Time flies when there's work to be done

I'm finding this week has just flown by and it's already Thursday which means that I have homework to do in addition to the massive amounts of 'work-work.'  The solution to this is obviously to blog.  There's only minimal sarcasm there too since it's been a busy week I haven't talked to anyone who might read this still and I miss you guys!  Now that we've settled into a routine it seems odd to not be able to call people up at the end of the day and tell them how it went, or to have dinner with them and catch up on what's going on in our lives.  Instead I write everything down, to you guys on the blog, in emails, in gchats, etc. and use my precious MBs when the time differences line up for a phone call.  Anyway, enough lamenting for now, moving on to the 'here's what I did this week' part of the show.  Monday is class day which continues to be blissfully/boringly (choose your own adj) the same each week.  Headed down to class early to get some work done beforehand; I like to get my emails out of the way and have a plan for the day set out before it starts.  After policy class - which continues to be a challenge to my ability to stay engaged and invested in- I chatted with the professor for a bit since she's going to be my dissertation advisor.  The meeting did little to dissuade my trepidations about working with her but at least I got a little direction.  School work is tough this week since we have the dissertation outlines due at the end of the week and then two not-short essays next week.  After the meeting I grabbed my usual lunch and ate on the way to the library.  They're wicked strict on food here, none allowed in the building period.  If you get caught with any, in any part of the building they give you a 'disciplinary warning' and take & throw your food away.  The only beverages allowed is water in a resealable bottle.  The consequence of all this is that I eat on the way to the library and then finish sitting outside it.  To the hurried/stressed American deep inside, this seems like a colossal waste of time, I'm used to eating while I work and just being neat about it.  Later in the afternoon we had parliament class after which I headed home.  I was going to stay on campus and find a comfy chair to curl up and work in but no such luck, it was prime time for comfy chairs on campus.  The mood brightened upon returning home though.  This weekend a lot had begun to go wrong with our flat.  This list of repairs done or needed over the week include: an over that wouldn’t head up, a shorted out microwave, a bathroom floor that when switched on shorts the flat, a flooding shower, a lack of heat, and a chirping smoke alarm.  Needless to say, I was excited to see that some of the list had been taken care of (not everything had broken at this point).  Tuesday was a workday and all that entails.  Typically I head in about 8:30 which means I've started work by 9:30 after stopping to pick up the mail, papers, tea, etc on the way in.  this Tuesday had the usual work of going through briefings with a few extras thrown in.  There was a personal meeting that I was part of that was very interesting, and later a small briefing on the bill itself.  I'm quickly discovering that for all the touting of the Lords as a non-partisan or less-partisan chamber, this does not make it devoid of politics.  You can insult someone just as easily in a formal tone with a British accent.  Even in the short time I've been here I've begun to notice many of the tactics that plague my own political system back home.  Upon arriving back home I was saddened to discover that the fire alarm was once again chirping.  It had stopped so we hadn't written it on the maintenance board but it was back in full, annoying force.  Wednesday came bright and early because even though ipod headphones can help dull the random chirps, they cant block it out entirely so both my roommate and I were away long before we needed to be.  I headed off to work with a friend, a nice habit that’s developing, since we both leave around the same time every day.  Had the usual work day although I was bummed to be missing the first ultimate game of the season, the team plays on Wednesday afternoons for a few weeks.  Wednesday night I hit up the grocery store, another developing routine but this one's purely because it's when I run out of food now.  Finally, after attempting to get some work done, I feel asleep to the chirping of a fire alarm.  Today looks a lot like a combination of Tuesday and Wednesday.  I headed out with a friend about 8:30, went through the usual morning routine at the office.  Today I got my computer though so that means I don’t have to keep brining mine to work.  British keyboards are slightly different than American ones though, juuuussst enough that it looks like you can't type.  Little things, like the quotes, at symbol, and shift key are different, even if the qwerty basics are the same.  In the afternoon I continued to go through amendments, then went home and whipped up some dinner and now here we are. 

Random:

I did forget to mention I got some mail this week, a lovely halloween card featuring candy corn.  I'd forgotten about it for the most part, even though I love it and can eat about half a bag in a sitting.  I was momentarily excited to pick some up and then I remembered that the rules regulating gelatin are different here so they don’t have it.  Their loss I suppose, at least I had some before I left the States. 

