It is a quarter to midnight here, making it almost 6 in the evening at home. I am conducting an experiment as I wait for the election results in my jammies. I went to bed at about 8 and set my alarm for 11:30. My plan is to then to go back to sleep after I find out what way the world is going. I am so scared and hyper and hopeful. This is truly an historic evening.
Back to my record of the Wales adventure. Tuesday. We spent this day in Conwy, exploring and shopping. It rained a lot, of course, but we were well dressed and ended up having a pretty good time with it, I think. We went to the castle, which was pretty cool, and then spent most of the afternoon shopping at the little shops in town. I keep buying things, and thinking I'm spending too much, but the things I buy are usually for other people. I need to figure out how to buy souvenirs for myself. After shopping we went back to the hostel in an attempt to regain feeling in our feet, and then headed back out again for a while. Conwy, like many other Welsh towns built by Edward way back in the 1200's, has town walls that go all the way around the original town. Most of the circut is open for pedestrians, so we hiked around lots of that. It was really fun and pretty, due in part to the hail that fell throughout much of the walk. I'm really glad mom and I stayed positive (and even a little silly) in the crumby weather. We ate at a little Indian restaurant that was quite tasty and then turned in early once again.
They've called projections for Kentucky (McCain) and Vermont (Obama). Lots of other states are taking longer to report than was expected (yet, this is expected).
Just called S. Carolina (McCain).
Wednesday we took a roundabout bus route to a town called Betws-y-Coed, which was significantly more touristy than Conwy. It was also, amazingly, rainier and colder. We went on a hike in the mountains and got pretty much completely soaked, but I still think we had a good time. Mom's knee was bugging her, which made the experience less enjoyable for her, and the issue continued to plague her the whole time she was here. I hope she is feeling better now. Slogging in the mud was fun-
Just called Pennsylvania. OBAMA!
-but once we got back to the hostel, we couldn't bring ourselves to put back on our soggy shoes. So once again we ate at the hostel.
Now might be a good time to mention that I'm following the election through BBC on TV as well as CNN, MSNBC, and Reuters online, at this point. At this point: McCain 34, Obama 103. Keep it up.
Thursday is what we would call a bust. It was the day of missing trains. We did have a good time in the morning though; we visited Caernarfon and saw another totally cool castle. This one was in much better shape and had tons of cool passageways all through the walls etc. We had a really good time racing up to the tops of the turrets with our backpacks to take pictures and then back down because it was so cold. It was after leaving this town that we kind of started to fail. We took a bus to a town called Porthmadog where we had wanted to catch a scenic narrow-gauge train that mom had heard about. Well, we got off at the normal train station and then discovered that we actually wanted to be at a different train station across town. By the time we got there, we'd missed the train, and of course, by the time we got back to the normal train station, we had missed the train to our next hostel town too. So we hiked back across town to the information center to get the train/buses figured our to get to our hostel and then waited at the train station for our train. By the time we got to the hostel (which involved a train change in a town I can't spell) we were once again exhausted and just ready for bed. The day kind of disappeared in travel.
Friday was our last day in Wales. We had a hearty breakfast at the hostel and then left for a hike along the coast. The plan was to take our backpacks and hike to the next town over where we would catch the train to leave Wales. The hike was something like 7 miles and we were told it would take about two hours. With our backpacks and mom's knee, it ended up taking us 4 hours. We had planned to get to the destination town two hours before our train was scheduled to depart. We got there with 10 minutes to spare. (I prayed really hard for both of us and it worked.) That train took us all the way to Shrewsbury, where we ate dinner and then waited (for a long time) for our train back to London. It was so great to be back in the flat.
2:00 am, 15 states polls close. Results: McCain 76 Obama 175. We're getting there.
Saturday was another day in London. In the morning we went to Borough Market and wandered around there. I think Mom had a good time exploring the crowded market and we bought some tasty goodies. After that we returned once again to Thorntons to get a final stock of delicious toffees. We had tickets to a matinee of the Lion King and it was absolutely amazing. The first song was so inspiring and stimulating that it made me cry. The show was just so cool. I'm so glad we got a chance to see it, in London, and that I got to see it with mom. After that we went back to the flat and then ate dinner at an Indian restaurant near home.
Oh my goodness, BBC just called Ohio in favor of Obama. This is amazing. This should be it.
