And you thought I was boring before.

Since I am leaving for a tour of the Highlands tomorrow morning, I should probably update this with spring break happenings now. They were myriad and slightly more exciting than what I've been doing for the last week.
Lena came to visit from March 20th to the 29th, which was absolutely brilliant. I can't really describe the feeling of having an actual friend to hang out with and talk to after 3 months divorced from everything that I considered real life back in CA. Making friends is one thing, but it takes a long time to actually get to the level of comfort with one another where you can just have fun. So that made everything that we did that much more enjoyable.
As for what we actually did, there was first the trip to St. Andrews to visit Lena's Cal friend Elizabeth. St. Andrew's is an adorable, tiny (only 3 main streets) town, and I'm definitely going to look into going to grad school there. The school has a museum studies masters program, and my grandmother (and father) would be super thrilled. I'll probably go back there later this month or early in May to meet with people in the art department and see what exactly the grad program entails.
After that, there was a ton of Edinburgh sightseeing. We did Craigmillar Castle, which I'd never seen, and Edinburgh Castle, which I had. I really love castles. It's so easy to imagine what life may have been like when people actually inhabited them, whether they be complete or in ruins. They're fun places to let your imagination run wild (also, I've seen too many period movies/read too many period romances). We also went to two of the main museums in Edinburgh, the National Gallery (art) and the National Museum (natural history/culture). Free museums never stop being awesome. However, as far as I saw, the National Gallery has no Caravaggios. Unforgivable. It's also arranged like a typical nineteenth-century art museum, which, while interesting for me as a study in the changes that have occurred in museum display over the years, makes the whole place super overwhelming for the typical patron (I assume). The National Museum is a lot of fun with some really interesting displays and juxtapositions within the Early Peoples exhibits especially. Enough about that, but seriously. I could write a paper on that place. Maybe I will. It could be part of an honors thesis topic.
On the less cultural front, we did some clubbing, which hahaha. I am awful at that scene, but it's always entertaining anyway. I don't even know what to write about it. I feel that Brits tend to do the clubbing thing when they're younger (say 18ish) and then graduate to flat parties and stuff by the time that they're 3rd years and up. It's very much a younger crowd at the clubs here. Pubs, however, are a mix of all ages. And older Brits go clubbing, too, so it's a weird mix of 18 and 40 year olds. Plus a bunch of international visitors and travelers of all ages, of course.
At the end of her visit, Lena so graciously gifted me the most awkward night of my life sharing a couple of mattresses on the floor (they follow me wherever I go) with her and a French guy named Julien. We went to Glasgow to see the city/visit him (someone met in a club in Budapest), and a series of misunderstandings and cultural faux-pas followed. It was a good time, no doubt. I just suck really hard at interacting with the French. It mostly has to do with my complete American-ness and how the French are so similar to us in mentality, just French. They expect everyone to adopt their cultural affectations when they're around (not in a rude or mean way, but still), and we expect everyone to be familiar to and receptive of the American way of doing things. So handshakes are out, kisses on the cheeks are in, etc. I have a personal space bubble, and I often seem really rude to Europeans. I know this, but if I'm not thinking, it's really hard for me to not offend people (the French especially). I really admire French culture etc etc, I just don't think that could ever be me haha. The most I can manage is a happy medium between American and French. I have yet to discover what that is. But yeah, Glasgow. It's a city, plain and simple. Big (relatively), dirty, and ugly. There are good parts, but I have no interest in living there. That's for sure. Glasgow sort of terrifies me, not least because I can't understand a word that the inhabitants say. I may visit again, just to see some of the more famous sites, but it's not somewhere to spend any long period of time. Unless you want to be a violent football hooligan, that is. Then, all you have to do is support Rangers or Celtics (definitely not both), and you're well on your way.
Other than the things that required leaving the flat, Lena and I downloaded and watched a lot of movies and just generally tried to save money while still enjoying our time. I introduced her to all sorts of Scottish delicacies (haggis included), and we ate lots of ice cream. A mostly relaxing break, as all breaks should be.
Since she left, I've been sitting in my flat watching V.Mars and various movies. My favorite has been Shoot 'Em Up, which I now consider the perfect movie. It was basically written and directed with exactly me in mind. It's totally creepy, actually, how much of an ideal audience I am for that movie. There are all sorts of little things that I really enjoyed, besides the obvious violence and sex that I am all over in any movie. So yeah, that = what I would make if asked to make a movie.
As mentioned previously, I'm going to the Highlands tomorrow. It's a USC trip, so free everything. Spectacular. We're spending two nights on the Isle of Skye. Other than that, I have no idea what the itinerary is. I also don't care. All I know is that I have to meet the bus at 8:30 tomorrow morning, and then I'll be whisked away to the gorgeous Scottish countryside. Good enough for me.
And now, back to mainlining V.Mars before I leave.

Why haven't you left yet?

