Goodbye, 2010

Happy daring, blinking, nutso, brilliant New Year!

Cheers!

Christmas Film Round-Up

In no particular order, here are at least some of the movies I watched between the end of term and today:

The Holiday - Love the festive chick flick! Kate Winslet is so amazing, she can even make a crush on Jack Black believable. And while I might not be interested in Jude Law in real life, he's a good enough actor to make his characters non-skeevy! Is there a Kate/Jude film out there somewhere?

Elf - Now I've seen it. I still don't understand the love. I'm going to have to go watch Stranger Than Fiction again to reassure myself that there is SOMETHING in which I can stand Will Ferrell.

White Christmas - It still doesn't get much better than the original and the best. Rosemary Clooney and Bing Crosby get more adorable every year! And the dresses! (*swoon*)

Love Actually - I've been hearing people rave about this for years, and I finally decided to give it a try. It is rated "R", which is why I haven't checked it out earlier, but my friends insisted it is pretty mild and didn't really have anything objectionable. (Except for the language. And the nudity - played for laughs. And the other nudity. And the language. And the sexual situations.) In all honesty, I have heard and seen worse here in the London theatre scene (and hated every minute of it, don't get me wrong) but even without all the sex/language/nudity (generally played in a very cheerful, upbeat way) I still didn't think it was a very good movie. I liked Valentine's Day better - the stories made more sense, I was more interested in the characters, and it didn't have the sex/language/nudity. Back on the "No R-rated Movies" bandwagon! Nothing there worth seeing!

The Hunt for Red October - Holiday movie? Well, there are flashing lights... Young, hot Alec Baldwin: Action hero. Old, hot Sean Connery: All-around hero. Merry Christmas to me!

Christmas in Connecticut - Found this last year for the first time, still love it. And one of my favorite parts is the submarine battle in the opening scenes. (I know, right?) Maybe all holiday movies should include submarines.

The Blind Side - I've just been meaning to re-watch this for a while. Man, Sandra Bullock is good. Man, Tim McGraw is charming. Man, I bet I will continue to get teary-eyed every time I see it.

Borrowed Hearts - Roma Downey and Eric McCormack; this is the kind of cheese-tastic unrepentantly goofy film that could ONLY work as a Christmas (made-for-TV) movie. Roma Downey sure was a sweetheart - and her accent only slips a couple of times. Ah, Eric McCormack's hair... a travesty, though a fascinating snapshot of "how did we ever think that was cute?!?". I could only download the first 70 minutes before I got shut out - silly as it is, I just had to get back in and watch the last 15. Had to! Oh, Borrowed Hearts, you take me back. Good times.

* * * * *

I will also vouch for Unstoppable, Harry Potter 7.1, Chronicles of Narnia: Dawn Treader, and Tron: Legacy. I am currently determined to own the soundtracks for the last two.

Now back to packing! (*cracks whip*)

(Please Refer to Yesterday's Post Title)

Apropos of nothing, Sliding Doors is an excellent film. Who would have thought John Hannah would make a believable romantic lead? As usual, however, no apartment in London that I've ever seen actually looks like any of the living spaces in the movie. Could just be my income bracket.

Anyway, I'm moving in two days, and have even made progress on the laundry and packing. My new place is bigger, quirkier, and closer to school - with even more space for people wanting to visit! (And the Glee tour will be in town the 26th of June! Just sayin'.)

* * * * *

Growing up, there was this awesome box in the storage room in the basement. It was full of all kinds of interesting things, and was the "go-to" spot when one was in need of a birthday or wedding present. A last-minute party, a baby shower, a thank-you gift - just go check out the box, because something was bound to be a perfect fit. Oddly, this box got a little less cool in the last decade or so - items had been sitting in there for quite some time, things got a little less applicable and a little more chintzy... I think we can blame gift cards.

Anyway, a few years back I was at home with my parents over Christmas. I think my youngest brother had just gotten married and I was the sole remaining child present first thing Christmas morning. Evidently, Mom had forgotten that we usually open "stocking" presents first - I'd gotten a few surprises for Mom and Dad's stockings, but mine was bare. Not even a lump of coal. We were in no hurry to dive in to anything, though, none of us being five, and we got a little distracted with a phone call from a sibling with children who had already been up for three hours by the time we got moving. When we returned to the stockings, I was surprised to see a few bulky packages had appeared near my stocking - I was excited to open them, but less excited to find a few different scripture study guides... all of which I recognized as long-term, out-of-date "on the shelf" items from the gift box. It happens, right?

The next Christmas I was once again the only child at home, and I got a large, flat, solid-seeming present from Santa. I opened a lovely coffee-table book of LDS artwork... which would have been nice if not for the fact that I already owned the same book, having purchased it years before when I worked at Deseret Book. I was a little confused, not having seen that particular book in any store for quite some time; I came to find out when I tried to exchange it that it was out-of-print and couldn't be returned. It wasn't until the following year when I was moving both copies of the book that a note fell out of one of them, written in my grandmother's handwriting. It occurred to me then that I had purchased a second copy of the book all those years ago and given it to my grandmother for Mother's Day - and when Grandma died and Mom helped clean out her house this was evidently one of the things that was "rescued" for the gift box.

Here's the thing - I'm a big fan of re-gifting. I think it's smart, it saves money and time, and if you do it right it can be very successful. There are entire websites dedicated to the practice of re-gifting, with lists of tips for doing it correctly. The all say pretty much the same things:

- Do not re-gift something to the person who originally gave you the present. (Duh. And yet...)

- Re-wrap the item. (Check.)

- Take careful thought - make sure the item to be re-gifted is a good match for the new giftee. (Pretty close...)

- Don't re-gift anything worn, damaged, or opened.

- Don't re-gift something handmade and/or craptacular.

- If you're not going to buy something new, be prepared to give up something really nice. (Huh.)

Some good common sense here, right? The one thing that's missing:

-Do not re-gift to the child who is most likely to recognize an item as having lived in the "gift" (read: "re-gift") box for at least a decade, OR who is most likely to have given the item as an original gift to the deceased grandparent.

I suppose it's kind of exciting to have a category all to yourself.

Don't get me wrong - my mother is great. She's a thoughtful, wonderful person, and very busy with volunteer work and improving people's lives. (Seriously.) She just doesn't have time to shop.

This year, I think I might have gotten an entirely new category of re-gifting: since I'm in England, my parents put some money in my bank account, which was terrific. Mom decided I still needed presents to open, however, and sent a package of small gifts in the mail, which was sweet. I got a little nervous, though, when I opened the big mailing envelope and found, amid all the little wrapped presents, a number of things I distinctly remember setting aside to be taken to the D.I. (Utah's Goodwill) when I left for school. This was not a good sign. Unfortunately, I was right to be apprehensive - the wrapped packages had all begun their careers as items that I had purchased as supplies to be shipped over to me in the UK in one big "bathroom" box, including replacement heads for my battery-powered toothbrush and a stick of deodorant. Basically, I was re-gifted things that I had already paid for for myself.

(Go ahead and laugh.)

On the plus side, there was an "open now" package in the mailer that turned out to be the Glee Christmas album - check that off my wishlist! I do love new Christmas music. (Mom for the win!)

My birthday's in just under two weeks, and my mother sent a box the day before Christmas. Could be... interesting.

* * * * *

I think next year's Christmas policy ought to be strictly gift cards. Maybe ones with turtles on them.

Let the Re-Gifting Begin!

