You go to Europe and you get sexy. That's just the way it is.

It's Over!

2006-05-08T11:43:00.000-04:00

In the immortal words of Strongbad.

But yes, I am safely back in the States, though just a bit jet-lagged. But probably only because as my luck would have it, my body decided to get a sore throat at the airport, that turned into a cold by the time I went to bed last night around 10pm, which was actually 3am for me. I was really tired.

Plane ride was good. Had an aisle seat, with no one in the center seat, so I could stretch out. Food was good. Customs and Immigration were beyond simple. Family was there when I got to arrivals. Ate at Perkins on the way home. Oh, Perkins. The food choices were so American, it was crazy. I don't think the waitress realized why I was so excited that I could order root beer. Came home, saw my Dad, slept. Slept. Slept. Slept. Almost 13 hours. Which still meant I woke up at 10:30 am today. But it was good. Despite the cold. Which feels a lot better now since I'm rested and took some good American, cold medicine.

I could see the New York skyline from Immigration, so NYC is still there! To all my people in NYC I mentally waved and said hi to you, although I'm pretty sure you didn't see me. Today I've already put my laundry in the washer. The American washer.

Tonight is Red Lobster!

And thus ends my travels through Europe.

To follow my continuing adventures please adjust your dials back to:

http://www.xanga.com/dakfinv

Packing...

2006-05-06T08:56:00.000-04:00

...is what I should be doing, which I have started, but I'm just taking a break. Dude, what is it about packing that makes it tiring? You're really not doing any heavy work. Maybe it's because it's tedious. Maybe it's emotionally draining. Maybe it's because I didn't go to bed until 5am this morning. That could be it. Yesterday was a great last day with the guys. We went to see Mission: Impossible 3, which is absolutely fantastic. Okay, it's pure popcorn movie/action/cheesy dialogue goodness. But that counts. We were probably the most annoying people in the theatre. We didn't talk through it, of course, but we were getting really into it. Laughing at parts, where we shouldn't really have been laughing. But it was fun, so it was all good.

Then leaving the cinema, we saw Mimi, Lisa, Willa, and them heading out for Lisa early birthday dinner. So I went with them and we ate at Wagamama's. It was so good. Delicious. Good company, too. Finished there around 10pm, then Mengfan and I were able to track down the guys sometime after eleven. We all walked across the Millenium Bridge to the Thames, and sat on these gigantic, concrete steps leading down to the bank. It was absolutely beautiful, sitting directly across from St. Paul's Cathedral at night, Big Ben to our left, Tower Bridge to our right. Ethan got some good pictures, so when he settles back down in the States, I expect him to share. It was just a perfect night, sitting there with everyone. A good end to the semester.

We walked back around 1am, and I hung out in the guys' room watching Arrested Development, until they had to leave at 3:30am. Most of them are traveling around Europe for a few weeks before returning home. I'll admit it, it was sad. Especially saying by to Imran and James, since they don't go to NYU. Well, James might in the fall, he applied there for grad school, but due to NYU technical difficulties, he hasn't found out if he got in or not yet. That would be awesome. I'm going to hang out with Nick and Ethan in their Brooklyn apartment in the fall, and meet up with Zach in July in NYC. I'm going to need a long weekend for this. I think I'm going to go up after work on a Thursday, since it's only a 2 hour ride, spend all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and leave late on Monday. I have so many people I want to spend quality time with there: Ashley, Hyun, Lara, Zach. I can't remember if Colin's going to be back in July or not. If so, Colin. I'm gonna need all that time.

When they left and I went back upstairs, I ended up talking to Klara for awhile, shooting the breeze, and we both realized it kept getting lighter outside. By the time I finished writing in my journal and went to bed, it was 5am, but it was totally worth it.

Now what I have to do today is...go to Bedford to check my mail, and check-in for my flight, take pictures of Exmouth Market, finish packing, watch Doctor Who with Willa and beer. Can I accomplish all these things? Surely, I can try. Actually, I should probably go to Bedford now. By the time I get there, I'll be able to do my online check-in.

There will probably be at least one more post here, before I switch back to my Xanga site. So don't de-bookmark this page yet! Word. Gog and Magog.

Surreal

2006-05-05T09:48:00.000-04:00

This is the best word to describe these last 2 weeks in London. Partly because after getting used to the sights from Kamen to the ICA, you don't expect to see a giant wooden barrel, the size of a small house, crashed into the pavement in the parking lot behind the ICA. It's for some Jules Verne art thingy, we learned later, but it's still pretty weird, and cool.

It's also been surreal because, well, I don't know how to describe it but, especially these last few days, it's like I've had a glimpse of what my future could be, if I am a successful writer. Working and rehearsals during the day, a little bit of partying at night. Doing what you love, loving what you do, that sort of thing. If I could pinpoint a time for the start of my career, it would be 12:30 today. When our Tisch program director told me that the one American/British film producer, who happened to come to the presentations during my presentation, asked her for a copy of my script. Yeah. Seriously. I think I'm still dreaming. I'm going to take Roy's advice and start mailing copies out to production companies. I'm also probably not going to apply to grad school. Especially since apparently NYU doesn't like to take people for their graduate screenwriting program who are just out of college.

But until I have the check in my hand, this all means nothing. I have one year of college yet, and I'm going to be a college student. I owe my parents a ton of money, I'm going to work 9-5 five days a week in an office all summer, I have $80,000 in student loans, I live in a dorm, and I still hate monkeys. The real world is still very real, and until I'm rich enough to afford my giant ball pit, velcro wall, and Astor Place apartment, I'm going to have to live in that world.

That being said, I had wanted to update more this week, but there just wasn't any time. Tuesday night I did a second read thru with my cast, only the first 50 pages, though, because we didn't start until almost 2am. James' rehearsal started at 10:30, then there was Colin's, and I was able to get people to stay up for mine.

Wednesday, everything went awesome. My cast - Imran, Whitney, Nick, Rick, Sam, Colin, Renee, Zach, Ethan, and James - were beyond fantastic. And so I can prove this, Mimi taped it for me, so I'm going to get it transferred to DVD this summer. Everyone's script went really, incredibly well. No one sucked, out of all eight of us. What are the odds of that? Gog and magog. If you don't know what that is, I can't explain it. You have to experience it.

Wednesday night was more rehearsals, and more drinking. Responsibly of course, Ashley. And I got to bed around...3ish? I think? Thursday, yesterday, our final huzzah at the ICA! Again, all the scripts were fantastic, Ethan's was just off the wall. Philip was the perfect Bob Ponte. Then we had the boat party that night! I came home, showered, and...brace yourselves...wore. a. dress. The proof is in the facebook photo. I hope you're still with me there. Yeah, the boat party was great. Although the sunshine clouded over, it didn't rain, we got 2 complimentary drinks, and we were having a party, on a boat, on the Thames, with the view of the RNT, London Eye, Parliament, and Big Ben behind us. And we were on a boat! The after party was also great, everyone, surprisingly, behaved themselves, as much as Tischies can. And "Freaks and Geeks" at 2am is pretty good.

Today I got up at 11am and took my printer back to the ICA. It's an absolutely gorgeous day outside. And, I took the bus, all by myself, so that I wouldn't have to lug the printer for 40 minutes. I walked back, since it's amazingly beautiful outside, and took pictures of the walk. Also finally went into Forbidden Planet. Such an awesome store. For geeks only, really. Got myself a Doctor Who poster. Heck yeah. And a little Ghostbusters pin.

Rest of the day involves going to see "Mission: Impossible 3" with the guys later day. They all leave for Amsterdam tomorrow morning, so it'll be our last London hang-out. Going to...I don't know, do something until 4, when we leave for da movies.

I'm still excited about coming home, but getting even more excited for next fall, when we can all party in NYC. Word.

Mr. Smith Goes To Hell

2006-05-02T13:01:00.000-04:00

A much better title. Thanks to the guys for coming up with that one. It was so obvious, I can't believe I missed it. So, I need to change the title pages of all the scripts before the read thru tonight. That's okay. It won't take long. And it'll be worth it for a better title.

I was going to update yesterday, but the internet was being all wonky, and wouldn't let the page load. So, yeah. That's what I'll like about going back to my xanga site, the page loads so much easier. But I'll stick it out with ol' blogger til the end of the week. Gah. End of the week. Whoa.

So yesterday was...interesting. In the morning at least. You see, I woke up, and my computer battery wasn't working. Figures it would blow out the last week I'm here, on the day I need to print off my screenplay. But wait, the oven clock isn't on either. Hey, there's no electricity in the whole of Kamen! It wasn't my computer. Thank goodness. But Minerva has electricity. So, I pack up the printer into my backpack, and carry over my computer, paper, everything I need, and print it off in the Minerva study lounge. First time I've actually set foot in there, besides just looking at it. But it worked. So, then I took it to the ICA, made my copies. All eight of them. And I didn't bring another bag to put them, so I get to carry the equivalent of 2 and half reams of paper up Regent St. So, I decide to take the 38 to Roseberry Ave. Yes, the bus. By myself! Jerica was proud of me.

Of course, though, the bus got diverted because some roads were still closed for the May Day protest parade. And so, the first place I could get off was Angel, not Roseberry Ave. So I still had a 20 minute walk back home. But it was easier then walking all the way to the ICA.

Still had no electric when I got back, so I spent the time punching holds and binding my scripts. Finally at 3:30, the power came back. Allelujah. Had my first read thru at 6, and it went really well. Rick is the perfect Mr. Jiffy. Just as I pictured him. Tonight my Zoey and Renee will be here, so it'll be even better. And it won't be til after 11, and everyone's going to be real tired. That always makes it fun. Then watched Incredibles with the guys, got them all excited about the special features, then realized I left the special features disc at home. In America. And had the mickey torn out of me for that. Such is life.

Today was my last Brit Cinema class, and it was cut short because Wendy's back was killing her. Tonight, also, James's reading at 10. Coolness. Tomorrow's the big day. See if an audience responds to my script. Woot. For now, to change the title pages.

Thus, the countdown begins

2006-04-30T17:15:00.000-04:00

Exactly one week from now, my plane will have just arrived into Newark International Airport. But that's still a week from now, and this week's gonna go out with a bang. Well, a lot is going to happen at least. Today wasn't one of those super exciting days, though. I spent about 3 hours in Starbuck's reading the most fantastic book: Book of the Dead - The Complete History of Zombie Cinema. I bought it at the ICA bookstore at the beginning of the semester, but haven't had time to read it. It's really fascinating. Well, for people like me anyway. I'm still deciding what screenplay I want to write this summer. I have it narrowed down to two ideas, and one of those involves zombies, so this is good research.

Last night I stayed up til after 3am, watching movies with the guys. They were so excited I brought "10 Things I Hate About You" it was kind of scary. I don't think I'll stay up that late tonight, not that I need to get up in the morning. I have to go to the ICA and make copies of my script for my cast. Yes, it's finished. I just need to print it off and make said copies. Then later I'm having my first read through with my cast.

Now I'm watching "My Wedding Day Ruined My Life" and it's great.

One week.

Elementary, my dear Watson

2006-04-29T12:32:00.000-04:00

As it is with all things in life, as soon as something reaches its end, its way too soon for it to happen. I was already to go home 2 weeks ago, and now. What? I can't leave now. This is ridiculous! Every study abroad student is warned about this, and yet it still happens anyway.

So the past few days have been pretty relaxed and productive, ever since I handed in my Brit Cinema paper on Tuesday. Wednesday I brought in the rest of my screenplay for class. It went over well. And it was so nice have a complete draft. That first one clocked in at 118, my shortest yet. Zach finished his, too, and we were going to go get some drinks after class, but we both ended up falling asleep in our flats by mistake. Oh the exciting lives of writers.

Thursday after our last class, Roy took us all out for drinks at Chando's on St. Martin's Lane (minus Colin who had a plane to Dublin to catch.) Drinking with professors is fun. You learn interesting facts like how Roy doesn't like sitting in front of doors, because he thinks in a previous life he was killed when someone shot him in the back, and he has friend who works at the BBC and has his loo papered with his rejection letters from agencies and such. Amazing curly fries there. It was like I was back in America for a second, or as long as it took to eat them. And they did call them curly fries, not curly chips. Curly chips don't really sound that appetizing. Roy had never had curly fries before, and he enjoyed them. After 2 rounds there me, Zach, Nick, Imran, and Ethan went out to Shoreditch and hit up to more places, some outdoor bar and the 1001 Cafe. Then we got back and watched Sin City. Oh, Clive Owen.

Friday was spent entirely on the screenplay. As in, when I woke up I printed it off, took to Starbuck's, got one of their new Banana Cream Frappuccinos, and spent a good 3 hours there editing the beastly thing. Cut it down another 2 pages, which is good. There is some stuff I didn't want to cut, but I couldn't let it run over 120, but my additions and cuts balanced each other out. Now I remember another scene I wanted to add, and I think its funny, but I'm not sure if there's a place for it, or a need. I think I'm just gonna write it and see how it works. Actually, I do think I need it. If I keep it short, I think it'll work. We'll see. There I go, thinking out loud again.

