ANSWER: This name, like that of a girl in Harry Potter, is derived from the name of Hermes, Messenger of the Gods.
-Day Three-
I went to bed around 6 PM on Monday. Tired, exhausted, I was ready for that long sleep that would put me up at maybe 10 PM the next morning. Really, when I am up for over 20+ hours, I usually end up sleeping super long. No expectations on being up any earlier. I don't even remember the time it took to get comfortable in the bed and fall asleep. It seemed to happen almost momentarily after walking up the stairs and closing the door.
When I woke up, I had this odd sense of refreshment. I felt good. I looked at the time and when I saw that it was 10, I knew that it had to be 10 AM. I wouldn't be awake four hours later and feeling great. I took to the internet and began just writing about my first day there. I was just too enthused to do it.
Never mind that the sun wasn't out. I was just under the assumption that English weather is really, really messed up. Dark until noon, or something like that. However, the further that I looked into things, I began to realize that it was indeed 10 PM, and I was confused. After a quick trip to the bathroom, I met Alex in the hall, who told me that he would be downstairs for awhile to talk. After a bath, we did just that. Everyone was down there, and Viv was watching her "who done it?" show, which if I gather properly, it was called Lewis. In many ways, I just began to correlate that my guardians for the time are no different than my parents. They have familiar passions and concerns.
Then after an hour, I went back to my room, and Alex insisted that I fight my internal clock and get some sleep. I wasn't exactly tired, but I wanted to believe him. However, my iPod was mere inches from grasp, so I put on my headphones and that made up the next four hours.
I'm sitting around in the room, in the dark just blaring music for awhile. It began with a little OutKast's "Stankonia," with notable play on "B.O.B." which lead to me doing a light show with my iPod. It was a rather poor show, but I felt like I needed to keep myself entertained. I eventually segued into West Side Story and the Mulan soundtrack. I even got bored enough to search the internet, where I found a video detailing the Top 10 Worst Songs of 2011. It was by chance that I found it, and it was not an exceptional video. The guy was royally cynical and hated on obvious songs. God, were there some bad songs on that list. I decided to actually check out one of them for the hell of it. I have heard comedian Howard Kremer talking about this artist and well... why not? I think it was Kreyashawn or something really uninspired. It almost made me depressed to realize that people actually went through with writing this music and putting their face to the music.
On a better note, Anne Marsen is working on a music video and will be touring around the globe. She's also do a video blog a day, which almost coincides with my stay here. I'll try to get the name for you tomorrow. However, I do admit that it at times feels inessential, though it only makes me love her more. She has a cat that she calls Garfield incarnate. I have a cat that I call the same thing. She is so adorable and I loved her more after I found out she had a tabby. I don't think watching any of these will convince you why I love her (speaking her boyfriend is in almost all of the videos), but the IKEA video should be a nice, cohesive view into why I think she's cool. Such a free spirit. However, because of the time difference, I don't see these until 3 AM on a typical schedule.
I went to bed around four. I woke up around 10, and I feel like maybe I was going to be fixed. However, step one of jetlag was over. Step two, which haunted me for most of the day, was about to begin. I didn't expect it, but for the entire day, my digestion system was acting all wonky. I would have meals, but feel queasy for the next hour, often needing to go to the bathroom repeatedly. Also, I did have a lot of drinks, including a ton of soda, some juice, and a couple glasses of hot tea. I don't know why, but the fluids have been on tap most of the time since I arrived. Kind of thankful, for sure.
Chris was down listening to his blues show and doing stuff. I had some cereal, and sat around watching Alex make fun of the music. After taking some time to wake up, we decided to start me off with a simple trip around Rye, where we would get to see the town and I would get to take in all of the culture. Truthfully, another issue with the first two days was disbelief that I was in England. I still had yet to grasp that I was actually overseas. As of writing this, I feel like maybe I am finally accepting everything.