This is a weather related note.  Fall appears to have skipped the UK, at least in the New England sense of the word.  After having a long stretch of unseasonably warm weather, I had to break out the peat coat this week because it's gotten chilly out.  It hasn't helped that the heating is just being turned on in most buildings.  Ours flipped on today both at work and at home.  One thing we haven't seen much of here is rain.  It rained a whole bunch while we were up in Scotland but not much down here in London.  Not that I'm complaining but I could probably count the number of times its precipitated on one hand

There's a bunch more random stuff I wanted to talk about but I'm fading fast and have more work to do so I guess I'll spread them out over the entries to come.  Thanks for reading and I'm sorry I've been so ramble-y tonight.

(See? That's not even a word)

The Story of a Neglectful Blogger

This is the story of one terrible, absent blogger and how she hasn't written in over a week and the 'reasons,' read excuses, as to why in the form of stories as to what she's been up to.  In her defense it has been a bit of a momentous week.  Monday was largely uneventful and followed the routine of a class day, met the gang in the morning to walk over to LSE.  It remains what I would consider unseasonably warm here, especially as we inch towards late October and November.  We had our public policy class, no real surprises there as it was its usual vague self, then a quick break before a great guest lecture from Lord Knight.  He was a very interactive and dynamic speaker who gave us lots of opportunities to ask questions as we went along.  Later we had Parliament class, learning about the Prime Minster and examining what makes on a good one and, more importantly an effective one.  Class takes pretty much all day, so afterwards we all dispurse for dinner, studying, and whatever else we have planned for our evenings.  My evening included a trip to the gym which, even though I never look forward to going to, I always feel better after; there's just something about a well-earned ache in your muscles.  After I got home, I got myself fed and ready for work on Tuesday.  It was my first day so I wanted to be super prepared.  This meant that clothes were ironed, purses packed, and an exact route mapped out for the directionally challenged; nothing was going to go wrong if I could help it.  Part of this meant a very early bedtime for yours truly so after catching up with a friend from home I turned in.  I was nervous for my first da y but it was more out of excitement than anything else.  I was excited about this new challenge (adventure if you will) and couldn't wait to get started.  It's also been a while since I had worked in an office setting, in government, and I was looking forward to getting back to it.

The next part of this story is Tuesday, aka Kimberly's First Day of Work!  Everyone had to be at offices at different times and were meeting people in different places but the flat was a bustle of activity as everyone got ready.  I headed out with a lot of extra time - I had to be through security at Westminster at 10am and was out the door at 8:30.  On the way I bumped into a couple friends headed there as well and we all took the tube together.  When we emerged down by the river, we all went our sepearate ways to our first day because even though we were all working in Parliament, it doesn't mean we're necessarily close.  I made it through security with no problems and then just sat and waited.  My Lord came down to meet me at 10 and gave me a mini tour of the place and helped get me situated with my pass.  This turned out to be a major accomplishment I would later learn, since I remain one of the few interns who has their full pass already.  The lords started sitting at 11 that day, to debate the 2nd Reading of the Health and Social Care bill.  The second reading is where the principle of a bill is theoretically debated.  Typically, this is a largely ceremonial vote for the House of Lords due to something called the Salsbury convention which is that the Lords don't opposed measures set forth in the government's manifesto on their principle, since it is an unelected chamber.  However, given that this is a coalition government (meaning there is no ruling party manifesto) and a highly contentious bill with several amendment's being offered regarding its consideration even at this early stage there were a lot of speeches made on the subject and there was talk that the division would be extraordinarily close.  Anyway, back to the story.  After I managed to get seated in the Southwest Gallery (my new perch, the view looks like this http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/184150_149601551788769_147821811966743_272751_7852188_n.jpg), I met Kirsten & Kritika who work in a different Lords office and who were to be my unofficial guides to finding my feet in this new job.  Listening to the speeches reminded me a lot of listening to CSPAN & Congress back home.  Apparently, healthcare politics sounds nearly the same in any system and accent.  Even though the UK and US healthcare systems are vastly different in principle and reality, many of the issues are strikingly similar.  For lunch, I went to the cafeteria style place in the basement of Westminster with the girls, so far it's become my lunch routine, before heading back up to listen to more speeches including one by my Lord.  The afternoon was primarily spent filing out various forms for email address, laptops, and the like.  Later, after my Lord went back to the chamber, and told me he didn't really need me anymore, I set about exploring.  Really, there wasn't a lot to do, I had to return some forms to IT and pick something up for the Lord at the printing office.  Yet, Westminster is a wee bit confusing directionally, even having a map is small help.  I managed to get myself positively lost a couple times before I figured it out and am probably better for it since I now know how things connect a bit better.  Afterwards, I dug into my massive stack of reading that I have to do.  There is one heck of a bill, its explanatory notes, various reports and impact statements on it, and anything else you can think of to help get me up to speed.  Monday night was spent chilling with other Scholars and comparing first day stories, it seems like the first day met or exceeded almost all expectations. 

