ASK Musings

No matter where you go, there you are.

Yearly Archive: 2009

Tuesday

22

December 2009

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COMMENTS

But baby it’s cold outside

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I seem to have dodged many a weather bullet this past week. I got out of London in time to miss the snow (and accompanying travel delays). I somehow managed to be in NYC when the weather was great, sandwiched between two snowstorms. Seattle was wet and windy but nothing out of the ordinary. And now I’ve made it back to my parents’ home, so even if I get stuck here past my return date, it won’t be such a big deal, as I have another two+ weeks after Christmas to get back to London for school.

My visit to Brooklyn was sweet but of course too short. Herman and Kathleen kindly opened their home (and super-comfy double-decker air mattress) to me. After 14.5 hours of travel door to door, I spent the first few hours back in the States getting things in order – finding a US SIM card for my cell so I could communicate with people, stocking up on the antiperspirant they don’t sell in London – before dinner at Chilis and Chocolate, a favorite Oaxacan / mole restaurant. Tuesday (after waking up for the day at 3:45am) I stopped by the office to have lunch with friends and coffee with my former boss, before some final prep for the cookie party. Herman spent the weekend baking so we could carry on the holiday cookie party tradition, which also served as a great way for me to get to see nearly all of my NYC friends. I was exhausted (a six-hour time difference is tough), but I started to feel a bit like how I imagine the grandmother feels at a big family gathering. Content to just sit in the corner and watch everyone interacting and laughing, not needing to chat. Just feeling good being around all the people. 

Wednesday I dragged my (slightly lighter, thanks to the distribution of some holiday gifts) suitcases back to JFK, and spent 12 hours door to door getting from Brooklyn to Bothell, Washington. I rented a car (and managed to spend the whole trip driving on the correct side of the road) and headed up to meet Reagan and Lon, who treated me out to a lovely Italian dinner. Seriously, the theme of the week has been Food I’ve Been Missing. Thursday Reagan and I wandered the shops, finishing up some holiday shopping before I met up with Jeremy for a late lunch (more Mexican – woo!). I got to Jamie and Mike’s to see Jesse, who was not in good form. Poor girl was not a happy child, and after about six hours of on and off crying, melting down, and just general sadness (accompanying the mad cookie-baking and candy-making that Jamie and I were engaged in to prep for her Sunday party) we all piled into two cars to head to the ER at 11 that night. All is well – baby was fine when I left this morning – and that definitely kicked me right onto Pacific time. Friday was filled with more baking, party prep, and just good, relaxing time with Jamie, Mike and Jesse. Saturday I ventured over to West Seattle for time with Renee and Kevan, and dinner with Megan and Mike (who are engaged – congratulations!). Finally, Sunday was Jamie’s party. I hadn’t been to one of her Christmas parties since college, and it was so much fun. I got to see some college friends, and even meet the new girlfriend of another friend (who, I can safely say seems super nice, which means I can continue to honestly say that I really like all of my friends’ partners!).

This morning I had considerably less travel time – just six hour door to door – getting from Seattle to Danville. It’s so good to see my sister, and be with my parents. And it’s even better because, waiting on my bed when I walked in my old room was …

A SLANKET

That item is amazing. It’s seven feet long. It’s fleece. There’s a little hand pouch on the front and a foot pouch on the bottom. Both my sister and I fell asleep in our respective slankets by 9:30pm.

To those of you travelling, or who have friends and family travelling, I hope the weather and the transport cooperate and get all to their destinations safely. In case I don’t get a chance to post before then – MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Saturday

12

December 2009

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COMMENTS

No more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks

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Except … not so much.

 

The term (unfortunately called Michaelmas term – I suppose “autumn term” was too pedestrian?) was ten weeks long, and technically ended yesterday. I figure that I read somewhere around 100 articles / books over those ten weeks, wrote four essays (three of which have been marked and returned), and learned some really interesting theories about morality, objectivity and public policy. I’ve also been doing preliminary work on my dissertation (we’d call it a thesis back in the States), and of course have been trying to enjoy London as much as possible.

