King Kong in London

I just spent an hour trying to call Peter to wish him a happy birthday. I was trying to call his house phone, which doesn't accept blocked calls. I could not figure out where to put the *82 to reveal the number. Putting it before the country code didn't work, and neither did putting it after the country code and before the area code. I called home to see if there was a chance that there may have been a problem with the card, but I got through. I tried to put the *82 after the area code, and someone picked up, but when I asked for Peter, the man on the phone said I had the wrong number (which I didn't; the *82 probably just affected the number I was dialing). I found Peter's cell phone number and I know that at his house, he has no service. I got through and left a message. I never heard his voice mail message (because the calling card lady was talking) but it told me to leave a message. Let's hope it worked.

Today, I went on a bus tour provided by NYU in London. The first two hours were great. We did the major tourist stops: Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, St. Paul's Cathedral, a galleria-type building on the Thames River, etc.


My roommate, King Kong Kristen.

But after that, our bus got stuck in traffic in a boring high-class shopping district. The once soothing and entertaining British tour guide's voice then became a crackling annoyance that gave me a headache. The bus vibrations didn't help. At that point, my roommate and I were tired and wanted to go back to our dorm building.

Oh yes, and my roommate is alive. She came back home later that day. Since the metro closes down at just past midnight and she was supremely drunk, she spent the night at the friend-of-a-friend's place. She is currently with him at a movie.

She and I make good roomies. She and I generally have the same interests in terms of style, music, movies, social interactions and activities and more. We have gotten past the initial awkward boundaries. We can both talk about anything from guys to clothing to pooping. (Yes, pooping.) She and I can hang out on a regular basis without feeling weird. I don't want to be friends with only her, but it's nice to have a companion to induct myself into London life.