Yes the Internet is Broken

So, I will write more soon.

Ugh. Am tired and overwhelmed by the work here but it's amazing and I'm learning a TON!!

Cheers.

Settling In

Today was very relaxing and I didn't do all that much. Finished another book for school that was pretty bland (as my friend Lisa had warned). I did go up to Camden Town for a little while to sell records. I made just enough for the drinks I had later on so it was perfect. Camden reminded me a little too much of Haight Street or the St. Mark's in the East Village. But I got to check out some really cool record stores so that was fun.

I went to Pie's store today in Islington. It was really cool and they sell lots of cute things. It is kind of like that store Therapy in SF. I saw this sort of rubber radio and freaked out for it. Wish I could get it. :(

The highlight of the day was watching the Glastonbury footage on the BBC tonight. They showed Rufus Wainwright's and Arcade Fire's concerts in their entirety. They were super super good, especially Arcade Fire. It REALLY made me want to see them live asap. Hopefully I can do that. I also really love their new songs and wish I had put that on my IPod before coming over here. Sigh...

Tomorrow is my powerhouse writing day for this stupid paper. I absolutely must bang it out by 6pm tomorrow because I'm running out of time.

Upcoming fun: watching Grindhouse tomorrow night - a bootleg copy Pie bought off some Thai dude tonight; Lezzy-oke on Sunday night. (that's karaoke with lezzies) I'm sure to blow the doors off the place.

Cheerio!

Welsh Rarebit, the Rosetta Stone and Peter Pan

Today has been totally great. We woke up late and had a morning of imagined European holidays. There's a slight chance we might be going to Camelot when Keala gets here. Hilarious! Lunch was at the pub called Island Queen. I went for something called Welsh rarebit which I never would have braved if I didn't check with Pie first. It sounds awful but it's actually just melted cheese on french bread with salad. It was really good and plain. We also had shandies (sprite and beer) so it was a lovely brunch.

I decided to split off on my own today and headed for the British Museum. Lesley and I unfortunately never made it there and I knew it was top on my list. Made it there without too much confusion and wallowed in the all-out freeness of it. So free in fact that I filched a postcard. I figure England owes me! Flipping $4 water and all... Anyway, I saw a lot of neat stuff in the Egyptian Wing including real mummies and the actual Rosetta Stone. Apparently the Rosetta Stone is the reason why some people were able to figure out a bunch of ancient texts. It was pretty creepy looking.



Then I saw this insanely cool stone plaque from Mesopotamia called the Queen of the Night. This is like thousands of years old. She's really scary looking and the rumor is it might also be a depiction of Lilith, wife of the devil, or something like that. Anyway, I love the owls and want this as my back tattoo.



After the museum saturation set it, I took the train to Hyde Park. It's incredibly huge and very beautiful. Apparently, it was provided to the city by Prince Albert or someone and is the model for all European parks. It was very green and beautiful. In fact, London in general is very green which is a nice change from New York. There's a cute little statue of Peter Pan there. I sat on a bench at the park and read for school, then came home when the storm clouds started to blow in.

Pie fixed spaghetti and it was very yummy. Then we just chilled and watched tv. Tonight I need to keep reading these blasted school books. Til tomorrow...

Marc Almond, Joan Jett and a brass band

Pie and I had lots of fun today jaunting all over the city. After some yummy coffee at home (with lots of milk and sugar) we head out for the bus to the South Bank. it was a great and quick ride filled with lots of sights including st. patricks or something cathedral. We also rode by where I'm going to be living starting Sunday and it looked like a very cool area with lots of cute restaurants and things on this one street. Very close to Pie's house and close to Soho.

When we got to the South Bank, we walked it for a while and then crossed the Millenium Bridge into the Embankment area. Decided we were hungry so got a bagel with tuna and headed for this little park we saw. When we walked in, we realized we were just in time for the big brass band to begin a lunchtime concert. Here comes the funny part. The band was from Oklahoma!! I just friggin' left that rathole! ha ha. They played a medley of Oklahoma tunes while Pie and I lounged on deck chairs and ate tuna sammies. It was perfectly weird and a great welcome wagon into London.

