Smile for the birdy!

I posted a new album on facebook. The link is on the right: "These are the times to remember 'cause they will not last forever" So far it includes pictures from Thanksgiving and the Jamie Cullum concert.

Slap me silly and call me Naomi!

Thanksgiving in the UK wasn't nearly as bad or as hard as I thought it was going to be. Since Americans are the only ones celebrating it, it is actually entirely possible to go through the whole day not knowing it's Thanksgiving--- life just keeps going. But since we didn't have school, it wasn't entirely possible for me. Thanksgiving day mass is my FAVORITE, so to have that feel, I got up and went to mass at Westminster Cathedral (note: This is the same place where I got off the wrong tube stop and had to walk 45 minutes way back in September. I was smarter this time and was there plenty early and in an efficient manner.) After mass, I sat and read a couple chapters of a book in a Starbucks, and then came back home and did a lot of work on my human rights final paper (VERY close to being done, by the way). I received an e-mail saying that this event called "Sparkling Thursdays" was going on a department store, so my friend Melissa and I decided to check it out. They were supposed to be having quite a few give aways and have other beauty related events, but we got there and no one really knew what was going on. Some of the make-up counters were giving away glasses of champagne, and one we stopped at and let them do our make up had sweets, so all in all, it wasn't a bad trip. (The pic is Melissa with her "new" make-up.) Just not quite what we were expecting. We ended the day by meeting up with two other people from our program to watch football and eat BBQ, something I thought was quite appropriate for Thanksgiving. I also was able to video chat with my family. They weren't actually able to see me, but I could see them and we could all talk. I think knowing that was coming and actually having it happen made being away from home bearable.

Today consisted mostly of working on that paper, but culminated with the fulfillment of one of my London goals: seeing Jamie Cullum in concert. Who is Jamie Cullum, you ask? Well, he's this amazing jazz/pop/rock pianist singer guy from England. I became acquainted with him because my roommate Andrea let me borrow a bunch of her music when my computer crashed 1L year. His music sat on my computer until last year when it somehow found its way on to my iPod and, in a glorious twist of fate, ended up playing while I was shuffling through all my songs. Since then, I've been hooked. I could probably sing you every word to most of his songs, and many of my days are spent humming his melodies. I like his music for a variety of reasons. It's in large part due to his amazing piano skills. Another element is his singing voice-- a cross between Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and some other more modern artist I can't really put my finger on; it has the scratchiness that usually only comes after years of singing and smoking and drinking a lot, but the youthfulness to really connect. The third reason is that so many of his original songs have really thoughtful lyrics ("Romanticizing London Skies" comes from one of his songs.) Both my roommates from home and my roommates here and London can attest to how much I have commented on(and tried to get them to share in) his music.

Anyway, I've been trying to get to see him since I came to London. He played the night before we left for Ireland, and since we were leaving at 3 a.m., and no one wanted to go with me, I missed out on that opportunity. Then he played at a free concert in October, but I was unlucky, and despite my calling and logging on to get tickets the moment they went on sale, I missed out. I saw that he was playing at this show tonight, but initially thought I would miss him because of my Thanksgiving break trip plans. When those changed, I seized the opportunity.

I have to admit that this wasn't really a Jamie Cullum concert; he took (an unusual) supporting role in this concert that really belonged to the guy he plays bass with (Geoff Gascoyne). But Jamie was featured on both piano and vocals and it was absolutely amazing. (Melissa went with me to the concert, too. This is her and I there.) He is a lot of fun to watch-- he gets really into it and sometimes you can hear him "tapping" his foot above all the other music. (That fact made it impossible to get a good, clear picture of him playing the piano with the crappy little camera I have.) I can't imagine what In fact, it's probably a good thing he didn't sing more, because I would have completely melted and would now exist only as a puddle on the Cadogan Hall floor. We had amazing seats (we were so close that I could read "Steinway and Sons" on the piano, and see the reflection of his hands on the backside of the keyboard.) It was also really nice to hear some good jazz from good musicians, and re-open my eyes to that genre. All in all...pretty darn tootin fantastic.

