Delayed Posting (my secret shame) As Well As More Shenanigans and Good Times

Hello friends,

So it's totally the end of March, but let's pretend it's still February for about half of this entry. Yeah? Yeah.

February was a crazy month. I had lots of school stuff going on. RiPPLE was in it’s final phases and I was also running around and having fun, as usual.

First things first, I went on this fantastic walking tour of Soho, including famous recording studios and pubs that authors like Hunter S. Thompson and Martin Amos got drunk in on a regular basis. It was definitely a lot of fun. Something that will most definitely be repeated in the near future (and it was!). I only got one photo and that was because my nerdy ridiculousness knows no bounds.

After the walk, half of the group went to see this.

Arthur Smith Does Leonard Cohen

The other half of us made our way to the Royal Opera House to hang out with the tourists at the BAFTAs (British Academy of Film and Television Arts). 

We came pretty late so I was way too short to see what was in front of me. But I was like ten feet away from Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. And and and and I pulled out my phone so I could really see over the 4 or so people in front of me. I caught sight of (drumroooooooooooll please) Prince William who drove himself to the awards like a boss. The picture is blurry. But Yeah.

There was also an interesting moment on the walk back to Waterloo. 

We were walking across the Waterloo Bridge, enjoying music and the fantastic sights that are Central London and we saw this pile of skateboards. Way too great not to take a photo of. "Make Tea Not War"

Oh, yeah! Got sick. Got better. Then I got Strep. Was essentially out of commission for almost all of February zonked out on paracetamol and a 7-day regimen of antibiotics. It was horrible. I woke up feeling so out of it that I walked the mile and a half to the hospital. Maybe two hours I spent there. Got checked out twice, got my super cheap prescription for like 8 pound 50 (forty pills! for 8.50) and was out of there by 11:30AM. It was glorious. Thank you, NHS. 

The courses this term were really odd. Structure and Style was interesting because we had the chance to work in different genres (play, drama, and short story). Definitely had fun switching things around and making the most of the course. Andrea Stuart was a fantastic tutor. I definitely will be picking up her book.

Special Study was a bit all over the place. We had two tutors, Barry Keefe that specialized in screenwriting and Winsome Pinnock that focuses on playwriting. That course didn’t really “start” start until halfway through, when Winsome came to take it over. I wasn’t really happy with it, but the course director assured me there was nothing more that they could’ve done. It got better towards the end, which was fantastic and all of us started to produce some really good stuff. The only drawback was that we got into the groove right at the end of the term, which sucks. But, Winsome is allowing us to send her one more draft because she knows how weird the term has been for us. SCORE. We’ll talk about what I’m writing for that course later.

Jigsaws are going great! I have tons of  them done now. Below you’ll see pictures of my magical mounted babies. Doctor Who is the only one that isn't 1,000 pieces.

Movies! I’ve seen some great films in the last two months. Frozen was genius. I may be obsessed with it and the covers that have been made of Let it Go. But let’s be honest, the best parts of Frozen are For the First Time in Forever (Reprise) and, of course, Fixer Upper/In Summer (you can’t make me choose between them!) Not only is it in my top three Disney movies, it is one that is breaking the Princess movie mold bit by bit. High five Disney!

The Lego movie. Great star studded cast and full of plenty of adult jokes. It was pretty good, could’ve been more engaging, but entertaining enough for the kids in the audience. Morgan Freeman was probably the stand out. He was hilarious.

The Wolf of Wall Street. Sooooooo much more funny than you’ve heard. Trust me. It’s full of sex, boobies, profanity, and drugs. The story is outlandish and immensely hilarious. The perfect black comedy that captured how insane people got on Wall Street in the 80’s. Even though it was 3 hours long, I wouldn’t have cut a thing. It was perfection. Scorsese and DiCaprio at the top of their game.  There is an argument that it celebrates the debauchery of this dude who took advantage of all these people, but it’s an adaptation of his memoir. Guys like Belfort think they’re God’s gift to everything. Scorsese showed everyone how much of a dick he was.

Her. AMAZING. Definitely my favorite of the year so far. Top notch scifi. The visual effects were stunning and screenplay itself was gold. Pure freaking gold. Definitely something I’d recommend seeing, especially with the soundtrack and the amazing acting. Her makes me happy. For sure.

The Grand Budapest Hotel. Definitely really really fucking clever. I really enjoyed the fantastic way that they painted the worlds that they were switching between. Also, the way he gave the "60’s” a very novelistic feel, narrating the entire story that wasn’t dialogue, genius. Great Black comedy moments. Ralph Fiennes has great comedic timing and the large cast was very controlled and not overwhelming at all.