After that we went walking through Soho and did some shopping. We stumbled into this store that sells this British indie brand called Lazy Oaf that I love. Lesley - remember the sweatshirt I bought last time we where here - it's that guys stuff! Weird coincidence number two, now that I think about it. I bought some shoes a this really cool shoe store called The Office. The look like Japanese Keds or something - very hipster and nerdy at the same time. I'm totally over black Converse. Let it be known.

At that point it was time for a beer so we were walking down Compton Street (I think) and Pie pointed out a place called Admiral Duncan. Apparently it was the sight of a bombing back in the 90s by some homophobic freak. Like 50 people were killed. I said that made me thirsty (just kidding) but figured I might as well go into the historic pub no matter how run of the mill it really was. As we were gazing out the window and looking at this freakazoid guy with his shirt off in the entryway, who comes round to talk to him but Marc Almond. I had JUST looked at his picture in the gay weekly I was browsing not two minutes before and there he was in the flesh. Third weird coincidence! Marc proceeds to chat this guy up who me and Pie decided HAD to be a rent boy. He even got his phone number. It was too much. And Marc Almond isn't looking too good, by the way. He looked very ... stretched.

Later on after some Japanese food we were back at the house watching tv. I made Pie put on that show Crossing Over with John Edwards cuz I hadn't seen it in years. Well who was there for a special reading? Joan freaking Jett, that's who. We nearly died when we saw her. She was trying to contact her recently deceased dog which I know is not funny but really it was just so intense. Rather. Unfortch the pooch did not make contact, only her friend's dead sister did. Them's the breaks, Joan.

It's now way past time to go to bed. Tomorrow I will take pictures - I don't know why I was such loser today. Guess I was trying to look like a local or something.

Cheers!

London's Called - and I've Answered

Well, I'm here! I woke up this morning with the lovely London clouds and rooftops out my window. I'm staying with Pie here in Clerkenwell which is very close to where we'll be staying once school gets started. Today we're going to walk around, go to soho and maybe do the slides at the Tate. :) I'll be sure to bring my camera along for the adventure. Which reminds me I forgot to buy a battery...ugh.

My travel yesterday was quite long, especially since I was traveling solo. I got up at 4am to be at the airport at 5 for my 7am flight. It was disgusting! But everything was fine and the flight was dull. The movies were awful. Don't watch Number 23. I turned it off and I was a captive audience! :) Got lots of sleep on the plane and am reading the new book by Khaled Houseni 0 the guy who wrote the Kite Runner. It's really good - totally recommend.

When we got to London, apparently there had been some "weather" so we had to circle the airport for a half hour. I'd never experienced that before and let me tell you I hated it. It freaked me out to turn sharp turns over and over through scary clouds no less. Of course the chipper woman behind me was like (in her Brit accent) oh isn't that lovely, oh look at those... I was like shut up bitch I am freaked out here! But we landed and after a customs snag, I was allowed into the motherland.

Last night Pie greeted me with a yummy dinner of fish cake and asparagus. Have you ever had fish cake? It's so good!!! It's kind of like a salmon croquette (which is something my mom used to make in the 70s) but way better. Lightly breaded and baked in the oven. Take that doubters, my first British meal was quite good! Hmph!

Better sign off. Love you all!

See Ya Later, Nowhere

Just came back from my last night at Nowhere for a while. I missed it last week when we were in Arkansas. It's this place we go to on Sunday nights that serves two for one drinks, free popcorn and free pizza. It's basically a carb-fest, and we just love it! Many a Sunday, we have showed up hungry and grumpy and left full and happy. I don't know if there will be a place like that in London, but we'll see.

