Or International Playgirl, as Gala Darling puts it. A jet-setting fashionista.
Yes, I'm off again for the weekend, this time to one of the greatest places on earth, my personal dream, Istanbul.
I am so, so, so excited. It hasn't quite sunk in that I'm getting up at 4.00 (it's already 10 here and I haven't showered yet, ugh, I'm going to get zero sleep) to head to Heathrow to get on a plane to fly to, well, Bucharest first and then Istanbul. It's been a dream of mine since age 14 and I can't quite believe that I am doing it.
Have I mentioned I love my life?
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Prick your finger on the spinning wheel but don't make a sound*
SO. Yes. Hello, sorry, apparently my blogging suffers either way: whether I've got nothing to say or loads to catch you up on.
For those who don't know, the parents flew in Wednesday night. I saw them Thursday after class, when we had a nice lunch and I showed them around before yet another class. Yesterday saw us having a nice leisurely breakfast, then splitting our own ways: them to Hampton Court (which they loved) and me to homework and buying tickets for trips and class. Apres class, we met up for an even more leisurely dinner (so delicious!) before heading over to The Rose, the Kingston theatre, for an all-male performance of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. (My Shakespeare class starts talking about this very play this coming Wednesday, which is swell.) After an excellent performance, there was an opportunity to hang out with some of the cast and crew as they answered any questions we might have. I didn't have any, but being an avid lover of the theatre and a sometimes-actress myself, I enjoyed listening to them thoroughly.
Today, we are heading up to Cardiff. Why, you ask? Why not stay and hang out in Central or go somewhere special, what's in Cardiff? And I will answer: the time rift. (Doctor Who joke, sorry.) But more than that, the Doctor Who Convention, which we have tickets for tomorrow! Tomorrow is the convention (listening to the cast and crew talk, shopping, generally being a fangirl, etc.) and Monday evening we are signed up for a set tour of the TARDIS itself. Excuse me for a moment while I kasjh;dkfhg;kj.aads incoherently.
Needless to say, I am incredibly excited. I'm so excited that I'm even overlooking that I have an essay to finish editing and classes to register for when I get back and have lots of travel planned that I haven't really planned for.
See you on the flip side. Ciao!
*You'll Be Mine by The Pierces. This has been going round and round in my head for days on end.
For those who don't know, the parents flew in Wednesday night. I saw them Thursday after class, when we had a nice lunch and I showed them around before yet another class. Yesterday saw us having a nice leisurely breakfast, then splitting our own ways: them to Hampton Court (which they loved) and me to homework and buying tickets for trips and class. Apres class, we met up for an even more leisurely dinner (so delicious!) before heading over to The Rose, the Kingston theatre, for an all-male performance of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale. (My Shakespeare class starts talking about this very play this coming Wednesday, which is swell.) After an excellent performance, there was an opportunity to hang out with some of the cast and crew as they answered any questions we might have. I didn't have any, but being an avid lover of the theatre and a sometimes-actress myself, I enjoyed listening to them thoroughly.
Today, we are heading up to Cardiff. Why, you ask? Why not stay and hang out in Central or go somewhere special, what's in Cardiff? And I will answer: the time rift. (Doctor Who joke, sorry.) But more than that, the Doctor Who Convention, which we have tickets for tomorrow! Tomorrow is the convention (listening to the cast and crew talk, shopping, generally being a fangirl, etc.) and Monday evening we are signed up for a set tour of the TARDIS itself. Excuse me for a moment while I kasjh;dkfhg;kj.aads incoherently.
Needless to say, I am incredibly excited. I'm so excited that I'm even overlooking that I have an essay to finish editing and classes to register for when I get back and have lots of travel planned that I haven't really planned for.
See you on the flip side. Ciao!
*You'll Be Mine by The Pierces. This has been going round and round in my head for days on end.
Monday, March 19, 2012
The City is Like a Lover, fragment 2, draft 1
Filed under: things I write whilst sitting in Trafalgar Square on a beautifully sunshiney day.
----
The city doesn’t speak to her. Theirs is a silent, speechless relationship. Instead, it opens itself for her, lets her prowl alleyways and turn down streets she never knew existed. She still has so much more to see.
There’s a countdown in her head; all this will end. She hears it when she returns to her favourite areas, walks the same streets again and again, but she just can’t bear to reach outside the five-pointed star she keeps tracing. Besides, the places she returns to are never the same twice. Oh, the buildings are the same, age-old architecture and established shops and tourist traps that have worked for decades upon decades. But the people are always different, always new. She can sit in one place for hours day after day and never see the same tableau.
They don’t talk, don’t carry on conversations, never hold congress. But sometimes she lets the people speak for the city; or, rather, the city lets the people speak for it. Every tongue, accent, dialect is here, but that’s not what matters to her. Every once in a while, the noise of the city takes her over. As a general rule, she hates cities for the constant sound. Cities are never silent. But sometimes—and she’s starting to crave it, letting it happen more and more often—her brain turns off, lets the sound sweep over her.
Perhaps this is how the audience listens to music or watches television, but never her. Even in class—especially in class—she has at least three stories unwinding in her mind. Conversations, even with friends or loved ones, are never the only thought-path she travels down. So the very fact that she shuts her brain off, lets it go blissfully blank, is unbelievable. Meditation has never had the same effect, and she’s been trying with frustratingly little success for years.
She’s not a city girl, no matter what this piece may convince the audience of. Six hours and she’s ready to go home, to the stale quiet of the suburban neighborhood, to her rapid fire personal monologue, to her friends that live halfway across the world and can only be reached via the internet.
But then she remembers having no thought but keep walking, weaving between people, watching the play between the people and the city—and she is incredibly, inconceivably, inconsolably in love.
(She’s also known for her dramatics. But the fondness is there, no matter what terms it’s couched in.)
She and her boyfriend have a running joke about how she’s cheating on her best friend (sister from another family, platonic soulmate, everything she is and everything she lacks) with him. This has now extended to how she’s cheating on him with the city. That is the relationship; an affair; an adulterous lover that she can’t quit, nor does she want to. Untouchable and distant until she makes herself known and asserts her demands and then, completely overwhelming.
