I'm so productive right now it hurts
Like so many other times in my life, I am now avoiding studying. How I made it this far academically I will never know. But be that as it may, recounting is the best way to procrastinate, I think. So here goes...
Friday I am worried because A) It is my first time fasting by myself without the company of equally miserable Jews at synogogue (I skipped last year because of fainting a week before from not eating. A good excuse, I think) and B) When it came time to eat my last meal before the fast, I wasn't even hungry and could barely finish. I had planned that night to go see a show so to as avoid the other option of going to a pub and not getting a chance to drink while those around me did. A "severe delay" on the Piccadily line kept me and Stephanie stuck at Gloucester station, so we gave up on the idea and went back to the flat to join Julia in watching "Fight Club" and later an episode of "Arrested Developement" (I can see why everyone loves that show now).
Saturday however came the real challenge. I had signed up to go on a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon, where Shakespeare was born. I didn't know how well I would last during the day, but it turned out all right. When my friends went to eat lunch I took it as an opportunity to wander around a bit seeing everything for myself. I spent the day feeling hazy, but not at all hungry. Come sundown, I was feasting on take-away food and planning a trip to a cocktail bar where one drink leaves heavy dents in one's wallet.
It wasn't a very reflective Yom Kippur by far. It's hard to reflect on anything when your brain is slowly wilting from hunger. But I was able to conclude that I was horrible Jew, not only for taking a trip on the holiest day of the year, but also because that trip included a visit to a church to see Shakespeare's grave. But I now understand how hard it is to be a minority. Before, I've always lived in very Jewish area, and last year I had Hillel to go to. But here, where there's a church on nearly every street and a limited number of Jews, I am beginning to see what all that hooplah was about in Hebrew school.
Last night, after banging my head against a wall over this test all day, Stephanie and I headed out to the local pub where we ended up meeting some British boys visiting their old professor. Unlike most of the Brits we met so far, they weren't the least bit standoffish, and we ended up wandering around the streets of Kensington with them for a while. It was nice, as it brought me out of my shell a bit (ok, the gin and tonic and Guiness I had just consumed probably was the main factor in that though, not gonna lie).
And today, after avoiding work even more, I decided to wander through Hyde park. I started writing a whole spiel about that, but now the idea of finishing it is not really appealing and this test tomorrow is screaming at me. And. I. Have. To. Study.
I miss talking to everyone from home. But I love it here. I miss being able to write a half decent entry. But that's only the result of being so busy here and actually going out and living instead of sitting inside by myself like I'm prone to do. So there that is.
Tomorrow is a good day for music. Tomorrow is when Office and The Weakerthans release their albums, the latter of which I am going to see with Jamie when the family visits in November. Am I excited? You could say that, yes.
Needless to say, I think you should all listen to those bands. Get on that, ok?