Cyberdog

I know it sounds incredibly cliché, being spring and all...that super-magical time of year for change and rejuvenation...but I have to admit I have been thrust in completely new and somewhat unexpected directions. As you all know, I have planned all along on living in London after I graduate and part of the preparation for that permanent transition involves finding a place to live. So who better to live with than my best friend, I ask you? No one, that's who.

He invited me into his housing arrangement as the fourth person. This group grew from four to five soon after I joined in. Most of you (or any of you who know me well, at least) would question why I, the most independent of loners (most of the time), would ever agree to live with four other people. Well, I decided, or was convinced through persuasive and convincing conversation, that this was a sensible idea, first of all...meaning, living with more people, splitting rent, etc. Plus, I consider myself an adult possessing at least the vaguest modicum of maturity, able to handle a townhouse type of arrangement. After all, I lived in a townhouse at Cambridge, I've lived on dorm halls for years, and I'd still have my own bedroom in the end, of course, in this new flat. So I agreed to participate whole-heartedly in the 5-room thing.

The search for a 5 began. And quickly failed. Turns out it's cheaper to live with fewer people and there are more options for 1 or 2 bed places that are cleaner, nicer, and more centrally located. That and it's difficult to get 5 people to agree on anything or make decisions for the best of the group. So when I offered to back out, the group of 5 split. Thankfully, I’m still with my best friend in terms of rooming arrangements. And actually, over the course of time that we'd been looking for housing this best friend transitioned into the 'boyfriend' spot. Yes, Emily has her first official boyfriend in three years. This is big news, people.

In addition to a new BF (all smiles and rainbows and sparkles and happiness!!!) I also got a new tattoo. It's pretty killer, too. See? Look:    (BAM! fast transition from pretty springtime pictures to hard core stuff, from here on out!)

"be sure your mind lands on the beauty of this funny place called life"

And that's basically permanent, you know. Yeah, I love it though. Took three hours of planning and prep, if you can believe it because it had to be hand written and fitted to me, of course. My artist was awesome, though, and way more friendly and talkative than the girl who did my first one when I was at Cambridge. I'd planned on having my BF go with me and hold my hand through the pain (though at that time he wasn't my boyfriend, yet) but the rooms were so small you couldn't fit more than two people in there so the poor guy had to go wander around Camden alone all afternoon. I felt really bad but there was nothing I could do about it, sadly enough.

Dave...that's my artist :)

So there I was, at Evil From the Needle, with the artist – Dave was his name – and we talked all about the US and how he wanted to live in the wilds of Alaska or Canada or something while he worked and drew and refitted the art on my side. So then, like I said, three hours later, he inked me up. That's the worst part of it, as you can imagine, but we agreed on some rock to blast from his ipod to speakers distract me while that little needle tore me up and thankfully once he got started he was really fast and it didn't take more than 15 minutes of me gripping the table.

One more new-ish thing. I finally got my hands on an iPhone...by signing up to a 2 year T-mobile contract the device was free. So basically I’m staying here no matter what. I mean, I have a frickin' contract, don't I?! No, actually I'll have a job and do it the legal way....don't hassle me!

I TOLD you this spring has been totally cliché. But I’m not complaining...obviously. I'm having a frickin' blast.

My instagram from Camden High St today

The lock

Another change. The time. Moved the clocks forward last night. Now we have lots and lots of light! That means I can go out running later and spend more time outside, in general. Today I took advantage of the sun and the warmer temps to head up to the markets in Camden again. Second time since I got the new tat. (The first time was a few weeks ago when the boyfriend's best friend from home came to visit for the weekend and we wandered up there on foot, for cryin' out loud. That was the same night I learned to play poker!). Anyway, today Camden was packed to bursting. But I got up there early so I didn't bother trying to fight the crowds and just moved at the same sluggish pace of the tourists while browsing the stalls, shops, and market avenues. All the winter items were on sale for dirt cheap. Score. London can be the most expensive place ever, but if you're savvy you can rock it for next to nothing. I got black leather boots, a black hoodie, a hand-designed sleeveless tank, and a Rubiks cube all for £30. Beat that!
 

One place in the market that everyone ought to check out during the day is Cyberdog. It's like neon insanity on acid. Goth + Spaceman. If you're into intergalactic, futuristic dance parties, this is the one and only store for you. In London anyway.....because I hear Japan is pretty kinky these days, after all..... It's guarded by two giant robots at the entrance and one skinny dude, who's alive, to keep the under 18's out (sex shop in the basement). Once you're allowed to pass you descend into a surreal underground environment, where people are literally dancing on the ceiling and there's flashing colored lights and weird electric music mixed by a live DJ on the second floor down and store clerks who look like they've warped here from some futuristic dimension. Unfortunately they beat you down if you take any photos so I didn't get any. I had to steal some from the internet so you could get the gist, though.

See? Dancers up on platforms above the shoppers!

Employees

If you watch the following video this weird Spanish chick will take you on a tour through the store and she shows off some of the crazy stuff you can buy, plus you get a sneak peek inside the store, which isn't allowed if you're filming on your own, like I said. This was was best vid I could find, though. Sorry it's in Spanish. But to be fair, it's not what she's saying that's important, it's what's going on behind her:

Me in 3D

I have about 7 of these lined up in my mind, just waiting to be written. I could make an analogy to a clogged drain, so many ideas and bits and bobs are floating around in the mess of the container that is me that nothing gets out “on paper” unless it's forced to move because too many other things are trying to take up space, as well. But I won't make that analogy because clogged drains are gross and I have two of them right now, this very minute, in my bathroom, that have plagued me since I moved in!

