So I'm typing this using the new keyboard I got... only a true typing novelist would be geeking out over something like this. I'm enjoying it so much, though, that I figured I'd share it with all of you.
Currently it's sparking in a rainbow mode, and that makes me ridiculously happy. So, anyways, I'm probably going to update with real entries sometime later this weekend, after I've determined what I'm going to spend my Christmas mad money on and after I've given Justin his gifts. I already have some good ideas about what to spend my money on, but currently I have things to do... like eat Christmas cookies, play with my new keyboard (which will make editing my novel a much, much happier process), visit with my family, and finish a Christmas fanfic. (Also, apparently I have to babysit my dad while he plays his new Wii game and teach my mom how to use her DS. My parents are adorable sometimes.)
Hope your Christmas is as merry as mine appears to be going :)
- Jen -
25 December 2009
19 December 2009
Avatar
Yes, an entire blog entry. It was that cool. You see, I went to go see Avatar tonight. In IMAX 3D, no less. And it was amazing. Really.
First of all, the scenery was amazing. Second of all, it was nice to see someone who is differently abled as a hero, not just politically correctly speaking. It's never explained how Sully lost the use of his legs, but it's shown that he's just as capable with them as without them. Not only does he not ask for any help, but he refuses it when it's offered. And he doesn't need it. Third of all, the motion capture work showed, it really did. Facial expressions looked real, movements for all the animals were realistic (though I'm not quite sure how feasible it is for horse-like and wolf-like creatures to have six legs), and the crowds weren't just copy-pasted. Fourth of all, it was set up like a true epic. The plot was conventional (easily accessible) but still left room for variance.
I would say one of the few complaints I had about the movie was the excessive scenery porn. I mean, I appreciate that there was some detail put into the environments, but really, I don't think plants bioluminesce in anger when they're stepped on IRL. I also don't think some of those scenes needed to take as long as they did. We get it. They're doing whatever. Also, I found some of the characterization (well, most of it) to be subpar. There was no depth to the villains, and that disappointed me. I mean, it's an epic, so I understand that for the viewer to empathize with the heroes, the villains need to be hated and not understood, but for me, I appreciate a villain who's as sympathetic as the hero. YMMV, however.
Probably going to see it again this weekend in regular 2D just to compare. I don't mind throwing my money at this; it deserves it. Most fun I've had at a movie in a very long time. PSA to everyone: You will enjoy this movie.
- Jen -
First of all, the scenery was amazing. Second of all, it was nice to see someone who is differently abled as a hero, not just politically correctly speaking. It's never explained how Sully lost the use of his legs, but it's shown that he's just as capable with them as without them. Not only does he not ask for any help, but he refuses it when it's offered. And he doesn't need it. Third of all, the motion capture work showed, it really did. Facial expressions looked real, movements for all the animals were realistic (though I'm not quite sure how feasible it is for horse-like and wolf-like creatures to have six legs), and the crowds weren't just copy-pasted. Fourth of all, it was set up like a true epic. The plot was conventional (easily accessible) but still left room for variance.
I would say one of the few complaints I had about the movie was the excessive scenery porn. I mean, I appreciate that there was some detail put into the environments, but really, I don't think plants bioluminesce in anger when they're stepped on IRL. I also don't think some of those scenes needed to take as long as they did. We get it. They're doing whatever. Also, I found some of the characterization (well, most of it) to be subpar. There was no depth to the villains, and that disappointed me. I mean, it's an epic, so I understand that for the viewer to empathize with the heroes, the villains need to be hated and not understood, but for me, I appreciate a villain who's as sympathetic as the hero. YMMV, however.
Probably going to see it again this weekend in regular 2D just to compare. I don't mind throwing my money at this; it deserves it. Most fun I've had at a movie in a very long time. PSA to everyone: You will enjoy this movie.
- Jen -
12 December 2009
Wild blagoposts ahoy!
[This entry is kind of dedicated to Greg, who always gets frustrated when I update my blog since he gets behind. Also, check the next paragraph, IT'S YOUR FAULT.]
So, I haven't really been doing much, but in passing talking to a friend of mine yesterday, he mentioned QC and I couldn't resist looking it up. For those of you that don't know, it's a webcomic called Questionable Content. I'm deep in the archives now or I would link you all to the main page, but it's quickly become a favorite of mine and I'm only halfway 'up to date'. A perfect mix of sarcasm/irony, relationship issues, hipster/indie cred, and nerdiness... perfectly complements my already profound love for xkcd.
I finished packing for the most part today, bought my last real Christmas present from the UK, and have been reading QC since I woke up (and also munching on chocolate as I have done so). As a result, this entry is pretty boring, but I have a plan for what I'm going to post tomorrow. I might actually start planning out topics for blog posts now that NaNo is over... my life feels somewhat empty without so much writing in it.
- Jen -
ETA (which stands for Edited To Add, by the way, for those acronym challenged people like me):
I love Questionable Content. SO MUCH. Especially Marigold. It's kind of creepy how much I identify with her. Sleep!snuggling with her flatmate (I am a self-admitted snuggleslut, I create people-piles wherever I sit), the whole nerd look (hello, Hermione Granger hair and red plastic glasses), the weird RPG she's into (she's got WOW, I'll keep my Pokemon), the problem she has with being a shut-in (welcome to my entire November... in fact, most of the time I've been here)... I even just joined a fandom which kind of wears slash goggles all the time, which most of you would call YAOI. I mean, I have legitimate reasons for being on my computer all of the time (most of my dear friends and family are in the States, and I can contact them through e-mail and Skype), but even Hanners would admit that I'm being a little ridiculous and should get out more. [Also, that was a hella lot of parentheses for one paragraph. My bad.]
... and that's enough self-reflection for me. Seriously, I mix Dora's insecurities with most of Marigold's personality, it's kind of weird and awful when you think about it actually. And why am I trying to empathize with a webcomic so much? This is even worse than when I read overtones of my own life into New Moon. WHY. WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF. (It's not even a question at this point.)
Yeah, I did just spend the last... I don't know, about 13 hours straight today, plus 2 hours yesterday, catching up on the backlog. And I laughed out loud several times. Is funny.
So, I haven't really been doing much, but in passing talking to a friend of mine yesterday, he mentioned QC and I couldn't resist looking it up. For those of you that don't know, it's a webcomic called Questionable Content. I'm deep in the archives now or I would link you all to the main page, but it's quickly become a favorite of mine and I'm only halfway 'up to date'. A perfect mix of sarcasm/irony, relationship issues, hipster/indie cred, and nerdiness... perfectly complements my already profound love for xkcd.
I finished packing for the most part today, bought my last real Christmas present from the UK, and have been reading QC since I woke up (and also munching on chocolate as I have done so). As a result, this entry is pretty boring, but I have a plan for what I'm going to post tomorrow. I might actually start planning out topics for blog posts now that NaNo is over... my life feels somewhat empty without so much writing in it.
- Jen -
ETA (which stands for Edited To Add, by the way, for those acronym challenged people like me):
I love Questionable Content. SO MUCH. Especially Marigold. It's kind of creepy how much I identify with her. Sleep!snuggling with her flatmate (I am a self-admitted snuggleslut, I create people-piles wherever I sit), the whole nerd look (hello, Hermione Granger hair and red plastic glasses), the weird RPG she's into (she's got WOW, I'll keep my Pokemon), the problem she has with being a shut-in (welcome to my entire November... in fact, most of the time I've been here)... I even just joined a fandom which kind of wears slash goggles all the time, which most of you would call YAOI. I mean, I have legitimate reasons for being on my computer all of the time (most of my dear friends and family are in the States, and I can contact them through e-mail and Skype), but even Hanners would admit that I'm being a little ridiculous and should get out more. [Also, that was a hella lot of parentheses for one paragraph. My bad.]
... and that's enough self-reflection for me. Seriously, I mix Dora's insecurities with most of Marigold's personality, it's kind of weird and awful when you think about it actually. And why am I trying to empathize with a webcomic so much? This is even worse than when I read overtones of my own life into New Moon. WHY. WHY DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF. (It's not even a question at this point.)
Yeah, I did just spend the last... I don't know, about 13 hours straight today, plus 2 hours yesterday, catching up on the backlog. And I laughed out loud several times. Is funny.
11 December 2009
London, Day 6 (Friday 11 December)
Highlights: Not many.
1. Bus back to Oxford
2. The rest of my day
-----
1. Bus back to Oxford
Pretty self-explanatory. After breakfast, I checked out and shipped out. Made my way to Victoria station and got on the bus to come home and I was back by noon. Spent a little while running errands (to make sure I could eat for the next few days) and grabbing lunch.
-----
2. The rest of my day
Has been spent blogging and on the Internet. I got to Skype with Justin just now, which was good. I get to see him in five days, which is exciting.
Right now, I have a few things to work on. I got an idea for a Christmas range of ficlets, so I need to start on those and appease the people at Shotgun's Lap. I also need to upload my pictures to Shutterfly (including the ones from before I went to London). I'm kicking myself about forgetting my battery charger!!!
Tomorrow: much the same, except I'm going to repack my suitcase, probably, and might visit either the Ashmolean or the Natural History Museum. Then again, probably not.
Sunday: my last full day in England of 2009. Much the same, really.
Monday: leaving early for Heathrow and getting into Columbus around 8 PM EST.
Catch y'all on the flip side. Might do another cute post in the next few days that's more Christmas related. I haven't been much in the Christmas spirit this year... I don't know if it's the foreign country bit or the family crisis bit. We'll see.
- Jen -
1. Bus back to Oxford
2. The rest of my day
-----
1. Bus back to Oxford
Pretty self-explanatory. After breakfast, I checked out and shipped out. Made my way to Victoria station and got on the bus to come home and I was back by noon. Spent a little while running errands (to make sure I could eat for the next few days) and grabbing lunch.
-----
2. The rest of my day
Has been spent blogging and on the Internet. I got to Skype with Justin just now, which was good. I get to see him in five days, which is exciting.
Right now, I have a few things to work on. I got an idea for a Christmas range of ficlets, so I need to start on those and appease the people at Shotgun's Lap. I also need to upload my pictures to Shutterfly (including the ones from before I went to London). I'm kicking myself about forgetting my battery charger!!!
Tomorrow: much the same, except I'm going to repack my suitcase, probably, and might visit either the Ashmolean or the Natural History Museum. Then again, probably not.
