Sigma Nu

So I'm bored, which always leads to Wikipedia - somehow I decided to look up notable alumni of Nayan's frat. They're pretty cool...
Bob Barker
Joe Buck
Harrison Ford
James Dean
Paul Rudd
Mr. Feeney on Boy Meets World
Tom Johnson - president of CNN, ex-president and CEO of the L.A. Times
The producer of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Paul from The Wonder Years
Boyd Tinsley - violinist in DMB
Eli Manning
Head coach for the L.A. Lakers, New York Knicks and now the Miami Heat
Bill Yoast - the character portrayed as the coach on Remember the Titans
CEO of AFLAC
Founder/Owner of Bass Pro

I love Wikipedia...let's see what other useless information I can learn.

Recent Articles

Prescott's Confession: I had Bulimia
The Magic Wan
Fashion Queens of the Court
Twice as Nice

I'm gonna glow in the dark with Kanye!

Thanks to Chelsea's Kanye West obsession, we are going to Chicago on May 24 to see his Glow In The Dark Tour featuring none other than Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco, and N.E.R.D.

Our VIP tickets put us in the first 20 rows...I cannot wait...Chels and I have a pretty good concert record: Spoon, Elton John, and Kanye West.

Check out what Perez had to say!

My 4 Hour Journalism Class

It wouldn't be such an enormous deal if I hadn't been at work from 9:30 - 6....and then sat in class listening to other people's presentations even though in the interest of time, I didn't present mine.

I think it's safe to say that I'm thoroughly infuriated and have actually decided not to speak to anyone until tomorrow. Oh, to top it off, I slept for 3 hours last night.

Then there's the fact that I have to pack...

I'm going to eat dinner, yes at 10pm, and then if buttered pasta can put me in a better mood (which I'm having doubts about) I will return for another non-ranting post.

Otherwise, deal with it.

New features

I just upgraded my blog -- my play list, current state, and approved sites have all been updated. Check it out!

Expect a lot of posts this week as I will need to appear busy while I pretend to pack.

Things I'll miss about London

Besides the obvious - friends and family - here are some things that I will genuinely miss about Londres.

Passion fruit all year round
Green grass all year round
The tube
Having my own place
Being in the center of the world
Incredible shopping, which has unfortunately only been done through windows
McDonald's McFlurrys with Crunchie in it
Trifle
Fish and Chips that don't quite compare to anywhere else in the world
Black cabs
Culture in general
Knowing I'm in a real city (sorry STL)
Annabel's
Getting dressed up to go out
Walking places
People watching
THE INCREDIBLE FOOD
Nando's chicken - a Portugese chicken restaurant where we go on Fridays
Indian food on every street
Double decker buses
Having a mobile, not a cell

I'll add more later.

April 26 = The Best Day of Your Life

I'M COMING HOME ON SATURDAY, APRIL 26!!!!! I WILL BE IN ST. LOUIS AT 3:05PM!!!!

THAT'S 10 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think Chelsea would approve of this...

Check out the new Starbucks BS...thoughts?



Update: Erica just informed me that this cup will only exist until the middle of May because Starbucks is trying to get back to their roots...? I don't know if I'll be able to boycott the cup for that long!!

I <3 STL

Things I cannot wait to do/experience when I get home, in the order I think of them:

Haircut
Mani/Pedi with my Mom (and/or Chelsea)
See my new apartment!
See my "new" room at home
Enjoy nice weather
Wear rainbows
Have my dad's famous burgers
Eat beef
PANCAKES
Work out for the first time since December
Cardinal's games
Go on a "my favourite restaurants" tour of St. Louis
Seeing fat people again (it's been a while...don't judge me)
DRIVE
Flip through all the catalogs Mom has undoubtedly been saving for me
Watch TV
Proper Starbucks
Buttered popcorn at the cinema
St. Louis Bread Co
Turkey (they don't really have it here...)
Bear City
Watching movies on something bigger than my computer screen
Magazines with people who I know on the covers
Gabbie, my Wii Mii
LIVING WITHOUT MICE
Looking at my Elton John pictures on my old camera!
Have a bath
Mom this may shock you -- clean because I'll finally have a place to put things...


Ok, I think I should stop now otherwise I'll be booking a ticket home in the next five minutes.



Oh, that's my facebook graffiti rendition of Gabbie which someone doesn't seem to care for.

xx ab

Procrastination Nation

At least we know I'm good at something.

I came to Sangeeta Bhua's last night in hopes of being productive for my end of the year journalism project, but 24 hours later, I only have 62 words written...slightly embarrassing. Granted, I did start The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho this morning and am halfway through.

