My London Bucket List

1. National Gallery
2. Churchill War Rooms
3. Wallace Collection
4. Portobello Market
5. Oxford
6. Brighton
7. Eat, Shop, Do: sweet cafe where you can drink/ knit/ craft/ play Scrabble
8. Tate
9. Clubbing in South Kensington- Boujis, Wahiki...
   
10. ideas???
    

Things I'm loving this week

the show Happy Endings- surprisingly hilarious despite the Friends-y premise.
being able to stay inside and do jackshit when it's raining and London gross outside.
planning a trip to Istanbul and Bodrum!
reading xojane.com
my broken kindle- which gave me an excuse to buy a real life paperback book for the first time in a long time.
the pile of American magazines in our flat. A LOT has happened. wtf Scarlett and Sean?
amazing Mexican food- in Berlin.
outlets and vintage stores in random corners of London.
my haircut that makes me look like a real person again.
the realization that I can officially go back to the US whenever the hell I want now. omfg.

My favorite new bodywash and a shout out to a special friend going to Greece (finally)

One of my great life regrets is not stocking up on Korres products while I was in Greece last summer. Yes, that may be beyond a white girl problem, but let the record show that I stand by my statement, because Korres stuff is awesome and obscenely cheap in Greece. Their stuff is natural and smells gorgeous and comes in cute packaging and is a win any way you cut it. They also have some adorable backstory about a mom and pop apothecary or something but I can't be bothered to google it. However I recently 'invested' in this body wash because I needed a pick me up, and even though it's only sold at department stores here it's still less than half the price of any other body wash there. And this scent- Mint tea- is tdf. (To die for. obvi. ysfkt) I think it's supposed to be a unisex scent, in that it smells like a very fresh and sexy boy, and I love it so much. So I'm excited that my friend who is going on her seriously delayed honeymoon to Greece can STOCK UP on Korres products because they are the bomb. Plus, you're supporting the Greek economy. Win win guys.

Sometimes I'm a debbie downer

The weird thing about living somewhere 'cool' like London is dealing with other peoples' expectations for your life. I find that it makes it a million times worse when you're not having an awesome time, because then you're the downer who isn't living out other peoples' fantasies. I understand that living in London can seem glamorous for someone working an office job in the US. I know this because that's half the reason I'm here. (The other half may have to do with actually wanting to get an education in this field, but who can say at this point).

But while there are some awesome things, unfortunately (or fortunately) sometimes the place has little to do with how your life is- it's more about the people you surround yourself with, the work/school you're doing, and the million other things going on. So while there are definitely perks to being in London instead of Atlanta/DC/NYC- like randomly wandering into boutiques footsteps from my house filled to the brim with brands that would be a little too outre for ATL (even if I can't afford them), or having a multitude of awesome pho places and bars and hipster coffeeshops all within walking distance, or taking a double decker bus to school, it's still life. There's still shitty weather, and exams, and exorbitant exchange rates that don't care that you're a student whose money comes in the form of dollars, and the still-dismal media job market looming the background, and family and friends that are way too far away. Of course it's a once in a lifetime experience, but sometimes I wish this experience was in the past and I could just be at home, with my friends, going to happy hour and eating Chik-fil-a and nursing my hangovers without papers looming over my head.

I've moved around so much in the past few years, to a bunch of interesting places that have never felt quite right. Although in hindsight they always look way better than how they felt at the time. I'm pretty sure I shouldn't feel nostalgic for beer pong with my kickball team while I'm in one of the greatest cities in the world, but there you go. What the hell am I trying to say? I think it has something to do with the fact that while I have had decent reasons for moving and I don't think I'll ever regret having tried out a bunch of different cities, I also need to not use moving to a new, exciting city as an escape for the crap in my life- because the cliched "Wherever you go, there you are?" Well, I'm definitely here.

London doesn't love me as much as it probably should

Sometimes you go to Malta for the weekend and it's the best escape from London ever. And it's sunny and beautiful and you don't see any Libyan refugees (although you'd be really nice to them if you did) and you eat lots of gelato and risotto because it's kind of like Italy. And you get a sun burn which might turn into a tan or it might turn into melanoma. Who can say for sure. But you're happy.





And then some days you get in a fight with your roommate over the appropriate number of guests to have squatting during reading period (do I live in a hostel?) and the best thing going is the beet juice that the very nice, non-British cash register man gave you at the organic grocery store.