Sunday: my last full day in England of 2009. Much the same, really.
Monday: leaving early for Heathrow and getting into Columbus around 8 PM EST.
Catch y'all on the flip side. Might do another cute post in the next few days that's more Christmas related. I haven't been much in the Christmas spirit this year... I don't know if it's the foreign country bit or the family crisis bit. We'll see.
- Jen -
London, Day 5 (Thursday 10 December)
Highlights of my last full day in London:
1. Coffee with Georgie
2. Tate Modern
3. Globe Theatre performance
4. ND after-performance party
5. Last night in the hostel
-----
1. Coffee with Georgie
So, for once, I didn't head straight to the British Museum, but instead made my way to the Russell Square tube station to meet up with one of my British friends. I met Georgie Peters on Facebook about a year ago, and we got to be good friends. I promised her that when I came to England, I'd see her at least once.
She's studying at UCL, so we met at a Starbucks close to there and chatted for at least an hour. It was nice to meet up with a friend for once, instead of just standing silently in museums all day like I had been doing. Also, I love Starbucks, so it was nice to get a latte for once and just sit and stay off my feet.
Before I left to start my day for real, Georgie took me on a brief tour of the UCL campus that she's on, and she even showed me the nearest tube station before she went back to work in the library. Oh, those silly universities that are on the semester system while I'm on the funkiest trimesters ever.
-----
2. Tate Modern
I spent five hours at the Tate Modern getting very confused by modern art. Seriously, that's about the sum total of my experience in there.
Although, I must say, they had a copy of my favorite statue in there, and I squee'd like a fangirl when I saw it in person. So that was exciting. I also was able to do a little shopping for myself, so good on me.
-----
3. Globe Theatre performance
So, I had heard from my friend at ND, Mary Kearns, that she was going to be in a play at the Globe theatre. Naturally, I was eager to see her. (Somehow, I got lost on my way there, even though it's, like, RIGHT NEXT TO the Tate. This just goes to show you how helpless I am with compass-point directions.)
It was a brief performance of Othello, just basically the highlights, done in a very modern style. The staging was excellent, and there was even singing. But the best part was that it was in the Globe freaking theatre. The open air theater, preserved as it would have been in Shakespeare's time, with all of us ND people standing on the open floor where the rabble would have stood. It was kind of brilliant, actually, and I enjoyed it very much. Mary did her reading very well and it was nice to see her. I also ran into two of my roommates from freshman year, Danielle and Katherine, and managed to make a new 'friend' along the way.
-----
4. ND after-performance party
So, after the brief (30-minute, maybe) performance, there was a reception held in the first floor of the Globe for all of the ND people who had attended. I had to pay 5 pounds for a ticket but it was worth it for snacks and the opportunity to talk and visit with my friends. Ben LaPres managed to find me in a room full of people and waved me over to talk about NaNo, studying abroad, and whatnot for a while.
Then, abruptly, most people seemed to leave the party, and I met up with Mary today. She kind of made my day, actually. She walked me across the Millenium Bridge and we walked past St. Paul's Cathedral, which was lit up beautifully at night. We could see it across the river... just gorgeous. She walked me to the St. Paul's tube station and then she said goodbye... I hope exams go well for her.
-----
5. Last night in the hostel
So, during my last night, I actually got to know one of my new roommates. Most of my roommates, besides the guy in the bunk above me, changed in the five nights I was there. By the time of the last night, I was with two British (Australian? couldn't tell with the accent, but British is more likely) girls, the guy above me's friend, a few Asian guys, and then Scott. Scott's an American, in his 40s-ish, originally from Raleigh area, NC, but now working out of Birmingham by way of Washington DC. It was interesting talking to him, because he got his PhD from a British university so he knows how the system works a little bit.
I also needed to call home. For those of you who don't know, my grandmother passed away last Friday, and her funeral was yesterday, so I called home and offered what little condolences I could. I feel terrible about not being there, but there's literally nothing I could have done.
More journal-writing, and that was the end of my night.
- Jen -
1. Coffee with Georgie
2. Tate Modern
3. Globe Theatre performance
4. ND after-performance party
5. Last night in the hostel
-----
1. Coffee with Georgie
So, for once, I didn't head straight to the British Museum, but instead made my way to the Russell Square tube station to meet up with one of my British friends. I met Georgie Peters on Facebook about a year ago, and we got to be good friends. I promised her that when I came to England, I'd see her at least once.
She's studying at UCL, so we met at a Starbucks close to there and chatted for at least an hour. It was nice to meet up with a friend for once, instead of just standing silently in museums all day like I had been doing. Also, I love Starbucks, so it was nice to get a latte for once and just sit and stay off my feet.
Before I left to start my day for real, Georgie took me on a brief tour of the UCL campus that she's on, and she even showed me the nearest tube station before she went back to work in the library. Oh, those silly universities that are on the semester system while I'm on the funkiest trimesters ever.
-----
2. Tate Modern
I spent five hours at the Tate Modern getting very confused by modern art. Seriously, that's about the sum total of my experience in there.
Although, I must say, they had a copy of my favorite statue in there, and I squee'd like a fangirl when I saw it in person. So that was exciting. I also was able to do a little shopping for myself, so good on me.
-----
3. Globe Theatre performance
So, I had heard from my friend at ND, Mary Kearns, that she was going to be in a play at the Globe theatre. Naturally, I was eager to see her. (Somehow, I got lost on my way there, even though it's, like, RIGHT NEXT TO the Tate. This just goes to show you how helpless I am with compass-point directions.)
It was a brief performance of Othello, just basically the highlights, done in a very modern style. The staging was excellent, and there was even singing. But the best part was that it was in the Globe freaking theatre. The open air theater, preserved as it would have been in Shakespeare's time, with all of us ND people standing on the open floor where the rabble would have stood. It was kind of brilliant, actually, and I enjoyed it very much. Mary did her reading very well and it was nice to see her. I also ran into two of my roommates from freshman year, Danielle and Katherine, and managed to make a new 'friend' along the way.
-----
4. ND after-performance party
So, after the brief (30-minute, maybe) performance, there was a reception held in the first floor of the Globe for all of the ND people who had attended. I had to pay 5 pounds for a ticket but it was worth it for snacks and the opportunity to talk and visit with my friends. Ben LaPres managed to find me in a room full of people and waved me over to talk about NaNo, studying abroad, and whatnot for a while.
Then, abruptly, most people seemed to leave the party, and I met up with Mary today. She kind of made my day, actually. She walked me across the Millenium Bridge and we walked past St. Paul's Cathedral, which was lit up beautifully at night. We could see it across the river... just gorgeous. She walked me to the St. Paul's tube station and then she said goodbye... I hope exams go well for her.
-----
5. Last night in the hostel
So, during my last night, I actually got to know one of my new roommates. Most of my roommates, besides the guy in the bunk above me, changed in the five nights I was there. By the time of the last night, I was with two British (Australian? couldn't tell with the accent, but British is more likely) girls, the guy above me's friend, a few Asian guys, and then Scott. Scott's an American, in his 40s-ish, originally from Raleigh area, NC, but now working out of Birmingham by way of Washington DC. It was interesting talking to him, because he got his PhD from a British university so he knows how the system works a little bit.
I also needed to call home. For those of you who don't know, my grandmother passed away last Friday, and her funeral was yesterday, so I called home and offered what little condolences I could. I feel terrible about not being there, but there's literally nothing I could have done.
More journal-writing, and that was the end of my night.
- Jen -
London, Day 4 (Wednesday 9 December)
Highlights of my third full day in London:
1. British Museum, take two
2. Chelsea
3. Victoria and Albert Museum
4. Trafalgar Square
-----
1. British Museum, take two
So, since I had only visited the upper floor the last time I went to the British Museum, I decided to come back and tackle the ground floor for real. And I'm really glad I did. Their special exhibits were kind of jaw dropping.
In their Egypt room, not only did they have gigantic parts of statues and representations of kings, but they also had the Rosetta Stone. I learned later that some other museum is trying to get it away from the British Museum, but I'm not surprised. Wherever it was originally found probably wants it back. Still, I saw the actual Rosetta Stone. It's really not that interesting; it's more of a symbol of the power of language than anything awesome in itself.
The thing that I saw which was vastly more impressive was the series of Greek and Roman statues illustrating myths. Also, they had about half of the ruins of the Parthenon in the British Museum. It was exciting getting to see them, but it also made me sad, because that's probably the closest I'm ever going to get to Athens, ever. The other thing that was cool about those ruins in particular was the myths that were depicted between the ancient humanoid giant race and the centaurs. That's one of the ones you don't hear while you're at school, and seeing all of the panels was interesting. The capture of movement... the Greeks were geniuses at figuring out the ideal form and realizing it in marble. Just fantastic.
Grabbed lunch at the museum again and went back to the hostel to drop off a souvenir before I moved on with my day.
-----
2. Chelsea
So, I was on my way to the three-museum complex in a southern part of London. I took the Underground to the right stop and everything, but then I took a complete wrong turn once I got to ground level and got lost.
I didn't mind so much, really, because I got lost in Chelsea. So there I am, walking leisurely along the King's Road, looking into the windows of little local shops, and it reminded me of home yet again. There's a little suburb off of Columbus that has a main street just like the King's Road through Chelsea, and I got homesick again, because I used to go to choir rehearsal in that little town. It's really the little things that get to me.
Anyhow, I did eventually find my way back to the museums, after about a half-hour of being delightfully lost.
-----
3. Victoria and Albert Museum
Also just called the V&A. I was kind of ancient-ed out from so much time at the British Museum, so instead I headed to the medieval and Renaissance Europe rooms. I spent more than three hours wandering around there, taking in gilt iconography, altarpieces, diptychs, triptychs, bishops' vestments, restored stained glass windows... and that was just in the medieval section. You can really tell, by what has been preserved, what people were most interested in preserving at that time, and it was their Christian beliefs. Although now I'm attempting a blog post to be published around Christmas about the intersection of feminist beliefs with Christian ones... you'll see, hopefully, if I manage to write it well enough.
