Fifteen Days: Day 8.foodz

I have been thinking for a while now that I am very ready to go home.  There’s something comforting about the US.  Yes, yes, yes, I know that I rave constantly about how great London is and how fantastic Europe has been and how different life is in a big city and blah, blah, blah, but there comes a point when you realize you have left some pretty wonderful things back with your roots too.  Family and friends immediately come to mind.  I have to be honest, too: I am ready to leave this beautiful city.  For now, anyway…who knows how I will be feeling on Wednesday or Friday or that fateful Saturday.  (To be fair, I know that I will want to stay forever and ever and I will have to drag myself to the tube and through the airport with all of my luggage and tear drops.  I also know that I will look hella good doing it.  Sure, I’ll be a fucking mess, but DAMN!  I’ve already picked my outfit for leaving next week and it’s going to be a good one to leave on.  Plus, the hair is getting all cleaned up for the arrival.  Leaving in London in style, that’s for sure.  Jesus, this is a long ass parenthetical.  Moving on!)

So, yeah, I am ready this evening to say goodbye for now and see you soon.  Will I be in a week’s time?  Absolutely not.

Today was magical, to tell the truth.  After an awkward evening of everyone being on edge following a great afternoon, this morning’s mellow atmosphere was more than welcome.  I don’t know what the issue was, but most of us seemed a little off.  Whatever!  There’s bound to be times like that in any situation.  Back to today: Borough Markets with Jamie, Jenny, Kelly, Steven, Drew, Izzy, Ben, Christine, and Michael. 

The market itself is full of food.  No really, it’s only a food market!  There was plenty of fresh produce, a great deal of jams and cheese, and the occasional dead rabbit or pheasant hanging from a hook just outside of the food handlers’ mitts.  Yep, that was nasty.  I am not one to look upon hanging animals with a lot of admiration; I think it’s quite cruel, really.  Still, no judgment.  If that’s how one person needs to make their living, I have to step back and realize that it might just be all that they know.  Maybe it’s a family tradition?  Maybe it’s not my place to even analyze?

On the quick note of food: I definitely made some delicious fried rice the other night and even documented it!  Hooray!  No, still not as good as the pop’s, but ‘twas not that bad! 

Well that was unrelated.  Just some shameless self promotion! 

We all grabbed lunch in the market because, duh, where better to eat delicious food than a market that specializes in just that?  Well, it was delicious.  Most of our group opted for some of the stalls at the front of the market, while another bunch stopped at a little curry stand.  Jenny, Kelly, and I tried out the local organic veggie stop for some Veggie Stew and Spicy Veggie Fajitas.  If you ask me, I think that the three of us made the right decision.  That was some tasty, tasty chow.  Also, we got to enjoy some fresh squeezed juice!  I had carrot-orange, and I think that J-Bird enjoyed cranberry-apple…that might be wrong though.  Whatever we had, it was delicious! 

After lunch and some perusing, we walked along south bank toward the National Theatre.  I took some pictures of the miniature skate park that I had been meaning to get to all semester and I finally got some good shots of the place that I think my brother would enjoy the most about London.  Hard to say, though, because Erick would probably like the rest of this city just as much as the skate park.  The graffiti was insanely cool and I even managed to get a snap shot of a guy mid air.  He sort of just popped into the frame.  Kinda neat!  We continued on to the Chocolate Festival where we enjoyed some free churro samples and other miscellaneous chocolatey goodness.  I think that Karen would have really enjoyed herself at the chocolate market.  There was a cool both about chocolate pairings and the drinks that good really well with certain types of cocoa…I wish they had brochures for me to bring back: too much information in one conversation!

There was also an espresso stand in the fair that belonged to the staff of the UK Latte Art Champions of 2010, Exchange Coffee.  The guy who made my extra dry cappuccino was none other than Neil himself, the UK Latte Art Champion!  I was very impressed with my drink: I guess I should expect no less from the “best coffee in London.”  Of course, I IMMEDIATELY went to River Rock in my head: MISS YOU PEOPLE LIKE CRAZY-SAUCE!