Happy Christmas from the UK! I feel OK saying this the day AFTER Christmas, because I'm following it up with your Trivial Pursuit-worthy fact o' the day: the Twelve Days Of Christmas traditionally began ON Christmas and continued through New Year's until the 6th of January. I know this because Jan. 6 happens to be my birthday, and I've looked into it. Theoretically, it could be the coolest birthday ever - history would dictate two weeks of gifts and celebrating culminating on Twelfth Night (a play I love, BTW) with a massive party and masked ball or something, at which I would be named Queen of Misrule and make people do all kinds of silly things. (Or I could just be a drama teacher, and do that everyday. Hmmm.) In reality, of course, it just meant growing up that the present I was most excited about would inevitably NOT show up under the Christmas tree, and I'd know I'd have to wait another two weeks before I could have it. (Mom's never been very good with surprises - although she does score sometimes - and it's been a long 20+ years of holiday seasons.) I think it's time to bring back that midwinter two-week party - you know, stimulate the economy, stave off the after-Christmas blues, blah blah blah... it doesn't ALL have to be about me. (Just the big bash. At the end.)

Today is also Boxing Day - the "Black Friday" of the UK that falls on the day after/first business day after Christmas. Originally, this was the day the lords and ladies of the manor would "box up" their leftover food (no refrigeration, natch) and gifts and distribute them to the poor, or the day the parish churches would open the poor boxes (donations) and hand out the money. It's also St. Stephen's Day (from that repeat No. 1 hit, "Good King Wenceslas"), and roving bands of young men used to stone a small bird (because Stephen was stoned, geddit?), a wren, tie it too a pole, blacken their faces, and frighten the populace into giving them money - er, I mean, sing songs and ask the locals to make charitable donations. Maybe your home-grown gangs should try for a little more creativity. Nowadays, the Brits give their money to the poor merchants by lining up at 5 AM to shop for whatever they didn't get the day before. (And in this age of PETA, the roving bands of young reprobates dress up in wigs and women's clothing and carry around a stuffed bird in a cage. I'm not sure if this would be more effective for charitable collections or not.)

* * * * *

This year's Christmas was fun - I was hoping to volunteer at a homeless shelter, but a) turns out even the homeless shelters shut down for Christmas (sad), and b) there is absolutely NO public transportation on Dec. 25. Craziness. Next, I tried booking a train ticket to Edinburgh ("Eh-din-bur-o") figuring I could hole up in a super-fancy hotel that would naturally be offering a steep discount for the weekend and watch movies and stroll the picturesque streets... and then reality kicked in when I found the regular £24 round-trip train ticket would be much closer to £220 over the holiday weekend. (If I'd booked two months in advance I would have gotten a much better price - romance and spontaneity are so expensive!)

Finally, I was taken in like an orphan waif off the streets by two American course-mates - one of them (Anne) had been scheduled to fly home the week before, but her flight had been cancelled due to the mayhem caused by an inch of snow. The other (Dallas) had already scheduled her flight for today and was sticking around anyway. I hauled a suitcase (including a pillow and a roll of toilet paper - it pays to be considerate with other students) on a train, the Tube, AND a bus on Christmas Eve, and we had a lovely chicken dinner and watched Christmas movies. Then we all slept in yesterday, I got up and opened my presents (more on that later) and we had breakfast for about two hours. (Seriously, we just lazily moved from juice and pastry to bacon to eggs and toast and ate whatever/whenever Anne decided to cook. Good times.) We watched another movie, I attempted to Skype with my family (ending with my brilliant brother holding his iPhone with camera up to the screen of his computer where I was online with him on Dallas' computer so that my parents and sister's family could see/hear me from the computer/over the phone/on their computer - nothing like jerry-rigging your technology!) and we finally got dressed and went down the street to another course-mate's house for a turkey dinner and all the treats I'd gotten from the American section of the high-end grocery store. (The Jell-o No-Bake Cheesecake was a big hit, and way better than I'd remembered.) I certainly haven't eaten that well since I got here!

Today was... trickier. In what I think has to be one of the lowest moves I've seen in a long time, the union scheduled a Tube strike for today, the busiest shopping day of Britain's year. The authorities were calling for employees to ignore the strike and come in anyway - but they didn't. Dallas and I got on the earliest bus we could (8:30-ish was when they started running - Anne had hired a car to get her to Heathrow waaaay earlier), me to head to church and her to get to the airport - and we could not find an open Tube station. Her flight wasn't leaving until one, but with the mess of the past week they'd been asking passengers to arrive three hours early, so she finally caved and took a cab to the Heathrow Express. By the time I got through three frozen bus transfers I realized there was no way I was actually going to get to church, and headed home to thaw out and watch the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. (And Elf, which I had never seen, and which I'm not all that impressed with. And now I feel weird for putting the First Presidency and Will Ferrell in the same thought process.)

* * * * *

So tomorrow is the Bank Holiday version of Boxing Day - I'll be packing and cleaning, and if I get too stir-crazy, just might go shopping. I hear there's one other store with (fiercely expensive) American products, and I'll be looking for a cheap TV and DVD player. I'm pretty sure my new place has a TV license, and you can't actually have a conversation with a native Brit if you're not watching X-Factor. Also, we missed the Dr. Who Christmas Special yesterday, and I can't let that happen again.

Happy Holidays, all! Best wishes for whatever this season's falling turtles bring you!

I Hear This Guy Can Write, or Something

Heigh Ho, the Holly

Blow, blow, thou winter wind,

Thou art not so unkind

As man's ingratitude;

Thy tooth is not so keen,

Because thou art not seen,

Although thy breath be rude.

Heigh ho, sing heigh ho, unto the green holly;

most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:

Then, heigh ho, the holly!

This life is most jolly.

Freeze, freeze thou bitter sky,

That dost not bite so nigh

As benefits forgot:

Though thou the waters warp,

Thy sting is not so sharp

As friend remember'd not.

Heigh ho, sing heigh ho, unto the green holly;

most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly:

Then, heigh ho, the holly!

This life is most jolly.

William Shakespeare

Bonus:

That's What I Want For Christmas

I ventured out to the "American grocery store" today, with high hopes of crunchy Cheetos. What I found was an aisle/corner of cereal boxes and cake mix, Jif peanut butter and boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. It looks like I'll be staying over and spending Christmas with some course-mates, a few of whom are American, so I wanted to bring American treats. I found a Jello No-Bake Cheesecake (in honor of my sister and a sister-in-law, who love it), Chips Ahoy cookies, Raspberry Pop-Tarts (you can't find them anywhere, but you can get them in London? oy), and Crisco Shortening (gotta have another crack at that pie crust). The prices, of course, were ridiculous, so this will not become any kind of regular shopping trip. I had to laugh at seeing boxes of Jello gelatin and Jello pudding selling for the equivalent of $2.50 - $5.50, and my Pop-Tarts were probably $8 for the box. Merry Christmas to me - and it's back to beans and bangers and mash!

Winter Onederland, Part 2

Today's post was written by a fellow American ex-pat here in London, the bright, witty, book-club-lovin', man-killin' and remarkably attractive Elizabeth Gilliland. (Did I get that right?) She gives new insight into the need for couples' counseling. And snow shovels.

