Wonderful Wednesday

Today was a study day, which made the day wonderful! I love sleeping in. It just starts out the day perfectly. I slowly ate breakfast, watched some of the Office, and then decided what I had to do today. It wasn’t good. I had to do a mountain of dishes, take out the garbage, email 15 people, did my presentation for Friday (which was a feat. I hate theory), looked up travel stuff, ate dinner, showered, and dropped my toilet paper in the toilet again. This time it wasn’t funny at all. I swore and chucked the soggy roll in the garbage. Not my best moment. But that is why todays picture is my bathroom. My toilet paper has a new home. On the doorknob. We shall see how that goes! Gah!

Tomorrow is an easy day I think. We shall see though! Sorry for the lame post but I just worked ALL day! Sigh. Good thing I had an extra day today! Thanks Leap Year for the extra day in London!

Presentation Day

After a night of crazy dreams and tossing and turning, my alarm this morning was not welcomed at all. I don’t know how I got out of bed and put the appropriate articles of clothing on the correct limbs but I did somehow.

Today’s lecture was amazing. First of all I like Turner’s and Constable’s work. I had never heard of them before I came here. At HWS we really didn’t get any exposure to British art and here in Britain they LOVE Constable. I am more of a Turner fan, but both are amazing. They are painting landscapes at a time when history paintings are the highest form of art (which is the case for most time periods!) and they are incorporating the idea of the sublime into their landscapes, while looking back at Claude and Poussin. Secondly our lecturer was AMAZING which makes or breaks class. He was energetic, funny and entertaining. Not at all stuffy like so many are! It was a good lecture, hence all of the pictures in today’s post!



After class I ate lunch and went to the computer room to tweak my presentation. I had a TWO hour break in-between classes. GAH! I was glad when it was finally two o’clock!! My presentation went ok. I didn’t rock it but I didn’t crash and burn either. I started out kinda rushed but got into the groove after the first slide. My professor said I made some really good points and read the pictures well so I think I did ok! I am glad to be done! I just have to live through my next one on Friday. That’s the one Im REALLY dreading.



After class I walked to Primark (it was 60 degrees out today so I decided it was a good day for a walk!) and I bought my parents a pillow, another towel (so we each have one!), and a king size fitted sheet for the pull out couch for all of my visitors! I went bold and got a bright yellow one to go with my white and black striped comforter! Then I headed home, made hamburgers (and realized I hadn’t zipped the ziplock bag s my rolls were incredibly stale) and watched the Office re-runs.

Random updates: Rick Santorum doesnt cease to amaze me and that is not in a good way….. The tent city at St Pauls was finally broken up today after 137 days. (which is roughly how long I have been here)…. I miss my droid….. and I finally got an Evening Standard today AND.. there weren’t any crazy stories. Just the usual. Kate looking perfect with her “not a hair out of place” hair, and impeccable outfits.

I am becoming a fashionista wannabe. All I do when Im out in public is check out what everyone is wearing. The guys here even have style. Basically if I had a million dollars I would give away all my clothes (well almost all of them) and start over with one big shopping spree. How fun would that be! Oh and I wouldn’t look at price tags. It must be nice (and crazy!) to go shopping and not have to look at price tags. Sigh

Well that is all for today. I have a headache (thanks to the headband I wore all day) and Im off to crash before I go to bed. It’s a study tomorrow! WOO!

P.S Pictures... some of my favs from todays lecture. The first is a Turner (a view of Venice) that I would probably give my first born child for. (ok maybe my second!) The second picture is my fav Constable and the third is another Constable that is quiet amazing!

Romantic Monday

Oops. I don’t know how I went the entire weekend without remembering to write my blog! Nothing happened however over the weekend that was worth blogging. Saturday I did some work, watched a movie and skyped. Sunday was the normal Sainsbury’s, clean and I finished my presentation that is due tomorrow. I was on a roll with work until mom called via skype and we talked for TWO hours. There went my motivation, and at 5:30 when we were done, I made dinner, ate, cleaned up, and showered before 8:30 when I skyped my sister. Basically it was one big skype date and I accomplished nothing.

Today was rough in the fact that it was Monday! I dragged myself out of bed and got ready. Somehow I was early and made it to the tube pretty quickly. The commute was easy and the train was empty. The second train was pulling in just as I got to the platform so no saying hi to the mice today! I got to school at 9:40 (five-ten minutes earlier than normal) and I read my book about introverts. GO Introverts! Today was all about the stock market and introverted/extroverted traders in the market crash.

Class today was all about the Romantics again. This time it was British romantics, not the French so it was better. Basically it was all about emotions, ideas, and making a picture that the viewer can make into something personal. I love Turner’s stuff. And one of the other artists that right now I cant remember his name. Oops :)



I then ate lunch, printed off my notes for tomorrows presentation, surfed the world wide web and then at 1 Isabel and I headed down to the National Portrait Gallery. I am a fan. I love the National Portrait Gallery (right next to the national gallery!) We looked at the British monarch from Charles II to George IV. It helped to do them in order and refresh my memory on everyone’s dates. (which I had known from studying for the cataloging exam!) I don’t know if I have said this before, but my rotation group is half masters, and half undergrads. Oh my goodness are the undergrads ANNOYING. They are in their second year, so they are basically sophomores. I never knew that 4 years could make such a difference in maturity. AND one of them could not grasp the succession. I didn’t know how hard it was to understand that Mary (as in William and Mary) was James II daughter, and then Queen Anne was Mary’s sister, and George I was the grandson of James II. I didn’t think it was that hard to grasp but every two seconds there was a question.

I survived that, and headed home to make sure I could give my presentation tomorrow. (aka practice) I got home, checked my email and then my eyes were so so heavy. So I set my alarm for 6 (it was 5:10) and fell asleep. I kept hitting the snooze and apparently can turn off my alarm in a half awake state, and the next time I opened my eyes it was 7:45pm and I had no idea where I was at. Awesome. I so I writing my blog quickly tonight (sorry!) and Im going ot go eat, shower and practice my presentation on governesses and seamstresses in Victorian England. Sounds riveting no? So Im sorry for not writing all weekend and then finally writing a boring, lame post. Tomorrow perhaps will be better! Actually I am hoping it will be boring because that means that my presentation went well!

Until tomorrow….

Pictures: the first (the landscape) is by Friedrich (one of my favorite artists today) and one of my favorite images from lecture. The second is Child in a Meadow by Runge... a little weird but showing that the child is a clean slate and is experiencing grass and a sunrise. It still kind freaks me out...

Another Half-Day!

