Tuesday, November 19, 2002 1:24pm gmt ~ Finally got things archived, and realized that I haven't been linking to the archived pages, which is kind of horribly stupid. So that's all fixed. I really want this page to be good. I had a whole new version almost ready before I came over here. Ugh. I'll try to get that out soon after I get home. I know how to do so much more now! AH! Oh well, soon enough.

Things are going well. I'm here for less than a month now, which is just insane. Really need to get myself going on final projects and accomplishing all the things on my list of stuff to do before I have to leave. I love living here.... Argh.

This weekend was really wonderful. A lot of the weirdnesses of the last two weeks got resolved, hung out with a lot of new people, got a whole lot of old work out of the way. Saw the new Michael Moore movie, which was really wonderful. And involved the second instance of our group being the only people laughing at something in an American movie. That's always enjoyable. In this it was the use of the themesong to Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, in Donnie Darko, the reference to Hungry Hungry Hippos. These are the moments you realize just how foreign things are here =)

Amy's coming here to visit on friday, which I'm really excited about. Then my family comes the day she leaves, which I'm also really excited about, then I'm only here for two more weeks! It's insane!!!!

I'm really sleepy right now and on my way back home. Class actually got out when there was still daylight left in the day today, but I don't think I have the energy to go do all the things I need to do.

Sorry for such a short and contentless update, just wanted to get a few things out and make sure I didn't let this thing get neglected. Write me back people. I'm really looking forward to getting home and seeing everyone, even though I don't want to leave.

Wednesday, November 13, 2002 4:39pm gmt ~ Hello, sorry it's been so long since I updated last. I'm still being lazy and not archiving. Oh well. Things are going well. I've been a bit odd lately, thinking about going home a lot more, missing people. Trying to get caught up with school and having final projects and stuff to think about. Also, the adjustment post-fall break has been a little weird. Hanging out with slightly different people, definitely bored with or given up on some others. It's interesting. I'm good though for the most part. A lot to take care of.

I registered for next semester last night, which was crazy. Didn't go wonderfully, but hopefully it'll get shaken up into something good by the time I have to go to classes. Strange and getting me back into Oberlin-mode. Which is good I suppose. I also got some news of some people though which made me feel really hesitant about going back again, just after getting to the point where I was looking forward to it. I need to remind myself that things will be different though, I know more people, I'll be living alone, and there's no reason to pretend a friendship exists where it doesn't.

Oh, and I accidentally called Chris at some point between the last update and this one. Which was odd. I was just trying ot get a hold of his new phone number, so called his parents' house, and low and behold, he answered the phone. I had about ten minutes before I had to leave for a play, so we just talked a little, but it was damn weird (I'd also just woken him up). So yeah, that was weird, and I haven't talked to him since or figured out if I really want to.

But, things are good. I've seen a lot of good movies and plays lately, and some really terrible ones. Saw the new Harry Potter, which was really really good. And a weird Scottish movie last night called Morvan Callor, I do believe, which was really good.

Well, I'm off to go pick up pictures, hopefully they came out and I'll have stuff to share with people when I get home. I'm really looking forward to getting home and seeing people. Been missing Thomas a lot too.

Oh, and now in addition to allt he crazy tube strikes of earlier this semester, today begins a firefighter strike, oh so safe and good, and it looks like there will be airport strikes right around the time of my attempts to get home. And I really hope I can get home. Anyway, I'll be in touch more. Let me know how you're all doing. Bye!

Oh, and now I'll leave you with Dan(my flatmate)'s email which describes in detail our crazy evil saturday of last weekend, entitled:

Why Richmond is on top of a big Vortex of Weird Assedness:

I can't think of any narrative structure to encompass my story of yesterday. So I'll just employ the ancient story telling tradition of prefacing each sentance with "and then".

And I'm sure many of you have had weirder assed days. I've probably heard about them. The only advantage this day has is that it's gonna take me a way longer time to tell you about it.

It began with the lord mayor's show. Actually it didn't at all. The lord mayor's show was about as boring and pointless as most parades where they interview homeless dogs. This is apparently a joke.

After the show (our professors expected us to go, but this was preempted by the discovery that BBC1 had run out of original programming and was broadcasting the show live) we decided to go to Sir John Soane's museum. Ever heard of it? It's in Holborn. It's considered the number one small attraction in london. This wacky dude (sir john soane, ie) who was a bit of an architect a bit of a collector (it will soon come to your attention, particularly if you've been there, that i don't know shit about sir john soane) built this house. It has cool shit in it. For example, it has very narrow corridors which allow you simultaneously to get cozy with a woman talking on her cell phone in, i think, italian and ancient roman artifacts.

Anyhow, we went there yesterday because at 2.30 on saturdays there's a one-hour lecture tour. So I go through the door and this dude wearing a green suit and a poppy tells me to sign the guest book. Which I do. Buy in the time I'm signing the guest book some EvilDoer has been signing up for the 19th slot on the tour. There are only 22 slots. There are three of us. I am thinking "please don't be here with your wife...please don't be here with your wife."

he is here with his wife. there are only two slots left. damn it. i sign up for one in my EvilDoing capitalistic frenzy. then i leave because i realize i will not be able to handle listening to this woman be a high-pitched bitch for an hour by myself.

before fleeing the museum we go upstairs. i try to ask one of the green-jacketed fellows what's behind one of the wall which is obviously hinged and doorknobed. he says "Nothing! Nothing! Can't Show You Anything Today! The Hogarths are downstairs!"

I find this strange because I hadn't asked about the Hogarths.

"This is not helpful," I said.

"It is much more important for me to stand right here!" he said.

This seemed to be his philosophy for life. So I decided to leave him alone and just think hateful thoughts.