Then I went into the Renaissance section, and I was enraptured again by the Elizabethan section of the museum. They had preserved clothing. Clothing! From 400 years ago! It was amazing to see. Also of note was some of the armor I was able to see, as well as the decorative and also useful rifles, crossbows, and pistols. Certain of my gun-loving friends would have loved to see how well they were enameled. Also, seeing restorations of furniture, coats of arms, etc... just wow. I would have liked to explore more, but the museum closed and I was hungry, so I grabbed my dinner on the way down to the tube station.
-----
4. Trafalgar Square
Once I was on the tube, I headed to Trafalgar Square, because Kate had told me on Tuesday that there was usually caroling there. And I wasn't disappointed. They had a gigantic tree erected there, and groups were singing on a dais with microphones in the front. I sat through three different groups; one was, I think, for an environmental charity, one was from a school in the area singing to raise money to buy new instruments, and the last was the carolers from the Royal London Society for the Blind or something like that. I felt bad, but I really couldn't spare any change, or I would have run out of money much faster that I did otherwise.
It's so easy to overspend in England. Sometimes, I catch myself thinking that the pound is the same as the dollar, and it's definitely not. Ah well. I was frugal with food and I was buying Christmas presents, so it was kind of a one time thing.
After Trafalgar, I just made it back to the hostel and wrote again, blah blah blah, business as usual.
- Jen -
1. British Museum, take two
2. Chelsea
3. Victoria and Albert Museum
4. Trafalgar Square
-----
1. British Museum, take two
So, since I had only visited the upper floor the last time I went to the British Museum, I decided to come back and tackle the ground floor for real. And I'm really glad I did. Their special exhibits were kind of jaw dropping.
In their Egypt room, not only did they have gigantic parts of statues and representations of kings, but they also had the Rosetta Stone. I learned later that some other museum is trying to get it away from the British Museum, but I'm not surprised. Wherever it was originally found probably wants it back. Still, I saw the actual Rosetta Stone. It's really not that interesting; it's more of a symbol of the power of language than anything awesome in itself.
The thing that I saw which was vastly more impressive was the series of Greek and Roman statues illustrating myths. Also, they had about half of the ruins of the Parthenon in the British Museum. It was exciting getting to see them, but it also made me sad, because that's probably the closest I'm ever going to get to Athens, ever. The other thing that was cool about those ruins in particular was the myths that were depicted between the ancient humanoid giant race and the centaurs. That's one of the ones you don't hear while you're at school, and seeing all of the panels was interesting. The capture of movement... the Greeks were geniuses at figuring out the ideal form and realizing it in marble. Just fantastic.
Grabbed lunch at the museum again and went back to the hostel to drop off a souvenir before I moved on with my day.
-----
2. Chelsea
So, I was on my way to the three-museum complex in a southern part of London. I took the Underground to the right stop and everything, but then I took a complete wrong turn once I got to ground level and got lost.
I didn't mind so much, really, because I got lost in Chelsea. So there I am, walking leisurely along the King's Road, looking into the windows of little local shops, and it reminded me of home yet again. There's a little suburb off of Columbus that has a main street just like the King's Road through Chelsea, and I got homesick again, because I used to go to choir rehearsal in that little town. It's really the little things that get to me.
Anyhow, I did eventually find my way back to the museums, after about a half-hour of being delightfully lost.
-----
3. Victoria and Albert Museum
Also just called the V&A. I was kind of ancient-ed out from so much time at the British Museum, so instead I headed to the medieval and Renaissance Europe rooms. I spent more than three hours wandering around there, taking in gilt iconography, altarpieces, diptychs, triptychs, bishops' vestments, restored stained glass windows... and that was just in the medieval section. You can really tell, by what has been preserved, what people were most interested in preserving at that time, and it was their Christian beliefs. Although now I'm attempting a blog post to be published around Christmas about the intersection of feminist beliefs with Christian ones... you'll see, hopefully, if I manage to write it well enough.
Then I went into the Renaissance section, and I was enraptured again by the Elizabethan section of the museum. They had preserved clothing. Clothing! From 400 years ago! It was amazing to see. Also of note was some of the armor I was able to see, as well as the decorative and also useful rifles, crossbows, and pistols. Certain of my gun-loving friends would have loved to see how well they were enameled. Also, seeing restorations of furniture, coats of arms, etc... just wow. I would have liked to explore more, but the museum closed and I was hungry, so I grabbed my dinner on the way down to the tube station.
-----
4. Trafalgar Square
Once I was on the tube, I headed to Trafalgar Square, because Kate had told me on Tuesday that there was usually caroling there. And I wasn't disappointed. They had a gigantic tree erected there, and groups were singing on a dais with microphones in the front. I sat through three different groups; one was, I think, for an environmental charity, one was from a school in the area singing to raise money to buy new instruments, and the last was the carolers from the Royal London Society for the Blind or something like that. I felt bad, but I really couldn't spare any change, or I would have run out of money much faster that I did otherwise.
It's so easy to overspend in England. Sometimes, I catch myself thinking that the pound is the same as the dollar, and it's definitely not. Ah well. I was frugal with food and I was buying Christmas presents, so it was kind of a one time thing.
After Trafalgar, I just made it back to the hostel and wrote again, blah blah blah, business as usual.
- Jen -
London, Day 3 (Tuesday 8 December)
Highlights of my second full day in London:
1. Charles Dickens Museum
2. British Museum
3. Hyde Park, take two
4. Embassy Row
5. Harrod's
-----
1. Charles Dickens Museum
So, the hostel I was staying at was close to other places besides just King's Cross. It was only about a fifteen-minute walk away from the British Museum, and on the way was supposed to be the Charles Dickens Museum. I think it was supposed to be at the home of one of the places where he might have lived in London, because it was on a residential street. Anyways, I actually showed up a few minutes too early, and once again it charged for admissions, so I passed it by in favor of getting to the British Museum early. I did get a picture, though, and that has to count for something.
-----
2. The British Museum
It's a fantastic museum. They have two whole wings for Ancient Rome and Greece, two for Egypt, special exhibits... I could go on and on and on. On this day in particular, I stayed on the first floor (that's the second floor to you Americans) and wandered around what seemed to be their 'lifestyle' displays for the Romans, Greeks, Etruscans, and Egyptians. I got to see the Sutton Hoo horde, which was COMPLETELY AWESOME. As a Beowulf fan, I couldn't pass it up. For those of you who don't know, the Sutton Hoo burial is supposed to be the closest replica to the Beowulf-style burial anyone has ever found. There was an entire ship buried with a horde of treasure that must have belonged to a great king. It was so cool being able to see it. (Can you tell I'm enough of a nerd?)
I kind of freaked myself out when I was in the Egypt rooms. There were mummies out on display, as well as a burial site from before mummification became common. That was cool enough, but then my brain just started thinking, what was in those mummies (and what had been the bones in that burial site) was once a living, breathing person. When you start to think about that for too long, it starts to freak you out and make you a little upset. Especially since there were various groups of schoolchildren (about elementary school age) wandering around and exploring. At that age, I was all, MUMMIES ARE COOL, but then I realized that they were Soylent Green (you know, they're people and all that) and my thinking changed drastically.
I remember being more caught up in the jewelry than anything else. Not only am I attracted to shiny things, but it was also interesting seeing the shapes of various things. If I'd see an earring, I'd wonder "how were ears pierced back then?" If I saw a bracelet, I would wonder "were wrists really that small back then?" You get the idea. I'm just fascinated by that. Any culture that's rich enough to have those sorts of artisans... it's just really cool to me. Maybe it's also that I'm a detail oriented person but I can't even understand how people put together jewelry in the ancient times. So delicate... so awesome to see. (Kind of makes you wonder what archaeologists 2000 years from now are going to think about our habits if all they find is our jewelry.)
I had a quick lunch at the museum and then went back to the hostel for a little while to take a short nap before I embarked on the next part of my day.
-----
3. Hyde Park, take two
Remember I said on Sunday that I had seen what looked like a fair from the entrance I had been at in Hyde Park? Well, on Tuesday, I actually got to visit it. I met up with Kate, the other girl at the Oxford program this year, at the entrance to what they called their Winter Wonderland, and we went ice skating.
It was an outdoor pond, which was kind of disconcerting seeing as it wasn't cold enough to freeze anything in the park, but it was neat. We got tickets for just as the sun was setting, so we watched the lights of the carnival rides get brighter and brighter against the sky. I remember we talked about tutorials, going home for Christmas, and Disney movies. I missed ice skating. It's not Christmas until there's some sort of skating. Maybe I'll go again with Justin once I get home... that would be nice.
So we spent an hour ice-skating before we were ushered off the rink, and then we wandered the wonderland. To give you an idea of what it was like, imagine Epcot Germany, and then add all of the quirkiness of the theme park from the movie Adventureland. It was wonderful. All of the food stalls were German themed, and so for dinner Kate and I got cinnamon-suger pretzels. Delicious and so totally worth it. I also looked for those stupid rassafrassing sour watermelon gummies that they have at the Huddle back at ND, but I haven't been able to find them anywhere since I had them back in April-May-ish. Makes me sad... I have some good memories with those candies.
-----
4. Embassy Row
So, Kate and I got a little lost between heading from Hyde Park to Harrods. As it turned out, we went in the complete wrong direction, but we actually got lost in a very charming area of town: where all of the foreign embassies are. We must have seen at least fifty different kinds of flags waving from the columned porches. Especially after the very international Winter Wonderland we had just been at, it was really cool. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died just before I got into Hyde Park, so I don't have any pictures of ANYTHING after that. (Though I did find my charger, which I thought I had lost, but it makes everything MORE ANNOYING because I could have taken more pictures!!!!!)
-----
5. Harrods
It's big. It has everything. Everything luxury, that is.
Kate and I just kind of gaped our way through. I swear our eyes were bugging out of our skulls. I could give you a floor by floor account, but it's really something you have to be there for. I did see a pair of gloves for 295 pounds, a champagne bar, a chocolate bar, a Lebanese restaurant (yes, these things were INSIDE the store), a Tiffany and Co counter (yes, INSIDE the store), dolls made in Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart's images for Twilight/New Moon (gross), and a lot more that I had written down. I was kind of afraid to even breathe the wrong way, because everything in that store was so expensive. I did manage to get a souvenir, though. Kind of a creepy place to be, though, if you're not super rich.
That took me until about 9 at night, at which point I packed up and made my way back to the hostel to journal about it all and call home. Much like any other night in London, really.