Well I woke up this morning in much better shape than I did yesterday! Haha. I still was slow getting out of bed, but that is normal. I am ALWAYS slow at getting out of a warm, fluffy, cozy bed. (minus Christmas morning…. As soon as my eyes are open Im on top of the stairs yelling for my parents to get up. Yup I did that even this past Christmas and I will next year. Actually Im hoping I wont be living at home. Sorry Mom and Dad!)

It was eerily quiet on the commute this morning which was nice. I got to school early and ate my cheerios and read all about introversion. Still really interesting! Class this morning was Regency furniture. Ian was our lecturer and he is the one that usually goes over by 30 minutes. Today he was only 15 minutes over… an improvement. It was interesting because I like the Regency period, but otherwise it was kinda long and parts were boring. I have some cool designs in my notebook… oops :)

After class I was FREE! Dr. Michael squared was off in Russia today so we didn’t have class. I decided since it was a BEAUTIFUL day out again (high 50’s) I decided to walk to Baker Street instead of taking the tube. I took a detour and walked on the regent park side of the buildings. I have decided it must be amazing to live in London if you are wealthy. I guess that is probably true anywhere. I cant believe Im admitting this on my blog but I spent the entire walk not looking at the park…. I was looking in the rich people’s windows. They have some nice stuff! :) So… I made it to the tube, hopped on and came home. I then decided to watch a show while I ate lunch and picked Glee. To be honest I have been waiting for Glee to get better… its been slow and lame this season until this episode! I ended up blubbering through it and am mad that the last scene is Quinn getting in a car accident. Sigh. So now I am anxiously waiting for nest weeks episode. I guess the show got better again!

I haven’t gotten as much work done as I have wanted to. Sigh. So I need to go do work! Sorry this post is lame! Oh another thing... today I tried Twitter and I dont get it. I feel so dumb and out of touch with technology!!

P.S the picture is one of the cooler pieces that I saw in the lecture. its a library chair that unfolds to double as bookcase steps. Cool right?

I Love Half-Days

Ok so do you remember how awesome I felt when I went to bed early and I vowed to continue the trend of going to bed at a decent hour?? Well that went down the tubes last night, so this morning was a little rough. I looked like I had never seen light before, and a raccoon had torn through my hair when I looked in the mirror this morning. Actually I resembled a raccoon because there were remnants of mascara under my eyes. Yup I looked drop dead gorgeous this morning. Good thing I had a never ending supply of water and q-tips (to get the mascara off my face), a brush, and some makeup. After that I looked at least semi-normal but my hair hated me so much that I had to dip out a headband to restrain some stubborn fly-aways. I really should go to bed sooner!!

Thank goodness today was a half day. I LOVE half-days. Not as good as a day off because I still have to get up early (and therefore attempt to rescue my face) but at the same time I do get up and get going because I have to and then have the afternoon off. Not too shabby! Todays lecture was on French Romantic painting. I hated most of them. Ingres had a few god portraits (The one of Napoleon is amazing) but once Paddy started to point out exaggerations of form in the others, they became so glaring obvious that I didn’t like them that much anymore. I did like some of the paintings by the other artists. I have to admit… the portraits of the men are my favorite. Why?? 1. I wish men still dressed like that. (see the Keira Knightly version of Pride and Prejudice) 2. Their hair doesn’t get much better than it does in the Romantic period. Its all windswept and the sitter looks friendly. I saw one that immediately made me think… “oh wow. That is where Patrick Dempsey gets his inspiration for his hair-do” haha. That should tell you how much I paid attention in class!

After class we had a mini briefing about Venice. It sounds fun and our hotel looks nice! We haven’t gotten our info packets yet though so Ill tell you more when I know more!

After school I went to mail my National Insurance Number application back to the people, and then walked down to Oxford Circus and decided to catch the bus. It was an amazing 61 degrees out today with bright blue skies so I didn’t want to go underground on a day like that! The bus ride was nice and I got home to my H&M package by my door. I got some shorts from them and ripped open the bag to try them on. (I did go inside before trying them on. I did not strip in the hallway. No worries) I am so excited about them. Over here the style of shorts is longer than at home so I don’t have to worry about my butt hanging out of the bottom, or seeing anyone else’s butt. Its nice. I hope little WNY follows suit.

I made risotto for dinner which was uber yummy and it was nice to skype Al and catch up with him. Oh I am completely hooked to Quiet. I feel like I am learning so much about myself and now know why I may feel some things in certain situations. Its really interesting! Oh and I just thought I should add that at one point the author says that its rewarding for parents who have introverted children. Hey mom and dad that’s you…. Feel rewarded :)

Well I think that is it. Im off to bed in hopes that I wake up in a little better condition tomorrow! Its another half of a day tomorrow! Woo!

P.S the picture is Ingres' Napoleon

Having to Catch Up Again!

Sorry! Yesterday was busy busy! In the morning we had a lecture on 18th century dress. It was SO good! I love clothing lectures. I tend to not take notes though because Im listening to hard. Sometimes its tricky to listen and write! After the morning class I sat around for 2 stinking hours waiting for my culture and ideology class. I really wonder why I attend them. I learned nothing. The first girl who went showed us 4 pictures and said nothing about the. Obviously she had thrown something together at midnight the night before. Then the second, she was more entertaining and lively but when she was done Paddy said that she had to check her facts because most of her historical background was wrong. Are you kidding me?? We are in a Master’s course! Check your facts! After that waste of time I came home and studied. (I fell asleep from 5:45-7) I gave up after 9 and went to bed early. I feel like an old person saying this… but it felt AMAZING to go to bed early!

I woke up this morning at 9 since I didn’t have to be at school until 11 for my exam. I actually woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go! Maybe I need to go to bed earlier…. I slowly got ready because I didn’t need to make a lunch, and meandered to school. I stopped for a coffee (it was only a pound!) at Pret A Manger. We had to be in the common room by 11 and I was there at 10:40. Oops. So I sat and looked over my notes. My pet-peeve in life is everyone huddling together and freaking out about tests right before. By this point you either know what you are talking about or you don’t. There isn’t any point to be quizzing yourself and everyone around you on stuff. So I tried to ignore the people freaking out (and sometimes if I listen I start questioning myself). At 11:30 we were ushered into the room for our test.

We had to put our bags by the wall, and then find a seat. In the center was a group of objects and around the outside was our chairs. The first 5 minutes we weren’t allowed to write, which is the smartest thing. I stood up and went to see what I wanted to do. There were two paintings (we had to do 1 of them) and a silver object, ceramic, and a piece of furniture (we had to pick one) I stop at picture number one… instantly “Botticelli, renaissance, 1490” pops in my head. Off to a good start… next is an ugly ceramic thing that I kinda know 1 thing about. Nope. Next was a beautiful neo-classical corner cabinet. I didn’t know if it was French or English, and I was only 75 percent sure it was mahogany. Nope… I see picture number two and think “Rococo, Fete-a-galante???, sack back dress”… not enough to go on so I decide to do picture number one. I get to the silver and realize although I promised myself I wouldn’t do silver (it can be tricky) I knew I was going to. It was a candlestick that was a Corthinthan column…. Neo-classical. I check out the hallmarks…. There are only four, and one is the lion passant… its English and its neo-classical. That’s more than I can say about the cabinet or the ceramic.

