December 29 and 30

Okay, so here is my blog for December 29 and 30 because those were some AMAZING  days!!

Here's a quick review of December 29:  THE FREAKING GLOBE THEATRE!

After that little squee fest, we, that is, Dr. Cannon, Sarah, Callie, Holly, and I, all went out to eat at an Indian restaurant.  YUM!  I got a fruity lamb dish:  Kashmiri Lamb aljksdjlsfl (I can't remember, whoops!)  Eating took a long while, and by the time we got to the playhouse, all the tickets for that night got sold out.  I did get a ticket for the 30th, though, so all was well with me.

After that, we went to the pub just next to the theatre, and I had my very first Guinness in London!  Of course, that was not my first Guinness, but my first in London, so Yay!  We didn't make it to the Chester Cheese in, but the pub that we went to, The Shipwright Arms, was really good so yay!  I had a pint of Guinness, as well as a pint of cider.  Hee.... Apparently, I'm really funny when I'm "toasty" as Sarah says.  

ANYway, after that Holly, Callie, and I went back to their room where we may or may not of each consumed another pint of alcohol each.  It was fun!  We watched this odd British show hosted by Stephen Fry, where he asks odd trivia questions to famous people and comedians.  It's really fun!

So that was the 29th.

The 30th doesn't have any voice recordings (let the sad sighs begin), so sorry about that, but OMG the 30th (today, btw) was absolutely fantastic!!!

First we had class.  My little group (Callie, Holly, Heather, and Sarah) all sat at one end, and we thought that we were talking too much, but Dr. Wadia and Dr. Cannon assured us that we weren't, so that's a yay!

After that, Holly and I went to the.... British Library!  That was completely amazing!!  There was an exhibit on Illuminated Manuscripts and it was utterly fantastic!  I have never seen anything like it!  

I saw a prayer scroll of Queen Margret, you know, from Richard III?  The Crazy one?  Yeah, I saw her prayer scroll dedicated to the Virgin Mary so that Margret might have children.  Fantastic!  I also saw Elizabeth's present to Henry VIII which she gave him when she was only 12!  It was opened to a page that had her handwriting on it.  Her Handwriting!!  I saw Queen Elizabeth I's HANDWRITING!  Brilliant!

Holly and I then went to the main exhibit and we were both moved to tears by the things we saw there. From Shakespeare's First Folio, to original copies of works by Mozart, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn, from the Beatles to Arthur Conan Doyle's lost novel, from the Magna Carter, to the Gutenberg Bible, to the little bit of papyrus that the oldest known copy of the New Testament is written on.  We saw so many wonderful beautiful things there.  We were just completely awed and humbled by it all.  

After the we had explored the library for a number of hours, we sat down and had tea!  with a scone!  It was titled:  Afternoon Cream Tea, and the scone came with the most delicious cream... yum.  We had an excellent conversation.  It was a wonderful day.  We weren't running around like a chicken with its head cut off.  We were simply enjoying being in London.  Absolutely wonderful!!

After that, we went back to the hotel, were we met up with Dr. Cannon.  Then we three went out for dinner at a Thai restaurant not two minutes from our hotel, and it was so fantastic!  I had Pad Thai, of course, and true to most Thai Restaurants, they gave me so much food for such a decent price!  YUM!

THEN!  As a glorious end to an amazing day, Dr. Cannon and I went out to Canterbury tales in Southwark Playhouse.  She had bought tickets when she found that she couldn't get tickets for a Woman in Black, so we went together.

It.was.amazing!!!  The theatre was transformed into a literal tavern, where we could buy actual drinks!  I had mulled wine and it was fantastic!  SOOO GOOD!  Dear sir, even if you don't like wine, I think you'll like this!!

The play was amazing too!  The Host was just perfect!  Full of charisma and life, and he spoke in Middle English some of the time, which was absolutely amazing!  There were five other actors and they played all the parts, and they did such a good job!  They had audience participation and songs in between, and they embodied the spirit of the stories and the character to a T!  

I particularly liked how the man playing the Host, only played the host, which made him even more of a moral character.  Great!  

I also really liked how the guy who played the Pardoner, the last tale of the play, was given the really despicable parts in the other plays.  It wasn't so jarring that he was the horrible character, because we'd been used to seeing him be terrible.

But Man-o-mango!  Was that playhouse raucus!  Two of the actors dropped their pants and showed their buttocks fully to the audience (just the back, not the front, but still!)  And curse words and lewd gestures were flying about and it was awesome!  Dr. Cannon and I both adored it!  It made the Tales so alive and vivid for us!