* * * * *

Dear London,

There comes a natural time in every relationship when a couple has to decide whether they're going to go their separate ways or buy those matching grave plots. And I'm afraid that there just isn't room in my cemetery for you. In a literal sense because you're a city, but also in a metaphorical sense because it just isn't working anymore. We both knew this was coming-- I'm an American, you're a Brit. I say "to-may-to," you say "to-mah-to" and then make me feel self-conscious about the way I pronounce my "t"s. You're full of too many annoying tourists and not nearly enough Wal-Marts or boxes of macaroni and cheese. In short, it's time to move on.

But I'm afraid one of us is having issues with letting go. And by one of us, I mean you. When a person has all her bags packed and is excited about going home to see her family, and to eat that all-important chimichanga, it is malicious to send weather conditions that will cancel her flight. Twice. And then ground her until Christmas day. This is petty behavior, London, and frankly, it's beneath you. Can't we get to that place where we're happy for each other? Where I don't cyber stalk every fresh-eyed girl who posts something in her facebook status about moving to the greatest city in the world, and where you don't send mild showers of snow to a city that is comically and completely incompetently unable to deal with it right as I'm about to leave? Because frankly, London, some of the magic was lost when I had to return from the airport and dig through the trash to find my toothpaste.

So what do you say we put this behind us, London? Let's remember the good times we had together. The strolls through Hyde Park. The Indian food. The shows, and subsequent stalking of various male celebrities. Sometimes separation helps us remember the things that we truly loved about each other, and glosses over the bad. I'll forget your tendency to leave traces of soot in my nose if you forget my propensity for eating on public transportation. And no, this has nothing to do with my exes-- flashy New York, comfortable Provo. And I swear, Phoenix and I are JUST FRIENDS; even though we will (hopefully) be spending the holidays together does not mean we are getting back together. I'm looking forward to having somewhere new in my life-- but we'll always have a special place for each other in our hearts. You even more so than you might think, since I have left some very inappropriate graffiti in some key locations around the city.

So thanks, London. For everything. Now let me leave.

Snuggle Bear... I mean, Elizabeth

* * * * *

Winter Onederland

It's snowing.

The good kind of snow is falling; the fat, puffy flakes that land intermittently with no breeze and almost-warm air between them for visibility. It's snowing at just the right time, too - on the short walk home from the train station after successfully making the trip from downtown. The streets are so slick two girls (women? early twenties, by my guess) are pulling each other up and down the road on an old-fashioned, tall-runnered sled. All it needed was a Shetland pony and some jingle bells. Fortunately, no one clears the sidewalks so there is enough fluffy powder to allow for some traction. It's lovely, truly, the kind of snowfall you actually want to be out strolling through and rarely ever see. it's the epitome of "white Christmas" snow.

I blame Charles Dickens.

My research packet for the play "A Christmas Carol" mentions boldly that Dickens is the man who saved Christmas - in reality, of course, he's only just the guy who gave us our long-standing visual perception of Christmas.

I suppose I should blame the volcano.

When Dickens was a child there was a volcanic eruption halfway around the world that disrupted weather patterns for years. One result was snow on Christmas or Christmas Eve in England four times (three?) before Chuck was 10 years old, though only twice in the next 50 years*. The correlation was set, and when in 1834 the intrepid author with financial difficulties and a large family to support churned out his little Christmas ghost story in a desperate attempt to stave off bankruptcy, he, possibly inadvertently, condensed the old 12 days' celebrations into one festive evening, cocooned in an atmosphere one historian deemed "coziness" and circumscribed by gently falling snow. The first Christmas card was sent a week after the book was published, and ever since we have been taught that the ideal holiday includes frozen precipitation and an idyllic "white Christmas".

Thanks a lot, CD - I hope you're happy.

Friends are stranded in airports and stuck in cities and train stations all over Europe thanks to the snow. London is woefully unprepared to deal with the weather, despite this being the third year running with storms and dropping temperatures over the holiday. I blame the radio stations - If they'd just stop playing "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" maybe the Universe wouldn't be listening so closely, you know? I suppose it's not really Charles Dickens' fault, though I have to wonder if it would have killed him to set his story in some lovely tropical locale instead.

Overheard: "I'm so excited for the snow! It might be a white Christmas this year!"

"Just like the last two... It'll sure make it hard for people to get out and visit family if it keeps snowing, since they don't clear the roads."

"Well, OK, but at least it'll be pretty!"

Sure. My five-minute walk from the station was certainly pretty. And now that I've had it, I fervently wish that the snow will stop falling, melt, and let everyone out so they can be with friends and family on Christmas. That's my kind of winter wonderland!

In the end, I suppose blame will have to lie with the volcano. Thanks a lot, Eyjafjallajokull**. Only four (or so) more Christmases like this to go... Next time, put a cork in it, wouldja?

* These particular facts may or may not be completely accurate.

** I owe you an umlaut***.

*** And another one.

What I've Been Up To

Happy Christmas! I can't believe it's only been three months (give or take) since I moved to London - in some ways it feels like two weeks, in others like I've been here for years. I STILL have not managed to get a handle on consistent Internet service, which I cling to as my excuse for not blogging as I'd promised. It is definitely the reason I haven't posted pictures. THIS IS GOING TO CHANGE. I'm moving in a week and a half, to a place that is bigger, safer, and closer to school than the room I've got now. AND THERE WILL BE INTERNET ACCESS THAT IS RELIABLE AND SECURE. The end.

So what have I actually been doing? Well. That's a good question. I'm not doing what I thought I'd be doing, that's for sure - I'm doing what I never imagined I would, in large part because I'd never even heard of it before. Lemme esplain.

How many of you have heard the term "devised theatre"? If any of you raised your hands, you're further ahead than I was when I arrived (especially since I started a week late, after getting here two weeks early, but that's been covered). I found out fairly quickly that Central is known for its "experimental" theatre program, but it took me a while to figure out what that meant. My program (Advanced Theatre Practice) at this particular school is concerned with "devising" theatre, or basically coming up with a show from scratch. No script, no story, nothing - the theatre "makers" in my group are learning how to generate ideas and materials and collect fragments that could be developed into a piece of theatre of some kind. It's really just as vague as it sounds. My group of 30+ split into three "clusters" at the beginning of the term: Performance Practices (movement studies, basically), Scenography (staging, tech, and design) and Composition (directing and dramaturgy). We met with these smaller groups two mornings a week, and then with everyone the remaining mornings and afternoons. I've been working in my Composition Cluster (10 of us) for the last two+ months doing writing exercises to generate text, creating physicalizations of ideas and feelings, and building short performances that are then combined with others' to develop new, longer pieces.

The afternoons have been taken up with Practitioner Studies - artists from theatre companies (all experimental, generally devised - yes, people evidently pay to watch this kind of thing) have been coming in to work with us in two-week blocks to introduce us to their methods of creating and overseeing us as we generate performances. These sessions have been successful to widely varying degrees. We've worked on "immersive" theatre, where the audience becomes an involved part of the show; "site-specific" theatre, in which the performances are based on and generated from the locations; "telematic" theatre, or "theatre from a distance" which involves technology and major elements of the performance happening somewhere other than where the audience is (and which, as a session, was a major disaster - thanks to the presenter - and probably should not be counted as a real theatrical genre, even though we managed to create some very interesting work). It's been a huge mixed bag. On the whole, though, my group is pretty great and we've usually managed to find something new and learn something valuable in every unit.