Our field trip today was to the Globe, which was pretty interesting to see. I think I might go see King Lear on the season's opening night.

If anyone wants to get me a housewarming present for my new place in Columbia, I am currently obsessed with Guitar Hero. I'll need a Wii as well. Juuust kidding, I'll get it myself :)

So, my journalism project. It's due on Monday, I made my project proposal well over 3 weeks ago, but somehow I'm just starting. I've set up a blog and am going to basically make a guide to the celebrity world of London. Apparently that's journalism? I talked to my professor yesterday and she said "well, you don't want it to just be writing, like make it into a website."

Um...okay...I don't know how to do that and don't think I'm going to be able to learn by Monday night, but great.

For now, I think I'm going to just stick to the blog idea, turn that in, and then for my class presentation maybe make a PowerPoint presentation so it's "not all writing."

I'm currently wishing that it was April 27 and a) Mom was here b) I was on a beach somewhere or c) I was in St. Louis. If you see a lamp with a genie in it, send it to London!!

Oh, and my ear hurts? I'm not sure what that means but it can't be good.

Now, back to The Alchemist.

xx
ab

How to look good naked

Today, MSN's Life & Style editor Nicole O'Neil and I went to the filming of the season finale of Gok Wan's How To Look Good Naked. We trekked about an hour outside London to be guests at the event.

The purpose of How To Look Good Naked is to help women realize their beauty through confidence etc. It totally belongs on the WE channel. Gok Wan is the fabulously gay oriental man who hosts the show. Like, on the runway he was wearing a rose pink suit, navy patent shoes, and made out with a guy.

There were five normal-human-being-sized models strutting their stuff on the catwalk, basically to pump up Jenny, the poor woman who felt her body didn't deserve to be looked at by anyone. P.S. She's rail thin. You could count her vertebrae.

It was hilarious when they all modeled lingerie, and of course Jenny had to as well. She came out in a little red number and then stripped naked in front of the cameras and audience. She only showed us her bum.

Anyway, the show premieres in May on Channel 4 in London and Nic and I will be in the episode! Once I get the link for the online stream of the show, I'll put it up.

I Love Penguins

Update: I had to change the title because Penguin Love is out of commission.

Today after our trip to the V&A, I decided to stop in the Natural History Museum since it wouldn't be overridden with kids. The museum is actually one of my most vivid memories of London - I remember being at the gift shop picking out a rainbow-striped eraser. Sweet life, I know. I actually checked to see if they still had one...I saw a lot of amazing stuff (I'm going to go back with my camera for the Dinosaur exhibit) but the highlight was the Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2007 exhibit. I've been wanting to see it since I got here. Here are some of my favourite photos from the exhibit.

Verdict: Grace and Chelsea are equally creepy

This is a little conversation I had over the past day or so.

Chelsea makes a Madeline reference.
Ambika: Oh my god, I made a Madeline reference today too!
Chels: In what context?
Ambika: I was telling Grace Clarke that her blog reminds me of Madeleine.
Chels: I LOVE her blog. I creepily read it all the time. Will you tell her that?
Ambika: Um, ok...

|Part 2|

Ambika: You know Chelsea Lee right?
Grace: Well, only through Facebook and pilates.
Ambika: She wants me to tell you that she's obsessed with your blog.
Grace: OH MY GOD I LOVE HERS! Chelsea approves, right?
Ambika: Did you see it because it's linked to my blog?
Grace: Yeah!

|END SCENE|

I miss our computerized washing machine

I ventured out tonight to do my laundry. First time here (no I'm not dirty, it's just that I did it all in St. Louis and since then have been taking it to my aunt's house). Anyway, so, laundromats are useless. Let me paint you a picture.

I picked up kebabs from my Indian place, and then went to the laundromat next door. After 40 minutes (even though my roommates promised me it would only take 15 minutes), I took my clothes out of the washer and they were soaking wet. Like, I had to wring out the water and my hands are still numb.

I then put in 3 pounds for 30 minutes in the dryer. My clothes are still wet.

Moral of the story? I miss our washing machine at home. There's a little button that says Ambika (thanks Mom) and I just push it and voila - clean clothes.

xx ab.

Two more reasons to <3 Emily Jolynn Brooker

So I was just messing around on Facebook today when I thought, let's see if Jolynn's actually been on the book recently. I was more than pleasantly surprised to see my debut in her profile picture. This is from her 21st birthday: Then I checked her about me section which has basically bothered me since freshman year. All it says is "I can't stand Cardinal fans." But take a look at the new amendment!!
Here's to you, Jolynn.

