New music

Here are the new songs we recorded: The Me of Me & The You of You

Enjoy :)

December 21st - December 27th

December 21st - December 27th

Sunday

Sunday was, per usual, productive.  Laundry, rearranging furniture, more planning for Tim's visit and looking into options for places to go and things to do.  I heard gas is $1.70!?!?!?  Incredible!

Monday

I got up around 6:30am, headed to Victoria Station to get a train to Gatwick Airport.  Tim's flight was supposed to come in around 9am.  He got in around 10am.  I was SO happy to see him.  I hadn't seen him since 4th of July weekend at Aunt Rita's.  We're pretty close, so only seeing him twice a year is rough.  I think I got like...four hours of sleep I was so excited :)

  

Gatwick Airport.

  

Look who I found!

  

Early morning journey to Paul's Bakery - so worth it!  I look massively tired.

Tim took a nap until about 3pm then we went to CSSD to print off the things we need Paris (vouchers, maps, itineraries, etc)...yeah I'm a little OCD about these things.  Then we went to Me Love Sushi for dinner.

  

Me Love Sushi

  

Don't mind the orange glow.  Focus on - delicious sushi :)

When we got back we decided that because it was so nice out we'd go explore Hyde Park.  Note: I spotted the ferris wheel on Saturday when we were riding back from the movies and knew that we were going to have to go.  I love ferris wheels.  Let me also bring attention to the fact that it was like 50 degrees out.  It was like we were going to a harvest fair for crying out loud.  Note: no jackets in these pictures.

  

Tim holding the ferris wheel (my brilliant idea...haha)

  

The ferris wheel and the lake in Hyde Park.

    

They don't have snow here for Christmas time...they have fun fairs...

  

Carousel time!!!

  

  

The song that was playing was Happy Christmas by Lennon.  Yes.

  

Not as big as the London Eye, but we figured we were working our way up.  

  

Loving it.

  

The view.

  

Happy!  And the sky looked incredible.

Tuesday

We had breakfast and then headed to Oxford Street to find Tim a snazzy outfit for New Years.  Mission accomplished.  On the way we enjoyed the mass chaos that is Oxford Street at Christmas time, and went to Chinatown for lunch.  

Steel drum band on Oxford Street.

Hanging out in Chinatown.

  

Happily awaiting Thai food.  Tim and I agree that I look really French in this picture, which made me very happy.  Paris here I come.

  

Can't remember the name of this place, but it was very atmospheric.

Oh my God, deliciousness.

  

When we got home we got a call from a couple crazies from Connecticut.  Do you recognize them?

Then after we chilled out for a bit we went to Ronnie Scotts which is this jazz bar and club (they're separate).  The house was full in the club so we went to the bar, which on Tuesdays has Indie Film night followed by live music.  Done.  We saw a couple short films then this band led by a guy named Oggie played for a few hours.  

  

In Soho going to Ronnie Scotts.

  

Yes, Tim is sitting in a leopard print chair.  

  

We had a lot of wine...  What - we're on holiday!  Also, this place apparently has a roof garden...

  

Inside Ronnie Scotts.

  

Christmas lights that were moving = artsy blurry shot.  Tim and I chillin at Ronnie Scotts.

Oggie covered two really awesome songs from my childhood: Rock With You by Michael Jackson (see below) and The Best Things In Life Are Free by Janet Jackson and Luther Vandross.

Rock With You (cover).

When we got home we decided to record a song...but I have no instruments here, so it's all vocals and percussion.  And by percussion I mean - sunflower seeds in a tupperware container.  It was a very, very late night with lots of giggling and late night snacking.  We recorded No One Does It Like You by an indie band Tim introduced me to called Department of Eagles.  The next posts will have the link to our myspace music page so you can hear them.

Sunflower seeds - the snack that doubles as percussion!

Wednesday

Christmas Eve!  We slept in really late.  One of the countless joys of having Tim around is that I can sleep as late as I want and we can eat whatever whenever.  I love being on holiday too.  So I decided we could get some sightseeing in so we got on the tube and headed to the Thames.  

  

This one's for you, Adrianne.

   

What's this building again?  I can't remember ;)  Tim and I in our somewhat matching Christmas outfits.  

  

Finding a stranger to take our picture and who can also speak English is a difficult task.

  

Dali sculptures outside County Hall.

  

Crossing over the Jubilee Bridge.

  

A great trio playing some Christmas tunes.

When we got back we finished packing for Brighton and went to the grocery store to pick up a few things before heading to Tara's for dinner.  I didn't take any pictures at Tara's because we were there for only an hour or so.  We had to catch a train around 8:45pm and we got there around 7pm so we had to leave at 8pm.  Tara's family and friends were really lovely.  She and I had a nice chat about "the work" and teaching placements.  She made a non-traditional meal of Indian food and "real tortilla" (it's like a quiche but better).  

  

On the train to Brighton.  Listening to music and eating homemade mince pies.

When we got in to Nia's flat we found a note with phone numbers on it and....drum roll, please - an 8 lb turkey!  I admit, I was kind of freaking out when I saw it as I have never cooked a turkey in my life.  Luckily I came to find out that it is not a complicated task.  We watched a movie called Sunshine which I'd never seen before but enjoyed despite the suspense (not a fan of horror/suspense movies).  Nia has like - four guitars and a grand piano so we were very, very happy to be there for four days.  We recorded a song by Sufjan Stevens called Springfield or Bobby Got A Shadfly Caught In His Hair.  Also to be posted on the myspace page.   

Thursday

MERRY CHRISTMAS!  We got up and had croissants for breakfast, then we opened our presents, granted all we had was candy and cookies, but the joy of opening presents is the important part I guess.  Honestly though, having Tim here and being in Brighton on Christmas Day was present enough.  Tim's mom sent him with stockings for us (completely filled with candy.)  My parents' friends and our former neighbors who now live in Alabama mailed us cookies which we brought with us to enjoy.  

  

The before and after.

  

Opening presents (read: candy).

  

Christmas attire: bright green shirt, bright red pants.  Well done, Tim :)

  

I introduced Tim to White Christmas, a necessity on December 25th.  Can't live without it.  Yes, we improvised the snow by having the TV on "snow" all day :)

I decided around 1pm that it was time for turkey and Tim read the directions while I prepared the food.  He also entertained while I cooked.  

  

Shock and amazement at the massive turkey.  Tim entertained while I prepared the food.

Hello 8 lb. turkey!

Tim taking a nap while I finished prepping Christmas dinner.

  

Yum!

After dinner we watched A Scanner Darkly, although not very Christmas-y, was very good.  Then we recorded song number two - Come on!  Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance! by Sufjan Stevens (our Christmas song of choice) which was a lot of fun.  We also recorded a song Tim had started writing on piano.  He taught it to me and then improvised over it.  It was a lot of fun because I can't play any instrument other than the guitar.  

  

Please note that Tim is playing a cheese grater with a spoon.  I played the sunflower seeds-in-tupperware (not shown).  We'd like to think we're inventive.  It went like this:

Me: "What's next?"

Tim: "Percussion."

Me: "Well let's go to the kitchen then."

  

I guess you could say we were jamming :)

  

Nia also has a mini accordion and an array of small guitars and ukuleles.  Tim went to town, obviously :)

He's so focused, haha.  I wasn't able to catch him saying "This is really hard" at the end.  I tried it after him and believe me, it's REALLY hard.

Friday

Boxing Day is still somewhat of a mystery to me.  Sure, we all want an extra day off around Christmas time, but really?  Boxing Day?  What's it really for?  I knew we wouldn't be able to get in a day at the lanes on Saturday because we were leaving around noon and not only could neither of us get up that early on holiday, the stores wouldn't be open til around 9am or 10am anyway.  So, knowing that some stores may not be open, we went anyway.  I wanted him to see the center of town and the lights and the pier.  All of which were just gorgeous.  

  

The lanes, well lane (singular).  Tim and I freezing on the beach.

  

We missed the actual sunset but it was gorgeous nonetheless.

     

Tim snapped a pic of me walking on the beach (note: no sand, only rocks) which came out pretty cool.  Tim also was asked to snap a picture of strangers.  We've got friendly American faces, what can we say?

  

The timer on my camera comes in handy in times like these.  I really love this picture.  And more of the sun going down.

  

All of the rides were working but it was SO cold out.  The second one is the craziest ride ever, right at the end of the pier...

  

More of the end of the pier.

  

Gotta get the funny pic in.  Walking back to catch the bus.

When we got home we recorded Sleep by Copeland, Boy With A Coin by Iron & Wine and Passing Afternoon also by Iron & Wine.  Note: you should most definitely listen to the originals of these songs first.  Tim was tinkering around with the piano, playing a song that he'd written

Then Tim started playing a familiar chord progression, and I was like, "What is that?"  He started singing it and we both laughed.  It was Your Love by The Outfield circa 1985 (read: we weren't even born then!)  If you don't recognize this song by the title then watch this video.  The video alone is hilarious.  I was so excited to do this song that we started to record the guitar parts - but it was like 2am and we weren't really conscious of this.  Knock at the door.  Shite.  Turns out we woke up the woman in the flat next to Nia's and although the lady was really super nice about it, we felt bad and decided to chill out for the rest of the night.  Haha...

