Royally Entertained

Let's be honest: Everyone likes some sort of celebrity gossip. Whether it be the bitchy women on reality TV, or some movie star couple that you will never interact with in your entire life. We all like some form of it. And for many of us, that includes news about royalty. Because we all want to hear about real life fairy tales. 

Do you see where I'm going with this?

Yep. Kate Middleton is preggers, and that baby is gonna be third in line for the throne regardless of gender. 

Should I be as excited for this as I am? Probably not, but I'm certainly interested. I like learning about royalty, and considering how much I've learn about royalty while over here, I can admit I'm pretty pumped.

Also? I can say I was in London when Kate announced she was pregnant with the heir to the throne. It's cool to say you were there for historic events.

One of the papers (because you know that's all they're talking about over here) commented on the fact she mentioned the pregnancy pretty early in the pregnancy at eight weeks. Well, she kind of had to considering she couldn't go to the hospital for severe morning sickness for anything else. She's got some kind of rare morning sickness that affects a small percentage of pregnant women. Also, women who get it are more likely to have twins. Oh man, that would be awesome. How would that work for receiving the crown though?

Anywho, it's silly but I'm excited. I'm ready to see a royal baby. I wasn't around for Diana, and I bet there was as much hype for her.

Did you know Harry is a bastard child? I did not know that until yesterday. The rest of the world probably did though. Huh.

A bit random, but that's what is on my mind. Only a week and a half of school left... and only sixteen days left in Europe. Wah.

What celebrity gossip do you love? Are you excited for a royal baby?

Exciting Changes

Well, Obama won. That's exciting, isn't it?

Wait, that happened almost two weeks ago? Good lord, where does the time go?

Seriously, since I've been here time has been flying by. I only have a month left across the pond, and I'm not excited to go back. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to see my family again but I adore it here. I love the tube, despite its crammed cars and minor delays. I love walking in this city. I love that there's always something happening. I dunno, it's just exciting.
Speaking of exciting....

I got a haircut.
I've never had my hair this short before, and it's a lot of fun. I'm always annoyed with how long my hair is, and how it's always getting in my way. I shake my head around a lot now simply because it's perfect for swishing. It's ridiculous though, because everyone keeps saying "You're so brave." It's hair. It's not like a ran into a burning building to save some people. I'm just not that emotionally attached to it.
I kind of hate long hair, but I know why I've never cut it. I know I look good with long hair. My mom always says how I shouldn't get it cut. So a bit of teenage rebellion on my part here? Except I keep forgetting I'm not a teen?
I think it might be more of a confidence thing. I've been a lot more confident since I've been here. I've been more social. I've tried new things. I've taken more risks.

So perhaps that might be part of the reason I've been loving London so much. I'm changing. I'm growing up. Although I don't think turning 21 while being here really helped that. Plus, I've gotten to see so much of Europe as well which is good... though my bank account might say otherwise.

Yeah. That's about it from me right now. Also being a terrible procrastinator. Gaahh...

One more month. Here we go.

What was the last thing you did that affected your personality?

Celebrating Holidays Differently

Happy Halloween! 

Oh wait, that passed? Whoops. Actually, a LOT has happened in my life recently. As for part of the reason I've been gone for so long. What have I been up to, anyways?

Well, I was in Portugal...

...And Spain...

...And Stratford-Upon-Avon.

I had my birthday too.

Also played in the leaves. 

So it's been a good time. I'm sorry if it sounds a bit gloat-y, but it's more of a recap if anything.

Some of the strangest things I've experienced have been holiday situations. For instance, I did not get my slut on for Halloween. I went home and ate dinner, had some trick-or-treaters stop by. Odd. Y'see, Halloween is not a big thing over here. It's only just becoming bigger, with the trick-or-treater numbers getting bigger and bigger each year. My host family ran out of candy, but it was about a third of what my family buys for the kids. It's just so odd not to see the costumes EVERYWHERE. I like dressing up. And I may say slutty, but at least I try to be creative.

Another odd thing about holidays here? Fireworks in the grocery stores at the same time as Halloween stuff. Guy Fawkes day is tomorrow, and fireworks have been going off since Halloween. Strange to me.

I have yet to feel truly homesick, but I think that might happen at Thanksgiving. For now, I'm just laughing at all of the Christmas stuff coming up already. Hey, since they don't have another holiday, why not I guess. 

I hope everyone has been doing well! Time to work on EU homework. Bah.

What interesting ways have you seen other countries/people celebrate certain holidays?

I Am The Crimson Dot

Sure, there were things that happened this week. I went to an excellent play featuring Julie Walters. I wrote a paper about the Eurozone. I went to Oxford, but sadly had no time to get anything preppy. I saw another section of the Victoria and Albert Museum. But those things are not important. What is important is what I did yesterday.

Yesterday, I ran a race.

The race I ran was called the Resolution 5k, 10k and 15k. I decided to do the 15k, because I always want to get my money's worth. I had been looking for a race for some time, and despite having trouble entering the first race I wanted to, I was able to order my race number easily for this race.