There are a few other things I'll probably miss about New York. I really love how the subway cars are air conditioned. That is ESSENTIAL in the New York summer, because man, it gets disgusting hot here. So hot that you feel sick and kinda freak out. I hear that the London subway system doesn't have AC and I don't know how I'm gonna stand that. In fact, I'm thinking of buying a cheap bike to get around town on so I can avoid the descent into purgatory (the tube). I will also miss hanging out in New York's various parks. I really love going to central park with Lesley and relaxing, or going to Union Square to read. And we also just recently discovered this hidden park by the FDR freeway! It's totally weird! There's a pedestrian bridge that goes over the freeway and you can sit on the edge of the east river and pretend you can see dead bodies floating in it. It's right out of the Sopranos or something. I also love how you can dine and drink outdoors in New York, but I bet you can in London, too.

I realize a lot of my writing lately has been focused on travel and comparison of the places I've lived/been too. Hopefully once I get settled in London, I can focus on something else. I talked to my friend Pie who will be housing me for the first few days. He said he would welcome me with a home-cooked meal and I almost shed a tear. He is such a sweetheart. Then he joked that it would be blood pudding and I nearly gagged. If you don't know already, blood pudding is fried pig's blood and I will most certainly NOT be eating that. Can you imagine?? Cheers, mate!

Update and note to Lesley: You are not a THING which is why you are not on this list, silly. :)

London in Three and a Paper to Write

Doesn't that sound like a song title? Or is it just me? Yes, I leave for London in three days. That's like totally ridiculous. I'm really not ready - but I bet no one else is either!

I've been doing everything possible to avoid this paper I'm supposed to write. It's for my study abroad program that happens later this summer in Brazil. We're supposed to submit a 10 page paper on Boal's philosophies by July 1. For those of you who don't know, Boal is a theatre practician and philosopher. He invented the Theatre of the Oppressed, which is a radical action-based kind of theatre. Pretty much the opposite of what's on Broadway, and still very artistic. Anyway, like I said, I've been avoiding this paper because I feel totally out of the student mode. I'm on summer break, y'all!! To avoid it, I cleaned the house, changed a light bulb which involved perching precariously on the kitchen counter and then did the dishes. Lesley, you know it's bad when I do the dishes. :)

The good news is I've just finished making an outline. I think that's the only way I can tackle this paper. Sometimes I write an outline but a lot of the time I just start writing and it's usually pretty good. Anyways, all y'all teachers can tell your students that outlines really are helpful and important. ha ha

Today my friend Lacy is coming over and we're going to hang out and catch up on Arkansas stuff. I haven't seen him in a while and I'm excited to spend some time with him. Well, back to this crapola paper.

It's Weird To Be Back

Coming back to New York after being in Arkansas for a week is rather a shock to the system. In fact, it's almost more of a culture shock than it was going to Arkansas. Well, maybe not. Don't get me wrong, I do love New York, but my love for it is complicated. Basically, our relationship has been rocky and I don't know if it's gonna last. Know what I mean?

The thing about New York is that it's hard to live here - plain and simple. It is actually difficult, and I've never experienced that before. Even just walking down the street is difficult because you have to be alert so you don't run into people. Taking the subway is difficult if you're new because when you get out of the train, you don't know which exit to take. Also the weather! - don't get me started. To use a cliche, New York chews you up and spits you out. But they also say that if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. I always thought that lyric referred to "making it" as in getting famous, but now I realize I was wrong. It means if you can make it, survive without cracking up or running away, you can live anywhere in the world because this is it baby.

New Yorkers love their city and I think it's because of the sense of accomplishment they get from being a resident. They ooze bravado, like, yeah that's right I totally live here. And I'm starting to feel it, too. Gone are the days when I cry on the subway, the times when I think this place is killing me. Now I have moments of pride, of feeling happy that yes, I too live here.

