Valentines Day. It happened.
Actually, it made for a pretty fun couple of days. I went to the National Gallery Friday afternoon to look at artwork, and then went over to Victoria Station to meet up with Tasha Rivera. Victoria Station, by the way, is huge. Four floors huge. It's both a tube station and a train station, so there's lots of commings and going and therefore lots of little shops. It was crazy.
Anyways, the two of us decided to have a very American night, so we went out to a Pizza Hut, (excuse me, Pasta Hut), and later a Baskin Robbins. Fabulous times. Then Saturday morning, we got up and headed over to King's Cross/St. Pancras Station to explore, upon the recomendation of my dad and brother. Saw the little tribute they did to Harry Potter, (yes I took a picture...), as well as (more seriously) the plaque to the bombing victims of 2005 7/7 incident. We ate at a little place called YO! Sushi, which had little plates going back and forth on a track, and you just grabbed the dishes you wanted. Then, because it was Valentine's Day, we went and grabbed these amazing fairy cakes, (known in the US as cupcakes...), that seriously had about four inches of frosting on them. Anyone who knows me knows this is a good thing. I also convinced a mom to buy one for her son who was all but drooling over mine. Then, as we finished up, a man came over and gave us free roses, coupled with these 100 page romance novels. Not sure which I liked better. The books are fabulously awful, by the way.
Then in the evening, the girls in the flat across the hall had a party (this is what happens when you have 30+ girls living together who are either single or away from their boyfriends, tho the BADA boys were also in attendance). Hilarity ensued in the forms of wine, chocolate cake, whipped cream, Shakira, and black lace underwear. Finished off the evening by watching the first half of Stardust with a flatmate. Wonderful evening.
And today was back to normal. There was laundry to get done, groceries to buy, and a paper to write. I hauled up in Starbucks and wrote 1400 words all in a go. Yup, I'm pretty proud.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
blondies with blades
Stage fighting went well today, there is hope! Natalie did not rip us to shreds! Huzzah! We have now graduated to Phase II of the fight, which unfortunately goes against all previous training. Oh well, my opposite thigh is pleased to be larger part of the workout, (though we'll see if I'm saying that tomorrow...).
This is the fight so far:
Phase I: thrust, thrust, lift and kick. Over the head, armpit, cross. Scratizone (or something equally as complicated sounding...it means to scratch), thrust, hit, leap.
-------- broken up with walking, stalking, talking, insulting ...y'know, acting)--------------
Phase II: Traverse, switch... (to be continued next week).
The switch, (which may come to have another name, I've forgotten if it does), is a bitch to learn. It involves switching your weight whilst in a lunge, leaping backward and to the left, swiviling your hips to go with your feet, but keeping your face towards your opponent. This is coupled with a blade parry, (as opposed to one with a dagger), and flipping your dagger around in your left hand. This is all done in one move, by the way. simultaneous like.
In other news, I got cast in a scene in Shakespeare as Viola from Twelfth Night. The casting is unsurprising (the crossdressing tomboy as opposed to the lovely lady), but as it is one of my favorite plays, I'm okay with that. Viola's pretty cool.
This is the fight so far:
Phase I: thrust, thrust, lift and kick. Over the head, armpit, cross. Scratizone (or something equally as complicated sounding...it means to scratch), thrust, hit, leap.
-------- broken up with walking, stalking, talking, insulting ...y'know, acting)--------------
Phase II: Traverse, switch... (to be continued next week).
The switch, (which may come to have another name, I've forgotten if it does), is a bitch to learn. It involves switching your weight whilst in a lunge, leaping backward and to the left, swiviling your hips to go with your feet, but keeping your face towards your opponent. This is coupled with a blade parry, (as opposed to one with a dagger), and flipping your dagger around in your left hand. This is all done in one move, by the way. simultaneous like.
In other news, I got cast in a scene in Shakespeare as Viola from Twelfth Night. The casting is unsurprising (the crossdressing tomboy as opposed to the lovely lady), but as it is one of my favorite plays, I'm okay with that. Viola's pretty cool.
