the day we met James McAvoy

Yesterday is in my top five best days EVER. No lie. And because of that, I've finally uploaded some photos. Hehe. These photos will better help illustrate my awesome day.

This morning, Ashley and I left the house at around 8:25. We caught the 9:00 train to Paddington, then took the tube to Notting Hill. We wandered around and found this amazing open market, where I bought some really pretty scarves.


There were all sorts of crazy street performers, including this magician named Tom. He escaped these chains from under a duvet cover.


And became Super Tom.


After brunch & coffee, we wandered some more. The houses in the area were vibrantly colored.


This is where I want to live, though. Haha.


After some time, we went to Hyde Park. We couldn't have asked for better weather.


This is a "pond" at the park. Maybe it's just me, but I've always thought ponds were supposed to be significantly smaller than this.


This shot reminded me of that scene in The Notebook, where Noah takes Ally on a canoe & he rows the canoe through the lake with all of the swans.


Queen Victoria statue.


After having a late lunch with Andrea, we headed to an awesome exhibit at The Photographers' Gallery. It showcased four winners of the Deutsch Börse prize, which is, apparently, a big deal.

We also went to this famous toy store called Hamley's that had six floors. It was a bit overwhelming.


The lovely company I was with yesterday. I took these photos at a cocktail bar we went to where the bar manager was a douchebag. Haha.

Shaftesbury Avenue, where the Apollo Theatre is located.


The Apollo Theatre. The stage door, where we waited to get our programs signed and take photos of the actors, is actually on a different street.


The three actors in Three Days of Rain were James McAvoy, Nigel Harman, and Lynsey Marshall. This is Nigel Harman. He's on a show called EastEnders here.


JAMES MCAVOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

James McAvoy was so nice. He seemed embarrassed by all of the squealing fangirls/fanwomen. Haha. He stayed until everyone's programs were signed and was so polite and kind of shy. He chatted with all of us while signing our programs and tried not to get blinded by all of the photos that people were taking of him. When we saw him on the street by the stage door after they performed the matinee show, I literally fell on Ashley. Haha. And I lost the ability to speak coherently.

Three Days of Rain was fantastic. In the first act, James McAvoy played a brash, tortured guy named Walker. Lynsey Marshall played his practical sister Nan. Nigel Harman played their upbeat, soap actor friend Pip whose dad was their dad's partner. Walker and Nan's famous architect dad died a year before, but Walker disappeared right before the funeral. James McAvoy played Walker in such a way that even if he was unstable and obviously crazy, you still pitied him a little bit. Lynsey Marshall played Nan with deliberate restraint and one could tell how burdened she felt by being an older sister to such a pained & crazy brother. Nigel Harman's Pip was hilarious. The exchanges between him and James McAvoy were especially funny. Nigel Harman's New York accent was pretty convincing, too. (I also wondered how he could talk so fast for so long without taking a breath.) One of my favorite Pip lines was, "Just because I'm in a good mood doesn't make me a moron." Hahaha.

The first act is spent speculating about Walker and Nan's dad, as he was silent for their childhood. Pip didn't know his dad, either, as his dad died when he was three. Walker had found his dad's journal and became obsessed with trying to read beyond the brief entries. After the reading of the will, where Pip was bequeathed their fathers' masterpiece house, Walker decided that his dad wasn't the actual genius behind it, but Pip's dad was. He came to terms with who he thought his dad was.

In the second act, the actors play the characters' parents over thirty years before the first act takes place. James McAvoy plays Walker's dad Ned, while Lynsey Marshall plays Walker & Nan's mom Lina. Nigel Harman plays his dad Theo. The audience discovers that perhaps the reason Ned didn't talk to his children was the fact he had a really bad stutter. And their mom Lina was a bit of an alcoholic & the antithesis of a Southern belle, in spite of growing up in Savannah and her accent. And that Theo and Lina were originally together, but Theo was image-conscious, self-centered, and cracked under pressure because he was supposed to be the architectural genius. It turned out that Ned was the one who designed the house that made them famous. It's sad that his children never knew.

The play is dialogue and character-driven, which is my favorite kind. All of the performances were excellent. The first act was somewhat darker and the rhythm was a lot faster, as it's constant confrontation between Walker, Nan, and Pip. The second act was paced slower. It was really interesting to see James McAvoy go from playing a loud, raving lunatic to an endearing, stuttering introvert. Lynsey Marshall's transition from a somewhat uptight A-type person to her loopy Southern mom was great. I liked Nigel Harman's Pip more than I liked Theo. But not because his performance was lacking as Theo; Theo was a douche. Pip was bouncy and talked too fast and wanted everyone to like him, but he wasn't self-centered like Theo was. The only part I was completely confused by was the last line. I want to buy the play so that I can read it and see the bits of dialogue that I missed when, for example, Walker and Pip were yelling over each other.