 

However, British post-graduate programs are different from the ones in the States in that (for the most part) the courses last an entire year. So I’m halfway done with my coursework for my three regular courses, and so far have no official marks (grades). Why? Because 100% of each mark in each of my courses is based solely on the exam, which takes place in late May / early June. On the one hand it’s great, as there was no end of term stress right now – usually by the time Christmas roles around I’m utterly exhausted and either sick or about to get sick from working hard finishing papers and studying. So that’s a plus. Another plus is the fact that the exams are generally three hours long and consist of a host of question, of which I’ll need to answer three. Now, I’m sure there will be rules like “pick one from this section, and one from this,” but in all likelihood I won’t have to spend loads of time on the couple of sections I either don’t quite understand or really just don’t enjoy.

 

Big negative, though – EVERYTHING rides on the exams. No papers to take some of the pressure off. And I don’t even know what dates my exams will be on until April 26, which means I can’t make any plans for May and June until then. I was hoping to run in a Scottish half marathon, but that could be a bad choice if I have an exam the next day.

 

During these last couple of weeks of term I’ve also gotten to enjoy the Christmas season in London. Kate, Richard and I baked and decorated cookies last week, then watched Elf (after the world cup draw, which was interesting and extraordinarily complicated). This week I finished my holiday shopping, addressed the last of my Christmas cards, and just generally enjoyed being here. Oh! And my department had its end of term party, and it was wonderful. Some of the professors / lecturers are in a band (Critique of Pure Rhythm), and they played covers of fun 60s dance music for the greater part of the evening. And my friend Anna and I won the twist contest, which meant more free drinks and an I heart LSE mug. Score!

 

I head to the States on Monday for my three city, 14,200 mile winter tour. I’m so excited to see everyone – and to take advantage of the pound to dollar exchange rate.

Tuesday

1

December 2009

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COMMENTS

Thanksgiving in Ireland

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Friday afternoon I took the train out to Stansted to catch a flight up to Ireland to spend the weekend with Vanessa. I’ve visited her there a couple of times over the past few years; we met in middle school, lost touch for a few years during high school / college, and reconnected via facebook in the mid-aughts. She is hilarious, and one of those friends where time can pass but it doesn’t feel like it.

She met me in Dublin and we hit a pub for a quick pint, then grabbed some excellent Mexican food (seriously!) before settling in at a bar called Shebeen Chic. We spent a few hours there, getting caught up and trying to hold down a table while waiting to meet up with some of her friends. I was also reminded of how excellent the Johnny Cash covers album is. Really good. 

She lives in a great little seaside town, and shares a huge, lovely flat with her boyfriend Gus. I had my own room to stay in – no couch for me. I do love having grown-up friends.

Saturday was literally freezing. It was SO cold. But we decided to venture out into the fog to explore Malahide, the larger seaside town next door. They have a great downtown, very adorable. I kept describing everything as cute and adorable. I don’t mean it condescendingly; everything just looks like it’s out of a book or a movie. 

We eventually went up to Howth and the Summit Inn pub for some soup and a little Irish Rugby. After some grocery shopping for the evening, we headed back to her place to begin preparing Thanksgiving number two. Vanessa did a great job preparing a chicken, stuffing, and pie, her friend Shawna made amazing potatoes (it’s true; the Irish know their potatoes), and I was responsible for the mulled wine. Four of us enjoyed dinner with some rose prosecco, and later were joined by a few others for more dessert (including the cupcakes pictured below) and a little X Factor.

Sunday was a lazy day before I headed back to London.

I am so happy I got a chance to go back to Ireland again. I imagine I’ll visit Vanessa there again before I leave London, and it’s exciting to realize it’s so close. I don’t know if I could take the weather there, as much as I love cozy and rainy, but in November, it’s just perfect.

Thursday

26

November 2009

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COMMENTS

Success!