----
Suffice to say, I had a very nice day in Central, wandering through Soho and the streets between Covent Garden and the Strand and everywhere in between.
----
The city doesn’t speak to her. Theirs is a silent, speechless relationship. Instead, it opens itself for her, lets her prowl alleyways and turn down streets she never knew existed. She still has so much more to see.
There’s a countdown in her head; all this will end. She hears it when she returns to her favourite areas, walks the same streets again and again, but she just can’t bear to reach outside the five-pointed star she keeps tracing. Besides, the places she returns to are never the same twice. Oh, the buildings are the same, age-old architecture and established shops and tourist traps that have worked for decades upon decades. But the people are always different, always new. She can sit in one place for hours day after day and never see the same tableau.
They don’t talk, don’t carry on conversations, never hold congress. But sometimes she lets the people speak for the city; or, rather, the city lets the people speak for it. Every tongue, accent, dialect is here, but that’s not what matters to her. Every once in a while, the noise of the city takes her over. As a general rule, she hates cities for the constant sound. Cities are never silent. But sometimes—and she’s starting to crave it, letting it happen more and more often—her brain turns off, lets the sound sweep over her.
Perhaps this is how the audience listens to music or watches television, but never her. Even in class—especially in class—she has at least three stories unwinding in her mind. Conversations, even with friends or loved ones, are never the only thought-path she travels down. So the very fact that she shuts her brain off, lets it go blissfully blank, is unbelievable. Meditation has never had the same effect, and she’s been trying with frustratingly little success for years.
She’s not a city girl, no matter what this piece may convince the audience of. Six hours and she’s ready to go home, to the stale quiet of the suburban neighborhood, to her rapid fire personal monologue, to her friends that live halfway across the world and can only be reached via the internet.
But then she remembers having no thought but keep walking, weaving between people, watching the play between the people and the city—and she is incredibly, inconceivably, inconsolably in love.
(She’s also known for her dramatics. But the fondness is there, no matter what terms it’s couched in.)
She and her boyfriend have a running joke about how she’s cheating on her best friend (sister from another family, platonic soulmate, everything she is and everything she lacks) with him. This has now extended to how she’s cheating on him with the city. That is the relationship; an affair; an adulterous lover that she can’t quit, nor does she want to. Untouchable and distant until she makes herself known and asserts her demands and then, completely overwhelming.
----
Suffice to say, I had a very nice day in Central, wandering through Soho and the streets between Covent Garden and the Strand and everywhere in between.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Hey hi hello!
I've recently received a demand for more blogging. Sorry for the radio silence, but I've had quite a week. Blogging services will return to normal for a little while, though my parents arrive this week and break starts in late March, which means more travel!
The short version of my story goes like this:
Tuesday:
+ Westminster Abbey
+ Mexican food for lunch--and real Mexican food at that!
+ British Museum
+ The Berry, the Berrylands pub, for dinner, where we watched the Liverpool-Everton match. It was a good one to watch, the most notable part being the amazing hat trick--three goals.
Wednesday:
+ a late start and a lazy day. After the whirlwind that was Monday and Tuesday, Danes needed to rest his legs and we wanted to relax.
+ into Surbiton to eat at the Duke of York
+ then back to watch telly and laze about.
Thursday:
+ 9-12 was class, in which Ian pulled me aside and praised me for being the only one to understand his 40s/jazz references. Apparently he's playing a gig in London with a Peggy Lee band this week? It sounds awesome, but I don't think I'll be able to go, especially because he said he couldn't get me tickets when I cheekily asked.
+ Danes and I were lazy today, too. It was nice to just be with him, lying in his arms, talking about everything and nothing, watching telly, reading together, in the same space though we were in separate worlds. It was lovely to have him back. A week was too short.
Friday:
+ Lunch at The Berry, again. Danes had a beer called Luperc Alia, which I got a kick out of. I had my usual cider.
+ Went to Tower Hill for pictures of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge
+ Then got out to Greenwich (NOT pronounced like the town where one may find the Ice Cream Man. Gren-itch.) to see the Prime Meridian, which was something Danes really, really wanted to see. I was initially not as keen, until we got there. It was really exciting, actually.
Saturday:
+ up at 5.30, on the bus by 6.30, at Heathrow by 8.00-ish. Coffee and breakfast and lounging with Danes before we went through security.
+ We had a tearful goodbye (well, tears on my part, because I'm me) as I went first.
+ I arrived in Edinburgh around the same time he was set to leave for home.
+ Found my hostel with relative ease and met up with Julianna at the Haymarket Restaurant!
+ We then explored and made it up to Edinburgh Castle!
+ And then wandered up and down the Royal Mile High Street.
+ By this point, it was dinnertime, so we found a pub/restaurant and, since it was St Patrick's Day, we had lamb shank pie. Mmm, so good! No, I did not have a Guiness (we didn't drink at dinner; we figured we'd hydrate instead), but I did try haggis. Yes, you read that right. I tried haggis. I made a face the whole time, but I tried it and didn't plug my nose or anything! It was actually decent. (Until I remembered what it was, of course.)
+ After dinner, it was dark and since we wanted a drink (well, I wanted a drink, since it's the first St Patty's Day I've actually been able to drink during), we figured it was a good idea to head back to the part of town where our hostels were. It's a bad idea to get lost in a new city, an even worse one to get lost whilst drunk when everyone else is further gone than you.
+ Conveniently, Jules' hostel was right next to a pub, so we hung out for a while and talked. If I loved having Danes back with me and rediscovering the reasons I love him, I love my relationship with Jules in much the same way. We can go for months without seeing each other, barely even talking, and when we get together, it's like we never left. It was nice.
+ I was at the hostel and in bed by 11, passed out by 11.30, even with people I didn't know coming in and out of the room. I was just so knackered.
