random ramblings of a raving lunatic: RaRaRa

11:11pm-- dsalkfjsdlfkjasd;lkjasd;l

2:03am-- The iTunes visualizer is psychedelically awesome. I could stare at it forever.

2:28am-- I have stared at it for 25 minutes.

7:23am-- I just noticed how English historians tend to refer to countries as females, e.g. "Britain’s inflated perception of herself caused her to underestimate her opponents.” It sounds debonair. I am inspired to name my child Belgium.

10:54am-- HAHA! 1 down, 2/3 to go!!

6:55pm-- Just woke up. I'm practically nocturnal now. Thankfully, this means I will stay awake through the entirety of Twelfth Night, which I am going to see at 7:30pm.

4:27am-- Apparently London unis are not immune to fire alarms going off in the middle of the night as a result of poor decision-making/general asshole-ry on the part of an inebriated first-year, either. (Twelfth Night is now officially my favorite Shakespearean comedy. (Mistaken identities and resultant dramatic irony will never fail to entertain.) Although Much Ado About Nothing is a close second, and drama still goes to Hamlet.

4:30am (24 hours and 3 minutes later)-- Officially off Greenwich Mean Time and on US Mountain/Pacific instead. Currently working on last international econ problem set of the term.

9:51pm-- Damnittttt, why are my feet so stank?

7:14am-- Going home tomorrow, but going out tonightttttt :D

week 10: top 40 + christmas standards

I'm going home in 6 days!!!!!! And goddamnit, I'm going to finish these last assignments before I get on that airplane. Even if it means not sleeping a wink until then. (Update: OK... most likely not.)

(Self-imposed) deadlines:
1) History paper: Monday at 12:oopm
2) Econ problem set: Wednesday at 12:00pm
3) Law presentation (-ish): Friday at 10:00am
4) IR paper: Friday 18 Dec. (I never thought I'd say this, but curse extensions.)

Thinking happy thoughts,

- JT -

week 8: Jason Mraz - I'm Yours

Another week and a half of presentations, problem sets and papers. Slacking off the first seven weeks here has definitely caught up with me, sigh. Luckily this will all come to pass soon. (soon: United flight 959, departing London Heathrow at 3:25pm on December 12.)

This Tuesday, a friend and I went to a taping of The Paul O'Grady Show, which is more or less the British equivalent of a daytime talk show (less Oprah, more Ellen). I got all excited thinking we would get to see a 'real, live movie star' 'up close and personal'; instead, we got John Barrowman and Fern Britton. (Exactly. Who the hell are they?) Well, lucky John Barrowman is a musical theater star who has a fan club that follows him everywhere he goes (I have another word for that) and was naturally sitting in the front row of the audience. And apparently Fern Britton is a regional newscaster who caused quite a stir when she lost half her body weight and attributed it to diet and exercise, only later admitting it was gastric bypass, who's now written a memoir of her tribulations. Show-stoppers, the pair of them. OK, despite the lack of celebrity, the taping was quite entertaining. The comedian hired to energize the audience was a hoot, and both guests and host were funnier off-camera.

In other news, I'm 20 now. Oy, that's a big number. Too big. I wish I had something more profound to say as I bid farewell to the first two decades of my life. I'll think of something later...

My friend who's studying at Cambridge came to visit last weekend. We went to see WICKED on Friday, which was amaaaazing. Definitely lives up to its hype. I had no idea that the musical was based on a novel written in the 90s. Even so, I loved how it seamlessly connected with the original movie's plot and managed to incorporate all the original characters, in surprising and clever ways. The songs were majorly catchy, too.

On Saturday, we went to the Tower of London, which is hailed as a must-see site for any tourist visiting the city. Sadly, even after walking the grounds for nearly two hours, I can tell you neither when it was built nor what exactly it was used for. In my defense, however, I think it was destroyed/rebuilt quite a few times. Exactly when, who knows. I had forgotten how intriguing (and complicated) English history was until now. Speaking of which, there were a lot of war artifacts on display, including sick torture devices and suits of armor. Henry VII, for instance, was a big jolly monster of a king, and his suit of armor is striking testament of that. Whereas poor Charles I, by my estimation, was severely vertically challenged.

