Hi-ho readers,
Sorry for the delay — Sunday night was spent polishing off a grand total of 22 pages for two final papers. Schoolwork took precedence. Aren’t you proud, Mom and Dad?
I have horrible news. Well, horrible news for me. I truly cannot tolerate coffee in the way that I was able to before. I was having a lot of busy mornings and late nights this week, so at certain points this week I decided to get a latte. Biiiiiiig mistake. I had the jitters for most of this week during the day, and had so much trouble falling asleep at night that I almost overslept for two different events (on Wednesday and Friday). I made record time on my school route though: six minutes. I am a proficient speed-walker. Although in a panic I did try to run down my street and had shin pain for longer than I care to admit.
Apparently my professors take great joy in keeping me out of the library/my room to do homework, because I went on a field trip four out of five days this week. Monday was a walk around Westminster to look at different monuments to influential women in London history. And also…pelicans. My professor took us to St James Park for no reason other than to see if the colony of pelicans that lives there was out and about. They were. And they were terrifying. Thanks, Dr Atkinson. Highlight of the trip: her stopping us in front of Westminster Abbey and saying “now, I’m going to pull over and get a coffee because I just…can’t.”
On Tuesday we went to the Imperial War Museum and while I didn’t get to see everything I want to, it’s a bit of a hike away. Maybe I’ll go back if I have an excuse to be in the neighborhood. Wednesday was a guided tour of filming locations in Southwark (pronounced suth-uk…now I understand why every town name in Massachusetts is pronounced so bizarrely) with my film class. I wanted to go through Borough Market (which we walked past) but our tour guide really had an agenda.
Thursday lacked a field trip but Friday we went back to the Museum of London, which I was confused by because that was our first field trip for the semester for my women’s studies class. Maybe my professor wanted to make things come full circle. We discovered that the book she wrote on suffragettes is sold in the gift shop. I really liked that class and she wants to have a reunion and take us all to tea before we leave in April, and honestly that would be great.
I have not left the room much this weekend because of work, but my dad made my Valentine’s Day the best one ever by sending me a Domino’s pizza. God bless him.
Anyway, here’s What I Reed and Liked This Week:
First of all — I’ve been listening to a lot of music to drown out the existential gloom that comes with paper-writing. Hush, the collaboration of Bobby McFerrin and Yo-Yo Ma is excellent, as are the two volumes of Jazz Sebastien Bach by the Swingle Singers. I also listened to Grace by Jeff Buckley for the first time and a great album by Jose Gonzalez called Veneer.
Rookie’s “Call It In” (while it may be beyond my demographic, it’s still important)
The Atlantic’s “The Town That’s Building Life Around Sleep”
The New Yorker’s “What I Imagine My Boyfriend’s Ex-Girlfriends Are Doing Right Now”
Vox’s “27 fonts* (give or take) that explain your world”
The Washington Post’s “Everything you ever wanted to know above love, in 25 maps and charts”
and a poem I really love: “cutting greens” by Lucille Clifton
And that’s the week that was!
Emily
P.S. word of the week: rasher.