101 in 1001 days: goal 19 [progress]

i believe that for his escape he took advantage of the migration of a flock of wild birds. On the morning of his departure he put his planet in perfect order, … he believed that he would never want to return. … but on this last morning all these familiar tasks seemed very precious to him. and when he watered the flower for the last time, and prepared to place her under the shelter of her glass globe, he realized that he was very close to tears.

"goodbye," he said to the flower.

but she made no answer.

"goodbye," he said again.

the flower coughed. but it was not because she had a cold.

"i have been silly," she said to him, at last. "i ask your forgiveness. try to be happy..."

he was surprised by this absence of reproaches. he stood there all bewildered, the glass globe held arrested in mid-air. he did not understand this quiet sweetness.

"of course i love you," the flower said to him. "it is my fault that you have not known it all the while. that is of no importance. but you — you have been just as foolish as i. try to be happy... let the glass globe be. i don't want it any more."

"but the wind — "

"my cold is not so bad as all that... the cool night air will do me good. i am a flower."

"but the animals — "

"well, i must endure the presence of two or three caterpillars if i wish to become acquainted with the butterflies. it seems that they are very beautiful. and if not the butterflies — and the caterpillars — who will call upon me? you will be far away... as for the large animals — i am not at all afraid of any of them. i have my claws."

and, naïvely, she showed her four thorns. then she added:

"don't linger like this. you have decided to go away. now go!"

for she did not want him to see her crying. she was such a proud flower.

[le petit prince. antoine de saint exupery.]

the image above is the tattoo i want. in fact, it is number 19 on my 101 in 1001 list. i hope to get it while in france. in order to motivate me to save up the money for it [ie: not drink so much] i have decided to post about it. i'm sure you're familiar with the book 'le petit prince'. well i never read it as a child. the first time i read it was in high school french class, during my senior year. that year was, for numerous reasons, a life-defining year for me. among more personal, deeper meanings, le petit prince was the first book i ever read in french. i think it would be fitting to get this tattoo while studying in france, something someone who was once the world to me told i would never be strong enough to do. i plan on getting it towards the end of my stay in france, to symbolize the successful completion of a year abroad. because to be honest, im still not sure ill last!

now i have wanted this tattoo for months now, but it will be quite large and quite expensive. i told myself i would get it right when i begun my search, then before leaving the states, then while in london, and now i am saying i will get it while in france. i think if i say it out loud and publish it on the internet where i will see it almost daily, i will be more likely to follow through.

i'm changing the picture a bit. i want no color, only the outline. it will start on my left rib cage, the first bird will sit at the top of my rib cage, on my left side right under the side strap of my bra,  the rest of the flock of birds flying away from my heart, following the curve of my breast, the strings right under my ribs. the body of little prince will fall on the side of my torso,  the asteroid and the flower he is leaving behind will be placed in the hollow created by my hip bone. i am not getting any of the planets or stars.

i think that i will include a quote from the book. i need to get it drawn out, to figure out the placement perfectly. but it will most likely be either:

les yeux sont aveugles. il faut chercher avec le coeur. [the eyes are blind. you must search with the heart.]

or

on ne voit bien qu’avec le cœur. l’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux. [it is only with the heart that one can see rightly, what is essential is invisible to the eye.]

now i am a bit uncertain of this plan, but only because i'm worried about explaining this in french to a french tattoo artist. plus, paying for it in euros rather than dollars will make it a bit more expensive, although less so than pounds would. beyond that, i need a really good artist who is excellent with detail. im sure i'll be able to find one who understands me and is capable of the detail i request, and i am willing to pay for it. it just has so much meaning, i cant imagine not getting it.

thanksgiving feasts and knitting challenges: week ten.

arguing with a fool proves there are two. [doris m smith]

four weeks left.


daily updates:


25 november. went to see wicked with my international programme. it was great, they got us really good seats and it was free! i had never seen wicked before, and i really enjoyed it. i love musicals though. it made me want to read the book. we werent sitting very far from the stage, but every seat came equipped with binoculars! i had never heard of that before. after the play, we went to max's friend's flat in south kensington. they live next to jude law's kids! liz was making pies and it made me miss home so much! i want an oven!!

