so many miles and so long since I've left you

Things I can hardly believe; 

1. I will be in Minneapolis in seven days! 

2. It's December and I can comfortably spend significant amounts of time outside in a light jacket.

3. I'm moving into a great apartment with my best friend in less than a month.

I talked with a few friends at home this weekend and as we were signing off I was able to say 'see you next weekend!' I'm so excited about that. So excited. Also sad. Not about being back home, but about leaving. I feel like I've just started to really settle in and be totally comfortable and now I'm leaving. My sentiments are incredibly happy to be coming home, but really sad to leave London. Bittersweet, as it should be. I'll work through my feelings on the experience 'as a whole' later. For now let's talk about this lovely weekend.

Home feels so tangible now. This feeling is made even stronger by the fact that I have now been scheduled at Pizza Biga and Turtle Bread! The fact that I'm going back to work next week is really comforting for two reasons;

A. Because I love my job and the lovely people and experiences that come along with it.

B. I haven't had any sort of income for three months and it's nice to know that I'll be able to get right back into it when I get home.

Friday was Alex's birthday. We hung around his for awhile and then made our way to Soho to dance the night away. Apparently some Friday night's are 70s nights at the club we went to, which we were unaware of, but proved to be really fun nonetheless. There was a main dance floor and a bunch of offshoot groups. And when I say 'groups' generally I mean more than one person, but in some cases one person. There was one guy who was absolutely going to town the entire night by himself. Just truly dancing his heart out. I think that's great. The ability to be that free and have that much fun on your own is so wonderful. So props to that guys and anyone else dancing up a storm by themselves (or in a group). We danced silly and seriously and around 2 we decided it was time to call it a night.

But not before stopping at Subway to satisfy our late night sandwich needs! Because no night out is complete without that. As we ate and laughed about the evening we'd shared, a fight broke out. Which signaled the end of stay. We spent ages (or ten minutes) looking for the 25, the bus that would get us home until we just decided to get cabs. We turned onto the next road to wait for the cabs only to be passed by no less than four 25s. Now at least we know where the 25 runs. I got back around 3:30 and then couldn't fall asleep for ages. What's up with that?

On Saturday I woke up much earlier than I would've liked given the time I finally fell asleep but, that's just the way it is. It was a beautiful day, a bit chilly, but beautiful. Went to a lovely curry lunch with the LGBT society and then since we were in the area my pals and I decided to go to Brick Lane to get some Christmas shopping done. Just beyond Brick Lane is Spitalfields Market. Gold mine. I got four gifts there in the space of half an hour. So good. You know that incredibly satisfying feeling when you see something and you just know immediately that it's the right gift for whoever? Love that. And I wasn't the only one having great successes in the gift department. I have to mention, as well, that this weekend was great simply because it was underscored with a whole lot of laughter. Seriously, so many laughs. In large part stemming from this video.

We walked back from Brick Lane, saw the most incredible full moon, met up with Stevie & Jo, watched a ton more hilarious youtube videos and went to Wetherspoon's for dinner. After dinner Jess and I watched 'Being John Malkovich'. I really appreciate it's oddness and inclusion of John Malkovich. He is such an odd duck in the best possible way.

Yesterday was one of my favorite days of my entire stay. Jess, Emmett, Aniela, and I met Alex at St.Paul's and then we walked over the Millennium Bridge (one of my favorite spots in London). Our mission was to go ice skating. We knew of a market/free ice skating rink close to Tower Bridge. So, we walked from the Tate to Tower Bridge. A couple miles. The 'ice rink' was not real ice and it was the tiniest thing I've ever seen. We walked around the market for a little bit and then decided to try the rink under the London Eye. We walked a few more miles, had lunch, and found out that that rink is £14. No thanks. We walked through that market for a while and continued my 'Pensive Face Series'. This week my mom asked if I could get more pictures of myself in front of iconic London sites for our Christmas letter so I asked my friends to take a bunch of pictures of me while we were out and about yesterday. I never know what to do when it's just a picture of me. I always feel like my smile seems forced. So, I decided that I would do a more thoughtful, contemplative face, which seemed easier and turned into my 'Pensive Face Series'. 

Ice skating was a bust and as fun as it would have been it was really okay because we were having a great day just walking around, talking, and laughing. Since we were out already I asked if we could go to the Tate Britain or the Imperial War Museum because I thought they were both in the general Westminster area, which we'd come upon. The group concurred and after a decent while we found the Tate Britain. Really cool museum. If you're ever in London I would definitely recommend the Tates Modern and Britain. So much laughter in the museum. It was just an all around giggly day. As we were perusing the gift shop it became apparent that Bill Nighy was there!! It was tough to restrain myself from speaking to him, but he was clearly just out and about trying to enjoy a museum gift shop and no one else was bothering him, so I didn't. But, at one point I was 'looking through postcards' but, really just lingering in his general area and he walked past me said 'excuse me' and indicated with his slight, knowing smile, that he knew exactly what was going on. That's good enough for me. 

From the museum we walked to the tube and made it back to Mile End around 6:30. I had a skype session with Emma, always lovely. And then Stevie, Jo, and I had a quick dinner at the 'Lollipop Diner' and then went to see 'Another Earth' at the Genesis Cinema. I tried to see this movie in July and August when it was in Minneapolis and it just didn't happen. Then I found out that it was coming out here in December and was really jazzed about it. Last night I finally saw it and I don't know how to feel about it. Jury's still out. I feel like there was something missing, but I'm not sure what exactly that would be. I think another issue is that it was really built up for me and I've been looking forward to it for months. That can often lead to disappointment in a movie going experience. Like I said, jury's out.

When I got back to the flat I skyped with Jessica from our new apartment! It's great. I can not wait to move in in a few weeks! So exciting and just really nice to talk with Jessica for a good while.

Altogether, such a great weekend and such a great way to spend my last full weekend here. So much time with friends, walking all over the place, laughing constantly, dancing, celebrity sightings, just taking in so much of what London has to offer.

The rest of last week, from Monday to Friday was also lovely. Monday, Aysha and I spent a lot of time putting together the definitive list of cartoons from our childhood but, then we watched an episode of Rugrats and it was magical. I also decided that I'm going to be Chuckie Finster for Halloween next year. I'll probably change my mind like forty times, but I think that would be a fun costume. In the end our cartoon nostalgia fest was more list-making and music sharing than cartoon watching, but a great time was had by all. 

In addition to Being John Malkovich and Another Earth, I also watched Adaptation. and Fight Club this week. Such great films. I hadn't seen Adaptation. Nicolas Cage gives such a great performance. What happened to that guy? Bangkok Dangerous? Drive Angry? Seriously? I just don't understand. But, that's definitely a film worth seeing. Fight Club is also great. Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter, based on a book by Chuck Palahniuk, how do you go wrong?

