This is going to be insane

Well, in the interest of updating but not having much to say, this entry will probably be pretty short.

First week of classes down. Not too bad I suppose, as I only have 3, but they're all about 2 and a half hours, which is a long time to be sitting in one class, especially when you would rather be out on the town exploring.

Since I didn't have my work placement this week, I didn't really do much of anything. We wandered around a bit on my days off, got some grocery shopping done (which must be done more frequently here, as there are less preservatives and food goes bad faster), and began planning basically the whole semester.

It promises to be very busy. I have a show to see just about every Monday for the rest of the semester. Luckily, none of the theatres are particularly far from my work placement (thankfully Piccadilly is pretty central). Most of the trips shouldn't take more than half an hour to get to. Which means I might have time to stop for something to eat on Mondays! Yay! So that promises to be interesting, as we are seeing some random and obscure things. Not the mega musicals I am used to, so it will be a nice change of pace. I'd probably never see even half of these in the states, so I feel the experience is worthwhile.

Other than that, not much to report. My classes seem interesting (though, as I said, they run a bit long). British professors tend to grade harder, but I'm going to try and not worry about all As this semester. It is about the experience. I'd rather enjoy London, not stay in my flat studying all the time.

Anyway, so our lineup of things to do includes seeing a few shows (Les Mis, Billy Elliot, Showstoppers (an improvised musical), Phantom, Swan Lake, and I may also torture myself through Love Never Dies when Cesca comes to visit), as well as a few countries. Italy, France and Switzerland are on the list for Spring Break, with Spain and Ireland to follow in the Spring.  Plus some galavanting around London and England of course.

It promises to be an excellent, if not exhausting, 4 months of awesomeness.

First Weekend in London

So this first weekend in London has been awesome. Like, not just normal awesome, but exceptionally out of this world I'm not exaggerating awesome.

The rundown:

Friday night we went out for a small celebration and chilled and watched a movie. It was relaxing and nice. I also met my internship boss and found where I was going to be working: Piccadilly Circus at a stationary shop called Pall Mall Stationers. It's cute and lovely and the best part is it is literally right next to Her Majesty's Theatre. For those of you out of the loop, that is the theatre where Phantom of the Opera has played since 1986. So prime.

Saturday was epic, as I utilized my close proximity to do a spur of the moment trip to see Phantom. I wasn't planning on it until later, but I heard via twitter that Gina Beck was substituting for Christine that day and I had really wanted to see her. Unfortunately John Owen Jones, the main Phantom, was sick with swine flu so his standby Scott Davies went on. He was alright, but I've seen better. Which can be said for the whole show overall, I think it falls short of my Broadway experience. Gina was amazing. I was never wholly impressed by her from the videos I saw, but live she was great. Will Barratt was a nice Raoul, but Sean has the crown still. I've seen better ensemble members but overall it was great! I can't wait to go back like 4 more times. Tickets are so cheap here! I also hope to catch Billy Elliot and Les Mis.

Saturday was also the day we moved our stuff into the flat. Hauling two 40 pound suitcases up 3 flights of narrow stairs wasn't that prime. But it is all here and that was a relief.

After I returned from Phantom Andrea, Liz and I went grocery shopping at Tesco. Bought lots of good food, hopefully and hauling it back wasn't a fun time, but we made it. We unpacked and it felt much more like home. Can't wait to finish unpacking.

A great end to the day was going to The Goose for fish and chips. I hate fish, but I may have been converted. It was AMAZING. So delicious. Andrea and I split one, but it was so delicious I probably could have eaten like 10. Then we visited the flat of Casey's friends nearby and hung out laughing and joking while Liz triumphed at Harry Potter trivia. Upon realizing it was late, it was a mad dash for the tube. We caught the last train back to the hotel, which was kind of exhilarating.

Today, Sunday, we decided to be touristy and went to the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace. I sat on Casey's shoulders for a bit to see, but it was pretty boring. That is, until the band started up. They started with some Jazz music, which was strange, but then segued into, get this, a Disney medley. I kid you not. We pretty much laughed through the whole thing.

Quote of the video? During Colors of the Wind at about 40 seconds- Casey: This one is particularly ironic because it was the British settlers who killed Pocahontas's people...

Now we are just chilling and settling in today. Such a prime weekend.

Update from my flat!

Cheerio!

