Sometimes london is magic. Sometimes London decides, hey, have a warm sunset across a beautiful lake with a lovely friend by your side. Sometimes the squires dance and the flowers totally deliver on every promise of reminding you of secret garden-esc movies you watched as a child. Sometimes.
All of the above, is true. Go London!
Week five of the adventure begins tomarrow. and whynot. Greatfully yesterday filled itself with good people from home who are as shocked as me to be in London, and embrace the unknown of all that. The comfort of simply being in the pressence of the familiar is amazingly fufilling and cozy. Likewise it is such a relief to be able to play a bit. Thankyou for theatre kids!!! (and for magical sunlight in hyde park).
My lovely australian claire is sadly leaving me soon. she's been a terific bar maid for nearly 7 months now and is due for a change. Thus she is off to do some home hospice for 8 weeks and is leaving our discheveled flat. The other american girl and i have taken over the room...but miss claire, even if sharing a room is a bit too cozy.
oh London, yep, london.

Having been rather ill and gross lately, likely due to catching some strange tropical eastern european disease over drinks, i spent much of a night off watching my room-mate's 'sex and the city' dvds, THUS leading me to feel a strong desire to write a carrie bradshaw inspired post. A blog post loaded with statement questions, and code names, and sly not so clever word play. I can not title my bradshaw post sex in the london city as there have been no dirty british affairs(thankfully, as most of the british men who confess their love to me are drunk and so not my type.....or horribly atractive but speak languages not largely regarded on the global scale)----But we can focus on the city, of sex and the london, as there has been loads of city. and that alone is drama, please! When the job is being a bitch, or more so the management on drugs, i do find some relief in my budding relationship with the city. Today i spent my morning accidently wondering through hyde park. Originally the intent had been to check out the v+a and glide by old artifacts untill my evening movie date with anna, but once i arrived in the area, i did not feel the museum vibe, and gradually wondered my self into the park. tree lined pathes made a good companion to my mucus infested cough and pretty, and odly enough, i felt at great ease all on my onesome. The need to "friend" the residents of this city has largely elluded me, as my mean streak hardens and i seem to be gradually more and more particular about who i choose to surround myself with. Like the sinatra song, "she loves the theatre, she never comes late, she'd never bother, with anyone she'd hate."---i have no shame in being particualr. (but am emensly glad when i hear my company is desired by my charming minnesotans spekeling the city).
----if carrie bradshaw were to give us insight, here were go: Do we thrive on our own company? is one a crowd? and so on.....
-back to kate
kate is a particular lady, she'd certainly never bother with anyone she'd hate.
Anywho, it's almost the end of week four, a shocking fact! The job, or more so, the management, have proven to be somewhat of an issue. Mom-gunther has had loads of good advice, so it's looking survivable, and i do like the flexability of not having a serious job, but i do miss doing something i actually care about. I like the fact that i am still able to see the city and adventure and all, but the thought of a change is tempting, and dificult. who knows, it's just oneof those things that bouce through one's head late at night while eating a bar of chocolate.
Anywho, on to girls night out at the movies!!!! anna wisely pointed out that while in a theatre, you could, technically be anywhere, in a dark room, in the world....so we are probably going to try to pretend minneapolis! cheers from kate, london, and carrie bradshaw!

MORE SILLY HAT! and birds...notice the co-habitation, pigion, duck, swan!
oh my god anna hickey! drinking plum wine through a straw? she looks concerned...and should be, plum wine =DANGER....it's like juice....danger juice!

keith hovis...as in the british bread company?! we all knew there was something wheaty and english about you keith!

also here i am scalling the wall to winsor castle.... once i decided to buy a visitors pass instead i put on one of these fun hats pictured below and hugged a guard hand puppet....note the photo.









then i tried to light a cannon with my informational audio guide as a wand.....you know it worked too.






and i wish i could say i tried to eat this swan just to see what the queen would do...but i didnt...i think it wanted to eat me though...it was a huge swan.

I have largely noted lately a variety of opinion on appropriate emotional states, or specifically how individuals feel about experiencing a range there of. The fact that being on one's own in a foreign country does not consistently equate to sunshine and daisies is a fact of life i had rather anticipated, and a challenge spotted through with brilliant moments is completely a part of it. Yesterday brought with it a visit of everything dear and safe and comforting and fun and lovely, while also being fully fleeting and bittersweet. (all in all a turbulent flight of emotions, but so much rather that than not at all). There was talk of the comforts of home, loneliness, and unfamiliarity, and the ageree-ment that people who expect an adventure to be easy, dont truely understand. Completely the most lovely meeting if the past weeks.
When asked later how i was doing, i explained that i was in extreem flux of emotion, but that was ok. In response i was told to feel good and not tearful and none of the bitter and all of the sweet do to the shortness of life. I explained that experiencing an emotion, whether good or bad, is completely favorable to me, and that truely a good cry is sometimes exactly what one needs.....this view was not shared.....ah well! for now, emotions are all mine then! and greatfully so, especially for the random few lovely bitter and sweet days.

tomarrow i have off work and am fully touristing with liam. Off to winsor castle in the morning and on to the globe in the evening. A day one could likely suspect to be full of niceness of emotion, but oh we shall see how it plays out! ha!

Also the distant possibility of traveling to france this winter to do theatre has recently popped into the picture, and here's hoping that concept can become a reality!

in other news i killed a keg...not exactly sure how, but it's been taken off the pay check...a whole keg....turned all air bubbly and horrid on my account. i am starting to fear that i am a very personable bar tender but perhaps not a good one. then again i have only been a bar tender for 2 weeks and two days. give a girl a break! i now fear the keg...and dont care much to get back on the keg changing horse. we'll see. oh london you tricksy beast you!

The realization of the duration of this whole london thing seems to rather have hit home this past tuesday. In a fashion that only Laura Lechner(who HAS been touched by sir ian) can fully appreciate, I spent 3 or so hours in the queue for Hamlet tickets for JANUARY. oh and did i ever get tickets, it felt quite victorious and Courtney and I are going to have a lovely time with David Tenent, but the reflection of noting that said tickets are for in 2009 was a bit disarming. That added to a drunken brawl out side my window involving people who live in my flat, and a lovely heart felt conversation via phone with a friend from back home, all started to make me feel a bit vulnerable and out of my element and lead to me calling the rents for good wisconsin lovin'. SO, in an effort to bring things down a size i made a count-down on paper of 26 weeks to monitor my time here, and as it is, am already down to 24 weeks....which seems highly manageable. --and until the next 24 weeks of my life reveal themselves, i am going to keep myself fully entertained. Yesterday morning I went to a reading of Roahl Dahl stories, as performed by three actors on stage while Quinton Blake illustrated live along to the action of the selections. IT WAS AWESOME. and i totally felt like a little kid having so many of my favorite books read to me outloud! it was great.
Tuesday, my lovely friend adam will be passing though on his way back to the states, so a pint is definetly in order, and a tube ride to the airport with a bit of good minneapolis familiarity.
(as long as the euro-star dosent catch on fire again...it happened, check the news)
Thurday I have the day off as well and am making my first trip to the Globe, which is definetly a requirement of any actor living in london i should think. Liam and I are going to go see Midsummers , and then wa-la, it will be another week down practically, 23, bam!

Here's to all of shawn and meg's circus freaks who have ever ballanced anything on their chin.....or attempted to contort them selves.



we also have steriotypical travel shot, man dressed as statue, classic no?












Man with bubbles....and what i think is probably the tourist photo equivalent of monet's 'houses of parliment'.