Saturday, which is today, Willa and I finally got to the Sherlock Holmes Museum! It was pretty cool. Great photo opportunities. The fake guard guy at the door was really lonely. While we were waiting to go in he kept talking to us about how he's going to NYC in the summer, and how he wishes they had a Ghostbuster's museum, like the Sherlock Holmes museum. He was really nice, just you could tell it was a lonely job. Inside there was an old man who was "Sherlock Holmes" but he was kind of creepy. He talked in a whisper and looked like he should have an Eastern European accent, not a British one. Willa almost broke one of the lanterns in the room. We took a picture, and when she stepped away it crashed to the floor. It didn't break, but we skidaddled out of there. Got some great pictures. They're already up on facebook, so check'em out. We stopped in the London Beatles Store, too, which was right next door. Very small, but they had some cool stuff to look at.

And now I'm back here, waiting for Doctor Who to start at 7:20. Maybe I'll write that scene. Maybe I'll play spider solitaire. Maybe I'll cook some Ramen. The possibilities are endless. 8 days until I'm home. 11 until I pick up my stuff from NYC and Hyun and Ashley are forced to be around me again. If only for a day. 8 days? Wait. Slow down. I need more time! It's not fair. The summer better quickly so I can back to school. I want a running start into senior year. Because I am determined to make it awesome. Less crack, more fun. Wait, that's Ashley's senior year resolution. Ha. That's a joke. Or is it...Now I'm just rambling. I better go.

It's all done, Pat Funn

2006-04-25T09:27:00.000-04:00

That's not supposed to make any sense. But I am done with that Theatre in London essay, 2nd theatre review, and British Cinema essay. So what do I have to do now? Oh, I know there's something. Oh yeah, that's right. Some screenplay, thing. You know, the whole entire reason for me being over here. Yeah. That thing. I'm going to see if I can reach the end today. The end of the story. Not that I'll be done the screenplay, but the first draft, that will need to be severely edited. Yeah. We'll see how that goes. I know it would make Roy happy, that is if these last pages were good, and not just, like written for writing's sake. So, I think I'll get right on that. After a nap. Because after the nap, I'll be more awake, and I can stay up late and work on it. My better stuff seems to come out late, when I'm tired and I don't think it'll be funny at all in the morning. Of course, if my better stuff comes when I'm tired, then why am I going to take a nap? I believe it is a paradox. Yes. That's what I'm calling it. It's a paradox. Maybe my good stuff comes out only when I'm tired and it's night. Maybe it's a two part system. That could be. So, yeah. Nap time. This is why I need to be a professional writer. I'm not into normal schedules. And I hate getting up early. I wouldn't mind getting up early if I had to be on set or something. That's different. That is also not now. Now is nap time.

And this was long and rambling. Thanks for stickin' with it folks. You'll be rewarded in Heaven. Or something. Anyone have a title for me? Doesn't matter if you don't know the material. I'll take anything at this point.

Hey Kids! Today's word is: Productivity!

2006-04-22T06:14:00.000-04:00

That makes taking a cold shower that much worse. Yeah, so, ever since they've installed the new dishwasher that we have absolutely no use for, we don't have hot water. Thanks Acorn. Argh. So, I took a freezing cold shower this morning. It wasn't that bad until it came to washing my hair. I was getting an external brain freeze. It was painful, but what are you gonna do? Call Acorn. Just not while you're in the shower.

Theatre in London paper is done and handed in! Woot! And my second theatre review. That is class is over, baby. Word. Now just one more paper, oh British Cinema, and yeah, that screenplay. On page 93 right now. I don't know how many more pages it's going to be, I just know that it won't be over 120. I should figure out what's going to happen next. That might help. Well, I know how it's all going to end, and I know things that need to happen, I just don't know exactly how they're going to get there. And by "they" I mean my characters. I should really just let them do all the work. Then I wouldn't have to worry about it.

So I'm being productive today. I really don't have a choice, since I need to get this stuff done. But I woke up a little after 10am. Recover from your heart attacks now. Better? Okay. Then I put in my laundry downstairs, which I've just switched to the dryer. Boo-yah. And then I got a (cold) shower. Uhhhh. Freezing. Not recommended. And when I'm laundry's done I'm gonna put on some clothes that match, and head out to Starbuck's, before it closes at 3, and get some work done. Productivity. That's the word of the day. Especially since Roy told me that I have to bring my pages in on Wednesday, not Thursday, next week. And that he thinks I could be done by then. Hahahahaha. Ha. I guess that means he has confidence in me. Or at least in the screenplay. But on Thursday, after our last class, he's taking the 8 of us out for drinks. Isn't that awesome? I suggested we all buy a round. Now that would be a fun class.

Oh, on Wednesday we get a boat trip to Greenwich. Almost forgot about that. Just for us Tischies, because we never got any other excursions. So that's something good to look forward too. Plus we have our farewell party aboard the HMS President. Woooot. Party boats! Now, I want to blow-dry my hair, but there are no outlets in the bathroom, Klara is still sleeping in our room, and Saela is on the phone in the living room, so I can't. Unless I was going to be rude. Which I won't. It'll be so nice to go home and not have to worry about stupid stuff like this anymore. Now, to do nothing until my laundry is done.

More Sheep Than Ireland

2006-04-18T08:54:00.000-04:00

That should be Scotland's motto. Well, if they want to attract more people who like sheep. My Scottish young-Mark-Hamil-look-a-like tour guide said there are 10 million sheep in Scotland, and 5 million people. So, 2 sheep for every person. One to eat and one to keep you warm. Ha ha! Okay, so I should be working on various papers and such, but I'm procrastinating. I mean, I figured someone would want to know I survived my traveling alone trip, and hear all about it, and I didn't want to disappoint. Yeah. That sounds better.

Well, I have no super crazy adventure stories about getting lost, or missing my bus, or my hotel giving me problems or anything. Which was good for me. Bad for storytelling. But actually, everything went amazingly perfectly. Exactly as I had planned, with no surprises, which made it a wonderful, stress free weekend, which is exactly what I needed. I took my train from King's Cross to Edinburgh, got there around 4ish, if I remember correctly. Walked down Princes St., then Lothian, then finally Bread St. to my hotel, which was behind Edinburgh Castle. Checked in, and my room was fantastic. Of course it could have looked like crap, but as long as the bed was comfortable, that's all that mattered. Well, I had 2 double beds that I pushed together, plus tons of pillows and down comforters. Yeah. I was set. It was like sleeping on a cloud in Heaven. I really need to invest in a down comforter.

After I settled in and dropped off my stuff, I went in search of the Pret I told you about earlier, and after a little scenic detour, I finally found it about 40 minutes later, and it was closed. But I did manage to find a Cafe Nero and grabbed a nice filling lunch. Then I walked along Princes St. and did a little souvenir shopping, mostly for family. Then I walked through West Princes Green which is the big field below the castle. Spectacular views. Amazing park. I wish Washington Square was more like it. No crack dealers. Well, as far as I could see. And it smelled amazing. Oh that's another thing - despite what weather.com said, the weather was fantastic. Especially that Friday. Perfect weather. Then I walked up to the Royal Mile and to the castle, then to Greyfriar's Cemetery and I basically just wandered around the rest of the day, since everything closed at 5pm. Then I went on the 8:30pm City of the Dead walking tour. It was awesome! I didn't get attacked by the Mackenzie Poltergeist, but it was still pretty creepy. And our tour guide was great. That's gotta be an awesome job.

Saturday I met up with my Rabbie's tour group. An Australian couple, a New Zealander couple, 3 French people, and a whole bunch of Indians. I was the lone American, and the only one traveling alone. But it was cool. Everyone was nice. We set out at 9:30 for the highlands, and the scenery was fantastic. We had a little stop in the town of Callander where we picked up some lunch, but took it with us instead of eating it there. After more driving we stopped in Ben Nevis, and did this awesome 30 minute walk/hike to Steel (sp?) Waterfall, where we ate our lunch. It was beautiful. And the hike itself was awesome. Slightly dangerous, which made it even more appealing. Then we continued up along the chain of lochs, and stopped a little at one end of Loch Ness. Didn't see Nessie, unfortunately. Finally reached Inverness oh, around 6:30 I would say. Everyone else stayed at B&B's, and I was in this little hotel on the river. Cute room, only 1 double bed, but with a down comforter and pillows, so that was again, wonderful. I wandered around Inverness like I did in Edinburgh, but the weather wasn't as nice. So after grabbing some dinner, I stopped at Tesco and picked up some snacks then went back to the hotel, enjoying the wonderful privacy.

Sunday got picked up at 9am, and on with the tour. We went out to Glen Affric, and did a walk along the river, and then up a Little Baldy sized hill and I got some great pictures. Then we went back to Loch Ness and drove down the other side, stopping at the town of Fort Augustus for an hour and a half. I got lunch at this nice little restaurant called The Moorings. A delicious scone, and some scampi with chips (that's fries for all you Americans). Then I did some more shopping. Picked up two Scottish wool scarves for myself, and some other stuff for family, and wandered up the canal a bit and around. Again, the weather (at that point) was fantastic. After Fort Augustus, we drove back to Ben Nevis to a little Whiskey Centre that had free samples. Heather Cream was the best. It's a like a Scottish version of Bailey's, with a little more of a kick, and great chocolatey aftertaste. Of course they didn't have any mini bottles of it though. Then we stopped again about an hour and a half from Edinburgh and there was another neat walk, this one to a gorge and waterfall, which was beautiful. Some families were having Easter egg hunts which was really cute. After driving past the town JK Rowling currently lives in, didn't see her though, we got back to Edinburgh around 7:30. And I was able to walk to my hotel without a map. Boo yah.

I had to get up ridiculously early for my train the next day, and I was tired from the long day, so I didn't do much, but enjoyed the quietness of the wonderfully private hotel room. And the heavenly double beds. Got up at 6am on Saturday, ugh, that's not even a real time of day, and walked to my train at Waverly station. Luckily, it was already sitting there and boarding, so I could just go on and collapse in a seat. Also luckily, King's Cross was going to be open in the afternoon, so I didn't have to get off at Retford and transfer, then worry about taking the tube in or anything. I just took that train all the way back to King's Cross, got in at around noon, walked back to the flat around 12:30, registered for my classes at 2pm (9am EST), and took a long nap.

It was an amazing, fantastic trip. Worth every penny I owe my parents. It was so relaxing, and even though I was traveling by myself, everything worked out exactly according to plan, and was perfectly stress free. I could go to school in Edinburgh. It's a neat little town. There's so much stuff I didn't have time to do, that I definitely need to go back. Just not right now. Papers and such.

Pictures of the coolest stuff are on facebook, so if you're interested check'em out. This was my last big trip, and now I'm all settled with classes and housing for next year, I just need to finish this semester first. Oh, in case you're interested, my schedule for next fall is as follows:

M / 12:30-4:30 / American Film and Politics in the 1980s
W / 6:00pm - 9:00pm / Writing the TV Sitcom
R / 12:30-4:30 / Scandinavian Cinema
R / 6pm - 10pm / New European Cinema

Exactly the same as last fall, except with different classes. New European is with my Representing the Holocaust prof, and I liked her, so that's cool. I'm only taking it 'cause the Orson Welles Advanced Seminar was already full when I asked my advisor about it. Argh. I swore I wasn't going to have another Thursday like that but, what can you do? It's still a good schedule, and I'm looking forward to next year.

But now, this year calls. So I need to stop procrastinating and get writing. Writing things other than this blog. Only 19 more days!

Off to Scotland for some haggis

2006-04-13T16:03:00.000-04:00

Well, I don't know if I'll actually get any haggis, but I feel required to. Wouldn't you? I mean, I had French food in France, Irish food in Ireland, so I should complete the cycle and get Scottish food in Scotland. We'll see. My first stop will actually be a Pret A Manger, 'cause I'll be starving when I get there, and I know I can trust their food.

Oh, I'm going to Scotland this weekend. Sorry if you were slightly confused. And who am I going with? Just Me, Myself, and I. We make a good team. So, in case your wondering about my itinerary, here's the plan: booked a 9:30am train from King's Cross to Edinburgh. Four hours of non-stop train a'travelin'. Plenty of time for me to catch up on sleep, savor the countryside views, and rework my evil, little villian John Alastor. Mr. Jiffy's, my antagonist friend, is doing just fine, but unfortunately my psychopath is lacking. I've written psychopaths before, I don't know why Johnny A is being so difficult. Probably because he's a 97 year old psychopath, and my other, well wasn't that old. But, I did some research and such this afternoon, and we're going to bond this weekend, and hopefully I'll return with some nice, fresh pages for him.

So, my train gets into Edinburgh sometime after noon, my hotel is nearby and I'll see if I'll be able to check in when I get there, and if not, the Pret is nearby and I'll grab some cheap lunch there. Hopefully I will be able to check in early, and then grab a bite at Pret anyway. Then I've got the day to myself to explore and enjoy Edinburgh. I haven't solidly figured out everything, but I know it'll involve the good ol' Edinburgh Castle, Princes Street, the Royal Mile, get some good souvenir shopping in. Then, my only definite plan - at 8:30pm the City of the Dead ghost walking tour. Heck. Yeah. This one is the only tour that gets you public access to Covenanter's Prison in Greyfriar's Cemetery, home of the mysterious Mackenzie Poltergeist which, since the tour started in 1999, and that part of the cemetery was re-opened, there have been 500+ incidents witht the Poltergeist and tourists, with 109 people getting unexplicably knocked unconscious. Oh yeah. And I won't know anyone else on the tour. Good time for the poltergeist to show up, or a cute Scottish lad.

