Today I worked up with courage to return to the library after yesterday's painful experience. The only thing getting in my way was the motivation to get out of bed since I don't have classes on Thursdays.Thankfully I remembered that Marie comes in to vacuum. I really find her rude and hate her presence, so that was motivation enough to get to the library. On the tube this Spanish family got on and the little girl ran to sit next to me when all the seats were empty. The Spaniards obviously didn't know I spoke Spanish, so I would like to tell them no wherever they are that yes I do think your daughter rushed to sit next to me because she thought I was "guapo".
I was ready for battle when I got to the library, pathetic I know but I had maps printed out with the specific location of my books, even down to the bookshelf...and I still didn't get it right. I spent 20 minutes looking for Just and Unjust Wars. Attention libraries at the Maughan Library, you don't have your books on the proper shelves. ABC order isn't that hard. I escaped from the library pretty easily, compared to yesterday which made me feel victimized. I felt so stupid though looking back on it, I didn't realize each room on the 2nd floor had an upper balcony, thats where the book was. Oops... The checking out system was pretty sweet all I had to do was place my card and the books on a scale and it knew my ID and which books I was taking. Take notes GW.
And for those who don't believe how intense this library is, this is it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maughan_Library. Quite fancy huh? The rest of my day was pretty blah, I had to haggle with the receptionist to get the mail because he was taking forever to sort it. My books came so I had to be studious and read today, hence why I am writing this now and not out having a fun Thursday night. I read about 100 pages of Film Art (which my TA says in the most annoying Australian accents, not a fan sorry). Thank god though Welsh came to my rescue and posted N'SYNC songs on my wall, so basically I used that as a means of procrastination for about an hour.
I am on a mission to find a way to watch Phillies' games. Watching ESPN gamecast for free is kinda dull, didn't make Halladay's no hitter exciting. Going to see Hamlet tonight should be fun! And also since I am craving pasta and some good pizza I am going to Rome, December 3-5th! By the time I'm done there, Rome will fall again!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
I'm No Longer Wet!
A certain English teacher once told me that organization is the key to success. That is very true I've come to realize. That applies in the literal sense of organizing your belongings but also in the sense of time management. That's my problem. I feel like since I've been here I have had no sense of time management because the commute from Hampstead to Strand for classes is kind of a pain. Some times you can make it there in 30 minutes sometimes it could take almost 50, it all depends on the bus schedule and the traffic on the tubes. More on that in a bit.
Tuesday I didn't have class until 4pm so at 1pm I decided I was going to go buy an umbrella from the shop at my tube stop and then go to Charring Cross to exchange the $110 (70 pounds) I found in my wallet. I get to the shop and there was a wide selection of umbrellas. I didn't think it was actually possible but hey this is London. The woman was showing me ones with long handles, ones made of wood, one that were compact. I responded by asking simply what was the cheapest. The cheapest one was 6 pounds. I only had a 5. They didn't take debit or credit. Next thing you know I am off the Charring Cross minus my umbrella.
Because it was the afternoon, there was no traffic so I got there in 20 minutes. I exchanged my money and then it was only 1:45. I figured I might as well go to the library. And then the drops of rain started falling. I needed an umbrella because I didn't want to be wet or ruin my red Pumas. Everyone knows that I'm not a cheap person, but there is no way in hell I am paying 14 quid for a friggin umbrella. So next thing you know I am BACK on the tube to Hampstead to buy my umbrella. Then on the tube I realize the soup I had for lunch wasn't enough so now I'm hungry. Should have gotten a 2pound meal deal from Tesco. So now I am tired, hungry, and semi-wet on my way to get an umbrella. I get the umbrella at Hampstead, no Tesco's close by. To make matters worse, its now sunny. I bought it for nothing.
So it's now 2:15. At 2:30 I left Hampstead again just so I could go to Strand and get food from Tesco because I was starving. I finally get my meal and I am about to sit down at long last. Then, there was a fire drill...I can't even eat in peace!