Wednesday was day 2 of work and I had to find a new way into the building.  After getting lost on the way in, I managed to barely making to a committee meeting on pediatrics.  I ws there to take notes which I can totally do; reminds me a lot of… actually most of the other jobs I've had.  Afterwards, I headed back to the gallery to catch the end of the speeches, they'd gone until 11:30 the night before and still weren't done, there were over 100 speakers!  There were a couple divisions to be done so after the first one took 25 minutes (there's a timer in the chamber to keep track of how long speakers go for), I popped down for lunch before the next one.  Later in the afternoon, I began digging into the bill hardcore.  One of my major projects will be going through the bill and comparing it to briefings the Lord has received from groups looking to see amendments in the bill.  Unfortunately, the best way to do this seems to be paging through the paper copy of the bill which is slightly time consuming.  Even so, it was good to dig through the bill a bit, I felt like I was getting to understand it a lot better.  At the end of the day I was most definitely ready to head home.  A stop at the grocery store was all that stood between me and home.  After my arrival back at the flat and feeding myself, I promptly passed out.

Thursday makes for a boring story but was quite the productive day.  My boss wasn't in but I had a bunch of briefings to get through so I wasn't bored. Also, it's uncommon for Lords to have a staff which leads to a general lack of space for one; this is contributed to by the sheer number of Lords that could be seated.  The practical implications of which is that I have a shelf to put my things on and a chair but that’s it, no desk.  However, when my boss isn't there I get to use his, and Thursday it made it a lot easier to get my work done.  Thursday night, which is like our Friday since we don’t work Fridays was lots of fun; generally just hanging out with the gang.  We went up the road to see some music at a local pub before coming back to the flats and doing the same thing as we were before we left: shooting the breeze.  There may have even been a Red Sox conversation carrying on until past 3am which I thoroughly enjoyed.  It was just that kind of night and I hope they become weekly traditions.  Friday was equally boring since I spent it working in the library. There were interesting bright spots though.  For one, there was no need to get up in the morning so I had a lazy one.  Then, just as I was about to get up, one of our pipes burst, flooding our hallway.  Luckily maintenance was up to fix it immediately and I took advantage to not get up and do anything and instead finish my book.  When the hallway was dry, I made myself a delicious omelet and went off to the library.  That night a bunch of people went out to the clubs but I took the chill route of a local pub with a few friends.  Again the night ends with a group of friends sitting around chatting having fun.

Saturday morning I was off to ultimate.  I'm loving getting into the nitty gritty of the offense and defense here, it’s a ho stack and I'm handling half the time.  Every team runs things differently and it's always easier once you get the basics of it down.  It was absolutely beautiful out and a great way to spend a good chunk of a Saturday: good people, good frisbee, good fun.  After lunch at the pub with the ultimate crew, I hopped on the bus with another girl and headed home to work.  Sunday was spent working too, nothing to report except that there's a lot of schoolwork coming down the pipe and I am out of practice writing 'real' research papers on broad questions.  Alright, all caught up! Hopefully it won't be so long until I update again.

A Studying Sunday Post

I realize I left off rather abruptly last time but in my defense there was a family and a puppy looking for me.  Caramel's developed a habit of looking for me whenever she hears my voice coming out of the computer.  It's adorable and makes me miss my baby so much more than I already do, she looks so sad when she can't find me; she hasn't figured out that I'm in the computer yet, she just knows I'm not there.  After we'd sufficiently explored the grocery store, we'd packed our newfound foodstuffs into backpacks (apparently this is a city thing, relatively unknown to those who don't go to school in them, who'd've thunk it?), and made our way back to the flats.  I spent the rest of my evening making dinner and using the rest of my MBs on skype.  Yesterday was Ultimate Day.  Even though it wasn't technically as good a day out as last week, it was still loads of fun.  I'm loving being out on the field again and teaching new players the game.  Somehow, I've become one of the 'old' players.  I've been playing for about 5 or 6 years now, since sophomore year of high school but it's been so much fun that it doesn't feel like that long and I know there are so many better players out there than me.  Yet somehow, I'm realizing that to someone just starting out that I, Kimberly/Kim/Zolla, am the old, wise player schooled in the intricacies of the game; it’s a concept I'm still wrapping my head around.  I'm also discovering that there are downsides to this 'status' like that I now have to handle sometimes because I have passable throws, or that the cutting lane will be chock full of rooks for the time being.  There are major upsides though as well, teaching and helping people fall in love with a game I love is so rewarding.  There's something special about seeing a disc fly flat and straight for the first time and their face light up, knowing you had a role in putting it there, or watching someone score their first point, make their first real cut and catch.  I remember what that felt like for me and I'm really enjoying teaching new people the game.  After frisbee we grabbed some food and then the roommates and I had a bit of a chill night in, everyone curled up with a book or a movie.  Today I'm at the library all day so not much of interest to report except that for only having 2 traditional classes there sure is a lot of work to be done on other things!  I'm currently taking a break from the grownup world of figuring out how I'll be getting to my first day of work, working on grad school applications, and researching my dissertation to write this and clear up some random thought that have been on my mind.

