The feeling you get when you walk out of class on the day before break… nothing really compares. Its like you can breathe again and the sun is literally shining brighter. I LOVE that feeling, hence I loved today! Today was so easy! We had two 45 minute lectures with a 5 minute break. The first session was the birth of Opera so it was fun and not necessary to take notes. I love classes that notes aren’t needed and you can just listen! The second session was Baroque Architecture because our lecturer for that day was horrible and just did Inigo Jones and did it in 40 mintues. Class was over before I knew it and I was FREE! We got the time-table for next term…. They aren’t done yet but it looks good! 18th century stuff! ‘Bout time! I LOVE that century!!
After class I went to the train station… not to catch a train (unfortunately!) but to see the biggest Christmas tree made out of LEGOS! How cool is THAT! It was awesome to see up close! I wish that was my job… making things from legos. How amazing would it be to get paid to play with legos. I think that is the best job on this planet actually. What am I doing at Christies?? Then I went to Oxford St to see the Christmas decorations. Not impressed. So I accidently went shopping (since I was there) and didn’t buy anything! (someone please be proud because I wanted 15 dresses that I talked myself out of!)
I am so happy to not have to go to the library. It is so SO nice. I had to go today on my way to class to return some books. Man it did NOT miss it!
Random things… I miss burgers. And junk food. I ate an entire bag of Doritos last night…. I felt gross after. I wouldn’t recommend it. Especially if that is your first bit of junk food in 3 month! Also my goal is to NEVER run to catch a bus or train, and so far so good on that also! I cant wait to DRIVE something. CAN. NOT. WAIT! Except Ill miss Lucy (my car) since she is off the road and I have to drive the mint-green, subraru Legacy station wagon. (yeah I don’t know what my parents were thinking either!)
Off to Skype the parents!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Nutcracker!
I was so tired when I got up today. Christies must hate us.. two papers due this week with an all day field trip and then a full day of lecture the day after. Gah. I was running late… I made it though in time to eat my cheerios. Patty gave the lecture today which was good. It wasn’t all that informative but it was entertaining! We looked at palaces and learned how much he hates Versailles!
The afternoon was the longest session we have ever had. (Again why do they do this to us!) It was on Marquetry though so that was awesome. The guy had apprenticed in Paris and makes/restores things using the old methods. Pretty awesome. It was lucky that he was entertaining and funny. Otherwise we wouldn’t have made it until 4 (yeah it was a long class) He had a thick French accent which was hard, but I got used to it. I touched turtle shell! SO cool! It was pretty, no wonder they used it on furniture! He took us through ALL the ages of marquetry and ended with his current pieces. They were STUNNING. I wanted one! One of the girls (also named Anna) asked him hw much they went for (which was good becaseu I was dying to know!) The cabinet was 25,000, and the two floor to ceiling ones were 45,00 apiece. Gah! Afterwards she went up and got his card! WHAT?? How do you have that much money! (she is a Russian with money…)
After class I ran home to eat, and get changed for the NUTCRACKER! It was really REALLY good. Way better than Sleeping Beauty! I also could see the entire stage which helped! It was a good view for 10 pounds! I wish I was a ballerina…. :(I came home and crashed into bed!
The afternoon was the longest session we have ever had. (Again why do they do this to us!) It was on Marquetry though so that was awesome. The guy had apprenticed in Paris and makes/restores things using the old methods. Pretty awesome. It was lucky that he was entertaining and funny. Otherwise we wouldn’t have made it until 4 (yeah it was a long class) He had a thick French accent which was hard, but I got used to it. I touched turtle shell! SO cool! It was pretty, no wonder they used it on furniture! He took us through ALL the ages of marquetry and ended with his current pieces. They were STUNNING. I wanted one! One of the girls (also named Anna) asked him hw much they went for (which was good becaseu I was dying to know!) The cabinet was 25,000, and the two floor to ceiling ones were 45,00 apiece. Gah! Afterwards she went up and got his card! WHAT?? How do you have that much money! (she is a Russian with money…)
After class I ran home to eat, and get changed for the NUTCRACKER! It was really REALLY good. Way better than Sleeping Beauty! I also could see the entire stage which helped! It was a good view for 10 pounds! I wish I was a ballerina…. :(I came home and crashed into bed!