For starters, the town looks very much what I imagine the definition of traditionalist. The architecture rose to the sky, it looked really old. There was a cobbled street. Even Shakespeare's cowriter has a memorial plaque. Also, there is a church here that I am seriously wondering if it is bigger or on par with the Crystal Cathedral. I don't know, but that was a big building.
I also saw a banner for the National Lottery, which has been my favorite thing to spot in movies. I want a shirt with that logo so badly. It is just so silly and fun. But it is a gorgeous sight. We looked around and the fact that the town ends shortly out of eyeline and the rivers and marsh are all almost aesthetically pleasing. I called it a classy version of Wyoming.
One of our first stops was a place that I am sure that we'll visit again and again. It is a pub called the Standard, which for starters has TWO fireplaces and a million underground tunnels. It also blew my mind that the bricks were real and that what I take for novelty turns out to be real, genuine stuff. The wall designs, the furnishing. It all was honest and authentic. I felt like I was in an odd paradox where the novelty was now inverted to genuine.
 |
| The Standard's standard glasses filled with Coke |
 |
| The Standard's standard salt and pepper shakers |
After that, we decided to head over to the church and take a look inside. It was big, gaping, and the architecture looked nice. Alex really admired the arches and would like to buy some. After paying the information teller, we got access to go up to the room. Apparently the view from the top is excellent.
Of course, that is after 84 steps. The information teller warned us about that. It wasn't so much a problem going up, though being vertically inclined, I did have trouble making it all the way without running out of breath. Luckily there was a resting room halfway through and we took that moment to indulge on everything. There's also a nice view of the church along the way up those first flights of stairs. I must admit that for some reason, I have come to admire aerial views in recent years, and being able to see the church from different angles was rather nice.
We also passed the room where the bells were kept. That was the last trek of space before we made it to the roof. A lot of bells in the room:
It was quite a sight to look at the bells. However, it was time for the main attraction. Onto the roof we went. Once we opened the door, Alex went into tourist mode, admiring the view and taking a whole lot of pictures. I asked what buildings were and he usually answered. He also told me that the aenemic windmills that I was talking about were wind turbines. Growing up near Simi Valley, I always called them windmills. However, he pointed out a very gorgeous, old school windmill in the distance that I felt was very Dutch.
It really was a gorgeous sight and as I said, I have really gotten into aerial views. I don't have vertigo, but I was cautious of the edges because I didn't want to jump off. It isn't an impulse, but I do have that thought. Alex, for the most part, is the photographer for most of this trip. You may see some when I return home, but I am an uninspired photographer in comparison. I just charged batteries last night and took a go at photographing stuff. You'll see some dull cat pictures, for sure.
Want to know how great he is at the pictures? I'd say that I shouldn't be allowed near a camera when I have to compare to these:
I tell ya, he's really good at the pictures. It was a great view and we somehow lost track of time. We were up there for awhile, enjoying ourselves. Alex apologized for being the tourist, but I was just taking it all in. We eventually went back downstairs to the waiting room in between the stairs in order to just get warm. It was edging along two o'clock at the time, and we decided to wait in the bell room to watch them go off. Somehow, at two, they went off three times, and they were pretty damn loud. Alex complained about ringing, but it didn't bother me as much.
The trouble with the stairs is that I didn't really know how to go down them properly. It took a few flights to finally get it right. This place has so many stairs that I probably will get fit just walking up and down so many. We talked to the information lady before leaving and soon we were on our way.
Other misc. pictures from the church:
Those are the gears for the clock. I saw the pendulum, but I cannot justify where the clock actually was. We went to the roof, and that was the extent to our searching.
After leaving, we went to Grammar School Records, which I thought was a school records hall, but Alex assured me was a record shop. I found a vinyl print of the most influential comedy bit in my life in that store: Bob Newhart's "Driving Instructor." I didn't know that they had a single version of that. I was so impressed and if I didn't own "Buttoned Down Mind," I would be so tempted to buy it, even if I don't listen to vinyl with regularity. The place was small, but we got the point across. Nothing that grabbed me, but it felt good to see some culture. Also, upon returning to the house Chris informed me that HMV, which is their big music outlet chain, just got sold. Yep, things are tough all over.