Our five minutes are up so we can start writing if we want. Everyone flocks to the silver candlestick (it was a dead giveaway) so I head towards my Madonna and Child. No one else goes for it, everyone else picks the Rococo. The Renaissance is my strength so I go for it. I cruise through it… I notice that its heavily drawn on underneath the paint. Its not Venetian. The eyes remind me instantly of Botticelli, but Christ’s feet are awkward so I don’t think it’s the actual master (and Christies lent it out to students… it cant be) I guess at a date (1490) but then Im stuck… is it tempra or oil on panel?? I guess tempra but I could be very wrong. Ill have to see on that one! I give it a kick butt justification (thank you Professor Ciletti and Tinkler for killing us with that many Madonna and Childs) and faster than I know the half an hour is up. (after the test we were all mingling and our tutor Rebecca said that my painting was Italian, and after Botticelli. It may even be by him!!! Christies is trying to figure it out, but it has been so heavily restored that it wouldn’t matter much. Bam on painting number one!)
The candlestick was next, and I had it all to myself thanks to everyone leaping at it earlier. I measured it (which is hard because we cant bring our paper and pencil up to the main table. We can only write at our seat) and I look up the hallmarks. 1771, british bam… this will be easy. I think my description went ok, and my entry hopefully wasn’t missing much. My justification on this was a little short but I threw in George III, Robert Adams and Pompeii. That has to be worth something! Again the half an hour flew by and before I knew it time was up and the test was done.

Everyone mingled about and marketing came in to take pictures of us looking at the objects. Keep your eyes out for Christies literature of yours truly on it!! We hung around after and talked about the objects and what they actually were. I really think I did well. We shall have to see though. Hopefully my format was right! I cant believe I am saying this (but hey everyone else in the room thought so too) that was the most fun I have ever had on a test. It wasn’t that stressful really. It was just you and an object. I was lucky that I was really confident on both of the objects. If my painting would have been dutch, or a landscape I would have been in a little bit of trouble. I was lucky though! The real test is next term and we need to do 2 paintings (out of 4) and 2 objects (out of more… I don’t know how many)

I can home after and watched a Pan Am episode to unwind and ate lunch. Then I called EDF to figure out what was going on. I am being charged for the right meter…. But the credit I thought I had was what I owed. But I gave him a meter reading and it went from 166 pounds to 60.69 pounds. I don’t get how it works. And he said that I need to read my meter every three months or so. Ok… weird. He was such a nice guy and asked where I was from and did the States do things differently. Ummm yes. We read our meter every month! I signed up for direct debt (I save 10 percent this way) so my monthly payment is 40 pounds a month. If I give them antoher reading in the next few months it may drop down sime, but not much since they averaged how much Im using. Dude Im going to read it as soon as it gets warm considering I wont use hardly any! I feel like electric is kinda like the internet… you pay a monthly amount and basically either use it or don’t use it. Gah. So confusing.

Phew my fingers are tired from all this typing. Im off to work on my presentation for culture and ideology. My goal is to be the best one! I cant believe tomorrow is Thursday already! Wasn’t I just complaining about my first day back from vacation?? Oh tomorrow is supposed to be 61 degrees!!! WOOOO!

P.S today's picture is the head of..... (someone please know this!!) Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (its therefore Venus's head) See her eyes?? They look JUST the my madonna's today. Thank you Botticelli for your distinctive style!

My Vacation is Over

Sorry I didn’t write yesterday but honestly there wasn’t anything new. I studied, worked on reading Walter Benjamin until my head hurt, and watched Downton Abbey. (LOVE that show!) SO that is why there wasn’t a post… I would have put you to sleep faster than I normally do!

Today was rough… a Monday after a week off is never easy! It wasn’t a bad day though! (Well once I got myself out of bed!) I didn’t sleep really last night ( I think I had too much sleep the last week and just wasn’t tired) so this morning when my alarm went off, my eyes were heavy. I finally rolled out of bed did the normal routine, and was out the door at 9. Right now Im addicted to the Stereo Hearts song, so I blasted that on my walk to the tube. It was oddly bright out this morning… blue sky and it wasn’t that cold. Are the mornings getting lighter now that we are heading into March? I never know how such things work.

The commute was easy and normal. I did have to wait a minute for my second train, but that wasn’t a big deal. I always watch the rats running along the track at the Baker Street platform and wonder how many get squished. Then I always seem to think about the Little People books and wonder if there is a little rat nation living down there with schools for little rat-lings to teach the how to tell a train is approaching so they don’t get run over. I cant believe I just admitted to wondering such things. And… where do they get food from? It’s not like things grew in the tube tracks underground. Yeah… those are the questions I ask myself every morning. Perhaps I need help!

I got to school and sat down to eat my cheerios (which turned out to be quite stale actually) and went into class at 10. I started a new book Quiet thanks to mom! She had sent me an Oprah magazine article so I got it on my Kindle. Its really interesting so far.. its all about extroverts and introverts. I am going to use it against mom (she didn’t know what she did!) next time she tells me to stop reading and go do something!

Class was about Neo-Classical and Empire French furniture. I didn’t learn much because the guy basically rattled off the major makers and then showed us some slides. I have decided that the next book Im reading is going to be about Napoleon. Somehow I made it through high school learning nothing about him and in college they assumed that everyone had learned about him in high school. Yeah well… the only thing I had known about him 9from my art history class) was that he crowning himself Holy Roman Emperor instead of having the Pope do it (smart guy) and that he was dumb enough to try to conquer Russia in Dec/Jan. So smart yet kinda dumb… Anyways I get mixed answers every time I ask people if he was good or not. I learned today that he saved French decorative arts! (yay Napoleon!) and that he designed his own stuff. But other than that I don’t know much so I cant form an opinion. Long story short.. after I learn all about introverts and extroverts Im tackling the tiny man who attempted to rule Europe. Exciting!

