I'm sorry, I haven't written in quite a long time. All I do now is write. It's so incredibly boring and stressful. So the last thing I want to do is take a break from writing to write about how boring and stressful my life is. So instead I choose to focus on my London celebrity sighting list, which is increasing considerably lately despite the fact I don't often leave my bedroom.

1. Martin Freeman
2. Goldie Hawn
3. Kurt Russell
4. Ivana Trump
5. Charlotte Church
6. Carmen Electra
7. The Darkness
8. Graham Norton
9. Paul McCartney
10. Patrick Stewart
11. Kevin Spacey (smoking around the corner from the Old Vic)
12. Matt Lucas (hailing a cab on Lisson Grove)
13. Jessica Stevenson
14. Simon Amstell (talking to Ms. Stevenson at a special viewing of Grindhouse at Prince Charles Cinema)

Are those last three too British? I mean, I wouldn't have any idea who they are if I hadn't lived here for some considerable time. It makes me feel really acclimated.

So as you know, after three years of living in halls, I'm now finally out and about in a proper London flat. It's a whole different world out here. On my interview, I came in, met the flatmates, had a quick tour. It wasn't until after I moved in that the mild surprises started kicking in. Take my kitchen for example:



Did you get that? Yes, that's definitely a washing machine in our kitchen!



These seems to be the norm here in Britain. Not that I've been to that many flats, but I am totally addicted to those house hunting shows, like A Place in the Sun and Relocation Relocation (I'm so wound up in the sexual tension I've actually been known to yell at the screen, "Just snog her, Phil! Just throw Kirstie down over that refurbished dining room table and snog the hell out of her!!!") In nearly all of these country homes, the washing machine is in the kitchen. In America, these appliances are tucked neatly away in the 'laundry room' or the 'utility room'. There seems to be something not right about having laundry detergent near all my food but to each his own.

Also note the lack of a dryer. It's washing machine only, which means that in my room I have a clothes drying rack, and it takes me ages before my laundry's done. While I'm all proud of myself environmentally, it is quite strange to constantly have wet clothes in my room. I'd post a picture of that too, but I don't want to broadcast my knickers all over the internet...

Brilliant. The month I decided to start looking for a big, fancy, high-paying, pharmaceutical job in America is the exact same month America decides to kick off a recession. So anyone who was worried about this blog ending anytime soon can hold off their despair! I'll be here ages yet!

Yes, I'm back!!! Had a nice two week holiday break in San Francisco. Before and after that trip I've been writing furiously for my thesis. Yes, my lab work is finally completed and I'm now in full PhD thesis writing mode. It's hell. Absolute, burning, rain-of-fire-from-above hell. To think that I'm going to be spending the next three months of my life like this is agonizing. It will also be roughly about my last three months in London. The time is fast approaching where I do have to leave and head back across the pond. I thought I would like to stay, as I do love it here more than I ever imagined it was possible. But a rather pressing matter has come up that makes my return to the States imminent:


The love of my life happens to live in America, and so that's where I must be.... I know I will miss London dearly; it's the only place I've ever been in my whole life that I ache for when I'm away. But I wasn't meant to be here forever, and this time is coming to an end. I've got some other stuff to do coming up!

It's the most wonderful time of the year, for sure, but also the worst time of the year for blogging. Between all the parties and visits from my parents and old friends in town, I haven't had time to exercise, eat properly, sleep, and definitely no spare time for writing. Sorry!

But I did have to get up early and jot this one down, because it is one of my favorite (yet silliest) aspects of living in London I like to mention: celebrity-sighting! We were at the National Theatre to see a Noel Coward play Tuesday night, starring Alex Jennings and Sara Stewart (whom I was already over the moon about: she's the mom from Sugar Rush, the first series of which is probably some of the best television I've ever seen). During intermission, we were standing around and I was chugging the last of my gin and tonic when my mom said, "Oh look, Patrick Stewart." I turned around, and sure enough, standing right next to us, chatting away with some friends, was Jean-Luc Picard.

So to remind you, my London list:

1. Martin Freeman
2. Goldie Hawn
3. Kurt Russell
4. Ivana Trump
5. Charlotte Church
6. Carmen Electra
7. The Darkness
8. Graham Norton
9. Paul McCartney
10. Patrick Stewart

I must admit I am a little star-crazy at the moment, thinking I see them all the time while I jog around Marylebone and St. John's Wood. Sometimes in my panting induced delirium I catch myself thinking, "Is that David Williams?" or "Holy crap, I think that's Jim Broadbent!" Once I swore I saw Alexa Chung in Mayfair. But I'm never quite sure, don't really get a good look, so just don't trust it. I guess I need someone to run with who's as celebrity keen as I am!

Is actually an incredibly lovely bridge, spanning the Thames, inland from Waterloo. The views are pretty spectacular, and it's a train only bridge, meaning no ducking and weaving amongst cars and buses.



It also leads to an interesting short cut through Charing Cross station so you can avoid all the tourist pedestrian traffic on the Stand, which I suspect is one of those secret things only Londoners know.



But one of the best things about it I've recently discovered is that there is a Quizno's underneath the bridge on the northern side of the river, a lunch spot from the states that I've sorely missed. It's dreadfully expensive and I'm actually thankful for that, or else I'd spend nearly every nice day noshing my fresh sandwich standing in the sun on Hungerford Bridge, soaking up the view.

Just some more lovely fall photos from Regent's Park. This park and Hyde Park are the two closest to my new flat, and I do love that, even though sometimes I find them too large to manage and end up getting lost walking around. In SE1 there were no large royal parks that I could walk to in a few minutes, so I didn't spend much time in parks until now. Before this, I would spend warm afternoons dozing in the Bernie Spain Gardens, which are cute but don't have quite the same effect. Regent's is so big it contains the London Zoo!