You know you've been working hard when the highlight of your week is a pudding. To be fair, this wasn't just any pudding. But now I'm getting ahead of myself.
Since Emily left on Tuesday I've returned to the normal routine that brings me a lot of joy. I'm back to the dining table dissertation desk followed by a few hours at the gym in the afternoon. Lately, as process on the dissertation keeps steady, I've also incorporated job searching into the daily routine. My job site bookmarks increase each week - the full court press will be in full effect come mid-November I imagine.
Tuesday evening we went to a play at the Warwick Arts Centre called Deep Cut. It's a piece that explores the strange and unnerving "suicides" at a UK military outlet by four youth in the span of ten years or so. I didn't know much about the issue before the play, but from the outside it seems like there is a coverup going on. The play used some verbatim material in weaving together a portrait of one case in particular. I thought that the various perspectives speaking to one another (parents, journalist, official report, first hand accounts) was an innovative way to tell the story, but that's about all that grabbed me about the play. It was too didactic for my tastes, and my most astute colleagues assured me that the Welsh accents had been butchered. Nevertheless, it was nice to see some theatre again as it had been a while. We went out for a cheeky pint afterwards.
On Wednesday I made only my fifth trip back to campus in six weeks for a MAIPR seminar. There were two very distinguished scholars visiting from the United States as part of the coursework for the new class. Each presented a paper at the seminar and then chatted with us afterwards. It was nice to see a good group gathered again. In particular, Sue-Ellen Case (who Natalie Rewa will be just THRILLED that I chatted with) is one of the leading academics in my field. Her research interests are extremely diverse, but she has an accomplished body of literature about the very things I'm writing about. I chatted with her briefly about my topic and she thought it sounded promising. It was nice to hear from such a distinguished professor. She sent me book references via my supervisor that will help as I go.
In business news I had a major breakthrough with the thesis. Instead of focussing on Canada, the States, and the Netherlands, my supervisor and I decided to focus solely on North America. He was fully supportive of narrowing down. I think it will be a nice way to frame things now as a comparison of two countries that share a border. It's a shame that I won't get to discuss the Netherlands (since I wanted a more diverse study) but with what I've written so far I wouldn't have the space for three nation studies and a chapter of theory. This means I'll arrive at a draft sooner than I thought.
On my way home from the gym on Thursday Lotte called and asked if I wanted to come round for pudding. I knew pudding would probably cancel out my time at the gym, but I didn't care. Translator's note: pudding means cake here in England (so don't picture me eating a bowl of liquified chocolate but rather a delicious cake). We met at the grocery and picked up some supplies. The cake was simple but cleverly chocofied: two large chocolate swiss rolls lathered in nutella and covered with bits of a cookie infused chocolate bar. It was placed in the oven for about ten minutes where it baked into pure joy. Talk about chocolate overload. It was a delicious pudding, and so rich that no one could have another slice. It was the highlight of my weekdays.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: Some pudding - I'll let you interpret that as you will.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Thankfulness.doc
When Emily arrived on Friday night I was truly in shock. It took a good five minutes for my brain to actually process that she had descended upon me, gift in hand, to celebrate my 25th. That evening my mind raced because I hadn't planned anything for us to do and because the fridge was bare. Thankfully, I was reminded that with a best friend, it doesn't matter what you're doing or for how long, just that you're together. We didn't do anything spectacular over the four days and there was not a one special tourist stop, but it was yet another wonderful visit.
On the Saturday after my birthday we started the day off with oatmeal. It was probably the only thing I had in the house to be honest. We then took a small jaunt through Leamington. Fall has definitely arrived. While the trees are bursting with vibrant shades worthy of Debbie Travis, the temperature drop is also felt. I think it was a drastic change from the sun swept landscapes of the Portuguese beaches Emily was use to. I took her to a quaint little candy shop in town. It has an old school sweet shop feel and shares the building with a milkshake shop. We stocked up on all kinds of refined sugars and made our way to the city gardens. We placed ourselves on a bench and people watched for a good two hours talking of the usual random meanderings that tend to pepper our conversations. That evening we made a thanksgiving dinner. We shared a nice sized turkey breast with cranberry sauce, broccoli, and potatoes. For dessert we had a strawberry cheesecake. It was the first time I had had turkey since maybe Christmas 2007. Much overdue. It was nice to share the meal with a friend from home.
