Running in the Rain is not quite the same thing as singing in the rain...

Alright. So apparently I'm back onto the habit of updating this thing quite often.

Today was a nice day. I woke up a bit earlier than normal for some reason. It was quite nice. I don't have Art and Architecture tomorrow because that class was combined with my British Life and Culture class today - so...I'm up late tonight in hopes of talking to that elusive boyfriend of mine. It's worse when he's in Arkansas - six hours really makes a difference.

I started out the morning battling the tube for the stop labeled "Aldgate East." This was complicated to get to, and it was a good thing that Kemper and I gave ourselves plenty of time this morning. There were tube delays due to a malfunctioned train at High Kensington street - sooooo - we were prepared for such things. We managed to find WhiteChapel Art Gallery - which is where we had our second half of class.

First we spent the first half waiting on the rest of the class! Kidding, kidding. BUT - Kemper, Mandi, and I were on time and everyone else was a little late. Ugh. If I can get up early (me! Becca Bona! I HATE mornings!) then they can too.

Anywho - excuse my rant. Back on with the story. We explored the area around WhiteChapel - Brick Lane and Spittalfields market - two places to which Kemper and I have already frequented. It was interesting to learn that this used to be a huge area of immigrants starting with the French, moving on to Jewish communities, and finally today it has become a new district altogether. Sadly, high-end bankers now think it's the edgy thing to move out to Brick Lane - sooooo....

Although it still has it's original markets - it's totally changing. It's being renovated, which is good on the one hand, but on the other it's loosing a bit of it's originality and personality. SO. Susie says if we come back in twenty years it will be filled with Wagamama's (nice restaurant family friendly) and nice coffee shops. That makes me sad...:'( I like the historical immigrant part of it.

We walked by this one building that used to be a school for Jewish children and you could still see the one remnant of it's Jewish past - a small star of David near the top of one of the storm drains. Kemper was the one to quickly spot it - I don't know how - it was incredibly tiny. 'Incredibly tiny' - I feel that's how the history will become relating to this place.

Anywho - we walked by our favourite beigel place. Kemper and I each got a half dozen. :) (That may have been silly because we're going on a trip to Bath this weekend - but maybe we can just take the extra ones with us. Haha - Brick Lane is kind of far away and the biegels are so cheap and so good!)

Alright - right - so the gallery. I don't really know how I felt about it. I'm not sure I got the point of the first exhibit we saw entitled "this is tomorrow" which was basically a cynical look at the fifties consumerism, especially in America. It was mostly exhibited through pop art and such - which is all fine - but I couldn't find a way to be like, "AH! This is art!" I didn't really feel like I was staring at Guernica or anything. Perhaps it just wasn't my thing?

Anywho - after that we went and looked at this exhibit that was all about the Lebanese wars and such dating from 1986 to 2004. There were videos and a lot of photos. Again - this one had me troubled. I didn't feel like the videos were really art so much as it was just information about what happened during the conflict. Maybe I'm just not getting it?

I did really enjoy this one exhibit - there were six huge framed poster size items on the wall that were various shades of blue. Apparently people found them in the rubble and they sent them to a lab for testing...and they extracted original photos of people in black and white. These people were later all accounted for either as drowning victims or other victims of death from the conflicts. How is it, that every single person in every single one of those photos was accounted for - as dead? Maybe that's not a big deal - but I don't think it's just a coincidence and it really had my mind boggled.

I went up and down the hallway thing that that particular exhibit was in and tried to see if the people in the photo were smiling or not. I couldn't help feeling like maybe they were executed or something. How else do you get photos like that - in rubble? In ruins from a conflict?

Is that what art is? Something that makes you think like that or something that's aesthetically pleasing? Why do I have to be so philosophical about it. Why can't it just be pleasant. I guess I'm inclined to think there's more to it than that.

Right. So after that we left and returned to Russell Square to pop into the Post Office. Kemper needed some post card stamps. After that she suggested that I go running. Which actually - is a brilliant idea for around noon time. I went around by Big Ben like I always do - because it's actually become familiar to me. If things over here are familiar does that mean it's a home of sorts? I'm under the impression that people you love make your home your home. Yes - I've heard that your home is your castle - but I think I'm also a firm believer that it's never quite right unless you have those people you love in that castle with you.

What is up with me all philosophical and such this evening/morning/whatever time it is. Ha. Guess it's a good thing I'm a philosophy minor - someone's got to do it.

So I went running and I right before I got back to the flat it happened. I got caught in my first London deluge without an umbrella. Isn't if funny how that goes? I've made it a good almost two months without getting completely soaked in the rain without some kind of diving equipment - but what can you do when you're a lone runner? Ha. Get wet. Luckily I was a stone's throw from the flat. Needless to say that I sprinted the last leg of my run and didn't get to sit and cool down on my little stoop. Oh well - there's always tomorrow.

After my run time, I showered and then I went over to Kemper's flat for a trek to our favourite cafe. We invited Hillary but she was busy Shakespearing it up. She said she couldn't do that without a computer -so we were off! Of course - at the last little leg of that nice two and a half mile walk - we ran into some heavy, heavy rain. THIS time I had my little umbrella (Thanks Mom and Dad for leaving me those things!) so I was prepared. However, I did not dress warmly enough today. It got cold really fast. The wind and rain make it colder than you think it is!

But, we made it to our cafe. I ordered a large mocha and was off to our little spot in the corner. (Well, one of our spots.) I wrote some poems and some postcards. Then, in true Becca fashion, I whipped out my knitting and worked on my scarf. It's almost done! Yay. Then I can move onto the next one since Gramner sent me some more yarn.

We stayed and chatted for a looooonog time. That place is happening, however, and we began to get overwhelmed and I was getting hungry as well...so. We came back (no rain thank goodness!) and I made dinner and such. I watched That Mitchell and Webb look whilst I ate, which is funny. I love those British comedians - thank you Johnny Gately.

Let's see - after that Kemper and Hillary and I had a girls night in with a...GASP...'scary' movie. Haha. It wasn't really scary it was an eighty's bad acting film. We mostly talked and laughed through it. I will admit the end was a little freaky and now I have this weird image in my head...but it'll be ok. I mean, I live with five other people. Hopefully they won't murder me in my sleep and we'll be good. Ha. No worries.

Anyway - I shared some of my goodies and we all had a little juicebox. I felt little again or something. Except that I had the pineapple juice box. It was good - but strange. I mean, do we have pine apple juice boxes in the states? I don't know...

So after that I came back over here and have been here ever since. Writing this thing. I think that's pretty much all. I was going to try and go a Beatles tour tomorrow morning - but seeing as the tour doesn't start until two (and that's when my class starts) I can't go. :(

SO.

I guess I"ll pop over to bed soon? I don't know. Maybe I'll read a book. I'm awake right now - so I'll do awake things. Haha. I miss you guys so much. Hope everything is going well at the homestead.

No worries. (my new thing for cheers for the moment.)

<3