26 november. thanksgiving! max had a friend [abraham] from america in, so we all went to get chinese. not the traditional thanksgiving feast, but it was still really good! afterwards, i planned an ambitious night full of karaoke and true gay clubbing in vauxhall. max, kat and abraham came to my room and we all pregamed there because, wait for it, my room was actually clean! i am the messiest person in existence, and impossible to live with. but i cleaned the room and had people over for a classy get together. we drank vodka and orange juice out of coffee mugs. it was great fun, i enjoyed being the 'hostess' for once!

after drinking, we went to karaoke and met up with liz and sam. sam is also visiting from the states. i forgot my camera though! john randomly showed up at karaoke, after i had politely invited him, expecting him to decline. he had at first, i dont know what made him change his mind. it has been pointed out to me that my last post was unclear. there are two johns. john-the-bartender and john-my-neighbor [both of whom are just friends]. john-the-bartender is a bartender at the hobgoblin, and also a death eater. he lives above the pub. john-my-neighbor is the one in all my pictures, who i go so many places with, who lives next door to me in nido and who i fought with last week. he was like my big brother here. i say was because he pissed me off irrevocably last night and i no longer want anything to do with him. which is unfortunate because his camera has all the pictures from karaoke :( anyway, we didnt finish at the ish bar until three, and it was too late to go gay clubbing. the clubs in vauxhall are open from thursday through monday straight, without closing. but i had to write a paper the next day and couldnt stay out until dawn :(

27 november. thanksgiving dinner! during the day, i finished my art history paper and ran some errands. but at night i went to wimbledon for thanksgiving dinner! there were ten people, five american and five british. it was their first thanksgiving, and my first thanksgiving without family! we had a roast [no turkey!], cheesy potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallow, candied yams, endless steamed veggies, salad, breads, and rice. kim and emma even made mulled wine! it was a huge meal, i felt i was going to burst! as usual in the holidays, i was the drunk one. you know how everybody always has that one aunt who likes to drink a little too much?? that is literally me now!! john, who is dating emma, went on the road trip with us and happens to be from guildford, got a little tipsy too, so i wasnt the only one. for dessert, we had pumpkin cheesecake [which baffled the brits] and minced pie [which baffled the americans] i felt very cultured, and very lucky to be spending my holiday season abroad. although i do miss being home. i wish i could do both! forgive the sweaty, shiny pictures. wine always makes me hot and flush :)

we tried really hard to make the last tube, but we did not succeed. so, we took the bus back from wimbledon. it took about two hours!

28 november. i spent all my day watching 'eastenders' and 'glee'. i did not wake up until three, and i did not get out of my pajamas until eleven at night. it was a wonderful waste of the day. i finally peeled myself out of bed to meet a huge group of friends at the hobgoblin. it was good fun, but i havent been there since john and i had our 'falling out'. i guess thats what he told all the regulars, when they asked why i wasnt there with him. im not one to gloat, but he went to the hobgoblin by himself and left by himself. i went and met twelve friends there. who came out of this fight on top? me!! but regardless, i will be the bigger person, [i can say that, because i won! especially since he created the fight by wingeing for days, just because i got mad at him one time, for a proper reason: leaving me stranded at a club in manchester.] here are some pictures! i look a mess, because i was sat at home watching tv all day and took about five minutes to get ready. i honestly didnt plan on going out, i was enjoying my crappy english soap, but i got a bunch of calls from the hobgoblin, wondering where i was and why i havent been there lately! it made me feel loved, so it was okay!

29 november. somehow, while really drunk, i agreed to design and knit a jumper for max. now i only have three weeks to do this. max is also not a small guy. sure, he is skinny. but he is also six foot three inches. but i agreed to it, and worst case scenario, i will have to mail it to him. hopefully it does not come to that. but we went to loop, in angel. i was sat there for ages, agonizing over which weight and colors to use. finally i decided on malabrigio, as its a bit chunkier than regular worsted weight yarn and will knit up quicker. it will be a stripey cardigan. max paid for the yarn, and a project bag that has a bird on it. sadly, its not yellow, but you know me and birds. he also bought me some yarn of my own. i cant show that, as it will be used for christmas presents. which will now have to be knit after christmas, otherwise i will never finish max's jumper. how did i get myself into this?? but i have never knit anything for a boy before, nor i have designed something completely from scratch, based on what someone else wanted. we shall see how it goes! i am quite excited, to be honest. just nervous. afterwards, we all went to masala zone, which was an experience!! we got their lunch menu, which was eight pounds for a starter and a main meal. but it was quite authentic and adventurous, my starter was the weirdest thing i have ever eaten. it was puffed, hollow biscuits filled with potatoes and curry, with a lentil sauce to pour inside it. it was so good, but so weird! the main curry dish was weird but good as well. it had butter and tomatoes, which are not often found in the indian food ive been eating!