Sunday was a bit more relaxed. After a breakfast feast, we both took time during the day to get some homework done. I edited a draft of one of my chapters and Emily started some online school applications. We shared tea and concentrated on our various tasks - see, quiet time with Hincksy and the Doctor is possible too. That lasted for about two hours and then we couldn't take it anymore. By the time we were finished with our work we realized the grocery had closed so we decided on heading to a traditional English pub instead. I had my second roast meal of the weekend - a traditional roast beef with yorkshire pudding and a pint of Guinness. Em had a delicious chicken burger (also with a pint of Guinness). We stayed for two more rounds of pints and chatted the evening away. It was really nice to treat ourselves to a meal out since we're usually such budget conscious travelers.
On Monday morning we shared yet another delicious breakfast before I jumped on the bus to campus. I had a meeting with my dissertation supervisor. (Sidenote: It went extremely well and set my mind at ease). It was a few short hours on campus before I returned home. Emily had spent a lazy day at the apartment. She even chose to watch a film by herself on my computer. I don't think she has watched a film by herself since 2002 or so...or maybe it has never happened. In fact we had watched a film two evenings before so I think I doubled the number of films she has seen all year in two days. Regardless, we made a journey to the grocery and picked up a delicious indian meal that we later devoured. We ate cheesecake for dessert for the third night in a row.
Re-reading this post it seems that all we did for the four days was eat well. Interesting...
The next day I put Emily on a train. It was sad to say goodbye as always, but the visit was perfectly timed. Dissertation work can get boring (even with the gym to balance my routine) and spending my second birthday here reminded me of all the wonderful things back home. Hinckster swooped in at the perfect time. The visit provided me with the momentum to get through this leg of the writing and a journey to Berlin to look forward to in just a month. A visit with my hip, tanned, horse riding friend was the perfect prescription for October.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: I am deeply thankful for all of your birthday wishes. I hope you were thankful for all the wonderful things in your life - including me.
On the Saturday after my birthday we started the day off with oatmeal. It was probably the only thing I had in the house to be honest. We then took a small jaunt through Leamington. Fall has definitely arrived. While the trees are bursting with vibrant shades worthy of Debbie Travis, the temperature drop is also felt. I think it was a drastic change from the sun swept landscapes of the Portuguese beaches Emily was use to. I took her to a quaint little candy shop in town. It has an old school sweet shop feel and shares the building with a milkshake shop. We stocked up on all kinds of refined sugars and made our way to the city gardens. We placed ourselves on a bench and people watched for a good two hours talking of the usual random meanderings that tend to pepper our conversations. That evening we made a thanksgiving dinner. We shared a nice sized turkey breast with cranberry sauce, broccoli, and potatoes. For dessert we had a strawberry cheesecake. It was the first time I had had turkey since maybe Christmas 2007. Much overdue. It was nice to share the meal with a friend from home.
Sunday was a bit more relaxed. After a breakfast feast, we both took time during the day to get some homework done. I edited a draft of one of my chapters and Emily started some online school applications. We shared tea and concentrated on our various tasks - see, quiet time with Hincksy and the Doctor is possible too. That lasted for about two hours and then we couldn't take it anymore. By the time we were finished with our work we realized the grocery had closed so we decided on heading to a traditional English pub instead. I had my second roast meal of the weekend - a traditional roast beef with yorkshire pudding and a pint of Guinness. Em had a delicious chicken burger (also with a pint of Guinness). We stayed for two more rounds of pints and chatted the evening away. It was really nice to treat ourselves to a meal out since we're usually such budget conscious travelers.
