A Tedious Tuesday

Today was long… Im glad I have tomorrow off! Life is back to normal for a bit! I was awake before my alarm this morning, but still managed to get out of bed late. I am SO talented at laying in bed. I wish I could make money from it. The commute was uneventful (no elbowing strangers butts or anything else embarrassing!)

This morning’s class was on 18th century gardens. (mostly English) It was really good! There is much more going on in the gardens than I ever thought. I didn’t know that the enlightenment, nationalism and morals all played a huge role in the garden and the experience of the visitor! It was really neat. Oh and todays picture is (in my opinion) the best piece of garden sculpture that I have ever seen. Its of Apollo rising out of a river type thing in the gardens of Versailles. Apollo is the sun-god and Louis the XIV is the sun-king…. Very appropriate! Anyways I am getting that picture when I go to Versailles!

Lunch was shorter today because at 12:45 we had a professional development. It was all about publishing so I wasn’t too interested. They said if you haven’t always wanted to be a publisher don’t do it because you need to be passionate about it. Apparently you work long hours for a crap paycheck. That rally made me want to pay attention!

After that was our culture and ideology. That went from 2-4 so sitting in a hard chair from 12:40-4 wasn’t ALL that fun. And I daydreamed through class because the presentations were boring and just scratched the surface of the topics. I guess our professors at HWS trained us well, because the presentations here suck. Really. Some don’t even have a thesis. So I daydreamed and my butt fell asleep. It was a fun afternoon!

Im happy to be home, but Im really COLD! It has gotten colder here. It is starting to feel like winter, and the coldness has seeped into my little flat. I had coffee though, and am looking forward to a hot dinner and tea! Oh last nights dinner… I couldn’t even eat it. The chili was SO SO gross. Never again…

I hope everyone sleeps more soundly in their beds tonight. The Evening Standard reported today that the “Jedi Attacker is Jailed”. Yes you read this correctly. Apparently a 33 year old man in a Toys R Us in Portland, Oregon attacked customers with Star Wars Lightsabers. HAHAHA. I kinda wich I could have been there to see that. Its not everyday that you can legit duel someone lightsaber vs lightsaber. He is jailed for 45 days and will be sent for mental testing. I LOVE this paper. It’s the best free entertainment there is.

Off to eat and hopefully do some work! Tomorrow is an adventure to the Imperial War Museum! They have an exhibit on the Holocaust that I really want to see!

No Worries Katie!!!...The Blog is Back to Normal!

Today was a good day and that is saying something considering it is a Monday. I was not thrilled about going to class, but it was nice and uneventful. My commute in was faster than normal as the St John Wood station wasn’t opened (apparently the escalators were down. Why people couldn’t just walk up and down them is beyond me..) Anyways we got to skip the station!

Class this morning was the 18th century house in Britain. It so fun to look at the interiors of huge country homes, but the lecturer who does the topic is a piece of work. She thinks highly of herself and is so uppity. I wouldn’t want to hang out with her! Im really starting to get confused too. There are too many things going on stylistically in different regions. France is going Rococo, England more Neo-classical/Palladian… GAH! I wish the styles fit better into little boxes! It would sure make things easier!

Lunch was the same… sat around for way too long and then I was off to the Wallace Collection with Rebecca for our museum visit! I LOVE the Wallace Collection. 18th century stuff, amazing rooms, and its free. It was hard not to touch though! Now that we have had handling sessions that we could touch everything its weird to be back in a museum that you cant! I love that Rebecca makes sure that she doenst go over a hour and a half because standing around things gets long. Oh I saw The Swing in real life today! I didn’t know it was in the Wallace Collection!

The Evening Standard wasn’t out at Bond Street Station today so I don’t have a crazy story for you. I was proud of myself that I just walked to the Station from the Wallace Collection without thinking or looking at a map! I am beginning to know London better! I guess the “crazy” story of the day can come from my real life instead. I succeeded in accidently elbowing a man in the butt on the tube today. This occurring for many reasons… 1. He was standing and I was sitting next to him, 2. I thought that there was a pane of plexiglass between us (like there usually is!) and 3. I got my zipper on my bag caught so my hand flew off and caused my elbow to jab the man. Thankfully he didn’t seem to mind (after I apologized). Why do these things happen to me?!

Before I wrote today’s segment I looked back and read my first 4 or so posts. Enough time has passed now that I laugh at my predicament. Its funny now. I really don’t know how I survived her!! Man did I really want to go home! So know I see why everyone was laughing when I told my horror stories! She was so crazy that its funny. It just wasn’t fun at the moment that I was stuck there, 3600 miles from anyone I knew!

Its almost Feb and I have to say that my New Years Resolutions are going well! The first… make a friend is going well (shockingly!) Well they still don’t know anything about the REAL me and I don’t know much about the REAL them, I have done things with people! (Freya and I went to the market, Isabel and I walk to class together every Monday and Thursday, and Im invited to a wine and cheese party on Saturday at Isabels!) I talk to more of the people while we are waiting for class to start. Im getting better! The second (don’t buy anything without food…) I had a tiny little lapse the second week (H&M was having their sale. I got a cute skirt for 5 pounds, and a needed tan open sweater). The third (buying shoes) is still going strong! I haven’t even looked! (which is probably why I haven’t bought any!) And the last (eat fish and chips) is halfway done. I ate some chips! I need to save my extra grocery money and sometime go out to eat! All and all.. not too shabby! It could be MUCH worse!

Off to do some work, have soup for dinner, and put away the laundry (if its dry yet!) What an exciting life I lead!!! And … this sentence puts me on the 100th page of my blog! (in Microsoft word!)

P.S
The picture is an older one, but one of my favorites from this trip! A pair of one of the monarhs little baby shoes at Kensington!

Sunday Already??!?

Wasn’t it JUST Friday? How does the weekend always ZOOM by? Gah I don’t wanna go to school tomorrow! I did my more routine again today. Got up late and headed to Sainsburys. It was a GREAT shopping day! It was buy one get one free oranges! AND buy one get one free Cheerios! It gets better… my digestive cookies were half price so I could get two packs instead of one! And it gets even better… the fabric softener was 2 pounds instead of 4.50 and since I would need it in two weeks or so I picked one up! Then I used my 2 pound coupon and only spent 23 pounds on all sorts of goodies. My fridge and cupboard are both FULL which doenst usually happen. I LOVE Sainsburys! (Wegmans still wins of course but Sainsburys is right up there!) After I was this excited all morning about my awesome shopping skills I realized that I am leading a sad life if I get this pumped about my weekly food trip. Its pathetic actually.

After I got home (barely because I had three bags full of food instead of my usual two half-filled bags) I put everything away and cleaned. The bathroom, kitchen and all of the floors are spotless. I love the feelings on Sunday/Monday. My flat is so clean and by Tuesday it needs help already! It smells so good in here as my laundry is drying and everything is spotless.

I do need to go to work though. I need to read my article that I have to present on. Sigh. I hate that theory class! The plan was to have it done before dinner (tonights pizza night) but I had an hour and a half skype date with mom so that may not happen! Tomorrow will come all to soon and my week will start over. At least Ill have a study day this week though and Tuesday will be a lot easier too!

Until tomorrow…. (P.S my life will be back to normal therefore my blog will be up at the right time!)

P.S Todays picture is of the owls who live in Corsham's Court gardens!

