Kathryn Finds Humanity in the Form of a Creature

Sorry about the gap guys. We do still exist. So without further ado, I give you a blog entry:

One of my new favourite places in London is the National Theatre. It's right on the south bank of the Thames and is in a really cool building. It also puts on amazing productions like Frankenstein, which I am going to tell you about (WARNING there are a few minor spoilers but none, in my opinion, that would ruin it).

First off, if you are in London see it. Wake up ridiculously early, queue for three hours (like I did) and see it. You will not be disappointed. Secondly, if you are not in London, there is National Theatre Live which will broadcast in cinema's throughout the world. You can find out about it here.

The show stars Jonny Lee Miller (from the movie "Trainspotting") and Benedict Cumberbatch who, aside from having maybe the most awesome name ever, has done some amazing stuff like a movie called "Hawking" and BBC's Sherlock (which is also awesome). Both play Frankenstein and his Creature and swap roles each night. I've seen both casts, and they were both amazing but for me, Benedict Cumberbatch's creature was just so good that that's the cast I would chose if I had to. It's also directed by Danny Boyle (of Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours). The show was completely sold out even before the first performance. Thus, I had to queue very early in the morning but it was absolutely totally completely worth it.

They only open the house 15 minutes before the show because the Creature is in this circular frame womb-ish thing. While you're sitting there, watching it slowly rotate about the stage wondering "what the heck is this thing?" a bell goes off and scares the heck out of you. The chord for the bell is in the audience and people coming in either accidentally or on purpose set it off.


Then the show starts, Oh my goodness does the show start. The Creature is "born" onstage and spends the first 5-10 minutes of the show flailing about the stage as we see him learn to crawl, walk, and run. If you ever want a lesson in physical acting, here it is. There's no music, very little set and no one else on stage. It is absolutely breathtaking.

Now's also probably the time to say that he is completely naked for this whole opening bit. The day tickets (which is what I had) are in the front row from which you can literally touch the stage while still sitting in your seat. On the first night I saw it, with Benedict Cumberbatch as the creature, we made eye contact and I had no clue how to react. On the one hand, I didn't want to throw him or anything but on the other hand I was shocked amazed and pretty much any other word along those lines you can think of. Interestingly, most of the commentators say it is 20 minutes but I would question that. It certainly feels that long, but I think that it is our minds playing tricks on us.


The play is two hours straight, no intermission or anything. The poor man playing the Creature must be absolutely exhausted by the end of the show also mentally exhausted, I should think. It is a phenomenally demanding part. 

Picture by Catherine Ashmore from the BBC

It's hard to put into words exactly how much this play has influenced me, as trite as it may seem. I was having a difficult time with homesickness and motivation and what not the first time I saw it. People often use the word "emotional" to describe being sad or upset. I was "emotional" in the sense that I had almost every emotion going through me at the same time. Thrilled that I was able to see something that good, saddened by the plot of the play, energized by the amazing work of the actors, motivated to work hard to be able to create something, anything, that might be able to move people like this and at the same time depressed knowing I probably never will.


The show also really hit home with me as I am now in the process of getting acceptances and rejections (mostly rejections, but a few acceptances) to PhD programmes for next year. The play brings up a lot of questions about science and academia that I think we should take heed of. Of course, there are the questions of what it means to be human, what responsibilities you have towards a life you create, and the nature of "evil". But there was one line that stands out for me. The Creature asks Frankenstein why he created him to which Frankenstein replies "to prove that I could". There is a belief in much of the academic world especially in the liberal arts that research should exist for its own sake and that trying to aim it towards policy or what not will make it impure. I think that it is important to remember the consequences of your work and what can happen if you produce something dangerous, even if you didn't mean it to be.

I shall be guarding this with my life.

Alright. Intellectual stuff over. Cue fan girling. Last night after seeing it I went to the stage door and got my program signed by Benedict Cumberbatch. I tried, and failed pretty miserably, to tell him how much I enjoyed the play and how much it helped me when I was having a rough time. He was very kind and I was a bit star struck, which made me feel like an idiot. Ah well. I put it in a note to the cast, which hopefully said it a bit better.


