Convergent Journey

A cuppa tea and a camera

Archive for ‘September, 2011’

Wild Goose Chase

By on September 29, 2011

Feed me?

One thing I wasn’t prepared for was having to relearn the ropes. The administration at SIPA announced to all wide-eyed first years at orientation, there is red tape here. You’re on your own. Figure it out and good luck with it. (In other words, don’t bother us.) So, last year, I did just that. Ran around figuring out how to register for classes, where to go for this and that, how to utilize a loophole to print all my readings for free and overall realizing, as promised, how incredibly inefficient SIPA is.

And I have to do it all over again. As early as last Friday, I tried to register and activate my LSE account, but student services absolutely would not let me. I tried again on Tuesday, since I need an active LSE account in order to access information about courses (which start on Monday), sign up for career events (which started today), get student discounts on transportation, open a bank account, and just generally go about life.

We can’t do that here, they said, not yet. Come back on Thursday.

So I went back today. And you know those times when you have three questions, and to get answers you have to go to three different departments in three different buildings, and each department then redirects you to another department in another building? That’s always fun.

Thus, I got a small jolt back to reality and stress today. I think my experience was particularly disarrayed because I’m a dual-degree student, so I’m technically a continuing student, though I’m actually still new to things. Overall, I’m excited to start my studies again now that I’m at the end of a nearly five-month vacation.

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After today’s wild goose chase, I took a leisurely stroll with a kindred-spirit friend T, whom I was lucky enough to end up sitting beside at church on my first Sunday here. We met some inquisitive geese in St. James Park, who lost interest when they realized we had no crumbs for them.

More beautiful blue skies in this lovely town. It seemed like a Saturday in the park, because the unseasonably warm weather (it’s 80 degrees here) drew so many people out on the lawns after work. Doesn’t it look like Disneyland in the distance?

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Wrinkle in Time

By on September 28, 2011

Advertisements for the Stonehenge bus tour claim:

Go back 5000 years
Every 30 minutes.

An oxymoronic blend of ancient history and modernity.

I did get plunged back in time today. D was visiting from the States, so we took a time-traveling daytrip, from the Salisbury Cathedral (constructed 1258) that houses the best-preserved copy of the Magna Carta (1215), to the ruins of a castle and cathedral atop Old Sarum (built 1069), to even further back at Stonehenge (earliest estimates, 3100 BC).

Overlooking Salisbury from Old Sarum

I think of myself as a very nerdy traveler; for example, of all places in Paris, I had the hardest time pulling myself away from the Army Museum. I suppose it’s because I love to know about the history and context of the place I’m in—the people, events and culture that shaped it. Thankfully, D’s a nerdy traveler too, maybe even more so than I am. So despite having been repeatedly warned that the Stonehenge is really just a pile of rocks, we had a fun, fact-filled trip. It helped that we were there from 5-6 pm, when there are fewer people and the golden light brings into relief the contours of the stones, the ancient carvings and the more recent graffiti etchings. (By “recent,” I mean 1800s.)

The small ditch is the “Avenue” leading to the Stonehenge

I also learned for the first time today, from the audio guide, how to correctly pronounce lichen–”lih-chin.” There are 90 types of lichens growing on the sarsen stones of Stonehenge. I have been curious about that word ever since my middle school science class, and I have been saying it wrong all this time–pronouncing it “lie-kins.”

We weren’t allowed to take any photos in the Chapter House of the Salisbury Cathedral, so I don’t have any photos of the Magna Carta or the chronological carvings of Biblical scenes that encircle the walls of the medieval frieze. Being both nerds AND Christians, we thoroughly enjoyed going around the entire frieze trying to identify all the stories depicted. Noah’s Ark was my favorite.

Closing words today from clause 40 of the Magna Carta:

To no one will we sell, to no one deny or delay right or justice.