Monday, February 9, 2009
performace revue- the musical
I've now been here a month, funny how time flies. A month ago I was tossing and turning on an airplane, with one earbud playing Atmosphere's "Music Box", pretending that I'd get some sleep before I landed, and becoming more and more distracted by the rising sun. Inspired by this post, I thought I'd do a little one month review.
Things I now know:
-- Where my flat is. This is crucial information when you go out on a walk your first day.
-- How to successfully flush our toilet. (It hums angrily at you when done improperly).
-- The useful acronym "blood" in stage fighting (balance, leading with the weapon, eye contact, distance)
-- How to use a fan in the Restoration style
-- The nearest tub stops
-- Never to leave without an umbrella
-- To always tell the people you meet you voted for Obama (big points, no joke).
-- What way to look when crossing the street. (mostly- turns still mess me up).
Things I'm proud of/Accomplishments:
-- A sonnet in Sheila's class rated "simply marvelous"
-- Getting advice/critique from Fiona Shaw
-- My navagational skills
-- Salsa dancing
-- Snow! (okay, not my doing, btu certainly my supporting)
-- Grocery shopping on a budget
--Taking on the Tub in heels
Things to work on/Goals:
-- PR, must smile more, they take me seriously here.
-- Stage fighting. Natalie will kill me someday otherwise...
-- Finding somethig good for auditions (three weeks, eeeeeee)
-- More adventures! I've been exploring, but I need to do more outside my norm.
Things I now know:
-- Where my flat is. This is crucial information when you go out on a walk your first day.
-- How to successfully flush our toilet. (It hums angrily at you when done improperly).
-- The useful acronym "blood" in stage fighting (balance, leading with the weapon, eye contact, distance)
-- How to use a fan in the Restoration style
-- The nearest tub stops
-- Never to leave without an umbrella
-- To always tell the people you meet you voted for Obama (big points, no joke).
-- What way to look when crossing the street. (mostly- turns still mess me up).
Things I'm proud of/Accomplishments:
-- A sonnet in Sheila's class rated "simply marvelous"
-- Getting advice/critique from Fiona Shaw
-- My navagational skills
-- Salsa dancing
-- Snow! (okay, not my doing, btu certainly my supporting)
-- Grocery shopping on a budget
--Taking on the Tub in heels
Things to work on/Goals:
-- PR, must smile more, they take me seriously here.
-- Stage fighting. Natalie will kill me someday otherwise...
-- Finding somethig good for auditions (three weeks, eeeeeee)
-- More adventures! I've been exploring, but I need to do more outside my norm.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
weekend adventures
fun weekend!
Last night, we went on a historic pub crawl, which was a blast. It was apparently also New Zealand Independance Day, so the first pub we went to was full of people celebrating it. Made my day. I met this cute guy who drew an N.Z. on my cheek, so I got to be an honorary New Zealander. I also talked to a guy from Scotland named Charlie. It was interesting, because he couldn't figure out why we would say that we were Scottish or Irish or what have you when we were clearly American. A bit of culture shock, I guess.
Today my shakespeare teacher had us over for lunch. She made us delicious roasted vegtables and chicken, and then we sat around listening to her tell us stories about her acting days. She knows Judi Dench!, which is incredible but when we gasped about it, she was like "it's not a big deal, we were just growing up at the same time. It's like you guys right now." Which is weird to think about, being the next generation, and how we're all working a this thing we want to do with our lives. The question then is, which one of us is Judi Dench?
Last night, we went on a historic pub crawl, which was a blast. It was apparently also New Zealand Independance Day, so the first pub we went to was full of people celebrating it. Made my day. I met this cute guy who drew an N.Z. on my cheek, so I got to be an honorary New Zealander. I also talked to a guy from Scotland named Charlie. It was interesting, because he couldn't figure out why we would say that we were Scottish or Irish or what have you when we were clearly American. A bit of culture shock, I guess.