The lecturer went over (again. Shocker. Really cant anyone keep to the hour and a half time limit? We got done 20 minutes later than we should have) and I ate my normal lunch. I really don’t think Im going to eat pb&j for a LONG time after this year. Gah! Then I was off to the National Gallery for our museum visit. Oh I realized something today… I have been calling Patrick “Patty” for almost two entire terms now… When I was looking up what group I was in I saw that I was in “Paddy’s” group. Opps…. Sometimes I think I have a hearing problem. The museum rotation was good. He never goes over and lets us out 5 minutes early! We looked at Rococo things so that was fun. I came home and had a series of mini disasters….

Todays picture is of the free Coke Zero that I received coming out of the National Gallery! There were Coke people giving them out so naturally I took free food (well in this case beverage) When you are a student free=awesome and you snag it no matter what it is! So I got this cute little can! It was ok… basically if Im going to drink pop… Im going to DRINK POP! This no sugar crap just isn’t worth it. The fake taste of sweetener after just doenst do it for me. If I am going to drink syrup and eat away at my teeth enamel, I am going to enjoy it (aka drink on with sugar) Anyways.. I wanted to take a picture of the cute can for my blog and since I no longer have my Droid, I had to wait til I got home and use my huge camera. While taking the picture my butt started to feel funny, and I realized that it felt wet. I look down and there is juice all over me, the pillow, and my couch. I knew I shouldn’t put my glass there! So I ripped everything off and got to do a load of laundry. Appreciate the picture today. I went to get everything out of the laundry and there is water all over my kitchen floor. I shut a sock in the door so it didn’t seal properly, which caused water to leak all over. I could just hear the Dragon Lady in my head “Anna!! I TOLD you to watch the washing machine! Your carpet could have gotten wet and RUINED!!” its didn’t and I mopped up the puddle with paper towels. So…. Appreciate my dumb little picture. I really had to work for it!

Tonight I need to study for my fake cataloging test. I am nervous about it (which is stupid because the grade doenst count) They just want us to get used to the test format and see what it is like. I have that on Wednesday.

If my blog is more boring then ever for you just wait until the end of March. I go to Venice (which means pictures and an adventure!) Hopefully Ill go somewhere after Venice too! Also my parents are coming to visit in April which will most definitely be an adventure. Oxford, Harry Potter studios, Greenwich, The White Cliffs of Dover and going out in public in London with them… its going to get crazy! (especially if there is cider involved! Haha) So stuff to look forward to in the coming months!

Off to eat dinner and then Study Time!

The Last Few Days

Sorry I haven’t written in a bit. On Wednesday that wasn’t much to say! I just sat around and did work. I did finish my project though. FINALLY!!!

Yesterday was a good day until the end… I got up and slowly got ready. (I love the laid back mornings that involve coffee. MMmmm coffee!) I ate a pb&j sandwich and headed out to the British library. I got my library card renewed really easily! I thought it would be hard considering what I had to go through the first time but it was really simple and I was out of there in five minutes! It was a BEAUTIFUL day so I walked from the library to school. It was so warm that my coat was unbuttoned and I was still warm! LOVE it. I have Spring Fever!

I went to school and topped up my printing credits and then printed my project, some articles to read for my presentation and my confirmation email for Harry Potter Set Tour! Woo! I probably spent almost all of my print credits. Sigh. Then I walked down to H&M to get some shorts. I went and couldn’t find them, so I walked towards Bond Street tube stop and went in the one in Oxford Circus… no shorts, and THEN I went to the one by Bond Street.. no shorts. GAH! I ran in Primark quickly and got a cheap bathing suit (just in case I take a trip) and I found a pair of Oxfords that look JUST like the ones I had bought (and then returned) for 50 pounds. This pair was 8!! Then I decided to head home.

I got to Willesden Green and decided that my feet hurt so I would take the bus. BAD idea. I was checking my email when I noticed the bus was pulling over so I grab my bus pass and shove my phone in my pocket. I am getting on the bus and I wonder what the big deal is and why everyone is pushing to get on. I get home and put my hand in my pocket…. No phone. I bet you 20 dollars it was the woman behind me getting on the bus. Sigh. There goes my Droid 2 Global phone with all my crap on it. Sigh. I was pissed.

So I dealt with that last night, watched tv, window shopped for shoes via the internet and went to bed. Depressed.

Today is going better. I ALWAYS get a cold in February and like clockwork, I feel one coming on. My nose is stuffy and my throat is scratchy. I haven’t even been out and about that much this week! GAH! I did call the national insurance company so I can get a number so I can work over here. And I called edf, but I need my meter reading but Jack hasn’t texted me back. I need to go work on my presentation on governesses and seamstresses. Woo. I cant believe its Friday already. I don’t want this week to end!

P.S Sorry I dont have a picture today

Happy Valentine's Day

Five years ago today PCS had a snow day (a very rare occurrence by the way). The snow day forced me home for the day (mom always said if it was bad enough to close school it was too bad out to go to a friend’s house) So I was stuck at home alone and had to go get the mail. I open the mail box and see an envelope with HWS on it… my acceptance letter! Two years ago today I was riding a bicycle on the Appian Way in Rome, Italy with Lauren and Laura (and Scary Mary!) so this Valentine’s Day was not one of my best! I just sat around and did work. I still need to do one more section in my project tonight so I can do the last section tomorrow. GAH! I remembered that I needed to call places while I was eating dinner so that didn’t happen. Oh well. There is always tomorrow.

There isn’t really much to say again today! Im just trying to get a lot of work done before my two crazy weeks. I really don’t want study week to end. Ever.

Picture: Scary Mary ready to go!

Not much to Tell

Well its day one of the official study week! I really don’t have much to say… this is going to be short and boring! It feels like finals week in undergrad, minus the stress of having to get things done. SO… I get distracted easily! I did get a lot done today though including, laundry folded and put away, drawers organized, study charts/keys made, Jane Eyre finished, all my images but into my powerpoint, two loads of dishes, and did some work on my project! But.. I also watched four episodes of Modern Family. So I slacked and did things!

I cant decide about this whole new design thing for my blog. I hate change so Im having problems with it!

Off to bed!

Random Things

As you have probably noticed… I have changed the look of my blog. We shall see how it goes. I may change it back to the dandelions. Im giving Big Ben and Parliament a test run!!

Today was a normal Sunday, minus I didn’t make my Sainsbury’s run! I slept in, leaned, did laundry, did work, skyped the parents and other random things! Nothing is too exciting here. I do have a few random things that I forgot to mention yesterday! Lucky you.

First of all Im turning British…. Yesterday in lunch I was talking and I said “Yeah… Im not to keen on them” I don’t remember what I was talking about (hence the “them”) but I said KEEN! Who does that!!!?? (in America at least!) What am I going to be saying next?? “Its blooming cold out there”?? Or “bloody hell”?? Actually I could pick up “bloody hell”! Best phrase ever and I chuckle every time that Ron Weasley says it in the Harry Potter movies. :)

I realized that I did something incredibly dumb. I brought my “Ever After” dvd back here with me and forgot Pride and Prejudice! Whatever am I going to do without Mr. Darcy until August?