I just watched a group of people rollerskate down Kings Road while singing Christmas Carols.  I don’t think that could have come at a better point in the night: I was so utterly and emotionally moved.  Ah!  I love this place. 

Currently: it’s time to get ready for another fantastic night in London. 

Interesting how this happens, someone should really do a study, but: I never want to leave.

Fifteen Days: Day 7.playz

First: Josh Groban is getting me through the Holiday Season.  See below.

“I am dreaming tonight of a place that I love, even more than I usually do.  And all though I know it’s a long road back, I promise you: I’ll be home for Christmas.  You can count on me.  I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.” 

“It's up to us to be the change.  And even though we all can still do more, there's so much to be thankful for.”

Today was the last day of classes.

Let’s just let that simmer for a bit.  *simmers*

Kelly walked into Theatre in London: An Introduction today and was like, “wow, last class.”  Then we simultaneously realized, “Sweet Jesus!  It’s the last class!”  How did that happen?  How have I been in this city for over three months?  Time is a tricksy little devil, me thinks. 

Our last class focused on reviewing the nine productions we saw this semester in preparation for our final.  We all brought our play texts and programs in to draw on for discussion.  I was pretty prepared already for the discussion, so I wasn’t really looking forward to three hours of review—though I am sure it would have been very helpful.  Everything changed very quickly, however, when Jen wrote the following words on top of the white board: IES Oscar Awards.  I knew it was going to be a great class.

For anyone unaware, I think that Oscar night is the best evening of television all year.  I love awards.  I love movies.  I love being right about who was best and which film dominated the screen.  Naturally, the Academy Awards should be my favorite event of the year.  The only thing that would make them better is if they announced the nominees in descending order from fifth place to winner (tenth place for the new Best Picture set-up).  Ugh, I am actually getting giddy just thinking about it.  AH!

Anyway, all class, we nominated actors and actresses and designers for their work in the productions we saw this semester. Following our discussions we also picked our winner (and loser) for Best and Worst Production.  Let me tell ya, I ate that stuff up.  Seriously.  I love awards.  I love ranking things.  I love listing things.  It was the best possible note to end my semester of classes on.  Also: it inspired me to do more or less the same thing with this little blog. I’ve been meaning to talk about the shows I have seen for class anyway, so it’s the perfect opportunity to do so!  So without much further adieu, I give to you my personal rankings of the plays I’ve seen this fall.

9^th Place – Enlightenment by Shelagh Stephinson at the Hampstead Theatre

Enlightenment is about a family, specifically a mother and father, dealing with the disappearance of their son.  The father has moved on, has come to terms with Adam’s probable death.  Leah, the mother, has not.  She seeks the help of a psychic to calm and assuage her fears.  Then, just when everything looks the bleakest, a report that Adam is alive emerges.  The first act ends with the family meeting Adam outside the airport where he is greeted with a great ending line, “who the fuck are you?!”  The rest of the show is a “thriller” (yawn) focusing on not-Adam’s interaction with his new family.

Ugh, where to really begin with Enlightenment?  I couldn’t be bothered to go see it again, that’s for sure.  The acting was dull, the story was forced, predictable, and a little boring, and the excitement and energy of the production was lackluster.  All of that aside, I thought that Enlightenment featured an excellent design.  It was set in an entirely white stage that featured a cluttered house, slowly losing all of its possessions in an attempt of Leah’s to clear her mind, to soothe her soul. Overall: it just didn’t work.  However, you win some, you lose some.  Enlightenment was the only show that I saw this semester that I did not enjoy which makes the rest of this entry very tough.

8^th Place – Deathtrap by Ira Levin at the Noel Coward Theatre

Deathtrap is a play about a playwright and his play called “Deathtrap.”  Are you confused yet?  Yeah.  It’s a little convoluted.  The playwright is involved with a former student of his that has made a very successful name for himself.  After reading his student’s play, the main character Sydney decides to kill Clifford (the student) and take the script for himself.  However, things take a very interesting turn when Clifford isn’t really the target of the murder plot!  Dun dun dun!

