Unobserved

When you live in a city you can never be alone. Maybe indoors, but not really. There's always someone upstairs or downstairs, next door or across the way who is always close by. In my case, there are seven other girls, SEVEN! in my flat. Alone doesn't happen very often. Outside... you're out of luck. If you do manage to find yourself alone, you're probably somewhere no sane person would want to be.
Tonight I found myself "alone" for a few minutes in the Goldhawk Rd. tube station. I put the word in quotation marks because you are never alone in a tube station or anywhere else in London for that matter. With CCTV, their video surveillance system, there's always someone watching.
Anyways, the train going the opposite direction I was going had departed, taking with it all the other separate souls who were previously keeping me company from the other side of the tracks. It was 9:00 on a Thursday night in a not-particularly-hopping part of London, so the people in the station were just individuals. Unattached. Like me. Still, though they didn't speak a word, they were there, observing. Everyone is an observer in a city.
Now before I arrived at station I had been whistling to myself, I was in a whistling mood, but before climbing the stairs up to the train tracks I had stopped so as to not annoy any of the silent observers on the other side. I'm not that great at whistling.
But then that train came, and then the train left, taking with it every other soul in the station. I found myself left alone, alone! on the platform. Suddenly I felt something, a relief from a pressure that I didn't even realize that I was under. I felt the joy of solitude, a kind of solitude I hadn't felt for months. The kind you don' get in the city.
You see, in the suburbs, where I have always lived, it's easy to access this solitude, and I did. Often. Or at my university. I love experiencing a public space that, in the daytime, is always populated, but, in the night time is deserted. It belongs only to me. In the same way I love a place that the general public generally visits in fair weather, but they abandon in the rain and cold leaving it just for me.
This is the feeling that suddenly came over me in the Goldhaw Rd tube station. I let out a whistle. A loud one. I whistled a tune. And then... I started to sing. Not word. I kind of sang-whistled, going doo-doo-doo to the tune in my head. To tell you the truth, I felt like dancing, but that security camera, though deaf, still had eyes somewhere behind it. Instead I paced to the music.
I guess this might not sound like much, humming and pacing, but I can't describe... it felt like much. It felt good. It felt like freedom. It was straight from the soul without any observers to judge. I filled the station with me. I was the only person to be that moment in the long history of that platform. It was all me, and all by myself. I don't know how long I was alone, but it could only have been a couple minutes. Soon a man with a cane emerged from the stairwell. I stopped whistling and pulled myself in so that I only filled a couple feet around me instead of the entire station. The man with the cane sat down and another person ambled in. And there you have it. It was so quick, but I had found something that I didn't know I had missed. I didn't even know it existed.
Now I'm sitting in another tube station, the one near my flat with seven other girls, and I'm writing this all down before the moment leaves me. trains arrive and depart. People pass around me. It's not normal to see a girl sitting writing in a notebook with no intention to move in such a temporary space as a tube station, but there you have it. I haven't since been alone again, and I know I'm being observed. I have the same song in my head, but G-d save me if it gets any further than that. Besides, it's about time to go home.

(Typed up from my notebook. I thought you might like to read it.)

I'm Back Again!

Geez, I'm not doing so well at keeping you guys updated. So much is going on so fast, and midterms aren't helping. That's right, I'm already mid-term. Crazy, huh? Time flies when you're not being oppressed by one's major. Just kidding. But seriously, folks. This trip is flying by.

I think I'm gonna cop out like I did last time and give only a brief bullet point overview of things. I think the biggest event to take place over the last week was a visit to London from my brother. Rick came up to see me and a bunch of his buddies during a week vacation he had from work. It was really awesome to chill with Rick in London. I got to show him around a bit, and he brought me along to see a couple things I hadn't before. I had never been that close to Buckingham Palace, taken a boat down the Themes or visited Abbey road before he visited. It was also really cool to see his buddy from high school, Jussi. I got to see their little ikea infused flat, and meet his lovely fiance. Good times.