So anyways, now that I've got your expectations ridiculously high, I urge you as strongly as possible to go see it live or in the cinema. I'll also try to update the blog a bit more often.

Last but not least, here's a trailer for National Theatre Live.

Till Later,


Kathryn

What the Heck, Britain? Kathryn's List of British Peculiarities

So. As much as it is awesome here, there are a few things that I find slightly odd, I thought I would share them with you here (in no particular order):

1)  Snow
       Last week, London and the rest of the UK got one of the earliest snows it has ever had. And the country stopped. Gatwick airport closed, trains stopped running and people were forced to sleep in them, cars were abandoned on the highway, and the mail stopped being delivered. As someone who spent the last four winters in Michigan, I had very little sympathy. We figure out how to shovel and salt our own walks and the government figures out how to plow and salt the roads. Now. I know that it snows a lot less here so they are less prepared, and I know that outside London there was a lot more snow, and I know that London is really big and has a lot more roads and what not to take care of. But still. It's only snow. Also, it's snowing now and is forecast to tomorrow, when I am supposed to be flying home.Oh bother.

2) Taps
     For some strange reasons, a lot of the hand washing sinks, like those in public restrooms, have two faucets: one for hot, and one for cold. I can understand the value of these for baths or even sinks for washing dishes, but hand washing? It leaves you with two options: freezing cold or blisteringly hot.

3) Post Offices
     Oh. My. Gosh. The post office. Since I am applying for PhD programmes right now, which means many mind numbing things, like entering the exact same information thirteen times (Wainfan, Kathryn T., Undergradute: University of Michigan, etc etc), writing about how I'm awesome and smart and they should let me in and what not. But one of the most frustrating things is having to wait through the infinitely long ques at the Post Office which for some reason, has to do everything from mail letters and packages to passports to selling insurance and phone cards, to even having something resembling a bank account (called the post office card account, when I was interning in the House of Commons it was one of the things we got a ton of letters about). Since it's close to Christmas, I suppose they're busier than usual, but I still find them super annoying. Not to mention it costs way too much to mail a single piece of paper to the US with any sort of guarantee.

4) School sponsored alcohol
     Apparently, the London School of Economics gives their seminar leaders an "entertainment budget" roughly equal to one drink per student. So last week I had drinks with two of my seminar leaders, which the school paid for. Which was odd on many levels. First: it's talking to/ being with a teacher outside of class time. I realize that teachers are people too and have lives and what not but a part of me still hasn't gotten over that first grade astonishment when  you see your teacher in the shops and realize they don't live at school. Second: the school is paying for it. At Michigan, they wouldn't reimburse alcohol, even if everyone was of age.

Anywho. Angelique is supposed to arrive shortly and will spend the night with me since she's flying home tomorrow as well. I am praying to the weather gods/ imps/ spirits/ powers that be that I can get out on time so I don't miss my connection.

Till Next Time,
Kathryn

One lecture down...

Hello All,

I just finished my first lecture as a graduate student and the London School of Economics. It was interesting. It was part of my International Politics course, which is compulsory for all IR MSc students. Today we talked about what led up to the modern international system in the world today.

I am, however, a tad bit concerned about the reading. The following is the "essential reading" for week 1:


Buzan, Barry and Richard Little, Parts II and IV of International Systems in World History, Oxford, Oxford University, 2000. JX1395 B99


Jones, E.L. The European Miracle: Environment, economies and geopolitics in the history of Europea and Asia (3rd edition), Cambridge, Cambridge University, 2003. HC240 J71


Mann, Michael, Ch. 1-16, The Sources of Social Power Vol. 1: A History of Power from the Beginning to AD 1760, Cambridge, Cambridge University, 1986. HN8 M28


Diamond, Jared, Guns Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, New York, W.W. Norton, 1997. HM206 D53


Gellner, Ernest, Ch. 1-9, Plough, Book and Sword: The Structure of Human History, London, Paladin, 1988. D20 G31


McNeill, William H., Ch. 1-10, The Rise of the West: A History of the Human Community, Chicago, University of Chicago, 1963. D20 M16


Tilly, Charles, Coercion, Capital and European States AD 990-1990, Oxford, Basil Blackwell, 1990.

