Tonight

The heater is blasting, I am nibbling on bacon chocolate, my project is on my desk and I am trying to illustrate my designs right now.

I am excited about tomorrow, when I will turn in my first real project and get my first real grade.... which might not be a good grade, but at least I will get an idea of what they are looking at when they grade us.

After we turn in our work, several of my classmates and I are going to get lunch and go to a pub while we await our grades. And then I have social plans that evening. Followed by SLEEPING.

It's a cozy evening, complete with a glass of wine and movies on in the background. And it will be even better when I finally finish this project and can crawl into bed.

Happy

I have so much homework to do tonight. I don't think I will sleep much. No sleep for the social!

Today I was reminded how much I love this city when I got to play tour guide for two of my friends from out of town. They are looking to move here, so my kind of general neighborhoody/wandering/fresh-off-the-plane knowledge was perfect. I might not be able to recommend the best pub in East London, but I can show them around places they might want to live.

Walking around and seeing how excited they were by London filled me with the same inspiration I felt the first few days here. I was reminded that I moved here with a purpose, and that I have come so far since the day I arrived. I feel like I've grown up so much in just six weeks. I think I was ready for something bigger than San Francisco. I need something more at this moment in my life. And London is it. Being here feels right.

Wandering around my neighborhood with them tonight, I realized something very important: I am happy. Deep down, I am actually very happy. I love it here.

It might be cold as all hell today, and I might be facing a very long night of homework, but I truly feel that despite my occasional loneliness, I am the happiest I've been for a long time. I am inspired and empowered here in a way that I've never experienced before.

In my heart I feel sure that I made the right decision in moving here. And that is a good feeling to carry with me.

First Snow

It just began to snow. First snow of the season, and unseasonably early....

Same Redhead, Only Shorter...

Oh also, I got my hair cut last night. Anyone who knows me in person knows that I've been trying to grow my hair out for years with no success. So I finally decided to cut off all the over-dyed bits and do something short, stylish, and fun! I LOVE IT! And my hair feels healthier than it has in years...

Redhead's First Care Package

I actually squealed when I opened my mailbox this afternoon and found a surprise care package from The Boy back home. I rushed up to my room and tore it open.... inside was a pair of cute socks (I NEED socks, and they match a new sweater I got), a dvd of San Francisco (heehee), the most awesome post card ever, and TWO- count'em- TWO bacon chocolate bars. If you've never had the incredible experience of a bacon chocolate bar, you haven't lived. Truly, they are two great things that go great together.

WEEEEEE I feel loved and happy. And I am wearing my socks tomorrow!

On Travel and the American Mindset Against It

On the walk home from the market yesterday my classmate and I compared notes. Being from Australia she has a very different sense of the world than I do. It got me thinking...

As a young person living on an isolated continent, there is an expectation in Australia that you will travel the world. This girl is only 23 and has been to so many places she can't even recall them all. She tells me that while she and a friend would be wandering the streets of Hong Kong or New Delhi, she would often run into other Australians doing the same thing.

In contrast I've grown up in a country that has an inflated sense of self. There is a deep rooted feeling engrained into us that America has it all, and has it the best... so why bother traveling, right?

It is incredibly expensive to travel within the US, much less outside of it. There are many roadblocks and issues to deal with when you leave the country. Just preparing to travel can be a very big chore. It's like they want to make you feel guilty for wanting something more than America. "I'm sorry, I really want to visit Burma, is that okay with you?" you're supposed to ask.

In America travel is seen as a luxury. People who travel often are "lucky" and living an exotic lifestyle. But in Australia, you're an idiot if you don't leave the island. How different the mindset must be to grow up feeling that it is natural and important to travel to unfamiliar places, instead of feeling that it's unusually decadent to fly coach to another country for a week.

I spent the walk home listening to my classmate, realizing I have missed out on a important part of life. And I promised myself that I would take steps to change that fact because I feel so ignorant of the goings on in the world around me. I suppose that is the result of growing up in a culture that encourages us to stay put, and be proud of it. America! Fuck yeah!