Random Thoughts:

Yesterday was our 2 week anniversary as a program and it feels like it was so much longer ago than that.  The best way to describe a study abroad program may be as a crash course in social dynamics.  For the most part, it feels like I've known these people way longer than two weeks and yet others I'm still getting to know.  I think part of it may be due to the 24/7 mentality of the trip.  We arrived here in groups for the most part, so there were tran-Atlantic flights and arrival adventures to bond over.  We live together in flats of 4, and all the flats are in the same little hallway.  We go to school together and are the only pupils in our classes.  We essentially do everything together from work, to travel, shop and play.  Even though these past two weeks have been long, I have a sneaking suspicion that this trip will be flying by pretty soon, it's already October 9 which means there's less than 2.5 months left!

I'm back to reading the BBC regularly now that I'm here.  It's like having to read the Times for an American Politics class.  One of the things I noticed was that next to an article about a release from the British Treasury was accompanied with an interesting sidebar.  In a drop-box there was a massive list of banking terms, all linked to easy-to-understand definitions.  It struck me how widely the financial crisis has struck the world.  Some of the terms were simple but others delved into the complex financial world.  Somewhere in the past few years, it became necessary for everyday people to make sense of these terms in order to keep their daily lives in order.  Ten or twenty years ago, no one needed to know what these terms meant or how they worked, you simply mailed your check to the bank every month to pay your mortgage with little thought to how the macro machine functioned.  I can't tell if this new need for knowledge is the sign of a smarter investor and consumer or of a more dire financial situation but either way it is a definite departure from the old.  A lot to get from a drop-box but it just got me thinking!

Finally, the news of Steve Jobs' death made big headlines on this side of the pond as well as back home.  I'm a PC girl all the way, yet I can't deny the impact Jobs made.  As I type this I'm listening to music on my ipod which is an achievement unto itself, and this ipod is much smaller than the black and white click wheel I first bought myself years.  Jobs had a tremendous impact on the technological world and I have little doubt that it would look vastly different - and likely not in a good way- without him.  I'm intrigued to see what Apples first post-Jobs big idea will be and if it will possess the same innovation the world has come to expect from Apple.  Even beyond technology, the man seemed to be fascinating and the kind of thinker that will be sorely missed.  If you haven't seen his commencement speech at Stanford a few years back, I suggest you check it out either in print (http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505.html) or video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc)

Catching Up: Fri. October 7 aka Today

Train blogging again!  We are…. Actually I have no idea where we are at this point, only that we're more than halfway to London.  This morning we had as lazy a morning as possible, not bothering to hit up breakfast.  We did have to be out of our rooms by 10 but at least we could leave our stuff in the lobby for a few hours until it was time to go.  Somehow we got the idea into our heads that we wanted bagels for breakfast, since we knew we'd be hitting up a coffee shop for it.  On all our walks we'd seen a place called Elephant and Bagel which is a sister café to the J.K. Rowling one and that became our destination for the morning.  We however did not quite remember how far up it was, it was slightly further than we remembered.  However, the bagel was delicious and a welcome change to pastry.  Afterwards, we made use of our bus passes from yesterday to go on a tour of Edinburgh.  It was fun but nothing special at that point because a lot of the sights we'd discovered on our own.  If I were visiting again, I'd do it on the first day to provide almost a primer to the city that people could then explore more on their own.  At least it wasn't raining though, today is actually the best day we've had since we got here.  After grabbing our stuff back at the B&B we piled into cabs for the last time to the train station.  I had a sneaking suspicion that we'd get quite good at getting all of us into cabs, getting them paid for, doing it all efficiently, etc and it proved correct; all was done with no hassle in a way that seemed almost practiced.  I once again am riding backwards towards our destination but I'm on the coast side of the train again.  For a large part of the ride I've been kicking myself for packing my camera away in the overhead shelf.  It's much cleared out today and the views are even more spectacular if that’s possible.  The ocean definitely looks like the Atlantic and seeing it dotted with the occasional lighthouse is a comforting sight, I'd imagine the one in OOB looks similar this time of year.  With the clearer day we've been able to make out some more details along the coast, including some huge manor houses, tiny ancient abandoned ones, lots and lots of sheep, and cows (sorry, still no belted galloways).   Even now as I write this, I'm looking out the window as my fingers fly over the keys; I don't want to look away for a moment and will just fix the typos when I get back to the flat.  I think that's all for now, so I'm going to close the laptop and focus all my attention on the countryside flying by. 