Note that each one of these is a book. For one class. For one week. Oh dear. Something tells me that, unless your are a freaky genius like Siodhbhra, not all of the reading gets done.

On a separate note, I went to visit my employers on Friday. It went well; I should be starting in the next couple of weeks. While I was at the bus stop near the house, an old man (who I would learn was 92 years old) came up and said that I was "the smartest dressed young person he'd seen in a while." I explained to him that I was going to work, and he asked me about it and where I was from. He told me that during World War II, he took over one of the bases from the Americans. He also told me that a private in the British Army earned 2 shillings (around 20 pence/ 35 cents) a day. Makes me seriously less inclined to complain about my shoes giving me blisters on the way to my much better paid than that job (although they did, and it hurt).

Until Next Time (if I ever get my reading done),
Kathryn

And So It Begins...

Monday, September 20, 2010. The adventure begins.

2:00 pm: Siodhbhra,  her mom, and her little sister pull up to my house. My mother feels compelled to take a "first day of school" picture in front of the Oleander plant. After that, we say goodbye and head off towards LAX.

2:45 pm: We arrive at LAX, Siodhbhra's family comes in with us and hold our (probably overweight) carry-ons, while we check in. Then we head off to security. At this point, things are starting to get rather real. We're getting closer and closer to the point of no return, where we are completely committed to heading off to London.

We also recorded this fun (and terrible) video:

5:20 pm: After a delay, we are finally allowed to board the plane. The seats are tighter than normal, but Siodhbhra and I are next to each other so its fine.


6:10 pm: The plane takes off and we both have a minor freak out. There's definitely no turning back now.


Nine and a half hours later, we land at London Heathrow Airport. With the exception of a rather annoying young girl behind us, the flight was relatively uneventful. We had to walk hither and yon from the plane to get into immigration where Siodhbhra and I had to separate because she's all special and has an Irish passport. The line for EU nationals (like Siodhbhra) was a lot longer than the line I had to go in so for a few seconds, I thought I had lucked out but it turns out that Siodhbhra's line went a lot faster than mine because all she had to do was give them her passport but I had to give them a passport and my fingerprints and what not. After we got our bags, we met up with Siodhbhra's uncle Noel who ever so kindly picked us up from the airport. His daughter, Ruth, also met us there so that we would have two cars to fit our bags and us. As someone who has had to drag her bags through the London Underground, I was infinitely grateful.


It was about a 45 minute drive to the house which is in Morden. As soon as we arrived, Noel made tea. This (the Noel making tea), I would soon learn happens a lot. It made me feel so much like I was in England. The combination of the flight and Noel meant I had something like five cups of tea  since leaving the States. And also that my transformation into my father is nearly complete.


I have to say that I was a bit nervous about staying with Siodhbhra's family, being an outsider, as it were. But everyone I met was absolutely lovely. They are so nice to take us in, give us food, and beds to sleep in, and of course tea and are just very nice people. It has definitely set the trip off on a very good note.

Until Later!
Kathryn

And a Girl in Kent

Our glorious and wonderful friend Angelique is heading off to England on Friday for a study abroad programme. We therefore have offered her a guest spot in our blogging adventure. So without further delay, we give you Angelique:

Katie and Siodhbhra have been gracious enough to offer me recurring guest spot on this lovely blog, as I too am bound for England this fall. So, you may ask, are you attending LSE? Are you also an international relations student or even at least into political science? Well, um, no. Unlike my esteemed colleagues, I am a biology student attending the University of Kent for a semester long study abroad. While they are writing theses and taking classes on game theory in London, I shall be cramming advanced immunology and forensic DNA analysis into my brain over in Canterbury.

So what can you expect from me on this blog? Obviously some geeking out over science, probably some tired rants about how stupid it was to take only bioscience modules and live in a dorm again, and some of the highlights of Canterbury and UKC campus. Also, look forward to the epic search for a good Indian restaurant somewhere in the university area so I can get my ethnic food fix. All in all, it’ll certainly be interesting to spend my last semester as an undergrad gallivanting in a country where words ending in 'ise' now end in 'ize' and pants are underwear.