Aysha and I met up on Wednesday to 'get work done' but largely to hang out and watch more 90s cartoons. But, the day ended up being much more productive academically. We read the whole of 'Venus and Adonis' out loud. I really enjoyed it. I've always liked Shakespeare but, this class has really made me appreciate how intricately woven his works really are. And I had a ton of things to say in my Shakespeare seminar on Thursday because of how finely we went through each stanza. Way to go team. 

And with that I'm off to explore! 

even if you can not hear my voice, I'll be right beside you

It's December. What? How? In four weeks it will be a new year! I'm not sure if I'm ready for that, 2011 has really been a banner year for me. Absolutely one of the best years of my life. I really enjoyed my Spring semester classes, this Spring and Summer were incandescently beautiful both weather and otherwise, and this whole study abroad experience has been one of the most wonderful things I've ever done. The world has been good to me lately. And for that I am indescribably thankful. I suppose the changing of the year doesn't mean these wonderful times I've been having have to end. The transition from December 31st to January 1st is just a Saturday to a Sunday after all.

And I have so much to look forward to when I get home. Not least of all, the simple fact of being home. Throughout my stay in England I've been asked numerous times whether I would ever move here permanently. I don't think I could. I would love to and plan to come back for extended periods throughout my life, but I don't think I could leave Minneapolis forever. I love it too much. It's the only place that's ever felt like home. London has been so good to me and it will always have a special place in my heart, but I'm coming back to the city I love so well in two weeks and I can hardly wait to see it again. Diamond Lake, downtown, the stone arch bridge, Minnehaha Creek, Turtle Bread, The Mississippi, and all the places that I know and love. I'm still trying to accept the fact that they will probably be covered in snow. It doesn't help that I've been able to run like this;

Seriously. It's December 5th now! The sun is shining and when I finish this post I will be running in an outfit very similar to this and not be completely and utterly freezing. This is a large part of the reason that I almost can't believe that it's December. It's also simply the fact that I only have thirteen days left in London. I will never understand where the time goes. I remember looking at my flight itinerary on the day that I left and seeing 'next trip: 93 days' and feeling like that would be ages. But, it wasn't. Eleven weeks have gone by so quickly. I know that these last two weeks will speed by especially because they will be filled to the brim with schoolwork, movies, many hangouts, and my final frantic efforts at tourism.

Last time I checked in I had just had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal with the crew. The rest of that weekend was mellow. On Saturday night Stevie and I saw Breaking Dawn. If you're not keeping score, that was my second time. Yikes.

I woke up on Sunday, looked in the mirror and realized just how much my hair has been annoying me lately. It was at such an awkward length. I was considering growing it out but, I really enjoy having short hair and I can grow it out any time. So, I went to Westfield, waited at 'Supercuts' for about 40 minutes (because you can't make an appointment for some reason) and got a really satisfactory £15 haircut! Later that evening Jess and I watched Stuart: A Life Backwards, a poignant film that I would highly recommend.

On Monday Stevie and Jess and I were having coffee in Ground and it hit me just how much I will miss them and the coffee shop and everything about this place (except the iffy toilets and the really late night party noises). I decided that I'm going to bring a cup home with me from Ground so that when I am skyped in for study sessions (which must happen) my coffee cup will fit right in.

A few days previous I'd been chatting with my mom and she enquired if I'd received a package recently. No, I hadn't. I checked my mailbox and there was a royal mail notice stating that they had attempted to deliver a package on Friday, but I wasn't in. Although oddly, this notice was in my mailbox on Sunday. Curious. It continued that my mail was waiting for me at Whitechapel Post Office. So, on Monday afternoon I walked over there to pick it up. The walk from my dorm to that Post Office is a very easy one. I walk out the door cross Mile End Road, take a right toward central London, and walk for about a mile. It was a lovely little walk. The sunset was producing the most beautiful colors, my ipod was shuffling to the best music, and I realized how much I will miss walking out my front door and being able to see The Gherkin and Canary Wharf. I was so content. The mood was improved for two reasons; 1. I saw a CORB 2. The package from my parents was a whole heck of a lot of Belgian chocolate. Epic win. It was so so so good and so so so appreciated.

After picking up the chocolate Aysha, Kelsey, and I watched 'Short Circuit'. Have you seen this movie? I'm so unsure what it should be rated. It seems like a children's movie because it's about an amicable robot, but there's a lot of swearing and innuendo. It was very sweet, kind of a like a more adult version of WALL-E.

It sounds like my Monday was going great, right? And it really was, yet I still managed to be in a bumming mood after the movie. I think it has a lot to do with the fact there is full darkness at about 4:20 and that makes me sad. I wouldn't go as far as to say that I have Seasonal Affective Disorder, but sometimes the dark and the cold just bum me out. So I stayed up late with pals talking and laughing and eating way too much chocolate.

After Modernism, as always, I enjoyed Tuesday Chats with Kelsey, Aysha, and Jackson. That evening I had the most epic skype session with Addie, which really pushed away all remaining remnants of my bumming mood. And I hadn't received any sort of feedback on any assignments until this week (which was contributing, more than a little, to my stress). I've gotten two grades back now and I've done absolutely fine, which was very comforting. One of my seminar leaders even said that my paper was 'beautifully written' and that I should be proud of myself. That really meant a lot coming from him. He's so hard to read, I had absolutely no idea what kind of a grader he would be, so that was quite a relief.

On Wednesday I didn't have class because many of the lecturers were striking to preserve their pensions. A lot of people were stationed at the east gate which I have to go through if I want to leave or return to campus and my room. I had a lot of things to do that morning so I crossed the picket line like eight times...whoops. One of these crossings was to go to the tube to meet Aysha, Sumaya, and Jackson in South Kensington and go to the Victoria & Albert Museum. They had a postmodernism exhibit which was generally kind of ridiculous, but also a bit cool. The rest of the museum (that I managed to see) was really neat and I definitely plan on going back next time I'm here. We had dinner outside and walked around by the Royal Albert Hall and appreciated what a cool building it is and what an amazing city London truly is.

On Thursday night Alex, Jess, and I went to see Aniela in Queen Mary's production of 'Uncle Vanya'. Very good, but very depressing. Friday and most of the day Saturday there was a lot of actual school work being done. But, on Saturday evening Stevie, Jo, Jess, and I went to Jo's dad's gig in North London. Such good times. The music was great, the company was lovely, and the location was cozy. I can't really ask for much more than that. Following that we went to the 'Scout Hut' which generally is a place for the boy scouts to have meetings, but every first weekend of the month (I think) it turns into a rockin' dancetaria (mostly) for awesome middle aged hippies. So good. So so so good. By the time we were ready to leave the tube had stopped running so Jo's dad called and gave us money for a cab. So kind. The cab ride was equal parts cool and terrifying. On the cool side of things we drove through a lot of London to get back to campus, great to see. I had a moment of utter contentment; being with friends I love, appreciating a beautiful city at night. On the other hand, the driver was driving like 70 miles per hour...the whole time. Terrifying. But, we made it back safely.