I lied about the halfway point… Im halfway to the end of school (June 29th) not Aug 18th. Sigh.

My table that I am doing my project on sold on Friday! It was estimated to go at 20,000-30,000 pounds ($31,800-$47,000) and it did so well!! It sold for 46,850 pounds! ($73,929) Way to go Plum-Pudding Mahogany Breakfast table! At least two people wanted you badly enough for you to blow away the estimate!

The only exciting thing that happened around here is that yesterday my roll of toilet paper fell in my toilet. I had to fish it out before the water seeped into all of it so I had a dry corner to pick it out with. I lead an exciting life.

Its supposed to get warmer here this week! High 40’s for the entire week!!! How exciting. I am looking forward to wearing spring clothes!

Ok that is all I have got for you…. Sorry!

P.S Happy 125th post!
P.S.S The picture is of me in Malta where I want to be!! Somewhere WARM! Sorry Im running out of picture ideas!

Halfway!!

This morning I slept until I woke up on my own. I love mornings that don’t involve an alarm clock! Then I did something really crazy… I went to Sainsburys on a Saturday. Woo! Crazy Anna! I had a coupon for 2 pounds off my total purchase but it expired today so I went today to save money! I got a TON of stuff (including more laundry detergent). I think I am going to go on Saturday next week too because I got a coupon today for triple points that expires on Saturday. Im mixing things up TWO weeks in a row! Crazy! :)

Besides that nothing is really new. I got up late, went grocery shopping, put everything away, ate lunch, and watched an episode of Downton Abbey. I LOVE that show! Im only on episode two but its good! I am al caught up with The Big Bang Theory so I don’t know what im going to do! I love having marathons of that show but now I have to wait a week each time for a new one! Crisis!

I was reading the Evening Standard last night (no crazy stories.. Im sorry!) and I have one question. Why cant we find a intelligent person to run for president? Im sorry but in our HUGE country we cant find anyone decent?? Maybe all the smart people don’t want the job…. Anyways there is no way on this planet that I am going to vote for Rick Santorum. Ill vote for Obama first and that is saying something… Ok sorry for the political rant!

Im off to attempt to do SOME work today. Im kinda taking the day off and diving into the work this week. (I have it ALL planned out!)

If I stay here until Aug 18th, today is the halfway mark. 140 days down, 139 to go! Im getting there!

P.S My picture is of me two years ago this month (I was out of ideas!)Here I am in Naples (the armpit of Italy) eating my yummy pastry!

Ahhh... Break!

I needed it to be Friday. Most weeks Im just glad to see it… this week I NEEDED it to be here. It is and I am extremely grateful. Lets start at the beginning of a long LONG day. I got up, did the normal routine, and walked out the door 5 minutes late. I stepped out into a chilly morning but.. there was traces of snow of the sidewalks. Crap. I sped walked to the tube and just as I thought… the Jubilee line was experiencing severe delays. Awesome. There happened to be a train just pulling in that terminated at Finchley Road (nowhere near where I wanted to be). I could catch the Metropolitan line from there and get into Baker Street, so I hopped on. The train was packed and there weren’t any seats. At the next stop they decided to send us through the entire line so thankfully I got into Baker Street just fine. I go to Platform three and I cant move down it because of the hoard of people. A train arrives and I see that about 5 people get in at each door. I somehow push my way down the platform and find a spot that I can stand that is three people deep from the edge of the platform and I wait. I keep waiting… and waiting. I know that since I am so far back I wont get on the next train, and the next train is nowhere in sight. Then… I remembered that I have two feet and decide to walk from Baker Street to school. It was CHILLY but I made it to school… later than normal but still had enough time to eat my cheerios!

I head to the lecture room at 10 and walk in on a class. The lady who told us nothing about marketing ourselves n Tuesday was telling the other course the same nothingness. So I snuck back out and waited for it to be over. Class finally started and it was all about Goya. I haven’t really heard much about him, so it was an interesting lecture! And Peter was the lecturer which meant I stayed awake because he is really good and energetic. (todays picture is Goya’s Massacre on the 3rd of May.)

After lecture was lunch which I tried to read my articles for seminar through, but that was a fail. I just gave up and waited for 1:30. We get to Michael’s office and one of the girls looked really sick. Her face was literally white with green edges! She was supposed to be presenting but Dr. M sent her home. The other girl was supposed to have flown to the NYC with her course, but decided not to go. She was supposed to present too, but Dr M had told her to do it later since she wasn’t going to be there. Well she was there, but didn’t do her presentation still, so that left one presentation. We were out by 3 after talking about Aby Warburg’s piece. We talked about everything from religion and magic, to medieval French. I was SO happy to get out of there at 3!

After school I headed home and put on the sweat pants! I am so excited to have nine days off! Just as a warning…. My blog may be lame this week (well more than normal!) I have a LOT of work to do and Im planning on holing myself up in my flat and getting a lot done!

A Waste of a Day

I am once a again a grumpster. I need it to be 4:30pm on Friday so I can sit in a stupor and not have anything to worry about. I was out of it all day today. I couldn’t seen to keep my eyes open and I most def couldn’t pay attention. I had ADD hardcore today. I somehow dragged myself to school, ate my cheerios in a daze and made my way to our lecture. This morning it was all about Robert Adams for the 14th time. Ian Cox was our lecturer today. He is a class favorite considering he always goes over the class time with his ranting. Today he did not disappoint and class went until 12:15. Yes… that is a half an hour longer than it is supposed to be! Grrr….

After that was lunch and then off to silver handling with Andrew. It actually was cooler than I thought it was going to be. We learned about hallmarks and how to read them. Basically hallmarks can be really easily faked so don’t trust them. Another reason for me to hate silver. Class got done late (shocker) so I decided to hang out at school while I waited for my interview. I made some copies of passages for my thesis binder, and read some of my seminar reading but then I was falling asleep so I stopped!

At 4:40 I headed to the tube stop to head to my interview. It was a half an hour ride there and a ten minute walk from the station to the place. I walked through a mall to cut off the angle and didn’t even stop to look at anything! (someone please give me some credit please!) Anyways I get there, wait in line and the reception greets me. I am the only person in the room not in jeans and a hoodie. Also I felt like I had the highest education… I know that’s mean to say but I really felt like it. Anyways long story short… I didn’t get an interview because I need a National Insurance number to show that I can work in the UK. I thought that number was on my visa. Nope. Things aren’t that easy. So I have to re-schedule after I apply for a number.

