Blog entry 4

Where my previous blog was ACTION PACKED, this one will probably be quite boring in comparison.

I'm still working on getting the webpage together for the gallery, but its coming along quite slowly. Its proving quite difficult to get in contact with some of the artists that are to be featured on the website, so getting their information to place along with their work has been a long, annoying process. Now that the gallery opening has passed, there hasn't really been a lot to do around the gallery, so my days have gotten steadily slower. I did, however, sell a painting, which is insanely awesome. Also, the lack of things to do has led to bonding oppurtunities with the girls I work with. We're quite a multicultural group- Sixtin is from France, Helen is from London, Jimena is from Mexico, and of course I'm from the US. We all get along remarkably well, and I like to think that I have made lasting friends with them. We've swapped stories, anecdotes, and jokes, and I've grown to like them all very much. Sixtin is in London learning english, and we try to help her as best as we can. She is an incredibly sweet person, with many crazy dreams that I hope she'll be able to acheive. Helen was born and raised in London, and aches to hit the big time and get out of the city. She also aches for Prince Harry, which I can definitely understand :) She's brash and loud, and exactly my kind of a person. She's funny and knows all the good places for food, drinks, and shows. Jimena is meant for great things. She is outstanding at planning, and PR, and she is incredibly caring and protective of all of her friends. I've become the closest with her, mostly due to my helping her to not freak out at the opening. I feel like sometimes she puts a bit too much on her plate, but shes lucky to have friends around who are happy to help her cope. Wonderfully, she will be moving to New York city in a few months, so I will have oppurtunities to go and visit her after I leave London. Mostly, our group has been spending the past two weeks on our computers, complaining about internet speed and the state of facebook, but we have done quite a bit of work in promoting the gallery and selling artwork, so it isn't all fun and games.

This weekend, I went to Hampton court for a class assignment. Maybe it's because I'm an artist or a writer, or maybe just a geek, but walking down the echoing stone halls gave me chills. Or maybe it was because I promptly got rained on and was freezing, but the history of everything was amazing. Though I'm hesitant to use the term because of its cliche undertones, I was positively spellbound as I wandered around the castle. Everything ached with memories of previous times, and I actively tried to picture people wandering the cobbled pathways in court dress. Up until I saw them, that is. I had a gentleman in full court dress stop, take my hand and bow, calling me, "Your royal madam". I must have looked incredibly confused, because he followed up with, "You're wearing purple, miss. The color of royalty." That made me smile. I could get used to this.

Moments later, a much heralded Henry VIII and Katherine Parr walked through the chamber. As he passed me, he stopped and proclaimed, "We've just been married. You may congratulate us."

Besides the obvious entertainment, the place is constantly reminicent of period movies and Shakespeare, and I found myself trailing my hands across the walls while I walked. Is it possible to soak up history? I'm such a nerd.

Sunday night, I went and saw Penn and Teller perform at the Apollo Hammersmith. I saw them once previously in Las Vegas, and I've been watching them on TV for years before that. There were, unsurprisingly, absolutely outstanding. The theatre was absolutely boiling hot, but they preformed effortlessly. I am hoping to see atleast one more show while I'm here (hopefully two) but it has come to light that we only have about two more weeks left on our English adventure. I am at once excited and saddened by this. I have fallen in love with London completely, but I am a self professed home-body, and I desperately miss my friends and family. Not to mention many of my possesions. Mostly my bed. And my Xbox.

I'm ready to be home, but I know I will miss this city immensely once I've left it. Happily, London towne will remain where it is, waiting patiently for me to visit once more.

Entry 2

The past few weeks have been incredibly busy. At work, I've been preparing for the gallery that took place on July 1st, and another art show that will be in late July. I'm thoroughly enjoying class. I love our professors lectures. He manages to exhibit the material in an interesting and entertaining way, and Im finding myself learning a lot. I've made some very good friends at work, ones I hope to have for a long time. I'm loving the city in general. The people, the sights, the shopping. I've met so many amazing people already, and I feel like I have so much to do in the small rest of the time I'll be here. I would love to live in London- the big city mentality is right in line with mine, and yet the people are so much nicer than typical big city people. London itself is fascinating. There are so many areas saturated in history and yet its hard to imagine a grungy medieval city when surronded by towering structures of concrete and glass, but small aspects of the city give tip offs to the way things used to be. Tiny alleyways of shadow and cobbled streets, teired shop fronts overlooking walkways of stained stone, old architecture peeking out from years and years of grime and the elements, all wedged between Starbucks and Sainsbury's. Some areas of London seem to be begrudgingly plodding its way into the twenty first century, whereas other areas are exceedingly modern, mixing new and old architecture and mentality to create a singular, original identity that is uniquely London

Over the weekend, I went to the Victoria and Albert museum and my favorite area is the plaster cast room. Walking in to the gallery to all the gigantic peices absolutely took my breath away. I was incredibly delighted, as an artist, to be able to see the casts of Michealangelo's sculptures- especially "the dying slave". The area was a treasure trove, and practically a timeline of evolving art over the years. Absolutely amazing.

My birthday was Wednesday the 30th. I'm not a huge birthday person, but apparently my flatmates are. They were incredibly nice, and we went out to have dinner at a resturant called "Strada" on the Thames with a wonderful view of the Tower Bridge. Dinner was amazing, and when we got back to the flat they surprised me with a cake. I completely didn't expect it, and it was incredibly sweet of them. On the other hand, my birthday was really tough- I miss my family terribly all the time, but not as bad as I did that day. I recieved several phone calls from family, singing me happy birthday, and good wishes, and it ended up being incredibly hard without them around. Besides that, my day was marvelous.

The gallery opening on Thursday was incredibly hectic, but a lot of fun. The preperation the day of was extensive, and made even worse by my boss' default state of disorganization. Prior to the party, I was doing a lot of last minute running around. I had plenty of little tasks to attend to, and pulled it to the wire to get everything done. While looking great in my new dress and shoes, I met lots of people in the art and business world. I made a lot of new friends, and made future plans with several people, including an amazing woman who works at Sotheby's and could perhaps get me a job at the location in New York City. Besides the business aspect, the party itself was very glamourous and glitzy, with bubbly flowing, photographers, and amazing looking people. We sold a lot of art and managed to rope in some great publicity in the process.

On the fourth of July, I went to an expatriate bbq in Notting Hill. Truly, there was only about 6 Americans in attendance, but we all had a ball. There were burgers and hot dogs about, cherry pie, and American flag cupcakes, Of course, the beer and wine was flowing generously, as well as mint juleps, strangely. I made friends with most of the group there whose nationalities ranged from English and Irish, to Swedish, Australian, and German. Everyone got along famously and soaked in the atmosphere, and I had a few conversations about different mentalities towards Americans from different people. I keep discovering that Americans, while in America, have a vision that the world hates them, and carry that with them when they travel. Everyone I have met since the beginning of my stay here has been very kind and has not said anything about Americans in a poor light. I think for the rest of my stay here, I'll just continue to promote international friendship. Its the least I can do!