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London Thanksgiving was indeed a success. Alissa worked all day brining and cooking the turkey, which turned out great. I helped with some prep work, and was responsible for all the desserts (the pumpkin pie actually worked, which was a minor victory). There were ten of us – three Americans, two Brits, two Italians, two Canadians and one German – and everyone contributed something. We had all the dishes – mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, mac and cheese, cranberry sauce, gravy, candied yams, and turkey. It was a lot of fun, and everyone seemed to have a great time.

When I got home I called a few people who I thought I might be able to catch either just before dinner (like my NYC family – who I got to talk to!) or well before their holiday began. It was nice to hear some voices from home, for sure.

I have two weeks left in the term, one assignment left to do, a couple of essays to start, and loads of reading. But this weekend I’m taking off to visit Vanessa in Dublin for a weekend of relaxing and getting caught up. When I get back, I have some holiday shopping to do (I ordered my Christmas cards yesterday – woo!) a mini-cookie party with Kate and Richard, and hopefully some ice skating at one of the London rinks.

Before I head off to bed on this unusual Thanksgiving, I figured I should remind myself of a few things for which I’m thankful. They are truly in no particular order.

– The friends and family I have here in Europe and back in the states
– Unlimited text messaging
– The fact that I’m able to spend a year living in London, learning interesting things, and travelling around Europe
– Podcasts of Countdown and the Rachel Madow Show (how else will I stay indoctrinated with the left-wing agenda whilst studying Mill, Kant and Locke?)
– Universal health care in the UK
– Cocoa at the Garrick for only 95p before 10AM on Fridays
– Emails from home
– Running
– How I Met Your Mother on iTunes
– Student discount rail cards and bus passes

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you had a good one.

Wednesday

25

November 2009

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COMMENTS

Holidays in London – Part I

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I suppose my first real holiday here was Halloween, and it was definitely fun. I actually went to more parties here than I usually did back home, and I had a nice time. People do things a bit differently over here, but for me Halloween really does just involve pumpkin carving (check), candy (check), costumes (check) and, as I’ve gotten older, alcohol (check). So I missed certain types of candy, but overall it was a good one.

Now things are a bit more challenging. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. For many people, it’s a day to spend with relatives. Growing up, it was the one time of year when my sister and I saw all of our aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. We’d head down to Southern California (often missing school for a couple of days) and go to Disneyland on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. I was just reminded of that when I saw a post by a friend on Facebook, who is down there now. I grew up thinking there were no lines at Disneyland. We rarely had to wait more than five, maybe ten minutes to go on Pirates of the Caribbean, or Space Mountain. It was usually just the four of us for that day of fun at the Happiest Place on Earth.

On Thanksgiving we’d head over to the home where my dad’s parents lived. But only after we saw a movie. I vividly remember seeing My Girl at a movie theatre that I believe was attached to a mall. Man, I did not see the whole Macaulay Culkin death thing coming. Anyway, one of my aunts lives in that house now. Another of my aunts would make really yummy pumpkin bread. There were the five younger cousins (me, two guys my age, and two girls about four years younger than me) and the four older. We got along, but we didn’t (and still don’t) really know each other well. After all, we only got together once a year. One of my uncles (by marriage, and a favorite) would generally hide in the kitchen after dinner, doing dishes. My grandpa would sit in his easy chair, drinking scotch, telling me I was full of mud. Ha. It’s kind of amazing how really clear these images are.

Some time in the 90s – probably around when my sister went away to college – we stopped heading down there for the holiday. Instead, just the four of us would prepare the meal (a turkey breast, since none of us eats dark meat), but always after going to a movie first. And people wonder how I can go see a movie once or twice a week – obviously it’s in my genes.

Once I graduated college Thanksgiving became more of a holiday about second families. My first year out of college I went to Omaha to spend it with my then-boyfriend’s family. We’d been together for many years, and I knew a lot of his family, but it was still so strange to be away from my family. And the food! It was good, but I missed those dishes that were, not unique to my family, but that we always had. Our Thanksgiving was never over the top, but it was always good. Great mashed potatoes (I may have actually cried one year when we realized, the day after Thanksgiving, that we’d left the potatoes in the oven, thus eliminating the possibility of leftovers), stove top stuffing, and damn it, the cranberry sauce from the can, with the indentations on the sides. 

