) is Ian Smith, who spent most of our seminar recounting anecdotes about working with Harold Pinter (!!!) and doing New York accents, while also giving serious notes about subliminal messaging in television. He's absolutely wonderful. If I attempted to describe him, I'd say he was a (marginally) younger, British, more prone to swearing Wes Kennison (my Humn prof whom I adore). Absolutely fantastic. I'm going to love this class. Not least because we started off today watching Derren Brown and watching how his mental manipulation techniques are used in television every day.* (OH. MY. GOD. I was having trouble not squeeing to myself through the whole three hours.)
So I met that one girl, another girl (who was wearing a Bazinga! hoodie, which gave me the perfect convo opener. She ended up bringing me to the library), and this one guy who's apparently been everywhere and knows more about anthropology and anthro schools in the US than I do. (Omaha, Nebraska apparently has a really good program, focusing on NA studies. Who knew.) Went to the library to look at my key card (which hasn't been opening doors...which is a problem. Emailed the lady and now it's all fixed. We'll see when I go to class later.), then wandered to a cafe down the street. Had a mocha and a chicken tikka panini. Caught the bus back and got off a couple stops before mine, on a whim.
Wandering around Berrylands this weekend, I found a cute second-hand bookshop that is only open Tues-Fri, at random hours. I need my own copies for Shakespeare (and it's expensive for mum to ship me my Big Book O' Shakespeare that I got for Walker's Billy Shakes class freshman year) and I told mum I'd go in, so I did. And oh, goodness, was it magical.
Things I bought for less than 20 quid (technically, it added up to 20 exactly, but the sweet old man I had a long conversation with knocked it down to 18):
+ My three plays for Shakespeare
+ Oscar Wilde's London, for continuing my obsession with Victorian London
+ Underground London: Travels Beneath the City Streets
+ And just a little something for Uncle E (shh, don't tell, but it's to do with transport, his favorite.)
There was a gorgeously full London section that I will go back to. And old fiction. And poetry. And an eclectic mix of loads of fascinating old books.
Now I am home, having tea (learning to take it with milk) and cookies (actually called cookies on the package) and I still have an hour and a half until I need to get on the bus to go back. I will need to get more money out, as the past week and a half has been more expensive than I had planned. But all in all, a good day indeed.
* If you would like another post just on that topic, I'd be happy to oblige. It was absolutely fascinating.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
I think I failed the One New Thing Per Day challenge yesterday
Though I did do one extraordinary thing: I went without internet for 24 hours.
Of course, that wasn't exactly my fault. The wifi at the house was cut off because they got an upgrade today. So I spent the afternoon reading my book and writing (actually writing!); I think the only new thing I did yesterday was watch an excellent kid's show called Horrible Histories, which was hysterical.
Unfortunately, I didn't check my email and so I didn't realize my Arabic class actually started yesterday, so I missed the first class of that. Don't worry, I emailed one of the tutors very politely, so hopefully I won't be docked too many points.
Today, however, I made it on time (early, even) to what I thought was my first class. Shakespeare: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow...and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. Ahaha, I slap my knees at my hilarity. Anyway, I enjoyed it immensely and we're reading three plays I've not actually read--King Lear, The Winter's Tale, and Richard III--and looking at the cultural context in which they were written and how the ideas contained within change with the time. So, my kind of class, essentially.
After class, which I have with four other study abroad kids, I went to lunch with the study abroad kids and they invited me to go clubbing. I can't go tonight (Skype dates with Danes are important) but...I don't really want to go, period. I will probably go with Bri (we're making plans to wander around London together anyhow) because I feel most comfortable with her, but I feel like a little old lady. I don't like going out and being a woo girl; I love wandering around with music in my ears and the city flying by. When did I become such a loner?
Anyway, I went to Sainsbury's for the first time after that. I may miss Weggie's trips with my girls, but I love Sainsbury's. And I did what I've always wanted to do: bought myself flowers. Silly, I know, but I've always loved the idea of buying myself a bunch of flowers for a day, a week, whatever length of time they last. So right now, I have tulips in a vase on my desk and the rest in another vase on the side table and it makes me so very, very happy.
Today's my grandfather's funeral. Hugs and love and prayers for my family, especially my dad. I'll be checking in with them next.
Of course, that wasn't exactly my fault. The wifi at the house was cut off because they got an upgrade today. So I spent the afternoon reading my book and writing (actually writing!); I think the only new thing I did yesterday was watch an excellent kid's show called Horrible Histories, which was hysterical.
Unfortunately, I didn't check my email and so I didn't realize my Arabic class actually started yesterday, so I missed the first class of that. Don't worry, I emailed one of the tutors very politely, so hopefully I won't be docked too many points.
Today, however, I made it on time (early, even) to what I thought was my first class. Shakespeare: Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow...and tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. Ahaha, I slap my knees at my hilarity. Anyway, I enjoyed it immensely and we're reading three plays I've not actually read--King Lear, The Winter's Tale, and Richard III--and looking at the cultural context in which they were written and how the ideas contained within change with the time. So, my kind of class, essentially.
After class, which I have with four other study abroad kids, I went to lunch with the study abroad kids and they invited me to go clubbing. I can't go tonight (Skype dates with Danes are important) but...I don't really want to go, period. I will probably go with Bri (we're making plans to wander around London together anyhow) because I feel most comfortable with her, but I feel like a little old lady. I don't like going out and being a woo girl; I love wandering around with music in my ears and the city flying by. When did I become such a loner?
Anyway, I went to Sainsbury's for the first time after that. I may miss Weggie's trips with my girls, but I love Sainsbury's. And I did what I've always wanted to do: bought myself flowers. Silly, I know, but I've always loved the idea of buying myself a bunch of flowers for a day, a week, whatever length of time they last. So right now, I have tulips in a vase on my desk and the rest in another vase on the side table and it makes me so very, very happy.
Today's my grandfather's funeral. Hugs and love and prayers for my family, especially my dad. I'll be checking in with them next.
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