By this point at least I am no longer hungry and no longer wet. But now I'm tired because we had to watch The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in Film Studies. It's a silent film for 1920. Don't ask me the plot because quite honestly I didn't get it. The last 20 minutes totally came out of no where.
I thought I would have a quite night, but thankfully two of my friends were going out for a drink. We'll five hours and three bars later I was finally on my way home. I needed it though after the day I had (also the larger size pints makes a big difference). It took the pain away of running around London for an umbrella and being hungry, tired, and wet.
So remember kids, organization is the key to success! (Ignore the whole going to the bar scene part if you are under age, I'm not being a good influence in that respect I suppose)
Tuesday I didn't have class until 4pm so at 1pm I decided I was going to go buy an umbrella from the shop at my tube stop and then go to Charring Cross to exchange the $110 (70 pounds) I found in my wallet. I get to the shop and there was a wide selection of umbrellas. I didn't think it was actually possible but hey this is London. The woman was showing me ones with long handles, ones made of wood, one that were compact. I responded by asking simply what was the cheapest. The cheapest one was 6 pounds. I only had a 5. They didn't take debit or credit. Next thing you know I am off the Charring Cross minus my umbrella.
Because it was the afternoon, there was no traffic so I got there in 20 minutes. I exchanged my money and then it was only 1:45. I figured I might as well go to the library. And then the drops of rain started falling. I needed an umbrella because I didn't want to be wet or ruin my red Pumas. Everyone knows that I'm not a cheap person, but there is no way in hell I am paying 14 quid for a friggin umbrella. So next thing you know I am BACK on the tube to Hampstead to buy my umbrella. Then on the tube I realize the soup I had for lunch wasn't enough so now I'm hungry. Should have gotten a 2pound meal deal from Tesco. So now I am tired, hungry, and semi-wet on my way to get an umbrella. I get the umbrella at Hampstead, no Tesco's close by. To make matters worse, its now sunny. I bought it for nothing.
So it's now 2:15. At 2:30 I left Hampstead again just so I could go to Strand and get food from Tesco because I was starving. I finally get my meal and I am about to sit down at long last. Then, there was a fire drill...I can't even eat in peace!
By this point at least I am no longer hungry and no longer wet. But now I'm tired because we had to watch The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in Film Studies. It's a silent film for 1920. Don't ask me the plot because quite honestly I didn't get it. The last 20 minutes totally came out of no where.
I thought I would have a quite night, but thankfully two of my friends were going out for a drink. We'll five hours and three bars later I was finally on my way home. I needed it though after the day I had (also the larger size pints makes a big difference). It took the pain away of running around London for an umbrella and being hungry, tired, and wet.
So remember kids, organization is the key to success! (Ignore the whole going to the bar scene part if you are under age, I'm not being a good influence in that respect I suppose)
It's Like Hogwarts, Narnia...
Only one class today, and after a cheese and bacon sandwich (which is really good by the way, love me some Tesco 2 Pound Meal Deals), I decided to finally go to the library to check out some books.
The library is HUGE, literally it is so large it makes GW's libraries combined look like a book mobile. To top it all off there are what seems like endless rooms of just books and books. I swear I was running down numerous corridors looking for a War Studies book, and for some stupid reason I was unable to find the "U" section. Then as I was going into random rooms I would just reach dead ends, turn around and take the stairs...well..the stairs just randomly stop at various floors, depending on the stairwell. Like really I swear this is like Inception or something because this library is such a mindfuck. It's like Hogwarts, Narnia, and any other mythical place that only someone on acid could come up with wrapped up into one. After a half hour of walking and getting lost in random corridors, I had enough. I found a lift thank god and got myself the hell out of there. I need books though so I will be making a return journey tonight. Perhaps I will take pictures to show everyone? If I don't make it out alive I just want to tell you all goodbye and that I love each and every single one of you in your own special way...