(Calm down Chelsea, you'll get a blog post too)

Anyway, I just got out of the shower and have to pack and get ready for Dublin!

xx ab

It's Alright, Tonight...

I had an extremely productive/busy day today and am quite impressed with myself. Everyone in our flat overslept and woke up for our 9am class at half 8. Somehow, we all made it on time. After class I went to work and finished the research for an article I'm doing on 30 Fun Facts and Trivia on Dallas. April 2nd is the show's 30 year anniversary. Afterwards, I met up with my BLC group at the Inns of Court where we took a tour for an hour and a half. It was kind of cool going to the Royal Courts of Justice. I popped into King's College just to see where Papa and Mamu went to school, and then I headed over to the National Portrait Gallery for the Vanity Fair exhibit. It was a display of Vanity Fair covers from 1918 to 2008. I especially liked this one of Jennifer Aniston.
All of my favorites ended up being by Liebowitz and Testino. They're absolutely incredible. I'm thinking about getting the Vanity Fair portrait book for my new coffee table with Chelsea.

After that, I came home and then took Shivam to see National Treasure and out for dinner. We had a great time, considering.

Really exhausted, will find the patience to put up my Paris pics soon. Until then...
xx ab

Anger Management

I wrote an article on Anger Management today in a state of emergency at MSN. A press release came out today about how anger is terrible for our health etc. and of course the BBC played it for three quarters of an hour, every hour. This screen shot is just to show you that it's on the first slide of the MSN homepage. I've had stuff here before, but this is legit.

Also, if you click on the picture to zoom in, you'll see a story called The spice is right on the carousel. That's me too. You can read it here.

Ich bin ein Berliner - JFK

We got back from Paris yesterday and I still haven't made my way back to my flat. I'm at Sangeeta Bhua's for another night - I can't seem to tear myself away. So, in the mean time, I thought I would catch up on some blogging.
Pictures from Berlin
Berlin was interesting - I had a good time with Laura, Kristin and Sarah, however, I'm done with Germany. Is that bad? I don't know....but I just find Germany to be a very creepy place (for obvious reasons) and after two trips there, I don't really have any major desire to go back...I feel like there are too many other places in the world I still need to visit.


We got there on Saturday morning and jumped into things right away. I kind of did my own thing because the other girls were going to be there for longer than me. I did quite a bit in two days and am quite proud of myself for one thing in particular: I never allowed myself to even feel tired which was the first time in my life I feel like I've been able to go a whole day doing so much without letting being tired get in the way. That might not be a good thing...

Things I did:
Brandenburg Gate
Kennedy Museum (so up my alley)
Hotel Adlon (where Michael Jackson dangled his baby over the balcony)
Berlin Wall
Checkpoint Charlie
Reichstag
Holocaust Memorial
Hamburger Banhof Museum (Warhol, Lichtenstein)
U-Bahn

I'm sure there's more but I'd need my notebook to remember and I don't feel like moving.


The Kennedy museum was so cool, I saw the black crocodile Hermes briefcase JFK had with him in Dallas when he was shot. It was basically the story of a dynasty told in pictures. At one point I was standing there and I was just like, everyone in these pictures is dead...kind of creepy.

I didn't do any of the Holocaust museums because I feel like I did them all when I went to Dachau etc.

We stayed in a very decent hostel. I was the first person to our room for six which we thought would have rando girls in it, however when I went up, there was a grown man in the bottom of my bunk. Needless to say, I put my stuff down and ran out. I waited in the lobby for the other girls where we decided we needed to move rooms. Since they were going to stay for longer, Laura Kristin and Sarah got a 3-man and I got a double as a single. Which was the size of my room in London for 4.

Dinner's here. xx.

Your help just hurts

Current mood: dismal, overwhelmed

To Do List: Pack for Paris, Dinner with Sunaina and Jinesh, find a way to think about something else than the confusion of bear city, decide what non-obvious things I want to do in Paris, get in a better mood, get some sleep.

Time left do to all of this: approx. 3hrs, not including the sleeping bit.

Time car is coming to get us for Paris: 4.30 a.m.

Enough said.

And if I make it through today, will tomorrow be the same?

In honour of Paris Hilton and Benji Madden's newfound love, I've chosen a Good Charlotte lyric for today's title.

Obviously I haven't written in ages, sorry to those of you who need my blog posts to get through your day. Nayan's in town so I've been terribly busy. Seriously, I haven't napped since last week. I'm very busy at work today, will explain more later, but I just wanted to let you know that a) I'm still alive and b) the joy my blog brings each of you will return quite shortly.

Hasta Luego,
Ambika