So, while not officially moving in until this weekend, we decided to spend some quality time in our flat today because of the WiFi availability. It is cozy and pleasant, fully furnished and comes with everything, heat, water, internet, electricity and all. We looked at another one that didn't have all of this included and the cost just kept going up. We called a few other places to no avail and then found a nice place in West Kensington. Not too far from the tube and only 2 stops away from the London Center stop.

We've had a few interesting adventures in the first 3 days.

Flying sucked. I felt horrible the last hour of the flight, probably the result of the combination of anxiety and turbulence. Not to mention the terrible exhaustion and jet lag the next day. A good 11+ hour sleep fixed that pretty quickly. Hoping the flight back is less painful.

Yesterday during flat hunting we were our way to meet an agent in West Kensington and we had to switch trains. We got off one and the other was across the platform so we tried to catch it. As Andrea was getting in, the doors slammed on her and didn't open back up. They closed instead. Guess who was behind andrea?? Oh yeah, me. To the horror of all of my friends, I was closed out of the tube. But no worries, I knew how to get to the place we were going (it was one stop, no big deal) and I just caught the next train, taking a nice leisurely ride alone and walked off the train to a chorus of relieved shouts and exclamations from my lovely friends. It is now a running joke nearly every time we are remotely close to the station, which means I will be hearing about it every day because we now live here. Great.

In other news, a British man came up to us today singing the theme from the OC and then delighted in telling us how much the Brits like Americans, then asked us to check out some website that was about taking care of children. Legit and hilarious.

We were also at our real estate agent's office, who

is awesome by the way, and a Middle Eastern guy walked out, talked to us for a bit and asked where we were from. We told him and he kept exclaiming "America! I love America!"

Yeah, we are pretty popular around here.

We just found a tray that makes ice cubes shaped like penguins in our freezer. Win.

Not much else to report, just some random pics for you!

First, quote of the day: "This drawer is a little... *bang* Uuhhhhhhh"

We fixed it, don't worry

A phone booth!

A 'Zebra Crossing'- the only safe way to cross the street

Taking pics of our flat

more to come soon

Update- short

No Wifi in hotel without paying

Slept for 11 hours because of jet lag

venturing around the city today to find a flat

pics will follow when I acutally have internet access not at the London Center

Let the Freakout Commence

So. My bags are packed. My tickets are sitting next to me. I have my Visa and Euros, and have done all the necessary steps. I am ready for London. Sort of. Physically (except for a slight cold that I think is the result of anxiety and exhaustion).

Mentally, I think I am far from ready. I had a minor panic attack this morning at breakfast because Cesca was leaving and I couldn't imagine her leaving and it made me super nervous for myself.

The ride to the airport was mostly silent. My mom, Cesca and I were too nervous and excited/anxious to really talk. Now, for being the 2nd largest city in New York, the Buffalo airport is actually quite tiny. For someone who has not flown since they were 5 and barely remembers that, it is daunting. Luckily, my mother found some very nice and helpful TSA agents who talked both of us through everything. He then let Cesca cut the sort of long security line and just go through. It was nice. Then my mom and I watched her go through and walk to her gate (as I texted her like 7 things my mom wanted to remind her of). She turned, waved and was gone. Having nothing left to do there, my mother and I wandered around a bit to see where I am supposed to go on Monday. Then we left.

About halfway home my mom's phone beeped. After looking through the 103949238585 things she has, I found her phone with a voicemail. Turns out she signed up for travel alerts for Cesca's flight. The message said that her flight was delayed (it had been on time when we were there). Mere seconds later I got a call from my sister, slightly frantic as this meant she would miss her connecting flight in Philly, were she was supposed to meet and sit next to her roommate. Thankfully, everything worked out and Cesca got on a direct Philly to Rome flight (instead of going through Germany like originally planned). She is up in the air now.

Fun story of the day though was the fact that Cesca got to be on a plane with the Czech Republic Junior Hockey team. Background info: If you're unaware, Buffalo was the host of the prestigious World Junior Hockey Championships this year (USA won Bronze, Canada Silver and Russia upset to win Gold). It was kind of a big deal for this hockey town. Anyway, the tournament was over (I didn't even know the Czechs were in it) but they happened to be on her plane. She said it was interesting to listen to them, but she couldn't understand what they were saying. I texted her asking how her flight to Philly was, and she said she sat next to one of them. I asked if he was cute, and she said he was. So that's a bonus. Then I asked what she was up to and received this text:

At the food court. Saw the Czechs. Smiled at the one I was sitting with and all the other ones STARTED LAUGHING ANS SAYING STUFF AGAIN THAT I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND.