Today:
+ Up earlier than my alarm was set to go off, I was ready to go by 9.00. Check out was by 10.30, but I was out of there by 9.15
+ Found a place to have breakfast, Mercat, which was yummy! Coffee (real, basic coffee, not a latte or mocha, but just plain coffee) and a hard breakfast roll. I don't really know how to explain it, but it was absolutely massive. It was legitimately a huge (huge) roll, stuffed with whatever you wanted, I picked scrambled eggs and bacon. I ate 3/4s of it, which is a feat for me and a breakfast food, and then admitted defeat.
+ After that, I still had ages until I had to catch the bus back to the airport, so I hung out at a nearby coffee shop. Here, I did have a mocha and sat in the sunshine and read my book. Even in a foreign country, I am still me.
+ Caught the bus and ended up being earlier than usual, so I sat in the Wetherspoon's and read until they started serving alcohol and then I had lunch.
+ My plane was delayed a little bit, but it was okay because we made up the time in the air...until we got to Heathrow. They ended up circling three times, then heading back out and then down and I was just getting so impatient because I don't actually like flying and I had to catch the tube and then two buses and I just wanted to get home.
+ Got home by 6.15, made a quick microwaveable dinner, and am now writing this up, just for you, my audience. And Ian. :P
Here are the pictures of my adventures with Danes. I've yet to upload the Edinburgh ones, but don't worry, they're coming. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a skype date with my parents before I crash tonight.
The short version of my story goes like this:
Tuesday:
+ Westminster Abbey
+ Mexican food for lunch--and real Mexican food at that!
+ British Museum
+ The Berry, the Berrylands pub, for dinner, where we watched the Liverpool-Everton match. It was a good one to watch, the most notable part being the amazing hat trick--three goals.
Wednesday:
+ a late start and a lazy day. After the whirlwind that was Monday and Tuesday, Danes needed to rest his legs and we wanted to relax.
+ into Surbiton to eat at the Duke of York
+ then back to watch telly and laze about.
Thursday:
+ 9-12 was class, in which Ian pulled me aside and praised me for being the only one to understand his 40s/jazz references. Apparently he's playing a gig in London with a Peggy Lee band this week? It sounds awesome, but I don't think I'll be able to go, especially because he said he couldn't get me tickets when I cheekily asked.
+ Danes and I were lazy today, too. It was nice to just be with him, lying in his arms, talking about everything and nothing, watching telly, reading together, in the same space though we were in separate worlds. It was lovely to have him back. A week was too short.
Friday:
+ Lunch at The Berry, again. Danes had a beer called Luperc Alia, which I got a kick out of. I had my usual cider.
+ Went to Tower Hill for pictures of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge
+ Then got out to Greenwich (NOT pronounced like the town where one may find the Ice Cream Man. Gren-itch.) to see the Prime Meridian, which was something Danes really, really wanted to see. I was initially not as keen, until we got there. It was really exciting, actually.
Saturday:
+ up at 5.30, on the bus by 6.30, at Heathrow by 8.00-ish. Coffee and breakfast and lounging with Danes before we went through security.
+ We had a tearful goodbye (well, tears on my part, because I'm me) as I went first.
+ I arrived in Edinburgh around the same time he was set to leave for home.
+ Found my hostel with relative ease and met up with Julianna at the Haymarket Restaurant!
+ We then explored and made it up to Edinburgh Castle!
+ And then wandered up and down the Royal Mile High Street.
+ By this point, it was dinnertime, so we found a pub/restaurant and, since it was St Patrick's Day, we had lamb shank pie. Mmm, so good! No, I did not have a Guiness (we didn't drink at dinner; we figured we'd hydrate instead), but I did try haggis. Yes, you read that right. I tried haggis. I made a face the whole time, but I tried it and didn't plug my nose or anything! It was actually decent. (Until I remembered what it was, of course.)
+ After dinner, it was dark and since we wanted a drink (well, I wanted a drink, since it's the first St Patty's Day I've actually been able to drink during), we figured it was a good idea to head back to the part of town where our hostels were. It's a bad idea to get lost in a new city, an even worse one to get lost whilst drunk when everyone else is further gone than you.
+ Conveniently, Jules' hostel was right next to a pub, so we hung out for a while and talked. If I loved having Danes back with me and rediscovering the reasons I love him, I love my relationship with Jules in much the same way. We can go for months without seeing each other, barely even talking, and when we get together, it's like we never left. It was nice.
+ I was at the hostel and in bed by 11, passed out by 11.30, even with people I didn't know coming in and out of the room. I was just so knackered.
Today:
+ Up earlier than my alarm was set to go off, I was ready to go by 9.00. Check out was by 10.30, but I was out of there by 9.15
+ Found a place to have breakfast, Mercat, which was yummy! Coffee (real, basic coffee, not a latte or mocha, but just plain coffee) and a hard breakfast roll. I don't really know how to explain it, but it was absolutely massive. It was legitimately a huge (huge) roll, stuffed with whatever you wanted, I picked scrambled eggs and bacon. I ate 3/4s of it, which is a feat for me and a breakfast food, and then admitted defeat.
+ After that, I still had ages until I had to catch the bus back to the airport, so I hung out at a nearby coffee shop. Here, I did have a mocha and sat in the sunshine and read my book. Even in a foreign country, I am still me.
+ Caught the bus and ended up being earlier than usual, so I sat in the Wetherspoon's and read until they started serving alcohol and then I had lunch.
+ My plane was delayed a little bit, but it was okay because we made up the time in the air...until we got to Heathrow. They ended up circling three times, then heading back out and then down and I was just getting so impatient because I don't actually like flying and I had to catch the tube and then two buses and I just wanted to get home.
+ Got home by 6.15, made a quick microwaveable dinner, and am now writing this up, just for you, my audience. And Ian. :P
Here are the pictures of my adventures with Danes. I've yet to upload the Edinburgh ones, but don't worry, they're coming. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a skype date with my parents before I crash tonight.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
alkhds;fhdl;safdszzzzzz
For those unfamiliar with my lingo (the language of the internet), that up there is a keysmash (where you literally just press keys because you're too incoherent to form actual words, even on the keyboard. Used to indicate excitement) and then falling asleep. Because that is what I felt like yesterday.
