Not Much New

Well there isn’t anything really new but I decided that I should check in just in case someone was worried that I was stabbed in the Westfield Shopping Mall (really happened… the one in Stafford) or that the murdered that escaped from the North London Prison got me (he really did escape… Im hoping not to meet him!) I just checked the news and they did catch him so I think Im safe. Hopefully they improved their security considering he climbed over the outer wall with a rope. How reassuring!

This week has been glorious… no class. Love it. I have been reading a lot though and today I spent my life looking at flights until I became cross eyed! Still don’t have one. Oh yesterday I had my meeting with my tutor. A complete waste of time. Still no due date on the thesis. SERIOUSLY?? I got the “sometime in the third week of Sept”. Ok Ill hand it in whenever I feel like it then. Also I got no help about a topic, just condescending comments that I haven’t read enough and that if I do work the topic will come to me. I think he thinks that I have no hope of pulling anything decent off although its “such a great topic”. I miss HWS. If anyone has a great idea for a topic feel free to email/message or skype me. Im open to all suggestions. Oh and my uncle gave me complete opposite advice and I trust him WAY more… so Im going to go with what he said!!

Besides my anger with Christies Ed, life has been blissful. I like reading so that isn’t a problem, and I like doing things on my own schedule. Im in London for at least 7 weeks free as a bird (minus my thesis of course!) Im loving it!

Ill try to do better at writing but my life has been unembarrassing, uneventful, and unexciting. Sorry! Off to read Game of Thrones!!! Oh wait… there has been some excitement in my life… Italy beat Germany so it’s the I Azzurri vs El Spaniards. No doubt there who Im cheering for! I did cheer against Italy when they played England but that is only because I live here. I felt like I was cheating on Italy the entire time so Im glad to be back! Oh a depressing note…. Becks got the shaft and isn’t on the English National Team. Poor thing. He was instrumental in bringing the Olympics to London and then they snub him??? That’s low. They should have given him one more Olympics. Sigh.

Ok well that’s it!

Frustrating Afernoon and a BUSY day!

First of all I should start off with Sunday’s events!! The day was boring as I got up late, puttered around the house and skyped the parents. Nothing really to discuss there. Then I decided to get the grocery shopping over with. I walk out of the door and a van hits a puddle and my legs get wet. Really?? Its just as bad as it looks in the movies. Honestly I should taken that as a sign and went back in the door and given up. Instead I kept going. I get to Sainsburys and it’s a ZOO. EVERYONE in Willesden Green is there and the shelves are EMPTY. I needed chicken and there wasn’t any. Ok… cool. Looks like I am going to have to come back anyways later this week to get chicken. After I got everything I went and stood in line for ages. When I finally got up to the conveyor belt I decided to get situated and get out my wallet like I always do before putting my stuff up. I didn’t have my wallet. Awesome. I was so mad. I went around and put everything back. SO much for getting groceries. The night ended with me reaching up for some pasta, having the bag open and all the pasta raining down on my head. It was fun.

Today (Monday) was busy, busy, busy! I got up and headed for the National Gallery to see the Queen, Art and Image exhibit. It was really really good! They broke down her image by decade and what was going on in her life that influenced her image. It was good and well thought. Then I was off to Christies library to copy some pages out of a book for my thesis. Then I printed and color coated my bibliography and headed to Sainsburys to buy lunch (because I had nothing in my house thanks to yesterday’s grocery fiasco!) Then I headed to the Barbican library. I was really confused that I was only finding half of my books. I looked everything back up in the catalog and noticed that some “Stack”. Hmmm….. While I was checking out the books I did manage to find I asked and the guy said that I need to request them and they only go down twice a day. Awesome. I headed home, spent the night reading and that’s about it. Excitement.

I may start blogging every other day since I am going to spend my days reading and researching. We shall see… Ill keep you posted!

P.S this picture just looked summery

Post #200!

For the first time in 7-8 years (I cant remember when I started!) I am not spending this Saturday at Chautauqua Institution. Before everyone gets all sad, don’t!! I really miss working with the girls (and 2 boys) there and joking around and getting each other through the crap, but I don’t miss the customers, getting attitude from people 3 times your age, getting tickets/special studies books thrown in your face, and getting swore at. I miss none of that! I hope it’s an easy season though and everything runs really smoothly!

This is my 200th post! I cant believe that I have post so many times on this thing! Minus my spring break where I had visitors, I have done really well keeping this going! If you have read every single post, 1 you are crazy, 2 you have read 126,236 words and 201 single spaced pages of text! That’s quite a bit of reading! (and that it quite a bit of typing! No wonder my letters on my computer keys are wearing off!)

I spent the day reading footnotes and bibliographies to come up with a biblio of my own. Then I combined it with the one that I had scribbled in 15 different places. THEN I typed it ALL up, looked up every book on the City of London libraries page, put down where each book was along with it call number. I am all ready to raid the libraries! Only after did I realize that NONE of them are open on a Sunday. Sigh. I don’t know what Im going to do tomorrow!

To celebrate my new found freedom (and absence from WNY on opening day of CHQ) I bought Chinese for dinner. That is a big splurge for me the poor college kid!

So that was my day… exciting! Off to watch a movie!

P.S the picture is in honor of CHQ. Whoever made that really was right... we all do have memories

My. Last. Day

Today was it. Finito. Basta. Done. End. FINISHED!!! It was the last day of class. It was such a long and frustrating day. Thank goodness it was the last one! I got up slowly, got ready, hopped on the tube, read and sat down in class to read. All for the LAST time!!! Love it!

This morning’s lecture was really good. I had my doubts because it was all about Surrealism. I was lucky enough that the lecturer was the same guy who gave our lecture on Turner and Claude. He is SO good! He is really funny and engaging. I paid attention for the ENTIRE thing on the last day of class when it was about a subject that I didn’t care about. That’s how good he is! Basically the lecture was all about Freud and sex…. That’s basically what all of art history is about though!

After class we were asked to critique the course and this year. It was a little questionnaire that we had to rank them on a scale for everything. I was honest. Then there was a space for additionally comments and I put that the communication skills needed to be better and the thesis information needed to be better. I thought of 5 other things when I was at lunch and it was too late. Gah!

