Today I gave my first presentation here in London, to the Hammersmith Rotary club (my host club). They were so welcoming--as I've found all Rotarians are--and I really enjoyed getting to know them and their guests over a lovely dinner.
Just before the meeting, I stopped in at a coffee shop, where the cashier asked me if I was American. This happens a lot over here, and it's hard to tell when that question is a gateway to a whole conversation or just simple curiosity. In this case, it was the former.
The cashier, who was Italian, said he didn't want to offend me but he had some questions about America. Mainly he wanted to know if we still see ourselves as the leading world power, and whether many of us really pay attention to what's going on in the rest of the world. He was concerned with some of the crazy stories he hears about our country, especially with the midterm elections and some of the radical rallies taking place.
I told him that I can't vouch for the entirety of America, but I do think most Americans try to pay attention to what's going on beyond our borders. However, I explained that in today's climate, if you've lost your job or your house is being foreclosed or your kids are sick, worrying about yourself can be all you can really handle. I said people are just frustrated, and they often need their own personal security before they can start worrying about others. I wish that wasn't the case, but it's true.
He asked me about the soaring rhetoric that we hear in our campaigns (and not just from Obama), and whether Americans really believe that we really still are the "last best hope" or the great global leader. He said he feels Americans are somewhat naive about losing status to countries like China and India.
I told him that some Americans feel our country still bears the brunt of global responsibility, but you hear speeches talking about America's greatness because that's what people vote for. They want to believe America is still great and that we will continue to be great, because that signals security and stability, which goes back to feeding your kids and keeping your job.
No matter how long I stay here or how comfortable I become, it's encounters like these that remind me that I am still a foreigner here. And that's okay. I hope that by the time I left the coffee shop, the cashier understood where I was coming from, and maybe his ideas about America have changed a bit. Then again, maybe he found me to be fairly naive :)
********
In other news, my tiger came today! Not the actual tiger I adopted--my room is far too small for that--but a little stuffed tiger and a postcard of the one I adopted. Her name is Kamrita, she's a Bengal Tiger from Nepal, and she has two cubs!
I guess that makes me a grandmother :)
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Humanity at its best(?)
Every night, starting from around 7 p.m. onward, I play witness to all extremes of human emotion. Why, you ask? Because my window faces an alley, and that alley is a direct route from the main road to the pub.
In the past few weeks I have seen and heard more fights, crying drunk girls, professions of love, lad banter and earth-shattering belching than I can begin to describe.
But tonight is the best, because as I write this an enterprising group of youngsters is filming an amateur rap video in my sketchy little alley. If they become famous some day, it'll be nice to say I saw them in their infancy. I'll admit the song isn't bad, but the video is full of the requisite crotch-grabbing and scowling you would expect.
***
As promised, a recap of the discussion of the international aid budget discussion at the Frontline. Most of us in attendance agreed that the panel could have used more dissenting opinions. The consensus among the panelists, all of whom work in the aid industry, was that we have to find more effective ways to deliver aid to the people who really need it rather than potentially corrupt governments.
I was surprised to hear that most panelists agreed that project-based aid is no longer the focus we should take. Instead, they said we should be focused on multilateral program aid, and on helping develop better government infrastructure to ensure stronger trade partnerships and growth. The latter portion makes complete sense, but shying away from project aid is a fairly big shift from the last 30-some years of aid philosophy. It will be interesting to see where things go.
The final thing discussed that I found really interesting, especially being from the agriculture epicenter of America, was the fairly hostile attitude toward the subsidies we give farmers in America. It's logical that the non-West is angry, since producers who could be selling cotton, grain and other goods for a minuscule price can't increase their profits because we give such high subsidies to our farmers. Still, it's hard for me to be against that when those same farmers are my family and friends. It's an interesting debate, and one I look forward to learning more about as the term goes on.
We had such beautiful weather today, I'm putting going to the park and visiting Borough Market at the top of my to-do list for the weekend :) I hope everyone had a good Wednesday and is gearing up for the weekend!
Love,
Jess
In the past few weeks I have seen and heard more fights, crying drunk girls, professions of love, lad banter and earth-shattering belching than I can begin to describe.
But tonight is the best, because as I write this an enterprising group of youngsters is filming an amateur rap video in my sketchy little alley. If they become famous some day, it'll be nice to say I saw them in their infancy. I'll admit the song isn't bad, but the video is full of the requisite crotch-grabbing and scowling you would expect.
***
As promised, a recap of the discussion of the international aid budget discussion at the Frontline. Most of us in attendance agreed that the panel could have used more dissenting opinions. The consensus among the panelists, all of whom work in the aid industry, was that we have to find more effective ways to deliver aid to the people who really need it rather than potentially corrupt governments.
I was surprised to hear that most panelists agreed that project-based aid is no longer the focus we should take. Instead, they said we should be focused on multilateral program aid, and on helping develop better government infrastructure to ensure stronger trade partnerships and growth. The latter portion makes complete sense, but shying away from project aid is a fairly big shift from the last 30-some years of aid philosophy. It will be interesting to see where things go.
The final thing discussed that I found really interesting, especially being from the agriculture epicenter of America, was the fairly hostile attitude toward the subsidies we give farmers in America. It's logical that the non-West is angry, since producers who could be selling cotton, grain and other goods for a minuscule price can't increase their profits because we give such high subsidies to our farmers. Still, it's hard for me to be against that when those same farmers are my family and friends. It's an interesting debate, and one I look forward to learning more about as the term goes on.
We had such beautiful weather today, I'm putting going to the park and visiting Borough Market at the top of my to-do list for the weekend :) I hope everyone had a good Wednesday and is gearing up for the weekend!
Love,
Jess
Midweek Mania
Hey friends,
What with accelerating coursework, my first Rotary presentation coming up on Thursday(!) and holiday content frenzy underway at work, these past couple of days have been marathons of work and sleep. One exciting thing happened today though--I VOTED! Ballot sent. It's a good feeling.
A few things to check out while I'm MIA and working away:
The day I fled Iran in terror, from The Guardian. The author of this article is one of my colleagues on my course, and I am in absolute awe of his bravery.
