La La La London

London, London.  Well, I suppose I should dedicate my first British blog post to the first English city I’ve had the pleasure of visiting (this doesn’t include the Manchester airport I “visited” for five hours during a layover…I learned quite a bit about British culture, which to me seemed to include Doctor Who, emos, and fried eggs).  That city is, of course, London. 

I’m not going to go into intricate detail about everything I did/saw while I was there, but I’ll mention some of the highlights.

The London bus tours, while super touristy, provided me with an awesome overview of the city.  I was able to get photographs of lots of different monuments, tourist attractions, historical sights, and more.

I visited the British Museum, which is waaaay to huge to walk through in one go around.  It was MASSIVE and awesome, full of geographically themed rooms.  But, above all else, I wanted to see the Rosetta Stone.  If you know what this is, you'll know how nerdy excited I was to see it.  If you don't know what this is, shame on you.

There were other historical/touristy places I wanted to visit in person: the London Eye, the Palace, Parliament, etc. but I didn't have a lot of time in London this time around, so I think I'm going to save those activities for another trip.  I'm sure I'll be back.

One of my favorite stops was the British Library.  Yes, books.  But this library isn't your everyday student lounge.  Yes, there were students lounging, but the library also has cool exhibits.  And the Lord must be looking after me because guess what exhibit they had...which was ending today....an exhibit on science fiction and fantasy literature!  Yes!  I know!  Super exciting!  They had all sorts of old texts on display, as well as new ones, ranging from More's Utopia and Wells' The Island of Dr. Moreau to Moore's V for Vendetta and Gaiman's Sandman series.  The topics were alternate realities, distopias, aliens, space wars, fantasy realms, and more.  I read almost every single little plaque that graced the walls and display cases.  And blessing of all blessings, the exhibit had a life-sized Tardis.  YES.  A LIFE-SIZED TARDIS.  *faints from happiness*  Scarcely had I been in England for two days when I stumble upon a life-sized Tardis.  Despite multiple signs telling me no photography, I decided to tempt a possible arrest and took my picture by it.  

Another awesome stop: Harrods.  Wasn't going to go at first, but then met this lovely Scottish guy and his Australian wife who raved about Harrods' Food Hall.  And I LOVE food.  So I couldn't pass that up.  Man, was I glad I didn't.

And there's more.  There's so much more.  I wanted to eat EVERYTHING.  Even the sushi and I don't even like sushi.

Okay, and while we're on food, I might as well include some more food pictures and talk about food.  I ate some pretty delicious food in London, none of it really British.  Well, except for this:

And this:

Both were delicious of course.  

But we also had some other, non-English dishes.  They were also delicious.

My stomach has been quite happy, I must say.  Salads with artichokes and tomatoes.  Margherita pizza.  Salads with avocado and bacon.  Chicken tikka with rice.  Pappadoms with four (count 'em four!) different sauces/chutneys.  Four (count 'em four!) different breads with oil/vinegar dipping sauce.  Vegetable and leek soup.  Cheddar and tomato sandwiches.  All right.  I'm going to stop now.  I'm making myself hungry again.

Well...that's London.  It was busy and crowded, like New York crammed into half the space.  Some taxi drivers were nice.  Some were incredibly rude.  Everyone bustled about like they were late to a luncheon.  There was nothing on television (I'm watching the World Sheepdog Competition right now).  The food was delicious.  The Tardis was AWESOME!  But I think, overall, I'm going to like Cambridge better.  Which is good, since I have to live there for the next two years.  :)  

Today's the Day

First of all, I apologize for lack of pictures.  I always think pictures make blog posts more interesting (we are, after all, visual creatures).  I planned ahead and made sure to put my camera in my carry-on bag.  But then I forgot that I put my cords in a bag in another bag packed far, far away.  So, no pictures today.


That's not what's important, though.  What's important is that today is the day.  THE day.  The day I leave for England.  It hasn't quite sunk in yet that for the next few months (until I come home for Christmas), I won't be sleeping in my bedroom, won't be driving my car, won't be going to Alterra with friends, won't be walking by Lake Michigan, won't be eating breakfast with my mom, won't be in America.  It hasn't quite sunk in yet that this isn't a vacation, but a new life, at least for two years.  I think once I'm in Cambridge, settled into my new hostel, and going to Freshman events at the school...then it will be real.