The library is HUGE, literally it is so large it makes GW's libraries combined look like a book mobile. To top it all off there are what seems like endless rooms of just books and books. I swear I was running down numerous corridors looking for a War Studies book, and for some stupid reason I was unable to find the "U" section. Then as I was going into random rooms I would just reach dead ends, turn around and take the stairs...well..the stairs just randomly stop at various floors, depending on the stairwell. Like really I swear this is like Inception or something because this library is such a mindfuck. It's like Hogwarts, Narnia, and any other mythical place that only someone on acid could come up with wrapped up into one. After a half hour of walking and getting lost in random corridors, I had enough. I found a lift thank god and got myself the hell out of there. I need books though so I will be making a return journey tonight. Perhaps I will take pictures to show everyone? If I don't make it out alive I just want to tell you all goodbye and that I love each and every single one of you in your own special way...
Monday, October 4, 2010
Asians (and Snape) Dig Me
So this morning I woke up, and had a banana with some tea. I was minding my own business, reading my Facebook news feed when I received some random message from an Asian guy (or as the British say Chinese, since Asian is in reference to Indians here) complimenting me on my smile and good looks. While I am flattered, who ever you may be, thanks but no thanks. Really... I'm still kind of weirded out by the whole thing.
This morning's commute took longer then usual because we had ourselves a good old tube strike today! It ended up taking me an hour to get to class today since I needed to take the bus. I just don't understand why they went on a one day strike. Are they really protesting the proposed 800 job cuts or did workers associated with Transport for London secretly want a three day weekend?
That guy I spoke of last week who was kind of like Hermione Granger, well he was at it again. Every person who walked into lecture today he had to tell them about how he went to the British Museum this weekend and went to all three wings of the museum: the red, green, and blue. This was followed by a description of what was in each room and the massive dinosaurs and whale they had. Then there was more about going to see Harry Potter and such. By this point me and some of the other people have had enough and are laughing to ourselves. My luck he turned around and asked if I was ok. I just responded, "Yea...allergies, they're killing me..." My laughing soon turned to fake choking and I pretended that my eyes were watery as a result of my "allergies". He didn't seem to notice I was lying. Oh I forgot, throughout this whole speech he was talking in a monotonous voice. Truely adds to the annoyance.
At long last, the moment you have all been waiting for came after War Studies. I had my first class with Snape today! Although I must say, while he does look and sound like Snape, he sure as hell mumbles like Ozzy Osborne. I didn't think it was possible for one to rant on about pottery and the excavation process for two hours without stopping or asking if there were any questions. At one point he asked if anyone knew what the picture on the pot represented about Greek daily life. In order to fill the awkward silence he just went on a mumbled rant about how if we didn't answer he was just gonna continue bantering and that we need to observe then make an informed guess about the significace of the art work. You following all this? I sure wasn't during lecture. I was able to identify that one pot that featured a man, etching the outline of a boy's foot in order to make a shoe. Then of course Snape said, "10 points for Gryffindor". But no honestly he just said very good and continued rambling.
After class I took the bus back again. When I got home I found out the Northern Line actually had service today. I'm just gonna pretend I never heard that.
Today's food section is very short. The only thing food related is that on the bus home I saw a Chinese take away restaurant (Brits say take away not take out). I have been craving General Tso's chicken ever since.
Also, I saw that some buses have the minions from Despicable Me displayed all over them. I am determined to ride one of them!
This morning's commute took longer then usual because we had ourselves a good old tube strike today! It ended up taking me an hour to get to class today since I needed to take the bus. I just don't understand why they went on a one day strike. Are they really protesting the proposed 800 job cuts or did workers associated with Transport for London secretly want a three day weekend?