On Monday morning we shared yet another delicious breakfast before I jumped on the bus to campus. I had a meeting with my dissertation supervisor. (Sidenote: It went extremely well and set my mind at ease). It was a few short hours on campus before I returned home. Emily had spent a lazy day at the apartment. She even chose to watch a film by herself on my computer. I don't think she has watched a film by herself since 2002 or so...or maybe it has never happened. In fact we had watched a film two evenings before so I think I doubled the number of films she has seen all year in two days. Regardless, we made a journey to the grocery and picked up a delicious indian meal that we later devoured. We ate cheesecake for dessert for the third night in a row.
Re-reading this post it seems that all we did for the four days was eat well. Interesting...
The next day I put Emily on a train. It was sad to say goodbye as always, but the visit was perfectly timed. Dissertation work can get boring (even with the gym to balance my routine) and spending my second birthday here reminded me of all the wonderful things back home. Hinckster swooped in at the perfect time. The visit provided me with the momentum to get through this leg of the writing and a journey to Berlin to look forward to in just a month. A visit with my hip, tanned, horse riding friend was the perfect prescription for October.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: I am deeply thankful for all of your birthday wishes. I hope you were thankful for all the wonderful things in your life - including me.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
A Special 25 Surprise.doc
Birthdays are fun, but the actual day is a bit of an out of body experience - you're the centre of attention and there is nothing you can really do. My 25th was extremely memorable for a number of reasons.
The first being that it was my second birthday away from home. I think it'll make all the subsequent birthdays at home all the better. I really miss spending the special day with family during thanksgiving, and with friends who have known me for a good six years. At the same time, it was nice to know people back home were thinking of me. It's always humbling to log on and see 100 facebook posts wishing me well, and messages from family back home. My parents sent me a very thoughtful gift for my birthday. My ipod had kicked out during the summer of traveling (I squeezed three and a half years out of it) so they replaced it with a new slick blue 5th Generation Nano which now features a great little video camera. I really feel that I have all I need, but the ipod is a nice luxury for jaunts about town and at the gym.
At the same time that I missed family and friends back home, my friends here in the UK gave me a smashing birthday celebration. On Thursday, Tory, Zoey, and I decked out the apartment with red and white paraphernalia and loaded the freezer with delicious eats for our guests. Everyone got into the Canadian theme. Bec whipped up a beautiful Canadian cake which was devoured once the clock struck midnight. Lotte and Tory entertained the group with a wonderful rendition of a Celine Dion hit before we hit the town. There were over twenty people in our small little posh pad, but it was such a great celebration. The party was one of the best our MAIPR group has had. Some of the new students attended, and it was nice for the groups to get to know each other further. As the time here at the program slowly winds down (I'm reminded of that with the passing of each week), the party was a reminder of all the fantastic connections made over the thirteen months spent together. I've made some really great friends from all different parts of the world.
My actual birthday on Friday was pretty low key. After a very late night on Thursday, and a long sleep in on Friday, Tory and I hit the town and got some great eats for the rest of the day. Birthdays are an excuse to relax, and after such a crazy night before, we just chilled out for the majority of the day. In the evening, Bec came over with some cake and we sat around with tea. Around 11, after a restful but fulfilling birthday, in the one hour before I wasn't the special centre of attention - the birthday surprise came. I received a welcome call from Emily. I thought it was really sweet of her to be calling from Portugal. I went into my room to chat and she asked how the day was. As I told her we weren't up to much that evening, a mysterious stranger banged on my bedroom window and yelled, "Rally back Doctor! Rally back!" Emily had come to Leamington to surprise me on my birthday. To say I was shocked was an understatement. From what I knew, Em had a full week left in Portugal and the arrival was absolutely impossible. It took a good fifteen minutes for the reality to sink in. At the same time that the party the evening before was memorable, on my actual birthday I was feeling homesick (maybe the most homesick I've felt while over here) and Emily's visit came at the perfect time. It joins the 23rd birthday celebrations as two of the most memorable birthday moments. The friendly face from home warmed my heart. I'll remember the surprise always.