However, for you dear reader, today is an awesome day.  Today is the day I stop blogging about bad restaurants and fun things I'm doing in Milwaukee that you're not doing (I know you were jealous the night I went to MAM After Dark, Fish Fry and a Flick, AND Irish Fest).  Today is the day I start blogging about cool, foreign-ish topics like blood pudding and the Queen and punting.  My awkwards and awesomes will be MORE awkward and awesome.  Stay tuned, tell your friends, and please, please, please actually follow the blog (I think this is the reason people can't comment...because they're not TRUE followers).  


So.  Plane.  Coming soon.  Wish me luck, say a prayer.  I'd rather not crash over the ocean unless I'm guaranteed to have a Lost-like experience complete with Sawyer, Sayid, Jack, Boone, Faraday, Jin, Charlie, and Desmond.  I'll skip the Smoke Monster, polar bears, human experimentation, and general morbidity, though.

My Last (Awkward and Awesome) Thursday in America!

Oho! It is less than a week before I leave for England, so this is officially my last Thursday (awkward or awesome) in America (at least for a while).  So, enjoy these awkward and awesome photos of me.  Too much sun and a poorly kept lawn definitely didn’t help these photos; neither did my too short bangs and uninspired outfit (but you know what…it was comfy!). 

Shirt: Target; Pants: Kohl's; Scarf: World Market; Shoes: TOMS

Awkward

• Hugging someone you only sort of know, but whom you know is awkward.  And then hugging them a lot harder than they hug you.  And having them (and the people watching) comment on how awkward that was.  As if it wasn’t already clear.
• Picking someone up.  And getting lost for about 20 minutes within a three-block radius of where there were waiting for me.  Am I bad with directions or what?
• My physical therapist saying this: “You have hamstrings to die for!” (Okay, that’s also kind of awesome as well.)
• When I’m with two guys and we’re all talking, and then all of a sudden they start laughing and I’m sitting there thinking, “What?” and one of them says, “Don’t worry about it; it’s a guy thing.”  Ummm…what?
• My bangs.  Okay, I talk about my bangs ALL the time.  I know.  But I recently got them cut.  And now they’re too short (see above).  *sigh*  You can never win.  However, now that my bangs are short, I am not to be mistaken for Julia Flyte from the 2008 Brideshead Revisited or little Amelie from Amelie.

Awesome

• My last Audubon program.  We got to do it outside for the first time. The birds were perfect; the crowd asked lots of questions; it was a beautiful day.  What a great way to end my programming at SANC.
• Just sitting around and chatting with friends.  I’m going to miss them a lot, but it was nice just laughing and saying inappropriate things and then laughing some more.
• Cuban sandwiches.  ‘Nuff said.
• Bulk candy stores.  It’s like Sam’s Club, but ONLY with candy, so more amazing.
• This nice chilly weather and being able to wear cardigans and pants again.  And being able to sleep with my down blanket on my bed.  (Ahhh...the little pleasure in life.)

Awkward and Awesome Thursday!

Enjoy my "golly gee I don't know what picture to put here so I'll put this random one of

me" face.  Yeah, I was going to put some nice pictures of my cute outfit today but alas I

never got around to taking them.  Still: cardigan (H&M), shirt (Target), necklace (a store in

Cedarburg), shorts you can't see (NY&Co.), sandals you can't see (American Eagle).  And since

you can't enjoy my whole outfit, enjoy the snapshot of gorgeous Matthew and Dominic in the background.  You're welcome.

Awkward

• Asking the worker at Snap Fitness to show me the equipment.  And instead of showing me how to use it, she literally shows me the equipment.  “These are free weights.  This is a treadmill.  This is a Stairmaster.  A lot of guests like it.”  Okay, lady, the room is about fifty feet by fifty feet and I have working eyeballs.  I can see the equipment for myself.  I wanted to know how all those newfangled buttons work.  Sheesh.
• When I have to split a bill with someone, with one doing cash and one doing credit, and they’re doing fancy things with tax and tip, etc.  And I just don’t get it.  Like, it’s simple math and they’re speaking English, but apparently it’s just too much for my brain to handle.  And then the more they explain it and I don’t get it, the more I look like an idiot.  And they’re probably thinking, “This girl got into Cambrige? Yikes.”
• Must I say it again? My bangs.  Especially when they’re sweaty.  Gross, right?  Yes.  And (okay, I’m not being egotistical here) I think I look pretty cute with bangs when they’re behaving.  But when they’re not, I look like a drowned rat.  It’s hard to enjoy your Saturday night out on the town when you know you look like a drowned rat.
• Paying money to get into a festival only to realize that you missed almost EVERY SINGLE event that was supposed to take place at the festival.  “So…basically I just paid $10 to walk around a field and stare at empty tents?  Fantastic.”  Even worse, bringing people along to this event, promising them a good time.  Uhhh…oops?

