March 2012
5 posts
Winding down, winding up.
This term is winding down. I’m done with classes, and I only have to finish one more essay by Friday. I mean, I have to start that essay too, but I also have to finish it.
The last few weeks have been pretty boring, to be honest. Lots of fun, lots of stress, lots of planning, lots of procrastination, and a little bit of work every once in a while. Since my last update, I’ve been back...
Saturday?
Plans hatched on a Friday afternoon led to Trevor and I wandering Borough and Bermondset, south of the river.
We went to The Kernel brewery to visit one of the friends I made in Edinburgh—turns out he went back to New Zealand already. Sad. But, the brewery is located on a small alley that was filled with hipsters, cheese vendors, the best coffee I’ve had in London, and an awesome...
Figures. I go to the symphony, and forget my opera...
I also forgot my tophat, monocle, and caviar.
The concert consisted of three Rachmaninov pieces (one a piano concierto) and it was really fun.
Except the vocal soloists. Vibrato just makes you sound like a goat. Seriously. Stop that.
February 2012
14 posts
Sketches of Spain, Take I
There’s a reason that Charlotte’s Web didn’t take place in Spain. It would have been three paragraphs long; in the first, we would meet the characters, in the second, Charlotte would write “delicioso” or “jamón” over the pigpen, and in the third Wilbur would be tapas.
So last Thursday I took a trip to the Iberian peninsula. A 5AM cab ride, followed by a...
Supplies!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mke1QaOjIPk
More on Spain to come. Eventually.
Braveheart. Haggis. Fried Mars Bars. Couchsurfing....
So there Andrew and I were, sitting on a train hurtling down the Scottish coast, toasting the sunset and watching waves crash against the rugged shore amidst pastures and the ruins of seaside cottages.
[Ha! Starting in medias res, I see what you’re doing, you sneaky narrator!, you’re saying…]
It all started with the train tickets to Edinburgh we bought back in January. We arrived at Waverly...
Come on, Fulham!
Woah, this blog is still here! Exciting news!
Anyways, coming from the Lame Excuses Department, I’ve got a memo here about heaps and heaps of homework, essays, lab reports, and other un-fun things that are currently ruining Nick’s life—and it’s true, I’ve been swamped the last week (and will be for the next week) with all the things I need to turn in. And it’s...
This ain't Kansas anymore...
…and it sure ain’t LA; we’ve got two inches of snow outside (and growing… rapidly!)
Current reports say that the city absolutely shuts down with snow.
Optimistic reports say that we probably won’t have class on Monday.
Pessimistic reports are making me still do the work I have due Monday.
Also, there are reports of snowball fights breaking out around town, and...
Further proof that my radiator is evil...
…it tried to drown me. Granted, I was never in extreme danger, as it’s exceedingly stupid (it is, after all, a radiator).
So, yesterday, someone was finally sent out to look at my radiator, which was nonfunctional until yesterday. Of course, this happened while I was in the shower, they came in, fixed it, left, and locked the door, leaving me with nothing but a towel and a head full...
Had a full English tea today...
…clotted cream is one of the best things ever.
In other news, my arteries hurt.
January 2012
20 posts
Jay-Z & Optical Physics
I’m gonna keep this short-ish, ‘cause I really should be doing work right now…
Anyways, last night, Andrew & Maria (fellow Sagehens who are studying abroad at some community college over here) came into town— we went to the Science Museum Lates program, where they open the museum up to adults until 10 at night, serve drinks, have special programs, and have DJs playing...
In which Nick discovers the Cathedral.
So, in the course of my London archaeology… course… today, we went back to the Museum of London, this time to walk around in the rain and look at some ruins. Some parts of the old Roman wall were a bit hidden by later walls built on top of it, some parts were more accessible. And then, some parts had a parking garage built around them. Literally.
We were wandering around, following...
In which Nick ventures to the Land of Cam
‘Twas a grey Friday when our hero set out to ford the River Cam, to visit comrades of battles past, and to pay tribute to that great mage Ninkasi. After many a setback (including, but not limited to forgotten sleeping bags [on Syd’s part], forgotten pictures [who thought they wouldn’t be able to have a simple polaroid at King’s Cross], and naive misinformation about the...
Okay, it's been a while...
…since I posted last. This one’s gonna be quick, i’m about to head to a castle to do some climbing with Sydney… Anyways, the sun is no longer shining, it’s a bit warmer, and it generally looks more like London— On Wednesday night, a few of us headed to the Royal Festival Hall (fancy, eh?) to see whether or not Profkiev was a man of the people. Though that...
Living in the Arctic Circle has its drawbacks...
…not only do I have to take a dogsled to class, but I’ve been sneezing icicles. Not so much fun. What makes it even better is that— as I’ve suspected for weeks—my radiator is on the fritz. I had my doubts with it from the start (I mean, it’s a radiator. I didn’t know that anyone used these things anymore. What is this, Merry Poppins?), which were only...
Woo!
So today was Thursday. That meant no classes for Nick! Instead, I met up with Erica Gillingham (a fellow Nor-Cal’er who now lives in London) for a little tour of the city; Tube to Embankment= quick and easy- I met Erica there, we walked across the river (on a bridge), and then went along the south bank, which is a really cool area. Stops included the Tate Modern (housed in an old power...
Fairly quick update...
…to my parents, I’m still alive, and to my parole officer, I haven’t left the country. Classes started today. Well, I had two classes. Developmental Neuro from 11-noon, and 17th and 18th century art from 2-4. We don’t have a set room for Art History, next week we meet at the National Gallery. So I’m gonna go catch a violin concert at St. Martin’s beforehand,...
Weekends mean...
…crowds everywhere, apparently.
Syd and I decided that we already knew the UCL campus far too well by Friday, and wanted to wander farther than 3 blocks off of it; After dinner Friday night (made by yours truly) we took a bus up to Camden, and saw some live music at Koko, an old theater-turned music venue (complete with carved greco/roman gods holding up the columns, box seating, and a...
And we're back!
I’m now sitting in my room, comfortably listening to internet music and updating my blog. This is the experience I signed up for. Anyways, I fixed my internet situation this morning. As it turns out, in my jet-lagged state, I… emailed my username to myself, not realizing that I… didn’t have email access at my room… awkward. But it’s all rectified now. After...
Quick update...
…i’m sitting in starbucks, using the wifi (my dorm won’t let me on….) and loading up with caffeine.
IN LONDON!!!
More to follow, but everything is super British here, from the public transportation (double decker red busses) to the sidewalks (they remind you which way to look) to the people (they’ve all got these weird accents).
I’ve gotta go meet my...
December 2011
2 posts
1 tag
Huh. I guess this works.
I’m keeping this blog so y’alls have some visuals to follow along with my semester studying neuroscience at University College London (UCL) in England. I’ll post some pictures and describe what’s happening periodically- nothing too exciting, don’t worry.
I’d also like to say that stateofjefferson wasn’t my first pick for a tumblr name, but some yoo-hoo...