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Knock ‘Em Dead

By on September 28, 2011

Whenever I move to a new place where Korean food is scant, my first Korean meal sets records for the amount of food consumed. The first Korean meal I had in college, I ate so much that I had to lie down for fifteen minutes before I could get up and walk home.

I’ve become less greedy since then, so tonight I only ate three helpings. Heehee.

A home-cooked meal of ddukbokki, bulgogi, kimchi jun and rice! Bliss.

I didn’t take photos, so I’ll leave it to your imagination. Besides, you New Yorkers don’t need photos; you can just hop over to 32nd Street and eat the real deal! I must admit, I miss NYC most when I’m hungry….

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Adorable, or Offensive? Fob Signs in a Cafe Window

By on September 18, 2011

Letos Caffe Window DisplayI paused at this cafe, which in eclectic turfy lettering exhorts passersby to to be “Every day healthy: Breakfast — Lunch” whilst luring them in with a windowcase display filled with… sweets. Go figure.

I tried to capture the lettering, and laughed when I saw the photo. But after a moment’s pause, I was left scratching my head. Are these guys being racist, making fob signs cuz I’m Asian? After all, who ever poses for someone else’s photo? Whenever I see tourists in NYC taking photos, I always avert my face, cascading my hair to cover it, because I’d much rather not end up in your album, thankyaverymuch. But maybe these guys are not quite so jaded, and they’re just really cute. Which is what I’m leaning toward. What say you—adorable, or offensive?

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This one’s adorable, nElderly couple in the rain, Letos Caffeo doubt about it.

Seeing elderly couples walk arm in arm, men reading newspapers at their leisure on park benches and grandmas batting away at ping pong fills me with joy. So far, being in London doesn’t feel that different. First of all, there’s no language barrier, aside from the occasional confusion over American English terminologies. The city is very international, though the international makeup is different from the mix in New York. And despite the forewarnings about Brits being stodgy and not talking to strangers, I’ve been meeting great people—students in my dorm who come from everywhere and are also looking for friends, and even salesclerks who strike up conversation when they hear my “strong American accent” and give me discounts out of the blue.

The main difference I’ve noticed so far is that the pace of life is slower here than in New York—a welcome change. The generational mix attests to that; I’ve always felt that New York City is unkind to the elderly, and you mostly see young people flying about at breakneck speeds.

I think the change of pace will do me some good.

London love! <3

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A Verizon Win

By on September 18, 2011

Traveler tip! I’m backtracking to share a piece of advice, should it prove useful: How to suspend your Verizon contract for a significant period of time.

I had a refreshingly pleasant encounter with Verizon customer service a week before I came to London. I had called to cancel my two-year contract, which I’m a year into. Contract termination costs $175, less $5 for each month of the contract I’d already fulfilled.* All told, that’s $115 (175 – 5 x 12 = 115). The other option was to suspend my account, which I could do for up to six months. But since I would still have to pay the fees for the remaining six months, that would be way too pricey at about $50 per month, or $300 over six months.

When the rep asked me why I’m canceling, I explained that I’m a longtime customer who is admittedly sad to lose my contract, my phone number and my contacts, but I’m going abroad for a year so I have no choice.

He replied, “Well, in that case… we could probably suspend your account for a year.”

I asked, “Just to confirm – by probably, do you mean actually?”

“Yes. Since you can’t really help that you’ll be away for a year, we can make a special exception.”

The suspension has to be renewed every 90 days, and it costs $15 every time. You were wondering why I did all that math above? Cost-benefit analysis right here: win-win. At $60, a year-long suspension costs less than canceling the account, AND I can easily activate my phone with all my contacts and my contract when (or should I say, if??) I return to the States.**

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Of course there’s fine print:

*The fee is $175 for non-data plans. I have a basic plan of minutes and texting only; the termination fee for data plans is higher, at around $300, with a larger per-month deduction. You can find this info on the Verizon website.

**The terms of the contract get pushed back until the account is reactivated. In other words, when I reactivate it next year, I still have a year remaining on the contract. Which is fine by me.

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