Why Sisterly Chats Make People Happier, from the NYTimes. I don't have any biological sisters, but I am lucky enough to have friends who are even better. This article reminded me of all of you--you know who you are :)
Special shout out to Karen for helping me slog through the past few days by ending my musical drought and suggesting some really great bands!
Tomorrow night I'm headed to the Frontline Club for a debate on the international aid budget. There's some major controversy going on over here right now, because the UK government is making huge domestic budget cuts, but has promised to fulfill their international aid pledge. Should be a fascinating discussion, so rest assured I'll be back with a less wimpy post tomorrow!
Love,
Jess
P.S. I need a Halloween costume! You probably do too, but if anyone has suggestions I welcome them. Hilary Clinton, a tweet and Debbie Harry are in the lead right now. Thanks to Dawn and Aunt Lis for relaying U.S. warnings about going as Lady Gaga covered in fresh red meat. Even I don't love beef that much. Ew.
What with accelerating coursework, my first Rotary presentation coming up on Thursday(!) and holiday content frenzy underway at work, these past couple of days have been marathons of work and sleep. One exciting thing happened today though--I VOTED! Ballot sent. It's a good feeling.
A few things to check out while I'm MIA and working away:
The day I fled Iran in terror, from The Guardian. The author of this article is one of my colleagues on my course, and I am in absolute awe of his bravery.
Why Sisterly Chats Make People Happier, from the NYTimes. I don't have any biological sisters, but I am lucky enough to have friends who are even better. This article reminded me of all of you--you know who you are :)
Special shout out to Karen for helping me slog through the past few days by ending my musical drought and suggesting some really great bands!
Tomorrow night I'm headed to the Frontline Club for a debate on the international aid budget. There's some major controversy going on over here right now, because the UK government is making huge domestic budget cuts, but has promised to fulfill their international aid pledge. Should be a fascinating discussion, so rest assured I'll be back with a less wimpy post tomorrow!
Love,
Jess
P.S. I need a Halloween costume! You probably do too, but if anyone has suggestions I welcome them. Hilary Clinton, a tweet and Debbie Harry are in the lead right now. Thanks to Dawn and Aunt Lis for relaying U.S. warnings about going as Lady Gaga covered in fresh red meat. Even I don't love beef that much. Ew.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Crazy
Okay, be warned. Here comes a sentimental post, and another of those "holy cow Jessica is a real rambler" moments. If you're not into philosophy or quotes or mild triteness, stop reading now.
Thanks Mom, I think you're probably still reading :)
This weekend was a restful departure from a hectic week. It's getting chillier here, so I spent the greater portion of today under the blankets reading magazines and Web sites that I've been neglecting. Since I don't have any overly exciting adventures to recount, here are a few highlights that I found to be really great reads:
The DIY Foreign Aid Revolution: Nicholas D. Kristof's look at women who are identifying micro-level issues and single-handedly attacking them. This is so inspiring, but also really intimidating. It really got to me, because I read about young women like this and so admire them, but to emulate them I wouldn't even know where to start. Kristof opens with, "Like so many highly trained young women these days, Elizabeth Scharpf has choices..." and Elizabeth goes on to start a non-profit that produces sanitary pads so girls in Mozambique can go to school without being embarrassed about menstruating.
Which ties into another article on choices I read in the British version of Glamour (hey, I didn't say all of this reading was high-brow). It discussed how the freedom women experience today is both a blessing and a curse. I'm sure if you went back and presented that thesis to suffragettes and pioneering feminists, they would be appalled, but it's interesting to note that so many young women are in this paradox. With so many options available to them, they are paralyzed.
Globalization, increased education and prosperity have combined to give my generation the option to do volunteer work, go to grad school, take a gap year, write a novel or open a hot dog stand if that's what we want to do. So without a societally-mandated life path to follow, where do we start? Though the two things aren't always mutually exclusive, there's often constant tension between doing the crazy thing that makes us really happy/makes a difference and following a safe career path that leads to a white picket fence and a padded 401k.
Which circles back to the women Kristof discusses in his article. They made huge personal sacrifices (which I am glad he addressed) to see their ideas really take shape, and a few of them have taken enormous risks that flopped. I suspect though, that if you asked each of them whether they have regrets, they wouldn't point to these risky ventures. Because how can you say you regret trying to change the world?
****************************************
Does anyone remember Apple's "Think Different" campaign? It was way back in 1997, but I can still picture the black and white posters of thought leaders on our middle school computer lab wall, along with the text:
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
****************************************
Considering that this post was serious thought vomit, I'm sure you're probably thinking I'm a bit crazy too. But not in the Jane Goodall/Pablo Picasso/Albert Einstein kind of way. Let's face it, I'm still sitting here on my bed, paralyzed by so many choices :)
Thanks Mom, I think you're probably still reading :)
This weekend was a restful departure from a hectic week. It's getting chillier here, so I spent the greater portion of today under the blankets reading magazines and Web sites that I've been neglecting. Since I don't have any overly exciting adventures to recount, here are a few highlights that I found to be really great reads:
The DIY Foreign Aid Revolution: Nicholas D. Kristof's look at women who are identifying micro-level issues and single-handedly attacking them. This is so inspiring, but also really intimidating. It really got to me, because I read about young women like this and so admire them, but to emulate them I wouldn't even know where to start. Kristof opens with, "Like so many highly trained young women these days, Elizabeth Scharpf has choices..." and Elizabeth goes on to start a non-profit that produces sanitary pads so girls in Mozambique can go to school without being embarrassed about menstruating.
Which ties into another article on choices I read in the British version of Glamour (hey, I didn't say all of this reading was high-brow). It discussed how the freedom women experience today is both a blessing and a curse. I'm sure if you went back and presented that thesis to suffragettes and pioneering feminists, they would be appalled, but it's interesting to note that so many young women are in this paradox. With so many options available to them, they are paralyzed.
Globalization, increased education and prosperity have combined to give my generation the option to do volunteer work, go to grad school, take a gap year, write a novel or open a hot dog stand if that's what we want to do. So without a societally-mandated life path to follow, where do we start? Though the two things aren't always mutually exclusive, there's often constant tension between doing the crazy thing that makes us really happy/makes a difference and following a safe career path that leads to a white picket fence and a padded 401k.