I'm sure they were making fun of him for not making a move on such a gorgeous American.

Here's to hoping my flight is less frantic but no less interesting!

Major Frustration

Things have not been going well lately in the London department. Aside from the fact that I apparently have lost the ability to sleep at normal hours (the last two nights I haven't gone to bed until 4 because I have been wide awake despite less than 7 hours of sleep each night), there are just so many errands to run. Getting currency, getting last minute things from walmart, prescriptions, doctor's appointments, you name it. I've been doing it. And the worst part about it: packing.

I'm normally a good packer. I can generally fit everything I need into what I can bring wherever I am going. However, trying to condense 4 months of necessities into 2 suitcases is a nightmare and I basically want to just sit in my room and cry because I am so frustrated. There is just so much I need, from stupid things like converters for my appliances to different types of clothes I need- from my business attire to casual attire to things I can sleep in. And if I'm having so much trouble fitting it now, how the heck am I supposed to get it all back when I return home in May? I'm gonna buy stuff, but at this point I have like no room in my suitcases and still more to pack. Good thing I still have a few days because I really need to figure something out. It doesn't help that my sister is also packing right now since she is leaving on Thursday and that limits my space to our small and cramped room since she is using the family room for her stuff. Yeah, it's a blast.

Seriously hating life right now.

Other news just to cheer you up, I went to the

ball drop in Buffalo for New Year's Eve. Yeah, it was alright. the event was fun. The creeper on the subway was not.

That's the ball in Buffalo. I know. Time's Square has nothing on us...

2011

Oh. My God. It is 2011. And since this is being posted after midnight, it is officially Monday. Which means in like a week I will be getting ready to board a plane to London. LONDON.

Appropriately, I've changed the name of my blog to Random Ramblings because that is all that I am probably going to do: ramble about the amazingness that is LONDON.

I'm actually incredibly scared and nervous, and I really should start packing. In theory, my plan is to pack light so that I have room to bring stuff home. In practice, well, I am an excessive overpacker and will probably not accomplish this feat. Oh well. I'll just throw stuff out at the airport if my bags are too heavy.

Speaking of the airport, I am terrified. So many things can go wrong. I am obsessively checking the weather forecasts to see what's up. So far on Monday there is a 30% chance of precipitation/flurries. Which they can hopefully fly in. I have no idea. I literally know nothing about flying; I haven't flown since I was 5. No joke.

So, right from the get go, this promises to be an amazing adventure. I am going to (hopefully) keep this up to date for my friends and family, but I might also make a video blog (or vlog- not sure I love that word yet) so my mom can see what's up. And see that I'm alive. She's pretty worried about that one.

Anyway, I better get some sleep. With Cesca leaving on Thursday for Italia, and me leaving in like a week, this week promises to be hectic and stressful as last minute details pop up, so I need all the energy I can get. Hey, I'm young, this is the time for adventure... right?

Christmas

So, I love Christmas. Not cause of the presents really, that hasn't been a big deal for a while, but spending time with my family is nice. And by my family I mean my mother. Because my dad and Ted aren't really a big part of my life. My dad works at night so he sleeps till 6, takes a shower, eats, watches the news and leaves at 8. We don't really cross paths much and therefore we don't really spend time together. Which is sad, but he and aren't really on good terms as far as families go. Probably because I yell at him at every opportunity for smoking. I once even told him that he wouldn't be alive to know my kids so why should he care. Yeah, probably kind of harsh, but he doesn't see how much it hurts my mom and everyone else that he won't stop. He doesn't even try. and it is really depressing.

Anyway, my mom, Cesca and I made Christmas very merry. We watched Toy Story 3, Elf, made dinner and cookies, and in general had a really good time. She also carried on my favorite (and really only) Christmas tradition: Christmas Eve pajamas! This year, my mother outdid herself; instead of the normal snowflake or winter the

med pj's, she got something better!

My mother knows what is important to me: hockey

2 pairs of Sabres pants!

Cesca and I modeling our new pajama pants

It was a good year. 2 weeks till London. Oh. My. God.