SO I rode the tube for 45 minutes home and ate my sandwich that I had brought with me for dinner. I watched The Big Bang theory to make me feel better and then decided to check out my electric account. I noticed that it said that I live in flat 3 and I have a credit of 166 pounds… I think I am paying for y neighbors electric, but so are they so I am getting a credit. Tomorrow Ill have to call and get that straightened out. This of course put me in a better mood and I took a hot shower to chill. THEN in the shower I realized that I am a complete idiot. I don’t know if I have preciously mentioned that I have t stand against the far wall to even get wet in the shower. Tonight I had this CRAZY idea to try to move the shower head… it glided easily into the middle and the water rained down in the normal spot. Wow… Do I deserve the masters degree if it takes me 3 months to realize I don’t have to huddle next to the wall?? I wish I had a brain!
Im off to bed. Tomorrow is Goya and then y crap class. The only thing getting me through is the fact that I have a study WEEK next week. That’s right.. no school :)

P.S the picture is of a robert adam room that is actually in the MET. i like him...

Tuesday and Study Day

Sorry I didn’t write yesterday. I was too much of a grumpster. It was a LONG day that ended with everything going wrong. My day started off with the alarm clock going off an hour earlier. I dragged myself out of bed and headed to an early lecture about how to market myself as an art world professional. What a waste of time. This lady owned a recruitment business so it was how to work with an agency to find a job. Then she gave interview tips that were common sense, and showed us a sample resume. I think everyone was really disappointed that they got up early for that!

Then the day got better. It was Wedgwood Day! I learned all the about the best potter ever! He was sick when he was little and had a bad right leg o he couldn’t use the pottery wheel (you kick it with your right leg) so that may be the reason that he started with molds. Then he got his leg amputated by Dr. Darwin and his favorite daughter married Darwin’s son and she gave birth to… yup you guessed it Charles Darwin! I didn’t know that! Craziness! Oh and don’t buy a cheap piece of Wedgwood…. We learned the differences between the cheap stuff and the good stuff. Basically it’s a waste. Go big of go home. The 3,000 pound vase looks a LOT better than the 300 pound one. You def get what you pay for in Wedgwood.

After that I sat around during lunch but then decided to go grab a binder and some page protectors for my thesis project. Doing Honors the best thing I did as an undergrad. I feel prepared to write this thesis and I know what works. A binder and page protectors are a must! Rymans was having a sale on just what I needed! I love when that happens! It was a 2 for 3 deal that included binders and page protectors so my binder was free! AND I got a student discount so that was even better! I love saving money!

My culture and ideology class is a waste of time. Even my nice and easy going professor was getting frustrated. No one focuses there presentation and just shows images without a THESIS! GAH! I slept (with my eyes open though.. I was in the front row) So that started the bad mood… 2 hours of looking at pictures for no reason. Oh I forgot.. I had bought a coke for a pound at sainsburys for a little treat and drank it during culture and ideology. I thought the caffeine would help me but instead my stomach starting feeling funny and then I started getting really jittery. Apparently Im not used to caffeine anymore and a coke can send me into shock! It didn’t even help keep me awake!

Finally I was free at 4 and I booked it home! (It was chilly and I was sleepy!) I stopped at the post office and stood in line for a good 25 minutes (I HATE the post office over here.) and they told me I had to go to the Royal mail delivery center in Harlesden to pick up my package from my mom. I get home and break my Vera id/key ring thing so I throw my bags on the floor which breaks open my bag of chips and sends them flying everywhere. I decided to chill out and watch a Big Bang Theory episode and the website was down. So I looked up the delivery center and saw that it was a half an hour bus ride away. I ended up watching The Help in sweatpants, grateful that I didn’t have to shower because I wasn’t going anywhere on study day!

Today I slept in which was glorious. After I ate breakfast (digestive cookies and tea. I eat cookies for breakfast in every country!) I made my journey to the Royal Mail Delivery Center. It took me an hour and a half to get there and back. Awesome. But my mommy sent me Cadbury eggs and books so it was worth it! Now I am back, drinking tea( (im becoming British!) and writing my blog. I NEED to go to work though. That will be the rest of my night… work, big bang theory and eating dinner. OH dinner… I realized last night that I bought (accidently) reduced fat sausages. Really?? Who eats sausages that are reduced in fat… I feel like if you were that worried you just wouldn’t eat sausages. They didn’t taste the same. Worse… I like fat!!

Ok off to attempt to read some philosopher who thinks crazy stuff about art. Awesome.

P.S Today's picture is Jasperware... the must famous line of Wedgwood pottery. If anyone wants to buy me any I would be ok with it! :)

Felling Smarter!

I was late this morning. I was running around like a hectic crazy person stumbling over things in my half-conscious stupor. I hate Monday mornings! I really should go to bed earlier! I think that every morning but somehow it never happens! I did make it to school though and choked down my cheerios in time for my morning lecture.

This morning I finally a true lecture from someone who is not just a genius in his field, but knows how to lecture. That is an art! Our lecture was on Neo-Classical architecture and our lecturer…. Professor Frank Salmon from Cambridge. He was the best lecturer so far and I actually took notes during it and didn’t stare at the screen half-asleep! He was so good and I fell like I can talk about Neo-Classical architecture now! I wish he lecturer ALL the time! And now I feel smarter that I have had a Cambridge guy give me a lecture! I ha wasn’t stuffy! He was really nice and had the best since of style I have ever seen on a professor!

After the awesome lecture we had to wait around 10 minutes so we could have a thesis meeting.. it wasn’t helpful at all. The only thing I learned is that its an exhibit piece and needs to be 18,000 words. Im not too concerned with the length. My undergrad was 13,000. Im not too nervous because I know how much wok its going to be and its round two for me. Honors Project… best thing I did as an undergrad!

After that pointless meeting I sat around for 3 hours. I ate lunch, read Jane Eyre (which I was liking but now I am hating it…), and surfed the world wide web. At 3:20 I went up to see Andrew. Thanks to Dad I have a thesis! Andrew approved me to look at carriages. It cant be just carriages though. I need to figure out how to contextualize it and pick what way Im going to go with it. Transportation, travel, leisure driving… etc. He was really impressed with the idea and said that he cant wait to read it! He also said I am going to have a TON of work to do. Bring it. :)

So that was my day. Long but easy! Tomorrow I have to be at school at 9am. Grr.

