Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Uh Huh Fun!

Let’s see, what have I been up to lately? On Sunday I woke up and Kimberly, Chad and I headed to Speaker’s Corner. We saw the same old-crazy-racist-god-fearing lady that’s always there. It was kind of funny since quite a few people were talking back to her. It was a kind of rainy day so instead of going to Notting Hill we went to the Science Museum. I had never been so I was excited. There was quite a bit of hands on things so it was fun. A few of my favorite parts were the electricity area where there was a giant pole that you could touch and get shocked. Another was an area of all hands on things. One exhibit you put a straw on a metal rod (for hygiene) and bit down and plugged your ears. Like magic (or science I guess) you could hear a song that was vibrating through the rod. It was pretty cool. After that we just went to ISH to eat then headed home and I took it easy the rest of the night and tried to make a little itinerary for when Kim and my mom come.

Monday was a pretty mellow day. I just went to work, went to the “mandatory” weekly meeting (my third time I’ve been since I’ve been here), then I just headed home and hung out. Yesterday was pretty sweet. I went to work then I headed home, changed, ate, then Meredith and I went to see Uh Huh Her at KoKo. I had bought a ticket in advance but Meredith hadn’t so we had to get one from a tout (scalper). He said “60 quid” so we couldn’t help but laugh because it was ridiculous and he asked her how much she wanted to pay so she said “5 pounds” and he laughed at her. Then she got him to come down to 30 quid. She thought about it then he came over by us and hit her in the butt with is crutch and they settled on 25 quid. Then we went in, got a drink and sadly we were not right up front. The first band was kind of crazy, a lot of repetitive synthesizers and strobe lights. I felt like I was going to have a seizure. Then during the in between time we snuck our way up closer. The band is Leisha Hailey and Cam Grey. Leisha Hailey is better known as an actress and she’s kind of famous for being on The L Word. It was a pretty good show, lots of fun. Then after the show we had to wait ages for the bus so we decided to hop on the tube. We ended up sitting next to these two girls who were quite funny. One was from Ireland and the other from London. The Irish girl had to pee super bad so she was being ridiculous and we had a good time. I wish we had to stay on the tube longer but we only had a few stops. Then we walked a little bit home and just hung out for a bit and played Sudoku and I read a Spin article about MGMT (who I’m hopefully seeing on the 28th) then I headed to bed.

Today I went to work and then my boss Anthea and I headed to Sotheby’s. We stopped first at the National Gallery to see Titian’s “Diana and Actaeon”. It’s on display now because they are trying to raise money so it doesn’t get sold off by the private owner. There were lots of TV cameras there and I guess that I was on TV today. Weird. Then we went to Sotheby’s to see a collection that was being sold that Photographic Survey of the Courtauld (where I work) had previously photographed. We couldn’t see it but we just looked around at other stuff. Then we went to Christie’s and did the same thing there. Then while walking around we went to Fortnum & Mason’s which is a really posh store. There were a lot of Christmas decorations around which I loved. Then we went to the Institute of Contemporary Art and saw/heard a sound instillation. It was kind of intense. There was also a collection of odd and obsurd comics which I really liked. They included stories of an amputee with, lesbian unicorns, and homophobic truckers. It was pretty interesting. Then we stopped by the Royal Society of Arts. Then I went back to work then headed to lunch shortly after. I had a nice little lunch with Meredith then I went to see Tom Jones. He was busking (singing on the street) for a charity event. I watched him for a little bit then went back to work and cut and pasted things. Then I went home and just hung out and updated this and watched my room mate dance to Soulja Boy. It was funny.
I’m pretty pumped because tomorrow my mom comes, then I’m going to ditch her to see The Kills and then Kim is visiting on Friday. FUN!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Oh Joy!

So it's been a fun week yet again. Tuesday I went to work then that night Meredith and I went to see Laura Marling at Scala. The venue was pretty small which was great for this show, and we were right up front again but to the side so there were a few heads in my way but yet again we had a pretty good spot. There were two openers, the first guy was ok, but nothing too special. The second opener was Jay Jay Pistolet. He was great. I got his EP and t-shirt for only 8 quid! I've been listening to him pretty much nonstop since. Then after an oddly long wait Laura Marling came on. She was pretty much amazing. She did some stuff just here solo with a guitar (for one song she did play the banjo which was pretty cool) and she had a backing band as well who would go in and out depending on the song. She played a lot of stuff that I didn't know, I probably only knew about one-third of the songs she played but I loved them all. During one song I couldn't really see and I thought that the band was playing with but then I realized that she was solo. She is that great. Then after we just headed back to MTH since it was pretty late.

