23/1/09 9:45 PM
Gosh, my legs hurt. They don’t mind walking so much. It’s the stopping that makes them start aching…
I had to go to the bank today. My debit card still hasn’t arrived. It did arrive in London, at the BUNAC office, and they forwarded it to me 11 days ago, but it never showed up. Sally figures if it isn’t here already, it won’t turn up, so I had to go cancel it and get a new debit card and PIN. Luckily, I have no money in my UK account (I was waiting for my card), so even if some unscrupulous person got their hands on it, they wouldn’t be able to do anything.
After the bank, I went to the visitor services office to talk to Lesley, the volunteer coordinator. She gave me some times to work in the chapter house as steward, including 1-3 and 3-4:30 today. Both of those shifts only had one person showing up. The second shift, though, the lady never did show up, so I was on my own.
The chapter house was very busy today. There were 3 groups of 50 American students, 150 in total, one right after the other. I was forever repeating “No photography in here, please,” and watching as they filtered in, glanced at Magna Carta, and then clumped up to talk about their hair or coats or whatever. Sigh. Is there no awe and reverence for a nearly-800 year old document? At the end of the day, a group of Spanish teenagers came in, and UGH! I had to tell every single one of them “No pictures in this building,” and I had to keep repeating it because they thought it meant “No pictures of Magna Carta” and then “No pictures of this side of the wall,” and then “No pictures of the ceiling.” No matter how many times I said “None in this whole building,” they kept trying to take more pictures.
Pictures are forbidden in the chapter house for conservation and security reasons. We don’t want anyone being able to study the security measures for Magna Carta (not really that many, to be honest) and stealing it, nor do we want forgeries of any of the valuable and ancient items on display, nor do we want people taking flash pictures of the light-sensitive ancient piece of history. There are signs everywhere with pictures of cameras and the big circle with a line through it, a fairly universal sign for “NO PICTURES,” I assumed. Sigh.
I had to tell the Spanish group about fifty times that we were closed, too. The constable came in to lock up Magna Carta, and I would tell a group “We’re closed, please leave,” so they’d head toward the exit. I’d move to another group, and after telling them we had closed, I’d turn around and see the first group had sat down a few feet away from where they had started, so go back to them and repeat “Closed, please leave,” and gesture to the door (and they understood, because they did speak some English), and then I’d see that the second group had only gone a few feet, and a third group was keeping the constable from locking up because they decided that now they wanted to study Magna Carta in great detail… Ugh!
But I did learn a bit about Magna Carta today, from listening to another steward. Not only is Salisbury’s copy the best preserved of the four original, but it is also the best written. The handwriting is the same from top to bottom, unique among the four surviving copies, and there are no major mistakes, no missing words, no scratched out typos. It is quite an impressive piece of writing, if I do say so myself. A popular question was “How many pages is it?” and everyone was always astounded when I answered, “Just the one.”
One boy, though, one of the American teenagers from Syracuse, came up to me and said, “Now, as an Anglican, what do you worship? As a Roman Catholic, we worship Jesus Christ, but what do Anglicans worship?” It took some time to explain that there really isn’t much difference between Anglicans and Roman Catholics, and that yes, we do worship Jesus too. I had to turn him around and show him the massive sculpture of Jesus up on the wall with the symbols of the four evangelists around Him to convince him that we were Christians here, same as the Catholics. I also told him that if he were to go to a service in the Cathedral, he would find it very familiar to his own. Honestly, though, who taught him about different faiths!?
There was a camel in the Cathedral today. A big one, the sort with two humps. Brom something. Tomorrow night, you see, is a big concert that the girl choristers are putting on called “Starry Night,” and it’s about Epiphany and the three kings coming to see Baby Jesus. The kings brought a camel, hence the use of a camel in the concert. Don’t ask me why they decided to bring the camel in. Everyone is cringing at the thought of camel droppings and camel piss and spit, and they have a cover to put on the font so the camel doesn’t try to drink from it. Apparently, it’s the wrong sort of camel, anyway, since the two-humped ones are from the Gobi desert, which is not where the magi came from. Today, it was in the cathedral for rehearsals.
At the end of the day, there were three Canadian men who came into the chapter house. They asked a lot of questions and were genuinely interested in things. When I was leaving, I ran into them again in the Cathedral itself, so I gave them a tour. It was my first tour of the Cathedral, and they thought I did a great job. I had such a grin on my face walking home from that! They had also asked me about the location of the Haunch of Venison, a pub/restaurant in a building that’s as old as the Cathedral itself (not a good place to eat, from my experiences there). I was able to direct them there, though, so I felt like such a Salisbury native. :)
I returned home around 6:15, when Sally reminded me that I had agreed to go out with Linda at 7. Linda has been trying to hook me up with people my own age, because she’s worried that I might be getting lonely here. I’m not getting lonely, not at all! Most of you know that I’m quite a loner by nature, so I enjoy being alone or just curling up with the cat. After all the people in the chapter house, I was feeling quite drained and tired, but I did say I would meet Linda and her friend, a young woman from Columbia named Sandra, who is 23, and go for a drink with them.
It was with weary legs that I trudged back to Sarum College. I had no interest in going out for a drink at a pub (I don’t drink) with someone my age (I prefer the company of older people, to be honest, if I have to spend time with anyone), and at dinner time. I hadn’t eaten since an early lunch, aside from a few digestives I had in my purse and munched on along the way. Good thing I did, too, since the drink only included a small bag of crisps as meal. I didn’t get to start cooking my dinner until after 9 PM.
The drink, though, wasn’t as bad as I had feared. Sandra’s in Salisbury to learn English, and she has a very good grasp on it. The three of us did a lot of comparing between our respective countries, and Sandra seems to be a quiet and intelligent person. She also had an awesome coat that she had bought at Laura Ashley’s in town, so I’m going to look for it tomorrow.
Anyway, that was my day. Now I’m quite tired and ready for sleep. My legs still ache. Tomorrow is Market Day, though, so doughnuts! Maybe I’ll take a bath tomorrow, and soak my calf muscles.
That’s one nice thing here—bathtubs are extra long. The Brits love their baths. :)
(I’m getting the hang of flushing the toilet, too!)
Friday, January 23, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
New American President, the country is excited!
20/1/09 10:08 PM
Been a couple days again, hasn’t it? I have gotten better at flushing, but the toilet still sometimes acts up.
Today, I went to the Salisbury Museum and met with the librarian, Roger. He showed me how he keeps records on all the members and into the little library. It was quite cold, but the books looked very interesting. We spent a full half hour sipping tea with most of the other workers, just because. Work is very relaxed in the UK. Tea breaks are long and frequent. :)
After the Salisbury Museum, I went into town for the market. Fresh doughnuts! I picked up a couple books by Bill Bryson as well. Now I have five of his books, and they’re quite interesting. At the moment, though, I’m listening to Fellowship of the Ring from a recorded book. Chapter 3. It’s quite interesting, more interesting than just reading it.
At 4 PM (11 AM EST), I started watching the inauguration stuff. Sally popped some popcorn (“It’s the most American food I could think of,” she said) for us, and I drank Coca-Cola while she had tea. I was trying to be as American as I could. :) We marveled at how the musicians didn’t have gloves, and we wondered over the preacher before the inauguration. Then we listened to Obama and hoped he wouldn’t get shot. No assassination, yay! He was a good speaker, we agreed, but his speech was very American, full of ideals and preaching.
The poet who read after him (I didn’t even know it was traditional to have a poetry reading after the president’s speech!) was so stilted. Sally surmised she must have been advised to pause after every word. It was not impressive at all. Then the old priest came up and we both burst out laughing at his appearance and voice together. He was much better than the poet, though. We turned it off after Bush got in his helicopter and flew off—time for dinner!
I hope Obama can do some good for the country and the world. The UK certainly has a good view of him. (They suspect Palin had been selected by McCain’s campaign so it could have someone to point to and say: That’s why we lost!).
Speaking of Obama, Sally’s friend’s son, Christopher, who comes to stay with Sally some nights because it’s easier for him to get to school from her house than his own, is a huge Obamamaniac. He would absolutely love Obama memorabilia from the States, so if anyone over there wants to send anything...
In the meantime, I’m trying to fill my time. I did my laundry today, no dryer, so my clothes are hanging everywhere, and I’ve brushed enough fur out of Gizmo’s coat to make a small kitten. I think I’m going to try to get some sleep now. I feel like I’ve been fighting off quite a cold. I’m also drinking as much water as I can. I keep my Brita filter pitcher and cup on my windowsill, so when I open my window at night, the cold air makes it taste as crisp and cold as if I had just pulled it out of the refrigerator, without the actual fridge.
Good night, everyone!
Been a couple days again, hasn’t it? I have gotten better at flushing, but the toilet still sometimes acts up.
Today, I went to the Salisbury Museum and met with the librarian, Roger. He showed me how he keeps records on all the members and into the little library. It was quite cold, but the books looked very interesting. We spent a full half hour sipping tea with most of the other workers, just because. Work is very relaxed in the UK. Tea breaks are long and frequent. :)
After the Salisbury Museum, I went into town for the market. Fresh doughnuts! I picked up a couple books by Bill Bryson as well. Now I have five of his books, and they’re quite interesting. At the moment, though, I’m listening to Fellowship of the Ring from a recorded book. Chapter 3. It’s quite interesting, more interesting than just reading it.
At 4 PM (11 AM EST), I started watching the inauguration stuff. Sally popped some popcorn (“It’s the most American food I could think of,” she said) for us, and I drank Coca-Cola while she had tea. I was trying to be as American as I could. :) We marveled at how the musicians didn’t have gloves, and we wondered over the preacher before the inauguration. Then we listened to Obama and hoped he wouldn’t get shot. No assassination, yay! He was a good speaker, we agreed, but his speech was very American, full of ideals and preaching.
The poet who read after him (I didn’t even know it was traditional to have a poetry reading after the president’s speech!) was so stilted. Sally surmised she must have been advised to pause after every word. It was not impressive at all. Then the old priest came up and we both burst out laughing at his appearance and voice together. He was much better than the poet, though. We turned it off after Bush got in his helicopter and flew off—time for dinner!
I hope Obama can do some good for the country and the world. The UK certainly has a good view of him. (They suspect Palin had been selected by McCain’s campaign so it could have someone to point to and say: That’s why we lost!).
Speaking of Obama, Sally’s friend’s son, Christopher, who comes to stay with Sally some nights because it’s easier for him to get to school from her house than his own, is a huge Obamamaniac. He would absolutely love Obama memorabilia from the States, so if anyone over there wants to send anything...
In the meantime, I’m trying to fill my time. I did my laundry today, no dryer, so my clothes are hanging everywhere, and I’ve brushed enough fur out of Gizmo’s coat to make a small kitten. I think I’m going to try to get some sleep now. I feel like I’ve been fighting off quite a cold. I’m also drinking as much water as I can. I keep my Brita filter pitcher and cup on my windowsill, so when I open my window at night, the cold air makes it taste as crisp and cold as if I had just pulled it out of the refrigerator, without the actual fridge.
Good night, everyone!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Grr... the toilet, it hates me!
17/1/09 11:16 PM
Getting ready for bed here, thought I’d try to do another post tonight. I didn’t do much today, just went to the market (mmm, doughnuts…) and had some shepherd’s pie with Sally and her daughter, Jess. I think her name’s Jess, at least. Sally pronounces it “Gus,” though, so it might be Gus. Weird name for a woman.
