kissams in london- day 3- 23

super cool mechanical rooms that run the draw bridge for tower bridge.

kissams in london- day 3- 24

it just happened that three fantastic friends that i moved with to san francisco were all living in london.  i was so happy to get the chance to spend the evening with them.  val and joe hosted an amazing meal, then we all took a stroll to the thames before the festivities began.  

kissams in london- day 3- 25

after a conversation about haven't not seen the draw bridge go up, and how many times a year it does. . . the draw bridge lifted.

kissams in london- day 3- 26

so terrific that we got a chance to all hang out for new year's.  hadn't seen james, neill, or val in about 13 years.  and lovely meeting val's husband. (though it may seem that val and i are standing on a lower stair, in fact, we aren't.  apparently, we are just that much shorter than most of our friends.)

kissams in london- day 3- 27

hard to beat the view from my friend's flat, and a great evening with friends.

kissams in london- day 2- 1

day 2- Westminster Abbey.  i had no idea how immense this place was going to be.  i nearly overloaded on chapels/ churches/ cathedrals/ abbey and whatnot on this one day.  it surprised me how they've almost become a hoarder's paradise for tombs. (we did find and possibly walk over darwin, faraday, kelvin, and newton- and then other greats like ben jonson, handel, kipling, and olivier. not to mention all the royals.)  we waited in the rain on a long line- thankfully it moved swiftly.  while waiting someone started whistling 'winchester cathedral.'  so for the rest of the week when i wanted to speak of westminster, i said, 'winchester.'  grrr.  

kissams in london- day 2- 2

"hey look kids, it's big ben."  (it just doesn't get old.)

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our view across the street as we waited in line.

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closer.

kissams in london- day 2- 5

a true, and dribbling, gargoyle.

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hallway. not much you can photograph inside. :p

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courtyard.

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nice view coming from westminster and getting to trains.

kissams in london- day 2- 9

we were on a bus looking for the Beatles store.  i knew the Sherlock Holmes Museum was close, but i figured that it was too late to get in.  it was 5 and they closed at 5:30.  the line was immense, so dan and i headed into the gift shop.  lots of fun trinkets!  i asked about the museum and how it seemed that the line outside for it was a lot longer than the 5:30 stop time.  the staff told me they would continue to sell tickets to the museum until 5:30, then they would close after the last people went through.  class act- but the line was longer than i was willing to wait at the time. awesome shop though!

kissams in london- day 2- 10

yeah yeah, the place didn't exist in reality. . . but isn't it kinda cool that they made a place based on the popularity of the book?

kissams in london- day 2- 11

like many places we went (being touristy spots and all) the place was filled with foreigners.  in the store i asked if it was always like this.  the clerk said he'd never seen anything like it, but we figured it was due to the release of the upcoming 3rd season.

kissams in london- day 2- 12

from the bus i thought the line was for the Beatles store- nope, that's all for the Sherlock Holmes Museum. 

kissams in london- day 1 -1

what else for breakfast but crumpets and tea!  there were two great grocery stores right across from our hotel which made for easy and delicious breakfasts in our rooms.

kissams in london- day 1 -2

dan and dad enjoying their breakfast.

kissams in london- day 1 -3

we spent our first full day getting a feel for the city from one of the double decker bus tours.  when you can get a live tour guide, they can really add a spark to all the history that you are flooded with.

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yay, gorgeous architecture!

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yay, cool architecture and fun pubs!

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i didn't realize how excited i'd be to see a place done up properly for the holidays.

kissams in london- day 1 -7

having only korean burgers for the past five years. . . i'd be looking forward to byron's proper burgers.  (ps- AMAZING.)

kissams in london- day 1 -8

hrmmm, a sculpture of a big blue cock. . . me thinks there is a joke in here somewhere.

kissams in london- day 1 -9

i like this sculpture in memory of the women of WWII.

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obligatory picture of Big Ben looking up at Big Ben.

kissams in london- day 1 -11

we were told that the london library would be a great place to stop, and a place that not most people think of.  they have an unbelievable special collection exhibit.  couldn't take photos outside, so i took one of the courtyard outside.  on the left you can see the statue of sir isaac newton attempting to measure the world. . . and perhaps the universe.

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we all highly recommend the ghost bus tour.  a great way to learn about some of the darker history in london, while having a fun time.

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mom and dad enjoying the ghost bus tour.

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it's just too easy to make 'cock' jokes in london.  here, one of our 'guides' points out cock st, and then tells about something gruesome that once happened there.

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looky, looky what's just across from our pick up/ drop off point!  a sherlock holmes pub!

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lovely etched glass at the sherlock holmes pub.

Halloween 2013.1

Halloween 2013.1, originally uploaded by ekissam.

my halloween started with some left over face paint, and a little prankish encouragement left over from lauren t.

Halloween 2013.2

Halloween 2013.2, originally uploaded by ekissam.

a little tester the night before- lips are a little drag queenish. . .