Yesterday Aysha, Sumaya, Jackson, and I met up in Highgate, a really beautiful area. We found highgate cemetery, where people like Marx and Mark Twain are buried, but it cost money to get in which we found preposterous and would not pay on principal. It was so beautiful though. We had to walk through a gated community to get there which also irritated me a bit because really, you need to gate yourself in and other people out? It was worth my slight irritation, the views were incredible. We could practically see all of London laid out. From Highgate we walked to Hampstead Heath. So green, so full of cool gnarled trees, and so many great views. It was a truly beautiful, lovely day.

Last night Stevie, Jo, Jess, Alex and I watched 'Serenity'. I need to watch it again. I really enjoyed it, but I was falling asleep throughout the whole thing and that's no way to truly appreciate a film. This has been my life lately.

And now, my friends, I'm going to meet Aysha for a nineties nostalgia fest in which we watch cartoons and shows from our youth. So jazzed.

We live in a beautiful world

You know what I'm not thankful for? When Safari crashes and loses my almost finished blog post about the last ten days of my life. Let's try this again.

Last time I posted I was avoiding a paper and feeling incredible excited about Emma's rapidly approaching visit. Thursday the 17th was spent in largely the same way. Except, I finished one of the two papers! We weren't entirely sure what time Emma would arrive on Friday. I have class from 10-12 and we thought it would be somewhere in there. Turns out it was sooner! As I was returning from my morning run who should be standing in the lobby but Emma J. Mayer! So exciting! We freaked out a bit and then I had class and then we had coffee and freaked out some more. We hung out with Jess and Stevie for a while and my two worlds collided in the best way possible. It's nice that my friends from different geographic regions could experience each other.

In the afternoon we went to the Tate Modern and wandered around by St.Paul's and the Thames. This is one of my favorite spots that I've experienced in London and Emma really appreciated it as well. It's always satisfying and nice when you're sharing something with someone and it's well received. We decided that we would make a nice dinner and I would work on my paper. We attempted to find a grocery store in the area and in doing so we stumbled on Occupy London. So many people. So many tents. So many signs. A library! So cool to see. This whole movement is amazing; people coming together, peacefully to bring about change. Emma and I were getting a bit emotional as we often will and then something happened that was really angering. At first glance it seemed that a man had almost tripped over one of the tents. And as he kicked a second tent it was clear that he hadn't tripped. Before I could stop myself I said 'are you kidding me?' He turned around and glared, but stalked off, muttering. It's fine if you don't agree with the Occupy movement, but you don't have to something like that. That man was clearly in his fifties. You're an adult, act like one.

We found a Tesco which had everything we needed. We got back to the flat, made dinner and I 'worked on my paper'. It's hard to get any work done when you're excited and it feels like you're on vacation.

We planned on getting up early because our train for Paris left at 8AM. Fortunately there was no need to set my alarm because the fire alarm went off at 5:30. That is something I will not miss about living in a dorm...among other things. We were up and ready to start our weekend in Paris adventure!

When we got to St.Pancras to catch the train I thought that we would have much more time than we ended up having. There's this whole security process that you have to go through. That was not what happened when I went to Scotland so I wasn't expecting it. Good thing we got there early enough. After security we boarded the train. And it was much too early in the morning for my face to be captured on film.

 I still hadn't finished my paper so I brought my laptop and worked most of the way through the two hour train ride. It's amazing the amount of writing you can get done when the internet can't be accessed. Fortunately, Emma had no school work to finish and was able to catch a bunch of nice shots of the countryside. I really enjoy traveling by train. It's relaxing and it's great to see the country going past your window.

When we got to Paris we took out some Euros which proved to be much more difficult than it should have been. Money in purses, and metro day passes purchased we headed to our hotel. There were people jamming on the metro, which I really appreciated. We got to our hotel, picked up our room key and conversed a bit with a particularly hilarious employee. There was a spiral staircase, which is always picture worthy. We dropped off our stuff and attempted to plan the rest of the day. The only thing thing that I wanted to do for sure was go to the Louvre. We agreed that we would go there and then make our way to the Eiffel Tower and wherever we made it in between and afterward would just be part of the adventure. We had so little time that we wanted to be as spontaneous as possible, just wander and see what we could see.

We stayed right next to this ancient Roman amphitheater. Apparently gladiatorial events took place here in the 1st century! Also, the weather was absolutely perfect for our entire stay. In fact, the weather has been good to me throughout this European adventure and for that I am incredibly thankful.

We got back on the metro and made it to the Louvre area. Here is a bit of an embarrassing, but amusing admission; it took us forever to figure out how to get inside. Until finally we asked someone and he told us that the entrance was in the pyramid. Right! I totally knew that. The Louvre is huge. There really wasn't enough time to se everything it has to offer, but I really enjoyed everything that we did manage to see. Especially this image of two girls on an epic adventure ; )

And finally I can say that I've seen the Mona Lisa. It's always interesting to see something so iconic because I never quite know what my reaction will be. It's ranged from underwhelmed to disbelief to an inability to speak. This time I was just excited. Her face always has always looked, to me, like she's in on a joke that we aren't. It's a bit eerie. I love it. This is the best shot I could get. I was in the front and everyone and their mom was trying to elbow past me. Because, obviously, waiting isn't an option.

After the Mona Lisa we went where our feet took us and saw a lot of classical, unique, and just cool art. Unfortunately, the Egyptian wing was closed, I'm all about Egyptian art and artifacts. Next time.

I really appreciate museum gift shops. Many of the potential purchases are ridiculously overpriced and insane, but you can also find some true gems. For example, Le Petit Prince for 6 Euros! One of the few books I can successfully read in French. And the exchange rate is better from dollars to euros than dollars to pounds, so I felt a little better about all the purchases that didn't take place in England.

We walked outside and saw the Arc de Triomphe in the distance. The distance from the Louvre is very deceptive. It's a straight shot so it looks like it's a few blocks, but it's really about two miles. Two beautiful, sunset-y miles. The walk took us through the Tuilerie

Garden, and then along the Champs-Elysées.

The Eiffel Tower came into view which, had we not felt like we were in Paris before, made it shockingly evident. There was an outdoor market most of the way between the Louvre and the Arc. It was comforting to see all the people wandering through the streets, going about the their lives. A city alive is one of the most beautiful things.