The funny thing is, I don't find Jamie physically attractive -- it's solely his musicianship. The lack of attraction predominately comes from knowing that he's 5'3" and me being 5'10" doesn't really work (although last I knew he was dating a supermodel who was about my height...). I also make a point not to get caught up in the lives of and obsessed with celebrities; its really not necessary for me to know what's going on with them, and often they glorify lifestyles and make choices with which I 100% do not agree. Plus, they are just people. But something about this music has completely circumvented every resistance I have to that.

I think my "Ode to Jamie" is sufficiently long. Seriously, do yourself a favor and get some of his music. "All at Sea", "Mind Trick", "Photograph", "Next Year, Baby", "Frontin'" and "What a Difference a Day Made" (from the Live at Ronnie Scott's Album) are my top picks.

Thanksgiving

"It being the indispensable duty of all nations, not only to offer up their supplications to Almighty God, the giver of all good, for his gracious assistance in a time of distress, but also in a solemn and public manner to give him praise for his goodness in general, and especially for great and signal interpositions of his Providence in their behalf; therefore the United States in Congress assembled, taking into their consideration the many instances of divine goodness to these States, in the course of the important conflict in which they have been so long engaged…do hereby recommend it to the inhabitants of these States in general, to observe, and request the several States to interpose their authority in appointing and commanding the observation of Thursday, the twenty-eighth day of November next, as a day of solemn thanksgiving to God for all his mercies; and they do further recommend to all ranks and testify their gratitude of God for his goodness, by a cheerful obedience to his laws, and by protecting, each in his station, and by his influence, the practice of true and undefiled religion, which is the great foundation of public prosperity and national happiness."

Thanksgiving Day Proclamation of October 11, 1782, 23:647. The Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789, ed. Worthington C. Ford, Gaillard Hunt, et. al., (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1904-1937.

Happy BirthdayThanksChristmas!

Last night, in an effort to bring Thanksgiving to London, our program coordinator (Val- not to be confused with friend Val. In this post, I'll say "friend Val" if that is who I am referring to. Otherwise assume Val program coordinator.) set up a Turkey dinner for us at a local pub. Despite my hesitations, it was wonderful. Val hung Thanksgiving decorations all around the room for us, decorated the tables with birthday confetti, and bought British holiday poppers for all of us. The British holiday poppers are kind of like tug of war type things: it's a tube covered with foil wrapping. One person gets on either side of the tube and pulls, and just like with a wishbone, the person with the majority of the tube after it separates gets the prizes inside! The prizes consist of very valuable gems such as a mini stencil, a joke, and a paper crown. If you weren't lucky enough to get a stencil, you might have gotten a spider ring or a fake mustache. (My joke was very clever. Q: What athlete at the winter games stays the warmest? A: The long jumper!! -- A jumper is a sweater in England.)

Then it was time for the food, and we had a feast. There was turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, corn, salad, bread, AND pumpkin pie. After dinner, we had a raffle drawing, and one of our professors who does stand up comedy on the side did part of her act for us. Several of us were still feeling festive after the dinner officially ended, so we went out to a club in Piccadilly. I had fairly low expectations about all of this thanksgiving hullabaloo, but I don't think it could have gotten much closer to home...it was really wonderful.

Most everyone else is off on Thanksgiving trips starting tonight or tomorrow. I'll be here working on my human rights paper (hopefully finishing it) and studying some other subjects. I don't really have a whole lot planned for this weekend simply because I don't have anyone to do things with: people have either scampered off to different places around the world, or those that are here have friends coming in. But I'll make due...and hopefully get to see some other things in London I haven't done yet. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Torn

Last night I went to Shepard's Bush, a borough of London just outside the center, to have dinner and go see a movie with some of the people in my program. (We saw "American Gangster" with Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. If you like mobster movies, this one is very good.) A couple of the girls live out there and always come in to central London to hang out, so it was time to go out there for once. Many of us also have some weird gloomy feeling, so while Spiderman was calling me from the comfort of my couch, it was necessary to get out.