On Saturday at 9:30am I meet up with Rabbie's Trail Burners for my 2 day mini-bus tour of Scotland. The tour takes us through Loch Ness, up to Inverness where we spend the night, then back down a different way and back to Edinburgh on Sunday. I get to see the Monty Python Holy Grail castle. Yes. Yes I do. And this is very exciting. So that'll be Saturday and Sunday.

I get back to Edinburgh Sunday around 7:30pm, I'll check into the hotel, and since if there are any Easter celebrations still going on. There were going to be concerts and such. But I won't stay up too late because I have to catch a 7am train back to London, so that I can get back in time to register for my classes at 2pm, ie. 9am Eastern Standard Time.

And that will be my Easter weekend. Probably the most interesting Easter weekend I'll have had up to this point. Then I'll be all relaxed to finish up my 2 papers, 1 theatre review, and the screenplay. Plus, cast and rehearse the staged reading for the 3-4 of May. I can't wait for our Tisch farewell party. 'Cause it's a boat ride on the Thames on the HMS President. Yes. Tisch gets a farewell party on a boat. On the Thames. A party boat. Woot. Yay for party boats.

But tons of stuff still needs to happen before the party. boat.

(PS- Hyuninator and Butt Monkey Face: My mudder and I will be picking my stuff up on Wednesday 10 May. This is a change from the previous day of Saturday 13 May. Please make a note. No idea what time. I'll keep you posted. And someone best be there. Fools.)

:)

2006-04-10T15:30:00.000-04:00

Boo. Yah.

Things are much better now.

Still extraordinarily happy about that single.

Here's a picture for you.

Gotta have my House.

Oh flibberty gibbit

2006-04-09T07:13:00.000-04:00

Screenplay and papers are going well. Why can't everything else be? No. These are Tischies. They always bring their baggage with them, and somehow it seems to land at my stop. Stuff that doesn't even involve me, in any way shape or form, and yet somehow I'm supposed to deal with it? I am not a baggage carrier. I don't think so. Only a month to go. And that makes me sad that I'm looking forward to the end, because I've been waiting for this trip since I started college. Of course other people would try to ruin it. So, flibberty gibbit. Ashley, you have no idea how much I love you for getting me that single. I could really use it right now.

A single....

2006-04-06T06:36:00.000-04:00

Next year. 2nd St. Room 113. All to myself. How fantastic is that for a reclusive writer? All thanks to Ashley Adamson, of course. So next year, come and stop by. All that poster space to myself. Muahahahaha.

Room is picked, now classes. Then just 2 papers. 1 screenplay. And I'm done for the semester. Whoa. Where the heck did the time go? Didn't my plane just land yesterday? I should have known the nice, warm weather was a bad sign. It means everything here is coming to an end. Leading to my last summer as an irresponsible college student. 'Cause I'm always irresponsible of course. This time next year, I could be getting ready for grad school. Getting ready for a job. Getting ready to be homeless because you can't get a job with a BA in Cinema Studies.

This is a very forward looking post, but I'm feeling futuristically reminiscent. Gotta make the most out of senior year, because it'll be gone faster than this. And then I'm screwed. Or not. I could always sell a screenplay.

Goals for next year: apply for grad school, look for a job, get an agent.

You wouldn't think it would be that hard, right? What I need is an internship. But I'll look at that this summer.

Right now I have 2 papers and 1 screenplay to worry about. Then I can focus on next year.

Paris...C'est magnifique!

2006-04-03T09:01:00.000-04:00

Wonderful, wonderful weekend with Stacy en Paris. Beautiful weather, which is always good, tons of stuff done, and tons of stuff seen. That's a really helpful description, isn't it? Okay, let's break this down:

Friday: Train got in at 4pm. (I highly recommend Eurostar.) Stacy was right there to pick me up, and we headed to her apartment, very nice by the way, then took the metro to the Louvre. I was a little hungry, so on the way I picked up a Croque Monsieur at a nice, little food stand. A croque monsieur is ham in dough, covered in melted cheese. I'd always read about them in French class, but never actually had one, and always wanted to. And it was delicious. Then we went to the Louvre. Saw the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, and the Venus de Milo, plus lots of other cool stuff. And it wasn't too crowded, so it didn't take us long. We got dinner at a little restaurant nearby. I got a Quiche Lorraine and a Dame Blanche (vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup) for dessert.

Saturday: Started at the Army Museum, which was half closed, but the other half was pretty cool. Accidently used the restrooms in the private veteran's nursing home, where tourists aren't allowed. Oops. Snuck out of private nursing home. Went into Napolean's Tomb. Which is huge. I have no idea why anyone would need a coffin that big. Probably because he's the only war hero the French have ever had. But it was still pretty cool. Then we went to the Catacombs, which is an underground passageway of dead people. Just walls and walls and walls and walls of stacked up human bones. Pretty sweet. You couldn't use a flash for pictures, so my photos don't do it justice, but it was pretty freakin' sweet. Millions of dead people. Word. Then we went to see Notre Dame. Walked around inside and outside, then got a little snack. I got a crepe with nutella and banana. So delicious. Then we went to see the Eiffel Tower, and I rode on a carousel near the tower. Yes, a carousel. But it was so cool. Then we went to see the Arc de Triumph and the Champs-Elysee. Then headed over to the Moulin Rouge. From there walked up, way uphill, to Montmartre and saw the amazing view and the Sacre-Coeur Cathedral. Walked home to Stacy's from there.

Sunday: Very lazy day, but we did go to see the Paris Opera house (where the Phantom of the Opera lives) then walked around areas I hadn't seen before, and took some great photos. (My new facebook photo being one of them.) Got to my train, and departed at 4:07pm.

A very fun and exciting weekend. Now it's major working on papers and screenplay time. No major traveling this weekend, but for Easter, it's Scotland time. By myself. Totally sweet. Paris photos will be on facebook soon, when my internet isn't totally retarded.

Ahh, Housing Lottery

2006-03-29T16:55:00.000-05:00

Next semester
Back to tile floors and tiny rooms
Bye to balconies and hardwood floors
Tiny closets, tiny kitchens
Mini Fridges

Next Semester
Back to 7 minutes campus walks
Bye 40 minute walks in constant rain
Back to Starbuck's down the street
Bye to Starbuck's up the street

Next Semester
Back to condensed milk toast, bubble tea
Movie theatres 15 minutes away
Steve's on the Bowery
Expired foods at their best

Next Semester
Back to Evid and Frankie
Mail in my building
Bathrooms of normal temperature
Back to Privacy

Next Semester
Back to 2nd Street

Welcome Home.

Quick add-on to previous post...

2006-03-28T08:29:00.000-05:00

I would just like to say that less than 5 minutes after I finished the post right before this, it started pouring. Ha. Just thought that was really funny. Really.

Here comes the sun...

2006-03-28T08:11:00.000-05:00

I actually wore my jean jacket to class today. I know. Isn't it amazing? Spring? In England?? No rain? Truly a miracle. Saw a bicyclist wipe out. That wasn't amazing. Just fun to watch. Don't worry, he was fine. No cars were involved. And another miracle, they actually cleaned our flat this week! Last week we got a letter saying that due to illness, no one could clean it, and this morning, well, I wouldn't have been able to take it much longer. It's the grease and oil all over the oven island from people cooking. It just, you couldn't set anything clean down on it. Ew. But it's all bright, shiny, and nice smelling, and clean now. Our trash is gone, the tables wiped off, everything is illuminated. Or at least clean.

Don't you love it when your birthday continues on through the rest of the week? Got my package today from Mom! It included a Butterfinger bar, king size pack of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, a neat little pen, some post-its, an Entertainment Weekly, a turquoise mini-Sharpie, a little stuffed rabbit (who is know Bunny Bunny's cousin, Hutch), and a framed picture of Bazil that says "I Love My Dog!". It's one of his Christmas pictures, and he's sitting in front of the tree and presents, all smiling and happy. It's a plastic frame too, so I don't have to worry about it breaking. Good thinking, Ma.

Had my last British Cinema class for awhile. We don't have our extra classes the next few weeks, so that the RADA kids have time to work on their final performance. So, I only have screenwriting. Works for me! I think I'm at page 38 right now. Granted everything I've written for the second act really, really sucks right now, because I wasn't in the mood to write when I was writing, but I'm going to try and fix that as soon as I finish this post. Tomorrow we have class from 11-5, so that we'll be able to go over everyone's stuff. Whoa boy. That's a lot of Roy time. How am I gonna get through it? It's called stopping at Boots before class and grabbing some soda and snacks before I hit the ICA, that's what. Hopefully the weather will be nice. But with British weather, who knows. We could have a thunderstorm 5 minutes from now.

Cheese, Gromit!!

2006-03-26T08:04:00.000-05:00

So, Stacy got the whirlwind tour of London! But it was great seeing someone from home, and next week - Paris! Stacy got here Thursday night, and we got dinner at Sofra on Exmouth Market, then went to Filthy McNasty's. And got carded. Go figure. But I introduced Stacy to Strongbow, and we have another convert.

Friday, we got up and went to Trafalgar Square, Parliament, and Big Ben, and did the tour of Westminster Abbey. Then we walked through St. James Park to Buckingham Palace, and from their to Harrod's. Which is ginormous, to say the least, and got a little stuffed bear, and a tote bag type thing, with dogs on it. Cause dogs are awesome. And they have a pet store at Harrod's, that had a litter of Shiz Tsu puppies in it. I don't even want to know how much they cost, but they were absolutely adorable. Then we did a little bit of Hyde Park, and took the tube home. That night we went to The Cove Bar in Covent Garden, the pirate one from St. Paddy's Day. And we even got seats on the balcony, which were nice until it started to rain. And a thirtysomething IT guy tried to pick up Mimi. Before we left, we got pasties downstairs, and it was Stacy's first pasty, so that was exciting.

Saturday, oh yeah, it was my birthday. Thanks to everyone for all the facebook messages and e-cards and such! It was awesome saying I had all these new messages, that were all, so and so has written on your wall. Anyway, the day started off with the Tower of London! And it was sunny and warm out, which was awesome. We did the guided Yeoman tour, and the guy was awesome. Then we looked at the Crown Jewels (uhm, do you think the Queen will let me borrow that solid gold punch bowl the size of my bed sometime? Maybe?) And walked through the White Tower. When we left the white tower, the sun and blue skies were gone, but we got home before any rain.

Made some Ramen for lunch, to save money, and my mommy called and I talked to her for a little. Then we went to the British Museum and saw the Rosetta Stone, lots of mummies, and Chinese stuff. And I bought a shirt. And I think I'll wear it on the plane ride home, cause it's a great shirt. After the museum, we went to check my mail, and I had 4 things. A letter from mom (not a birthday one, that didn't get here yet), a card from a family friend, a card from Lindsey, and a balloon box package from Miss Ashley Adamson! It was raining at this point, and we walked back in the rain, but I had brought a plastic bag for my mail, so it was all good.

My sister sent me a $25 Starbuck's Card, which she was told, you can use anywhere in the world, so I'll have to check with my local establishment. But if it does work, that'll be awesome, especially with papers coming up. And from Ashley I got - 5 packs of delicious Ramen, American Pringles (which do taste different than British pringles), a box of Reese's peanut butter cup cookies (which I've never had before, but are absolutely amazing, especially if people who aren't me don't eat them), and.......................WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT on DVD!!!!!!!!!! I don't know how she knew I've been wanting to buy that so badly, almost as badly as wanting to buy Harry Potter, but my mom's getting me that as my coming home present. I was soooo happy. Wallace & Gromit are the coolest claymation in the entire world.

After I went through my mail, Stacy, Mimi, and I went to Ye Olde Chesire Cheese for dinner. It's a really, really old pub. And it was awesome. Not touristy or cheesey (haha, get it? get it?) at all. And we all ended up getting the same thing - fish and chips, and a pint of the alpine lager. Or was it ale? Anyway, the pub only serves their own brews, but the Alpine stuff was really good. One of the best light beers I've had. And I did take a picture of my first drink as a 21 year old.

Then we came home, and most people were going to this housewarming party for this british guy they met at the BBC. And Stacy and I stayed home, and ate lots of junk food and watched Wallace and Gromit.

And that was my birthday.

Today I'm going to relax and work on the screenplay, if I get around to it, which I should.

Remember, Remember, The 5th of November

2006-03-22T15:07:00.000-05:00

What's great about not having class is that instead of walking 40 minutes to the ICA, I can walk 15 minutes to the Islington Vue Cinema and watch a movie in comfort. Sure, it's 5.80 GBS, but convert that, and it's the same price as going to the theatre in NYC, and the theatre is so much nicer. So much.

Oh, I saw V for Vendetta, and I highly enjoyed it. Sure it's not without it's problem, but it's a pretty awesome movie to watch, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who was even the littlest bit interested in seeing it. Worth your money to see it on the big screen. And I continue to like Natalie Portman as an actress. Plus, Stephen Fry is in it! Hugh Laurie's old acting buddy, and the Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, Ellen DeGeneres of Britain. Well, maybe not the Ellen DeGeneres, but you know what I mean. Stephen Fry is frickin' awesome.

Didn't have class today because Roy's doing one-on-one tutorials with each of us over the next two days, during our regular class time, so class today or tomorrow. I just have to go in tomorrow at 1pm for my own tutorial. I have my outline and some pages to show him. 33 pages, actually. Whether it's any good or not...