A crowd was assembled and we were curious. We stopped and got to see these four men break dancing like it was the easiest thing in the world, for about twenty minutes. They were amazing. And clearly having so much fun. They stood on their heads and were up again in one fluid motion. I can't imagine being able to move my body like that.

 After marveling at how triumphant the Arc is, we walked to the Eiffel Tower. Which effected Emma more than she thought it would. It's that thing about icons, you just never know. Sometimes they don't even feel real because you've seen them so many times you can't believe you're finally seeing them in reality. I've seen the Eiffel Tower once before, but it's still really cool. I like it a lot. The Seine and the lights are beautiful.

When you stand where we're standing in this picture, get ready for eight thousand people to ask you to take their picture. Which could be annoying, but isn't because it's cool to take a picture of people that you know will be really special to them. It's like you were a part of that moment.

That night was wonderful. After seeing the sites we got back to our hotel and had a successful conversation in French with the man at the desk about where to find vegetarian options.

We stumbled on this little place a few blocks from our hotel that looked inviting and cosy. It was small and the walls were yellow (and covered with pictures) it's vibe reminded me of Pizza Biga which simultaneously made me happy and miss home. Our waiter was lovely, so personable and friendly.

We had a true French meal (mostly) with wine and that lasted for two hours. We had a first course. I had camembert, walnut, spinach, and tomato salad, and Emma had French onion soup. Then our second course was a delicious four cheese pasta. And upon my admittance that I'd never had a banana split our dessert was decided. Such a tasty meal, but so so filling. Beyond taste, we had deep talks and tons of laughs. It was lovely.

The waiter urged us to come back and to bring our friends if they were nice like us. He was adorable.

We walked out of the restaurant and got a little lost, which was more exciting than it probably should have been. It was nice to be lost in Paris and have to work our way out of it. I kept hoping that a car door would open and I would be ushered in by Ernest Hemingway, alas, no 'Midnight in Paris' moments for me. Side note; if you haven't seen that film, it's wonderful. We made it back to the hotel and fell asleep still talking. The best way.

The next morning we got up and checked out. We had a breakfast of croissants and coffee at a little café a few blocks from our hotel and discovered that many things are closed on Sundays. We decided to soldier on and see what we could find. We walked a few more blocks and saw a spire and stained glass window. 'That looks like a cool church' we said. And then realization dawned on both of us that what we were calling a 'cool church' was in fact, Notre Dame.

Such a beautiful building. Regardless of religious affiliation, the architecture has to be appreciated. We appreciated for a good while, both the church and the sun. Close to Notre Dame there were shelves and shelves of books and other potential gifts ; ) We spent a long time working our way through that area. But, I'm always a fan of looking through books at a leisurely pace.

When we got back to London, I was going to finish my paper and then we were going to see Breaking Dawn (because you know...). I looked up the times and saw that there was 10:40 showing. Of course it took a bit longer to finish my paper than my optimistic estimate, but I got it done. And was quite satisfied with it in the end. We walked over to the Genesis Cinema all excited to be girly and geek out over Robert Pattinson for a few hours, but the Cinema was closed. It seems I read the time wrong and the movie was at 8:40, not 10:40. Fail. We then tried to go to Wetherspoon's but they were closing. Strike Two. We decided to just come back to my dorm have epic chats and start fresh in the morning. Success!

We got up on Monday and went to Petticoat Market, very near Brick Lane. It wasn't open yet so we decided to traipse through Brick Lane first. We went in and out of a bunch of vintage stores and ended up with some great purchases. I got three dresses and Emma got some awesome, unique pieces as well.

One of the stores we went to had an in-store cat, which I loved. And at another they were playing Bright Eyes, which I also loved. There's also a ton of great graffiti in that area as well.

After clothes shopping, we went over to Baker Street on the Metropolitan Line, which I hadn't taken until Monday! We went to the Beatles Store and the Sherlock Holmes museum which is located at 221B Baker Street. I have to read those books. Especially after being in London for three months.

The Beatles Store was so full of stuff. They had everything from playing cards to autographed photos (which were going for about £1500). It felt good to be there, surrounded up those four familiar faces and lovely music. The Sherlock Holmes museum also had a good vibe, and when I say 'museum,' I mean, gift shop. We didn't actually go in the museum itself, but the gift shop was great. It was just a turn of the century style house and all the items were worked into the house, it didn't look like a gift shop. All the people working there were also dressed like the time. And the toilets flushed by chain.

After this I had hoped to go to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, but the sun was already down and it seemed like they were closed. Disappointment.

We did, however, have dinner at Wetherspoon's and Emma ordered us drinks. Which was exciting for all involved. After dinner we successfully made it to Breaking Dawn and it was the cinematic masterpiece we anticipated.

The next morning we woke up at 5:15 and took the tube to Heathrow. Which is a really easy process, reassuring because I will be making the same journey in three weeks (!!!) I saw Emma safely through security and headed back here. On the way back I couldn't stop thinking about how quickly five days had gone by. It was such a lovely weekend but everything is always too fast. The intensity was amplified because before I came to London there were two things I knew that were absolutely, for sure happening; I was going to see Demitri Martin in October and Emma was coming around Thanksgiving. Both of these things have now passed and I can hardly believe how quickly they came and went.

The rest of the week has flown by as it always does. On Tuesday after class, Kelsey and I went to the Whitechapel Gallery. We were supposed to be observing and responding to this Rothko painting that was really nothing more than colors to me. I don't get Rothko, I'm sorry, I just really don't. The gallery was small, but there were some cool sights and the gift shop was nice.

On Wednesday night the crew went to Wetherspoon's for dinner and had an all around good time. And on Thursday, my lecture was cancelled, I scored big time at the Farmer's Market, and Stevie's mom came to visit!

Yesterday, my pals and I put together an incredibly successful Thanksgiving meal.  Most of us are vegetarian so we made a Portobello pot pie, which turned out perfectly and I was so proud of it. We also made a chicken, for those among us that eat meat. There was wine, incredibly good yams, mashed potatoes and green beans. And for dessert; Cheesecake and Chocolate Tart. It was just so lovely. The meal took a long time to prepare and to cook, it's nice to be in the kitchen with friends, laughing and talking for hours.

This year, and always I am thankful for so much, but mainly, for this incredibly amazing life that allows me to do simple and fantastic things independently and with all the beautiful, wonderful individuals that I am lucky enough to call friends (and family) and to be able to see the world from such varied vantage points. And you, whoever you are, reading this right now, thank you so much for being in my life. Thank you for everything.

I'm the weekend warrior

You know how sometimes you should really be working on a paper, but you 'need' to check everything else on the internet that may have notified you of something, before you get back into writing?

