Forecast: 30 degrees and sunny?

I’m still trying to wrap my head around London weather. Even after four months, it continues to amaze me that the typical cues of the sky (sunshine, blue skies, etc.) do not work with standard thought processes. Being a California native, I typically assume that sunshine peering through my curtains is a sign that it’s going to be a semi-warm day (70°+). Here, however, sunshine means no such thing. It doesn’t in any way, shape or form guarantee warmth. Nor does it guarantee that sunshine will be the trend for the day. Like I said, four months after moving here, it still hasn’t sunken in.

I woke up this morning, ready to have a super-productive day and the sunlight was extra motivation. About halfway through my walk to campus, sunglasses on and Jason Mraz singing to me through my earbuds, I realized that I could no longer feel my hands. With fear of frostbite surfacing, I checked the weather on my iPhone only to discover that it was a crisp 30°. Seriously?! 30°? That’s literally freezing. Yet, the sun was shining. What a false cue, Mother Earth! Of course, one must have umbrella, sunglasses and proper layers to prepare for a standard London day. Sun can easily be outdone by clouds that appear from thin air which, in turn, may decide to pour rain/snow at any given point. In any case, I’m back in my warm room, my hands are finally thawed and I am slowly re-gaining my ability to type.

Does anyone get used to this crazy weather?
How can one little area experience all four seasons in one day? Also, why are there so few hours of sunlight in a day?… I wonder if LSE offers meteorology courses. They could be of interest.

Lots of love,

Pleasant(on) Weekend.

I’m currently sipping some delicious coffee in our Pleasanton, California hotel room and am pleasantly surprised by how comfortable our hotel has been! I joined Chris in the East Bay for the weekend and though it’s only 2:50P on Saturday, it’s already been amazingly relaxing. Surprisingly so, actually. We checked into the Residence Inn on Dublin Canyon Road last night and the room is spectacularly roomy, especially when you consider the price range of these rooms ($89 – $129ish per night).

This is only half of our room — the ‘bedroom’ part of the place.

There’s also this fully equipped kitchen!
Fridge, freezer, microwave, toaster, coffeemaker, stove, plus pots, pans and silverware for cooking.
{Plus, there’s a big screen TV and lounge area, of which I didn’t get a shot.}

After checking in, we headed out to grab some dinner — sushi! — my new most favorite food. After a two-year stint as a strict vegetarian, I have switched to pescetarianism to increase my protein intake; accordingly, sushi has jumped back to the top of my favorite food list. I have never really met sushi that I didn’t like. Perhaps I have only eaten at good sushi places, though, and have thusly taken the quality of sushi for granted because last night’s sushi was far from good. Even the edamame was overcooked — soft and mushy. How do you mess up edamame?!

It actually looked decent when it was plated, but it was super bland. I’ve never had sushi that didn’t really taste like anything… possibly poor quality fish? I can’t be sure, but after spending $30 for our two rolls (plus an order of tempura) we were highly dissatisfied. If you happen to be in P-town, skip this joint. There’s a cool Indian place next door that’s much more enticing.

To make up for the grossness that was our sushi, we hit up Coldstone Creamery for a bit of ice cream. I haven’t enjoyed Coldstone’s amazingness for at least five years, so let me just say this: cake batter-flavored ice cream with butterfinger is possibly the most delicious morsel I have ever tasted in my twenty-three years of existence. Seriously. I don’t know what they put in that ice cream (highly-addictive drugs, perhaps?) but it hovers in another realm of deliciousness. Mmmm. They do have some healthy indulgences, but seriously: split a small and go for the good stuff. Ahhh-mazing.

After hitting Pleasanton’s 24 Hour Fitness this morning for a good sweat sesh, I spent the early part of the afternoon poolside, enjoying the amazing sunshine and catching up on my pre-sessional readings for classes in the fall. Such an awesomely relaxing weekend!

Hope everyone else’s is equally fantastic,