At least I’m already used to thinking in metric and Celsius.

P.S. - If you care to read more of my individual adventures in Kent, in addition to other random and nerdtastic topics, I’ll be posting entries on my LiveJournal. I can found at http://foxp3.livejournal.com/

And Lo, An Agreement Was Made

SIODHBHRA IS BACK!!! WHOO HOO!! The flatmates are reunited! Observe our awesome picture:

The incredulous Ms. Kathryn and Ms. Siodhbhra

We drew up a roommate contract and because we are lame/ were bored, we decided to try and make it funny. Note the important clauses about zombie invasions and meeting the Queen. Enjoy:

The Book of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates

And lo, in an effort to promote peace and unity between the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH, on this the six and twentieth sun of the eighth moon gathered and entered into a holy pact under punishment of the withholding of warm, baked chocolatey sustenance.

Of the lights of the room, thou shalt extinguish them after the four and twentieth hour of each day upon declaration of weariness by one of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH. Neither of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH shall cause the lights to shine upon the face of a Sister of the Order of the Flatmates until after the tenth hour of morning.

Of the waking bells, none of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH shall not cause them to sound more than twice prior to the rising of both of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH.

Of weary travelers seeking shelter in the American Sector of the House of ISH, none shall be granted entry without the permission of both of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH. No male may bed for the night, and any guest must depart before the rise of the fourth sun. Those not seeking repose in the American Tribe of the House if ISH shalt be banished before the third and twentieth hour.

Of the noise resounding from the electronic devices of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH, the Sisters shall don headphones unless granted pardon from another Sister of the Order of Flatemates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH.

Of the food within the walls of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH, the financial burden shall weigh evenly upon each of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH. If one of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH doth not pay up at the market of the island natives, she shall give native coin the other one of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH before the rising of the next sun. Unless received as tribute, all sustenance (most particularly of the warm baked chocolately variety) belongeth equally to each of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH. She who doth not cook shall be compelled to clean.

Of the maintenance of the lands of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH, burdens shall be borne equally. If the possessions of one of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH proveth to interfere with the rituals of another of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH, that Sister shall be compelled by the other to picketh up after herself.

Of the foot coverings worn in the land of the natives, the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH shall be removed when treading on the holy ground of the American Tribe of the House of ISH for longer than ten one-sixtieths of one hour (ten minutes). Travelers seeking passage or shelter shall also be compelled to removeth their unclean foot coverings.

Of the possessions of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH, a Sister shalt not use of another’s possessions without first humbly seeking permission. Tribute in the form of warm, baked cholatey goods or hot beverages shall cause the other one of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH to look favorably upon her Sister’s request.

Of invitation to be in presence of Her Highness the Queen or other leaders of the native land. Each of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH must give her most sincere effort to ensure the presence of the other.

Of the attack of the undead, it was nice knowingest thou and aimeth for the head.

And lo, peace and harmony in the land of the Sisters of the Order of the Flatmates of the American Tribe within the House of ISH was assured, but lest strife rend the two apart, both Sisters hereby pledge in all matters to remember their love and dedication to the other when abroad in a Strange and Rainy Place.

Kathryn and Siodhbhra

And there was much rejoicing

With 32 days until we leave for London, two major hurdles have been overcome.

First, it appears I have a job. (Cue excited happy dance) This is awesome on many levels because 1) It means I will be able to eat the entire time I am in London. And that, my friends, is very important and 2) It is a job that is actually somewhat related to what I am studying. The firm is called Monitor Quest and they do risk management and security consulting, something that could be useful for an International Relations manager. We still have details to finalize and what not about what my position/ pay/ start date ect. is, but those are just minor things.

Secondly, the friendly UPS guy showed up at my door today (in California, where I am now) and after like, 5 minutes of trying to confine the dog, he gave me an overnight package which contained... drum roll please... THIS:

Woo Hoo! A student visa it's all shiny and pretty and lets me stay in the country until January 30, 2012. And it lets me work up to 20 hours a week (good because, see first part of the entry). And those little black marks don't exist on the visa, I just don't want to advertise my passport number to the world.