I think my parents spent every Thanksgiving during the past eight years with their really good friends, and a second family to all of us. But that’s the family that lost the patriarch to brain cancer this year, and my folks will be spending their time closer to home with another set of close friends tomorrow. And my sister – she has always seemed to find great places to eat, and will send me the menu every once in awhile to rub in all the amazing food she’s going to have.

After that first Thanksgiving away, the holiday became more of an adventure for me. I spent my first NYC Thanksgiving with that same former boyfriend, at an “orphan’s” Thanksgiving in Williamsburgh. My first experience making pumpkin pie! The next was with Allegra and her extended family in Pittsburgh. Then outside Baltimore with another ex’s family. There was a memorable one with Richard, my British friend who had to work Friday as well, where we went to Junior’s in Brooklyn for our surprisingly good dinner. 

For the last three years I’ve spent the holiday with my NYC family. Herman and Kathleen have hosted an amazing dinner for all of us who don’t have family nearby, or can’t travel because of working the next day. Meg brings the yams with marshmallows (and makes a vegetarian version sans marshmallows as well), Kathleen makes the corn pudding. Erin threatens to bring Brussels sprouts, I make a few desserts. Herman prepares an AMAZING turkey, often the size of a small child. Last year, after too much food and as we got ready to go, they brought out a bunch of Tupperware so everyone could take home some leftovers. That’s thoughtful. 

Tomorrow they are getting together to continue the tradition, and I won’t be with them. It definitely makes me a little sad. Well, a lot sad, actually. But tonight I got to start my own Thanksgiving adventure. I got lost but eventually found a real supermarket and managed to get a 13 pound turkey, which my friend Alissa is going to prepare tomorrow for some Americans, a Canadian, two Italians, and possibly a German. I still have to figure out a crust and tin for my pumpkin pie, and I can’t make fudge as there’s no marshmallow fluff, but it’ll be okay. It’s another adventure. And it’s definitely already a memorable one.

Sunday

22

November 2009

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COMMENTS

The transformation is complete

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I’m wearing my glasses, not contacts

My hair is in a ponytail, not blown out or straightened

My dresses and skirts are collecting dust in the closet

My bag has six books from the library

I go for runs at 11:30 on Tuesday mornings

I see movies at 3 in the afternoon on weekdays

Five to seven hours each day is devoted to printing out / reading / taking notes on articles

I eat cereal for dinner, pasta for breakfast, and try to remember when I last ate salad

Yep, I really am a student again

Thursday

19

November 2009

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COMMENTS

Barcelona (Part II)

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Sunday was just as beautiful as Saturday. We spent much of the day outside, although with much less walking than the previous day. After a very quick breakfast (hot chocolate again, of course), we made our way to La Catedral. Sunday services were going on, but they still let us tourists wander around (quietly) in it. After that dose of religion it was off to bow before a different idol – chocolate (or xocolata in Catalan). We went to the Museo Xocolata, where our ticket was a dark chocolate bar, and we learned about the history of chocolate production. Oddly there was also an exhibit on the solar system, but that was completely in Spanish with no images of chocolate, so I have no idea how it related.

After a quick metro ride (seriously, their system is so efficient and well marked) we made it to Park Guell. It’s smaller than I imagined, but still awesome. A friend described the City as looking a bit like Candy Land, and she’s right. It’s like a child’s imagination almost, and the buildings and fences and ceilings in the park were no different. There were loads of people up there, and we were rewarded for our hike up to the park with a stunning view of Barcelona, as well as some fun music played by local artists.

We headed back down the hill and all the way to the Mediterranean to visit the aquarium. It’s alleged to be the best in the Mediterranean. That may be true. They do have an excellent shark exhibit. However – not worth the price of admission in my opinion. After a couple of hours on the marina we headed back into La Ribera (I believe) and went in search of a few bars that Lonely Planet told us were good and open on Sundays. We unfortunately were not able to confirm their quality, as ALL were closed. No wonder it’s a Lonely Planet … (I suggest a different guide of you choose to visit Barcelona – Allegra had the brief one, I had the full length one, and while both were recently updated, both had a lot of errors).