That guy I spoke of last week who was kind of like Hermione Granger, well he was at it again. Every person who walked into lecture today he had to tell them about how he went to the British Museum this weekend and went to all three wings of the museum: the red, green, and blue. This was followed by a description of what was in each room and the massive dinosaurs and whale they had. Then there was more about going to see Harry Potter and such. By this point me and some of the other people have had enough and are laughing to ourselves. My luck he turned around and asked if I was ok. I just responded, "Yea...allergies, they're killing me..." My laughing soon turned to fake choking and I pretended that my eyes were watery as a result of my "allergies". He didn't seem to notice I was lying. Oh I forgot, throughout this whole speech he was talking in a monotonous voice. Truely adds to the annoyance.
At long last, the moment you have all been waiting for came after War Studies. I had my first class with Snape today! Although I must say, while he does look and sound like Snape, he sure as hell mumbles like Ozzy Osborne. I didn't think it was possible for one to rant on about pottery and the excavation process for two hours without stopping or asking if there were any questions. At one point he asked if anyone knew what the picture on the pot represented about Greek daily life. In order to fill the awkward silence he just went on a mumbled rant about how if we didn't answer he was just gonna continue bantering and that we need to observe then make an informed guess about the significace of the art work. You following all this? I sure wasn't during lecture. I was able to identify that one pot that featured a man, etching the outline of a boy's foot in order to make a shoe. Then of course Snape said, "10 points for Gryffindor". But no honestly he just said very good and continued rambling.
After class I took the bus back again. When I got home I found out the Northern Line actually had service today. I'm just gonna pretend I never heard that.
Today's food section is very short. The only thing food related is that on the bus home I saw a Chinese take away restaurant (Brits say take away not take out). I have been craving General Tso's chicken ever since.
Also, I saw that some buses have the minions from Despicable Me displayed all over them. I am determined to ride one of them!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
I Really REALLY Need an Umbrella
My umbrella broke. I think one could survive longer without a kidney then without an umbrella in London; that's how often it rains. My mission today was to get an umbrella from Sainsbury's. I walked in and decided I wasn't going to go searching since it is the closest thing to Walmart here and the UK. I also didn't want to get separated from my friends so I asked one of the workers. She replied they were out until next week. How the bloody hell does a supermarket in London of all places run out of umbrellas!? I'm still kind of in shock that they were out of them. That should be in the checkout aisle along with the candy bars, tabloid magazines, and soda.
With umbrella searching being an epic fail, I decided to walk through the supermarket while everyone else shopped. Shopping on a Sunday is worse then senior citizen discount day in the US given the massive amount of shoppers. Literally every single line was backed up with customers. In the aisles was even more crazier. I've come to realize here that PDA isn't really taboo. Personally I'm not a fan, no matter how in love I am. In addition I really don't want to see middle aged people snogging in front of the pasta sauce either. Not a turn on for me, but whatever. But in all seriousness, I've seen people making out waiting for the tube, in pubs, in stores. It's something that is quite more common here then in the US.
Since it was Sunday, I took part in a traditional Sunday roast dinner. I supplied the baking pan for the brownies, which we ended up eating before dinner. We had a roast chicken from Sainsbury's. I have been smelling them for two weeks now so I'm really glad we got one. In addition we also had Yorkshire pudding, roasted potatoes, and carrots. I am fascinated with British stuffing because it is nothing like ours. They use breadcrumbs and there does not seem to be as much vegetables in it, but nevertheless it is still really good. I'm gonna have to show everyone real stuffing on Thanksgiving.
I have to end this on a sad note though, tonight at the pub quiz our team, Jumpy the Pig, lost. So sadly somewhere out there Jumpy is being roasted. (The name came from some Pig Jump game that is free on the Ipod Touch). The little pig in the game is so cute, and its addicting. Don't judge me...
Not looking forward to the tube strike tomorrow, so that means I get to take the bus to class!
With umbrella searching being an epic fail, I decided to walk through the supermarket while everyone else shopped. Shopping on a Sunday is worse then senior citizen discount day in the US given the massive amount of shoppers. Literally every single line was backed up with customers. In the aisles was even more crazier. I've come to realize here that PDA isn't really taboo. Personally I'm not a fan, no matter how in love I am. In addition I really don't want to see middle aged people snogging in front of the pasta sauce either. Not a turn on for me, but whatever. But in all seriousness, I've seen people making out waiting for the tube, in pubs, in stores. It's something that is quite more common here then in the US.