  

Listening back endlessly to the recording of the untitled song and improvising on top of it.  Song writing can be exhausting, clearly.  Tim was trying to figure out the chords for some song that we didn't end up doing.

Saturday

I got up early to fetch eggs and croissants, as well as a present for Nia and Miltos.  My throat was sore which I thought was from the wine, but in the following days I come to find that I am legitimately ill.  Probably because the weather changed very quickly from nice to freezing.  

Then I made breakfast and woke Tim up.  We showered, packed and I finished cleaning up the flat, then we headed out around noon and caught a train 20 minutes later.  On the train we edited the songs (Garage Band is becoming less of a mystery to me) as we added effects on the vocals or percussion to make them sound a little more like the originals (especially the vocals on Boy with A Coin by Iron & Wine) and the "uno, dos, tres, cuatros" on Come on! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance! which has a little "elf voice" in the very beginning.  When satisfied with the tracks we listened to all six of the tracks we'd recorded, laughing at the bits where we know we messed up, then smiling and nodding at the bits that sounded really good.  We were generally pretty satisfied with the overall outcome of the recordings.  Six songs in four days - not bad :)

On the train.

When we got home we took a little nap, then got ready to go to this art house cinema in Hammersmith called Riverside Studios.  I'd gotten us tickets to see a double feature of two Coen brothers' films: The Big Lebowski and Burn After Reading.  I'd seen the former but not the latter and Tim hadn't seen either one.  We packed up some of the candy we had to munch on, and got sandwiches from Pret a Manger to eat on the way.  The trip - in total took almost an hour, but it was only two transfers on the tube and definitely worth it.  

In between the first and second film we had about 20 minutes to kill, and we both - instinctively - decided to play the piano that was sitting down front all lonely and old and unplayed.  

  

We entertained the audience with the song-in-progress and also a little Sufjan Stevens.

We got home around 11pm and watched another Coen brothers' film - No Country for Old Men which was another suspenseful movie that had me wriggling in my seat.  Tim always laughs at me when I can't keep still in suspenseful moments.  I forget it's just a movie, sometimes :)

Here are some pics of Hawaii that Dad sent me:

View from the room.

  

Oahu.  Must be nice...:)

That's all for now...much, much more to come as Paris is just days away!

December 14th - 20th

December 14th - 20th

Sunday

I slept in until Brunch, so I missed James who slept a bit later.  The poor kid, working full-time during all of break, only going home for two days.  He has his days off and goes in around 2pm usually.  He just worked the Royal Variety Show.  He met Andrew Lloyd Weber, Prince Charles, Cliff Richards and a few lesser important people - Josh Harnett, Brendan Fraser, the Pussycat Dolls, among others.  He escorted the Queen of Spain out of the theatre yesterday too :)

I stayed in today, wanting to do what everyone says I should - i.e RELAX.  So I forced myself to chill out and watch some movies.

Monday

Tried to sleep in, thereby missing breakfast, ah well.  Took a shower and went to the library around 2:30pm, and yet again, forgetting how cold it was and decided I'd be warm enough with just a hoodie and long sleeve tee...idiot.  Wrote up my Teaching Placement Profile and took out a few DVDs on voice work, as well as books by Lessac, Rodenburg and Frankie Armstrong.  All due back in 7 days.  I can finish all that in 7 days, says the overachiever.  

When I got home Kenny and Carlyn Skyped with me for a bit.  Carlyn said it'd cost her about $120 to send me a package!  Nuts!  She said she wants to send me cookies, so she's going to look into it again.  Mom is sending cookies too.  Very sweet of them :)  I will need to devise a better workout schedule if I plan on reaching my goals fitness wise before I come home!  Haha....who am I kidding?  Cookies are always welcome!  I will never turn down cookies.  Suddenly I realize why I can't keep this weight off, hmm....

I had dinner (horrible) and chatted with Adrianne about how we're going to make amazing meals when we get home.  God, I can't wait to be in my own kitchen.  We're both turning into those 1950's housewives who don't let anyone else in the kitchen, or who when angry say, "Ugh!  I need to clean something!"  Haha, that one's for you, Adrianne :)

I convinced myself that I'd taken too many days off from the gym and went.  I did almost 2 hours of strength, abs and stretching.  Again, with the creepers at the gym though.  I've got my "You're gonna get a roundhouse to the face if you don't stop looking at me" glare down to a science.  I'm going to try to go everyday this week.  Haha...we'll see about that!

Jen sent me a link today to a game I have not played since I was like 10.  I was like - jumping and squealing in my seat playing it.  I have to admit, all of my "skills" are gone.  Childhood memories.  Amazing.

Tuesday

Somewhere in my optimism lies the motivation to exercise.  This motivation, however, cannot be tapped into at 6:30am, no matter how many times I try.  James and I agreed to spend 12pm-2pm of almost everyday over break - swimming/exercising.  Hopefully, this new, more realistic pact will not fall through.  In other news, my sleep cycle is all screwed up now that I can sleep in.  I'm not tired until about 2am, and then get up at 9am or 10am.  Yes, 7 to 8 hours of sleep seems ideal, but my body is used to 5 or 6 hours, so this is throwing me.  I feel groggy and sloth-like for a few hours before I can find the motivation to do anything.  I am going to rely on massive TO DO LISTS.  

I went to breakfast at 8:30am and then came back and starting writing out my Christmas cards, which probably won't get home in time, so thank God they have "Season's Greetings" and not "Merry Christmas" on them.  I don't know who's really going to want to receive a Christmas card with my face on it, but it's the best I could do, short of boring postcards.  My grandmother will like it, and that's what counts.  

Soho/Carnaby Street is amazing:

  

Soho!

  

James: "I've never had my picture taken next to one of these."

Me: "It's time."

Snapped a pic of the motor bikes for Adrianne!

You can get lost in a place like this.  They had entire rooms dedicated to candy, and then another room just for journals and another room just for gloves and bags...people go in, some never come out...

James said his mum wanted a picture of him outside his work.  Ta-da!

  

The closest I'll ever get to a pseudo Macy's Day Parade float in London!  Wee!

  

Welcome is right!  Picture to the right: James being enthralled by the violinist who was playing some Irish jig.  

James: "I want to jig."

Me: "You want to jig right NOW?  Because I'm there, if you are!"

  

We were in a tea shop and I looked out the window on the second floor and there is another marshmallow snowman!  I couldn't resist taking a picture - they're just so ridiculous.  Those musicians were not happy with me taking their picture.

  

Soho mural.  Entrance to Kingly Court - where vintage and yoga thrive!  A vintage lover's dream!

  

James: "Get a picture of the fire!"

Me: "I got it, I got it."

  

This picture is for my sister, who loves the old Coca-Cola bottles - this one was particularly festive.  This was the first time I've eaten outside of Nutford House and Subway since I've been here.  No joke.  Ah, the student life.  I've missed it so....

Second picture - James: "Get the lights in!"

  

My favorite!  Dessert!  Note: pretty sure the cupcakes on the right are directly brought to London from Willy Wonka's factory...

  

Note: Spider Man-esque cobweb lights strung across the streets.  Also to the right: Oxford Street looking vaguely similar to Times Square this time of year.  (Read: chaos.)

  

More chaos and decorated buildings.  They're a bit excessive about the Christmas decorations.  It's like a "who-can-get-the-most-lights-on-their-building" game.

Merry Christmas to me.  Nothing solves the homesick blues like a little retail therapy.  Much better for my waistline than chocolate, but horrible for my wallet.

This was the first time I splurged since I've been here.  I bought a new black beret-esque hat for Paris, and these amazing two-toned Oxford heels.  Jen is not a fan of them.  I Skyped with her today and showed her.  It was an interesting dynamic - she didn't have her webcam because she was in the living room...so I'm talking and she's typing her response to me.  Very comical, if you can imagine.  Haha.  I also chatted with Barb, Chris, Reggie and of course, Adrianne (when am I not chatting with Adrianne?) caught up on my emails and finished off my Christmas cards.  When I was talking to Grandma Lois it started snowing.  When I was talking to Reggie today it started snowing (in NYC)...you think this is the universe saying I should be home for Christmas?  I think so.  

Wednesday

This is going to be yet another photo montage of events.  (I will narrate in between pics for cinematic effect!)  Fair warning: I took a lot of pictures of food, so if you're hungry - beware.  Also, there's A TON of pictures coming at you...I took something like 200 pics in the last two days...sooo....I've officially turned into my father.

I woke up late because I forgot to plug my alarm clock back in.  I had used the only adapter I have to charge my rechargeable batteries for my camera.  I was supposed to meet Alex at Victoria Station at 9:45am to catch a 10:17am train to Hove (Brighton).  I ended up having a small tearful fit of "you're so dumb how could you do that?" and then called her.  She didn't seem phased by it and said she'd grab a coffee and we could catch the next train.  She reminded me, "No worries, my love!  We're on holiday!"  But I didn't want to ruin our day, as we'd planned an entire day of shopping and seeing the pier, etc. with Nia.  So I moved as fast as I could to shower and get dressed and out the door.  I walked toward the underground station and realized I'd still be really late, so I took a cab.  Unfortunately, I left my new beret in the cab! :(  We made the 10:17am train, Starbucks in hand.