They say that it takes a year to "get used" to living in New York. That only then are you allowed to have an informed opinion of it. That year anniversary is coming up in August. So until then I'll just stick to my stock answer when people ask me if I like New York. "Yeah, kinda, it's intense, but sometimes I really love it."

Pictures from Arkansas

This is the way any trip should begin - with a mouthload of Sonic.

Here's me and my brother Jesse right before we set off a ton of fireworks.

Lesley, Guitar Hero champion!

If you look closely, you'll notice this isn't a real guitar. Too bad I couldn't play this one much better than a real one.

Me and my awesome new (step)brother, Zack.

Jesse, should I go ahead and set them all off at once?

Dad and Amee's lovely poolside wedding. Decorations by Lesley and mother nature.

Back in New York

We made it back last night at about 10:30 after two delayed flights. Our second one was delayed for almost two hours but I guess they hauled ass because we made it from Chicago to New York in less than two hours. The flights were pretty uneventful other than that. Small plane from Tulsa - but it wasn't that big of a deal.

Flying into LaGuardia gives you a great view of the Manhattan skyline. The plan travels up the east river before landing and you can see the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and (if I had binoculars) our house! It was a pretty amazing sight after all that empty space in Arkansas. Taking the E line back into the city was like seeing an old friend. And when we stepped out into our wacky neighborhood, I felt relieved to be home.

A lot of people asked us during this trip if we are going to stay in New York. In fact, I think just about everyone asked us that. My stock answer is that I want to teach in New York for at least a year and then we'll see. There was a time when we were considering moving to Fayetteville so we could buy an old house and settle in like normal people. We are also seriously considering moving back to the Bay Area. After this trip we pretty much realized that Arkansas is out. It's a nice place to visit, but for us being who we are, we just couldn't handle living there. It's beautiful and my whole family is there, but it's just too stressful for a couple of lesbians from the big city. I don't think we'd ever feel comfortable. So now we're down to New York and the Bay Area and a shared dream about retiring in New Orleans, but that's a long time from now. And that's that.

I slept like the dead last night, and I think Lesley did too. It's good to be back in our own bed with our city noise out the window and our cat climbing all over us. But I leave for London on Tuesday, so I better enjoy every moment before it's time to ramble on...

The Dirty South

Man, it's been a whirlwind trip down here. Fort Smith has worn us out. We've been going back and forth between families and it's a little tiring. Lots of fun down at Dad's farm. A nice rotation of trampoline, swimming pool, guitar hero and 4-wheeling. Oh, and stealing my new step-brother's mini-motorcycle. That was really fun too. Oh, and the fireworks! Yesterday my dad got married and I sang at the wedding. It was cool but I was really nervous. The ceremony was super short - like 5 minutes tops. Then everyone proceeded to get drunk and silly. I saw a lot of old friends and family that I hadn't seen in many many years. That was nice and I got a little choked up. Jesse (brother) gave a toast to the new couple and started crying which set off a chain reaction of everyone crying. It was a pretty cool day.

It's been really fun hanging out with my brother Jesse and sister Lesley - yes she has the same name as my gal. I know it's weird. We all went out on Friday night to some bar called the Rib Room which was filled with hicks and girls in lots of make-up. A cover band played and we all danced and drank cheap beer. It was a little surreal being with them but it somehow made perfect sense and was easy to get used to. Later that night they got in trouble for coming home so late but oh well, it was fun!

We also went to a BBQ on Saturday at my aunt's house. I got to see my cousins and their kids who are very cute and funny. We all went swimming and acted like idiots - just like old times. It mostly consisted of who can do the longest underwater handstand and things of that nature. Pretty cool.

The Arkansas bugs are getting to Lesley. She's totally over it. The mosquitos must know that she's not from around here because she has about ten bites and I only have one. :) Nature is definitely more intense around here, but the upside of that is that everything is a bright and lush green. There's more trees and grass here than we've seen in a very long time and that's been a nice change.