Dropping Mom off at the airport on Sunday morning was tough, but we had such a great week. I'm so glad she came, it was so wonderful. Church was good that afternoon. It was good to be back after not having been there for a week and a half. I love church.
3:00 am. Obama gets IA. (McCain 135, Obama 207)
4:00 am. Polls close on the west coast. Obama wins CA and Washingon.
OBAMA WINS! We have elected our first black president. I have so much joy in my heart at this moment. This is it, this is the first step towards change.
Good morning. To more than just November 5.
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
Monday, 3 November 2008
A Wales of a Tale
Me and my puns. Forgive me.
Hello People! Welcome to part one of me catching up on my blog. Tonight you will be treated to the Wales adventure, followed by the report of my internship that I know you are all dying for in the next couple days.
Mom arrived safely last Saturday. It was so exciting to go to the airport and pick her up - I had been so focused on the end of classes, both my sadness that they were over and my stressing over finals, that I kind of forgot to be excited so it all came at once right around Friday. We stopped off at the flat and then wandered down to the Charing Cross area and Covent Gardens. We discovered that that was one of the places we had gone when we were here four years ago. We went to the toffee place and got treats for others, but sadly, those didn't make it very loud (we ate them). We ate dinner at a risotto restaurant on my way to school that has always intrigued me. We had shared two different kinds; one of them was butternut squash with sage and it was one of the most delicious things I have tasted. I am definitely going to have to go back there.
Sunday was full of more brisk wandering - no church, sorry. First we went back to the West End to buy tickets to the Lion King for the next Saturday. It rained torrentially. Foreshadowing? For lunch we went back to the Pakistani restaurant where we ate for my globo class; I had wanted to take mom there and I'm so glad I did, even if it involved a little nervous adventuring. I love London because you can get on the tube and get off in what seems like another world. In a matter of minutes we left the theatre district of the West End and stepped out next to a mosque where we could hear chanted prayers. Totally cool. The food was of course to die for once again. After that end of the world, we went to Camden Market, which let me tell you is even more alien than the last neighborhood. I never would have thought that I would walk down a street and look into shops with rows of two foot neon bongs. Totally bizzare. I did buy a cool hoodie though, that is in no way related to bongs.
Monday morning we left for Wales. We got into Chester, the first leg of our journey, around lunch time. We decided to check out the town a bit, but the weather was cruddy and it made us rather grumpy. Luckily, it improved sufficient for us to enjoy a walk on the town walls and some pasties. The next train was the one to Conwy, where we were staying for three nights. Unfortuantely, the stop for Conwy was "request only," so we had to alert the conductor that we wanted to get off there. One glich in the system was, however, that WE COULD NOT FIND THE CONDUCTOR. Mom literally went up and down the whole train more than once and he was hiding, I swear. He turned up just in time for us to get off though, but at that point we were both exhausted from the stress of a day of traveling. That, coupled with the premature darkness brought on by daylight savings last Saturday night, made us rather lethargic once we reached the hostel tired and soggy. We had planned to go back into town for dinner, but we ended up staying in, eating at the hostel, and going to bed at 9:00. Disgusting, but delicious.
Ok, I know I made bold promises, but I'm tired and I'm going to bed. I am so stressed about the election. I'm not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow, but it will probably involve me being up at 3 in the morning. I just found out that Obama's grandmother died. How sad, and oddly timely. She believes we have it in the bag -COME ON THE REST OF AMERICA. THIS IS THE MOST INTENSE LARGE SCALE THING I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED. LOOK AT THIS, I NEVER WRITE IN ALL CAPS BUT I'M SO STRESSED/SCARED/HYPER/ELATED/NERVOUS/HOPEFUL/EVERTHING ELSE THAT THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO EXPRESS THE YELLING IN MY BRAIN.
Ok, I've calmed down a bit now. Go Obama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOODNIGHT
Hello People! Welcome to part one of me catching up on my blog. Tonight you will be treated to the Wales adventure, followed by the report of my internship that I know you are all dying for in the next couple days.
Mom arrived safely last Saturday. It was so exciting to go to the airport and pick her up - I had been so focused on the end of classes, both my sadness that they were over and my stressing over finals, that I kind of forgot to be excited so it all came at once right around Friday. We stopped off at the flat and then wandered down to the Charing Cross area and Covent Gardens. We discovered that that was one of the places we had gone when we were here four years ago. We went to the toffee place and got treats for others, but sadly, those didn't make it very loud (we ate them). We ate dinner at a risotto restaurant on my way to school that has always intrigued me. We had shared two different kinds; one of them was butternut squash with sage and it was one of the most delicious things I have tasted. I am definitely going to have to go back there.
