As it is now officially spring break, and I managed to pump out 4,000 words of academic drivel in less than 24 hours, I suppose I should update this, and you, on the state of my life.
First, I obviously don't remember exact details of the last 19 days, which means you miss out on all of the boring stuff. Lucky you guys. There is no structure beyond first. I'm too tired for that.
Mostly, I've been watching every episode of House ever and the occasional downloaded movie. Zodiac and The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford were both worth my time, and I'm not sure that I could make a definite decision as to which I liked better. They're totally different movies, and both played to some of my movie soft spots. I would like a tattoo of Jesse James' face. The real Jesse, not Brad Pitt in the role of... It's one of my absolute favorite stories of all time. And the folk song about his life (covered by the likes of the Pogues and Bruce Springsteen, if you've never heard it) is a brilliant piece of Americana. I will probably use it as a lullaby for some future child. Anyway, Zodiac bothered me for some indeterminate reasons, and I think Fincher was lazy in parts. Entertaining, though.
All of that media was a futile attempt to put off my essays indefinitely. It worked, in that I didn't actually start them until yesterday morning, leaving me until noon today to write 4,000 words, half on the symbolism of blood in insular art, and the other half on the Gupta and Chinese influences on Northern Qi Buddhist art. I turned them in at approximately 11:05 this morning, so well before the deadline. And I got 4ish hours of sleep and saw the sunrise. Rather, would have, had it not been so dreek (pertaining to weather, Google it). I think they're decent and will at least score a passing grade. Good enough.
Yesterday, between bouts of essay writing, I went on a field trip to one of the Historic Scotland labs to see Pictish stones being conserved/refurbished. It's one of those art historical considerations that you never really get to see or think about, so it was pretty awesome. I'd consider, and have done, a career in historic preservation. There's not much money in it, but it's pretty noble. I'm a big believer in making sure that some history is available to future generations. I also got the chance to talk to my teacher some in the taxi over to/bus back from the lab. I thought she was American, but it turns out that she's actually the product of an American Air Force cadet and a British mother, and she grew up on military bases in the UK and Europe. So technically American, but has only lived in the states for less than 10 years of her life. She had some interesting suggestions for what I should look at as possible thesis topics and said that she had exactly the same dilemma in school that I'm currently having (see: no fucking clue where my interests really lie). She also said that if I decide to apply for an internship at the Philly Museum of Art again (which I did last summer, and was summarily denied), I should ask her for a recommendation, because she has a friend who works there. That's a pretty sweet connection to have, so go me. If I end up going to grad school in two years, and find an internship during next school year, I'll definitely pursue that route.
Now, I am just waiting for Lena to get here. Her flight is supposed to land in Glasgow in a matter of minutes, and she should be in Edinburgh by dinner. Which is good, as I am already starving and have eaten all of my food. I think I have some frozen green beans left.
Speaking of food, sort of, I've eaten a disgusting amount of candy the past few days. I bought an assortment of little Cadbury chocolates the other night, because I anticipated needing them for paper writing. Two days later, I got a package from my grandmom with more Easter candy, as well as a small packet of rice cakes, a package of ramen, and some instant oatmeal. Also, lots and lots of Peeps and other fun things (like a deviled egg made out of chocolate that = awesome). Easter candy is by far my favorite. But yeah, I made the oatmeal, ramen, and rice cakes into meals to last for 3 days. That, plus 2 liters of Coke Zero and way, way too much candy. I should probably have gone into diabetic shock at some point.