Other than that I've been out a couple times, gotten a pair of really attractive boots, and worked a lot on school work. Well, in chunks. To tell the truth, I haven't devoted as much time as I would usually think fit for my design work, but the academic expectations for us here in London are kinda skewed. They don't expect us to put as much time into things... it all spells out for a busy summer catching my CMD work up. I want to handle my next couple of projects a bit more gracefully though.

This week my first real multidisciplinary project is due. I have a lot of stuff to do for it this weekend. I also have a couple treats planned out for myself. I'm seeing a concert tomorrow night, and I'm going to a cool Byzantium exhibit on Sunday.

My next CMD project should be fun. We're asked to pick an issue in the community to focus on. Lots of people are doing drugs, or smoking or sexual health and the like. I decided to be a bit more upbeat. I took up boredom. I want to create a campaign to inspire people to exercise their brains and keep their minds spry. I have to do research and initial ideas and sketches this week. I'm excited.

Well. That's a bit about my recent past. I know I've been on and off at posting, but keep checking in on me. Also leave comments if you think of something to tell me. I hope you're doing great and that life is treating you well. Thanks for reading! Toodles!

Friday Wandering

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

This is my effort to not keep you waiting another week for a post. Lots of little posts sounds like a better plan. Also I apologize to all my grammatically, punctuation-ally and overall-decent-writing-ally sensitive followers. I obviously don't (and will continue not to) review and edit these posts before publishing them. I sometimes read them again later and feel sorry for you guys trying to figure out what I'm saying, but overall you get the gist and that's what's important.

My newest project in my multi-discipline class (from here on known as multi-d) involves trying to eliminate wasteful packaging from a band/store found in London. My group, consisting of an industrial designer, interior designer and me, have decided to try and re-think packaging for cosmetics. We're still picking the specific brand. To get a better feel for our subject, the ID kid and I did some field research. We went to a place in London called Seven Dials ( http://www.sevendials.co.uk/ ). It was wonderful. The shops were so much fun just to go in and look around. After we bothered the ladies in a ton of cosmetics store we did some more exploring. There was this awesome store where everything was crazy patterned, and another with amazing so smart toys and trinkets and beard hats and a mirror with a mustache built into it. OMG. It was my favorite ever. I have to go back. Too bad the beard hats were L60 (that's my lazy british pound symbol).

After that outing I went to meet Haley at Leicester Square tube station. I got there early and walked around the neighborhood checking out what the stores and street vendors were selling. I even sat in the square with the pidgins and sketched a bit in the watercolor book my mom bought me. There was only one problem with the whole situation. I wasn't supposed to be meeting Haley at the Leicester Station... it was the Liverpool one. Oops. As soon as I realized my mistake I scooted my way across London as fast as I could to meet up with poor Haley. Julie also scooted from another part of town. Finally, the whole expedition party was assembled. We hopped on a train to one of London's suburbs so that Haley could do some research for her CMD project.

The train ride was ridiculous. The entire cabin was packed with people who were not talking. Seriously. I was only whispering to Haley and I was being too loud. It was bizarre. When we got to our destination we happily skipped off the train and into the 'burbs (where we were allowed to talk).

Pretty much we proceeded to have such a suburban night. We window shopped and played in Primark (the British Target) and tired on ridiculous things without buying anything. Reminds me of the good ole days back home. After getting bored of being ridiculous we went to a local pub and got super cheap pub food and drink. I got a lamb mint burger and a pint of Guinness. Yum!

A bit less oppressive train ride later we ended up back at my apartment where we drank tea and watched Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog and other fun things on YouTube.



This morning Bri and I woke everyone else with lovely music and our even lovelier faces so that we could make them a fancy French toast breakfast for Valentines day. The rest of the day is still in the making. I'll keep you posted. Take care everyone! Love!