The best has been my Composition Cluster. No one is teaching me anything about dramaturgy in the way I'd hoped to learn about it (what's been done, how does a dramaturg function in Europe and elsewhere, etc..) but I am learning how to create a show, how to discover new material and generate ideas and explore things in very different kinds of ways, how to structure and assemble the bits that come up. I'll have to teach myself how to be a "traditional" dramaturg, but this program is showing me how to work with other creative people. One of the best things we did in my cluster was a two-day series in which our cluster-leader (sounds a little sci-fi - she was the teacher, or lecturer, but those really aren't accurate descriptions) had to be gone and left us project instructions to follow on our own. We each got an envelope with very specific directions, and had to make decisions about what and how to follow them. The cool part was that no one seriously considered at any point leaving or totally overthrowing the instructions, and in the end we had a completely brilliant, fascinating "play" session where we improvised a group piece using everyone's sounds, text, gestures, sequences and the new ideas that came out of all the things we had made that day. SO great.

My favorite piece of work with the large group was actually the last - we had all created final presentations to be "assessed" (graded, essentially) for our cluster work, and for the last week of the term our group leader (head of our program) assigned us to split into smaller groups, come up with common themes or "enthusiasms" from our various work over the term, and devise a piece based on those ideas. Our group talked over our presentations and put together a list of common ideas and things we liked, and then developed a lovely piece in which we each had a ball of red yarn ("wool", if you're British, but it really was just regular yarn) which represented our separate journeys. We took the yarn and rolled it and tossed it and strung it all around the room - and not coincidentally, around all the other members of our course. We liked the physicalization of the idea that all the individual work we had done this term was connected to all the other people in the course, that theatre and our journeys were linking us all together in a great web. We used Perpetuum Mobile by the Penguin Café Orchestra as the soundtrack for our movement - as the music wound down we all came back to the center of our web and began tying ourselves into it, weaving and twisting the string all around the six in the group. Then we finished with lines from a poem about string theory, delighting the geeks in the room (myself included, as I'm the one who came up with string theory - via Einstein - as a source for our piece). The whole thing was joyful and playful - it could have been oppressive and scary, really, but we knew we wanted it to be happy and fun and inclusive, and it was. This is the piece that I would be most interested in continuing and expanding, and maybe we will at some point.

Over the break I'll be packing and working on various projects - we have a paper due based on what we learned this term, and I need to get set up for next term and our work in a Research Group. We have three in my group - we’re going to be researching how to develop a performance through the interaction of specific roles: Director, Dramaturg, and Performer, so I'll be spending the next few weeks reading like crazy and determining what my work as a Dramaturg actually IS. I'm planning to interview working dramaturgs over the next term (and maybe see if I can talk someone into a residency or internship), and it kind of feels like I'll be doing a self-generated BA in Dramaturgy along with the MA in Advanced Theatre Practice. Also, it will be nice to have a little time for sight-seeing - I've seen 14 shows since I've been here, and only been to the Albert and Victoria Museum for a few hours. The most sight-seeing I've done was on a "research walk" - a marvelous field trip our cluster took that consisted of walking around London's South Bank for three hours, stopping to write occasionally about what we were seeing. It was AWESOME, and we didn't even go in anywhere! (I do have pictures of that.)

I really should have more "Welcome to London" posts up soon - I'm planning a Globe tour and a sunset London Eye excursion ASAP. Now if the snow would just melt so that the trains will run so that I can actually get to all these places…

* * * * *

In other news, flapjack (not pancakes, but a chewy oat-y bar cookie - like a really buttery granola bar) is delicious. Cadbury Fingers cookies are my new favorite treat. The English are not nearly as interested in ice cream as Americans - I've never seen more than four flavors of Ben & Jerry's or Haagen Daas in any one place, and never any other than those four flavors anywhere else. People don't actually drink tea nearly as much as you'd think (coffee, fizzy drinks, etc…, instead). Street markets are everywhere. I still haven't tried fish 'n chips. Brits love to hear Americans trying to sound British, generally so they can laugh at their accents. I've been "love"d and "darling"ed more times than I can count, by men and women alike. Everyone drinks, all the time - alcohol aisles take up a fifth of any grocery store, and they are fascinated by the fact that I don't. Almost none of the Brits I've talked to (and I'm at a drama school) can do a credible American accent (neiner, neiner). My favorite quote from the term comes from one of my course-mates: "Now that I'm talking, I'd like to say something." My next-favorite quote comes from one of our favorite lecturers, in Cultural Landscapes: "You are all vile, horrible people." (You had to be there.) I am 98% certain that I do, indeed, need a PhD, so another project for the break will be coming up with a research proposal and finding the right school. I'm thinking about going to Italy for my birthday, and yes - I am smirking at all of you because I can actually do it.

More to come!

Tube Times

With all the time I spend on the Underground, this could become a regular post title.

... Except that I'm moving, and that move should cut my Tube time by two-thirds, I reckon. AWESOME.

Anyway, today I volunteer-ushered for a school show, and was then drafted to stay and be paid to work the box office for the evening show. (I love being useful.) On the Tube ride home I was carrying my loaded backpack and a paper box (one that reams of paper used to live in - the box [like most things here in the UK] is about half the size of a US paper box). In a half-empty coach I set the box down on the floor next to me, since I couldn't hold it on my lap and read my book at the same time. At the next stop a couple of guys who were THISCLOSE to turning on to White Rasta Road boarded the train and beelined for my paper box. I smilingly asked them to be careful not to crush it, and the kid nearest me practically stood on his own ankle to make sure he didn't bump it, pointing out how careful he was being the whole time. Then he turned to his friend and asked where the girl was, the "one with the South Afrikaaner husband." In a "conversation" that was repeated at least three times over the next 6 stops, he reminded his friend, "Why would she say that? Me and my whole family's from South Africa. So what if her husband is from South Africa? Don't step on the green box (my paper box)." There was a little change in the box - probably 10p (pence, er, pennies) in 1p and 2p pieces (did you know they have a two-cent piece over here? They do). He and his friend commented on the fortune in the box, and told me quite seriously that in South Africa you could buy a loaf of bread for 8p. Or a bottle of some kind of malt liquor.

When I got off the train he notified everyone in the coach that the "green box" was coming through, and even made a trumpeting noise to announce it's approach. Then he asked his friend where that girl was, anyway.

Serious, a joker, or just high? Whatever it was, at least three of us on the Tube tonight had a good time.

Speaking of a good time: Scaring the bejeezus out of your Luxembourgian course-mate because she's got the hiccups with a bolt-from-the-blue shriek + "I'm demonically possessed" expression and coincidentally freaking out the table of BA girls right behind her at the same time = PRICELESS. Man, those first-years have got the death-glare down PAT. (Seriously, Luxembourg. I know, right?)

My New Favorite Christmas Tune(s)

Brilliant.



(To see the full-screen version - sorry, it doesn't fit here; or, at least, I don't know how to make it fit - go to this link.)

I've definitely ordered the album.

(And I just got chewed out for listening to this too loudly in the quiet study section of the library. You know how you never want to be the annoying person on the bus/Tube that makes everyone else listen to their music? Oops. I think I may, instead of grumbling that they're jerks and idiots, just wonder if they're unaware how much their audio is leaking. AWKWARD. And seriously, nothing is quite as embarrassing as being told off by a Brit. It could be the accent.)

Thanksgiving Cheer(s)

So, I guess I forgot to add the very important addendum at the end of my last post: even with all the idiocy I managed to produce, I still got here to London, and I'm learning all kinds of things and meeting great people and seeing lots of theatre (yes, I am now consistently spelling that word British-ly, and feeling just slightly pretentious every time I do. Phoo).