Which circles back to the women Kristof discusses in his article. They made huge personal sacrifices (which I am glad he addressed) to see their ideas really take shape, and a few of them have taken enormous risks that flopped. I suspect though, that if you asked each of them whether they have regrets, they wouldn't point to these risky ventures. Because how can you say you regret trying to change the world?
****************************************
Does anyone remember Apple's "Think Different" campaign? It was way back in 1997, but I can still picture the black and white posters of thought leaders on our middle school computer lab wall, along with the text:
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.
Maybe they have to be crazy.
How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.
****************************************
Considering that this post was serious thought vomit, I'm sure you're probably thinking I'm a bit crazy too. But not in the Jane Goodall/Pablo Picasso/Albert Einstein kind of way. Let's face it, I'm still sitting here on my bed, paralyzed by so many choices :)
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Desiccated Coconut
It has been a crazy couple of days, so I'll do the speedy thing and make more lists because I absolutely have to get some work done!
1. Yesterday afternoon I met up with the president-elect of the Hammersmith Rotary Club to work on a major volunteer event the club is planning for November 6. To raise awareness for PolioPlus, the club is hosting a crocus bulb planting event at a local park. I have been recruited to help write the press releases and promotional literature for the event, and will no doubt be getting my hands dirty planting as well!
2. Last night after lecture, through a strange series of occurrences, I ended up going for drinks with some classmates and editors of The Guardian. For readers not so familiar with the British press, The Guardian is one of the largest national newspapers here. So it was fairly thrilling and really interesting to get to enjoy good drinks and conversations with a few professionals in the trenches every day.
3. Today the Americans on the course went to the U.S. Embassy, where we were invited to meet the press attache and other foreign service members. It was intriguing to talk to them about their life working for the U.S. abroad, and hearing how the other side feels when we call them with urgent questions.
4. Finally, tonight I cooked dinner with another Rotary scholar and we made curry. Yet another British cooking adventure! Apparently we were out of coconut milk, and instead had to use dried coconut. Except here, it's not sweet, and it's called desiccated coconut. Doesn't sound so appetizing, but the curry was delicious!
That's all for tonight. Tomorrow's the weekend! Hope everyone's well!
Love,
Jess
1. Yesterday afternoon I met up with the president-elect of the Hammersmith Rotary Club to work on a major volunteer event the club is planning for November 6. To raise awareness for PolioPlus, the club is hosting a crocus bulb planting event at a local park. I have been recruited to help write the press releases and promotional literature for the event, and will no doubt be getting my hands dirty planting as well!
2. Last night after lecture, through a strange series of occurrences, I ended up going for drinks with some classmates and editors of The Guardian. For readers not so familiar with the British press, The Guardian is one of the largest national newspapers here. So it was fairly thrilling and really interesting to get to enjoy good drinks and conversations with a few professionals in the trenches every day.
3. Today the Americans on the course went to the U.S. Embassy, where we were invited to meet the press attache and other foreign service members. It was intriguing to talk to them about their life working for the U.S. abroad, and hearing how the other side feels when we call them with urgent questions.
4. Finally, tonight I cooked dinner with another Rotary scholar and we made curry. Yet another British cooking adventure! Apparently we were out of coconut milk, and instead had to use dried coconut. Except here, it's not sweet, and it's called desiccated coconut. Doesn't sound so appetizing, but the curry was delicious!
That's all for tonight. Tomorrow's the weekend! Hope everyone's well!
Love,
Jess
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
George Clooney is like parsley
See how I started this post title with George Clooney? I bet it got your attention. He's an attention-grabbing guy.
For my international news class we've been divided into groups and assigned a country to follow. We're supposed to follow the news in and about that country, and then we'll be giving a presentation about an as-yet undisclosed question relating to an issue there and how the media portrays it across the world.
My group has Sudan, so George Clooney was a hot (pun intended) discussion topic today. Being the attention-grabber that he is, he's been rather determined to pop up all over Sudan to raise the country's profile. It's more in-depth and less photo-bomb-ish than that, but at a skeletal level it's true.
So it seemed that no matter whether we were discussing genocide, political corruption, oil or American hegemony, George Clooney just kept popping up.
After the meeting, an Italian girl in my group expressed that she's getting a bit tuckered out with George Clooney, since he spends considerable time in Italy and his girlfriend is Italian and so is his family and he's always in the news. She told me that in Italy, they say George Clooney is like parsley, since he's everywhere.
**************************************************
In other news, tonight Allister and I saw "The Social Network." The first thing I did when I got home was get on Facebook. Mark Zuckerburg, I am your puppet.
For my international news class we've been divided into groups and assigned a country to follow. We're supposed to follow the news in and about that country, and then we'll be giving a presentation about an as-yet undisclosed question relating to an issue there and how the media portrays it across the world.
My group has Sudan, so George Clooney was a hot (pun intended) discussion topic today. Being the attention-grabber that he is, he's been rather determined to pop up all over Sudan to raise the country's profile. It's more in-depth and less photo-bomb-ish than that, but at a skeletal level it's true.
So it seemed that no matter whether we were discussing genocide, political corruption, oil or American hegemony, George Clooney just kept popping up.
After the meeting, an Italian girl in my group expressed that she's getting a bit tuckered out with George Clooney, since he spends considerable time in Italy and his girlfriend is Italian and so is his family and he's always in the news. She told me that in Italy, they say George Clooney is like parsley, since he's everywhere.
**************************************************
In other news, tonight Allister and I saw "The Social Network." The first thing I did when I got home was get on Facebook. Mark Zuckerburg, I am your puppet.
Monday, October 18, 2010
A Weekend By the Sea
I think it's no secret that I've loved my time in London so far, but I've just returned from the most amazing weekend by the sea.
Friday we traveled to Eastbourne, which is on the south coast of England, for the London Rotary District 1130 conference. It's difficult to recount the entire three days of pure wonderfulness here, so I'll try to sum it up with a list and a whole bunch of photos.
Things that were amazing:
1) Staying in a lovely hotel with a bed twice the size of my London bunk and a bathroom the size of my entire room in university halls. I purposely flailed around at night just reveling in all the room I had!
2) Spending more time with the other Ambassadorial Scholars. We are a very diverse but cohesive group, and I'm so happy I've met them all. We bonded at the gala Rotary threw Saturday night, and at the pub shortly thereafter.
