akin to being distracted by shiny things.

Good-bye, nerdiness. It's been a good four-day run but I'm tired of you. Gone is my desire to set myself up in the library by the best window and read read read to my hearts content. Two days ago this was me: now, 200 pages of reading about women in Nazi Germany (intriguing!) later, I am finished. Oh it's been a good run. And I'm ready to outline this second paper and start writing it, but I don't think I can wrap my head around it properly. I may very well indeed need a day outside of New Cross tomorrow, as I haven't left it since Thursday. Fresh London air (hah!) and perhaps some art or fashion or a stroll through a park will get me ready. Or, as the default answer, a Diet Coke could help me.

But I think the real problem is that my mind has moved past the sudden stress of realizing I had 3 weeks to write 4 essays and onto better things. My mother arrives this Saturday and we plan on taking day trips into other bits of England, attending a footie game, and doing all the other things that mothers & daughters do. Like cook and fetch water. And talk about boys and do each other's hair. No. But, you see, my mom understands London the way I do and hopefully her company will be welcomed for the entire week that she's here. The real question though is: What musical are we going to see? With only popular Broadway crap in town (Chicago, Mama Mia, Fame, etcetera) and about ten viewings total of both Les Miserables and Phantom combined under our belts, there's not much to see, except for an old Andrew Lloyd Webber replacing Woman in White - Whistle Down the Wind! Quite arguably the worst musical he's ever written. It opened and closed about 4 or 5 years ago within a year. Obviously, not the thing to bring back. Evita is coming, but not until June. What a shame.

The other real reason is my occupation with travel. In 2 and a half short weeks, I will be free of academics and ready to embark on my tour around the world. Instead of stress, I have now embraced the excitement and slight stress involved with planning a trip. I'm planning a lot for my roomie and myself - I hope she slightly agrees to it. (How about it, babe?) And for all you others abroad, I'll be out and about in Europe from March 25thish to April 15th. Obviously, e-mail contact will be essential for meeting up. (Almost all hostels have free internet, bless their souls.) Reading about Amsterdam, Dutch windmills, the chateaux of the Loire Valley, coastal Italian towns, and climbing mountains in the Swiss Alps has freed me from this academic and drunken stupor I've stumbled upon recently.

Also preoccupying my travel research is research for Japan. Ballsy Kristina went ahead and booked some stupidly expensive Japan tickets. Ah well, the draw of cherry blossoms, mountains, and Tokyo Disneyland (as well as checking out this cultural phenomenon) was too strong. Oh, and this stupid kid named A- something.

So another pictureless update from this boring girl in London. In about 10 hours it will be time for the Oscar red carpet show over in California. I am missing it badly. Tomorrow I will be back with a special update of my favorite Oscar dresses. Be sure not to miss it.

Yours Truly.