My Evening Standard Story: The Cadogan Hotel in London is offering a special deal right now. For 4,000-25,000 pounds (depending on the quality) you can have a butler pour champagne in a bath tub so you can bathe in it. What a waste of money and the work in “brewing” the champagne! (Ok brewing isn’t the right word but I cant think of the right one. Fermenting??) It starts this week for Valentines Day and will last through the year to celebrate the hotels 125 year anniversary. What a waste of money…

P.S the picture is in honor of my thesis

Another Sunday

I really slept in this morning. Then it was the usual, bring routine. Sainsburys. I walk outside and almost die. London doenst own a shovel apparently so the sidewalks are packed with slippery melting, packed down snow. It was like walking on ice. It took me forever to get to Sainsburys and I almost fell 15 times. My shoes were filled with slush. I did my shopping (I don’t know it added up to 13 pounds but that is besides the point) and I took the bus home because I didn’t want to spend 25 minutes trying not to die. Snow is SO frustrating here. I am NEVER wishing for snow in London again. EVER. I am hoping that it is ALL melted by tomorrow.

I got home, cleaned, did my laundry and made a to-do list for my study week. I need to think of a thesis topic by tomorrow at 3:20 because I have a meeting with my tutor. I have no ideas. I want to the Holocaust but they wont let me. Sigh. SO that is what Im going to spend the rest of my day doing… exciting. Im sorry this is so boring but there isn’t anything to say today!

Todays picture is of a good sidewalk. There was actually some looser snow to walk that provides SOME traction!

Snow vs London

Today started as any other Saturday would… sleeping IN! I love the moment of panic when you roll over and see that it is 10am and then remembering that it is Saturday so you can just roll back over and get out of bed slowly! Best. Feeling.

I was all ready to do work! I started my Consignment Report project and did the first section (out of the three I need to do!). I even found a comparative object (for section 2) so I am on a roll with that! Then I read my reading for my scary presentation. I got a book out of the library with Water Benjamin’s essays because its just so much easier to read it out of a book instead of a packet. Well…. When I had finished I realized that the handout is version 3 and the book had version 2. Yes… they are actually really different. So Ill have to read it again! At 2:30 I suddenly felt extremely tired. It was odd… it came out of nowhere! I decided to rest my eyes for a minute (they really hurt!) and I woke up 3 hours later. Awesome.

It was time to get ready for my big night out! Isabel invited me to a wine and cheese party at her flat! I throw on my dress and headed out to Sainsburys. It was SNOWING! I was excited! It looked so beautiful. Just like a snow globe with big, white flakes floating down from the sky. People were out taking pictures of themselves in it and running around. I made my way to Sainsburys and picked up a wedge of Brie, and a Merlot (it was half off!) and headed back out in the snow! I got on the tube and noticed that when the train started up the wheels were sliding but I didn’t think anything of it because on Friday there was a LONG article in the Standard saying how prepared the tube was with tons (literally) of salt to keep everything running smoothly. (keep that in mind. It will be significant later)

I got to her tube stop without a problem and found her street easily. It was BEAUTIFUL! Few streetlights, soft white snow… it was cute. The party was a lot of fun! It was Isabel, her roommate, Freya, her boyfriend Alastair, his friend Ed and myself. We hung out and talked until about 11 when we decided that we should go before the tube shut down. We walk outside and there was more snow… probably 3 inches. We saw buses go by and the tube was running so we were optimistic. There were delays on the tube because at the ends the trains go aboveground. We had to wait 10 minutes or so but our trains came. Freya and Alastair went their way, and Ed and I caught the district train. At this point he tells me that I may be in trouble getting home. (he realized that Willesden Green was in the North) and that my station is above the ground. He was telling me how bad it was going to be so when it wasn’t bad at all I would be happy. I just laughed and said ok. He got off at monument and I stayed on until Westminster so I could catch the Jubilee line home.

This is where the story gets better. I get off the train and head towards the Jubilee line. I know the station so I wasn’t reading signs, just walking. Then, right in front of me in big letters “JUBILEE LINE SUSPENDED” This is where I swear. I forgot to mention that I needed to go potty. I thought I should go at Isabels but we decided to head out and I forgot to go. Another aspect of distress… my phones (yeah I have two. LONG story) are BOTH on the last half of bar on my battery. Keep that in mind also. Anyways after some angry words at the sign, I head upstairs to look at the boards and at my options. I am in SOUTH London and need to get all the way across the city and then north of it. After a long debate I decide to get to Baker Street. I will get a bus from there. This is easier said then done because there are no bus maps in this city, so I have an app for that. My phone however is barely alive and I need it to make it. I shut everything down and head back down to the platform.

The train I need says its coming in 12 minutes. You have to be kidding me! Its midnight at this point and there are drunk people everywhere trying to figure out how to get home. Trains come every 2 minutes so 12 was rough. FINALLY I get the train that is going to go in a big look around the city and end at Baker Street. I hop on and look at the route. Then it hits me!! I forgot about the Bakerloo line! (I always do and its such a great line!) And it hits the district line at the next stop. Instead of going around the city I can cut the circle in half and go through the center. We get the Embankment… I have NEVER seen so many people in a place so small before. I get off and FIGHT my way to the stairs. The Bakerloo line is empty. I grab a seat and start trying to figure out my next step. Keep in mind I need to go to the bathroom. (we did have wine after all!)

I get to Baker Street and come up to the street level. The snowflakes are HUGE. Another thing to remember… London isn’t used to snow. There are no shovels, or plows. Just snow. I see two N18 buses and break my rule about running to catch modes of transportation. I sprint! I check the map… score! My normal bus the 266 cross the 18’s route at Harlesden. This bus is only doing half the route, but is ending at Harlesden. Ok things are looking better. I get on and check out the upstairs level and manage to grab a seat. The bus starts moving… barely. He drove 5 mph the entire way. And to make it worse the traffic was horrible and moving at that rate. No one was used to driving in the weather and it’s a Sat night in downtown London. Its busy. I am not joking when I say this… an hour later we have hit probably ten stops. He is skipping stops because the bus was too full, so people are yelling at the bus and throwing snowballs at us. Then at Parade Park he stops the bus and we all get kicked off into the snow. Nowhere near Harlesden. Are you freaking kidding me. There are probably about 50 people standing at the bus stop. I look at my phone which is frantically blinking at me that it is going to die. I pull up my map and hope it has enough energy to let me see where I am. I realize that I am not that far from home.. just alittle south. I look at the bus board (it says time table is no longer available) and I say screw it. Im not standing out in the snow without a hat, in leaky boots, and waiting for a bus that is never going to come. I decide to hike it. I see that I can cut through a park and save be from walking in a huge lop, but then I thought about dying in Central Park at night from creepers (thanks SVU) so I start the trek around. The roads are all main ones and there are tons of people walking trying to get home. (Im so glad I wasn’t one of the many girls I saw wearing heels. I had tights on, but boots!) At this point I REALLY need a potty and I am chewing out the London Transport system in my head. I am trudging through three-four inches of snow and then I spotted a bus stop. Of course! Im on a high road… there will be a bus! So I head over and it’s a 266 bus stop! YES! And to make it better the boards said that the bus was due. I look down the road and saw it coming. I could have hugged the old man who was driving it! I hop on, dripping wet and cold but happy. He actually drove in a normal snow speed and 10 minutes later I was on my road getting off at my bus stop.