3) Seeing Rotarians in action. We not only got the opportunity to hear some hilarious and dedicated Rotarians speak, but we also got to spend social time with them. One thing that continually impresses me about Rotarians is their work hard, play hard attitude. And they're also really family-oriented. During closing ceremonies the District Governor brought his wife up on stage to thank her in front of everyone, which I thought was really sweet.
Things that were even more amazing:
1) Saturday night before the gala, I was invited to a "Gangsters and Mols" themed dinner hosted by my Rotary club and another club. I dressed up like a flapper girl (Mol) and was handed an inflatable machine gun and a gangster hat to complete my look. During the meal we had lively conversation (fueled by great food and wine), and discussed everything from the evolution of publishing to Barack Obama to Irish rugby.
2) Having the chance to hear Ken Livingstone, the former Mayor of London who is running again, speak. And being able to count it as an assignment for class.
3) Fish and chips from the best little hole in the wall place in town.
Things that blew me away:
1) The scenery. Eastbourne is just east of Beachy Head, which is the highest in a series of cliffs along the coast known as the Seven Sisters. As I said, I love London, but spending time in open green fields and on cliffs overlooking the ocean was unbelievably re-energizing.
2) The amount of hiking we did. Saturday afternoon we climbed Beachy Head and hiked for about 4 hours, and on Sunday Jay and I stayed later and hiked for another 5 hours, including a trip to a lighthouse and the beach. I think the pictures say more than words:
The view from my room in the Devonshire Park Hotel
Scholars soaking in the sun while climbing Beachy Head. Eastbourne is in the background.
Wide open spaces on top of the cliffs
Beachy Head
The descent
A few of the Seven Sisters
On the beach
We found some chalk rocks and left our mark
Lighthouse where I want to live and wear turtlenecks and write poetry and smoke a pipe
Sigh. Now back to reality. Happy Monday!
Love,
Jess
Friday we traveled to Eastbourne, which is on the south coast of England, for the London Rotary District 1130 conference. It's difficult to recount the entire three days of pure wonderfulness here, so I'll try to sum it up with a list and a whole bunch of photos.
Things that were amazing:
1) Staying in a lovely hotel with a bed twice the size of my London bunk and a bathroom the size of my entire room in university halls. I purposely flailed around at night just reveling in all the room I had!
2) Spending more time with the other Ambassadorial Scholars. We are a very diverse but cohesive group, and I'm so happy I've met them all. We bonded at the gala Rotary threw Saturday night, and at the pub shortly thereafter.
3) Seeing Rotarians in action. We not only got the opportunity to hear some hilarious and dedicated Rotarians speak, but we also got to spend social time with them. One thing that continually impresses me about Rotarians is their work hard, play hard attitude. And they're also really family-oriented. During closing ceremonies the District Governor brought his wife up on stage to thank her in front of everyone, which I thought was really sweet.
Things that were even more amazing:
1) Saturday night before the gala, I was invited to a "Gangsters and Mols" themed dinner hosted by my Rotary club and another club. I dressed up like a flapper girl (Mol) and was handed an inflatable machine gun and a gangster hat to complete my look. During the meal we had lively conversation (fueled by great food and wine), and discussed everything from the evolution of publishing to Barack Obama to Irish rugby.
2) Having the chance to hear Ken Livingstone, the former Mayor of London who is running again, speak. And being able to count it as an assignment for class.
3) Fish and chips from the best little hole in the wall place in town.
Things that blew me away:
1) The scenery. Eastbourne is just east of Beachy Head, which is the highest in a series of cliffs along the coast known as the Seven Sisters. As I said, I love London, but spending time in open green fields and on cliffs overlooking the ocean was unbelievably re-energizing.
2) The amount of hiking we did. Saturday afternoon we climbed Beachy Head and hiked for about 4 hours, and on Sunday Jay and I stayed later and hiked for another 5 hours, including a trip to a lighthouse and the beach. I think the pictures say more than words:
The view from my room in the Devonshire Park Hotel
Scholars soaking in the sun while climbing Beachy Head. Eastbourne is in the background.
Wide open spaces on top of the cliffs
Beachy Head
The descent
A few of the Seven Sisters
On the beach
We found some chalk rocks and left our mark
Lighthouse where I want to live and wear turtlenecks and write poetry and smoke a pipe
Sigh. Now back to reality. Happy Monday!
Love,
Jess
Friday, October 15, 2010
Wall Street meets High Street
Tonight some friends and I went to see "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps," which turned out to be rather depressing. That's not too surprising, since it's set circa autumn 2008, when the economy started to really go south.
In autumn 2008, I was in London, reading headlines of plummeting stocks and rising exchange rates. The circle is circular, I guess.
The movie was entertaining but a little too packed with gratuitous cameos and product placement for my taste. Then again, it's a movie about New York, which is a city very much about who you know and what you're buying.
In any case, it did make me miss New York a bit. It was also pretty cool that several of the scenes were shot near where I used to live.
A few things about British cinema:
1. We have PG-13, they have PG-12, or its equivalent.
2. The movie theaters (at least in London), are very classy, and there are bars that serve alcohol.
3. At this theater, if you wanted to sit in the middle section, you had to pay extra for "VIP seating."
Before the movie, I went out for another burger adventure, this time with one of my colleagues. Though it was not as earth-shattering as the death burger from The Naked Sausage, it was delicious, and was accompanied by some great conversation.
Tomorrow I'm off to Eastbourne for the weekend for a Rotary Conference, so I'll try to update but I make no promises. We have been told there will be cover bands and a disco involved, so it should be a great time!
Until next post, have a great weekend!
Love,
Jess
In autumn 2008, I was in London, reading headlines of plummeting stocks and rising exchange rates. The circle is circular, I guess.
The movie was entertaining but a little too packed with gratuitous cameos and product placement for my taste. Then again, it's a movie about New York, which is a city very much about who you know and what you're buying.
In any case, it did make me miss New York a bit. It was also pretty cool that several of the scenes were shot near where I used to live.
A few things about British cinema:
1. We have PG-13, they have PG-12, or its equivalent.
2. The movie theaters (at least in London), are very classy, and there are bars that serve alcohol.
3. At this theater, if you wanted to sit in the middle section, you had to pay extra for "VIP seating."
Before the movie, I went out for another burger adventure, this time with one of my colleagues. Though it was not as earth-shattering as the death burger from The Naked Sausage, it was delicious, and was accompanied by some great conversation.
