Oxford and sad news...

The past week has been somewhat difficult. I became very ill with a fever and chills. It knocked me down for a few days and it was really discouraging. Of all days I was sick... yep... Fourth of July. As if that isn't bad enough, I missed the Siouxsie concert. Soooo sad. I slept almost 20 hours that day but I was awake long enough to eat a hamburger. I had to cling to at least a little bit of my American identity by having a burger and fries. As I was dozing off again, at about 10pm (which is when it finally gets dark) I could hear fireworks outside. All I could do was lay in bed and smile for the thought that there were Americans around celebrating. God Bless America.

The next day, I forced myself to get up. I had to buy a suit jacket for work on Oxford Street. I ate some food, loaded up with drugs, and found a scenic bus route. I got 3/4 of the way there when my bus stopped and they told everyone to get off. Apparently there was really bad traffic so everyone just got off. I took the tubes the remainder of the way. If you don't know what Oxford Street is, shame on you. It's basically the shopping mecca of London. There are loads of stores like Top Shop, H&M, and Next. Right when I got out of the tube station, I was bombarded with people. Yes, of course I know it's a mistake to try to go shopping in the middle of the afternoon on Oxford Street in July but it was even worse than expected... Why you ask? What was the cause of the really bad traffic earlier? The pride parade. Yep. There were tons of people lining the streets watching buses and floats loaded with homosexuals, rainbow flags, and thumping techno music. I figured I would try to go shopping while the parade was going and hoping that the stores would be a little less busy. They were... but they weren't. As the parade ended and spectators disbursed, I was frustrated by the crowds, heat, and packs of gay men in blue cowboy hats calling each other "whores." I went back to my cozy neighborhood of West Hampstead empty handed and tired.

Good news is, I was able to just borrow a jacket from my roommate and it turns out I don't even need it! I have been temping for different job agencies. I do reception type things that pay pretty well. I usually like it. I go to different places for a few days and basically, play around on the internet all day. The lack of brain stimilation is killing me but I'm just waiting till I can get more of a permanent temporary job... then maybe I can actually start doing something cool. For now, it allows me to be very flexible as I get to pick the days that I work while still earning as much as I like. Very cool.

Sorry about the lack of adventures this week... all I've got the is the Gay Parade. I'm planning on a beach day trip with my ward to Brighton soon and perhaps Paris in August- woo hoo! More adventures to come!