Sunday was full of more brisk wandering - no church, sorry. First we went back to the West End to buy tickets to the Lion King for the next Saturday. It rained torrentially. Foreshadowing? For lunch we went back to the Pakistani restaurant where we ate for my globo class; I had wanted to take mom there and I'm so glad I did, even if it involved a little nervous adventuring. I love London because you can get on the tube and get off in what seems like another world. In a matter of minutes we left the theatre district of the West End and stepped out next to a mosque where we could hear chanted prayers. Totally cool. The food was of course to die for once again. After that end of the world, we went to Camden Market, which let me tell you is even more alien than the last neighborhood. I never would have thought that I would walk down a street and look into shops with rows of two foot neon bongs. Totally bizzare. I did buy a cool hoodie though, that is in no way related to bongs.
Monday morning we left for Wales. We got into Chester, the first leg of our journey, around lunch time. We decided to check out the town a bit, but the weather was cruddy and it made us rather grumpy. Luckily, it improved sufficient for us to enjoy a walk on the town walls and some pasties. The next train was the one to Conwy, where we were staying for three nights. Unfortuantely, the stop for Conwy was "request only," so we had to alert the conductor that we wanted to get off there. One glich in the system was, however, that WE COULD NOT FIND THE CONDUCTOR. Mom literally went up and down the whole train more than once and he was hiding, I swear. He turned up just in time for us to get off though, but at that point we were both exhausted from the stress of a day of traveling. That, coupled with the premature darkness brought on by daylight savings last Saturday night, made us rather lethargic once we reached the hostel tired and soggy. We had planned to go back into town for dinner, but we ended up staying in, eating at the hostel, and going to bed at 9:00. Disgusting, but delicious.
Ok, I know I made bold promises, but I'm tired and I'm going to bed. I am so stressed about the election. I'm not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow, but it will probably involve me being up at 3 in the morning. I just found out that Obama's grandmother died. How sad, and oddly timely. She believes we have it in the bag -COME ON THE REST OF AMERICA. THIS IS THE MOST INTENSE LARGE SCALE THING I'VE EVER EXPERIENCED. LOOK AT THIS, I NEVER WRITE IN ALL CAPS BUT I'M SO STRESSED/SCARED/HYPER/ELATED/NERVOUS/HOPEFUL/EVERTHING ELSE THAT THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO EXPRESS THE YELLING IN MY BRAIN.
Ok, I've calmed down a bit now. Go Obama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GOODNIGHT
Sunday, 26 October 2008
Finals Week and the Arrival of Mom
I'm going to stop apologizing when it takes me forever to post. Just a fact of life we must accept. Last week was the last week of classes for phase 1 of my program. Now I'm at the beginning of a week off and then I'll start and internship for the last 6 weeks. I can't believe we're already this far through the semester! Unreal.
Last week was kind of crazy. I had a globo essay due on Friday, and I tried to get started on it early, but the week was instead a rather stunning example of my procrastination skills including several sudoku and an hour and a half long IM chat with Ben. Needless to say I didn't get to the paper until Thursday night, when I stayed up until 4 to get it done. Don't worry, I slept in the next day. I think the paper actually turned out rather well, but we'll have to see what someone who actually knows politics thinks about it :). Thursday during the day was also the inclass essay tests for my other two classes, so it was a really busy day. My lexicon was a quivering mass by the end of the night.
Now mom's here and it's just great. She got in yesterday and we explored around Covent Garden (which is a big market that is in fact largely devoid of plants) and around the West End theatre district. Today we went back to the West End to buy tickets for the Lion King (yay!) and then went to the Pakistani restaurant for lunch. It was totally delicious again and I'm really glad I got to take mom because I knew she'd like it. After lunch we went up to Camden Market, which was a huge mass of crowded stalls, but pretty fun. I got a cool hoodie that I'm excited about. We've come home just exhausted both nights and we really just chill all evening. Last night we went to a risotto restaurant that was absolutely delicious, but tonight I just cooked for us at home. I'm so glad she's here! Tomorrow we head off to Wales for another grand adventure.
Hope all is well in the States. Just over a week until the elections and Obama's up and climbing. Come on America!
