The Answer to the Great Question Of.....Life, the Universe and Everything.....(is) Forty-two.

It's been a busy few weeks. Mom and Dad were over this past week for about a week to visit. It was a very fun time except for the fact that I was getting more and more sick over after the first few days they were in town. Luckily they are very self sufficient and have a tendency to wander off on their own anyhow they did quiet a goo job on their own.

We had a number of excellent dinners, one at an Indian place down the street from me that I'll be bringing Jess back to when she's over in another month, and this amazing place down on The Strand (our theatre district) that is roasts and other amazing dishes well worth the price. It was wonderful to get to see them and I wish they didn't have to go so soon.

I've been working extra hard at school and it has been well received recently. I presented the following images to my group this past Thursday and everyone including my tutor loved them. There were many things I tried with the images, some happy accidents that worked in my favor and the group saw even more in them then I intended but it was all what I wanted to get across so that just made it even better. I know I haven't put any of my school work up recently but these make me happy so I thought I'd share them.

The project is looking at the feminine identity and how the feminine and masculine identities are together and conflicting. So this is an interaction between the two, the black background blends and brings together the two identities in one space bringing together a tension and ambiguity about the situation. Take a look and enjoy the genius that is me :)



Last night Ellie and I went to see Katy Perry, one of my favorite new singers. She's from the state and just came out last year. I first heard about her while I was in Phoenix last May for Jess' graduation and that was before her first album had even been released so that shows how new she is. The concert was amazing. It was such a girl rock vibe with her dancing and throwing herself all around the stag, it was so great. The concert took place in a smallish theatre where they had removed all the seats so it was all standing room. Ellie and I took up residence at the top balcony where we had a great view, the only downfall is that we were situated next to a group of teeny boppers who kept screaming at all times, we felt very sympathetic for the mom who agreed to chaperone them there.

Today was an absolutely beautiful day, warm and so sunny. So Ellie and I took the opportunity to go downtown for a bit and wander. I had to get to work at 4 for a cocktail class, we're taking on a cocktail mixer made from all natural ingredients so that we can introduce a few new drinks to our menu. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but I'm still very not pleased with the idea of a corner pub serving fancy cocktails and wearing t-shirts advertising drink mixes or beers, not quiet relaxed and neighborly, but for now I'll do what I'm told until I get a better job.

More in a few days after some more adventure.

So my choice is "Our death?"

This past Sunday was the celebration of Australia Day since it happens on Monday but here we are about 12-hours ahead of time. Ellie, James, Andrew and I headed into the city to go celebrate. We went to Church first and then found out that not only were tickets bought ahead of time required but there were about 500 people waiting to get in after all the ticket holders were in. We decided that we'd try out this other Australian party downtown, before we even made it there we ran into some other Aussies who told us that the que was an hour and a half long and they weren't letting any more people in. So we changed our plans and headed down the street to a nearby WalkAbout. It was very crowded in there but we managed to get a drink and see a guy dressed like a koala before we left. From there we headed to our normal Sunday WalkAbout. It was packed when we got inside but we made it in and managed to have a few drinks. Things were fairly good except that by the end I was getting knocked around and stepped on in the crowd, not my idea of fun. So we decided to head out and grab some food before going home. It was amazing how exhausted we all were by the time we got home at 8:30pm.

Me, James, Ellie and Andrew at WalkAbout

Monday Andrew and I went to see Wicked. It was the second time that I saw it but Andrew hadn't seen it before. The show is amazing every time, I just enjoy it so much. Andrew really liked the show as well and we had already agreed that once he got a job we would go see a lot of the plays and musicals that our out, I believe our next one is going to be Thriller which is a Michael Jackson tribute or some such, should be pretty good.

The rest of my time has been spent, well, a lot of it in the library. I didn't do as well with my Major Project as I would have liked, I got a passing grade but I just wasn't that thrilled with the project and it really showed. So since this project is what I will be using to first introduce myself into the art community I decided that I needed to show something amazing that I really liked and enjoyed creating instead of something bordering on mediocre. So a few days last week I was in the library in 5 hours stints just doing as much research as I could. I showed some of the work and talked about it with David, our course leader, on Wednesday. He said that he could tell that I didn't enjoy the way the last project was going and he was glad I was doing something now that makes me happy. I've taken his recommendation of books to read and am examining some artists he recommended as well.
I ran into him again Friday morning as I was waiting to show the department head my work to get his opinion as well and David was excited to see me reading the book he recommended. Andy, the department head, was very encouraging as well. He said that I am a very good student and that he can tell I work very hard but that the Major Project I had handed in just wasn't quiet there and he too could tell I didn't like it. This is one of the things I like about my program, all the tutors are so very encouraging and really willing to help you out in any way they can, it's nice to know that they are behind you, hoping you succeed and willing to make an effort to help you when they can see you're making an effort to do the work. So this should turn out very good, I'm super excited about how my project is heading now, although it is starting to look more and more like I might be a feminist or something :) go figure.

Since Andrew's place is right next to campus it's pretty easy for me to pop over and say hi once classes are done. Well when I did that Wednesday evening I got a pleasant surprise. It turns out that Andrew had gone in for the 3rd or 4th, there were so many, interview for this one company and he was on the phone with them when I got there accepting a position with them (Yay!). It's a contract job which means he is signed on for 3 months and if they like him they will keep him for another 3 months. I'm so excited for him because he has needed something to do, and money, so that he can stay. The job has something to do with a computer program called SharePoint and the companies intranet, and yes I do listen to him I just don't understand all the Information Technology stuff, very confusing. It's located down in Canary Wharf which is a very nice area to be in.

Top: Canary Wharf Station from above and park surrounded station; Below: Canary Wharf from the water

He decided that he wanted to go out for drinks in the city on Saturday to celebrate but since it was short notice it was only me and his friend Latica from back in Australia. He wanted to go in the afternoon so as not have a wild and crazy night. We met down in Covent Gardens and while it was oh so cold, in the 20s or so, it was bright and sunny with blue skies, a rariety in London, so there were droves of people out. It was actually really nice to see the city so full of life. We grabbed a beer on one of the upper levels in Covent Garden (the main building has two or three pubs on the upstairs of the arcade with balconies to see down into the square) and watched a very entertaining street performer who ended his act juggling knives while walking a ladder in just his underwear, he was Scottish if that helps that make any sense :) After that we all grabbed food together and were tired out (we seem to get tired out so easily), we headed off home so Andrew and I could be bums on the couch some more.

So last night began a big snow storm, according to the BBC it is in fact the biggest snow storm London has gotten in 6 years. So of course at about 11:30 last night Ellie and I had to bundle up and go run around the streets messing up the pristine snow, we had much fun, we even made snow angels in someone elses front garden thinking it'd be a nice treat for when they woke up this morning. Of course it kept snowing last night so you can't see any of that and now we have probably 3-4 inches of snow on the ground and it's still snowing, lightly now but it's still going. Most of the trains have been cancelled, the tube line is severly delayed and buses aren't running yet because the roads are still too slick so it should be a nice day of relaxing, unless of course I still have to go into work tonight. Even still it's beautiful to see and I am sure Ellie and I will go play more once she's up. I'll take some pictures so you all can see that we do get snow here, even if it's not as much as in the states.