Anyway, the market was fun, as always. I always make a beeline for the back corner, where Mr. Doughnut (that’s the name on his sign!) has his little booth. He makes fresh doughnuts and rolls them in either sugar or cinnamon sugar. 35p a doughnut, 8 for £2.20. That’s what his sign says, at least. I always buy two, though, one of each, and he always gives them to me for 60p. Then I walk around and look at all the other stalls, even though they’re usually the same thing every time, while I eat my crumbly-because-they’re-still-cooling doughnuts out of the bag. Mmm, doughnuts…! I always stop by the second-hand book seller’s stall, and he has already started recognizing me with my big purple scarf and my bag of doughnuts. It seems to make him snicker, but not meanly. :) Probably because I almost always buy a book, too…
Today, it was Maskerade, by Terry Pratchett. It’s one of his few books I haven’t read, so I was pleased to see the stall had a copy. Almost all of his books are £2.90/book, and if you return one, he’ll give you 75p off your next purchase. At least, that’s what the stamp in the book says. I’ve never actually returned one yet, but I do have one ready to be returned. Next Tuesday, perhaps.
Tomorrow, I’m going in to the Cathedral for morning service, and then later in the day, Brother Patrick, a friend of Sally’s, is coming over for dinner and we’re going to go to the Epiphany Procession at the Cathedral. That should be a lot of fun. :) Brother Patrick, Sally says, is the sort of person who’s always being invited to go look at ancient libraries in various places around the world, and so he has a lot of ties with the sorts of people I’d need to get in with. She’s not sure if he’ll be able to help me or not, but every small tie helps!
Getting ready for bed here, thought I’d try to do another post tonight. I didn’t do much today, just went to the market (mmm, doughnuts…) and had some shepherd’s pie with Sally and her daughter, Jess. I think her name’s Jess, at least. Sally pronounces it “Gus,” though, so it might be Gus. Weird name for a woman.
Anyway, the market was fun, as always. I always make a beeline for the back corner, where Mr. Doughnut (that’s the name on his sign!) has his little booth. He makes fresh doughnuts and rolls them in either sugar or cinnamon sugar. 35p a doughnut, 8 for £2.20. That’s what his sign says, at least. I always buy two, though, one of each, and he always gives them to me for 60p. Then I walk around and look at all the other stalls, even though they’re usually the same thing every time, while I eat my crumbly-because-they’re-still-cooling doughnuts out of the bag. Mmm, doughnuts…! I always stop by the second-hand book seller’s stall, and he has already started recognizing me with my big purple scarf and my bag of doughnuts. It seems to make him snicker, but not meanly. :) Probably because I almost always buy a book, too…
Today, it was Maskerade, by Terry Pratchett. It’s one of his few books I haven’t read, so I was pleased to see the stall had a copy. Almost all of his books are £2.90/book, and if you return one, he’ll give you 75p off your next purchase. At least, that’s what the stamp in the book says. I’ve never actually returned one yet, but I do have one ready to be returned. Next Tuesday, perhaps.
Tomorrow, I’m going in to the Cathedral for morning service, and then later in the day, Brother Patrick, a friend of Sally’s, is coming over for dinner and we’re going to go to the Epiphany Procession at the Cathedral. That should be a lot of fun. :) Brother Patrick, Sally says, is the sort of person who’s always being invited to go look at ancient libraries in various places around the world, and so he has a lot of ties with the sorts of people I’d need to get in with. She’s not sure if he’ll be able to help me or not, but every small tie helps!
Sally doesn’t have a clothes dryer. She does have a washer, but dryers aren’t as big over here as they are in the States. However, that did lead to my socks being strewn over all the radiators as we tried to get them dry before Sally’s daughter showed up and took the spare room where the drying usually hangs. We were, I might add, successful, but I had to delay the washing of my jeans until she left, so that I could have space to hang them.
P.S. It was 53 degrees F here today. GORGEOUS weather! Now it's raining, and it sounds wonderful. I do feel sorry for all you people suffering the cold weather of the States...
Friday, January 16, 2009
I fail at toilets
15/1/09 2:00 PM
No entries in the past couple days—sorry about that! I’ve been rather bored and lethargic lately. There’s very little job-job hunting I can do at the moment. I’m waiting for people to get back to me. Five job agencies and countless others are helping me look.
It’s even hard just to find someplace to volunteer. The cathedral wants you to take a class before offering tours, and the woman at the front desk offered no other volunteer posts. Sarum College… Linda’s never in when I visit and the old man at the front desk just says, “Try again later.” I have agreed to volunteer at the Salisbury Museum, but that doesn’t start until next week, when the librarian is in.
It’s getting awfully windy, so I’m going to head inside now.
(these pictures show where I was sitting in relation to the cathedral and a close-up of the cathedral. Cold and windy day, but I was waiting for Linda to be done with lunch, so I took a walk and found a bench near a river)
16/1/09 1:30 PM
I will admit, I haven’t been writing in this blog as often as I should because I’ve become addicted to a little internet game called “Flood-it” (do a Google search to find it). Here’s a screenshot:
When you click on one of the six colors on the left-hand side, the top-left-most square in the big square will change to that color, as well as any adjacent squares of the same color. For example, if I were to click the yellow button, that top-left blue square would become yellow. If I then clicked pink, it would turn pink, but the two yellow squares connected to it would also turn pink. Clicking light blue next would turn all of the pink squares connected to that top-left pink square light blue, and so on and so forth, until the entire grid is ‘flooded’ with one color. Trouble is, you only have 25 moves to do it in. It’s trickier than it seems!
So, yes, I haven’t been writing because I’ve been trying to fill a grid with one color. I’m sorry! What else have I been up to in the meantime?
Well, I still haven’t heard any good news from the five agencies I’m registered with, though I keep my fingers crossed every day. I was supposed to meet with Ed Probert, the Canon Chancellor, yesterday at a little after 2, but his plans had to be suddenly rearranged due to miscommunications, so instead, I met with him at 9:15 this morning and after a meeting, he sent me on to the volunteer coordinator. I now will be volunteering at the chapter house, answering questions people have about the building and the Magna Carta. Meanwhile, Ed is talking to the HR person, Kevin, and to Suzanne Ewards, the Cathedral’s librarian, for me.
Right now, though, I think I need to go and get some lunch before I head off for the Cathedral! My first day ‘on the job,’ as it were, is today, at 2:30. Woo! Wish me luck!
16/1/09 5:17 PM
Aside from achy feet from standing for the past three hours, I’m rather satisfied. I spent two guide-shifts in the Cathedral chapter house, and I had a great time passing out information and explaining things such as the medieval frieze to people. Now I just need to brush up on my Magna Carta knowledge…
Professor Quinn would be proud of me. I was actually able to make out bits and pieces of the Magna Carta today, no small task even for a Latin major! The handwriting is very small and old-fashioned, and it’s written in abbreviated Latin, so most of the words have letters missing. The scribe was very thoughtful, though, and put a line above every word that was abbreviated.
I got a name tag, though, and I got to wear one of the rich green Salisbury Cathedral Guide sashes! Yes, it doesn’t take much to keep me happy…
Next Monday, I’m scheduled to work at Sarum College, in the bookshop, and the Tuesday after that I have agreed to meet with the librarian at the Salisbury Museum. I also just got an email from one of the agencies about a temp job starting Feb. 9th, and would I like them to send my CV there for consideration? I said yes, of course, so here’s hoping I get a job…
Let’s see, what else is there to say? I certainly won’t starve over here, or go unwashed. Linda stopped by a few days ago with something for Sally and a box of goodies for me, including food, drink, a box of tissues, and some shower gel. That was quite sweet of her. Mother Ann was just by last night as well. She didn’t have time to stay, as she was going to dinner with friends, but she wanted to drop off a puzzle for me to do and the local newspaper. People around here are so kind!
I met Wulfie today, as well. He is the Cathedral Cat, and is in a book by that name. He did belong to the Dean of the Cathedral but decided that roaming wild around the close was a much better life. He comes and goes as he pleases in the Cathedral and has been found curled up in the manger with baby Jesus sometimes, in the nativity scene in the center of the building. Today, he was strolling around the bookshop, eyeing everybody coming in to make purchases and being haughty and in charge as only a cat can. He’s a gorgeous big black tom, very glossy coat and bright eyes.
It is interesting, though, the sorts of differences between America and England, little things you’d never even think to brush up on. For example, I have the darnedest time trying to flush the toilets. Not all toilets, some behave themselves quite nicely, but I’ve had some real losers. The one in the bathroom beside my bedroom, for example. The trick seems to be that you have to flush the handle in one smooth, determined motion. Don’t hold it down long enough, and it just dribbles a bit of water in the bowl. Hold it down too long, and it just dribbles a bit of water in the bowl. It usually takes me three tries to get it to flush properly. Some days, I will admit, I just walk off and leave it for later.
I’ve taken several pictures for you, to make up for the lack of postage. I hope you enjoy them!
This is a bridge I walk across to get into town. The house I live in is just on the other side, just out of sight.
This is a stone on the bridge. Built in 1243, widened in 1771! WIDENED! It’s practically a 1-lane road as it is!
But this is the view of the river over it. It’s lovely now, just imagine what it will look like in the spring!
The Cathedral is surrounded by a wall. Here’s a picture of it.
The wall’s stones came from the original cathedral of Old Sarum, up on a hill. There’s a plaque to that effect, but more haunting are the remnants of the old cathedral’s decoration. There are several of these faceless heads sticking out of the wall, and carvings in some of the stones.
And how can I have pictures without one of Gizmo? She’s keeping me company, even if I did almost call her Sophie today.
No entries in the past couple days—sorry about that! I’ve been rather bored and lethargic lately. There’s very little job-job hunting I can do at the moment. I’m waiting for people to get back to me. Five job agencies and countless others are helping me look.
It’s even hard just to find someplace to volunteer. The cathedral wants you to take a class before offering tours, and the woman at the front desk offered no other volunteer posts. Sarum College… Linda’s never in when I visit and the old man at the front desk just says, “Try again later.” I have agreed to volunteer at the Salisbury Museum, but that doesn’t start until next week, when the librarian is in.
It’s getting awfully windy, so I’m going to head inside now.
(these pictures show where I was sitting in relation to the cathedral and a close-up of the cathedral. Cold and windy day, but I was waiting for Linda to be done with lunch, so I took a walk and found a bench near a river)
16/1/09 1:30 PM
I will admit, I haven’t been writing in this blog as often as I should because I’ve become addicted to a little internet game called “Flood-it” (do a Google search to find it). Here’s a screenshot:
When you click on one of the six colors on the left-hand side, the top-left-most square in the big square will change to that color, as well as any adjacent squares of the same color. For example, if I were to click the yellow button, that top-left blue square would become yellow. If I then clicked pink, it would turn pink, but the two yellow squares connected to it would also turn pink. Clicking light blue next would turn all of the pink squares connected to that top-left pink square light blue, and so on and so forth, until the entire grid is ‘flooded’ with one color. Trouble is, you only have 25 moves to do it in. It’s trickier than it seems!
So, yes, I haven’t been writing because I’ve been trying to fill a grid with one color. I’m sorry! What else have I been up to in the meantime?