Wednesday I worked and then after work I almost headed to Scala to try to see Laura Marling again but on my way to the bus stop Jon Marx texted me and he and a few friends were meeting at ISHbar so I ended up just hanging out there for the night. It was a good time.

Thursday during work my boss Anthea took me to the Sir John Soane museum. He was an architect and a collector of art and other things. The museum is in his former home. The home is rather small but he made the most of the space he had, there is just so much stuff in there. You can't take bags in because odds are lots of stuff would get knocked about since it's such tight quarters. Then we just walked about and looked at some architecture around where I work. It was a nice little break from actually working. Then that night there was an International Dinner. There was free food and drinks and beanbags. That was good. Then Shawn and I went to the Wilmington Arms to see a few bands. The band that we went to see is The Joy Formidable. We saw them open up for Does It Offend You, Yeah? a few weeks ago and they were great. After we talked to them for a little bit and they were really nice and they actually remembered us from when we complimented them on their show from a few weeks ago. After we went to ISH and just hung out a bit there.

Yesterday I woke up rather late then went to Primark. I needed some hangers and a warm layer and I ended up getting that and a pair of slippers and 2 t-shirts but it was only 15 quid for all that. As much as I dislike Primark I do like how cheap it is. Then after I met up with Kris at the Tate Modern and we checked out the instillation in the Turbine Hall and looked around a little bit. Then we headed to Camden and went to a Thai place for dinner. After we went to a hookah bar and had some strawberry hookah and chai and just hung out and people watched for a while. Then after we went to the Hawley Arms. I've wanted to go there for a while so I'm glad I finally made it there. The pub was pretty cool. It just reopened a few weeks ago because it burned down in the fires in February. The bathrooms were pretty great because not only did the have cool stable like doors (it's right by the old horse stables) but it also had a Dyson Airblade hand dryer. I had been wanting to use one for so long so I was really excited about washing my hands. Also the pub had a rooftop terrace. It's right off of Camden High St and right by the big sign that says Camden Lock so it was cool to just be able to look around. After that we went to the biggest pub I've ever been in, The World's End. There were a few levels and it just kept going. I was just amazed with the space, it was pretty busy but there was still room to walk around. Then after that we just caught the bus back to ISH and I ended my night there.

Today I woke up and just bummed around and read for a while. Then I got ready and walked around. I ended up going to Leicester Square and read for a while then I went to the National Portrait Gallery. Right now there is a special exhibit from a photography contest. There were some really great photos from all over the world there. After I just hung out in Trafalgar Square for a bit then headed back to MTH since I had to do laundry and maybe take a nap.

some pictures
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2100499&id=219703240&saved

review of the laura marling concert.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/gig-23356764-details/Laura+Marling/gigReview.do?reviewId=23585685

laura marling myspace
http://www.myspace.com/lauramarling

jay jay pistolet myspace
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=77130318

the joy formidable myspace
http://www.myspace.com/thejoyformidable

Monday, November 10, 2008

It was fun fun fun, oh it was fun

So some excitement has been happening in the past week. Tuesday night was a lot of fun. Everyone was at the ISHbar seeing who the next U.S. President would be. There were people from all over in the bar, not just Americans and every time CNN announced that Obama had won a state nearly everyone cheered. I stayed up really late but I didn't see who won that night. The next morning Heather came into Meredith's room and she said that Obama won. I was happy to hear it but really tired so I said "yeah" then went back to sleep. Later I got up and went to meet one of my bosses at the National Gallery to get a behind the scenes look. On the tube ride there I saw Ralph Fiennes, who has played Voldemort in Harry Potter as well as being in tons of other films. He was in the same tube car on the Bakerloo line, so that was kind of cool. Sadly I was at the wrong staff entrance (apparently there's 2) so we didn't meet up and I had forgotten to give her my mobile number so I ended up wandering around for a few hours. I got kind of lost which was fun because I saw a part of the city that I hadn't known of before so that was neat.