And on to health matters, I had the distinct pleasure of dealing with the socialized health care system the other day. I thought I had an ear infection (I don't, but I had chronic ear infections when I was little leading to tubes being put in my ears blah blah blah I have an innate fear of them), so I decided to go to the campus health center. Basically, it was the same as the USC health center (crowded, noisy, etc), but more hectic. The only time for walk-ins is 9-10am, Monday to Friday. Total pain in the ass. I waited for about an hour and a half to be seen, and I was the second to last person in the waiting room. People who came in after me were seen before me. I don't really care, but that's like 100 times worse than my one experience with the USC health center. The doctors sort of had patients on an assembly line, calling the next patient as the previous one was walking out of his or her door. I know it doesn't sound that bad, but it was pretty stressful, haha. Erin claims that socialized health care fails in that it doesn't give doctors any incentive to actually figure out what's wrong with a patient. I'm all for the system, but, going by the get-you-in-and-out mentality that I saw, it definitely needs some consideration. I'd like to think that doctors don't need incentive beyond actually helping someone. I know, idealism. But the doctor was very nice, at least. I'm pretty sure I could more accurately diagnose my problem, and I would like that hour and a half of my life back, but whatever. Live and learn.
Now, I think I am going to watch more House, as I have no more class until August. Yeah, unh, whut.
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV. Show all posts
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Absolutely fantastic.
I've watched every episode of Doctor Who and Torchwood in existence, so now I have to come back to this. Okay, wait, that's not true. I've watched all of the new episodes of Doctor Who. Because actually, that show started in the 60s (?), and there are approximately 30 series. I've seen the entirety of the new series, which are the last 3 seasons. Basically, when the Doctor was played by Christopher Eccleston and then (now) David Tennant (who you may also know as Barty Crouch, Jr., or, alternatively, my new future husband). Shut up, I'm moving on from Heath. And this is why I try not to keep a blog; the world at large becomes audience to my insanity. But really, David Tennant is brilliant, and so is the show. Torchwood is also good, though a bit more melodramatic and weirder (yes, weirder than a show about an alien who travels through time and space in a blue box). Also, the wearing of Chucks with full suits may be the most charming fashion statement ever. But as nobody else is watching either of these shows, I should move on so as not to bore you.
In case you were hoping to hear about my life of late, that's what the first paragraph was. Also, I've discovered that the BBC, like the major American TV stations, has an internet player for already broadcast shows. It's more efficient in that shows are available as soon as they've aired, but you can only watch the shows for a week after they've aired (unless you download them, in which case you have 30 days or a week from when you watch it). It's a very complicated DRM system, but whatever. I can watch the new season of Torchwood on Wednesday nights, and Doctor Who in the spring, and I don't need to buy a TV or a license. Which brings up another point: to own a TV here, you have to buy a TV license. It's about 140 GBP for a color TV and 50 GBP for black and white. So double that to get the price in dollars. You buy the license for a year, and it covers all of the TVs in your household. I have no idea why they do it that way, except that it may or may not help to pay for the BBC stations, which are all publicly funded.
Right, my life. Enough about TV shows. I also do exciting things like go to the library to do readings for class. And go to class, of course. When it isn't canceled. Which has happened, so far, twice, because the professors were sick, and then I didn't have Buddhist Art this week or last because the professor went on a delegation to China. Yeah, my schedule is much easier than yours, probably. But when I was in the library yesterday, I did see some amusing graffiti on the desk at which I was working. British students, and European students in general, are very political. So there were lots of things like:
FUCK THE ENGLISH, REMEMBER BANNOCKBURN
which earned the reply:
no I wasn't born.
And then there was stuff like:
GALICIA IS NOT SPAIN
which I found amusing because we learned all about that in my AP Spanish class in high school.
Of course, there were some nasty things about Americans, one of which involved being able to recognize the American students from a mile away because of their "stupid-ass UCLA caps" (seriously, fuck those guys). But the very best, for a variety of reasons was (Dan, pay attention):
If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion.
Even the graffiti is cleverer here.
