Lent Term Begins

I have just turned in 3 essays:
1) 2500 word essay
2) 3000 word essay
3) 250 word essay (for Spanish)

I worked on those essays little by little, didn't leave them to the last minute and I am very glad for it. I saw my classmates on facebook freaking out about getting essays done.

I don't have any interesting adventures to report at the moment. I didn't leave my flat for several days, mostly because of the cold and because of essay writing. Not much adventure there. There was supposed to be a blizzard a few days ago, it did not hit London. There has been snow for the past few weeks on and off, but not much in London. Again, no adventure there.

However, on Thursday I go to Bilbao for my dear friend William's wedding! Ellie and I are staying in an actual hotel, with the husbands-to-be. The ceremony is at the city hall, and after we are going to have the reception in a restaurant overlooking the city. We have been told there will be several courses and lots of wine - in addition to an amazing atmosphere because we are celebrating a couple's love.

I will hopefully have lots of pictures to contribute to this blog after my trip. I may or may not be purchasing a low-end camera soon...

Merry Christmas to everyone!

I have finished one of my 2 essays for this break and its Christmas! Ellie and I are at her mom's house, basking in the free warmth and filling ourselves with delicious tea and food. Today I think I may be eating a lot. Yesterday I helped Ellie's mom to start making some of the food. We also decorated the tree (its quite small and in a pot).

I got some brilliant presents from ellie's family - her brother brought me some peanut butter filled pretzels and pancake mix from trader joe's, as well as tickets to see a pantomime. Quite a British experience! Ellie got me this lovely gift indoor plant grower, it doesn't use soil. Its hard to explain, but I'm very excited about it. I will post a picture soon, and make updates about all the delicious plants I grow (I plan to grow only food).

I made the most of my first week of vacation (I have a month)! I went ice skating for the first time, which went very well. I didn't fall once, I think my rollerskating background helped me.

Ok, I am tuckered out, so I am off to bed. Hope everyone is well!

Michaelmas term down, Christmas on its way

I am so relieved the term is over. I now have to face writing my 2 papers to hand in for 11 January. The term was tiring and intense. But it was really good as well. I think I have learned a lot about how research is done, how to keep up with enormous amounts of reading, and how to make new friends. I have a nice group of friends forming. Today I went to the pub after a meeting with a bunch of them. It feels nice to have people to hang out with.

One thing I love about LSE is that there is *always* something going on to do. There are several public lectures every week, not just academic ones, but also fun ones. For example, the guy who wrote "Stuff White People Like" came to speak about his book. I've gotten exposed to a lot of different people and ideas. I think that while it is no where near as radical as I am used to in academia, I am learning a lot about just how many view points one idea can illicit.

Today I went to a board meeting review of the sociology department. Apparently the Gender Institute is a part of the department. You wouldn't have any idea, we never do anything with sociology or talk about it. The meeting was about whether or not the Gender Institute should have autonomy from sociology. A bunch of the students were asked to come and tell the board their views. A group of us from Gender went in and argued for a break from sociology. And we got it! Its a really big deal, as I learned when all the profs in the Institute were squealing when we found out. They busted out the champagne, and we celebrated.

I'm going ice skating for the first time tomorrow!

a little update

I know it has been awhile! School picked up and got really busy. I have been working on facilitation, research proposals, and keeping up with massive amounts of reading. The term is over on 11th December, when I will try to write a longer post about how everything is going.

Tonight was the holiday party for the GI. There was some amazing mulled wine, mince pies, and other treats. It was held in the GI space, lots of students, and all of the faculty attended. I've made a nice little group of friends, and so I spent the evening mostly socializing with them. I like the general feel of the GI, and the professors are so nice to socialize with.

Ellie is working until 1:30am every night for the rest of the week, and all next week! So I am home alone in the evenings. Its a bit lonely at home alone, but I am trying to get work for school done. She is still looking for runner jobs and currently working for an events staffing company.

I am going to turn in early I think, I have been sick on and off, so I am trying to sleep as much as I can. Tomorrow I am facilitating in my "Cultural Constructions of the Body" class. The topic is "Precarious Bodies" - the assigned readings are about how perpetrators/enemies/terrorists are embodied in terms of racialized masculinity, heteronormativity, etc. I've been reading a lot about violence, prisons, terrorism, and Abu Ghraib this week and it has been quite difficult. The lecturer for this week showed a few pictures from the Abu Ghraib scandal, which caused quite an uproar from students. I felt it was inappropriate and kind of traumatizing, even though I understood the learning objectives. The pictures bear a striking resemblance to pictures taken during the slavery era in the US as well as pictures of racial violence against African Americans in general (gatherings when people were hung, etc).

If you are looking for something to read about prisoners rights, I would recommend "Are Prisons Obsolete?" by Angela Davis - not if you're looking for a light read though!

Some recent events in my life:

1) I pretended to be interested in an event about Jesus in order to get free coffee from the Christian Union. I bought a conservative paper for £0.40 because they were giving away free chocolate bars with it. These chocolate bars cost over £1 in a store.

2) I signed up for a Spanish certification class! I start next Tuesday.

3) I talked to a professor at the GI about a PhD there, she is going to help me with the proposal.

4) Confirmed my RSVP to my friend's wedding in Bilbao! Gay wedding in Spain, best thing ever! Ellie and I are going to book the plane tickets soon.

5) Patrick gets here tomorrow!

Also, here are some pictures from the vigil I went to.

Feels like Saturday...

Last night Ellie and I went to an event held at Imperial College to launch Stonewall UK's job recruitment guide. The event launched the guide and was also a networking event for students and other job-seekers to meet with queer-friendly employers. They had free wine and canape. I did some networking! I met this American man who works for Stonewall, he moved to the UK to be with his partner, he got his master's at the GI! We have a lot in common. He gave me his card, so I am going to make sure to keep in touch. He also said he would connect me with one of his colleagues who works with LGB youth, as that is where a lot of my experience lies. Ellie talked with someone from the Arts Council and has a possible internship! All very exciting.

Today I have not done very much! It is nice to relax. I have been sick with a cold, but today started feeling a lot better. Tonight we're going to a vigil against hate crimes in Trafalgar Square.

Chelsea and Kensington - shoes that pass in Soho do not pass here

What a strange night. Ellie and I went out to Chelsea because of her friend's birthday. She wore these converse, along with a collared shirt, sweatervest and jeans - quite smart I think. When we got to the club and informed the bouncer we were on the guest list, he looked her up and down and said that she wasn't aloud to come in with those shoes on. "Sporting shoes of any kind" are not allowed in this club. Who would wear those shoes for any sport?!? He actually said "you would come out on a Saturday night and go to a club wearing those shoes?" It was so rude and elitist. I basically can't believe it happened. Bastards! We were in a posh neighborhood I guess.

It took us an hour to get there because there are partial closures on some tube lines in our area. The whole night felt like a bit of a waste as we didn't even get to see her friend. There was no use arguing with the bouncer person about the issue, he was basically a brick wall of bitchery. I think some homophobia/sexism was involved in this encounter, because if some famous footballer man came to the club after a game at Chelsea stadium, he probably would have been let in. The bouncer actually checked Ellie out before saying anything and was incredibly judgmental. Ellie is planning on writing a letter to the management of the club talking about how rude the bouncer was. Yes, weird situation. We ended up going to Ealing Broadway, getting chips, and walking home. Quite an exciting Saturday night, I hear you say. Yep.