Siodhbhra doesn't have to have one of these because she was lucky enough to be born to Irish parents and is therefore a dual Irish and American citizen (technically a tri-citizen because every citizen from an EU country is a dual citizen with the EU). And is therefore aloud to study in any EU country without a visa. So she will just have to gaze at the shiny sticker from afar.

The last thing that needs finalizing is housing. We submitted our application and hopefully should be hearing back from the International Students House soon. And I have to move out of my room so my little sister can take it over. That should be fun. But things seem to be falling into place.


Kathryn

Issues to Ponder

So, a couple of weeks back, I got a welcome letter from the International Relations people at LSE. It gave me some dates that are good to know, like when the programme starts, what courses I am going to have to take, a link to the course catalogue (which didn't work) and a link to the registration website (which also didn't work). I have to say, that I am not surprised about the whole not working website, because, quite frankly, the London School of Economics's website is the most labyrinthine, indecipherable thing on the face of the planet. Seriously. Siodhbhra and I are convinced that the step in the admissions screening process is seeing if you can navigate the website. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they keep creating new pages, and don't get rid of the old ones or forget to change all of their links.

The sunglasses are there for scale.

But I digress. In the letter, they suggested we study one of three books to prepare for our international politics course in addition, they said we should read a "selection"  of six other books. I don't really know what "selection" really means. I think it will mean, however many I have time for, probably one or two. And there would be a test in October to asses our knowledge of International Relations.

So I ordered two of the books on Amazon, and one of them, World Politics Since 1945, arrived yesterday. To use one of my favourite phrases, I was a bit disconcerted. It's bloody huge. And not only is it enormous, it is just straight text, with really long paragraphs, and almost no maps or figures or anything. I think the best way I can describe it is "dense." In every sense of the word. Now. I like to think that I am a hard working student. But I have to wonder what I am getting myself into, if this is the summer reading. 

A page, chosen at random. Note all of the black lines of words. All the pages are like this.

Adding to my consternation is the fact that the British University system is one that relies heavily on reading, rather than the more lecture/ seminar based system in the US. And that is not my strong suit. Maybe I should have thought about that before I decided to go there. Whoops. Too late now. In reality, I wasn't coming in completely blind to that information, it's just starting to hit home that I am going to have to work hard this year.

Also, the workers and the major airports in the UK (including, of course, Heathrow) are talking about striking. Oh goody. 

Kathryn

What's In a Name?

While the people I am around all the time are probably sick of hearing me go on and on about how I am moving to London (in 41 days!) and going to London School of Economics, I get more excitement than I should from getting to say such things. However, I have had with rather alarming frequency, the following conversation:

Me: "Yeah, I'm going to get my masters degree"
Other person: "Oh? Where?"
Me: "London School of Economics"
Other person: "Oh. Where's that?"
Now. I know that in small town Wisconsin, where I am, LSE is not exactly the topic of daily conversation. And I know that I might say "London School of Economics" kind of fast. But still.

This conversation also puts me in a somewhat awkward situation because if I answer "In London" the person might feel like I am being condescending or they might feel like "well, duh." So I usually just say "In England."

The fact that this has happened at least half a dozen times has made me wonder why. There are several explanations that come to mind.

Wait. Which London is this?

First, they don't think that I would be going abroad for my Masters so the idea that it is in England doesn't occur to them. Second, maybe people think it was named after Mr. London or Dr. London or whatever. Or third, they are thinking it might be a different London.

So, as a public service, and because I was bored and wikipedia is awesome, I have decided to give you a little bit of information on all of the different Londons in the world.




London, England, United Kingdom

Area: 659 square miles
Population (2007 estimate): 7,556,900
Mayor: Boris Johnson

Capital of England. Home to the London Eye, the London Bridge, the Thames, the tube, tea, Parliament, rain, and soon, me (and Siodhbhra). Also those guys in funny bear skin hats.

This is Tower Bridge. London Bridge is boring looking.