  

Victoria Station.

Riding along...

Running to catch the next train!

  

Happy to be on holiday!  

The street Nia lives on...

  

The living room and kitchen

  

The guest room (adorned with 'fairy lights') and the master bedroom complete with chaise lounge and shudders on the windows.

On the bus to the center of town!

  

The center of town, and onto the lanes...

  

This store was called Choccywoccydoodah (chalky-walky-doo-dah).

May I introduce a new phenomenon: Choccywoccydoodah - a store where virtually everything is made out of chocolate.  Could this place get any better?  

  

Yep, everything in this first picture is chocolate...including that huge baby Jesus.  Nia looking adorable with a little chocolate snow man.

  

We laughed so hard when we saw that sign.  Check out that cake!  Totally covered in chocolate!!

  

Officially at the Lanes.

  

A typical "Lane" and sometimes a lane will lead you to something totally unexpected like this dolphin fountain!

Sunshine-y day.  Pretty Miss Nia on our way to her favorite store - Cath Kidson.  A guy traditionally roasting chestnuts.

This video speaks for itself.  Animatronics from the 80's...

  

  

A little short cut through Royal Pavilion (based on the Taj Mahal) to head to the French Market and to the East Lanes.

  

This pic is for Jen.  Three words: David The Gnome.  More of what the lanes look like.

  

The French market!  Candy and bread and cheese....mmm....

  

Sweets and nuts...

  

Hmm...picking out a few ingredients for dinner.  Nia inspected the roasted garlic and Alex spotted the olives!

We made our way to this amazing organic restaurant called Bill's, which Nia had picked especially for us to go to.  They make everything from scratch, all with really fresh fruits and vegetables.  It's a place my Uncle Larry would love, I instantly thought of him when we got there.  Everything is written on chalk boards hanging around the restaurant.  There are people of all ages there.  I had a sandwich that had Stilton cheese, bacon, spinach and other goodness on ciabatta bread.  Delectable - so fresh.  

  

  

Luscious plums!  How clever were they - hanging red peppers like Christmas ornaments from upside-down trees?

  

The beautiful Nia Lynn and myself.  Group pic!

Hmm...what to choose...

  

Those cakes looked amazing (with flowers on them!) but we were so full.  Look at those brownies and fruit pastries!

Then we headed out and strolled past some crazy graffiti (I guess it was "professional" but I don't know how that works with graffiti).  I guess they call it street art.  It was pretty awesome.

I loved the James Brown tribute.  Also - the most bad ass white girls I know :)

  

I couldn't get over how colorful everything in this place was.  Also - we found a replacement beret for my lost one.

  

I tried to find Jen beads, but to no avail.

  

Cool mosaic.  And then - a little bit of home?

  

Nia questioning the validity of this Santa.  He gave us bubbles and water bottles.

  

Bubbles are foreshadowing for later on.  And - very crowded streets!

Nia suggested we head down to the sea to catch the sunset and have some cocoa.  Brilliant.  

  

Brighton Pier looking strangely like the pier Peter took us to in LA.

  

The beginning of the sunset in all its glory.

  

Brighton Pier!  Alex and I.

    

The sunset...going, going, gone.

Birds!

  

Group shot!  Me blowing bubbles!

  

Alex has a great laugh.  Lovely ladies!

  

Brighton Pier at sunset.

  

  

Some silly shots!

There isn't any sand at the shore here, so the water lapping onto the rocks sounds beautiful.

  

Artsy shots?

You can't go to Brighton Pier and not get Brighton Rock (apparently).

  

This made me the happiest lady.

  

Heading towards the end of the pier.

  

View from the end of the pier.

  

Happy girls by the water.

  

I really like this last picture.  I'm particularly proud of it.

  

The Palace of Fun :) aka the arcade

    

Heading back from the sea.  Getting in a little more shopping before we head home.

  

Eating mince pies on the bus for sustenance...or at least claiming that's the reason!  Then - time for cocktails!

  

Pretty ladies carefully choosing the right cocktail.

  

From left to right: Nia, me, Alex.  Cheers!

  

Gonzo.  Laughing on the bus ride home!

Back home for some appetizers (olives, grapes, brie, etc.) as Nia prepared our delicious meal!   YUM!

A little jazz, a little dancing!

  

Nia preparing and serving delicious linguine with shrimp, peas and artichokes in a tomato sauce with fresh parmesan (grated by yours truly)...mmm...

I'm the newbie, so they had me pull a Christmas cracker (hard to see) and when you pull it there's a little prize inside and a paper crown.

They have an endless music and movie collection.  Nia is a professional jazz singer and her boyfriend Miltos (a very funny, loveable Greek man) works for the Royal Shakespeare Company.  Nia asked what plans I had for Christmas and so I told her about Tim coming to visit, but said we didn't have Christmas Day plans.  She said she and Miltos would be in Wales visiting her family and that she suggested that Tim and I stay in her flat for Christmas Eve through Boxing Day (the day after Christmas).  My jaw just kind of dropped.  I stuttered a bit trying to thank her and tell her that's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me.  She said she'd pick up a Latest magazine which has listings of things going on in the area so we could plan the three nights and two days we'd be there.  She said she would love for us to be able to wake up in a real home with a Christmas tree and kitchen and all on Christmas Day, instead of my dorm room and Nutford House catering.  I couldn't agree more!  This will be a Christmas to remember. 

Nia dancing to the credits music from the movie.

After we had dinner (which was amazing) we watched Clue (with Tim Curry as the Butler) and had some chocolates and more wine.  Then we retired to bed, I slept very happily on their pull out couch which pulls out to a king size bed (not that I need a king size bed) but compared to the bed I've got - it was heaven.  What's more - when I woke up I thought I was home in CT!  

Thursday

For breakfast Nia made poached eggs and fried haloumi (a Welsh goat cheese) with some clementines (peeled by yours truly...you can see I really aided in these feasts).  Then we headed out to George Street to do some more shopping (can you get enough?!)  

  

Nia making breakfast, and then opening our present for her - new oven mitts from Cath Kidson (this picture does no justice to how excited she really was!)

For lunch Nia made us couscous with sauteed carrots, mushrooms and garlic with fresh warmed pita bread on the side.  We had hummus and Worcestershire sauce with it, which I'd never tried but really loved.  She is a great cook!  I can't say that enough.  She really spoiled us and after three months of kicking my ass in classes and living in the halls, I was grateful to be in a home, eating homemade meals, spending time with friends and relaxing.  Truly relaxing.  

  

George Street (rather bleak day) and Bert's - another dream store for the domestically inclined.  Wine Me Up - theme of our holiday adventure in Brighton?

Couscous, hummus and pita bread :)

We decided that we would stay another night, as Nia had urged us to stay.  She had some things to do that night but she hung out with us until she needed to leave to head into London to get dinner with her sister.  She left us pizza bases from an Italian restaurant around the corner and said we could get some veggies at the Co-op down the street.  She also said to help ourselves to music and DVDs (and dessert!)  She wanted to bake these Pistachio macaroons but didn't have time during the day.  So Alex and I decided we'd bake them while she was gone.  We took a stroll down to the sea after we got the pizza toppings we wanted.  We put tried to watch a french film called Belleville Rendezvous as well as Some Like It Hot, but because they were probably from a different video region (I had to change the region on my computer or else I couldn't watch Kate's DVDs) they unfortunately didn't play.  So we ended up choosing School of Rock, not quite as cultural or classy but it was a good laugh.  After we had some of the trifle Nia had made for us, we decided to put on some Beatles (Abbey Road) and get to baking.  

  

Our walk down to the sea, the city looks like it's on fire.  Then we took a short cut through a pretty park.  Love the "children playing" sign - because we were like big kids for the last few days :)

  

Pizzas before and after.  Adorned with tomato sauce, fresh cheese, peppers, olives, Camembert, tomato slices, and more cheese! (We like cheese.)

  

Alex has got her "serious baking face" on, and I am just excited to be in a kitchen and developing my culinary abilities.

  

Me covering the picture of what they're supposed to look like.  Pistachio macaroons!

  

Fresh out of the oven - almost ready for sandwiching.  Cooling on the rack.

FINISHED PRODUCT!

Nia and Miltos came home and thought that the macaroons were incredible.  They just loved them.  We were pretty proud of ourselves.  Alex, Nia and I watched Eddie Izzard until we got sleepy.

Friday

For breakfast Nia made us a traditional Welsh dish called Rarebit which consists of thick slices of seedy whole wheat bread with a little butter on them, toasted.  Then you lay a slice of tomato and scrambled eggs (which have cheese and a little bit of English mustard mixed in) with more cheese on top.  Then you put them in the oven until the top gets browned (DELICIOUS!)

Nia cooking up some Rarebit.

We recorded a song that we'd done in class and I showed Nia how to work Garage Band so she could record in the future.  Then we got our things together and headed back to the train station.  On the way out Nia put her spare set of house keys in my hand.  I almost started crying.  She's the most generous person I've ever met.  