30 november. homework. ugh. [with a little bit of computer distraction/procrastination]

weekly highlights:

dates: 25 - 30 november [days 67-72]
sights seen: no sightseeing this week :(


someone new: countless! a lot of americans this week :)
something new: thanksgiving with friends, not family. i had never done that before.
somewhere new: loop, the yarn shop!
new venue: the chop chop house in islington, and masala zone in angel.

what i love: yarn. beef, although it definitely does not help me manage my gp.
what i miss: a proper ovennnn!!
what i am not so sure of: i dont know if im ready to leave yet or not. sometimes, i am so ready to go to paris. other times, i am actually ready to go back to the states for a bit. but most of the time, i just dont feel like i have enough time left here.

i am really glad to have been keeping up this blog, although it doesnt really feel like a blog. i very rarely post about my feelings or thoughts, mainly just the skeleton of what has been happening to me and what i have been doing. but it keeps me grounded since it reminds me theres a home to come home to [through my older sisters often exasperated comments] and that there is only small amount of time left to do everything i need/want to do [through my weekly countdown, its end grows threateningly near]. that is a scary thought: this is me grounded. can you imagine what i would do, what trouble i would get into, how lost i would become, if i had nothing to remind me to return home and that my actions here affect my life in america considerably? i would be a disaster!

101 in 1001: knitting goals

goal 83: write up a pattern. [completed]

i wrote my first pattern, posted here! its not much, but it is a start. i also published it on ravelry here. someone has already started making it!

goal 88: have a project on ravelry rank in the top twenty projects. [completed]

at time of post, my smocked truffle cardigan is number fourteen out of twenty, on the list of top projects on ravelry. i made it to the first page! browse ravelry projects, and you'll see mine straight off! it's not an official, proper list, but is organised by how many favorites a project has. thus, its constantly changing and, more likely than not, my place shall soon be usurped. but i made it once! all that counts in my egotistical mind!

goal 89: have a project on ravelry reach 1000 favorites. [completed]

at time of post, my smocked truffle cardigan has 1196 favorites! i am so proud of that sweater. it truly is the best thing i have ever made. it is also the one i wear the most.

goal 22: finish one knitting project a month for a year.

[posted individually and linked here]
september: oxford cardigan
october: meret
november: vinnland
december:
january:
february:
march:
april:
may:
june:
july:
august:

thankful for...

musicals.

friendly doctors.

old trafford.

late night bus rides.

homecooked feasts with homemade pies.

family and friends.

happy thanksgiving everybody!!

[week four]

theatre of dreams and two months abroad: week nine

you may trod me in the very dirt, but still, like dust, i'll rise.
[maya angelou.]

five weeks left...

daily updates:

17 november.  went to class during the day, and studied for my french test. at night, max, kat, lindsey, john, and i went to the hobgoblin. they got to meet john-the-bartender. i cant believe it but i have been forgetting to mention the main thing about john-the-bartender. he has five jobs. one of them is as a stunt double. his current gig? a death eater in the final harry potter movies!!!! i couldn't believe it when he first told me!! one day, he came over to mine, bruises all over his chest and face covered in fake blood [which looked quite real, in my defence], looking all sorts of dodgy. i asked, what happened to you? he said, harry potter kicked my ass. i thought he was just taking a piss but he was serious! i was just sat there, in shock for a bit. then i annoyed him to no end with incessant questions.

well tuesday he came in to the pub [remember he lives above it, hes the one i went upstairs with] wearing his death eater blood make up and i greeted him with a kiss and a hug like usual. we chatted for a bit, and he left to say hi to john. then max and lindsey decided to politely ask me why i am so close with a homeless man. i explained his career choice and they were very excited and made me call him back, so they could question him.

18 november. john and i went to the drum and monkey, to watch the ireland v france football game. as must as i love france, i must admit they cheated with a very blatant hand ball and a blind refferee. afterwards, we went to the rocket to see megan's dance/cheer troupe perform. it was a jocks v nerds fancy dress party. but i didn't dress up or take any pictures :(

19 november. i went to the hobgoblin with john. john-the-bartender is stateside right now, so noel was working. we hadn't talked to noel too often, usually we stick to john.  but he's in the states for thanksgiving with his american friend who is also an actor. guess what movie he was recently in? the dark knight! do you know the guy who has a cellphone implanted in his chest that blows the prison up? that was him! i met him!

anyways, that night we taught noel kings and played drinking games until way past close. they closed the pub, but we all stayed on, drinking and smoking. well, john and i didn't smoke. but you can smoke inside the pub as soon as it's closed! it was a really good night. the drinking games got us really drunk, which is fine, cause the hobgoblin is so close. even better, noel comped all my drinks.