Tomorrow I'm off to Eastbourne for the weekend for a Rotary Conference, so I'll try to update but I make no promises. We have been told there will be cover bands and a disco involved, so it should be a great time!
Until next post, have a great weekend!
Love,
Jess
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Good
Short post because I need to break the vicious cycle of insomnia that has resulted in massive music discovery/productivity but rough mornings for the past few days.
Tonight the Kensington Rotary Club hosted a meet and greet for all of the Ambassadorial, Global Grant and Youth Exchange scholars, and a bunch of us went to an Indian restaurant after.
I have a headache from laughing too hard. Best kind of headache. Best kind of day.
Happy (technically) Thursday!
Love,
Jess
Tonight the Kensington Rotary Club hosted a meet and greet for all of the Ambassadorial, Global Grant and Youth Exchange scholars, and a bunch of us went to an Indian restaurant after.
I have a headache from laughing too hard. Best kind of headache. Best kind of day.
Happy (technically) Thursday!
Love,
Jess
Monday, October 11, 2010
I adopted a tiger and was attacked by a swan
Today was a zoo. Well, sort of. First off, the title of this post is true, I adopted a tiger.
After four and a half years of student journalism, I have been asked to accost random people on the street more times than I can remember. So when the poor downtrodden girl from World Wildlife Federation, who (I imagine) had been standing for hours in the pouring rain, asked me for a few minutes of my time last week, I stopped to listen.
She told me that there are only 3,000 tigers left in the wild, and that there are actually more tigers in captivity in America than there are roaming free on the whole planet! Can you imagine?!?!?! Neither could I, but I still wasn't prepared to give her my money, so instead I gave her my number and told her they could contact me later.
Today, the WWF came calling, and I started thinking about those poor tigers and how little it costs for me to adopt one, and how cool it would be to say that I am the foster parent of a tiger, and I just went for it. After I got the details about how much of the money goes to overhead costs and how much goes to the tigers, I became a parent. Pictures of my new tiger are being sent to me as we speak, and though I don't get to name him/her, I'm still going to give my tiger a sweet nickname like Bowser or Muriel.
*****************************************************
It was another lovely day today, so a few of us decided to head to Regents Park. But by the time class was over, daylight was dwindling, so instead we grabbed a bottle of wine and sat on the banks of the canal next to my hall. Isn't it pretty?
We thought so too, and then we were magically approached by the most serene-looking swan you've ever seen. Then it began to attack. Here's sassy swan trying to nibble at Katie's feet:
I know, it looks vicious, doesn't it? Lucky for us, killer swan had a friend that swam up and distracted us, then someone threw a loaf of bread into the canal so we were old news.
It was a pretty low-key Monday, all in all, but it's not every day you adopt a tiger and are attacked by a swan. In fact, seems like it should be the other way around.
Hope your week is off to a great start!
Love,
Jess
After four and a half years of student journalism, I have been asked to accost random people on the street more times than I can remember. So when the poor downtrodden girl from World Wildlife Federation, who (I imagine) had been standing for hours in the pouring rain, asked me for a few minutes of my time last week, I stopped to listen.
She told me that there are only 3,000 tigers left in the wild, and that there are actually more tigers in captivity in America than there are roaming free on the whole planet! Can you imagine?!?!?! Neither could I, but I still wasn't prepared to give her my money, so instead I gave her my number and told her they could contact me later.
Today, the WWF came calling, and I started thinking about those poor tigers and how little it costs for me to adopt one, and how cool it would be to say that I am the foster parent of a tiger, and I just went for it. After I got the details about how much of the money goes to overhead costs and how much goes to the tigers, I became a parent. Pictures of my new tiger are being sent to me as we speak, and though I don't get to name him/her, I'm still going to give my tiger a sweet nickname like Bowser or Muriel.
*****************************************************
It was another lovely day today, so a few of us decided to head to Regents Park. But by the time class was over, daylight was dwindling, so instead we grabbed a bottle of wine and sat on the banks of the canal next to my hall. Isn't it pretty?
We thought so too, and then we were magically approached by the most serene-looking swan you've ever seen. Then it began to attack. Here's sassy swan trying to nibble at Katie's feet:
I know, it looks vicious, doesn't it? Lucky for us, killer swan had a friend that swam up and distracted us, then someone threw a loaf of bread into the canal so we were old news.
It was a pretty low-key Monday, all in all, but it's not every day you adopt a tiger and are attacked by a swan. In fact, seems like it should be the other way around.
Hope your week is off to a great start!
Love,
Jess
Sunday, October 10, 2010
The day we made the oven bleed
My Texan friend Liz recently received a care package including American measuring cups, so today we tested them out by making red velvet cupcakes. This baking adventure is a small example of the challenges of a foreign grocery store, even if everything is still in your native tongue.
American advertising execs should give themselves a huge pat on the back, because I realized today that when I'm walking through the grocery store I typically navigate by brand. I need cream cheese? I just look for the Philadelphia label. I want canned fruit (I never eat canned fruit but this is hypothetical)? I look for yellow rows of Dole.
Well, here they don't have all of those brands, so things take a bit longer. Not to mention that they don't have some things at all, or they go by different names. So, we had to be a bit creative. Our requests for cocoa powder were met with confused looks, and after some handy Googling on my phone, we realized that baking soda is actually this:
So, we got our bicarbonate of soda, grabbed some soft cheese (cream cheese), substituted Nesquik for cocoa and crossed our fingers. Things were going well, until we had a little accident putting the filled muffin cups into the oven. One of the pans slipped, so there was red batter running all over the inside of Liz's SUPER hot oven. We decided since we already had one pan in, and the oven was too hot to really touch, we'd just let the spilled batter go. This was the gory result:
Thankfully, just as we were becoming more and more skeptical of our British baking abilities, the cupcakes came out and turned out just fine! Delicious, even, in my humble opinion:
My Sunday wrapped up with a trip to Hampstead Heath, which is a park overlooking central London. I went with several Italians and a French girl from my course, who were absolutely lovely. We got into a theoretical discussion about love and the Italian notion of "freedom of heart," then stopped off at a coffee shop on the way home. It's a bit too lengthy to explain here, but it was a very European afternoon--in a very good way! I'll leave you with this photo of the Heath as the sun was setting. I hope everyone had a good weekend!