Today my shakespeare teacher had us over for lunch. She made us delicious roasted vegtables and chicken, and then we sat around listening to her tell us stories about her acting days. She knows Judi Dench!, which is incredible but when we gasped about it, she was like "it's not a big deal, we were just growing up at the same time. It's like you guys right now." Which is weird to think about, being the next generation, and how we're all working a this thing we want to do with our lives. The question then is, which one of us is Judi Dench?
Friday, February 6, 2009
it's like wallstreet on water
It's Friday, which makes it a masterclass day. Today we did a workshop on Merchant of Venice with actor Henry Goodman. It was a really good time- he's very funny and very energetic. He talks a mile a minute (all really intelligent stuff, too), and claps his hands a lot.
Working on Merchant made me remember ninth grade with Ms. Moe, who thought that six ninth graders couldn't possibly have the mental capacity to read an act of Shakespeare out loud in half and hour. We had such a good time with it, too. We were practically killing oursleves laughing, I remember, making up all these side little stories. Made me smile.
Working on Merchant made me remember ninth grade with Ms. Moe, who thought that six ninth graders couldn't possibly have the mental capacity to read an act of Shakespeare out loud in half and hour. We had such a good time with it, too. We were practically killing oursleves laughing, I remember, making up all these side little stories. Made me smile.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Three Days of Snow
It has snowed in London. The most it has snowed in 18 years, I'm told. Which by my count is 6 inches or so. Some schools have gotten a two day snowday.
It was pretty to walk around in though, all these old buildings blanketed in white. And the park is covered with snowmen, they're just everywhere! And yesterday it was perfectly accpetable to walk around with a snowball in hand. I had two hot coccoas and a good snowball fight.
It's good the snow cheers me up, because today was a rough day. For some reason everyone was just in a bad mood, myself included. Which is a shame really, considering I saw this great play, "Three Days of Rain" last night. I walked out of the theater nearly crying in happiness, which was a lovely feeling. One of the three actors was James McAvoy, Mr. Tumnus in Narnia, (among other things). I got his autograph after the show- he has a lovely burr in his accent, all the funnier because he speaks with an American accent onstage.
The snow made me wonder though. There are students here who have never really lived in snow before. Never experienced it. What must that be like, to experiance for the first time? Perhaps a bit like my classmate Noel, who has never seen nor read Romeo and Juliet. What must that have been like to see? To know the story, (or to know the general concept of snow), but never have experienced the details?
It was pretty to walk around in though, all these old buildings blanketed in white. And the park is covered with snowmen, they're just everywhere! And yesterday it was perfectly accpetable to walk around with a snowball in hand. I had two hot coccoas and a good snowball fight.
It's good the snow cheers me up, because today was a rough day. For some reason everyone was just in a bad mood, myself included. Which is a shame really, considering I saw this great play, "Three Days of Rain" last night. I walked out of the theater nearly crying in happiness, which was a lovely feeling. One of the three actors was James McAvoy, Mr. Tumnus in Narnia, (among other things). I got his autograph after the show- he has a lovely burr in his accent, all the funnier because he speaks with an American accent onstage.
The snow made me wonder though. There are students here who have never really lived in snow before. Never experienced it. What must that be like, to experiance for the first time? Perhaps a bit like my classmate Noel, who has never seen nor read Romeo and Juliet. What must that have been like to see? To know the story, (or to know the general concept of snow), but never have experienced the details?
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Very Berry Trifle
What a lovely weekend it has been! Technically festivities began Thursday, when my flatmate Leanna and I scoped out a salsa bar called Salsa! (go figure). I only had two hours of class on Friday, (which can sometimes make it seem pointless to walk all the way there, but this Friday it was lovely so I didn’t mind).
Friday, a whole group of us trooped out to Salsa!. We split a couple pitchers of margaritas and then stole the abandoned alcohol from a bachlorette party where the girls all wore red sparkly heart shaped antennas. The bar is actually not too different from Famous Dave’s, a little larger, with more dance space, and thankfully a slightly younger crowd. I danced with at least six guys, and only one of them was icky. Had to save another BADA girl, though. Her partner then tried to dance with us, but I told him “She’s all mine.” Dancing felt really good, it’s probably when I feel best about myself. My feet were angry with me for being in heels two nights in a row, but it was worth it.