Oxford
Not going to lie….. I was a bit disappointed in our field trip. We left at 8:30 and I was pumped and excited. I had been there about 4 years ago and wanted to see if I remembered anything! I especially wanted to seek out Blackwells! (my all-time favorite bookstore! Yup it beats Barnes and Nobles!) We arrived at about 10:00. They told us that we were going to leave at 3:45 so we could get back for the dumb Christmas party. Lame! I would MUCH rather hang out in Oxford! Anyways… we get off the bus at the Ashmolian Museum. (Oh and in the UK we HAVE to wear seatbelts on the ‘coach’. Weird) I had picked Andrew’s group to learn about silver and furniture. I was looking forward to it. It was TORTURE. We talked about EVERY. SINGLE. PIECE of silver there. It was tedious, long, and boring. The 30 minutes we spent on furniture wasn’t bad, but the first hour and a half on silver killed the visit.
At 12:15 we got to go on the lunch break! I brought my lunch because I didn’t want to spend money on food! I ate and wandered around the city. I found Radcliffe’s Camera and the Bridge of Sighs all by myself! I remembered where things were! I even found Blackwell’s. I am slightly ashamed to say that I spent most of my hour and a half break in Blackwell’s…. oops. Then I discovered the Blackwell’s Art shop across the street. I literally had to tell myself don’t buy anything over and over again. I wanted EVERY book! It was fine art, decorative art, everything! I avoided the University shop by telling myself I already have Oxford University sweatshirts and didn’t need any more!
At 1:45 I had to back at the museum and I barely made it on time (I blame the art books) I was so excited about the afternoon session. I had picked Christ Church Picture Gallery. Uncle Billy had brought me to see the Alice in Wonderland fireplace and stuff and I was excited to go back. We JUST saw the gallery. It was very VERY disappointing. The gallery had two rooms and while it had decent things, I was disappointed. Finally it was time to go home. I fell asleep on the bus ride and went home to eat and sleep. I was SO tired! So while it was nice to see Oxford, it was a disappointment.
At 12:15 we got to go on the lunch break! I brought my lunch because I didn’t want to spend money on food! I ate and wandered around the city. I found Radcliffe’s Camera and the Bridge of Sighs all by myself! I remembered where things were! I even found Blackwell’s. I am slightly ashamed to say that I spent most of my hour and a half break in Blackwell’s…. oops. Then I discovered the Blackwell’s Art shop across the street. I literally had to tell myself don’t buy anything over and over again. I wanted EVERY book! It was fine art, decorative art, everything! I avoided the University shop by telling myself I already have Oxford University sweatshirts and didn’t need any more!
At 1:45 I had to back at the museum and I barely made it on time (I blame the art books) I was so excited about the afternoon session. I had picked Christ Church Picture Gallery. Uncle Billy had brought me to see the Alice in Wonderland fireplace and stuff and I was excited to go back. We JUST saw the gallery. It was very VERY disappointing. The gallery had two rooms and while it had decent things, I was disappointed. Finally it was time to go home. I fell asleep on the bus ride and went home to eat and sleep. I was SO tired! So while it was nice to see Oxford, it was a disappointment.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
A Long Day
Today was one of those days that you just never really wake up. I was in a daze all morning. I somehow got to school (and I don’t have my ipod to pump me up in the morning anymore thanks to my headphones blowing) I did get a seat today on the tube so that was nice! At Baker Street they plastered the new Sherlock Holmes tile up next to the old silhouette of Sherlock to celebrate the new movie. Im hoping they are stickers because it clashes and looks really bad!
Lecture this morning was complete and absolute torture. I think everyone felt that way. (at least my acquaintances and I thought so!) It was 17th century ceramics which you think would be semi interesting! Nope. The stuff didn’t change that much from the 16th century to the 17th. Everyone is still trying to copy the Chinese and make their earthenware look like porcelain. I just summarized the entire 1.5 hour lecture and you got everything out of it as we did. Yeah… rough morning! That didn’t help me wake up!