And Stacy comes tomorrow! Woot! She'll be here until Sunday, and I have 2 London-filled days set ahead for us. Like a tour guide. A tour guide who hardly knows any of the history of the buildings, but will show you around anyway just for the heck of it.

Oh, and walking around London after V for Vendetta, was just like walking around NYC after King Kong. Crazy surreal. But there were no theatre geeks in metal masks walking around, so it was okay.

Craic'n Good Times!

2006-03-18T07:17:00.000-05:00

So, actually "celebrating" St. Patrick's Day is pretty sweet. Especially when you're in London. True, Dublin would be better, but you take what you can get. I was very productive yesterday, laundry, Starbuck's, grocery shopping, checking courses. And on a side note, the courses I'll, hopefully, be taking are going to kick butt. I would say ass, but I'm editing this for Ashley. Oh crap, I just said it there. I just need to decide between "Developing, Pitching, and Writing Your Own TV Pilot" or "Writing the TV Sitcom." Both are 4 credits. Both are the same time at night, except one is on Tuesday and one is on Wednesday. Any suggestions?

Anyway, back to St. Patrick's Day, Mimi, Lisa, and Willa were going to go directly from their BBC attachments to the first pub, and I was going to meet Mimi's visiting friend Matt in the lobby and we'd travel there together. I was supposed to meet Matt at 6:15, Matt didn't show. Saela got a call from Lisa, and I talked to Lisa who said she hadn't seen Willa at the train platform where they were going to meet, and she didn't know how to get to the pub, so we decided that she'd wait at the Bond St. stop, and I'd meet her there and we'd walk over. Which worked out. I don't know where Matt was, but we gave him a sufficient amount of time.

The first pub was O'Conor Don, and it was actually a place on my list! And it was absolutely packed. Stuffed. Couldn't move an inch. It was fantastic. Right after Lisa and I arrived, Willa got there. Mimi was going to be late because she got stuck at a shoot. So, I decided to buy the first round, Guinness for all! We were able to inch our way inside, get our drinks, and inch out. Only learning later that there was a little bar set up outside that was serving just Guinness. Oh well. Mimi did triumphantly arrive, having to walk all the way from Piccadilly because of tube issues. Why was Oxford Circus being evacuated?? Still no Matt, and we alternated between staying warm in the overcrowded pub and standing outside in the cold. Through a series of indirect phone calls and events, we gave Matt until 8:45 to find O'Conor Don. He didn't. We left. St. Patrick's Day waits for no man.

Took the tube to Covent Garden for our next stop - The Porterhouse. Well, the Porterhouse had a line down the block to get in. Scratch that. So, we walked back to Covent Garden, and found this really cool pub above a pasty shop. It was called The Cove, or something, and it was pirate themed! Which Mimi loved, of course. But there was a bouncer controlling the number of people allowed in, so it wasn't overly crowded, and we were even able to get seats after a bit. It's a really neat, little bar. It has a balcony so you can go out and look over Covent Garden, and it had a great atmosphere. After 2 rounds there, we decided to move on to the next place, Filthy McNasty's, which is only up the road from where we lived. We had this all planned out. Well, when we got there, Filthy's wasn't serving drinks anymore, they're license doesn't allow for drinks after a certain time, so we used the bathroom and went home. We hung out in Lisa's room for a little, before finally calling it a night. And just so you know, I can still navigate areas I don't know with my A-Z while slightly drunk. But it was only slightly, Ashley, and I was with other people, and didn't end up wearing their clothes.

And now, today will be devoted to the screenplay. I swear. Yesterday at Starbuck's, my main character and I had a long talk about his family history, his goals, his personal life, his likes and dislikes, and now have a much better understanding of one another. Roy wants an outline, too, so at some point I'll have to do that, just right now, I need to stop with the notes, and start with the actual writing. You can only make so many notes, and then you just need to start.

Pictures of St. Paddy's will come later on facebook, when I get them onto my computer.

Back to normal, well normal for me

2006-03-16T06:13:00.000-05:00

Just so you know, "craic" is a Gaelic word meaning "fun, good times," etc... and is pronounced like "crack". So you can say things like, "we had great craic at the pub." I know Ashley will now use this word immensely.

So, yeah, life has been pretty almost normal. Some of you will know why I put the almost in there, but sorry for the rest of you. You'll just have to deal for now. This week has just been about school, and making new facebook photo albums. And after I have class from 2-5 today, it will be the weekend! And what is fantastic about this weekend is that it's the British Isles greatest holiday - St. Patrick's Day! I have no idea what I'm doing, other than it will involve drinking. Somewhere. I don't know about the green beer though. I don't know if I'm brave enough for that.

Yeah, so this sounds like a really boring post. But, I woke up around 10, don't have to leave for class until around 1, did get out of bed because I wanted to watch the newest episode of House that it took me 2+ days to download, and now I'm just being lazy until I have to get ready for class. I don't know what I'll do. Spider Solitaire will probably be involved.

But, London's the same as ever. I have 12 of 36 things on my list crossed off. Stacy is coming next weekend, so I'll definitely be able to cross off some more. Oh, that list will be finished before I leave, my friends. Have no doubts about that.

Oh, I bought a stuffed chipmunk. At Hamley's toy store. It's basically the British version FAO Schwartz. His name is Lord Edward William Hammersmith III, Duke Chipmunk of North Hyde Park Corner. You may call him Lord Edward.

Now I'm going to find something else to not do until I need to function for class.

Mighty Awesome Craic

2006-03-13T12:37:00.000-05:00

See, I promised I'd write you on March 13, and see? What am I doing? Writing to you on March 13th. I'm not dead yet. And spring break was AWESOME!!!! There is absolutely no possibly way on this Earth that I could write everything that we did in this blog and have you still be conscious by the end. So, I'm going to give you the abridged version.

-audio tour of Westminster Abbey = fantastic
-saw 10 Downing Street (where the Prime Minister lives) during a press conference
-finally went to Buckingham Palace
-saw The Mousetrap = awesome
-ate at Rules, London's Oldest Restaurant, and you don't even want to know what the bill was, but the food was amazingly amazing
-saw Les Mis, and it was great, they had a black Javert which was cool
-toured Dublin
-toured the Irish National Stud Farm, saw baby horses (also known as foals)
-went to a pub in Ennis and watched an Irish band perfom
-went to Galway
-Western Ireland is just plain awesome and I'm going to buy a cottage there when I'm a rich, reclusive writer
-had a traditional medieval banquet at Bunratty Castle and almost got burned by a candle, except I was able to catch it safely with my amazing hand-eye coordination skillz
-got some Connemara Marble, the best Irish marble
-did the Ring of Kerry tour
-almost got blown off a mountain by the crazy intense wind
-saw tons and tons of complete rainbows
-went to a sheep farm and got homemade scones and tea, and see baby lambs, and the sheep dog do his thing
-saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College
-saw the Cliffs of Moher
-kissed the Blarney Stone (which requires you to half hang off a castle roof upside down)
-bought a full length 100% wool, handwoven coat that I can't really afford, but it's awesome
-toured the Guinness factory, got a complimentary Guinness in the Sky Bar which has a 360 view of Dublin
-started a 3 million pint batch of Guinness, because I knew the answer to the trivia question

Oh, there's probably more. Much more. But I can't really think right now. Those were just some of the highlights. Overall, the weather was great, we had a good group and a good tour guide and driver, the food was great, didn't eat a lot of potatoes, hardly had to pay for anything, did get to see an edited down version of the Oscars, saw lots and lots and lots and lots of sheep and cows and rocks and green things.

Now I have to do some reading or something for school. Or something. Oh, and unpack.

Ooo Baby, Baby, It's a Wild One

2006-02-28T12:05:00.000-05:00

My mommy's coming tomorrow! Yay! For a week and a half I won't have to pay for pretty much everything. Boo-yah. Tomorrow, Wednesday, she has a ticket to see our Theatre in London show with us at the National Theatre. It's "Measure For Measure" this time round. And she's excited that she'll get to meet Roy, my screenwriting/theatre in london prof. She always likes meeting my teachers and professors. She met Pat Hoy, too, freshmen year. Oh Pat C. Hoy. Anyway, on Thursday I have class from 2-5, but then she's coming over to my flat to help me pack for Ireland, I always need help packing, and we have tickets for "Mousetrap" at 8pm, the West End's longest running play! It's been since 1952. Continuously. And we think Phantom's been around awhile in New York. On Friday we're going to see Westminster Abbey, and get a real British tea at Fortnum and Mason's on Piccaddilly (recommended by Roy), and probably check out Hamley's toy store, the huge 3 story toy store. Always bring your parents when you want to go to a toy store, I've known that since I was about 3. That night we have dinner at Rules, London's oldest restaurant. She read about it in her British Heritage magazine over winter break and really wanted to eat there, so we made reservations. It's insanely expensive, like 20 pound dinners, but it's going to be so good. At least I hope it is.

Saturday we're going to Portobello Road, holy moly, it feels like I was just there last week, and eat at the Dog and Duck pub in honor of Bazil, and probably go to Milroy's Whiskey. I'm getting so much stuff crossed off my London To-Do List, it's fantastic! On Sunday we leave for Ireland! We have a shuttle to Heathrow, a 1 hour flight to Dublin, a shuttle to our hotel, then meet up with our Globus tour director at 3pm, and that's when the drinking starts! Woot! I'm gonna feel so special, because everyone else from the tour is coming direct from America, and I can say I've been living here since January. More woot.

We get back on Saturday, and Mom leaves on Monday. We don't know what we're going to do on Sunday, since everything's usually closed, but we're going to figure that out. We might go to the London Zoo or something, if it's open. And then on Monday I'm going to skip housekeeping so that I have a continuous break between the end of the Brit Cinema screening and the start of theatre in london, so mom and I can have a quick lunch together before she goes. I wish I didn't have so much to do on Monday, argh. But maybe I'll be sick of my mom by then. But probably not.

It's snowing. Not just flurries, it's actually laying on the rooftops. That's pretty cool. I'm sure it won't be a lot, but it's pretty. It hardly ever snows in London. It's like it's spring break already. I handed in my Brit Cinema mid-term essay, had class, and I only have screenwriting tomorrow and Thursday, which hardly feels like class at all. We go over our monologues tomorrow. Let's hope people like Hyun's Rant here as much as at home. I also have to rework my screenplay pitch a little more. Organize my notes. When we get back from break, all we'll be doing is writing. And writing. A little writing. And then some writing. I need a 100-120 page screenplay done by the end of April. Knowing me it'll probably be 120 pages. Then we get to cast it and direct our actors and have a live table reading for all the Tischies. One of the girls here has a video camera, I think. I'm going to ask her if I can use to tape a complete reading of my script in the flat. If it's actually any good. That would be fun to show family members.

So, I'm probably not going to write in here for the next week and a half, because for the rest of this week, whenever I'm not in class I'll be with my mom. I'm staying at her hotel, too. And next week I'll be in Ireland without my computer. So I'm sorry if this page will seem a little lonely for awhile. I promise I'm alive, I'll just be too cool and busy to type anything for you. And I'll come back with lots of pretty pictures and stories and whatnot. So, til then my friends, cheerio. I'll talk to you in March! Yeah, yeah, I know that's only tomorrow. I mean later in March, like March 12. Yeah, I hope to post you something on March 12. Now cheerio.

I must have the highest alcohol tolerance known to man.

2006-02-25T17:51:00.000-05:00

We had a party in our room last night with the BBC girls and the British BBC guys they met in the country the other week. Woot. I partied with real British people. Well, more like chilled. But you know. But I think it's nearly impossible for me to get drunk. It would have been fine last night because the party was in our apartment and we weren't going anywhere, but I didn't. Not that I was specifically trying. It's a blessing and a curse. I posted pictures on facebook, so check them out. My "friends" assaulted me with make-up and made me wear this shirt I bought at home for like $5 on sale. Why, oh why, did I buy that shirt? But it was a fun party. The guys were really nice and easy going and didn't leave too much of a mess for us to clean up.

I was however up until 4am for other reasons that had nothing to do with the party. Sometimes someone just needs a person to talk to you. That usually happens to be me. Hey, I was camp counselor. I was trained for stuff like that. Let's just hope the drama calms down now, because it's no fun when people are all upset. Let's just chill and get along people. We'll be more of a threat to London that way.

Haven't gone out at all today, but that's because I need to save money. I don't want to withdraw any before my mom gets here on Wednesday, so I'm conserving. I need to go to Zone 2 tomorrow for the play I didn't get to see last week that I need to for class. And by play I mean magic show. Sweet. And I'll get reimbursed for at least the price of the show, on Monday, so there's 11.20 pounds back. I might get reimbursed for the tube, too. I'll have to check with Sally.

Now, while I listen to my own personal "Lauren's CD of Greatness," here's a list I made and put in my facebook profile. Not that I'm not loving my time in London, but we all miss stuff from home once in awhile.