It started as a Roman settlement in 43 A.D. and now has the largest city GDP in Europe. The "City of London" is actually a 1.12 square mile area within the heart of Greater London, home to a lot of large business and much of the country's financial industry. Greater London is made up of 32 different boroughs, each has its own local government. .


London, Ontario, Canada

Population (2006): 352,395
Area: 162.34 square miles
Province: Ontario
County: Middlesex County
Mayor: Anne Marie DeCicco-Best

Downtown London, Ontario

The area was home to several Native North American tribes before European settlement in the 18th century. The village was founded in 1826. During the Upper Canada Rebellion, it was a center of Tory (Crown favoring) support and so the British government located a garrison there, this greatly increased its population.

Today, the economy (according to Wikipedia) is based on medical research, locomotive production, insurance, and information technology. It also has a hockey team called the London Knights. Like the original London, it also has a Thames River.

Wrong Christmas.

London, Kiribati (aka Christmas Island)

Part of the Kirbati Atoll in the Pacific Islands, it is the 2nd largest city on the atoll of Kiritirmati and in whole Line Islands with a population of 1,829.






London, Ohio, USA
Population (2000): 8,771
Area: 8.5 square miles
County: Madison
Mayor: David G. Eades

Established in 1811to serve as the county seat. Notable residents include Richard A Harrison, US Representative from Ohio, Clyde Tingley, the former governor of New Mexico, and some guy who played at Ohio State (insert automatic Wolverine "Booo" here).

London, Kentucky, USA

Population (2000): 5,692

Hey! We're not to late!

Area: 7.7 square miles
County: Laurel
Mayor: Troy Rudder

The county seat of Laurel County, London, Kentucky is also home to the World Chicken Festival, which attracts 250,000 people annually. Also Kolb Aircraft, who are awesome people. Notable natives include Flem D. Sampson, the 42nd Governor of Kentucky, and Chera-Lyn Cook who was Miss Kentucky in 1998 and placed 4th runner up to Miss America 1999.


London, Arkansas, USA

Population (2000): 925
Area: 2.4 square miles
County: Pope

Whoever the mayor is, they are apparently not cool enough for the wikipedia author to include them. Notable natives include Brooks Hays, a deceased member of the US House of Representatives and Mccoy Heath, owner of one of the region's largest egg farms and chicken breeders (what is it with Londons and chickens?).

London, California, USA

Population (2000): 1,848
Area: .6 square miles
County: Tulare

They don't get a mayor because it's not a city or town or whatever. London, CA is a "Census-Designated Place". Wikipedia has no other information that you would care about.

Careful London, don't get all high and mighty.

London, Texas, USA

Population is estimated to be around 180. Even though it's unincorporated, it still has a post office.






London, West Virginia, USA

Another unincorporated community. The London Lock and Dam is located there.



There's also London Township, Minnesota and New Londons in Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, and Prince Edward Island, Canada.


Hope you found this informative and/ or fun. The pictures with captions took me for bloody ever but I think I may have a system worked out now.

Till next time!
Kathryn

Updates!

I know it's been a while but I thought I would update you on our progress.

It is 66 days until we leave for London! (Cue hyperventilation now)

We have navigated the labyrinth that is the LSE website to apply for housing, and get single rooms, which are far too expensive (plus, I will be denied the pleasure of annoying Siodhbhra at any hour of the day) so we are in the process of looking for other options. We have an idea, but fall back ideas are always welcome.

I found out that I have to take a test in the beginning of October regarding my "knowledge of international relations". This should be interesting, because I feel like I know basically nothing on international relations. ("But, Kathryn!" I hear you say "Why are you getting a Master's degree in it?" So that I can actually know something about it, that's why.) To this end, I got a letter recommending that I read one of two books and a "selection" of something like 8 books. What the heck does "selection" mean? Is it British for read all but one or read two or three?

I'm also looking for a job, which can be kind of difficult from 6,000 miles away. I am thinking I might be able to talk to some people during AirVenture, which is a HUGE airshow starting in a week and a half that I am working at.

This whole process is getting very interesting with me in Wisconsin, Siodhbhra in Beijing, trying to coordinate with people in London. Welcome to the globalized world!

Kathryn