In other news, I saw both Black Swan and Tangled. Both were awesome, but I fell in love with Tangled. It was awesome. So I highly recommend it. So. Freaking. Adorable.

Finals

Well, that time of the year has nearly come and gone. Finals time. That dreaded time of the year meant for sleepless nights, sweatpants and stress. Yes. We all adore them don't we?

This year was especially tough, seeing as having 6 classes made my schedule packed. My 4 written finals all happened on Monday and Tuesday, plus a paper due at midnight Tuesday. Then a presentation Wednesday, but nobody cares about that.

Legal went well. I felt like I knew the material and despite a severe lack of sleep, I put my mind to it and did a good job.

OBM was a nightmare. I thought I completely bombed. Nothing stuck in my head at all. Turns out I did alright. I didn't fail, at least. It wasn't up to par with my normal grades, but I've done so well all semester it shouldn't affect my grade. Still disappointed in my performance, but can't change anything.

Marketing went well after a good study session with Casey. Not even getting locked out and having to borrow Casey's coat and Andrea's shoes could stop me!

Italian. Well, let's just say, io lo parlo bene. I mean, Italian is like my favorite class, so I retain it much easier than any other. That took me about 10 minutes. Probably not my best test, but it won't hurt my grade. I probably got like a 95. Which, considering I got over 100 on the rest, makes it the worst. Aaaah, I wish I always had that problem in my classes.

So now I am sitting in the computer lab with one kid who isn't in COMP110, getting paid to blog and play tetris. I have to make final edits to my research paper for my evolution class, but I think I've improved the paper a lot. I still love my paper. The Evolution of Ballet is something I can talk about all day.

Then my writing presentation. Meh. My group is suiting up and beasting it out. Because we are awesome. And all business majors. She will love it.

Then I have to pack. Ugh. I hate packing. But it is a good kind of packing cause it is LESS THAN 4 WEEKS TILL LONDON OMGOMGOMG. So pumped, can't you tell? I'm thinking of either starting or making this a london blog. Not that too many people read it outside of my friends here. Maybe I'll send it to my mom so she can read about my adventures!

In other news, we had a final, end of semester OL hang out yesterday. So fun, but so sad. I'm gonna miss everyone... That was such a good summer...

Anyway, in tribute to my favorite pics from finals week, I give you Procrastination:





I call this one Dorm Room Pas de Deux



My foot seriously looks so prime

If you like period-dramas

You should watch The Age of Innocence.

How did this come about?

Well, you see, at the Honors banquet this year, I sat down in front of Seabiscuit, since I adore horses and love horse racing. Well, next to me sat this intriguing novel called The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. Now I had read Ethan Frome in high school, and while I felt that it was simple and nothing really happened, the simplicity was actually enjoyable. I was also interested in this new novel because of the description, and the fact that it had been made into a movie starring Daniel Day-Lewis (who is very handsome), Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder. So I stole it from Alyssa with the promise that I would give it back once I finished. No matter, she found it somewhere else. Now I get to keep it!

Given this is an Edith Wharton novel, I wasn't expecting bliss. If you haven't read Ethan Frome but are planning on it, don't read ahead cause I'm gonna spoil it.

I mean, in that novel, the two in love try to kill themselves by running their sled into a tree, and at the last second Ethan pulls away and they hit it, though not fatally. Then he basically spends the rest of his life in misery.

Well, it seems Wharton loves love triangles; The Age of Innocence is no different.

A brief plot summary in case you are interested, courtesy of Sparknotes (Slightly edited by me):

Newland Archer couldn't be more pleased with his recent engagement to the beautiful debutante May Welland. However, his world is thrown upside down by the sensational arrival of May's cousin, Countess Ellen Olenska. Recently returned to America after separating from her husband, a philandering Polish count, Countess Olenska shocks the staid New York aristocracy with her revealing clothes, carefree manners, and rumors of adultery. As Archer comes to better know the Countess, he begins to appreciate her unconventional views on New York society. Meanwhile, Archer becomes increasingly disillusioned with his new fianceé, May. He begins to see her as the manufactured product of her class: polite, innocent, and utterly devoid of personal opinion and sense of self.

Anyway, the movie is a gorgeous period piece with great acting, beautiful costumes and remarkable faith to the book, which is quite moving. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and if you ever have 2 and a half hours with nothing to do, you might too!

Here is the trailer :

Whatevs. I thought it was fantastic.