"what shall I learn of beans or beans of me?" Thoreau

Solidarity is real interesting. I've been spending time with only myself for the past three days straight. I guess most of my time here has been spent that way. Me and I have a great time, it's been interestante. But I have definitely had a nice share of great great company over these last five weeks. I've met people I'll never forget and have had some wonderful times.

But in these last three days I have been rather immobile as well. It's really interesting how un-tired of drawing I am and how extremely over the consumption of ham sandwiches I am. SO TIRED OF HAM SANDWICHES.

With my alone time, I've decided to put my thoughts towards something productive. I've been thinking a lot about the future. Not that this is anything new to me, but really, I've been really contemplating it specifically. You know, that question that you get asked over a million.5 times in your life, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" The time has come, sort of.

Alive. Is my answer...a little obvious.

But, to be that I have to make some sort of income, income that makes me happy. Happy is the key word here. I've realized that even with all this pressure (that I so badly want to rebel against) to get a "career" started immediately after graduating, I've realized that I actually want to get a job… Not because that's what everyone is "suppose" to do, or even because I'm going to be in mega debt, but because it really is what I want to do. I want make art, I want to contribute to that world and luckily, it's something I can get paid for. Of course I want to travel and walk all over this planet, and I will, but all these things can be woven together. There's no need to "get the travel bug out of the way." That guy is stuck on me and permanent.

So that's how far I've gotten. I haven't actually come up with any decision. I'll just maybe start there when I get there and see where that takes me, wherever there may be. I'm guessing it'll be somewhere.

I went to the Land of Wonder on Monday. The British Museum I mean. If the V&A and the Natural History Museum had a baby it would be named The British Museum. It was completely LOVELY. Especially the Enlightenment room. What a great collection of STUFF. Such nice bowls, bits of tree, small carved t h i n g s, garments, trinkets, statues, animal pieces, chunks of building (which is almost quite sad to see), jewelry, art, religious paraphernalia, and dead bodies. What a day.





bits of tree. I want a case like this.







I love this image. I'm not sure why, but it makes me really happy inside.






I REALLY like this guy ALOT.



Then Tuesday I went to Oxford. That was a beautiful day of blue skies, scholarly buildings, and good company. The Natural History Museum in Oxford and Pitts River Museum are basically a mini version of the British Museum on crack. Outside were HUGE chunks of TREES from Africa. BEAUTIFUL TREES. Of which had all fallen down from natural causes. There was an AMAZING collection of insects, seedpods, textiles, and dinosaur stamps. The Pitts River Museum is basically a large room PACKED with glass cases and drawers of things from everywhere.



Those are great bricks. All day I walked around in this complementary city. BLUE skies and orange architecture.










yumyumyumyumYUMYUMYUMMMM






If I were a grasshopper, I'd want to be this.



I think this tree and I are related.
I walked through Regents Park one afternoon after it had rained. Everything was sopping and beautiful. I watched a confused swan and clever ducks for about 20 minutes and got lost.


And then I saw her.


Oh Happy Days.

"This is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one sense, and imbibes delight through every pore." Thoreau

No matter where you are in the world, no matter what paradise or ideal location, the funk can grab you. I'm not talking about the groovy funk, I'm talking about the daunting funk. Because, no matter where you are physically, psychologically you are always within yourself, and that mental environment can be anything and can change rapidly. I found myself going in and out of this funk for a few days, and then magically out of nowhere, it disappeared with the help of the least likely candidate. I was walking through Hyde Park one day after work, just wandering to nowhere in particular when suddenly I saw a green streak dart to the branch of a nearby tree. I then realized that I had just seen the relative of my worst enemy, Hamlet. The sighting of this wretched bird surprisingly filled my being with joy and brought a very large smile to my face. I sat under this tree and discovered a whole flock of them living in the area. I watched them swim from tree to tree singing, eating and playing. It made me so very happy.

Just look at him.

I think Hamlet would be happy here right Ma? Maybe you should ship him to me and I'll let him go free?


And here's the devil.


Oh Hamletttuce-n-cheese.

I've also moved into a much nicer flat that is roach free, has a private bathroom, and is equipped with utensils and bowls so I don't have to eat my noodles with melted plastic forks and my cereal in a real bowl, instead of out of my small tea cup. Awesome.

Also, I have visited the Houses of Parlament, Trafalgur Square, Oxfort Street, Soho, Marble Arch, had a trip on the London Eye, AND went to the The Natural History Museum.
The Natural History Museum.

OH MAN.
Oh man on man.
SO GOOD.