Switching topics, and speaking of moving in, I’m on the search for housing, someplace I can live once the school kicks me off campus. To be fair to them, though, I won't be a student at this school any more so technically they are allowed to do that. My two options, so far, are a 5 bedroom house share OR a two bedroom/studio flat share. The search is on! In fact, I should be able to give a final report on where I'll be living in the very near future because a decision needs to be made before everything is unavailable due to the expected influx of people this summer for the Olympics. All the prices will be jacked sky high and space available will be limited to abandoned parking garages.

And although my time this term, as I've said, has been spent working diligently on school-related things, including a dissertation that began to unravel at the seams this week when we lost access to our sample population of runners, I've been out and about in the evenings and on weekends, occasionally. Being locked away in my room is endlessly boring so whenever I have the chance to escape and take in bits of London, I do.

Interestingly enough, my most recent dive into the city was based on something, an ad I suppose, that I read asking for participants for a different study. Always one to appreciate science and help out a fellow researcher in need of subjects, I thought, 'why not?'. Besides, the study (as all studies are required to be) was highly original: the team from Great Ormond Street Hospital (yes, that children's hospital from Peter Pan IS real) were doing 3D imaging of human heads with the aim of creating the largest database of face shapes in the world. The information will be used by medical teams and researchers to treat patients who have to have facial surgery.

Science Museum

The study, called Me in 3D, was done in conjunction with the Science Museum so visitors can volunteer to have their photograph taken with a 3D camera and explore what their faces look like in another dimension. I was all for that! So I went with a friend and made this recording of what you get to play around with on the computer after your picture is taken:

Dr Chris Abela, Senior Craniofacial Fellow, Great Ormond Street Hospital said: “We know a lot about the bones in our faces but little is known about what makes our face the shape it is and about the skin and muscles that make up our face. By collecting as many 3D face photographs as we can we will have a greater understanding of our complex faces, and have greater knowledge to plan and perform the best facial surgery in the future.  This is a really exciting event and we want as many children, young people and adults to come and see themselves in 3D.”

the 3D camera

Priya Umachandran, Contemporary Science Developer at the Science Museum said: “The Science Museum thrives on engaging visitors in the latest contemporary science issues and our Live Science programme lets visitors meet the experts and involves the public directly in cutting-edge research which has an impact upon all of us.”

Afterward, we explored the Science Museum exhibits, themselves because, oddly enough, I hadn't been to this free museum yet. We remained, mostly, on the same floor as the 3D imaging exhibit because it was the floor that delved into our favorite subject: ourselves! According to the site: “Who am I? invites you to explore the science of who you are through intriguing objects, provocative artworks and hands-on exhibits. Discover what your voice sounds like as a member of the opposite sex, morph your face to see what you’ll look like as you age, or collect DNA to catch a criminal in our brand-new interactive exhibits. Investigate some of the characteristics that make humans such a successful species, such as personality, intelligence and language.”

Stephen Wiltshire at work on a panorama

An analysis of people with autism, asperger's, and savantism was, predictably, my favorite display. I think I've always had a special affinity for that “group” of people since I've been exposed to them since I was young. As many of you know, my mom is a special education teacher for kids with “disabilities” like these....though in some cases what is commonly considered a “disability” to me seems a gift! The kids I've known through my mom's job are exceptional in so many ways, and frankly I always prefer to be around people who aren't like everyone else, anyway. Take Stephen Wiltshire, for example. Not a student of my mom's, mind you, yet similar to her insofar as he is an artist who draws and paints, but he specializes in detailed cityscapes. His particular talent is for drawing lifelike, accurate representations of cities from memory, sometimes after seeing them only briefly.

Rome

Rome, detail

It goes without saying that there's more in the museum than I can describe, but I'll tell you about two last bits that really caught my attention, that were quite memorable, if not merely small stations within one room of one floor in the whole building. On the 3^rd floor in the back is the Launchpad, “packed with over 50 interactive exhibits, plus electrifying shows and lively demos, all from the wonderful world of physics. Launchpad is all about asking questions and making sense of the way things work.” The first bit I liked was the Thermal Imaging Camera which picks up heat instead of light so you can see what parts of your body are hottest, your head, most often (though my shins seemed to be in competition) and coldest....which is why this was so memorable because according to this image there is no heat in my hands!!! SEE, PEOPLE!? I’m not lying when I say my hands freeze from September to May, why I can't survive in the cold! There is no blood circulating in my body except when I’m running, it seems. If it wasn't because I am just plain addicted to it, I'd say this is the reason I run twice a day, to get the blood pumping and to heat my body back up to a homeostatic 98.6.

Last one. This part was so surprising I couldn't believe it at first. It was like a magic trick! I couldn't find a photo so I'll do my best to describe this: there is a small metal bar sticking out horizontally to one side, out of a box. This bar is basically free standing. You slip a plastic drinking straw (new ones are provided for everyone) over one end of this little bar so it rests in the middle. Then you bite down on it. You're thinking, 'What? That's disgusting!', until I tell you that you literally start to hear music playing in your ears. No, literally in your ears. The harder you bite, the louder it gets! Want to know why? It's because metal and bone matter are excellent sound conductors, more so than the surrounding air and tissues in the head, so if music is being transmitted through the bar and you bite that bar the sound is carried around through your skull and your eardrums pick up on it. It literally sounds like you're wearing headphones. 

Launchpad room