I ate lunch and decided to go print off my papers! I really miss having a printer. I miss that more than a microwave. (that is saying something!) My culture and ideology class went to the Kenwood House today. I was worried about getting there but I tagged along with Isabel and Katy. We made it with plenty of time. I saw the most amazing thing today…. Grass. I wanted to take off my sneaks and run through it in bare feet (even though it was chilly today. I have to finally put the liner in my coat!) The house is on a hill that overlooks the city of London. It was a pretty nice view! The house was impressive also! We looked at portraits from the 17th century (the collection has some big names, Reynolds, Rembrant, Fran Hals, and Gainsbourgh!) and we moved on to the 18th century. I like the 18th century MUCH better! Oh the library there was AWESOME. My jaw literally dropped. It was in the Neo-Classical style and beautiful. Add another story of bookcases and it would have rivaled the one in Beauty and the Beast (ok maybe not really, but at least this library was real!) Our professor (Patty the cool one) asked us if any of us like it. I raised my hand…. I was the only one. Pat was just like “o wow you like this?? Well you need to be a millionaire in life then”. Great. :) I really liked it though!
After class I wandered around the grounds some and really wished that I had brought my camera! It was nice and QUIET. I took two different buses to get home and I felt so proud of myself for figuring it out all alone!
Tomorrow is OXFORD! Woo! It will be a long day but hopefully good. Ill try to post pictures tomorrow!
Lecture this morning was complete and absolute torture. I think everyone felt that way. (at least my acquaintances and I thought so!) It was 17th century ceramics which you think would be semi interesting! Nope. The stuff didn’t change that much from the 16th century to the 17th. Everyone is still trying to copy the Chinese and make their earthenware look like porcelain. I just summarized the entire 1.5 hour lecture and you got everything out of it as we did. Yeah… rough morning! That didn’t help me wake up!
I ate lunch and decided to go print off my papers! I really miss having a printer. I miss that more than a microwave. (that is saying something!) My culture and ideology class went to the Kenwood House today. I was worried about getting there but I tagged along with Isabel and Katy. We made it with plenty of time. I saw the most amazing thing today…. Grass. I wanted to take off my sneaks and run through it in bare feet (even though it was chilly today. I have to finally put the liner in my coat!) The house is on a hill that overlooks the city of London. It was a pretty nice view! The house was impressive also! We looked at portraits from the 17th century (the collection has some big names, Reynolds, Rembrant, Fran Hals, and Gainsbourgh!) and we moved on to the 18th century. I like the 18th century MUCH better! Oh the library there was AWESOME. My jaw literally dropped. It was in the Neo-Classical style and beautiful. Add another story of bookcases and it would have rivaled the one in Beauty and the Beast (ok maybe not really, but at least this library was real!) Our professor (Patty the cool one) asked us if any of us like it. I raised my hand…. I was the only one. Pat was just like “o wow you like this?? Well you need to be a millionaire in life then”. Great. :) I really liked it though!
After class I wandered around the grounds some and really wished that I had brought my camera! It was nice and QUIET. I took two different buses to get home and I felt so proud of myself for figuring it out all alone!
Tomorrow is OXFORD! Woo! It will be a long day but hopefully good. Ill try to post pictures tomorrow!
Manic Monday
The last Monday of my first term!! WOO! I woke up feeling way better than I usually do on a Monday morning! My commute wasn’t that cool though because I didn’t walk down the platform far enough (the train was basically there when I was walking down the stairs!) so I didn’t get a seat on the ride in. It’s not the end of the world, but it is nice to sit down and try to wake up, not balance to the movement of the train while I’m attempting to keep my eyes open!
Lecture was about two artists that I have never heard of and are apparently famous… Poussin and Claude. Im not a fan of Poussin… I dozed through that half of the lecture! I do like Claude’s stuff though! We talked about myths and cool stuff. It was good (once we got past Poussin!)