Well, I still haven’t heard any good news from the five agencies I’m registered with, though I keep my fingers crossed every day. I was supposed to meet with Ed Probert, the Canon Chancellor, yesterday at a little after 2, but his plans had to be suddenly rearranged due to miscommunications, so instead, I met with him at 9:15 this morning and after a meeting, he sent me on to the volunteer coordinator. I now will be volunteering at the chapter house, answering questions people have about the building and the Magna Carta. Meanwhile, Ed is talking to the HR person, Kevin, and to Suzanne Ewards, the Cathedral’s librarian, for me.
Right now, though, I think I need to go and get some lunch before I head off for the Cathedral! My first day ‘on the job,’ as it were, is today, at 2:30. Woo! Wish me luck!
16/1/09 5:17 PM
Aside from achy feet from standing for the past three hours, I’m rather satisfied. I spent two guide-shifts in the Cathedral chapter house, and I had a great time passing out information and explaining things such as the medieval frieze to people. Now I just need to brush up on my Magna Carta knowledge…
Professor Quinn would be proud of me. I was actually able to make out bits and pieces of the Magna Carta today, no small task even for a Latin major! The handwriting is very small and old-fashioned, and it’s written in abbreviated Latin, so most of the words have letters missing. The scribe was very thoughtful, though, and put a line above every word that was abbreviated.
I got a name tag, though, and I got to wear one of the rich green Salisbury Cathedral Guide sashes! Yes, it doesn’t take much to keep me happy…
Next Monday, I’m scheduled to work at Sarum College, in the bookshop, and the Tuesday after that I have agreed to meet with the librarian at the Salisbury Museum. I also just got an email from one of the agencies about a temp job starting Feb. 9th, and would I like them to send my CV there for consideration? I said yes, of course, so here’s hoping I get a job…
Let’s see, what else is there to say? I certainly won’t starve over here, or go unwashed. Linda stopped by a few days ago with something for Sally and a box of goodies for me, including food, drink, a box of tissues, and some shower gel. That was quite sweet of her. Mother Ann was just by last night as well. She didn’t have time to stay, as she was going to dinner with friends, but she wanted to drop off a puzzle for me to do and the local newspaper. People around here are so kind!
I met Wulfie today, as well. He is the Cathedral Cat, and is in a book by that name. He did belong to the Dean of the Cathedral but decided that roaming wild around the close was a much better life. He comes and goes as he pleases in the Cathedral and has been found curled up in the manger with baby Jesus sometimes, in the nativity scene in the center of the building. Today, he was strolling around the bookshop, eyeing everybody coming in to make purchases and being haughty and in charge as only a cat can. He’s a gorgeous big black tom, very glossy coat and bright eyes.
It is interesting, though, the sorts of differences between America and England, little things you’d never even think to brush up on. For example, I have the darnedest time trying to flush the toilets. Not all toilets, some behave themselves quite nicely, but I’ve had some real losers. The one in the bathroom beside my bedroom, for example. The trick seems to be that you have to flush the handle in one smooth, determined motion. Don’t hold it down long enough, and it just dribbles a bit of water in the bowl. Hold it down too long, and it just dribbles a bit of water in the bowl. It usually takes me three tries to get it to flush properly. Some days, I will admit, I just walk off and leave it for later.
I’ve taken several pictures for you, to make up for the lack of postage. I hope you enjoy them!
This is a bridge I walk across to get into town. The house I live in is just on the other side, just out of sight.
This is a stone on the bridge. Built in 1243, widened in 1771! WIDENED! It’s practically a 1-lane road as it is!
But this is the view of the river over it. It’s lovely now, just imagine what it will look like in the spring!
The Cathedral is surrounded by a wall. Here’s a picture of it.
The wall’s stones came from the original cathedral of Old Sarum, up on a hill. There’s a plaque to that effect, but more haunting are the remnants of the old cathedral’s decoration. There are several of these faceless heads sticking out of the wall, and carvings in some of the stones.
And how can I have pictures without one of Gizmo? She’s keeping me company, even if I did almost call her Sophie today.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Sunday Morning at Church
11/1/09 11:11 PM
Today was absolutely brilliant. I got up and headed over to the cathedral for a morning Eucharist. The processional hymn was “The First Noel,” which I could sing because I knew it, and for some reason, watching the procession as they moved through the church, winding their way around the pillars to come toward the altar, struck me as an incredibly powerful sight. I must have looked like a complete lunatic with how broadly I was beaming. John, who has been a very good friend of ours for many years, was in the procession, and he recognized me as he went past, despite not having seen me for three or four years and not knowing I was in the area. He gave me a big smile after his start of recognition, and when I caught up to him afterwards, he gave me a big hug and asked how everyone was doing. Ed, who is a canon at the cathedral, and the person I was told to contact for a job, was also in the procession. After the service, he and I talked about jobs and I’m to ring him tomorrow and come by to drop off my CV. He seemed positive about my library ideas but said he didn’t want to get my hopes up and that money was tight. I fully understand that, but still… wow! I never thought it might actually have a slim chance of working!
A boy was baptised today, Oliver, about 8 years old. This is the Sunday celebrating Christ’s baptism, so the sermon was about the Holy Spirit descending on him in the form of a dove. We didn’t have a dove, but a little sparrow flew around Oliver and the font several times during the process. That made me grin.
So, I left the cathedral today with a great uplifted spirit and a huge grin on my face. It was definitely a good day.
After church, I came back to Sally’s and watched Antiques Roadshow while brushing Gizmo. That poor kitty—I got about a fist-sized wad from her. She was purring up a storm, clearly loving the grooming. She’s too big to groom her back and butt properly, so that’s where most of it came from. She’s got kitty dandruff there too, so I’m trying to find a remedy for that. It much suck to have itchy, dry skin where you can’t reach it. That’s probably why she loves me brushing her there so much.
We had Sally’s next door neighbour, an elderly woman named Elizabeth, over for dinner. Elizabeth and Sally are both absolutely fascinating people, and they both love cats, and, even more impressive, all three of us together were able to quote the first twenty lines of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales over dinner… in Middle English! Sally started, then Elizabeth picked up the next few lines, then me, then Sally… Wow. I have found my people.
I did find out what my address was today. Here it is, probably for the next month at least, if anyone wants to send me anything. I don’t see why anyone would want to, when it’s cheaper to email, but oh well.
And if you want to come stalk me, you’d better be a cute British boy wanting to make me a British citizen. ~nods~
5 Ayleswade Road
Salisbury
SP2 8DW
UK
I won’t bother with the phone number. If anyone is interested in talking to me that much, just call me over an IM. I have a mic (and a webcam), so I can talk back.
Today was absolutely brilliant. I got up and headed over to the cathedral for a morning Eucharist. The processional hymn was “The First Noel,” which I could sing because I knew it, and for some reason, watching the procession as they moved through the church, winding their way around the pillars to come toward the altar, struck me as an incredibly powerful sight. I must have looked like a complete lunatic with how broadly I was beaming. John, who has been a very good friend of ours for many years, was in the procession, and he recognized me as he went past, despite not having seen me for three or four years and not knowing I was in the area. He gave me a big smile after his start of recognition, and when I caught up to him afterwards, he gave me a big hug and asked how everyone was doing. Ed, who is a canon at the cathedral, and the person I was told to contact for a job, was also in the procession. After the service, he and I talked about jobs and I’m to ring him tomorrow and come by to drop off my CV. He seemed positive about my library ideas but said he didn’t want to get my hopes up and that money was tight. I fully understand that, but still… wow! I never thought it might actually have a slim chance of working!
A boy was baptised today, Oliver, about 8 years old. This is the Sunday celebrating Christ’s baptism, so the sermon was about the Holy Spirit descending on him in the form of a dove. We didn’t have a dove, but a little sparrow flew around Oliver and the font several times during the process. That made me grin.
So, I left the cathedral today with a great uplifted spirit and a huge grin on my face. It was definitely a good day.
After church, I came back to Sally’s and watched Antiques Roadshow while brushing Gizmo. That poor kitty—I got about a fist-sized wad from her. She was purring up a storm, clearly loving the grooming. She’s too big to groom her back and butt properly, so that’s where most of it came from. She’s got kitty dandruff there too, so I’m trying to find a remedy for that. It much suck to have itchy, dry skin where you can’t reach it. That’s probably why she loves me brushing her there so much.
We had Sally’s next door neighbour, an elderly woman named Elizabeth, over for dinner. Elizabeth and Sally are both absolutely fascinating people, and they both love cats, and, even more impressive, all three of us together were able to quote the first twenty lines of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales over dinner… in Middle English! Sally started, then Elizabeth picked up the next few lines, then me, then Sally… Wow. I have found my people.
I did find out what my address was today. Here it is, probably for the next month at least, if anyone wants to send me anything. I don’t see why anyone would want to, when it’s cheaper to email, but oh well.
And if you want to come stalk me, you’d better be a cute British boy wanting to make me a British citizen. ~nods~
5 Ayleswade Road
Salisbury
SP2 8DW
UK
I won’t bother with the phone number. If anyone is interested in talking to me that much, just call me over an IM. I have a mic (and a webcam), so I can talk back.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Picture Post!
10/1/09 7:51 PM
Lots of pictures to show you at the bottom!
I’m all moved in at Sally Smythe’s place, and I should be here for about a month, if everything goes well. I’m on my own computer again, and using my internet dongle thing.
More importantly, though, I am in Salisbury and can curl up in front of my computer with a cat and a plate of cheese. There is no closer place to heaven...
Today, I woke up to find Mother Ann was out at a service. Joshua and Jamie had been put in their cage so they didn’t try to ransack the kitchen, and I let them out. Jamie was fit to burst, though, desperately needing to go pee, so I snapped on their leads and took them outside. I’m such a good person. I was still in my pajama pants, though I had added a fleece to the top, and it was -7 C outside. Everything was coated in a layer of frost/snow, and it looked breathtakingly gorgeous. All the way into town, all of the craggy old trees looked shrouded in delicate white flowers, and the vines that wrapped their trunks were also were dusted over. It was a thin layer, though, so you could just get a hint of the browns and greens beneath the frost. In the distance, barely visible through the fog, you could just barely make out the silhouette of the cathedral.
Mother Ann sent me off with a big bag of food from her party last night. I had a plateful of cheese, a shopping bag full of sliced bread, a container of beef stew, a full thing of butter, a litre of apple rhubarb juice, some apples, and some desserts. Quite an impressive spread, really! I only bought a few extra things at the store, as a result, including some Bovril and some chocolate-covered digestives.
Emily—while I was out shopping, I passed a shop called “The Compleat Artist” or something like that. They had Paint by Numbers outside! I actually went in to look at them and thought of you, but I decided it wouldn’t be worth making a purchase at this point. Maybe closer to when the family comes to visit. There was a very nice oil painting by numbers of Van Gogh’s bedroom picture.
Anyway, I returned to Sally’s house and put my things away, then prowled around to take pictures for everyone. After that, I cuddled up with Gizmo, her wonderfully sweet cat, and watched TV. Nanny McPhee was on, and I’ve wanted to watch that for some time.
I saw a commercial that truly terrified me, though. It’s about a new show coming over here called: Paris Hilton’s British Best Friend. The tag line was something like “Sorry, Americans, we’ve got her now!”