And now I'm back in my hotel room, resting my feverish footsies and getting ready for bed, since we go to Canterbury and Dover tomorrow!  Yes, Matthew Arnold's Dover Beach.  I LOVE LONDON!!!

My First London Play

Today was fantastic!  We went on a half day tour of london, and it was great!  When we first got on the bus, we heard a British Radio Show talk about how "studies show that men who put their dishes in the sink and leave them their are more thoughtless than other men."  This amused us to no end!!
When I first got on the bus

We gout out at a few places, one of them being Westminster Abbey!  So much fun!  Did you know that they have a little statue of Martin Luther King, Jr?  True story!
Westminster Abbey

Then we stopped off at the Millenium Bridge to see something awesome!!  (Sorry for the sound quality, guys.  It got windy and cloudy.)
Millenium Bridge

We had some free time then, when this happened

The theatre:  first impression

And the play was so good!  There was tons of dancing and singing and sparkly shiny costumes!!  It was really really fun!  It was set in America, and I think that some of the more subtle jabs about the States were lost on the British Audience.  I don't think they quite understood that Westerners and Easterners commonly dislike each other.  Also, I don't think the 2 British characters were as funny to them as they were to me.  They were typical stereotypes of was Americans perceive as common British behavior.  But I thought it was hilarious!!!
My explosive rambling after the play

Tomorrow we got on a tour of the Globe!!!  SQUEE!!!  Then, I'm going to the Tate Modern Art Museum with Holly and Callie.  We expect to laugh at all the silly modern art.  Very silly.
Yay London!!

Tired, but in London

Awhile back, my good friends at Ontological Geek started a podcast type thing that talks about how Deus Ex.  It is extremely fun and you should go listen to it.
It is so much fun, in fact, that I have decided to do sort of the same thing, only it probably won't be so fun.    So, here is the first thing, in three parts, because I was just getting the hang of my voice recorder.  It's 3:04 minutes long, so if you want to listen to a tired travel weary voice rambling, go ahead and listen up!

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Part 4:  Supplemental.
Writing this, because waaaay too tired to talk.  Dinner was good.  I had turkey and salmon and spaghetti and soup and potatoes and vegetables.  Also fruit for dessert.  There was some sinfully good looking chocolate mousse, but I was too full to even contemplate eating it.  After dinner, I dragged myself up the 5 flights of stairs to my room, despite there being two elevators.  I've decided that I'm only going to use the elevators when I have luggage.
Why am I climbing the stairs?
Because I'm in love.

Good-bye, Mr. Chips

Good-bye, Mr. Chips is a book.  My Dad gave it to me to read a few days ago as a quick poignant read.  Bowing to my father's superior knowledge of literature, I began to read, and was wonderfully surprised at what I found.

Good-by, Mr. Chips, by James Hilton, is not a famous classic.  It is not a sweeping epic full of flowery language and tumultuous problems wrapped in a bombastic ending with a bittersweet moral.  It is simply a good story about a good man remembering his good life.  How often do we come across a story like that in fiction? 

We have become addicted to cynicism and troubled psyches in our effort for realism.  While realism is admirable, when I want facts, I look to non-fiction.  We come to fiction to either escape from reality or to find a different view of the world.  The latter is true especially for fiction that falls outside of the fantasy and science-fiction categories.  Fiction can help open our eyes to the world that could be, instead of the world that is.  It can let us see our world through the eyes of another.  Too often, the viewpoint chosen shows a world full of hatred and bereft of forgiveness. 

James Hilton has chosen to let us see the world through a latin professor at a boy's school in England, Mr. Chipping, known affectionatly as Mr. Chips.  The book, only 126 pages, details the highlights of Mr. Chips career, from a well respected teacher to a beloved legend of the school.  Mr. Chips admits to himself that he is not a great academic, but he easily accepts his scholastic mediocrity.  Here is a man who merely wishes to carve out a corner of the world and leave it better than he found it.  There is no doubt that Mr. Chips accomplishes his goal.

Good-bye, Mr. Chips is a joy to read.  It doesn't ask anything of you but a few hours of your time; however, it offers a wonderfully human story in return.  I am not ashamed to say that it moved me to tears, and I haven't been that moved by a piece of literature in far too long.

So, read it, if you have the inclination.  Hopefully, it will make your world brighter than it was.

What's with the Darkness?

And no, I don't mean how the sun runs away faster now and night falls a bit harder.

I mean this odd fascination with all things dark.  I'm not saying that people shouldn't look at dark things; I enjoy a jaunt into the crazy creepy world every now and then.  It's fun, amusing, and sometimes really educational!

The problem comes when it's your only diet.

People always remark on how awful it is when a person only looks at the sunshine and bubble aspects of life, but it's just as bad to stuff yourself down it the dark crevices of the world.