Right.  Maybe it’s just that Thrillers do not work in theatre.  Our modern audience just doesn’t get scared anymore?  Maybe we like to work things out too quickly and, when we do so, it ruins the fun, the mystery, and the suspense.  Deathtrap is already a semi-weak work of writing which means that the production has to be perfect for it to even grab us.  Jonathon Groff and Simon Russell Beale were fantastic as Clifford and Sydney, but I don’t think you can build a great production off of a two performances.  The play, the set, the other characters, etc all have to be great as well.  The set: impeccable. 

Everything else meh.  Still, fun show.

7^th Place – All My Sons by Arthur Miller at the Apollo Theatre

This famous little classic follows the life Joe Keller over the course of a few days.  Joe lost his son in the war due to some faulty parts that were in the planes his son was flying.  Joe’s business partner is in jail because the parts for the plane were actually sent from his company—treason is a tricky thing when it destroys lives.  Joe has spent his life lying about his involvement with the fiasco, tricking his son, his neighbors, and his wife into believing his innocence.  However, Joe learns quickly that just because he thinks he’s gotten away with effectively murdering his son, does not mean that he has.

It really boils down to this: we had terrible, and I mean TERRIBLE seats.  A bummer, really, because I like the play and I loved most of the acting, and the set.  The acting I didn’t care for came from the girl playing Anne.  I will not soil her name by posting it here but MY GOD was it just atrocious.  I thought throughout most of the production that she was supposed to be a remedial character…nope!  Anyway, the set was amazing, and David Suchet and Zoe Wanamaker were phenomenal.

6^th Place – My Romantic History by DC Jackson at the Bush Theatre

A lovely story about work and love.  The action centers on an office relationship and is told from the view of the boy in act one and the girl in act two.  Act three is about figuring things out together.  It was funny and charming and very intimate.  Overall, hard to not laugh and feel like you just spent a very mice night at the theatre.

I think that sixth place is still pretty good…I mean, My Romantic History just isn’t a very deep show: there isn’t much to it.  It’s important to note however, that it is a comedy about romance, not a romantic comedy.  I thought the writing was pretty awesome and the set could not have been done better.  The acting, primarily on the part of Rosaline Sydney, was great.  I haven’t laughed that hard at a show in quite some time.  It helped too that Iain Banks, who played Tom, looked right at me during a funny line in the show because I was dying of laughter and then delivered the rest of the line directly to me.  So great.

5^th Place – Hamlet

Well, this is the middle of the road for these awards.  The play that’s neither on top or on bottom: the real middle of the pack.  Hamlet is about, well, Hamlet.  If you don’t know the story of Hamlet: your education system has failed you!!!  Seriously though, google it.  It’s too much to put here and this is already a little on the long side…woops!

Hytner, the director, brought Hamlet into our contemporary society by placing it in a modern building in 21^st century Denmark.  The constant surveillance state of the set was insane!  Closed-caption cameras, guards, secret service, ever changing walls…just phenomenal.  Rory Kinnear, who played the title character, was equally impressive—he delivered a Hamlet that we never really knew and he did it masterfully.  I think he was our class’s choice for best Actor.  Also: Shakespeare in London…can that ever go wrong?

4^th Place – Faust at the Old Vic Theatre

Faust is about selling your soul to the devil to freeze a moment in your life forever.  If you could have a chance to do it all over again, would you?  It focuses on the life of one man in a nursing home who is allowed to be young again and pursue the woman of his dreams.

Okay: Faust is wackadoodle.  It was an acrobatic, performance based show that really, really blew my mind.  I was confused, I laughed, I sobbed like a small child who just lost their ice cream.  It really did a lot for me.  I think that’s why I’ve ranked it so high.  The space was amazing: nets above our heads, people climbing on the walls.  More than anything, Faust was an experience and that’s why I responded to it so well.  It is hard to describe the show because it really was such a spectacle.

3^rd Place – Pieces of Vincent by David Watson at the Arcola Theatre

The lives of 8 people have been shattered by the death of Vincent, killed in a supermarket bombing.  The play focuses on the interactions of those 8 people and their stories as the information surrounding the bombing slowly comes to the surface.

