The dangers of isolation and distance

I did not know about the extent of the wildfires in Southern California. I'd heard of the Malibu fire, but not about San Diego and certainly not Santiago Canyon.

Had I not spoken to my mom last night, I probably still wouldn't know.

I just got back from class and immediately went to the OC Register's website to learn more.

Having learned more, I almost wish I hadn't.

I hope they catch who's responsible and throw him/her/them in jail for a very very very very long time.

I'm glad to hear they've cancelled the evacuation for Lake Forest.

I hope everyone stays safe, and believe it or not, I've actually said a prayer for all this.

College ruled

Today is one of those days where tea strikes me as the most perfect beverage ever invented. I did laundry yesterday so I've got bras hanging everywhere whilst they dry, and I wish one of the cats would come up and join me, but they're all spooning on the couch downstairs. Whoops. I take that back. I called for Blue-Blue and she actually came up to see me! Fantastic. Now I've got a cat.

I want to order a pizza to commemorate my first serious homework session as a born-again college student. Double cheese and pepperoni please. Maybe I'll give Domino's a try.

Anyway, as I mentioned lst time, I am an English and History student at Goldsmiths College. Woot. Go me! The first week of class is over, and I can hardly put into words how utterly excited I am to be going back to school here. The process is very different from what I'm used to, but I'm happy to report that the system here works for me much much much much better than the system in the US.

---UPDATE---
...this is a fragment that I forgot to finish. I've posted it anyway....

Sardines

So this is what an empty car on the Northern Line looks like.

I've only seen an empty one once, at about 10:30 on a Sunday night.

Yesterday I got my first taste of what rush hour means to Londoners.

Take a look at the picture again, then imagine that space packed as tightly as possible with bodies. The seats, the aisles between the seats, the space in front of the doors. I didn't get to snag a seat, so I don't know what it's like to be seated for the crush of people. Standing is like one big spooning-fest where everyone is the little spoon and nobody gets to be the big spoon. I've lucked out this far and been sandwiched between metrosexual guys in suits and career women in heels. Lucky because those two types of people bathe regularly and use deodorant and/or some sort of cologne/perfume. I hate to think what it would be like to be stuck spooning someone with less than rigorous hygiene standards. Especially if they're the height of the guy I was next to yesterday, so that when they reach up to grab the ceiling rail to steady themselves, their armpit is right at your nose level. Since it's hard to move around (even re-positioning your feet is tough), you're pretty much stuck between stations. Once the train stops and people get off/get on, you can maneuver a bit, but not much.

If you manage to get a spot between the rows of chairs it's a little more bearable. There's space to hold up a book or newspaper or something so you can at least read while enduring the time it takes to get to your stop. Unfortunately, not even the empty air between the head of the person on the seat and yours helps alleviate the stifling scorching stuffiness of the tube. All those bodies warmly dressed for the chill of autumn, exhaling all that stale air. I took off my jacket this morning (with just a t-shirt underneath) and still broke a sweat comparable to running on a treadmill for forty minutes. Or standing outside in Vegas in the full heat of July/August. And if you're not right at the door, the breeze that comes in when the doors open at the stations never reaches you. Too many people crammed together.

I get off at London Bridge to either transfer to another line or take the aboveground train. Not only do I have to fight my way past other people to get off the train, I then have to fight through all the people trying to get on the train. If I'm riding the National Rail train, I then have to hustle to the London Bridge train station, buy a ticket, wait to find out the platform for the next train calling at New Cross Gate, then haul ass to the train since they don't seem to want to provide you with the platform number any more than five minutes prior to departure. All for a six-minute train ride. It's quicker than the tube though, and necessary on Wednesdays because I have a lecture at 9 am. I love the walk from the London Bridge tube station to the London Bridge train station. And I love the train station. Everyone is in such a hurry, and no one makes eye contact. There's just this massive flow of people from the platforms to the escalators and then out. Part of me want to leave super-early on Thursdays just so I can sit and have a coffee and watch all the folks rush by, inventing life stories for the more interesting-looking ones.

Oh, by the way, if you didn't know already, I talked my way into being accepted to Goldsmiths College (part of the University of London), in order to study for an honors BA in English and History. But more on that later. If you'd like you can check out the school's website: http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk/.