Out of the myriad things we did yesterday, here is a brief summary of the more exciting bits:
+ Tried to get into Westminster Abbey. It was Commonwealth Day, which is apparently when the Queen attends church at WA. There was a protest/demonstration going on across the way that was calling for a republic, an end to the monarchy. I took photos because that's anthropology in action!
+ The London Eye. Yes, you read that right, I went on the Eye. And I wasn't scared! Mostly I was just caught up in how much I love this city. Absolutely gorgeous.
+ Wandered farther than I had on my own.
+ Went to the upstairs of the Sherlock Holmes pub for dinner--and still did not have the funny menu with all the silly titles that are plays on characters and stories, like my parents printed out for me. Just a plain menu. But it was yummy still!
+ And finally, went on a Jack the Ripper tour with Donald Rumbelow himself! He's a big Ripperologist, and in fact, I read his book and consulted it when I was doing Ripper research.
We finally got home just after 11, which made it a little under 12 hours spent in the city. Phew! We're not doing half as much today. He wants to hit up the British Museum and try to get into Westminster Abbey again, but far less walking. He was hurting last night. Hopefully he's not too terribly sore this morning, but my feet are complaining, too.
Out of the myriad things we did yesterday, here is a brief summary of the more exciting bits:
+ Tried to get into Westminster Abbey. It was Commonwealth Day, which is apparently when the Queen attends church at WA. There was a protest/demonstration going on across the way that was calling for a republic, an end to the monarchy. I took photos because that's anthropology in action!
+ The London Eye. Yes, you read that right, I went on the Eye. And I wasn't scared! Mostly I was just caught up in how much I love this city. Absolutely gorgeous.
+ Wandered farther than I had on my own.
+ Went to the upstairs of the Sherlock Holmes pub for dinner--and still did not have the funny menu with all the silly titles that are plays on characters and stories, like my parents printed out for me. Just a plain menu. But it was yummy still!
+ And finally, went on a Jack the Ripper tour with Donald Rumbelow himself! He's a big Ripperologist, and in fact, I read his book and consulted it when I was doing Ripper research.
We finally got home just after 11, which made it a little under 12 hours spent in the city. Phew! We're not doing half as much today. He wants to hit up the British Museum and try to get into Westminster Abbey again, but far less walking. He was hurting last night. Hopefully he's not too terribly sore this morning, but my feet are complaining, too.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Did you know...
That Heathrow Airport is freaking massive? Because that is something I learned today when I got off the bus at the wrong stop and decided to walk to Terminal 5.
Note to self and others who suffer from stubbornness and the I can do it myself attitude: when the nice man at Customer Service tells you that a bus comes round every 10-15 minutes to shuttle you to Terminal 5, do not--I repeat, do not--make the mistake of thinking you can walk there easy-peasy and there's no need to wait for no darn bus. Because you will be wrong. Oh, will you ever.
Surprisingly, given that I wandered around for over an hour after I'd been dropped off, Danes was only waiting for 5-10 minutes when I showed up in my nicest outfit...with windblown hair, red cheeks, and hurting feet.
Apart from that, today was a very good day. I suspect tomorrow will be better, though, as the boyfriend will have gotten a good night's sleep, some decent food, and will be much less exhausted and jet lagged. Tomorrow is a tour around the Kingston area and then Monday (and the rest of the week, really) sees us in Central. The city and the boyfriend, the best combination.
Note to self and others who suffer from stubbornness and the I can do it myself attitude: when the nice man at Customer Service tells you that a bus comes round every 10-15 minutes to shuttle you to Terminal 5, do not--I repeat, do not--make the mistake of thinking you can walk there easy-peasy and there's no need to wait for no darn bus. Because you will be wrong. Oh, will you ever.
Surprisingly, given that I wandered around for over an hour after I'd been dropped off, Danes was only waiting for 5-10 minutes when I showed up in my nicest outfit...with windblown hair, red cheeks, and hurting feet.
Apart from that, today was a very good day. I suspect tomorrow will be better, though, as the boyfriend will have gotten a good night's sleep, some decent food, and will be much less exhausted and jet lagged. Tomorrow is a tour around the Kingston area and then Monday (and the rest of the week, really) sees us in Central. The city and the boyfriend, the best combination.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Happy International Women's Day! (Throw yo hands up at me*)
Yes, so, first and foremost, I'd like to take a moment to say holla to all my ladies! And then I'd like to register a complaint to my people back in the States: clean this ridiculous garbage up before I get home, please. Seriously, this whole "War on Women" (in quotes because it's not my words, but it's too accurate a title to pass up) is angering me. Make it stop. I'm not going to even want to come home, at this rate.
But for the time being, I am having a loverly time here in jolly ol' England and I do miss you all.
Things that happened Tuesday:
+ Nothing of import, apparently, as I can't remember anything interesting.
Things that happened on Wednesday:
+ I hit up the Jamie Oliver restaurant. The food was too expensive and not good enough to warrant going back. The White Russian I had was good, though, and they did have this one cute waiter...but no. Not worth the money, really.
+ I finally went out to Woo Woo (the bar inside Oceana, a club in Kingston) with a couple friends. As they were out of strawberry to make me a strawberry daiquiri, I went with a Caramel Cream Puff. I don't remember exactly what was in it (besides Bailey's), but it was yummy.
Things that happened today:
+ I went shopping with Bella. Bought two new books (I need to stop!), an Oyster card holder that had the London tube map on the outside (been meaning to get one for some time, instead of pulling out my wallet every time the bus shows up) and a six pound pair of maroon Oxfords.
+ Decided that, during April break, Bella and I are going to go to Rome/possibly Venice. And then maybe hit up Malta in May.
Exciting things that are happening in the near future:
+ I'm going to see The Raven with a few girls tomorrow. Very excited!