You can have her! I thought, though I did have to admit, she looked better in the commercial for her new TV show than she ever did in the States.
Anyway, I have a lot of pictures to show you. Let’s start with Mother Ann’s place, shall we?
This is Joshua:
And this is Jamie. They’re all tuckered out here. Joshua wanted me to stop taking pictures and get back to cuddling him.
This is my room at Mother Ann’s house, from a variety of angles. I still haven’t figured out why British people have sinks in their bedrooms, but it’s awfully convenient.
My view out the window this morning. Lovely frost in a lovely valley!
Salisbury Cathedral font and angel heads. Look how flat the water is!
Michael:
Michael and Uriel:
Here’s the mossy grave I told you about the other day.
This is a sign from the Salisbury Market Square. I thought it was amusing.
And here’s a tour of Sally’s house:
Start at the front door and look down the hall. She’s got one of these long and narrow British houses.
The sitting room is the first on the left
Gizmo!
Connected to the sitting room is the dining room, but it’s cut off by a screen, so we go into the hall and down to the next door on the left to enter. On the right, we can see a view of the garden. The dining room is actually the computer room now. This is where mine is set up.
Further down the hall we can see into the kitchen, and past the kitchen is a mudroom area and out into the garden.
Retracing our steps, if we go up the stairs, my room is immediately in front of us. I have a TV with a VCR, but nothing to watch on it.
Lovely view out my window, don’t you think?
Next to my bedroom is a bathroom. You can’t tell from this picture, but the ceiling is bright red.
And then further down the hall. Sally’s room is straight down there, and her daughter’s room is to the right (daughter doesn’t live here anymore, just comes to visit). Her friend’s son, Christopher, sometimes stays overnight here, so his room is up the stairs. I don’t plan to use those rooms, though, so no pictures.
Oh, I forgot, there is another bathroom hidden on the ground floor, but that’s the one Sally uses, so I’ll be using the upstairs one most of the time.
Lots of pictures to show you at the bottom!
I’m all moved in at Sally Smythe’s place, and I should be here for about a month, if everything goes well. I’m on my own computer again, and using my internet dongle thing.
More importantly, though, I am in Salisbury and can curl up in front of my computer with a cat and a plate of cheese. There is no closer place to heaven...
Today, I woke up to find Mother Ann was out at a service. Joshua and Jamie had been put in their cage so they didn’t try to ransack the kitchen, and I let them out. Jamie was fit to burst, though, desperately needing to go pee, so I snapped on their leads and took them outside. I’m such a good person. I was still in my pajama pants, though I had added a fleece to the top, and it was -7 C outside. Everything was coated in a layer of frost/snow, and it looked breathtakingly gorgeous. All the way into town, all of the craggy old trees looked shrouded in delicate white flowers, and the vines that wrapped their trunks were also were dusted over. It was a thin layer, though, so you could just get a hint of the browns and greens beneath the frost. In the distance, barely visible through the fog, you could just barely make out the silhouette of the cathedral.
Mother Ann sent me off with a big bag of food from her party last night. I had a plateful of cheese, a shopping bag full of sliced bread, a container of beef stew, a full thing of butter, a litre of apple rhubarb juice, some apples, and some desserts. Quite an impressive spread, really! I only bought a few extra things at the store, as a result, including some Bovril and some chocolate-covered digestives.
Emily—while I was out shopping, I passed a shop called “The Compleat Artist” or something like that. They had Paint by Numbers outside! I actually went in to look at them and thought of you, but I decided it wouldn’t be worth making a purchase at this point. Maybe closer to when the family comes to visit. There was a very nice oil painting by numbers of Van Gogh’s bedroom picture.
Anyway, I returned to Sally’s house and put my things away, then prowled around to take pictures for everyone. After that, I cuddled up with Gizmo, her wonderfully sweet cat, and watched TV. Nanny McPhee was on, and I’ve wanted to watch that for some time.
I saw a commercial that truly terrified me, though. It’s about a new show coming over here called: Paris Hilton’s British Best Friend. The tag line was something like “Sorry, Americans, we’ve got her now!”
You can have her! I thought, though I did have to admit, she looked better in the commercial for her new TV show than she ever did in the States.
Anyway, I have a lot of pictures to show you. Let’s start with Mother Ann’s place, shall we?
This is Joshua:
And this is Jamie. They’re all tuckered out here. Joshua wanted me to stop taking pictures and get back to cuddling him.
This is my room at Mother Ann’s house, from a variety of angles. I still haven’t figured out why British people have sinks in their bedrooms, but it’s awfully convenient.
My view out the window this morning. Lovely frost in a lovely valley!
Salisbury Cathedral font and angel heads. Look how flat the water is!
Michael:
Michael and Uriel:
Here’s the mossy grave I told you about the other day.
This is a sign from the Salisbury Market Square. I thought it was amusing.
And here’s a tour of Sally’s house:
Start at the front door and look down the hall. She’s got one of these long and narrow British houses.
The sitting room is the first on the left
Gizmo!
Connected to the sitting room is the dining room, but it’s cut off by a screen, so we go into the hall and down to the next door on the left to enter. On the right, we can see a view of the garden. The dining room is actually the computer room now. This is where mine is set up.
Further down the hall we can see into the kitchen, and past the kitchen is a mudroom area and out into the garden.
Retracing our steps, if we go up the stairs, my room is immediately in front of us. I have a TV with a VCR, but nothing to watch on it.
Lovely view out my window, don’t you think?
Next to my bedroom is a bathroom. You can’t tell from this picture, but the ceiling is bright red.
And then further down the hall. Sally’s room is straight down there, and her daughter’s room is to the right (daughter doesn’t live here anymore, just comes to visit). Her friend’s son, Christopher, sometimes stays overnight here, so his room is up the stairs. I don’t plan to use those rooms, though, so no pictures.
Oh, I forgot, there is another bathroom hidden on the ground floor, but that’s the one Sally uses, so I’ll be using the upstairs one most of the time.
Cheeeeeese!
10/1/09 12:08 AM
Today was a long day of nothing followed by a long night of something. I had been to all the employment agencies I could find in Salisbury, so there wasn't much point in going into town. I ended up lazing around the house, doing my laundry and reading. Mother Ann went out to a service around 1:30 today, so I was left alone with Joshua and Jamie. Boy, did they get excited! Joshua has a favorite toy, a squeaky newspaper. He chews it and carries it around and wants you to play with him, but if you try to take it, he'll grab it and dart out of the way. Well, if you ignore him, he starts to bark. And he barks and barks and barks.
Dachshunds, by the way, have surprisingly loud barks for their little bodies. They have very deep chests, and I can tell you, being barked at from the foot of your chair by a dachshund is not very fun for your ears. It certainly didn't help that Jamie had a sudden fascination with the underside of Joshua's stomach, so every time Joshua got excited, Jamie would come running and hop around him, trying to get his nose under Joshua's belly to lick (I'm not sure if it was stomach or other bits of anatomy interesting Jamie, and I didn't want to know).
After about fifteen minutes of this, I lured Joshua into his cage in Mother Ann's bedroom and locked him in, telling him I'd get him in fifteen minutes if he was quiet.
Fifteen minutes later, he had settled down, so I let him out.
Three minutes later, he was barking again.
I put him back in his cage, only without his newspaper this time, and left him for another ten minutes. When I let him out, he was quiet for the time it took him to find his newspaper (I put it on a couch, where he couldn't easily see it), and then started up his barking again. Frustrated, I bundled up and clipped on their leads, then took both dogs out for a walk. It was a nice day, even if it had snowed just enough to be visible (rare for England these days, I was told). It didn't REALLY snow. It kinda misted snow. Very fine stuff. I had to study it for a long time before I decided that it really was snow and not just a weird rain.
Anyway, I took the dogs out and let them wander over to the churchyard--Mother Ann's home is a vicarage, so she literally lives right next to a church, and it's an old church, 1600s or so, so it has a graveyard around it that's just full of fascinating old grave stones. I let the dogs run around in the yard, grateful that they only peed. I had no idea what I was supposed to do if they left a dump on some poor chap's grave. We returned to the house just as Mother Ann was pulling up, so that set them off again, but after we were all inside (and Joshua had his newspaper back), they quieted down and curled up in my lap, nice and sleepy, just like I had planned.
This past summer, Mother Ann had taken a pilgrimage to Turkey, and tonight she had planned a get-together for all of those pilgrims--all twenty or so of them. Helen, her housekeeper, and Mother Ann had cooked all morning, and as the evening started, I helped them set up for the party. Helen and Mother Ann were both looking rather nice, so I changed out of my jeans and slippers and into some nice pants and clean flats. During the party, I helped Helen a lot. It's easier to be in a room of strangers when you have something to do, and I knew how to carry food and wash dishes. Mother Ann introduced me to the group as her young American friend, Aimin, and every conversation I had started in exactly the same way:
"So, what part of the United States are you from?"
"I'm from Michigan, near Chicago." (always name a big city when meeting people from other countries. America is simply too big for them to be able to identify all the states)
"Mitchagan, huh?" (that's how they'd pronounce it, Mitchagan) "I once..." and here they'd say how they were connected to Michigan. Some had visited (Detroit), some had family living in various places (Osh-Kosh?), some drove through it in a wagon, and one gentleman said that his great great great uncle or something like that used to live in Adrian, Michigan. A couple reluctantly admitted that they had never been to Michigan. Still, it was a very good ice-breaker.
After the location question, they'd then ask "How long are you staying here?" or "What are you planning on doing in the UK?" or both. Every single person, bless their hearts, who heard I was job hunting would then proceed to ask me what I was looking for and promise to let Mother Ann know if they heard of any promising openings. One elderly man named Joe said that Mother Ann had asked him if he could use his contacts, and now that he'd met me, he was thinking of emailing this one friend he had at the British Museum, in charge of the travelling exhibitions, and another friend at the National Archives, to see if they needed any help. I think I did more for my job hunt by smiling and being friendly last night then I did wandering around Salisbury clutching a CV.
I helped Helen quite a lot, and we had a lot of fun chatting as we washed up the dishes afterwards. Her son came to pick her up (he just got his license, so he's excited about driving). His name is Tim, and he's 17, 6'2", and quite skinny. He had more hair than the other boy I know who fits that description pretty closely.
There was cheese at the party, and apple pie. I loved the cheese, and perched myself near it. Helen couldn't understand why I was ignoring the sweet desserts in favor of the cheese, but really, if you're a cheese afficianado and given the chance to indulge yourself in cheese (and I picked up an appreciation for Stilton cheese... mmmmmmm!), why on earth would you skip it in favor of something mundane like apple pie!?
It looked fairly similar to American apple pie, but it was much larger and didn't have the right sort of edge crust. Oh well. They tried.
Oh, yes, one more thing. I tried Bovril this morning on my bagel. Bovril is a beef extract spread thingy that apparently Brits will kill for to get if they live outside the country, and Marmite is its vegitarian sibling. It's quite salty and strong, so I was told to spread it thinly, but I gave it a try.
Interestingly enough, salty beef on my buttered bagel was surprisingly tasty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovril
Check it out!
Today was a long day of nothing followed by a long night of something. I had been to all the employment agencies I could find in Salisbury, so there wasn't much point in going into town. I ended up lazing around the house, doing my laundry and reading. Mother Ann went out to a service around 1:30 today, so I was left alone with Joshua and Jamie. Boy, did they get excited! Joshua has a favorite toy, a squeaky newspaper. He chews it and carries it around and wants you to play with him, but if you try to take it, he'll grab it and dart out of the way. Well, if you ignore him, he starts to bark. And he barks and barks and barks.