Halloween 2013.3

Halloween 2013.3, originally uploaded by ekissam.

a better makeup job in the morning. but i forgot my hat at school. how embarrassing.

Halloween 2013.4

Halloween 2013.4, originally uploaded by ekissam.

ahhh, that's much better. i'd just look silly without the hat.

Halloween 2013.5

Halloween 2013.5, originally uploaded by ekissam.

witch sisters? not exactly.

Halloween 2013.6

Halloween 2013.6, originally uploaded by ekissam.

that's more like it jin t.

Halloween 2013.7

Halloween 2013.7, originally uploaded by ekissam.

chic effort from anna t.

Halloween 2013.8

Halloween 2013.8, originally uploaded by ekissam.

it's a bummer when your broom breaks down and you have to take the bus with such a rough crowd. . . mostly princesses and power rangers.

Halloween 2013.9

Halloween 2013.9, originally uploaded by ekissam.

a witch waiting for her students to finish their arts and crafts.

Halloween 2013.10

Halloween 2013.10, originally uploaded by ekissam.

ahhh, a witch at home, in a haunted hallway.

Halloween 2013.11

Halloween 2013.11, originally uploaded by ekissam.

seems like a playroom can dull the scowl.

Halloween 2013.12

Halloween 2013.12, originally uploaded by ekissam.

birds of a feather flock together.

Halloween 2013.13

Halloween 2013.13, originally uploaded by ekissam.

ran into a former teacher. . er, pirate (teresa) at the english village.

Halloween 2013.14

Halloween 2013.14, originally uploaded by ekissam.

on the real halloween, i went with a sugar skull look.

Halloween 2013.15

Halloween 2013.15, originally uploaded by ekissam.

tracey decided to get in on the action.

a completely decent day

sometimes it’s in the middle of a completely decent day a part of your world shifts below your feet.

fun face paint at school, fun plans for dinner and movie later. . . just a quick dog walk and routine swing by the vet to pick up some medicine.

sometimes you can walk into the vet’s office and come face to face with one of your worst fears,

i forgot.

there was a woman and her mother, and she was cradling a very sick dog. i couldn’t understand any of what the doctors were telling her. i have no idea what was wrong with her dog, and the dog wasn’t making any noises, but the woman was crying, sobbing and saying one word over and over. i understood that word, though the way she said it- i wouldn’t have to learn korean to understand it. over and over- “what should i do? how do i?”

her cracking voice was breaking my heart while the vet set up glitchy’s prescription. i glanced over and noticed that she wrapped her dog in a shirt. i imagined the frantic scene that preceded her arrival at the vet.

i looked up again and noticed something else in the room. fear, pain, and suffering stood there. it looked away from the woman for a moment to nod in my direction, as if to say, “cute dog. guess i’ll be seeing you later.”

i nodded back, as if to say, “i know.”

the best hour

it’s dark out when i wake up these days. the sun used to help me rise, but now it’s chilly and dark. this morning my blanket wasn’t situated ideally. there was a chill seeping in. i thought to adjust it, but realizing i was mostly conscience, i figured my alarm would soon sound.

not worth it to get cozy and warm.

i turned over to check the time. there was still a whole hour till it was time to get up. i adjusted the blanket, rolled over into a dreamily comfy position and closed my eyes.

as i lilted back to sleep i thought how perfect it would be for my dog to curl up near my legs as she often does.

as if she read my thoughts, she jumped up and nestled in near my knees.

the warmth magnified, and i fell back asleep for another beautiful hour.

fuzzy cute

DSC02602, originally uploaded by ekissam.

so, you may be familiar with my past troubles in getting a decent haircut here in korea. i constantly get the same too-short haircut. no matter how i describe that i only want a trim or even if the hairdresser speaks english, my simple trim turns out to be the same lame cut, and when that doesn’t happen, there’s the possibility of ending up a blond. it’s been difficult to grow my hair much longer and i’ve taken to cutting my own hair. however, my bad luck is now affecting my poor dog.

here was my sweet, happy-go-lucky, ‘hobo clown dog’ saturday morning.

her fur had started to mat in places, and well, it’s getting warmer. so i decided to take her in for a grooming. i had a short discussion with the groomer. she wanted to give her a schnauzer look, and i was fine with that. she pointed to a dog that had been shaved and i emphatically shook my head no, and told her just a trim.

ugly cute

DSC02626, originally uploaded by ekissam.

sorry glitchy!

well, they did find a skin irritation, so maybe they felt they had to shave her to find all of it.. . . but still. . .

her silvery coat is even more apparent now. but gone is my fluffy sweety. . . and for the next few months, i have a sleek, perpetually grumpy looking wilford brimely dog.

it hasn’t affected her popularity. we spent the day at the street art festival, and she was constantly mobbed by people wanting to say hi and pet her.