+ But I'm more excited for Saturday, which is when Danes flies into Heathrow! He gets in mid-morning and leaves around noon on St Patty's Day, which means we have a whole week together in England. So very exciting.
* Independent Women (part 1) -Destiny's Child
But for the time being, I am having a loverly time here in jolly ol' England and I do miss you all.
Things that happened Tuesday:
+ Nothing of import, apparently, as I can't remember anything interesting.
Things that happened on Wednesday:
+ I hit up the Jamie Oliver restaurant. The food was too expensive and not good enough to warrant going back. The White Russian I had was good, though, and they did have this one cute waiter...but no. Not worth the money, really.
+ I finally went out to Woo Woo (the bar inside Oceana, a club in Kingston) with a couple friends. As they were out of strawberry to make me a strawberry daiquiri, I went with a Caramel Cream Puff. I don't remember exactly what was in it (besides Bailey's), but it was yummy.
Things that happened today:
+ I went shopping with Bella. Bought two new books (I need to stop!), an Oyster card holder that had the London tube map on the outside (been meaning to get one for some time, instead of pulling out my wallet every time the bus shows up) and a six pound pair of maroon Oxfords.
+ Decided that, during April break, Bella and I are going to go to Rome/possibly Venice. And then maybe hit up Malta in May.
Exciting things that are happening in the near future:
+ I'm going to see The Raven with a few girls tomorrow. Very excited!
+ But I'm more excited for Saturday, which is when Danes flies into Heathrow! He gets in mid-morning and leaves around noon on St Patty's Day, which means we have a whole week together in England. So very exciting.
* Independent Women (part 1) -Destiny's Child
Monday, March 5, 2012
As an addendum to that last post, I bring a gift for you.
Florence doing Spectrum live.
Now, mama is probably sick to death of hearing Flo's voice, because daddy (last I knew) plays her all the time around the house. But this is beautiful. That's the only word for it, the only one I can give it. Flo's voice gives me goosebumps on a normal day, so when the chorus starts in and she and her singers lift their voices to the heavens together with even more power than on the studio take, I swore loudly and started crying. I had tears in my eyes through the whole thing and then the violins towards the end just broke me. (I have a special love for the violin. Shut up, mother. :P)
Simply gorgeous. I do hope you take the time to listen/watch, because for reasons unknown, this song sums up my feelings on both the city and the boyfriend.
Now, mama is probably sick to death of hearing Flo's voice, because daddy (last I knew) plays her all the time around the house. But this is beautiful. That's the only word for it, the only one I can give it. Flo's voice gives me goosebumps on a normal day, so when the chorus starts in and she and her singers lift their voices to the heavens together with even more power than on the studio take, I swore loudly and started crying. I had tears in my eyes through the whole thing and then the violins towards the end just broke me. (I have a special love for the violin. Shut up, mother. :P)
Simply gorgeous. I do hope you take the time to listen/watch, because for reasons unknown, this song sums up my feelings on both the city and the boyfriend.
This post ended up being a love letter to London. I'm not sorry.
Phew, I've had a day again today. I started off with no particular plans, just a general idea to head over to East London, hit up maybe Whitechapel and the Spitalfields Market. (Y'all know I'm interesting in JtR and the season finale of Whitechapel airs tonight, so I thought it was fitting.)
+ Spent most of my late morning/early afternoon on public transport. Boring, but useful.
+ Whitechapel is not what I thought. I don't really like when my biases make themselves known, but to be fair to myself, I was also really hungry while fighting my way through the crowds, which tends to turn me into Hulk-V.
+ Did not end up finding Spitalfields Market, but found Petticoat Lane Market instead. (Also a bit of a disappointment.)
+ Hit up the Museum of London, which was awesome, and which I will most definitely be going back to. Asked a couple questions and tried to suss out if an American could, in fact, get in on the ground floor of a British dig. The ladies at the conservation desk seemed to think yes. Score one for me! Other exciting things about the Museum of London include: a book called Secret London: an unusual guide which tells you how to find cool little non-touristy interesting things around London (super stoked to plan my next London day) and a guide to things that are going on at the Museum, such as tours called Darkest London and The Archaeological Archive by twilight.
+ Things I love about wandering London: split-second decisions to walk down this street and then turn at that street and just see where it leads, without knowing 100% if I can get back to where I need to be. I love getting "lost" in London, because it's a well-signed city so you're not usually lost lost, but also, you get to see new and different things and people.
+ Ate at the Lyceum Tavern, on the Strand, right around the corner from the Lyceum Theatre. Cider and a burger and onion rings, yum! And my seat was next to a window from which I could observe all manner of city life going on. I thought deep thoughts about life, the universe and everything--but mostly about why I love London so much. I don't actually have an answer to that one.
+ All I know is I've never felt quite such a rush of energy, of being connected, as I did earlier today. I made it halfway across the road and was standing in the middle portion with a couple other people, waiting for the light to turn green. The cars and cabs and buses rushed by on both sides, completely surrounded me, while my London song played loud in my ears. I was so alive and connected to the city. Like it's an entity. (Like it isn't just thousands of people with their own identities and lives, but one organism made up of those.)
+ Starbucks vanilla latte while just sitting in Piccadilly Circus, watching the world go by. Have I mentioned I love my life?
+ Another reason I know I was made for this city: I found my way back to the street our hotel was on when we stayed here for 10 days when I was 13. (It was Curzon Street, right, parentals?) I couldn't find the actual hotel, because I don't remember anything at all about the exterior of the building, but I still have the pictures in my head of certain landmarks. I knew I was close because I remember the tube station; the first subway I'd ever taken and I remembered what it looked like as we approached it. I turned down the road across the way and almost gave up hope until I happened upon the little alleyway of shops where I stopped to get breakfast a couple times. (I remember the lady called me "sweetheart" or something equally nice. I liked her.) I legit remembered the Tescos down the way and how close Hyde Park was. (while Live 8 was playing a couple streets from our hotel, we watched it on telly and had a fancy-schmancy afternoon tea while Elton John performed. I still don't really like Elton John.) This is how much of an impression this city made on me for that brief period in my life.
