April 30, 2011

Holy Las Vegas and Hot I-15!*

I want to be DeNae. Y'know, someday. (I hopehopehope she never grows up.)




*Oh, and sorry about the language.

Dear Jane

I haven't done many lists lately, and while on a somewhat pointless ride through the countryside this afternoon I was feeling a little inspired. I present:

Ten Things Pride & Prejudice Won't Tell You (But I Will)

1 - A single man in possession of a good fortune may be in want of a wife, but it will take a house, two cars, jet skis, a yearly Caribbean getaway, several "long-term" relationships, even more "short-term flings", and a stock market crash to make him realize it. Even then, he'll buy a Mexican vacation timeshare first.

2 - You probably think you're most like Elizabeth Bennett. Almost all females who read Pride & Prejudice do. The "Jane"s you know are out on dates, the "Kitty"s and "Lydia"s are at the mall or a bar, and the "Mary"s are working on a science project or reading manga comics. You think at least one of your best friends is a Charlotte, but she thinks she's a Lizzie too.

3 - Mr. Darcy's not coming, and you probably wouldn't like him much if he did stop by. Who really wants to be with a guy who's almost pathologically incapable of expressing his true feelings?

4 - When Mr. Right does arrive, not only will he not be Mr. Darcy, he probably won't be rich (you're on your own for those student loans) AND he is not likely to look like Colin Firth or even Matthew MacFayden. He'll actually look more like Mr. Collins, and you'll like him anyway.

5 - When it comes to a crisis, you are far more likely to be rescued by a parent, a sibling, or a good friend than by a guy.

6 - You will probably be called upon to rescue a sibling or a good friend yourself at some point. Start building a network of useful contacts now.

7 - That empty house or flat in your neighborhood is far more likely to be rented by a couple of decrepit retirees or a family with three noisy children and two dogs than by Mr. Bingley.

8 - If Mr. Bingley does show up, he'll be gay.

9 - In all honesty, your mother will never be as bad as Mrs. Bennett. (And if you do know a Lady Catherine de Bourgh, she's either your grandmother or one of the decrepit retirees renting the place down the street.)

10 - Sisters and female friends can be dramatic and headache-inducing, but they will also provide some of the best, most stable and reliable relationships you'll ever have. Treat them well.  (Oh, wait - that one IS in the book!)

* * * * *

Feel free to add your own in the comments!  ;-)

Note to Self

Dear Self:

Please double-check everything. It will make the guy at the sandwich counter SO much happier if you visually account for the sandwich he's pointing to, because then he will be able to pick out the one you actually want instead of the one you absentmindedly agree to and then protest about after he rings you up. And who doesn't want to make the sandwich guy happy? No one, that's who.

Also, it is never a good idea to assume you know the schedule, especially on a bank holiday weekend. That round trip train-and-taxi ride through the country may be nice and all, but when it costs you £24 (roughly $38) and four hours that you could have been using productively AND you didn't have a picnic lunch, well, all I'm saying is that a phone call would be nice next time.


Just ALWAYS double-check from now on, OK? OK.


Cheers,
Me

April 29, 2011

They Came, They Saw, They Married


There are some truly lovely images from today's Wedding (which was actually pretty fun, I thought, and the news coverage of the entire country gettin' their street party on was completely endearing) and this is one of my favorites. I don't know if this is the first or the second kiss (did you realize that Charles and Diana were the first to kiss on the balcony at Buckingham Palace? They were. Fergie and Andrew were next - evidently, that got steamy. William obligingly kissed Kate, with what could accurately be called a "peck", and the crowd chanted for another. Apparently, they really ARE the People's Prince and Princess, and Round Two was a little more successful with the crowd - though it definitely stuck much closer to "sweet" and "dignified" than to "steamy") - but look at everybody else!

Charles and Camilla with their granddaughter, ignoring (or just missing) the whole kissing thing (very British, in that it might have been weirder to acknowledge it, what with Charles starting the whole tradition with William's mother); the two page boys on the right eating up the crowd and typically not tuning in to schmoopiness; the two older bridesmaids adorably captivated by the romantic gesture; and the hilarious diva in front who's upset that the whole thing isn't about HER.

It may not be a candid moment, exactly, but the things the candid pictures can capture are the BEST.


Now, I have to get back to work. It's only a holiday for people who don't have graduate presentations and essays due next week (unless they finished already, but those types are overachievers and we don't want to talk about them). Wave your flags and sing "Hail to the Queen"! Party on, Britannia!


P.S. I quite liked the Bishop of London's sermon, and I would recommend taking a look if you missed it. It's not just good for a royal marriage, it's good for any marriage! Also, I kinda tuned it out, but the hymn Jerusalem has been getting a hugely positive response as well. I do love music in Westminster.

April 28, 2011

Wedding Playbill

Want to feel like you were there at The Wedding? (Of course you do!)