On the morning of the race, I made sure to get there an hour before it actually started. To the park at least.  What ended up happening was wandering around for about a half hour trying to find the registration booth, mainly because I forgot the map at home. Oh dear. Thankfully, with a bit of help (some of it not so helpful) I was able to get to the area, check my bag in, and get ready to run.

When I do races at home, I tend to not wear the shirt from the race the day of the race. I think it's bad luck. Apparently today however, that was what I should of done. In a sea of purple, I was the crimson dot in my Portland marathon shirt. There were a handful of others not wearing the shirt, but not enough to not be noticed. Oh well.

Thankfully, the day was gorgeous, perfect for a run in the park. The running itself? Could have been better. I felt slow. I was pretty slow for me, but for some reason I just felt exhausted. I think my body hasn't recooped on sleep I've been missing. I dunno. My body also decided it was a good moment for cramps. Ick. However, overall it was pretty good. It was honestly just like going for a run in the park, except this time I got a medal for it.

One of the weird things about this race? It wasn't blocked off, so you had to duck and dive through people walking through the park. A bit odd, really. Only an annoyance when jerks were smoking right in your pathway.

For now? I can officially say I'm an international runner. And that's pretty neat.

How far away from home have you run a race?

The Globe, Markets, and Transportation Issues

Is this becoming a weekly thing? I think this is becoming a weekly thing. Boo, that's no good.

However, no time to worry about that for we move on.

On Saturday we went to the lovely area known as Brighton. It was explained to me as a mix between Seaside and Eugene, but in reality it's a lot like San Francisco. A ton of cool indie shops, a lovely beach pier,  a very strong LGTB community. So yeah, San Francisco. Pretty much all that we did there was wander around, but it was good wandering. The thing to do there is to have Fish n' Chips on the shore, so that was done. Funny thing: The shore is completely pebbly. I'm so not used to that. But it acts just like a sandy beach in which the further you dig the wetter it becomes. So weird.

Sunday was a rest day. I ran around and got a bit lost, ending up running 10 miles instead of 7, but it was all good. I also signed up for a race! But more on that later depending on the packet scenario currently in play.

Monday was a normal day for the most part, but that evening I went to this alumni meet up thing for my university. The few of us who were from UO went basically as advertisements to donate to the school. Why did I go? Networking. You never know. I did end up talking to a guy who told us about UO football games somewhere, so that's a plus.

Tuesday we went to the Globe! We were groundlings, meaning we stood for three hours. It's quite the unusual experience. The play was fantastic, and it was interesting due to the fact it was an original production. This means that all of the parts were played by males.

Wednesday I was very lame. I had a paper due on Thursday, so I worked on that all day. And night. Which is why my sister happened to be able to Skype me for the first time since I've been gone. That was nice. All I can say is I'm glad I got that done.

Thursday was the Russian National Orchestra. It also included a dragging myself across the pavement run, but other than that it was pretty swell. Even the run wasn't so bad.

Friday, seeing as it's our free day, was the day I decided to go visit the BBC studios. There's a show here called Strictly Come Dancing, and people were already lined up for the audience at 10:30 in the morning. Oh goodness. Strictly is like Dancing with the Stars, so I guess I can see some appeal.
I do love myself a good studio tour. The tour itself was okay, but I'm always a fan of seeing how productions are created.
After the tour, I went over near Chinatown and explored some old bookstores. Anywhere I go, I love going to bookstores. I was also able to find the big bookstore called Foyles I've heard a bit about. It's about a block long, so it's pretty legit.

Met up with others, ate Chinese food, relaxed. 'Twas all good.

Yesterday I went to a magical little market called the Borough market. It's a big food market, so I was excited to eat my lunch there. Oh goodness. So many good things. You want nice cheese? They have nice cheese. You want to try to cook with quail eggs? They have quail eggs. Craving falafel? They have that too. I ended up getting a pasty and a brownie. First time having a pasty! Yah.
After lunch we went back to the Globe to watch Richard the Third. Good show, good show. Then I went out with some of the others, which was a fiasco within itself, but that's a long story. All that matters is that I went into the city, had some fun, and went home.
Getting home though... that was a bit of an adventure.
Y'see, on the rail I take home, it forks at Harrow. One fork goes north, the other south. We asked the guy working at the Harrow tube when the last train would come. He said 1:20. So, we decided to stay in Harrow for a bit longer.
We arrived at the tube station at 1:00. The tube guy told us, "Oh. There's a train coming, but it's a fast one and it's the last one." The fast ones pass our stop. He had said there would be one to our spot. What the hell. Luckily, I knew a bus stop on the other tube's stop so we went on the opposite fork's tube. When we arrived to the bus stop... the buses were no longer coming. I realized we were actually close to our spot by walking, so that's what we did. At about 1:30 in the morning. Luckily my partner was a guy, but I honestly didn't feel too worried.
I still shouldn't have told that story to my parents when I Skyped them this evening though. Eh.

And here we are to today! May the next posts be less list-y. Today was just chilling. Yup.