And now, we’re going to discuss some things you don’t know. Oh yeah. Elevators here talk to you. They tell you what they’re doing as they do it. It’s really interesting. When speaking to Brits about non-talking elevators most seem skeptical and unwilling to get into them.

Also, land law here is COMPLETELY different. Talking with a few Brits I’ve discovered that you don’t own the land your house is on. It belongs to The Queen and you give her taxes because she’s allowing you to live on it. That is crazy!

Speaking of crazy, in May I’m going on a mini-Holiday to Scotland! I’m so freaking excited. May the Fourth Be With You in Edinburgh and Glasgow. I am counting down the days like a little kid. It’s going to be AMAZING.

I also took place in the KU Awards flash mob. It was a blast. I got to wear a cool hate and tie and pretend to flash and shit in people’s faces. Good times were had by all.

In the beginning of March (halfway through, halfway through!) there was MAYHEM at the Kingston Writing School. Mayhem, I say! The newest Writer in Residence, Hanif Kureishi, was quoted in this article.. He was quoted saying this during his talk at The Independent’s Literary Festival in Bath. 

"creative writing courses as a “waste of time”, saying that the vast majority of students taking them – including many of his own pupils – are “talentless”. Kureishi teaches how to write novels, screenplays and plays at London’s Kingston University, which awarded him a professorship in October." 

People freaked out, got offended, and got over it fairly quickly. Of course, there were plenty of people who spoke out against him and his not very well thought out thoughts. But the call was still there to have him be accountable for his actions. The reaction from KU was as passive as passive could be. He’s still getting paid. Still a jerk. And he’s now added coward to his résumé. He scheduled a Q&A with students and backed out mere hours before he was supposed to show up. Guess the water was a little too hot for him. Wuss.

Speaking of controversy, have I told you what exactly happens on a Tier 4 visa yet? So, the agreement the uni makes with the UKBA (UK Border Agency) is that they will monitor all of us Tier 4’s and insure that we are doing what we came for. For lack of a better metaphor (or to be my usually sassy ass self) the uni is our parole officer. They work for the UKBA and if we misstep in any way, they report us and our visas get yanked right from our pretty little hands.

Each month we have to go one of two places and get our IDs scanned and our identities confirmed by a person as proof that we’re coming to campus. It’s super inconvenient, especially since the dates coincide with important due dates for class stuff, but I guess it could be worse. We could be branded cattle or we could wear monitoring devices that they use to track our every movement (or witchcraft).

The reason I bring this up is because the UKBA in the last five years have become crazy strict. Granted there have been acts of terror that motivated some changes in policy, but they still make us feel a bit like criminals so my flatmate used her frustration and channeled it into a video presentation for the Museum of London. She took our whole flat around London and had us introduce ourselves and explain why we’re here. The goal: to make us seem just like everyone else and to ask if we’re welcome here. It was a lot of fun to do. Plus I got to hang at Hatchard’s the oldest book store in London. Oh yeah.

I went to the Awards and Achievements show for the MA program where a select few got to read their works. It was really really nice to hear all of this work I hadn’t gotten a chance to hear before. Everyone on the MA is talented and I’m glad that I’ve fit in so well with everyone. It was a great night out, for sure.

Record Store Day was also something that I took a few hours to partake in. Tom from Editors was performing at Banquet Records and it was great. His voice is like velvet. Here, take a look.

Five Guys opened up in Kingston. Spent 13 pounds. Worth it.

The term is now over, by the way.  Yay!

Got my dissertation supervisor as well! Mark Barrowcliffe. He does fantasy and comedy. I’m super stoked. I saw him read a snippet from Son of Morning (out soon under his new pseudonym) and I am so glad that he’s right up my alley, genre-wise. He seems really nice so hopefully we get along well.

Went on another educational walk on Sunday, Fitzbury and Bloomsbury. Four and a half miles of squares that all look the same and sordid history involving names we all know and love. Virginia Woolfe, and her moving orgies, lived in tons of different squares. We saw the local pubs that a lot of late, great, authors tended to drink at.

For me, the highlight was the philosopher Jeremy Bantham asked that his body be preserved and stuck in a wooden chest. His Auto-Icon, or burial chamber (whatever you want to call it) is sitting in the hallway of the University of London. There is a table next to it. This girl was studying. Next to Bantham preserved corpse. EWW. So many fucking ewws. The Auto-Icon is present at yearly meetings, but the corpse is missing it’s head. Something went wrong in the process of preserving his body and they replaced it with a wax head. As the kids would say, “#that shit’s cray.” It wasn't open when I was there, thank God. EWWWWWWW.

