And the fruits of last night's labor...

Can be found right here.

It's on a temporary server right (very temporary, I think the Temple FTP host will last until about January or so), but I registered a domain name and all I need to do is find an FTP host. And fix my Dreamweaver file.

But for now, check out my portfolio. It's amazing.

And this it.

The very last blog post I will do. As an undergraduate student. Procrastinating on her projects.

Am I scared? Heck no! Do I have a steady job that totally relates to what I spent four and a half years studying for? No.

But that's okay. That's just fine with me.

Here's the last All-Nighter devoted to an undergrad project.

Coming Soon...

...to a blog or YouTube video near you...



Stay posted!

How To Holidays...With Apples

The air is getting colder (or that's the theory, anyway). The leaves are falling, and Halloween is quickly approaching.

For those of us who don't like pumpkin carving, bring on the Halloween spirit with apple-lanterns.




Originally for a class I'm taking at Temple, but my friends and I had so much fun with this, we're making more.

And she's back!

Well, it's been one crazy journey, but I've touched back down to the good old US of A. And damn, it feels good to be back home.

Both flights were delayed by at least one hour. The one from Heathrow to Toronto was due to a broken seat, and the second one from Toronto to Philly was due to a thunderstorm and monsoon. But I did manage to take this photo of Toronto after the storm:



To everyone that has been keeping up with my travels, thank you. I probably won't be posting as much as I did on the trip, but you haven't heard the last of me.

Bookshop Day

England is so old; it's crazy. Hung out in a glorious, five story bookshop called Hatchard's that's been in business for almost as long as the United States has been in existence.

It's been awhile since I curled up in the corner of a shop and read books that I have no intention of buying. Well, no that's not true, I do want to buy, just not at that second.

I tried finding Katy Perry's album, but it's a lot harder than I thought it would be. Since "I Kissed A Girl" is huge, one would think most stores would have it.

Yes, as you can judge from this post, today was really exciting.

Who needs Paris

When there's so much to do in London?

Last class was Thursday, August 7 (which was another reason to celebrate the day, the first commemorating the 50 years of AWESOME!!!, otherwise known as Bruce Dickinson's birthday). My grades aren't finalized yet, so I'll say what I thought about Temple's study abroad program at a later time.

Yesterday, I attended the Great British Beer Festival at Earls Court. Now, me being the fantasy/sci-fi/anime lover that I am, have attended many a convention in my day.

Not as great as this one. 10 pounds to taste over 450 beers from around the world? Lovely. Don't remember much about it, though.

And today...



I wish my fellow Americans wouldn't shrug off soccer/football as "Oh, the one where they kick?" Because the West Ham United vs. Villareal game ruled! Didn't see as many fights as I expected (or none at all). My friend who lives around there says I needed to see the Hammers back in the 80s when fights broke out all the time.

And now, just relaxing and enjoying the silence; everyone in the dorm either went to Paris or some other European destination. Grant it, I don't have a problem with anyone here, but a floor with 30 college girls can wear my nerves after awhile.

Guerrilla Gardening

So, friends (and mysterious readers) that reside in the Philadelphia area, please check out this website which is the homepage for guerrilla gardening

Or if you're too lazy, I'll briefly explain it: guerrilla gardening is cultivating neglected land that does not belong to you, basically making small parts of the city beautiful. It started in London with a man named Richard Reynolds (who spoke to our class today). He planted flowers and other plants on public land in the middle of the night and continues to care of it. He planted seeds with his own money, on his own time. The movement has grown from there, all local people who want to make and keep their residence beautiful.

It's attracted some media attention:
like this article in the NY Times

And I think it's a lovely idea. That's all I'm going to say for now, but I think the Philly area could use something like this. So, just keep that in mind when I head back to the States.



A guerrilla lavender garden found in the London borough of Lamberth.

Tube Art Tour

For our class trip today, we had a scintillating tour of Tube art. Where we rode the Tube. For an hour. To look at artwork. That was impossible to find. And some of the pieces weren't even in existence anymore. And one piece was displayed outside. Where it was pouring.

But I suppose things could be worse. I could be camping outside of Parliament like these guys in the pouring English rain:



They've camped here since England entered the Iraq War in protest (at least, I think). Now, that's dedication!

Screw Abbey Road!