Yeah, that never happens to me either ; ) We're all much more disciplined than that. 

Right now, I'm lounging in Ground Café finishing a particularly delectable soy latté. I like it here. Contrary to what the fact that I'm writing this blog post and not writing my paper will suggest, it's a good spot for getting work done. It's noisy, but not distracting. I think that's necessary for me to focus. If I'm just sitting in my room and it's relatively quiet my mind wanders way too far away from the task at hand, way too easily. And often if I listen to music while I'm trying to read or write, I get too wrapped up in the music and can't concentrate on what I'm doing. So, this is perfect.

Also, I left Minneapolis two months ago! Can you believe that? I can't. It feels like I've been here for a decent amount of time, but I can hardly concede that it's been two whole months. This also means that I will be back in one month! And there is no shortage of things to do during that time, schoolwork and otherwise, so we all know it will go by way too fast. 

It's gotten the slightest bit more chilly in the past few days. Not cold. Just chilly. But, the all too familiar Winter dread is seeping into my soul. I've given myself the 'Tianna you have SO many things to look forward to this Winter' pep-talk a number of times, I think I've even blogged about it, and I know it's true. I just don't think I will ever be able to like the cold. Ever. It's hardly even cold here, now and even by the time I leave it won't be that cold, not like home. So, sorry in advance if I'm particularly vocal about my Winter woes this year. I'll do my best to keep it to myself and smile, smile, smile. Warmth is totally a state of mind. I'm going to keep telling myself that and hopefully, when I need it to be, it will be true.

The last week has been full of reading. It was, after all, 'Reading Week'. And I didn't completely ignore that. There were a few moments last week where I was a bit, I wouldn't say homesick because that's too extreme, but a bit like 'Hey, Minneapolis, I would be more than okay if you were in my life right now'. Since we didn't have classes last week, following our Scotland trip most of my friends spent some time at home with their families, which meant; A. They weren't here (obviously) & B. I wanted to be home spending time with family, which is not an option for another month. But, I had a really nice conversation with my Dad and a really solid Skype session with my best pal and my spirits were lifted a whole heck of a lot. 

On Saturday Aysha and I went Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park. So. Beautiful. Just absolutely gorgeous. I want to be there all the time. It was just so green and lovely. There were so many trees that looked like they were inviting you to climb them. We walked for most of the afternoon. Made a brief detour at the Serpentine Gallery, which had been really talked up for both of us and honestly wasn't really much of anything...but that's okay. It's inevitable that everything will not live up to the hype surrounding. The parks were lovely enough. We also went to Urban Outfitters where I bought myself a nice knit hat. And a birthday gift for my pal, Stevie. The evening was spent among friends as well, celebrating Stevie's birthday and just hanging out. An altogether lovely day.

I'm also registered for Spring semester and am genuinely excited about all of classes! I'm taking American Literature, British Literature, Greek & Roman Mythology, and Poetry Writing. AND both Mythology and Poetry writing are 1000 level classes. Which will be really nice. Plus I'm just really excited about both of them. I've written a decent amount of poetry, but never with any real direction or much critique so, I think this class will be a lot of fun and will hopefully be beneficial for my writing. The only issues I have with this otherwise awesome schedule are; 

1. Monday through Thursday I have class at 8AM. I'm not all too jazzed about biking to the U four days a week before the sun has risen, in the cold.  But, taking this class from 6-8PM two days a week was the only other option and that was not happening.

2. On Thursday I have a four gap between classes. Not that big a deal, and once the weather is warm it will be lovely to sit outside and work for a few hours. I generally like to have a more compact schedule though. 

Altogether good, these are the only issues and they're not even that bad. So, I'm pretty happy.

I saw 'The Rum Diary' on Sunday evening. I'd heard mixed reviews and I suppose I understand. It gets a little slow at times, but I mostly I really enjoyed it. It made me laugh and snort a few times. Anything that does that is good in my book. And it starred Johnny Depp, which is never a bad thing, except in the rare instances of things like 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' because, let's be honest, Gene Wilder is the only Willy Wonka we ever needed. 

Stevie, Jess, and I took a nice Canal walk this afternoon. I really am going to miss that Canal when I leave, not to mention those two wonderful human beings. It just has so much character as does London in general. This is a wonderful place.

Now, I must write for academic purposes. I will be relatively busy this weekend as my best pal, Emma is coming to visit! And we are heading to Paris for the weekend. So. Excited. (But, also, no time for schoolwork, hence the end of my post).

We are stardust. We are golden. We are billion year old carbon.

The last couple of days have been nice and relaxed. Just what I needed after an epic Edinburgh weekend and six weeks of school. In usual Tianna fashion I'm finding it challenging to process how fast time goes by. Because usually when I'm in a moment or a day it doesn't feel like it's speeding along. Then when I stop and think that next week I'll have been here for two months, my brain can hardly compute that.

And Emma is coming to visit me, next Friday! I've been looking forward to this since she bought her ticket in July. I can hardly believe that she's going to be here next weekend. I'm so excited to see her. It's really perfect timing on her part as well. The following week is Thanksgiving and although my pals and I are having our own Thanksgiving feast that weekend (which I am so looking forward to), I think this will be the time that I will most want to be home. Luckily, a bit of home is coming to me and my friends are wonderful. Also, Emma and I are going to Paris for the weekend. Just a bit excited for that as well ; ) 

I was looking at the list of things I want to do and/or see before I leave and it hit me that I will probably not be able to do all of them. At first I was not okay with that and thought about devising a schedule to make it all happen. But then I realized that it's okay if I don't see everything. London isn't going anywhere. I know that I will be back here as many times as I can be and the items that remain on my list provide all the more incentive for my return.

Tuesday was gray and dismal looking. Really the first day that I felt epitomized stereotypical London weather. I was feeling kind of lethargic and when the weather is like that it's hard to be motivated to do anything. But, Emmett and I had made plans to take the bus to Asda (a Supermarket with a greater selection). After forcing myself out of bed (I haven't had one of these lazy days in a long time so I was milking it a bit) we walked to the bus stop and of course, got on the wrong bus. This ended up being fine because we were through a part of the city I had yet to see and after about 30 minutes we saw a bus stop for the bus we were supposed to be on. We got on the D6 only to find that it was going back toward Mile End and away from Asda. Oh well. 

Having utterly missed Asda we decided to go to Sainsbury's which is only a 15 minute walk. Following our grocery outing we concluded that it was the perfect weather for a film. So we joined Jess and watched Galaxy Quest. I love this movie. So much. It has great associations for me. Firstly, it's a Pilipovic family favorite. We quote it all the time at home. Secondly, it reminds me of a fun evening spent at Cheapo being way too amused by everything, including but, not limited to a Billy Ray Cyrus VHS for $2.00 and then watching Galaxy Quest at Lizzie's. Many good memories. Made me miss home. Then I talked with my parents, which was nice and alleviated a bit of the missing while slightly increasing it, if that's possible. As amazing as this experience is, it will be nice to be home and see all your beautiful faces in five weeks and the city I love so well.