Love,
Jess
American advertising execs should give themselves a huge pat on the back, because I realized today that when I'm walking through the grocery store I typically navigate by brand. I need cream cheese? I just look for the Philadelphia label. I want canned fruit (I never eat canned fruit but this is hypothetical)? I look for yellow rows of Dole.
Well, here they don't have all of those brands, so things take a bit longer. Not to mention that they don't have some things at all, or they go by different names. So, we had to be a bit creative. Our requests for cocoa powder were met with confused looks, and after some handy Googling on my phone, we realized that baking soda is actually this:
So, we got our bicarbonate of soda, grabbed some soft cheese (cream cheese), substituted Nesquik for cocoa and crossed our fingers. Things were going well, until we had a little accident putting the filled muffin cups into the oven. One of the pans slipped, so there was red batter running all over the inside of Liz's SUPER hot oven. We decided since we already had one pan in, and the oven was too hot to really touch, we'd just let the spilled batter go. This was the gory result:
Thankfully, just as we were becoming more and more skeptical of our British baking abilities, the cupcakes came out and turned out just fine! Delicious, even, in my humble opinion:
My Sunday wrapped up with a trip to Hampstead Heath, which is a park overlooking central London. I went with several Italians and a French girl from my course, who were absolutely lovely. We got into a theoretical discussion about love and the Italian notion of "freedom of heart," then stopped off at a coffee shop on the way home. It's a bit too lengthy to explain here, but it was a very European afternoon--in a very good way! I'll leave you with this photo of the Heath as the sun was setting. I hope everyone had a good weekend!
Love,
Jess
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Feeling artsy
Exciting news! The course I'm on is pretty set in stone, meaning we only get to choose one class, called a specialism. The specialism is a topic we'd like to explore and learn to cover as a sort of beat reporter. We were asked to prioritize three from a list, and I got my first choice! I'll be in the development specialism, where we analyze the press's coverage of the developing world and the process of development, and then learn to report on it ourselves. I'm really looking forward to starting it next week, and hopefully I'll be able to get involved with some local diaspora communities and volunteer organizations.
In other news, today Allister and I went to see Love From London: A City of Stars at the Getty Images Gallery. Though the exhibit was fairly small, it was a series of black and white photos of celebrities around London, and was--to put it lamely--really cool.
Then we walked over to the British Museum to check out the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles and the statue from Easter Island. Feeling artsy, I snapped a few photos:
Definitely not going in Getty Images anytime soon, but isn't the British Museum lovely? That's all I've got for now. Hope everyone's well!
Love,
Jess
In other news, today Allister and I went to see Love From London: A City of Stars at the Getty Images Gallery. Though the exhibit was fairly small, it was a series of black and white photos of celebrities around London, and was--to put it lamely--really cool.
Then we walked over to the British Museum to check out the Rosetta Stone, the Elgin Marbles and the statue from Easter Island. Feeling artsy, I snapped a few photos:
Definitely not going in Getty Images anytime soon, but isn't the British Museum lovely? That's all I've got for now. Hope everyone's well!
Love,
Jess
Wild Wednesday
Shout out to Kayleigh today, for being fiercely dedicated to loving kids who need love the most.
*********
Every Wednesday, we have a reporting day. Our lecturer releases us into the wild and tells us to come back with a story by 3:00pm. Sounds simple, but have you ever noticed how questions and assignments are actually far more difficult the more open-ended they are? Then again, the day is fueled by adrenaline, and there are few things I love more than adrenaline (see yesterday's post about mind-boggling hamburger).
Thus, today was semi-stressful, but excellent practice for real life as a journalist. I filed my story on deadline (phew), and got to speak to a really nice member of the comedy troupe Clever Peter. Big thanks to Ed for taking the time to speak to me when his sketch comedy act was probably rehearsing for their show tonight.
The other wild part of Wednesday was my flight booking extravaganza. I booked my flight home for Christmas, which most people seemed excited about, except for Tyler, who is no doubt getting a large lump of coal and a broken iPhone in his stocking this year.
I also booked my tickets for Israel! My super smart friend Libby is working for the Israeli government, and has kindly agreed to take me in as a guest for a week in December. I'll be traveling to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and the breathtaking city of Haifa, not to mention spending seven days with one of the coolest and most clever people I know!
So, even when things get stressful, I can always look forward to Mediterranean beaches, hummus and my mom's Christmas dinner!
Since this post wasn't that exciting, I'll move from looking forward to looking backward, and finally post those Oxford pictures I promised! Gives me a false sense of intelligence every time I look at them.
Christ Church College:
Inside of the library:
Inside Christ Church dining hall, which supposedly inspired the Great Hall in Harry Potter:
All Souls College:
My host, Chris, looking out over Oxford from the garden behind his house:
And finally, my personal favorite, this pink lady, walking through Christ Church after a wedding:
That's it for now. Hope everyone had a happy hump day!
Love,
Jess
*********
Every Wednesday, we have a reporting day. Our lecturer releases us into the wild and tells us to come back with a story by 3:00pm. Sounds simple, but have you ever noticed how questions and assignments are actually far more difficult the more open-ended they are? Then again, the day is fueled by adrenaline, and there are few things I love more than adrenaline (see yesterday's post about mind-boggling hamburger).
Thus, today was semi-stressful, but excellent practice for real life as a journalist. I filed my story on deadline (phew), and got to speak to a really nice member of the comedy troupe Clever Peter. Big thanks to Ed for taking the time to speak to me when his sketch comedy act was probably rehearsing for their show tonight.
The other wild part of Wednesday was my flight booking extravaganza. I booked my flight home for Christmas, which most people seemed excited about, except for Tyler, who is no doubt getting a large lump of coal and a broken iPhone in his stocking this year.
I also booked my tickets for Israel! My super smart friend Libby is working for the Israeli government, and has kindly agreed to take me in as a guest for a week in December. I'll be traveling to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and the breathtaking city of Haifa, not to mention spending seven days with one of the coolest and most clever people I know!