Anyway. Would I rather sit in traffic on the freeway or smoosh into a subway train? Certainly a train. With traffic, you've got no idea how long you're going to be stuck in it, or how far up ahead it extends. With the tube you only have to stick it out until your stop. Granted, I'd rather be sitting, but since I'm on my way to spend an hour or two sitting on my ass inside a classroom, I think I can put up with standing all the way there.

Shopping and Bank Holiday

Despite the fact that it's only 10pm and I took a nap this afternoon, I'm somehow exhausted as all get and go. Poop.

But. I promised shopping and Bank Holiday, so here goes:

Oh my goodness! I wish I had tons and tons and tons of money! Some streets are just one long stretch of shop after shop with the most wonderful clothing/footwear items in their windows! If properly funded, I could very very very easily develop a thing for shoes here. And coats. And dresses, oddly enough. And matching bra/underwear sets. And socks. So yeah, basically everything. And there are so many places to shop in! The only one I'm going to talk about at the moment is Primark, because it is by far the store that is least like anything I'd ever seen before.

So. Primark. The one I've been to is down at the end of Oxford Street by Marble Arch. It's big....about the size of Kohl's in RSM. As far as what type of store it is....think Mervyn's or Kohl's without as much selection in the footwear and jewelry departments. And cheaper. Much much much much much cheaper. So cheap, you don't really expect the clothes to last through too many washings, but you don't really mind since you got them so cheap. I got a military-style wool coat for thirty bucks. Dress slacks for ten bucks. Cotton tank tops for two bucks.

So you're thinking "Great Britt, it's cheaper version of Kohl's. How does that make it so weird?"

(I just chuckled to myself when I typed that last line. I'm not sure how to properly describe what it is that makes Primark such a fascinatingly strange place to shop)

I've only ever been in there in the late afternoon/early evening, so I'm not sure if the shop is always in the state of complete disarray I always find it in. Everything is everywhere. If you find something you like, you'd better grab it quick otherwise the girl behind you will snag it. The entire store is one huge free-for-all. Don't ever expect to be able to just pop in real quick to check out their new arrivals. The store is a mess. I feel bad for the employees that sort of wander through the display racks, half-heartedly attempting to return things to their proper places. I wouldn't recommend attempting to try things on since the lines for the one set of fitting rooms are always atrocious. As such, sometimes I've seen women trying stuff on in between the racks.

And then there's the line to checkout. Last time I was there, I waited about an hour. From what I can tell, there are either three or four groups of cash registers. The big ones have close to twenty registers, and the smaller ones look like they've got about ten. I waited an hour in the line for one of the bigger ones. And there's nothing to do. Bring your iPod. And a book.

Or, you can do what I do (and what Primark is great for): PEOPLE WATCH!!!! There are so many different kinds of folks wandering around, you could spend a day just watching them. From the Muslim women with only their eyes peeking out and the trendy little hipsters in skintight jeans and lowcut tops, to the frumpy old maids and the sterile-looking career women, Primark's got 'em all. And you know that even the ones that dress like they've got lots more money than you do are still there for the same reason: Primark is cheap. Sort of like Wal-Mart clothing, only without the oppressive multi-national corporation that takes advantage of its employees and engages in immoral business practices. At least as far as I know, though I admittedly haven't done much research into Primark's parent company.

Anyway, Primark is a hoot and a half, and if you come visit I will most assuredly take you shopping there. Then we'll go to Regent Street afterward and drool over all the posh clothing we can't afford.

Okay, Bank Holiday. There really isn't much worth saying at this point, other than the weather was wonderful, I spent oodles of time sitting in Hyde Park reading a book, and I discovered I really have a thing for steeldrum music. If somebody can find me a recording of "The Entertainer" by a steeldrum band, I would forever be in your debt.....

There are pictures on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=49663&l=4eac6&id=560310472

There are also videos of the steeldrum bands, but facebook doesn't give me a public address for them. I think most of my faithful readers are already on facebook, but if you're not, you should be! If you have problems finding me on that site, let me know.

Okay. So I think that's pretty much it for catch-up from the summer. I'm going to put another one up really quickly about rush hour on the tube. Then I'll get into things that have happened since school started again. But that'll be either tomorrow or sometime this weekend.....