Sluggish Saturday

Today was the official crash and recuperate day! There really isn’t much to say because I did the minimal amount of everything! It was a pj day for sure. I picked up my flat (you should have seen the pigsty it was… I had just thrown stuff around for a week), did a pile of dishes that was as tall as me, read for school, took out the garbage and watched a movie. That pretty much sums up my entire day. I didn’t even leave my flat. It was amazing!

T.G.I.F

I felt that Friday would never come. It was a long but eventful week! I was actually up and ready to go when my alarm went off. I don’t know how that happened! I don’t know what the problem is, but since I have gotten back from Christmas Vacation I walk slower…. Everywhere. It takes me 3 songs to get from my flat to the tube, when it used to take me 2. SO I am getting to school later… and later each day. It happened to me all the time at undergrad. The beginning of the semester I was crazy early, and by the end I was sneaking in just as class started. Its how I roll, but I have until June. I need to be leaving earlier or walking faster!

Class today was Neo-Classical painting. I am starting to HATE everything classical. Really Art History is one big cycle… they love classical stuff, they break away and move away from it… and then they love classical stuff, and then they break away from it. Its annoying. And it makes it more confusing to little students such as myself. Im not a huge fan of neo-classical. Its too orderly and thought out. I am excited to get to the romantic period. Everything loosens back up and (as patty says) there seems to always be a breeze that moves people’s hair/clothing!

Then it was lunch that always drags! I am trying to read Jane Eyre at the moment. Patty suggested I did for my presentation on governesses. It isn’t bad… its just not addicting like The Hunger Games! After reading for an hour it was time for my Issues and Contexts class. I hate that class. I always feel so incredibly dumb and I don’t really know what’s going on for most of it. Theory is not my strong point in life. I got my paper back from last term… I passed just not with flying colors.

After class my brain hurt and I was completely out of it. I came home and watched The Big Bang Theory (I absolutely love that show. There are so many Star Wars/Star Trek/Lord of the Rings references. I could fit right in to that little group of misfit nerds!) and I completely crashed. I made dinner, wrote my blog from earlier in the week and just zoned out. It was awesome. I did get an email saying that I have an interview on Feb 9th at 6pm to be a security guard for the Olympics! I am excited! We shall see what happens! I forgot that they may not want me because I can only work 20 hours a week because Im here on a student visa. GAH! Anyways….. I survived my crazy week!

P.S Crazy Evening Standard story… a policewoman is jailed after she bit off the ear of a previous friend. (I am not clear if the friend was previously a friend before the ear was gnawed off or because of the loss.)

P.S.S The image today is a famous Neoclassical painting. It SO boring and ordered! GAH!

Is The Week Over Yet?

Today was good but long. I was tired and felt like I had been running around all week like a chicken with their head cut off! This morning’s lecture was given by the editor of the Art Journal and it was really good, but not basic enough. He talked about how the English artists were influenced by other art (which was interesting and cool!) but we didn’t really see any of their work as examples. I know nothing about 18th century English artists so it would have been nice to see some! Other than that the lecture was really good!

The afternoon…. Epic. The best handling session yet. Why? Because I touched things that I have only dreamed of touching. I got to touch a Rococo jewelry cabinet on a stand…. Sold for 250,000 pounds!!! I touched a Boulle marquetry cabinet…. I may not see one of that caliber again. It was amazing. The I touched a Chippendale sofa. He touched that sofa! It was amazing. They didn’t look right however… Chippendale is famous for his confidence and amazing symmetry and the sofas looked off. The man then took off the modern upholstery (a tasteful cushion I thought… until it was taken off) and suddenly the entire piece worked. The cushion made it look HORRIBLE because it was 10 inches thick instead of 3! So if any of you have an old sofa… make sure you don’t overstuff it! After the couches we looked at cabinets, a green piano, and a commode. It was an awesome afternoon. We were the late session, however, and we got there at 3:30 and didn’t finch until 5. By the time I got home it was 6 and I made dinner, watched some Big Bang Theory and then decided to write my blog. First I thought I would close my eyes for just a minute. That was at 8:30 and when I woke up it was 10. Oops! I took a shower to wake myself up and was still barley awake so I went to bed instead. Again.. not much free time!

P.S the picture is just like the sofa I touched but in worse condition (the cushion however is more accurate!)

Corsham Court

I was dreading today. Field Trips with Christies can be long! I was up at 6:45 to make the 8:15 bus and was off to Corsham Court. I dosed off (for what I thought was 15 minutes) and woke up 1.5 hours later. I LOVE sleeping on trips. I usually cant! We enter the CUTEST little English country town that I have ever seen. It was littler than Oxford which is what made it so cute. Then we pull up to the house. I liked it MUCH more than Burghley. One it was smaller so more reasonable, and two it felt like a home (not a museum) because it is still PRIVATELY owned. Can you believe that? The taxes, heating bills, upkeep etc most be HUGE. The owner comes out and he is the nicest man! I thought he would be all stuffy but instead he was humble and friendly. We walked into the picture gallery and my mouth dropped (it has happened a lot this year!) half of the downstairs is open to the public. I can not even fathom how much wealth the man is sitting on. You couldn’t buy the collection of paintings, furniture, and objects today. There is just no way. The house was full of amazing things. A drawing by Turner, paintings by Van Dyck, Sofinsba, and Reynolds. Crazy objects and furniture. It was awesome.

During our break Freya, Isabel and went to a pub for lunch. I had a roast beef sandwich with pickled cabbage, pickles, lettuce and a creamy sauce. Delicious. And the chips!!!.... Im never eating French fries again. The chips are like steak fries, but they are double fried so the coating is thick and yummy. I could have eaten ten servings of them!

After lunch we walked around the town, then headed back to the house. We saw peacocks, and the awesome gardens. I was in awe the entire time. I felt like Jane Austen touring the rich people’s country houses! (she tours Mr Darcy’s!) It was just amazing! I have decided that all the movie stars in LA have horrible taste. If I was a billionaire I would have a house like Corsham court with big gardens and a crazy amazing picture gallery.

I got home at 7:40, took a shower and skyped mom at 8. After that the night was basically over and I fell into bed!

Tuesday

Im so SO sorry that I haven’t written all week. Basically I have actually had a life the past few days and was so un-used to this new phenomenon that my time management went down the tubes. Lets start back at Tuesday….

The morning class was all about the Grand Tour. I didn’t really pay attention honestly… it was just about the rich men who went abroad, got syphilis, bought some paintings and came back. Seriously. Oh they did a lot of partying too… shocker! The afternoon class was really interesting but kind of pointless. We went to the National Portrait Gallery for my culture and ideology class. A group of us waited in a very central spot until 2:10 (class started at 2:00) and when Patty didn’t show up we headed into the gallery. He had started without half of the class! Apparently the others met right by the door, not in the entry hall. Gah! We looked at portraits of women but patty only really told us their stories, we didn’t really look at styles. Weird.

I got home at 4:15 and quickly heated up leftovers for dinner. By 5:15 I was back out the door and headed for Notting Hill tube stop to meet Freya, Lesley, and Betsy to walk to the cinema. The theater was an old, two leveled theater which was really cute. We saw The Artist and I wasn’t too excited about it. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a silent, black and white movie. It was SO good. I LOVED it. It was sad, but had a good ending. I recommend it! EVERYONE needs to see it! Even if you wait and pay a dollar for it at RedBox!