So my whole weekend turned around. I went from planned homework to hosting my best friend here in Leam. We've had a wonderful weekend so far, and Em is here until Tuesday. I'm really thankful to spend time with her amidst all the dissertation work. I think it'll help me on the road to getting a draft together. Updates on our thanksgiving weekend in the next post.
Happy Holidays back home in Canada!
Doc's Prescription of the Day: Turkey, turkey, gobble, gobble, stuffing, and all that.
The first being that it was my second birthday away from home. I think it'll make all the subsequent birthdays at home all the better. I really miss spending the special day with family during thanksgiving, and with friends who have known me for a good six years. At the same time, it was nice to know people back home were thinking of me. It's always humbling to log on and see 100 facebook posts wishing me well, and messages from family back home. My parents sent me a very thoughtful gift for my birthday. My ipod had kicked out during the summer of traveling (I squeezed three and a half years out of it) so they replaced it with a new slick blue 5th Generation Nano which now features a great little video camera. I really feel that I have all I need, but the ipod is a nice luxury for jaunts about town and at the gym.
At the same time that I missed family and friends back home, my friends here in the UK gave me a smashing birthday celebration. On Thursday, Tory, Zoey, and I decked out the apartment with red and white paraphernalia and loaded the freezer with delicious eats for our guests. Everyone got into the Canadian theme. Bec whipped up a beautiful Canadian cake which was devoured once the clock struck midnight. Lotte and Tory entertained the group with a wonderful rendition of a Celine Dion hit before we hit the town. There were over twenty people in our small little posh pad, but it was such a great celebration. The party was one of the best our MAIPR group has had. Some of the new students attended, and it was nice for the groups to get to know each other further. As the time here at the program slowly winds down (I'm reminded of that with the passing of each week), the party was a reminder of all the fantastic connections made over the thirteen months spent together. I've made some really great friends from all different parts of the world.
My actual birthday on Friday was pretty low key. After a very late night on Thursday, and a long sleep in on Friday, Tory and I hit the town and got some great eats for the rest of the day. Birthdays are an excuse to relax, and after such a crazy night before, we just chilled out for the majority of the day. In the evening, Bec came over with some cake and we sat around with tea. Around 11, after a restful but fulfilling birthday, in the one hour before I wasn't the special centre of attention - the birthday surprise came. I received a welcome call from Emily. I thought it was really sweet of her to be calling from Portugal. I went into my room to chat and she asked how the day was. As I told her we weren't up to much that evening, a mysterious stranger banged on my bedroom window and yelled, "Rally back Doctor! Rally back!" Emily had come to Leamington to surprise me on my birthday. To say I was shocked was an understatement. From what I knew, Em had a full week left in Portugal and the arrival was absolutely impossible. It took a good fifteen minutes for the reality to sink in. At the same time that the party the evening before was memorable, on my actual birthday I was feeling homesick (maybe the most homesick I've felt while over here) and Emily's visit came at the perfect time. It joins the 23rd birthday celebrations as two of the most memorable birthday moments. The friendly face from home warmed my heart. I'll remember the surprise always.
So my whole weekend turned around. I went from planned homework to hosting my best friend here in Leam. We've had a wonderful weekend so far, and Em is here until Tuesday. I'm really thankful to spend time with her amidst all the dissertation work. I think it'll help me on the road to getting a draft together. Updates on our thanksgiving weekend in the next post.
Happy Holidays back home in Canada!