For lunch today I decided to treat myself and buy lunch from Sainsburys. They have a 3 pound deal that you can get a sandwich, chips and a pop for 3 pounds! I was super hungry and got a salad too… all for 5 pounds! That is better than McDonalds! I came back to Christies to eat my LAST lunch in the lounge and waste an hour and a half waiting for class. I did manage to get salad down my front which was fun. Thankfully Diana told me and let me know!!!

In the afternoon we had a review of the year. It was good, but it could have been 30 mins or so ad it would have been a LOT better. It was about an hour and after Andrew asked if anyone had any questions. Everyone said “when is our thesis due?” and he hemmed and hawed and then said that he would have to look into that and email everyone. Are. You. Freaking. Serious??? REALLY?? Everyone glared at him. Everyone.

After that some of us stayed to hear about the details of going to the Antiques Roadshow. Basically we learned absolutely nothing and he said that he would email us the details. Seriously? So when I walked out of those doors I was more frustrated and annoyed than anything else. What a day.

On the way home I had to stop by the package pick-up place. I took the tube out Willesden Junction, picked up my package and got to the bus stop and then it hit me. The bus drivers were on strike. Crap. So I had to go back to the tube and take the long way home. I glared at the picket line at the bus garage as I walked by. They were striking because they wanted a bigger raise than 500 pounds for working during the Olympics. Really?? They are lucky they are getting a raise!! Another reason I don’t like Unions….

I finally got home and crashed. I had a 34 pound bottle of champagne that I got on sale for 8 pounds (they were running a deal for the diamond jubilee!) and I almost died opening it. It is SCARY to open champagne! Then I made meatballs for the first time and I think I forgot something that mom puts in them, but they still tasted ok! I was happy!

SO Im done. The thing is Im more stressed now about my thesis. GAH! That’s what Im working on this weekend. Sigh.

Off to sleep and I can sleep in forever now!

This made my day so Im passing it on!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/expresident/pictures-that-will-restore-your-faith-in-humanity

P.S Picture is of me outside of Chrisites... aka the ugliest building in London!

A Very Long Day

Today was one of those days that were up in the air. Christies is really good at doing leaving you hanging and not having any idea what the day brings until you get there. How frustrating. Thankfully it was the last day that I didn’t know what was going on! I thought that there was a very good chance that we only had a morning class and that the afternoon was free… that was not the case.

This morning was the same old stuff. I got to school and read while I waited for the lecture. The class was on Modern Architecture… I wasn’t too excited but the guy was from UCL so he knew how to lecture which always makes a HUGE difference. I learned stuff and even though I don’t like any of the building I understand the concepts behind them. That is all that counts and matters anyways right? It was a decent morning! In the parish notices before class they informed us that we did indeed have class this afternoon. Figures.

Since I am tired of sitting around for an hour and 45 minutes between class wasting my life, I decided to head over to the Barbican Library during lunch instead of after school. It wasn’t too far away from school and I found it alright. (well not really. I had to ask a random person if I was even in the right building but I was!) I got a library card and it was so nice to see a normal library. I HATE the British Library. You cant check books out and you are basically imprisoned if you want to look at a book. You can bring in a pencil and a notebook. Really?? I WANT THE WARREN HUNTING SMITH LIBRARY! Gah. So anyways I got a library card (that works for the other City of London Libraries) and got 2 books and headed back to school.

I read more when I got back and I was SO happy that there was a turn of events in the Game of Thrones! Woo! Class was really awesome (but extremely long). A guy from the art theft dept of Scotland Yard came in to talk to us. It was really cool, but he was a retired policeman with LOTS of stories that were all very similar. We started class at 1:30 and got out at 4:30. It would have been an even better class if he would have kept it to at least 3:00-3:15. I want to be in the FBI now. :)

I didn’t get home til almost 5. I ate leftovers for dinner because I was too lazy to cook. Then I watched the Euro2012 game Czech vs Portugal. The Czechs were doing SO well but lost steam in the second half and just couldn’t keep up. Of course Ronaldo had to score. He is a gifted player don’t get me wrong, but he is so whiny and arrogant. And I think he spent more time on his hair before the game then I ever spend on my hair! The commentators were making fun of his diving though so that was amusing!

Well Im off to bed. Tomorrow is my VERY. LAST. DAY. Wooo! I am so SO excited. I wont lose sleep over this excitement though! I haven’t been this happy to see the last day of class since High School! (that is saying something for those of you who don’t know how much I LOVED my PCS experience) (again… sarcasm)

P.S the picture is the logo of my future employers! :)

My Last Tuesday

My last Tuesday wasn’t all that exciting. The morning routine was the same… yell at my alarm, bash it a dozen times, get dressed, pack my bag, attempt to eat my wheaties before they got soggy (epic fail) and run out the door. I keep stopping at Sainsburys on the way home from class but today I saw my wallet and left it at home on purpose. No matter how badly I may want to stop in I couldn’t. Im not sending any money that I don’t NEED to spend! I would love a job….

It was a nice day out thankfully. I was wishing that I had worn my dress today and not my jeans, but it was nice to be warm by the time I got to the ube instead of freezing! I could actually feel the sun’s heat! Amazing! The ride in was normal. I read the entire time (Im still hooked on Game of Thrones) I got to class, read some more, chatted and then learned that today was not a half day after all. I KNEW that. I had it down in my planner. Gah! As the lights were going down for Paddi’s lecture I decided I would have to go to Sainsburys and get a sandwich. Halfway through the lecture I realized that for the FIRST time ALL year I had left my wallet at home. On purpose. What a good idea that was. I wasn’t going to get lunch after all.

Class was actually interesting! Paddi talked about Art Deco and I liked the stuff. The States are finally entering into the lecture which is nice. I feel like I know nothing about American art!! I have decided that I like Art Deco.. some of it is crazy but some of it is really cool too. It also looked like a fun era… and unlike every other style we have looked at I could go back in a time machine and live. They had running water, took baths, and weren’t the Victorians! It was all about the glamour and the exciting new technologies! We looked at Hollywood, ocean liners and cars. I loved it!