I mean it was good juice.

le writer's block

I can't believe it's been nearly three months. I'm pretty sure I made a resolution to blog more, but you know what they say about resolutions. I'm not sure if this blogging thing is really going to work for me, since I'm terrified of becoming an angsty 14 year old with a Xanga, and there aren't so many cool things going on in my life to share that aren't boring school/ life things. Well, I kind of take that back. I went to Bordeaux and San Sebastian last week, and they were "cool." I escaped the London rain which was crucial, and I'm doing it again next week. Hallelujah. Classes finished and everyone is freaking the fuck out about all of our papers and exams that are due at the beginning of May while we're also technically supposed to be doing dissertation nonsense. I'm boring myself so I am officially done with school talk. All I have to say is that thank sweet baby Jesus that I didn't go to law school, because there is enough competitiveness and peer-induced mania to last me a while.

I've been picking my classes for school next year in California and zomg they look cool, but as one friend described it course registration feels like a bloody Ponzi scheme where half the classes that are supposedly available don't really exist. Or have some other complication involving wait lists and petitioning. But let's be real if it's a course on tween media it's basically meant for me so the effort is probably worth it. Once again I have fallen into horrifying school talk, so instead let's look at some of the wonderful things I might make my parents bring me from AMERICA when they come to visit. Because in some areas this country is seriously lacking and I've heard the U S of A is a lovely place.


The irony of getting Liberty-print flats imported is not lost on me, but how freaking cute are these? J. Crew flats are just the best.

Ditto, but these can be used as self-defense. What up.

This shit gets the job done, and by job I mean putting some color into my lifeless pale as a corpse face.

This necklace is technically from J Crew's Crewcuts line, but I swear I'm not a pedophile for looking at that section of the website. It's no Limited Too but this stuff is just really freaking cute and I can only fit into the jewelry and that's the only justification I need, mkay?

If you think about it everyone needs a snake cuff in their lives, and Alkemie saves the world or the babies or something with their jewelry, which is a plus.

2010

A lot's happened in a year.
I started 2010 in DC, and I loved being in DC with all of my pals.
I got to explore the city,
experience a Snowpocalypse,
celebrate a good friend's wedding,
see some sweet concerts,
go to Israel and Greece and Turkey,
see my peeps in NYC and the Hamptons,
make some decisions,
and suddenly I was moving out of DC.

Mad packing and mayhem led to Atlanta,
and family time and a bit of work for a certain brand of pantyhose.
Then I packed up again and moved to London for the whole grad school thing.
I'm glad I took the leap.

Hope this year is the best yet for all of my loyal followers,
and maybe I'll even resolve to post a bit more in 20-11.

Happy New Year.

Sometimes I run into D-list celebrities

That are more like Q-list, from TV shows that only I watch. Then I gawk at them and make them feel uncomfortable because I'm so shocked to see them somewhere where regular people hang out, like a movie theater in Atlanta. Then I Google stalk them and imagine our relationship, and tell everyone I know who I saw. I try not to Tweet. Sometimes I fail. Then I wonder how the hell I'm going to live in LA.

Black Hole

The dark and cold of London mixed with sickness and school have added up to a kind of rough month. Luckily I'm going back to America for break in 6(!) days and I cannot wait. I did get to escape the city this weekend for a day trip to Bath and Stonehenge, and while I had expected Stonehenge to a bit more impressive it was nice to see the sky and get out of the city. When it gets dark at 3:30 things can get a bit depressing. While I'm reading incredibly boring theorists tonight I might take a few minutes to fantasize about Atlanta and family, friends, burritos, Whole Foods, and SUNSHINE.

Best Shoes Ever

So I bought a pair of shoes I never ever thought I would- FitFlop mukluks. I think Uggs are ugly (even though I have them), so the idea of fake Uggs normally sends shivers down my heart. Or wherever shivers go. Also, I kind of think the idea of FitFlops, Reebok EasyTone etc. is bullshit. I don't really understand what wobble boards are and how they fit in shoe soles and how they magically make butts look perfect. But I'm not buying it.

However. On a freezing, rainy, miserable London afternoon my Mother insisted on buying me some warm boots so I wouldn't catch pneumonia. And I keep seeing FitFlops everywhere here, and they're supposed to have good arch support and improve your posture yada yada. So I bought the chocolate ones. And OMG THEY ARE COMFORTABLE. Like so much more comfortable than Uggs because they somehow rock a bit and actually do make you stand up straight. And I totally feel supported and when you walk up escalators you can actually feel the muscles in your thighs/butt work, but in a good way. So who knows what hocus pocus these guys are working, but I highly recommend them.

My hood

Sometimes we hang out here.

I don't hang out here.

Y'all know I spend too much time here.