I got home at 9, jumped in the shower and skyped Katie at 9:30. Then I was off to bed! I didn’t have much free time at all!

P.S the picture is of the grand tour with lots of Homo-sexual things going on.... And we think that this is new concept...

Too little time

I actually had a life today and do NOT have TIME to write my blog. Who would have thought! Ill write tomorrow!

P.S Everyone needs to go see The Artist.

A Very Long Day

It is my 17th day in London and my routine is already getting wearisome. Pathetic... I know. But it’s true. I don’t know how Im going to survive Real Life if I get bored doing the same routine every day after I have had a month off. I don’t think Ill get a month off every 3 months in Real Life. I should be a professor…. Then I would! And I would have summers! Hmmm…..

Today was a long day. The morning routine of getting up, dragging myself on a 10 min walk, two trains, and a 5 minute walk just didn’t go over so well this morning. I made it and ate my cheerios. I didn’t read however, because I don’t have a great book. I realized that I hadn’t been that obsessed with a book since Harry Potter 7. The Hunger Games was a breath of fresh air. I love being addicted to a book that I literally just cant put down and Ill stay up WAY past my bedtime to squeeze in those extra chapters. Now I feel lost in the book world. Im back to classics (Jane Eyre) and I just cant get into it.

Class this morning was good. We looked at William Hogarths work. It was fun because he is ALL about the Satire. So this morning not only did we get some art history, we actually laughed through what he painted. This doesn’t happen all too often in the art history lecture world. You get a lot of erotic stuff that the professors get awkward telling you. (that is just so incredibly awkward by the way. The more awkward the professor is the more awkward everyone else is. You may as well just have fun with it (like our professor Patty.) He just tells it like it is!) Anyways… class was fun today!

Todays picture is one of my new favorites. Its by Hogarth and of the Graham Children. Ill give you the quick run-down… its all about childhood (obviously), the loss of childhood, and how fleeting of a stage it is. The boy on the right is playing his instrument/box thing, and thinks that the bird is singing along to it. The bird sees the cat, however, and is probably making noise in fear! On the side of the box is Pan playing to the animals (they forget the natural food chain and instead all harmonize) The boy still thinks this is possible (until he grows up and realizes that it isn’t). The baby boy is actually dead… he is sitting in a car that is an outdoor toy, reaching for cherries (the fruits of paradise) and the silver basket at his side may be an offering (most people don’t give their best silver to 4 children under 13). The clock above him represents the fleeting movement of time, and death. So childhood doesn’t last forever. And the oldest girl is looking out as us suggesting that she is on the verge of losing her childhood and becoming a young lady. That is the very basic rundown! I like it :)

After our lecture is when the day got long. We had a session about our project right after it (I was really hungry by 12:15 when it ended!) AND Mondays are museum days. Sigh. My group was with Andrew at the V&A at 2. I deposited my check (my loan money came today!) and ran off to the museum where the 1.5 hour session took 2 hours and 15 minutes. I was pulling my hair out by the end and had stopped listening. I finally got home and did some stuff, made/ate dinner and am writing this. Next is a shower, some work and then I get to get up tomorrow and do exactly the same thing ALL over. Except instead of the V&A Im going to the national Portrait Gallery. Sigh.

I forgot to grab a paper so no crazy stories today :(

P.S I did write yesterday because I just cleaned and did work!

Borough Market Day

This morning was a lot of fun! Freya and I headed to the Borough Market to check out all of the food stalls! I don’t know what is wrong with me, but I went to bed at 11pm, last night and when my alarm went off at ten I just laid there and groaned. Im so pathetic! Anyways…. I met Freya at noon and we headed over to the market. It was awesome! Way better than the one we went to in Buffalo for a field trip in high school. Their butter lambs and sauerkraut was good but it doesn’t compare to the Borough Market. They have everything! Duck, brussel sprouts, pies, Turkish delight, wild boar, olives, bread, veggies, fruit, sausages, cheeses, brownies, wine, beer, cider, jam….EVERYTHING!! I bought a wild boar sandwich (see facebook), a huge loaf of bread, a thing of blackberries (for only a pound!), a piece raspberry cheesecake and Turkish Delight!

That was my first time trying Turkish Delight and it is DELIGHTFUL!!! I felt like Edmund in Narnia!! (except I wasn’t with the White Witch, or in danger, or in snow for that matter) I had always wondered what it was! I think it’s the legit stuff because 1. It was expensive (not the best argument I KNOW!) and 2. The guy seemed non-western European. (again… not the best argument) He gave me a piece of the pistachio and that drew me in! The rose kind is good, but odd. I have an entire bag full (one of each kind) and I cant wait to try them all!

Another first today was my wild boar! I don’t know how to describe it… it was kinda of beef-like but it didn’t take like cow. (for a good reason!) It seemed saltier and… well different. I cant explain it! The ostrich wasn’t available so Ill have to go back and try it!!

After the market Freya and I went to Pink Blossom (I think that was the name of it) Its just like Orange Leaf but you don’t get to get the yogurt or toppings for yourself. (ok for those of you who don’t know what Orange Leaf is either… it’s a frozen yogurt place and the you add toppings!) I had pomegranate yogurt with blackberries, raspberries, and cheesecake pieces! Delicious!

I probably spent more than I should have today, but I decided that I am eating all of it so its ok :)

This afternoon was sad. Today’s picture was supposed to be of me eating my wild boar sandwich, but in light of recent events its of a much younger Fi-Fi. My parents put her down today. She was old, but its still sad. She was a good, friendly kitty who put up with a lot. (one that pops in my head is Katie and I holding her done to “play Vet” and pretending to cut her open and then heal her wound. She just laid there, probably figuring it would be over quicker that way!)

Sorry to end on such a sad note but nothing else is really new. I am hanging here tonight to hopefully start on some work!!

Friday Already?

Wow I cant believe its Friday already. Where did the week go?? It flew by, which probably had something to do with me walking around the world with my nose literally stuck in a book. Actually not literally because unfortunately Im reading my books off of a Kindle these days. I have finished the 3 volume Hunger Games and now I just feel Eh about them. It’s a good story with lots of good imagination, but the main character gets annoying, all of the death and destruction gets kinda old, and basically I just made it through book 3 because I wanted to know the ending. So I guess I recommend it, just be prepared to get annoyed I guess.

I barely got out of bed this morning, but it was worth it. Our class this morning was French and English Porcelain. The English sucked at making porcelain, but the French factory Sevre knew that they were doing. I could collect that stuff! Rococo forms, gilding, colors… I love it. My only hope for getting a good piece is go to Westfield and dig through everything, flip it over and hope to find some that no one knows what it is. I feel like in WNY a lot of good stuff could be non-identified stuff. I just feel like there aren’t that many experts in the decorative arts that they thoroughly examine every single thing. I could be wrong…. But I know what to look for now in a real piece of Sevre and how to tell a fake. I want to go antiquing! :)

Today was one of those days though. You know when a car goes flying through water and it splashes whoever is on the sidewalk with water. Well that happened to me. Water got in my shoe and all over my leg. Grrr to that driver. THEN I was walking from school to the tube station and almost got ran over by a motorcycle while I was on the sidewalk! Stupid. I gave him a mean look. I hate motorcycles in any country…. Rome is the worse still!