The afternoon was our last museum visit for the term! I was at the National Gallery. We talked about 17th century stuff and it was good. I actually talked in class and basically my answer kicked butt. :) I then headed home, made risotto for dinner, finished my paper (which took awhile!) and then went to bed. Wow what an exciting life I lead.
Lecture was about two artists that I have never heard of and are apparently famous… Poussin and Claude. Im not a fan of Poussin… I dozed through that half of the lecture! I do like Claude’s stuff though! We talked about myths and cool stuff. It was good (once we got past Poussin!)
The afternoon was our last museum visit for the term! I was at the National Gallery. We talked about 17th century stuff and it was good. I actually talked in class and basically my answer kicked butt. :) I then headed home, made risotto for dinner, finished my paper (which took awhile!) and then went to bed. Wow what an exciting life I lead.
I hate philosophy!
Gah I am so sorry! I am just a slacker! Well… not really actually. I spent ALL day Sunday on my couch focused on writing 2300 words on a philosopher. While I understand Bourdieu, I DO NOT understand (or like for that matter) Kant. I had to compare them to each other and we get brownie points (and hopefully real points) for bringing in a philosopher from outside class. I did that and it was easy! Kant only got 2 paragraphs in the entire essay. Oops…. But whatever. So besides going to Sainsburys (and being a superwoman shopper getting everything I needed for the week for a meager 13 pounds!) I sat on my couch and wrote a paper!
Monday, December 5, 2011
SORRY!!
Hey everyone!
I wrote a paper ALL day Sunday and just finished it and I really want to go to bed so I will post tomorrow. I PROMISE!!!!
Sorry!
I wrote a paper ALL day Sunday and just finished it and I really want to go to bed so I will post tomorrow. I PROMISE!!!!
Sorry!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Study Saturday!
Today was a lay day in the sense that I wore my pjs all day long and never left the house! I did get a lot accomplished though! I read a philosopher that we didn’t read in class and understood what he is saying and can relate it to my guy! I am excited and hoping to get brownie points for incorporating a person in that we didn’t read in class. That has to help right?? I kinda have some things to relate my guy to Kant so that helps and I can connect all three guys together! I am so excited for the break through! Tomorrow is all about writing it up! Hopefully I can get ¾ done tomorrow and finish it up on Monday. Those are high hopes though! Next week will just be busy busy busy! Sorry this is so short but really… that is all I did today! :)
P.S Congrats you have just read 75 pages of my life (46,911 words!)
P.S Congrats you have just read 75 pages of my life (46,911 words!)
I love Fridays
Today was a good day! I actually dragged myself out of bed at 8:30 (the time Im supposed to be up!) so I could take my time getting ready! It was a nice change to the morning sprint that I usually have to do! My commute was fast and painless! I love when my first train lines up perfectly with the second one. I am still not used to “commuting” to school even though I have been doing it for 2 months now! It is just surreal that I “live” in London! Wow!
I got to school early so I had a lot of reading time. My book is getting good. Amy is going to be found dead at the bottom of the stairs at any second! :) I ate my cheerios and chatted some (I know.. I actually talked to another human being!) Lecture today def lived up to y high expectations! It was on 17th century dress (I like the 18th better but this was pretty awesome!) She “undressed” Elizabeth in the Ditchley Portrait. It was AWESOME! There are so many layers and she drew out a detailed diagram. It must be so fun to have her job! We looked at farthingales (I wish I could wear one of those!) and gowns. Awesome. The lecture flew by and I learned a LOT. I loved it!
We had the afternoon off which was great. At noon though I had to go to Dr. Michael Michael’s to pick up the reading for next semester (like Im really going to read the philosophy of art history of break. Right….) We also got to pick our piece for next term. I couldn’t decide fast so every time I picked an article someone had picked it already! I finally picked one that wasn’t taken and then we realized Heidger was left and we couldn’t give that to the Chinese girls who had English as a second language. There was no way in you know where that I was volunteering myself for that!! No way. But Julia did and I got to switch and take hers so I like my person! After I learned that the author I did have… the piece was on cross-dressing. Kinda glad I got the new piece!
