http://xkcd.com/


And Media Studies falls right off the chart, on the faaaaar left.

Sometimes I think it’s not possible to have a blog and a Real Life at the same time. I used to blog prolifically, and most posts were interesting and imaginative and funny. Of course, that was back when I was fifteen, wrote Harry Potter fanfiction after school, tried to teach myself C++ programming ‘for fun’, and was deathly scared of real people.

I’m still a bit scared of real people, but not as scared of real life. Real life tends to be awesome.

About two weeks ago, my brother Niyantha came to London. The timing was not the best because it was in the middle of two exams, but if I was being honest it’s not like I would have done any serious studying in those ten days anyway! This gave me a wonderful excuse to really splurge and do the gratuitously touristy things I hadn’t done yet. Like doing one of the bus tours around the city and buying an overpriced ticket to Madame Tussauds (although the actual exhibition itself was a lot more fun than I’d expected it to be). We visited Oxford and Manisha, and did a lovely walking tour of the city, then my brother visited York and Manasi while I tried in vain to study. I got to see the inside of the Lord’s cricket stadium, and despite my lifelong loathing for cricket, the view of the grounds is seriously spectacular. We missed our train to Manchester but it turned out to be for the best as Niyantha got to do proper tours of Lords and Wimbledon, and I got to take a loooong nap and plan out our two-day trip to Paris.

Paris is, and will always be, one of the most amazing cities EVER. If you find yourself there for a day or two, I highly recommend the New Paris walking tour (in English)- it’s a four-hour walking tour that covers all the major sights plus a few lesser-known ones, and it’s technically free although you should be sure to generously tip your tour guides because they are fantastic.

Not the best picture, but really nothing can compare to actually seeing the Eiffel Tower light up in front of you at sunset.

Niyantha left on Saturday, and I had two days to learn a semester’s worth of statistics theory for my exam. And thanks to a day in Oxford with Manisha, and some rigorous study grouping, I did it, and not only did I pass my exam, but I’m pretty sure I did quite well!

And somewhere in the middle of that week I got myself a super cute haircut at Toni and Guy for 5 pounds. I told you real life tends to be awesome.

And I thought the Forresters on B&B were screwed up...

One of the many awesome things about being at the LSE is the amazing speakers that come here and talk... for free! Today I attended a talk by Steve Coll, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and author of The Bin Ladens: The Story of a Family and its Fortune.

Ok, I'll admit it... I was extra excited to go to this talk because I'd seen him on The Daily Show last week and it was a pretty cool interview! And it feeds into my slightly odd fangirling (to put it very politely) of Jon Stewart.

But besides cool fake-news appearances, Coll was a really engaging speaker and told the most incredible tale of this incredible family.

Fun facts!

- Mohammed Bin Laden, Osama Bin Laden's dad, was born in absolute poverty in a canyon in Yemen, arrived in Jeddah just at the start of the Great Depression, had no formal education or training of any kind, yet rose, within his lifetime, to become one of the most prominent, wealthy and skilled contractors in Saudi Arabia.

- Mohammed had over 22 wives and 54 children. He had two 'steady' wives, and the other wives he married and divorced in a serial fashion, never having more than four at a time, as is forbidden by Islamic Law.

- He would marry a girl to establish business relationships with her family and tribe, and after divorcing her, arrange her re-marriage to a mid-level executive or business acquaintance, fully recognise any children she might have as his legitimate heirs, and pay them hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in alimony!

- Salem, Mohammed's oldest son and the one Osama was closest to, was the coolest, craziest character I've ever heard of. Incredibly fun-loving and charismatic, he played in a rock band called 'The Echoes', and collected private planes and jets and flew them himself all over the world, taking off to Paris or Rio on the spur of the moment whenever he got bored. Totally westernised and constantly surrounded by friends who were rock artists/pilots, he was a complete performer. He would travel around with a briefcase filled with $250,000 in various currency at all times, and whenever he landed up at a shindig where there was a band playing, whether it was a wedding or the Vanity Fair post-Oscars party at Los Angeles, he would bribe the band to give him the stage, and would then proceed to lead the party guests in a rousing rendition of Frère Jacques, his favourite song.

- He was killed when he flew a plane into some power cords in San Antonio, Texas. His father was also killed in a plane crash. Aviation is a strong recurrent theme in the story of the Bin Ladens.