Dachshunds, by the way, have surprisingly loud barks for their little bodies. They have very deep chests, and I can tell you, being barked at from the foot of your chair by a dachshund is not very fun for your ears. It certainly didn't help that Jamie had a sudden fascination with the underside of Joshua's stomach, so every time Joshua got excited, Jamie would come running and hop around him, trying to get his nose under Joshua's belly to lick (I'm not sure if it was stomach or other bits of anatomy interesting Jamie, and I didn't want to know).
After about fifteen minutes of this, I lured Joshua into his cage in Mother Ann's bedroom and locked him in, telling him I'd get him in fifteen minutes if he was quiet.
Fifteen minutes later, he had settled down, so I let him out.
Three minutes later, he was barking again.
I put him back in his cage, only without his newspaper this time, and left him for another ten minutes. When I let him out, he was quiet for the time it took him to find his newspaper (I put it on a couch, where he couldn't easily see it), and then started up his barking again. Frustrated, I bundled up and clipped on their leads, then took both dogs out for a walk. It was a nice day, even if it had snowed just enough to be visible (rare for England these days, I was told). It didn't REALLY snow. It kinda misted snow. Very fine stuff. I had to study it for a long time before I decided that it really was snow and not just a weird rain.
Anyway, I took the dogs out and let them wander over to the churchyard--Mother Ann's home is a vicarage, so she literally lives right next to a church, and it's an old church, 1600s or so, so it has a graveyard around it that's just full of fascinating old grave stones. I let the dogs run around in the yard, grateful that they only peed. I had no idea what I was supposed to do if they left a dump on some poor chap's grave. We returned to the house just as Mother Ann was pulling up, so that set them off again, but after we were all inside (and Joshua had his newspaper back), they quieted down and curled up in my lap, nice and sleepy, just like I had planned.
This past summer, Mother Ann had taken a pilgrimage to Turkey, and tonight she had planned a get-together for all of those pilgrims--all twenty or so of them. Helen, her housekeeper, and Mother Ann had cooked all morning, and as the evening started, I helped them set up for the party. Helen and Mother Ann were both looking rather nice, so I changed out of my jeans and slippers and into some nice pants and clean flats. During the party, I helped Helen a lot. It's easier to be in a room of strangers when you have something to do, and I knew how to carry food and wash dishes. Mother Ann introduced me to the group as her young American friend, Aimin, and every conversation I had started in exactly the same way:
"So, what part of the United States are you from?"
"I'm from Michigan, near Chicago." (always name a big city when meeting people from other countries. America is simply too big for them to be able to identify all the states)
"Mitchagan, huh?" (that's how they'd pronounce it, Mitchagan) "I once..." and here they'd say how they were connected to Michigan. Some had visited (Detroit), some had family living in various places (Osh-Kosh?), some drove through it in a wagon, and one gentleman said that his great great great uncle or something like that used to live in Adrian, Michigan. A couple reluctantly admitted that they had never been to Michigan. Still, it was a very good ice-breaker.
After the location question, they'd then ask "How long are you staying here?" or "What are you planning on doing in the UK?" or both. Every single person, bless their hearts, who heard I was job hunting would then proceed to ask me what I was looking for and promise to let Mother Ann know if they heard of any promising openings. One elderly man named Joe said that Mother Ann had asked him if he could use his contacts, and now that he'd met me, he was thinking of emailing this one friend he had at the British Museum, in charge of the travelling exhibitions, and another friend at the National Archives, to see if they needed any help. I think I did more for my job hunt by smiling and being friendly last night then I did wandering around Salisbury clutching a CV.
I helped Helen quite a lot, and we had a lot of fun chatting as we washed up the dishes afterwards. Her son came to pick her up (he just got his license, so he's excited about driving). His name is Tim, and he's 17, 6'2", and quite skinny. He had more hair than the other boy I know who fits that description pretty closely.
There was cheese at the party, and apple pie. I loved the cheese, and perched myself near it. Helen couldn't understand why I was ignoring the sweet desserts in favor of the cheese, but really, if you're a cheese afficianado and given the chance to indulge yourself in cheese (and I picked up an appreciation for Stilton cheese... mmmmmmm!), why on earth would you skip it in favor of something mundane like apple pie!?
It looked fairly similar to American apple pie, but it was much larger and didn't have the right sort of edge crust. Oh well. They tried.
Oh, yes, one more thing. I tried Bovril this morning on my bagel. Bovril is a beef extract spread thingy that apparently Brits will kill for to get if they live outside the country, and Marmite is its vegitarian sibling. It's quite salty and strong, so I was told to spread it thinly, but I gave it a try.
Interestingly enough, salty beef on my buttered bagel was surprisingly tasty.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovril
Check it out!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Much better day
8/1/09 8:16 PM
I feel a lot more successful today. I went to four employment agencies and left my CV (resume, for all you American-speakers) at each one of them. Two weren’t very friendly or helpful, but two were extraordinarily warm and friendly. All four said that things were slow and this was a bad time to be looking for a job—tell me something I don’t know!—but that you never know, there might be something there anyway. The two nice ones actually took the time to sit down and talk with me, and they were both very impressed with my resume. “You’d check all the boxes,” one said, “if we only had boxes to be checked.” He had a lead, though, perhaps a charity called the Trussell Trust would want me. No promises, he said, but he’d give the head guy there a call and ask him to look at my CV.
I also made a major purchase today, a mobile broadband dongle so I can connect to the internet from my laptop wherever, without needing to fuss with cords. It’s expensive, but it’s pay-as-you-go instead of contracts, and it supposedly has enough credit on it for a full year’s worth of use.
Of course, the salesman said, a full year’s worth for a low-usage person. For me, it might last the whole six months. It might not, but then again, it might. It was twice as expensive as the other option, but it’ll last longer before I have to top it up again, and top-ups can get expensive. We’ll see how it does.
So, let’s see… I went to employment agencies today, went to Carphone Warehouse (their salespeople sucked, and I left without buying anything because they couldn’t explain why one dongle was better or worse or even just different than another), went to Phones 4 u (their name sucks, because that’s not how you spell ‘for you,’ but within a minute of stepping in the door I had a very friendly salesdude asking me how he could help and explaining my options). Phones 4 u got my money, and I got their dongle.
Heh. Dongle. Another funny word.
I wandered around in the cathedral for about an hour as well. It was so wonderful in there, peaceful, soft… it was like the outside world was muted by those stone walls. I spent a lot of time just looking at their new font. It’s a fantastic piece of art, really. I have a picture, but pictures are hard to get onto Mother Ann’s computer, so you’ll just have to wait for it. Let me try to explain.
Take a… 5-foot? 6-foot? square, and push the sides in so they’re rounded, and now you have a 4-pointed star. Now extended that star down to the ground from a bit above waist-height, and taper it to a much smaller star. Balance it on that. Now take the four corners at the top and tug them down just enough so they’re curling toward the floor.
Now fill it with water.
The font in the middle is so flat that you can see a reflection of the ceiling above, or of people walking past, or the angel faces statues (more on that in a minute). The water seems still, but it’s moving, it has to be. Because the corners are all curling down, the water flows off of them and gently arcs to the floor, to drains that have padding in them to muffle the sound of the water hitting it. The centre, though… it’s so flat, with just the barest hint of a ripple to suggest movement. A guide told me that one man actually mistook it for marble and set his camera on it while he dug in his bag. Oops!
For the cathedral’s 750th birthday, an artist created 7.5 giant angel faces out of stone. Just the faces, though, they meld back into to craggy rock, usually around the hairline, and the stone’s flaws are visible. Their expressions are simultaneously serene and sad and contemplative, and the more I study their faces, the more I like them. There are four of these faces around the font, and those four have names: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. In addition to the faces, around the font a sound system was installed, and there’s sometimes a very quiet instrumental piece playing. It sets off the area of the angels and the font from the rest of the cathedral by sound alone, and it lends to the serene nature of this space.
Elsewhere in the cathedral is a large Christmas tree, and I stood outside the library door for a while, wishing Suzanne would open it even though she didn’t know I was there. I walked around the entire building and studied carvings as close as I could get. I smiled over the obvious typo (and attempted correction), and I walked out into the cloisters and the graveyard in the centre there. I found one grave that I had to take a picture of, but, again, no pictures while I’m using this computer. It’s a weathered old stone, though, and in the engraving where the letters are, moss has grown. It’s all grey, with a greenish hue in some spots, but the letters stand out in bright green moss. It’s the easiest-to-read grave of its age, and I thought it was quite lovely.
I feel a lot more successful today. I went to four employment agencies and left my CV (resume, for all you American-speakers) at each one of them. Two weren’t very friendly or helpful, but two were extraordinarily warm and friendly. All four said that things were slow and this was a bad time to be looking for a job—tell me something I don’t know!—but that you never know, there might be something there anyway. The two nice ones actually took the time to sit down and talk with me, and they were both very impressed with my resume. “You’d check all the boxes,” one said, “if we only had boxes to be checked.” He had a lead, though, perhaps a charity called the Trussell Trust would want me. No promises, he said, but he’d give the head guy there a call and ask him to look at my CV.
I also made a major purchase today, a mobile broadband dongle so I can connect to the internet from my laptop wherever, without needing to fuss with cords. It’s expensive, but it’s pay-as-you-go instead of contracts, and it supposedly has enough credit on it for a full year’s worth of use.
Of course, the salesman said, a full year’s worth for a low-usage person. For me, it might last the whole six months. It might not, but then again, it might. It was twice as expensive as the other option, but it’ll last longer before I have to top it up again, and top-ups can get expensive. We’ll see how it does.
So, let’s see… I went to employment agencies today, went to Carphone Warehouse (their salespeople sucked, and I left without buying anything because they couldn’t explain why one dongle was better or worse or even just different than another), went to Phones 4 u (their name sucks, because that’s not how you spell ‘for you,’ but within a minute of stepping in the door I had a very friendly salesdude asking me how he could help and explaining my options). Phones 4 u got my money, and I got their dongle.
Heh. Dongle. Another funny word.
I wandered around in the cathedral for about an hour as well. It was so wonderful in there, peaceful, soft… it was like the outside world was muted by those stone walls. I spent a lot of time just looking at their new font. It’s a fantastic piece of art, really. I have a picture, but pictures are hard to get onto Mother Ann’s computer, so you’ll just have to wait for it. Let me try to explain.
Take a… 5-foot? 6-foot? square, and push the sides in so they’re rounded, and now you have a 4-pointed star. Now extended that star down to the ground from a bit above waist-height, and taper it to a much smaller star. Balance it on that. Now take the four corners at the top and tug them down just enough so they’re curling toward the floor.
Now fill it with water.
The font in the middle is so flat that you can see a reflection of the ceiling above, or of people walking past, or the angel faces statues (more on that in a minute). The water seems still, but it’s moving, it has to be. Because the corners are all curling down, the water flows off of them and gently arcs to the floor, to drains that have padding in them to muffle the sound of the water hitting it. The centre, though… it’s so flat, with just the barest hint of a ripple to suggest movement. A guide told me that one man actually mistook it for marble and set his camera on it while he dug in his bag. Oops!