Sleep Tight!
Last week was kind of crazy. I had a globo essay due on Friday, and I tried to get started on it early, but the week was instead a rather stunning example of my procrastination skills including several sudoku and an hour and a half long IM chat with Ben. Needless to say I didn't get to the paper until Thursday night, when I stayed up until 4 to get it done. Don't worry, I slept in the next day. I think the paper actually turned out rather well, but we'll have to see what someone who actually knows politics thinks about it :). Thursday during the day was also the inclass essay tests for my other two classes, so it was a really busy day. My lexicon was a quivering mass by the end of the night.
Now mom's here and it's just great. She got in yesterday and we explored around Covent Garden (which is a big market that is in fact largely devoid of plants) and around the West End theatre district. Today we went back to the West End to buy tickets for the Lion King (yay!) and then went to the Pakistani restaurant for lunch. It was totally delicious again and I'm really glad I got to take mom because I knew she'd like it. After lunch we went up to Camden Market, which was a huge mass of crowded stalls, but pretty fun. I got a cool hoodie that I'm excited about. We've come home just exhausted both nights and we really just chill all evening. Last night we went to a risotto restaurant that was absolutely delicious, but tonight I just cooked for us at home. I'm so glad she's here! Tomorrow we head off to Wales for another grand adventure.
Hope all is well in the States. Just over a week until the elections and Obama's up and climbing. Come on America!
Sleep Tight!
Saturday, 18 October 2008
Quite the Week
I'm sorry I've been so erratic about posting. I assure you, you aren't missing anything - as my life becomes more busy it also becomes more homogenous, just filled with school. I've had the craziest week of frantic work. When last you heard of my life, it was Sunday I think and I was just about to jump off the diving board into the week. Monday I had globo, in which I made a couple of comments that I don't think were too stupid, a nice feeling in a class where I am often way over my head. We went to a play called A Disappearing Number, which was good, less than fabulous acting balanced by a psychologically stimulating script and a vistually interesting presentation. I was in a squirrely goofy mood afterwards, which is always fun, even if I don't get much done.
I've been feeling rather spiritually cloudy lately, and whatever you think, that's an important part of my happiness and stability, so I decided to listen to podcasts of old conference talks instead of music when I'm walking to class or on the tube. It appears to have the desired effect; I feel less isolated and weird. Tuesday we started talking about Macbeth. I was mostly just sad to be finished with Hamlet; I think I could talk about that play forever. I'm just not connecting with M. the same way I did with H. Tuesday night we went to another play, called the White Devil, written by one of Shakespeare's contemporaries, Webster. It was pretty good, although distinctly lacking in both acting and directing talent, and also further illuminated the genius of Shakespeare.
Wednesday was an odd day. We had a walking tour for globo, which was pretty much our prof leading us around the Brick Lane area and showing us the evidence that this area had seen many different cultures and races over the years. The best part was that the tour ended with the most delicious Pakistani restaurant-- mmm, so good. Wednesday afternoon I learned a particularly interesting lesson that I think Dad will particularly appreciate: I had a Shakespeare paper to write that I hadn't started yet because my weekend had been full of reading and the week full of school and plays. Well, I was rather bewitched by the paper, and completely zoned out a meeting I had at school about my internship. It wasn't a super big deal, I got the information later and everything, but it was still a pretty dumb things to do. Well, when I went into my prof's office to talk about what I missed, the first thing she did after I apologized profusely was tell me that she knew I wasn't the type to just blow stuff off and that she didn't hold it against me because I am normally so responsible. I really appreciated that, I value her opinion and I'm glad that good things that I strive to be are visible.
The paper: I spent Wednesday evening in its thrall, which was postively delightful. Sometimes a paper comes along that is just so fun to write. It was great to explore the text and make connections and use my vocabulary to express what I see. I don't know if the paper was any good, but my affection for it plays a close second to The Poe Paper. What I argued was that the famous "to be or not to be" speech was not just a debate of suicide, but also Hamlet trying to decide if he was going to fulfill his promise to his father's ghost and kill his uncle. I think the paper was rather scattered, but I ended up making some points about the end of the play and the overall meaning of the character of Hamlet that were kind of gutsy and fun.