20 november. max and i had a relaxing day. we went to a couple of museums. we went shopping and i helped him pick out outfits. then we went to gourmet burger kitchen and he bought me a meal, in exchange for my help. the burger was amazing!! the best i have ever had. i had a pesto and mozarella burger. it was heaven inside my mouth. afterwards, we went to wimbledon; back to the pub on the river.

21 november. what a great two month anniversary of being in england! we went to manchester!! the day before, johns friends from back home had surprised him with a visit!! they came in the 20th, unbeknownst to john! it was so cute, and not something i would have expected boys to do! but john and i had been planning a trip to manchester for aboout a month, and they decided to come along with us. they came into my room completely pissed out of their heads at four in the morning. luckily, my roommate was in dublin. i woke up and decided to stay up with their drunk asses until it was time to board the train. they bought me a round, and i figured i needed to catch up, so i started drinking at seven, once we were on the train. they kept buying rounds, and i kept drinking them, so i was pretty much comfortably buzzed the entire trip.

upon arrival in manchester, we went to the hostel to drop off our bags. i had left john in charge of finding us a hostel. in fact, he pretty much planned the whole trip. but upon arrival, i realized it wasnt a hostel, as i previously had thought. turns out john had booked us a room at a bed and breakfast! it was such a cute small english hotel, possibly the cutest hotel i had ever been in. there was a small breakfast room on the ground floor, which was flooded with light. the main room had a fireplace and comfy worn leather couch. our room was on the top floor, and it had a slanted ceiling and the most comfortable bed i have ever been in in since i left the states! john's friends slept on the floor that night, we had to sneak them in.

after going to the hotel, we went to a pub and got breakfast. then we went to the bishop blaize. the bishop blaize is only for mufc members, so we had to sneak his friends in. john and i had planned this trip for only two people, not knowing they would be in town. but once we got them in, it was so packed. the entire place was a sea of red, the sound of waves crashing was replaced by the chants of manchester united pride. the man who wrote all the songs, pete boyle, was there leading them! it was absolutely amazing.

after the bishop blaize, it was time to go to the game. we met up with megan. nial had given us his season ticket for the day. megan has three season tickets though, so we gave nial's to her dad and we all sat together in her section. johns friends didnt have tickets and were left to themselves for a few hours. it was an exciting game, united won three to zero!

after the game, megan took us out around manchester city centre. we went to printworks, which was a mall, only instead of shops there were pubs and clubs! it was great! i fought with john, for the first time ever. we're still dealing with the tension, because neither of us like to talk out our issues. but other than that, it was a great night. the picture below is how i let him know the fight was over and i wasnt livid at him anymore. that is how little we talk about our feelings.

22 november. we checked out of the hotel and tried to get back to city centre. we ended up taking a bus, but we got back too late to go on the stadium tour. we walked around manchester for a bit, then caught the train back. after that, i grabbed max and met up with john and his friends at the hobgoblin, of course. i went back early cause i was exhausted. 
 
23 november. did some homework during the day. i also rode the buses around for couple of hours, just to see some of the city i havent seen yet. that night max had a friend coming into town from america. so lindsay, max and i met him at kings cross and went to get thai food. we then went back to nido and pregamed. after that, we went to the lexington until it closed. kat met us there, as did john and company. it was great fun, until john got mad at me for calling him 'racist' and not 'acting like his best friend anymore', when i had done no such thing. like i said, tension is leftover from saturday night.

24 november. went to class, had a very boring time. i bought a sudoku puzzle book, so i ended up just doing those during class. i need to not do that anymore haha. john&co, and myself met craig and his visiting girlfriend at the hobgoblin again. liam and noel were quite drunk by the time we got there so it was great fun. i had a very long interesting conversation with brad, one of john's friends. john, of course, got mad at me again, this time for 'acting completely different than the anna of last week'. he took it a step further this time, and walked away from me multiple times, threatening to leave the bar, until brad calmed him down. we then went to the lexington, where a boy from albania stared at me all night and made me extremely uncomfortable. so we left, after much persuasion given to angry john. apparently, he was enjoying watching me fend off the albanian's awkward advances.


weekly highlights:

dates: 17 november - 24 november [days 59-66]
sights seen: old trafford!

somewhere new: manchester!
someone new: countless :) notably, mark and brad. [john's friends from america]
something new: i saw manchester united play!! there was something else, but maybe i'll post about it eventually, but for now, i'm keeping it to myself :)
new venue: 'gourmet burger kitchen' in london and 'the bishop blaize' in manchester

what i love: football!
what i miss: a comfortable bed.
what i am not so sure of: money :|

thankful for...

rain.

mulled wine.

fancy dress parties.

football.

my father.

death eaters.

the weekend.