- Jen -
1. Charles Dickens Museum
2. British Museum
3. Hyde Park, take two
4. Embassy Row
5. Harrod's
-----
1. Charles Dickens Museum
So, the hostel I was staying at was close to other places besides just King's Cross. It was only about a fifteen-minute walk away from the British Museum, and on the way was supposed to be the Charles Dickens Museum. I think it was supposed to be at the home of one of the places where he might have lived in London, because it was on a residential street. Anyways, I actually showed up a few minutes too early, and once again it charged for admissions, so I passed it by in favor of getting to the British Museum early. I did get a picture, though, and that has to count for something.
-----
2. The British Museum
It's a fantastic museum. They have two whole wings for Ancient Rome and Greece, two for Egypt, special exhibits... I could go on and on and on. On this day in particular, I stayed on the first floor (that's the second floor to you Americans) and wandered around what seemed to be their 'lifestyle' displays for the Romans, Greeks, Etruscans, and Egyptians. I got to see the Sutton Hoo horde, which was COMPLETELY AWESOME. As a Beowulf fan, I couldn't pass it up. For those of you who don't know, the Sutton Hoo burial is supposed to be the closest replica to the Beowulf-style burial anyone has ever found. There was an entire ship buried with a horde of treasure that must have belonged to a great king. It was so cool being able to see it. (Can you tell I'm enough of a nerd?)
I kind of freaked myself out when I was in the Egypt rooms. There were mummies out on display, as well as a burial site from before mummification became common. That was cool enough, but then my brain just started thinking, what was in those mummies (and what had been the bones in that burial site) was once a living, breathing person. When you start to think about that for too long, it starts to freak you out and make you a little upset. Especially since there were various groups of schoolchildren (about elementary school age) wandering around and exploring. At that age, I was all, MUMMIES ARE COOL, but then I realized that they were Soylent Green (you know, they're people and all that) and my thinking changed drastically.
I remember being more caught up in the jewelry than anything else. Not only am I attracted to shiny things, but it was also interesting seeing the shapes of various things. If I'd see an earring, I'd wonder "how were ears pierced back then?" If I saw a bracelet, I would wonder "were wrists really that small back then?" You get the idea. I'm just fascinated by that. Any culture that's rich enough to have those sorts of artisans... it's just really cool to me. Maybe it's also that I'm a detail oriented person but I can't even understand how people put together jewelry in the ancient times. So delicate... so awesome to see. (Kind of makes you wonder what archaeologists 2000 years from now are going to think about our habits if all they find is our jewelry.)
I had a quick lunch at the museum and then went back to the hostel for a little while to take a short nap before I embarked on the next part of my day.
-----
3. Hyde Park, take two
Remember I said on Sunday that I had seen what looked like a fair from the entrance I had been at in Hyde Park? Well, on Tuesday, I actually got to visit it. I met up with Kate, the other girl at the Oxford program this year, at the entrance to what they called their Winter Wonderland, and we went ice skating.
It was an outdoor pond, which was kind of disconcerting seeing as it wasn't cold enough to freeze anything in the park, but it was neat. We got tickets for just as the sun was setting, so we watched the lights of the carnival rides get brighter and brighter against the sky. I remember we talked about tutorials, going home for Christmas, and Disney movies. I missed ice skating. It's not Christmas until there's some sort of skating. Maybe I'll go again with Justin once I get home... that would be nice.
So we spent an hour ice-skating before we were ushered off the rink, and then we wandered the wonderland. To give you an idea of what it was like, imagine Epcot Germany, and then add all of the quirkiness of the theme park from the movie Adventureland. It was wonderful. All of the food stalls were German themed, and so for dinner Kate and I got cinnamon-suger pretzels. Delicious and so totally worth it. I also looked for those stupid rassafrassing sour watermelon gummies that they have at the Huddle back at ND, but I haven't been able to find them anywhere since I had them back in April-May-ish. Makes me sad... I have some good memories with those candies.
-----
4. Embassy Row
So, Kate and I got a little lost between heading from Hyde Park to Harrods. As it turned out, we went in the complete wrong direction, but we actually got lost in a very charming area of town: where all of the foreign embassies are. We must have seen at least fifty different kinds of flags waving from the columned porches. Especially after the very international Winter Wonderland we had just been at, it was really cool. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died just before I got into Hyde Park, so I don't have any pictures of ANYTHING after that. (Though I did find my charger, which I thought I had lost, but it makes everything MORE ANNOYING because I could have taken more pictures!!!!!)
-----
5. Harrods
It's big. It has everything. Everything luxury, that is.
Kate and I just kind of gaped our way through. I swear our eyes were bugging out of our skulls. I could give you a floor by floor account, but it's really something you have to be there for. I did see a pair of gloves for 295 pounds, a champagne bar, a chocolate bar, a Lebanese restaurant (yes, these things were INSIDE the store), a Tiffany and Co counter (yes, INSIDE the store), dolls made in Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart's images for Twilight/New Moon (gross), and a lot more that I had written down. I was kind of afraid to even breathe the wrong way, because everything in that store was so expensive. I did manage to get a souvenir, though. Kind of a creepy place to be, though, if you're not super rich.
That took me until about 9 at night, at which point I packed up and made my way back to the hostel to journal about it all and call home. Much like any other night in London, really.
- Jen -
London, Day 2 (Monday 7 December)
Highlights of my first full day in London:
1. King's Cross Station
2. Madame Tussauds
3. Sherlock Holmes Museum
4. Regent's Park
5. London Zoo
6. British Library
7. The Blue Lion
-----
1. King's Cross Station
My first order of business after I had the hostel-sponsored breakfast was to visit King's Cross Station, because I heard from other friends that they had a fake brick barrier set up between platforms 9 and 10 that acted as a photography point for Platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter books. Unfortunately, there's been construction at King's Cross, and I couldn't reach platforms 9-11, so that photo opportunity was lost. On a side note, though, I no longer wonder where Peter Jackson got the idea for what the nazgul's cry from Lord of the Rings should sound like. Just listen to the whistling of the brakes and gears of electric trains and you'll get the idea. The high-pitched electric squealing sounded so much like that special effect that I actually got a chill down my spine. (Who knows? That might have actually been what they used.)
-----
2. Madame Tussauds
So, I did kind of a dumb thing and again walked everywhere. It wasn't such a big deal as Sunday, because I wasn't wearing my backpack any more, but it was still quite a lot of walking. I walked about three tube stops before I reached my first touristy place of the day, Madame Tussauds. The line wasn't that long to get in when I was there, because I got there about when it opened, but it was very expensive to get in. To anyone traveling there in the future, I really wouldn't recommend it unless (1) you're a fan of celebrities or (2) you have children that would really like to take pictures with the wax models. Sure, I was fascinated by everything, and I even have a rather dashing photograph of the Daniel Craig picture, but there was still something missing from the experience because I didn't get to photograph anyone I was with along with the models (or, you know, have pictures of myself with them).
A few strange things before I leave off with here. Their sports room in the UK was filled with rugby, football (read: soccer), and cricket models and only a few other sports figures that I recognized. I got pretty exciting when I saw a cycling plaque on the wall and thought I might see a figure of Lance Armstrong or something, but of course not.
Also, they had a wax figure of Shrek. Not quite sure how that one's supposed to work, since he's not real. I walked around the figure to see the back of the vest, which supposedly was supposed to have been stamped with the imprint of ND's golden dome (since the creators were from ND), but the done wasn't there, so I was disappointed. Not sure whether that's an error on the part of the modelers or wishful thinking on the part of Shrek fans.
The third really strange thing was that they had a short ride at the end of it that reminded me of the inside of the Epcot ball at Disney. It was a ride that supposedly took a visitor through a brief history of London, but it was just freaky. Kind of like a mixture of "It's a Small World" (which even I think is creepy) and the weirdest parts of London's history, like fires and the surrealism of Beatles songs. I really don't know how else to describe it. It kind of really unsettled me, a little, the way the cars would jerk around on the track and force you to stare at whatever.
-----
3. Sherlock Holmes Museum
So, as you nerds may or may not know, the address of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes (a creation of Arthur Conan Doyle) is at 221a Baker Street. It wasn't too far from Madame Tussauds so I figured I'd make a visit. I didn't count on there being a price for admission to the house, so I actually skipped it, but the gift shop in and of itself was worth a few minutes. The staff were dressed in period clothes and actually used the handpiece of an old-fashioned telephone to make their calls.
After I visited the museum, I went back and caught some of the souvenir shops on the main street outside before I headed north.
-----
4. Regent's Park
I don't think I originally planned to spend as much time as I did at Regent's Park, but it was a fine day and I still had plenty of spring in my step. It was right in the same area of town anyways, so I figured while I was out there I might as well pay it a visit. I got many, many pictures, most of which will be on Shutterfly shortly, but for those who can't see the pictures right now, a brief run-through will suffice.
There's an Inner Circle and a Broadwalk that make up most of the walking areas in the park, but I spent most of my time at Inner Circle. It was some kind of garden that was maintained for Queen Anne, I think, and it showed. Around the perimeter, there were at least seventy kinds of roses, and a few were still clinging to life even in December. I also got some wonderful photographs of willow trees and ducks which were not mallards. I also saw a pair of black swans!
I also walked up the main broadwalk and saw a bandstand there, but that's of almost no consequence. What is, though, was the cute sausage stand I found to eat lunch at. It was like a hot dog stand, but inside this cute cottage in the middle of the park. So it made a good lunch, and I enjoyed the few minutes of sitting time while I had it.
While I was walking, I noticed on the map of Regent's Park that the London Zoo was actually embedded in the park, so I figured, why not go to the zoo since I'm here anyways?
-----
5. London Zoo
So I went to the zoo. Another exorbitant fee for admission, but I spent a few good hours there, so it was worth it to me. Their aquarium was impressive. They had one tank devoted to fish they had saved from negligent owners. Apparently, when those types of fish were young, they were smaller and more attractive, so people wanted to keep them as pets. Now, they're about the size of my torso and probably just as heavy, and they need a huge tank to survive. It was sad to think that those fishes had been taken care of by idiots, but at least they were rescued now. I also saw quite a few tanks of amusing tropical fish and even a tank of fish that are either near extinction or actually extinct in Madagascar, so that was cool.