Now, off to find Acacia Avenue!



Me, rocking the Invisible Orange Pose on stage at THE RUSKIN ARMS!!! The very same rock club where Maiden used to play. I almost kissed the floor, but I restrained myself.

Did a bit of an Iron Maiden tour in east London with a friend I met on Bruce Air last night. Rocked the stage at the Cart and Horses (another rock club Maiden,at least Steve Harris and the less important early members, used to frequent) karaoke night. The English were never graced with the awesome-ness that is Journey's "Don't Stop Believing."

So, me being the pseudo goth I've always been, took a walk through Highgate Cemetery today. Weird England spoke of vampires and horror movie settings, so that's what I went looking for. Karl Marx is also buried here, but he's not nearly as cool as vampires.





And I wonder who this post-modernist is:

I think

I'm becoming a hermit. An English-ish hermit, but a hermit none the less.

England's Green and Pleasant Land

Honestly, I was more impressed with the giant sky of England's country side:



Then I was with Stonehenge. Because really, when it comes down to it, it's just a bunch of rocks.





Bath is a cute town, very un-Englandy. It seemed like something straight out of Rome (possibly because it's Roman?) But still, I felt the unexcavated bath house at Chesters by the Hadrian's Wall site was cooler. This was nice, but too touristy for my tastes.

Canals and Flowers

Originally, I wanted to head to Primrose Hill to see if I could spot any celebrities milling about. Instead, I got distracted by this delightful canal, called the Reagent's Canal. It's 8 1/2 miles long. I only walked two (well, four if you count there and back again) between Camden Lock and Little Venice.





These are house boats. There's at least 50 of them.

The roses were in Ireland and the sunflower came from somewhere near Tate Modern in London. No particular reason to post them, other than the fact that I like them.






Headed off the Bath and Stonehenge tomorrow as part of a class trip. Speaking of the class, everyone else has gone off to a night of Dionysian abandon around London. Me? I'm also having a wild night of tea, Kaki King albums, and The Lord of the Rings. Yeah, I know. I'm buck wild.

London Street Art

Our street art tour was the most interesting and useful thing my class has done so far. And that's all I'll say about that.











This girl with the Samurai sword is everywhere. The top photo was taken near South Bank, and the bottom was in the East End.





This skate park is smack in the center of the tourist trap South Bank (which rests on the River Thames, home of the London Eye, the aquarium, the Dali museum, across from Parliament, etc.)





Some Banksy. I found the top image in the East End and the bottom near South Bank.







England seems to really love Obama here.



Not everyone appreciates the street art.

More Photos from Ireland

Swam in the Serpentine at Hyde Park today. And, on request from my father, here are more Dublin photos.



I'm sure this guy has some significance. Taken at Trinity College.



There are beer kegs everywhere in Dublin. The pubs are all about the Guinness and the Jameson's. My brother would love it here.



Dublin also loves creepy statues.



Christ Church Cathedral. I believe St. Stephen is buried underneath. If I'm wrong, I'm sorry. When I walked through this church, I really needed to use the loo, and the Church is so old (1180), it didn't have one on the premise.



View from Powerscourt; a garden and a castle near the coast of Ireland.



Rocks by the Irish Sea.

Pog mo thoin, I'm Irish!

And was born in South Korea, but adopted by an American Irish Catholic family. And proud to be the only person who knew the words to "Molly Malone" and "Wild Rover" on the coastal tour bus. All the world is bright and gay when these Korean eyes are smiling.

But I think that's the extent of my Irish heritage. Except for maybe the fact that I love Guinness (but some days, Smithwick's is better) and Jameson's.



Will post more pics when the Internet isn't acting slow.

Norwegian Adventure via Bruce Air!

So, believe it or not, there are people crazier about Iron Maiden than me. Like, I definitely would not have flown Bruce Air if I wasn't already in London.

[Disclaimer: I may or may not have been in class on Tuesday. I could have been invisible.]

But some people on this 757 (not tricked out with Iron Maiden decals, thanks Africa. Eddie's only been around for like 30 years, you know.) One couple came from Japan. And one person flew overnight from D.C. and flew back the day after Bruce Air!



Greatest pilot in the universe.

And most people were in their late 30s and 40s. Which makes me feel much better about myself, but I do wonder, when does Bruce Dickinson fandom end? Does it ever end? Will I be giddily obsessed for the rest of my life?