Then browse through the program(me) while you're curled up in front of the telly in your pajamas and fancy fascinator!




ETA: This is brilliant. Fun, funny stuff.

April 27, 2011

Happies

Naturally, with  a title like that, this post will include references to chocolate. (Naturally.)

I have a hunch that the Lord is compensating for me hating to leave the States and come back to London by helping me to be quite a bit happier than usual now that I'm here. It's been sunny (for a day or two right when I got back it was actually a little too warm to be comfortable, but now it's cooled off to where I can have the window open all day (with nifty improvised screening!) and snuggle cozily in my bed at night. SO. NICE), I've managed to get a little work done, I've stopped feeling bad about staying up late, and I've done a few really fun things.

Today I ran a quick errand to the school, then bused-and-Tubed up to a movie theatre I hadn't tried before in the hopes of catching the first showing of the day of Thor (evidently, sometimes the first showing has a little better matinee discount) ((also, don't mock - it's getting good reviews and you know you're going to go see it, too)). I was trying for the 2D version, as the 3D doesn't seem to have much point. The cineplex is in a London "village" called Muswell Hill, and it's actually right on the bus route I take to get to church. Turns out the online movie times were wrong, and the first showing wasn't until 3:30... so I took the opportunity to walk around, check out the charity shops, and have lunch at a pub/pizza place I'd been eyeing every time the bus drove past it on Sundays. I had a couple of books with me (surprise) and at least one of them was even a school book - so I ate pizza and read and felt productive and it was good.  A few more shops, then a stop at a cafe for a hot chocolate (sunny, but the breeze today was a little chilly) and check it out...


... IT'S SO PRETTY. Still not the greatest hot chocolate (Stephen's owns me) but it's not bad and I'm getting used to it and everything's easier when it's pretty. (Amen.) Happy!

Then I headed over to the movie; it wasn't advertised as 3D, but that's what it ended up being. (Grumble.) I bought the glasses (apparently I could have brought my own - now I know) and headed in. People: this right here is a good time.

Not my favorite poster ever, but I wanted to make sure you recognized the main character. You do, right? Kirk's dad from Star Trek! Who saves everybody and then dies in the first 10 minutes! Who is totally hot and loveable and noble and stuff! And who also (as evidenced by Thor) is incredibly ripped as well as a solid, charismatic actor. I'm good with all of those choices, personally. I'm also good with this movie. It was directed by Kenneth Branaugh, which is a little left field but really really works. The script is smart, the whole thing looks good, and the chemistry is off-the-charts. (Okay, the one plot-transitional flashback is choppy and the fight scenes are - literally - shaky, but other than that... Who knew?)

Everybody sold their characters, the feeling of the whole was consistent with the other pre-Avengers movies (Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk ((?)) ), and it was really a lot of fun. I didn't mind the 3D, though I wouldn't recommend it, and I could have easily sat through another 20 minutes. (Psst - stay through the end credits.) I may not see it again in the theatre, but that's only because movies here are so expensive, not because I wouldn't. I still might. First, though, I have to go re-watch Star Trek.

Another happy for the day:

That's right - not only do they have Bounty bars over here, they have ICE CREAM Bounty bars. Seriously seriously happy.




And, because it's law or something that nothing written this week may not mention a particular event that's happening on Friday, here's this:


Yes, those are corgies munching on the wedding cake, which I feel is only too appropriate. And funny. Apparently, people are knitting dolls of the wedding party (you should be able to purchase patterns next week!) so it's fortunate this cake topper didn't go that route. I don't know that this makes me happy, but it does make me giggle! Close enough.

April 26, 2011

The (Fake) Pandorica Opens

If you understand the post title reference, you are as big a geek as I am (if not bigger) and I love you for it. If not, read on and you'll probably have forgotten all about it by the time you get to the end.

* * * * *

So initially, this year's blog goal was to write one more post each month than the one before it. April, for various reasons (mainly that my brain pretty much shut down over my term break) has not seen much commitment to that goal. Anytime now, knowing as I do that in order to improve one's skills as a writer one must write regularly - say, EVERY DAY - I'll go for another round of "30 in 30" (posts in days) and reset my goal. In the meantime, I'll try to act like this actually is some sort of journal and jot some things down.

(Note: what IS this blog, anyway? Obviously it's not actually a journal, since I don't write here all that regularly, or record much in the way of daily minutiae or much of a range of experiences - much like Facebook status updates, I really don't like reporting on depressing or seriously upsetting phases/incidents/mood swings ((no, really, I don't. Go back and check. I have the occasional rant happening, but even when serious it's written with a hefty stab at humorous effect)). I try not to gripe, especially not about people, because I have a near-pathological fear of hurting someone's feelings.

So it's not truly about my life, other than the fact that the things I do manage to write about are things that happen to me, usually isolated events... I need to go and look back through my archives. At one point I had several "features" going on and a certain format to my blog posts that I kind of miss. Sorry. Just thinking out loud. Or "out loud", rather.)

