oatmeal, anyone?

its thursday morning, i am adjusting to waking up to hear my father say "err, are you getting up?" through the door.
i slept late ish after yesterday.. which began with a crazy drive down to the train station through morning traffic, hopped on a train and wrote a letter to Trevor, got off in central London and took the Underground to Vauxhall, then took another train to Egham. A blustery, windy 20 minute walk through Egham got me to the Royal Holloway University of London. A fellow giving out slick invitations to a st. Patty's day club night welcomed me onto the huge, historic campus. Ehm, lemme re-phrase that. The campus is centered around the 'founders' which is a huge gorgeous 5 story building that frames a big courtyard. You want statues? Well, shiiiiit, they've got dragons and bearded guys and scrolls and flowers and reclining naked woman. I talked to a girl from Malta in the courtyard, she had been interviewed that day too. Greece looks better and more accessible all the time.
Anyway, I showed up and realized I had only a moment before I'd be late, so i tore off across campus, through groves of huge trees, past hideous 'modern' buildings, over a footbridge (at the top of which I felt the full brunt of the 38mph winds we were getting yesterday), and into the theatre department office, the 'Sutherland house'.
Full of adrenaline, and a little sweaty, I got my information packet for the day and talked to a local girl named Claire. Then me and 5 others went into a studio for group seminar. An American professor gave us a passage of theory, written in the bitter sixties, to discuss and we went at it. Karen, the professor, would guide the conversation gently, and the other five prospective students all had a lot to say on the subject. We were talking about stagnation in theatre and unfortunately the words, "Kylie's tour" came out of the professor's pink-lipsticked mouth. Other than that it was fine, I feel good about what I added to the conversation. I wrestled with myself internally a bit, cos I most definitely don't know as much about British theatre as the other folks, who were all from villages in England. After that me and one the folks, Dean, walked around campus and went into the Student Union to get some water. There's a bar in the SU. Which is open at 2:30 in the afternoon.
After that there was a Q &A session with a third year student, and then an improv workshop, which was really fun. MY group acted out a glorious bike race, start to bloody finish.
I love talking to English people. I love their confidence and the stereotypical 'stiff upper lip'. Yesterday I talked to tons of people. After I was done at the school I walked back to the train station and hooked up with a few kids I'd met earlier and some I hadn't. Rode the train all the way up to Cambridge, and then the bus to the city centre and then walked home, always in the company of one or more of these awesome English kids who are in the same boat as me, in many ways. We may not have much in common in how we spend our days, but we are on a mission to go to school for theatre, and if that thread is enough to make us open and friendly and fun, that's gorgeous.
today will be glorious. I'm going to my cousins' Orlando and Chrissy's house to visit and play with their kids and borrow a bike. Then I'm going to tool around and hopefully find some work..I needs to make some pounds to funds my Mediterranean adventure. I'm optimistic that the best thing will work out.
I rode my dad's mountain/hybrid a bit on tuesday, into town twice and back up the big hill (which makes Minneapolis look like SF, if you know what I mean).Riding down the wrong side of the street is surprisingly easy to get used to. The huge buses that come tearing down the skinny old one-ways, hell bent on making you into a spiky flapjack, not so much.
Bikes! So many people ride 'em here, scruffy kids and old men in florescent vests and sassy business ladies wearing suits and heels. All is right in the world when I'm on my bike with a smile.

i hear its all melted in Minneapolis. Spring is coming!
i love you cos it feels good.