Quick Update

I know I'm miles behind in blogging (is that actually a saying?), but I've got enough time to at least give you a quick update before my massive to-do list eats me alive:

Last weekend the rest of the Laluks finally made it to London (Mom, Dad and Steve). I had fun playing tour guide all around the city (Westminster, Madame Tussaud's, Buckingham Palace, Portobello Road, etc.) and even took in two shows with Mom (Les Mis and Billy Elliot) and one with the whole family (The 39 Steps). Steve went home on Sunday and I went onto Paris with Mom and Dad for a few days. Ate some great bread and drank wonderful wine, and saw all the sights associated with the city (the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, St. Chapelle, Pont Neuf, Museé d'Orsay and the Arc de Triumphe).

After getting back into London yesterday, I went to see my last show for my drama class — 'Madame de Sade' with the one and only Dame Judi Dench. I couldn't resist waiting outside the stage door to meet her and get her autograph (which I did). She has got to be the classiest and most gracious celebrity I've ever met (granted, that list is pretty short, but still).

Now it's down to the last week and a half before I head home. Finals are coming up (more quickly than I'd like), my internship is winding down and it seems like there are more things in London I want to do that just won't fit into my schedule. And as much as I don't want to leave London, I am looking forward to being home and seeing everyone that I missed.

Although I do have one last visitor before I depart London — Mark! Granted we haven't seen each other in about two or three years (God, has it really been that long?), but I'm sure we'll have a blast.

There you have it: the Cliff Notes version of the past few weeks of my life. Not too shabby, eh? Anyways, I better get back to work if I'm going to get anything done. I might be able to pull off a few more late-night blogs, but we'll see what happens.

Cheers!

Lessons Learned from London: Vol. 2

34. Washer/Dryers toy with your emotions and taunt your sub-par intelligence. Bizarre temperature settings (how warm is 40 degrees Celsius again?), crazy wash cycles (do I really need a super fast spin? Do I have a choice?), enigmatic dryer settings (but I don't have delicates!) and the door that never unlocks — it's insanity!
35. Bill Sheasgreen, director of the IC London Center, is a walking encyclopedia of London history and trivia ... and possibly the coolest guy in London.
36. Walking is a great way to get around and really see London (just make sure you have your A to Zed or a really good map).
37. Having a drink at 11am at the local pub is not unusual.
38. Watch which football jersey you wear and where you wear it (try saying that five times fast).
39. Despite all my years in Little League and the similarities between cricket and baseball, I will never become a professional cricket player.
40. As orderly as most things are in London, people don't seem to understand the concept of walking on one side of the sidewalk. I don't care if it's on the left (like in Japan) or the right (like in America) — just pick one!

Happy Easter!

What a Jokeless Bloke!

I never thought it was possible. A comic strip that isn't comical ... not really anyways.

But the folks at Garfield Minus Garfield have proved me wrong by taking Garfield out of Garfield cartoons. The effect is amusing at first, but after a few clips, it just makes you realize how angst-ridden, lonely and downright pathetic Jon Arbuckle is without his famously snarky pet.

Here are a few of my favorites:

March 27

April 11

October 8

I don't think I'll ever look at a Garfield cartoon the same way ever again ...

Cricket Wickets and a Dog Named Knickers

A bunch of American students trying to play cricket. Yup, it must have been quite a sight.

This morning Bill taught Katie, Clara, Anne, Eric and I how to play cricket in Hyde Park. We weren't exactly sure what we were doing most of the time (even once Bill explained the rules), but we still had a whack at it (sorry, bad pun).

And while cricket is similar to baseball, we quickly discovered some differences:

• Cricket's played in a 360-degree field, so there's no such thing as a foul ball.
• You can't strike out in cricket but ...
• ... cricket bats are significantly heavier and more awkward to swing than baseball bats.
• There aren't four bases in cricket, just two wickets.
• Communication between the two batters (yes, two) is crucial to score runs. Points are scored when the two batters run past each other on their way to the wicket on the other side of the pitch.
• Forgetting to carry the bat with you when you run can cost you quite a few runs.
• There are a lot more rules and terminology to remember in cricket than in baseball.
• There's a lot more strategy and thinking involved in cricket than baseball. It took us forever to get used to the fact that you don't have to run to the wicket after each hit.

Usually you don't play with so few people, but we did have one more player I haven't mentioned yet: Knickers the dog. While Bill was setting up the wickets, a tiny dog trotted up to us and looked expectantly at the ball in my hand. Taking his cue, I threw the ball across the field and he darted after it. We ended up chatting with his owner for a while and even invited her to play with us.