Awesome

• Catching up with an old professor of mine (this is bit of a lie since he is neither old age-wise or old time wise; he was my professor only last semester).  Anyway…we had a long lovely chat about Cambridge, literature, pet cats, sabbaticals, etc. 
• Having a day to simple lounge around the house in my pajamas.  Oh my, it was glorious!  I read, I wrote, I watched movies, I ate good food, I cleaned my room.  And no one bothered me.  I didn’t have to put on makeup.  I didn’t have to put on shoes.  Fantastic. 
• The cool weather we’ve been having.  I know that two months from now I’ll be dying for the hot sun, but I love being able to wear cardigans and capris instead of tank tops and shorts.  It’s absolutely lovely now curling up on my front porch bench with a blanket and book. 
• FINALLY GETTING MY VISA!  YOU MAY NOTICE I’M WRITING IN ALL CAPS BUT THAT’S JUST BECAUSE I’M SO SUPER DUPER EXCITED!  I WAS HAVING RECURRING NIGHTMARES THAT IT WOULDN’T COME IN THE MAIL AND I WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO LEAVE FOR ENGLAND AND I’D BE BEHIND IN MY SCHOOLWORK AND THEY’D TAKE AWAY MY SCHOLARSHIP AND I’D DIE A MISERABLE, SAD, UN-CAMBRIDGE-EDUCATED DEATH.  (Okay, that was way exaggerating, but I’m still excited.)

Friday is Funday

Friday night is a good night to be out in Milwaukee.  There is always some entertaining activity going on, though at times they all seem to pile up on the same day.  Example: One Friday night I went to MAM After Dark, Fish Fry and a Flick (just for gelato), and Irish Fest all within a matter of hours.  Thankfully, another nice aspect to Milwaukee is how close these events are.  It only took me five minutes to walk from one to the other.  MAM After Dark really has to be one of my favorite Milwaukee inventions.  The Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM if you haven’t figured that out yet) is open from 5-midnight with various activities, usually centered around a theme. 

This past one that I went to in August was awesome.  Backyard BBQ.  We enjoyed coleslaw and pulled pork sandwiches with a side of corn on the cob.  There was a lovely beer tasting, bluegrass music, arts and crafts, and a photo booth.  And another perk: the deck was open so we got to sit outside and enjoy ourselves. 

Their hair matches their beer selections!

In between this we popped over to Irish Fest to enjoy the Red Hot Chili Pipers (not to be confused with the Peppers), a Celtic-rock band that features piano, guitars, drums, and, of course, bagpipes.  They play fantastically fun music, and it doesn’t hurt that most of the band is made up of hot guys in kilts.  **fansself**

  

After the concert we headed back to MAM After Dark for some more drinks and music.  (As you can see below, we stopped by the MAM’s fountains for some photo fun). 

More recently, I went to Fish Fry and a Flick, another awesome Milwaukee invention where a movie (usually a more adult one) is screened right on Pier Wisconsin.  

This time around the movie was The Big Lebowski which I’ve always wanted to see.  My friend and I went and indulged in free samples (beer and popcorn), bought some of that popcorn, ate crepes (lemon/sugar and nutella), ate some really crappy expensive pizza, and camped out to watch the cult classic.  I really enjoyed the film, but mostly I enjoyed sitting out on the lake, taking in the city lights, laughing along with a bunch of other Milwaukeeans.  It was a good night.  

AND…I got this awesome Pabst Theatre T-shirt for only $5.  What a steal!

So really, if you live in Milwaukee or the vicinity, there’s no excuse to stay in on Friday night in the summer. 

Loads of Updates

Updates from Cambridge are a bit like my writing.  Nothing comes for ages, and then WHAM! you’re overloaded with brilliance.  I heard nothing from St. John’s etc. for weeks, then all of a sudden I got scores of emails and tons of stuff in the mail.  So here are a bunch of fun updates for you.