So, even when things get stressful, I can always look forward to Mediterranean beaches, hummus and my mom's Christmas dinner!
Since this post wasn't that exciting, I'll move from looking forward to looking backward, and finally post those Oxford pictures I promised! Gives me a false sense of intelligence every time I look at them.
Christ Church College:
Inside of the library:
Inside Christ Church dining hall, which supposedly inspired the Great Hall in Harry Potter:
All Souls College:
My host, Chris, looking out over Oxford from the garden behind his house:
And finally, my personal favorite, this pink lady, walking through Christ Church after a wedding:
That's it for now. Hope everyone had a happy hump day!
Love,
Jess
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Blonde Meats Burger
If you're wondering about the title, I'll get to that in a minute.
But first, the important and professional portion of my day. Tonight City hosted another of those amazing forums, this one on the ongoing phone-hacking debate in the British press. For the past few years, several stories have been reported by journalists who obtained their information by hacking into prominent citizens' voicemails. So the debate tonight was "How far should a reporter go? The lessons of the News of the World." For the back story, check out this post by Roy Greenslade, top media blogger for The Guardian who also happens to be one of my professors.
The panel included the former head of Formula One racing (who was implicated through phone hacking in a "saddo-masochistic sex orgy" and consequently won a privacy action against the News of the World.), two of Britain's top libel lawyers, and a former reporter for the News of the World who admitted he's hacked phones as part of his reporting process.
This was the most heated debate I've witnessed here at City, even compared to the Julian Assange face-off last week. And it's no wonder, since the debate over privacy has been at the forefront of journalism since its inception, but has only been exacerbated by technology (like phone hacking) that allows even novice journos-turned-hacks to obtain information.
The questions are simple on the surface. How far should a journalist go? Who deserves privacy? What level of privacy do they deserve? And when is it in the public's best interest to ignore the means to an end?
Watergate was brought up repeatedly throughout the debate. For example, if Woodward and Bernstein had used phone hacking to break the story on the Nixon administration, would we have cared how they got their information?
In the case of the former head of Formula One, the debate centered around whether the public needs to know about his private life. Is he (or footballers or celebrities) a role model? And in that case, isn't it a free press's job to expose what the public might perceive as moral corruption? Further, is the journalist even in a position to present a person's private actions as morally questionable?
If your head is spinning right now, not to worry, so was mine. The members of the panel acknowledged that this is a set of issues which isn't likely to be solved anytime soon. But it's definitely useful for us, as budding reporters, to think about these questions.
****************************************************
Okay, now for the other exciting and far less cerebral part of my day.
Those of you who know me are aware of my undying love for hamburgers. Few things bring me such delight. This afternoon during an unexpected break from classes, I was wandering through a little market near my hall and stumbled upon a delicious smelling food stand:
This little gem is called The Naked Sausage (cheeky), and was advertising a 1/2 pound bacon and cheese burger for only 3.5 pounds! My arteries started warring in protest with my greedy stomach, and my stomach won out, so I ordered one with onion marmalade (it's like caramelized onion spread), mayo and ketchup.
Let me tell you, this was perhaps THE BEST BURGER I HAVE EVER HAD. They split the patty while grilling it and filled it full of cheese, while next door on the open faced grill a slab of bacon was frying to a crisp in the remnants of the day's grease. Sounds gross, you say? I assure you, this was the Sistine Chapel of hamburgers. When the whole concoction was assembled, it was placed tenderly inside a soft, doughy wheat bun, and this was the result:
It may not look like much, but your taste buds don't have eye balls.
I was so inspired by this burger that for a fleeting moment this afternoon I considered creating a second blog about my love of burgers. It would have been perfect, because today in our online journalism class our professor said our blogs need a focus, and I'm not sure if you've noticed but this one is more just a hodge podge of my musings (thanks for sticking around!).
This new, highly conceptualized blog was going to chronicle my quest for the perfect burger, one global patty at a time. I'm just not sure that I'm ready to commit (are you surprised?). I planned to call the blog "Blonde Meets Burger," but my clever friend Corinne amended it to "Blonde Meats Burger."
At this point I think I'll stick to one blog, but who knows what the future will bring? For now, I think I'll just plan to go back for another of those burgers very soon.
But first, the important and professional portion of my day. Tonight City hosted another of those amazing forums, this one on the ongoing phone-hacking debate in the British press. For the past few years, several stories have been reported by journalists who obtained their information by hacking into prominent citizens' voicemails. So the debate tonight was "How far should a reporter go? The lessons of the News of the World." For the back story, check out this post by Roy Greenslade, top media blogger for The Guardian who also happens to be one of my professors.
The panel included the former head of Formula One racing (who was implicated through phone hacking in a "saddo-masochistic sex orgy" and consequently won a privacy action against the News of the World.), two of Britain's top libel lawyers, and a former reporter for the News of the World who admitted he's hacked phones as part of his reporting process.
This was the most heated debate I've witnessed here at City, even compared to the Julian Assange face-off last week. And it's no wonder, since the debate over privacy has been at the forefront of journalism since its inception, but has only been exacerbated by technology (like phone hacking) that allows even novice journos-turned-hacks to obtain information.
The questions are simple on the surface. How far should a journalist go? Who deserves privacy? What level of privacy do they deserve? And when is it in the public's best interest to ignore the means to an end?
Watergate was brought up repeatedly throughout the debate. For example, if Woodward and Bernstein had used phone hacking to break the story on the Nixon administration, would we have cared how they got their information?
In the case of the former head of Formula One, the debate centered around whether the public needs to know about his private life. Is he (or footballers or celebrities) a role model? And in that case, isn't it a free press's job to expose what the public might perceive as moral corruption? Further, is the journalist even in a position to present a person's private actions as morally questionable?
If your head is spinning right now, not to worry, so was mine. The members of the panel acknowledged that this is a set of issues which isn't likely to be solved anytime soon. But it's definitely useful for us, as budding reporters, to think about these questions.
****************************************************
Okay, now for the other exciting and far less cerebral part of my day.
Those of you who know me are aware of my undying love for hamburgers. Few things bring me such delight. This afternoon during an unexpected break from classes, I was wandering through a little market near my hall and stumbled upon a delicious smelling food stand:
This little gem is called The Naked Sausage (cheeky), and was advertising a 1/2 pound bacon and cheese burger for only 3.5 pounds! My arteries started warring in protest with my greedy stomach, and my stomach won out, so I ordered one with onion marmalade (it's like caramelized onion spread), mayo and ketchup.