After I went home and attempted to work on my paper. It didn’t go well and I was getting mad so I instead started watching Glee. It isn’t as bad as I thought it was but Im not really into to it yet. At 5 I left and headed to Charing Cross to go to the talk on Leonardo by Martin Kemp. When I got to the National Gallery I realized that I had gotten there without thinking or reading tube signs. I just did it! Im starting to know London!!! :) For those of you who don’t study Art History, Martin Kemp is the leading figure on Leonardo and he edits big art history books, like my copy of The Oxford Dictionary of Western Art. He is kind of a big deal!
The talk was really really good! I learned a lot and felt so smart when they were looking at his work through Freudian lens. It was just interesting and the hour FLEW by! I love living in the city for the fact that things like that are available to you. The tickets were only 4 pounds and it was good that we bought the tickets early because it was sold out! (the we being Freya and I. We went together!)
I came home and crashed and eventually went to bed. Sorry for no posting yesterday!
I got to school early so I had a lot of reading time. My book is getting good. Amy is going to be found dead at the bottom of the stairs at any second! :) I ate my cheerios and chatted some (I know.. I actually talked to another human being!) Lecture today def lived up to y high expectations! It was on 17th century dress (I like the 18th better but this was pretty awesome!) She “undressed” Elizabeth in the Ditchley Portrait. It was AWESOME! There are so many layers and she drew out a detailed diagram. It must be so fun to have her job! We looked at farthingales (I wish I could wear one of those!) and gowns. Awesome. The lecture flew by and I learned a LOT. I loved it!
We had the afternoon off which was great. At noon though I had to go to Dr. Michael Michael’s to pick up the reading for next semester (like Im really going to read the philosophy of art history of break. Right….) We also got to pick our piece for next term. I couldn’t decide fast so every time I picked an article someone had picked it already! I finally picked one that wasn’t taken and then we realized Heidger was left and we couldn’t give that to the Chinese girls who had English as a second language. There was no way in you know where that I was volunteering myself for that!! No way. But Julia did and I got to switch and take hers so I like my person! After I learned that the author I did have… the piece was on cross-dressing. Kinda glad I got the new piece!
After I went home and attempted to work on my paper. It didn’t go well and I was getting mad so I instead started watching Glee. It isn’t as bad as I thought it was but Im not really into to it yet. At 5 I left and headed to Charing Cross to go to the talk on Leonardo by Martin Kemp. When I got to the National Gallery I realized that I had gotten there without thinking or reading tube signs. I just did it! Im starting to know London!!! :) For those of you who don’t study Art History, Martin Kemp is the leading figure on Leonardo and he edits big art history books, like my copy of The Oxford Dictionary of Western Art. He is kind of a big deal!
The talk was really really good! I learned a lot and felt so smart when they were looking at his work through Freudian lens. It was just interesting and the hour FLEW by! I love living in the city for the fact that things like that are available to you. The tickets were only 4 pounds and it was good that we bought the tickets early because it was sold out! (the we being Freya and I. We went together!)
I came home and crashed and eventually went to bed. Sorry for no posting yesterday!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Whoa!! Happy Dec!!
Sorry I didn’t blog yesterday. It just wasn’t worth it. I slept in (im too embarrassed to admit how long I stayed in bed) and then I read Kant and still have no idea what he is saying. That is all I did. Yeah… no point in wasting a blog post! It was the first day that I have moved in here that I haven’t gone ANYWHERE! It is just nice to wear sweats and have my hair looking gross. I felt myself! Haha!
Today was good. The commute was normal and nothing bad so that was a relief!! I ate my Cheerios, read about good ole Queen E I and waited for lecture. It was on 17th century tapestries, which while I don’t not want to make a career out them I can appreciate them! I cannot imagine weaving them!! Talk about talent and patience! I think that is the main reason right there… patience. I don’t have patience with crafts! I just want to see the end result! Like the “quilt” I made last summer. Epic fail just because I was patient! There is the coolest looking fabric store that I walk past EVERYDAY and if I knew what to make from it I would buy the entire store. Actually I haven’t been in because I know Ill walk out with bags of fabric and all these CRAZY ideas for it! Anyways… the lecture was good!! I was impressed by Dutch, French, and British 17th century tapestries!