Doc's Prescription of the Day: Turkey, turkey, gobble, gobble, stuffing, and all that.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
The Toast of Birthdays Past.doc
So I've polluted my itunes playlist with Celine Dion, Alanis Morisette, and Shania Twain. That's right. I've gone all this time without any of their sultry vocals (with good reason I would add). I'm swallowing my pride and downloading some of their greatest hits for our Canadian themed party tomorrow night. We're gearing up for some stellar Canadian birthday celebrations. I think it's a pretty funny theme, and come to think of it, it will without a doubt be the only time I can get away with a Canadian themed birthday, or a Canadian themed party for that matter. How weird would it be to do this kind of thing in Toronto? So I say let Celine, Alanis, and Shania come (they've been requested). They'll just have to live alongside my much more privileged Arcade Fire, Tragically Hip, Trews, and Hawksley. I haven't been taking many photos the past month so tomorrow's party will be an occasion to get a little snap happy. The new MAIPRS are joining us as well so we're expecting a group of about 25 - our posh little pad will be packed.
The dissertation work has stalled a bit since the London venture. This happened when I got through the last chapter. On one hand I'm really happy to have chugged through it, but on the other I have no idea where to start with the next one. I mean, I have a rough context and an artistic performance, but as far as starting with the blank screen, it just takes a few days to ease into it. Unfortunately, the few days spent 'easing' into it will ease right into birthday celebrations and derail the momentum. I've decided that's alright. Come the Sunday after my birthday I can get back on the wagon and power through. Thankfully, my growing works citing is hitting all of the performance studies big names so I think that's a decent sign. You must be strategic of course - a dash here, a dash there.
I've developed a wee addiction while living in Leamington. It's one I never thought I'd acquire. I'm addicted to the gym. Saying it like that may sound that I'm bragging about my devotion and dedication to a task some would choose a lobotomy over, but it's really true. I've become a convert. If I go a day without going, I feel a bit less than myself. I've only really taken a day off if I've gone to London, had a visitor, or the odd night we've got a big one planned. The days that are busy I've usually been able to squeeze it in early in the morning or late in the evening. It has also grown into a gym visit rather than just a pop in - I spend about two hours a day in there. It's not that I'm pounding the weights looking for a crazy 180 transformation (far from it). It's simply that it's a place in the city I want to be each day. The people are friendly, it feels good to get exercise, the water facilities truly live up to the 'spa' in the latter part of the city, and I feel like a million bucks walking out of that place. I've never been in better shape physically. And I've learned a lot more about fitness - it's like a full time job for some of these guys. I've been blazing my own trail and learning some of the rules as I go along, but to build real muscle it takes insane dedication to a demanding routine. That's not really the schedule I'm looking for, you also have to increase your calorie intake immensely. I've also read that you shouldn't mix cardio if you're trying to bulk up, and I like my cardio. I've gone from being able to jog on the treadmill from 10 to 20 to 30 minutes at 10km an hour. My goal before leaving Leam is to be able to hit 10km in 50 minutes. Bottom line, the steam room after a work out is my favourite spot in Leamington.
On the eve of the celebration of my 25th year (that is just as hard to type as it is to say out loud) I'm reminded of some great birthdays in the past few years.
The dissertation work has stalled a bit since the London venture. This happened when I got through the last chapter. On one hand I'm really happy to have chugged through it, but on the other I have no idea where to start with the next one. I mean, I have a rough context and an artistic performance, but as far as starting with the blank screen, it just takes a few days to ease into it. Unfortunately, the few days spent 'easing' into it will ease right into birthday celebrations and derail the momentum. I've decided that's alright. Come the Sunday after my birthday I can get back on the wagon and power through. Thankfully, my growing works citing is hitting all of the performance studies big names so I think that's a decent sign. You must be strategic of course - a dash here, a dash there.