-Random walks around NYC with my iPod, on nice, sunny days
-Sitting in Starbuck's for hours with just a book or a notebook
-Only having a 7 minute walk to class (instead of 40 minutes)
-Only living with one other person
-Okay, fine, living with Ashley. There, are you happy?
-$2 subway rides (instead of $8 tube rides)
-my big, fuzzy puppy Bazil
-House on Tuesdays and Lost on Wednesdays
-watching NASCAR on TV, instead of constantly checking foxsports.com, same with hockey
-root beer
-cold honey green tea without tapioca and condensed milk toast from Saint's Alp
-going to the movies every week
-eating lunch out with Lara every week
-Hyun and her wonderful stories that provide me with great inspiration for writing (check my blog)
-Ashley's random bursts of song, yes, more Ashley. I'll admit it.
-2nd Street and it's surrounding homeless shelters
-spending weekends in the city with my sister and whoever she brings with her that week
-not monkeys. ever. they will never be missed

Hyun's Rant Revisited

2006-02-24T17:49:00.000-05:00

Okay, so we had to do this writing exercise for screenwriting, where we create one character and basically have them give this long monologue. I decided to go back to that little talent show piece I wrote for Hyun last year and expand upon it. And here is the new version 2.0 below. Now, let me remind you that, especially this new version, is only loosely based off our beloved Hyun J. Chun, and while it may remind you of her a lot, this is a fictional character I created. So not everything in here will relate to our Hyun. She was just a starting point. And no one can use this without my permission except the Hyun herself. Or else I'll sue the pants off you for plagiarism. Because I could use the money.

Sorry if the formatting comes out a little funky. I did what I could. Oh, and there's strong language. Ashley.

Hyun's Rant: Version 2.0

INT. STUDY ROOM - NIGHT

The fluorescent lit basement room, filled with crooked tables, chairs, and ratty couches is completely empty, except for one desk in the corner. HYUN J. CHUN (20) sits at the tiny desk, which is stacked high with piles of science textbooks, notebooks, a printer, a computer, and an assortment of pens.

Hyun keeps banging her head on the open book in front of her, finally stopping and letting out a long SIGH.

HYUN
Will it really, honestly matter in my life, if I can recite the Krebs cycle from memory? I want to be a doctor, not a fucking herbologist. Forty thousand dollars a year and all I’ll be able to remember five years from now is xylem and phloem. Shit, I can’t even remember what they are now. But that’s what you have to do when you’re pre-med. Take every goddamn science course known to man. At least that’s what I thought. Now, after my schedule is set, my advisor keeps telling me med schools are looking for more “well-rounded” applicants. Like, History or English majors, instead of Bio and Chem. Yeah, an English major would make a great doctor. Doctor! This man’s temp is up, his BP down, and he’s bleeding from his spleen. Can you save him? No, but I can recite him Shakespeare!

She leans back and closes the book in front of her.

HYUN (CONT’D)
I’m just getting so sick of it all, and there’s no one I can bitch to. My friends have heard it all before, and if I keep burdening them with my depressing-ness, I’m not gonna have friends. I wonder if I could get a BA in Bitching. Probably in Gallatin. My thesis would be so fucking easy.

She turns to the imaginary panel in front of her.

HYUN (CONT’D)
Hello, my name is Hyun J. Chun and I’m here to bitch. Bitch about my 8 am classes, bitch about my 10 hour labs, and most of all bitch about being pre-med in general.
She gets up out of her chair and starts pacing about the room.

HYUN (CONT’D)
The life of a pre-med. You might think you have it bad, but you know nothing. Nothing, unless you also happen to be a pre-med. Oh, it’s not so bad, they say. I’ll get to be a doctor one day and make three times as much as those tormentors they call professors. Yeah, that’s only if I live that long. Long enough to pass my goddamn fucking mid-terms, to get into some med school that isn’t the equivalent of a New Jersey Area Community College. Which at this point isn’t a likely possibility.

She rushes back to her desk and flips through the stacks of books and papers, until she finds the sheet she’s looking for.

HYUN (CONT’D)
I got an “Early Intervention” letter from CAS. The one they send you if you get a D on your mid-terms. Mid-terms! Grades that shouldn’t even fucking matter.

She crumples up the paper and throws it at the wall.

HYUN (CONT’D)
Like NYU really cares about what grades I have. They only care about you if you don’t send’em their check. My professors told me that since I got a “D” I need to study harder. Take time aside and go down to the study room once in awhile.

Hyun pauses, lets out a long SIGH.

HYUN (CONT’D)
I live in the fucking study room. I don’t even know what floor I’m supposed to live on. I don’t remember my roommate’s name or what she looks like, and I lived with her last year. I don’t even know if I live in this goddamn building. I could live in Water Street for all I know. My neighbor passed me in the hall the other day. She looked surprised and told me she thought I had left school.
(beat)
But I do have a good little set-up here. I have this little desk in the corner. My nice stack of books, paper, computer, printer. And I have gotten used to sleeping without a bed. My Calc III book is so thick, it makes a great pillow for me, and the best part is when I fall asleep, my drool marks the spot where I stopped studying. So when I wake up 4 hours later with no clue where the hell I am, I can look up, shake away my glazed-over-deer-in-headlights look, and go right back to studying. And it’s not like sleeping helps, either. All I can see when I close my eyes are giant mitochondria with the head of Prof. Schiccitano chasing me through the Silver Center Chem labs, screaming, “Take the derivative! Take the derivative!” Then I go to work. The only reason I have a job is that it looks good on my med school applications. It’s not like I have time to spend any money. And where do I work? Some place where I can escape my scientific torment?

Hyun lets out a little bit of crazed LAUGHTER and plops herself down on one of the couches.

HYUN (CONT’D)
I work in a bio lab where I spend all day growing microscopic worms in bacteria petri dishes, feed them to large macroscopic worms, that I have to cut up and grow fungus on in other petri dishes. All for the great Work Study sum of six dollars an hour. Then when I’m not studying or working, I get to volunteer at Bellevue. Another piece of advice from my advisor. I get to give smelly, homeless crack addicts a fake flu shot while trying to keep them from jamming their tongues down my throat because it’s been so long since they’ve seen a “real woman.”

She lays down on the couch.

HYUN (CONT’D)
I think drugs would help. Yeah, maybe get a good deal on Ritalin from some pimped out Sternies. That would work except that I don’t even have time buy any fucking drugs.

She rolls off the couch and sits on the floor.

HYUN (CONT’D)
I do have one part of my life that’s not science related. One little class called Con West. Oh Con West. Everyone loves Con West. Now, it wouldn’t be that bad except I’ve taken so many science and math courses, I don’t remember how to write. Last week I handed in a paper written in binary. For some reason my prof handed it back and gave me an extension. But I think it was because when I gave it to her I wasn’t blinking and had a small chain of drool dribbling down my chin.

She stands up and starts to walk back over to her desk. She hears someone WALK down the hallway, and excitedly freezes. When the footsteps pass, she slumps her head and goes back to the desk.

HYUN (CONT’D)
Every Saturday night I break down and cry. What the fuck am I doing with my life? Can all of this really be fucking worth it? And if it’s not, what else can I do? Fuck, I’m Asian! All I can do is science or play the piano. And I refuse to become a Tischie. There’s no way in hell you will get me to wear leg warmers.

She sits down at the desk and TAPS her fingers on the book.

HYUN (CONT’D)
My parents have no idea what I’m going through. They just want me to be happy I’m in a country where corporal punishment in schools is mostly illegal. In Korea, we used to get hit with this stick for every answer we’d get wrong on a test. Ha. Could you imagine if they did that here? You wouldn’t have to ask anyone how they did on a test. Hey, did you see Paul? Yeah, he looks fine, lucky bastard. Ooo. Elaine didn’t do so hot. Check out that scar. Where’s Hyun? In a coma.

She looks at her cell phone.

HYUN (CONT’D)
Oh, my parents. My father came over first, illegally, in the bottom of a boat or some shit like that. Which would be cool except any rebel anti-establishment attitudes he used to have disappeared as soon as he became an American. My mother, in typical Korean fashion, keeps asking why I don’t have a boyfriend. Dude, I don’t even have time to take a shower, let alone meet any guys. Yeah, so there’s the guys in my classes, but have you seen them? Fuck. I don’t know who’d wanna hit that. Unless you find pimples and pocket protectors insanely hot. I’m not that desperate. Yet. I should just tell mom I’m a lesbian. So what if I’m not. Maybe it would get her to shut up for once. Either that or she’ll scream and cry and ask what she did wrong in raising me. I better not. Besides, we’re Catholic. Or Protestant. Or, I don’t know. Apparently we’re supposed to be religious. Or not. I mean, they cancelled Christmas. My parents. My brother and I came downstairs that bright, glorious morning. No tree, no gifts. Not even a fucking newspaper. They used to always get us a newspaper. Nope. They just sat there and told us they didn’t feel like doing it this year. My poor, adolescent brother. He still believed in Santa Claus. Well, not after that.
(beat)
Christ! What time is it?

She checks her watch.

HYUN (CONT’D)
Oh. Only three a.m. Good. I still have 5 hours til my organic chem test. Well, four if you count the fact that I haven’t eaten in three days so I have no energy to move and it’ll take me an hour to walk there.

She opens her book, then stands up and heads to the door.

HYUN (CONT’D)
I need to go stab myself in the eye with a spork. Then I’ll get back to studying. Since it’s all I have.

She exits the study room, leaving her chaotic desk all alone.

The End.

Travel Plans!!

2006-02-21T18:25:00.000-05:00

With the end of the semester fast approaching, yeah it's still only February, but February's almost over and it just started! Where the heck did it go? Ahhh! So, with the end of the semester fast approaching, I decided it was time to get my butt in gear when it comes to traveling around. So, Stacy is coming from Paris March 23-26, my birthday weekend!! Heck yeah! It'll be good to see at least one friend from home. And about half an hour ago, I just booked my Eurostar train ride to Paris. Oo la la! I'll be there March 31 - April 2. Sweetness. Now I just need to figure out how to take the Parisian subway to get to Stacy. We'll see how rusty my French skills are. Oui.

I also talked to Claire from good old Bear Creek Camp! And I'm going to visit her in Manchester at some point. Either March 17-19, April 7-9, or 21-23, whatever she tells me works best for her. Exciting! I can take a train right from London into Manchester. The rail service is awesome. So I'll be going to Manchester! To hang out with real British people! Woot.

And here's the piece de resistance (see the French there, huh? huh?): I'm going to go to SCOTLAND! Wait, wait - by myself! (most likely). So, this might not seem like a big deal, since I'm also going to Paris and Manchester by myself, but the difference there is that Once I get there, I have people I'll be meeting. People I know. When I go to Scotland, it's just gonna be me. Me and me alone. Whoaness. I'm going to go over Easter break. Here's the plan: take a train from London into Edinburgh, check into a hotel. Yeah, my mom told me that if I didn't want to stay in a hostel by myself, since I don't know if it'll be a creepy one or not, that I should just book a hotel. So, Friday I'll be checking into my hotel sometime in the afternoon. Check out Edinburgh Castle, and the stuff around. I'll buy a good map in London before I go. Then on Saturday I'm starting a 2-day mini-bus tour with Rabbies Highland Tours. A very reputable company. The tour takes me up through Loch Ness to Inverness, where we spend the night. Then it brings us back down the other side of Scotland back to Edinburgh. I'll get to see the castle they used for Monty Python and the Holy Grail! Since the tour gets back around 7:30-8pm on Sunday, I'm going to check into a hotel again, probably the same one, and spend another night. Then, take the train back to London sometime on Monday.

I haven't booked Scotland yet, but I will soon. I'm so excited to do it by myself. I even checked with my mom, and she said go for it! After she checked out the mini-bus tour website. I've never traveled like that by myself before, so it's going to be awesome. And it's not some scary third world country I'm backpacking through, it's a train to Scotland where I meet up with a tour.

So those are my travel plans for the rest of the semester. Those are all the places I wanted to go (plus Ireland, which I'm doing with me mum), so when the semester is over I hope I'll have a nice sense of fulfillment that I saw everything I wanted to see.

Now to continue with stuff on the London list...

Yeah it was magic. My pasta magically disappeared even though I didn't eat it.

2006-02-19T14:05:00.000-05:00

I did absolutely nothing yesterday, and in the words of Ron Livingston, it was everything I'd hope it would be. There wasn't much going on, and I did some of my freelance screenwriting work and worked on my Brit Cinema essay that's not due until Feb. 28. Yes, it seems a bit early to start working on it, but I'm lazy. Lazy you say? If you start your essay 10 days before it's due? Yes, my friend, because that way I only have to do a little work on it each day, and as soon as I get sick of it I can stop working on it, without fearing I'm not going to finish in time. It's a good habit I picked up. Of course, there is some good in forcing yourself to work through rough patches, but I find that's better for screenwriting than essays.

So today I had to go see my show for my independent theatre visit. I couldn't get through on the phone to make reservations, so I thought I'd just show up at the theatre and get a ticket that day. I mean, that's what everyone else did and they had no trouble. So, after American Idol (which I think Ashley should try out for next year. It would at least provide me with much amusement), I headed out under the overcast sky and took the simple tube ride to Baron's Court, which is in Zone 2. Very residential, wide sidewalks, only 1 homeless person tried to stop me. Luckily I had looked up the theatre online, and found out it's in the basement of a restaurant called Curtain's Up, or else I probably would have walked past it. A very nice looking restaurant. I walk around the corner and see the "entrance" to the theatre, and there's a wonderful yellow sign saying that today's show is sold out. Fantastic. Well, I'll just have to explain to Roy, I thought, as I walked back to the tube station in the light rain. Heavily raining when I finally got of the train, but I was a Girl Scout, and had prepared myself with an umbrella. Woot. I found a way to book a ticket for next weekend online, so I did that. Guess I should have found that before, but oh well. And I'll just tell Roy what's up. It's not like I purposely avoided my show. I just wasn't lucky.