Seriously, though. Yesterday was such an amazing day. Yay!!!!

things I miss

As much as I'm loving England, there are a few things I do miss (people aside). I've decided to make a list prior to working on my International Organizations essay.

Things I miss:

1. Sunshine. I've always claimed to like rain, but that was prior to being in England where the weather tends to be grey and rainy. In our case, it's been snowing, as well. The sun's out until about 3PM when it's dusk. Haha. The first thing I'm going to do when I get back to the U.S. is wear flip-flops. It's going to be awesome.

2. Target and Walmart. There are huge stores like Boswells, but these stores close around 6PM. Plus, Boswells doesn't have the variety or the amount of things that Target and Walmart have.

3. Driving. I'd definitely wreck a rental car if I tried driving on the left side of the road and through roundabouts. Not to mention, most rental cars aren't automatic. I like walking around everywhere, but sometimes, you just want to drive to nowhere to relax.

4. Stores being open past 6PM. Granted, in London stores close a little later, but not much.

5. Drink prices in Athens. $1 well drinks at Buddha or Barcode compared to £4 or £6 cocktails. Then in London, it's like £15 for a cocktail. LAMEZ.

Andrea's visiting in two days! We're going to stay at the Tower House in City Centre, see He's Just That Into You, have lunch and dinner, then go out with everyone. My birthday is in six days. Next weekend, Ashley and I are going to see Three Days of Rain in London. James McAvoy is starring in it, which is the basis of its appeal. Haha. The following week is Amsterdam. If I don't come back, y'all will know why. Haha.

there is life outside your apartment

The past couple weeks have been a bit of a blur. We've been going out a lot. It's been snowing for days and it doesn't seem like it's going to let up anytime soon. Classes have been fine. Poor Dr. C is sick, but hopefully he'll get better soon.

On Monday, Kate, Trish, and I went to this black tie dinner at Brasserie Blanc. Little did we know that it was hosted by the Keble Christian Union. Haha. It was still fun. The Christians here seem to know how to party. We pregamed at the Duke of Cambridge bar, went to dinner (which was delicious), then had more drinks at Raoul's (another cocktail bar). We had a lot of fun and met some nice people. Plus, we love being fancy.

On Friday, Kate, David, and I went to London to see Avenue Q at the Noel Coward Theatre. I've been listening to the soundtrack on loop, pretty much. We left the house around 11ish, since I was finishing up my International Organizations paper. After taking the bus into town, we stopped by the library to look up our ticket info., then we went to the cafe for paninis. The walk to the train station wasn't bad, save for the iced-over snow. We managed to buy tickets and hop on a train within 10 minutes.

The train ride to Paddington took a million years, it seemed. Then we took the tube to Tottenham Court. We had tapas and wine at a restaurant/pub, then wandered around the British Museum. We ended up at another pub (I really wish my camera hadn't run out of battery, so I'd remember the names of the pubs & such, haha). There was a group of older women from Manchester sitting next to us. They started singing "Sherry" and other oldies songs, so Kate and I joined in, as we'd been drinking since earlier that afternoon. Haha. Turns out, they were on their way to see Jersey Boys at the theatre across the street. We bonded. I feel like that group of women was like Coven 14, 30 years from now. Side note: room 14 is now known as the Coven or Coven 14, since David said we're like a group of crazy witches. Haha.

After downing the rest of our wine, we crossed Leicester Square and found the Noel Coward Theatre after having to ask three or so people where it was. Haha. Avenue Q was a.ma.zing! The play satirized Cookie Monster, Bert & Ernie, and other Sesame Street & Muppet characters. And yet all of the songs call everyone out. I also loved that the landlord was Gary Coleman (not in actuality, but the character was Gary Coleman, haha).

We got back around midnight, which was a lot earlier than we'd expected to get back. I'd decided before going to London that I was going with Erika and Kelli to Bath early on Saturday morning. I ended up going to bed around 3AM, then waking up at 7:30AM and hauling ass to the kitchen to eat something before we had to leave for the train station. We convinced Ann to come with us. We thought we were going to miss our train, but it ended up being delayed because of the snow. I also was sickly with a stomach bug, which sucked, but Ann got me alka seltzer and I felt a lot better.