This is my dorm. Jack the Ripper killed someone here (typs) so there are tour groups outside all the damn time.
Cute couple, no?
Does photographing graffiti make me artsy? Meta??


My walk to the Tube. Artillery Lane.

My School

My school is like old and shit and I think it's pretty, so I thought I'd post a few pics.
The grad school bar is conveniently located on campus- across the street from the library.
What up cobblestones.



Nerd alert: the library posts the most searched terms in neon.

The Loneliness of Somewhere New

When you first move to a new country, especially to start grad school, there's such a whirlwind when you arrive that you forget that it's not a vacation. You're meeting new people, seeing new places, trying to figure out how life works somewhere else, and it's manic and crazy and stressful but fun. You're too busy to breathe, too busy to properly stop, so any misgivings or worries get pushed under and passed over.

It's when you have a moment to stop, when you're actually kind of acclimated, that you start to think: this is my life. Where's my family? Back home, with a five hour time difference. My friends? Like the ones that truly know me, who I can tell anything to, not the ones who I like having a beer with but barely know? Shit, they're on the other side of the world too. Not everyone's into S. I'm not coming back once I've seen all the sights. The weather's getting colder and the work's getting harder, and I'm still here. Worse? My friends are moving on without me. Friends have parties, they get married, they go on vacation. Maybe they think, "Oh, I wish Alex was here." Maybe not.

EMO MUCH? I know. You alright? (That's what they would say around here. It's also a greeting- weird.) I haven't been blogging because I don't want to put peoples' names or pictures, I feel like that's what Facebook is for, and I don't want to make this my sometimes-happy sometimes- emo diary because Livejournal isn't cool any more. Not that it ever was.

Anyways, I drafted that yesterday and didn't put it up but whoop there it is. Because I haven't blogged in two weeks so whatevs. On the bright side things are significantly better today. It's Halloween this weekend and I'm going to be a carrier pigeon, which may just be me kinda slutty with a feathered cape. My friends are printing out peoples' faces and taping them on their faces. It's pretty meta and kind of freaky. I'll stick to slutty because I love it. I've gotten a bit lame because our work has gotten intense, however in my slutty pigeon outfit I'm going to a crazy hipster party where the theme is a veterinarian's office (because why not?). Other big plans for the weekend include going to a strictly 18+ bakery where I'm hoping for an aborted fetus cupcake, then I'm going to maybe watch the World Series with Americans. In between I shall work like I never really did in college. So I guess I'm trying to remember how junior year of high school was. We'll see..

Spent

I'm pooped. This city has worn me right out. It's only Tuesday but it feels like I've been non stop going to class, reading, walking, socializing, exploring... I guess I didn't have the most restful weekend and I probably could have used it. This grad school thing is no joke. The reading isn't exactly a Spanish novella. Alas. It's fun being busy, but in some ways this feels like high school. Running from activity to class to discussion group to social stuff, eating in the cafeteria, running into friends outside of classes and around campus. Or just running--

I decided to skip a guest lecture and wine society and a happy hour and band playing because I'd had class 9-5 and I was donezo. So glad I did. I'm going to take some time to recover and get my life in order. Read some blogs, binge eat, watch Glee, basically all my favorite things. Cuddle with my Kindle. Once my life is in control maybe I'll take some pictures and write lovely things for real.

Things I'm liking

Even though I'm hungover and have a ton of reading to do today (already?!) I'm going to take a second to think about the things I'm liking lately, like... purple nail polish. the pink glitter skull in my room. no rain for three whole days! replacement kindle. kindle, i love you. brunch in nearby spitalfields market. windowshopping in south kensington. markets and vintage shops everywhere. new gay besties. smelling the thames. finding the perfect gym. LONDON.

Here's to a day of taking it easy with a cuppa and catching up.

My new hood

I can never figure out the actual name of my neighborhood. It's in East London, near the Liverpool Street tube which is where The City is (London's Wall Street), and super close to this market called Spitalfields. I'm also a couple of minutes from Brick Lane, an interesting mix of curries and vintage stores and organic cafes that is super hip. People have been comparing the neighborhood to the Mission in San Francisco which I'm not super familiar with, so for right now I'm going to have to go with NYC's East Village. Although I don't wear fake prescription glasses or tights with my shorts (yet), I love hipsters and organic food and vintage shops so I'm very excited I ended up here.
Pictures of the hood will be posted very shortly.

One Week In

After rereading my post from my first full day in London it's apparent just how jetlagged I was. Even though my English has more mistakes than the menus of the curry restaurants on Brick Lane, I'm leaving it for posterity. And to warn everyone off of Ambien.