Later, we went Christmas shopping, and I bought gifts for the fam. (Yayyy.) It makes me so happy that it's that time of the year again... time to break out the festive decorations, re-make the "Christmas Carols" iTunes playlist, and (window-)shop with a mission: to find the perfect gift for every single person on your list. Is Jeanne sucked into holiday commercialism much? That's a blind and blissful "hellll to the yes".

Since my friend gifted me an Asian cookbook (among many other things), we were inspired to cook and decided to make pineapple fried rice. Which, in hindsight, might've been setting our goals too high. How can you possibly screw up fried rice, you say? Many ways. Start by overcooking your rice. Forget that your wok is not sizzling hot. Add wet vegetables to create a porridge-like consistency. And there you have it! A congealed pineapple, vegetable and rice 'stir-fry' (that's putting it nicely). Nevertheless, the mush was tasty. Which is probably why I'm now emboldened to prepare an entire (Chinese-)American Thanksgiving menu: turkey with sticky rice and date stuffing, delicious (?) mashed potatoes, and some variety of pie. A few of my hallmates and I will attempt this daring feat on Friday. Looking forward to it, but have learned not to set any expectations when it involves me and a kitchen.

I have to say: Sheila... is a saint. And a sage. At the very least, she was exactly what I needed to knock me out of my miserable, catatonic state. Which, looking back, was quite a low. Not to mention a lame place to be considering how lucky I am to be where I am. An outside opinion always helps to put things in perspective.

Happy Thanksgiving! Holidays are the best when spent with the people you love most :)

- JT -

week 6: Rihanna - Umbrella (Acoustic)

(Not going to type in all lowercase anymore.)

I'm really busy this week. Papers, presentations, problem sets, and the like. Which obviously means that I will find any and all things to do instead of the task at hand. Including updating my fledgling blog.

It was my friend's birthday a few weeks ago, so we went to a club she wanted to go to called the Ministry of Sound. Apparently, it's one of the premier clubs in London (it better have been, considering the £13 cover I paid to get in). The place was HUGE: two levels and three separate, adjoining rooms. Though the night we went it was never full packed, so it stayed pretty cool the whole night (club - air ventilation = not good). It had a funky vibe and lots of smoke machines (I'm a big fan). And awesome dancers! European dancing is much less overtly sexual and much more creative. More use of the arms, crazier feet movement... overall, a more choreographed feel. As opposed to just shuffling your feet back and forth and wiggling your butt. I wish I could dance like that! (Creatively, not booty-shakingly.) The music was all techno, though, and made me miss hip-hop. Still, very fun.

Last Friday, I went to see a production of Oedipus at the National Theatre with Ray Fiennes playing the king himself. It was brilliantly moving (...maybe because I managed to stay awake for the entirety of the play this time). First off, the theatre was incredible. The stage was round, and despite being in an enormous room, the seats were such that any seat in the house was a good one. I really enjoyed the modern interpretation of the play as well: it was a minimalist set and all the characters were dressed as if they worked on Wall Street. As expected, Ray Fiennes delivered in the title role; although I have to say I slightly underwhelmed by his performance at times. (Keep your expectations low and you'll never be dissapointed...?) Halfway through the show I finally realized the herd of old men that never left the stage was the Greek chorus. And that the center of the stage was rotating. Oh, and across the pond they call him "Ee-dipus", not "Eh-dipus."