OH!  Before we left Alex and I got an email confirming that we were going to be placed at Trinity Laban and got an email from Tony Castro, the head of the BA Acting program confirming we'd be teaching from 1:30pm-5pm every Friday through the end of March (about ten weeks) doing 30 minute one-on-one tutorials for Musical Theatre students (it's a two year program) prepping their monologues for auditions in March.  Come March we'll be coaching the scene work (directed by a professor at CSSD) that they auditioned for.  I'll be responsible for 13 students, Alex the other 13.  Ages 18-20.  So we called him and Alex chatted with him about the specifics.  We're meeting with him on January 9th to have a chat and then to sit in on one of his master classes as well as meet the students.  We start teaching the following Friday, January 16th - i.e. my 23rd birthday.  Wee.

Almost home.

Jen was online today really early, too early to be home from school.  Come to find out - most of south eastern Connecticut had a snow day today.  They're going to get about 8 to 14 inches of snow.  I was talking to Adrianne about how I missed hearing on the radio: Montville Public Schools - 90 minute delay, or whatever the case may be.

Shared the good news via Skype of being placed at Trinity Laban with Jen then later with my mom and then later with my grandma.  I also gushed to Tim about all the amazing things we have planned now.  

Saturday

I woke up in time to catch brunch with James.  He had to go to work, so I went back to my room.  I was feeling unproductive because I still hadn't made it to the post office (and now was past 12:30pm) before it closed.  I laid back down and was feeling generally melancholy (I'd sent a rather insensitive email to a friend and was feeling terrible about it, still).  Luckily about 40 minutes later Kate called me and asked if I wanted to see a movie at 2:3opm in the center of town.  I was happy to get out of the room and wanted to see Kate before Christmas (she was heading home to Cork, Ireland to spend it with family).  I love Kate and we had some really nice chats about life and relationships.  We saw a new French film called I've Loved You So Long with the brilliant Kristin Scott Thomas playing the lead.  It made me miss my sister really bad, oddly enough.  It also made me more excited to see France.  Please watch this movie if you get the chance.  Here's the trailer.  

  

Riding past Marble Arch.  Some of the decorations over the streets.

This one is for Adrianne, who's second photo installation consists of light fixtures :)

Odeon is the Regal Cinema equivalent in the UK.

  

Kate and I went to the Criterion Theatre's bar and grill.  Kate used to perform at the Criterion Theatre.  This is a French bar and grill - gorgeous metallic ceilings.  Kate checking text messages :)  Indulged in some wine and calamari.  Love the blue Christmas lights, per usual.

  

Central London at night.

Kate and I waiting for the bus home.

  

Realizing that these web like lights I saw during the day are actually star shaped.  Very pretty at night.

At the request of my family, I am posting as soon as I can!  Haha...

December 7th - 13th

December 7th - 13th

Monday

I met with Kate in the morning to work our text, yet again.  We're trying not to beat it into the ground, but still stay present with it and keep it fresh.

Then we had Movement with Debbie where we focused on the neck and head.  We did some really beautiful contact improvisation where someone is holding your head in their hands and you give your weight to them, trusting they'll support you.  It's a relationship between leading and following.  It's a great exercise.  We also did some Bartenieff and Tai Chi.

Grabbed lunch then had Voice with Tara.  It was a long class.  Then I met with Kate to work on our text again!  Haha.  We did some Laban for voice work on it that we'd just done in Tara's class.  Then we did a dry run of standing up, walking to the front of the room, slating the piece (This is _______ by ________) and then performing the piece.  We called it a night at 5pm and went home.  

This is currently my inner state about these past two weeks.  I'm just SO tired, I want it to be over!  Adrianne might paint this :)

Tuesday

I got up super early and met with Kate at 8:30am.  We did some stretches and not a lot of voice work.  We just needed to get "the jibbies out" as Mike DiChello would say (from CCSU).  We had a Limber with Vicki at 9am to get us warmed up for the EVP presentation.  She gave us about a half an hour to do our own thing at the end, which was really nice.  People can be really possessive about their warm up and how they prepare.  All I did after the Limber was put my iPod on and sing.  It kept my body buzzing and kept an open vocal tract while, at the same time, worked resonance.  

  

I look a little worried, don't I? Haha...  The other pic is of Katerina and Vicki setting up the judges table.  Both of these pictures are from Thomas.

We started the EVP's at 10:30am and I went around 11:30am.  They didn't tell us this beforehand, but they filmed us performing our poems so that we can look at them in January.  Ugh.  A little added stress is always helpful in these situations......right?

It was so great to hear everyone share something and to feel connected to them for those few moments.  In the five minute break before my performance I asked Alex if I could borrow her.  We went into the warm up room and she let me drag her around while speaking the text (like I'd done with Kate).  Then when I felt that my breath had dropped down and I was centered I went back in and sat down.  When I got up to present I could still feel the adrenaline and my heartbeat in my ears.  I felt like I could really see the person I was speaking too, but I thought afterwards that my focus may have been too fixed, and then I'd limited my expressivity.  I could've approached the text from a place where maybe the person I'm speaking to isn't listening to me or doesn't want to hear what I have to say.  Then it would've shaped the poem differently.  We'd played with this idea before but I felt connected when I imagined they were listening intently to me.  

I was glad to have a few moments, while the panel was still taking notes from Lizzie's performance (she went right before me) to really find my feet and center myself.  When I began speaking I felt good, my voice was carrying easily in the space so I didn't feel like I needed to do a lot of work technically to project my sound.  I just had to share the words.  I was concerned with my inflection prior to speaking, but tried to let that thought go out of my head, and just tell that person what I had to say to them.  Overall I think I did well, nerves and all.  I had thought that because I'd worked on this piece for so long that I would tire of it, or it would become boring, but found that when it came to share it, it was like I was telling it for the first time.  

We had to report to Katerina right after our performances were over to let her know who are buddies were so she could schedule our Viva sessions.  I walked up to her and said, "Kate's my buddy."  She smiled and said, "Thanks...and well done, Missy."  When I was done picking my jaw off the floor I went home.  

I ate chocolate, crisps and watched the movie Kate let me borrow called Yes.  It was very good - and entirely in verse.  I'd recommend it to anyone.  Then I proceeded to fall asleep until 5pm when Kate called me.  We congratulated each other on a successful morning.  She said Katerina's email was concerning her.  "What email?" I asked logging onto my school email account.  She wanted us to hand in a hard copy of all the work we'd done in the last ten weeks.  WHAT?!  I was pissed off because there wasn't anything in our paperwork prior to this, or in the handbook even that said we'd need to prepare that.  So I worked on and off from 5pm-2am doing the paperwork....

Wednesday

Luckily Kate sent me a text at 9:30am saying she didn't sleep well so she wouldn't be over until 11am instead of 10am, so happily I fell back to sleep.  Kate came over from about 10:40am until almost 1pm.  We went through everything we needed cover like lesson plans, notes from meetings, vocal profiles, and chatted about what we thought we'd be asked in the Viva.  

I helped her clear some stuff off her computer because she's been having trouble with it (it's an orange iBook from like 1999...it looks like a clam shell).  Then she headed out to teach a lesson in the corporate sector (she teaches voice to EFL business people).  I worked on my Viva paperwork: Kate's vocal profile, a record of our meetings, 4 formal lesson plans, and anatomy diagrams from 3pm until about 1am, taking wee breaks, food breaks and an hour nap when I thought my eyes were going to fall out of of my head.  I really get OCD with being thorough and presenting the best work I can, sometimes at the expense of sleep, sanity and physical well being.  I didn't fall asleep until about 2am - again.  I should not get into this habit although I know that's about how Tim functions.  I look forward to sleeping in for the next five weeks, although I doubt my body will let me.  But something about sleeping in the sunshine has always appealed to me.  

I think my level of exhaustion is finally catching up with me.  I broke down today out of sheer frustration.  I wasn't really that anxious and didn't have a full blown anxiety attack this month so I was almost happy to have the release of just crying.  Sometimes you need to.  I don't like when people say, "Don't cry," or "Stop crying."  I'm learning that I have to listen to my body, or rather listen to myself and obey my needs.  In that moment, I needed to cry, so who's got any right to tell me not to or that I shouldn't be?  I think I'm too hard on myself, which was the root of my tears.  Everyone's been telling me lately that I am too hard on myself.  I think I just have high standards for myself and for other people.  I have said this many times before, but I just refuse to settle or lower my standards.  

Kate and I had a great chat today about how finding love can be difficult because as Kate says - you look for that person to solve your problems or "fit" and then somehow they become your problem if you start to change and grow and they no longer fit...you try to change them to what you need them to be.  I think I deserve a lot more than what I've gotten from previous loves - whether the thing that was lacking was a sense of independence or maturity or empathy.  It's hard to find someone who can give you the freedom to change, or I guess - love you enough to let you change, and grow together.  It's hard if one moves forward and the other stays in place.  

In an email with to a friend (whose friendship deepens the more I get to know him) when asked what I wanted for Christmas I said, "Peace with myself and with others."  He had said he wanted health and happiness.  I am pretty happy and fairly healthy (but could use some more trips to the gym!) but peace is something I'm always fighting for.  But even that seems contradictory - how can you fight for peace?  

Thursday

I got up (so hard to get out of bed) and went in early to print off my paperwork I was handing in for the Viva.  On my way to breakfast I was graced by this lovely sight in the garden:

The only surviving flower.  Not usually a fan of pink, but it's gorgeous.  It's like flower from Beauty & the Beast.  I hope it lasts all winter.