Onto the more mundane, the weather was fantastic for about two week this month. It was 60 degrees, the highest was 66 and it was glorious. Everyone was outside enjoying it, it was the best! Then Spring Equinox came and it was all rain and gloomy 40’s again. Thanks, mother nature! It’s appreciated.

What I’m currently working on:

Well, there’s tons of stuff. But the main thing is my musical! I’m doing a romance/comedy about two bloggers that are dueling online, one is sort of a feminist and the other teaches other men how to seduce women.  It’s going to be hilarious and it will probably be original songs with a few popular ones mixed in? I’m trying to focus on dialogue for now since that’s the most important.

I’m also working on a short play about grief for Style and Structure. I’m also planning on a spoken word piece and flash fiction so that should be fun fun times. These aren’t due until the end of May so I’m totally good for now.

The novel will be coming along soon, I just need to get back into the mode of it again. That will be happening soon for sure. I will be getting back into Andriana’s head once again and it will be glorious.

I also applied for the MFA program so that I can continue to evolve my writing and style. I’m super excited about it, but we’ll see if I’m accepted. I think my application is strong enough, but only time will tell.

Well, I think that’s it. 2,000+ words later and you’re still here. Sorry about the gap between, I’m lamer than a lame lame person. But, I still am keeping you up to date!!! Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in April. I really will this time since I’m going to be doing term papers and/or Netflixing the whole month. I’ll force myself to update.

Ciao!

The Christmas/New Year/Term Paper Installment

HELLO!

Oh man. I have so much to include. I am pretty much bursting as I sit here. 

We last left off with Thanksgiving Cubed. Which was, again, amazing. That led me to an amazing end of term. 

I went to a friend's slam literary event at a local performance pub/room. It was really cool! So cool that I may do it this semester. :) Great job to all involved! Off The Page was hilarious and touching at the same time. 

I explored Soho! It was definitely an experience. HAHA. We had a fantastic time for Allyson's birthday. Woo woo! I was offered drugs, and even after I declined, me and the two hilarious dealers had a great conversation on my British conversion and they wished me the best. 10/10, would go London gay clubbing again. Escape was great!

Also, as a birthday present for Allyson we got makeovers!!! I got a contest winner deal (EXTREME discount) on a few glamour shots. It was amazing! Makeup and hair. We had a really good experience at the place. Thanks ENVY London!

The end of the semester was punctuated with a bunch of different things. Cold weather(32 degrees, brrr). Fog that lasted for three days. 

We sang in a Christmas concert the last week of classes, as well as a Choral Service where we did a collection of hymns and Christmas stuffs. It was great! I really like singing with the Twist choir. Unfortunately, I was assigned to a different module block that puts my Structure and Style Course directly on top of the rehearsal time for them. So, for the foreseeable future I won't get the chance to sing with them. Sigh.

The last classes were interesting. They gave us the chance to ask questions about the term papers before break. We also did this bad ass game where we embodied our characters and answered questions. It was GREAT. I was really good at it. And it really gave me a grasp of my semi-bad guy. He's definitely interesting, that one. A sociopath that dreams of calm things. It's gonna be soooo AMAZING to portray him. 

We discussed the building blocks of story in my Critical Challenges module. It was really cool to see the way that the essentials can all be broken down. The best thing that I took away from it all was that the stakes, no matter what, have to continue to be higher. Writing yourself into a corner is a good way of upping the stakes for your characters and keeping them on their feet. Also, the value of throwing crazy stuff at them to see how they react was amazing. 

So, that led up to Break. The first week of break we decided to do one last dinner before everyone scattered to the wind. It was an ugly sweater party at The Swan. We got drunk. And enjoyed ourselves. It was also the first time I have ever been paid for singing. It was Kelly Clarkson, "Since You Been Gone" and I totally got a free cider for it. Best deal ever.

After than it was catch up with tv shows, and mostly just relaxing. I was taking a break because I knew that Christmas away from home was going to be hard. So I gorged on holiday movies and decorated my flat. i even made a Christmas plant.

It was hard being away from home on Christmas, but dinner with my flatmates and amazing company kept me from being really really sad about it. The food wasn't as good, but we make due. 

Boxing Day I went into Camden and had drinks at the World's End, the world's largest pub, with Meredith (an old high school friend). It was definitely a great time! Taking a bus and a slow train meant my usual 45 minute journey became over two hours long (Thanks for shutting down the Overground, TFL) but it was well worth it to get to hang around that said of town and gab with a friend. :)

New Years Eve was amazing and filled with very distant fireworks, Hootenanny and amazingly perfect company. 

