Saturday Off - Week Recap

I'm not working this Saturday and it feels refreshing to finally have an unplanned day. I must admit that I do miss having a free day to just explore. That's one reason I'm looking forward to spending term break here. I'll take some time to catch everyone up on some happenings.

On Tuesday, I saw a production of Macbeth starring Patrick Stewart (yes, the Captain Picard of Star Trek). I've never seen a professional production of Shakespeare and it was quite good. I must admit that I would have had almost no idea what was going on had I not read the play in high school. It was a pretty tense performance and from the start, I knew I would be stressed out a little during the play. The setting was Stalinist Russia (I think) and it was a very sterile, eerie set. The Weird Sisters were thoroughly creepy and with all that stainless steel and projected images around the stage, I was glad to relax at a bar afterwards. For kicks, Jared, JP, and I decided to go to a Soho strip club to see what it was like. There's a first time for everything and I thought, why not try? It was a memorable experience. From television and movies, I had a preconceived idea of what a strip club would look like. But since this place was more bar/pub and less strip club, it was much different than I expected. No tables and chairs or couches facing the main "stage." Just a bar and open floor space in front of a small area with a pole and crossbar. A bit awkward for a set-up I thought. There were two strippers who didn't really phase JP, Jared, or me. It was kind of similar to a background music video playing at a club: it's there but you only turn to see what's playing once in a while. Anyways, I thought that was interesting and blog-worthy.

My Thanksgiving was pretty quiet. Thursday is like my "day off," since I work Wednesday and weekends, so I just wanted to get some laundry done and relax. I tried to go to Roseberry, another LSE hall, for a turkey dinner but there was no food left by the time we arrived. Jared and I improvised and headed to The Monument pub for some Thanksgiving-ish sandwiches. Unfortunately due to the bird flu, the turkey was replaced with chicken but it still had the other necessary ingredients: cranberry sauce and stuffing. It was good to just relax and have some pints. Definitely a unique Thanksgiving though. It's strange to think that my Thanksgiving for 20 years has been characterized by all these traditions and now, for the first time in my existence, I'm switching things up.

Today I met up with some friends in Covent Garden for lunch and we walked around the Jubilee Market for a bit of exploring. I love markets despite their aim at tourists and such. Tin placards, license plates from North Carolina, framed photos for 10 pounds, caricature artists, jewelers, leather goods, etc. Glitzy Christmas decorations hung from the ceilings and it had a very seasonal feeling. California, perhaps because of its weather or landscape, has never really been able to manufacture that feeling for me, so I almost feel more in the Christmas spirit here than if I were at home. The Santa and reindeer lights display near Costco just doesn't cut it.

I think I've rambled on for long enough. Everything is going well, I think. A highlight today was a street performer's rendition of Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice (It's Alright)." I was moved enough to throw in 2 USD worth of change.

Rainy Days

There's something about London that can make me appreciate it even when I'm walking home in the rain with a heavy backpack and two bags of groceries. I've never had this same type of appreciation while walking back to Georgetown's campus from Safeway, and I can't quite pinpoint why. Maybe there's nothing along the way to see? I don't know.

It's a rainy, cold day and I'm still in a good mood. I went climbing at the Castle today and met up with a friend from work. His name is Gabor and he's Hungarian and we both get a kick out of losing things in translation. When he was finished in the changing room, he said, "I'm worse than a bride." Number one. I couldn't figure out he said the word "worse" for a while and number two, I had to have him explain the saying. I'm slowly getting better at climbing, but I'm also noticing that the heights make my palms sweat more than when I first started. I wonder why.

I can't find normal "American" cheese at the grocery store. I went to the cheese aisle and they had blocks. This was my third attempt. Also, in fun news, I've discovered an American-ish bar is only 10 minutes from my dorm. I went to the bar (at another location) after work on Saturday night only to see the Michigan vs. Ohio State NCAA game. Pretty unexpected. Then I had to endure taunts of "Rugby is a real man's sport" by an annoying co-worker. This rugby versus American football debate doesn't actually exist. Most Americans abroad agree that rugby is cool, but to concede that it is cooler than American football is rare. They are simply different and I will leave it at that. My American pride is strong in London and I'm not about to let some arse tell me repeatedly that football players look gay in tights.

One last thing. Hold two fingers up as to signal "two beers, please." No, you just said "Piss off" or something. I forget. I hold two fingers up a lot and it's kind of a problem. Alright. That's all for now. A full week ahead and Thanksgiving! We will probably go to this pub called The Monument and order the turkey with stuffing and cranberry sandwich, since the bird flu has pushed turkey prices OUT OF CONTROL.

Also, I'm working on getting more postcards out. If your name is Grandma or Grandpa, one is coming as soon as I think of something unique and interesting to write. I've gotten no mail from overseas (ahem, parents). When my aunt gave me a some stuff from home, I half expected to see something special in there. Alas. It's not actually making me sad. That said, I miss everybody and hope Thanksgiving is a much deserved break for everyone working so hard. Talk to you soon.