Some Days.timez

Classes have officially started on this side of the pond!  I cannot stress how excited I was for this day to come.  To be honest, I couldn’t take another day of orientation activities.  It would have driven me stark bonkers; no thank you.

Of course I was 30 minutes late to my first class this morning.  Anyone surprised?  In all fairness, it wasn’t entirely my fault.  A few of us boarded the tube this morning, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to take the day by the metaphorical balls.  Unfortunately, not all balls want to be grabbed and September 14^th was one such instance.  As we boarded the Piccadilly line in South Kensington, we hear the following announcement:  All lines travelling on Piccadilly will experience severe delays due to signal failure.  Wah Wah!  So, after 35 minutes between South Kensington and Knightsbridge (the very next station), a transit that should take less than 3 minutes, we got off and road the line back to SK and boarded the Circle and District line instead.  After three more switches, we got off at Holborn and walked to the Centre.  Luckily, my prof hadn’t started the course yet as every other student was experiencing severed delay as well.  Got to love understanding faculty!

My first class on Monday is an Art History course taught by Lucinda Hawksley.  I am a tad intimidated because this chic chick has three books, from what I remember on the syllabus, published in the area of Pre Raphaelites.  It is going to be a fun course, even though I haven’t once learned about Art History.  Unless you count the art unit in High School Spanish.  You don’t, right?  Right. 

Next.

I had this class called Censored!  What the British Couldn’t See.  Basically we took an 2 hours or so to do introductions and to decided that to ‘censor’ means ‘to limit what can be seen, and to promote the ideal.’  I was rather sleepy, but Wendy, the course instructor, is pretty chill so I am cool with her.  Over the course of the semester we will be watching a lot of films: The Exorcist, A Clockwork Orange, etc.  I am excited to see how the class turns out.  Already, I know that there will be a lot of reading this semester since we only meet once a week.  I have a feeling that this will be a tad dangerous for me…I may or may not wait until the very end to get things done.  Looks like that will have to change!

Following the first day of classes, I rushed back to the LRH to enjoy some delicious curry made by Drew and get ready for a night out at the clubs. 

We didn’t go to bed until 3:30.  I had to leave at 9 this morning.  It was rough.

The club we went to had three floors, including a VIP lounge which each IES member was invited to.  The lounge was pretty comfortable (sans the crying Spanish girl in the corner that we tried, ineffectively, to comfort.  I don’t think she was looking for support, just attention.)  A little note about the music: Tiger Tiger—the club’s name—loves a good bout of 90s music.  Naturally, this was a-okay with a majority of our group.  Quite a good time.

Anyway, we all sweat through our jeans and tees and decided it was time to leave.

Waking up for class this morning was especially difficult.  The sun was pouring in and there was nothing , no nothing, I could do to stop it.  That star is one difficult bitch to beat.

Today I had my first class period of Playwriting.  Vulnerably, I don’t think that I am going to enjoy it.  As much work as the class I took at Gustavus was, I really prefer Mat’s teaching style to Marina’s.  It will definitely be a unique experience.  Perhaps things will change as the time passes.   

Following class, Drew, Steve, Jacque, Virginia, Jamie, and I had lunch at Pret (£2.5 sandwiches!).  It was scrumptious.  The tube ride back was strange.  I was by lonesome and I ended up sitting down and falling asleep.  When I was jolted awake by an unnecessarily sudden stop, I realized that I had missed my leave.  Still, I wasn’t panicked or worried.  Actually, it felt quite good.  I was so aware of where I was and how to maneuver back to the correct location that it ended up filling me with pride.  I know it sounds so miniscule, and a little self promoting, but it caused a click within me.  I am doing this.  I am really getting around this enormous place with my own instincts and judgments.  I think that’s pretty cool.

I miss ANTM. 

I miss my friends.  I miss Spence.  I miss my family.

I am loving this new routine.  It is challenging and exhilarating and exhausting.

Shit.  I just blew out my adapter.  Do not attempt to plug in a power strip to an outlet even if the voltage is converted and adapted.  The strip must have been too much for it to handle.  Lame.

Tonight, Billy Elliot: The Musical.  I’ll let you know what I think.