We had to take the bus from Didcot to Swindon, where we took another train to Bath. Bath is a beautiful city. We saw the Roman Baths, the Pulteney Bridge, the Royal Crescent--that's where they filmed part of Jane Austen's Persuasion--and the Jane Austen Centre. We had a great time. And I got fun souvenirs for people. Particularly, Mr. Darcy-related ones.

Today, I've just been bumming around and doing laundry. I'm excited. Andrea's coming to Oxford on Friday. We're going to stay at The Tower House, which is in the City Centre. We're probably going to do lunch/dinner then hang out with the girls and go out. I can't wait! And my birthday is coming up. Nine days until I'm 21! Not that it matters here. Haha.

green nail polish is the impetus of everything

Thursday's trip to London was quite fun. (Random side note: quite means "kind of" or "okay" here, rather than "very," which is how I always use it. I digress.) We got on a coach around 9:30am and got to London a couple hours later. We wandered around the Imperial War Museum, which was really cool. Trish and I managed to avoid all of the really depressing parts and skipped to the espionage, WWI and WWII exhibits, as well as the Ian Fleming/James Bond exhibit. I got Mom a "For Your Eyes Only" t-shirt and a vintage-style poster for Raf.

Parliament was awesome. Granted, we couldn't take as many photos as we could at the museum, but it was still great. We watched a debate in the House of Commons about a resolution concerning Israel and the Gaza strip. Pertinent and exciting. The House of Lords wasn't half as cool to watch. One lord was completely and visibly passed out. I would've been too, if I had to debate about ombudsmen and other things like that. And if my colleagues had the "mumbly jumbly" kind of British accents like another lord had. Gah. Haha.

Once we got home, we had to get ready for the reception that Keble College hosted for us. Some Keble students were there and three Dartmouth students crashed it, too. Haha. They're actually living in the dorm on campus. The man who's in charge of the dining hall services kind of looks like a clown because of his crazy hair. But it turns out, he's not as much of a Nazi as we thought; he was nice. A few of us went to the on-campus bar to hang out before writing our papers.

The paper-writing took all night. I was up until 7AM, when I finally had finished revisions and hit save. Granted, I took an hour power nap around 4AM. But still. Nothing out of the ordinary. After our last British Politics class, Kate and I headed to Blackwell's to get the book for our E.U. seminar. I've decided that Blackwell's is the most fantastic bookstore on earth. It looks like a tiny shop on the outside, but it's actually four or five floors with books about everything.

After lunch at the Eagle & Child with Trish and David, Kate & Trish had a meeting with their don. Kelli was already home by the time I got home and we accidentally napped. Haha. Once the other girls got back, all of us took a taxi to the train station and had a hilarious time trying to figure out how to get onto another train to get to Stratford-upon-Avon.

Romeo & Juliet was amazing. We watched a minimalist, Jazz Age/mafia interpretation of it at The Courtyard Theatre, since the main Royal Shakespeare Company's theater is under construction until a year & a half from now. We walked around town on Saturday after passing out at The Stratford hotel. (One of the coolest things about our hotel was that we had to put one of our hotel key cards into a slot on the wall to turn on the lights.) We got to see Shakespeare's grave at Holy Trinity Church and his birthplace. We also got awesome souvenirs at a few cool shops.

Once we got back, we made dinner and relaxed. I had every intention of staying in, but then Kelli painted my nails green and played Kings of Leon's "Sex on Fire" and suddenly, we were pregaming to go out. To the Turtle, of course, since it's sketch and we love it. Haha. I wingmanned like Barney from How I Met Your Mother and it completely worked. Yay for that. There are further details that I'll just have to email or message people about, haha.

Today has been pretty unproductive. I've done the reading for International Law but I still haven't written the paper. It's due in 10 1/2 hours. I'll crank it out. Then I'm going to the Summertown clinic and use the British national healthcare system. Haha. My eczema hasn't been this bad in forever. Probably since summer when I got sun poisoning. Ugh.

Seriously, though. We've been listening to "Sex on Fire" a lot. Every club or bar we go into plays it. Actually, they play it in random stores, too. The Brits love some Kings of Leon. Haha. Everyone goes crazy in clubs when it comes on. It's probably going to be a theme song of sorts for this study abroad trip.

I'm having a fantastic time. In spite of the insane workloads that are about to come, I don't really care because we're still making time to have fun. Kelli and I are going to join the Dance Sport club at Keble, which is like their ballroom dancing/salsa dancing club. They're meeting tomorrow night, which should be fun. After my tutorial on Tuesday and a meeting with the International Organizations don, we're going to a luau-themed party at Juice to celebrate Obama's inauguration. Yay! So exciting.