Until approximately yesterday afternoon, I was hoping to be on last night's 10pm Continental flight to London. I have an epic tale [as befits my epic nature] about why I have not yet left for the UK, as I'm sure that anyone who knew my original plans would like to know why they changed. And hey, I might as well document the good with the bad.
On one of my flights from LA to Philly after the Rose Bowl, I made the mistake of picking up a Spirit Magazine (Southwest's in-flight magazine). The Libra horoscope read: Stay home this month. Leaving will be stressful due to travel snafus. I paraphrased, but you get the point. Sure enough, my flight from Nashville to Philly, the final leg of my journey, was delayed. Well, damn, thought I. This does not bode well. I arrived home, an hour later than I was expecting, and with the knowledge that my passport had not yet been returned by the British Consulate-General in NYC. You see, in order to make my trip overseas easier, I decided to apply for a visa. With a visa, I will be able to pass through customs with ease (hopefully), among other benefits. Unfortunately, the visa process took longer than I thought/advertised. The Consulate-General's website reads:

We aim to process the majority of mailed applications within 5 business days regardless of which visa you are applying for. However we would advise all applicants to make their applications a minimum of 14 days before their proposed date of travel. This is particularly important during the busy holiday periods at Christmas and the summer.

Ok, fine, did that. Thought it would be fine. Silly me. I received an email saying that my visa application had been received and that it could take 5 working days to review. Oh no. So I attempt to call the Consulate-General the day after I get home, in order to inform them of my increasingly urgent situation. Unfortunately, it is IMPOSSIBLE to talk to a real person in that office about visas. And I'm serious when I say IMPOSSIBLE. You try: (212) 745-0200. Enjoy the switchboard voice, she's all you'll hear for about 15 minutes. The option that their website provides is calling an outside company, for $3 a minute or a $12 flat fee. They also let you know beforehand that this company can't tell you anything about specific applications, just give you general suggestions and advice. Thanks, British Consulate. You're so helpful.
I call that company, spend most of my call time on hold, and finally get to talk to a woman who says that she can send an email marked as "urgent" for me. Oh, good, because I have every confidence that they read their email regularly when elsewhere on the site it says that they take an average of 22 days to return emails. Uh huh. But what else could I do? I had her do that, said thank you, and freaked out. Things were looking more bleak. As my mom said, "What a cluster." I spent the night packing, not knowing if I would actually be leaving the next night or not.
After some deliberation, my dad agreed to drive to NYC first thing in the morning the next day. Note: I live about 2 hours away from NYC, depending on traffic. Sometimes it's less, but often more. We left at 8am and made good time until Hoboken. Which is how it always goes. Fortunately, my dad's GPS suggested an alternate route that saved us about 45 minutes of sorrow trying to get into the Lincoln Tunnel. Seriously. I was astounded.
As a quick aside, my dad hates driving in cities, NYC most of all. It's contrary to his driving style. So for him to do this for me, when we have no guarantee that this venture will be at all fruitful, is nothing short of the ultimate show of love. And I am incredibly grateful for my long-suffering father indeed. Most especially for what comes later.
We get to the city, find the Consulate, park. At this point, it's approximately 10:15, and we haven't eaten or done anything but drive since early that morning. Upon entering the building that houses the Consulate, we find a line of three or four other guys arguing with the security guard, an old Caribbean man. They are all apparently having the same problem that I am, and there is nobody in the entire building that we can talk to. Cue terrible feeling of doom. The guys in front of me had no luck, so of course I didn't either. We gave up after approximately 5 minutes, because what else could we do? Storm the Consulate? Nope. It was time to drive the 2 hours back home, after walking back to the car. My dad, because he is a phenomenal human being, said nothing, making this experience slightly easier for me. I did, however, cry for the next hour and a half, because I was more frustrated than I've ever been in my entire life. That, and I'm a woman. Whatever.
When I got home, I checked my email to find one that said that my visa application had been approved and had a UPS tracking number. When I tracked the package, it said that it had been billed on Jan. 2nd, but had no further info. I called UPS, they started an inquiry and found out that the package was just sitting at the Consulate, ready to ship that night. Um, WTF GUYS. So I think that my visa had actually been issued on Jan. 2nd, but they waited until last night to ship it. THANKS. AWESOME. The girl at UPS told me that it should arrive on Monday. Great, so I officially have to change my flight to London and then the connecting flight to Edinburgh. Which is what I spent yesterday afternoon doing.
Besides damages for emotional distress, I maintain that the British government owes me about $900 for last minute flight changes. Yeah, thanks, guys. Great working with you.
Barring any further unforeseen catastrophes, at which point I would probably have to take this semester off (because I am not, in fact, made of money), I leave from Newark at 6:55pm on Tuesday. At which point I will have missed orientation and my first three days of classes. But hey, whatever, I'll figure it out. At least I'll be there.
On the up-side, I get to be home for my dad's birthday tomorrow. I can tell him that I have nothing but gratitude for his existence, because that's the truth.

And that is the terrible story of why I am still home, bored.
Because it might come in handy, my exact flight info is as follows:
Outbound: Virgin Atlantic Flight 3118 (operated by Continental) departing Newark at 6:55pm Jan. 8th and arriving London Gatwick at 6:55am on Jan. 9th.
easyJet flight 703 departing London Gatwick at 10:30am and arriving Edinburgh at 12:00pm.
Inbound: Virgin Atlantic Flight VS0001 departing London Heathrow at 4:00pm Jun. 30th and arriving Newark 6:40pm Jun. 30th.

And now that I've told you all sorts of stuff, there are things that I want to know from you.
1) Who's planning on reading this?
2) Anything specific you want pictures/descriptions of?
That's really it. Just trying to cater to my audience and make this more exciting for anyone that chooses to read this. But yeah, seriously, if you comment, I'm more likely to update.

- C