We had Anatomy from 10am-11am.  Kate and I chilled out for a while in the library.  I sent Tim his packing list for his visit!  Ten days!  Then at 2pm Kate and I went downstairs to the Music Practice rooms where the Vivas were being held.  We warmed up our voices (because we figured we might be judged on that too, haha) because they were running late and then we went in.  It was just Katerina (course leader) and Tara (my tutor and one of the head lecturers) feeding back to us.  I went first, spoke for about 15 minutes about the scheme of work I'd created for Kate, talked them through a typical lesson plan, and reflected on what I thought of her EVP performance.  Phew!  Done!  Then Kate talked for 15 minutes.  They said, "Well done," and fed back to us that we'd obviously had a successful process together, it was well-developed and we'd put a lot of work into it.  They thanked us and we thanked them -- and that was it!  We picked our stuff, walked out of the room, turned the corner, dropped our stuff and did a frenetic happy dance akin to Flash Dance.  We were in a daze...how was that so painless?  Kate and I sat on the front steps to CSSD and just laughed about how good everything was.  How sweet life was and how relieved we were to be done with everything.  

On my way in, after taking the bus home, I picked up my mail.  PACKAGE FROM GRANDMA!  YESSS!!!  I also remembered to snap a picture of the semi-pathetic Nutford House Christmas tree.  

It'll do.

  

A plate for my candy and a hanging felt snow man for my door!

I Skyped with her to say thank you and see how everything was.  She told me she sent me snowmen because she knew I wouldn't get my usual dose of New England snow.  I still think it's funny that it's called New England.  Very funny.  She sent me a plate (for all the candy I have, hehe), cocoa mix (candy cane flavored!) and a felt hanging snowman that I put on my door.  I hung my window clings that my mom sent me too. 

  

I love these because they make me feel at home, but I cannot wait until I can legitimately decorate my own place someday come Christmas time!  You can see that my cork board is half full now thanks to all the lovely cards I'm getting!

I'm going to go chronologically from home (bottom right) around anti-clockwise (wow, did I really just write anti instead of counter-clockwise?  London is rubbing off on me, huh?)  I may get a wreath before Tim gets here.  Hell, I almost bought a real Christmas tree today (a really little one) but it was £20, and that's $40 US dollars I don't have.  I would've popped popcorn and Tim and I could've decorated it!  

I felt lousy so I laid down at about 6:30pm and fell asleep until about 11pm.  I think my body is finally realizing it can relax and has no idea what to do!  I wish we'd all gone out as a course tonight (as I think a lot of the courses have done) but we didn't.  There is always tomorrow's party at Lucinda's new apartment in Kilburn.  

Friday

Got in to school around 9:30am, went to the library for a bit.  Had Limber at 10am with Vicki (who is due in like two weeks!) and she spent a little time at the beginning giving us advice for next term and letting us ask her questions.

  

Thomas practicing for Jacqui's class.  Alex and I matched today!

I almost wrote "bless her" which is such an English phrase.  James caught me saying "bloody gorgeous" the other day - also very, very English and "knackered" or "shattered" meaning tired.  I overuse the word "lovely" now and am particularly akin to "gorgeous".  I even found myself saying, "Oh, fab!" to a gay classmate of mine.  He just nodded and patted me on the back when he saw me catch myself as if to say, "Oh, well done."  That's another!  "Well done" and "brilliant".  It's just ridiculous.  I'm going to go home and be made fun of so bad.  I can just imagine...I'm sure Tim will poke fun when he visits too.  He's here in 9 days!!  I can't wait!  We've been squealing like little kids about it for weeks now.  I also can't believe that I haven't seen him since July!  So much has happened between now and then!

Vicki's advice was: 

- If, on a scale of difficulty (from 0-10) Term 1 is a 7, then Term 2 is a 9.5.  (Great...)

- Take time to really REST over break.  She said our absorption of this knowledge takes time and it's like a muscle that is worked - the fibers tear, then you need time for it to heal before you work it again - or there will be strain.  (The last thing I need in Term 2 is strain!)

- Treat your Teaching Placement Practice with respect.  Respect the institution, write up your notes right after class so it's fresh in your mind, be professional, etc.

- Remember not to take yourself seriously all the time.  Take risks, especially when teaching.  You learn the best that way.  

  

Me & Nia.  Then Jeff being silly.  I think we were all pretty loopy on the last day :)

  

Chris and Corin.  Alex, Mette and Colin.

Then we had Voice with Jacqui where we had a discussion summing up the work we'd done with her this term (we unfortunately don't have her next term because she's working on Othello) and sang Christmas carols.  Mette sang some Christmas songs in Danish, Thomas - in German, Nia - in Welsch, Kate - in Gaelic.  Alex shared some Australian Christmas songs (obviously none of which involve snow!) and even passed out some caramello Koalas, which were just the cutest freaking things.  I shared three verses of "Sensible Heart" and teared up a bit.  But everyone said they loved it and loved me for sharing it.  We've really gelled as a group.  I was so excited to share my movie with them.  I caved and spent the £5 on a stack of DVDs and burned everyone a copy.  

The best advice Jacqui gave was when she said, "Dare to break the pattern and find our own way into the work."  She reminded us to trust ourselves, our instincts and our abilities.  

When we had our last class with Katerina.  She handed out the tentative draft of our timetable for next term and highlighted some of the key things we should be aware of.  She first said to do whatever we need to do to prepare for next semester - it's entirely up to us.  Then she gave us an overview of the timetable.  In the first week back we'll be having lectures (with the MA Movement Studies and MA Advanced Theatre Practice courses) about Research Methods and Outputs.  The first Friday back we're going to have a tutorial where she and Tara will feedback about our essay, phonetics assessment and the Expressive Voice Project.  She also mentioned that she's taking over all of the weekly tutorials because Tara is doing a project in Poland with the Grotowski Company and will be in and out of CSSD.  I am thrilled about this, because I don't feel like I've had much one-on-one time to get to know Katerina or vice versa.  She said other classes to note which are different from this term are: Articulation with Annie Morrison (doing bone prop), Narrative Verse with Alex Bingley, Presentation Skills with Caroline Goyder (for the Conference we're attending to present our findings), BEST OF ALL: THE Kristin Linklater will be teaching a two day workshop (10am-6pm) near the middle of the term.  Merry Christmas to us, indeed!  

Katerina said we're going to keep up with the Buddy Vocal Profile work and that we can choose to change buddies if we want.  Kate came up to me afterwards and asked if it would be all right for us to stay buddies.  I just gave her a huge hug and said, "I thought it was understood we're going to stay buddies!  I didn't even give it a second thought!"  We really have worked so well together.  The essay, Katerina hinted at, would be about resonance, articulation and pedagogy.  She said she's not allowed to give us the actual question/prompt until January but thought that hint would be good enough to point us in the right direction.  She's so good to us!

The EVP 2 is a group project where you have to explore a theme which could be, for example, winter.  So you find verse, prose, plays, any text that is about winter - doing a bit of research.  Then you create a 20-25 minute performance of the text you've chosen.  The briefing paper we get will be more specific, but she said we have to make sure that we have some choral (everyone speaking) and everyone has to have a solo.  

Then she had us break into groups to discuss our favorite aspects of the course and things we'd like to change.  Then we shared to the group and had a discussion followed by a warm up, Christmas carols, and a little champagne and mince pies!

 

Despite my horrible handwriting I was chosen as Scribe for this activity.

Kate, Thomas, Lizzie and Tara.

We had a little warm up, sang a few Christmas carols and then learned a new Slavic song :)

Thomas snapping a candid of me as I was setting up for the movie.  I was rolling my eyes at him :)

The movie went over so well.  They turned off the lights and we all gathered around the massive TV that Media Services brought for me.  They all were so excited to see what I'd done.  When I put the DVD in and the screen came up with our class picture and MAVS 2008-2009 -TERM 1 scrolling across the screen they were already impressed.  Haha.  I shared a chocolate orange with them (there were 20 of us there and 20 pieces in the orange).  Then I handed out the DVDs and said I'd burned it for them.  They all went, "Aww..."  Then I started it; I was practically in tears watching it.  Their reactions were priceless.  With every picture that came up they "ooh and ahh'd" and laughed so much so that we couldn't hear the music for a lot of it.  Everyone came up and gave me a hug after.  It was overwhelming gratitude for something that I had so much fun doing.  Katerina gave me a hug and said she wants to show it to the people in charge of advertising and PR for MA Voice Studies and the school.  She said she wants to use it and make sure that I get credit for it; she added that the school would pay me for use of it.  I was really, really flattered.  I'm sure my face turned about 8 shades of red.  I felt really - loved.  

    

Secret Santa!!

  

Colin opening his present and Katerina passing out cards.

Tara, Mette and I during Secret Santa.

  

Tara and Kate.  Isn't Thomas just the happiest little Austrian in the world?

