Monday July 29
Z: I got out of bed at around 8:30, put my airpods in, turned on some music, and headed to the bathroom aka my normal morning routine. As I was using the bathroom, Catja texted me, which gets relayed by Siri when I wear my headphones. At 8:39am, the earliest Catja has woken up in ages, I received the following message: “message from Bubble Guppy…Morning! Important question – have you gotten to the couch part of Hillbilly Elegy??” Not the first thing I wanted to hear this morning while in the bathroom, but definitely one way to start a Monday morning.
As it was a nice sunny and warm day, I took my dissertation work outside to our back garden. After getting tired of that after like three hours, I moved inside and procrastinated. I went down a deep Canva rabbit hole for the next 5 hours that will eventually see the light of day, but not quite yet. I have no evidence of me leaving the house, so I think that is all I did.
C: I too took my dissertation work outside and sat in our back garden soaking in the sun. The sun eventually got a bit too intense, so I moved indoors to do my GSAF admin work and take some calls. I was just reaching a low energy point in the afternoon when Anna texted and asked if I wanted to swim in the Hampstead Heath ponds after work, and I happily said yes. We walked across the Heath to try the women’s pond, which had a long line since they didn’t take pre-bookings and many other women had the same idea after work. Anna and I chatted for about an hour in line, talking about our shared job struggles in the arts industries and our favorite performance memories as a singer and dancer respectively.
Finally, we made our way to the pond, which felt like heaven. Women were everywhere just existing peacefully, swimming with ducks, diving hand-in-hand with friends, and basking in the sun. It felt so peaceful and safe, and it was a true oasis in the middle of such a bustling city. The water wasn’t as frigid as when we last swam in May, so we spent a long time paddling along and playing mermaids. As Anna put it, the vibes of the pond were like every water nymph mythical legend, and we had an excellent evening hanging out and eating cheese twirls. The sunset was a spectacular way to end the day.
Tuesday July 30
Z: After procrastinating for hours and hours yesterday, I thought it was a better idea to actually go to school for the first time in a while and use the peer pressure of a library environment to motivate me to finish my dissertation. I left the house bright and early aka 9:30am when the tube became off peak fares and headed into UCL. It was very quiet since all the undergrads are on summer break, so I found a nice spot in the law library with no one else around. I got a couple hours of work done before my brain went to mush and I needed to photosynthesize. I decided to walk to Regent’s Park to my usual lunch spot, but along the way I passed a plaza area with fold out chairs and a big screen showing the Olympics, so I changed plans and grabbed a seat. I watched the swimming for about an hour while eating lunch, before deciding to head home to reunite with our full girls house, which has been a bit empty for a while.
C: I woke up with FANTASTIC hair for absolutely no reason. She had volume. She had curls. She was bouncy and alive. I popped on a tube top and my newly sewn shorts and had a cheeky photo shoot in the sun to document this rare hair blessing.
Later, Lucy and I hung out in the living room as I worked and she hand drew the most heartwarming wedding gift for her sister and soon to be brother-in-law. We watched Olympic windsurfing and were mesmerized by the mechanics of the vessel. Hebe and Zoe joined later, and we all chatted and hung out for the first time in ages! Hebe and Zoe convinced me to apply to a US Sun job solely because the job description said that the ideal candidate should have a strong knowledge of US pop culture, specifically the Kardashians. Unfortunately, I have close to zero knowledge about the Kardashians. Hebe and Zoe just want me to get paid to watch the show with them (Z: I stand by the fact that that would be such a fun job).
Later, we met up with Callum and Luke to have a reunion picnic in the park now that Luke and Hebe are back from their Greek holiday. We stopped in Dollis first so we could watch the US women dominate team gymnastics before setting up camp. We ate lots of Scotch eggs (Luke was very pleased about that) and discussed what sport we would enroll our hypothetical children in for them to have the best shot at becoming Olympians. Many of us crossed out swimming simply because you have to wake up and commute to the pool at the crack of dawn. It got chilly after sunset, so we parted ways for the evening.
Wednesday July 31
Z: I started my morning early again with an online interview! I think it went well, but we shall see :). I then headed out to the living room to debrief with Hebe and Catja about the interview and we just ended up chatting for quite a while.
C: Go Zoe woooo! Inspired by her success, I sent my CV to the Young Women’s Trust a few days ago after Lucy recommended them to get some feedback on how to improve my prospects. I spent most of today revising my CV and reformatting every section to be more eye catching and concise. Zoe, Hebe, and Callum kindly took a look and gave me their two cents. Hebe and Luke also advised me to have the “audacity of a man” and apply for the journalist positions I wanted but felt were a reach. So now I have The Washington Post and the US Sun under my application belt. What a contrast.
Z: We returned home from the boys at around dinner time, so we all sat down in the living room to eat. After finishing dinner and getting into PJs, we sat down to scroll through and find a movie to watch. We finally landed on watching Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, a classic Judy Bloom adaptation that none of us had seen. The film was really cute and all about a young girl dealing with becoming a teenager. Margaret, the main character is the daughter of a Christian mother and Jewish father (only slightly relatable :)) and while dealing with all of the typical whoes of puberty also has to figure out how religion and faith fit into her life. I highly recommend it if you're looking for a nice feel good movie with a bit of social commentary about religion too!
Thursday August 1
Z: Looking for another productive day, we headed back over to the boys place for a Divorced Dads session. We spent the morning hard at work and then decided to head outside for an afternoon in the sun. I had finished up my first draft of my dissertation and sent it in to my advisor (YAYYYY), so I spent the rest of the afternoon reading Hillbilly Elegy and learning about a rather strange VP candidate’s backstory.