After the aquarium, I hit the reptile house. For once in my life, I actually saw the reptiles moving when I was in there! One of the basilisks was so dumb he tried to climb the glass wall separating me from him, as if he were showing off for me. I watched snakes climb up trees and turtles scurry and swim. I got freaked out at one point because they had put projections onto the floor of reptiles crawling around, but once I realized it wasn't real I remembered how to breathe again. Interestingly, inside the reptile house, they actually have a plaque commemorating the fact that Harry Potter was fictionally there. (And I think they also wanted to remind visitors that the only way a snake can get loose is by an act of magic.) Side note: How was that python supposed to have gotten to Burma anyways? Wouldn't it, like, have to cross an ocean and stuff? Just wondering.
I also got to pet a snake! I don't remember what kind it was, but it felt smooth, like plastic almost, not rough like other reptiles I've touched. Kind of cool.
They had most of the other normal kinds of animals, like zebras, giraffes, warthogs (CHUPATHINGY!), tigers, gorillas, white-faced monkeys, boars, camels, llamas, etc., but the next thing that really stuck out to me was that they had a human-sized model of a termite colony constructed by artists who were trying to study the industrious habits of termites. Needless to say, this confused me. I was also amused endlessly by the family of otters that the zoo had. I spent about 45 minutes just letting them lead me back and forth across their cage, listening to their cries (somewhere between birds and cats, like squeaky babies or something), and watching them play with pebbles. I have a 40-second video of one particular otter batting a pebble against the glass as if that would impress me, it has to be seen to be believed.
Overall... I hate to say this, but I was kind of disappointed. I mean, I've also got ridiculously high expectations, because Columbus Zoo is ranked #1 in the country right now, but still, I was disappointed. It also made me rather homesick. At this time of year, the zoo at home has ZooLights, where they put up about six hundred thousand (LED) Christmas lights all around the place. It's very romantic and Justin and I usually go on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Well, obviously we didn't get to go yet this year. Hopefully we can go once I get home, but... zoos remind me of Christmas at home, that's all.
-----
6. British Library
The zoo closed around sunset, which in London right now is around 4 PM. Once I got shooed out, it started to rain a little, and I was generally grumpy, cold, and wet until I saw the British Library on my way back to the hostel. I stopped in, even though I'd only have about an hour and a half until the exhibits close (everything in the world closes at 6, I swear!), but it was worth it. Free admission, and I saw two of the coolest exhibits ever.
The first exhibit was any photography nerd's dream. It was about the early history of photography and how it was used in sociological contexts (like ethnography and in cases of class division, composition, etc.). I learned about calotypes, daguerrotypes, and silver nitrate (more than I expected) and some of the photographs on display were almost haunting. Thankfully I picked up a brochure, because I obviously wasn't allowed to take photos of the exhibition.
Then upstairs was the British Library's main collection. They split off from the British Museum as the Museum got to be too full, or something like that, I don't exactly remember the story, but anyways, the Library got to keep all of the rare manuscripts and everything like that. So, the main collection was a series of really rare and valuable pieces of literature. I saw pages of the Gospels with gold leaf on them, but they didn't just have Christian religious texts, they had rare items from other religions too. They had an original copy of the Magna Carta enshrined in its own room. (It's a big deal for Brits, just like the Declaration of Independence is important to us.)
Some of the other neat things that they had included some of the drafts and work done while Samuel Johnson was compiling his dictionary, a case devoted to the Bard (I saw a folio that might contain one of his very early 'lost' plays, even something that's been generally decided to be in his handwriting), manuscripts written by a Bronte, the original edition of Alice in Wonderland with illustrations by Lewis Carroll, part of a handwritten lecture made by Freud, a letter detailing how computer programming might be useful in the future... what was probably the coolest, to me, though, was Ravel's first manuscript copy of his Bolero. It was SO COOL to stand there and hum along to the main melody as I read along to something that was in his handwriting... but I might just be a nerd like that.
-----
7. The Blue Lion
So I left the British Library around six, but I didn't want to go back to the hostel just yet, so instead, I dropped off my souvenirs, grabbed my journal, and headed to a pub for dinner and a warm place to sit and write. I went to a pub called The Blue Lion, which had a great atmosphere and background music. I ordered the closest thing they had to fish and chips, which was salmon and haddock breaded cake things with chips and salad, and washed it down with a pint of Amstel while I wrote about my day. I must have stayed there for at least three hours, just sipping at my pint and scribbling away. One of the gentlemen there even asked me "How's the novel going?" I had to admit that it wasn't my novel... but I had that small, secret smile, because I knew, even though he didn't, that I had in fact just written a novel.
That's pretty much my whole day again.
- Jen -
1. King's Cross Station
2. Madame Tussauds
3. Sherlock Holmes Museum
4. Regent's Park
5. London Zoo
6. British Library
7. The Blue Lion
-----
1. King's Cross Station
My first order of business after I had the hostel-sponsored breakfast was to visit King's Cross Station, because I heard from other friends that they had a fake brick barrier set up between platforms 9 and 10 that acted as a photography point for Platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter books. Unfortunately, there's been construction at King's Cross, and I couldn't reach platforms 9-11, so that photo opportunity was lost. On a side note, though, I no longer wonder where Peter Jackson got the idea for what the nazgul's cry from Lord of the Rings should sound like. Just listen to the whistling of the brakes and gears of electric trains and you'll get the idea. The high-pitched electric squealing sounded so much like that special effect that I actually got a chill down my spine. (Who knows? That might have actually been what they used.)
-----
2. Madame Tussauds
So, I did kind of a dumb thing and again walked everywhere. It wasn't such a big deal as Sunday, because I wasn't wearing my backpack any more, but it was still quite a lot of walking. I walked about three tube stops before I reached my first touristy place of the day, Madame Tussauds. The line wasn't that long to get in when I was there, because I got there about when it opened, but it was very expensive to get in. To anyone traveling there in the future, I really wouldn't recommend it unless (1) you're a fan of celebrities or (2) you have children that would really like to take pictures with the wax models. Sure, I was fascinated by everything, and I even have a rather dashing photograph of the Daniel Craig picture, but there was still something missing from the experience because I didn't get to photograph anyone I was with along with the models (or, you know, have pictures of myself with them).
A few strange things before I leave off with here. Their sports room in the UK was filled with rugby, football (read: soccer), and cricket models and only a few other sports figures that I recognized. I got pretty exciting when I saw a cycling plaque on the wall and thought I might see a figure of Lance Armstrong or something, but of course not.
Also, they had a wax figure of Shrek. Not quite sure how that one's supposed to work, since he's not real. I walked around the figure to see the back of the vest, which supposedly was supposed to have been stamped with the imprint of ND's golden dome (since the creators were from ND), but the done wasn't there, so I was disappointed. Not sure whether that's an error on the part of the modelers or wishful thinking on the part of Shrek fans.
The third really strange thing was that they had a short ride at the end of it that reminded me of the inside of the Epcot ball at Disney. It was a ride that supposedly took a visitor through a brief history of London, but it was just freaky. Kind of like a mixture of "It's a Small World" (which even I think is creepy) and the weirdest parts of London's history, like fires and the surrealism of Beatles songs. I really don't know how else to describe it. It kind of really unsettled me, a little, the way the cars would jerk around on the track and force you to stare at whatever.
-----
3. Sherlock Holmes Museum
So, as you nerds may or may not know, the address of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes (a creation of Arthur Conan Doyle) is at 221a Baker Street. It wasn't too far from Madame Tussauds so I figured I'd make a visit. I didn't count on there being a price for admission to the house, so I actually skipped it, but the gift shop in and of itself was worth a few minutes. The staff were dressed in period clothes and actually used the handpiece of an old-fashioned telephone to make their calls.
After I visited the museum, I went back and caught some of the souvenir shops on the main street outside before I headed north.
-----
4. Regent's Park
I don't think I originally planned to spend as much time as I did at Regent's Park, but it was a fine day and I still had plenty of spring in my step. It was right in the same area of town anyways, so I figured while I was out there I might as well pay it a visit. I got many, many pictures, most of which will be on Shutterfly shortly, but for those who can't see the pictures right now, a brief run-through will suffice.
There's an Inner Circle and a Broadwalk that make up most of the walking areas in the park, but I spent most of my time at Inner Circle. It was some kind of garden that was maintained for Queen Anne, I think, and it showed. Around the perimeter, there were at least seventy kinds of roses, and a few were still clinging to life even in December. I also got some wonderful photographs of willow trees and ducks which were not mallards. I also saw a pair of black swans!
I also walked up the main broadwalk and saw a bandstand there, but that's of almost no consequence. What is, though, was the cute sausage stand I found to eat lunch at. It was like a hot dog stand, but inside this cute cottage in the middle of the park. So it made a good lunch, and I enjoyed the few minutes of sitting time while I had it.
While I was walking, I noticed on the map of Regent's Park that the London Zoo was actually embedded in the park, so I figured, why not go to the zoo since I'm here anyways?
-----
5. London Zoo
So I went to the zoo. Another exorbitant fee for admission, but I spent a few good hours there, so it was worth it to me. Their aquarium was impressive. They had one tank devoted to fish they had saved from negligent owners. Apparently, when those types of fish were young, they were smaller and more attractive, so people wanted to keep them as pets. Now, they're about the size of my torso and probably just as heavy, and they need a huge tank to survive. It was sad to think that those fishes had been taken care of by idiots, but at least they were rescued now. I also saw quite a few tanks of amusing tropical fish and even a tank of fish that are either near extinction or actually extinct in Madagascar, so that was cool.
After the aquarium, I hit the reptile house. For once in my life, I actually saw the reptiles moving when I was in there! One of the basilisks was so dumb he tried to climb the glass wall separating me from him, as if he were showing off for me. I watched snakes climb up trees and turtles scurry and swim. I got freaked out at one point because they had put projections onto the floor of reptiles crawling around, but once I realized it wasn't real I remembered how to breathe again. Interestingly, inside the reptile house, they actually have a plaque commemorating the fact that Harry Potter was fictionally there. (And I think they also wanted to remind visitors that the only way a snake can get loose is by an act of magic.) Side note: How was that python supposed to have gotten to Burma anyways? Wouldn't it, like, have to cross an ocean and stuff? Just wondering.
I also got to pet a snake! I don't remember what kind it was, but it felt smooth, like plastic almost, not rough like other reptiles I've touched. Kind of cool.