After class I sat in the common room smelling the aromas of other peoples yummy lunches. I read to distract myself and chatted some. I told someone that I play soccer… like present tense. Don’t know what I was thinking since I haven’t played on a team in a game in 4 years now. How depressing is that. It wasn’t until I was asked what position and said “striker” did I realize that I didn’t play anymore and I was instead completely out of shape. I rally want to try the P90x thing and get back into shape!!! Thankfully we only had to wait until 1pm today and not 1:30! The afternoon session was about researching in archives so it was helpful. He gave us a list of resources which ended up being the most helpful, but it was worth sitting through an hour of that to get the list!

I came home and ate my weight in food, picked up, and did some research. Now its time for dinner, shower, more research and then reading more of my book. I have to bribe myself with it otherwise nothing else will ever get done! There isn’t anything like a good book!

P>S the picture is of me back in the day when I did play soccer! (im out of London ones...)

My Last Monday!

Today was the Monday I have been waiting for… the LAST one!! That didn’t help me get out of bed any faster this morning though!!! I decided on a dress today because it is June after all and June is the “break out the dresses” month and I was determined for it to be a nice day. (more on that later) I got down my trusty cheerios and took a few to eat while I was pouring a bowl. I have never done this, but I bet if I took a cardboard box and held it underwater for a day or so and then tried to chew it that the cheerios and the cardboard would have the same texture. Yummy. So I switched over to my chocolate Wheaties and learned something else. Wheaties turn into a soggy mush as SOON as you put milk on them. They soak all the milk up and turn into a soggy mass. I ate as FAST as I possibly could and ¾ of the pieces were mushy. This is why I don’t put milk on my cereal!!

After that scarring experience, I was out the door and on my way to the tube. It was a wee bit nippy out but I thought that it was 9am after all and by the time the sun comes out this afternoon it will be nice. I forgot what city I was in apparently. It was not any nicer at noon. It was probably 60 degrees, cloudy and windy. The breeze cut right through the fabric and my short sleeves weren’t helping my arms at all. Tomorrow I wont be as optimistic. The weather channel claims that it is going to be 71 but after today Im not so sure!!

Class was nice. I really like Gill Darby, our ceramics lady. She actually teaches us stuff when she lectures! Today was all about early 20th century glass and ceramics. She was mad that we didn’t go post-war (join the club!) We looked at Tiffany, Galle, and Orrefors (the main companies/people) I have decided that I am going to start collecting Galle glass. It is BEAUTIFUL but unfortunately uber expensive. I didn’t know that Orrefors did colored things. I just knew about the chunky pieces (that everyone in my family seems to have except for me….) I googled them and they have some amazing things. I would take one of everything!!!





After class I had to go buy a padded envelope to send my book that I had sold on Amazon to the lady who bought it. That was fast and painless but standing in line at the post office was not. A wait at the post office in this country is fast if its until 20 minutes. I would love to stick CHQ people in that line. Im sure they would be irate by the time they got to the window considering they want their own line at Wegmans! Anyways I managed to mail my package and headed back home. (I was freezing by this point. Again I did not have the proper clothes on today)

I did my grocery shopping on the way home from school. Im living this crazy, wild life by switching up my shopping day from Sunday until Monday. Oh the excitement! The store was much quieter though and the really nice guy who I haven’t seen in forever was there so I went in his line. He is so nice and always chats. I bought the Buffalo Wing Franks Hot sauce because I noticed it on the clearance shelf for .99p! He reads it as he scans it and says “Is this buffalo sauce any good? Its ALWAYS on sale and no one ever buys it.” I assured him it was delicious and that I could drink the bottle. He just looked at me and said “How did you ever try it in the first place?” I laughed and said I was from that area of NY (its easier sometimes. I have gotten lazier and lazier trying to explain where I actually live so I stick with south of Buffalo) “oh. Well I see on tv that you Americans like ‘wings’ from this place. I want to try them when I go to NYC this summer.” I say “oh no. No those are not Buffalo wings. They will claim to be but they wont be the same. You need to go to Buffalo.” He says “Ok… well whenever Im in the middle of nowhere USA in Buffalo Ill make sure to eat some. There isn’t anything else out that way to do is there? Besides a bunch of water?” I laughed and said no, not really and said bye. Walking out of the door I was impressed that he knew that there were Falls in Buffalo. Then it hit me… If he thinks BUFFALO is the in the middle of nowhere I don’t want to know what he would think of my hometown! To us Buffalo is a city!! Oh the conversations you have when you are abroad!

I got home and put all my groceries away. Then it was time to vacuum (finally), do the dishes (long overdue), do the laundry, and write my blog. Its almost dinner time (somehow!) and then its time for the shower and reading my book! Tomorrow is another half day so it should be a good day!

Oh I completely forgot… yesterday I went to Isabels for a Sunday Roast dinner! We had lamb, asparagus, beetroot salad, potatoes, stuffing and strawberry/rhubarb crumble! It was so nice. Besides that there wasn’t much to tell. Skyped the parents for Father’s Day and learned that they FINALLY got the tree that had been stuck on another tree for a year down (after getting it stuck like 3 more times!). Glad I wasn’t home to haul all that wood to the barn!

P.S the first picture is an example of Galle's work, the second is the wine glass that I want from Orrefors. they arent available in the states, but they are available in London (only at Harrods). I am accepting donations :)

Lazy Lazy Day

Today I was allowed to be lazy. I had my essay that is due Monday done already and the only thing left to do is my thesis, so I was lazy today! I slept in (that is what Saturdays are for after all!) and had to do ONE thing… go pick up a package that I had missed on Friday. Apparently it was going to be awesome because I had to sign for it. It’s not every day that you have to sign for a package! I got dressed and headed off!

It was quite a ride to the package holding place so I popped my head phones on. I then started thinking… London has changed me! (probably more than just one way!) At home if I had to go out on an errand I would throw on my sweats, my trusty pair of crocs, but my hair in a pony and grab a sweatshirt/t-shirt. Today I had on a dress (that requires a slip because no matter what color underwear, or what kind for that matter, that I wear it is still completely see through), my hairs were all pulled back in a bun and I had a pair of dressy flats on. The only similarity to the home errand outfit and the London errand outfit was that I still had remnants of yesterdays makeup smeared on my eyes. I would have been much better off in sweats and a sweatshirt. It is June and it was 58-60 degrees today with a huge amount of wind. I froze.