Katerina offered to meet up on Christmas Day because she's alone here too (from Australia) so she said to give her a call if I wanted to get a drink or something.  It was sweet of her to offer.  Alex said she'd be here for most of the break, so she wants us to get together and make a proper healthy dinner and watch a silly Christmas movie.  Lizzie wants to get drinks next week.  Best of all, Tim and I got an invite to go to Tara's house in Islington (within London) for Christmas Eve dinner with her family and friends.  Note: Tara the woman on my course, not Tara my tutor.  She's about my mom's age.  I got a few dinner and drinks offers as well.  At the party a few other people from my course invited me and Tim to go out with them or to visit them in their homes over break.  I was just really touched that they were looking out for me, you know?  

Nia asked if I wanted to come to Wales for New Years and to attend her sister's wedding.  She said Tim and I were more than welcome to come, she just needed to clear it up with her mom as far as where we'd stay.  She lives in Brighton though and said she wanted me and Tim to visit her and stay over too.  She said she's got a jacuzzi and a king bed in the spare room.  She said she'd love to make us dinner and show us around Brighton.  Alex, Nia and I made plans to go into Brighton to spend the day shopping, sight seeing, eating and watching chick flicks (hopefully good ones) next Wednesday.  It just sounds so nice.  I've been meaning to see the ocean since I've been here!  

We all went over to the Hampstead Theatre to have a few drinks before Lu's party which didn't start until 6pm.  

The party was really nice.  She lives in the building connected to this beautiful church, so her building has all of the church's architecture - really pretty (see pics!)  Kilburn is not the nicest of areas at night, so I was really glad when Tara offered to drive.  I was excited because other than the cabs I've taken here it was the first English car I'd ever been in.  

    

Lu's place.  No, seriously, she lives in this church.  This last picture is the window in her living room.

    

A little prep in the kitchen before the other guests arrive :)

  

When Voice and Movement meet :)

Anna (from MA Movement Studies), Lu and me

Taking a moment to sit down (finally!)

I love this picture - Thomas, Colin, Lu and Chris.

  

Silliness ensues: me, Nia and Alex being a little cheeky.  Lu and Colin with carrot fangs! Daniele with salmon and cream cheese mini bagels for eyes.

I love this one.  Some of the MAVS ladies: Me, Nia, Alex and Lu.

Colin and I attacked the table of food like we hadn't eaten in days and lingered there suspiciously for about two hours - slowly but gradually stuffing our faces.  I had a great chat with Alex about moving here and living alone.  We talked a lot about getting work afterwards.  She said I shouldn't worry about it.  I wish it were that simple!  Around 11:30pm Colin, Kate, Alex and I left to head home.  We took the tube together and sadly parted ways.  These are not friends who will say they'll call and then not.  These people are true to their word, and I really value that.  When I got home I went online and told Tim about all the plans we had already!  He was just about as excited as I was.  

Sent some cheeky emails despite the wine in my belly :)

Saturday

I slept til about 11am then got up with only a slight headache (hey, what can you do? I haven't had a drink since October!) and ate brunch with James, Nason and Peter (I love my boys).  Peter and Nason were heading home today for almost the entire break, so it was great that I got to see them before they left.  

I accidentally left the speakers I borrowed from James at Lucinda's, so I arranged to take the bus to Lu's to pick them up today.  I didn't realize how wet it was out til I was already outside and without my umbrella.  You'd think after living here for three months it'd be permanently attached to my hip, but alas, I forgot.  I got off at the wrong bus stop because I didn't realize how far down Willesden Lane she was.  So I walked in the rain in probably not the best area of London.  I put my "don't eff with me" face on and stomped on until safely within the confines of the church grounds.  She was so sweet to me when I got there.  She had me sit down, warm up, get comfortable.  We had a really nice chat about the party and what we were both doing on the break.  

Lu said she is going home soon and can't eat wheat so she gave me a lot of the non-perishable leftovers from the party and a ton of other goodies too.  I am really touched that my friends here take such good care of me.  We all really look out for each other.  I think I taught five people how to drag and drop in my spare time this term!  Sometimes I think I should've gone into computers and graphic arts.  Anyway, she gave me three bags of food (English biscuits, cream crackers, a big bag of Doritos - Tim will be happy, some soft cheese and some oranges) as well as James's speakers and the UK version of Marie Claire magazine.  "Don't you dare read a word of Lessac or Berry or Rodenburg this weekend, you hear me?"  Dinner at Nutford House was not unbearable - lamb stew with chickpeas, potatoes and green beans.  Apple crisp for dessert.  Not bad.  James missed it though because he was at work.  He just stopped by and I gave him back the speakers.  We made plans to explore on Monday - do some window shopping on Oxford Street and in the West End and take in the Christmas cheer.  Pictures to come, I'm sure you know :)  

I Skyped with my mom tonight and she showed me the batter of the cookies she was making.  I can't wait to get them in the mail.  I asked my dad to take a few pics of home for me with the lights they put up.  He sent a few and they look great.  I'm also incredibly jealous of the snow...

  

He was concerned because you can't read the NOEL at night, so he took two.  He's like Papa Efficiency.  Now I know where Jen and I get it, haha.

    

Amazing pictures of a cardinal on the back deck.  And SNOW!!  Not really a lot of snow, but enough to make me go, "Aw, I want snow..."

Tomorrow Kate is coming over at 2pm to hang out and make sure we get the files on her computer backed up before it kicks the can.  Poor thing.  Bless her :)

MAVS - A Term In Review

I had to splice this into two sections because Blogspot will only let me upload up to 100 MB at a time, so here's part one and two of the video I made.  Apologies for it being slightly blurry at times, and for the very small window which doesn't do it much justice.  

  

Hope you enjoyed it!

Forgot to include the updated countdown:

2 days til Lyric Poem Presentation.

5 days til the End of Term.

15 days til Tim arrives.

26 days til Paris.

November 30th - December 6th

November 30th - December 6th

Sunday

I managed to make it to brunch this morning, unlike Saturday when I couldn't pry myself from my bed.  Although, with the quality of my mattress, it's pretty sad to think I'd rather be there than, you know, not suffering from springs digging into my side.  The heat is back, thankfully.  I worked on my essay (yes, it's done, but it's never really done until I'm forced to hand it in)...in a slightly OCD way, because I'm a stickler for presentation and I wanted it to not only sound good, but look good.  So my appendix and essay are beautiful now and I can relax.  

In fact, I relaxed (read: passed out) from 1pm-4pm, then got up and went to the gym because I realized I napped for 3 hours.  When I got back I skyped with the fam.  I made geeky phonetics flash cards to study the symbols and their voicing/placement/manner (i.e. "b" is a voiceless/bilabial/plosive)...mind you there are 24 consonants we have to have memorized with the voicing/placement/manner.  Exciting, I know...

As soon as I got back from the gym and took a shower, James knocked on my door.  He'd just gotten back from Portsmouth, where he'd been for the weekend, from his sister's wedding.  He got a nice haircut and said he had a great time.  The songs we chose for him to sing apparently went over really well.  I had chosen "I Will Follow Him" (Whoopi sings it in Sister Act, which ironically enough is coming to the Palladium - where James works) which I thought would be hilarious and fun...and he thought would be too campy so he called his mum to ask what she thought.  She, being the brilliant woman she is, thought it was a great idea.  He also sang: This Is The Moment, Let There Be Love, Can You Feel the Love Tonight and I'll Be There For You.  I was really happy he was back though!  I'd spent all weekend hibernating so I could finish up my essay, appendix and make a dent in my phonetics studying.  

Monday

I met with Kate in the morning for some buddy work.  We met for two hours so we could make some real progress with our text.  She instructed me through a warm-up and stretches, then we did articulation and a little bit of text.  She's been getting me to work on placement of my sound, moving between different areas of resonance: pharyngeal (throat), nasal, and oral cavities.  I'm learning a lot from her.  I had her do a shorter warm-up and got into the text.  She's been at a road block with it for a bit so I had her chase me around the room saying the text...playing but with a sense of urgency.  It just lightened her up and she could explore more with it.  I was happy the exercise worked because I just thought, "How can we PLAY with this text?"  We had a good laugh doing it too.  

Kate and I are close now.  I've been helping her learn things on the computer.  I taught her and Nia from our course how to use the scanner and crop pictures to put into their essays/appendices.  They were like, "This is amazing!  You're brilliant!"  But really, if you've done it since you were in middle school, it's really not that big of a deal.  It's just repetition.  Kate said she's going to take a word processing short course in January because she's realizing how far behind she is with technology.  She's so bright though, and picks it up really fast.  She got really excited learning how to drag and drop :)  Thomas, from my course (he's from Austria) has dubbed me "The Computer Genius" and now everyone's coming to me for help!  Ack!  I barely have time to get my stuff done.  Oh, I can just hear my mom saying, "Take care of your needs first!  Etc, etc, etc..."  Haha.

We had Movement with Debbie after our two hour buddy session.  We did a lot of work with the mid-back (which is what we've been working on in our buddy sessions!!)  so we were really happy.  Debbie is so earthy and chilled out.  She gives us exercises in an honest, accessible, practical way without judgement.  She's really wonderful.  I wish I could work one-on-one with her.  Or become her teaching assistant.  

Tuesday

Got up bright and early for the Phonetics Assessment....felt inspired to take some pictures on my way in.  London is so beautiful on a sunny morning:

  

On my way to class...

