In Which I Have No Life, Then Proceed to Have a Life, Then Return to Not Having a Life, With Sweet Potato Fries

Alternatively titled: In Which I Ruin my Political Future. See exhibit A:

I'm getting slightly ahead of myself. To begin:

My most sincere apologies for not updating sooner, but being in the loins of our Anglo culture I figured it was time to get out.

Anyways.

This particular entry, contrary to popular belief, won't reveal much of how my semester is going, rather focusing on a trip to London I took this past weekend when 4 out of 5 doctors agree I should have been doing work. By doctors I mean psychiatrists, my parents, or anyone with a sense of time management or basic judgement.

But due to my sense of twenty year old whimsy (World travel! London! Culture and Iris and Pret A Manger!), thrift (It was free!), and just a bit of actual logic (maybe it'd be good to not be in my room for awhile), I was off to London.

Important Note: The aftermath of this trip involved no less than two sleepless nights, much emotional trauma, and mass quantities of sweet potato fries cooked and consumed. Was it worth it? Absolutely.

Observe the photo below. The pile of delicately crisp sweet potato fries rests equally atop my notebook of Virginia Woolf related recordings and my copy of Mrs. Dalloway itself. In the background rests my Ipod cable, with which I was likely listening to bad nineties music. I felt very much in my element.


So London! I left Friday afternoon, arriving at London-Victoria about two hours later, where I met up with Iris! Who I hadn't seen in a very long time! Who shared her Krispy Kreme donut with me upon arrival! Who is amazing for this among many other reasons!

Because it was so close we walked to Buckingham palace, where we proceeded to take some photos. Of the classic variety:

And the slightly less so

Krispy Kreme! This was a very important part of our day. Or at least this picture would lead you to believe it was.

The trip was excellently planned; Friday night included dinner with our host/guide/program director people couple type individuals (I can't believe how eloquent I am today), where I met Andrew and Stacey, who will appear in a later photo! Coming soon! Scroll down now if you can't wait! Though I'm pretty sure you'll be able to. It's alright. I understand. Free three-course meal included soup, fish and chips (because I had to), and apple pie with custard. It was nice to eat something that wasn't a sweet potato in fry form. Or Special K. But that's another story.

Ok, I'll tell you now. I ate an entire box of Special K while staying up all night to finish a paper. I simultaneously consumed over a quart of milk. I felt kind of awesome but nobody seemed to agree it was an accomplishment I should be sharing as much as I was.

Friday night consisted of microwave popcorn and Arrested Development =)

Saturday morning began with a sightseeing bus tour of London. Here I am in this really typical THERE IS A BUILDING BEHIND ME THAT IS VERY RECOGNIZABLE AND INDICATIVE OF WHERE I AM picture. I AM IN FRONT OF IT AND THUS IN THE VICINITY OF AN EXCELLENT BUILDING YOU ARE PROBABLY NOT VERY NEAR TO, AND THUS MORE ACCOMPLISHED THAN YOU. GOOD DAY TO YOU VIEWER. This picture yells and isn't very nice.

Hey you know those people I mentioned before? Here they are! Trafalgar Square:

The three of us, in addition to looking slightly windblown but lovely in the above photo, took part in an antiwar protest from Speaker's Corner to Trafalgar Square. We shared a picket sign, marched among the masses weaving their way through the streets to the sounds of rallied cries and camera flashes. When we got to the square, we broke down the sign, each tucking a piece away in our bags; paper memories to remind us we weren't as lame as our future offspring will probably believe we were.

As the day turned to night, our group reconvened; among the new arrivals were three of my flatmates, Esther, Bella, and Rachel. The evening was incredible; just a bit chilly, with blue skies breaking through the sheet of white hanging overhead all day. We stopped for a quick photo break on a bridge, then settled into a long table at a restaurant by the theatre for a meal before seeing Mother Courage and Her Children. I have photos of our dessert, but I'll spare you; it's unkind =)

The play was fantastic- I can't wait to find some time and take a look at Brecht's original text. Too bad my mind's filled to capacity with minor facts about Virginia's Woolf's life and mental state. Oh well.

On Sunday we saw Kensingon Palace, Iris and I fed our (mostly mine, probably) Pret addictions, wandered through the National Gallery, and I was home by nine.

The next three days were a block of sleeplessness, frustration, furious writing, and consistant reminders that I have the most fantastic friends in the world. I'm truly blessed.

I'm running out of blog entry writing energy, so here's a picture of the interior of the Bridge of Sighs, conveniently located in Hertford, my college, where someone conveniently held the door open for me conveniently letting me into a corridor I normally inconveniently cannot open. Ha.

In other news, when I was feeling down this week, I received the very unexpected gift of...

Afjkwrlfgh (!!)x(!!!!!!)^(!!!)

Life is pretty fantastic, isn't it?

On the agenda: more reading, papers, gobs of revising, planning trip to Sweden to see Johanna at term's end (!), lots more Skyping, laughs shared; It's amazing that even with all that's going on here, I'm excited to be going home in a few months and seeing everyone! I miss you all!

Love and Crumpets,

Allison