Another week flies by

I'm back again. The past week has been so jam packed. It's been hard to catch up in my own head, never mind my blog. Since the last time I wrote I've been to a club, the Borough Market again, seen a couple rock bands, two plays, wrote a paper, did some design and visited the London Ice Bar. I also went to a shabbat lunch and did some shopping. You can find photographic evidence of most of my forays on facebook. I put up three albums. As far as I'm aware everyone who keeps up with my blog (when I get to writing it) is on facebook. If you're not, I'd more than happy to post the links to the albums on my blog.

I've decided to focus this post on some things in between the cracks of all the crazy events I run back in forth to. I've been living in London for almost a month now. It's pretty amazing to think about it. I'm trying to stay aware of how the way I deal with this whole experience changes as I get more used to the place. I'm now reminding myself to pay attention to the architecture, appreciate the constant passing of double decker buses and really notice that I'm walking around London. My street here feels like my street. I can walk through the underground stations I frequent without looking at the signs. I don't constantly notice that the people around me are speaking in a British accent. I still am constantly aware that I'm speaking in an American one though.

My perception of myself as an American has changed too. London is so multicultural, everyone has an accent. Even English people have accents to each other. It's not unusual to hear French or German or Arabic when you're walking on the streets. Being American is just like being another foreigner. Also, British people tend to like (or at least be intrigued by) Americans. It's impossible to read most of the Brits anyways. Lewis's example one the of the first days we were here is the best way to explain it. If you forget to hold onto the bar in the tube when the train starts and you stumble, no one will laugh or change their expression, but you can tell that everyone saw and everyone's thinking "what an idiot." In fact, the entire transportation experience is full of unwritten laws. On escalators you stay on the right if you want to stand and leave the left open for those who want to walk. Sometimes a newbie will stand next to a friend and chill, unknowingly blocking the entire impatient horde behind from moving. No one will tell the unfortunate individual to move aside or keep walking, but EVERYONE glares. I'm not sure if this solution is really any better than tapping the guy on the shoulder and saying "move it buster!"

It rains a lot here. There are tons of parents with strollers walking along the street and all the strollers are fitted with a clear plastic cover, keeping the infant in a dry little bubble. These are employed even when it's not raining at the moment. Chances are that it will rain soon enough. Londoners don't know what to do with snow. They walk around with their umbrellas out while flakes fall. It's funny to watch.

Well, time for working on a group project. I'm gonna go do some research in a cosmetics store. I'll tell you more about that later.

Cheers!

In London, back to school isn't so bad.

No snow day on Tuesday. We were teased by a little e-mail telling us how unlikely it would be, but no. Back to school we went. Everyone in our CMD class managed to get there on time despite the need for creative transportation. 5 inches of snow sent the entire metropolis of London into freakout mode and all of the lovely public transportation had a bunch of trouble. We took the bus to school. You know, the red kind with two stories.

CMD was fun. We had a little exercise about expressive typography and discussed our branding assignment. Afterwards I took the tube back home with Kate, had a lovely conversation and passed out in bed as soon as I got home. I had a fantastic nap!

When I woke up I had just enough time to get ready to see Woman In Mind by Alan Ayckbourn at the Vaudeville theater on the strand. We were in for a treat because the man who wrote the play decades ago was also the man directing this production. All I knew going into the play was that it was about a woman going through a mental breakdown. I see enough of that in CMD already. Somehow, though, this play was an absolute delight. It was just the right amount of funny, awkward, and disconcerting. I highly recommend seeing it or at least reading it.

Wednesdays are my long haul days. Last Wednesday I became sick. The day lasted forever causing me to pass out in my bed by 8:30. Having almost conquered my cold I was hoping that this wednesday treated me better. It did. Very much so.

Instead of meeting our history class in the classroom we had been instructed to meet the professor on the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral at 10:00 AM. My buddies and I all got there just as the huge bells were tolling the hour. The Cathedral is immense. The dome, the columns, the ornament and the sheer size of the thing is just breath taking. It was absolutely gorgeous in the newly risen sun. The entire city of London had a blinding sheen on it from all the melting snow and ice, and the cathedral rose up, massive in the light.

