That's All Folks

I don't know what to say.
Eight weeks of my life have come and gone.
I spent months preparing and stressing and getting ready and worrying about this trip, and its over.
I have survived two months, alone, in London.

This is one of the biggest things I've ever done for myself.
Scratch that...it IS the biggest thing I've ever done for myself.
For 21 years I've relied and depended on nearly every person in my life to make me feel comfortable and safe.
And, of course, I still talked to friends here and there online and called my mom every single day.

But I went 3000 miles away from everyone and everything I know.
I threw myself in a situation I thought I would die from in the beginning.
I wanted out.
But I stayed, and I interned, and I met people, and I danced and stumbled around the city.
I laughed and got left behind on the tube.
I made a zillion microwave meals.
I took shots of tequila.
I read the entire Twilight series...well, the books that are out so far.
I adjusted to a five hour time difference.
I stressed out.
I got lonely.
I felt happy.
I felt scared.
I felt too much and too little.

I am in disbelief that I'm coming home.
I'm so excited, but nervous and scared.
I don't know if I can handle the fact that I will more than likely never see the people I met again, if I want to be realistic.
It'll hit me at some point, and I'll be sad.
I'll look back and wonder why I didn't do stuff.
But I wouldn't change my experience for a second.
Any part of it.

I really am happy and scared and excited to see all of your familiar faces.
Don't be alarmed if I cry...I might.
But this has been a...different experience for me.
And I'm proud.
And seeing your faces will reward me more than you know.

Well well well...

I only have one more night left to enjoy London...how CRAZY is that?
I just got here, didn't I?
It's only been a week since I left Radio Jackie...but it seems like the distant past already.
Insane how that works out.

Anyway, yesterday was pretty...well, I guess you can say exciting.
I woke up early so that we could try and get a good spot the second time around for the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace. And we did get good spots.

The whole process is very drawn-out, and somewhat boring. And they change the guards before you can even realize they did and then some of the more musically-inclined guards play music and at first you think, hey, regal music! But then they play "Diamonds Are Forever" and "Hey Big Spender" (which I'll admit, I freaked, that's an awesome song) and you're like...oh...they're just playing music. Pictures might not explain how fun and annoying the experience was...but I'll try anyway.

Some kind of guard stuff goin' on here.

This guy kept walking back and forth and doing this little pose...I think he was guarding.

Some of the band boys.

Here come the guards.

I think this means they are switching over the duties of guard-dom.

The group...minus Lezlie who had a horrible time probably because she wasn't with us.

And now, for my favorite guards!!!

Cutie!

Mopey!

And Dodgy!!!!

It was fun to watch them all either be miserable or serious or fixing their hat with their faces.
It helped when things lulled down.

The only thing left to look forward to was our final exam.
I could give a crap how I did on it. Two essays, basically bullshit. So...YAY to being done!
Also, my Viva is out of the way and the only thing I have left standing between me and home is tomorrow.

After our test, we knew we should do something to celebrate. My presentation wasn't until 2 PM, so I could afford to stay out and have some fun.
Well...here's some pictures.
Take from it what you will.

Training for the Cullen family? On the tube.

I'm the sweatiest person alive apparently. I don't know how I do it...but I do it. Gross.
I have problems.

Sweet Lezlie love.

I can't be ashamed of my sweatiness. I danced a lot and that's what happens. Unfortunately my hair gets the brunt of it.

Well, tonight it basically my last free night in London.
We're going to go out to eat...and then I don't know what to do.
I don't know how to handle all of this.
It's all happened so fast...and so much has happened to.
But I'll lay the sap on thick tomorrow.

Bye for now...and see you soon.

Wicked cool.

So, today was rather uneventful in comparison to the others. I stayed in for a majority of it, and
I'm sitting here now, typing this blog as it gets later in London time.
However, I did have an amazing experience worth reporting.
I finally saw Wicked, which has only been out forever and seen by most of my friends.
I laughed, I cried, it was great.
I'm so glad I went.
Here's some pictures.
There's not much else to say except thanks to the play, for making my life happy.
Blurry stage. It was amazing.
Outside the theater. The sign was sparkly, this does no justice.
We could not get a good enough picture by the signs...but whatever. Just Laura and I went...so much fun and so worth it!

Test tomorrow, along with the last two nights I can go out in London. Viva Thursday.
Bye for now!

Ice Ice Baby

So, today was Kay's 21st birthday, and it was a pretty enjoyable day!
It was actually nice and summery this morning, so we all broke out our dresses and tank tops.
Unfortunately, and as expected, it became overcast and chilly before 3 PM.
But we got to enjoy a morning of sunshine and warmth.
We were going to watching the Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace, but its sooooo crazy there. No worries.
Here's Lezlie, Kay, and me in our summer's best.

After that mishap, we went to Petticoat Market, which is was dead because its more of a Sunday deal. No worries, though, as I don't mind being outside. Afterwards, I made everyone go to Covent Garden thinking there was an actual garden...there isn't really. But we went back to Hyde Park to have lunch "alfresco" and play a few rounds of "This or That" and "Screw, Marry, or Kill". It was funsies.

We came back home to relax for a while because we wanted to celebrate tonight, something small since Kay and Lezlie have their VIVA presentations in the morning.
But it wasn't small...it was pretty spectacular.
We hit up the Absolut Icebar London!
And it was FABULOUS! Definitely freezing.
This is us before we entered the freezing cold bar. They give you these cute capes that make me look like a Klan member. Check out the fur drapings. Oh, so exciting!

Here's me, sitting on my Ice Throne. My heart is too warm to be an ice queen.

The bar part of the Icebar. Yes, that's all ice.

Us and our drinks.