[week three]

road trips and french board games: week eight.

stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey. [fitzhugh mullan]

six weeks left...

daily updates...

10 november 2009. went on a relaxed pub crawl with john. i have been taking a break since i spent last weekend wandering lost or dancing on tables, locked in a dance-off between girls and boys. i didn't go out until nine, i actually did homework when i got back from class. every time i do homework, it reminds me that i am actually studying in a foreign country. you would think that would make me want to do homework more often, but alas, it does not.

i have decided against bungee jumping. it has this side effect called 'uterine displacement'. as i would like my uterus to stay inside my body, i will think of something else to replace it on my list.

11 november 2009. class and homework during the day. at night, another pub crawl, this time with both john and craig. it was a completely uneventful day.

12 november 2009. megan came over to nido, and we drank in john's room a bit. we had blackberry/strawberry smoothies mixed with vodka. it was so good! then we went out to karaoke, at the international students house! these two pictures sum up the night quite accurately.

13 november 2009. john went to amsterdam with his roommate, and megan was practicing for her parade. so max, dylan, and i were left to fend for ourselves. my friend james from class had a gig, so we went to see that.

i had way too many fruity drinks way too quickly, and ended up yelling at steve-not-simon [who was well out of order, i might add] and storming out in a fit of anger. other than that, it was actually a good night. and they played quite well!

14 november 2009. max's friend kim, who is also from the states, hired a car and took us on a roadtrip. so i spent the day revisiting all the places i went to last weekend, but seeing them in a totally different light. last weekend was quite a touristy trip. this weekend wasn't as bad. we went to the pubs, and explored the actual cities. we went to stonehenge, but took the free fence tour this time. then, we went to bath. it was sunny at stonhenge, but pouring in bath. upon arrival, we immediately tried to find a pub to warm up in. because of the rugby match, it took forever! finally, after what felt like hours of searching, we resorted to waiting for someone to give up their table. [which meant staring them down until they left.] emma and john are english, and apparently had never seen someone stare someone else down for a table! they declared it great fun and said they'll start doing it. i felt ashamed that the one thing they learned from me is my american pushiness!

after the trip, we went to a pub on a river in wimbeldon. i tried mulled wine for the first time!

15 november 2009. another road trip! this time, we went to oxford and windsor. i wanted to go punting, but because the river was too high, there were no tours. i'm hoping i'll be able to go punting before i leave, but the season is pretty much over... we wandered around oxford for a bit, and i tried a sunday roast for the first time! on high street in oxford, two groups did the scene from westside story, where the gangs meet in the street and have a dance off. that's something i've always wanted to do, so i was quite jealous! then we went to windsor castle, but max took most of the pictures there. i'll have to get them from him.

after we got back, i went to dinner with megan. she had a 2-for-1 coupon to pizza express. it was actually quite good. i enjoyed it. then we met john at the hobgoblin, where we played wii bowling with a couple of guys there, melvin and dan. after the hobgoblin closed, megan went home and john, melvin, dan and i went to some other pubs. we eventually ended up at melvin's flat, where we drank whiskey with coke and played french monolopy. yeah, monopoly in french.

the game took absolutely forever, and really brought out the worst in people. melvin and i were the only ones who could understand the game, so we had to translate it constantly. it made me excited to go to paris, but also a bit wary, because i didn't recongize many of the places! we were sat there, playing monopoly, until six in the morning. then john got a mcdonalds breakfast and we walked home.

16 november 2009. i am staying in today, doing the homework i foolishly ignored over the weekend. i might go to pound beers at the rocket, but i seriously doubt it.

weekly highlights:

dates: 10 november-16 november [days 52-58]
sights seen: oxford!

something new: sunday roast. french monopoly. mulled wine. pattern-writing.
somehwere new: oxford and wimbledon.
someone new: countless :) notably, melvin and dan.

new pub/club/restaurant: the pubs in bath and oxford, the slimjim and pizza express in london.

what i love: mulled wine!
what i miss: being home.
what i am not so sure of: christmas spent without family. the amount of money in my bank account.