Since it was Sunday, I took part in a traditional Sunday roast dinner. I supplied the baking pan for the brownies, which we ended up eating before dinner. We had a roast chicken from Sainsbury's. I have been smelling them for two weeks now so I'm really glad we got one. In addition we also had Yorkshire pudding, roasted potatoes, and carrots. I am fascinated with British stuffing because it is nothing like ours. They use breadcrumbs and there does not seem to be as much vegetables in it, but nevertheless it is still really good. I'm gonna have to show everyone real stuffing on Thanksgiving.
I have to end this on a sad note though, tonight at the pub quiz our team, Jumpy the Pig, lost. So sadly somewhere out there Jumpy is being roasted. (The name came from some Pig Jump game that is free on the Ipod Touch). The little pig in the game is so cute, and its addicting. Don't judge me...
Not looking forward to the tube strike tomorrow, so that means I get to take the bus to class!
Escape From the Tower of London
When you are a single college student on a fixed income it's pretty rough. When you are a single college student on a fixed income and living abroad in a country where the dollar is not so hot it's even harder... and then GW decided to take us out for a Saturday afternoon filled with numerous free stuff! So in an essence this day killed two birds with one stone. I got to do touristy stuff at a price I could afford.
The hardest part of the day was quite honestly being at Trafalgar Square at 9am. Luckily it was a sunny morning for once and perfect for a walking tour. Our tour guide (Mark I think?) was pretty good, he showed us around the square and then took us near Buckingham Palace. Probably the most notable thing he showed us was the site of the beach volleyball at the 2012 Olympics. It's literally next to the park outside Buckingham Palace and next to the garden of Number 10 Downing Street. (That would be the home of the Prime Minister David Cameron for Americans who don't know their own governor let alone the PM of Great Britain).
After Mark's great tour we were on a boat! Going down the River Thames, which apparently is one of the cleanest urban rivers to the point that it is starting to form sand on the beaches. I'm still not taking chances. By this point I was so hungry since it was 12, and to add insult to injury the boat driver is calling the really cool oval shaped building in London the Gerken because it looks like a pickle...
Then we finally had lunch once we got to the Tower of London. For being there almost 1,000 year its in pretty good shape. When it comes to the murder mystery of the two princes in line to the British throne, Richard III so did it. End of discussion. And the Queen, now she has some bling. The crown jewels were pretty damn impressive.
And as always I'm getting to the food. It dawned on me during my meal that typical British food is no different then what evreryone on the Food Network labels "comfort food". For example, my lunch consisted of King's Ale Pie (a beef meat pie with gravy and onions), a vegetable mix of peas, onions, and onions, and french fries (or chips). For desert I had sponge cake with a filling that was a less sweeter butter cream. I mean thats really no different then when on a rainy day you just wanna sit on the couch, watch some TV rerun marathon and eat mac and cheese or some sort of warm hearty dish that soothes the soul. And given the weather here, I feel like I'll be doing that quite often.
Since, our boat trip was free for the entire day. I decided to go with my fellow Phillies fan Caitie up to Greenwich and see the Prime Meridian.By this point the rain that dominated the day was replaced by overcast skies and of course, you betcha...rain. Never really thought there would be such a line just to see a line.Joe Dymond would be so proud seeing me stand in both the Eastern and Western Hemisphere.
Posted throughout are some pics from the day: Site of beach volleyball near Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Tower of London, and the Prime Meridian.
The hardest part of the day was quite honestly being at Trafalgar Square at 9am. Luckily it was a sunny morning for once and perfect for a walking tour. Our tour guide (Mark I think?) was pretty good, he showed us around the square and then took us near Buckingham Palace. Probably the most notable thing he showed us was the site of the beach volleyball at the 2012 Olympics. It's literally next to the park outside Buckingham Palace and next to the garden of Number 10 Downing Street. (That would be the home of the Prime Minister David Cameron for Americans who don't know their own governor let alone the PM of Great Britain).