Steve Jebbeson is our art history professor, and though dwarfed by the cathedral, he is one of the most impressive figures I have ever met. He used to be an artist and a bouncer. He also knows everything. Absolutely everything, and he blows our minds on a weekly basis. Shortly after the bells tolled Steve Jebbeson appears on scene looking like a dapper version of Obadiah Stark from Iron Man. He has a hat and a cane and a long coat. He hands out a xerox of a 16th century map on London and tells us to follow along. The rest of the morning consisted of us trekking though ice and slush all over the City, down alley ways and ancient narrow streets as Steve Jebbeson tells us the most amazing and interesting facts and details about London's past. Everything has meaning. We journeyed around St, Paul's across the Themes, through markets and into the new financial district. I'm sure many people's favorite part of the morning was when Jebbeson led us into a 650 year old pub and invited us to sample their house ale. Despite it being about 11:30 in the morning, our gaggle of college students gleefully partook. It was wonderful. We had the cheeriest Art History class I've ever experienced to date.

After Jebbeson let us loose in the middle of downtown city most of us had to head back to Faraday for further afternoon classes. But first we needed food. I particularly craved a burger, and I talked about it in such mouthwatering detail that soon enough all my buddies were right there with me. We flocked to my favorite American idealizing sit-donw burger joint and celebrated the first weekly Burger Day. All rejoiced in the burger day, and a few had another sip of liquid protection to prepare them for our monumentally boring video class.

Let me just say, our video class was a lot more lively this time around. Our prof seemed delighted by the magically enthusiastic students.

My last class of the day was my drama class. We sat and discussed play reviews and even tried a hand at writing our own about the play we say last night. Overall it was a very chill class. Next week we get to see a play called Blood Bothers. We also get a tour of the national theater, but I have to ask my vid prof if I can leave a bit early to get there on time.

I come home o be greeted by our friends Haley and Janet as well as Brianna. We had a dinner part date. I put up pasta, Brianna got a baguette and Janet and Haley brought beverages and desert. Our party expanded to include a couple more CMD kids from my house. We laughed so hard I had to leave the room a couple times so that I could swallow the food in my mouth. We had so much fun that we vowed not only to do this again, but to do it again when we get back to 'Cuse. Hooray for dinner parties.

After all this I was completely exhausted. An early bed time for me so I could get enough rest for my adventures today. This morning I go shopping with Amanda, and this afternoon I return to the Borough market with a handful of lovely ladies. It sounds like a lovely day. I'll make sure to tell you all about it.

Snow Day!!!!

It snowed about 5 inches, throwing London into a tizzy and giving me an excuse to sit in bed, play gameboy, read my book and munch on cadbury eggs that Brianna tosses to me across the room. Life is wonderful.

The Weeks Fly By

So it's been a week... ish. That's amazing. They days are just packed, especially when one is so fond of naps. Sleeping is the packing peanuts of life. I'm gonna write as much as I can about the last week or so. You don't have to read this in one go. It's a lot.

The major element that has tied this past week together has been a cold. Yes, my friends, I have succumbed to the London Bug. Cough, sniffles, sore throat, you name it. I got it. My poor housemates, a few of whom were mere aquaintances before this adventure are now prone to my sniffly grossness. I feel kinda bad, but what can I do.

Despite my being sick, my week was still adventure packed. I left you last with my pending night at Avenue Q. It was wonderful. We had good seats. I ended up awkwardly sitting next to this guy named Charlie that my prof randomly decided to hypothetically pair me up with in class the other week. He's a very nice guy and handled the situation very well. I did make sure to drop a couple "my boyfriend" references along the way just to make things clear.

The play was great. It really was like seseme street plus 20 years. Relationships, rent and crushed hopes and dreams. My two favorite charachters where the "Bad Idea Bears." They were two ridiculously adorable bear puppets that would show up and tempt the characters to do stupid things. Hilarious. I want a pair of stuffed animal Bad Idea Bears. They must exist somewhere.