This weekend I am planning to stay in and start getting to work. ALL of my assignments for the term are due in a month. It seems ike a long ways away, but when it’s a proposal for a thesis that you cant decide on a topic, a major project, two presentations and a fake test I think I should get going. Also next week is our first week of Issues and Context… the worst class ever. SO I need to read for it. Fun Fun. My flat also has thing strewn all over so that is my Sunday chore, but I cant think with the mess so I may have to do it tonight or tomorrow. What an exciting life I lead!

P.S Photo is of Serves porcelain... I told you the french were awesome!

My 100th Post!

So sorry I didn’t post yesterday. It was a long, boring day so Ill tell you the important bits. I got up at 5:45 on my day off (yup 5:45am on a day that I could have slept in) Why was I up that early?? To see a once in a lifetime (ok not really.. once in a great while) exhibit of Leonardo DaVinci. If you remember Im not really a fan. I know he is a genius its just his painting style that Im not really fond of. Anyways I met Freya at the Charing Cross Station and was in a very long line at the National Gallery at 7am. It wasn’t cold cold, but it was chilly and to top it off raining. We were in the middle of the line and were told that there was a possibility that we would get tickets but it wasn’t guaranteed. Freya spotted Katie from our program who was across from us, farther up in the line. Freya went over and Katie said that she would tickets for us. We stealthily handed over our student id and money. We stood and stood and at 11:30 came up with tickets. (4 and a half hours later) and that was thanks to Katie getting for us. We did badly until we later saw the couple right ahead of us in the exhibit so all was good!

Our tickets were for a 1pm entry so we headed to Pret Manger (or whatever its called) and I got soup to warm up. We headed back over and went into the exhibit. It was so SO crowded. You had to wait in line to see everything, people pushed their way in front of everyone (especially the old ladies) and after the hour and a half in the exhibit I didn’t feel like I saw anything. The best part was the two Madonna of the Rocks in the same room (the louvre actually lent it) and they were completely across the room from each other. I think it could have been set up a LITTLE better. I got home at about 3:45 and accidentally fell asleep at 4:15 and woke up at 6:30. Oops… I didn’t get anything done by the tie I made dinner, cleaned up, and showered. SO that was y day off… Oh and I paid 11 pounds for that experience. Sigh

On to today…. My commute was nice and quiet today. I just missed the crowded Jubilee train, and there was one RIGHT behind it so it was empty. I love when that happens! We followed the other packed train all the way so no one really got on the train. I got to school pretty early and got to read some more of the Hunger Games. Its starting to get old, but Im so obsessed with what is going to happen that I just keep reading. I started book one Tuesday afternoon and now Im in the 4th chapter of book three. Not too shabby for having to go to class, and Leo!

Class was on textiles so of course I loved it! We did 18th century tapestries, bed, furniture upholstery, and carpets. I really liked it! I want my house to look like all the pictures! (ok not really but it is so SO pretty.) The exciting part of the day was the afternoon. Isabel and I walked to Ben Elwes’ art gallery. Perhaps you remember the dealer who came to our talk once, the one who poked fun at Christies and looked like John Elton… well this is him. His gallery is impressive. We looked at the backs of Old Master Paintings which was BEYOND cool. We met his wife (I couldn’t believe someone married him. He seems stuffy and arrogant) who is his business partner. We also used a blacklight on a painting and learned how to see restoration. WAY cool. It was really interesting. Everything embarrassing seems to happen to me however. He had a little dog in his gallery and it would lick my feet! I had flats and skinny jeans on so the tops of my feet were bare. It licked them! I pet him to distract him and then he would go back licking! Tracy was the only one that noticed and thankfully the dog got distracted but really?? Oh and then while we were getting ready to leave one of the girls asked a price on the TINY image of a teenage boy (the one we used the blacklight on) He said 90,000 pounds and I dropped my bag in shock. I was in the process of picking it up so it wasn’t TOO high off the ground but still…. Awkward!

Other exciting news is that I got mail… and it was COUPONS! Woo! I got four coupons that double or triple my reward points at Sainsburys! I get excited about little stuff here..

Tomorrow is a half day!! I have lots of work to do in the afternoon though! Gah!

P.S The picture is my favorite portrait by Leo. She looks like she has spirit! Also I forgot my crazy Evening Standard News... London is heavily guarding its cemeteries becasue of the many MANY break ins lately. People have been stealing the Brass fixtures to sell as scrap metal. Random....

Besides reading 100 posts, you have read 57,000 words and 91 pages of text :)

An Easy Day

Well my morning was back to normal… hating my alarm and staying in bed too long! The tube was oh so nice to me this morning though! I didn’t have to wait for a train at all. I would step on the platform and BAM one would come. It was like the train schedule revolved around me…. I liked it!

Before class I finished my Bill Bryson book so I decided to change it up. All I have heard about is the Hunger Games so I decided to see what all the hype was about. I read a chapter and I was HOOKED. I haven’t been this obsessed since Harry Potter came out. I love it so far and would recommend it!

Class was eh… It was Rococo silver and frankly Im getting tired of silver. I cant remember all of the technical terms and I can never tell how its made by looking at it. The only think I like about it is that it is shiny and worth a lot of money. The 18th century stuff is getting better because they are casting their pieces, which makes them thicker. But still… getting old.

During lunch I stuck my nose in my book (actually my Kindle which I will be happy to sell btw after my time in London is over. I like real books.) Then it was time for our intro to this terms Culture and Ideology. If you recall I chose to be a feminist and look at the representation of women in art and women artists. He randomly assigned topics for us to do our presentations on… he must love me. I really almost hugged him. I have governesses and seamstresses. EASY! So happy!

We got our info for our trip to Lame Old Paris. Nope not being sarcastic. I don’t like Paris. If you want “romance” go to Rome. Paris is just a city with snobby people running around. The food is good though… but otherwise not pumped. Anyways… we go May 22nd-25th. Alex if you are reading this Im going to send you an email because I think you are flying in the 21st….. Sorry about that.

Well Im off to skype my sister and then head to bed EARLY. Im meeting Freya at 6:55 to attempt to get tickets to see Leonardo Da Vinci (who I don’t like). I feel like I should see it though. Its the first time his two Madonna of the Rocks are side by side because the French FINALLY lent it out. So Im getting up at 5:45am to stand in line for 3 hours to hopefully get a ticket. I didn’t think it was going to sell out so I didn’t buy a ticket months ago. Should have because now I have to put in a lot of effort to get one of the 500 tickets that they hold back each day. The things I do to see art. Ill tell you all about it tomorrow!

P.S the picture is a sliver teapot on a heating thing a mig jig, I want one...

Mild Monday

Today was a pretty good day… especially considering that it was a Monday! Getting out of bed wasn’t even so rough! I went to class and the tube didn’t really like me. My platform was shut down at Baker Street (I don’t know if the Hammersmith line wasn’t running or the platform wasn’t running) but anyways I had to take a Metropolitan train school. It was throwing off my routine but wasn’t difficult to do.

Morning class was French 18th century painting. Apparently Im the only person in love with the Rococo style. No one else seems to like it. It fell so far from fashion that the National Gallery has one room of it and most of them were acquired in the 1970’s. I just love the colors, softness and frothy-ness of the period, which is exactly why people hate it! Oh well… I enjoyed lecture!