- There apparently is something called a 'Where's Osama?' parlour game, which, I have to say, does not sound as cool as a 'Where's Osama?' giant picture book.

-Charlie Beckett thinks that Osama is hiding as a baggage handler in Terminal 5 of Heathrow.


Ok, heh.

the solution to post-laptop-theft blues and crippling writer's block?

Hop on the Oxford tube and have Manisha feed you curd rice for two days, while being inspired by the Dreaming Spires to actually WORK for a change!

Word count: Looking good.

crapfest

I got back to London on Friday, after spending ten days in Houston with my parents, and I got one hell of a return present courtesy of my shitty window lock and the absolute lack of security in my hall.

Basically my laptop was stolen from my room while I was eating dinner. In less than 50 minutes, someone had prised open my window (which faces the street), reached in and yanked my laptop through the bars and made off with it.

It was such a huge shock to come back and find my window open and my laptop gone. I know it's just a laptop, and there wasn't any particularly sensitive information on it, but it still has me freaked out about being in my room alone and I had to take a sleeping pill last night to get myself to calm down, finally.

Apparently the hall has insurance for all its residents, but I won't know the details till Monday. I've changed all my online passwords, cancelled any credit/debit card I used online, filed a police report and had them dust for fingerprints... I've done everything right and I suppose I just have to move on now and not think about it too much. My parents have been wonderful, telling me not to worry, it's just money and I should be happy nothing happened to hurt me. I'm really glad all my friends are back in London too, they've helped me so much.

I'm really in kind of shock still, because I have 4 essays due in two weeks, exams starting in 4 weeks, and a hell of a lot of work to do for my dissertation. Most of my work so on my laptop was outlines and random ideas that had come to me for my work, and so I had not backed that up. I usually only back up references and further reading and actual drafts of essays. But because I don't have those pointers with me anymore, I don't know where to start.

And more than that, I just feel... very dazed and hopeless about my future. I know it was just a laptop, but it helped keep me sane and stop the voices in my head whenever I start to doubt myself.

I've lost all of my old pictures, the ones I never uploaded. Also lost all the of fan fic and writing that I've done over the years.

I need to do several things: sleep, most importantly. And shower. And tomorrow I'm going to go to Waterstones to spend some book vouchers that I have to cheer myself up, and have something in the room to distract me.

I really just want to get through these last few months at LSE.

There was no WAY I could have studied from March 14-18...

because I was in SPAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Warning: This post is superlong. I will totally understand a tl;dr reaction, but it's mostly for my benefit anyway, and plus, there are some pretty pictures. :)

And now, a photoblog of my trip to Madrid with my delightful friend and hallmate Carla.

Friday

When we checked in at Gatwick on Friday morning, the stewardess told us to enjoy the sun in Madrid. Apparently it was 20 degrees there. 20 degrees!!!

We landed in Madrid Barajas airport around noon, where we were met by Carla's mom and brother. Thus started a long series of kissing people on the cheeks and being kissed that *still* is a little weird to my Indian sensibilities. Weird, but in a nice way.

Just outside the airport, there was this stunning sculpture.



I tried out my Spanish with Carla's mom, and informed her that 'the statue has very little breasts', which turned out to be an awesome ice-breaker.

Not that I needed any. Throughout my stay everyone was incredibly warm and nice to me, and went out of their way to make me feel comfortable, even with the language barrier.

Then we got to her family's apartment, which had a really lovely view of the Madrid skyline, with mountains at the very back.



Then we took a nap, and then went to get our hair cut, resulting in my greatest hair cut of ALL TIME, as you will see in the pictures. It's awesome. It's short in the back and long in the front, and is layered and choppy like Victoria Beckham's. And it wasn't even very expensive!

Then we got dressed up (with Carla's mom actually lending me a lovely dress of hers!) and went out to see Chueca, Madrid's gay party district, to meet Carla's friends. Carla's gay friends were hilarious and deserve a post of their own, so I won't say much about them here.

My haircut from the side. Rock!



Central Madrid is really gorgeous at night, and while driving back Carla pointed out different places she and her friends used to hang out in. This was one of the many great things about visiting Madrid with a Madrileño. She gave me constant commentary on interesting and personalised trivia about the different places we saw.

Saturday

The next day we got up bright and early at 11.30, had torrijas (which were SO DELICIOUS and I ate as many as I could while I was there), and left to see Carla's dad, who lives in central Madrid.

