I normally wouldn't do this during work, but I just want to let everyone know that Lisa and myself just scored a picture with Mark Rhodes in the studio. Yep, our dreamboat who presents the show… we were in the studio 'afterhours' taking pictures (5 min ago) when he came in and asked what we were taking pictures of. He then took my camera and well, you'll see the photo later on tonight when I upload it.

I feel like I just met a backstreet boy.

:-D

Oh and in case you were wondering, last Friday, on my day off, I went to Hyde Park, saw Kensington Palace (the exterior), Kensington Gardens, Princess Diana's Memorial fountain, The Science Museum, The V&A, Harrod's, and still had time to go to Covent Gardens, grab lunch from Marks & Spencer's, go home, back to Covent Gardens to meet up with people at Porterhouse for Matt G's last night with us before he goes to Wood Norton. THEN, went back home, took a 5 min nap before Saela called to say she, Chris & Garf were back at Farringdon ready to go get food at Tinseltown. (Small nachos, extra cheese with an oreo milkshake).

I didn't get to go to Brighton though. Quite unfortunate since Saturday was a gorgeous day and Sunday was drab.

I've Fallen in Love.

I have compiled a list of things that I will be looking forward to when I arrive back on U.S. soil, should you need to find me, I'll be relishing in one of the following:

-Sushi (devouring Yellowtail handrolls avec scallions; many of them)
-Chipotle (or another suitable burrito franchise; i.e. burritoville.)
-Spice ( lunch special -- spring rolls & chicken pad thai)
-Wholefoods (a place for meditation and really good tabouli)
-Strand Books/ Barnes & Noble. I miss perusing through huge bookstores.
-H&M (To help prove [my newfound knowledge of] fashion in London is better than Manhattan)
-Kim's Video (albeit personally never having borrowed or bought any films from the store)
-Getting carded at a bar and then showing my Driver's License with a smile. (though with my luck, they'll never card me again)
-24 Hr Subways
-My dear family and lovely friends who I have missed.
-Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
-Reliable internet
-Not having to walk a mile to collect mail
-More than 5 television channels
-Regular cucumbers and fruits
-My own apartment to decorate and clean.
-Not wondering how to respond when people ask "You alright?" because that's really just their way of saying "How are you"
-A Haircut!!
-Drugstores with everything in 'em.
-Saying "math" instead of "maths"


Things I Will Miss Dearly:
-The clean and somewhat efficient Tube.
-Sainsbury's/Tesco/not-so-much Budgens
-Sofra's £5 two-course meals (Borak Platter, Mixed Grill/Salmon…amazing)
-My British mates: Chris, Matt G, Matt F, Garf, Rob & those whose company I have had the pleasure of sharing even if it was once or twice: Bobby, Riley, Tom K., Tom H., Tudor, Ricard etc…
-Their charming accents
-Printworks (or really, the luxury of stumbling across the street to dance and for cheap drinks)
-TopShop (even though I never bought anything, it was nice to dream)
-The vast varieties of candy bars and crisps
-Fish & Chips
-The easy and somewhat affordable access to the other European countries.
-The never-ending debate on the English vernacular. (Seriously, it's pronounced 'schedule'… not 'shedule' & 'Eggplant' is another name for fruit, 'aubergine' too… 'Aubergine' is actually French, thankyou.)
-Working for CBBC and having an email address ending with bbc.co.uk.
-Having the pleasure to work with such people like Lucie, Sarah, and all of the contacts I've made... [BTW- I emailed Jonnie, a contact in the Videogaming industry, saying I'd be leaving this Friday and to instead contact Lucie, and he wrote back saying "That's a shame, it was a pleasure dealing with you! I hope you go off to do something interesting". I've never even met the guy, but I already miss him.]
-Free museums
-Pret a Manger's hoisin duck wrap....& chicken/avocado salad... with Balsamic Vinegar & Salt Crisps
-Nachos at Anexo or Latin Square or the ICA
-or at Tinseltown at 2am...with an Oreo Milkshake....with Saela, Chris & Garf.
-The absence of guns
-All the Liberal-minded people who hate Bush
-Free laundry
-'That'll Teach 'Em: Boys vs. Girls' on Channel 4, Tuesdays 9pm.
-The way they use the 24-hr clock and have the dates as day/month/year (it makes things so much easier)
-People saying "cheers" instead of "thank you"
-Their obsession with Omega-3 Fatty acids and "fruit & veg"
-Not seeing celebrities I know (aside from TomKat, Brangelina & The Hiltons/Nicole Richie), and instead dishing about Local celebs in "glossies"
-Reading The Guardian daily, and getting easy access to The Independent
-The ICA
-The absence of disgusting men who catcall at girls (I've only gotten it about three or four times here)