The cult that is Iron Maiden fandom.

Like, as we were approaching Norway, Bruce told us how long it would be until we touched down in Trondheim and the weather, and I almost melted in my seat.



All of Bruce Dickinson's dreams came true. He finally met me.

And apparently, it's not a fashion faux pas to where an Iron Maiden shirt to an Iron Maiden show in Europe. Because almost the entire town of Trondheim wore Maiden shirts.

Trondheim, Norway is a very strange place. It's this small fishing village, surrounded by mountains and fjords. I would think even if it was sunny and not a cloud in the sky, it would still be a VERY gloomy place. Black metal totally makes sense, now. I think 80 percent of the town's population was at the Maiden show.



View from a river path in Trondheim.

Also, the English language is more widely accepted than I thought. I tried ordering a hot dog at Lerkendal Stadium in Norwegian; it was like "Bolognassee" or something. The woman gave me a blank look and said, "You mean the hot dog?"

Right. But you know something that isn't that widely accepted? Dancing your butt off at Iron Maiden shows.

The Norwegians could not handle my moves. Most of them took one look at me, and either backed away slowly or ran the other direction.

And now, off to Dublin! I will be the first Fossett to step foot on the homeland. Grant it, it's the adopted Korean one, but still...

Museum Displays, yay.

Still recovering from the train ride to Hadrian's Wall, so did nothing except school work. On Tuesday, we took a field trip to THE British Museum. It was nifty seeing objects that I studied in Art History I at DCCC, but after awhile, all the pots and sculptures look the same.



The Soundbox of Lyre (Hell yeah, I still remember the name. Thanks, Bertha Gutman.) It's Sumerian.



Some Buddha. And being the wonderful Asian I am, I can't tell you squat about it.

In other news, across the street from THE British Museum is a comic book store called Gosh! (they put the exclamation point there, not me). Purchased Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet and Coraline the Graphic Novel. Haven't read Hamlet, but Coraline is delightfully frightening.



The one and only picture I took during the Hadrian's Wall adventure. Newcastle, UK.

So Hadrian's Wall...

...isn't exactly what you would call a tourist attraction or something you could do as a day trip without a car. I think everyone (meaning the native Brits that I encountered) knew that, which is why I received headshakes and doubtful "Okay, I'll sell you these train tickets."

I was expecting something like a national park with pieces of the wall and trails for both the casual walker like myself and the hardcore ones who are walking the entire 80 miles of the wall.

The Web site said that Hadrian's Wall (which back when the Romans ruled Britain, Emperor Hadrian build a wall at the border of England and Scotland to separate the free Celts and the Celts under Roman rule) was accessible by rail, if you got off at the Newcastle stop, which seemed like a pretty happening town. I will get into that later.

That Web site said absolutely nothing about taking an hour and a half bus ride to a small piece of the wall. Nor did it say that the actual part where you can hike around for a little bit is almost three hours away.

Or that Hadrian's Wall really is for the hardcore hikers. Like people with sticks and tents and ponchos on their backs. And willing to spend a week hiking the 80 mile wall. (Which I would love to do. I could do that and swim the English Channel.)

But when it all came down to it, I enjoyed Hadrian's Wall. I saw Chesters, which is pieces of a fort, a bath house by the river, and part of the wall. I think Scotland was on the other side. Grant it, English country side looks like Pennsylvanian country side, except greener with sheep. And giant purple clouds.

But, no roar of the city. I heard the water rustling. I saw Scotland on the other side of the water and structures that have existed since the Roman era.

Lovely.

And of course I left my camera on the bus.

British hot dogs...

...are not very tasty. Nor is British mustard and British ketchup. British hamburgers aren't very good either.

But eating a not very tasty British hot dog in front of Big Ben is pretty darn nifty!



Me after eating said not very delicious British hot dog.



The London Eye. Not sure if it's worth the money, but I'll probably go in it eventually.



This is not the London Bridge that is falling down, my fair ladies. But it sure does look like it. (It's Tower Bridge.)



A raven at the Tower of London.

And in other news, I have finally decided that I like the new Weezer. Really like the new Weezer. It's like "My Name is Jonas" good. And I'm not ashamed to admit it, either.