1.) I finally, FINALLY got my housing placement.  I will be living in a lovely hostel that was one of my top choices.  I’m not going to give the hostel’s exact name or address so I don’t get creepers coming by (not that I think you guys are creepers but…).  But from pictures I think it’s going to be a lovely place: three stories, red brick, big garden with flowers and trees, five minute walk from school.  

2.) I got an email about a summer reading list.  Does anyone else think this a bit odd?  I mean, it’s September.  I start school in a month.  Not exactly summer anymore, is it?  But here’s what’s on the list:

         Utopia by Thomas More

         Dr. Faustus by Christopher Marlowe

         Metaphysical Poetry

         Paradise Lost by John Milton
        The Faerie Queen by Edmund Spenser (that doozie of a book on my head)

I have never read any of these books before, so I’m a little nervous (and afraid I’m going to be behind everyone else), but I’m determined to get as much reading done as I can during my last month left of freedom.  I will not be the ignorant Yank amongst well-educated Brits!  I will not! 

3.) I got a big packet of information from the school, including my 2011 International Freshers’ Guide which details everything from shopping to weather to health insurance. Reading through that packet is making me very, very excited for England. 

Lots of fun stuff coming from Cambridge for me.  Now if only I could get my visa/passport back, I’d be set!  It’s making me a little nervous, but I have faith it will show up on time.  In the meantime…I have less than three weeks to finish 800+ pages of The Faerie Queen and then some.  Isn't Cambridge so much fun?  And I haven't even left the country yet!

An Awkward and Awesome Start to September

Hell hath no fury like this bird scorned.
Look at that stink eye he's shooting my way.

Awkward

• Getting bested by a hawk.  This bird does not like me unless I’m feeding him.  And when I’m not feeding him, he wants to rip my eyeballs out and eat them.  After a long, long morning of trying to win this bird over, only to have him try to attack me again and again, I stormed off into the other room like a five-year-old, tears in my eyes.  YES.  TEARS.  IN.  MY.  EYES.  Damn you, bird!  You WILL NOT make me cry.  But he almost did.  Thank God no one was around and I had a few moments to compose myself.
• The spider in my margarita.  And then the spider on my chimichanga.  Okay, am I attracting spiders or is this something I should inform management about?
• My hair when I work out.  It sticks out in sixteen different directions and my bangs plaster to my forehead.  Okay, really just my whole self when I work out.  I sweat like none other.  In five minutes I look like I jumped in a swimming pool.  Ew.  And then on Tuesday, while working out, I thought I saw an old teacher I had a crush on.  Not a good place for a reunion.  “Oh, hey…*pantpant*…how are you?...*pantpant*…That’s good…*wipessweatoffhead*…I used to have a crush on you in high school…*pantpant*”  No.  Just no.
• This conversation with a creepy man at a coffee shop.
• Me: [texting on phone]
• Man [creeping up behind me]: That’s a small screen.
• Me: Yeah…
• Silence, then the man walks away.  Ummm…okay…

Awesome

• Finally sorting through the fifty-five million piles of paperwork from school that have been taking over my closet floor since the beginning of summer.  I think they may also have been breeding because I don’t remember having THIS much paperwork to go through.  But regardless, these papers are now nicely sorted into file folders and stored away.  Yay!
• I’m writing consistently! Well, sort of consistently.  But I am writing, and that’s more than I can say for much of this summer where I was a lazy, non-writing bum.
• My new Snap Fitness gym membership.  Though I am leaving for England in 3 weeks (yikes!) I decided to get their $9 30-Day Trial Pass.  I’ve worked out three times in four days, which way more than I’ve worked out in the past four years.  Yay me!
• Taking 4^th place out of 10 teams at trivia.  Not bad, Jolly Judgez!, not bad.
• Buying three sweaters from Value Village for $7.  One was an American Eagle cropped cardigan and one was a cashmere sweater from Banana Republic!  Success!
• Coming home to find a letter for me in the mail sent by my dear friend Michael.  The boy doesn’t write me for years, then breaks his finger and decides to hand write me a two and a half page letter (The other half of the page was taken up by an X-ray of his broken finger.  Awkward and awesome, Michael. J).  I was so excited and happy and can’t wait to write him back.