Exciting news: I tried out for, and got into, the LSE a cappella group! (Yes, I'm just as shocked as you are.) So shocked that I waited until after attending the first rehearsal to tell anyone for fear of delusion and embarrassment. Seriously, I thought my audition (I sang the acoustic version of Rihanna's "Umbrella") was so awful that they must have made a mistake when they sent me that "Congratulations, you got in!" email. Well, I'm certainly not going to question it. (They must've been in great need for low, low-range altos.) In all seriousness, though, I have to give a major shout out to 廖逸 (it still feels weird just calling her Yi). Before last summer, I hadn't sung in looong time. Not even in the shower. (That's what being turned down by every. single. last. a cappella group at Brown can do to a girl. ) If it weren't for her, I would not have been singing all summer long, and definitely would not have had the balls to try out again. So a BIG thank you to Yi... love ya, girl! :)

I can't wait to get through the next few days, because Sheila's coming to visit on Friday! We're going to go see "Wicked" and just frolic in the streets. Yayayayay. Now if only I could channel this excitement into reading textbooks...

- JT -

week 5: it's a cryin' shame

how have i been here 5 weeks already? ridiculous.

today i cried for the first time while chopping onions. right before which i cried for the 32nd time while watching Grey's Anatomy. that show is just tuggin' on me heartstrings this season. even though i'm not finding the storylines very memorable. or nearly as entertaining as fellow network dramedy Desperate Housewives. (yes, i confess.)

okay. total honesty time...

london is, in many ways, not the experience i thought, or hoped, it would be. they never are, are they? by no means do i regret coming, but now that i've been here for five weeks, i realize i should've prepared myself better; i should've known myself better. as a result, i'm learning a lot about myself right now. which is a great thing to have happen, but slightly scary as well.

lesson one: jeanne likes her alone time, but too much alone time has thrown her for a BIG loop. being in a completely foreign place with no close contact to close contacts has made me realize how vitally important my friends and family are to me. we may not get along all the time, but i'm so much happier when you're close by.

lesson two: jeanne is not as adaptable as she thought. sure, she's chinese-american, multicultural, multilingual, the whole shebang, but she's only ever been to china. and america. (the two-week stint in spain surrounded by americans doesn't count.) i don't know what the diagnosis is in this case; i've never liked boxing myself in with trite characterizations like 'experiencing culture shock' or 'feeling homesick', but something's missing, i don't know what. i can't just just plop down in londontown one day and be having tea with natives the next.

lesson three: jeanne is a wannabe perfectionist who is easily derailed. fantastic if everything goes right, but everything never does. and when it doesn't, she runs away and avoids the issue instead of tackling it head-on.

(not good.)

on a jollier (or perhaps, even sadder) note: jeanne cannot cook for the life of her. since i've gotten here, i've honestly not had a single piece of toast without less then two sides burnt to a crisp. the ratio of black to non-black bits in my finished meals is alarmingly high. assuming i don't die of asphyxia while cooking in my windowless kitchen this year, this revelation does not bode well for my future domestic homelife.

if it was a pain to read all that jumping between first and third person, sorry. but that's all i had to say. and now it's been said. this is not a 'cry for help' (that would only be the tritest cliché of them all). i'm a tough cookie, damnit! and i certainly won't be coming home until i said i would. i'll stay here until the bitter end, even if i fail all my courses in the process. God, i hope not -- *knock on wood*.

until next time,
much love,
jeanne

oh! my foot's all better. thanks for asking <3

photo: the dorm

week 2: i'm knackered*

another week is almost gone, and i'm already behind on reading. welcome back to school...

the courses i'm taking are:
1) Foreign Policy Analysis
2) Public International Law
3) International Economics
4) East Asia and Imperialism, 1839-1945

jeanne, are you...... an IR major? i never would've guessed. so maybe i got carried away with the 'international' of it all. but it's justified; LSE -all of London, really - isn't anything if not international and ethnically diverse, students and faculty alike. one of my professors is english, another one's spanish, and another american. i haven't figured out where my law professor's from, though. he could either be australian, canadian, or english with a perpetual cold. my english accent, sadly, still needs a bit of work.