I've developed a wee addiction while living in Leamington. It's one I never thought I'd acquire. I'm addicted to the gym. Saying it like that may sound that I'm bragging about my devotion and dedication to a task some would choose a lobotomy over, but it's really true. I've become a convert. If I go a day without going, I feel a bit less than myself. I've only really taken a day off if I've gone to London, had a visitor, or the odd night we've got a big one planned. The days that are busy I've usually been able to squeeze it in early in the morning or late in the evening. It has also grown into a gym visit rather than just a pop in - I spend about two hours a day in there. It's not that I'm pounding the weights looking for a crazy 180 transformation (far from it). It's simply that it's a place in the city I want to be each day. The people are friendly, it feels good to get exercise, the water facilities truly live up to the 'spa' in the latter part of the city, and I feel like a million bucks walking out of that place. I've never been in better shape physically. And I've learned a lot more about fitness - it's like a full time job for some of these guys. I've been blazing my own trail and learning some of the rules as I go along, but to build real muscle it takes insane dedication to a demanding routine. That's not really the schedule I'm looking for, you also have to increase your calorie intake immensely. I've also read that you shouldn't mix cardio if you're trying to bulk up, and I like my cardio. I've gone from being able to jog on the treadmill from 10 to 20 to 30 minutes at 10km an hour. My goal before leaving Leam is to be able to hit 10km in 50 minutes. Bottom line, the steam room after a work out is my favourite spot in Leamington.
On the eve of the celebration of my 25th year (that is just as hard to type as it is to say out loud) I'm reminded of some great birthdays in the past few years.
19th: Appropriately, I turned 19 in my first year of University. There's a fantastic photo of my floor from that year crowding in my room to sing me Happy Birthday before we all departed for Thanksgiving. I also received a very special pink birthday card by Meg and Emma who showed up in PJs and tams to celebrate. Emma drew the card and Meg has regretted giving her that job every since. I received the Thinker (my favourite statue) from my parents that year.
20th: This was a great celebration with some second year friends. I remember dinner and drinks with Meg, Emma, Colt, Devon, and Ryan at that swanky place on Wellington with great cocktails. I'm so old I don't even remember what it's called. We then went to Stages where I remember seeing Hinckster and meeting Bronwyn for the first time. It's always nice that my birthday falls on Thanksgiving, because I get to celebrate with family and friends.
21th: Third year was insanely busy, but I remember a cast celebration at Three Sisters when a cake was presented aptly during a rehearsal for the cast dinner scene. Unexpected, but a welcome surprise. We also went out on the town in Kingston before the annual Thanksgiving departure.
22nd: The timing of my birthday was not ideal this year. After celebrating with the family back in Thorold, I made my way to Kingston for rehearsals of Henry V. After loading into the car with Jono, Sasha, and Kat we suffered through a day of rehearsals on the Monday. Thankfully, the cast celebrated that evening with a joint Thanksgiving - Birthday party in my honour. That was a special year for a few reasons.
23rd: Before heading home for Thanksgiving this year, I was in rehearsals for Source of Gravity. Thinking I was heading home to a quiet night in with just Emily and Emma (with larger birthday plans for the evening), I opened the front door to over twenty-five friends who had convinced me they weren't around for a weekday celebration. It was like an out of body experience - a surprise birthday like that only comes around once, maybe twice, a lifetime.
24th: It was tough celebrating my birthday away from family and friends for the very first time, and with new friends I had only know for a month. But we had a great night at the Varsity - there were friends from over a dozen countries playing drinking games in my honour. How's that not great for new European experiences?
Wishing I could celebrate my quarter century with all of you back home, but I know that you'll be thinking about me on Friday. Miss you all.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: The office is closed in preparation for a landmark anniversary - get your prescriptions elsewhere. Open this Sunday!
Sunday, October 04, 2009
London Calling.doc
Since the last post I've had an extremely busy few days providing a nice break from the routine to which I have become so accustom. The reason for this shift was the arrival of the new MAIPR gang and a weekend jaunt to London to visit my friend Stuart from Queen's.