On the way we passed through the 'Mickey Ears'.



Carla's dad is a prolific and well-known Spanish contemporary artist, and his apartment was beautifully decorated with his artwork and sculptures. He took us out for Japanese food, and we had a lovely long lunch and a long conversation about different things. He could understand me if I spoke really slowly, and I could understand him if he spoke really slowly, so basically it was a very leisurely afternoon!

Then we went back to her dad's place, and watched Billy Elliot, and then went out shopping! I got some very cute tops, and then we went to visit Carla's grandparents for dinner. They were so kind and adorable, and her grandpa had gone out of his way to make vegetarian food for me. They commented on my Victoria Beckham haircut, and then suddenly got out Spanish tabloid maagzines about celebrity plastic surgery disasters, and they were totally amusing and cute about it.

Then we drove past the Real Madrid stadium and I took a picture from the outside.



Carla's family supports Atlético Madrid so it was a constant source of annoyance for them that the wrong stadium was near their house!

I was feeling quite tired but the day wasn't over yet. We went out to a bar where a friend of a friend worked, and had free drinks! I also realised that I could get people to laugh AND pronounce my name correctly if I introduced myself as "Madhuri... como madurita." (Madhuri, like 'madurita'. Where 'madurita' means 'sexy older lady'. Heh.)

And then we went home and crashed.

Sunday

We got up super-early, like, noon, had torrijas (YAY!), and set out for a long day of sightseeing. I wore one of my new cute tops, the sun was shining, it was a balmy 19 degrees, and it looked to be a great day.

Here's a picture of the shiny new trains for the Madrid undeground. Look at how shiny and WIDE they are!



We got to the Palacio de Real, which is situated right next to the Teatro Real, and is one of the loveliest places I have ever seen in my life. Huge walking spaces, beautiful gardens, and of course, the STUNNING palace itself.




I can't help it. I see a statue, I must imitate it.

Here's a video of a 360 degree view of the area, with Carla giving us a description of it.

The inside of the palace was breathtaking, but no cameras were allowed, so I bought postcards afterwards to remember the place. It was so opulent. Almost too opulent! All the gold trimming EVERYWHERE inside made it a little too Donald Trumpish, I must say. Still, an amazing amazing royal ex-residence.

Then we checked out the cathedral that was next to the palace, but I can't remember the name. It was very large and very beautiful inside.




Then we made our way towards this place-



to have lunch. But on our way there, I felt someone jostle my handbag. Stupidly, I didn't immediately set out after them. I stopped and looked around in my handbag, and sure enough, my wallet was missing. Carla looked around in her bag, and it wasn't with her either. She had noticed two gypsy women walking behind us, who were now nowhere to be seen.

My wallet had been stolen by gypsies!!!

It was of course quite a huge shock for me. I've never had my wallet stolen before. But I was really lucky that Carla was there, because with her help I was able to call and cancel my credit cards, and make a report at the nearest police station.

I had to phone in my report at the station, to an operator who spoke English. He was a really charming and funny guy, and it actually made me feel better about the whole experience because we were both laughing so much during the conversation.

Him: Right, now how did you lose your wallet?
Me: It was stolen by gypsies!
Him: (laughing) All right. Um. It probably was stolen by gypsies, but why do you think so?

He also politely informed me at one point that he needed to sneeze, so he was going to turn away so he didn't do it in my ear. And then he started to laugh when he realised that I was writing down the report reference number on a tourist brochure with lipstick. (Could I be a more typical tourist? Seriously!)

The waiting room of the police station was filled with tourists like me who had their stuff stolen. Probably the only place in Madrid where I saw people speak English to each other!

Afterwards Carla took me to have the 'typical' Spanish lunch of raciónes and vermouth, which also cheered me up. :)



Luckily though, the damage was VERY minimal. I didn't have much money in my wallet, and all my cards were replaceable. I still had my passport and my phone in Carla's room, and my camera with me, which were all WAY more valuable, naturally.

We then made our way to the Museum area, to check out the Reina Sofia museum and the Prado museum. Unfortunately, the Reina Sofia was closed, and the Prado had a HUGE queue outside. So I took pictures of the outside of the Prado-




- and then we made our way to the Royal Botanical Gardens.

It was very pretty and quiet inside, but this picture here is what amused me the most.