=====================

The rest of the train ride passed painfully slowly but passed none the less.  By the end all of us were ready to get off and get home.  Personally my ipod died and I finished all the work I'd brought with me, making me a wee bit stir crazy.  All in all though, wasn't too bad.  A quick bus ride, thank you 214, got us to what has quickly become our new home.  I emptied my backpack (what I'd packed in this week) and headed off to the grocery store with a friend.  Since we were gone no one had any perishable food left. 

Catching Up: Thurs. October 6

This morning we made it over to breakfast in good time, with long enough for a sit down meal.  I ended up with the same food as yesterday but with a hot cup of tea and time to spare.  During breakfast it was pouring off and on, but mostly on, so we piled into cabs and headed into town.  Our first stop was Scottish Parliament where we met with a member of the Scottish Labour Party named Ken Macintosh.  He provided some insight to what it's like to be in opposition, as well as some specific policies he would change.  His party is actually in the process of electing new leadership and he is in the running for the position so it was very nice of him to take time out of his schedule to meet with us.  He also gave us a tour of the Parliament building and his office.  The building was designed with two themes in mind: openness and boats.  Consequently you see a lot of class and natural lighting, and a lot of features shaped like the bottom of a boat.  It's interesting to note that all the MP's offices are much smaller than those you'd see in the US.  Each MP, regardless of rank it seemed, had a cubicle where an assistant or receptionist could sit and it was open/glass on the side facing the hallway.  The member then had a slightly larger, but pretty much the same size, office right behind it.  The reasoning behind this design is that most of a SMPs (Scottish Member of Parliament) work is done in the constituency and they don’t need a lot in Edinburgh.  Also, most of the offices also have a little nook sticking out of the back wall and into the street.  These contemplative nooks were designed by the architect and could provide a place for the SMP to sit and think quietly; I love them and want one myself.  Afterwards, his office managed to secure some tickets to FMQs - First Minister's Questions - and I got one!  It was so cool to watch and appealed heavily to the geek in me.  Questions is when the government ministers of various departments and the first minister must answer questions from the other SMPs.  It is a lot more rowdy than at home, with members cheering, booing, and verbal jabing at each other in the questions.  I feel so lucky to have had this experience and now really want to try to get into the PMQs in London.  Afterwards, we headed to Pizza Express which is a chain here that we wanted to try.  Unfortunately the food didn't totally live up to expectations but it wasn't bad.  The last lecture of the day was from a member of the SNP (Scottish Nationalist Party whose big policy platform centers on, you guessed it, Scottish independence) which was interesting if not just for the huge amount of politics at play.  It was good to hear about the policies of the SNP (currently the majority party in the Scottish Parliament, the first party to hold a majority) from a member of the SNP because they are sometimes cast as 'nutters' by political opponents.  Even if this guy wasn’t nutters he was still most definitely a politician and someone I would've like to talk to more about just because I found myself in opposition to a number of his arguments from an academic standpoint and it's easier to cut through the politics one on one.  After this meeting we walked through the cold drizzle to get tickets for a bus tour.  Since they were goods for 24 hours we figured we could use it to get partially home.  Turns out, we were wrong but now we don’t have to go all the way back in tomorrow to get them.  I ended up taking the public bus back.  Did you know that even the bus seats are plaid in Scotland?  This amused me to no end.  I like taking public transport in a place because you really get a feel for the people and it gives you a sense of pride, you can fool yourself into thinking  your local if you get good enough at it.  Tonight we all went out for a group dinner on the Royal Mile which was a lot of fun.  We don't do a lot non-stressful group activities but they're fun when we do have them and this trip has been a good bonding experience for a lot of us.  Afterwards, we all went out to Whiski for a few drinks.  They had a great Scottish folk band playing and it was great to just sit there in the amazing atmosphere - good music, good drinks, good people.  Later we hit up the Edinburgh U Student Union for a little bit and overall had a good night.  