Lunch wasn’t fun because I attempted to read Kant and grasp what he was saying. I really don’t understand still. GAH! And I was dreading the lecture in the afternoon…. Materials and techniques of textiles.
I was so wrong! It was pretty cool! She had samples so we could feel the difference between the fabrics and see the warp/wefts! (the warp is the thread that runs vertical and the weft is what is weaved through it) We learned all about silk, cotton, wool and taffeta, velvet and damask. Damask is my favorite! It looks so expensive (which it was). Oh I didn’t know this… Velvet is produced by looping the silt or wool and then cutting it! So the texture is from all the little cut threads sticking up! Isnt that crazy! I appreciate fabrics a LOT more!
After class I headed to the South Side of the Thames (pronounced Tems by the way. That took me a bit!) Just like what I learned in Rome…. The more lost you are, the cooler the stuff you stumble upon! I LOVE the south side! I found all sorts of stuff that I need to go back to see! Also I found a really awesome looking wine bar/restaurant. If I had extra money and a friend I would have gone! It looked so trendy and neat! It was fun! I need to go back. Oh and I found the Millennium Bridge today from a distance! (for you Harry Potter fans that is the one that gets destroyed in the 6th movie? (or is it the 7th? I cant remember!) Oh and Harry Potter 7 part 2 came out on dvd and blueray today so everyone was going crazy!
Sorry my posts are getting shorter… I have a paper to do and I feel like my life is boring. I may stop the blog when I come back in Jan. We shall see!!
SIX more days of class left!
Today was good. The commute was normal and nothing bad so that was a relief!! I ate my Cheerios, read about good ole Queen E I and waited for lecture. It was on 17th century tapestries, which while I don’t not want to make a career out them I can appreciate them! I cannot imagine weaving them!! Talk about talent and patience! I think that is the main reason right there… patience. I don’t have patience with crafts! I just want to see the end result! Like the “quilt” I made last summer. Epic fail just because I was patient! There is the coolest looking fabric store that I walk past EVERYDAY and if I knew what to make from it I would buy the entire store. Actually I haven’t been in because I know Ill walk out with bags of fabric and all these CRAZY ideas for it! Anyways… the lecture was good!! I was impressed by Dutch, French, and British 17th century tapestries!
Lunch wasn’t fun because I attempted to read Kant and grasp what he was saying. I really don’t understand still. GAH! And I was dreading the lecture in the afternoon…. Materials and techniques of textiles.
I was so wrong! It was pretty cool! She had samples so we could feel the difference between the fabrics and see the warp/wefts! (the warp is the thread that runs vertical and the weft is what is weaved through it) We learned all about silk, cotton, wool and taffeta, velvet and damask. Damask is my favorite! It looks so expensive (which it was). Oh I didn’t know this… Velvet is produced by looping the silt or wool and then cutting it! So the texture is from all the little cut threads sticking up! Isnt that crazy! I appreciate fabrics a LOT more!
After class I headed to the South Side of the Thames (pronounced Tems by the way. That took me a bit!) Just like what I learned in Rome…. The more lost you are, the cooler the stuff you stumble upon! I LOVE the south side! I found all sorts of stuff that I need to go back to see! Also I found a really awesome looking wine bar/restaurant. If I had extra money and a friend I would have gone! It looked so trendy and neat! It was fun! I need to go back. Oh and I found the Millennium Bridge today from a distance! (for you Harry Potter fans that is the one that gets destroyed in the 6th movie? (or is it the 7th? I cant remember!) Oh and Harry Potter 7 part 2 came out on dvd and blueray today so everyone was going crazy!
Sorry my posts are getting shorter… I have a paper to do and I feel like my life is boring. I may stop the blog when I come back in Jan. We shall see!!
SIX more days of class left!
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