Yesterday Emmett, Jess, and I walked to Brick Lane. It's about two miles from Queen Mary, literally straight down Mile End Road and then one block right. We had some great vegetable curry and naan for lunch. There's a guy outside each restaurant trying to tell you that their curry and their deal is best. Seriously I think each restaurant had a sign boasting their 'award for best curry'. It was REALLY good so I can't complain. We wandered through, looked in a few different shops, and I spent more than I wanted to on music and books, but is anyone honestly surprised by that?

Last evening Jess, Alice, and I met up to take the tube to Tuffnell Park (a place I hadn't yet been in London!). I'm always excited when I'm taking the tube to a new stop or riding a line I haven't yet been on. We saw Andrew O'Neill (the same Andrew O'Neill who lead the Ripper walk that I went on last month!) at this pub called The Hideaway. The venue was nice and cozy and I got a bit tipsy from cider, only a bit though, I swear I'm not as much of a lightweight as you're now thinking (I probably am). They also had wood-fired pizzas which were delectable and reminded me how much I'd love a Pizza Biga pizza. Soon, very soon.

The stand-up was hilarious and apparently he was recording for his new cd. So if you purchase or listen to Andrew O'Neill's new cd (whenever that comes out) my boisterous laughter will be a part of your listening experience. Good times.

Today I am going to get reading done. I am going to write more letters. I am going to be responsible and on task. And maybe watch an episode of Dexter and House and check my email and facebook way more times than is necessary, as you do.

Every head's a different world

So jazzed about everything.

At this moment, right now, I am in love with life. Not that I'm not at most moments, but right now it's particularly apparent to me. I love it here and I have so much to look forward to when I get home. I know I mention this every time I write, but it hasn't stopped getting to me and it probably won't ever. On Tuesday I hit the halfway point of my time in London! That's incredible. I feel like there's so much I still have to do and so little time. There's never enough time. Speaking of time, Burgess Meredith was in a dream I had last night which reminded me of this episode of 'The Twilight Zone'.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Reading Week, which means I don't have class again until the 15th. A nice break to get caught up on all my reading, relax a bit, and step up tourist mode into high gear. Over the last few weeks I feel like I haven't had much time for touristy outings, which is okay because I've been out and about doing non-touristy things. But, I still have a semi-sizable list of places to go and things to see. To kick the week off my pals and I are going to Edinburgh for the weekend! So exciting.

I started this post and then got interrupted for four days.

Before I tell you about this weekend let's back track a bit farther, it's been more than a week since I last posted. Last I checked in it was Sunday the 30th of October and I was really excited about live music and movies. The music in the park was lovely and the movies were a ton of fun. Ghostbusters is always a classic and The Exorcist is actually laughably bad. I'm not sure how anyone finds it so terrifying. I guess the concept of something like that actually happening is really unsettling, but the film itself just didn't get me.

On Halloween I met up with Kelsey, Aysha, Sumaya, and Jackson for £5 pancakes. Disclaimer; they were definitely crepes and they filled the plates that they came on which were huge. £5 was a good deal. Following that we went to Paranormal Activity 3 which was scary for two reasons; 1. The cinema prices in Leicester Square 2. Toby, silly name, scary demon. I realized that I've seen these films the last three Halloween's, at different theaters, with different people. At the rate they're going maybe the trend will continue next year. Disappointingly, I didn't actually have a costume this year. So I'm already planning for next year.

ALSO big exciting news in my life! Jessica and I have been talking about finding a place together for quite a while now. We've discussed in depth where we want to be and what we're looking for in a place and we found it! Over the past weeks she's been looking for places and sending me links, a few really nice places. But, then I got a link for an apartment in a three story brownstone on the corner of Lagoon Ave. and Knox Ave., this is literally across the street from Lake Calhoun, a block from the Greenway, and pretty much everything in Uptown is within easy walking distance. Perfect. There was a bottom floor and a third floor apartment available. Jessica toured the bottom floor and wasn't too jazzed, but we were so keen on the location that she looked at the third floor as well. We skyped right after she'd toured the third floor and I knew immediately that this was the spot. She was so happy and said how nice it was; hardwood floors, light, open, overlooking the lake. Perfect. She filled out the application on the spot and I returned mine that same night. The next morning we found out that we'd been approved! Jessica's signed the lease and I will when I get home. I can't express how excited I am to live there with my best friend. Just thinking about Spring and Summer across the street from the lake, with friends, swimming, cookouts, biking, rollerblading, running, everything. I can't wait.

Highlights of the rest of the week include;

Epic nostalgia fest with Aysha. We met on Wednesday to work on Shakespeare, which we did do a bit of, but mostly bonded over the shows we watched as children, showed each other hilarious things online (such as this), and watched a ton of movie trailers. This lead into a really involved discussion of how amazing Kevin Spacey. Have you seen 'The Usual Suspects'? So. Good.

We had weekly movie night, which was 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' this week. I really love that film. It's one that I like to leave a good gap between viewings so I can forget it a little bit and then realize how much I appreciate it each time I watch it because it still feels kind of new. I also just really appreciate when Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey are laying on the ice just looking up and being content in that moment. I can hardly stand winter and I think I might be able to deal with it a bit better if I had a special someone to go adventuring with, to lay on the ice and look at the stars with. Who knows what this winter holds.

On Friday I bought a rail card so that the discounted ticket to Edinburgh would be legitimate. I feel so British having a little pouch with my Oyster and my rail card. It's exciting. In usual Tianna fashion I was up a bit later than I wanted to be finishing an assignment. But I got it done and was actually satisfied with the finished product.

And then on Saturday the Scooby Gang got it together and met at 7:45 to take the train to Scotland. From King's Cross to Edinburgh was about four and half hours. Honestly, I would've been okay if it had gone on longer, the ride was beautiful. Although once we started walking around Edinburgh I realized that there was no lack of beauty there.

I was so excited and ready to go!

Some views from the train.

Stevie found the place where the sea meets the sky.

Stevie wins at photography.

This is actually the first thing I saw in Scotland outside of the train station.

These are my friends.

This is the most exciting sweater I've ever purchased. Confession; I'm wearing it right now.

Just on the way to the hostel.