But, by then, I was already hard at work on term papers and RiPPLE edits. My break pretty much ended after I came back from Camden. I was writing, revising, and spreadsheeting for RiPPLE so that I could get the final draft in before the start of term. I also had to get together a plan of exactly what I needed from my new team so that was definitely an interesting experience. 

After that I was onto editing my Workshop piece for my fantasy novel. I wrote the final 1,500 words I needed fairly quickly after a bit of pushing and prodding to get it done. It came out really really well. I definitely think I kicked that term paper's ass.

Next came Finalizing RiPPLE edits. That was pretty easy. The hard part, though, cam from my genius idea of sorting them all into a flowing storyline. I felt that alphabetical was too easy so I reread each piece and found a way to make them all flow in a coherent and easy fashion. It was amazing. And hard. And time consuming. but I finally got it right. Then went through and stripped each piece of formatting (that took hours!) and made it all fit nice and snug. 

After that was my experimental piece. That didn't take too long, but it also came out really really well. I definitely enjoyed that bit. I ended up calling it Blue.

The essay was hard, mostly because I had so much I wanted to say but not a ton of space to really say it in. But, soon that became a notch in my writing post and I was done!

I briefed the RiPPLE team and wrapped at some loose ends, went off to my new classes and started my new term!

But, that isn't it! I got visitors!!!!

The three of us, together, wandered through the city. I played tour guide since I've been wandering here for so long. And, I'm proud to announce, I didn't get us lost ONCE. Activate "Amazing Mode" in 3-2-1 AMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZING! 

We then had dinner and drinks at a pub near the Tower Bridge. It was fantastic. 

Pretty soon, though, it was all over and the girls were off to adventure elsewhere. My papers were proofed and finalized and submitted. And I was back to my same routine. 

Between all this crazy stuff life has been kind of fantastic. I went to a live taping of BBC Radio 4 how, Chain Reaction. It was two amazing comedians. Graham Linehan (the creator of the IT Crowd and Father Ted) and Adam Buxton (comedian and host of BUG) were amazing! And hilarious! They just sort of sat there and shot the shit and as a writer, it was so amazing to hear the way that they approached their craft. The universal agreed upon fact of being a writer is you absolutely hate your first draft. Then you rewrite and the hate lessens until you get it to a point where you fall in love with it again. Plus, there was a lot of ridiculous R-rated internet jokes that will never make it into the actual show that I got to experience first hand so that was good. 

I got to experience the birth of Sherlock series 3 live as well as the birth of the 12th Doctor. I was slightly bummed that the started filming in Cardiff the day of my first day of term. I wanted to go, just to give Capaldi a warm welcome, but I had a ton of class stuff and RiPPLE stuff. So, I had to see the updates on the BBC site. I don't like being an adult. Sigh.

In retrospect, though, I'm really really glad that I took this course. That I chose to come here. That I met so many amazing people. I can't even believe that I did it. And I can't imagine having done this any other way.

I go outside everyday and realize that I'm in a different country. It's cold and windy and sometimes noisy but it's amazing. I love it here. I mean, I don't even have the words to describe what I feel whenever I see the Big Ben or the Eye when I go into town.

I do have these moments, though. It sounds corny as shit, but bear with me. I'll look up at the sky and see a plane drifting through the sky towards Heathrow, the telltale wing sign of Virgin Atlantic glinting in the more-bright-than-you-would-think sun. I remember being up there. Scared. Excited. But mostly, hopeful.

And then I look around me. And I'm really excited. My heart is light and my chest gets all warm and fuzzy. I can honestly say that I am in love with London. The shit weather and being Bridgett Jones splashed on the way to Pret A Manger doesn't diminish that.

It's like I am in the right place for once. I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be in life. To be honest, I think this is the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. I get to wander a smallish-medium town that's been around for a thousand years and then I can take a train for 45 minutes and visit a town that is so full of amazing and unique blends of people and history and art and culture. 

I never realized what I was missing in life. Sitting in the cafe and laughing with new friends from all over the world and I know this is it. I'm sorry I haven't been updating you all as quickly as I'd hoped but London has been carrying me away and making me deliriously happy. 

Even though I miss you all, I would be lying if I said that my life at this exact moment isn't insanely perfect.

I could see myself staying here for a long time. But, for right now, let's just aim for getting schooling done. We can talk living arrangements after this degree. Or the next. :)

See you in a month! 

Thanksgiving Craziness Preceded by Crazy Good Times.

Hello friends!