During the afternoon break I went to the library and read some ceramic books…. For fun. Yep Im a nerd! Ill admit it. The afternoon class was long…. Gah. It was how to catalog decorative arts. I wanted to destroy the girl sitting in the front row who was asking questions/answering questions/making comments every other second. It was amusing to watch everyone melt down. Im not too concerned with cataloging. I think it is do-able. If I can memorize Chinese names, places and dynasties I can catalog an object. Everyone began to panic. Hehe

I FINALLY got home and…. Spotted my neighbors (my new ones). Im disappointed. There are at least two guys and I don’t know what language they were speaking but it wasn’t English. So my hopes are dashed for a friend moving in below me. Sigh.

Oh a good thing that happened to me today…. I got a hotel buddy for Venice. To be honest I have been worrying about this since the first day of school. Freya was nice enough to be my room-mate for the trip and I am so SO relieved.

My New Years resolutions are going well I think! Well at least the not spending money ones! I have only bought food/transportation so far. I really want to go to Notting Hill market, but they have antique stalls, vintage clothing, and flea market stuff so I KNOW ill spend money. So I cant go. I am going to have to think about something to do this weekend that is COMPLETELY free and doesn’t go towards Oxford Street!

Ok off to write todays post :)

P.s the picture is my fav mythical Story... Psyche showing her sisters her gifts from Cupid

Really Sorry!

Hey everyone.... Im slacking today. Ill post today and tomorrow's post tomorrow!

Clean Clean Clean

I love Sundays. Its my day to make sure that my life is all in order before the week starts back up again! Today was another day of sleeping in. I do love to sleep in! It is the best feeling to lay in bed until you are awake enough to know what day it is. Lovely. After I got up I went to Sainsburys where I purchased a slew of yummy edibles. I had a coupon for 2 pounds off when I spent 20 pounds. Usually I don’t spend that much but I did today! I stocked up on ketchup, got some chicken (Which is pricey so I don’t get it much), some sweet and sour sauce to go with the chicken, and a huge bag of potatoes!! I consider the bag of potatoes were free (because they were 2 pounds exactly) so I am excited. Oh I also got milk for my coffee and so I can make epic mashed potatoes. It was a good shopping trip!

I came home and put it all away, then I tackled the cleaning. Last weekend when I got here I unpacked but didn’t really clean clean. My flat needed it. Everything got cleaned including the toilet, kitchen sink, counters, and stove. I didn’t really how bad the stove was until I cleaned it. Oops… it was BAD! I was embarrassed until I realized that no one has been in here except for me so it didn’t really matter! :)

I sat down to work on my chart and I realized…. The image test isn’t for me. Its for the undergrads! I am still going to finish it because I can use it when I study for my cataloging, but it took the wind out of my sails! Then I got distracted by making a list of dream destinations. I added it below. Obviously its not an exhaustive list (Bora Bora isn’t on there and neither is Australia and New Zealand or anything in Canada/USA) but its most of Europe.

Destination List
• Dover, England
• Prague
• Budapest Hungary
• Zugreb, Croatia
• Dubrovnik, Croatia
• Split, Croatia
• Isle Of Man
• Stromboli
• Vienna
• Moscow
• St Petersburg
• Sweden
• Lake Geneva, Switzerland
• Lake Como, Italy

If anyone wants to go to any of those places with me let me know! :) Im going to Prague on this trip and Im hoping to make it to Croatia and Budapest too but sometimes I set my sights a little high :) Todays picture is of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Doesn’t it look AWESOME???

Not much else to say today. Tomorrow is another week!

Cozy Day

So there isn’t much to report today. I have been back a week now and I feel like I am settling back in. I am hoping Im officially back on track timewise. We shall see how I sleep tonight but last night I was out! I slept in today and was going to take a stroll around town and see what my whole neighborhood is like (pathetic that it has taken so long I know. I always just went into central London though on my adventures) Today was too cold though to just wander around outside so I stayed in to get some work done. I feel like I need to refresh myself on what I saw last semester and keep up on it so when we have our image test later this term I wont be cramming! I don’t know where this “good student” stuff is coming from. I def didn’t do this in undergrad! I am almost done with my epic chart of monarchs/artists which will be good. I am hoping to print it off at school on Monday.

Last night I finished reading my undergrad thesis…. I hate it. I want to scrap it all and start over. I feel like the writing is at the level of a college freshman, not a senior Honor student. Gah. Maybe Ill start working on that too. Also I need to start thinking about my next step. Sigh. After June 29th (my last day of class) it is just one big mystery! (besides the fact that ill be writing a thesis in something and then being a beach bum at Katies for a bit!)

Today I also have decided that I want to go to Budapest. It looks pretty epic. We shall see what happens! I want to fit so many places in while Im here but need time and more importantly this weird thing called money!

That’s all for today. Off to shower and read some of Bill Bryson’s book!!

P.S the picture.... Budapest Castle. Looks cool right??

So Happy its Friday!

Today was rough. Well the morning was so let me restate. Half of the day today was rough. I don’t know which is better. Having to deal with the roughness in the morning when you are half asleep, or in the afternoon after you have gone through the entire day. In undergrad I didn’t wake up well, but some coffee and a run across campus in the cold (it was cold most mornings!) woke me up in time for class. Here it’s a little worse. I don’t have coffee. So I try to wake up on the commute into school. Usually I don’t have to think and I can just aimlessly walk to where I need to go. Not today. I was running on time when I got to Willesden Green station. The train was pulling in but it was pretty full so I decided to wait for the next one. The train sat there. And sat there. A few minutes later the announcer guy said that the line was having delays from a signal failure. (signal failures happen ALL the time. Especially on the District Line) The guy said that the train will move in 5 minutes. I was starting to think that I should get on this train when the guy came back on. A train had broken down in central London (a Jubilee train) so it would be awhile before any trains went anywhere. At this point its about 9:20. Im usually in central London by now. I had to use my brain. After a bit of hard work (it was hard to turn my brain on) and watching other people I remembered… the Metropolitan line runs parallel to the Jubilee and it crosses it in two places, Finchley Road (which was towards central London) and Wembley Park (which was north). The tracks to the south were blocked, but not the northen ones. So I got on the first train going North. I switched at Wembley to the Metro line, and then went south again and got into Baker Street. There I took my normal train to Great Portland. I got off that train at 9:58am. I was stressed. I got to school 5 minutes later and settled into my seat and remembered I couldn’t eat in the lecture room. I snuck some cheerios but basically I had missed breakfast.

Class started and the lecturer tells us that she was giving two lectures this morning. (we knew this because it was on the schedule) Then she says that she thought she was giving 2 hour and a half lectures but when she got here was told she was doing 2 hour long lectures. We stared at her. We thought she was doing maybe 2 45 min lectures. She said she would fit everything in the hour slot. The first one went over by 15 minutes and then she gave us a 15 minute break so at 11:35 we started again. I was so hungry. It was just a rough morning. The lecture was cool though. We are finally getting into cool porcelains. The picture on top is the set of China from Bonton that I had wanted when I saw it over Christmas. The set below is the Meissen porcelain which I think I will upgrade too. :) BonTon china just doenst seem to do it anymore..