+ Hung out in Piccadilly, took a walk down to Bond Street, drooled and cried with clothing desire as I passed the Burberry. Wandered through Soho and Oxford Street again, then made it back to Trafalgar Sq and then back down Whitehall and my feet were starting to hurt and it was chilly--and then I was on Waterloo Bridge, watching the sun sink golden and pink against the clouds, throwing light and shadow onto the Thames and Parliament. It was a simply divine sight.
And like my subject says, this post has really become a gushy love letter to London. I'm not sure why I love the city so much; as a general rule, I tend to hate cities. But this one, she's different. It bears more pondering and exploring.
+ Spent most of my late morning/early afternoon on public transport. Boring, but useful.
+ Whitechapel is not what I thought. I don't really like when my biases make themselves known, but to be fair to myself, I was also really hungry while fighting my way through the crowds, which tends to turn me into Hulk-V.
+ Did not end up finding Spitalfields Market, but found Petticoat Lane Market instead. (Also a bit of a disappointment.)
+ Hit up the Museum of London, which was awesome, and which I will most definitely be going back to. Asked a couple questions and tried to suss out if an American could, in fact, get in on the ground floor of a British dig. The ladies at the conservation desk seemed to think yes. Score one for me! Other exciting things about the Museum of London include: a book called Secret London: an unusual guide which tells you how to find cool little non-touristy interesting things around London (super stoked to plan my next London day) and a guide to things that are going on at the Museum, such as tours called Darkest London and The Archaeological Archive by twilight.
+ Things I love about wandering London: split-second decisions to walk down this street and then turn at that street and just see where it leads, without knowing 100% if I can get back to where I need to be. I love getting "lost" in London, because it's a well-signed city so you're not usually lost lost, but also, you get to see new and different things and people.
+ Ate at the Lyceum Tavern, on the Strand, right around the corner from the Lyceum Theatre. Cider and a burger and onion rings, yum! And my seat was next to a window from which I could observe all manner of city life going on. I thought deep thoughts about life, the universe and everything--but mostly about why I love London so much. I don't actually have an answer to that one.
+ All I know is I've never felt quite such a rush of energy, of being connected, as I did earlier today. I made it halfway across the road and was standing in the middle portion with a couple other people, waiting for the light to turn green. The cars and cabs and buses rushed by on both sides, completely surrounded me, while my London song played loud in my ears. I was so alive and connected to the city. Like it's an entity. (Like it isn't just thousands of people with their own identities and lives, but one organism made up of those.)
+ Starbucks vanilla latte while just sitting in Piccadilly Circus, watching the world go by. Have I mentioned I love my life?
+ Another reason I know I was made for this city: I found my way back to the street our hotel was on when we stayed here for 10 days when I was 13. (It was Curzon Street, right, parentals?) I couldn't find the actual hotel, because I don't remember anything at all about the exterior of the building, but I still have the pictures in my head of certain landmarks. I knew I was close because I remember the tube station; the first subway I'd ever taken and I remembered what it looked like as we approached it. I turned down the road across the way and almost gave up hope until I happened upon the little alleyway of shops where I stopped to get breakfast a couple times. (I remember the lady called me "sweetheart" or something equally nice. I liked her.) I legit remembered the Tescos down the way and how close Hyde Park was. (while Live 8 was playing a couple streets from our hotel, we watched it on telly and had a fancy-schmancy afternoon tea while Elton John performed. I still don't really like Elton John.) This is how much of an impression this city made on me for that brief period in my life.
+ Hung out in Piccadilly, took a walk down to Bond Street, drooled and cried with clothing desire as I passed the Burberry. Wandered through Soho and Oxford Street again, then made it back to Trafalgar Sq and then back down Whitehall and my feet were starting to hurt and it was chilly--and then I was on Waterloo Bridge, watching the sun sink golden and pink against the clouds, throwing light and shadow onto the Thames and Parliament. It was a simply divine sight.
And like my subject says, this post has really become a gushy love letter to London. I'm not sure why I love the city so much; as a general rule, I tend to hate cities. But this one, she's different. It bears more pondering and exploring.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
“Being fooled by art is one of the primary pleasures of the middle classes,"*
Yesterday was awesome. Why? Because it started out gross but turned out glorious, I wandered around London, made a couple friends (well, bar friends, which I'll never see again, but still) and saw an excellent play with an actor I like before coming back and celebrating Mrs. H's birthday with her friends.
Things that happened:
+ There was an African drum circle happening outside the National Portrait Gallery and I watched them for a while, then one of the girls who had been drumming but stopped because her hands hurt got me up to dance to the beat for a couple minutes. I walked away with a giant smile on my face.
+ Went to afternoon tea at the same place as a couple weeks ago. Still delicious, still the least expensive place for afternoon tea that came up on my google search. (The cheapest google gave me was 25 pounds. I'm not paying 25 pounds for tea and goodies just for myself. And then there's Fortnum and Mason, which I want to go to, but again, pricey.) 6.50 for a pot of tea and two scones. Yummy.
+ I wandered up and down Savile Row and cried tears of fashiony joy. Stopped in front of Spencer Hart (who does the suits for Sherlock) and nearly died because a suit that looks like the one Benedict wore to the Oscars was in the window. (Seen here, here and here. And here's him in another SH. Swooning!) I snapped a couple pics, but with the sun the way it was, you can see me and the other side of the street more clearly than the suit.
+ Went to a nice place on Carnaby Street for an earlier dinner. Things were expensive and I wasn't too hungry, but I knew I should eat something, so I ended up having a really nice drink and spiced lamb kebabs with tzatki (sp?) sauce. The drink was 8 pounds and I walked out of there a little bit sloshy-headed (which is what I call drunk, since I really don't know what drunk is, but I do know that when I've had some, my head gets sloshy, so sloshy-headed it is).
