Travel Diary

Monday, December 2, 2002

Most of the morning was consumed by the act of returning from Normandy. A good shower occupied something close to thirty minutes of the afternoon. I was then ready to face the rest of the day. Nothing too exciting happened. That was fortunate since I was too exhausted to have noticed. It was good to be done traveling. No other trip before had been so draining. I was on empty after that 15-hour return from France.

At night, we saw the latest James Bond movie. I enjoyed it for the most part, but was still somewhat anxious for it to end. Movies without a lot of substance just seem to bore me now. Not sure why this is. Maybe I've been reading too many books. This isn't good. I am simply going to have to put a stop to all the reading nonsense.

Tuesday, December 3, 2002

I slept in for most of the morning. I could tell that a cold was attempting to get the best of me. But I wouldn't have any of that. So I fought it off with food and rest. The day moved quickly and soon enough, it was time for swing dancing again. I wouldn't be missing out on such fun. Our group included Kalaine, Raquel, Liz, and me. A new girl named Sarah arrived there late. I hadn't met her until then but was more than happy to have another girl to dance with. This week was different. The girls outnumbered the guys by a long shot. Stacey was there once again, but she arrived with a guy. Hmmm. Well, nevertheless, she was dancing with other guys so I danced with her too. I inquired as to whether she was interested in seeing a show later in the week and she was game. Trouble is that Friday was the only day she had open. Friday was also the day of our farewell party for the program. A choice would have to be made. I got her mobile number before she left.

Wednesday, December 4, 2002

I got up early to try and beat the morning crowd. I was tired of standing all the way to Goodge Street station. I figured that there would be seats available at 7:30am. Nope. I found myself standing once again. Drat! Classes were at 9am and 11am. Our field trip was to the Imperial War Museum. The museum was fantastic and offered so much to see. It closed way before I was done exploring. I made a mental note to return to it before the semester ended. I made a phone call to Stacy regarding the show on Friday, but never heard back from her. Uh oh.

Thursday, December 5, 2002

As normal, I woke up and went to school. Much of my time was spent writing papers. But there was such a bright blue sky waiting for me outside. I couldn't pass that up so I decided to head over to Tower Bridge. I just had to get a good picture of it. The first thing I did was pay the three pounds and go to the top of it. The view was nice, but not altogether great. After returning to the ground, I headed south to take pictures of the bridge. My next stop was the London Monument. I had heard that one receives a certificate after climbing all 311 steps. This sounded like a fun challenge to me. Plus, I had been working on stair climbing for almost three months now. Sad to say, I wasn't able to climb all 311 steps without stopping. But my time was very good. I did it in about three minutes. Pictures were taken and I trotted back down again. When I reached the bottom, a lady handed me my yellow certificate. It wasn't personalized, but it felt really good to receive it. I felt like I had accomplished something really important. No, I won't frame it or anything, but I may actually sign my name to it. With my mission being done, I returned to school. It was now time for my last film class. We saw a Beatles' film called A Hard Day's Night, but I was quite tired and fighting off sleep was tough. Having a beer before class didn't help either. Somehow, I remained awake. After school, I met up with Liz to head over to the ticket booth again. Unfortunately, it was closed so we didn't see any show. Instead, we visited a pub. Our choice was the Cambridge. It's a great pub with an upstairs area that is never crowded. Around 8pm, Stacy did call and was still interested in seeing the show on Friday. Liz and I spent the next few hours there joking and drinking. Those are the kinds of evenings I'm really going to miss the most.

Friday, December 6, 2002

I slept in and went to the college. After getting some work done, I traveled down to the ticket booth. The rain was coming down lightly. I bought two tickets to The Woman in Black. Yes, I had already seen the show, but I enjoyed it a lot. I then walked around Covent Garden. I didn't want to end up lost during my evening with Stacy. From there, I returned to the Dilke House. Gardner and I hung out for a bit and had a couple of beers. I then returned home to get ready for my evening with Stacy. We met up at Leicester Square. It was unbelievably crowded, but through the use of mobile phones, we managed to locate each other. From there, it was a short walk to the theatre. We were seated way up high but could still see the stage. I had a much better understanding of the show since I had already seen it once before. As usual, the audience screamed during the frightening scenes. I marveled at how well the show works.

After the show, we headed to a pub for drinks. Conversation went well, but soon it was 11pm and she had to catch a train home. We said goodbye at the Tube station. I pondered heading over to the farewell party, but since I knew I'd get there too late. I headed back home.

Saturday, December 7, 2002

There was no need to wake up early so I slept in. Once I awoke, I organized my stuff. Much of the afternoon was spent writing about my Normandy trip. The day passed quickly and at 6pm, I found myself at Leicester Square. I met up with Gardner, Rachel, and Stephanie. We waited in line for almost an hour but finally got our tickets. We would be seeing The Woman in Black. Yeah, my third time, but I really liked the show. I hope to act in it someday or possibly even direct it. At the theatre's refreshment stand, I noticed something really nice--they sold the actual script. I had to buy that, which is strange since I'm not one to even buy programs. The show was faithful and we all enjoyed it. I stayed attune to what made it work and how the story was effectively presented.

When the show finished, we headed to the pub for drinks. It would turn out to be the same pub that I had visited the night before. After a beer and several toasts, we all headed home.

Sunday, December 8, 2002

The morning was spent with me beginning to pack my things. I needed an estimate of how much room I had in my two small suitcases. In the afternoon, I headed over to the National Science Museum (free admission is so choice). Alas, the South Kensington station was closed. They never mention these small details before you get on the train. I exited at the next station and quickly became lost. I didn't mind since I got some good pictures of London architecture. The sky offers no sense of direction or time. It was just a dull light gray. The air was incredibly cold. I wandered around aimlessly and took many photos. The Science Museum was finally located and I spent a few hours exploring and enjoying learning for free. When it closed, I returned home to do some writing.

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