The test was harder than any of us expected.  The reality is - our real phonetics teacher is filling in for the incredible Joe Windley who is on sabbatical teaching at Carnegie Mellon for 9 months.  Therefore, Katerina (course leader) didn't know how he was going to be.  He'd been recommended by Joe, so she trusted that.  This man is not lacking knowledge, he's just incapable of teaching us because he gets hung up on his own insecurities, so he feels he needs to impress us - like with this test.  Maybe he has some deep rooted bitterness...who knows.  He's not being asked back next term, and after the earful Katerina got about how ridiculous the test was - she said they'd either let us take a new test in the next term, or Quality Assurance (yes, my school has a whole office just to assure quality, love it) will, based on the circumstances, up everyone's test score by 20%.  

The test was two times longer than we had time for.  There was an entire page to be transcribed (and believe you me, an A4 paper is a LOT bigger than a normal American 8 1/2" x 11" paper)...plus he dictated nonsense words that were about 20 letters long (no exaggeration) for us to transcribe aurally.  You should've seen the faces of the people on my course.  Just utter disbelief.  The man is nuts.  He had us label the vocal tract, but we had to put the letters/numbers on the parts of the tract.  But instead of him labeling something "A "and you write "hard palate"...no, no, you've gotta figure it out yourself.  And, AND he had more blanks than there were things to label, so naturally people are wasting time trying to figure out what they're missing.  Again, nuts.  Finally, you've got to remember the symbols (all 24 of them) and their placement, manner and voicing.  He was supposed to allot us 45 minutes (each section 10 minutes and then 5 minutes at the end to review our answers)...but because "we started late" he cut us off before the 45 minute mark.  Truly, poor Katerina heard so much about this afterwards and now has to find someone to teach us next term.  It was just so unprofessional and unnecessary from him.  What did we learn from that, honestly?  End rant here.

Kate and I - happy to have survived the test!  I just love this lady :)

We had Practical Voice with Katerina afterwards where we embodied our knowledge of resonance thus far.  More silly pictures:

 This pic is Mel, Lizzie, Alex and Thomas's interpretation of how the sound travels.

  

Tara and I are the mouth (with cupid's bow and all), Kate is the tongue, and Lu and Chris are the first two formant frequencies.  Of course Colin (who was taking the picture) got me making a kissy face...nice.

From left to right: Shona is the soft palate, Colin is the tongue, Mette is the sound moving and Corrin is the mouth :)  We're so creative.

Our brilliant leader.

Then we had our last Alexander tutorials, I worked on my essay (I know, give it up already!) and helped Kate with hers a bit (formatting and saving it as a PDF...blah blah)...then I went home for dinner and soon to bed thereafter.  

Wednesday

Um...slept til 1pm...how does this happen?  Then I was actually productive and got some work done.  I also have created a movie/slideshow with music and text of all the pictures I've taken during classes of MA Voice Studies.  Zac graciously showed me how to work it, and now I've got this great surprise Christmas present for my course.  These people have really made this move an easy one and made me feel at home here.  They're like...my extended extended family.  I am grateful for all of them.  I still have to find Katerina a present (between £3-5) for Secret Santa.  We're having a joint MA Voice Studies and MA Movement Studies party on that same Friday after class too - which I'm particularly happy about.  It will be a really nice way to chill out after everything is over.  Um...other than that, I watched Never Mind The Buzzcocks and went to bed.  

I somehow managed to set my clock so that it's reading military time, which at first I was furious about, but now that I've learned it, it's second nature.  But something that always surprises me is, every night, without trying, I climb into bed only to see that the clock reads 0:00 (i.e. 12am)...this is very comforting to me because it happens without me realizing it until I'm there.  I do different things every night, and somehow it's always 0:00.  Reassuring me, "Yes, you are done with your day, you can rest now.  Your time is up."  0:00 - Clean slate.

Thursday

Early Limber with the very pregnant Vicki Woodward.  She's so funny because she'll try to do some of the stretches with us and then is like, "Wait, I can't go any further than this...ugh!"

Anatomy with Katerina was a lot more relaxed.  We talked about the muscles of the pharynx, nasal and oral cavities and how they contribute to resonance.  Then Thomas showed us this voice analysis software.  He showed us where the different formant frequencies were on a given pitch (spoken/sung into a mic) and then showed us the same with the spectrum wave.  

I knew there'd be some science involved, but I never realized how much of it is really imperative to understanding how the voice works.  Why isn't this taught at the undergraduate level?

After Anatomy I went to the library to print off the second copy of my essay and then I turned it in!  They give you a slip that you sign, which basically says, "Yes, I've turned my essay in on this date and this time."  Like a receipt for your hard work.  Sweet.  

Then Kate and I met up before we had Pedagogy to have a chat.  I was feeling on edge, so we just tried to chill out.  In Pedagogy we were handed our briefing papers on what's expected of us next term in Teaching Practice Placement.  She also had us do small group reflections on what we gained through Microteaching.  I felt we'd learned a lot and so much of it will inform our teaching.

We ALSO heard about our placements.  Drum roll, please.  I am being placed at the Doreen Bird College (amazing Fosse pic on the home page!) to teach dancers to use their voices.  I will be teaching a 2 hour class (gulp), once a week for the entire term.  Intensive, yes.  Katerina said she thinks this is a good fit for me and will make me versatile when I get back to the states.  I was happy to hear I was going there - it's a really amazing placement.  I'm thrilled to have the challenge of working with dancers, who are usually pretty afraid to use their voices.  I'll also have an opportunity to do vocal coaching on their devised shows in the evenings.  I think it's funny that Katerina said our placements are a minimum of 10 hours per term.  Mine is something like 20 hours 0f just teaching, plus 10+ hours of coaching/tutorials.  But I really feel so privileged that she has faith in me to do well here.  

After class I went home to eat dinner, change and head to Leicester Square to see La Clique at the famous Hippodrome.  Lucinda had invited me.  It was better than I had imagined.  I expected bawdy burlesque, not high quality theatre, but it was more Cirque du Soleil meets the carnival.  There were some acts (contortionist guy, two strong guys who lifted each other, a jazz vocalist, a girl who spun like 6 hula hoops all over her body) that I was impressed with.  Especially the guy in the bath tub.  There's a few shots of him in the clip on the site.  Jaw dropped.  Gorgeous.  Then I left early because Lucinda's friends were celebrating a birthday, and I felt like I was infringing (like when the inside jokes are all over and you feel a bit like, "Um...wha?")  So I went home and went to bed!  Some pictures:

  

The Hippodrome.  Famed former dance club.

Such a beautiful, colorful space.

  

On the left: amazing bath guy.  On the right: bizarrely strong guys.  Both publicity shots I found because I couldn't take pics during the performance.

After the show we got to go to the VIP bar (which was behind the stage).  

Close to home.  Almost the entire block has blue Christmas lights down it.

Friday

Slept in an hour later than usual because I got a text that our Limber was cancelled because Vicki is sick.  I had breakfast and went back to bed...managing to get out of bed just in time to take a shower and get ready (slowly motivation to get up and get ready is diminishing...good thing I'm only a week away from break!)  

When I got off the bus I saw Kate getting a coffee outside at one of the market stands (this guy does fresh brewed coffee in individual cups and has a cute little table and chairs set up) so we chatted for a bit and then sat outside the West Block until class.  We had a nice chat about La Clique and the work we'd been doing with Jacqui thus far.  This was our last class with Jacqui before the assessment.  

The Christmas trees are out!  This is right outside my school where they have a market every Wednesday and Friday.

So we went into class and had a great warm up.  Then Jacqui had us sit in chairs in a circle and do our lyric poems.  I was a little worried because for as knowledgeable as Jacqui is, she is a feisty 70-something year old woman whose words can cut you like a knife.  So, this morning, feeling anxiety creep in (yay, made it past December 1st without realizing it!)  I almost stayed in bed and skipped her class.  I haven't skipped yet, so I wasn't about to pity myself and stay in bed.  Maybe it was a bit masochistic of me to say screw it and go in, but I was really glad I did.  She said I had a really nice sense of naturalism and the energy was great but that it could be slower.  She reminded me that the audience or my listener has never heard these words and even though I know them, they're hearing them for the first time.  My articulation is fine, I just need to slow the pace down.  This has been an ongoing thing Kate has had me work on in and outside of class.  That I am always ahead of myself, and should just take time to let the breath drop in before I speak, so my words land.  

I grabbed my lunch quickly and met back up with Kate to work on our poems again.  They had reserved us one of the largest rehearsal spaces to practice in from 2pm-4pm.  I was surprised that only Kate and I were working in there for about half the time.  Around 3pm two other people came in.  Let me remind you there are 18 people on my course.  Granted, the essay is due today but this is important too...For me, preparation is everything.  It's like having technique.  You practice technique and do the drill work so that when it comes time to perform or speak or teach - you can work organically because the technique is already engrained.  Sorry, I'm lecturing now.  I just feel very strongly about this.  

Kate and I are stuck because we both got the note that we are speaking too quickly.  We did a few Barbara Houseman exercises and modified exercises of things we did with Jacqui.  These worked pretty well.  Then we sat down and thought and thought about what else we could do.  I wanted to find something physical that would enable us to slow down the words as well...I said, "I want us to...drag something.  Maybe that will help us find the length we need."  She suggested a chair.  Lightbulb.  "Let me try and drag you."  She was all about it.  She laid down and I grabbed her by the wrists.  It was luxurious for her to be dragged on this smooth sprung wood floor while I said my poem to her.  I was exhausted but the most important thing was that I was out of my head.  

