Croup da loup

I had a tickle in my throat this week and assumed it was just the changing of climates or possibly a slight cough that was coming along.  However, yesterday I woke up in a full blown sickly rage!  Phlegm and fever plaguing my body.  Barely able to breathe because my asthma isn't too fond of the London fog as it is.  My friend Bradley suggests I take some of his cough medicine that he had been prescribed a week earlier and naturally I take his advice thinking it to be just what I need.  Well....not exactly.  I then go in to a complete Codine FREAK OUT!  Take my top off, hallucinate a little, tell Hannah she smells like babies, fall down several times trying to get out of bed, and then begin to sweat and shake.  Not exactly my idea of a brilliant Sunday afternoon.  Luckily, I was with my best friends and they not only adore me but pamper me beyond belief.  I was well taken care of.

So this morning there was no choice in the matter.  I had to go to hospital.  For those of you that know me...not my favorite place to end up.  Though for some reason it seems to be where I ALWAYS end up.  They see me almost immediately because I'm clearly having trouble breathing and you can here my wheezy lungs from a mile away.  I get in and apparently my symptoms are exactly what it would look like if an adult had Croup.  Croup is something i've never even heard of so naturally it freaked me out a little hearing some foreign name on my foreign doctors lips.  Unfortunately, I wasn't the only one freaked out.  "She's got the Croup!"  I heard one doctor belt across the hallway.  I was raced up to the ICU where about ten doctors surround my little wheezing body and begin sticking all sorts of what nots and majigs on my body.  Suddenly I feel a sharp pain as a large tube is forcefully stuck down my throat.  They put me on assisted breathing and immediately took what looked like pints of my blood!  Though i'm sure that's quite an exaggeration.  Within 45 minutes it had been determined I had not contracted "The Croup".  Phew!  They took several more tests on me.  One being a tiny little camera that they put up my nose and went all the way down to my throat.  That was probably the worst of them all.  After all the Croup madness all I had was a cold.  A COLD.  I couldn't believe it.  Inflamation of the lungs, chest, and throat.  A little infection in the throat.  They gave me antibiotics and steriods and booted my traumatized butt out the door.

I would be a little angry about the Croup mixup but...FREE HEALTHCARE!!!  So It's cool.

Oxford or bust!

I was way too exhausted yesterday after the trip to Oxford to blog about it but now that i'm feeling a bit rested and have collected my thoughts I can share them with you.  OXFORD WAS AMAZING.  Walking in the same halls that the University Wits, Lewis Carol, Christopher Marlowe, and Christopher Wren once graced was humbling and awe inspiring.  The campus was vast, ancient, and lovely.  Honey colored stones built up in to cathedral like buildings where some of the smartest men in the world lectured to some of the smartest (or in some cases richest) students in the world.  It definitely made me feel a little puny in comparison.  I learned a lot about the rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge.  Saw the part of the Thames where the infamous boat races happen every year.  Also got to see a few studly young students with their preppy socks hiked up over their pant legs, and sweater vests tucked neatly in to their leather belts.  I don't think I would mind too much being the wife of an Oxford grad!

One of the most incredible parts of the trip was seeing where Alice in Wonderland was inspired.  The chestnut tree where young Alice's cheshire cat used to sit on to take naps.  The tiny little door where her Father, who was the Dean of Oxford at the time, would slip out of during luncheons after opening up his pocket watch and outcrying "I'm late!"  I can see why Lewis Carol was so inspired to write such a fantastical magical story.  Everything about this place was just that.  Magic.  

Shakespeare is rolling in his grave

Not much to say about tonight other then sorely disappointed and generally confused.  I saw a production of Hamlet and it was not only the worst Hamlet i've ever seen done (and i've seen Middle School students put up that play) but it was also the worst Shakespeare i've ever had the displeasure to sit through.  Here's just a few notes I wrote down during the play so that I might portray how truly gruesome it was:

-Why is your father wearing a fencing mask?

-The comedy is weird and inappropriate

-Are you speaking English?

-Is there a stick permanently lodged in your arse?!

-I feel like this is in fast forward

-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

-Your "get thee to a nunnery" speech was laughable

-Your tragic acting is a tragedy in itself...the comedy is even worse

-To be or not to be.........I choose NOT to be

-I like this play better when Hamlet isn't onstage

-Does Polonius look like Bob Nelson?

-UGHHHH

-No more Hamlet soliloquies pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaase!

Well...that about raps it up.  The good news is-I now know what not to do as an actor...EVER!  The bad  news is-Hamlet is temporarily ruined for me until further notice.

                    

A Whole Day To Myself

Woke up early and had toast and jam.  No school today so what to do?  I want to go to the Natural History Museum!  I decide to go alone because...well I suppose mostly because i'm tired of hanging out with "couples" doing their "coupley thing".  I love all of my friends dearly but being around couples every day is not putting me in the best of moods I suppose one could say.  So off to the Museum for a day of self soothing!

The Museum looked like an enormous castle!  Most buildings here, i've noticed, are either extremely modern with glass and silver twisting in to skyscrapers...or they're ancient castles with worn stones and lush gardens.  Either way, they're usually stunning to look at.  Unfortunately, this particular castle was filled with obnoxious tourists and from what I could tell all of London's finest High School students on a field trip.  So I promptly popped in my head phones, listened to my "summer jamz" playlist, and toured the facilities soaking in all the tiny details.  I mostly enjoyed the dinosaurs.  There was even a replica of a T-Rex that moved around and if it caught you moving would turn it's grisly head and look you directly in the eye.  It was terrifying but exciting!  I also drew a picture of a beautiful flower they had on display in the Museum.  They had a little area where you could drop off drawings and if they like your drawing they would display it at the Museum!  I'm sure I won't get chosen but I drew one anyway.  I mean...why not?!