I'll talk to you soon! For now, here are pictures.

I'm not a Dr. Who fan, but I found it necessary to get a snap.

Tower of brownies. YUM.

Lordy these smelled amazing. Lookit all of that cheese.

What's the weirdest getting home story you've ever had?

Harry Potter, Open Air Museums, and Random

I know. I don't even have to say it. Ridiculous.

For the Harry Potter Friday, I'll let my video explanation do all of the talking.

Yep.

Saturday was a lazy day for the most part, but I was also able to go on a run through Hyde Park. Can we just say gorgeous? It's amazing. I wish we had parks like that in Oregon.
Sunday, I was able to meet up with two other Oregonians I knew! They happen to be staying in England for awhile. We had lunch, we went to the British Museum, we hung out. It was nice. That night I was also able to Skype with my family for the first time since I've been here! Of course some event was going on, so it was a lot of loud noise at my cousins' house. Per usual. I was going to bitch my sis out a bit simply because she didn't tell me stuff. I had to learn important information from the people who are here in ENGLAND. What the hell sister? However, she had work.

Monday was dreary weather and ickyness in general. No one wanted to go outside, so we huddled in the center and chilled out. Tuesday was about the same chill level, but the weather was nicer. I did check out a bit of the Tate Modern, so that was interesting. I still have two levels to go in there.

Wednesday was very relaxed simply because one of my classes was cancelled. She had to take another group around somewhere, so I had no class until 2. I decided to use this opportunity to explore Camden Market! Give me a market, and I will be pleased.
Now, I've gotten to the point where I've probably bought myself enough things (some fashion journals in Paris, two dresses, a hat and a HP stein), but one thing I've always wanted has been a pocket watch. They're just so cool. Pocket watches are everywhere when it comes to markets, but originally I had been seeing them for about 15-20 pounds. The more markets I went to, the lower the price got. When I got to Camden, I found some for 10. I decided to haggle. I ended up taking four pounds off of it. Awesome!

Later that evening, I met with my relative to return his flat keys. You shall be missed, access to a flat in the city. Sigh. We ended up going to his gym (I snuck in as a guest), ate food and watched It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Nice.

Thursday was mostly a wandering around day, with a play in the evening. 'Twas a Spanish translated play called Yours for the Asking, and it was quite interesting. A bit odd when the characters talked about never going to London though... that's just me.

Friday was an excursion day! We went to the Fishbourne Roman Palace and the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum. If you don't know what either of those are, well neither did I. The Roman Palace is exactly what it sounds like, but it has art from both Roman and English craftsmen. The mosaics are from 1st and 2nd centuries. CRAZY.
As for the Open Air Museum, it's a place where they bring old buildings from around England and rebuild them there. It's actually very neat. You see very Snow White style cottages. Mostly this made me glad I live in a day with electricity and heating. I love my heat. Then again, it was cold and wet when we went there, so of course I was thankful for normal heating when I got home.

So I'm almost there! We've got Saturday and Sunday to recap, but I'll write about those later. Only Saturday had anything interesting happen. For now, enjoy these pictures.

Catching Up, For the Most Part

What's that you say? The last time I posted was a week ago, and I had only gotten to the 12th in my entry? Good lord. I'll have to do some summarizing, but it shouldn't be too hard.

13th- Went to the play King Lear. It was a good show, I had never seen it. Lear was played by Jonathan Pryce, who you might know from the Pirates of the Caribbean films. Honestly, I remember him as the bad guy from What a Girl Wants.

Ayup.

14th- Went to the pub with the group that night. 'Twas a good time. A lot of people didn't bring their licenses, they brought their ISIC cards. That was dumb when we tried to move around. Ah well, they know for next time.

15th- A few of us went to Portobello road! Oh my goodness, there is so much to see there. I'm definitely going back, but possibly on my own. With a group, you're constantly looking for the other members of the group within the throngs of people. Also, I want to do some shopping. I've probably done enough shopping for myself... I should look to getting other people gifts. I have vague ideas, but at the same time I'm stuck. We also tried finding Abbey Road, but were terribly unsuccessful. I ran after that.

16th- Prepared for the next week. Cooked, did readings, all that jazz.

17th- Not too eventful. Had classes, lasted most of the day. Did more trip planning.

18th- Went out for drinks again (Tuesday? I know). There was a deal that happens on Tuesday, so a few of us went out for a bit.

19th- That night we went to a play called The Busy Body. It was hilarious and adorable. I was a sucker for the costuming, which happened to be very 18th century. The buttons seemed to keep popping off though. After the play, we got to see the Bridge all lit up. It was gorgeous.

20th- Apparently was not that eventful, because I even forgot to write about it in my travel journal. Oh, I did go see Platform 9 3/4s, and that was fun. Whoops. However, the next day was eventful because... I went to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour.

And that I'll talk more about in my NEXT post. Don't worry, it won't be as long of a wait! Plus I know, these list type posts are obnoxious, but it's hard to get everything down so quickly. I swear I'll get normal again.

How do you post when you have a lot to catch up on?