EVERY WAKING MOMENT

the last three days i've been staring at this computer. this paper's been my most challenging one at queen mary and my corneas can't take it. i'm going blind y'all. after this baby's done by 5, i'm off to see stuart hall speak on a panel on cultural identity and the photographic archive at autograph abp (the nonprofit i desperately wanted to work at if i could stay in london). one. week. left.

MUST DO TO DO'S

been counting down the days and i have ten to do the following!

1. finish paper on tourism as a form of neocolonialism
2. have an english roast
3. explore brixton/south london
4. visit sir john sloane's
5. have high tea
6. walk around hampstead heath/crouch end
7. check out goldsmiths' centre for cultural studies
7. say my goodbyes to everyone

i'll leave happy if it all happens.

SILENCE IS GOLDEN

spent a massive library sesh today and adrian joined me after i migrated to soas. when i was at senate hill, i was accosted by this huge black man who wanted to know where i was from, where i was from originally, whether i thought america would survive the recession despite being colonized by england and its foreign policy with iraq (WEIRD), whether i had heard about the earthquakes in southwest china, whether i thought london was better than nyc, whether i thought america was ready for a black president, blahlbhablhahh dayam he just would not stop interrogating me as i was looking for a book on jamaica kincaid! maybe he'd been deprived of human interaction from being in the library for too long, but get these crazies awayy from me plzz

OHGAWD THE END IS NEAR

i handed in my second to last essay last wednesday and spent the rest of the week slacking. spain was amazing, i almost cried during the 200th dos de mayo celebration in madrid even though the language was completely lost to me. the performances were really spectacular, i have a video of napoleon rapping. i'll definitely go back with some spanish under my belt, i'm ashamed really of how little i know ESPECIALLY since i have so many spanish-speaking friends that i love dearly!

anyway, have mostly been making lists for various things (things to do in london before leaving, people to see before leaving, things to prepare for job, things to do during the summer, they go on...) and hanging out with dana! we saw a cindy sherman film, officer killers, yesterday at the tate modern. it was good fun, but i was expecting more gore. the talk before it was disappointing and made me miss swarthmore. i miss swarthmore!

SO MUCH that i'll be going to graduation on june 1st. i changed my return date to nyc for may 28th, in time to celebrate my birthday with people who appreciate my existence. may 31st i'll be visiting swarthmore for graduation, returning to nyc day of, which gives me about a week to settle and remind myself of how much i loved newyork/thestates/myformerlife.

but i will miss london dearly. queen mary has been ridiculous, but it's grown on me. mile end too. ahhnoththinkngaboutitnothigaboutittt.