If I am going to be more journal-oriented, I definitely need to write here more often. At various jobs I've had whenever people would ask me how my weekend was, it would always take me a minute or two to remember just what happened over the weekend - no matter how exciting or how boring the weekend had been, by Monday it was always OVER. Kind of like my stance on embarrassing moments - I know I've had them, and that I continue to have them, but a) I don't get embarrassed about much of anything anymore (a theatre life can do that to a person) and b) within a day or less I don't think about the incident anyway. I think that may make it a little tougher to have an interesting blog - people seem to LOVE reading about embarrassing things that have happened to other people. Hmmm, there's an idea...

* * * * *

ANYWAY, for most of April I was "on holiday" back in the States, and I LOVED it. It was really amazing waiting in the Customs line at the Dallas airport and bemusedly feeling the difference between the US and the UK. I had a terrific time visiting with family members - it's so nice to realize that you really have missed them. I spent a couple of class periods teaching a dear friend's high school drama class (I love giving feedback on classwork, and I am pretty darn good at it. Score!). I got to work for a few days at my old job at Hale Theatre, which was very fun, and though I had planned to be very helpful to the tax preparers (my dad and my brother) and their assistants (Mom and sis-in-law) I really actually just stayed out of their way and occasionally provided treats.  I spent a lot of time shopping, and brought back a second suitcase full of supplies to prove it. The best times were spent hanging out with my good friend Sara and my new BFFMallorie - I think before a week was up we felt like we'd known each other forever. Then Stephanie came up from Vegas for the weekend... SO. MUCH. FUN. Anyone who doesn't know smart, funny, silly, awesome girls like these three has not LIVED.

All of this means that I didn't get to any of the work I needed to be doing to for school - one research session, yes, but nothing on the papers, presentations, or other projects I ought to have been doing. That's been the focus of this week, which makes a nice balance to The Wedding hoopla that has inundated the town.

You know what I'm talking about, right?


These flags (and T-shirts, and mugs, and tea tins, and...) are EVERYWHERE. (I even brought Sara a commemorative tea towel for her birthday, just because... well, you know. Best white elephant present ever.) No, I won't be getting up at 3 AM to go stake out a place on the procession route. You can watch the whole wedding on TV, for pete's sake - and since Friday (the Wedding) and the following Monday (post-wedding-reception-wannabe hangover recovery?) are both Bank Holidays, there won't be much else to do but follow along and write school papers.

So that's going on - I've been writing, watching movies (Prince of Egypt always surprises me with how good it sort of is, and the Will and Kate Love Story TV Movie was not as surprising as it should have been with how terrible it was), staying up late and loving it (I don't know why it's been so fun lately - maybe I just needed to stop beating myself up about it?), and then - today:

I went to the Doctor Who Experience.


(Theme song here - I am determined to download a ringtone ASAP.)

It was a blast. I've really only been a fan since Season 5 (which is only counting from the 9th Doctor, Christopher Eccleston, then three seasons with David Tennant - whom I haven't really seen but people swear is the BEST DOCTOR EVER - and on to the current, 11th, Doctor, Matt Smith, who I like just fine, thank you very much. First episode of Season 6 aired a few days ago) but I have thoroughly enjoyed it - and I was very pleased that a large chunk of the exhibit/"Experience" has to do with the current Doctor. There are some displays from episodes in Season 5, and then you basically walk into an "extra" episode of the show. You go into the TARDIS (Time and Relative Dimenion in Space - it's the coolest time machine ever, and it looks like a British 1950's police box), a Dalek (evil robots) ship, the massive spaceship that houses all of Britain in the future (seriously), and the ancient chamber that holds the second Pandorica (because they made another one, just in case, and didn't even change the color. As the Doctor says, "BO-RING"). Except it's not boring, it's totally fun, and 3D, and Matt Smith is great, and the whole thing is beautifully designed.

And then there's an exhibition that has displays of objects and monsters from the entire history of the show, outfits of all ten Doctors and several of the Companions, behind-the-scenes stuff, and a gift shop. Yes, I have the program, a limited-edition poster of Cybermen marching on London, a lanyard, and my own Sonic Screwdriver. For reals (as they say) my inner (and outer) geek is so, so happy.

This may be as close to the 11th Doctor as I'll get. I'll take it.

Churchill's underground war room. With Dalek.

The 9th and 10th Doctor's TARDIS control room. (Erm, it kinda blows up.)

y  
A Dalek that's color-coordinated with my hair!
* * * * *

And, on the way home, I saw a graffiti artist at work. He's probably getting paid for this, but still - interesting.

April 12, 2011

Spring Cleaning

Truth, sista. I am so on board with this.



'Scuse me - I've got to go work on the advertising for MY yard sale.


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