After a half an hour or so on the 260 I realized that the scenery did not look familiar. At all. It was when we pulled into a hospital for one of the stops that I realized… I was on the wrong bus. How did I manage that!?? I noticed a 487 bus that said that it ended at Willesden Junction and that was one bus stop beyond where I needed to go. I quickly got off at the next stop and ran across the road to get on the 487. It was cold and I was in a dress freezing. Then I realized that my slip had hiked up around my waist…. I had polka dot undies on… I needed to fix this problem. Basically I did a little shimmy (well quite a few!) and the slip was back to doing its job. I really hope that there is never a hidden camera following me at any point in my life. Awkward things seem to happen to me.

Anyways the bus came and I rode my first ever London single story bus to Willesden Junction. I got off, went to the holding place and there was a huge line. Ok… I got out my kindle and that helped to pass the time! (Side note… Im on book 3 of Game of Thrones. Its good but stressful! I bring my kindle with me wherever I go! It’s the ONE good thing about having a kindle!) I got my package and walked out the door and I see my bus pull away. (btw the bus that I had wanted to take to get my package was 266, not 260. I KNEW that because I have had to get packages a lot but I was being dumb today) I sat down and opened my package… Olympic tickets. My Gold Medal Match for Women’s Soccer. Booyah. When you buy them you don’t get to pick your seat. The bus came really fast though so I had to wait until I was on and seated until I pulled out the actual ticket. I almost leaped out of my seat and ran up and down the aisle… I had the FRONT row of section 103. WOOOoooo! I was pumped. As soon as I got home I looked up Wembley’s seating chart and the “view from your seat”. Not too shabby!! I am so excited!





I didn’t do much the rest of the day so there isn’t much more to tell you. Monday starts my last week of class! I have been waiting for this since Sept. I am beyond excited! (perhaps not as excited though as I am about my seat for the Gold Medal Match!)

P.S my picture today is of my ticket!!! The other is teh seating chart and the last is the view from my seat. I have seat 30 in the front row of the right hand section!!!

My Week

Sorry for the lack of blog posts this week! I think that this has been the worse posting week since I have been here! For the first time since I have been here I have had a lot of work all condensed into one week so not only was my life boring to write about, but I had to time to write! This week was “finals week” in a sense. I had my final end of year exam (which sounded much scarier than the end of the semester tests that I have been used to) and my critical review paper needed to be done by today. Nothing compared to my final weeks that I am used to (4 finals, papers, projects etc on top of the normal course load!) but still I had my hands full!


First thing to do was to study. I did that all weekend and Monday night. I crammed all sorts of information into my head! Styles, Dates, Artist and their dates, general history, paintings, furniture, ceramics, and silver! It wouldn’t have been bad except for that I needed to know the history of painting, furniture, ceramics and silver since 1500-1850 in England, France, the Netherlands, Italy and a bit of Spain. That is a lot of stuff! By Monday night I just didn’t care anymore and wanted to take the test then just to get it over with!

I had the early test slot on Tuesday for the test. I was so SO happy that I got LT1 with Rebecca and Paddi. It was JUST like my mock exam which was awesome! I was the third person in the door and the first thing I see is a chair. Score! I had hope! Chairs were the easiest in the furniture gallery. My excitement went as soon as it came. The only thing I knew about the chair was that it had a horizontal splat. Ok… not doing the chair. I found a seat and listened to the instructions. The first five minutes is looking and no writing. It is a good exercise because you can just look, but I like writing down my first reactions. Gah!

Lets sum up the 2 hours… Print was easy. Durer 1471-1528. Old Master Painting: Dutch Harbor scene after 1648. Ceramics: Italian Maiolica 1520ish? Silver: supposed to be easy and they kinda threw us a curve ball. Well at least me. I came out feeling pretty good and glad that it was over. Basically my term was over as I walked out that door. Beautiful.

After the test I wasn’t free though. I had to go to the exhibit that I had to review. Who thought? I actually had to go to it? Gah. So I went all the way to Greenwich which really isn’t aht far. It just feels far when you are in somewhat desperate need for a toilet. We weren’t allow to go after our test because we were escorted from the building so we wouldn’t see/talk to the other group. Extreme. Anyways I got there, found the potty at the visitors center (thought of you Dad and your shattered hand!) I walked over to the National Maritime Museum and was thinking about how it was just as cold today as it had been in April. I was cold and my nose was running by the time I sought refuge inside the museum. The exhibit was actually really good, although I didn’t appreciate having to pay 9 pounds to see it!

Wednesday was a super easy day. We had a museum visit to the Tate Modern. I was so SO lucky and got put into Paddi’s group. Phew! We looked at some modern stuff. The first pictures made me think of Rome because we had gone to an exhibit of the artist’s work in Rome for class. We wandered around the Tate and I was reminded why Im not a fan of post WWII art. Paddi let us go after only an HOUR! Woo! I came home and somehow wrote my entire review for my exhibit. Im officially finished with my assignments for my masters! (minus my thesis of course!)

Thursday nothing much happened. Class was complete torture. The woman knew what she was talking about (I think) but the class was basically an advertisement for her book and a laundry list of ideas. Not impressed and I barely stayed awake. I was very fidgety!

Today was a LONG day. This morning’s lecture was by Peter (who went to Venice with us) so it was a really good lecture, I just hate Dada. The end part about Duchamp was interesting though. It was all about sex basically, and shopping. It was weird, but I understood it for the first time ever. It made me appreciate him some. Not much, but some! This afternoon’s class wasn’t until 2:30 because the undergrads had their slide test. It was not worth the wait. I learned nothing about the Bauhaus except that it was a school.