Let me tell you, this was perhaps THE BEST BURGER I HAVE EVER HAD. They split the patty while grilling it and filled it full of cheese, while next door on the open faced grill a slab of bacon was frying to a crisp in the remnants of the day's grease. Sounds gross, you say? I assure you, this was the Sistine Chapel of hamburgers. When the whole concoction was assembled, it was placed tenderly inside a soft, doughy wheat bun, and this was the result:
It may not look like much, but your taste buds don't have eye balls.
I was so inspired by this burger that for a fleeting moment this afternoon I considered creating a second blog about my love of burgers. It would have been perfect, because today in our online journalism class our professor said our blogs need a focus, and I'm not sure if you've noticed but this one is more just a hodge podge of my musings (thanks for sticking around!).
This new, highly conceptualized blog was going to chronicle my quest for the perfect burger, one global patty at a time. I'm just not sure that I'm ready to commit (are you surprised?). I planned to call the blog "Blonde Meets Burger," but my clever friend Corinne amended it to "Blonde Meats Burger."
At this point I think I'll stick to one blog, but who knows what the future will bring? For now, I think I'll just plan to go back for another of those burgers very soon.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Pride goeth before the man flu
Remember how yesterday I was bragging about how glamorous my life is? Well, as if the powers that be read my blog and thought, "NOT SO FAST, JESSICA!" today I have been struck down by a rather un-glamorous and unattractive cold. If I were a man, because I feel far sicker than I actually am, I would have what is commonly known here as the "man flu."
Since this illness is no doubt the direct result of my cosmopolitan boasting and my attempting to run around outside in the rain, I have resolved to avoid doing either in future.
Luckily, today is fairly light on lectures, so I'm hunkering down with an arsenal of chicken soup, tea with lemon and honey, and my all-time favorite fall sick-day movie, "You've Got Mail." Tomorrow I shall re-emerge healthy and fortified by Tom Hanks at his cutest. I always swoon at the part where he tells Meg Ryan he wants to bring her a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils. Nerd-romance at its best.
Since this illness is no doubt the direct result of my cosmopolitan boasting and my attempting to run around outside in the rain, I have resolved to avoid doing either in future.
Luckily, today is fairly light on lectures, so I'm hunkering down with an arsenal of chicken soup, tea with lemon and honey, and my all-time favorite fall sick-day movie, "You've Got Mail." Tomorrow I shall re-emerge healthy and fortified by Tom Hanks at his cutest. I always swoon at the part where he tells Meg Ryan he wants to bring her a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils. Nerd-romance at its best.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Weekend Update (disclaimer: not as funny as SNL)
Do you know what the best part of being abroad is? For some reason, in my head, ordinary occurrences seem far more glamorous. Doing my laundry is more exciting. Getting soaked while attempting to jog in the perpetual London rain doesn't bother me, because it's London rain. Taking public transportation is thrilling because there's a lady with a posh accent reminding me to "mind the gap." Cleaning my room is sadly not more exciting, but almost!
It's been raining here for about a week now. Not all the time--usually it's that pseudo rain/mist that makes you feel like a wimp for using an umbrella but makes your hair look bad if you go without one.
I can't believe I've actually resorted to talking about the weather, but that's probably because the vast majority of my weekend was fairly standard. Friday I met up with Nat and some other Rotarians to help pass out crocus bulbs in Trafalgar Square, which was really great except--you guessed it--it was raining! As a result there weren't quite as many pedestrians as the Rotarians had hoped, but we still managed to hand out some flower bulbs and spread the word about Polio Plus.
Friday afternoon I had my first International Journalism lecture, which I unfortunately cannot talk about, because it is off the record. Seriously. But I think I can safely say that we had a very inspiring and brave speaker, who really made me remember why I still believe in journalism. That sounds fairly silly, I'll admit, but after hearing some people continually bash the media (and not without good reason), it's refreshing to see the work of someone who's trying to tell the stories that really need to be told. I know that was vague, my apologies. That was, what we call in journalism, a "write around." For further reference, see the greatest write-around story of all time (Medill kids don't roll your eyes), "Frank Sinatra Has A Cold."
Saturday I caught up on some work and met up with another of my favorite people from my last stint in London, which was lovely. And today, right this second, I am actually sitting on my floor typing this, nearly engulfed by dirty laundry and the remnants of a hectic week. Good thing my life seems glamorous to me, because I'm fairly sure if you all of your were here, you might not be so convinced :)
Missing you and hoping everyone had a great weekend!
Love,
Jess
It's been raining here for about a week now. Not all the time--usually it's that pseudo rain/mist that makes you feel like a wimp for using an umbrella but makes your hair look bad if you go without one.
I can't believe I've actually resorted to talking about the weather, but that's probably because the vast majority of my weekend was fairly standard. Friday I met up with Nat and some other Rotarians to help pass out crocus bulbs in Trafalgar Square, which was really great except--you guessed it--it was raining! As a result there weren't quite as many pedestrians as the Rotarians had hoped, but we still managed to hand out some flower bulbs and spread the word about Polio Plus.
Friday afternoon I had my first International Journalism lecture, which I unfortunately cannot talk about, because it is off the record. Seriously. But I think I can safely say that we had a very inspiring and brave speaker, who really made me remember why I still believe in journalism. That sounds fairly silly, I'll admit, but after hearing some people continually bash the media (and not without good reason), it's refreshing to see the work of someone who's trying to tell the stories that really need to be told. I know that was vague, my apologies. That was, what we call in journalism, a "write around." For further reference, see the greatest write-around story of all time (Medill kids don't roll your eyes), "Frank Sinatra Has A Cold."
Saturday I caught up on some work and met up with another of my favorite people from my last stint in London, which was lovely. And today, right this second, I am actually sitting on my floor typing this, nearly engulfed by dirty laundry and the remnants of a hectic week. Good thing my life seems glamorous to me, because I'm fairly sure if you all of your were here, you might not be so convinced :)
Missing you and hoping everyone had a great weekend!
Love,
Jess
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