28 June, 2007 | 8 Comments

I moved today. This is my fourth address in 2007 — and the year is only half-way over. Woo-hoo! Who knows what joys the rest of the year will bring.

I must admit I’m a little bummed that not one person I know in this city lifted a finger to help me find a place. My situation was greeted with total indifference. It sort of makes me feel…the opposite of warm and fuzzy.

But let’s not dwell on that. I prevailed…with a bit of luck and plenty of prayers and happy thoughts from my peeps back home — not to mention the well wishes of blog readers. Here is the view from my desk:

Not too shabby.

27 June, 2007 | Enter your password to view comments

26 June, 2007 | 12 Comments

Someone got a summer job as an instructor at a major London university, teaching English (specifically writing skills) to international students about to embark on their degree programs. Someone will spend part of July and August teaching not only undergrads, but graduate students as well (master’s and doctoral). [And someone may not become homeless later this week, but that's still iffy.]

The someone of this tale, a person most of you love but a few of you hate, would be me. Woot!

Stay tuned for more developments…

25 June, 2007 | 8 Comments

It was a lazy Sunday. Aerosmith played a concert in Hyde Park tonight — which meant they were also playing a concert inside my bedroom. This weekend was the Hyde Park Calling festival. Aerosmith were the loudest I’ve heard play from the park by far. But then, I’d expect nothing less from a Boston band. I could actually hear the songs perfectly and could sing along. [Listen for yourself.] I am quite far from the bandstand, believe it or not. Damn, Steven Tyler has a big mouth. I can’t imagine living in this neighborhood permanently — these festivals are really quite a nuisance. But tonight was kinda cool because I like Aerosmith. And it was just surreal to look out into the stormy London sky in my pajamas and hear Aerosmith playing live. This is my last weekend in this place (sigh) and so I don’t mind having that as a memory.

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24 June, 2007 | 1 Comment

For ADT. Capture light…

Britain is being battered by major storms and flooding. I was in Kensington Gardens tonight [without an umbrella] as a rather intense thunder and lightning storm developed. View all the photos, in order, on Flickr.

22 June, 2007 | 5 Comments

Tony Blair and I have a lot in common — we will both be homeless next week. But I don’t think his circumstances are as dire as mine.

P.S. Sincere thanks to the fellas who wrote to me, offering to let me move in with you. I’m sure you’re very nice and everything. Actually, I’m stunned you’d want to live with me, based on this blog. While I appreciate the offers, I’m not quite in the habit of moving in with strange men.

21 June, 2007 | 5 Comments

Happy First Day of Summer! Happy Longest Day of the Year! Happy Half-Birthday to Me! Yes, I am a solstice girl. Six months from today will be my birthday (eek!) and the first day of winter (double eek!). When I realized this earlier today, I became determined to enjoy the summer that lies ahead and to live in the present as much as possible.

When I woke up this morning, the day was just regular. But it ended spectacularly. Today is a High Holy Day for sunset lovers like me. I walked all around London for hours this evening. It was a strange sunset — bright sunlight, blue sky and dark, stormy clouds. [On this first day of the British summer, it was chilly enough for a jacket.] As I walked in St. James’s Park and along the Thames, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of what I was seeing. Really just overwhelmed. The photos don’t do it justice.

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19 June, 2007 | 7 Comments

in no particular order:

a thunderstorm

a train ride to surrey, seated with people wearing funny hats for ascot

a job interview

a gift from a blog reader — money via paypal to buy myself lunch and flowers

[not too shabby]

18 June, 2007 | Enter your password to view comments

17 June, 2007 | Comments are off

I’m really quite stunned that Salman Rushdie received a knighthood. It’s a rather provocative move. Iran has condemned it, not surprisingly.

**Update**

From today’s Guardian: There are protests across Pakistan concerning the Rushdie knighthood. Queen Elizabeth has been burned in effigy. A Pakistani government minister said this knighthood justifies suicide attacks.

Who says novels and writers aren’t relevant and important nowadays?

16 June, 2007 | Comments are off

a brief update on my previous post. daft punk is just finishing up their set.  i had to actually turn off the movie i was watching because they were so loud (the loudest by far).  on the other hand, i could hear it so well i just got a free concert.  here’s bad audio footage of their song “one more time” floating over the treetops of london. [best with headphones.]  right now my bed is vibrating.  ahem.

16 June, 2007 | Comments are off

Thanks to the O2 Wireless Festival, my humble home has been rockin’ over the past few days. The floor vibrates and there is no such thing as peace and quiet. All afternoon and night I hear the muffled sounds of a rock concert. Actually, there are multiple concerts on multiple stages. On Thursday the headliners were The White Stripes, tonight it’s Daft Punk. Tomorrow, Kaiser Chiefs. Heaven help me.

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16 June, 2007 | Comments are off

make a list of everything i do that annoys you so i can tape it to my computer. use small font, my computer isn’t that big.

16 June, 2007 | Comments are off

15 June, 2007 | 8 Comments

Worry.

I haven’t been myself lately. My friends from home wonder what’s happened to me because I haven’t been replying to emails too much. Friends here have gotten in touch about going out but with just one exception, I’ve not responded. Maybe because I just want to keep it all inside. I don’t want them to know. It seems that my life is a never-ending soap opera. Best to just keep it to myself.

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14 June, 2007 | 1 Comment

Courtesy of National Rail Enquiries.

14 June, 2007 | Enter your password to view comments

13 June, 2007 | 7 Comments

Tonight I went to my local Sainsbury’s (inside the train station). They had British strawberries for half price. The half price bit gave me pause — I’m not really a big fan of marked-down produce. But I assumed this was a sales gimmick so I took the plunge. Oh. My. Goddess. I can’t remember the last time I tasted such yummy strawberries. They are so sweet they taste like they have sugar on them. Simply divine.

These were part of my dinner, which also included cornflakes, bananas and soy[a] milk. After that I had a few McVitie’s Ginger Nut biscuits with peppermint herbal tea. I may even start saying “herbal” with a hard h. I am becoming so British it’s sickening.

12 June, 2007 | 6 Comments

On Sunday night I spent a few hours stalking St. Paul’s Cathedral, with a break in-between for dinner with a friend (and there was a little crime thrown in, but more on that in a minute). I hung around for so long because I wanted to see the cathedral in different kinds of light. Sometimes I become fixated on a certain place and I must see it at different times of the day, from all angles. It becomes an obsession.

There are very few people around St. Paul’s on Sunday night, which is both cool and a little creepy at the same time. It was closed, but I wouldn’t have gone inside anyway. A ticket costs £9.50! That’s around $20. The Louvre in Paris is cheaper. The British Museum is free! I think it is absolutely repugnant to charge people anything to go inside of a church, let alone charging such a large sum. What would Jesus say about that? He wouldn’t be too happy.

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11 June, 2007 | 2 Comments