I forgot to tell you all this yesterday…. My neighbor had stopped by and said that I needed to call the water company. She had thought I had given them the wrong flat when I signed up for water. I didn’t think so but I called anyways. They had in fact canceled my account and I had to set up a new one. The money I paid in Oct was transferred over to my new account. I couldn’t figure out how I did it. Then it hit me. Im Europe…. The UK (like Italy) numbers their floors differently. Our first floor is their ground floor. Our Second floor is their first. So when I called I said I was Flat B on the second floor, not Flat B on the first floor. Gah. I miss America.

Supposedly my new neighbor is moving in today. I keep listening for activity in the hall, but so far its just my upstairs neighbors. :( I hope its someone nice, and happens to be a 22-23 year old girl who is studying here and living on her own. I think my odds are pretty slim but Im still hoping!

Something else I keep forgetting to mention… Christies Education’s Admin just keeps getting better and better. Apparently we cant walk in the graduation ceremony until June. Of 2013. Yes you read that correctly. A year from the day that classes are over. Not this June, but the following one. We hand our thesis into them in Sept and they apparently cant get them graded and have an outside examiner read them in time to get our grades in to walk in Dec. I miss HWS more and more.

I think that is it for today! I will probably think of something that I left out while Im in the shower tonight. (yes it actually does happen. Almost on a daily basis. I think of stuff in the shower for my blog.) My plans for tomorrow are…. SLEEP IN.

Such a Long Day

I again woke up starved from sleep. Its getting old. I did sleep better last night than I have so far this week though. Maybe exhaustion is just setting in. Getting up I knew this was going to be a long day. Class at 10:15-11:45 and then the V&A at 3:30. Isnt that EXTREMELY annoying? On a good day I have an hour and 45 minutes to sit and entertain myself. (I hate Britain and their dumb tea breaks. It does NOT take that long to drink tea) Today, however, I had 3 hours and 45 minutes… Too long to sit in the lounge, too short to go home. Gah

The morning lecture was torture. It was on Baroque silver (which should be cool) but the lady gave us basically the same lecture as she had the last time she was there and it was more about rare stuff mounted in silver than it was on actual silver objects. Add that to the fact that I was already tired and wanted to see Rococo stuff, I didn’t really take notes.

After that riveting 1.5 hours it was time to amuse myself for another 3. I ate lunch (slowly) and then wandered into the worse library on this planet. (actually that is a lie. It’s the second worse… Willesden Green is the first. At least the books in the Christies library are put in SOME sort of order!) I decided to print off my Honors thesis and read through it. (I am going to Prague later to see my Concentration Camp and need to remember everything!) What re-reading resulted in was a 41 page thesis with blue pen all over it. I started editing it… bad idea. I literally gasped in horror when I found that instead of referring to the veterans of World War I, I had put down World War II. The Nazis couldn’t have included the Jewish veterans of WWII when it hadn’t finished (or really started) yet. Oh dear. I then read a book on consumption of China in 18th century Britain. (yes it was actually interesting!) Then at 2 I couldn’t take it anymore so I went to my bank to deposit some money. It was SO cool! I walked up and put in my debit card and a hole appeared in the machine. I threw my money in it, it counted it and then deposited it for me! It was fun!

After the bank I had so much time that I decided to walk from school to the Baker Street tube stop. It was a nice day to do it. I think I may die though doing it sometime. I never know what the cars coming out of Regents Park are going to do. I don’t know what light they follow and there aren’t little people lights to tell you when to walk. I look like an idiot every time I get to the gates. (and there are about 5 of them!) I battle plan every time… pretend to make sure shoes are tied (I looked even dumber when Im wearing my boots) look at the car, in the street, and then make a mad dash. So far so good.

I get to the V&A without any problems. I even found the staircase that we were supposed to meet at! At 3:30 I got to go behind-the-scenes to the “Staff Only” area! WOO! Our tutor was Angus (the Australian who talks like Hugh Jackman) Honestly I could listen to him talk ALL day and be completely happy. Then we got GLOVES and… TOUCHED SILVER! Woooo!!!! It was epic! Todays picture is an example of what I touched. I held a 1750’s silver ewer that weighed more than a child. It was EXPENSIVE. The ewer in the picture is the same sort of thing that I HELD today! SO epic. So that made my day. It was long and I was so SO tired but I held an expensive hunk of Rococo silver while an Australian explained it. Not too shabby! :)

I didn’t get home until after it was dark (around 5:30) and made dinner, unpacked stuff, cleaned up and now am writing. Next is a shower and bed will follow soon after! Tomorrow is FRIDAY!

Robbed

Today I was robbed from having a study day. I had to get up and go to class this morning! I wasn’t a happy camper because I am still not sleeping all that great. I cant fall asleep until around midnight every night and then I keep waking up and that isn’t cool for the girl who wants to be out by 10:30-11pm in order to wake up as a human at 8am. So I got up and somehow dragged myself to class.

Class today was cool. It was 18th Century British Rococo furniture. Enter Chippendale! Woo! Before I came here I totally thought he was American. Yup Im was an idiot. That’s why Im paying the big bucks to get educated! (I really REALLY thought he was a New Englander!) Lecture was interesting because I like this style of furniture. (Its basically the style that is in American so just think of Revolutionary War era) Ill put up a picture! The only bad thing is the lecturer is that one I had at Burghley. He goes over ALL the time because he talks so much. He knows everything so he needs to get a lot out, but still. Oh and on top of that he thinks class is done at noon. So he plans class for 15 minutes longer than it should be, and then goes over. Instead of getting out at 11:45 we got out at 12:10. Its not a HUGE deal but a 2 hour lecture gets long.

The picture… Chippendale bookcase. I do need another bookcase… Ill take that one for my birthday!! (mom and dad that was directed at you…)

After class I was going to go to Regents Park but it was a TINY bit to cold to go wandering around a park. SO I headed home to do work and made the best chart for school. I should sell it. It has the English monarchs next to the French ones, next to top artists. It took me awhile and could still use some more artists! Then at around 3 I took a nap, and am now writing my blog. Oh before I napped I heard through my door that someone new is moving into the flat below on Friday! They had been working on the flat all week so I was wondering what was going on! The lady I only saw once has apparently moved and someone is moving it! Ill keep you posted!

Off to eat and watch Pan Am (that show makes me want to be a stewardess) and then it’s a skype date with mom!

A Bunch of Rando Stuff

I don’t know how Im awake and creating sentences right now. When I got up this morning I wasn’t sure I was going to make it through the day alive. I was so SO tired. I need to shake the jetlag! I don’t know how I made it out of the house with everything that I needed for the day. Somehow I did and I strolled to school. I didn’t have a care in the world because I was so stinking tired. I even pulled out my Eminem and pumped it up but… to no avail. Part of the problem this morning was the pain that radiated from my shoulders to my calves. That is what happens when an extremely out of shape girl works out to Jillian Michaels. The next day is just painful.

Class this morning was pretty cool. Regency furniture. Pretty cool stuff! If you haven’t figured it out already I LOVE the 18th century. LOVE it. Oh and if you are concerned about the level of bad stuff that kids today are exposed to… don’t take them into a Rococo period museum room. Talk about rated R. Just saying…. That’s not way I love it by the way! Class would have been better if it wasn’t absolute torture to keep my eyes open. I couldn’t figure it out why I was so tired this time around. Last time I was fine! Then I realized that the amount of stress in my life was probably keeping me WIDE awake!