Wednesday and Thursday were productive, but fairly uneventful. I sat at the computer in the dining room for over a dozen hours over the two days working away at the dissertation. I wanted to hit a certain mark before the arrival of the weekend (and all kinds of distraction) so I stuck to the ambitious goal I had set for myself. The strategy paid off. I reached the goal by late Thursday afternoon and it meant that I could appreciate the extended weekend knowing I had worked tremendously to enjoy it. Instead of rejoicing on Thursday night, I went to my first spin class with Tory. It was quite an experience. I had heard the classes were challenging, but I figured it would be just an intense form of cycling. I was wrong. The increased tensions an simulated hills a part of the workout mean your thighs are getting a solid pounding. It was good to sweat though and I felt great after it was done.
Friday signaled the first ever official coming together of MAIPR Year 1 and 2. We were invited to a lunch at the Theatre Studies department were we reconnected telematically with the course. We we asked to introduce ourselves in cyberspace to Amsterdam and Finland looking on, and to the other new students at the Warwick location. Afterwards we dined on a great lunch spread and mingled with staff and new students. It looks like the social circle is expanding! Later that evening we invited the group out for a few pints in Leamington (a getting to know you type gathering). It was good to connect with everyone from our group again (the majority of which came out to meet the new students) and to be introduced to new peers also interested in theatre and the arts. I enjoy giving advice, so I was happy to be able to pass on information about the course and Amsterdam. From the pub we went to a club in the city called Mumbai Blue - it was a bit sketchy so we left early.
The next morning was Tory's 24th birthday! Because I had booked London for the weekend (since it was the only time I was able to go in the next while) I offered to make her a big Saturday morning breakfast. I awoke at 9am and made scrambled eggs, hashbrown potatoes, fried tomatoes, mushrooms, and rye toast. A nice English breakie. Tory, Lonneke (our Dutch friend who was staying at our place), and myself dined on the meal with tea and coffee. It was a great spread if I do say so. At 11am I bid the girls adieu and headed to the train station en route to London.
I arrived at 2pm and met Stuart at Paddington Station. Stuart and I are friends from Queen's. After uni he came over here to LSE (the London School of Economics) and has now been here for three years. He has a job that he enjoys that is based out of London, but which takes him around Europe on occasion. The last time I saw him was at his birthday party last December in the city. We dropped off my bag at his place in Westminister (he shares a great house with three other guys) and then went to Camden Market. Emily had recommended this to me a few weeks ago and we went there to browse on Saturday. Like Em said, it was a really cool market. It's inset in what seems to be old railway viaducts. I found out that it's built in the former Midland Railway stables and horse hospital which served the horses pulling barges along the adjoining canal. They had all kinds of antiques, bric-a-brac, and retro clothes. We sipped on coffees and wandered through the crowds. From there we went to Tottenham Court and did some window shopping - Stuart showed me some of his favourite places.
In the evening we went to Stuart's friends's Leigh's house to watch X factor Britain's biggest TV sensation. It was cheesy British TV at its best. We brought over salad and fresh bread to join takeout sushi for dinner. After not having a TV in Leamington it was nice to sit, chill, and socialize. Afterwards we went to a birthday party of a friend of Stuart's at The Edge in Soho and formed a larger group with some of his friends. We bar hopped to a late night place called Lo Profile before taking a night bus back to Westminister. It was a really fun night out, and it felt great to be back in a bigger city.
We slept in late this morning and then jumped on the tube to head out and about. We picked up a coffee and some breakfast at M&S and then made our way to Brick Lane for the Sunday Market. Talk about a cool vibe - East London definitely has it going on. We saw some really neat sights at the market and browsed a vintage furniture store and a few art galleries. We had two leisurely afternoon pints before I boarded my train at 3:30pm. The trip to London was a brief one, but it was good to see Stuart again. I know that I have yet another friend to go visit again in the city. As much as I like my routine in Leamington (see the last post), it was great to take a few days off from work. Back at the books tomorrow.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: London comes calling every once in a while - sometimes you have to pick up.