For the cathedral’s 750th birthday, an artist created 7.5 giant angel faces out of stone. Just the faces, though, they meld back into to craggy rock, usually around the hairline, and the stone’s flaws are visible. Their expressions are simultaneously serene and sad and contemplative, and the more I study their faces, the more I like them. There are four of these faces around the font, and those four have names: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. In addition to the faces, around the font a sound system was installed, and there’s sometimes a very quiet instrumental piece playing. It sets off the area of the angels and the font from the rest of the cathedral by sound alone, and it lends to the serene nature of this space.
Elsewhere in the cathedral is a large Christmas tree, and I stood outside the library door for a while, wishing Suzanne would open it even though she didn’t know I was there. I walked around the entire building and studied carvings as close as I could get. I smiled over the obvious typo (and attempted correction), and I walked out into the cloisters and the graveyard in the centre there. I found one grave that I had to take a picture of, but, again, no pictures while I’m using this computer. It’s a weathered old stone, though, and in the engraving where the letters are, moss has grown. It’s all grey, with a greenish hue in some spots, but the letters stand out in bright green moss. It’s the easiest-to-read grave of its age, and I thought it was quite lovely.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
want a home...
7/1/09 7:10 PM
No post yesterday, sorry about that. I’ve been attempting to get a job. Still no success, but I do have an appointment with an employment agency tomorrow. I’m at Mother Ann’s Salisbury home, 55 The Close, while Mother Ann is out at dinner with her friends (Dory, Margaret, and Moraid). Jamie and Joshua are curled up here with me, and I’m watching “Most Annoying People 2008.” Dory and I went to Evensong at the Cathedral tonight, and it was quite lovely, even though it was just said, not sung. I met Father Ed, who works at the Cathedral. I’ve seen him before, all the other times I’ve visited, but now I actually know his name.
Heh… Sarah Palin is number 54 on the list.
Today, I went to one employment agency to be told that they had absolutely nothing for me. They recommended several bigger agencies and said they were in the market square, but… I couldn’t find them. I DID find a place called “Personnel Placements,” and they were so sweet and helpful, and I now have an appointment at 11 tomorrow. I also met with Linda Cooper and her friend Sally Smythe. Sally has a place for me to stay, for £15/day, and she has a cat! Gizmo is her tabby, and she’s a tiny little thing with a HUGE body. She has a very small frame, very large belly, chest, and upper legs. I went to see Sally house today, and I’d get my own room, practically my own bathroom, washing, internet… well, maybe the internet. Sally has broadband connected to her computer, but it looks like the same thing Mother Ann has, and hers doesn’t work with my computer at all (it doesn’t even recognize things when I have it plugged in). I can give it a try, but it might not work.
That’s been irritating—I always feel bad using someone else’s computer. It’s just not the same as having my own programs, own saved files, own games to play while waiting for a friend to reply over IM, my own keyboard/mouse that I feel comfortable with, webcam… I just hope the internet works for my computer at Sally’s.
I CAN connect through the McDonald’s wireless, but McDonald’s keeps that regulated by not providing places to plug your laptop into, and really, it’s not fun to be racing to get everything done before your battery kicks out. My computer warns me to save everything about two seconds before it just shuts down.
I’m on my own laptop right now, but, of course, no internet. I’ll have to get on Mother Ann’s computer when we go back so I can put this up, and I need to email my CV to Personnel Placements. I’m just spoiled, I guess, and used to having my internet available whenever I wanted/needed it.
I’ve been putting a puzzle together (finished it last night) and reading Red Seas Under Red Skies while not submitting my CV online (oh, wait, that means I have to have an internet connection, right?) Red Seas really is amazing. I’m trying to read it slowly, to savor it.
Mom, Mary, and Seth: the third book in the Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch is due out in February, so if you bring it to me when/if you come to visit, I will be absolutely thrilled. It’s called The Republic of Thieves.
In other news, the cathedral is absolutely gorgeous still. I love it, especially when it’s all dark outside and there’s only a handful of people inside. It was very quiet and serene.
I hope Personnel Placements can help me find SOMETHING. I want a job. I want to stop relying on other people, and I want to rely on myself. I want my own place to live, with my own internet and my own cat.
In the meantime, I’m just going to try to get some sleep.
7/1/09 10:25 PM
Sleep didn't work. I think what I want, more than anything, is my own FOOD. I want to be able to snack when I'm hungry, instead of wondering if it's okay to touch this or that. I want to know where I can find a glass to pour myself some water. I want breakfast food that I like to eat and want to be able to leave a half-eaten bar of chocolate on a table and come back to find the entire bar still there. I want to be able to go to the store and find things I like to eat and buy them, knowing that I'll have room to store them without feeling bad. I want my food, my space, and I want a cat to share my space with, not a dog. Cat. Feline. Not-needy creature.
It'll be a long time before I get what I want, though.
I watched Star Trek: Voyager while waiting for Ann to come back from dinner. I already saw the episode before, but there were less commercial interruptions. It's so odd, sometimes British shows get the whole half hour or hour in without being interrupted once. When are you supposed to take bathroom breaks!?
I also got to see Mother Ann's mostly-tame pheasant today. She feeds it, so it doesn't run off. He was a lovely bird, all shifting-colored feathers and green and red head.
No post yesterday, sorry about that. I’ve been attempting to get a job. Still no success, but I do have an appointment with an employment agency tomorrow. I’m at Mother Ann’s Salisbury home, 55 The Close, while Mother Ann is out at dinner with her friends (Dory, Margaret, and Moraid). Jamie and Joshua are curled up here with me, and I’m watching “Most Annoying People 2008.” Dory and I went to Evensong at the Cathedral tonight, and it was quite lovely, even though it was just said, not sung. I met Father Ed, who works at the Cathedral. I’ve seen him before, all the other times I’ve visited, but now I actually know his name.
Heh… Sarah Palin is number 54 on the list.
Today, I went to one employment agency to be told that they had absolutely nothing for me. They recommended several bigger agencies and said they were in the market square, but… I couldn’t find them. I DID find a place called “Personnel Placements,” and they were so sweet and helpful, and I now have an appointment at 11 tomorrow. I also met with Linda Cooper and her friend Sally Smythe. Sally has a place for me to stay, for £15/day, and she has a cat! Gizmo is her tabby, and she’s a tiny little thing with a HUGE body. She has a very small frame, very large belly, chest, and upper legs. I went to see Sally house today, and I’d get my own room, practically my own bathroom, washing, internet… well, maybe the internet. Sally has broadband connected to her computer, but it looks like the same thing Mother Ann has, and hers doesn’t work with my computer at all (it doesn’t even recognize things when I have it plugged in). I can give it a try, but it might not work.
That’s been irritating—I always feel bad using someone else’s computer. It’s just not the same as having my own programs, own saved files, own games to play while waiting for a friend to reply over IM, my own keyboard/mouse that I feel comfortable with, webcam… I just hope the internet works for my computer at Sally’s.
I CAN connect through the McDonald’s wireless, but McDonald’s keeps that regulated by not providing places to plug your laptop into, and really, it’s not fun to be racing to get everything done before your battery kicks out. My computer warns me to save everything about two seconds before it just shuts down.
I’m on my own laptop right now, but, of course, no internet. I’ll have to get on Mother Ann’s computer when we go back so I can put this up, and I need to email my CV to Personnel Placements. I’m just spoiled, I guess, and used to having my internet available whenever I wanted/needed it.
I’ve been putting a puzzle together (finished it last night) and reading Red Seas Under Red Skies while not submitting my CV online (oh, wait, that means I have to have an internet connection, right?) Red Seas really is amazing. I’m trying to read it slowly, to savor it.
Mom, Mary, and Seth: the third book in the Gentleman Bastards series by Scott Lynch is due out in February, so if you bring it to me when/if you come to visit, I will be absolutely thrilled. It’s called The Republic of Thieves.
In other news, the cathedral is absolutely gorgeous still. I love it, especially when it’s all dark outside and there’s only a handful of people inside. It was very quiet and serene.
I hope Personnel Placements can help me find SOMETHING. I want a job. I want to stop relying on other people, and I want to rely on myself. I want my own place to live, with my own internet and my own cat.
In the meantime, I’m just going to try to get some sleep.
7/1/09 10:25 PM
Sleep didn't work. I think what I want, more than anything, is my own FOOD. I want to be able to snack when I'm hungry, instead of wondering if it's okay to touch this or that. I want to know where I can find a glass to pour myself some water. I want breakfast food that I like to eat and want to be able to leave a half-eaten bar of chocolate on a table and come back to find the entire bar still there. I want to be able to go to the store and find things I like to eat and buy them, knowing that I'll have room to store them without feeling bad. I want my food, my space, and I want a cat to share my space with, not a dog. Cat. Feline. Not-needy creature.
It'll be a long time before I get what I want, though.
I watched Star Trek: Voyager while waiting for Ann to come back from dinner. I already saw the episode before, but there were less commercial interruptions. It's so odd, sometimes British shows get the whole half hour or hour in without being interrupted once. When are you supposed to take bathroom breaks!?
I also got to see Mother Ann's mostly-tame pheasant today. She feeds it, so it doesn't run off. He was a lovely bird, all shifting-colored feathers and green and red head.
Monday, January 5, 2009
No pictures today
5/1/09 11:03 AM
I'm on the 11:20 train to Salisbury, luggage stowed, and I'm waiting now for 11:20. These trains certainly are punctual, I'll say that! British trains are almost as fun as the tube and just as useful.
I got my luggage on the train all by myself! Either I've gotten stronger (hah, yeah, right), or my bags aren't as heavy as they were the last time I travelled. I'm leaning toward that one myself.
So, one bathroom, four girls, and everyone decided to wake up early to take showers. With my alarm set for 9, I was actually the last one scheduled to wake up! (we had no shower schedule--probably a stupid idea in retrospect). I woke up at eight, though, and ended up third in the shower. I had wanted to be first, so my shower stuff had a chance to dry a little before I threw it in my bags. Oh well. Kate almost used my towel, though. She couldn't find hers, so Kathleen said, "Oh, there's a towel hanging in that wardrobe you can use." Yeah--my towel! I had already showered, though, so it wasn't there. I was trying to pack it. Since when was it appropriate to offer someone the use of a towel that's not yours!?
Ugh. I'm gone now. No more sharing that room. I just hope my accomadations keep improving.
As a bit of advice--do not eat 2+ cups of yogurt quickly followed by about half a bottle of water, unless you finish off the combination with some Dramamine. I suppose that's what I get for trying to use up my food stores before leaving...
While waiting for the taxi and train, I FINALLY started reading Red Seas Under Red Skies. It's just as good as the first so far. My favorite line, from Locke Lamora (roughly equivalent to Danny Ocean, from Ocean's 11, 12, and 13) to Jean Tannen (John) (his Rusty) in retaliation for some sarcastic praise given: "You're just farting out of your mouth because you're jealous."
5/1/09 11:02 PM
I'm at Mother Ann's house now. It's quite large, with at least four bedrooms and three bathrooms, a spacious kitchen, dining room, sitting room, and office. I have my own room with a bed, a little table and two chairs, and place to hang and store clothes. It's quite a nice little room, really. There are no mysterious stains on the carpet and I'm not afraid that the ceiling will break apart above me from the overenthusiastic usage of water by the people above. Distantly, every hour, I can hear the bells of Mother Ann's nearest church. It's quiet and pleasant out here.