:(

yo, check it out:
(it's nice having first dibs)


Monday:
ETYMOLOGY 0455PM-0610PM

Tuesday:
MODERN US DRAMA 0200PM-0445PM
THE AVANT GARDE 1100AM-1215PM
SPOKEN WORD OFF THE PAGE 1230PM-0315PM

Wednesday:
HISTORY OF ANIMATION 0200PM-0445PM
ETYMOLOGY 0455PM-0610PM
INTRO TO SPECIAL EFFECT MAKE-UP 0620PM-0910PM

Thursday
THE AVANT GARDE 1100AM-1215PM

Monday & Friday
Work, or Internship

Farringdon Road is a scary place. I went to Farringdon Station to see if Erin B was there (since I hadn't heard from her) and thought I was being followed by this guy who was waiting (or peeing) in a corner... but I called my flat and talked to my suitemate Erin K for comfort.

Finally got a call from Erin B and she was a block away from Kamen, so I ran to get her. Such a relief!

Today we went to Camden Town. Once again, I did not purchase anything except for food. Perhaps I will try again next week because it'd be a shame not to get something vintage for a relatively good price.

I am probably not going to Spain with James next weekend, so that'll leave him to write his screenplay and me to go to the Science Museum, British Museum, Selfridges, Harrods, Hyde Park, and whatever else I haven't hit yet.. Maybe even Oxford or Cambridge.

Now, i just have to focus on this bloody script. argh!

update 14/04/06

bad news:

-I lost my keys. I actually "cleaned" my room (looked under my bed. threw out some newspapers, etc) and still, nothing. I can't understand where I could've left them, but alas. Michelle and Lisa have been nice enough to lend me their keys. Of course, it would happen during a holiday weekend when hardware stores are closed...

good news:

-Wednesday night, I went to see RADA's performance. They did Two Gentlemen of Verona (for the life of me, i couldn't follow, but I'm like that with alot of Shakespearean works). I was very proud of them, and even though it wasn't conventional play-acting, they did a really good job.

-Also, today I helped cute Tom in the studio, though I didn't really do much except wrangle the guests. Peter, our Animal expert and James Bellamy who plays Stevie Wonder in Dancin in the Streets was on. and I didnt even wrangle them so today was quite pointless.

-I was running on 3 hrs of sleep because my lovely suitemate who was on her way to Dublin, misplaced her wallet (which held her key and passport and money), and BANGED on the door at 3am, shouting and not remembering that I had to wake up at 5am. So there was that ordeal. I wasn't pleased. However I got to talk to Kris and that was good since I haven't talked to her in ages.

-After work, I did my laundry and took a nap. I was exhausted. I don't know how I'll make it to 7:30am transmission (TX) next week, if I go in at all. (Cute Tom won't be floor manager)

-Tonight, Sean took me out to Sofra for my birthday and we had a nice long chat.

-Tomorrow, Bowser comes to visit!!

Good news!

1) Erin is coming to viist this weekend from Dublin!! Thank goodness I decided not to go away.
2) I am going into work early this Friday, even though it should be a holiday for me, and instead, taking off next Friday, because I might go to Barcelona.
3) Yesterday, work was kind of slow, but I managed to speak to someone about sending Guitar Hero for my gaming expert!! It's this really cool game like DDR (dance dance revolution), except instead of a dance pad, you get a guitar and have to press the right buttons at the right time to go in tune with the music... I got more contact numbers as well. Maybe I should go into PR?

Bad-ish News:
1) I am still stuck on my script Idea (due very soon). I don't know enough about forensics to write it, but I do know enough about teen drama. Should've watched more CSI with my mom....
2) I only have one more month here with still so much to do.
3) This in turn has made me think about wanting to move back here to work.

I shouldn't be allowed to read WedMD, or other things like that because I am such a hypochondriac. This week, I have longitudinal melanonychia. Well, I've had it for awhile now, but I just found out what it was called, and while it's a mild case, i still need to see a dematologist when i get back home... which is SOON!! ahhhh.

Work has been good. Today I called a bunch of people and got semi-important contacts for videogame releases. It's amazing how helpful they can be once I mention we want their product on-air.

I've made 2 friends already, Jonnie and Graham. I find it weird I'll never meet them, yet will rely so heavily on them to make sure we have a show for the 5th of May, when I won't even be working there anymore. I'm actually really sad to be leaving because I really enjoy the people in the office, and I can't believe I only have about 12 workdays left.