+ I then headed down to a blues bar I'd seen earlier, which was rather small and didn't have food. I figured I'd go back after having dinner and by then, they had live blues players. I spend a good two hours there, had one cider, listened to a bunch of really good blues guitarists and singers and met a couple guys, who we'll get to in a minute. Ain't Nothin' But..., on Kingly Street. Definitely going back there again, because it was awesome.
+ A pair of brothers, Richard and Will (or Will and Richard, I don't quite remember which was which), who I met because they'd been out shopping and needed a place to put their bags, which happened to be next to me on the wall. (Apparently, they don't like shopping so when they do it, they do it all at once. It looked like a good shopping spree to me, haha.) Very nice, I think the first one (Richard, I'm going with) was the older brother; married (we didn't talk about it, but he had a ring, so I gathered married); had lived in Kingston, New York (!!!) and Edinburgh. Will was actually born in New York, which was really cool. They were very nice, perfectly gentlemanly, and quite hilarious. It made the weirder acts (open mic night, so anyone could go...even a banjo player...*shudders*) much more bearable to have someone to make sarcastic remarks to. All in all, very fun guys and I got kisses on the cheek from them as they left. (No, it wasn't getting hit on, I've noticed it's a custom amongst friends, when they show up or leave somewhere.)
+ I left a little after them, in search of some tea or coffee because no way was I showing up to the theatre sloshy-headed. I needed to be clear headed, clear eyed, and ready. So I stopped for tea at an espresso bar on Shaftesbury. Yummy. Good to sit, as my feet were killing me by that point. (I'd spent the last 6 hours or so standing in my heels. Ouchies.)
+ I still had some time, so I decided to go back to Piccadilly Circus which is, in fact, glorious at night. I was just chilling when some guy actually came up to me and said I looked really nice. I've never been hit on (and I mean, it wasn't getting hit on, he didn't try anything, he just legit said "You look really nice tonight and I just wanted to tell you, but you probably get that a lot" and then left.) and it was bizarre. Flattering, definitely, just something that does not happen to me. To be fair, I did look really hot. ;P
+ And then off to The Gielgud to pick up my tickets at the box office and go sit down. I got there too early, but it was better to wait impatiently in comfy seats than outside in the dark.
+ The Ladykillers was absolutely amazing. I wasn't entirely sure what the plot was going in, but I was kind of just there for the actors. It ended up being a really good story, absolutely hysterically written, and perfectly delivered. I enjoyed myself the entire way through, the lady who played the main character was perfect, Peter Capaldi was creepy and wonderful, and Ben Miller was in the same room as me!! Ahem, by which I mean, he was excellent. Actually, his was my favorite character, not just because it was him, but because he had a lot of really good lines. Lots of dark humour, my favorite. So very, very good. I was almost tempted to stalk the stage door, but decided against it because I wasn't prepared. (And my parents remember the last time I tried to talk to someone famous without being prepared...)
+ Here's a good review of the show. They can articulate it better than I, especially in my star-struck state.
+ By the time I got home, I was craving McDonald's (the girl across from me on the train had it and I died at the smell), but no one was home and my feet hurt, so I decided to just make something here. (It ended up being bad, but whatever, I had a Strongbow and it was fine.) And then suddenly, the entire party burst through the door and set up camp. I was invited to hang out with them and I really like them and their friends, so I stayed up with them for an hour or so. 12.30 found them dancing to music I didn't know and I felt I was intruding on a party of friends (they'd say I wasn't if I mentioned this, but it's okay, they're very sweet and I like them a lot, but I don't have the history they do), so I retreated to my room. Didn't end up going to bed until almost 2.
A most successful day, indeed.
* A quote by Peter Capaldi's main character, to the effect of lots of laughter and applause. A distracting amount, actually. Absolutely wonderful.
Things that happened:
+ There was an African drum circle happening outside the National Portrait Gallery and I watched them for a while, then one of the girls who had been drumming but stopped because her hands hurt got me up to dance to the beat for a couple minutes. I walked away with a giant smile on my face.
+ Went to afternoon tea at the same place as a couple weeks ago. Still delicious, still the least expensive place for afternoon tea that came up on my google search. (The cheapest google gave me was 25 pounds. I'm not paying 25 pounds for tea and goodies just for myself. And then there's Fortnum and Mason, which I want to go to, but again, pricey.) 6.50 for a pot of tea and two scones. Yummy.
+ I wandered up and down Savile Row and cried tears of fashiony joy. Stopped in front of Spencer Hart (who does the suits for Sherlock) and nearly died because a suit that looks like the one Benedict wore to the Oscars was in the window. (Seen here, here and here. And here's him in another SH. Swooning!) I snapped a couple pics, but with the sun the way it was, you can see me and the other side of the street more clearly than the suit.
+ Went to a nice place on Carnaby Street for an earlier dinner. Things were expensive and I wasn't too hungry, but I knew I should eat something, so I ended up having a really nice drink and spiced lamb kebabs with tzatki (sp?) sauce. The drink was 8 pounds and I walked out of there a little bit sloshy-headed (which is what I call drunk, since I really don't know what drunk is, but I do know that when I've had some, my head gets sloshy, so sloshy-headed it is).
+ I then headed down to a blues bar I'd seen earlier, which was rather small and didn't have food. I figured I'd go back after having dinner and by then, they had live blues players. I spend a good two hours there, had one cider, listened to a bunch of really good blues guitarists and singers and met a couple guys, who we'll get to in a minute. Ain't Nothin' But..., on Kingly Street. Definitely going back there again, because it was awesome.
+ A pair of brothers, Richard and Will (or Will and Richard, I don't quite remember which was which), who I met because they'd been out shopping and needed a place to put their bags, which happened to be next to me on the wall. (Apparently, they don't like shopping so when they do it, they do it all at once. It looked like a good shopping spree to me, haha.) Very nice, I think the first one (Richard, I'm going with) was the older brother; married (we didn't talk about it, but he had a ring, so I gathered married); had lived in Kingston, New York (!!!) and Edinburgh. Will was actually born in New York, which was really cool. They were very nice, perfectly gentlemanly, and quite hilarious. It made the weirder acts (open mic night, so anyone could go...even a banjo player...*shudders*) much more bearable to have someone to make sarcastic remarks to. All in all, very fun guys and I got kisses on the cheek from them as they left. (No, it wasn't getting hit on, I've noticed it's a custom amongst friends, when they show up or leave somewhere.)