The answers from the test were pinned up on the back board. The print wasn’t St Jerome… it was Samson tending the lion or something like that. I didn’t know Sampson had a lion! Is it the same Sampson that Delilah tricked? Anyways I got the title wrong on that. The dutch painting was dutch but I didn’t see that it was initialed in the boat. GAH! So I missed a signature. The ceramic I dated 30 years too early but hopefully that won’t count much against me! The silver… stupid thing. It was supposed to be the easiest! I had it right and then I changed it. Awesome.. so the date it wrong. Oops. So I had something wrong on everyone, but I think I still did well because I nailed the formatting and my justifications.

Ok well that is the quick rundown of my week. Ill be better now again at posting and hopefully they will be more interesting than this post was! Off to watch some football! (soccer!)

P.S todays picture is of Coop because I miss him and because I got Mom's mail today and inside was his picture enjoying the dog treat that I had gotten him in Venice!

GAH!

sorry about the lack of posts! I have been studying and I shall catch you all up tomorrow!

My Life Is Boring At The Moment

Sorry for not writing yesterday, but I really didn’t have anything interesting to say at all! I don’t really have anything interesting to say today either but I didn’t want to go two days in a row without blogging. I didn’t want people to think that I had abandoned it!!

Yesterday was boring. Especially after the once in a lifetime experience of a Diamond Jubilee. Life was back to normal and that meant another day of class. The lecturer was James, who had done the lecture on Van Gogh so I was happy that at least he was good and would tell us what we need to know in a logical way. The problem was I hate cubism. And Picasso for that matter. I know I know… an art history person needs to like Picasso. It’s never going to happen. SOME of his things are ok… but eh. Not my favorite.

So I lived through class and then ran out to do some Father’s Day shopping. I can’t give details because dad reads this but I think he will like what I got!! (hopefully!) I ran errands all over the city and of course it had to pour. It rains all the time. I believe it now… London in spring = rain and grey skies. It does not feel like June. It feels like April! I guess I shouldn’t complain because at least it is in the 60’s so Im not freezing when it rains! That is a plus!

Today was even more boring than yesterday!! Class today was torture. It was one of those classes that you would rather be hitting your head against the wall. I kept spacing out and missing chunks of what he was saying. Oh I forgot to tell you… the lecture was by Andrew (that was half of the problem… he style of lecturing induces sleep) and it was on… Russian Art. We haven’t had any Russian art so his lecture was completely out of context and he didn’t connect the art to the Western art that we have been studying. I think he connected one of the points to Matisse and that was it. So we saw images flash by and literally got a laundry list of artists. Why?? OH and we saw a stupid black square that is supposed to be a huge thing in the history of art. Ill try to find a picture on google for you. Basically this guy decided that he had transcended and perfected art. Well I feel like you need to define “art” before you can say that you brought “art” to its perfect end. I hate modern art.



So that was my day. I came home and have been puttering away around my flat, took a nap and have everything ready for a huge study session tomorrow! Woo! Sorry my life is so boring now! It probably will be until my test and paper are finished (june 15th!)

P.S todays picture is the flyover for the Queen and I did find the stupid black square. Thoughts?

Back to Lame Class

Today it was rough getting out of bed. My legs were sore from standing all day yesterday and I was just sleepy! I decided to eat my cheerios before I went to class (so stressful!) but I can leave later if I eat at home! I left at 9:15 and my commute was nice, quiet and boring. I read through it so I don’t remember much about it! I got to class and went into the lecture room and read until class started.

Today was German Expressionism. The lecturer was really good and engaging (a rare thing at Christies) So it was a nice morning. I think that our lecturer was a Borg… a good looking Borg but a Borg nonetheless. He was leaning against the wall during most of his lecture and the light from the window coming in and hitting his face. The light would hit his eyes and do crazy stuff. It looked like there were computer chips in his eyes. They were probably just contact lenses, but they were crazy. It looked like something out of a spy movie, when they pop in a contact lense and can see a screen. I think he was a Borg. I stared at his eyes for most of the lecture (I took notes too! No worries) It was the weirdest thing though. Where is Piccard when you need him….

After class I was free to go home!! Woo!! I have caught up on stuff and written my blog (which really took awhile! My last post was 1900 words!) I need to go send off some emails and then make dinner! (tacos!)

Real life is lame compared to celebrating the Diamond Jubilee….

P.S the pictures are going to be of the Jubilee for a bit. I have run out of others!!

A Royal Procession

Today was crazy. Crazy in the best possible way!! My alarm went off at 7am and I hopped out of bed ready to be part of the festivities! I had packed my survival kit the night before so I just got dressed and ran out the door. I was hoping to be at the palace at 8:00am but by the time I walked through the detour that was set up, and walked there I was later than I wanted to be. I was shocked to see that the streets were already lined with a crowd that was 4-5 people thick. You have GOT to be kidding me! I decided to head away from the palace and head down the mall. I tried across the street also in St James Park, but that was stupid because everyone that had camped out had done so in the park. (makes sense) So I crossed back over and headed away from the palace!

After walking for a bit I found a spot that was behind a tree, but only had one line of people. I decided to camp out there. I got out my little towel and plastic bag and sat down. It was 8:30am. 6 hours to go. There isn’t much to say about the first hour. I attempted to entertain and keep a polite distance from the mom and daughter that were sitting in front me. There was a really annoying man who literally took pictures for 6 hours. He had FOUR cameras. Really?? Just pick two dude. Anyways things picked up when behind me started to get filled in. A mom with a little girl came up behind me with a little stool. I moved forwards so they could claim a spot and not get trampled by the people walking behind us.

We sat there until all of sudden people started FREAKING out. What was going on?? I stood up and grabbed my camera (just in case!) A Royal Claret Bentley was rolling down the mall… wait that’s the Queen’s color! We all started getting pumped! It was Charles and Camilla. We could see them REALLY well even though they were in a ca. (the picture was el stinko) We start talking amongst ourselves and then another was coming!! Kate and Will!! Will was on our side and he waved! (again horrible picture) How exciting. Then someone in our little group dug out the itinerary for the day and we learned that the Queen would pass at 10:15. She did! We had a great view as her and her lady-in-waiting passed! What a surprise!!! It was great to have unexpected entertainment!!!