Catching Up: Wed. October 5

Despite getting the recommended about of sleep last night, the alarm seemed to go off as soon as I'd stopped tossing and turning.  Getting ready proved to be a slight challenge since there's once bathroom for 3 girls (a worse ratio than at the flat) and the mirror and hair dryer are located immediately outside the bathroom door in a way that makes it impossible to go in and out of the bathroom without running into someone.  My bed it also smack dab in the middle of what would ordinarily be a little free space.  Alls well that ends well though, and we made it to breakfast with relatively few issues.  Tomorrow we'll definitely be at breakfast earlier because for those who had more time, there was fresh made eggs to order, sausage, and the other fixings of a full English breakfast.  Personally I was perfectly content with my dry Shreddies (great discovery, they're like a wheat Chex with a little bit of sugar on them) and fresh scone.  The unpredictability of the weather here - the only predictable thing is that it's bound to start raining at any second - and the sizeable walk to our destination meant that we once again piled in cabs.  It was less hectic than yesterday for sure, I imagine we'll get quite good at it, and soon we found ourselves outside the Scottish Law Society on a very windy day.  A very nice man whose name I am currently blanking on (I'll look it up and add it to the bottom of the post) gave us an informative and interesting lecture on Scottish history.  It proved very useful only a few hours later and I'm sure this will continue to be the case.  Afterwards, we had an amazing talk by one Ian Dunkin about the Parliaments at play in Scotland.  Yes, that is plural on purpose, the Scottish Parliament, Westminster Parliament, and EU Parliament all play a role in Scotland's unique governing situation.  We went into detail about each body and how they impact and are impacted by Scotland.  The speaker's frankness in regards to the positions of several groups was refreshing and made it easier to get a handle on what is going on.  This was easily my favorite talk so far.  Afterwards we had time for a lunch break and another student and I found a nice little café with good, inexpensive food with a great atmosphere.  It was a great place to grab a bite and recharge since we had one more lecture later in the afternoon.  Although the morning had been windy but sunny, it had darkened considerably since then and on the way back from lunch it began to mist.  The final lecture was on economics in Scotland.  Probably my least favorite lecture but it was short.  It was very dense and heavy of data with less explanation as to why those figures matter.  Just as we were leaving, the skies opened and full on rain began.  Since we were almost immediately soaked in spite of our rain gear, we decided to just tough it out and keep exploring.  On tap for our afternoon was the Elephant House.  The tucked away café doesn’t appear to be anything special from the outside, that is until you notice the writing on one of the windows announcing that this is where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter.  Although I certainly am not as crazy a Harry Potter fan as some and I'm far from obsessive over it, I would be remiss to pass up the opportunity.  These books and characters are ones I grew up with, and who grew up with me; the series began when I was in Lane (elementary school) and spanned all the way through my high school career.  By the time we'd arrived at Elephant House we were soaked through, I was literally dripping as we sat down.  It was really coolly decorated on the inside, with elephants everywhere.  I'd gone with the girls I was staying with and we all relaxed with some tea to dry off a bit and soak up the atmosphere.  Afterwards, it had stopped raining so we did a little walking around and shopping before walking home.  We dried off and attempted to warm up hanging out in our room before once again heading out into the elements.  This time we were in search of dinner and found Mother's Kitchen, an Indian place a few blocks from us.  I was glad it wasn't too far a walk because it's decidedly cold out and I should've brought more warm clothes.  When we got back, our room became dubbed the Island of Misfit Toys.  Since we were right by the front door, we would let people into the building when their key got stuck (the lock was finicky) and they'd wind up chilling in our room.  There was also only one set of keys for each room so some people couldn't get into their rooms for a while.  It was a lot of fun though and our room was full with laughter for hours before people headed off to bed.  Now it's my turn to hit the sack too, hopefully the weather defies the forecast and it's dryer and or warmer tomorrow.

Note: Speakers were Mike Clancy from the Law Society of Scotland, Dr Ian Duncan Clerk to the European & External Relations Committee and European Officer, Scottish Parliament, and Lucy Proud & Graeme Kemlo, Office of the Chief Economic Officer for the Scottish Government

Catching Up: Tues. October 4

Blogging on the train to Edinburgh, who out there is surprised?  Go ahead, raise your hands, now look around and notice who else is as silly as you since it’s a definite noticeable trend for me to be blogging in transit.  Currently the English countryside is flying by, with its rolling hills (mostly flat still), quaint brick houses, cows (no belted Galloway so far), windmills, sheep, and everything else you'd expect to see on the English countryside.  So far the only major surprises were how quickly the city changed to country and the nuclear plant we drove by, it seemed a bit out of place with the idyllic setting all around us. 