+ I left a little after them, in search of some tea or coffee because no way was I showing up to the theatre sloshy-headed. I needed to be clear headed, clear eyed, and ready. So I stopped for tea at an espresso bar on Shaftesbury. Yummy. Good to sit, as my feet were killing me by that point. (I'd spent the last 6 hours or so standing in my heels. Ouchies.)
+ I still had some time, so I decided to go back to Piccadilly Circus which is, in fact, glorious at night. I was just chilling when some guy actually came up to me and said I looked really nice. I've never been hit on (and I mean, it wasn't getting hit on, he didn't try anything, he just legit said "You look really nice tonight and I just wanted to tell you, but you probably get that a lot" and then left.) and it was bizarre. Flattering, definitely, just something that does not happen to me. To be fair, I did look really hot. ;P
+ And then off to The Gielgud to pick up my tickets at the box office and go sit down. I got there too early, but it was better to wait impatiently in comfy seats than outside in the dark.
+ The Ladykillers was absolutely amazing. I wasn't entirely sure what the plot was going in, but I was kind of just there for the actors. It ended up being a really good story, absolutely hysterically written, and perfectly delivered. I enjoyed myself the entire way through, the lady who played the main character was perfect, Peter Capaldi was creepy and wonderful, and Ben Miller was in the same room as me!! Ahem, by which I mean, he was excellent. Actually, his was my favorite character, not just because it was him, but because he had a lot of really good lines. Lots of dark humour, my favorite. So very, very good. I was almost tempted to stalk the stage door, but decided against it because I wasn't prepared. (And my parents remember the last time I tried to talk to someone famous without being prepared...)
+ Here's a good review of the show. They can articulate it better than I, especially in my star-struck state.
+ By the time I got home, I was craving McDonald's (the girl across from me on the train had it and I died at the smell), but no one was home and my feet hurt, so I decided to just make something here. (It ended up being bad, but whatever, I had a Strongbow and it was fine.) And then suddenly, the entire party burst through the door and set up camp. I was invited to hang out with them and I really like them and their friends, so I stayed up with them for an hour or so. 12.30 found them dancing to music I didn't know and I felt I was intruding on a party of friends (they'd say I wasn't if I mentioned this, but it's okay, they're very sweet and I like them a lot, but I don't have the history they do), so I retreated to my room. Didn't end up going to bed until almost 2.
A most successful day, indeed.
* A quote by Peter Capaldi's main character, to the effect of lots of laughter and applause. A distracting amount, actually. Absolutely wonderful.
Friday, March 2, 2012
My heart is pierced by cupid, I disdain all glittering gold. There is nothing can console me but my jolly sailor bold.*
Sorry, the fourth Pirates was on telly when I went downstairs earlier and now it's stuck in my head.
Things I've been thinking about:
+ Went to Hampton Court today. Gorgeous place, forgot my camera, but will be going back probably with the Williams'+Co or just by myself after 5 April. (There's a new exhibit coming called: The Wild, the Beautiful, and the Damned, about the lavish decadence of Charles II. So totally going to that.) But what I got out of that the most is something I made a quick note of in my mobile notepad: forget duchess, princess, queen and consort. I'd rather be called empress.
+ I like little local coffee shops. There's one basically at each end of my area and at one end I get tandoori chicken in a baguette and a mocha and at the other I get a mocha and today a cajun chicken wrap made especially by the very nice guy who owns the shop. I like talking to people and bonding over food and music and the weather. It's nice.
+ You really do have to make your own future. Things don't happen unless you make them happen. I knew that in theory, but it's nice to have the example of practice.
+ I really like cider.
+ Writing about Buffy for Genre Studies is really, really awesome.
+ I'm really, really excited to go see Ladykillers tomorrow. My first proper Famous Person play and it's with Ben Miller!! I think I'm going to go in around noon, wander a bit, have a spot of afternoon tea, wander a bit more, and have a nice dinner before the show. I do like to treat myself.
+ I'm also really, really excited to go to the Official Doctor Who Convention with my parents. AND a TARDIS set tour, ahhhhh!
* Jolly Sailor Bold, from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I learned how to play this on my flute this summer and trust me, it really is a song that pulls you in. I spent at least an hour playing it over and over and didn't even realize it. Kinda creepy, eh?
Things I've been thinking about:
+ Went to Hampton Court today. Gorgeous place, forgot my camera, but will be going back probably with the Williams'+Co or just by myself after 5 April. (There's a new exhibit coming called: The Wild, the Beautiful, and the Damned, about the lavish decadence of Charles II. So totally going to that.) But what I got out of that the most is something I made a quick note of in my mobile notepad: forget duchess, princess, queen and consort. I'd rather be called empress.
+ I like little local coffee shops. There's one basically at each end of my area and at one end I get tandoori chicken in a baguette and a mocha and at the other I get a mocha and today a cajun chicken wrap made especially by the very nice guy who owns the shop. I like talking to people and bonding over food and music and the weather. It's nice.
+ You really do have to make your own future. Things don't happen unless you make them happen. I knew that in theory, but it's nice to have the example of practice.
+ I really like cider.
+ Writing about Buffy for Genre Studies is really, really awesome.
+ I'm really, really excited to go see Ladykillers tomorrow. My first proper Famous Person play and it's with Ben Miller!! I think I'm going to go in around noon, wander a bit, have a spot of afternoon tea, wander a bit more, and have a nice dinner before the show. I do like to treat myself.
+ I'm also really, really excited to go to the Official Doctor Who Convention with my parents. AND a TARDIS set tour, ahhhhh!
* Jolly Sailor Bold, from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. I learned how to play this on my flute this summer and trust me, it really is a song that pulls you in. I spent at least an hour playing it over and over and didn't even realize it. Kinda creepy, eh?
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