I'm currently writing this from Mother Ann's computer, which is very nice, except it has a British keyboard. There are a few key but subtle differences. For example, the " and the @ signs are switched. My email addresses turn out blahblah"hotma.co.uk, while my quotes turn out as @You're just farting@. The left shift key is half the size of a normal shift key, with a \ key taking up the other half, so some of these sentences had started out with \while waiting until I corrected them. The 'Enter' key is also oddly-shaped, being bigger on top than on the bottom. # ~ key is beside it where the bigger bottom would be, and I've been hitting that sometimes accidentally. There's also another key, where the ~ key usually is, that has ` ¬ on it, and finally, the 3 key has the pound sign £ instead of the hash sign # and a way to make the Euro mark, except I can't figure out what key to press to get the third symbol on a key to show up.
Tomorrow, I plan to go into Salisbury and wander through recruitment agencies. I hope to get some job stuff started soon. I'm also going to talk to Linda at Sarum College and visit Barclays (I hope), to get my account straightened out. I might be able to visit Margaret as well, and give her her Christmas present.
It's getting late, and I'm rather tired. I did have a nap earlier today (fell asleep on the couch here, but Mother Ann fell asleep herself in the chair, so I didn't feel so bad), but it's really time for bed. Good night!
I'm on the 11:20 train to Salisbury, luggage stowed, and I'm waiting now for 11:20. These trains certainly are punctual, I'll say that! British trains are almost as fun as the tube and just as useful.
I got my luggage on the train all by myself! Either I've gotten stronger (hah, yeah, right), or my bags aren't as heavy as they were the last time I travelled. I'm leaning toward that one myself.
So, one bathroom, four girls, and everyone decided to wake up early to take showers. With my alarm set for 9, I was actually the last one scheduled to wake up! (we had no shower schedule--probably a stupid idea in retrospect). I woke up at eight, though, and ended up third in the shower. I had wanted to be first, so my shower stuff had a chance to dry a little before I threw it in my bags. Oh well. Kate almost used my towel, though. She couldn't find hers, so Kathleen said, "Oh, there's a towel hanging in that wardrobe you can use." Yeah--my towel! I had already showered, though, so it wasn't there. I was trying to pack it. Since when was it appropriate to offer someone the use of a towel that's not yours!?
Ugh. I'm gone now. No more sharing that room. I just hope my accomadations keep improving.
As a bit of advice--do not eat 2+ cups of yogurt quickly followed by about half a bottle of water, unless you finish off the combination with some Dramamine. I suppose that's what I get for trying to use up my food stores before leaving...
While waiting for the taxi and train, I FINALLY started reading Red Seas Under Red Skies. It's just as good as the first so far. My favorite line, from Locke Lamora (roughly equivalent to Danny Ocean, from Ocean's 11, 12, and 13) to Jean Tannen (John) (his Rusty) in retaliation for some sarcastic praise given: "You're just farting out of your mouth because you're jealous."
5/1/09 11:02 PM
I'm at Mother Ann's house now. It's quite large, with at least four bedrooms and three bathrooms, a spacious kitchen, dining room, sitting room, and office. I have my own room with a bed, a little table and two chairs, and place to hang and store clothes. It's quite a nice little room, really. There are no mysterious stains on the carpet and I'm not afraid that the ceiling will break apart above me from the overenthusiastic usage of water by the people above. Distantly, every hour, I can hear the bells of Mother Ann's nearest church. It's quiet and pleasant out here.
I'm currently writing this from Mother Ann's computer, which is very nice, except it has a British keyboard. There are a few key but subtle differences. For example, the " and the @ signs are switched. My email addresses turn out blahblah"hotma.co.uk, while my quotes turn out as @You're just farting@. The left shift key is half the size of a normal shift key, with a \ key taking up the other half, so some of these sentences had started out with \while waiting until I corrected them. The 'Enter' key is also oddly-shaped, being bigger on top than on the bottom. # ~ key is beside it where the bigger bottom would be, and I've been hitting that sometimes accidentally. There's also another key, where the ~ key usually is, that has ` ¬ on it, and finally, the 3 key has the pound sign £ instead of the hash sign # and a way to make the Euro mark, except I can't figure out what key to press to get the third symbol on a key to show up.
Tomorrow, I plan to go into Salisbury and wander through recruitment agencies. I hope to get some job stuff started soon. I'm also going to talk to Linda at Sarum College and visit Barclays (I hope), to get my account straightened out. I might be able to visit Margaret as well, and give her her Christmas present.
It's getting late, and I'm rather tired. I did have a nap earlier today (fell asleep on the couch here, but Mother Ann fell asleep herself in the chair, so I didn't feel so bad), but it's really time for bed. Good night!
Woo! YouTube!
I figured out how to use YouTube, so if you don't want to download the video in the link below, you can watch it here:
Also, my new roommates are Kate and Kathleen, they're social workers, and they're about 27.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
You really should watch the awesomely amazing video
4/1/09 9:47 PM
Well, I leave for Salisbury tomorrow, and not a moment too soon! While I was out at the British Library, TWO new roommates joined the room. One of them is named Kat, and I didn’t catch the name of the other. They’re friends, they’re really into working out (they were asking me where the nearest gym was) and drinking (they also asked if I’d been to the pub across the street, which I hadn’t—I don’t drink), and they have a ton of luggage between them. I counted six new bags. Wow.
Kinda sucks, though, since I was using the foot of one of the spare beds as a rest for my glasses at night. I’ll have to find someplace else before I go to bed.
So, like I said, I went to the British Library again today, and this time, I got a tour. It was pretty awesome. The library is indeed 10 years old—from when it was opened—but planning and building started way back in the 70s. The architect was inspired by ocean liners, as you can see in one of the pictures of this scale model of the building.
Also notice the size of the cars in relation to the library. This building is HUGE. It’s also nearly full and funding had been cut short, so it’s not as big as they would have liked. The library has five floors of basements. Four of them are used for storage, while the fifth is used to take into account London’s changing water table. It’s for pumping out extra water. The basement is the largest hole ever dug in London, and it’s so deep that two Tube lines, the Piccadilly and the Victoria, run through level 3. When the trains go past, the guide said, you can hear it.
While digging the basement, the workers uncovered strange smells—prehistoric air bubbles trapped in the clay. They also unearthed a Victorian graveyard and had to rebury the coffins elsewhere.
Probably the coolest book I saw today was this one:
It’s an atlas from 1660, a gift to King George III from the Dutch. The age alone makes it pretty awesome, but what makes it even cooler is the size. It’s probably about six and a half feet tall, maybe more. It’s HUGE. The little plaque beside it to explain what you’re looking at is the size of a normal sheet of computer paper. HUGE.
It’s also part of the working collection of the library, which means you can request to look at it. Of course, you’ll be given a very dirty look and you’d better have a dang good reason why you need to look at the original of THAT book, but if you do have that reason, they’ll haul it out for you. It’s so big that it needs two people to open it, and a third to turn the pages. You may notice that it’s on wheels, just in case it needs to be hauled out. Not too long ago, the library had a professional photographer get on some scaffolding (so he could get the elevation he needed to get the whole page in a shot) and take pictures of all the pages, so they can give you facsimiles to look at instead of wheeling out the whole thing.
The lighter colour around the edges are from recent restoration work, but the dark middle is the original leather. The inside, we were told, is in remarkable shape—probably because no one ever opens it! In this close-up, though, you may notice something that really should be a cardinal sin for book lovers like King George III: right near the flash, there’s a ring from where someone (probably the king himself) put their tankard on the book. Apparently, he didn’t hold this gift in high esteem!
Okay, I lied, the coolest book I saw today was a copy of the Gutenberg Bible. That was awesome. However, I couldn’t take pictures of it. The coolest book I could take pictures of was the 1660 atlas.
The tower of books in the middle of the library, I also learned, is King George’s collection. He gave his books to the country with the stipulations that they must be always kept in one place and the public must be able to access them. You can request any book from the collection (with a reason why you need it), and someone will fetch it for you. Pretty awesome. The tower itself is six stories tall, but it has shiny black marble at the bottom, so shiny, in fact, that when you look over the railing, it looks like the tower continues on to the bowels of the earth as it reflects itself. Quite awesome as well.
Here, you can see the front lobby of the library, as taken from far up. Not nearly as pretty, I think, as the tower of books that’s behind me.
One more really cool thing at the library was this piece of art. It was so cool that I had to take a video of it—a mere picture would not, could not, have done it justice. Here’s a link to the video—it may take some time to download, but it’s only 21 seconds of video and very mind-boggling. I kinda did the filming backwards, though, so you see how it works before you can really see it working. Nevertheless, you’ll have a hard time to see how it works as it’s working.
http://www.mediafire.com/?j0xv2mdw1yn
Wait a minute for the download to finish processing, and then it'll turn into "Start Download." From there, you can save it to your computer so you can open it. You can delete it when you're done watching it, if you'd like. I don't mind.
After I visited the British Library, I had dinner at Burger King—my last American food stop, I promise! Besides, there aren’t really many other American places to choose from, unless you count Pizza Hut or Papa John’s, and neither of those are the sort of place you can easily just eat for one person or one night. I was not impressed by the staff. They sucked. Badly. It took forever of me standing in front of the cash register before the girl there bothered to stop trying to hide plastic bags under the keyboard (what was she doing!?) and take my order, and then she just called it out to the back several times before she took my money, and only then did she actually enter it in the register. The Burger King did have trash cans, and signs asking people to use them… and you know what? People DID. Except… they weren’t empty. It’s very hard to use a trash can that is overflowing with trash. There must have been twenty empty trays stacked on top of it, and British people showed their courtesy by putting their finished meals on the tables around the can, instead of trying to shove more in. One more piece and it would have overflowed onto the floor, I’m sure. One Burger King worker did glance at it, but she didn’t make any move to actually do anything about it in the whole time I was there.
So… McDonalds was best, Subway was pretty good, and KFC, but Burger King was pretty sucky.
When I got back to my room, I noticed the new roommates and began to rearrange my luggage. I showed them my British Museum book, and they were excited about it for me, which was pretty awesome. My luggage is now all repacked and hopefully things are where I need them to be. None of the roomies are around right now, except maybe the ghost. He didn’t wake me up last night. I was grateful.
Well, I leave for Salisbury tomorrow, and not a moment too soon! While I was out at the British Library, TWO new roommates joined the room. One of them is named Kat, and I didn’t catch the name of the other. They’re friends, they’re really into working out (they were asking me where the nearest gym was) and drinking (they also asked if I’d been to the pub across the street, which I hadn’t—I don’t drink), and they have a ton of luggage between them. I counted six new bags. Wow.
Kinda sucks, though, since I was using the foot of one of the spare beds as a rest for my glasses at night. I’ll have to find someplace else before I go to bed.
So, like I said, I went to the British Library again today, and this time, I got a tour. It was pretty awesome. The library is indeed 10 years old—from when it was opened—but planning and building started way back in the 70s. The architect was inspired by ocean liners, as you can see in one of the pictures of this scale model of the building.