Obviously, the fact that I'm here is a miracle, so yay for miracles!

Thanksgiving in London was a blast - the Brits in my program made a point of wishing every American student in the group a "Happy Thanksgiving!" as we came in to class Thursday morning. (Yes, it was weird having class on Thanksgiving.) They were just as, if not more than, excited about this "extra" holiday than we were! A guy in my program was hosting a Thanksgiving dinner and everyone was invited - we ended up with about 35 people from two different theatre programs (which is a word I just cannot bring myself to use the British spelling for) crammed into a nice/tiny little house with all different kinds of foods, both "traditional American" and British contributions. We laughed, ate, climbed all over each other, stuffed ourselves with turkey, mashed potatoes, candied yams, and mush (mashed-up vegetables - much tastier than it sounds). Just like your family dinner! I even made an apple pie from scratch (mainly because you can't get canned pie filling over here) and it worked out much better than it had any right to. (Also, you can become the party hero by bringing the extra apple slices - because naturally, you'll end up with about double the amount you need - and caramel sauce/dip. It was like the second coming of chocolate.)

While we were eating, I got everyone to experience the "tradition" of naming one thing they were grateful for. There were lots of people who were thankful for friends, for the chance to experience the holiday, just for being together and having fun. That really summed up the whole night, and was wonderful.

Nearly as wonderful was the other "tradition" I got everyone to participate in: at my family's Thanksgiving gatherings, we always sing a special song after the meal. We've done it for as long as I can remember, and it brings a warm glow to the heart. Everyone jumped in enthusiastically on the chorus, which goes like this:

Oh, Mister, Mister Johnny Brubeck

How could you be so mean?

I told you you'd be sorry for inventing that machine.

Now all the neighbors' cats and dogs will never more be seen,

They'll all be ground to sausages

In Johnny Brubeck's machine!

Touching, right?

* * * * *

And other reasons to be thankful: the new Josh Groban CD came in the mail this morning, it's sunny in London today, I have a couple of appointments lined up to look at rooms (I'm going to be moving again - also a good thing), and I'm seeing Jersey Boys (the Musical) tonight!

Thanks to all of you for reading and caring and occasionally commenting and supporting me in this craziness! Loves!

Christmas Present (For Me)

How Not to Move Out of the Country

1) Apply to a school in a foreign country (or, England). Accidentally apply to the wrong program, interview anyway. When they accept you for the wrong program, politely turn them down and apply to a different school. When the second school accepts you, ignore as much of the paperwork and email information as you possibly can. Decide not to look for housing until you arrive in the country. Three weeks before you leave, decide to finally read the schedules they have sent, and realize that they have you enrolled in the wrong program. Contact the local bishop and the accomodations office, and discover there is NO AVAILABLE HOUSING IN THE ENTIRE TOWN. Decide not to attend the second school after all (losing your deposit AND your overseas plane ticket) since it wasn't actually exactly the right program anyway. Re-apply for the following year to the original school, since you're fairly sure they have the right program for you. Make sure you have been telling people for months previously that you were leaving the country, so you can spend the next year hearing "Oh, she's moving to England - FOR REAL this time!"
2) Once accepted into your program, procrastinate dealing with all that "student loan" stuff.
3) Put off looking for housing until two months before you leave, since "no one will know when they're moving yet anyway" and "students will be moving out the same time you get there, so it should be easy" and "the senior missionaries told me not to rent anything until I get there".
4) Feel comforted by the fact that someone in England was impressed that you were looking for housing "so early" and go back to procrastinating.
5) Avoid opening any correspondence from your school or carefully reading any email. There will be time for that next week.
6) Hear a rumor that student aid and visa applications will be changing just a few months before you leave, and wait to look into it until "things have settled".
7) Wait until the last minute to book your flight, and then "work the system" by buying two separate, cheaper flights. Those 12 hours sitting on the floor of the JFK airport after the red-eye flight will be totally worth it.
8) Go into a panic a month and a half before your flight leaves, and read all your paperwork and emails. Decide that it is now too late to apply for your student visa and nonchalantly figure that you can take care of it once you arrive.
9) Make some tentative housing enquiries, but be reassured that the right place will fall into your lap once you arrive. You wanted to experience local B&B's for a couple of days, anyway.
10) Find out after you have hauled yourself to the new country that no, you may not apply for a student visa now that you are here NO EXCEPTIONS NO ADJUSTMENTS DO NOT PASS GO (LITERALLY). Schedule a flight back to New York, since it's closer and a shorter flight and you can apply for the visa from there.
11) Don't bother to check the calendar in case of holidays or get specific details of hours and policies from your visa-expediting company.
12) Spend a week in New York after the five-minute appointment for which you crossed the ocean, waiting for your visa to go into processing since you missed the Friday cutoff by two hours and Monday is a national holiday.
13) Change your return flight to London (having now spent probably double what you spent on your original "saver" flights) and pay the very large change fee.
14) Fly back with your visa and spend the next week trying to catch up on all the things you missed in the actual first week of the term.
15) Quickly discover that the school's program(me) is not anything like what you imagined from the course descriptions, interview, and website.
16) Stick it out anyway, and look into starting it all over again with a different school next year.
17) Find yourself a good therapist and financial advisor.
18) Blog.

Sunday Snippet

Today was Remembrance Sunday, always the Sunday after Nov. 11, and involved one more day of wearing the paper poppy and included two minutes of silence during Sacrament Meeting. I guess there were further ceremonies and public events around London, but I’ve been out of it with a cold and didn’t think to investigate further. It occurred to me that next year there will be a first and second 11:11 on 11/11/11. Should make a lot of computer programmers happy.

I visited the Hyde Park ward today – I’ve been attending in Peckham, but I wanted to try a ward further north up in London, both because I really want to move closer to my school and because I feel really out of sync with my ward. I loved the London ward, had some great moments that were a big help to me, and got a couple of numbers of people to call about possible housing. Perfect.

- There are not many things in this world that are cuter than Primary-aged children with British accents. And the one Sunbeam who bellowed “FOLLOW THE PROPHET!” completely off-key was awesome.

- In Sunday School we were in Jeremiah, and talked about internalizing the gospel, or “writing upon our hearts.” One sister talked about memorizing scriptures to have them there for instant access – her quote was “There is power in knowing from the back of your head.” The teacher made the point that there is a difference between writing on your mind and writing on your heart, and that we shouldn’t let the mechanics take precedence over an invitation to the Spirit. One sister gave a moving illustration by talking about her “perfect” family; they had scripture study and family prayer every day, FHE every week, regular and consistent temple attendance… and yet, her parents divorced (possibly in connection with some other family trauma involving two of her siblings) and the family fell apart in spite of their “crossing all the ‘t’s’ and dotting all the ‘i’s’.” She summed it up by saying that “zealousness is not righteousness” and that we are obedient so that the Lord may change our hearts as the truth of the gospel is written upon them. The teacher asked us to think about the words the brethren use in connection with the scriptures: study, feast, immerse – never “read”. If our time with the scriptures is changing us, than we’re using them correctly.

- Musical Moment: on the Underground, hearing “Everlasting Love” played on the accordion. Maybe not as elegant as it sounds. ;-)

Apropos of Nothing

This does not in any way make up for my total lack of posts lately. But it is funny. Thanks, Felicity!

http://nedroid.com/2009/06/dating-faux-pas/

Bonus Material: N&S and P&P

Two of my favorite costume dramas.