I turned the paper in Thursday morning and later that afternoon we had our last walking tour for History of London, which we've done every week. I hate when classes end; I'm going to miss all of my classes (even globo- I don't mind being informed). I'm going to miss my profs and it's sad that I won't have another opportunity to take more classes from them because, well, they live in London. Institute Thrusday evening, pretty cool. Normally Thusday is like Friday because we don't have classes on actual Friday, but this week two extra things = a normal day of school. In the morning we went to the British Film Institute to watch a filming of a production of Macbeth. It was a little boring, but some of the actors were really good. After that we visited Anti-Slavery International for globo. That evening I looked at train tickets for mom and I as we figure out our fall break plans. I'm so glad she's coming!
Today Molly and I went to a production of Ivanov by Chekov, which was pretty amazing. Kenneth Branagh was Ivanov and Kevin McNally (Mr. Gibbs in Pirates) was in it too and did an amazing job with a well written character. Tonight I rediscovered Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. That movie is really amazing. Thank you Ben for making sure I took it with me. I love watching movies that I haven't seen for a while and seeing how they've shaped the way I think. The movie is about erasing memories and how even bad memories are worth having because they are part of life. One bit that has always stuck with me is a shot of a woman who wants to erase all memories of her dog from her memory; as much as I miss Skye and as much as that still hurts, I wouldn't trade the wonderful memories I have of her for anything. The movie is rated R, a few too many f-bombs, but really, it's so good.
I've been watching the election like a hawk - they do a really good job of covering it over here. Just over two weeks! Come on America, make the right choice (the right choice is Obama). COME ON!
Off to bed on some freshly washed sheets. Miss you guys.
I've been feeling rather spiritually cloudy lately, and whatever you think, that's an important part of my happiness and stability, so I decided to listen to podcasts of old conference talks instead of music when I'm walking to class or on the tube. It appears to have the desired effect; I feel less isolated and weird. Tuesday we started talking about Macbeth. I was mostly just sad to be finished with Hamlet; I think I could talk about that play forever. I'm just not connecting with M. the same way I did with H. Tuesday night we went to another play, called the White Devil, written by one of Shakespeare's contemporaries, Webster. It was pretty good, although distinctly lacking in both acting and directing talent, and also further illuminated the genius of Shakespeare.
Wednesday was an odd day. We had a walking tour for globo, which was pretty much our prof leading us around the Brick Lane area and showing us the evidence that this area had seen many different cultures and races over the years. The best part was that the tour ended with the most delicious Pakistani restaurant-- mmm, so good. Wednesday afternoon I learned a particularly interesting lesson that I think Dad will particularly appreciate: I had a Shakespeare paper to write that I hadn't started yet because my weekend had been full of reading and the week full of school and plays. Well, I was rather bewitched by the paper, and completely zoned out a meeting I had at school about my internship. It wasn't a super big deal, I got the information later and everything, but it was still a pretty dumb things to do. Well, when I went into my prof's office to talk about what I missed, the first thing she did after I apologized profusely was tell me that she knew I wasn't the type to just blow stuff off and that she didn't hold it against me because I am normally so responsible. I really appreciated that, I value her opinion and I'm glad that good things that I strive to be are visible.
The paper: I spent Wednesday evening in its thrall, which was postively delightful. Sometimes a paper comes along that is just so fun to write. It was great to explore the text and make connections and use my vocabulary to express what I see. I don't know if the paper was any good, but my affection for it plays a close second to The Poe Paper. What I argued was that the famous "to be or not to be" speech was not just a debate of suicide, but also Hamlet trying to decide if he was going to fulfill his promise to his father's ghost and kill his uncle. I think the paper was rather scattered, but I ended up making some points about the end of the play and the overall meaning of the character of Hamlet that were kind of gutsy and fun.
I turned the paper in Thursday morning and later that afternoon we had our last walking tour for History of London, which we've done every week. I hate when classes end; I'm going to miss all of my classes (even globo- I don't mind being informed). I'm going to miss my profs and it's sad that I won't have another opportunity to take more classes from them because, well, they live in London. Institute Thrusday evening, pretty cool. Normally Thusday is like Friday because we don't have classes on actual Friday, but this week two extra things = a normal day of school. In the morning we went to the British Film Institute to watch a filming of a production of Macbeth. It was a little boring, but some of the actors were really good. After that we visited Anti-Slavery International for globo. That evening I looked at train tickets for mom and I as we figure out our fall break plans. I'm so glad she's coming!