Sunday ended up being a lot more fun and exciting than I initially thought it'd be.  A few of us headed over to Camden to check out the markets.  It was the same stop that I'd used on Saturday for Ultimate so it was wicked easy to get to even with rail construction.  For most of the time we're here, our line is closed on weekends for engineering work which leaves us relying on busses and our feet to get around.  Luckily the 214, among others, picks up right by our flat and goes right to Kings Cross and Camden (both semi-important places in life).  The market, or markets since it was technically a couple merged together, was HUGE, absolutely enormous, I lack the vocabulary to explain adequately just how many stalls there were.  The best I can do is say that we wandered around for a good 4 hours, not dilly dallying, and still didn't see quite all of them.  They sell all manner of goods, from household, to clothing's, to books, to food stalls, to jewelry, to bags, to everything in between.  Most of the stalls are permanent or semi-permanent and the market is open 7 days a week.  I will most definitely be back multiple times before I leave.  Unfortunately there was still schoolwork to be done so after the market it was back to the flat.  I grabbed my laptop and books and headed down to LSE.  The next hours were spent there, working until I was too hungry to put up with it anymore; that, and I wanted to get home before it got too late.  After dinner I kept reading until I felt ready enough for class Monday, thus quietly ending what had begun as an exciting day. 

Monday morning came way too fast but it was time for class.  I was going to go plenty early to keep reading before class started but after getting partway there, I realized that I'd forgotten my notebook so I had to runback to flat to get it.  This definitely made the morning a bit more hectic but all's well that ends well I suppose.  The day was largely uneventful for those back home.  We learned about policy making theory in the morning class and I'm already seeing them show up in the readings; I feel like I'll be learning accidentally in that class a lot.  Between classes we officially found out our internships (I knew mine before I left) and got some more logistical information about them.  After lunch at the Quad it was time for Parliament class and discussions about the House of Lords.  It was the last nice, 80 degree, day out we could expect for a while so we walked home from class.  We ended up breaking up in to a few groups looking to find the best way home and consequently all got lost.  We did make it home eventually and I enjoyed the walking.  Last night, the roommate and I got ourselves packed and did a little reading before I turned in early.  This morning we headed up to King's Cross around 8:45 to grab our 10am train and since then we've been whizzing towards Scotland. 

=================

Later that day....

The rest of the train ride went pretty well and we got to see some beautiful scenery; the train followed the coast for a while.  The folk songs about the Scottish coast make a lot more sense now, the place has a rugged beauty to it, harsh but homey.  After we got into Edinburgh we had to grab taxis to the hotel which sounds simpler than it was.  There are about 30 people on this little jaunt between the undergrads, researchers, and Luke so logistical issues sometimes crop up where one would least suspect it and this was one of those places.  Even so, we managed and soon arrived at Thrums, our little B&B home for the next few days.  I'm in a room with two of the other girls, one of my suitemates and a friend I've made on the trip.  Once everyone had dropped their stuff it was time to EXPLORE! always one of my favorite parts of arriving in a new place.  By circumstance and timing we all left in a massive blob and began walking up to the Royal Mile, or at least what we knew to be the general right direction of it, at this point we didn't even know what it looked like.  The group quickly splintered though, with some people hopping in a cab and others deciding to stop along the way.  By the time we'd reached the mile, we were almost all in our usual mini-groups off in search of food and adventure.  Our bit was hungry, very hungry, so we went to one of the first pubs we found on the Mile.  Possibly not our smartest decision ever in terms of cost effectiveness since things on the Royal Mile, especially in the center where we were are on the less cheap side but like I said, we were hungry.  Traditional fare was the theme of the meal for us.  The pub was called Whiski and the boys tried the whiskey, we are in Scotland after all.  It proved to be decidedly stronger than home and pretty good.  Personally, I had fish and chips for the first time since I've arrived in the UK with Innis & Gun, a local Scottish beer.  Overall I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would since I'm not usually a fish person; oh and of course I love chips.  After refueling at the pub, we headed up towards Edinburgh Castle exploring.  Unfortunately the castle itself was closed for the day but we got some cool pictures of the outside and checked out the gift shop.  I got myself a Scotland pencil to add to the collect, I can add it to the UK/England one I got at Camden Market this past weekend.  Delicious shortbread was also in order and we passed around the box as we continued to wander around.  Eventually we found ourselves on the other side of the bridge, on Princess Street in New Town (the Royal Mile, or High Street, is in Old Town).  We could see all these impressive looking buildings on cliffs and decided to walk up and explore one of them.  Turns out we were headed to Calton Hill, and it was a great choice.  There's a cool cemetery there, where Hume is buried and there's actually a statue of Lincoln on one of them, commemorating soldiers of Scottish decent who died in the Civil War.  When we made it up the hill there was an observatory tower, some more monuments, and some Roman looking ruins that were all really fun to wander around.  The best part though, by far, was the views.  They were incredible and you could see out over the entire city in all directions, including to Holyrood, the Queen's Scottish residence.  Even though it hadn't started raining again at this point, it had continued to get colder and colder and now it was quite cold out.  Reluctantly we headed down and homeward.  I noticed walking back that a number of 'cancer stores' lined the way.  They sell secondhand items of all kinds and the proceeds go to support cancer research.  It struck me as an interesting plan and potential business model - I wonder about its sustainability and successfulness.  Near home we stopped for supplies at a little convenience type store.  We'd eaten around 3 or 3:30 so we'd effectively skipped dinner and although it wasn't a dire issue, we could use a snack or something.  Once we got back we dug out some cards and learned a new game, 31, which kept us entertained for the remainder of the evening.  The fact that breakfast starts at 7:45 tomorrow and we're out the door at 9 means that we've all retreated to bed and now I tool will hopefully soon be asleep, g'night all!