So people who refuse to look on the darkness: Don't be afraid.  Just because you look inside yourself and face the inevitable darkness of humanity doesn't mean that you'll never be totally happy again.  You can't be completely happy with yourself until you've discovered and accepted everything about yourself.

And people who roll their eyes at the lightness:  Don't.  Just don't.  Simply because you travel the shadowy roads with ease doesn't make you better than others.  It doesn't mean you have a better grip on reality.  Light has just as much substance and layers and Darkness.  Learn that, and.... you learn something!  That's always a good thing!

This has been Wonderland Junkets waxing philosophy junket-style.  Tune back in sometime for something else.

Some Kind Of Wonderful

I think I might have had a conversation with God.  Now, now, now, don't go rolling your eyes or moving onto another page.  I'm not crazy, nor am I going to be all preachy.

But I think the Holy Spirit sent me a message, in the form of an old man walking around the track. But hey, Divinity comes in all shapes and sizes.  I wasn't really thinking about religion when I started talking to him, and suddenly there I was, listening to a man in sweat pants tell me about how we need to pray to be born again and how heaven isn't outside of ourselves; it's inside each and everyone of us.

And then he said something that completely floored me.  He said, "No one can judge you.  You just keep on loving people and doing what you do.  Only God can judge.  All the rest don't matter."  He couldn't have known that is a constant worry of mine, nor could he have realized how much those words effected me, set me free.
It could very well be some sort of coincidence, but I prefer to think it was some kind of Wonderful.

God bless you, Jeff.  You've helped me more than you know.

A Little Something About Me

Sometimes, especially when school is involved, I get extremely stressed out.  Sometimes I get nauseous, and other times I am crawling underneath a desk bawling my eyes out.  In both cases, I tell myself that there is no reason to get so stressed, that I am doing fine, that everything is going to be okay, but it doesn't help.  Usually my mental pep talks exacerbate the problem, as I begin to berate myself for being so weak!

Thankfully, I am blessed with an incredibly family, a stalwart best friend, and a wonderful dear sir.  Unfortunately, my dear sir cannot always be there, nor can my best friend, but they offer wonderful words of comfort and love that help me infinitely more than my own can.  And then, of course, there is my family.  Since I live with my family, they are there not only to offer words, but to give hugs.

Hugs are magical.  I am a firm believer in the power of hugs.  Some of the worst days I have ever had were those without hugs.  There have been numerous times when I have forced myself to not feel sad, to push it away and hid it deep within; however, whenever I do that, my mother inevitably gives me a hug, and it immediately rises to the surface and gets cleaned way.  I don't mind that I'm not very good at hiding my feelings from others.  I think it's a healthier way to live.

Anyway, there's a little something about me:  I'm a physical person.  I feel and express emotion best through physical contact.  So if you ever meet me and start to tell me all the troubles in your life, don't get freaked out when I squeeze your arm or give you a hug.  I'm just letting you know that I care.

A Nod To Gerard Manly Hopkins

Glory be to God for cloudy days

And blustering winds, and red runny noses

And frigid, frozen, frosty air.

I shudder, yet I stop and praise

The glorious maker of holly and roses,

While mittens and jackets rush here and rush there.

Standing on the brown dead land

I look to the grey and roiling sky,

Exhaling a prayer with visible breath.

I stand in awe of the omnipotent hand

And the eye, the oh-so-wondrous eye,

That can see the beauty in death.

Beautiful day

Today is a lovely day.  It is one of those days that makes me glad to live in a place where the changing of the seasons is noticeable.  The sky is a bright blue, speckled with a few puffy clouds, and the sun is shining most jollily; however, the temperature is brisk and cool.  The difference between shade and sun is readily apparent.

I love these fall days.  The only thing that is slightly disappointing is that the trees haven't started adorning themselves yet.  They're still clinging to their beryl gowns.  Though that green is lovely, I cannot wait for the brilliant autumn fashion show. 

Come on, Trees!  It's time to start changing!  The sooner you change, the sooner my dear sir can come to me.

A Letter

Dear God,

I would just like to apologize to you for us humans.  We do a lot of stupid things when it comes to you.  The biggest one that comes to mind is killing.  We have killed many people in your name to further our own earthly ambitions.  Of course, some of the time, the people are just insane, but that's not your fault, which brings me to my main apology of this letter. 

I'm sorry that the human race blames you for every fault on the earth.  I'm sorry that so many people look at all the sorrow and suffering in the world and see that as proof that you don't exist, or if you do exist, that you don't really love us. 