We went back to sitting down and chatting. Then the speakers started blaring the trumpet that signaled that the Queen had arrived at St. Pauls. They were piping the service to us on the mall. We listened to the singing and I recognized Rowan talking! I listened to his sermon (Very good by the way) and the most amazing thing happened. Someone (I forgot who was speaking) led the Lord Prayer at the service and I noticed a murmuring and looked around. Everyone was whispering the prayer with him, and when they were praying for the Queen everyone said “amen” and “God Save the Queen”. I wonder if she knows how much people really care about her…. I feel like that wouldn’t happen in the States.

After the service I ate lunch that I had packed and then it was time to start standing to claim my spot. People were starting to fill in behind us. Our core crew were all still there and were joking around with the coolest policeman ever. When a band went by he would “march” down the curb for us, he made the Vulcan sign with some kids and taught them to do it, and told us all that he played the piano. He had been there since 6am and wasn’t going to be done until after the mall was clear of people after the balcony was cleared! Poor guy!



At 1pm I was starting to wonder why I was doing this. The woman with the girl (never did ask her name) said that the last hour was always the worse. It was. She demanded that she took my picture so I could always prove I was there. At 1:15 or so things got interesting! The soldiers arrived! We had a blast watching them march up the mall and being measured out! Hilarious! Then the best part came… soldiers came marching up to us with a stretcher. We watched them unfold it, tuck it by the tv box, and then…. Stand in front of us. WHAT!! No!!! We told our policeman to get rid of them. The policeman ACTAULLY went over to ask them if they would be there for the entire parade. They informed him they would be, and he told us. Gah. Then after 5 minutes the middle guy turned and looked at us, looked at the solider to his left, and then moved over to his right so he was in front of the lamp post. The solider on his left turned to us and said “are you happy now? You made him feel bad and guilty!” We all cheered and waved our little flags (I had managed to get a free one!) Everyone else on either side of our little group looked down the mall to see what we were cheering for. It was so fun! We dubbed the middle guy our “hero of the day” and called him the cute one. He was a really good sport. About 10 minutes a soldier arrived, another came over and went away… The solider on the left (who sad that our “hero” felt guilty) said that he liked us so much that they were all going to the other side of the street to stand in front of other people. We were happy to see them go, but at the same time they were really fun. We gave them a hooray and some cheers and they waved and left.



By this time we were really getting excited. The policeman had been counting down for 4 hours with us and announced that it was close. Then the band came down the mall and we all got set to see the queen. We squeezed the little girl up front and waited with bated breath!!
The mounted band started down the mall. They are my favorite band! They have the best uniforms and they play instruments on horseback… not too shabby! Behind them were the mounted guard on their black horses. I was expecting a longer preamble before the Queen but suddenly horses came into view and thought “hey.. those are the queens!” I snapped a picture and then… freaked out. She was looking on our side of the mall (she was on our side!!!) and smiling/waving. I was so busy waving that I forgot to take a picture! I quickly did but I wasn’t fast enough… she put her hand down and just as I pushed the button her head turned away. NO!!!!!! I did get a really good picture of Charles though (who I had missed on the river!)


Then I turned my head back down the mall… here comes Kate, Will and Harry!!! Kate was on our side and I know I am going to sound like my mom when I say this (for those of you who know the Macys Day Parade Story when Kenny Rogers apparently waved right at mom….) Kate waved right at our group. We had started chanting “Kate, Kate, Kate” and it worked! She looked RIGHT at us and waved. Again I was too busy waving and hopping up and down (yeah… Ill admit it. I hopped) to take a good picture (which would have proved my story and stopped the snickers) so my pictures aren’t the best. Also I missed Harry this time. The first time was thanks to the guard, the second the tiny Asian girl who decided right at the moment to stand on her tip toes. Grr.


It was all over in a flash but it was worth the 6 hours. And our group was so much fun that it was all entirely worth it. After the procession up the mall, the police open the barriers and let everyone stream down to see the balcony appearance. I wasn’t planning on going.. I was tired of crowds but then I decided that I had stood for 6 hours, what was another one? I began my walk down the mall. The little girl next me (not the same one) was so excited that she was walking down the middle of the road that usually had a ton of cars on it. She was cute. I wasn’t expecting to make it far, but I got to where the mall meets the circle. One thing I should have thought about was the Victoria Monument…. I was directly behind it. Good job Anna. Oh well… there were screens and even if I was on the side the Royal Family would have been tiny specks.


I knew she had come out when the crowd roared. I watched the screens and took pictures. Then everyone started shouting and turning around… the planes were coming. We couldn’t see them yet where I was, but the Queen had seen them. The appeared and the fly over on the tv seems pretty lame. In real life it is Awesome. The bombers ROAR over you. The 3rd wave was tinier planes but they had red, white and blue exhaust. It was epic. The national anthem was playing and then everyone started singing God Save the Queen. I only know that one line, so I “la la la”-ed though the rest. I knew the tune though! :) The gun salute went off and everyone cheered then was the best part. The head guy shouted “three cheers for the Queen” “Hip Hip” and everyone screamed “HOORAY” and we did two more times. I had never actually hip hip hoorayed anyone before! It was fun!


The Queen went back in and everyone followed behind her. It took about 10 minutes to get off the mall but once I did it was easy getting home. Everyone was heading to Green Park, but I was was so SO happy I knew the city. Especially that area! I walked to Piccadilly Circus and the station was virtually empty!! Awesome! I got home quickly! I uploaded my pictures, unpacked, relaxed, ate dinner and skyped my sister!! Then it was off to bed!

It was worth my tuition for school and my living expenses for being in London JUST for the Jubilee alone. Yesterday was the best experience! It made me want to British. I was for this weekend! Sorry America!! I will be back in 10 years when Her Majesty celebrates her Platinum Jubilee! Ill stand for 6 hours to see her pass by again! This was the best weekend in London. Hands down. I doubt anything (yes even the Olympics) will be able to top it!! I wish I could get to know the Queen. She always looks so dignified, sleek and together but there is a twinkle in her eye that suggests that she has a great sense of humour. Too bad we cant hang out!

God Save The Queen

Royal Sighting: TWO!

P.S all of these pictures are from yesterday!