Two great stories, two dreamy leading men.

One overly-dramatic, emo clip video.

It's hilarious, in an intensely swoony "they might just be vampires" kind of way.

Enjoy. (I know I am.)

ETA: Heh. Also, niiiiice.

An Advanced Degree in Life (Or, Travel Planning)

I suspect that the lesson I'm supposed to be learning here is "Read everything. Research everything. Plan ahead (Really)."

- I moved to London. It took my mother and myself two full days to pack, and then my two brothers and various other family members jumped in and contributed to the final result, which was: two suitcases at 50 lbs, one smallish extra-bag fee (and not one big one I was expecting), and no overage charges. Sweet!

- Met the coolest future roomate EVER, found a place to live. Not so excited about the location, at least now have someplace to stay while searching for something closer to the school.

- Blind dumb optimism FAIL: you may not, in fact, get an international student visa while you are already in the country you're trying to legally move to. Doesn't matter how nonchalant or encouraging school staff are, either - it's still not going to work.

- Packing a suitcase less than a week after you've unpacked it bites.

- It's slightly depressing to meet lots of fabulous people who are official members of your MA and know you won't see them again for a week. You hope, pathetically, that they will remember you (and that you'll actually get back. Please please please!!!).

- Being squished into an inside seat on a chintzy airline that you did NOT sign up for with no room for your feet or carry-on under the seat also pretty much bites. The funny vegan neighbor who's impressed with your bladder control is at least a small plus.

- It's a mental and emotional blow to arrive at your destination knowing that the whole thing is riding on a wing and a prayer (shut up, I know) and discovering that an otherwise forgotten Federal Holiday is going to cost you a rather important day, knocking off half a wing and at least quadrupling the intensity of the prayer. A flight change and the attendant fee, plus the expense of loitering in New York for yet another useless day is likely. The credit card can't take much more of this.

- The late-night desk attendant at my old but perfectly acceptable hotel in a fairly scary area is a font of useful, though nearly unintelligble, information. I used to be good with accents.

- A PSA: LEGGINGS ARE NOT PANTS. FOOTLESS TIGHTS ARE NOT PANTS. MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE - WEAR PANTS.

My bed in the hotel room is nearly as big as the room - but I'm willing to bet just from sitting on it that it's going to be more comfortable than my bed back in London. So, there is that. I should have lots of down time in the next few days, and if I can get an Internet connection I might be able to get my journal entries from the last week or so posted. Plus pictures. And maybe get a T-shirt made: KEEP ON KEEPIN' ON. Just for fun.

Notice

Exactly two weeks from today, I will be moving to England.

I am now, officially, FREAKING OUT.

You may return to your regularly scheduled program.

(And I will return to blogging - I have a few days from my "30" to make up, which I will do as soon as I am FREAKING OUT a little less. Or have a big pile of chocolate to take my mind off of things.)

Here's Your Sign

I documented my 14-hour drive today with lots of photos from my phone. Hey - at least I wasn't texting, right? Hopefully tomorrow I'll get them down/uploaded... believe me, the Green Goblin is worth waiting for!

On the drive I also saw some pretty... interesting... signs, and I'd like to recreate them for you here:

Burns, OR - a store that advertised "Antiques, Furniture, Appliances, Junque". Someday, I will own a store called "The Junque Shoppe."
- a billboard that read "Big Tobacco is full of spit. Don't take their spit. Quit." I'm not kidding. And I applaud their marketing person.

Sisters, OR - the road sign that said "Deer - Next 1 Mile". I have to wonder, how do they enforce that? Is there Deer Police or something? "Look, punk, you can graze between mile marker 738 and 737. DON'T PUSH ME."
- "Scenic Byway Interpretive Area" - I was looking for emo musicians and performance arts dancers along the road for MILES. Nothing.

Pictures tomorrow!

Trippin'

I was looking for a picture of someone packing/loading, and instead I found a photo of a naked backpacker walking barefoot across a beach.

The Internet can be a scary place.

"NERDY!"

Four times.

* * * * *

I don't JUST watch movies - today, for example, I built a Swami snake-charmer pipe (no, that is not a euphemism) out of a bagpipe chanter, a broken carved mariachi shaker, a dowel, gold paint, trim, and rhinestones, as well as working on finishing two safari parasols that I had made out of domed picnic food covers, heavy wood handles, finials, and fringe (originally intended for Pirates of Penzance, now given a second chance with The Drowsy Chaperone) ((also, NOBODY makes safari parasols. What is up with that?)) all while listening to and snidely commenting on Dr. Laura. (It was on, and we didn't bother to change the station. Don't judge.)

I was going to offer up this activities list as proof that I am actually "deep", but the mention of Dr. Laura kind of ruined that idea. Poop.

* * * * *

Someone asked me today what the strangest prop was that I had ever made, and the answer then was "dead body". I think I just might change that now to "Swami snake-charmer pipe".

Beverly Hills (ZIPCODE)

If you somehow missed it, and are from my (or a nearby) generation, let me bring something amazing AND terrifying AND wonderful to your attention:

Today is that day! Today is the encapsulation of all things Brenda, Brandon, Kelly, Dylan, Steve, On-drea, David, Donna, and the beloved Peach Pit! Today is all about choosing YOU, and still realizing that friendship can, indeed, outlast 80's fashion!

It's 9-02-10!

It's a once-in-a-lifetime moment, people (unless you happened to be in Europe 8 or so hours ago) and I urge you to CHERISH IT. REMEMBER IT. LIVE IT. Break out the bangs and the denim. Bring on the catfights and the love triangles and the folksy wisdom of your local graying soda jerk. Put your house on the market, leave Michigan (right?) forever, and set up shop in Beverly Hills!

To help you further get into the spirit of the day, the following links are from a fashion-mockery website whose purveyors also happen to be HUGE 90210 fans. My kind of people.

The Girls

The Giggles

The Despair

The Snarky Subconscious Messages

The Steve

Donna's Dangerously Hopeless Hair

The Um... Er....

The Accessories Drama

The Cautionary Tales*

Brilliant! Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! In all the worst ways!

And finally;

Enjoy, and then be glad we made it out.

* In reality, they're all cautionary tales. Awesome ones.

FAIL

Not one person mentioned (good, bad, or other) my haircut today. That would normally inspire me to start hacking away with the nail scissors, or adding blue streaks and a perma-updo. Apparently, I crave attention. Who knew?

Also, it's September. I'm a little shocked we allowed that to happen already. In protest, I need to go dye something.

You can color too, while you wait.

Just Because

OK, I'm excited.

Get familiar with my new town here.

Addendum

I'm a little ashamed of myself.

I did an entire post on movies I saw this summer, and I left what was quite probably my very favorite flick OFF THE LIST.

How embarrassing.

Three times in the theater, and I want to go back before it's gone. If it had an arrival date, I would have already pre-ordered the DVD.

I've been distracted.

And busy.

And I'm moving in less than a month.

And I suppose it's at least a little understandable - I mean, hey, no one really WANTS to admit they like a movie starring Nicolas "Is This A Hairpiece I See Before Me" Cage.

(Plus, Disney. Urgh.)

Fine.

I LOVE THE SORCERER'S APPRENTICE. (The movie, not the actual apprentice. That would be weird, and/or Mickey, which is a whole different thing because everybody loves Mickey and he's iconic and anyway it's a completely separate context. Mostly.)