After getting to our hostel and setting our stuff down we were right back out and ready to explore. It was the the 5th of November which means bonfire night and fireworks. The place we were going to watch from had no tickets left and in the end that was great. Before bonfires, we walked around the city a bit more and stopped at a store where I purchased the most comfortable sweater ever...that I should probably stop raving about. For fireworks we hiked part of the way up Arthur's Seat, which was slightly terrifying, but mostly a lot of fun. It was dark and from our prime location we had a panoramic view of the entire city and all the firework displays. It was absolutely beautiful. It was one of those times that will be with me always. Where I was with people I love in one of the most beautiful places I've ever been just feeling it all. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from that night. On the other hand, I don't think any picture could ever adequately convey the beauty of that night. So, I guess it's okay.

The next day we had lunch on the Royal Mile and then saw a bunch of sites on a three hour walking tour.

Sites like Edinburgh Castle

And the café where J.K. Rowling started writing Harry Potter

The tour was pretty good and if you're ever in Edinburgh you should take the three hour tour. It's advertised as free and essentially it is, but they ask for whatever tip you feel they deserve at the end.


After the tour we had dinner at The Elephant House. There are a bunch of messages to J.K. Rowling in the bathroom and list of people who have 'joined Dumbledore's army'. I suppose it's a kind of fitting place to express those sentiments, but I highly doubt J.K. Rowling will ever see them. The café itself was really nice. It was cozy and full of all kinds of elephants. They even had a board where you could draw your own elephant and have it displayed, which some of us did!

We then migrated to the Frankenstein themed pub next door. Sometimes places with a theme can be obnoxious, but this place really went for it and we loved it. It was nice and cozy (are you thinking, 'Wow, Tianna, find another adjective!' Because I am. But, I can't think of anything more apt).

Having not had our fill of hills and beautiful sights we decided climb a hill that is advertised as the portal to the fairy realm. Sounded like fun. It took a while to find the way up, but once we did it was well worth it. Edinburgh is really hilly and my legs loved it as did the rest of me. We got to the top of the hill and again had a perfect panoramic view of the whole city. I alternated between laying down on the ground for a while just looking at the stars and appreciating my own insignificance, sitting close to the edge and seeing the whole city, and talking about what you talk about when you're on a hill looking at the stars. Beautiful.

The view from Edinburgh Castle

The next day was spent largely at Edinburgh Castle. A few weeks ago when we were shopping around the idea of going to Edinburgh, Alex was talking about being sick of castles. How his whole childhood was 'Castle, castle, castle'. To which I responded that I had never been to a castle, which was baffling because of it's commonplace nature in every British childhood. I've been trying to think of an American equivalent without much luck, any ideas?

It was exciting to finally wander around a castle though. The views were incredible and there was a lot to see. Something that I really appreciated was the crown jewels. Not really the jewels themselves, but outside of the exhibit there was a mold of each piece and a description in Braille. How cool is that? So even if you can't see something you can feel exactly what it's like. I've never seen something like that before and it's highly possible that that happens in the US but I wish it happened everywhere.

The train ride home was spent reading and sleeping, which was a nice relaxed way to wind down an incredibly lovely weekend. Edinburgh is an obnoxiously beautiful city and I hope to be back there.

Also, my Minneapolitan friends, I miss you, lots. And I'm really excited to see you in five and a half weeks. 

I go umbrella under my arm into the green of the radar

And in the blink of an eye another week has gone by. On Wednesday I will pass the half-way point of my stay in London! I can barely believe that. This is proving to be one of the best experiences of my life so far. The vast majority of people who I've heard talk about their study abroad experiences have said basically the same and I believed them, but now I'm finding that first hand and will be one of those people encouraging everyone with a slight inclination to take a step out of their comfort zone and the familiarity of home for a few months.

I am so grateful for this experience. It's given me a much greater confidence in my ability to function as an independent person. If I can live alone, do everything for myself, in a foreign country what can't I do when I get home? I have plans to move out soon after I get home. Last year I would've been a bit apprehensive about this simply because living with my parents in the house that I grew up in is easy. It's familiar and safe. I don't have to do everything for myself. I don't have to pay for all my own things. Now it's like, 'what was I thinking?' living with one of my best friends in the city I love so well a few miles from my childhood home will be (mostly) a breeze and so much fun. AND on top of independence, I've met some truly lovely people who have become wonderful friends that I am having great times with. I don't think I could or would want to ask for much more than that.

This Winter I want to drive and use the bus as little as possible. I want to bike. It's better for the environment, it's great exercise, and I miss Alfred. Alfred is my bicycle, I'd just watched 'The Dark Knight' (and I have a tendency to anthropomorphize a lot of my inanimate possessions) and he didn't look like a 'Batman', hence the name. We'll see. I'm writing about this here largely so that if I try to change my mind you'll hold me to it, 'Tianna, remember how much you wanted to do this in the beginning of November' when the degrees were positive and your eyelashes weren't frozen together? 

Last weekend it was Jo's birthday so;

We made her a cake

She ate her name!

We made peanut butter cookies & Jess made a smiling star.

Jess & Emmett are clearly satisfied with their respective cake and cookies.

I'm just happy about everything.

And then Emmett and Stevie switched trousers, as you do.

A really lovely evening. Following the cake eating, Stevie, Jo, & I watched 'Stranger Than Fiction'. What a great film. As much as I enjoy Will Ferrell the characters he plays are generally silly and/or obnoxious. Harold Crick is sweet, endearing, and real. Also, I want to own a bakery like Maggie Gyllenhaal. We had good talks and they introduced me to this song.

Did you know that British people refer to '.' as a full stop and not a period? I didn't until a few days ago. 

On Wednesday I have 'Architexts' and this week we moved from Marx to Nietzsche. He has this idea of living your life with the realization that all of your actions are your responsibility. People spend too much time agonizing over the end of their lives that they're not present in the moments that they're living. Basically, I like the idea of taking responsibility for your life and really living every moment to the fullest because we're all here, now and we should be conscious of that. This is your life; do what you want, be who you are, be aware of others thoughts and feelings, love, and understand that all of these things are okay because you're calling the shots in your life. I think that's what I mean, maybe that's not quite what Nietzsche said or meant, but his ideas factor in.

After class I met with Aysha to work on our reviews of 'The Tempest'. We decided to have lunch first and a short lunch turned into a few hours of conversation with Kelsey and Jackson, as it will. We did actually get some work done once we moved to the library.

We watched 'Hard Candy' on Wednesday, which is pretty much solely Ellen Page and Patrick Wilson being amazing. After the film, Alex told a story about how someone he knows (that didn't have English as a first language) thought that a swimming suit was called a 'swimming tux' which we all found incredibly hilarious. So much so that we felt the need to put Stevie's swimming tux on over our clothes. I really love moments like that, just being silly. Life is way too serious most of the time. When I got back to my room I did a quick facebook check, stepped away for a second and when I turned back & had a message from Lizzie! This message turned into a solid conversation. That was really nice. I miss her. She informed me that I was sent a letter from my friends at Pizza Biga a couple weeks ago. I still haven't received it! I miss that place and those people, to hear from all of them together would be great. I hope it's not lost in the mail forever. Sometimes international mail takes forever, right?