After a few exhausted hours (since I didn't sleep much the night before) I went back home and tried to nap but I didn't have enough time since it was Guy Fawkes night and I had plans to go to Club Vertigo and watch some fireworks from the penthouse terrace. The circle of friends (me, Meredith, Kallie, Emma and Becky) went to the club but they pushed back the entry time form 9 to 10 so we went to O'Neils to kill some time. Then a little before 10 we went back to the club to queue up but Kallie, Meredith and I decided to go home since we were so tired and not in the mood for a club. I went to bed pretty much right away and got a decent night's sleep for the first time in a long time.

Thursday I woke up and headed to work. Nothing too special that day but it went by rather quickly. Then I quick went home and ran to ISH, ate then Meredith and I went to Koko to see Noah and the Whale. We didn't have tickets but of course we got some from a tout then went right in and once again got right in the front since that's kind of what we do. The show was really fun. Everyone sang along except for the two super emo kids in front of us. They were so emo it was ridiculous. They should have just gone home and cried since they pretty much just stood there the whole time. Aside from those kids the show was great and the band had so many different instruments, it was a good time. After the show we headed to ISHbar and had a drink then went home and just took it easy.

Friday I slept in really late for some reason even though I went to bed relatively early. It was a beautiful day so we decided to go to the zoo. We walked through Regent's Park (the backyard) to get there. The zoo was fun, we got there a little late but we had a good time. There were some really neat animals and the habitats were relatively natural which was nice. Also we went to the reptile house where part of Harry Potter was filmed. We walked back and then I just headed home for a bit then Meredith and I went to another concert. This time we went to the Astoria and saw Cold War Kids. Yup...right up front again. The concert was great. I wasn't sure what to expect since I knew the lead singer also played the keyboard so I was worried he'd just be sitting there the whole time but they blew me away. The guitarist and bass player were all over the place and the whole band had such great energy, it was another great show. Then we went back to MTH and played flip cup for a little bit. After that the group of us headed to the Albany, which is a nearby pub with a semi-club downstairs. I didn't stay for too long since I wasn't really in the mood for club-ness. The walk home might have been the best part since Meredith and I walked Kallie home and half way there she decided to run home. It was pretty funny.

On Saturday I woke up relatively early and went to the Lord Mayor's Parade. We didn't stay too long since it was rainy and we couldn't see much but I'm glad I at last tried to see but the atmosphere of the parade was fun anyways. Then we went to the Diner (yup, 6th time but it's just so good, and the atmosphere is pretty laid back) and ate and hung out for a bit. Then we tried to go to the London Dungeon but the queue was too long so we just walked towards the Tower Bridge to get some pictures. We ended up stopping at a pub and hung out for a bit there. Then we walked towards Embankment to meet up with Emma to watch the fireworks. Meredith, Emma and I got a great spot. We ended up on a boat right on the Thames and just a little down from where the fireworks were shot off from. The fireworks were really neat but I just wish they were a little longer. After we headed to the Lyceum Theatre because Meredith and I were going to get tickets to the Lion King. We headed there through the Somerset House and it turns out they had just put up the Christmas Tree. We were all really excited and took lots of pictures. While we were there they put the star on top of the tree, it was great.

After the Christmas excitement we went to the theatre and got the 13quid standing 'seats'.
After securing our spots we went to Pizza Hut to eat. It was pretty dang good and cheap as well. Then Meredith and I went to the show. Visually it was spectacular. The costumes were really amazing, they do a great job at bringing the animals to life. The show was about 2 1/2 hours but I didn't even notice since I was so engaged. It was a good deal and defiantly worth the 13 pounds. After the show we just headed back and watched Harry Potter 4, but I'm pretty sure I fell asleep within the first 15 minutes. I woke up later and headed to bed.