It’s hard to believe that the first piece of theatre I saw in London was already 3 months ago.  Weird.  Still, what a testament to this production.  I was blown away by the acting, the design, the writing, everything.  It was heart-breaking, really.  Ugh.  I want to see it again.  I want be back in that little theatre, watching some lives unfold before me.

2^nd Place – Blasted by Sarah Kane at the Lyric Hammersmith

Well Blasted is about war.  The brutality, the anger, the hatred, the love, the passion, the fire, the disaster, and the all consuming monster that lives inside it.  Not a play for the queasy or the weak stomached, though.  Nope. Not at all.

I have already sort of beat this play and production to death this semester and in some previous blogs, so I am only going to say this: Sarah Kane left this earth to soon.  Blasted, as well as her other works, are genius and should be viewed as such.  A poet and gifted realist, Sarah Kane’s Blasted is a masterpiece.

1^st  Place – Clybourne Park by Bruce Norris at the Royal Court Theatre

Racism and Property: That’s what this play is all about.

The acting, the set, the writing, the direction: it was all brilliant.  Everything came together perfectly.  I could not have been more wooed by this production.  It’s transferring to the west end and it will be on Broadway!  How cool is that.  Clybourne Park, upon its release in the states, should not, SHOULD NOT, be missed.  It is a classic work that will undoubtedly go down as a masterclass of writing and production.  Mad, mad props.

So there you have it.  My faves, my least faves.  I noticed in re-reading that I had a lot more to say about my least favorites.  Maybe I am still wowed by the better ones that I don’t want to say anything to make them seem less than they are. 

I am constantly told that there is no better place to see theatre than London, England.  I have realized that this may be true.

Cheers.  Looks like we’re in single digits…

                                                                                                                                       

Fifteen Days: Day 6.planz

I really don’t like peeing with gloved hands.  There’s something oddly discomforting about having to unzip, steady, and rezip without the use of your uncovered digits.  It’s someone else is helping you out with a mundane, very routine task.  No thanks, gloved hands, no thanks.

Guess what?  Chicken butt!  But really, I have some pictures of Sloane Square lights finally.  I suppose I talk about the area enough that it might warrant some discussion.  So, Sloane Square.  Right.  Well, as you should be aware, my Residence Hall is on Manresa Road and King’s Road, an intersection that gives students and visitors of the Chelsea area more than enough access to all of the hottest attractions in the area and just outside of it.  As you walk down King’s Road:  you eventually pass Duke of York Square and get to Sloane Square.  Basically, Sloane Square is a department store paradise.  I have never been inside any of them, but I hear they’re pretty much the shit.  Whatever, no time for that.  Especially when Hugo Boss is next to it, distracting me with photos of Natalia Vodianova.  There’s a model, folks.  There’s a model.

I don’t really know why I am so obsessed with Sloane Square; I just love the area for all that it has to offer me.  The biggest attraction is of course The Royal Court Theatre, but I’ve already talked about its wonderfulness.

Okay, so gushing over.  Time to tell you a little story about Tuesday night, I really hope you’ll appreciate it.  So, last evening, we had made plans to go to the well reviewed and immensely popular War Horse.  I looked up the theatre and the location of the nearest tube station and we left at around 6:00: plenty of time to get to the show and buy tickets. 

Well, things do not always go as planned.  We got to Holborn and went off to Drury Lane.  Oh by the way, by ‘we’ I mean Steve, Izzy, and I.  We met Ben and tried to meet Jamie at the station.  Unfortunately, Jamez got confused as to what our plan was and hopped on the wrong train and we ended up getting separated.  It turned out not to be that big of a deal though because, guess what(!), we didn’t end of going to the show!  We wandered around Drury Lane for about fifteen minutes and got totally confused.  We did see Onasis, Oliver!, and Dirty Dancing: The Musical though.  None of which were War Horse—obvs.