I, too, am experiencing some of that gloominess. Some of it comes from this being Thanksgiving week, not being home with family, and having so much to do. (That one is pretty universal, I think.) I know others are struggling with missing boyfriends and girlfriends (not applicable to me), and some are just down because of the weather (we are experiencing the stereotypical dark, damp, gray London rainy skies and it's supposed to remain that way all week.) I know part of my gloominess is being completely excited to come home and see all my family and friends, and a complete and utter desire to hang on to this city I love so much. I love everything (well, almost everything) about London, and if I were English and my family lived in England or continental Europe and my friends were relatively close, I'd move here in an instant. There is always so much to do and see, there is history, culture, pop-culture, counter-culture, and life. But there is also something to be said for the much simpler life that Kansas and Iowa provide. There is also a LOT to be said for the people that I love and miss so much. I think part of my wanting to "stay" is also because I know that returning means the real world is calling me very soon. And although I'm happy to be done with the education portion of my life, I'm not all that excited to enter the other part. I know I don't really have a choice, but it still makes me nervous.

I'm going to do as much as I can in the next few weeks to have loads of fun, and still get everything done. You'll probably see a few more posts like these that aren't really insights about London, but more about the study abroad transitional experience.

Being a little bit impulsive

So, I've taken an unintended break from studying the past couple days (okay, really just a day and a half) to do some London-y things. The first of which was last night..I met up with Andrew for a drink at a fun little pub, and then went over to a party on a London rooftop. One of the guys in my program (Conor) has a friend that is works over here from the states (Ryan). We've met Ryan on several occasions, and last night he invited us all over to his sweet flat to enjoy the London skyline. It was loads of fun; Ryan's brother was visiting, so we got to meet him and some of his friends. There also a few Brits there, so it was fun to interact with them. The other people at the party provided a nice break; I love all the people in my program, but we've been with them, and basically solely them for the past 4 months. It was nice to shake things up a bit with a few new personalities. Despite the bus ride home with some creepy guys trying to take pictures of Val and I, it was a good evening.

This morning Val and I went a took a tour of one of the 7 great cemeteries around London. It may sound morbid, but this was actually really cool. The cemetery from the 1830s, and was everything I think an old cemetery would be. It had huge, elaborate headstones, with engravings dedicated to the people who had passed. The trees and ivy swept in and out of every crevice, the the changing fall leaves provided some beautiful background scenery. Today is also pretty dreary-- no sun and a little bit drizzly-- so all in all it made for a perfect visit. I know some of you probably think I'm a bit crazy, but honestly, it was really cool.

I don't know whats' on the agenda for tonight, so the only other thing I have to report is that Thanksgiving plans have changed substantially. Althouhgh my classes are only pass/fail, (meaning any grade I receive doesn't factor into my GPA) I'm pretty sure that the grades themselves still show up as "A", "B" or (hopefully not) "C". That being said, I have a lot to do and a lot to start understanding before finals come in two weeks. So instead of traveling to Prague, Vienna, and Salzburg, I'm staying here, and I'm happy with that. Not only do I have a lot to do, I'm pretty tired, so not traveling is okay. This also means that I'll get to (hopefully) watch the KU/Mizzou game in some fashion or another. And the thing that makes it 100% okay is that my all time favorite musician -- Jamie Cullum--is playing in London on Friday night. I've been trying to see him all semester, and now because plans changed, I'm able to. I cannot contain my excitement!!!!!! So, Thanksgiving will be quiet, and probably a little bit lonely, but that's okay. :)

On a sad, but happy note, I fly home 3 weeks from today. Holy cow has this gone fast.

Bright lights, Big City

Last night, I took a break from my regular nightly ritual of studying to be a photo nerd and wandered around taking pictures of London at night with Andrew. There were a lot of factors going against getting really good pictures: the freezing cold (that prevented our hands from being out of gloves for more than a minute or two), not having a tripod to stabilize the camera, and most predominately the fact that both of our cameras are simple point and shoot contraptions that really aren't designed to take the take the type of pictures we wanted. Nevertheless, I got a couple good ones that I've posted below.