Then we went to Portobello Road where I tried ot read JOseph Conrad's The Secret Agent. Which is like trying to do something very difficult while doing something else very difficult (the metaphor function on my email client has turned itself off again).

Having done this we decided to go see the 30th Anniversary Rocky Horror show in Richmond. I immediately had premonitions of disaster because it required buying extensions on my tube pass. Also bagelmania in waterloo sells a bagel called "Martha's Vineyard". This concerns me because they put marmite on this bagel, classifying it as a weapon of mass destruction.

The trip to richmond sure was okay. But when we arrived there I didn't so much forget how to get to the richmond theatre as have my inner compass confused by the enormous barrelloads of people at the Orange Tree pub. They were serving beer in plastic cups. It either made me nostalgic for college or want to hit myself with a stick.

When we arrived at the theatre it turned out rocky horror didn't open until next week and the entire run was sold out.

Fortunately i had a copy of time out on me so i could verbally abuse it properly and tear a page out of the film section by way of revenge.

A quick survey of richmond revealed that all the pubs were pretty well full. Do you want to know how full they were? They were so full that O'Neals, it didn't just have a doorman. It had *three* doormen. And actual velvet rope. And a *line* a *line* of about thirty people. I tried to see if James was there, but apparently he'd gotten his Caffrey's fix beforehand.

This is when i started to worry that richmond green had turned into a deadly vortex of weirdassedness.

I think there were other reasons, but then we decided to go see a movie. In a kind of rear-action, stick-it-to-john-soane-museum maneuver we got the last three tickets for the harry potter preview. Of course, since the movie is nearly three timezones wide, we were going to get out about 15 minutes before our train which was, more or less, a 15 minute walk away. We needn't have worried.

So preview preview preview (apparently hugh grant and sandra bullock are falling in love next, but you've probably already seen that one) movie movie movie. We had the corner seat in the front row, but that was alright because the theatre had been designed so that between the front row of seats and the screen is what appears to be a sledding area leading to an italian villa.

The movie ended. This is where things really started to suck.

We dashed to the station only to discover that the train for waterloo was "delayed after striking traffic." this lead to a long discussion of what the hell they meant by "striking traffic" which lead to another long discussion of "if we get on the train when it comes will we all die."

As this was going on we were surrounded by a horde of drunken rugby fans. Apparently England had just got done beating New Zealand at some nearby stadium. When we'd gotten on the train to richmond we'd nearly been overwhelmed by a flood of england fans. now we were surrounded by the all-black's fans who, apparently, had stayed in richmond to get piss ass drunk. Example: fan who was banging his head against the candy machine because the coin input was jammed. for ten minutes (the banging. the jamming went on all night.) Example, the fan with his hand in a cast who spent five minutes trying to convince me to let him scratch my back because his claw "makes a damn good backscratcher."

Then one of my flat mates (let's call her lauren) started singing the "oompa loompa" song from charlie in the chocolate factory. they my other flatmate (let's call her robin) punched lauren very hard in the stomach. she hadn't meant to and they both spent the next ten minute crying in a combination of unhappiness at having punched someone and laughter at having been punched in the stomach for singing the oompa loompa song from charlie and the chocolate factory.

the train did not come during this time.

we then resolved to take the district line which, while it would not take us anywhere useful, would at least take us somewhere useful that was closer to home.

we got on the train just in time to catch then end of what appeared to be a jewish wedding. or, at least, it was some guy who was throwing a wine glass down on the floor of the train.

then our departure was held up for five minutes by a lover's quarrel where the woman was standing in the door of the carriage just in case she had to leave him.

when we got to highstreetkensington it transpire (a) the train lets you out in a mall which was closed and so i suggested going to the food court and eating all the food and (b) two nightbusses that go to our flat went by the station.

fortunately we had only waited about 20 minutes before reading the signs on the post that said for the next two months those busses would not be running there because of roadworks. the fact that these signs were dated july 2002 led us to conclude that the roadworks were still going on because, in that sense at least, london is evil.

then we walked for 20 minutes in hte rain (surruptitiously looking out for late liscence bars--it was 1am by now). this resulted in us reaching another busstop where the busses didn't run and where it took us 20 minutes to realize this fact.

then we walked to a third busstop in notting hill where 5 minutes later the actual night bus showed up.

this should be the end except for the following fact: the driver was insane. some guy from brighton tried to ask him for directions. the driver told him to "get the fuck in the back of the bus." then 20 minutes later some american dude got on the bus and, as it was driving away, asked the driver how to get to ________ St. The bus driver, bringing the bus to a violent halt, told him to take the 139 and appended the observation that "you're all so fucking stupid. why are you all so fucking stupid. you're all wankers."

and then we got home and the day had been very weird.

that was way longer than it really had to be. oh, well. cheers.

Saturday, November 2, 2002 11:18gmt ~ Ah, craziness. So I'm back home in London, crazy how I have 3 places I call home now. Things are going well. I'm using this weekend to try to get caught up on school, cause I definitely got behind. Dan and I have been exploring neighborhood hangouts too. Thursday we found a cool bar around the corner that had a guitar playing cover singing guy which was lots of fun, then last night we went to The Elbow Room, a semi-club/pool hall, also cool. Tonight we ventured into Soho and went to Garlic and Shots, a garlic themed restaurant and bar. I was expecting something along the lines of The Stinking Rose in San Francisco, but this was much less classy/touristy, much more heavy metal/goth/biker oriented, but really good interesting shots, including one that was just vodka garlic and tomato juice. So that was fun.

It's really nice to be back in this city, nice to hear people speaking English. I'm presently requiring a break from all things Italian, though I've still eaten Italian food, but quite begrudgingly until it was really really yummy. I keep dreaming that I'm still there too. It was a wonderful time, but very overwhelming and exhausting and stressful.