Made the last of my turkey burgers for lunch. So good. Gobbled them up. Get it? Gobbled? Turkey? Oh I'm so funny I forget to make myself laugh. Worked on my Brit Cinema essay again. And, I don't remember. Other stuff. That I did. I think I'll do some more screenplay work.

Yeah, so concerning the title of this post. I went to the cupboard and examine what I had available to make for dinner. The bag of pasta my mom sent from home is gone. Vanished. Kaput. It was in the first big cupboard (where I always put my food) on the top shelf with the brownie pans and muffin tins my mom sent. No one uses the top shelf. I usually put my food on the bottom, but the bag was too big. And now it's gone. I bet nobody ate it, either. My food just disappears on its own.

BAFTA's are on tonight. (The British Oscars). So, I'll be watching that tonight. Especially since I can't watch the Daytona 500! Argh. Well that's what you get when you study abroad. In case you come across it, I'm racing Jimmie, Hamlin, Jr., and Petty in my fantasy league. So root for them. If you have no idea what that means, more power to you. Now to triple check the cupboard for my missing pasta.

Mabel 2: Mouse in the House

2006-02-17T13:42:00.000-05:00

Yes, we had a visit from Mabel's British cousin. For those of you who aren't my Freshmen year roommate, Mabel was the name of the mouse that was in our room at Goddard freshmen year. The other day we had a visit from her British cousin. But he was able to disappear on his own, instead of getting thrown down the trash shoot. Which would be kind of hard, considering we don't have a trash shoot.

Hmmm, what went on this week? I went to see Mimi's independent theatre play with her. It was a small theatre above the Old Red Lion Pub, called the Old Red Lion Theatre. Said play was "The Poison Maker". If you ever hear of it playing in the States, I thoroughly suggest you avoid it. Entirely. Unless you love the Oedipus complex. And lots of lots people wanting incestuous relationships. Yeah, incest was the word of the day. At least Mimi and I were able to get a pint in the pub before the show. That was probably the best part.

Several people are going on the Bath and Bristol trip this weekend. I didn't get a spot, but I realized that was a good thing because I need to go see my independent theatre production on Sunday afternoon, and that would have been impossible if I'd gone on the trip. It's a magic show! But it's in Baron's Court, so I have to travel to zone 2. Fun, fun. I just hope it's not in a shady area, like Jericha's was. At least I'll be able to go there in daylight. The next trip is to Yorkshire, but it happens to be the same weekend as my birthday, so I won't be going on that.

So I'm working on my new and improved pitch for my afterlife-based screenplay. I hadn't tinkered with it and pitched another idea in class. I was playing around with it at Starbuck's today, plus I did a little work on the short screenplay I'm working on, that I'm also going to adapt into a play. And that's just for fun. I know. I'm crazy.

Are You Ready For Some (English) Football?!

2006-02-11T14:59:00.000-05:00

I must have the gift. We get to our seats 5 minutes into the game, sit down, and Fulham scores! They ended up winning 6-1, and West Brom only got their goal with about 5 minutes left. Ha. So, as far as soccer goes, the game was pretty interesting. I kind of remembered why I don't follow soccer. Nothing really happens in the game, and unlike hockey where they do it on ice, with sharp skates, and our allowed to beat each other up without getting a yellow card, nothing happens. But it was fun sitting in the crowd with the fans. They have chants for everything, and never stop chanting. They even get into chant wars with the away fans, kind of like the marching band wars we used to have in high school. They have a completely separate seating area, and entrance, for away fans. And plenty of riot police. Lots of riot police. Many of them on horses who have their own face shields. That was pretty cool. But, there were no riots, probably because Fulham won, so everyone was in a good mood. Well, except the West Brom fans.

I bought an official Fulham Football Club scarf, so I guess that means I have an official team to root for over here. I liked their fans, they played a good game, great defence, so I'll stick with 'em. At half time I bought a cheeseburger. Now, I knew not to expect a cheeseburger like I'd get at home, and I was right. It was more like a flat, round sausage in a weird bun, but it was really good and filling. I'd get another one if I went to another game. But there's so much other stuff I want to do, I probably won't. I posted some pictures on Facebook, so check 'em out if you want. I have more, but they really look a lot alike, so I won't post them all. I also took some video to record the chants and atmosphere. I'm really pleased with them, but there's no place to post them. But I like them. So. Ha.

I went home by myself for the most of the journey, because Mimi and Willa needed to go to Richmond to see "Journey to London" for Theatre in London. I decided to be brave and wear my scarf all the way home. I was in the Holborn station waiting for the Central Line train, and this old man comes up and points to my scarf. I had my iPod in at the time.

"You should be jumping up and down. They won 6-1."
"Yeah, it was a great game."
"Was West Brom really bad?"
"Yeah. They had no defence."
"You're not even British are you? You're American."
"Yeah."
"That's okay. I like Bruce Springsteen. Stick with Bruce."

My profile picture for this blog makes me miss my Harry Potter Triwizard jacket. I don't know why I didn't bring it. Probably because I didn't have enough room. But I still miss it. Now I need to work on my History Boys review. I haven't taken off my FFC scarf yet. I still enjoy it greatly. And it's soft.

"The hardest animal to decapitate is..."

2006-02-10T06:33:00.000-05:00

Ha ha! I'm still here. You couldn't get rid of me that easily, my friend. So, what have I done all week? Let's take a trip back in time. Well, for starters, all the BBC kids (which means 4 of my 5 flatmates) had a camera operating training course in the country all week, so they've been staying in some weird teddy bear hotel (apparently), and Liz and I have had the flat to ourselves all week. Not that our living situation is bad when everyone is here, but it was nice and relaxing. And the dishes tended to not pile up in the sink. They finally come back tonight, and silence's reign of terror will end.

So, Monday. What was Monday? Oh yeah, Brit Cinema screening at 10am. The Draughtsman's Contract, some weird avant-garde movie by Peter Greenaway, about, uhm. Still figuring that out. But apparently our MJW (our version of Nigel, Hyun) worked on the film, and had some interesting behind the scenes stories for us. Then it was Theatre in London in the afternoon with Roy, which was just as discussion filled as always. BBC kids left right after that, I'm trying to think what I did after class...Don't remember. I think I came home and reveled in the peace of the flat.

Tuesday was Brit Cinema in the morning, somewhat interesting conversation. But if I have to hear the description of auteur theory one more time. I'm the only person in the class that's a Cinema Studies major, so no one else has studied it, but I had to write a friggin' 10 page paper on it last semester, which reminds me - Ashley can you pick that up from the Cinema Studies department for me? - and I really don't feel like hearing it described every week. Argh. But, what can you do. But I don't want to tell my prof that I wrote a 10 page paper on it, because then she'd ask me what my topic was, and to explain it, and honestly, I haven't thought about it in awhile. It's about how auteur theory can exist in post-modernism, but I'd have to read it again to be able to describe my position well.

And this is all boring to you. So I'll move on. Tuesday night I wallowed in the fact there was a new episode of House airing in the US, and I wouldn't be able to see it. I also checked my mail with Jericha at the academic centre. And...the PACKAGE ARRIVED! The glorious 11-lbs package from my mommy! I was able to carry it back to Kamen, too. My arms were shaking when I set it down, but I did it! So, what did have? Happiness!!! A bag of real pasta, tuna (but it's not the same if Ashley can't complain about the smell), Tasteykakes, a Tasteykake apple pie, rice krispie treats, goldfish, 3 Bowl Apetites, Cheeze-its, brownie mix, brownie pans to make the mix, muffin mix, muffin wrappers to make the muffins, 4 things of Ramen, mashed potato mix, a box of mac and cheese (not Easy Mac, the real stuff), pringles, pop-tarts, hand soaps, disposable razors, 1 TV guide with a cover article of Lost, and 2 Entertainment Weekly's!!!!

Oh what a glorious package. So to answer your question Hyun, no I haven't resorted to moldy shrimp sandwiches yet. And I go to Budgen's every friday for groceries. Meaning, Cadbury Eggs. Also, Tuesday is my Subway meatball marinara day (it's their Sub of the Day) and they still do the sub club coupon thing here. So I'm pretty close to getting a free one! I keep forgetting to ask for one of the cards though. I'll have to remember next Tuesday.

Wednesday. Oh Wednesday. Wednesday was a long day. Fun, at point very awkward, but long. It started out with Screenwriting from 2-5. My character exercise scene went over well. I've been having a bit of writer's block, so I decided to go back to what I do best, and had one character kill the other with a wrench, shove him in a closet, and steal his car. Oh, the good ol' days. Next week we start pitching. I don't think I'll write this one, but I'm going to pitch my zombie movie idea. Muahahahahaha! Okay, so after screenwriting, this is where things get fun. Every Wednesday we go to see a show for Theatre in London. This week, our theatre was in Richmond, which is like in the outskirts of London. Zone 4 on the tube, the last stop on the district line. In order to get to the show in time, Jericha and I left right after class. Oh, because we're both geniuses, we decided we'd wear nice shoes to the theatre. And we have the blisters to prove our efforts. Don't worry, I was still wearing jeans, but I wore a nicer shirt, and thought I'd wear my small brown boots. I am an idiot. Anyway, took the tube out there, no problems. Got some dinner at this cheap, awesome noodle bar. The name began with a "W". Wagamama? Or something like that. It's kind of a chain place. But it was good.

Then we went to the show. It was hilarious. Especially when all the RADA kids almost didn't make it because they had class til 6:30. But the show was really funny too. The ride back with Liz and Jericha was the most fun I've had all year! Well, not really, and not because of them. And this is where the title of this blog entry comes from. So, we were talking about the current bane of my existence, Valentine's Day. One of them was talking about bad V-Day gifts, and I mention a decapitated teddy bear. Apparently, this translates into British, "Hey crazy, creepy, extremely drunk guy, start talking to the Americans!" And he, once we were able to piece the words together, and hear them through the slurring, started saying how the hardest animal to decapitate was the, uh, well, I don't want to freak out Ashley. Needless to say, it's not an animal, and only guys have one. Yeah. So, basically we needed courage to do this, yada yada yada, Liz almost got in a fight with him to shut up, and we moved to the next car. And decided I seem to be the magnet for all the creepy drunk, British guys. This was the 3rd time. Oh the luck I have.

And what did I do to enjoy the rest of my Wednesday? Watch the newest episode of House that I downloaded during the day! Boo-yah! Oh man. It was fantastic!! Wilson is definitely my favorite character. But, poor House. He really loves being miserable. I can't wait til next week. When he does experiments on himself. Haha! Of course I'll have to wait a little longer again. Argh.

So, that finally brings us to yesterday. We had screenwriting at a special time, 12-3, because we were going to see a screening of a new Brit film A Cock and Bull Story together for class at 4:10. I also needed to see that for Brit Cinema, so it worked out doubley well. Yeah. Doubley is now a word. If it wasn't before. I don't feel like checking. So, the movie is hilarious. If you like that kind of humor. It's basically a film about a people trying to make a film of the book "Tristram Shandy," which is apparently unfilmable. It had a lot more people in it that I recognized than I thought. I knew Gillian Anderson would be in it (as herself), Mark Williams (Mr. Weasley), but I was also surprised to see Shirley Henderson (Moaning Myrtle), Selena from 28 Days Later..., Prof. Quirrel from HP and the Sorcerer's Stone, and one of the guys from Shaun of the Dead. I can't remember his name, but it's the guy that has a crush on Shaun's girlfriend, but is dating the other girl. Basically, the other guy in the group who's not Nick Frost. But it was funny.

So that brings us to today, and since I just woke up, there's really not that much to report. Probably Starbuck's, since Friday's are my Starbuck's day. Budgen's for groceries. Get some homework done, because you know what I'm doing tomorrow?

GOING TO A FOOTBALL MATCH! (Aka Soccer) Fulham vs. West Brom. Got the tickets free through NYU in London. I guess they have some purpose. Mimi and Willa got tickets too. I think we're going to keep our eyes out for some attractive, young soccer hooligans. And since you can't drink alcohol in the stadium (imagine if they tried doing that in Philly) said soccer hooligans will want to take us out for a drink after the game. Or at least that's the plan. Fulham's the home team, and we're sitting in that section, so we have to make sure not to wear any offending colors. They actually have a separate stand for neutral and away team fans. Interesting. Even though I don't really like soccer, I mean football, I figured I need to experience the culture. Plus, it should be fun. Despite no alcohol. And the fact that it's soccer.

I hath found a good cinema!

2006-02-05T17:47:00.000-05:00

My life here is now complete. It plays the major movies, is only a 15-20 minute walk away, and has a constant student price of 5.90 quid, no matter what time, or what movie. That's about $8-9, so it's the same price as home. As long as I remember my student ID. So, saw "Munich" today. I really loved it. Speilberg does amazing things with camera movement and angles, and I think he represented both sides of the issue fairly. Some may disagree, but that's why there's free speech. Should it win Best Pic? I don't know. I haven't seen Good Night, and Good Luck, or Brokeback Mountain. Capote I think was good because of Philip Seymour Hoffman, but the film itself was okay. What I would prefer to win would be Crash, but maybe that's just because I love the screenplay so much. This isn't my official prediction, so don't hold me to it. You know I pick what I think will win, not necessarily I want to win.