Anyway, after we wandered around forever, we decided that, HEY!  We should just go get ourselves to a pub and drink ourselves silly.  Well, not silly, but definitely enjoy a drink or two together.  We attempted the Cheshire Cheese, the place that has been around since the mid 19^th Century and famously noted as the place Charles Dickens penned many a page.  Pretty cool, yeah!  I like to think that someday a pub will be happy to tell guests that Josh Plattner once sat at this booth and wrote his famous novella, play, children’s book, and number one selling fiction!  Ha!  We can all dream, right? 

Like I said, we attempted.  It was slammed, wacked out busy.  Wah wah.  So we wandered some more.  Eventually we found our way to the beautiful Blackfriar and sat down in the back.  We had Gin and Tonics all around, sans Izzy who tried a new beer.  Something about a white horse…whatever.  It was just bad Guinness.  Suddenly, we were all a little buzzed and food sounded delicious!  Izzy and I split a sandwich and chips while Ben and Steve each ordered Fish and Chips—the local favorite, of course.  Another round of drinks came, too.  We talked about the economics of death, the disaster of religion, some very touching, personal stories about spirituality and paranormal activity, and a great deal about heaven and hell.  Of course, there was some harmless joking involved, most of which was directed at Steve and Ben.  They take it so well those two; such great sports and great human beings.

We left the pub a little dizzy and walked out to the Millennium Bridge.  What a beautiful place, huh?  We walked across the bridge and walked on over to London Bridge tube station.  We got off at Sloane Square and suddenly we were right back where the day started.

I commented, along with Ben, Izzy, and Steve that last night was one of the finer nights we’ve had in a long time, maybe even all semester.  It’s never a bummer to be reminded that even with such little time left, there is plenty of room for more memories to be made.

Cheers.

Fifteen Days: Day 5.Lauraz

Right: so plans definitely change.  That’s what today’s lesson is.

Unfortunately, tonight was one of those evenings that meant blogging had to take a bake burner to the happenings of life.  Still, I don’t think that this is a bad thing: I am slowly learning that promises are important to keep, even if you cannot fulfill them to their full potential.  In this case, it meant that I had a great blog in mind for this evening, but a separate narrative found its way in to my night.

So: time to vamp.  Time to share something that is nowhere near as exciting as the stories you will hear tomorrow. But I am getting ahead of myself.  Tomorrow is the future, and living in the future is a sign of weakness.  And I am not weak; I am awesome.

Would you like to know who defined my day?  Kanye West.  That’s who.  I have never really been a big fan of his, especially after the VMA fiasco—though I cannot stand Taylor Swift in the least.  I literally cannot stop listening to his new album, fresh off of its recent 5 star review in Rolling Stone.  Crazy, I know!  5 stars is basically unheard of.  So, yeah, I’ve been listening to the songs “POWER” and “Monster” all day and cramming my life with rap lyrics performed by Nicki Minaj.  Ugh.  Painfully delicious.

Also:  HOW BAD-ASS IS LAURA IN THIS PHOTO.  SHE IS SO FLIPPING HAWT!  She’s another member of our program that I have not had enough time to get to know…that seems to be happening a lot lately.  Laura is a twin.  She’s from Nashville and she goes to IU along with everyone else in this little city.  I am jealous that so many of them will be spending time together after this semester is over…in ten days…Blerg.

Not important now though!  What’s really important is this: Laura should model.  Now.

If the whole psychology thing doesn’t work out, I want to look into photography.

(How badly does that idea freak you out, family member reading this blog?)

Fifteen Days: Day 4.santaz

Just Because it's Awesome

Today was the last time I will probably ever see my Censored! professor, Wendy Hewing.  There was a sadness all class period that loomed in the back of the room that kept us all very aware that this was it, the last class.  Our presentation was fantastic though; Jenny is a wonderful person to work with.

Secret Santa always stresses me out.  For no reason, really, it just makes me feel like I have to find the perfect gift because it’s the only one that that one person in your little circle of people is getting from anyone before heading back to the states.  That’s pressure, people!  Yikes!