On Friday Jess, Stevie, and I were eating dinner in Stevie's kitchen and one of her roommates was cooking. The smell from whatever it was might be the single worst aroma I've ever had the displeasure of smelling. Yikes. We were just innocently trying to eat our pizza when our noses were accosted by this awful stench. So, we moved to Stevie's room and had a small Skype session with Addie. Two worlds collided! My British pals kept commenting on how alike we sounded. I love that and I suppose you can't really escape similar speech patterns when you've been best friends for so many years.

Last night we had planned on pumpkin carving. We didn't want to go to Sainsbury's because it's farther away. We walked to the closer Tesco and stopped at a few other places on the way, no dice. Hopefully, we'll be successful tonight. Instead of pumpkin carving we watched & had a great sing-along to Sweeney Todd.

Today we're going to see some live music, and then having a scary/awesome movie marathon complete with; Ghostbusters and The Exorcist at The Genesis Cinema, followed by The Strangers and pumpkin carving. I'm way too jazzed about already.

Ralph Fiennes spit on my face.

I'm baffled by the fact that somehow it's been almost a week since last I recounted the tale of my time. Can you believe how quickly time is racing? It's already Halloween next Monday! Time is apparently a leitmotif in the narrative of my life. I just can't stop bringing it up, but that's only because it's a concept that I think I might never fully grasp.

This week I've finally started to feel more like I'm actually in school. The reading is accumulating and due dates are looming closer. I think I've mostly got it under control though and am finding a decent rhythm in which to work. Hopefully this feeling continues. Sometimes I'm not the best at time management, but I'm really working on it. You'd think that my time fixation would make me great at it, unfortunately that's not the case.

Monday was spent primarily in front of books. Usually I'd be totally cool with spending most of a day like this, but one of the books (that's taking me forever to get through!) is an eighteenth century 500 page epistolary tale of morality. So it was quite a relief when Lexa knocked on my door and we went out for a drink and solid conversation. I really enjoy going to the pub. Don't take that the wrong way. What I mean is, I enjoy a relaxed, cozy environment that fosters fun & interesting conversation while drinking a tasty beverage (or not). It's a bit irritating that from December to practically June I won't be able to do this.

Tuesday Stevie, Jess, Emmett & I decided to walk down the Canal the other way. Prior to that I had only gone along the side that follows campus and beyond. I didn't even know that it continued across Mile End Road in the other direction, toward Canary Wharf. The walk was nice. I think I like our side of the Canal better. Maybe it's just because I'm more used to it. There was an abundance of cool graffiti on this side too. I appreciate that. Even though it's been more than a month now it keeps hitting me that I'm actually in London. Every time I see something famous or iconic it's like, 'Oh yeah, I'm actually here, aren't I?' Because London is a really amazing city, but it is just another place too. It's nice to be able to experience it like that; an iconic, famous, landmark-ridden place & just another spot to rest your bones. It makes it more manageable. If I was always shocked and amazed by everything I'd never be comfortable.

Wednesday was movie night. We watched a documentary called 'We Live in Public'. In the 90s this guy, Josh Harris, started a website that he looked at like a tv channel. He also put together a project where a large group of people lived together and were constantly filmed, a precursor to shows like 'Big Brother' & 'The Real World'. They couldn't leave and I think this was much more real than 'The Real World' has ever been. I don't want to give too much of it away, so I'll say it's a really interesting look at humanity and how being watched effects behavior.

On top of reading and wandering around the neighborhood, it seems there's been a lot of movie/show watching this week. On Thursday I got solid doses of Planet Earth & Daria. If you haven't seen Planet Earth do your eyes a favor and watch it. Each episode is about a different sort of environment. For example, we watched 'Ocean Deep'. On top of being incredibly beautiful, it's also quite informative and David Attenborough's narration is top notch. Daria is just great. Hilarious, sarcastic, awesomeness. Friday, there was a screening of Transamerica. Quite a film. Definitely made me cry a few times.

After the film our crew attempted to go to Wetherspoons, but for some reason Jess's ID wasn't acceptable so we went to a bar a just a little closer to home. It was lovely. Cozy, not very crowded, and we got student discounts! It was a nice relaxed evening of snacks, drinks, and chats. That's what I'm all about. I called it an early night because I had an early morning meeting on Saturday. Unfortunately my responsibility was rewarded with a 4AM fire alarm. So annoying. By the time we were allowed back in it was closer to 4:30 and my alarm was set for 6. Yay.

I managed to drag myself out of bed when my alarm went off to meet Aysha at Piccadilly Circus at 7. Our first assignment for my Shakespeare class is to write a theater review. Earlier in the week Aysha had asked if I was interested in going to The Tempest. She informed me that this would involve getting up early and waiting for rush tickets. This is exactly what we did. We waited for 3 hours for the box office to open at 10. This may seem extreme, but it was lucky we got there when we did because by 8 a decent line was developing. We got tickets for £15 that are normally much more expensive, literally in the front row!

We had 4 hours until the play actually started so we got some coffee, traipsed around Piccadilly Circus and ended up at a bookstore. We wandered around the fiction section discussing our favorites and having an altogether lovely literary conversation. That spent most of our waiting time. We agreed that we could both be happy in a bookstore for days. English majors (or lovers of words) unite!

We got back to the theater and took our front row, center stage seats (!) and took out our notebooks. I felt a bit obnoxious taking notes the entire time, but assignments must be done. Before I knew what was happening Ralph Fiennes, playing Prospero, (!!!) was literally kneeling in front of my face. Mere inches from me. At one point in a particularly impassioned speech, while standing at the edge of the stage some of his spit literally landed on my face. Pretty gross, but also a bit epic. The play was very good. Very stripped down and all about the wordplay. Ralph Fiennes was wonderful and I tried not to be too distracted by the fact that he's him the whole time. When the curtain call was happening he was bowing pretty much in my face, we caught eyes for a second, I was smiling and he smiled back at me. I appreciated that little acknowledgement.

When I got back to Queen Mary I saw a group assembled in front of Varey House. I wondered why that could be and was quickly alerted to another fire alarm! Seriously? The cause of this one was apparently known to just about everyone though. Somehow someone accidentally poured cooking oil on a hot burner and the smoke alarm went off. I'm not quite sure how you accidentally do that.

Other than the fire alarms, it was a really great day and a really nice week on top of that.