When I am acting I am (in such a huge way) thinking about how I'm doing and how it's being perceived.  Again, it got me to tap into what I was doing.  The guts of it.  I stood over Kate and said, "Did I miss some of it?  What just happened?"  She laughed and said I didn't miss any of it.  So she asked if I wanted to do it again.  Exhausted, but ecstatic to find something that was working, I said yes.  So again I pulled her across the space, speaking my text all the while.  When I finished she said, "Sit down and just tell it to me again."  I really was out of breath so the breath was in my chest/collar bones...I had to let the breath drop down into my diaphragm and belly to speak.  I was getting a little emotional, but it probably has something to do with my anxiety.  When I finished she smiled.  "That's it."  Joyously she tried it and bam - finally found something that got us to connect our breath to the thought to the words and finally - to effective and resonant communication.  She joked, "Can you imagine Katerina getting ready to take notes on our performances and we're dragging each other up and down the corridors?!"  We had a good long laugh.  

I wish I could describe what it feels like to have a breakthrough like that.  Kate and I compared notes and figured out a plan of action for the remaining five days we have left.  I'm going to her apartment tomorrow to work on the poem and to go over what we need to for the Viva (feedback session with Katerina).  

On the way home I got off at the Baker Street stop (can I just say that I'm in love with Baker Street?)  I went into this store called "It's Only Rock & Roll" which I must say, I will have to go back to before I leave London to splurge a little on something fun like a David Bowie alarm clock or a fitted Rolling Stones tee (because I'll be fit someday, haha).  The real reason I got off the bus was because I caved and decided to get a hair cut.  I passed this one hair salon everyday on my way home and thought, "That's the place."  I was right.  It definitely was.  Here are the results.  My inspiration was a combination of the hair cut I got right before I left, Natalie Portman in Closer (although I think I just want to be her) and this Katie Holmes pic:

    

Just for the record, I don't think Katie Holmes has a rib cage.  Just...puttin' that out there.

  

  

Um...so far I've only figured out that I can wear it nice like this or messy, like the next one.  Inventive, I know.  I will seek Adrianne's help to make it cute with clips and such because I'm lost when it comes to such girly things.  Also (this is for Jen) "I look better in Sepia."  Haha.

"Messy" (read: the "I-just-rolled-out-of-bed" look) by Tom the cool European hairdresser (pretty sure he was Italian but he looked like some amalgamation of Italian/Spanish) who spoke in somewhat broken English - and I quote "It's my theory on life and of course, hair: if you don't like it, if it doesn't make you happy - cut it off!"

I'm gonna look back on this post and think I'm such an arse for posting pics of myself...oh...wait, I already do...I think this hair cut will be good for when I got to France with Tim.  Maybe I'll blend in better.  Note to self: buy beret.  And maybe I'll be able to actually wear hats now.  Adrianne and I were laughing about how I can't wear hats because my ears stick out.  

Adrianne: I have a flap hat, which I adore.  I get weird looks.  I don't care.  I'm warm and in America, I'd be psuedo-trendy.

Me: I love your flap hat.  I can't do flap hats.  Because I have flap ears.

Adrianne: lmfao [for those who don't know, this was coined circa 2001, instant messenger lingo standing for 'laughing my fat ass off' and still, in 2008, nothing quite sums it up like 'lmfao']

Me:  Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.  I have dumbo ears which cannot be matched with hats that don't cover said dumbo ears.  Katie Holmes bob?  Totally covers ears!  

Still laughing about this.  Also, just reflecting on how potentially pissed my mom might be when she sees these pics or Skypes me and realizes I've chopped it off again, despite saying I'd let it grow.  I can't deal with the in between phase.  Jen will be happy though; she's been prompting me to get a bobbed hair cut for like two years now.  Hairdresser Tom was like, "My dear, you can't get volume with your hair, it is too beautifully silky.  So - we make layers!"  Seeing my reaction to this he said, "Okay, okay, only some layers, but very sexy layers."  Like that was going to convince me.  At some point I was thinking, "He just won't stop cutting.  He's like Edward freaking Scissorhands..."  Granted, I don't think it's "sexy", but I am pretty pleased with the outcome.  European haircut - check!  

In other news, I'm turning into somewhat of a crunchy health food hippie, with the influence of Kate who was raised in such an environment (in Ireland) where she ate vegetables out of her mother's garden and fresh baked bread, etc... so with her suggestion I purchased essential oils (Lavender, Rosemary and Tea Tree Oil)...(I can't help but sing "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme!" ala Simon & Garfunkel.)  I'd been lamenting about my skin and she's got gorgeous clear skin and she swears by these oils, so next thing I know I'm standing in this holistic herbal store on Baker Street called Holland and Barrett picking out the said suggested essential oils thinking, "Who am I and how did I get here?!"  It's bad enough I'm going to the gym and eating nuts and berries everyday.  I'm becoming "that crazy hippie voice teacher" before my very eyes.  We'd laugh about Barbara Adrian (old Movement teacher from MMC) getting up at 5am to swim everyday and how crazy that seemed.  Now - not so crazy!  I knew it'd have to happen someday.  But you can put money on this: I'll never give up chocolate.  

So post-hair cut and falling into hippie-mode at Holland & Barrett's I walked home (a bit farther than if I took the bus to George Street and walked) but it was about 5pm, and wasn't that cold.  I ate dinner (which was, knock on wood, slightly enjoyable) and worked on lesson plans/collating old lesson plans for tomorrow's meeting with Kate.  Now I'm here, dreading the moment Mom skypes and discovers about three inches of my hair is gone.  I think I'll get a tattoo while I'm at it.... Mwahahaha...I love that quote in My Girl 2, (one of those 80's movies I usually don't disclose that I love) I just remembered it:

Rose: I don't suppose your father gave you permission to pierce your ears.

Vada: Not exactly. 

Rose: Well just don't shave your legs.  Your father will never let you visit us again if we send you home hairless and full of holes!  

Saturday

Got up around 9:30, put the finishing touches on my iMovie for MAVS, uploaded some pictures and hung out til breakfast.  They decorated the cafeteria with shiny silver and gold snowflake decorations.  Tonight is our "Christmas dinner" which you, believe it or not, had to sign up for.  They're serving us in two waves, one at 5:15pm and one at 6:15pm.  They also had brunch an hour earlier, which translates to no sleeping in...

I worked on some lesson plans, took a shower and grabbed the bus to Kate's apartment.  She's got this nice flat in a quiet neighborhood about 20 minutes west of me.  She's got the "attic" space, so one side of her ceiling is slanted but it has two windows, so the natural light is gorgeous.  She has beautiful hard wood floors too.  

We worked from about 1:45pm until 4:45pm.  We each took about an hour to work on the other person, taking them through a warm up, then onto the text of the poem.  We made some good progress and then had a long chat about the Viva (feedback session) and what we should prepare beforehand.  

When I got home I remembered it was the "Christmas Dinner" despite being December 6th (everyone's going home or has break this coming Monday or the following Monday) and went downstairs.  I met up with some friends and I must admit, Nutford House impressed me.  I had (and believe me this was a lot of food) a Mediterranean vegetable soup with homemade croutons, turkey (finally!!!), stuffing, cranberry sauce, brussel sprouts, carrots, cabbage - the works.  Thought I was done after I had the Christmas pudding (basically fruit cake with a vanilla creme sauce on top) but alas, there were chocolates and after dinner mints to be had.  I just sighed: finally, a real full meal!  I pretended like it was my Thanksgiving dinner...you know, only a week or so late.  They give you a "firecracker" too.  Which you hold one end of, and someone holds the other end, and you pull on it at the same time.  Whoever gets the end with the surprise attached inside gets to keep the surprise.  Mine was a plastic daisy chain.  The little surprise gift is wrapped in tissue paper that when you unfold becomes a hat (see pic below).  This is a new tradition for me, so I was excited to do it.  

 

The cafeteria decorated for Christmas (about 20 days early).

Happy to be eating a real holiday meal.  Crown and all.

Kate lent me a movie to watch called Yes that is entirely in verse, so I'll probably snuggle up in bed and watch a movie.  Hopefully sleep in tomorrow.  Tryptophan from the turkey is kicking in already, I'm ready for bed and it's only 6:40pm!  Hopefully the fam will skype me before I fall asleep.  The closer to Christmas, the more I miss them.  Or maybe it's the longer I'm away!  Either way, I miss home.  Not desperately, but in an achey "I wish they were here to share this with me" way.  And of course, having never spent a Christmas away from them, it will be rough, I'm sure.  

At the moment, while I'm trying to get some journaling done, they're throwing an obnoxiously loud Christmas party (with free alcohol, mind you) in the common room, which is just two floors below me...and they're singing/playing Spice Girls at full volume.  These "crazy Brits" as Adrianne would say - LOVE their Spice Girls with an unfettered passion.  This is...lost on me.  BUT - I see their Spice Girls and raise them one Radiohead album of juxtaposed bliss.

Til next time.  Love from London.