Alex even showed me Pedo Point, which is where a telescope outlooks over a playground. Quite a sight.
I really should stop saying quite a sight. I just feel like this country looks good. At very least, different from what I am used to.
He was a busy photographer. Here's the remaining batch from our walk around town. He assures me that there is more to see in Rye and that we won't all blow it at once:
The remaining portion of the day was uneventful. We didn't go anywhere or do anything. However, we did watch Kung Fu Friday on a copy that I made for Alex. It unfortunately gets out of sync in the last 15 minutes, but we still love it. It is so odd to think that it is six years old and Marrs is an award winning filmmaker now. We admit that the quality is bad, but it is still one of our favorites. I am sure that this won't be the last time that we watch that DVD. I promised Alex that we will listen to the commentary. Rewatching the movie, I admit that there are subtle things that I remember from the commentary that make that film so much better.
We also watched Threesome, which is part of "Operation: Represent English Culture" that is somehow of prominent focus on this trip. The plot is rather bizarre, in that a couple and their gay friend have sex together, and the woman is pregnant with the gay man's baby. I really don't know how you make a series out of that, but I am so intrigued to find out. I am not wanting to say that it has the same plot as the New Normal, but both are equally progressively weird. However, I feel like Threesome at least tackles the subject of pregnancy with some oddity and fun without being blasphemous ot segregations outside of the initial cast. I mean, the second episode involves giving up drugs, then digging up those drugs and snorting them and then crashing through a Lego Taj Mahal. It has the human side necessary to make it work. I feel like the New Normal is an attempt at capturing that in your face humor, but done so poorly. I mean, I watched 8 episodes of the New Normal, so I am not even lying when I say this.
Alex then ran into a kurfufle and had to handle things in his room. He was busy for a big majority of the day. Chris took over as MC and we bonded over a Top Gear special on James Bond. Not caring for the series, I at least figured that it was a good time to see what British people felt about what is one of their most familiar exports. Chris was really into it, and while I cannot get into the films, the ingenuity that went into their cars was exceptionally at least ingenious. Movie magic and non-special effects things tend to impress me sometimes.
We also got around to watching It Might Get Loud, which was inspired by Chris' conversation about guitars. He thought that I might enjoy it. Initially, I found genuine humor in him calling Jack White as Jack Black. However, I cannot remember most of the movie, but I remember really enjoying the Jack White bits a lot. He really is an old school musician and one that I enjoy. Also, getting all of the British people together was fun, especially when it came to making fun of the Edge. Yeah, I get the feeling like Brits in general dislike U2. That was so charming.
I spent the remained of the night discussing plans for the next day, talking to Viv, and listening to WTF with Marc Maron in my room. Maron's conversation with Elizabeth Banks was interesting, if just because I feel like she is a more likeable, intelligent version of Jenny McCarthy on some issues. I disagree that Pitch Perfect is at all a good movie, but I will let her have her opinion. Another late night, but I feel like more than the previous night, I was adjusted. I just need to figure out how to break my recent curse of using technology to go to bed really late. That, my friends, is the downfall of society.
So, watching out for ice on the ground will be fun. I almost tripped on the way back today. No injuries yet. Still, surprised that the weather is as good as it has been. Been expecting it to be miserable. However, we're off to Hastings for the day to go see Gangster Squad and remind me what Los Angeles looks like. Of course, any excuse to see Ryan Gosling (or as Alex puts it: Ronny Rosley) is good enough for me.
No more teasers for tomorrow. I am trying to not become that guy. However, with this post, I hopefully will be back on track to the one-a-day turnout that I have wanted to maintain. Hope that you have enjoyed things, and I hope that I will also share more stories on the cuisine and culture, as I feel like you now know what the buildings look like.
QUESTION: What is Hermione?
No comments:
Post a Comment