Catching Up

I spent the last four days in Edinburgh, Scotland as part of my program.  I blogged while I was there but they didn't make it on the internet for various reasons.  For those of you who don't know, I usually write in a word doc and then post here when I get online.  I'm going to post them all now as Catching Up posts with the day they're from.  Enjoy! 

Ultimate Day!

I'm deliciously sore tonight from ultimate and definitely smiling from a day of disc under the sun but I'm getting ahead of myself.  Yesterday afternoon I finally got myself properly organized for school and did some cleaning.  Those of you who've seen me do this know that all the papers go in their specific folders, labeled of course, reading lists are made, etc, etc, etc.  Somehow I'd made it through the first week of class neglecting to do this and dealing with the fact that they use A4 paper here which is slightly larger than a regular 8.5x11 and does not fit in a regular folder.  Anyway, it felt nice to put my stuff back in order and I'm ready to dig into classes.  Last night we did end up heading down to the Thames for dinner and a movie.  The waterfront was beautiful at night, Tower Bridge and the Tower were all lit up with white lights.  I didn't bring my camera but I'll definitely be back there with it; there's just something about being on the water.  The movie was playing at the Scoop, an outdoor amphitheater which was packed full so it was hard to see.  Instead of battling along the rails for a seat, we sat nearby and enjoyed our sandwiches from EAT! while discussing how hard it is to find a 'normal' sandwich here - there's all sorts of things you wouldn’t normally put in them here.  Afterwards we found spots where we could mostly see and watched the rest of True Grit leaning up against metal barriers.  Even though it was chilly by the end, definitely a good night.  It ended by saying hi to the family, pup and all, before they sat down for dinner (by the way guys, you owe me a slice of pizza). 

Today was ULTIMATE DAY!!!!! I'd been sorely missing it and didn't even realize how much until I was on the field.  Tube construction meant that it took a half hr via bus to get there since my section is under construction but it was easy enough.  Practice was at 11 and I was so eager to lace up and get going that I only partially minded that right after we warmed up, we did sprints.  The rest of practice consisted of teaching people new to the sport how to toss, doing a couple of bullet drills (man am I out of practice breaking the mark on this, or just not used to defenders nearly a foot taller than me), on the hook (as winner I earned myself a free beer and possibly some cred?) and lots of scrimmaging.  Being out there playing was so much fun I barely took a sub even though it was hot out again today, 80s F or 20s C, and even spent a reasonable amount of time handling.  It's not my position back home and definitely somewhere I'm not totally comfortable yet but we'll see how it plays out.  I definitely need to work on my dump cuts though!  One of my favorite parts was just the people.  Players are one of the reasons I love Ultimate so much and this bunch was no different, they were all very welcoming and it felt like I just slipped in as one of the group pretty easily.  Afterwards, most of the group went to a nearby pub to relax for a bit before heading back towards campus and home.  Overall, it's been an excellent Saturday all around, so long as one ignores the pile of reading I've yet to do and believe I'll go start now.  Tomorrow's likely to be spent at the library so I wouldn't expect an update but then there's only one day left before our trip to Edinburgh!