On Wednesday I had a lot of classes. I also got hit in the face with the cold. It was kinda mniserable. I stuck it through though. I had my history class, my video sketchbook class and my drama class. In drama we had a guest speaker. Lou Stien, a real live London director dude (and American Ex Pat) talked to us about the role a director has in a play and did a little example of directing with a few kids in our class. It was a lot of fun. Of course I was so pooped for the whole thing. When I got home I basically went straight to bed. Seriously. Bed at 8:30. I slept in too. I must be sick.

Thursday was spent mostly in the apartment. I was sick so I took care of myself. I also did some work and worked on getting us an internet connection. I remember at some point being at faraday house, but I can't put my finger on why I was there. Oh well. The internet finally works in our house. That's a blessing. That night a lot of people went out to the symphony. I stayed in and had a good time chatting with Julia. We attempted to watch My Fair Lady but we were both so pooped. We didn't get far.

Friday was a lot of fun. I woke up, made breakfast and tackled the kitchen. It was getting pretty bad. I washed, scrubbed and organized as much as I could. I got a bit carried a way and ended up sprinting to Faraday house to catch the field trip to the Borough Market. The Borough Market is what they call one of the best "foodie" markets. It had a ton of delicious food in it. Not too cheap, but worth it. Then again, you could go the way my friend Haley managed and fill up on free samples. I got a really beautiful ceramic tea thinger. It's a cup that has its own fitted filter thing-a-ma-jig and a little cover/saucer to put the filter in when you're ready to drink the tea. I've never really had a chance to enjoy loose leaf this much. I bought some Orange Pekoe (fair trade! score!) and have been downing it like it's my job ever since. I'm in love.

After returning from the markets I had a bit of a rest and then I was off again to see Loot, a farcical play by Joe Orton. It was being performed at the Trycicle Theater in Kilburn. It's this small theater that also shows independent-ish films. The atmosphere was wonderful. It was very community rooted. The audience was fantastic, laughing and reacting at all the right moments. Afterwards we had a curry dinner "with the cast" though I didn't see any of the cast members. I was too busy gobbling the all you could eat curry.

We had stayed at the theater pretty late, and were kind of unsure about out trip home. We knew that the tube closes at midnight. It would be a bit of a rush to be able to get home by then. Two girls from my flat and I were walking down the street toward the tube. There were bars all around and a bunch of people (kinda rowdy) on the street. We hear someone whistling at us and and calling someone by my name. I was about to remark how my name can be applied to both genders when the person calling "Allie" got even closer. I turn around and lo and behold it's Lewis! Our student guide buddy who I adore. Turns out not only are we wandering around in his neighborhood, but he was on his way to a place near ours. Since Lewis is magical, the four of us were very soon on a double decker bus that took us right to our neighborhood in 15 min. That solved our transportation problem, AND we got to see Lewis!

Saturday was a lopsided day. The morning was a bit lazy with some school work and loafing around. In the early afternoon I got to skype with not only with all other members of my immediate family, but with Rick's girlfriend... and her mom. There was a total of seven people on the chat at once, coming from four different places in the world. After the chat I though I shold fit in some exploring. I ended up exploring public transportation more than anything else, but I did get down to a very hip market in Camden Town. It got dark fast and pretty cold as well. I got back to the house, chilled a bit and then went out to a bar with a couple of my buddies. I got a mint mojito. Brianna got giggly. We got back to our apartment, ate a delicious late-night meal of grilled cheese and avocado, and slept.

Finally, Sunday. I traipsed around markets in the city trying not to freeze. I came very close, but managed to find a warmer place before becoming an Allie-cicle. The tubes were another adventure. The really convinient lines around the corner from m flat were under repair. I had to come up with very creative ways to get home. In the end I missed going to cirque de soleil, buu by that point I was too cold and tired to do much of anything except put a load in the laundry and nap. The rest of the day was spent with my house mates, chilling, eating, and working on homework.

Thanks for checking u and reading this whole thing. Lets see if I can become more frequent in my writing. Take care and keep warm. All the best!