Today Molly and I went to a production of Ivanov by Chekov, which was pretty amazing. Kenneth Branagh was Ivanov and Kevin McNally (Mr. Gibbs in Pirates) was in it too and did an amazing job with a well written character. Tonight I rediscovered Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. That movie is really amazing. Thank you Ben for making sure I took it with me. I love watching movies that I haven't seen for a while and seeing how they've shaped the way I think. The movie is about erasing memories and how even bad memories are worth having because they are part of life. One bit that has always stuck with me is a shot of a woman who wants to erase all memories of her dog from her memory; as much as I miss Skye and as much as that still hurts, I wouldn't trade the wonderful memories I have of her for anything. The movie is rated R, a few too many f-bombs, but really, it's so good.
I've been watching the election like a hawk - they do a really good job of covering it over here. Just over two weeks! Come on America, make the right choice (the right choice is Obama). COME ON!
Off to bed on some freshly washed sheets. Miss you guys.
Sunday, 12 October 2008
Perfect Weather, Paper Writing and Tasty Dinners
Hamlet is such an amazing play. From what we've read in Shakespeare, I knew he was a master wordsmith, but Hamlet is above and beyond that to a scale that I'm not sure can be found anywhere else.
Tuesday was a very full day, two hours of Shakespeare, three hours of homework in the library and then another two hours of History of London. It's odd when the day doesn't end until 6:30, and then I still had a paper to write. I didn't really get much done on it Tuesday night, I was much more amenable to being distracted by my flatmates. I didn't have globo on Wednesday, so the whole of the day was given over to my History of London paper. For this, the only paper in the class, we had to explore a certain section of London, the actual 1-square-mile City rather than the rest, and compare it to a very complete survey of what that area, or ward, was like before the Great Fire, so early 1600's. The research itself was very interesting, wandering around my ward and noticing the little marks left by the guilds to show that they own the land on which the buildings rest. The paper, though, was hard to write and it amounted, for me at least, into pretty much a narrative catalogue of the characteristics of my ward and how they differed from what the older document described, both physically and in the general ethos of the area. But it's done and turned in - yea.
Thursday I was really tired, but I am a lot lately. I'm at that point in the semester (I probably said this before) that I just wake up tired. But fall break is coming, faster than I'd like to think, for all that it brings mom. Institute that night, a cool lesson, but an exhausting tube ride. I've discovered that I'm a pretty fair cook when it comes to making tasty things that will keep for a few days. Last week I made a huge amount of what was basically Chipotle filling - taco meat, black beans, sauted onions, and rice. It's good, but the shear volume of food I made has ensured that I'm rather sick of eating it at this point. Yesterday I bought some premade Indian Korma sause and combined it with shredded chicken and rice. Also quite tasty. So in case anyone was worried, I can feed myself :).
Friday my goal was to get started with the staggering level of reading I had to do, but also to enjoy the most beautiful weather we've had in a long time. I spent a lot of time outside, walking around the park and rediscovering places I ended up when I was lost last weekend. Fun movie watching with the flatmates, Sahara, with lots of laughing and expert commentary by yours truely. Saturday I was a little less productive on the homework scene. We visited a huge old cemetary (not really my cup of tea, but a couple flatmates really wanted to go) where Marx was buried. It wasn't a normal cemetary of rows of headstones, but a really old one so it had been largely given over to woods. Beth's word was meloncholoy to describe the crumbling headstones covered in ivy, which is very apt, and it turned out to be a nice afternoon wandering around in the woods. I miss the cabin. Last night I watched Garden State, which is just such a great movie. So many parts of it are so poignantly real and touching. Really a well done film.
Church today, like normal. Church sandwiched with the frantic reading of a novel for globo that I don't think I'll be able to finish be 10:30 tomorrow. Oh well, I tried and I read like 200 pages in 3 days. Sorry peeps, it's London. All told, a good weekend. I got a respectable amount of work done, but more importantly, I enjoyed the absolutely beautious weather. I hope all is well at home and I miss you guys loads!
Cheers!
Tuesday was a very full day, two hours of Shakespeare, three hours of homework in the library and then another two hours of History of London. It's odd when the day doesn't end until 6:30, and then I still had a paper to write. I didn't really get much done on it Tuesday night, I was much more amenable to being distracted by my flatmates. I didn't have globo on Wednesday, so the whole of the day was given over to my History of London paper. For this, the only paper in the class, we had to explore a certain section of London, the actual 1-square-mile City rather than the rest, and compare it to a very complete survey of what that area, or ward, was like before the Great Fire, so early 1600's. The research itself was very interesting, wandering around my ward and noticing the little marks left by the guilds to show that they own the land on which the buildings rest. The paper, though, was hard to write and it amounted, for me at least, into pretty much a narrative catalogue of the characteristics of my ward and how they differed from what the older document described, both physically and in the general ethos of the area. But it's done and turned in - yea.