The cinema is actually in a nice shopping centre, with a Border's, Sainsbury's (grocery store), and some other things. It even had a woman dressed in Victorian garb playing a piano. Oh, England.

Family is going to call soon, so I better wrap this up. Classes tomorrow, and I have to figure out how to get a ticket to this show I have to see, that's in Baron's Court. Ugh. Why couldn't I have gotten a closer theatre?

Lauren's Rules of Grocery Shopping

2006-02-04T11:03:00.000-05:00

1. Don't buy cheese. You never eat it.
2. All that chocolate might look good at the time, but it won't be useful when you want real food.
3. Yoghurt goes bad.
4. So does lunch meat.
5. Milk and bread are good investments.
6. But only a half loaf of bread. Things get moldy.
7. You'll probably forget to buy eggs, but buy eggs.
8. Always buy toilet paper. Even if you think you don't need it.
9. Cadbury eggs aren't what you mean when you say, "buy eggs."
10. Keep an ongoing price list in your head. Don't stop when you reach 10 quid, yet continue to put stuff in your basket.
11. Frozen meals are useful.
12. Ice cream not so much.
13. Label anything you put in the fridge if you ever want to see it again.
14. Cereal is a good breakfast food.
15. And lunch.
16. And dinner.
17. Dried, sugar coated, pineapple bits don't count as fresh fruit.
18. Don't buy fresh fruit, because you'll never eat it while it's still fresh.

Because there's an Eastern European handy-man fixing our sink, and I can't leave until he's finished

2006-02-03T09:40:00.000-05:00

Four Jobs I’ve had:

1. deli worker, cleaner, stocker, do everything @ Helen's Deli
2. summer camp counselor @ Bear Creek Camp
3. office assistant for Corrado & Son's
4. volunteer for 2004 Republican National Convention in NYC

Four Movies I can watch over and over:

1. The Little Mermaid
2. 28 Days Later...
3. The Rock
4. Office Space

Four Places I have Lived:

1. Shrewsbury, NJ
2. West Rockhill, PA
3. New York, NY
4. London, England

Four TV Shows I watch:

1. Lost
2. House
3. Arrested Development
4. CSI:

Four Places I Have Been on Vacation:

1. Walt Disney World
2. Universal Studios, Orlando
3. most of Western Europe
4. NYC (before I lived there)

Four of My Favorite Dishes:

1. anything with chicken
2. anything with seafood
3. any pasta
4. Young's Frozen dinners (only 99p!)

Four Websites I Visit Daily:

1. IMDB
2. mugglenet.com
3. facebook.com
4. home.nyu.edu

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now:

1. Leavesden Studios for the start of Harry Potter filming
2. New York City
3. Scotland
4. Home

And now to see if there's a cute latte boy at Starbuck's. There wasn't last time.

Portraits! Portraits everywhere! They're all staring at me!

2006-02-02T14:16:00.000-05:00

Coolest. Homework. Assignment. Ever. Doesn't matter that my end result completely and utterly stunk more than whatever is rotting at the back of our fridge. Roy sent us to the National Portrait Gallery! We were to go either last night, or this morning before class, and since I had the play last night I had to go this morning. We had to find two portraits that we liked, and write a scene for them. They didn't have to be talking portraits, we just had to be inspired by the people in them. So I only had a few hours to do this, and my scene sucked, but it was still really cool to stroll around the museum with an actual purpose. Using the city as my homework.

There were art students sketching things everywhere, and they always regarded me with a funny look because I was writing, but not sketching. How dare I use a pen! Where were my pencil and sketch paper? Why the hell are you writing a screenplay in a portrait gallery? Or maybe that's just what I thought they were thinking. I could just be completely paranoid. We all know this is true.

Big casting news is out for Order of the Phoenix. Harry Potter 5 for all of you who aren't cool enough to know that. Luna Lovegood is some 14 year old blonde girl from Ireland who went to the open casting call the other week in London. WB actually released a picture, too. For Cho Chang they tried to keep her hidden for awhile. Imelda Staunton is officially Dolores Umbridge. Oh, that'll be fun. She'll get to be the most hated HP character ever! I hope she knows what she's in for. Tonks is little known British actress Natalia Tena, and Bellatrix Lestrange is another Brit, Helen McCrory. Of course they're all British. You have to be to be in HP. Legally. The producers refuse to take anyone who isn't. Oh, and the one person I haven't seen a picture for is Kathryn Hunter, who'll play Mrs. Figg. But, just knowing that Mrs. Figg wasn't cut makes me even more optimistic about the film. I know they'll have to cut a lot, but I'm glad they didn't cut her, or my favorite seen, "Snape's Worst Memory."

Tomorrow, tomorrow. Many things I want to do, but I don't know if I can time them right. I want to see if my package has arrived at the academic center. I also need to cash my traveler's cheques at the American Express store so that I have money. I don't want to withdrawal any until I've used all those first. I also want to see Munich, and the rates are cheaper if you go before a certain time. But I'd have to cash my money first. It's all a matter if I can get up early enough.

I'm going to make my Oscar predictions (who'll I think will win, not necessarily who I want to win) but that'll be a later post. I need to think about it first.

For now, there is a pint of Ben and Jerry's in the fridge, calling my name...

Cadbury is my friend

2006-02-01T07:01:00.000-05:00

I should really buy stock in it while I'm here. I should also probably buy real food, but I'm waiting for my 11-pound package from home to get here. It hath been stuffed with food and other goodies, such as 2 Entertainment Weekly's, but is somewhere in the postal system right now. Oh, the postal system. I have time to check my mail again Friday, so I hope it's there by then. I'm low on cash, because I need to cash my traveler's cheques, and don't want to buy much until I do that. Which I'll get around to sometime. I do have plenty of food, a bunch of frozen meals, so I really don't need to buy much else. Conserve the cash!

Not much as gone on the past few days, like most weekdays. Did exactly what I said I'd do on Sunday, absolutely nothing. It was glorious. And a good rest for my legs. Let's see, Monday was my longest day, with a Brit Cinema screening at 10am (Brief Encounter, really good) then Theatre in London from 1:45-4:15. I'm glad we don't have a test in that class, because I have no idea what it would be on. It seems very unstructured and we talk about whatever comes up concerning the theatre. I enjoy it, but it's still a little weird. We randomly picked our theatres for our independent, fringe theatre visits. Fringe theatre is basically what their off-Broadway, off-off-Broadway, etc. It's all called fringe. And, I get to go see a magic show! Pretty sweet, except for it's off the Baron's Court tube stop which is at least Zone 2 as far as I can tell. The farthest I've been in London. I hope it's not a scary area. Shows are every Sunday at 3, and I should probably call to see if I need to buy a ticket beforehand or if I can just get one at the door. That means I have to find a phone I can make calls on. We can only use our room phone to make outgoing calls if they're toll free. And I don't have, and don't plan on getting, a cell phone while I'm here. I'll figure something out.

What was yesterday, Tuesday? Yeah. Tuesday. I love Tuesdays. Besides Friday's I think they're my favorite day. I have Brit Cinema from 10-1, then I get my 1.99 sub of the day at Subway (it's always meatball marinara on Tuesday, my favorite kind of hoagie), then I come home and do whatever I want because all my flatmates have class til really late on Tuesdays! Imagine being able to get a 6 person flat all to yourself, at least once a week. It's glorious. Next week, I think I'll watch a movie.

Wednesday is today, and what am I doing? Oh that's right. Screenwriting from 2-5. We had a character exercise, where we created two, good, 3D characters and put them in approx. 5 page scene together. So, we'll be reading those aloud in class today. Then I'm coming home for a bit, before I go out for our Wednesday theatre visit. Our last time at the Royal National Theatre (I'll make sure to bring my camera for some awesome night Thames River pictures) and we're seeing a play about Paul, biblical Wow-they-were-all-right-about-that-Jesus-Son-of-God-thing-I'm-going-to-stop-persecuting-Christians-and-change-my-name-from-Saul-to-Paul-as-soon-as-these-scales-fall-off-my-eyes Paul. And it's called "Paul." And it's apparently set in modern times. That'll be interesting. At least hopefully more interesting that Once in a Lifetime. That was just painful. Ow.

And just a quick note that it's finally FEBRUARY. Holy crap, I didn't think January was ever going to end. But it has, and now we can all move on. I have feeling things are going to start to speed up now, but I could be completely wrong. I'm just happy that it's finally a new month. And one day closer til my birthday. Not that it matters that I'll turn 21, since I can already drink, but I haven't been able to afford to drink, so at least on my birthday someone will buy me a drink. I think.

That's all. So now, if you want to stalk me, you now have my schedule. But please don't. That's not very nice. And I know Kung Fu. Or do I? You won't know, will you? So it's best if you just don't try.

Don't I have class or something?

Contact Info

2006-01-29T08:59:00.000-05:00

While I have it near me, if you'd like to send me money, food, extravagant gifts, or just a post card, here's the address:

Lauren A. Forry
NYU in London
6 Bedford Square
London, England
WC1B 3RA UK

It's like I was in Harry Potter! Except for all those Muggles hanging around.

2006-01-29T06:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I went to Oxford, and it was absolutely fantastic! I don't even know where to begin. Well, probably at the beginning. Anyway, after some minor technical difficulties in transportation, we got on the train Dipcot Way at 9:30, then from there grabbed the bus to Oxford. Really easy, actually. So, Oxford is great! We went to the room at the University, where they film the Hospital Room scenes in Harry Potter! It was so cool. It's a lot smaller in person, but in my pictures it looks a lot bigger. I'm not sure if the picture loaded properly. If it did, that's it at the top.

Then we went to the Oxford University Botanic Gardens, even though it was January, the grass was still green. And the greenhouses were amazing. I can't imagine what it looks like in the spring or summer. Of course, then you have to pay to get in. Which we didn't have to do, or didn't do. But I don't think we had to. After the gardens, we found Christ Church College, where they filmed more Harry Potter! In the first movie, when they're waiting on the stairs to go into the Great Hall and be sorted, yeah, I was on those stairs. It was really cool. And they modeled the HP hall after the Christ Church Hall, too. The rest of the college was really awesome, even though it wasn't used for HP.

Oxford's also the town where Lewis Carroll worked and wrote Alice in Wonderland, so there was a ton of Alice stuff. I bought some fudge, some delicious, delicious, wonderfulicious fudge. Oh man. It's good. After Christ Church we went to the Pitt Rivers museum where they had all these taxidermied animals and fossils, and it was so cool. We finished the day at the Eagle and Child Pub, where JRR Tolkien used to hang out with CS Lewis. That was cool. We accomplished everything on the list, and still were able to make the 6:40 bus to the train, then train to tube, tube to double decker, double decker basically to our doorstep by 8:50. Good times.

The girls that planned this trip did a good job with researching everything, and figuring out the trains and buses and all. All I had to do was follow around, and not worry about anything. That was cool. A very action packed day. And not that expensive either.

Today I will rest. And do nothing too taxing.

It's like three jellyfish coming together and having sex.

2006-01-27T06:44:00.000-05:00

The above title is a comment by our screenwriting professor, Roy, concerning the plot of one of our fellow student's screenplay ideas. Roy is pretty amusing. The other day he told us a true story of how when he was younger and had all these exams he had to take, he kept falling asleep. So, his friend recommended caffiene to stay awake, but Roy got caffiene confused with codiene, and started popping all these codiene pills. He kept wondering why they weren't working, so he'd take more. I find that really hilarious, and so did the rest of my class. Maybe it was just the way he told the story.

Anyway, screenwriting is progressing well. Once again, we're getting into a nice schedule, so once again I have plenty of free time. I might be going to Oxford tomorrow, I'm not sure yet. Almost all the Tisch kids are going, so with plenty of people to travel with, and then I can say I went. They're still debating. Now, they say they're going to see all the places where Harry Potter interiors were shot, but I know that they shoot all the interiors at Leavesden Studios, a converted airplane hangar. They built all the interior sets to match what JK Rowling describes. And most of the exteriors are filmed in Scotland, where Hogwarts is set. So, maybe they're just a little confused. They could have filmed something at Oxford, I'm sure, but not a lot of things.

Again, anyway, it's really not that big a deal. My mommy mailed me an 11-pound package, and it should be here now. I'm going to hopefully pick it up after I have lunch with Willa and Klara at the place for traditional English fish and chips, the Rock and Sole Plaice. It's also on my list. We must finish the list! Because people said I wouldn't. Well, I'll tell you what - things are getting crossed off that list in a very regular fashion. Ha!

Cheers.

Can a play be so bad it gives you a brain tumor?

2006-01-26T06:48:00.000-05:00

That's what it felt like last night. Holy crap. If you're in London, do NOT see "Once in a Lifetime". The sets were cool, the costumes were good, everything else, well, it pretty much sucked. My brain hurt. Very much. So afterwards, Willa, Mimi, and I crossed the alleyway and went to Lisa's for some very cheap wine. (3.50 quid.) And, it tasted really cheap. I only had a little bit, since I'm not much of a wine person anyway, but I was able to stop thinking about that god awful play. And now I have some blackmail photos. Everyone loves blackmail photos.