Anyway, we managed to find some other really excellent places, including a cute cafe (where we had chocolate and churros), a great off the beaten path pottery and crafts store, and more. The street we spent the most time in was Carrer de Argentina, so if you find yourself in Barcelona, I suggest just wandering down it. It feels less tourist-y than other places in the city centre. It also has Santa Maria del Mar, another gorgeous cathedral. There was someone playing beautiful organ music, and almost none of the artificial lights were on (it was twilight by the time we visited), and it was both spooky and awesome. We popped into La Fianna, an adorable bar / restaurant for some cava before our final meal of tapas, then called it a night.

Monday we almost made it to the airport without incident; however, the rumors about pickpockets and Barcelona are, we can unfortunately confirm, quite true. But we both made it to our planes and back to our respective countries.

Although, funny story: I was almost not let back into the UK. When I came here originally back in September, I flew through Ireland. I got a stamp from them, but when I came to Heathrow I wasn’t sent through customs, as the UK/Ireland have a special relationship. So my visa was never activated, apparently. When I was speaking with the Border Agent at Gatwick, she asked to see my documents. I literally said “what documents – my visa’s in there.” She didn’t even look up, but asked for them again. I said they were at home – that I’d come here already in September, through Ireland. She was never rude, and I can’t tell if she was annoyed with me, but she asked again, and I told her I didn’t know what to say – I didn’t carry the letter from the school with me, and it was in my residence hall. She got up and looked at some laminated sheet of paper, then came back and asked what school I was at, then asked for my student ID (which I had on me, thank goodness), activated my visa and sent me on my way. Yikes. I’m sure it would have all worked out, but that’s a problem I certainly hadn’t thought I’d encounter. Note to future UK students from the US – don’t arrive via Ireland!

Tuesday

17

November 2009

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COMMENTS

Barcelona! (Part 1)

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Allegra and I got to Barcelona late in the afternoon on Friday. Barcelona was basically at the top of my “Places to visit in Europe while living in London” list, so I was so excited. And it didn’t disappoint.

First off – it’s ridiculously easy to get around in Barcelona. The two terminals at the airport get you to the train station (just follow the signs for “Tren”, accompanied by the convenient image of a train), which has a train leaving every half hour. We bought the T-10 tickets, which give you ten rides on basically any form of transportation in the area (you need two to get to most places – the train and then the metro). The metro is easy to navigate, and trains come every 2-3 minutes. And there’s a countdown board so precise it has the seconds on it. Puts the London tube notification system to shame.

We stayed at Hotel Peninsular, which Allegra saw recommended in the NY Times. It’s a former convent, which goes nicely with my plan to only stay in places in Europe that used to be run by nuns (like where I live now). It is just of La Rambla, the major pedestrian mall, in El Rival, the slightly seedy part of town. I have to say that I’ve never been offered drugs more often in my life, and the last time I saw that many prostitutes out in the open was in Prague in the 90s. The man who was at reception most of the time was very nice, and humored me in my attempts to speak Spanish, even teaching me new phrases. Actually, I managed to get along pretty well using Spanish, and was even approached a few times with questions in Spanish from tourists – some of whom I was actually able to help. I was a little worried, given how little my Italian came in handy when I was lost with Will on our way from the airport to the villa in Tuscany (man, I’ve gone to some cool places. So lucky).

We wandered La Rambla a bit and found a chocolate place that was in our guides. Granja Viader is quite old, and serves a very potent suis. After a break back at the hotel, we went out for dinner (around 10ish, I believe – everything seems later and slower in Barcelona) and had some amazing pan con tomate. And cava, the champagne of Spain. Yum.