And as always I'm getting to the food. It dawned on me during my meal that typical British food is no different then what evreryone on the Food Network labels "comfort food". For example, my lunch consisted of King's Ale Pie (a beef meat pie with gravy and onions), a vegetable mix of peas, onions, and onions, and french fries (or chips). For desert I had sponge cake with a filling that was a less sweeter butter cream. I mean thats really no different then when on a rainy day you just wanna sit on the couch, watch some TV rerun marathon and eat mac and cheese or some sort of warm hearty dish that soothes the soul. And given the weather here, I feel like I'll be doing that quite often.
Since, our boat trip was free for the entire day. I decided to go with my fellow Phillies fan Caitie up to Greenwich and see the Prime Meridian.By this point the rain that dominated the day was replaced by overcast skies and of course, you betcha...rain. Never really thought there would be such a line just to see a line.Joe Dymond would be so proud seeing me stand in both the Eastern and Western Hemisphere.
Posted throughout are some pics from the day: Site of beach volleyball near Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Tower of London, and the Prime Meridian.
Friday, October 1, 2010
I'm All Wet
A great (and I mean legend...wait for it...DARY) CBC guide, when in response to Harrison Ford said, "I'm all wet!" Well KCL and London make me feel the same because after the past few days I am indeed all wet! Yesterday I was lazy and didn't want to do laundry. Naturally I would wait until the rainy day to do laundry when yesterday it was sunny all afternoon. Then of course I don't pay attention to the signs and once I get there I realize they don't take 5p coins, only 10p and up, so I had to run all the way back in the rain to get more change. For all you GW people, the laundry room is in another building so its like walking from Ivory to New Hall (no its not Amsterdam), but luckily the area is residential so not everyone gets to see my dirty laundry and such. Laundry is the one thing cheaper in the UK. It only costs 1.20 for wash, which is comparable to in the US given the exchange rate, but drying is 20p for 15min cycles,which you can always add more.
There was really no reason for the GW info session in all honesty. I was WET because I got lost finding the place as usual, plus my umbrella broke and Sainsbury's didn't have any. I don't understand how thats possible. This is England for god's sake. Although GW more then made up for it with dinner at Taz, a Turkish resturaunt. It was completely free and the food was so good. There was endless bread with appetizers including hummus and tibouli and some other dishes. Then I got moussaka for dinner and then finally for desert we had bhakalava and some apricot dish. The espresso wasn't bad, the sugar cubes didn't really break up so it was really sweet at the bottom Best meal I've eaten so far and it was a price I can afford: free! Finally the tuition money is reaping its benefits.
Passed on going to Koko tonight, but tomorrow GW is taking us on a walking tour of London, then a river boat ride down the Thames, lunch, and a tour of the Tower of London all for free! Oh how I love free stuff, makes it well worth staying in and giving my wallet (and liver) a night off...
There was really no reason for the GW info session in all honesty. I was WET because I got lost finding the place as usual, plus my umbrella broke and Sainsbury's didn't have any. I don't understand how thats possible. This is England for god's sake. Although GW more then made up for it with dinner at Taz, a Turkish resturaunt. It was completely free and the food was so good. There was endless bread with appetizers including hummus and tibouli and some other dishes. Then I got moussaka for dinner and then finally for desert we had bhakalava and some apricot dish. The espresso wasn't bad, the sugar cubes didn't really break up so it was really sweet at the bottom Best meal I've eaten so far and it was a price I can afford: free! Finally the tuition money is reaping its benefits.
Passed on going to Koko tonight, but tomorrow GW is taking us on a walking tour of London, then a river boat ride down the Thames, lunch, and a tour of the Tower of London all for free! Oh how I love free stuff, makes it well worth staying in and giving my wallet (and liver) a night off...
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