A Break From Celebrating

There really isn’t much to say about today. My tummy is rebelling against me and my cold is back so Im not really feeling all that great. I am catching up on things that I need to do that don’t require too much effort. Im doing laundry picking up my flat, reading about the Jubilee and taking it easy. Basically my tummy is hating me! It needs to be better tomorrow because Im planning to camp out all day to see the Royal family again!! I am very excited!! Hopefully tomorrows blog post will have more pictures of the Queen!! Sorry that this post is so lame, but there isn’t much to tell. Im off to make my study guide while I sit really still so my tummy doenst hurt.

P.S the picture is of my favorite boat... it shot water!

Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee

It is not every day that one gets to celebrate a monarch’s 60th year on the throne. Actually the last one that Britain celebrated was in 1897 and that was Queen Victoria. The next time this has a chance of happening will be Will and Kate’s future offspring. If Will was to get the crown tomorrow he would have to live to be 90, and he isn’t going to get the crown tomorrow! Personally Im rooting for Queen Elizabeth II to reach her platinum jubilee (70 years). She will have to make it until 96… I think she has it in there. If she doesn’t I at least hope she beats out Queen Victoria. Wouldn’t that be something!

I woke up to pouring down rain. Woo. I didn’t let that stop me though! I was still excited and ready to go! I was also hoping that the rain would deter some people from heading out. Not so sure that happened! By the time I left the rain had stopped, but it was still a bit nippy out. The tube was pretty full as we got closer and closer to the river. EVERYONE (including myself) got off at Westminster. I had wanted to avoid it, but it was my most direct route. Sigh. It actually wasn’t bad because everyone exited the station to head up to the river (dummies). I was switching trains to meet Freya at Sloane Square.

I met up with Freya and we headed down to the river. It was a zoo. The crowd was WAY bigger than any crowd I had ever seen at the Macys Day parade! I guess this river parade hadn’t happened since 1660… but still!! We picked a spot right in front of the screen that would later show the live feed and we were the 4th row from the front. We were smart to pick a spot with a close up view of the screen because right after we arrived they started to play old film of the queen. It was a lot of fun, and it entertained Ms. Impatient. (Actually I have gotten better at waiting for things! The 3 hours flew by!) There was the cutest little girl who thought that a family’s laberdoodle was the funniest thing ever. She would walk up to it and SHRIEK with laughter. The dog got bored with that game pretty quickly!

The excitement started at 2 when the royal family was arriving at their dock to get on the barge. It actually wasn’t all that far from us. We were at the Chelsea Embankment so we were pretty close to the beginning of everything. The barge with the bells that rang to start the procession was RIGHT in front of us! Anyways being there to watch the live feed with everyone was worth the journey alone. Everyone literally gasped and started cheering when the camera cut to Kate. The red was stunning!

No one seemed to really care about Charles and Camilla, but when the Queen arrived everyone starting cheering. There were some outbreaks of “God Save the Queen” and everyone was getting really excited! We watched the live feed until the barge in front of us started moving. It was at this moment that we all became sardines. I could bent my legs up and I would have been supported by the crowd!

We watched the boats all go by and everyone was cheering but we were all really just waiting for the Royal Barge. Then people started going crazy and we knew that it was coming. Suddenly we were even more squished, flags were going crazy, God Save the Queen was being sung and then the barge was there!! I knew my pictures weren’t going to come out that well because no one was standing still. Everyone was on their toes and hopping up and down!! I snapped a few, but focused on staring at them and getting a mental picture!!


After the barge went by things calmed down. A lot of people behind/around us left and we could breathe again. We spent the remainder of the parade watching the river and then the live feed. There were some gaps in the boats so it was fun to watch the tv also. (the Queen seemed to LOVE the War Horse that was on the building for her) It was fun to see all the boats! We were determined to stay until the end, even when it started to rain and all of the umbrellas went up. When is started pouring we threw in the towel. I think we were really close to the end though! We watched Tower Bridge open for the Queen and then we started back to the tube stop.

We trudged through the wind and rain and discussed how every time Freya and I do something it is cold, wet, and windy! We got to the tube station and there was a mass of umbrellas just hanging out. This cannot be good! The place was swamped so they were closing the doors and letting people in a little bit at a time. Awesome. Freya and I checked out the bus map and I decided to take a bus up to Green Park Station. We parted ways and I headed to my bus stop. There was a mob there. Oh great. The 452 bus pulled up and people started shoving to get on. Im so glad I didn’t need that one! I had no chance of getting my bus though because I wasn’t anywhere near the bus stop so when the bus pulled up I would be at the back door (which doesn’t let people on) and I would have to get in line and I would never make it. Then I had a streak of luck. The 22 was pulling up behind the 452 and the front door stopped right by me! I hopped on before anyone else had pushed their way down to the door yet. I was lucky because the driver only let like 10 people on!

I eventually made it to Green Park, went into the station, down the escalator, turned the corner and became a part of the mob. Oh jeez! I was mean and sneaky and walked around the side of the mob and ended up near the front of the clump. After a few minutes they let a chunk of us go down. The train had just opened its doors and it was a jam. People couldn’t get off because the platform was so full, and people could get on. It was a mess. I walked along the very edge of the platform as soon as the train doors closed and hoped I wouldn’t end up on the tracks. I snuck by though and got to the end of the platform where there were barely any people! A train came really fast and it was PACKED. I managed to squeeze on and I was on my home! Phew! All that to see the Queen!

I just chilled the rest of the night which was nice. I was damp and cold from my adventure so I drank a few gallons of tea! I considered the day a success!!! I felt like I was cheating on my country! Today made me want to be British! You cant help getting swept in everything! I have two more opportunities for a Queen sighting so I am pretty excited!

Cups of Tea: Lost count a LONG time ago!
Royal Sighting….. ONE!!!!!!!!

P.S As previously promised… a picture of the Queen!

Prepping for the Excitement!

Today is my chill day/get stuff done around my flat day before the excitement begins tomorrow!! I woke up at 10 which I was beyond excited about! I woke on without an alarm AND didn’t waste me day. That is talent! I got up and made a copious amount of tea which was delicious. Then I did something CRAZY… I did homework 45 minutes after getting up and finished it within 15 minutes. Score. I basically rocked my Saturday morning.