They had most of the other normal kinds of animals, like zebras, giraffes, warthogs (CHUPATHINGY!), tigers, gorillas, white-faced monkeys, boars, camels, llamas, etc., but the next thing that really stuck out to me was that they had a human-sized model of a termite colony constructed by artists who were trying to study the industrious habits of termites. Needless to say, this confused me. I was also amused endlessly by the family of otters that the zoo had. I spent about 45 minutes just letting them lead me back and forth across their cage, listening to their cries (somewhere between birds and cats, like squeaky babies or something), and watching them play with pebbles. I have a 40-second video of one particular otter batting a pebble against the glass as if that would impress me, it has to be seen to be believed.
Overall... I hate to say this, but I was kind of disappointed. I mean, I've also got ridiculously high expectations, because Columbus Zoo is ranked #1 in the country right now, but still, I was disappointed. It also made me rather homesick. At this time of year, the zoo at home has ZooLights, where they put up about six hundred thousand (LED) Christmas lights all around the place. It's very romantic and Justin and I usually go on the Friday after Thanksgiving. Well, obviously we didn't get to go yet this year. Hopefully we can go once I get home, but... zoos remind me of Christmas at home, that's all.
-----
6. British Library
The zoo closed around sunset, which in London right now is around 4 PM. Once I got shooed out, it started to rain a little, and I was generally grumpy, cold, and wet until I saw the British Library on my way back to the hostel. I stopped in, even though I'd only have about an hour and a half until the exhibits close (everything in the world closes at 6, I swear!), but it was worth it. Free admission, and I saw two of the coolest exhibits ever.
The first exhibit was any photography nerd's dream. It was about the early history of photography and how it was used in sociological contexts (like ethnography and in cases of class division, composition, etc.). I learned about calotypes, daguerrotypes, and silver nitrate (more than I expected) and some of the photographs on display were almost haunting. Thankfully I picked up a brochure, because I obviously wasn't allowed to take photos of the exhibition.
Then upstairs was the British Library's main collection. They split off from the British Museum as the Museum got to be too full, or something like that, I don't exactly remember the story, but anyways, the Library got to keep all of the rare manuscripts and everything like that. So, the main collection was a series of really rare and valuable pieces of literature. I saw pages of the Gospels with gold leaf on them, but they didn't just have Christian religious texts, they had rare items from other religions too. They had an original copy of the Magna Carta enshrined in its own room. (It's a big deal for Brits, just like the Declaration of Independence is important to us.)
Some of the other neat things that they had included some of the drafts and work done while Samuel Johnson was compiling his dictionary, a case devoted to the Bard (I saw a folio that might contain one of his very early 'lost' plays, even something that's been generally decided to be in his handwriting), manuscripts written by a Bronte, the original edition of Alice in Wonderland with illustrations by Lewis Carroll, part of a handwritten lecture made by Freud, a letter detailing how computer programming might be useful in the future... what was probably the coolest, to me, though, was Ravel's first manuscript copy of his Bolero. It was SO COOL to stand there and hum along to the main melody as I read along to something that was in his handwriting... but I might just be a nerd like that.
-----
7. The Blue Lion
So I left the British Library around six, but I didn't want to go back to the hostel just yet, so instead, I dropped off my souvenirs, grabbed my journal, and headed to a pub for dinner and a warm place to sit and write. I went to a pub called The Blue Lion, which had a great atmosphere and background music. I ordered the closest thing they had to fish and chips, which was salmon and haddock breaded cake things with chips and salad, and washed it down with a pint of Amstel while I wrote about my day. I must have stayed there for at least three hours, just sipping at my pint and scribbling away. One of the gentlemen there even asked me "How's the novel going?" I had to admit that it wasn't my novel... but I had that small, secret smile, because I knew, even though he didn't, that I had in fact just written a novel.
That's pretty much my whole day again.
- Jen -
London, Day 1 (Sunday 6 December)
Highlights:
1. Bus journey
2. Hyde Park
3. Oxford Street
4. Hostel
-----
1. Bus journey
So, I took the Oxford Tube from Gloucester in Oxford to Marble Arch in London. For those of you who don't immediately know what I'm talking about, it was from one bus station to one of the corners of Hyde Park. It was an interesting journey because it was my first time on a bus since I had actually come to Oxford. It was also a double-decker, which was interesting and gave some nice views of the street. The journey itself only took about an hour, but while I was riding I was listening to Christmas music and getting ideas for Red vs. Blue ficlets, so we'll see how those materialize.
I ran errands until noon, caught the bus around 12:30, and made it to London with some daylight left, which allowed me to do a few nice things.
-----
2. Hyde Park
Just like I planned, I got to London with an hour or so of daylight left. I got off a few stops early so I could walk through Hyde Park for a while, and I got some nice pictures of sunset on the water. While I was at the park, I saw a group of mounted police or rangers or something, and I also saw what looked like a fair from far off (a Ferris wheel, scream tower, carnie rides, stuff like that). I also saw some kind of roller blading competition or get-together where skaters were trying to impress one another by skating through a series of cones... yeah, I don't really know how to describe it.
-----
3. Oxford Street
So, to get to my hostel from Hyde Park, I elected to walk. It was actually a very long walk, more than an hour, and I had a heavy backpack on my back, so it didn't make for a very happy me. But I walked through Oxford Street, which is one of the largest retailer streets in London. There are multiple H&Ms, River Islands, and other stores like that along the length. I got some entertaining pictures of some of the window displays, because they were set up like panto scenes (but garishly freaky ones). I'll put those up on Shutterfly soon, once I get the battery charged on my camera.
So anyways, I actually passed up multiple Tube stations because I figured it wouldn't be that long of a walk, but it was. By the time I got to the hostel, my shoulders and back were killing me.
-----
4. Hostel
I stayed at a hostel called Ashlee House, on Grays Inn Road. It wasn't more than five minutes from King's Cross (you know, the huge railway station that goes out of London to everywhere else ever). So, for traveling to other places in London, it was a good place to stay, because there was a Tube station there that connected to about five different lines.
Other than that... it was kind of crappy. I was in a room on the top floor with eight beds, but thankfully I got a bottom bunk, so I was happy with that. The walls of our room were painted lime green and the stairwell was a bright lavender color... not the best color scheme, but it was kind of cute and good for the crowd they're going for, I think. The whole place kind of smelled like band camp to me and so didn't exactly evoke the best memories, but I made do. It had a kitchen and a common space in the basement, but most of the time, the mostly German kids in the hotel would be drinking and listening to music down there, so most of the time I just hung out in my room.
The first night I was there, there were six other girls and one kind of creepy guy in the bunk above mine. Two of the girls were some kind of French or Swedish or something, two of the girls were German, and two were Americans. I got to know them all right. They were studying abroad in Turin and were taking the weekend off to go to Dublin and London. Like everyone else on the semester system, they still had class. It was interesting chatting to them, because they didn't exactly understand England. Like, at all. I had to explain to them that Oxford is both a town and a university, and that England, Great Britain, and the UK are not synonymous. I mean, I'm no rocket scientist and I understand it, but for them not to know... enh. I expect too much out of people.
Anyways, since I was pretty disoriented from everything, I pretty much spent the rest of the night writing in my journal. It's got all sorts of pretty colors in it now, I like the way I've been keeping it during my trip. It's also acting as a nice refresher, so I hope that years from now I can read my handwriting and see what I remembered and what I was thinking and feeling.
That's about all for Sunday. I really had a boring day that day and didn't do much besides Hyde Park and Oxford Street that anyone's going to care about.
- Jen -
1. Bus journey
2. Hyde Park
3. Oxford Street
4. Hostel
-----
1. Bus journey
So, I took the Oxford Tube from Gloucester in Oxford to Marble Arch in London. For those of you who don't immediately know what I'm talking about, it was from one bus station to one of the corners of Hyde Park. It was an interesting journey because it was my first time on a bus since I had actually come to Oxford. It was also a double-decker, which was interesting and gave some nice views of the street. The journey itself only took about an hour, but while I was riding I was listening to Christmas music and getting ideas for Red vs. Blue ficlets, so we'll see how those materialize.
I ran errands until noon, caught the bus around 12:30, and made it to London with some daylight left, which allowed me to do a few nice things.
-----
2. Hyde Park
Just like I planned, I got to London with an hour or so of daylight left. I got off a few stops early so I could walk through Hyde Park for a while, and I got some nice pictures of sunset on the water. While I was at the park, I saw a group of mounted police or rangers or something, and I also saw what looked like a fair from far off (a Ferris wheel, scream tower, carnie rides, stuff like that). I also saw some kind of roller blading competition or get-together where skaters were trying to impress one another by skating through a series of cones... yeah, I don't really know how to describe it.
-----
3. Oxford Street
So, to get to my hostel from Hyde Park, I elected to walk. It was actually a very long walk, more than an hour, and I had a heavy backpack on my back, so it didn't make for a very happy me. But I walked through Oxford Street, which is one of the largest retailer streets in London. There are multiple H&Ms, River Islands, and other stores like that along the length. I got some entertaining pictures of some of the window displays, because they were set up like panto scenes (but garishly freaky ones). I'll put those up on Shutterfly soon, once I get the battery charged on my camera.
So anyways, I actually passed up multiple Tube stations because I figured it wouldn't be that long of a walk, but it was. By the time I got to the hostel, my shoulders and back were killing me.
-----
4. Hostel
I stayed at a hostel called Ashlee House, on Grays Inn Road. It wasn't more than five minutes from King's Cross (you know, the huge railway station that goes out of London to everywhere else ever). So, for traveling to other places in London, it was a good place to stay, because there was a Tube station there that connected to about five different lines.
Other than that... it was kind of crappy. I was in a room on the top floor with eight beds, but thankfully I got a bottom bunk, so I was happy with that. The walls of our room were painted lime green and the stairwell was a bright lavender color... not the best color scheme, but it was kind of cute and good for the crowd they're going for, I think. The whole place kind of smelled like band camp to me and so didn't exactly evoke the best memories, but I made do. It had a kitchen and a common space in the basement, but most of the time, the mostly German kids in the hotel would be drinking and listening to music down there, so most of the time I just hung out in my room.
