One Down, Two to Go.

First assessed essay has been handed in. Now it's just a whole lot of finger crossing. Two copies printed, strict guidelines followed.

United States v. United Kingdom

Mmm, yes, it's the little details that make me miss the united states. Like big huge cans of PBR. I don't even love PBR. But still. Compare and contrast of what two people across an ocean drink simultaneously.

Found!

Today has been just right. Lazy morning and tea, followed by an outing to Hampstead Heath. I'd never been there before, and it seems as though in going i found out where all of the yellow leaves were hiding in London. They're certainly here in a huge abundance, along with dogs and birds. There's not too much that makes me feel happier than knowing i'm in a city but not being able to hear cars, or trains, or anything. Knowing that you're just within a boundary of quiet. As if that couldn't be topped, a beautiful used bookstore was found down a cobblestone lane. Perfection.

Dinner in Parts.

Market Time.

Welcome to England.

Seriously guys?

Our external examiners have particularly stressed that a degree of care should be taken concerning the physical presentation of assessed work:

• Essays should be computer-printed on one side only of white A4 paper

• Double-spaced and with at least a 3 centimetre margin, left and right, and 1.5 cm margin top and bottom

• Images must be of good quality at least in the top copy, and preferably in both copies

• Two copies of the essay must be submitted secured into flat folders (please come and ask in Student Services for an example of an appropriate folder). Please do not submit essays secured with staples or paper clips, or in the sort of folder which has each page in a separate clear sleeve.

Weekend Life.

(photos by Sascha)

This week came and went quickly, but with a lot crammed into it. Discovering streets i'd never come close to, and a farm complete with goats and pigs and an overabundance of birds, and little cafés, and banana pancakes, and new markets that feel like home, and more cupcakes and carrot cake and the biggest sausages of your life, and hours spent at a pub with chalkboard walls, and long walks, and fireworks to celebrate a guy who tried to blow up parliament, and chicken pie and chips, and beers and more beers, and home cooked meals, and sitting on top of huge hills in the middle of a park watching all of london light up as darkness falls, and steak and rib dinners, and rooftop bars, and new people, and old friends.

Oh London.

What's On the Counter.

November Has Arrived.

It's november now. Which means that my birthday came and went with the ushering in of the month. I think that november is the best month, but that's not just because my birthday is in it. November is when autumn really takes ahold of you, when leaves swirl around your feet, and you notice your cheeks getting rosy, and mulled wine and apple cider flow freely. It doesn't hurt having a birthday in the month too though, i won't lie.

Turning 22 doesn't feel like a big deal, but i do think that the number looks pretty, and sounds nice too. 22 is the atomic number of titanium (i have some of that in my mouth now, so that's cool), it's also the number of players on a soccer field (i like soccer) and also it's the length of a cricket pitch (culturally relevant to where i live now), in Jay-Z's song "Two 22s" he rhymes to, two and too 22 times in the first verse (i listen to a lot of jay-z), there are 22 stars in the Paramount logo (thanks dad), the F-22 is a stealth fighter jet (bad.ass.), so, basically, the long and short of it is that 22 is destined to be a good year. All of those things having to do with the number 22 point in that direction (i'll ignore the fact that the Titanic was going 22 knots when it crashed into an iceberg).

To start off this year i decided that laziness was key and thus i embarked on the longest brunch of my life. Clocking in at almost four hours, there were drinks had, many courses, friends ambling in and out, and embarrassingly and with the result of me turning a very very bright shade of red, my roommate even snuck in a plum crumble complete with a candle and Happy Birthday sung. This birthday wasn't a fussy birthday, just a simple one, and the only picture (above) that i have to show for it comes in the form of a computer snapshot of me with a cupcake i bought myself upon being ordered to do so via text message from the states, because they're necessary on your birthday (after this happened i realized that yes, this was true). Last year was momentous, more happened compressed into my 21st year than any others that i can remember. So now i sit, and i wonder what this one will have in store for me.