People seem to forget that you are not a giant Santa Claus in the sky and will not magically swoop down and give us everything we want.  You are not our personal vending machine, where we put in prayers and receive miracles.  You are not going to solve all of our problems for us; life doesn't work like that. 

Now, I'll admit, it kind of sucks that you won't do that.  I mean, life is difficult and tough and hard, and it would be nice if you could just wave your hand and make all the problems go away, but, why should you clean up our mess?  You gave us free will; the mistakes in the world are caused by us, and we have to fix them. 

If you fixed our problems all the time, we would never learn anything; we would be mindless praising machines, and I don't think you want that.  If you did want us to be mindless praising machines, then why did you give us free will?  Some would say that you did it to test us, but I don't think that's right.  That seems like such a mean thing to do, and everything I've read and heard seems to agree that You Are Love.

I think the reason you gave us free will is that our choices mean so much more that way.  When we choose to love you and believe in you, we do not do it because we are forced to do so; that's not real love.  When we choose to love you, we do it because we want to love you.  That's the only way we can love you.

People say that if you can't solve our problems, then what good are you?  That sounds like an ignorant, spoiled teenager yelling at his parents because they won't buy him a car, doesn't it?  You've given us this Earth; you've given us free will; you've given us each other; and most of all, you've given us your Only Son. 

I'm sorry that we keep on clamoring for more.

One more thing, dear Lord.  I just want to thank you.  My faith is about the size of a mustard seed, and sometimes, it looked like that seed had died, but you didn't give up on me.  I'm still rather small and will probably never grow to the size of Peter or Paul, but I hope that my small faith gives you joy.

With the sincerest love and adoration,
Anne

PS.  Give my love to the Holy Spirit.

A Sonnet

I fear, my love, that you have lost your sight,

For, though I stumble, tumbling to the Earth,

You call me wondrous graceful and delight

In me, as in a gem of priceless worth.

I think, my love, you can no longer hear,

For, though I mince and mash all that I say,

You swear my voice is pleasant to your ear

And listen to me chatter all the day.

I know, my love, that you have lost your mind

For, when I sigh with love forever true

You turn and smile and reply in kind

And swear all other women to eschew.

But even though your senses all have fled

Fear not, my love, you’ve gained my heart instead.

Also on my deviantart:  thespes.deviantart.com/

Focus on Frustration

I do not get frustrated very easily, but nothing will whip me into a foaming-mouthed frenzy than when my internet suddenly quits for no reason, especially when I am doing something important, like talking to my dear sir.  For a lot of people driving is the trigger that changes many mild-manner fellows into frothing axe-slinging visigoths.  

There are some people who actually enjoy being frustrated and angry.  I am not one of those people; I am a sunshine bubbles sort of person.  (Yes, I meant to say 'sunshine bubbles' not 'sunshine and bubbles.'  Can you imagine little bubbles of pure sunlight?  Think of what would happen when they popped!)  It is difficult, however, to remain clear-headed and rational, when you just know that somewhere deep in the bowels of the internet a little goblin is sitting in a chair laughing maniacally while he flips a switch labeled "ON/OFF Anne's Internet."

I've found that the best way to deal with that sort of frustration is simply to analyze it.  It seems to work very well for me, because as soon as I take a breath and start listing the reasons why I am frustrated, I suddenly find a slew of reasons why being ready to become a serial killer merely because Facebook takes longer that 4 seconds to load is really idiotic.  I calm down almost immediately and am able to do one of the healthiest things I know:  laugh at myself.  

And now for a bit of Whimsy

I will meet you in Raspberry Heaven
With whipped vanilla cream clouds
Where golden caramel corn fields
Are watered by streams of spiced rum.

Come morning the sweet water dew
Bejewels the toffee mint grass,
As silver popinjays waken
To sing up the cinnamon sun.

Also on my deviantart:  http://thespes.deviantart.com/

Starting off Serious

How much influence does God have on a life?  How many things actually happen for a reason?

When something bad happens, I usually proclaim it to be nothing more than the random chance of the world; however, when something good happens, I see it as a blessing and a sign of God's work.  Should it be the other way around?

I recently got rejected for a part in a play.  After the initial disappointment, I started to think about other opportunities for me in the theatre.  I made the decision to ask the directors of our local theatre if I could help.  I don't usually go looking for opportunities.  Could God possibly have had a hand in my rejection, so I could learn this lesson?  What if the directors of the theatre don't need me?  Is the lesson invalid, or was that also a part of God's plan?

Is it arrogant of me to think that God would take such a personal interest in my life?  Sometimes, I think so.  I'm nobody important, and how dare I presume that I am someone to whom God would pay close attention.  

Does he really have a plan for every individual?  Is everyone truly that important?

The answer to these queries:  I don't know.