Today:  I found it.  I found the perfect gift for my Secret Santa and boy did that feel good.  Then, just literal minutes afterward, I found the perfect gift for my grandpa!  Finding gifts for him is always tough because I like to think that he already has everything he needs and everything he wants—not an easy combination to work with when you’re getting people gifts.  However, this also means that my Christmas shopping is DONEZO!  Allllrrrriiiigggghhhhtt!



Some Photos from the Other Evening!



The walk back from Holborn was chilly beans today, guys.  Like, it was real cold when that sun went down around 4:30.  I was definitely ill-prepared…I didn’t even bring gloves!  Sloane Square is just so damn pretty when you’re walking through it at night though.  It makes that hour of walking so worth it when you see all the cool, blue lights waiting up in the trees and the neato trees all lit up in Duke of York Square.  Tomorrow: I will put up some pictures of them…I am really bad about bringing my camera with me during the day.  I think I am probs to protective of it.



I initially intended on seeing a show this evening, hence the walk back through Sloane Square.  I have been talking about Kin at the Royal Court Theatre for a while now, pretty much since I missed Tribes at the same venue.  (I have this mild obsession with the Royal Court after seeing Clybourne Park there in September.  That show was too good to pass up.  Also, it’s coming to New York next year!  Which means I can no longer say—soon, that is—‘never have I ever seen a Broadway show.’  Woot!)  Alas, no space.  Monday nights are the cheapest nights to go so I imagine that their £10 tickets go rather quickly throughout the day.  Dang!

Siblings

Well, it’s just as well, I suppose.  I got to enjoy a very leisurely dinner with the crew at My Old Dutch, the usually Monday night dinner place.  I had Chicken Curry for the third week in a row and it did not disappoint.  Good god.  I could eat that every day for every mean for the rest of my time here and I would not complain.  It’s quite tasty, I tell ya. 

Following dinner, I took a nap.  Let me tell you: night naps after food comas: good choice.

That’s about it today.  Tomorrow: Plays, Plays, Plays and some pictures of the beautiful Sloane Square.

LOVE.  PEACE.  TEA (otherwise known as fake coffee)

Fifteen Days: Day 3.O'Neil'z

I think I would rather listen to gay, male brits than any other people in the world.  Sure, that makes me a creep, but their subtle femininity and great charisma and charm is so endearing to listen to.  God I love people watching…er, listening, I suppose.  Anyway, I am writing this in a little café while finishing my paper for Censored! and the guys next to me, though I doubt they’re in a relationship, are clearly gay and clearly loving life.  Big smile.

On a much unrelated note: the British are not big fans of the oxford comma.  I find that ironic.  Here we are, just an hour away from beautiful Oxford University, surrounded by lists just begging for a comma before the ‘and’ and there isn’t one insight.  I think that’s a bummer.  I don’t like to be confused when I am reading articles or reports and seeing ‘blahdy blah blah babble, bibble, blarg and bood.’  I immediately want to know why ‘blarg and bood’ are grouped together…what’s that about?  So confused.  It looks better with another comma right?  Like, more professional?  I wonder if Lynn Truss would be upset?—I cannot recall her opinion on the matter at the moment.

I did say that I would have story about last night, so I imagine that I should tell it.  Without any further adieu, I present to you O’Neil’s: A Meditation in Three Parts. 

Part 1: Pre Game

I was on the phone with my dad and my friends were rather insistent that it was time to go out.  So I finished up my blog, got off the phone, and put my stuff back inside my room.  I retrieved my gin and brought it to the kitchen where we decided what the agenda was for the evening.  Some of us were concerned that our days had been fucking ruined because we were banking on being able to go out as a group during the evening and there was talk that it might just be better to stay indoors (raining out) and just have some game time inside.  Things changed quickly though when Izzy suggested that we should all go out dancing.  We had all brought up the fact that we wanted to go to O’Neil’s at least one more time before the end of the semester so we agreed that tonight would be the night.  So, liquor runs were made, drinks were concocted, and cards were put in a circle around a cup in the middle.  It was time to pregame.  We decided on King’s Cup because everyone enjoys a rousing game of categories.  Here were some highlights before moving on:  The category was beer.  Christine and Izzy both threw out valid answers and then Ben submitted this little winner: Red Bull!  During Never Have I Ever, someone said, ‘never have I ever had a mouse as a pet.’  Steve: Wait, does a gerbil count?  Let’s all take a moment to slow clap for that response.  Of course we could also give Josh a slow clap for his explanation of his favorite number: “My favorite number is 8 because if you turn it on its side it’s an infinity sign and that’s how long I plan on living.  Until infinity.”

