i am your road agent.

I realize that for many people study abroad time is over or it's about to be over. This is pretty strange because if some people's are ending, then mine isn't so far off. Today when I parted with Maura and Clara, we realized that September wasn't actually so far away. It's not even far enough away to have a weird romance, like a May-December romance. A May-September romance may turn a few heads, but nobody is going to make a big tabloid thing out of it like Demi and Ashton, so really, it's not that big a deal. It's a Katie-Tom thing, maybe. Some people think about the age difference, but nobody cares. They just care because Tom Cruise is crazy. Anyway, it seems pretty sad that my time might be up, although I am excited for every next aspect in my life. Mostly I'm sad because my time here is going SO FAST! SOQUICK!

The city also tends to perk up at any hints of sunshine. Seriously, after the first day of real warmth and sunshine (Thursday, May 4), London was all, like, totally, 'HEY, LET'S DO SOMETHING COOL EVERY SINGLE DAY.' This city contains too much coolness for me to even possibly comprehend. There are always events going on in museums and bookstores, in parks and neighborhoods, in the skies, on the water. Yesterday there was some sort of guard brigade parade thing that Prince Harry was at in Hyde Park. We were in Hyde Park today, not yesterday. It's so easy to miss something, yet there is always something going on. It's frustrating, but also exhilarating in the fact that it did happen. It is possible.

Apparently, the Kristinacas Fongithikium tends to perk up at any hints of sunshine and schedule. Pencil me in, because I'll be happy to be there. Having obligation, feeling like you're needed for something or that you're living for something, is something I need. I hate getting stressed. I love getting stressed.

I don't know how to do this entry. I have done so much in the past couple of weeks.

One: I have an internship at the Eagle Gallery in Clerkenwell. It is a tiny gallery, run mostly by one woman who founded it fifteen years ago and has run it ever since. It represents about 15 artists (mostly painters and printmakers) and she coordinates rotating shows and collaborative shows. She is smart and efficient and chill.

Two: I am helping out a teacher/painter at Goldsmiths with a lecture he is doing at Sotheby's in New York in June. It's a simple task with a relatively large time commitment. The lecture topic is on contemporary British painters and he gave me a list of about 40 I have to acquire recent high quality jpegs for and stick in a nice looking powerpoint. Sounds easy. Sounds like Google images. No, sounds more like tracking down which artists are represented by what galleries and emailing them. I'm not complaining. I never mind "grunt work" if I'm learning anything, and I think I can learn something from almost anything I'm thrown into like this. I've come across several amazing artists and again, I matter. I'm making a difference. My choice in paintings and my powerpoint is going to be in this guys lecture. I like it. This is a painting by Richard Pattersonn. I love it.

Three: London events. A short list: The Sultan's Elephant (the giant elephant on Piccadilly Street in this picture): where London turned into Disneyland. Maybe I'll write more about that later - it was awe-inspiring. Fireworks over Waterloo Bridge on Saturday Night. Why? Nobody knows. Maura & Clara visit (we love the sunshine on Portobello Road in the picture.) The 'gruffalo' visits Waterstones bookstore and we try to meet him, but we don't find him. There is a huge New Years celebration on Brick Lane. Covent Garden finally turns into the Covent Garden of legends: street performers and large crowds everywhere.

Four: I MET NICK HORNBY TONIGHT.

Five: I MET NICK HORNBY TONIGHT. HE SIGNED MY BOOK.

Six: As for the entry before the Henry VIII entry, I really did get my hair cut. For 4.50. In front of a group of Japanese students. While the teacher narrated. And the translator translated. And I stood up and they clapped. And then they all took pictures of me.

Seven: BluePlaque.com - We spotted this particular plaque near Piccadilly Circus. I also found the "Nancy Steps" near London Bridge. I continue to firmly believe that London is some type of story land. Any city that has markers for fictional characters is my kind of city. (Including the magical Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station...)

OKAY I'm DONE I SWEAR. GOSH, THAT WAS BORING. OH, I FINALLY STARTED WRITING A STORY.

it certainly took long enough. so much for the novel and oh so much for the city.