Thursday I was really tired, but I am a lot lately. I'm at that point in the semester (I probably said this before) that I just wake up tired. But fall break is coming, faster than I'd like to think, for all that it brings mom. Institute that night, a cool lesson, but an exhausting tube ride. I've discovered that I'm a pretty fair cook when it comes to making tasty things that will keep for a few days. Last week I made a huge amount of what was basically Chipotle filling - taco meat, black beans, sauted onions, and rice. It's good, but the shear volume of food I made has ensured that I'm rather sick of eating it at this point. Yesterday I bought some premade Indian Korma sause and combined it with shredded chicken and rice. Also quite tasty. So in case anyone was worried, I can feed myself :).
Friday my goal was to get started with the staggering level of reading I had to do, but also to enjoy the most beautiful weather we've had in a long time. I spent a lot of time outside, walking around the park and rediscovering places I ended up when I was lost last weekend. Fun movie watching with the flatmates, Sahara, with lots of laughing and expert commentary by yours truely. Saturday I was a little less productive on the homework scene. We visited a huge old cemetary (not really my cup of tea, but a couple flatmates really wanted to go) where Marx was buried. It wasn't a normal cemetary of rows of headstones, but a really old one so it had been largely given over to woods. Beth's word was meloncholoy to describe the crumbling headstones covered in ivy, which is very apt, and it turned out to be a nice afternoon wandering around in the woods. I miss the cabin. Last night I watched Garden State, which is just such a great movie. So many parts of it are so poignantly real and touching. Really a well done film.
Church today, like normal. Church sandwiched with the frantic reading of a novel for globo that I don't think I'll be able to finish be 10:30 tomorrow. Oh well, I tried and I read like 200 pages in 3 days. Sorry peeps, it's London. All told, a good weekend. I got a respectable amount of work done, but more importantly, I enjoyed the absolutely beautious weather. I hope all is well at home and I miss you guys loads!
Cheers!
Monday, 6 October 2008
Catching Up
It has been a really long time since I blogged! Busy life, but also the fact that I usually blog at night and lately, I've just wanted to go to bed. So this'll be an epic blog.
Institute started on Thursday, I'm taking the New Testament class, which looks to be interesting, although I'll be leaving before we hardly even get started. On Friday I explored an area of London after sleeping late. I have to write a paper for my History of London class comparing an old text describing London in the Tudor period and what I can see today. It's an interesting assignment and I enjoyed exploring around, but I don't know how I'm going to write 3-5 pages about it. We'll see. That night I went to my first ever church dance. It was pretty fun, dancing and stuff. I met some new people, which is always nice. It took a lot of courage for me to go, not my normal kind of thing, but I'm glad I did it.
Saturday was the rebroadcast of the General Relief Society meeting, but I realized that I would spend more time in transit than I would at the actual church building, so I just watched on my computer from my couch. After that I went for a really long walk; I got lost in Regent's Park and ended up on the top of a very high hill that I didn't even know was there. I saw two Leonbergers and they were just beautiful. Two hours later I finally get home, but it was quite lovely briskly wandering nowhere. Sunday was General Conference, but I didn't get to go watch it because we had a field trip for Globo. In retrospect, I probably would go to Conference next time, because the field trip was a football game that was a ways out of central London, but it was still fun. I can always watch Conference online anyway - I'm so glad. Today we went to another play, another absurdist piece that in my opinion didn't have a point. At least is wasn't as offensive and corrosive as the last one.
Classes have been going well lately - I feel very engaged in Shakespeare (I LOVE Hamlet) and I made a couple of what I thought were valid points in Globo. It's so weird that we have less than 3 weeks of classes left. Where is the semester going?
I've yet to finish reading Hamlet - I've been savoring it like I do Jane Austen, not reading it too fast.
Sleep well!