After a few hours in the museum I hopped a bus and headed down High Kensington to catch a movie at the local Cinema.  Not much playing but since it's still matinee I decide, what the heck, why not Pirates of the Caribbean?  Pretty silly, but it just might make it on my list of "so bad...it's good!"

All in all a successful day off strolling around London.

Me Likey

How to describe the production of Shakespeare's 'As You Like It' at The Globe Theatre today....hmmm.........FaNtAsTiCaL!!  I felt like before the show someone should have come out and given a grand speech, something of the likes of "Welcome ladies and gents to the most spectacular spectacular imagination creation!"  Well...something of that sort!  The actors were "actors" and that was clear from the beginning.  At times they would sneer at the audience or ask them for help or just completely play to us which usually isn't my favorite style of acting but for this particular play it worked flawlessly.  The comedic timing was impeccable and I was laughing like a hyena throughout!  The only downside was having to stand for three hours under a fairly hot summer London sky.  The Globe is supposed to be an exact replica of the theatre that burnt down hundreds of years ago.  In fact, the man who built it used the same ancient tools that were used in the 16th Century to build THIS Globe, so that it might be exactly constructed how it would have been then.  In that time period they would sell "pit" tickets for one shilling and the pit was exactly how it sounds.  A large pit in front of the stage where the poorer folk could stand and watch a play, while the richer folk could sit in the vast balcony area's circumventing the stage.  It was INCREDIBLE to see and made me feel like a real Shakespearean.  However, I must admit my feet HUUUUUURRRRRTTT after the show.  Standing for a three hour Shakespeare show is a task indeed.

The Guilty Blogger

Alright i'm finally doing it.  I've put it off for long enough for reasons unexplainable!  I am two weeks in to the London trip and having the TIME OF MY LIFE!

Incredible things I've seen so far:  Kew Gardens, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, The London Eye, Portobello Road, Middle Temple Hall, The Globe Theatre, The National Theatre of London, The Tower of London.  NOT to mention the astonishing plays, vast endless graveyards, gardens, parks, pubs, buildings, bridges, and funny looking cars i've enjoyed!

It must be said that Kew Gardens was one of my favorite places, surprisingly enough, considering my deep love for Tudor history and those gardens have absolutely nothing to do with them.  However, I got lost from the group of friends I was with and had one of those 'moments' while walking the gardens for five hours.  I've always loved being by myself.  But being by myself in the most beautiful place i've ever seen was heart stoppingly precious to me.  This is what I wrote in my journal about half way through the day:          Drinking hot vanilla tea under a cool breeze with the perfect sky above in front of Queen Charlottes burnt orange palace.  Trees and flowers as far as the eye can see.  The sound of chit chat and birds chirping.  The sweet smell of lavender, vanilla, and oranges hangs in the air and drifts in the wind.  The lyrics to a Kimya Dawson song is playing in my head.  Absolute bliss and perfect calm is all that can describe this moment.  I could be here forever.  Will you come with me to the garden in my dreams?  Everything is still and it seems the blue bell fields will stretch until the world drops off at its end.

I will end this particular blog by writing about last night and today so I can start tomorrow fresh and actually keep this blog going!  Last night I saw a production called The Holy Rosenburgs at The National Theatre.  To say it disturbed, touched, and effected me would be an understatement.  The story was about a Jewish family on the brink of falling to pieces.  One of the sons had died in the war in Israel fighting fo the homeland and was being buried the following day.  The story mostly revolved around the Father and his grief and guilt, though all of the family members played their part.  The acting was pitch perfect and utterly believable.  I cried basically the entire second act.  The play reminded me so much of someone that I lost recently in the war and afterward I felt completely despondent, almost shell shocked from what I had just witnessed.  I felt like it was so personal, I didn't even want to watch.  But i'm glad that I did. 

Today was a much less emotional, but no less astonishing day then yesterday.  I went to Westminster and saw the tombs of Kings, Poets, Scientists, and believe it or not ACTORS!  Yes, ACTORS!  I stood over where Laurence Oliver was put to rest.  It was breathtaking.  But even more breathtaking was being in the presence of Queen Elizabeth I, one of my favorite past monarchs.  Her tomb was absolutely beautiful.  Golden tudor flowers surrounding the encased marble liking of herself.  She looked peaceful, like she was just taking an afternoon nap with her hands clasped over her chest.  Because of her sister, Mary's, unpopularity...Mary didn't have a shrine quite like Elizabeth, infact her grave was barely marked at all, though they laid to rest beside each other.  Next to their tombs it read: 
NEAR THE TOMB OF MARY AND ELIZABETH REMEMBER BEFORE GOD ALL THOSE WHO DIVIDED AT THE REFORMATION BY DIFFERENT CONVICTIONS LAID DOWN THEIR LIVES FOR CHRIST AND CONCIENCE SAKE
I had to remind myself to breathe the entire time I was walking around her tomb.  BEAUTIFUL.  Some other A lister's I saw were Charles Dickens, George Frederick Handel, Chaucer, Richard II, Henry III, Henry V, Mary Queen of Scots, Charles Darwin, Ben Jonson, and practically ever monarch that has ruled since about the 13th century.  With the exception of those that weren't highly favored or were buried in family plots.  I learned on our tour there are 33,000 bodies buried in Westminster so naturally a few of their names have slipped my mind. 

That's all for now.  I'll pick up my blogging tomorrow and continue for the rest of the trip!