I walk in the door and strip my wet clothes off (and I made it to the potty!) and looked at the time. 2:40. I left Isabels at like 11:05. I just plopped on the couch and ate Pringles happy to be home.

If I didn’t have to go potty so badly, and my phone had a lot of battery left I would have been calmer. I was worried about having something go wrong (getting shoved off a bus in a random spot) and not having a map to get me home. Thankfully my phone held in there and my bladder did also! That was my Saturday night.

The picture is of the intersection right before Isabel's Street. It looked even better in real life!

Friday Again?

I think I start every post on Friday like this but… I LOVE Fridays! I was running late (like I am always am by the end of the week!) It was so cold outside that I practically jogged to the tube station so I ended up getting to school at my normal time! I guess the 30 degree temps are for good something! I guess its some of the coldest temps for Feb right now (and Feb is supposed to be the worst month of the year!) so even if its cold for awhile, it will only be until March. After 21 winters in WNY I can handle this! (I know Im 22, but I spent a winter in Rome so I needed to knock one off. Wait is this my 22nd winter in life or my 23rd? Hmm… ok either 20 or 21 winters then in WNY. Its a Friday at 9:45pm and I cant think)

The first class this morning…. I was mad that I got up for it. It was on the Industrial Revolution. Are you Freaking Kidding Me? Cant I get through SOME stage in my education that does NOT teach me the Industrial Revolution? Yes this lecture was about Britain’s, but it’s the same concept… machines speed up production, which makes things cheaper, which allows more people to buy them. We get it. Oh and you cant even have a British Industrial Revolution lecture without the Cotton Gin! Sigh.

After class I realized that instead of starting at 1:30, my theory class started at 2:30. Sigh. So I went downstairs and snagged a compy to do some work. I realized that the tea thesis would be crap… so I need to start thinking of a better idea. Four ex-master students have already done it according to the library. Sigh

My theory class was torture. I at least understood the Judith Butler text and what Michael Michael was saying about it. The second text (Lacan who is crazy) not so much. The “I feel dumb” feeling came rushing back! Im too tired to tell you what we talked about… perhaps tomorrow.

Im off to bed. Its late (11:15pm now. I got distracted writing and lost all of my motivation to keep going!) Off to bed!

P.S the picture is the sculpture I told you about yesterday!

Unexciting Day

Ok Ill warn you right of the bat… this is going to be a lame post because my day was completely normal. I slept through my sculpture class this morning (ok not really but I did lose track a few times because I just zoned out) it was on 18th century sculpture and honestly I only really like Canova. (you have to google my favorite piece because the picture today is of something else! Google Canova Cupid and Psyche and you will get it. Maybe Ill put it as tomorrow’s picture) Anyways I didn’t really pay attention.

During the lunch break I signed up for a tutorial with Andrew, ate lunch, finished my reading for tomorrow and read some of Jane Eyre. (which is getting better). The at 1:10 Isabel and I walked to the gallery together. This is our last outing this term! (Thank goodness! Its hard to find some of these places) Today’s handling session was in ceramics. It was ok… we handled stuff for 15 minutes and we toured his gallery for an hour and 20 mins. (his gallery was like a museum so it wasn’t all that special in the touching dept… we weren’t allowed to!) The milk jug I liked is 20,000 pounds. My birthday is coming :))) Oh he did give us a gallery catalog for free though! That was awesome!

After that I walked over to Christies King Street with Isabel to look at her artifact for our project. (we need to find one that is on sale). I actually ended up picking something out too! (see the picture) It is a Georgian III breakfast table. It is estimated to sell at 20,000-30,000 pounds on Tuesday. I got to TOUCH it. It was silk like (that’s how awesome the mahogany on this thing is!) Oh and the best part… its described as a Plum-Pudding Mahogany breakfast table. That is os awesome... plum pudding. It was good to get some homework done today!

After finding my object I went to Fortnum and Mason AND….. didn’t buy ANYTHING! I was so proud. I think Valentines Day is dumb… until I saw how Fortnum and Mason does Valentines Day. Top-Notch. Very classy and impressive. (also very expensive)

Then it was home to eat, unpack everything and now after this Im going to research my Plum-Pudding Breakfast Table. I would also love this for my birthday. More than the milk jug, so hurry and register at Christies! :) (by the way I am.. so I can access the condition reports!)

Happy 1st Day of February!

Wow its already February! On Sept 24th I never thought I would make it until February over here! Now I just have to make it to the end of March for a fun-filled 5 week break from school! Im getting there!

I LOVE study days. I can sleep in, watch The Big Bang Theory while I eat my cheerios, and then do whatever I want to ALL day long. Its epic. Today I picked to go to the Imperial War Museum! I had seen a poster on the tube for the Holocaust exhibit and I thought I would check it out. What was even better was the fact that it was FREE! (I LOVE the UK) The photography exhibit looked super cool but I didn’t want to spend 7 pounds to see it. The Museum was cool! I saw tanks, planes, jeeps, and guns! Then I watched a genocide video and decided that the UN doesn’t do anything at all, and then headed to the Holocaust exhibit. It was ok… I have seen better. It was cool to see the WWII stuff from Britain and the German war posters. The holocaust side of it was well done for a general audience… not very graphic though, and focused a lot on the Nazi party side of things. And my camp was barely included. Sigh. After going to Auschwitz, black and white photos of it really doesn’t affect me anymore.

After that I went into the store and browsed the book section. I saw a children’s book on my camp and picked it up to flip through…. It was my honors project just with different pictures. How depressing! They didn’t look at the art, talked about the propaganda, the film, the deceit, and then my artists. GAH!!! My honors project was a CHILDRENS book. Grrr….

I came back home and realized that my flat is still extremely cold. I have drank my weight in tea. I have also been TRYING to read this crazy stuff for my theory class. I HATE this stuff. I don’t get it and what it has to do with art at all. I read it but at the end have no idea what was said. Yay. Cant wait for class on Friday. Ill just sit there quietly… its what I do best!

Im starting to get nervous about all the work I have to do… I cant believe how fast this week is going and if this keeps up Im going to be over my head in work before I know it. So Im panicking, but at the same time have NO motivation whatsoever to do work. Wow… what a great combo!

Off to eat dinner and read another article! Woo!

P.S the photo is of the Imperial War Museum!