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1. The produce is smaller. Much smaller. You look at it and think: My, I bet that's grown on some kind of plant. It's astounding.
2. Whereas US drivers are either aggressive or defensive, London drivers are sort of blandly reckless. So in a near collision, instead of thinking "you asshole" or "watch the road," you just sort of shrug because it was clearly nothing to worry about - he didn't seem very concerned, after all.
3. Electrical sockets have individual switches by them. Not wall switches - switches right next to the socket holes. I have never felt the lack of socket switches in my life, and so have written them off as daft and therefore charming. I've tried to come up with worst case scenarios in which the switch will save the day; I've also amused myself by clicking them on and off. I'm sure this sort of thing is a hit at raves.
4. There's a trick to flushing Emily and Gareth's toilet, and I feel I am close to mastering it. It's a lot like kick starting a motorcycle. Admittedly, Gareth and Emily's toilet comprises only a small section of London, but it's nice to feel I'm getting a grip on things. Last time, it only took two tries for me to make it work. The time before that, it was three. (The time before that, it was eight or so, and the time before that, I dismantled the back and fiddled with the plumbing more directly.) If progress continues at this pace, I may soon be able simply to look at it and summon a torrent.
5. When people have approached me asking for money and I have told them I have none, they've been very apologetic - I'm American and a student in London, and therefore clearly more in need than just about anyone. Normally, I come out of the exchange with some kind of favor, like using someone's cell phone to make a call or getting directions to a free and entertaining museum. This is much more pleasant than being told I'm white and therefore must be lying.
6. Whereas in Texas my normal circadian desire to sleep between 4 and noon is seen as willfully uncooperative, in London, I can bluff it off as jet lag. (See, in Texas hours, I'm sleeping from 10 to 6 - perfectly reasonable. Perhaps even upstanding!)
7. The cheese is much nicer. Much. Cannot stress this enough.
I spent all of today at Emily and Gareth's flat, and the vast majority of it staring at a computer screen, with short breaks for exercise and television. Mind you, much of what I was up to online was to do with finding things out about London and what I need to get done there; the rest was mainly e-mailing. I also spent several hours working on the music video for Courtney; I've gotten it into an assembly, and have a few ideas for what I want as far as the rough cut. It's tremendously exciting.
I made a separate sequence of the times when Ciro came on camera while adjusting things between takes. I am also on camera for these shots, and the expression on my face is very clearly I am an artist and I am focused on the work and offering well-reasoned opinions as the director, and wow, Ciro's right over there - no, wait, this is serious and I really care about this prop I am holding (damn, we're amazing) - and oh, he's doing that tilt with his hips, his incredibly beautiful hips, and hey, there are his lips, and look at... We must finish this shot immediately so I can get off camera.
There isn't any sound on the footage; just image. Although I could reconstruct the dialogue in my head - the debates over lighting or cinematography - none of it is as important as the movement, the almost dancing leans, the way my hands flicker and his shoulders move to shelter me. It's comforting to watch - to see the two of us together even though we are on different continents. How obviously in love we both are. The sequence feels very intimate because it's so unaffected, so everyday; it's why people love home videos of children, but not of adults. Adults can never forget the camera. Kids might put on a show, but it's for the person filming. The sequence's artlessness is captivating. In a sense, it is my best work.
2. Whereas US drivers are either aggressive or defensive, London drivers are sort of blandly reckless. So in a near collision, instead of thinking "you asshole" or "watch the road," you just sort of shrug because it was clearly nothing to worry about - he didn't seem very concerned, after all.
3. Electrical sockets have individual switches by them. Not wall switches - switches right next to the socket holes. I have never felt the lack of socket switches in my life, and so have written them off as daft and therefore charming. I've tried to come up with worst case scenarios in which the switch will save the day; I've also amused myself by clicking them on and off. I'm sure this sort of thing is a hit at raves.
4. There's a trick to flushing Emily and Gareth's toilet, and I feel I am close to mastering it. It's a lot like kick starting a motorcycle. Admittedly, Gareth and Emily's toilet comprises only a small section of London, but it's nice to feel I'm getting a grip on things. Last time, it only took two tries for me to make it work. The time before that, it was three. (The time before that, it was eight or so, and the time before that, I dismantled the back and fiddled with the plumbing more directly.) If progress continues at this pace, I may soon be able simply to look at it and summon a torrent.
5. When people have approached me asking for money and I have told them I have none, they've been very apologetic - I'm American and a student in London, and therefore clearly more in need than just about anyone. Normally, I come out of the exchange with some kind of favor, like using someone's cell phone to make a call or getting directions to a free and entertaining museum. This is much more pleasant than being told I'm white and therefore must be lying.
6. Whereas in Texas my normal circadian desire to sleep between 4 and noon is seen as willfully uncooperative, in London, I can bluff it off as jet lag. (See, in Texas hours, I'm sleeping from 10 to 6 - perfectly reasonable. Perhaps even upstanding!)
7. The cheese is much nicer. Much. Cannot stress this enough.
I spent all of today at Emily and Gareth's flat, and the vast majority of it staring at a computer screen, with short breaks for exercise and television. Mind you, much of what I was up to online was to do with finding things out about London and what I need to get done there; the rest was mainly e-mailing. I also spent several hours working on the music video for Courtney; I've gotten it into an assembly, and have a few ideas for what I want as far as the rough cut. It's tremendously exciting.
I made a separate sequence of the times when Ciro came on camera while adjusting things between takes. I am also on camera for these shots, and the expression on my face is very clearly I am an artist and I am focused on the work and offering well-reasoned opinions as the director, and wow, Ciro's right over there - no, wait, this is serious and I really care about this prop I am holding (damn, we're amazing) - and oh, he's doing that tilt with his hips, his incredibly beautiful hips, and hey, there are his lips, and look at... We must finish this shot immediately so I can get off camera.
There isn't any sound on the footage; just image. Although I could reconstruct the dialogue in my head - the debates over lighting or cinematography - none of it is as important as the movement, the almost dancing leans, the way my hands flicker and his shoulders move to shelter me. It's comforting to watch - to see the two of us together even though we are on different continents. How obviously in love we both are. The sequence feels very intimate because it's so unaffected, so everyday; it's why people love home videos of children, but not of adults. Adults can never forget the camera. Kids might put on a show, but it's for the person filming. The sequence's artlessness is captivating. In a sense, it is my best work.