Sunday a bunch of us had made plans to go to Church. Now you may think "Katy, going to church?", well it wasn't that kind of church. It's an afternoon club at the Forum (where I saw the Ting Tings) and it's only open from noon-4pm on Sundays. We got there and it was complete craziness. The idea is that people go there after their night out Saturday and just keep partying. I don't know if I could handle that but this place was crazy. There were tons of people dressed up in costumes and just ridiculous stuff like weird wigs and sunglasses. There was 'entertainment', which included 2 strippers, a guy singing in a fat suit, and a drinking competition between teams from different countries. Also you had to buy drink tickets and they were for 3 drinks. When you order you get a plastic bag with 3 beers in it then you wander and dance about with a bag of drinks. It was so weird to go to a club and then come out and it's still light outside. It was so much fun though, I want to go back. After a few of us went to Subway then went home. It totally threw me off to be a bit drunk in the middle of the day. I came home and put pictures on facebook and hung out then went to the free movie at ISH. It was '21' last night which I hadn't seen before but it was pretty good. After I just came home hung out a little and read then went to sleep relatively early.

Today I headed to work and it has been a pretty normal day, not too much excitement. I just worked, ran a few errands, ate some food then decided it was time to update this thing since kind of a lot has happened.


noah and the whale's myspace http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=42656921

cold war kid's myspace www.myspace.com/coldwarkids

pictures from the Frieze Art Fair in October http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2100150&l=1ba91&id=219703240

Sunday, November 9, 2008

more pictures

more picture fun: the zoo, fireworks, church, random walking around

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2100017&l=4510a&id=219703240

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

pictures and more

Oh my how could I have not mentioned this before but my friend Kim is coming to visit on the 21st of November and my mom hopefully will be here at the same time!!!! fun!!! I'm excited.

Also, here's some pictures from my life.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2099677&l=c61c8&id=219703240

Woo Woo!

So fun times yet again. Friday was a wonderfully lazy day. I sat around in Meredith's room and we got our Halloween costumes ready. I was a shark attack victim so she drew a shark on my shirt and cut a bite hole then i painted it full of very realistic fake blood. It was pretty simple but still pretty cool. Then eventually I went over to Becky and Emma's and a few of us hung out and got ready to head out for the night. Then we went to Proud Camden for a little while, it sounded like it was going to be better so we left after a little bit and then went went to the trusty ISHbar. That was a fun time and it ended up being a really fun night.

Saturday I woke up and then a group of us went to Portobello Market. It was a pretty rainy day so we just walked around a bit, went to the Travel Book Store (like the one from the film Notting Hill), went to a few small art galleries then got some of the best cupcakes in the world from the Hummingbird Bakery. Then we split into smaller groups and some of us went to a hookah bar in Camden. On the walk there we saw another Banksy piece. That was a really cool surprise. The hookah bar was fun but it was still raining and we were outside and partially covered so it was a bit cold and wet but otherwise quite good. Then we decided to go to the Diner (my fifth time there). After that day I was pretty tired so I stayed in and we just watched a movie.

Sunday I went to the Hayward Gallery for the Andy Warhol exhibit. It was pretty cool but not what I was expecting. There wasn't as much of his paintings as I'd hope but a lot of his films which I'm not so into. It was more of an audio/visual biography of him than a display of his work but it was still interesting and I'm glad I went. Included in the Warhol exhibit was an exhibit by another artist, Robin Rhode. His stuff was really cool, I hadn't heard of him before but I would definitely like to see more of his stuff. Then we went to Covent Garden and got a cookie from Ben's Cookies and walked home. Then I just relaxed for a little bit then went to the ISHbar and watched a little of the Packer game. Then Meredith, Shawn and I had gotten free tickets to a concert at 229, which is a venue in the lower level of ISH. We saw 3 really great bands, The Operators, The Joy Formidable, and Does It Offend You, Yeah?. The first two were surprisingly good and then Does It Offend You, Yeah?, which was the headliner were great. The show was surprisingly intense and there was some crazy moshing and jumping going on. Didn't see the intensity of it coming but it was so much fun. After that I was all jacked up and awake so we just hung out for a bit then went to bed.

Yesterday was pretty mellow, just worked then hung out at the ISHbar with some people for a while then home to bed. Today I just worked and then had a little dinner and I'm doing laundry right now. Then later pretty much our while group are going to ISH because they're showing the election coverage. I am so excited about it, I pretty much read the news all day at work. I'm not going into work until later tomorrow so I can stay up as late as possible and hopefully see who won, and I hope it all works out and everyone Baracked the vote!