Episode 7: Surfing The Tube To Get To A Play That Sucked

Seeing as yesterday was rather tame and boring, there is no post for it. So you can stop looking for it. Today was much more exciting. It started off with a walk to the bus stop in Seething Wells for the University bus. So sad that this bus only runs until Friday. Anyway, I went to catch the early bus that comes at 9:05 since I had to print some stuff off in the computer lab. On the way to the stop at the front of the dorm complex, I feel rain drops.

I figure, no big deal. Yes, I'm wearing no sleeves, but I have an umbrella and should be fine. But then I look down and realize I've forgotten my watch. Jacket I can live without, but not my watch. So I trek all the way back to the dorm, grab my coat and my watch, and then go all the way back to the front to wait.

And I wait. And wait. And wait some more. Soon it's 9:15 and the bus still hasn't shown up. We (the students waiting at the bus stop, and by this time there are quite a few of us) are understandably nervous about this. Finally the bus shows up and we all get on, arriving at the university at 9:25. I go to the elevator and race (as fast as I can in metal box on a motorized pulley system) up to the computer lab to print off my work. 12 copies of a poem for tomorrow? Check.

So I went to the classroom for my Theatre class. We talked about After The Dance quite a bit and then headed to Surbiton Station for the train into London. And while it seemed kind of close when I took the bus on Monday, this walk was much longer. I fell behind since I have very little endurance, but the way was mostly embedded in my memory and I could see the group just a little ahead of me.

Made it to the station, got on the train, made it to Waterloo. Then came the next chapter in my public transportation experience. I went into the bowels of the city and rode the Underground! It took about 100 stairs to get down there though. Luckily, 80 of these stairs were part of a huge escalator. I'm dead serious. The thing was huge.

And I don't know if you know this, but it is not cool down in the Underground tunnels. It's rather stuffy and there's a lot of people jammed into a rather small area. Maybe this is what makes it so warm. In any case, I do not want to be keep in those tunnels for a prolonged period of time.

When the car arrived, we all filed on and packed in like sardines. Now, I have never ridden the subway. We don't have anything like it where I live, maybe because even though they don't happen often, we do get some small earthquakes. The closest I ever got to one was the Max in Portland and that's more of a tram than a subway.

So as the car pulls up and we file on, I cannot help but think of the song Santa Fe from Rent. More specifically I see all the choreography laid out in my mind and long to engage the Londoners in a rousing dance number on our way to Leicester Square. Because I am slightly uncoordinated (okay, a lot uncoordinated) and the car was rather crowded, I did not act on this impulse. But it simmered there, beneath the surface. And if I was with people who I knew would dance with me and the car was a little emptier, I may have attempted it.

Arriving at the Leicester Square stop we all filed off and followed Patsy to the theatre where we though we'd be having our workshop before the show. But once there the stage manager/ticket guy told us that the workshop was in another theatre, across the square. Being the good theatre enthusiasts and troopers that we are, the class valiantly set off across the square led by our fearless leader.

The workshop was very fun, actually much more fun than the play was. The instructor was very nice and did not judge us. The first thing we did was this small skit where four of us (me being one of these four) went up and acted out a scenario. In it, I and another girl had found a wallet that had thousands of pounds in it, as well as a picture of a family, ID, and credit cards.. She was supposed to want to return it while I wanted to keep some of the money. Two other girls acted as the shoulder angel and devil.

It was really quite fun. I had a great time making up reasons why we ought to keep some of the money. Such as the guy was a drunk and going to spend all these pounds on alcohol so we should take it to save the child in the picture. Or that it was drug money and we shouldn't let a drug dealer prosper. I've always loved improv.

After the workshop we had an hour before the play started. Most people walked back to the theatre, and I was following them, but I got distracted by a caricaturist. He asked if I wanted one and I asked how much. "15 pounds," he replied. I said I didn't have the money so he said, "Since I'm just starting it up, I'll do it for ten." I've always loved caricatures, and never had an actual one done that exaggerates certain features, so I agreed. Plus the guy was kind of cute, even if he did look to be a bit older than me.

It is very unnerving to have someone watch you while you keep a smile on your face. I know that smile started to look unnatural pretty soon after he said to smile. Plus I kept seeing him look up and over at me and it just felt weird. But he did a pretty good job. I knew my teeth were going to be big since when I smile I have large teeth. Straight, but big since my smile pulls my lips all the way back from my teeth. I like how my hair looks too.

After he finished, I walked the rest of the way back to the theatre. And I thank the Lord and Dad's genes for my good memory and sense of direction. I remembered the way back all on my own! Ate some of my lunch meat from a baggie (such a sad way to eat food) and then went in for the play.

Enron played for two weeks in New York before closing and never returning. I can totally see why. I don't think it was the acting that made me uncomfortable so much as the way the play was written. It was very coarse, with lots of swearing and yelling. I do not like to feel yelled at or watch someone else get yelled at. Plus some things were thrown in with no real relevance. Like the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal. It was superflous.

Visually though, it was very interesting. It used a lot of video from things that happened during those years and had intriguing dance numbers. My favorite part of the whole thing was a part where they used lightsabers when showing what happened when California deregulated electricity. I also now know why I can't remember much about this upset. I was ten when it all happened, about the same time as 9-11. At ten, I only had room to process one important news story and the fear that terrorists would bomb my house took all that space.

After the play, five of us walked back to the Underground, went back to Waterloo and took a train back to Surbiton. Once in Surbiton I walked to Sainsbury's to see about getting something to put my lunch meat on, preferably some kind of carb. Plus I needed to get some kind of breakfast food.

I discovered that even corn tortillas have gluten in them. Blasphemy! So I asked one of the salespeople if they had any gluten-free breads and she showed me that they had an entire gluten-free aisle. I got some bread and some brownies and some chocolate. Plus Frosted Flakes are my love. They have no gluten because as corn flakes they are true to themselves. Breakfast tomorrow shall be lovely.

I walked back to the dorm and unpacked my groceries. Sorry, I meant to say, I placed my groceries in the kitchen, unlocked my cell door and collapsed on my bed for a few minutes. Because walking around with a backpack all day is exhausting. Then I put the groceries away and made myself a ham sandwich. Ah carbs, I've missed thee sorely these few days. Bread has come back into my life (not as soft as other breads but still perfectly edible) and I am well pleased.

Today's lesson: even people in London has issues so odds are you can find the foods you need to accommodate your complicated diet. Also, carbs rock. Ciao