Saturday was a gorgeous day. Sunny, warm, perfect tank top and jeans weather. After a quick stop back at Granja Viader (one of us lost a phone at one point), we made our way to Palau Guell, a famous mansion designed by Gaudi. Unfortunately neither guidebook mentioned it’s been under renovation for five years, so only the basement was viewable. Bummer. But that’s okay – it made us even more excited for …

La Sagrada Familia. It’s ridiculous. And amazing. It’s been under construction since the early 1900s, and isn’t expected to be finished until 2020 or 2040. People are working on it non-stop. The models and plans were destroyed by anarchists in the 1930s, but they’ve restored them and have been working furiously to finish it. Coming out of the metro, turning around and seeing it was one of those moments I don’t imagine forgetting any time soon. We took the audio tour, and even went up in an elevator into one of the towers. It’s just beyond comprehension how cool it is. 

We decided to continue on with the Modernisme theme, and took a walking tour of some of the more notable buildings in Barri Gotica. We made our way to La Pedrera for a tour, and got there in the late afternoon, which made for some excellent views of the city from the roof.

After ambling back down another major pedestrian area, we stopped for sangria and tapas and witnessed and excellent yelling match between a patron and a server that we believe involved being charged 15 euro for a beer that was a large but was supposed to be a small and anyway how can you charge 15 euros for a beer? It was awesome. The night consisted of getting a little turned around on the way to dinner, but ultimately ending up at a cute Mexican restaurant that had excellent food and yummy sangria.

Tuesday

17

November 2009

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First Visitor!

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I’ve been here about seven weeks, and have now had my first visitor. Allegra arrived on Wednesday for a couple of days in town before we headed to Spain.

She arrived on the red-eye Wednesday morning and was able to nap while I went to class. We met up at campus, then went over to wander around Covent Garden. It’s a really cute market, with a mixture of chain stores, little restaurants and craft booths. After a pub lunch we walked up to the British Museum, where we saw the Rosetta Stone and the mummy of Cleopatra. It’s a gorgeous building with a lot of interesting old world “acquisitions” (my favorite British euphemism for stuff they stole during their conquests).

Although it was a bit misty we walked down to look at Buckingham Palace, then stopped at a nearby pub before heading back over to Brick Lane for some yummy curry.

Thursday I didn’t have class, so we had the whole day to explore the city. A quick trip through Spitalfields, then down to Tower Bridge and over to the south side of London. We got down into Southwark (pronounced suthuck) and cut over to Borough Market, which I’m excited to now know that it is open on Thursdays. There was a lot of excellent-looking produce (which I’ve been missing a lot here), so I plan to go back this week and do a little shopping.

Continuing along the south side we walked past a few places I’ll likely go visit for real eventually, including the Globe theater and the Clink museum (the latter is where we get the term “the clink” to describe prison). We settled on a visit to Tate Modern, which had a very cool Pop Art exhibition featuring Worhol and Koons work. I had no idea that Koons, in addition to those adorable metal balloon animals, did a lot of very blue imagery, including some quite vivid pornographic stills. Huh.

The fun wasn’t over yet! We walked back to the north end of the river, via the Millennium Bridge. Harry Potter fans will remember it from the most recent movie. We worked our way up to Lincoln Inn Fields and visited the Sir John Soane museum. It’s especially creepy at 3:30 on a cloudy day. But I recommend it.

 

Tuesday

10

November 2009

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COMMENTS

Remember, Remember, the . . . let’s set off fireworks!

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I’ve now experienced my first Guy Fawkes day. If you saw V for Vendetta, you’re familiar with the story. He tried to blow up the Houses of Parliament, but was foiled, and the British celebrate that. Thursday was the official day (November 5), and a few of us went in search of fireworks … and failed.

Saturday night was MUCH more successful. A few of us went over to Victoria park, where they had a really amazing show put together. All songs during the fireworks had a fire theme (it’s known as bonfire night), like “Light my Fire” and “Fever.” They had flames shooting up from the set-up, and a really great finale. Better (on a different scale) than the NYC fourth of July fireworks in my estimation.

I rounded out the evening with a friend’s house party over in Covent Garden.

Oooh! And I checked out the London Transport museum. It’s very cool.

My first guest arrives tomorrow morning – Allegra is coming in for a couple of days, and then we’re heading off to Barcelona. I can’t wait to see the Gaudi church. So excited.