Right. Sorry.

You know how I mentioned Knight and Day is the Tom Cruise we knew and loved before he started abusing living room decor? Well, The Sorcerer's Apprentice is National Treasure Nic Cage, with just a shade more crazy and quite a bit more hair. He's relaxed, he's having fun, he's saving the world and getting the girl, and as per the title, he's brought along a protege. Jay Baruchel more than holds his own, though - this is geek chic at it's finest, and the boy is a-dork-a-ble. Remember how much you loved How to Train Your Dragon? (Of course you did. I don't even care if you didn't see it - trust me, you loved it.) His distinctive voice will take you right back to that happy place, and it's smooth sailing from there. Alfred Molina is ever reliable as the smarmy villian (though cockroaches?!? Ew) and the whole thing is literally smoke/mirrors/lightning/strobe effects. Don't expect to think - just know that you'll thoroughly enjoy yourself and call it a day.

I liked this movie so much that I even attempted to draw some parallel between the melding of science and imagination, of technology and magic, but in all honesty it's really just Disney and a lucky combination of Nic, Jay, a screenwriter who'd never seen High School Musical, "Hannah Montana", or anything else offered up by the Disney Channel (obviously he lied on his application - go team!) and a director with a good eye and sense of humor intact.

It's dorky.

It's cheesy.

After three viewings, I'm still not in any way bored with it (which is more than any of us can say about some of the people we've dated).

I downloaded the theme song on ITunes, and still get mushy and giggly when I hear it on the radio.

I'm ready to go see it again.

Any takers?

Good, good times. (Call me!)

Sunday Snippet

Love divine, all loves excelling,

joy of heav'n, to earth come down.

Fix in us thy humble dwelling,

all thy faithful mercies crown!

Jesus, thou art all compassion,

pure, unbounded love thou art;

Visit us with thy salvation,

enter every trembling heart.

Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit

into every troubled breast!

Let us all in Thee inherit;

let us find thy promised rest;

Take away the love of sinning;

Alpha and Omega be;

End of faith, as its beginning,

set our hearts at liberty.

Come, Almighty to deliver,

let us all thy life receive;

Suddenly return and never,

nevermore thy temples leave.

Thee we would be always blessing,

serve thee as thy hosts above,

Pray and praise thee without ceasing,

glory in thy perfect love.

Finish, then, thy new creation;

pure and spotless let us be;

Let us see thy great salvation,

perfectly restored in thee;

Changed from glory into glory,

till in heav'n we take our place;

Till we cast our crowns before Thee,

lost in wonder, love, and praise.

Amen.

- Charles Wesley

Listen/watch

Sterling Singers

Today in Pictures

(Oops. Next time I sit in a bookstore reading for an hour and a half, maybe I'll buy something!)

Still Reeling

I understand from a reliable source that certain people don't know what to think about particular movies until I review them, so... *Ahem*

...

... if you were expecting some catchy title or big razzle-dazzle moment right there, I apologize. Drew a total blank - I got nothin'. Just, you know, gonna start talking about movies. In no particular order.

Inception: Yep. Go see it. You are smart enough, you are cool enough, and darn it - people like you. Also, they like the movie, and with good reason. Just go. And when you go a second time, call me - I need to see it again, too.

Salt: In my opinion, don't bother. It's every other spy movie you've seen and thought was cool/dark/stylish, only it's not any fun. Yay Angelina Jolie for being a female action star, but... could you pick up some Bond-like repartee, or Bourne-style sheepishness, or ANYTHING to make us actually care about your character? Thanks. Just sayin'. I'd rather watch Knight and Day.

Knight and Day: It's so sad when actors' personal lives invade their professional personas to the point that audiences stay away from their films. (1 - I, ironically, blame the media. 2 - That first sentence had some awesome alliteration. Zing!) Tom Cruise may have hijacked the Crazy Train and gotten himself elected mayor of CrazyTown, but this movie is what we all used to love about Tom Cruise. It's wry, tongue-in-cheek, deadpan-with-a-twinkle, and has chemistry and over-the-top (but not TOO over-the-top) action. Even Cameron Diaz works in this movie. I KNOW, right? I saw it twice in the theater (matinees, but still) and I wouldn't mind seeing it again. It's violent but not gory, comparatively clean and still funny, and has a couple of niiiiice kisses and no sex. I'll go for the DVD, and I'll buy it still shaking my head that the film didn't do better on screen.

(And now I'm DYING to get a couple more "p"-words into that initial sentence. Presuppose? Persistent? Preclude? Postulate? Argggh!)

Nanny McPhee Returns: Ah, Emma Thompson. How I love and respect you! How I admire and revere your work and talent! And how befuddled I am by what you may or may not have been trying to accomplish with your latest opus to warts, oversized teeth, and the sparkly, pound-y magic of stern, riddilistic (I totally just made that up!), standoffish loving care! Nanny McPhee (the 1st) is a jewel, truly. It's odd, quirky, and completely beautiful. NMcP Returns ("Small 'c', large 'P'" - Say what? Is that the new "I did knock"?) is odd, quirky, and has moments of beauty scattered throughout a highly uneven and unstable "plot". Maggie Gyllenhall is completely charming and adorable. Rhys Ifans is not. The children are thoroughly engaging and delightful. The "henchladies" are not. The CGI works, against your better judgement - it's not quite real, it's not quite magical, it's just a little "off", but you'll smile anyway. Weird. Two bonus features: Ewan McGregor's cameo is absolutely swoon-worthy (Ewan! Where have you BEEN!?!), and in no other movie this year will your kids learn how to dismantle a WWII-era UXB (UneXploded Bomb). So, there is that.

And, in conclusion, a DVD review:

Date Night: I would happily watch Tina Fey and Steve Carrell rifff off of each other while reading the phone book (I was going to say "something dire like 'Canterbury Tales'" but then I imagined Carrell and Fey mucking with Chaucer and went a'quiver with delight) because, seriously, they make the perfect couple. The underlying thread of the story - their relationship - is really wonderful, and all the craziness that happens on top is outrageous, ridiculous, and very very funny. I'm not sure how all that escaped the critics. Good times right there, and all to be had for the price of a (free, if you know how to shop) Redbox rental (I know I have a coupon here somewhere).

* * * * *

Honestly, I haven't been to very many movies lately, and not much out there looks all that interesting. I'll probably drag myself out to see Despicable Me (and enjoy it) before too long, but other than that I'm just waiting for the second half of Glee Season 1 on DVD, Easy A, Voyage of the DawnTreader, and Tron: Legacy. I will most likely also see Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'hoole, but ONLY for the artistic aspects and because I can't get away from that 30 Seconds to Mars song. YOU KNOW THE ONE.

Happy movie watching! Let me know your favorites, and feel free to leave any suggestions that I should see and/or avoid!

P.S. Yes, I put that third "f" in "rifff" on purpose.

P.P.S. The title of this blog post is now one of my favorite content-appropriate puns ever. It will someday be the name of my column or TV show.

P.P.P.S. You're hearing that song in your head right now, aren't you? You totally are.

Fwends

I'm coming in just under the wire today, so I'll skip the controversial, politically-charged, debate-generating, blood-spilling topic I had in mind and go right to something nearer the heart:

I have awesome friends. *insert shower of sparkly confetti here*

It's true. I have a real knack for cozying up to the smartest, coolest, most engaging people in the room and convincing them to let me hang around. Tonight was Girls' Night Out with a group of ladies I've known since high school, and they are opinionated, intelligent, cheerful, encouraging, interested, grounded, and have terrific senses of humor. We always have fun when we're together, generally spending the better part of the evening talking and sharing experiences. These are good people, some of the best people, and they're mine!