C: Outside, I worked on the monthly newsletter for GSAF then watched my friend Lucy B’s presentation at the Dancing with Decolonisation online conference. She talked about her research about dance notation as a disability arts practice which was so fascinating. My computer eventually died in the park, so Zoe passed me Hillbilly Elegy and told me I should just read the last four chapters.
Z: We returned back from the boys for another evening in. During dinner, Hebe and I got into a long conversation reviewing minor celebrity gossip from 2015 to present. It was fantastic. I forgot how invested I am in these random people’s lives and it was very fun to learn that Hebe too has a strange obsession with internet celebrities. We next went on the hunt for something new to watch and landed on Stacey Dooley Sleeps Over, a show where journalist Stacey Dooley stays with families from different backgrounds to better understand their way of life. We started tame with an episode about an internet famous couple who puts their children online, before jumping in the deep end with an episode about Mormons. We are all quite confused and curious about Mormonism, and this episode did not disappoint. The level of intrigue was only increased when we realized that the episode was filmed in Stockport, the hometown of Luke, Ethan, and Callum. Catja actively screamed when “the Pear” (Pear Mill) came on screen. It left us confused about missions and Mormonism in general.
Friday August 2
Z: My vision has been a bit wonky the past few weeks, so I finally decided to book an appointment to get my eyes checked for the first time in two years. I asked Catja to come with me because if you have ever been glasses shopping you understand that it is truly a terrifying experience. I have shed tears before when going alone, so best to have a friend help make these impossible decisions. We headed off to Finchley Road where I went through my eye exam, was told my eyes have gotten worse (shout out to my left eye which has been holding out for quite awhile and only now started to go down hill), and shopped around for a new pair of glasses. After trying on many pairs and learning that there is a very thin line between looking good in wire glasses and looking like Harry Potter, we finally landed on a suitable pair.
We then headed back home via Flying Tiger to pick up a canvas for a little painting project. Catja went back to doing work, so I decided to do a little baking. I made little cinnamon/cardamom/coffee cake muffins, which are very tasty.
C: Zoe didn’t get the groovy 70s purple sunglasses I made her try on sadly, but it was fun helping her find her new look! I spent the rest of the day writing and repotting the pothos plant propagations that Hebe and I started rooting a few weeks ago. They grew such long roots, and now we have 5 more baby pothos! Our goal is to turn our new flat into a jungle.
Later, Zoe and I met Callum at the pub down the road, where we heard him share the lore of his friendship groups’ past. We came to the conclusion that we lived very different lives in the US vs UK. Zoe and I grew up with that classic Northern Virginia lifestyle of taking many challenging classes at school, juggling several extracurriculars to present yourself as a ~ well-rounded ~ student for college apps, and living at least a 30 minute drive from most of our friends.
Callum wanted to keep the party going, so he invited us to his place to watch Whiplash. It was a brilliant cinematic film, and there’s no denying that the acting was superb, but oh my god it was intense. It felt so real. It reminded me of some toxic classical ballet practices, and I wondered if my dad ever experienced such an extreme rehearsal experience at Juilliard. When the film ended, we took a minute to take it all in, then we chatted about all the nuances and characterizations before Zoe and I walked back home.
Saturday August 3
Z: We got home later on Friday night, so we had a little lie-in before getting to work on our painting project. Luke (blonde) invited the group to a charity event for Killed Women and asked if anyone had any art to donate. Naturally, Catja and I volunteered. We spent the morning cutting out newspaper clippings, brainstorming a color palette, and painting all sorts of fractals. The end result is in the photo album if you want to see it!
C: I am absolutely in LOVE with our painting, and I’m a bit sad we are letting it go. But hopefully it goes to a good home and raises lots of money for such an important cause. In the afternoon, we met up with Callum to go to the Regent’s Roots Festival in honor of South Asian Heritage Month. We ate some delicious biryani before wandering around to explore all the events. It became quite apparent that it was targeted to children and families, but we found ways to participate! Callum became very invested in 3D triangular blocks that could be rotated to build different shapes. He proudly constructed an abstract Loch Ness Monster. Next, we found a V&A stall and learned how to make wire jewelry. I made a really odd braided ring with a little anchor that Zoe made swinging from the top (see album for reference). Zoe made a simple and elegant ring with thicker wire, and I commissioned her to make me a more wearable wavy ring. Callum made another abstract art work that looked a bit like a death mask mixed with a Picasso portrait. He proudly wore it as a badge.
Later, we found a performance stage and arrived just in time for a play-based group with lots of audience participation to begin. One of the performers came to Zoe, me, and another girl to say that she sees us hiding in the back and that she will get us on stage, which sounds vaguely threatening but she was actually very nice. Callum was the most eager to join in, and seeing him run around with tiny children was highly entertaining. We played several games with the performers and children before heading to another stage, where dancers were performing and also invited audience participation. Naturally, I walked up, because I feel much more comfortable dancing than playing games with small children. It was a lot of fun! We ended the evening at a pub before heading home.
Sunday August 4
Z: When we returned from the picnic, we headed over to the boy's place because Ethan was in town and we hadn't seen him in a few weeks. We had a nice afternoon catching up and learning about Ethan’s final parade this week before he is off for a month. Ethan left to catch his train and we stayed to watch the end of the Alcaraz vs. Djokovic match. We then headed home to cook some dinner (a lovely roast thank you to Catja). Before dinner we video called Hebe to catch up about our weekends because we miss her dearly and can’t believe we will not see her for another two weeks. After dinner, we picked out a trashy movie to watch for the rest of the evening, but ended up instead video calling Payton because we haven’t spoken in ages. We were lucky enough to meet her boyfriend Brian for the first time too which was really nice. We called for a while, catching up on life, cracking jokes, and getting lots of videos of Payton’s pets (including a new cat…Payton I love you but please stop buying pets).
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