Institute started on Thursday, I'm taking the New Testament class, which looks to be interesting, although I'll be leaving before we hardly even get started. On Friday I explored an area of London after sleeping late. I have to write a paper for my History of London class comparing an old text describing London in the Tudor period and what I can see today. It's an interesting assignment and I enjoyed exploring around, but I don't know how I'm going to write 3-5 pages about it. We'll see. That night I went to my first ever church dance. It was pretty fun, dancing and stuff. I met some new people, which is always nice. It took a lot of courage for me to go, not my normal kind of thing, but I'm glad I did it.
Saturday was the rebroadcast of the General Relief Society meeting, but I realized that I would spend more time in transit than I would at the actual church building, so I just watched on my computer from my couch. After that I went for a really long walk; I got lost in Regent's Park and ended up on the top of a very high hill that I didn't even know was there. I saw two Leonbergers and they were just beautiful. Two hours later I finally get home, but it was quite lovely briskly wandering nowhere. Sunday was General Conference, but I didn't get to go watch it because we had a field trip for Globo. In retrospect, I probably would go to Conference next time, because the field trip was a football game that was a ways out of central London, but it was still fun. I can always watch Conference online anyway - I'm so glad. Today we went to another play, another absurdist piece that in my opinion didn't have a point. At least is wasn't as offensive and corrosive as the last one.
Classes have been going well lately - I feel very engaged in Shakespeare (I LOVE Hamlet) and I made a couple of what I thought were valid points in Globo. It's so weird that we have less than 3 weeks of classes left. Where is the semester going?
I've yet to finish reading Hamlet - I've been savoring it like I do Jane Austen, not reading it too fast.
Sleep well!
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Contemplations on Joy
The last couple days have been interesting. We had areally excellent discussion in Shakespeare yesterday, all about the two productions we saw this weekend. I loved Hamlet so much and I wish they filmed it like they do some theatre productions, but I don't think they're doing that for this one. Sometimes that class gets a little boring (two hours is a really long time) but it was great yesterday. In globo right now we're talking about climate change and sustainable development, which is pretty depressing sometimes. I don't know what I can do about it, other than the stuff I already try to do like recycling and trying to not produce lots of waste. It's all so doomsday and it makes me so sad that people don't see what they're doing to the planet.
This is related to a discussion I had with Dad tonight. I'm feeling increasingly like Plato and his general fear and hatred of the masses. I feel it acutely as we prepare for this election; I live in terror that people will elect another republican president. Our country, our environment, our economy, our military, can't take another 4 years of idiocy. I fear the stupid herd of the masses and what their decisions are doing to our world and our country.
We went to a play on Monday and it was just awful. It was very existential and basically culminated with the idea that none of us really exist. It was horrible. Whatever your personal belief system, please believe me that we are all someone and we all matter and there is a part of us that is eternal. It makes me so sad that people watch plays like this one that makes them question everything and their own existence. Should we not seek after things that encourage good things? And please don't just smile and nod and pat me on the head. How much better would we all be if we truly chased after joy, not just happiness, or satisfaction, but true joy. Why contemplate these depressing and generally worthless ideas when it is so clear that YES we do exist and what we are and what we do does matter.
Choose joy and hope, not despair.
Take all the wonderful things in the world, because they are innumberable, and use each one as a brick to build a wall around yourself to protect against all the darkness that also exists.
Y'all are some of my bricks, I hope I'm one of yours.
This is related to a discussion I had with Dad tonight. I'm feeling increasingly like Plato and his general fear and hatred of the masses. I feel it acutely as we prepare for this election; I live in terror that people will elect another republican president. Our country, our environment, our economy, our military, can't take another 4 years of idiocy. I fear the stupid herd of the masses and what their decisions are doing to our world and our country.
We went to a play on Monday and it was just awful. It was very existential and basically culminated with the idea that none of us really exist. It was horrible. Whatever your personal belief system, please believe me that we are all someone and we all matter and there is a part of us that is eternal. It makes me so sad that people watch plays like this one that makes them question everything and their own existence. Should we not seek after things that encourage good things? And please don't just smile and nod and pat me on the head. How much better would we all be if we truly chased after joy, not just happiness, or satisfaction, but true joy. Why contemplate these depressing and generally worthless ideas when it is so clear that YES we do exist and what we are and what we do does matter.
Choose joy and hope, not despair.
Take all the wonderful things in the world, because they are innumberable, and use each one as a brick to build a wall around yourself to protect against all the darkness that also exists.
Y'all are some of my bricks, I hope I'm one of yours.
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