the view from the shard

i came across this trivia question yesterday: "what is the tallest building in london?"

i tried a couple i thought it might be, but london isn't really known for skyscrapers, so i came up empty. the answer was then revealed to be "the shard." the shard? i thought. that doesn't sound familiar at all.

so i looked it up.

it's that thing. 72 inhabitable floors, panoramic views of the city, the tallest building in the european union. construction began in early 2009; the building officially opened to the public in february of this year.

so, this whole building was built after i was in london. the shard doesn't figure into my memories of london at all. there's a huge part of the london skyline that i haven't seen in person.

this makes me want to cry, and the panoramas i looked up didn't help much, either.

oh well. all of this just means that i need to go back, sooner rather than later, preferably.

thoughts

i keep trying to start posts about stuff that's going on, but none of them are fully formed, which i guess means i should just write something to get them out. so, without further ado, thoughts.

--i've been researching this week (and will be for the rest of the semester), reading some mormon missionary diaries of elders who served in england during the 1800s. it's pretty cool, partly because it seems like missionary life back then is a lot the same as it is now, though, to be fair, i haven't served a mission. but these elders talk about the people they talk to, the meals they eat, the travel and weather conditions. it is interesting to see how the church has changed and grown, too.

--the beginning of literature seminars, especially seminars that have some kind of focus on british literature, always make me homesick for london. this might turn into a real post; we'll see. but it's weird to think that my time in london was pre-blog, so none of it has been documented online. i did pull out my study abroad journal this week, so i'll be taking a little bit of time to read that in the next little while.

--today was the joseph smith memorial building wedding show. we go every year; it's awesome. one of these years one of us will actually be engaged. that would make it even better! then, i've been watching the bachelor, and trust that dumb show to make you feel sentimental. sometimes things are dumb.

--our bishopric is being released tomorrow. at least we found out last week; it was enough of a bombshell with advanced notice. i have loved these men and their amazing wives, and i will be sad to see them go. i've learned a lot and grown a lot under the leadership of these men. it will definitely be an adjustment, but it will be good. change is good.

that's what i've got for now. cheers to the long weekend!

and also this

oh, and here's another reason these olympics are so good:

i heart the olympics

remember how today is the last day of july? i'm always amazed at how quickly the time goes.

anyway, since the olympics have more or less taken over my life since saturday, i decided to list the reasons i love them. in a particular order. here we go.

1. bob costas. i'm not sure what it is, but every time bob costas is on the screen, i just squeal with delight. i unequivocally equate him with the olympics.

2. volleyball. the past two mornings i have woken up to u.s. women's and then men's indoor volleyball. it is so awesome. i think i maybe like watching volleyball more than any other sport, and olympic-quality volleyball is especially great.

3. olympic theme and fanfare, courtesy of john williams. even as i was looking up that video, i got chills. so great.

4. swimmers. like this guy.

5. national and international pride. i feel like i'm a patriotic person, but the olympics magnify that times a thousand. i love cheering on team usa. but, i also love that the olympics are a time when the whole world is coming together. rooting for the underdog, the country that has never won a medal, the athlete with the heart-warming story--what's not to love about all of that?

6. obscure events that end up being really intense and/or entertaining. handball? i changed to that channel and didn't recognize what sport was being played. how is that possible? archery (not that obscure but still)? that gold medal match between the u.s. and italy was crazy! who knew that i could be on the edge of my seat for archery?

there are some things about the olympics that bug me (a million commercial breaks=why i don't watch tv anymore), but i won't go into those so as not to take away from the majesty of the games. can't wait for the next two weeks!

what i did today

{among other things. but, in general, the olympics=pretty much i don't get anything else done. and olympics+london=there's no chance i'm doing anything besides watching bob costas and the team covering the stories and events from one of my favorite places in the world. yay for the olympics!}

reminiscinces of london: the globe

my one class this semester is "english renaissance drama." if you recall, my specialty is not english renaissance drama. however, i have a love for such things, and the description of the course said it would be worth my time.

anyway. it is already proving to be interesting, especially since the other day we started talking about renaissance london and the experience of going to the theater. as brother young was describing the globe theater, from its thatched roof to its thrust stage and the yard where the groundlings would stand for the production, i was in london once again, with my great friends, having the time of my life.

when we were in london in the summer of 2009, we saw two plays at the globe: as you like it and troilus and cressida, both shakespeare, but of decidedly different quality. i shall tell you about them now, if you like.

we saw as you like it fairly soon after we arrived in london. we had a full day, including class and a trip to the falconry demonstration at the british library. so by the time we got to the globe i was already somewhat fatigued. therefore, i was skeptical (i maybe whined a little to myself) of standing for the duration of the play, as those with the cheapest tickets do. but i was (still am) determined to make london part of me, and this seemed the right way to do it. by some lucky circumstance, i was right up against the stage, which gave my legs some respite while also providing the best view of the action.

at one point, celia's blue dress brushed my head and it was one of the great moments in my life. basically, my first experience at the globe was magical, and i couldn't wait to go back.

one of my views during as you like it.

on our last weekend in london, we got tickets to another show at the globe, troilus and cressida. romeo and juliet, the other big show that summer, was sold out (disappointed), but we couldn't get enough of that renaissance feeling, so we went anyway. that friday morning, will, julianne, and i went to the globe exhibition, where you learn more about the history of the theater itself and the tradition of drama that emerged out of the period. we took a tour, led by one of the players, where we sat in one of the boxes and watched the stage crew setting up for helen of troy, an upcoming production. it was awesome and was a perfect thing to do on my last friday morning in london town.

that night we headed down to bankside once again for the performance. we had tried to figure out the plot of the play the night before, but the details were still a little hazy. it didn't get much clearer as the show progressed, but the atmosphere, being down in the yard right up against the stage, close to the other spectators, friends and strangers alike, was delightful. we joked about the ridiculousness that was troilus and cressida, i swooned over the cute actor who played one of the characters, whose name i can't quite recall now, and i chuckled at the airplanes that would occasionally pass by overhead.

this looks scandalous, which is maybe appropriate, because the play was rather scandalous. but i think (if i'm remembering correctly...) this is troilus and cressida  with cressida's uncle, pandarus.

what also made that night magical was meeting, rather fortuitously, two lds siblings on vacation, one recently returned from a mission and soon returning to byu, who were standing next to us during the show. we bonded at intermission and realized they weren't staying that far away from our flats. this of course led to frolicking over the millennium bridge, possible rapping and beatboxing of some sort, and revelry on the tube. altogether a lovely, lovely night.

all of this is to say that i miss london. still. everyday. i have so many amazing memories from those weeks in the summer of '09, and i will cherish them always.

and i'm thinking of buying some tickets to performances at the globe this summer. that way i have to go back to london, right? who wants to meet me to see taming of the shrew in july?