We think the couple didn't want the bust looking at them while they were making out, so the guy threw his jacket over it. Yes, it was his jacket.

And then later, after the couple had left, some random woman comes along and sticks a bunch of flowers in the bust!



Madrileños are funny. :)

We left the botanical gardens, and decided to get a sketch done of us by a roadside caricaturist. And here is the finished product.



I love it!!

Madrid is so pretty at night!


We went home, had dinner, then went to the police station to sign my report. They kept us waiting for a while, but at least, I told Carla, I now get to say that my trip to Madrid was so wild that I wound up at a police station at midnight!

I now have a Spanish police report of my stolent wallet. It's a pretty cool souvenir, I must say. :)

After the police station, we drove to Carla's friend's place to see Beetlejuice. Unfortunately I fell asleep halfway through. It had been a really long day.

Sunday.

We got up really early, like, 11.30, and had torrijas. (WOO!) Then we went to the Reina Sofia to check out the Picasso exhibit.



Carla gave me a superfast but pretty exhaustive art history lesson as she showed me the different exhibits. We saw the famous Guernica painting by Picasso, along with many other really stunning paintings by Salvador Dali.

The Museum garden was really pretty.



When we came out I bought myself a souvenir of a beautiful old-fashioned flamenco poster, which they printed my name on, so it was like I was the star being advertised on the poster. Come and see Madhuri 'La Madurita', one night only!

Then we had another typical, typical Spanish lunch, this time featuring a big jug of Sangria!



Which made me very happy.



And also made me feel quite posh, apparently.



Then we walked to the Puerto de Alcalá, where we could see the bullet holes left in the walls from the days of the Spanish civil war.

I was still happy from the Sangria.



And then we walked to the Retiro! The Retiro is the largest park I've seen, and it's so gorgeous, even more beautiful than the parks I've seen so far in London.

It had lakes


trees


beautiful fountains


and this statue of Lucifer, which apparently is the only statue in Europe dedicated to Satan.



Then we went back home, and Carla took a nap. During which time I actually managed to communicate with her mom and step-dad on my own! My Spanish REALLY improved the four days I was there.

We were feeling super tired so we decided to stay in and watch a movie. We watched 'The Great Dictator', which I've always wanted to see, and it was just as brilliant as I thought it would be. Carla's mom also gave me a present- a bag full of make-up, really, really nice make-up. It was so overwhelming! I still can't get over how well everyone treated me in Spain, and I understand what Carla means when she says that she misses the people of Madrid. I really miss them too, and I was only there four days!

The next morning I had to say goodbye to Carla, her family, and Madrid, and take the plane back to London.

And now I'm here. I love London, and I'm happy to be back, but I'm even happier that I got to stay in Spain with one of my best friends, and have such a wonderful experience in a country that I'd never even thought of visiting before.

And now I must take Spanish lessons during the summer, because I fully intend on going back there one day.

Hasta pronto, Madrid!



[We're not Basques, Catalans, Castillians or Europeans...

We're Wankers!]

ALREADY?

...is my reaction when I realise that I'm halfway through the last week of the Lent Term.

What an awful blogger I am. A whole month without updating. So what have I been up to?

23-24 February was Oxford weekend Part Deux, hosted by Munchlette and featuring Le Manasi! And I will therefore let Manasi write up in her blog about the awesomeness of said weekend, because I am a lazy bastard.

At some point in the past couple of weeks I had the a very unexpected, but not altogether unpleasant, night out in an illegal Latin club underneath Tottenham Court Road, but that is not for this blog.

A couple of Wednesdays ago, I had the great luck to get front row seats to a show by
David Strassman, the ventriloquist. Now, I love ventriloquists, and I love puppets. And this show BLEW MY MIND. It was HILARIOUS, and FREAKY. Dark humour and puppets! Animatronics! Theatrical lighting and sets! It was brilliant! And I'm so glad I got a chance to catch his show and get just amazing seats.

Now, important things.

I am going to Madrid in less than three days. OMG.

MADRID!!!

I've been practising my Spanish for a month, and I'm pretty good at reading signs and carrying on very basic conversation, but luckily I'm going with my wonderful friend Carla who's lovely enough to have me as a guest in her home, and be my tour guide as well!

I can't WAIT.

Also, Rick Santorum is speaking at the LSE tomorrow. It's been a while since someone's got me well and truly furious, so I'm looking forward to the lecture. :)