Wednesday and Thursday were productive, but fairly uneventful. I sat at the computer in the dining room for over a dozen hours over the two days working away at the dissertation. I wanted to hit a certain mark before the arrival of the weekend (and all kinds of distraction) so I stuck to the ambitious goal I had set for myself. The strategy paid off. I reached the goal by late Thursday afternoon and it meant that I could appreciate the extended weekend knowing I had worked tremendously to enjoy it. Instead of rejoicing on Thursday night, I went to my first spin class with Tory. It was quite an experience. I had heard the classes were challenging, but I figured it would be just an intense form of cycling. I was wrong. The increased tensions an simulated hills a part of the workout mean your thighs are getting a solid pounding. It was good to sweat though and I felt great after it was done.
Friday signaled the first ever official coming together of MAIPR Year 1 and 2. We were invited to a lunch at the Theatre Studies department were we reconnected telematically with the course. We we asked to introduce ourselves in cyberspace to Amsterdam and Finland looking on, and to the other new students at the Warwick location. Afterwards we dined on a great lunch spread and mingled with staff and new students. It looks like the social circle is expanding! Later that evening we invited the group out for a few pints in Leamington (a getting to know you type gathering). It was good to connect with everyone from our group again (the majority of which came out to meet the new students) and to be introduced to new peers also interested in theatre and the arts. I enjoy giving advice, so I was happy to be able to pass on information about the course and Amsterdam. From the pub we went to a club in the city called Mumbai Blue - it was a bit sketchy so we left early.
The next morning was Tory's 24th birthday! Because I had booked London for the weekend (since it was the only time I was able to go in the next while) I offered to make her a big Saturday morning breakfast. I awoke at 9am and made scrambled eggs, hashbrown potatoes, fried tomatoes, mushrooms, and rye toast. A nice English breakie. Tory, Lonneke (our Dutch friend who was staying at our place), and myself dined on the meal with tea and coffee. It was a great spread if I do say so. At 11am I bid the girls adieu and headed to the train station en route to London.
I arrived at 2pm and met Stuart at Paddington Station. Stuart and I are friends from Queen's. After uni he came over here to LSE (the London School of Economics) and has now been here for three years. He has a job that he enjoys that is based out of London, but which takes him around Europe on occasion. The last time I saw him was at his birthday party last December in the city. We dropped off my bag at his place in Westminister (he shares a great house with three other guys) and then went to Camden Market. Emily had recommended this to me a few weeks ago and we went there to browse on Saturday. Like Em said, it was a really cool market. It's inset in what seems to be old railway viaducts. I found out that it's built in the former Midland Railway stables and horse hospital which served the horses pulling barges along the adjoining canal. They had all kinds of antiques, bric-a-brac, and retro clothes. We sipped on coffees and wandered through the crowds. From there we went to Tottenham Court and did some window shopping - Stuart showed me some of his favourite places.
In the evening we went to Stuart's friends's Leigh's house to watch X factor Britain's biggest TV sensation. It was cheesy British TV at its best. We brought over salad and fresh bread to join takeout sushi for dinner. After not having a TV in Leamington it was nice to sit, chill, and socialize. Afterwards we went to a birthday party of a friend of Stuart's at The Edge in Soho and formed a larger group with some of his friends. We bar hopped to a late night place called Lo Profile before taking a night bus back to Westminister. It was a really fun night out, and it felt great to be back in a bigger city.
We slept in late this morning and then jumped on the tube to head out and about. We picked up a coffee and some breakfast at M&S and then made our way to Brick Lane for the Sunday Market. Talk about a cool vibe - East London definitely has it going on. We saw some really neat sights at the market and browsed a vintage furniture store and a few art galleries. We had two leisurely afternoon pints before I boarded my train at 3:30pm. The trip to London was a brief one, but it was good to see Stuart again. I know that I have yet another friend to go visit again in the city. As much as I like my routine in Leamington (see the last post), it was great to take a few days off from work. Back at the books tomorrow.
Doc's Prescription of the Day: London comes calling every once in a while - sometimes you have to pick up.
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