Oh man. So much has happened. So fast. Can we start slowing down the clock? No? Damn. Okay. Classes are going great. They’re difficult but I wouldn’t want them to be easy. I’ve been getting great feedback on my novel and I’m already 12,000 words into. I had writers block for a bit but I’m back at it now. Filling in gaps and rewriting before I continue forward. 

Backtrack to the end of October. I went to a fabulous Halloween party and went out dancing. It was glorious. They had Christmas decoration up, even then.  

After that the entire month of November was a blaze of RiPPLE submissions, grading, getting work done for class, and choir rehearsal. Our choir is singing at the University Choral Service twice next week and then we’ll be looking to get a concert done next week. So exciting! I came in late so I have some catching up to do. But that’s okay haha. 

I’ve also been making time to hang out with friends (they would beg to differ, but I have tons of stuff to do!) and have a drink every Sunday at my Local (that’s what pubs are called here in case you’ve forgotten). 

November has been crazy. So crazy. Yet awesome. Crazy awesome mash-up of greatness

I went to the premiere of the 50^th Anniversary at the movie theatre. In 3D. Holla! Do kids still say that? Whoops. Anyways,  I don’t have a tv so I didn’t know where I was gonna see my nerdy nerdiness and then I heard they were screening it so I nabbed a ticket. 

I wanted to see it because of 3D, duh, and because how often will you be able to really enjoy the Doctor Who 50^th and be a part of a Guiness World Record (for the largest simulcast of a tv show ever)? 

Let me tell you… I had such an amazing time. I can’t even begin to describe it. There is nothing like being surround by people with a love for the same tv show as you and to hear a room erupt into laughter or applause at something so utterly brilliant as Doctor Who. Hurt was amazing. Smith was amazing. Tennant was amazing. It was spectacular. I had an amazing time. I laughed, I almost cried. I yelled when Ten said “I don’t wanna go” and I’m excited for this new turn of events. 

Anyways, we went to get ice cream after (yeah, I’m lactose intolerant and I still eat ice cream. I like to torture myself and feel the horrible cramps that I get from eating dairy. Okay, it only happens sometimes. Sometimes, I’m just fine. It’s just the luck of the draw).  We had a great night. 

What else am I missing? Oh.  Thanksgiving! Yes. Thanksgiving.  I had THREE Thanksgivings. Almost four, but I was too busy to get to the first one I was invited to with friend Aurora. But I went to one at my friend Sandra’s place. We threw a last minute one on Thursday (I had class, but we did it after!). And the I went to one on Saturday. It was great to spend a ton of time with my friends. I missed my family, of course, but I got to spend it with people I’ve come to really care about and enjoy spending time with. 

I skyped my family. And, of course, they showed me all the food I was missing (thanks for that Dad and Mr. B. You guys are soooooo sweet). I was up til 4 chatting and hanging out before I went to sleep. You should have seen my aunt’s face when I told her me, her and my mom could all chat at the same time on google. She got REALLY excited hahaha. 

Then I went into London for a makeover/photoshoot. Don’t I look sexy? I know I do hahahaha. Anyways, it was really fun and I got a couple of photos. Mostly, I just wanted to be sure that my friend had a great time. It was her birthday present from me.  We looked fabulous when we left. 

Just went to the pub and enjoyed the usual live music of a Sunday night. I love it at the Swan. Good atmosphere. Great ciders. It’s always a bunch of fun whenever we go.

I went to Covent Gardens and saw the Five Guys/ Chipotle. The decorations there were totally pretty.

Oh yeah, did I mention getting lost is Surbiton on my way back from dinner on Saturday? Yeah. I got super lost and kept running into cul-de-sacs galore. Not to mention the fact that I did it more than twice. Sigh. I have a horrible sense of direction. Even with my phone I walked almost two miles out of my way. It was 35 degrees out. And my buzz wore off at about the time that I realized I was walking towards dead ends. Double sigh. But, at least I got some exercise, amirite? Gotta look at the positives. Like this pretty photo:

The veterans celebrations here are a lot different too. WWII hit the UK really hard and they've never forgotten how many were lost during the air raids and the sacrifices that many made for their safety. It's tradition to wear poppies and donate to the veterans every veteran's day. I woke up to the lovely service that Sunday.

Here's the Memorial up close. Those wreaths are made of plastic poppies and are dedicated to the soldiers from Hampton Wick that fought and died for Britain during WWI and WWII, there names are also inscribed.  

Anyways. I’m beat. I’m going to head off into sleepy land. Well, after I format and plunk in the photos. Hope you enjoyed my super short installment. Sorry I couldn’t be all crazy about it. It’s almost 2am and I just edited the crap out of my sister’s personal statement for grad school. My brain is zapped. Haha.

Until next time, dear readers.