Also notice the size of the cars in relation to the library. This building is HUGE. It’s also nearly full and funding had been cut short, so it’s not as big as they would have liked. The library has five floors of basements. Four of them are used for storage, while the fifth is used to take into account London’s changing water table. It’s for pumping out extra water. The basement is the largest hole ever dug in London, and it’s so deep that two Tube lines, the Piccadilly and the Victoria, run through level 3. When the trains go past, the guide said, you can hear it.
While digging the basement, the workers uncovered strange smells—prehistoric air bubbles trapped in the clay. They also unearthed a Victorian graveyard and had to rebury the coffins elsewhere.
Probably the coolest book I saw today was this one:
It’s an atlas from 1660, a gift to King George III from the Dutch. The age alone makes it pretty awesome, but what makes it even cooler is the size. It’s probably about six and a half feet tall, maybe more. It’s HUGE. The little plaque beside it to explain what you’re looking at is the size of a normal sheet of computer paper. HUGE.
It’s also part of the working collection of the library, which means you can request to look at it. Of course, you’ll be given a very dirty look and you’d better have a dang good reason why you need to look at the original of THAT book, but if you do have that reason, they’ll haul it out for you. It’s so big that it needs two people to open it, and a third to turn the pages. You may notice that it’s on wheels, just in case it needs to be hauled out. Not too long ago, the library had a professional photographer get on some scaffolding (so he could get the elevation he needed to get the whole page in a shot) and take pictures of all the pages, so they can give you facsimiles to look at instead of wheeling out the whole thing.
The lighter colour around the edges are from recent restoration work, but the dark middle is the original leather. The inside, we were told, is in remarkable shape—probably because no one ever opens it! In this close-up, though, you may notice something that really should be a cardinal sin for book lovers like King George III: right near the flash, there’s a ring from where someone (probably the king himself) put their tankard on the book. Apparently, he didn’t hold this gift in high esteem!
Okay, I lied, the coolest book I saw today was a copy of the Gutenberg Bible. That was awesome. However, I couldn’t take pictures of it. The coolest book I could take pictures of was the 1660 atlas.
The tower of books in the middle of the library, I also learned, is King George’s collection. He gave his books to the country with the stipulations that they must be always kept in one place and the public must be able to access them. You can request any book from the collection (with a reason why you need it), and someone will fetch it for you. Pretty awesome. The tower itself is six stories tall, but it has shiny black marble at the bottom, so shiny, in fact, that when you look over the railing, it looks like the tower continues on to the bowels of the earth as it reflects itself. Quite awesome as well.
Here, you can see the front lobby of the library, as taken from far up. Not nearly as pretty, I think, as the tower of books that’s behind me.
One more really cool thing at the library was this piece of art. It was so cool that I had to take a video of it—a mere picture would not, could not, have done it justice. Here’s a link to the video—it may take some time to download, but it’s only 21 seconds of video and very mind-boggling. I kinda did the filming backwards, though, so you see how it works before you can really see it working. Nevertheless, you’ll have a hard time to see how it works as it’s working.
http://www.mediafire.com/?j0xv2mdw1yn
Wait a minute for the download to finish processing, and then it'll turn into "Start Download." From there, you can save it to your computer so you can open it. You can delete it when you're done watching it, if you'd like. I don't mind.
After I visited the British Library, I had dinner at Burger King—my last American food stop, I promise! Besides, there aren’t really many other American places to choose from, unless you count Pizza Hut or Papa John’s, and neither of those are the sort of place you can easily just eat for one person or one night. I was not impressed by the staff. They sucked. Badly. It took forever of me standing in front of the cash register before the girl there bothered to stop trying to hide plastic bags under the keyboard (what was she doing!?) and take my order, and then she just called it out to the back several times before she took my money, and only then did she actually enter it in the register. The Burger King did have trash cans, and signs asking people to use them… and you know what? People DID. Except… they weren’t empty. It’s very hard to use a trash can that is overflowing with trash. There must have been twenty empty trays stacked on top of it, and British people showed their courtesy by putting their finished meals on the tables around the can, instead of trying to shove more in. One more piece and it would have overflowed onto the floor, I’m sure. One Burger King worker did glance at it, but she didn’t make any move to actually do anything about it in the whole time I was there.
So… McDonalds was best, Subway was pretty good, and KFC, but Burger King was pretty sucky.
When I got back to my room, I noticed the new roommates and began to rearrange my luggage. I showed them my British Museum book, and they were excited about it for me, which was pretty awesome. My luggage is now all repacked and hopefully things are where I need them to be. None of the roomies are around right now, except maybe the ghost. He didn’t wake me up last night. I was grateful.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Supernaturals and Libraries!
3/1/09 5:45 PM
Happy Saturday to all! It’s almost been a full week, which means my stay at this hostel is ALMOST OVER. Woo!
Today… today I went to the British Library. I didn’t stay for long, though—I missed the last tour of the day by about ten minutes. However, tomorrow, at three, is another tour opportunity, so I think I’m going to do that.
Even though I didn’t stay long, I wandered around the building and did my best to keep my jaw from hanging open. That place is HUGE! Seriously.
I wasn’t sure if pictures were allowed inside the building or not. A lot of the rooms had signs saying specifically “No pictures in here,” but what about outside those rooms? I ended up just taking one picture (without flash) to show you the size of the middle.
Aside from this massive column of bookshelves, the rest of the library looks very modern—at least the parts available to the non-paying public is. They have a lot of special reading rooms that you need a pass to enter, and some of those looked pretty cool. This building is fairly new, though. The British Library used to be in the middle of the British Museum, but it outgrew that space and moved out before 2000. The Library has a copy of every book published in the UK and many published around the world. It also houses (and I got to see these) valuable and notable books from history, such as Shakespeare’s First Folio, the Lindisfarne Gospel, the original Beowulf manuscript, a handwritten Jane Eyre, the diary of Lewis Carroll, pages from Leonardo Da Vinci’s notebook, a letter written by Sir Isaac Newton, ancient copies of the book of Hebrews (written in Greek on papyrus—my favourite one!), several copies of the Magna Carta, and notes written by the Beatles. Those are just the ones I remember! I’m definitely impressed by the size and history of this library, but the public spaces didn’t seem very comfortable. The information guy wasn’t too helpful, either, directing me to the toilets when I asked about tours.
Oh, I did my laundry this morning, too. In accordance with the laws of laundry, I lost a sock. I have no idea where it could have gone. Seriously. I took it from the bathroom, stuck it in a bag, zipped the bag, carried it to the laundry room, did the laundry, stuck it back in the back, zipped it, carried it back to my room… and somewhere, it disappeared.
It was one of my freebie airline socks, so I’m not mourning the loss too much. Still… how could it have disappeared!? I searched everywhere, but no luck. One free sock left.
In addition to the Library and laundry, I talked to a ghost in my room. Yesterday, I was sitting on my bed, chatting with my brother, when this little fist-sized shadow darted from the cupboards by the bathroom into the bathroom. It went really fast, and didn’t scurry or fly so much as zip. Woosh! Yay! I went into the bathroom later, but I didn’t see anything that could have caused that shadow. Nothing had been flying around by the light, either, to cast a shadow.
Then, this morning, I was minding my own business, fast asleep, when BANGBANGBANG! Three big bangs jolted me out of my slumber, accompanied by shakes to the bed. It felt almost like Macy had jumped on the bed three times above (bunk beds, so when one person moves, the other bed moves too). However, Macy was fast asleep and not even moving—I didn’t know if she was even in the room, since it was dark out and she hadn’t returned by the time I went to bed.
I checked my phone and saw that it was about 6:55 AM, so I rolled over and went back to bed. Still, that had been awfully unnerving.
Then, not too long before I started writing this entry, I saw the shadow zip into the bathroom again, so I introduced myself and asked it not to wake me up again please. I’d be happy to play with a ghost when I’m awake, but when I’m asleep… I’d really prefer sleep over ghosts. It would be cool to have a real ghost in my room, though. As long as it’s a nice real ghost.
Anyway, I thought I’d leave you with these three Tube posters. I like this advertising campaign.
Happy Saturday to all! It’s almost been a full week, which means my stay at this hostel is ALMOST OVER. Woo!
Today… today I went to the British Library. I didn’t stay for long, though—I missed the last tour of the day by about ten minutes. However, tomorrow, at three, is another tour opportunity, so I think I’m going to do that.
Even though I didn’t stay long, I wandered around the building and did my best to keep my jaw from hanging open. That place is HUGE! Seriously.
I wasn’t sure if pictures were allowed inside the building or not. A lot of the rooms had signs saying specifically “No pictures in here,” but what about outside those rooms? I ended up just taking one picture (without flash) to show you the size of the middle.
Aside from this massive column of bookshelves, the rest of the library looks very modern—at least the parts available to the non-paying public is. They have a lot of special reading rooms that you need a pass to enter, and some of those looked pretty cool. This building is fairly new, though. The British Library used to be in the middle of the British Museum, but it outgrew that space and moved out before 2000. The Library has a copy of every book published in the UK and many published around the world. It also houses (and I got to see these) valuable and notable books from history, such as Shakespeare’s First Folio, the Lindisfarne Gospel, the original Beowulf manuscript, a handwritten Jane Eyre, the diary of Lewis Carroll, pages from Leonardo Da Vinci’s notebook, a letter written by Sir Isaac Newton, ancient copies of the book of Hebrews (written in Greek on papyrus—my favourite one!), several copies of the Magna Carta, and notes written by the Beatles. Those are just the ones I remember! I’m definitely impressed by the size and history of this library, but the public spaces didn’t seem very comfortable. The information guy wasn’t too helpful, either, directing me to the toilets when I asked about tours.
Oh, I did my laundry this morning, too. In accordance with the laws of laundry, I lost a sock. I have no idea where it could have gone. Seriously. I took it from the bathroom, stuck it in a bag, zipped the bag, carried it to the laundry room, did the laundry, stuck it back in the back, zipped it, carried it back to my room… and somewhere, it disappeared.
It was one of my freebie airline socks, so I’m not mourning the loss too much. Still… how could it have disappeared!? I searched everywhere, but no luck. One free sock left.
In addition to the Library and laundry, I talked to a ghost in my room. Yesterday, I was sitting on my bed, chatting with my brother, when this little fist-sized shadow darted from the cupboards by the bathroom into the bathroom. It went really fast, and didn’t scurry or fly so much as zip. Woosh! Yay! I went into the bathroom later, but I didn’t see anything that could have caused that shadow. Nothing had been flying around by the light, either, to cast a shadow.
Then, this morning, I was minding my own business, fast asleep, when BANGBANGBANG! Three big bangs jolted me out of my slumber, accompanied by shakes to the bed. It felt almost like Macy had jumped on the bed three times above (bunk beds, so when one person moves, the other bed moves too). However, Macy was fast asleep and not even moving—I didn’t know if she was even in the room, since it was dark out and she hadn’t returned by the time I went to bed.
I checked my phone and saw that it was about 6:55 AM, so I rolled over and went back to bed. Still, that had been awfully unnerving.
Then, not too long before I started writing this entry, I saw the shadow zip into the bathroom again, so I introduced myself and asked it not to wake me up again please. I’d be happy to play with a ghost when I’m awake, but when I’m asleep… I’d really prefer sleep over ghosts. It would be cool to have a real ghost in my room, though. As long as it’s a nice real ghost.
Anyway, I thought I’d leave you with these three Tube posters. I like this advertising campaign.
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