After a few hours of play, we were exhausted so we called it a day. Besides, by that point we had realized none of us would ever become professional cricket players, and in true London style, it had started to rain a bit.

As promised, here's a photo of all of us on our make-shift cricket pitch.


Front: Bill and Knickers, Back (from left to right): Anne, Clara, the Sports Marketing professor (sorry, I don't remember her name), me and Katie.

Lessons Learned from London: Vol. 1

This post is long overdue, but hopefully amusing nonetheless. I've learned loads while I've been here and if I ever want to write a guidebook to London in the future, I might as well jot down some notes, right?

So here goes (in no particular order), discoveries and revelations from London with my own quirky spin:

1. British accents are possibly the sexiest accent around and, at the same time, one of the most difficult to understand.
2. Mind the gap!
3. When crossing the street, look right, then left, then right again.
4. Don't think you can run in front of a taxi, the driver will run you over as soon as look at you.
5. As cool as Tesco's (grocery store) is, it still can't compare to Wegmans.
6. Only Americans and other tourists react to the news of someone getting stuck under a train on the tube (subway).
7. Never, ever rely on the Circle Line to get you anywhere on time.
8. Never change trains at Green Park — the station is HUGE!
9. Even celebrities ride the tube (at least the ones that aren't too stuck up)
10. Never EVER use the phrase 'wet pants'. Just don't.
11. Don't say 'excuse me' unless you sneeze. Otherwise, use 'pardon'.
12. Cadbury Chocolate is as big here as Hershey is back in the states. And you'll be hard pressed to find a Hershey bar anywhere in London.
13. British English is NOT the same as American English. Look up a British slang dictionary online and study it.
14. Don't make jokes about the Queen, tea, football (soccer) teams or British traditions. Just don't.
15. Somehow you always, always end up in Leister Square.
16. London never sees snow, even in the winter ... except for this past February.
17. London is amazing when the sun is out, which happens more often than you'd think.
18. Walking is the best way to get around town — just remember your brolly!
19. ABBA = God over here.
20. Some of the best places to shop are the street markets here.
21. The Portobello Road market isn't as cool as it was in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, but still worth visiting ... multiple times.
22. Eat in the pubs. Try Fish and Chips, Black Pudding, Yorkshire Pudding and Toad in the Hole at least once, but don't hate me if you don't like them. The British aren't known for their spectacular cuisine.
23. Learn to love your local pub (for me it's the Redan). It's a place you can go where everybody knows your name (like Cheers!)
24. Peanut Butter — real Peanut Butter — doesn't exist here.
25. Free evening papers are amusing, but are mostly filled with tabloid gossip.
26. English dogs are remarkably well behaved.
27. Some things are cooler to see in person than in pictures. Among these are Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London Bridge.
28. British keys go in the lock upside-down and open the opposite way.
29. There's a reason for a 2-pence (like 2 cents) coin here that's bigger than every other coin in your pocket. I've been here three months and I still don't know what that reason is!
30. Your wallet may weigh a ton from all your loose change, but it adds up fast (the Brits use £1 and £2 coins instead of bills).
31. So many Americans don't know how to make tea. You put the hot water on the tea bag, not the other way around!
32. TKTS tickets here are significantly cheaper than they are on Broadway.
33. Ovens don't have coherent settings, just pictures ... and pictures that don't make sense at that.


That's not the end of the list — I'm sure I forgot things and there are things I still have yet to learn.

It's Absolutely Barmy!

Well, the madness finally drew to a close yesterday (around 4:30 a.m. for me) and even though the team I picked to win did win (UNC beat Michigan State for those of you who weren't following the tournament), I'm sad it’s over.

I'll certainly miss the madness of screaming at my computer screen hoping it would change to outcome of the games (though I know it didn't) and staying up til 1am to watch the later games, but then again, there's always next year, right?

I ended up in second overall in my pool, which I'm happy with (particularly since I don't follow college basketball other than in March). If you're interested in someone who does know a bit about sports, check out Andrew Lovell's blog and his analysis of next year's tourney (yup, he's planning already). Lovell is a recent Ithaca College grad, former Ithacan Sports Editor, a sports writer/copy editor for the New Britain Herald in New Britain, CT and a guy who really knows his stuff.

Photo: UNC Head Coach Roy Williams hoists the championship trophy over his head with the help of his players.
Credit: Associated Press