There are some moments that I end up wondering if I should have picked a different discipline in college. I had another one of these moments while laying on my stomach, sprawled out looking at the very dusty underside of my couch. This happens to be the second time this week that I have been in the exact same position because this was the second time that I tripped over my Janson’s History of Art book had literally fallen on my face. This time was better than the earlier trip that I had taken. This time I smashed into the chair that I use as a coffee table, which in turn smashed into my drying rack which of course had to land on my back. I should have been an English major. They just have lots of little novels lying around, not a 6 inch thick, 13 inch long, 8 inch wide brick. I should have thought of such things 5 years ago when I sat down in my East Asian Art class. At least I didn’t pick science… those books are almost as big but cost 100’s of dollars. At least mine are usually around 100!

Besides my introduction to the underside of my couch, the morning was good and productive! It wasn’t until after I cleaned that I noticed that I was still in my pjs! Oops! To take a mini break I watched a really good tribute to the queen on the BBC1 player. It was Charles showing home videos of his life growing up. I liked it! (made me wish I was royal and born in the 50’s. What great fashion since they had back then! Lets go back to that!)

Some random thoughts that I have had this morning while downing gallons of tea… First of all music. This may sound pathetic to those of you who are a bit older but I really miss the radio. To hear what the new music is I go on Itunes and play the first minute and a half of the top 10 songs. (the 1min 30secs are free!) I am so behind and would love some new tunes! Thankfully Rascal Flatts has put out a new album and my mom gave me a itunes giftcard so I could buy it! It has gotten me through!

I want a pet. Yeah not the best time in the world to adopt one, but Ill be home around here for 2 months! I could potty train a kitty! Too bad it would have to survive a flight home. And I don’t even know if my landlord allows pets. Small, tiny details! I would want a dog, but Im sorry… Im not picking up its poo. That’s just weird. I would have to invent a poo catcher for dogs. Why don’t they have poo catchers for canines?? Horses have them! Maybe that’s what I could do… save dog owners everywhere and go down in history as a poo catcher inventor! Anyways… I would go for a kitty but Im not allowed to.

For the past year I have had one foot in the real world, and one foot into the “im still a baby” world. I quite like it. I have money appearing in my account (yes I know… I do have to pay it back eventually), I live on my own, do what I want when I want, eat whatever I want for meals, clean when I want to clean and am not told what to do. I love this in-between world living. I have responsibilities but they aren’t too horrible! I like my new found freedom! When I go back and live at home (for a amount of time that will be as SHORT as humanly possible) it wont be fun. Except… mom feeds me. That is nice. But there is no going back. Im 23 and am officially old enough to make my own decisions. How exciting is that? Whats not so exciting is getting independent money wise. Well it is actually… just a wee bit daunting.

Cell phones… another thing I have thought about today. When I first arrived I would stare at my phone and think “why aren’t you doing anything?” and be constantly checking it although I knew that nothing was going to happen. Ill admit… I was a wee bit obsessed. Now when my phone goes off I think “what is that” and remember that I have one. I leave home without it a lot. Not even on purpose, but its just something I don’t even think about anymore. Most of my calls go to voicemail because I rarely remember to turn the sound on after class. I cant believe Im saying this but.. I LIKE it. I don’t know what is happening to me! Maybe its because I HATE my cheap phone and miss my droid, or I don’t have many friends so no one ever calls. Whatever it is I am getting used to not having one. The only thing I really miss is uploading pictures from my phone to facebook, just so I can show followers back home something cool. But even facebook and uploading pictures from a phone will feel weird once Im in the states. Facebook has lost its charm. I love it for keeping in touch while Im over here, but once Im back home I feel like it will fall by the wayside. And do I want a phone when I come home? Verizon seems like a bigger crook than they were when I left. The plans here are NO where near as ridiculous as they are back home. If 20 pounds (30 dollars) here can get you unlimited texts, 450 minutes and unlimited internet why is it $80 in the states? The point of having internet on your phone is becoming more and more unclear to me. Especially for that much money. $960 dollars a year to be able to upload a picture to facebook and be able to be reached anywhere?? No thanks….

Well after all the random stuff I think Ill end your torture (if you made it this far!) its 4:30 and somehow I haven’t started my study guides yet. GAH! And I have to go to bed early tonight to be ready for my Queen sighting!! Woo!!!!

P.s The picture is of my old room at the Dragon Lady's house. My how time flies... Hopefully tomorrow's picture will be of the QUEEN!

A Start to an Awesome Weekend

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday! The night just got away from me and by the time I realized I had forgotten to write, I was really ready for bed! There isn’t too much to tell from yesterday. I got up late, and then had to stop at Sainsburys to pick up a snack for Freya’s b-day picnic that we were getting together for after class! I ran in and grabbed some strawberries and ran back out! I did manage to get to class on time (a little early actually!) I finished my Salmon book on the tube and as I was waiting for class to start. It was ok… I haven’t decided if I recommend it yet or not. Apparently the movie has a much happier ending!
Class was ok… the lecturer knew what she was talking about and actually talked about significant things BUT the structure was kinda out of order and confusing. She kept switching between artists and years so I kinda got lost. All I got out of it was Fauvism=color. Glad that I sat there for an hour and a half for that one.

After class we all assembled and headed to Regents Park to celebrate Freya’s birthday. It was fun. We all sat around and nibbled on snacks (I was starving so I was trying not to be greedy!) and drank some wine. It was a nice day out too (not too hot, not to cold and no blinding sun which is good for fair skinned people such as myself!) All and all it was a nice time!

I am so ridiculously excited for the Jubilee weekend! I am hoping to see the Queen twice! Hopefully being 4 hours early will be early enough to be able to get a spot that I can at least see the boat she is on/the balcony at Buckingham! We shall see!

Can anyone else believe that it is JUNE?? I feel like it was JUST Sept and I was living with the meanest/craziest person on earth. Time sure does fly, even if you aren’t having fun apparently!

P.S Me at the Eiffel Tower! (I realize this has nothing to do with this post but I am running out of pictures)