The first night I was there, there were six other girls and one kind of creepy guy in the bunk above mine. Two of the girls were some kind of French or Swedish or something, two of the girls were German, and two were Americans. I got to know them all right. They were studying abroad in Turin and were taking the weekend off to go to Dublin and London. Like everyone else on the semester system, they still had class. It was interesting chatting to them, because they didn't exactly understand England. Like, at all. I had to explain to them that Oxford is both a town and a university, and that England, Great Britain, and the UK are not synonymous. I mean, I'm no rocket scientist and I understand it, but for them not to know... enh. I expect too much out of people.
Anyways, since I was pretty disoriented from everything, I pretty much spent the rest of the night writing in my journal. It's got all sorts of pretty colors in it now, I like the way I've been keeping it during my trip. It's also acting as a nice refresher, so I hope that years from now I can read my handwriting and see what I remembered and what I was thinking and feeling.
That's about all for Sunday. I really had a boring day that day and didn't do much besides Hyde Park and Oxford Street that anyone's going to care about.
- Jen -
03 December 2009
End of term goodness
So, I just finished my last essay for Michaelmas term, and I feel... strange. Liberated, I guess. I downloaded the Fight Club soundtrack, and that doesn't really have anything to do with the above sentences except that I'm listening to it right now. So, so, so good.
So, I'm booking a trip to London right now. Complicated, especially since I don't have a printer. I want to print maps! I guess I'll just be hanging out in the computer lab all day tomorrow until my last tutorial at 2 PM, printing off of Google Maps and creating a last-minute itinerary of things I want to do here in Oxford and in London while I'm there.
I'm excited, but also kind of scared. I've never travelled (ha, British spelling) alone before, but I think I'll live. I'm capable of doing this, it just freaks me out because I've never done it before. It'll be nice to have a little freedom for once, just doing what I want to do. And of course I'll take a billionty-two pictures while I'm in London and put them up on Shutterfly, so check that out.
I made the conscious decision to come back and stay in Oxford before leaving again, just so I would be able to pack my suitcase and all that great stuff. Maybe I'll also sneak in a Harry Potter tour, a main-colleges tour, a visit to the Ashmolean, and a visit to the Natural History Museum (and who knows, maybe even the Bod!), but I won't push myself or anything. It's break, after all, and I'll have half a week before next term to pretty much do what I want around here or London, whichever.
Too busy with everything at the moment to give a good recap of how this term has gone so far, but I think about half of it was spent doing NaNo, if that gives everyone an idea of how stressful, yet fun, my time here has been. Also, Luke (another ND student here) circulated an e-mail of a comment from the Warden about how the ND students consistently perform well. I got my records today and they... weren't that bad, actually. I might have been able to do a little better but I'm still adjusting and I was doing some tutorials that were a little out of my comfort zone. Next two terms should be better. (Probably need to e-mail the philosophy faculty at some point to let them know how I'm doing... or something...)
Blah. Just trying to get a few things done between now and tomorrow afternoon, as past two I basically have my whole evening planned out. So, I may update between now and London but don't count on it!
- Jen -
So, I'm booking a trip to London right now. Complicated, especially since I don't have a printer. I want to print maps! I guess I'll just be hanging out in the computer lab all day tomorrow until my last tutorial at 2 PM, printing off of Google Maps and creating a last-minute itinerary of things I want to do here in Oxford and in London while I'm there.
I'm excited, but also kind of scared. I've never travelled (ha, British spelling) alone before, but I think I'll live. I'm capable of doing this, it just freaks me out because I've never done it before. It'll be nice to have a little freedom for once, just doing what I want to do. And of course I'll take a billionty-two pictures while I'm in London and put them up on Shutterfly, so check that out.
I made the conscious decision to come back and stay in Oxford before leaving again, just so I would be able to pack my suitcase and all that great stuff. Maybe I'll also sneak in a Harry Potter tour, a main-colleges tour, a visit to the Ashmolean, and a visit to the Natural History Museum (and who knows, maybe even the Bod!), but I won't push myself or anything. It's break, after all, and I'll have half a week before next term to pretty much do what I want around here or London, whichever.
Too busy with everything at the moment to give a good recap of how this term has gone so far, but I think about half of it was spent doing NaNo, if that gives everyone an idea of how stressful, yet fun, my time here has been. Also, Luke (another ND student here) circulated an e-mail of a comment from the Warden about how the ND students consistently perform well. I got my records today and they... weren't that bad, actually. I might have been able to do a little better but I'm still adjusting and I was doing some tutorials that were a little out of my comfort zone. Next two terms should be better. (Probably need to e-mail the philosophy faculty at some point to let them know how I'm doing... or something...)
Blah. Just trying to get a few things done between now and tomorrow afternoon, as past two I basically have my whole evening planned out. So, I may update between now and London but don't count on it!
- Jen -
02 December 2009
Big, Fun, Scary List
So, after NaNo every year, a lot of participants get together and make goals for themselves for the upcoming year. It's kind of like a pre-emptive New Year's resolution set, except you actually do a little planning to make the goals you put in place come true. So, I just wanted to share my BFS list with all of you, and I hope you come up with your own.
My big, fun, scary list, with annotations.
1. Edit my main novel for this year with the help of my beta reader/technical editor. [Big.]
2. Shop for publishing houses/agents and send out cover letters/summaries/first chapters. [Big.]
3. Characterize, plan, and write my massive fanfiction novel at the pace of about a chapter a week. [Big, fun.]
4. Do NaNoWriMo 2010. [Big, fun.]
5. Take creative writing classes once I get back to main campus. [Fun, scary.]
---
6. Travel alone, including Europe and my college friends' hometowns. [Fun, scary.]
7. Get a summer job that I'm happy with, or at least make a little money this summer. [Big.]
8. Start knitting/sewing again for something to do for a few hours every day. [Fun.]
9. Actually learn how to knit correctly. I've been teaching myself on and off but I keep dropping it. [Fun.]
10. Actually go out to a club. Can you believe I've been at Oxford for two months and I haven't yet made it out to a club? [Fun.]
11. Make it onto the ballroom competitive team once I get back to main campus. [Big, fun, scary.]
12. Along that line, start exercising, even if it is just walking the treadmill for a half-hour every day. [Big, fun.]
13. Learn how to cook, for real, and cook something every day. [Scary. If you don't think it's scary then you don't really know how awkward I am as a cook.]
I think thirteen things is a good goal for now.
[ETA: LEARN FRENCH. It's been on my BFS for years now.]
My big, fun, scary list, with annotations.
1. Edit my main novel for this year with the help of my beta reader/technical editor. [Big.]
2. Shop for publishing houses/agents and send out cover letters/summaries/first chapters. [Big.]
3. Characterize, plan, and write my massive fanfiction novel at the pace of about a chapter a week. [Big, fun.]
4. Do NaNoWriMo 2010. [Big, fun.]
5. Take creative writing classes once I get back to main campus. [Fun, scary.]
---
6. Travel alone, including Europe and my college friends' hometowns. [Fun, scary.]
7. Get a summer job that I'm happy with, or at least make a little money this summer. [Big.]
8. Start knitting/sewing again for something to do for a few hours every day. [Fun.]
9. Actually learn how to knit correctly. I've been teaching myself on and off but I keep dropping it. [Fun.]
10. Actually go out to a club. Can you believe I've been at Oxford for two months and I haven't yet made it out to a club? [Fun.]
11. Make it onto the ballroom competitive team once I get back to main campus. [Big, fun, scary.]
12. Along that line, start exercising, even if it is just walking the treadmill for a half-hour every day. [Big, fun.]
13. Learn how to cook, for real, and cook something every day. [Scary. If you don't think it's scary then you don't really know how awkward I am as a cook.]
I think thirteen things is a good goal for now.
[ETA: LEARN FRENCH. It's been on my BFS for years now.]
01 December 2009
It's... over.
Not much has happened since my last update. There was a failed Failed Novelists outing on Saturday (failed because it rained too much for us to head out to the nunnery we were going to go to, we couldn't find space in the first two pubs we tried and had to settle for an ice cream shop, and I was too worn out from noveling all day to be much fun), but I had a wonderful milkshake so that makes everything so, so much better. There was more noveling and more tutorializing and so on and so forth. I picked out my tutorials for the next two terms (I think) and confirmed that I don't need to take collections (I think), but otherwise school is winding down and it's a lot more calm now that it's 8th Week.
---
Yesterday, I had a small crisis. It was the 30th of November, and I still needed at least 5,000 words in order to get to my amended goal. Now, usually I bribe myself with chocolate every few thousand words/chapter so that I can keep on track and get going. It's a delicious system.
So, I showed up to eat chocolate and finish novels, and I was all outta chocolate. No, seriously. I was all outta chocolate. This necessitated a last-minute Sainsbury's trip after dinner last night to get the emergency rations. Never fear, though: I did make it through November with my sanity intact (mostly, though the Failed Novelists still seem to know me as 'that one girl with the unholy word count). I finished at 11:00PM GMT, and after a small panic with the validator on the NaNo site, settled in with my wonderful purple bar of awesome. Congrats, me.
I feel very strange now that November is over. The end of term is this Friday so it's a little weird to be finally caught up only to realize that there is no more catching up to do. I'm glad it's done, though, so I can enjoy the rest of this week:
- Last L+L lecture
- Last Ethics tutorial
- Formal Christmas dinner
- Last Ethics lecture
- Last L+L tutorial
- Failed Novelists Thank God It's Over get-together
- Formal guest dinner
- Christmas bop
Lots of stuff going on and I'm excited to be a part of it.
---
To reward myself for the end of NaNo, I went out shopping this morning. I bought myself a surprise that I'll show everyone over Christmas, as well as put a sweaterdress on hold. But I'm more excited for the things I bought online:
- Circular 16" and double-pointed size 10.5 bamboo needles (yeah, I'm a knitting nerd too)
- Lion brand Jiffy yarn, 2 skeins each of 3 colors (can't tell you what colors, they're needed for Christmas presents for my friends!)
- This (trust me, it will help my poor hands)
- This shirt (because if it's good enough for Jayne Cobb it's good enough for you)
I'm so excited to get home and see all the things I've ordered waiting for me! And trust me, I deserve them all.
---
Just to give you all an idea of how NaNoWriMo went for me this year, I'm going to put up some statistics that I think illustrate my point pretty well. (I came up with a little worksheet last night, but apparently Blogger doesn't support tables.)
