Mum

Yesterday was one of those days where you pinch yourself.

In the morning I went to an art exhibit that was an audio tour around an area called White Chapel in East London. The artist, Janet Cardiff, created the piece by studying the area for about six months and then layering up to 300 sounds on top of each other as she commentated a walk through the neighborhood. There were sounds that were so real that I would turn around suddenly as I heard an ambulance that did not exist outside my headphones.

I had a voice lesson in the afternoon and she worked with me on "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" in preparation for the summer! I was so excited. My voice teacher took me then to a CD release concert of one of her friends. I walked out of the tube station and had my breath knocked out of me as the first thing in my sight was the Tower of London all lit up with the twilight in the background. And, I was not looking for it as a tourist would. I was just on my way to life and stumbled upon it.

The concert was interesting. It was classical obviously, so it wasn't my absolute favorite, but it was in a beautiful little church called St. Olave's and the atmosphere was cool.

I left early to go see the production called "Money." Money was set in an empty warehouse where you walk in to a gloomy bar area and directly in front of you is a giant machine that is humming slightly. It was all very ominous. I felt much like I was standing in line to a haunted house, or a Disney Ride.

The sensation continued as the play began, and we were ushered inside the machine, into a dark room where the walls were actually sheets with air blowing on them from the opposite side, giving the illusion that the walls were closing in on us. In front were two television screens with a rapidly dropping number that represented a Paris stock market crash and into our ears pounded raging sounds of a humming machine. People were frightened by it and screaming, but I rather liked it because again, I felt like I was on a ride.

Once the play started however, I quickly began to lose interest and the Disney illusion faded. It was very abstract and violently in the audience's face, and altogether much too difficult for anyone to follow. I did like the artistic value that it held, the set was pretty creative and there were moments in some scenes that were intriguing, but for the most part I was uninvested because while the fourth wall was broken often it was not about involving the audience at all... it was a very self-centered piece focusing on the creative teams egos in creating it.

This morning I got up at FIVE to make it to the airport to pick up my mum! YIPPEEEE! I greeted her with a sign, and we hit the tube home during big time rush hour. We got home later than expected due to a delay in her flight, so I didn't go to class (woops!) and instead we made a yummy breakfast of eggs with feta and spinach (thanks to Mama Lee who showed me the delicious trick to scrambled eggs) and walked to the market and grocery for bread and fruit.

We checked into our hotel (that has no heat or hot water at the moment... HMMMM) and then took a nap. Of course my poor mum who hasn't slept but 6 hours in the past 48 had a bit of a hard time waking up, but after 45 minutes of trying to budge her there was success and we took the tube to Oxford Circus and went... where?

Topshop.

It was wild. So many people. So much fashion. You wouldn't know there was a recession going on. I needed Barrett Weed with me (for those of you who don't know who she is.... imagine 5'9" fashionista consisting of 90 percent legs and 100 percent quality.) Anyway... we bought some cute things that I hope Barrett would be proud of.

Coming out of the store an hour or so later, the streets were twice as packed as before and we noticed a giant horde of people around the tube station. I went up to a woman and asked if the station was down or closed, and she said, "No, it is just so crowded we are all waiting in line." The line stretched all the way from the platform, through the entrance gates, up the stairs and into the streets! I am surprised they did not close the station due to fire hazard. They do close them for that reason sometimes.

So that obviously kept us from getting on the tube, so instead we walked in the direction of Picadilly Circus. It was a fun walk through the hubbub of London life as we chatted and chatted. We ended up in Trafalgar Square and guess what?! JOAN LAUDEMAN climbed the Lions! I gave her a boost and she posed at the rump of the lion (she couldn't get up onto them... I can't even do that without assistance) and made a giant leap back down onto the ground. I was so proud.

We took the now-less-crowded tube back to Paddington where her hotel is located and on our walk back we found the coolest little pub called The Dickens Tavern. We walked in and instantly knew it would be a success because it was crowded with that "I'm-a-good-pub" sort of atmosphere. Mom got her fish and chips of London and we just sat enjoying the Pub culture. We also found out March is National Vegetarian month here! Cool, huh?

I have 4 papers due tomorrow, and so we came back to edit them and mum started falling asleep while she was reading. She would read a sentence and invert the beginning consonants of words and slip farther down her pillow. It was soooo funny and took me back to the days when she would be helping me with my homework by "pointing to the answers with her nose" after she had fallen asleep but insisted that she wasn't asleep and was still "helping."

Tomorrow we are planning on a trip to the park and gym in the morning together, then some Madam Tussaud's in the afternoon, and we're going to make dinner for my friends Linda, Kathryn and Brooke.

Thought for the day: Being with family makes me more joyful.