 Suddenly, half of my bottle of gin was gone and it was time to get on the train for Piccadilly!  Hooray!

Part 2:  O’Neil’s is Sweaty

We’re standing outside in a massive group with a massive queue ahead of us.  I’m feeling good and there is no way I was letting that die down outside in the cold.  So I decided that I couldn’t be bothered to wait in a line to get into the bar.  So I walked on up to the front, started laughing with no one, and slowly assimilated into the head of the line.  Ben accompanied me; I think he wanted to dance just as badly as I did.  Once indoors, I noticed that O’Neil’s was ungodly busy.  I threw my coat into the coat check in the basement and waltzed upstairs to get a drink before everyone else arrived.  Unfortunately, there was little snag.  I may or may not have bumped into a table which may or may not have caused a drink to fall on to the floor and shatter.  I may or may not have pretended I didn’t know it was my fault.  Some drunk girl verbally attacked me for a minute while I feigned innocence: “Oh, I’m so sorry!  Let me get you another one, is that okay?”  She rolled her eyes and asked: “Are you fucking stupid?”  I realized then that she had no idea where she was and had probably rolled out of her haystack bedding just an hour earlier and was rallying from the night before.  I walked away.  When I got to the usual spot, right up by the band on the right most side, I was greeted by every one of my friends that had just gotten inside and were already dancing the night away.  The band played some pretty classic things like The Killers, some Blink 182, Guns N’ Roses, but also managed to sneak in some more recent things like Rihanna.  Jenny and Jamie were the first casualties and left at around 1:00.  Steve, Izzy, and Jacque died off next, along with a good portion of the group we had met up with.  There was a point where just Matt, his roommate Steve, Rachel, Emily, and I were centered around a pole and dancing to some Gaga, Cee Lo, and Katy Perry.  I do believe we had a very good time.  Allow me to reiterate though:  that place was packed.

Part 3: After

I am not sure what time we left, I just know that it was fairly late or rather early, depending on your perspective.  Matt, Rachel, Steve, and Emily all decided to take the 20 minute bus ride, but I opted out in favor of a walk home.  No one tagged along.  I think that it was probably for the better.  The walk was mainly to clear my head of all the unnecessary drama of the evening before we decided on our evening plan.  In retrospect, walking home on a Saturday night all by myself was probably not the brightest idea I’ve had since being here.  Not to mention I stopped in Green Park and Hyde Park Corner on my way back.  Still, the walk was much needed and so beautiful.  I took a seat on a bench in Green Park on my way home and just stared at the massive trees and looked up at the stars, the same ones that everyone can see back home.  I had a little An American Tale moment on that bench.  Then I started tearing up and reflecting on this little experience of mine.  It’s been unreal.  Just unreal.  Of course, it’s not over yet, there’s plenty of time to make new memories. 

When I got to the Sloane Street area, I took a moment to look into some of the designer windows like Chanel, Roberto Cavalli, Armani, D & G, etc.  They were all pretty spectacular, though none of them can hold a candle to Harvey Nichols.  It was when I was peering into the little windows that I realized that I was entirely alone on Sloane Street.  No people, no cars, no taxis, no buses; it was just me and all of these impeccably lit designer windows and the rustling of leaves on the sidewalk.  Izzy, when I finally returned home, would go on to ask me why I was wasting Sunday working on a paper and tell me that I wasted a whole weekend in London.  But tell me:  who gets to experience one of the most extravagant shopping streets in all of London by his or herself?  Who has that privilege of being all alone in this massive, massive city?

Me.  Myself. I.