The weather is actually quite beautiful this morning, so it'll be a decent walk to the ICA. Screenwriting from 2-5, then who knows. I don't really plan ahead for things after class. Tomorrow, since the BBC kids only have to go to a museum and will be done by 1pm, Willa and I are going to do something touristy. We were going to go to the Sherlock Holmes Museum, but since they are now going to a closer museum, and don't have to buy a tube card, she wants to go somewhere within walking distance so she can save the money. Works for me, as long as it's on the list. If it's not on the list, it cannot be done! Muahahaha! Sorry.

Time continues to move very slow here. It feels like it should be February already, when clearly, it is not. It feels like I should start packing to go home, but wait! It's only January. Sweet. I think things will speed up when we finally, if ever, hit February. Of course, they may only speed up because I think they are going to speed up. But then I thought they'd speed up when we started classes, which they didn't. I think I need to slow down with the speed ups.

Oh, and if anyone can tell me what kind of cheese they use at Subway over here, I'd appreciate it. It's not American, Provolone, or Swiss, and they only have one kind. It's good. But I have no idea what it is. Don't chide me for going to an American chain place in London. It's cheap, tasty, and I'm poor. Plus, there are cultural differences, like the cheese.

And on IMDB today, they have an article about Dominic Monaghan saying Evageline Lilly is his muse. I won't lie. It made me sad.

DANCING IN THE STREETS!

2006-01-24T13:05:00.000-05:00

I HAVE INTERNET! Finally! Thank God. Which means...pictures! But for now, I need to stop fiddling around and finish my homework. Then I'll post pictures. All right, since you begged, I'll give you one:

Okay, it's taking to long. I'll have do it later. Sorry for the disappointment.

Celebrity Big Brother is addictive

2006-01-23T16:26:00.000-05:00

It's like The Surreal Life, except people get evicted by audience votes. They're holding auditions for Big Brother 7 in London on 4th and 5th of March. We're thinking about going, just for the experience, and because we can stand out as silly, crass Americans.

Went to Portobello Road this weekend. It was really, really cool. For those of you that don't know, Portobello Road is this famous antiques, and well, everything market in Notting Hill. I bought my first London souvenir - a vintage, metal Piccadilly Road sign. Now I don't have to worry about stealing one off the side of a building in the middle of the night. If there is a middle of the night in London. Actually, the entire day of Sunday is like the middle of the night, because nothing but chain stores (like Starbuck's, McDonald's, and Subways) are open. So, basically nothing is open on Sundays. But, anyway, Portobello Road, it's really cool, and I'd recommend it to anyone if they're planning on visiting London.

It was nice not having to walk the 40 minutes to the ICA all weekend, but man, it made the walk feel even longer today. But I was able to cross something else off my list! After class, Willa and I went to Waterstone's Piccadilly, the largest bookstore in Europe. It was huge. 5 floors, plus loads of other stuff. We didn't have time to explore it all. My sister would get lost in there for ages and never come out. My mum wants to go when she comes for her visit in March. Of course, the largest bookstore in Europe didn't have the 2 books I was looking for. Books for my screenwriting class. Ah well, I'll find them later. There's another Waterstone's on Piccadilly. I remember seeing a Barnes & Noble somewhere, too. I think it was on Charing Cross Road, but I'm not sure.

Still don't have internet for my own computer, so I can't post any pictures, yet, but I promise I have loads to upload as soon as I can. Most will probably be put on facebook, but I'll put some really good ones here. I still think certain former, former ex-roommates should be on facebook, but it's hard to force someone to do something from over 3000 miles away.

Oh, we also went to the Duke of York pub this weekend, we being me and three other girls, Willa, Mimi, and Lisa. And it was very enjoyable until 4 40-something, slightly creepy British guys started hitting on us and tried to get us to go to this "party" down the street. We said we had to meet our dates and left. Luckily we had already finished our drinks. Next time we've decided to use fake names. Fake names are cool.

Oh, and some NYU kids tried to host a wine and cheese party the other day, and it was the most awkward thing in the world. Never trust Sternies to be able to start conversations. Very awkward, and very funny that it was so awkward.

Friday Willa and I are going to do something else on the list: the Sherlock Holmes Museum! It's only 6 quid, and neither of us have really anything to do on Friday, so it sounds like a good idea. Slowly and surely, items on the list are decreasing. Just wait, I'll get everything crossed off! Except Hyde Park Stables, because we did some research, and there are certain requirements to being able to use it, and we don't fit any of them. Oh well. We can at least visit it. I'll count that when I do it.

Hmmm...Any other adventures to report at the moment? Trying to think, trying to think, trying to think....No, I can't think of anything terribly interesting right now, but I hope this post was long and fulfilling enough.

And soon I best get some internet, fools.

Huzzah.

Acorn is the bane of my existence

2006-01-19T23:48:00.000-05:00

I submitted my internet form to them over a week ago, and still no internet. I feel bad having to rely on my flatmates' computers, and for you, my dear readers, because by day's end, I get so frustrated that I don't have internet yet, that by the time I'm able to squeak on for a little, I have no desire to post anything of interest concerning my stay in London.

Anyway, here's a Cliff's Notes version: I'm loving London. My flatmates are great, my flat itself is awesome, and my classes (especially screenwriting) are really good. Just starting to get work now, so I'll have less free time, but still plenty of time to explore. No set plans for this weekend, but we're definitely going to do something on my list. The list of things I wanted to do in London, that I wrote while I was staying up with Ashley (til 5:30am) the night she left for winter break.

Weather has been mild, a lot warmer than NYC. Always above freezing. The other NYU kids, I guess you could say the normal ones, arrived yesterday, so there's been a lot more activity around our buildings, which I don't really like. Not because I'm becoming a Tisch snob, but because before it felt like we lived in an actual apartment building, and now with all these people who really don't know what they're doing, or where they're going, it feels more like a dorm. Well, at least I still have a balcony!

Oh, a little about the people in my screenwriting program. There's only 8 of us, 2 girls (myself included), 8 guys, two not from NYU. There are pretty cool, and I can't wait until we start reading and workshopping each other's writing. Oh, and at the end of the semester, the RADA kids are going to do a table reading of our scripts, with an audience present. And we have to direct them as well. That'll be interesting. I've never directed before. Okay, my flatmate probably wants her computer back, so for now...

Cheers.

In the Immortal Words of Monty Python....

2006-01-17T17:48:00.000-05:00

I'm not dead yet. I just don't have internet, yet. I'm actually using my roommate's computer because she was able to get on this morning. Hopefully I'll have it soon. And I bought the wrong kind of phone cards, so I haven't been able to call anyone. But, other than that, everything has been going really well. I have an awesome apartment that has hardwood floors, 3 couches, a balcony, and a great view. So living arrangements (except the lack of internet) are really good. The classes I've had so far are also starting off well. On Mondays I have screenings for British Cinema at 10am, then Theatre in London from 1:45-4:15. On Tuesdays I only have British Cinema from 10-1. Wednesdays, we'll occasionally have guest speakers or screenings for Advanced Screenwriting at 10am, and I have Advanced Screenwriting from 2-5. Thursdays I just have screenwriting from 2-5, and Fridays, I have nothing.

Sorry, no 8ams. In face, the ICA doesn't open until 9:30. And I go to class on the same street where the Queen lives. Yes, I'm neighbours with the Queen. I've been walking everywhere, it's about a 40min walk to the ICA from the flat, but it's a nice walk and it saves me money. I haven't taken the tube or the buses yet. Haven't had time for much sight seeing yet, but I've been to Trafalgar square, because it's on my way to the ICA.

And that's all for now, until I get my internet.

Christmas Parts 3 & 4: Santa's Revenge and Goodbye Rudolph

2006-01-07T20:52:00.000-05:00

Orlando was fun. There's too much to say about the trip that would go into too much detail that you wouldn't care about reading anyway, but I'll post some pictures:

Here is the entrance to Jurassic Park. You walk in and are immediately engulfed by the John Williams theme. Pretty awesome.
And there's the Universal globe at night. Those are two of my favorite pictures, and that's all I feel like posting, because I'm tired. As souvenirs go, wow, I just realized the word "souvenir" is a French word, a verb that means "to remember". You buy souvenirs to remember your trips. Wow. Anyway, I got a Donkey (from Shrek) sweatshirt that I'm currently wearing. A stuffed Lorax, a couple t-shirts (including a vintage looking Back to the Future shirt), and long sleeve shirt from Hard Rock, Shrek cups, and probably something else that I can't remember.

We flew back on Friday and finally had Christmas that night. I got some cool clothes, the SceneIt DVD game, the Lost Chronicles book, some other stuff, and (drum roll please....) the entire Monty Python's Flying Circus DVD collection. Yup, the huge 16 DVD set. Sweetness. Except I leave on Wednesday and will have no time to watch it.

Eshbach side of the family came over today. Did a Chinese christmas gift giving thing and I ended up with Saving Private Ryan on DVD and a $10 Best Buy gift card, which I'm hoping to use tomorrow to get Batman Begins or Serenity or something.

And I'll have no time for anything except London stuff until I get to London so don't expect much until Wednesday or Thursday when I'm there.

And I'm peacing out.

If we turn these napkins upside down, we can use them again for 9007

2006-01-01T11:18:00.000-05:00

My family has this theory, that usually rings true, that in odd years more bad things happen than good, and in even years, more good things happen than bad. It's an even year. It started out well this morning after the ball dropped with three rousing hours of Cranium.

Tomorrow I fly with Cherie and Dad for four fun days at Universal Studios in Orlando! And the day we get back (Jan. 6) we're finally having Christmas! Then the day after that, more Christmas with Mom's side of the family! And then 4 days later I fly away to England!

So this year is starting off pretty good.

Christmas Part 2: The Reckoning

2005-12-26T21:32:00.000-05:00

It was tolerable. Got a sweater with matching scarf, and some money. Almost ruined Lindsey's engagement announcement, but not quite. Sorry anyway. Going to NYC on Thursday to see Hyun! That'll be fun. And I won't lose a lot of money from not working because it's half days all week anyway. Wireless internet is still awesome.

Christmas Part 1: The Beginning

2005-12-26T00:10:00.000-05:00

Fulfilling day with just Mom and Dad. Lindsey's in Maryland with Rich, Cherie and Matt go to his Mom's on Christmas day, so I don't get my real presents until January 6. Ha. My Christmases last longer than everyone elses!! So, here was the day:

Got my stocking gifts which included the following-
-Travel toilet paper
-2 lint brushes
-some candy
-pop-up map of London
-Epcot "Test Track" toy car
-scratch off lottery tickets (won $1)
-luggage lock
-a massage at Francesco and Giovanni's Salon on Wednesday

Helped my mom make her awesome French Toast, then ate said French Toast. Then Mom, Dad, and I went out to see Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I liked it. No King Kong, but it was still good. Then we had dinner at TGI Friday's. Good food. Then we came home, and I helped Mom wrap the gifts for tomorrow (Christmas with my Dad's parents). Then Mom and I watched Love, Actually. She had never seen it, and she thought it was cute.

16 days until London.

I need to kick this poetry habit...

2005-12-24T14:03:00.000-05:00

'Twas the day before Christmas and all through the house,
The internet was crappy, not good for a mouse.

My poor laptop sat in my room all alone,
In hopes that St. Best Buy would rescue it soon.

The wires were nestled all snug in their sockets,
So I guilted some money from my parents deep pockets.

And mamma in her confusion, (and I in my will),
Let me search the store, while I gave her the bill.

I set it up, but out from the room there arose such a clatter,
"The router won't work! I don't know what's the matter."

To the back of the hard drive I flew like a flash,
And realized I needed a little more cash.

The comp had no ethernet, so nothing would work,
so back to St. Best Buy, and the late shopping jerks.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a USB/ethernet adaptor, the answer was clear!

With an object like that, so tiny and quick,
I knew in a moment it would do the trick.

More rapid than eagles, the websites they came,
and I whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Facebook! now, Xanga! now Google and Blogger!
On E-mail! on Yahoo! on, Homestar Runner!

To the bed of my room at the end of the hall!
Now surf away! surf away! surf away all!"

I sprang to the laptop, and let out sigh,
And surfed through the day, till nighttime drew nigh.

But I heard someone exclaim, as my eyes lost their sight,
"Wireless internet to all, and to all a good-night."

Winter Break Haikus

2005-12-19T15:05:00.000-05:00

I am back at home.
Must wake up to work mornings.
This makes me tired.

I am bored at work.
I would rather be writing.
At least I get paid.

The Roommate Is Gone

2005-12-16T05:31:00.000-05:00

It's 5:33am, Friday, December 15, and Ashley has just left for Christmas break. I am just realizing now that this was probably our last time living together, and I won't see her for 5 months, because I actually am going to London. Mixed feelings. Sad that I won't be privvy to her late night interpretive dancing anymore, and excited that I'm going to London. Natalie bought me a great London tour book and I was looking at it all night. Ashley and I watched about 5 episodes of House and ate bubble tea and condensed milk toast. I was glad for her to finally leave, because I stayed up all night with her as she packed, and I want to go to sleep. But now I'm lonely. And it's raining. I still have one more paper to finish. But now, I sleep.

testing again

2005-12-14T00:31:00.000-05:00

testing again.

2005-12-13T21:59:00.000-05:00

Just me.

Testing

2005-12-13T21:47:00.000-05:00

Testing one, two, three. Just seeing if this blog is working.