What this trip really makes me think, though, is that I'm ready to go home - back to the city. We are just more comfortable there and this place is just a little (lot) too small for us. But at least we've had a good time, eaten a TON of bad food and have gotten our fill of clean Arkansas air. Back to the rat race on Wednesday!

Next Stop, Bible Belt

Howdy y'all,
Just a quick note to say that Lesley and I are leaving for Arkansas bright and early tomorrow. We're looking forward to a week of relaxing times by the pool and a general escape from Manhattan. Here's what I hope to experience.

Not thousands of yellow cabs but thousands of trees.
Not buildings oppressing me but clear blue skies.
Not my neighbor's stupid music at all hours but the sound of crickets and other critters.
Not the sweaty subway platform but the sweaty diving board.
Not people bumping into me but no one around for miles.

We're going hiking one day which should be the exact amount of nature we need to balance the scales. Lesley and I really are city people, but there comes a time when a Southern meal and a screened-in porch is the only thing that'll put a smile on your face.

I'll write more from home. Later, y'all...

Hold Me Closer Tony Danza

So something odd is going to happen this weekend. Something straight out of the 21st century. I am going to sing at my own father's wedding. It's his third and hopefully three's a charm for him. He called me up and asked me a couple of weeks ago and I said why not. It is probably going to be a little weird though all things considered. So I've been brushing up on my Beatles and Elton John and other classics of the 70s.

The good news is his new wife rules and said we could wear cut-offs to the wedding seeing as how it's on my dad's farm. I'm sure we'll be drunk all day. I plan to get up, swim, drink a beer, eat breakfast, swim, sing a song, drink another beer and then swim again. Then eat lots of BBQ. Good times and great oldies are in store for us and boy is Lesley lucky that she'll be by my side the whole time. :)

In other news, I leave for London in about two weeks or so. I'm getting so excited about it that I periodically get butterflies in my stomach. A whole month in London!! Can you imagine? The only downside is that Lesley won't be there which is going to be very hard on us. But we can make it - once you've been with someone for over six years you don't even notice when they're gone for a month. Right?????? :(

All I can say is that London better have Jeopardy because otherwise I won't know what to do with myself every day at 7pm. It's sort of a daily thing for us. I also need to remember how to order coffee there - it's always confusing. And don't get me started on the pound-dollar exchange rate. Let's just say pb&j will be a staple of my diet. I am excited about all the shows we're going to see. Finally, Blood Brothers! That show totally reminds me so much of high school. I kinda forgot all the songs, but maybe I can brush up before then.

BY THE WAY Spring Awakening is amazing. I know you all have heard a lot about it but seriously, it is good. And I know musicals, however embarrassing that might be. This is the best new one I have heard since Rent but I don't even listen to that. If you're in the city, go see it.

I'm out.

What Grad School Has Done to Me

Can you believe this, people? Now, because of grad school, I need reading glasses. Here's the story. A few weeks ago I noticed my eyes getting blurry as I was reading. I was losing depth perception and having to blink a bunch to get my eyes back on track. So I decided it was time to make an eye appointment and see what's up. Most readers won't know that I wore glasses or contacts from age 2-17. I had a lazy eye which caused me to have double vision (something I can carefully reproduce if very drunk). Anyway, I was very familiar with the optometrist from a very early age, however, I have not been to the eye doctor in about 10 years. The last time was to learn that I get ocular migraines. gah!
So I went a couple of days ago and had the works done to my eyes. Let me tell you, if my friend Damon had to do this, he would pass out. He hates anyone touching their eye or anything coming near his eyes. I thought about him when they stuck this bright blue light right up to my pupil and said, "Don't move." Ha.
Anyways, after being put through the ringer, she announced that I need reading glasses. Luckily I don't have to wear them all the time - only when I'm on the computer or reading - which is ALL THE TIME. (which is how i probably developed this little problem in the first place.)

So including that one gray hair, that's two points grad school, zero points me. I hope when I land a fabulous teaching job, it will all be worth it.