Hello, all! It’s been some time since I checked in. I’ve
been getting my bearings in a whole new country – I’m sure you understand. I’ve
been indulging in a lot of good theatre and a number of good meals; the only
harshes on my buzz are the fact that I remain as resentful of authority (makes
university tricky) and disaster-prone as ever (gross virus; broken toe – I
tripped over Chelsea and fell down some stairs; don’t even ask. Trust me, you
don’t want to know).
So far in my London life: I’ve seen Twelfth Night with Stephen Fry, Jesus Christ Superstar, Matilda, Les Mis (twice, and
stop acting like you’re surprised. You fool no one), Roger Rees’ one-man show What You Will, Our Boys with Doctor Who's Arthur Darvill and Harry Potter's Matt Lewis, and Jersey Boys. Oh, and I went to a book
talk given by Miranda Hart, who’s one of my comedy idols. I’ve gotten lost
about two dozen times and have consumed roughly my own body weight in beer and
Cadbury’s chocolate. I’m slowly making friends with that adorable three-legged
dog down the road. I’ve even occasionally managed to make it to lecture. The
coming weeks show no sign of slowing down! I’m due to see Mark Gatiss (of
Sherlock fame) in 55 Days, Hedda Gabler, and a one-off special
performance of Tommy. There’s a talk
at Highgate Cemetery I’m booked to see about insanity in Victorian England, and
I’m going to see Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo do a gig somewhere in
Islington.
Money is tight, naturally. Obviously I’m not hurting for
anything, but my funds are budgeted very closely. I very nearly wound up taking
a job at a call centre, despite my well-documented phobia of telephones. My
bacon was saved in the nick of time by my old boss at the Princeton Review, who
offered me a ludicrously lucrative gig scoring student essays. I may still look
into some part-time work in the UK. I was on a bus down one of the shopping
high streets this past weekend, and I thought about how fantastic it would be
to be able to buy anything I wanted there – not everything I wanted, of course,
but to have the funds for any one thing I wanted. Well, maybe someday. In the
meantime, I’m going to hope that my current lifestyle is character-building. I’m
glad to be housed, fed, and to have enough saved up for an exciting and varied
theatre schedule.