The next day I got up and went to a soccer game with my friend, Katie. It was a Fullham/Portsmouth game, which funnily enough was the same match up as the game I saw four years ago. A good game, though. We (Fullham- they’ll always have a special place in my heart), won 3-1. The opposing fans were really funny- they brought a beach ball and an inflatable banana which they passed around until it got all wrinkly and deflated.
Today I was good for a while and did some homework… by which I mean read a book I found in the library, and then I bussed over to Trafalgar’s Square for the Chinese New Year celebration. It was a lot of fun, though really crowded. People are really rude, they just keep pushing you or whack you with their camera as they try to shoot pictures (no, my head is NOT a suitable stabilizer for your camera!). It was a very impulsive buying day, I bought lo mein, bubble tea, a red bean moon cake (yes, I know it’s the wrong holiday), lychee juice, and then stickers and two Olympic pins (score!). Once it got dark, they set off fireworks. Because we were in the heart of the city, they obviously couldn’t be that high, but they were really pretty all the same. And loud- the noise was just ricocheting off the surrounding buildings.
It snowed today, at first just light flurries, but now it falling hard and the sky is nearly lavender with all the falling snowflakes. I went out with the Californians and we had a snowball fight and made a little snowman, no bigger than a foot tall. We named him Yorrick and snuck him on the elevator, and after showing him off to all the BADA flats, we dumped him out the window, a hero’s death. Some of the BADA kids are bussing tomorrow because they’re afraid it will be too cold with the snow, I just laughed. As I write this, I can hear people out on the streets running and playing, and just now there was a little bagpiping. It makes me smile, I’d forgotten how much snow cheers me up.
Friday, a whole group of us trooped out to Salsa!. We split a couple pitchers of margaritas and then stole the abandoned alcohol from a bachlorette party where the girls all wore red sparkly heart shaped antennas. The bar is actually not too different from Famous Dave’s, a little larger, with more dance space, and thankfully a slightly younger crowd. I danced with at least six guys, and only one of them was icky. Had to save another BADA girl, though. Her partner then tried to dance with us, but I told him “She’s all mine.” Dancing felt really good, it’s probably when I feel best about myself. My feet were angry with me for being in heels two nights in a row, but it was worth it.
The next day I got up and went to a soccer game with my friend, Katie. It was a Fullham/Portsmouth game, which funnily enough was the same match up as the game I saw four years ago. A good game, though. We (Fullham- they’ll always have a special place in my heart), won 3-1. The opposing fans were really funny- they brought a beach ball and an inflatable banana which they passed around until it got all wrinkly and deflated.
Today I was good for a while and did some homework… by which I mean read a book I found in the library, and then I bussed over to Trafalgar’s Square for the Chinese New Year celebration. It was a lot of fun, though really crowded. People are really rude, they just keep pushing you or whack you with their camera as they try to shoot pictures (no, my head is NOT a suitable stabilizer for your camera!). It was a very impulsive buying day, I bought lo mein, bubble tea, a red bean moon cake (yes, I know it’s the wrong holiday), lychee juice, and then stickers and two Olympic pins (score!). Once it got dark, they set off fireworks. Because we were in the heart of the city, they obviously couldn’t be that high, but they were really pretty all the same. And loud- the noise was just ricocheting off the surrounding buildings.
It snowed today, at first just light flurries, but now it falling hard and the sky is nearly lavender with all the falling snowflakes. I went out with the Californians and we had a snowball fight and made a little snowman, no bigger than a foot tall. We named him Yorrick and snuck him on the elevator, and after showing him off to all the BADA flats, we dumped him out the window, a hero’s death. Some of the BADA kids are bussing tomorrow because they’re afraid it will be too cold with the snow, I just laughed. As I write this, I can hear people out on the streets running and playing, and just now there was a little bagpiping. It makes me smile, I’d forgotten how much snow cheers me up.
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