Which means, I only have 2 weekends left to take in this city. This past week was fun-filled with some BBC girls and British Friends. Thursday night, we went to Strada near Oxford St for dinner. It was MiMi, Willa, Saela, Lisa, Chris, Matt, Scottish Matt, Garf, Bobby and I. Quite fun, ended up in a pub down the road where I did not drink, but arm-wrestled Bobby for the use of American words. He insisted it was courgette, not zucchini, aubergine and not eggplant... refusing to admit to the fact that l'objets can be named more than one thing...and that the "correct" ones are French!

Well I lost (to Bobby & Matt), because I am a weakling (and have longitudinal melanonychia...) and I've failed for the American people despite some British strangers cheering me on.

Friday night, went bar hopping (Stop tsktsking, remember I'm 21!) along St John's Street. Started at Vic's Bar, had a gin & tonic. Came across Darbuka, this Turkish lounge-like place where people were dancing all crazy and free-ly which was awesome. I consider myself a good dancer, but I couldn't keep up with them. Went to another where MiMi's Tom made me try Sambuca. Eww, licorice. and ended up in Al's Cafe. Tom bought me a Flirtini requested by Saela. [t'was Absolut Vodka, Cointreau, Champagne and Pineapple Juice]

Saturday was Garf's 24th Birthday. While he was at his favorite pub from noon onward, I went shopping with Chris in Camden. He got a couple of things, but I couldn't bring myself to buy this dress. It was gray with white polkadots... cowl-neckline and knee length tapered skirt. I may go back this weekend to get it. Also went to Oxford Street, grabbed lunch at Pret a Manger, and sat in Cavendish Park, quite lovely to sit on grass again. I met up with Saela, and tried to use my 50 pound gift certificate (given by my lovely Aunt Lisa, Uncle Sam and Harrison), but I guess I wasn't in the shopping mood.
Fast forward to that night... Chris, Garf, Saela and I ended up in the 24 hr American Diner called Tinseltown. FINALLY!! too bad they can't make American food correctly though.

have a craicing* day!

Oh it's been too long,

I'll post up pictures from my birthday/post birthday... which, by the way was a great one because Phil & Mike came to visit on their spring break and went to Muji to get me 21 assorted pens/markers/pencil/eraser/etc... for my 21st. And anyone who knows me knows I like stationary.

Also, it was superb because Phil reserved a table at Shanghai Blues... and Saela, Mengfan, & Lela were there as well.

ANDDDD I went to Dublin for St Patrick's Day, to visit Erin Bowser who surprised me with this:


i loved her before, but i love her even more now

It was also for Steph's 21st (3/15)... she's on the right... her roommate in Paris is Agatha (left)


On our walk back home on Temple Bar Lane... a man randomly gave us this.. which I took home and cared for a whole 3 days.


me, Phil & Mike in Dublin


Here's Chomsky at the Jameson Whiskey Distillery. I didn't know he was a lush until that weekend.



In other news:
I wrote an approximate 3000-word research paper the entire weekend 3 weeks ago. The result? Exhaustion.

It was on how David Lammy, Minister of Culture Media & Sport in Parliament decided to help fund museums so that admission was free (vs Museums that were not...ie in NYC).
Really boring, I kind of blanked out the next day so don't ask me what I wrote.
(also, that white pencil case is Phil's present to me!)


That weekend, Chris invited us out to his housewarming party... so we went, 'cause hey... we have British friends now, we needed a break and because we heard there was fondue

Clockwise from Left: Lisa, Saela, MiMi Chris & Me

This in turn has also led us to meeting more people. And if I get my way (which I will), Mark from the duo- Sam & Mark (aka third & second place in Pop Idol, respectively....not my British uncles) will be my BFF (British friend forever...thank Lisa for that one).
Here they are (minus the girl in the middle)

(Mark...girl...Sam)
They are really cute and super nice, though I haven't had a full conversation with them just yet. We just smile a lot to each other.

ANYWAYS. work has been good. i've been doing a lot of research and trying to get kids on. But I really can't discuss it further for it might breech my contract.

One more month to go, and I'm back home, if not touring Europe, but I really do miss New York and warm weather. It's been nice(r) here but yesterday, it hailed for a few minutes!! Argh.

Oh and I've decided on some classes for next semester. I'm going to push Intro to Forensic Anthropology (perhaps take it in the Spring)... and instead take Modern US Drama, US Contemporary Playwrights, History of Animation and Intro to Special Effects Makeup. (which would mean I'dhave class Tues-Thurs)

my other choices were: History of Western Art I, Intro to Jewelry, Intro to Painting, Intro to Lithography, Intro to Sculpture or The Avant Garde. What do you think?

* "craic" means "fun" in Ireland.