A toast to Kay, to London, to each other, and to the water that provided the creation of such a novelty. I had an Absolut Sparkling Sunset. You can see in the pictures, the colors are pretty accurate.
The Birthday girl...beautiful as Snow White.

A neat sculpture.

Don't worry...I fought the temptation.

Excuse me, can I talk to you for a minute? Excuse me, CAN I TALK TO YOU FOR A MINUTE?!?

Snuggles in the sitting area. My toes and nose are about to fall off.

WE SURVIVED! And it was excellent. Even though my camera is obviously reeling.

It's been pretty fabulous so far...with less than 5 days left to enjoy this place...insanity.
But we've been having fun.
I feel like pictures are the only thing I can use to really explain it to you.
I have tons more too.
You'll see :)

Anyway, since the pictures don't do the Icebar justice, I made a short video...it's not the best quality, but you can get a better feel for the place.


More tomorrow, I'm sure!

One fine day.

I typically hate Sundays...but today was rather nice.
I got somewhere around 9 hours of sleep, which was beautiful, and the lack of work or class or anything educational or annoying over my head helped for a stress-free day.
I took my time getting out of bed, showering, making lunch, and whatever until I met up with friends.
Though it was a bit overcast at points, I was able to wear shorts and a tee comfortable and we decided to relax and read at Hyde Park.
My view from the grass.
The trees from upside down.
Kay is apparently ashamed of Stephanie Meyer. Don't be, honey. Embrace Edward Cullen.
Laura, with her makeshift hoodie pants. HAHAHA. Makes me laugh.
After a couple of hours in the park, we came back for some dinner. But then Kay needed to locate King's College London for her Viva presentation.
On the way, we spotted a beautiful copper man (I woulda preferred marble ;) )
Laura wanted to just hang with him.
I was workin' my moves on him.
And Kay got the entire thing...lucky.

Afterwards, we did a walk along the Thames, towards Tower Bridge, which we've seen before but not this late in the day. It was even more beautiful. It made me happy to be alive...as sappy as that sounds.
Towards London Bridge.
Me happy. I'm such a nerd.
Super-size this for full effect.
The pretty walk...that's Kay and Laura.

Us in front of the pretty Tower Bridge.

It really was one of those nights where pictures will never do justice to how it felt.
I loved it.

The week is sure to go by fast. I'm excited to go out and do more this week...and they'll be more pictures, I'm sure, to share!

I'm gonna go enjoy some wine and muffins now.

Love you all!

Windin' down.

So, the internship is DONE!
No more Notting Hill Gate to Bond Street. No Bond Street to Waterloo.
No waiting for the 9:16 train to Chessington South, calling at Vauxhall, Clapham Junction, Earlsfield, Wimbledon, Raynes Park, Motspur Park, Malden Manor, Tolworth, Chessington North, and Chessington South.
(yes, I did that by heart).
Waiting for the platform.
Waiting for the train.

And there it is.
No hour long commute there. No hour long commute back.
No sitting in a small office room, waiting for something to do, waiting for whatever time he tells me to leave.
I can't lie...I loved it. And I know a part of me will look back fondly on it...that I did work for them, that they were a part of my life for a good amount of time...and I'll probably never see them or hear from them again. It's sad.
Here's a picture of the neighborhood I'll never see again, in the rain, the way it stayed for most of the last week.


Anyway, Thursday night was our first night of absolute FREEDOM...at least until our exam (2 essays, they gave us the questions, should be a piece of annoying cake) and my Viva presentation on Thursday at 2 PM (which won't be bad, I'm suspecting. No complaints from those who had it already!). We wanted to go out, but sometimes its so hard to find a decent, cheap place. We ended up at some bar flooded with an older crowd, and some creep-o was trying to talk to me. Swear he was in his late 30s. I dissed him right quick.

Anyway, yesterday was the perfect rainy day to just catch up on sleep and relax, making tons of food, and goof off on the computer. Nothin' special, but we had to plan the next several days...I only have until Friday because I'll be packing and then heading as close to Heathrow as I can get. My flight leaves at 9:30 in the morning, but I have to be there early to check in...yucko. More on that later.

Anyway, today we went to the British Museum. It must be me, I'm not much of a historical or museum-y person, but I didn't care for it. We did take a cute group picture inside though!

We got to see the Rosetta Stone, that was cool. And some neato clocks from the past. But other than that...I can't really say much...don't hate me!

Afterwards, the sun started to come out, which was perfect lighting for a trip to Regent's Park.
It was absolutely gorgeous.

Me by some gorgeous flowers. I look stumpy. It's all good.

Perched on the fountain.

The colors are gorgeous.

The flowers were breathtaking...these pictures won't do justice to how nice it was in the park.
The view from Primrose Hill.
Checkin' out the view.
I did too!

After we scoped out the hill, we went to St. Johns Lodge Garden...or...the SECRET GARDEN!!!
Well, the secret is about to come out. It was really secretive in their though. All these little pathways to new areas. And it was quiet as hell. Very very nice.
The entrance.

Fountain of flowers. Again, its hard to explain the wonderfulness of these gardens through words or pictures. But here's some that my friend took of me without knowing.


We're keeping the secret.

Senior photo? Happy that there is still some beauty in the world.

Well, I'm beat for today. I'll spend the rest of the night relaxing until I pass out and then start another jam-packed day.

Not sure what we'll do...but I'm sure it will be great!

Hope you enjoy the pictures...it was so gorgeous. I wish I could actually show you for real.

P.S. For some reason, I started thinking about how much fun a huge barbecue would be before the summer ends. Stay outside, grill some food, kick back with some cold ones. I'm sure everyone would love that! Just a random thought as my time here dwindles.