Something that may be of marginal interest to people, I realize, is food. I haven't actually talked about what I can and can't get here much, and that's something that always interests me, and maybe other people as well. I mentioned the American chain restaurants here, but besides them, there's a variety of food types and ethnicities represented. Within a two-minute walk from my flat, I can get: Indian (which is the Chinese of the UK), Chinese, vegetarian (which I think is an off-shoot of Indian), Middle-Eastern, African/Mediterranean, Thai, Italian, pub food, sandwiches, and whatever I want from the 4 grocery stores on my block or the next. Also, there are a variety of uncategorizable cafes and coffee shops and little restaurants, and some place called Elephants and Bagels. I find that place intriguing. There are also tiny ethnic groceries in the same area, as you would expect. And, my personal favorite so far, Greggs. In the simplest terms, it's a bakery/sandwich shop. However, it's better than that, because 1) it's damn cheap and 2) they have savories, which are a variety of (as the name implies) savory things wrapped in pastries. Delicious pastries. For less than 2 GBP, I can get a really filling lunch, with dessert.
If I leave the immediate area around my flat, I can find anything else, I think. I've seen an American style place with burgers/pizzas/salads, though done in an expensive, take advantage of tourists way. I've seen multiple Mexican places, a tapas bar, lots of take-away places with things like falafel/kebabs/fish and chips, and even a Nepalese restaurant. I'm particularly intrigued by that one. Plenty of new things for me to try while I'm here.
As for grocery stores, I can basically buy the same stuff as you'd get in the US, except better quality. Like most places in Europe, Scotland (and the UK) is big on homegrown things whenever possible. So there's a large variety of local meats and cheeses, and fruits and vegetables also to some extent. What I really enjoy are all of the different flavors of things. Juices here are phenomenal. They mix things that we'd never even think of in the US, often involving apples. I love apple juice when it isn't too sweet, which tends to be the problem with the available types in the US. Here, they treat apples sort of like we treat cranberries, for lack of a better comparison, and basically I'm in juice heaven. Apple/elderflower is my favorite so far, but apple/raspberry and apple/mango are also delicious. I'm going to miss the variety when it's time to leave.
Also, ridiculous weather. Today, it was raining early in the morning. Then, it stopped raining and was overcast. Then, it started snowing, like full-on blizzard-style. When I left for class at 10:45, it was sunny. When I left class at 1, it was getting overcast again. When I left for my other class at 1:45, it was overcast. Leaving that class at 2:50, I walked out into a blizzard (and to understand that, imagine the huge, fluffy kind of snowflakes that turn you into a snowman because they stick and 30mph gusts of wind [they're rarely more than 5mph in LA]). It did that for about 2 hours, and then it stopped and got overcast again. The best thing about the weather is the wind. It's awesome to be in the library, or indoors anywhere, and hear it whipping around outside. The snow was also spectacular, as I haven't seen real snow in a few years now. I've missed it.
I think the theme of this post is: variety is the spice of life. I'm thinking that it's impossible to ever really get tired of a place where so much is available and so much is different from hour to hour. Not in the few months that I have here, anyway.
My life is thrilling, obviously. You guys should definitely aspire to be me. That's all.
- C
In case you were hoping to hear about my life of late, that's what the first paragraph was. Also, I've discovered that the BBC, like the major American TV stations, has an internet player for already broadcast shows. It's more efficient in that shows are available as soon as they've aired, but you can only watch the shows for a week after they've aired (unless you download them, in which case you have 30 days or a week from when you watch it). It's a very complicated DRM system, but whatever. I can watch the new season of Torchwood on Wednesday nights, and Doctor Who in the spring, and I don't need to buy a TV or a license. Which brings up another point: to own a TV here, you have to buy a TV license. It's about 140 GBP for a color TV and 50 GBP for black and white. So double that to get the price in dollars. You buy the license for a year, and it covers all of the TVs in your household. I have no idea why they do it that way, except that it may or may not help to pay for the BBC stations, which are all publicly funded.