After furniture was our hour and a half long lunch. I hate lunch (I never would have thought that I would be saying that!) Its just too long. Then it was Culture and Ideology briefing time. A lot of us were smart and sat at the back of the room to get our first pick of class. I did! WOO! I chose…. The Image of Women. HAHAHAHA Im going to DESTORY this. And it’s with Patrick who I had last time. He is really laid back and chill. This is going to be a piece of cake. Ciletti has taught me well :)

After that 5 minute briefing and battle to sign up we had an introduction to cataloging. It well be challenging I think but nothing horrible. Very very doable. I don’t know what everyone has been making such a big deal of!

So I made myself talk to people AGAIN today. One of the girls asked me what I was reading (I was reading before class) and I told her (A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson). She knew who Bill Bryson is and read some of his other books! And another girl know who he was too! Apparently I was living under a literary rock! They both LOVE him too so there are three people who would recommend you read his stuff!

Remember my frantic search that spread across the city of London to find a stupid drying rack for my clothes? Well walking home from school today, on my street, right inside the door of a convenience store sat about 20 drying racks. TWENTY! Well now I know, if someone were to break into my flat and steal my rack, where I could find one. How frustrating.

Every day that I read the awesomely free Evening Standard, I come across something absolutely crazy. I think I may begin to share some of the more interesting things that come up. One today is cool…. But at the same time who needs it. It’s the new LG Smart Manager Fridge. It goes on sale later this year for 2,000 pounds. It has an LCD screen and internet connection that allows you to download recipes. Ok no big deal…. Well. It can do more than that. You scan your items into it and it keeps track of the for you. You can make grocery lists, have it tell you when something is low and has a camera inside so you can check its content from your cell phone. (apparently in case you forget your list) Don’t believe me? Check it out at http://www.lg.com/us/press-release/article/lg-smart-appliances-for-2012-deliver-connectivity-efficiency-through-smart-thinq-technologies.jsp

A shout-out to the ticketing office (including the switch board!) at good Ole’ CHQ as they deal with gate passes going on sale! I have to admit Im not jealous of you guys, except for being able to get into Straight No Chaser for free! Thanks for reading my blog at work! :)

Tonight Im hopping to get some work done. I have motivation to do some work to get prepared for when I get hit with work. Its weird, but Im going to run with it while I have it!

P.S The picture is of my favorite Rococo room on the planet

First Day of Term Two

Saturday night was amazing… fifteen hours of being snuggly in bed and sleeping for the first time in 31 hours. Last night I paid for it. I went to bed at 10 feeling sleepy. I crawl in bed and doze off pretty fast…. I woke with a start and looked at the clock. 11:45. Ok… I turned back over and couldn’t fall asleep. The last time I saw was 1:30 until I woke up at 2:15, 3 something, 4 something and at 5 something I finally fell asleep until my alarm went off at 8. Lets just say I was NOT bright-eyed and bushy tailed this morning!

I HATE the first day of class. I really do. Im always stressed and the kid who is in their seat a good 20 minutes before I have to be. Not today :) I was as cool as cucumber! (I don’t know how cool cucumbers are, but who doenst like a good cuke? Especially since you can eat an entire one and lose calories! Not a big concern to me…. But it is for others!) I was on time, not crazy early, and I was stressed at all. I just sat calmly and listened to the intro to the 18th Century.

I LOVE the 18th century. I mean LOVE it. I kinda wish I could time travel and hang out for a bit. I would HAVE to be rich, however, because it wasn’t all bright and shiny for the lower classes. The 18th century is full of Revolutions, beheadings, frill, conspicuous consumption, grace and awesome dresses! I wouldn’t powder my hair however…. I would rather be a carrot top than look 80 at age 22. While sitting in lecture I thought of two things the entire time…
1. My thesis. I am thinking now of doing Tea. I took a class on it at HWS (and slept through it except for the tea and marijuana section. Do you know that marijuana is the only drug that you cant overdose on because it doesn’t affect the part of your brain that controls motor function?? This is not an encouragement to smoke it, just a random fact.) Anyways back to tea… I could do the impact of tea and then the ceremony of it (including pots and furniture and such) Even the etiquette part would be cool. American tea practices would be awesome but I have a weird feeling that they came from the Brits. Just a guess… :)
2. The second thing I thought about was the REIGN OF TERROR! If anyone out there was in my class with Mr. Conroy you are already chuckling. I think we saw the slide with the guillotine and the big REIGN OF TERROR title, and the blood dripping down the sides everyday from the day after Christmas vacation until June. That and “let Them Eat Cake!” Hahah I loved that class. Then we saw the slide of Voltaire and I remembered the class that I learned nothing in… Mrs. Eddy’s and how she would fall asleep while we were reading to ourselves. Well that or buy things on Samsclub.com. One or the other.

You are probably dying to know what that picture of a teapot is doing on today’s post. Well remember my trip to Harrods? The one where I faked that I was actually shopping in the Wedgewood section, and then spotted the most stunning set of china I have ever seen. This is the teapot to the set. I found it online. It is only $1100. A bargain. The rest of the set makes me drool… if you are interested in purchasing me any of the pieces here is the website that you can do so http://na.wwrd.com/ae/us/patterns-a-e/anthemion-blue/icat/ww_anthemionblue/ The 5 piece set is $1000 which is way better of a deal than the teapot!

Another random bit of info. My “hotel” is filling up fast so if there are any interested takers for a double bed converted from the couch book soon! :) OK not really… but April is taken by my parents (a good part of it anyways) and Alex actually bought a ticket to come May 21st. That is a one-way ticket so not sure how long that booking will be for! Things to note before making a reservation…. The living is facing the street so it’s a little noisy, and the shower is a challenge. You have to stand near the wall to get wet. You don’t have to worry about competing for a slot against my only sister as she has chosen Hawaii over here little sister. (Nope Katie you are NOT living that down!)

I forgot an item on my New Years Resolution list… and its probably one of the more important ones! Emails… I am going to get exponentially better at emailing people back. I am bad at it I know. Jessi can tell you that I stink at emailing her back and she is not the only one! So Im going to get awesome at it! (I have already emailed Jessi back!)

After class today I went through Sainsburys and looked around. This sounds strange perhaps as I have lived here for a good two months already. I always made a list and stuck to it. I didn’t look around in case I started to acquire things I didn’t need. Well today I did it and found a LOT of stuff. I need to remember that I am not in Italy. There are real grocery stores here unlike Roma where there was veggies, pasta and wine. (not complaining!) I FINALLY found cheese slices (yay for grilled cheese!), salad, salad dressing (that was a feat. It’s on a shelf in the freezer section. Who would have thought??) Oh I found this Onion and Garlic dip. It is so SO good. I almost ate a bag of carrots devouring this stuff. I even dipped my pizza in it. All of the ingredients are pronounceable and I know what EVERY single one is. Its my new snack but it’s a healthy one so I don’t feel bad! And afterwards I could kill a vampire with my breath so there are benefits! A whole tub is only 1 pound! Brilliant.

Well I think that’s it for the day!

