Famous Person Alert

Yesterday was the fifth morning we had to let the plumber in so to celebrate, I answered the door bra-less wearing the same pajamas I'd been wearing for more than two weeks.

The tour of Reuters was really excellent. Since we were hosted by Editor-in-Chief, David Schlesinger, we got to block all the halls and play with all the news equipment and one my classmates got a chance to read a script off a teleprompter which they recorded (he posted the clip on youtube.com: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRF4r2QV8RM

The last half of the tour we sat in the conference room and grilled the man about how he's sold out, cheapened the name of journalism, and how he's contributed to globalization, in a bad way. Unfortunately, he was a really nice guy so I felt bad when my class started to sink their pseudo-intellectual teeth into him. AND they had cookies, soda, and sparkling water waiting for us upon arrival. AND we got to wear badges with our names on them.

I nearly missed the tour since I gave myself about 20 minutes to go nine stops on the tube with two transfers. By the time I caught up to my classmates, I was feeling pretty nauseous because I sprinted up five flights worth of escalator since we were told, for security reasons, to be prompt. The professor was the last to arrive and we got inside about 10 minutes behind schedule and I was a little peeved because I was really sweaty and nauseous for the first part of the tour.

Monday night, we caught a play called Fragments which was made up of five short pieces by playwright, Samuel Beckett. Only three actors stared in the play and one of them was in Harry Potter and the Pheonix. Kathryn Hunter, also known as "Arabella Figg!" The short stories were poignant, funny, sad, and hard to understand but really well done. The show was at a small theatre called the "Young Vic."
Kathryn Hunter as Arabella Figg

I hit the Tate Modern museum alone today and saw all sorts of famous paintings by Matisse, Lichtenstein (POP ART), Picasso, Monet, and even some paintings and pieces made out of period blood and condiments. I like "doing" museums solo because I can go it at my own pace and not feel like I need to spend hours looking for "deeper meanings" and "points of view" unless I want to. I ended up walking around for over two hours and then I bought some great postcards in the gift shop. I sat in a Starbucks near by the museum reading about boring things. for a few hours and then headed to class. The museum was easier to find than most sights I've visited because the path is marked by orange light poles. Very Mod.

Inside (Tate Modern Turbine Hall [entrance]):On Thursday, I would like to go to the Tate Britain (since it's practically next to my house) before I embark on my walking tour of Westminster Abbey. It houses some of the pieces that don't fit in the Tate Modern and is a little on the newer side.

Tomorrow afternoon, my class is going to the National Gallery. I like to mark something off of my to-do list everyday.

Now that I'm settled, I'm going to start planning weekend trips around Europe. I have lofty goals so we'll see what's reasonable once I start pricing things. The British Pound is slowly falling, thank god.

Also, a story in a free tabloid I picked up today used quotes taken entirely from the Myspace.com page of the 18 year old boy who impregnated Sarah Pollen's daughter for a story on the "scandal." "The London Paper" and "The London Lite" are free EVERYDAY. Both are tabloids and trashy so you know I'm staying informed.

I'm glad Hurricane Gustav didn't do what it was supposed to.