This week has been completely overwhelming. Finding bedding and groceries, where my various orientations were, GOING to my various orientations, being social with my dorm and classmates, and going away for the weekend with my program has me completely knackered out. I've been in a constant state of near-panic and information overload but also super excited. The program seems really great and I'm amazed by how freaking impressive my classmates are. I've had separate conversations with a Cornell grad and a Berkeley grad just trying to figure out how the hell we got in here. Still wondering. There's a guy in my course who toured the country in a band for ten years with a member of Metallica, a girl who organized the designs for the state US quarters, and more than one person who has lived in five separate countries. The non-Americans are at least trilingual, and constantly put us to shame. My dorm bestie apparently spent all weekend in the library even though classes haven't started yet, and the class clown of our group (and Wharton grad) mentioned that he's already started a Google doc of dissertation ideas. Dios mio.

I'm trying to stay calm and revel in the fact that it is not intense work time yet, and my schedule really doesn't look too bad. Most of my courses are required ones this semester but all of the professors I've met are really good lecturers and totally brilliant, and I'm in London bitches. So I'm going to start taking advantage of that. Plus the people in my course are cool, and we're already talking about organizing some vacays to Edinburgh, Oxford, and Brighton. I leave you with a pic of where I stayed this weekend, the 'royal residence' near Windsor Castle, Cumberland Lodge.

Here.

A funny thing happens when you start grad school abroad, especially if that school is made up of mostly international students and you live in a dorm. It starts to feel A LOT like freshman year of college. Going to a dinner with the dorm where I knew no one besides a couple people I had briefly run into in the halls gave me a serious taste of social anxiety, but it was nice to know that I am not as awkward as I was when I entered college! Oh sure I'm awkward and my natural inclination is to sit and look pretty until someone attractive or well dressed comes and speaks to me, but I'm working that. There is no place for being reserved in a new country, so I might as well just embrace the loud American stereotype.

Several of my friends are having similar freshman year of college-type experiences who've also recently begun grad school. However, I would argue that mine is even more intense in just a social/life sense because we're all trying to figure out what is and is not socially acceptable in this country. A lot of people (including sometimes myself) thought that cultural assimilation would be one thing we wouldn't have to worry about in England, seeing as how I know English, know English history, and have read enough British chick lit to know the basic slang. I consider myself fairly well traveled and have had two past roommates from London, so I thought the international living would be no breeze. But it is just different from say moving to NYC, especially as a grad student who has probably been out in the working world, and is expected to know the difference between David Gordon and Gordon Ramsay and understand cultural cues that may just be lost on me. We had a long discussion at dinner about the appropriate amount to tip, and the Italian/German/Turkish population promptly laughed in our faces when we said the general consensus was 20%. I'm unnerved and a little disappointed in myself for feeling so much more comfortable with the Americans and Aussies than the laconic Germans and indecipherable Italians. I need to work on getting my German roommates to speak to me. I hope my hair isn't making them nervous.

Despite the fact that I am half cracked out on sleep deprivation and the tiniest bit of Ambien, I think the dorm was a really good choice and the people seem cool and the neighborhood seems trendy and hip and a little bit "transitional" and more my style than the posh Kensington which everyone recommended. Pictures will surface this week, but get ready to be jealous of the sweet Spitalfields Market a block away. Ooh and the old buildings and the pubs and the cobblestones. Sayonara amigos.

3 days

"what light through yonder window breaks?"

the end is near.

In my defense

My blogging has been sporadic at best. In my defense, I've been rather busy at work thanks to the aforementioned fashion week, and obviously work is prime time blogging time. Yes, that rhymes. Go with it. Since I have nothing useful to talk about I'm going to show you what I bought at J Crew last night. I was hardcore talked into the sequined shorts by my friends, and even though they were on sale, I am still ambivalent about them. So if you think they are the fugliest thing since Uggs, or you're just confused (like my mother), speak now or forever hold your peace.


I thought I would wear my little bloomers with a t-shirt and flats now, and maybe go crazy in the winter and wear them with one of my thousands of pairs of patterned tights. Something to think about. Also I've decided to try out the over-the-knee sock look now, don't even try to stop me.

In other news this is my second to last day of work. ZOMG. Woot. Pretty pumped to return to academia and wear tweed and complain about MLA format (do the kids still use that?) I'll find out. This weekend is Yom Kippur, or the day of Atonement for my (2) Gentile followers. I apologize for not blogging, to atone perhaps I will become more regular (in a non-Activia sense, obvi)? Too soon to tell.