i was going to take Principles of Finance, but let's face it - am i really going to go into investment banking? i think i'd rather work for John McCain's administration (if he dies, i'm out.) plus, recent events would suggest i-banking's not the most secure career choice. after this, i think i'll finally have convinced my parents that i will be living out of a cardboard box after graduation. or i could apply to grad school and defer said residency in box for a few years. it's a good thing dear Mother and Father have two more where this came from.

an issue of a more immediate nature, however, is the absentee ballot that i have in my possession. weeks earlier, i was genuinely unsure of who to vote for. i thought watching the debates would help inform my decision, but i found very little in them that i didn't know already. if you've watched one, it's as if you watched them all. talking point after talking point after talking point (from both candidates); it just gets so redundant. campaign politics is just political theatre, anyway. people keep on saying that this is the most important election of their lifetimes, but is it really all that remarkable? don't candidates spar over taxes and health care and energy and the economy in every election?

for me, it simply came down to which candidate i was more ideologically aligned with. do i believe that health care and education are rights given to every human being, or commodities to be bought and sold on the market? do i believe that trickle-down economics is inevitably successful, or a bust? do i believe in small government at the expense of the disenfranchised, or big goverment at the expense of personal privacy and choice? when it comes to taxes, do i believe that fair it not always equal, or that equal is always fair? on foreign policy, do i believe that military might trumps diplomatic efforts, or vice versa? ...you get the idea. that's how i cast my ballot, and i voted for: 奥巴马。

now that that's all squared away, i supposed i should hit the books. all 3,000 of them.

peace love & ice cream,
JT

*knackered, a.k.a. cream-crackered = tired

week 1: you big gherkin

ok, i'm going to write a post instead of deciding what classes i should take. gah! there's just too many good courses. i'm like a kid in a candy store.

well, week 1 in london is over. it was slightly crazy, slightly hectic, but mostly fun.

first off: i looove my dorm. it couldn't be in a better location. it's right off of trafalgar sqaure in central london, a site with enormous lion statues that attracts lots of tourists, and right by the strand, a busy street with lots of stores, theatres and cafes. which means i can also cross being stabbed while walking home alone off my list of worries.

my favorite thing about the city so far is that it's incredibly walkable. i live about a minute away from the river thames, and on one jog i can run by the tate modern art museum, the globe theatre and cross THE london bridge (which, by the way, is not very impressive). speaking of jogs, one day i was running along the river, enjoying the lovely scenery, and bam! tripped on God knows what (probably my own feet) and fell. well, it was really more of a baaaaaam - i think i did somewhat of a half somersault, and of course, i had to land at the feet of some woman walking right towards me. i scraped both my knees and somehow managed to scrape my left shoulder as well....

the second night i was here, the school sponsored a boat party for all the study abroad students. afterwards, i went out to a pub with some kids i met on the boat - a real english pub! had a pint (correction: 1/10 of a pint) and played pub quizzes, paid for by an english dude who i gathered was too drunk to know how much money he was wasting on american kids who knew diddlysquat about british pop culture.

another fun time was when my laptop's AC adapter broke and i took a trip to London suburbia to buy a new one. 17 miles out of the city, you can't really tell that you're in england and not the US. 17 miles of of the city, you also can't get a taxi for the life of you to get back to the subway station. when i finally do, the driver bloke tells me i could've just stayed in the city and gone to any electronic parts store. way to go, jeanne.

i was obviously worried about being dirt poor before i got here, but i've done a surprisingly good job of staying on budget.... except during the school activities fair. here, to join a club (or "society", as they like to call it), you have to pay a membership fee, anywhere from £1-3. but in exchange, you might get some freebies like stationary or environmentally-friendly reusable tote bags (who doesn't need more of those). me being the idiot who can never say no to nice people, i joined more societies than i can remember, much less count. and in exchange for my £20+ of overexcitedness, i now have 6 pens, 3 boxes of mints, 5 post-it pads and a tri-colored highliter. that's a unfair transaction, if you ask me.

toodles!