Goal Word Count: 100,000 (set in October) / 175,000 (set in Week 2 of November)
(2007: 60,000 | 2008: 75,000)
Actual Word Count: 176,756 (in two novels, ten drabbles, and two short stories; that is, not including schoolwork like essays, forum posts, blog posts, etc.)
(2007: 61,761 in one novel | 2008: 88,306 in one novel)
[In case you're still keeping track, this means that I actually more than DOUBLED last year's total word count.]
Total Hours Writing: 78:03
(2007: n/a | 2008: 40:26)
Average Hours Per Day: 2:36
(2007: n/a | 2008: 1:21)
Average Words Per Hour: 2,206
(2007: n/a | 2008: 2,181)
Fastest Words Per Hour: 3,387 on November 30
(2007: n/a | 2008: 3,993 on November 17)
Average Words Per Day: 5,892
(2007: calculating | 2008: 2,944)
Most Words Per Day: 12,378 on November 13
(2007: 5,719 on November 1 | 2008: 10,016 on November 1)
Number of Five Digit Days (days with 10,000+ words): 3
(2007: 0 | 2008: 1)
Number of days not making personal daily goal: 3
(2007: 15 | 2008: 7)
Number of days not making NaNo daily goal: 0
(2007: 11 | 2008: 7)
Number of days with no writing: 0
(2007: 6 | 2008: 3)
Day passed NaNo overall goal: November 9
(2007: November 19 | 2008: November 14)
Day passed personal overall goal: November 18
(2007: November 26 | 2008: November 23)
As you can see, every year I've improved. I think part of that is discipline and part of that is circumstances. I'm at a place in my life where I easily structure my own days, without much that I have to do in the 'outside world.' At ND I would easily be in lecture until 4 in the afternoon and still have to do work that might take until 10 at night. Here, I got up early and instead of going to lecture (or on top of going to lecture), I would read for my tutorials and write my essays before dinner. Then I would go out and eat in hall and come back, sit down in front of the keyboard and either take a 1-2 hour break or finish my essays, then get cracking on writing around 8 PM. Of course, there are days where I wrote more or less, but I think these statistics say a lot. And I'm quite proud of how much I've improved this year.
I also appear to have picked up a technical editor as a matter of course. It's nice to have found a beta reader who really is my ideal reader (my AI novel was definitely targeted to the geeky audience and was meant to have a near-future scientific appeal, so good job on me for writing for my audience). I'm actually not embarrassed of Lucid Proxy and that's a change for me: I haven't liked any of my other NaNo novels I've produced so far.
NaNo does an offer for winners that they can create a free CreateSpace proof copy for their manuscripts, redeemable by 30 May. So, if I can get my novel cleaned up and into second draft mode, I'll definitely send it through and possibly put it up for order through Amazon.com (CreateSpace assigns ISBNs to all proof copies, apparently, and I can vanity-press it and get a portion of the proceeds from each copy sold). However, I don't think I'll put it up on Amazon if I do, because if I can clean it up enough and target a few publishing houses, I could really get this thing out there.
Also speaking of NaNo, it was interesting being on the forums last night. There have been two writers whose progress I've been following, Kateness and CrimsonBlood, who both made it to a million words during the month. Yes, it's possible. These two girls have ungodly typing speed and outlines ahoy, and they know how they work and they structure their days so that they can get their work done on their time. I know for sure that Kateness has been unemployed this month (not by her own volition) and so she had the time and energy to reach the 1mil, but I think Crim might still be in some kind of school; she talks about homework on the forums a lot. Anyways, if you think MY accomplishment was a big deal, check these people out. (Yes, they have actually validated, but the validator on the NaNo site only goes up to 999,999 in order not to collapse the universe.)
---
So... I do still have an Ethics tutorial tomorrow, and I haven't started the essay yet. However, I have the whole rest of the day (like, 10 hours, guys!) to finish two final chapters of reading and pound out 2,500 words on the concept of free will. This looks easy as pie compared to what I've been doing this month. It also helps that I love reading about things like this, and that I've been gobbling up the literature over the past two days.
Also, I have a 230g half-finished bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk (most delicious chocolate ever) on my desk (and "Super Freak" just started playing in iTunes). Life is good.
- Jen -
---
Yesterday, I had a small crisis. It was the 30th of November, and I still needed at least 5,000 words in order to get to my amended goal. Now, usually I bribe myself with chocolate every few thousand words/chapter so that I can keep on track and get going. It's a delicious system.
So, I showed up to eat chocolate and finish novels, and I was all outta chocolate. No, seriously. I was all outta chocolate. This necessitated a last-minute Sainsbury's trip after dinner last night to get the emergency rations. Never fear, though: I did make it through November with my sanity intact (mostly, though the Failed Novelists still seem to know me as 'that one girl with the unholy word count). I finished at 11:00PM GMT, and after a small panic with the validator on the NaNo site, settled in with my wonderful purple bar of awesome. Congrats, me.
I feel very strange now that November is over. The end of term is this Friday so it's a little weird to be finally caught up only to realize that there is no more catching up to do. I'm glad it's done, though, so I can enjoy the rest of this week:
- Last L+L lecture
- Last Ethics tutorial
- Formal Christmas dinner
- Last Ethics lecture
- Last L+L tutorial
- Failed Novelists Thank God It's Over get-together
- Formal guest dinner
- Christmas bop
Lots of stuff going on and I'm excited to be a part of it.
---
To reward myself for the end of NaNo, I went out shopping this morning. I bought myself a surprise that I'll show everyone over Christmas, as well as put a sweaterdress on hold. But I'm more excited for the things I bought online:
- Circular 16" and double-pointed size 10.5 bamboo needles (yeah, I'm a knitting nerd too)
- Lion brand Jiffy yarn, 2 skeins each of 3 colors (can't tell you what colors, they're needed for Christmas presents for my friends!)
- This (trust me, it will help my poor hands)
- This shirt (because if it's good enough for Jayne Cobb it's good enough for you)
I'm so excited to get home and see all the things I've ordered waiting for me! And trust me, I deserve them all.
---
Just to give you all an idea of how NaNoWriMo went for me this year, I'm going to put up some statistics that I think illustrate my point pretty well. (I came up with a little worksheet last night, but apparently Blogger doesn't support tables.)
Goal Word Count: 100,000 (set in October) / 175,000 (set in Week 2 of November)
(2007: 60,000 | 2008: 75,000)
Actual Word Count: 176,756 (in two novels, ten drabbles, and two short stories; that is, not including schoolwork like essays, forum posts, blog posts, etc.)
(2007: 61,761 in one novel | 2008: 88,306 in one novel)
[In case you're still keeping track, this means that I actually more than DOUBLED last year's total word count.]
Total Hours Writing: 78:03
(2007: n/a | 2008: 40:26)
Average Hours Per Day: 2:36
(2007: n/a | 2008: 1:21)
Average Words Per Hour: 2,206
(2007: n/a | 2008: 2,181)
Fastest Words Per Hour: 3,387 on November 30
(2007: n/a | 2008: 3,993 on November 17)
Average Words Per Day: 5,892
(2007: calculating | 2008: 2,944)
Most Words Per Day: 12,378 on November 13
(2007: 5,719 on November 1 | 2008: 10,016 on November 1)
Number of Five Digit Days (days with 10,000+ words): 3
(2007: 0 | 2008: 1)
Number of days not making personal daily goal: 3
(2007: 15 | 2008: 7)
Number of days not making NaNo daily goal: 0
(2007: 11 | 2008: 7)
Number of days with no writing: 0
(2007: 6 | 2008: 3)
Day passed NaNo overall goal: November 9
(2007: November 19 | 2008: November 14)
Day passed personal overall goal: November 18
(2007: November 26 | 2008: November 23)
As you can see, every year I've improved. I think part of that is discipline and part of that is circumstances. I'm at a place in my life where I easily structure my own days, without much that I have to do in the 'outside world.' At ND I would easily be in lecture until 4 in the afternoon and still have to do work that might take until 10 at night. Here, I got up early and instead of going to lecture (or on top of going to lecture), I would read for my tutorials and write my essays before dinner. Then I would go out and eat in hall and come back, sit down in front of the keyboard and either take a 1-2 hour break or finish my essays, then get cracking on writing around 8 PM. Of course, there are days where I wrote more or less, but I think these statistics say a lot. And I'm quite proud of how much I've improved this year.
I also appear to have picked up a technical editor as a matter of course. It's nice to have found a beta reader who really is my ideal reader (my AI novel was definitely targeted to the geeky audience and was meant to have a near-future scientific appeal, so good job on me for writing for my audience). I'm actually not embarrassed of Lucid Proxy and that's a change for me: I haven't liked any of my other NaNo novels I've produced so far.
NaNo does an offer for winners that they can create a free CreateSpace proof copy for their manuscripts, redeemable by 30 May. So, if I can get my novel cleaned up and into second draft mode, I'll definitely send it through and possibly put it up for order through Amazon.com (CreateSpace assigns ISBNs to all proof copies, apparently, and I can vanity-press it and get a portion of the proceeds from each copy sold). However, I don't think I'll put it up on Amazon if I do, because if I can clean it up enough and target a few publishing houses, I could really get this thing out there.
Also speaking of NaNo, it was interesting being on the forums last night. There have been two writers whose progress I've been following, Kateness and CrimsonBlood, who both made it to a million words during the month. Yes, it's possible. These two girls have ungodly typing speed and outlines ahoy, and they know how they work and they structure their days so that they can get their work done on their time. I know for sure that Kateness has been unemployed this month (not by her own volition) and so she had the time and energy to reach the 1mil, but I think Crim might still be in some kind of school; she talks about homework on the forums a lot. Anyways, if you think MY accomplishment was a big deal, check these people out. (Yes, they have actually validated, but the validator on the NaNo site only goes up to 999,999 in order not to collapse the universe.)
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So... I do still have an Ethics tutorial tomorrow, and I haven't started the essay yet. However, I have the whole rest of the day (like, 10 hours, guys!) to finish two final chapters of reading and pound out 2,500 words on the concept of free will. This looks easy as pie compared to what I've been doing this month. It also helps that I love reading about things like this, and that I've been gobbling up the literature over the past two days.
Also, I have a 230g half-finished bar of Cadbury Dairy Milk (most delicious chocolate ever) on my desk (and "Super Freak" just started playing in iTunes). Life is good.
- Jen -
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