My friends tend to be funny, talented, creative, and involved. They care about others, and do their best to lead, teach, and support. They are some of the world's greatest story- and joke-tellers. They can take it, they can dish it, and they'll love you all the more for it at the end of the evening. My friends are people who make things happen, in their jobs, their families, their creative outlets. They express themselves well, and are always interested in learning something new. They'll be the first to help when help is needed, and are savvy enough to spot a scam before it hits. My friends fight for the ones they love, gleefully recount victories, and commiserate over defeats. My friends have fun, and feel good about themselves in the morning. My friends are people who help you want to be more and better than you are, and have every confidence that you can.

If you're a friend of mine, you belong with this group I've described. Sometimes I think one of my greatest talents is finding the best kinds of friends!

(I feel like this post should probably have a Disney soundtrack. Just choose your favorite "friend" tune and hum along.)

* * * * *

As a gift to the girls who share my North and South fixation (and as a tribute to the fantastically awesome, talented, hilariously sarcastic friend who sent me the link) here's an interview to brighten any fangirl's day. Enjoy!

Since When...

... did we start considering Pride and Prejudice a "young adult" novel? Was there a memo? I'm a fan of both, but never would have thought of putting Twilight and P & P in any kind of comparative category.

Check out Persnickety Snark's Top 100 YA Novels of 2010.

On one hand, I'm a little surprised by how many of the books on this list I've already read; on the other, it's always nice to have a hefty selection of new book choices that lots of other people like! (Ease up on the vampire stories, YA genre, and you'll have me for good!)

Preparations

I have my plane tickets - I'll be taking a red-eye to New York, and then changing airlines and heading to London (via Brussels) 12 hours later. Two days of travel, half the price of a direct flight! (And maybe a little Central Park thrown in, just for fun.)

I had my teeth cleaned today, plus a flouride treatment (just in case English dentistry lives up to rumor), which evolved into fillings in the afternoon. My numb lip for the rest of the day at least helped to keep the office giggling. (It's very weird when your nose goes numb too!)

My mother has insisted on self-defense classes before moving to one of the world's largest cities, and yesterday I showed up at a karate studio. The rest of my class consisted of two boys, ages 3 and 6, and their parents, who stepped in for "Buddy Week". I still managed to nearly lose my voice doing the vocalizations, did more sit-ups than I thought possible, am completely sore today, and made another dojo student burst into laughter during a focus exercise. If I'm ever mugged, perhaps I can make my attacker laugh into submission...

* * * * *

Apropos of nothing, "Nanny McPhee" really is a lovely, lovely movie. And how great is it that Emma Thompson AND Colin Firth are English? Really, really great.

Inspired By Recent Events

There are lots of things I would say to this guy:

Well, OK, not LOTS of things, as it would take me a while to get past the "guh" and the drooling and the fangirly squealing and by the time I worked up a semi-intelligent comment like "Hi" he would have already moved on to making the next BBC period drama (yesyesyes, PLEASE) and forgotten all about me (but only until I pull it together! In a few years!).

In the hypothetical (and highly desirable) situation in which we were in a position to talk like rational human beings, or better yet be very close chums who hang out and laugh about stuff, or best yet be dating (yesyesyes PLEASEPLEASEPLEASE) I would probably say things like the following:

23 Things Women (Particularly Single Ones) Would Like to Say to Men (Particularly Single Ones, But Married Guys Could Take a Lesson Too) -

1. Every woman could use one compliment a day.

2. We'd rather you didn't say, "I'll call you" if you really mean "goodbye." Just don't say anything — we won't think you're a jerk as we part ways for the night. And you know the saying that goes, "It's better to under-promise and over-deliver"? How about, just don't promise anything and don't deliver anything.

3. Most of us are not crazy or psycho. We can be emotional and hormonal.

4. If we catch you glancing at our chest when you're a foot away, we'll think you're rude and have no willpower. You can look, but from a distance.

5. Even the most confident among us can act needy and insecure at times. It happens when you start pulling away and we're not aware that that's what you're doing, only that you're acting funny. But oh, you should see how cool and independent most of us are when we're not dating someone.

6. Feminine hygiene commercials are silly, but don't complain about having to watch them. Try having to use them — for several days each month, I mean — for most of your life. When you complain, it makes you look insensitive. And weak. We have no sympathy.

7. Please don't yell when you think we're driving poorly, especially if we're from the west coast and we've never seen a rotary before. Just give us advice, help, or moral support. (P.S. If you stomp your foot on the ground because you think we should brake, well, it's just funny. We will brake if/when we need to.)

8. If you text, "Hows ur week goin?" we can either reply "good" and risk sounding curt (see #16) or we can send you a 400-word document. Don't put us in this position. Just don't text open-ended questions.

9. Texting a girl twice a week does not count as staying in contact. It's meaningless and a waste of everyone's time. Let her go.

10. Booty texts: weak.

11. If you're a mama's boy and you're looking for a wife, think about it: what woman wants to be #2? Consider setting boundaries and work on establishing some independence. You and your mom can have a loving relationship without being co-dependent.

12. After you do something bad, it would be so much better if you called us right away to apologize. You think it's best to wait a few days while we cool off, but what's cooling off is our feelings for you. Man up. The sooner the better.

13. The reason we're up in your grill about what time you're coming over, and the reason we're so good at communicating our own whereabouts, is that since the beginning of time our parents were making us report back to them about where we were and when we'd be home.

Most of the girls I knew, including my sister and I, didn't have the freedom the boys in our neighborhood had. Then in college, out of habit, we always told our roommates when we would be home (especially if we went to school in a bad neighborhood), and they did the same.

So that's why we're like that. We've been under tight surveillance since birth and it took a lot of work just to be allowed (FINALLY) to ride our bikes un-chaperoned to the movie theater. Now we're trained. If you don't like that we're this way, take it up with our parents.

14. High heels really hurt.

15. Teasing won't bait us. Attempting to wear us down is annoying.

16. 5-word emails seem cranky. Efficient, yes. Loving, no. Greet. Ask questions. Elaborate where possible.

17. If we say we're babysitting for a friend, we did not say we want to have a baby now and that we want you to be the dad. "I'm babysitting" simply means, "I'm busy being a good friend." You are paranoid and it's embarrassing.

18. Stop talking about marrying us until you actually give one of us a ring.

19. Please be aware of how serious and in love you sound. Just say, "I like you," not, "Let's fly to Miami next month." (I thought guys were supposed to be direct.) Sure, it sounds cooler (and less vulnerable) to talk a big game about Miami, but come next month, you won't remember saying anything about Miami.

20. If a girl has pretty eyes, she has probably heard men tell her that five thousand times. It's fine to repeat the compliment, but you'll make a much bigger impression if you find something else to compliment.

21. As far as having children goes, you have the luxury of time. Appreciate it.

22. Taking us for granted is probably the worst thing you could do after cheating and lying. Since women are very good at appreciating each other, your behavior looks kinda selfish to us.

23. The word is "cherish." Do you cherish her? (Me? Me please!)

Source: Msn.com

In this wonderful fictional situation, he'd respond by looking like this:

And well, he can't exactly help looking like this:

Gentlemen, take a lesson.