I feel Drugged

He misses me :(((

Im sorry for not blogging yesterday but I couldn’t function! After I last left you I boarded the plane and found my seat (44C) and the guy that had been chatting to me was in 44E. Inbetween us was a really nice girl who was a student and had visited her friends in the USA for New Years. She got stuck with him randomly asking questions! We sat at the gate for a very long time thanks to the plane who parked behind us. (yeah don’t know why that happened!) Finally we took off and I watched Crazy Stupid Love. If anyone is feeling like a Chick Flick I recommend it. I ate dinner while I watched and it was pretty tasty! BBQ chicken, beans, salad and mashed yams. (they unfortunately touched my chicken but I wiped most of the nasty, pureed root off of my yummy poultry) Then a miracle happened… I fell asleep. For THREE hours! I loved it! I am not a good sleeper on planes. My butt fell asleep also (not so cool) but the painful tingling was worth the sleep! We landed (the worse landing ever and I am slightly afraid of landings… Instead of touching down, we slammed down and then went flying forward when the pilot slammed on the brakes. Grrr)

I got my luggage (it wasn’t ripped open or missing a lock for once), got through customs (after the lady gave me attitude. I do not take attitude well after traveling of 20 hours. I gave her the “I worked at Chautauqua and have had enough attitude” look and she let me through), found the tube really easily, made the train switch easily (I love elevators), made it up the flight of stairs at Willesden stations, made it on and off the bus, and up the stairs to my flat. I was so happy to see my tiny flat and not have to deal with the Dragon that I got a second wind of energy and ran around unpacking and settling in! it almost felt like coming home! I was happy and energetic until I opened my mail (a bank statement of my account that didn’t have as much as I wanted to in it, and an electric bill) Suddenly I didn’t have energy to get off the couch. It was probably 1pm and had 8 hours until I could close my eyes. I decided to shower (there is nothing like a hot shower after a transatlantic flight) and stood there until the hot water went out! Usually that gives me energy but it didn’t help. Before I sat down I made myself make lunch (a can soup) and decided since I had pasta and a jar of sauce that there was no way I was going to Sainsburys! To stay awake I watched Glee while I ate and then just kept watching. I watched until dinner. I barely made it until 9, but I did and I fell into bed. 31.5 hours after I had gotten out of bed in the states. Finally.

I didn’t set my alarm last night because in Sept I woke up at 10 and was ready to go. Not this time… I woke up with a start at 12:30pm. 15 and a half hours of awesomeness. Actually I had really weird dreams. I was so out of it when I got up. I felt drugged (not that I know what the REALLY feels like but Im assuming its pretty close!) I don’t know how I got dressed. It took me forever to make sure I had everything for my food trip (list, money, passport (so I can use my AmEX), and bags) I literally stood in the hall, clutching my keys (my door locks automatically and my biggest fear is locking myself out) and giving myself a pat down. Shirt… Check. Coat… Check. Pants… Check. Shoes??? Yup. Purse… Check. I walk outside and rip off my scarf, unbutton my coat and unzip my sweatshirt. It was a BEAUTIFUL day of sun and warmth! SO different than WNY!

Long story short… I got everything on my list. I did forget Cheerios but I forgot to put them on my list! I spent the rest of my short day skyping mom, cleaning, making meals, and getting ready for school tomorrow. Im hoping to have time to watch Greys. Depending how this show goes I may never watch it again. Grrr. Anyways I am doing well and am tired but feel humanesque!

JFK Airport, Terminal 2, Gate 8

Well here I am again… sitting at the crazily confusing JFK airport but this time much calmer. Weirdly calm actually. The drop-off at Buffalo went well, got to gate 7 and waited for my flight. We left late, but got to JFK on time. Uncle Billy was waiting! We got my 50.5 pound bag and dragged it along with my 26 pound carry-on to the elevator, to the air train, and then over to terminal 2. What is in my bag that makes it 50.5 pounds you ask? I also would like to know. I don’t have that much stuff in it! I only packed one pair of shoes, a few sweaters and random stuff! Perhaps it’s the two things of shampoo (one of them is the family size… with the pump), my mega sixed Olay bodywash, two facewashes and three boxes of tampons… but still. It shouldn’t add up to 50.5 pounds! I don’t have any textbooks with me! (besides the Prague travel guide but that’s in my carry-on) My carry-on weight is my fault. I am carrying two boxes of fruit snacks, a bag of Swedish fish, a bag of the watermelon things, a box of sour patch kids (like the ones you get at the movies not at Sams!), a bag of Hershey kisses, my planner, Kindle, ipod, camera, and Oprah Magazine. I wouldn’t care about the 76.5 pounds of luggage except I have to carry it up 3 flights of stairs, get on and off two train, and a bus. Gah. Besides the doomed adventure that I face in 8 hours, I am exceptionally calm. Its weird. I have never been this calm or nonchalant when I am flying. I like this chill side of me!

Since you have last checked in with me lots of things have happened! I probably gained a good 15 pounds eating everything in sight, and then lost it all laughing at Bill Bryson’s awesome book. I was literally laughing out loud (ask Dad or Cooper!) I'm a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away… Go buy it. Its on Amazon and will be the best 10 dollars you have ever spent on a book. I have started the one about him hiking the Appalachian Trail and was laughing out loud at Gate 7 in the Buffalo Airport. I want all of his books for my birthday.

I came home with a list of all the things I was going to do over break. I was ready to roll and get a head start on my next term…
My List:
1. Pick a Thesis Topic
2. Read the books that my professor gave me and I lugged home
3. Re-Learn some Italian for my Venice Trip
4. Install a full version of Microsoft Word on my compy so I can do footnotes at home
5. Read through my Honors Project and get ready for Prague

The only thing I did on that list was number four. Instead I frosted cookies, made a snowman, cleaned the entire house, spent hours starting a fire everyday, played X-Box and became addicted to Modern Warfare 2, ate everything in sight, went ice skating, watched movies, built Lego creations, read Bill Bryson, organized all of my books (I need a new bookcase for my birthday too… I have filled my one floor to ceiling bookcase and my two half bookcases), survived Christmas Eve (that was no small feat. I was the youngest one there my 28 years again), went to Timmy Hortons (only twice..) drooled in Wegs, wanted everything in BonTon, ate chicken wings, chicken nuggets (but no fries…)and used a dryer. For all of you out there with dryers… don’t take them for granted. Its such a luxury to wash your clothes and wear them the same day.

News Years for me isn’t that big of a deal. Ok so the year changed… now I have to really think when I write the date. (which I do anyways… January 8, 2012 in the states in 01/08/12. Here its 08/01/2012. Confusing! I got it down first term and then went home and got all confused again!) So every New Years while everyone is making resolutions I am eating chips and dip and focusing on beating whoever Im playing a board game with. This year I have decided to give the whole resolution thing a try. You all saw how great my Over Break List went so Im not holding my breath.
This Years List
1. Make a friend
2. Don’t buy anything that isn’t food or its something I actually NEED (this is null and void once Spring comes and the new clothes come out. I still cant not go crazy thou! Perhaps an outfit. Or two…)
3. No shoe buying until Spring. When it is spring only a pair of Oxfords is allowed
4. Eat Fish and Chips even though I don’t like Fish

Hopefully that list is doable. I am excited about it now but that will probably wear off. Shortly. Just like how I brought Jillian Micheals with me (well a dvd of her anyways) so I can workout at night. That probably wont last long either (if I even start!)

Off to take a walk and stand some before this flight! Cant wait to get there!

P.S I added a picture of myself in my awesome bathrobe on Christmas morning. In my my hand is my Wedgewood Teapot from Mom and Dad (or was it from Santa? I cant remember :)) ) I always had put pics up on my Rome blog and I dont know why I havent doen for this one so Im starting to! Enjoy :))))