Right, my life. Enough about TV shows. I also do exciting things like go to the library to do readings for class. And go to class, of course. When it isn't canceled. Which has happened, so far, twice, because the professors were sick, and then I didn't have Buddhist Art this week or last because the professor went on a delegation to China. Yeah, my schedule is much easier than yours, probably. But when I was in the library yesterday, I did see some amusing graffiti on the desk at which I was working. British students, and European students in general, are very political. So there were lots of things like:
FUCK THE ENGLISH, REMEMBER BANNOCKBURN
which earned the reply:
no I wasn't born.
And then there was stuff like:
GALICIA IS NOT SPAIN
which I found amusing because we learned all about that in my AP Spanish class in high school.
Of course, there were some nasty things about Americans, one of which involved being able to recognize the American students from a mile away because of their "stupid-ass UCLA caps" (seriously, fuck those guys). But the very best, for a variety of reasons was (Dan, pay attention):
If all economists were laid end to end, they would not reach a conclusion.
Even the graffiti is cleverer here.
Something that may be of marginal interest to people, I realize, is food. I haven't actually talked about what I can and can't get here much, and that's something that always interests me, and maybe other people as well. I mentioned the American chain restaurants here, but besides them, there's a variety of food types and ethnicities represented. Within a two-minute walk from my flat, I can get: Indian (which is the Chinese of the UK), Chinese, vegetarian (which I think is an off-shoot of Indian), Middle-Eastern, African/Mediterranean, Thai, Italian, pub food, sandwiches, and whatever I want from the 4 grocery stores on my block or the next. Also, there are a variety of uncategorizable cafes and coffee shops and little restaurants, and some place called Elephants and Bagels. I find that place intriguing. There are also tiny ethnic groceries in the same area, as you would expect. And, my personal favorite so far, Greggs. In the simplest terms, it's a bakery/sandwich shop. However, it's better than that, because 1) it's damn cheap and 2) they have savories, which are a variety of (as the name implies) savory things wrapped in pastries. Delicious pastries. For less than 2 GBP, I can get a really filling lunch, with dessert.
If I leave the immediate area around my flat, I can find anything else, I think. I've seen an American style place with burgers/pizzas/salads, though done in an expensive, take advantage of tourists way. I've seen multiple Mexican places, a tapas bar, lots of take-away places with things like falafel/kebabs/fish and chips, and even a Nepalese restaurant. I'm particularly intrigued by that one. Plenty of new things for me to try while I'm here.
As for grocery stores, I can basically buy the same stuff as you'd get in the US, except better quality. Like most places in Europe, Scotland (and the UK) is big on homegrown things whenever possible. So there's a large variety of local meats and cheeses, and fruits and vegetables also to some extent. What I really enjoy are all of the different flavors of things. Juices here are phenomenal. They mix things that we'd never even think of in the US, often involving apples. I love apple juice when it isn't too sweet, which tends to be the problem with the available types in the US. Here, they treat apples sort of like we treat cranberries, for lack of a better comparison, and basically I'm in juice heaven. Apple/elderflower is my favorite so far, but apple/raspberry and apple/mango are also delicious. I'm going to miss the variety when it's time to leave.
Also, ridiculous weather. Today, it was raining early in the morning. Then, it stopped raining and was overcast. Then, it started snowing, like full-on blizzard-style. When I left for class at 10:45, it was sunny. When I left class at 1, it was getting overcast again. When I left for my other class at 1:45, it was overcast. Leaving that class at 2:50, I walked out into a blizzard (and to understand that, imagine the huge, fluffy kind of snowflakes that turn you into a snowman because they stick and 30mph gusts of wind [they're rarely more than 5mph in LA]). It did that for about 2 hours, and then it stopped and got overcast again. The best thing about the weather is the wind. It's awesome to be in the library, or indoors anywhere, and hear it whipping around outside. The snow was also spectacular, as I haven't seen real snow in a few years now. I've missed it.
I think the theme of this post is: variety is the spice of life. I'm thinking that it's impossible to ever really get tired of a place where so much is available and so much is different from hour to hour. Not in the few months that I have here, anyway.
My life is thrilling, obviously. You guys should definitely aspire to be me. That's all.
- C
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