Except, at the same time it was terrifying and depressing. Far too many taxidermies. I just couldn't enjoy the mammals and birds as much as I wanted to. I kept looking into their lonely dark eyes and hearing them say things like "I'm so lonely …so cold….here in this glass box." It was like their souls were trapped and they were stuck being gawked at by snotty nosed tourists day after day. Hhhh and I was one of them. Then to top it off, some of them had obvious face paint. So they were like these trapped sad caked up animal clowns.

Ah but what a gorgeous building.

See what I mean?







Sigh.
Anyway. It was still great great great. I learned that some male spiders will present their female counterparts with a silken wrapped dinner, and while she's munching through the silk to enjoy her feast, he jumps on her and injects her with all his little spider sperm. Tricky bastards. And then, sometimes he plays her for an even worse fool and instead of actually wrapping up a tasty dinner, he wraps up a dried corpse…so she doesn't even get grub out of the deal. What a butt hole.


London Eye

mmmm atmosphere

Tadaaaah. Houses of Parlament.

What a great mustache this guy had.

interesting.


I like this guy. He matches the trees.

And my lovely.

There's a juvenile roach trying to eat my broccoli and I do not appreciate him.

I've decided something. Milk tastes really really good when you haven't had it in a while.

I've also realized something else. When I was in Wyoming, Heather, Jake and I discussed a little about how hiking was just walking. And when we'd go on these wondrous hiking adventures into the canyons…all we were really doing was walking. The other night as I was walking around the city, I realized that all I was doing was walking…on the same ground…on the same earth…just in a different location. If I can walk in Grandpoint, Louisiana, and if I can walk in Moose, Wyoming, then I can walk anywhere. It's all ground. It's just walking.


Millennium Bridge from the Tate Modern.

Last weekend I went to the Tate Modern. Yum, it's so lovely to see art that I recognize and had studied.

Like Giacometti.
mmmfinger marks.


Divine Corpse.
These are great. And it was really great to have recognized what they were before I got to the tag because I had never actually seen one. My 20th century professor had our class do these. The Surrealists would take a piece of paper and fold it in three so that the other two sides were hidden. Each person would draw their interpretation of Head, Torso, or Feet...depending on which section of the paper they had.
amazing.










Then I walked over the Millennium Bridge (Over the Thames River) to St. Paul's Cathedral and all around that area, and then I walked over the Southwark Bridge and passed London Bridge to Tower Bridge. I walked, again, over that bridge and to the Tower of London where I watched a greedy bird not share his bread. Those shananagans took all day. What a great day of great shananagans. That night I went to Camden town where the fun ensued.

Good ole St. Paul's

Southwark Bridge

Tower Bridgeeeee

Part of the Tower of London



Moat.


A square bush doing a great job being a square bush.


He told me to got "That Way." So, I did.


And when I did I bumped into this pot-bellied Putti.

Sunday I went to a great great place called Abney Cemetery. I know…cemetery..great…not usually said together. But this cemetery was basically an overgrown forest with pathways that wove their way all through oodles and boodles of tombstones and beautiful angel statues. And guess what, I forgot my memory card here…so there are no pictures.

I even found this mini colony of probably a hundred mini mushrooms…………and I didn't have a camera. Sigh.

I met this real interesting squirrel. He was on top of a tall cement memorial and I was walking towards him. He panicked and went in circles as I got nearer. Then finally took a leap of faith and caught the smallest branch he could have and wiggled his way up the tree. He was fluffy. I don't think he appreciated our encounter, but I did.

It's so great to aimlessly walk…wherever…because here…you always find something worth walking towards.

Todaaaaaaay, I got off of work early and decided to visit the Queen. I forgot that Tuesdays are her pajama days. So she wouldn't have me today. (I wonder if the queen wears moomoos….)

I even did the secret-special pose and she STILL wouldn't have me.


Hey guys, no gossip.


For you, Victoria.

Anyway, I instead decided to continue to walk around eating my olive [insert "f" word for French kind of chewy twisty bread with black olives] Yummm.

and admire.



Ooooooooh HEY, I also found out something very nice. My one and only colorful bulbousy crusty love of London is called a London Plane. They're a hybrid of the Oriental Plane and the American Plane…which…I'm not sure how that happened really…These trees are also aaaallll over Paris. Yum yum yum. I also found out that the reason they are so crusty and shed their bark so much is because it acts as a defense mechanism against pollution. Way to adapt buddy.








He's smiling.

Also, this was peaking outside a gate from inside a great looking little park..that was locked. Chelsea it's reeeaaaal selfish of you to lock up your nature so that I can't go enjoy it.


And I'll appropriately end it with this.


except I have to actually end with this

I miss this little turd.