Returning to London and starting the new year

Hello wonderful readers!

I apologize for being late on this blog, I took off more time than I planned. It seems that always happens, doesn't it?

My Christmas was pleasant and I was happy to be home with my family. We didn't get any new snow, so I couldn't go snowshoeing, but I did spend some of the sunny days outside practicing my archery. When I wasn't spending time with my family, I was catching up with friends. It's amazing how many people want to see you after you've been living in another country for 3 months! I was so happy to see everyone and tell them all about my adventures in London. It made me miss London more, and I was ready to travel back by the end of the holiday.
During the holiday, my 15-year-old cat, Joey, passed away suddenly from a seizure. My sister and I found her body in the basement, which was a bit of a shock to both of us. It was hard to lose Joey, as she was one of my childhood friends as I grew up a shy introvert with few others to talk to. Joey would often follow me on walks down my dirt road, or climb up into the apple tree with me when I wanted to be alone from other people. We buried Joey a couple days after she passed, and I made a plaque to go over her grave. She will be missed, to say the least.

My whole family was a bit miserable after Joey passed, so we decided to try and get another kitten, at least in order to give my dog Emmie some company. We searched a whole day for a kitten, driving around Denver looking at different animal shelters. Finally, we found the perfect kitten. After debating many names for him, we settled on Cooper. He's a character! Unfortunately, I only got a few days with him before I had to leave, but the whole time he would snuggle and loudly purr, falling asleep on my lap or shoulders. He is curious about everything, and my parents often send me pictures of him playing with something he is not supposed to. My dad and I also both have a soft spot for orange tabbies. I was really sad to leave him behind, to be honest, but I know that he is having fun with my family back at home.
When I arrived back in London, I settled back into the fog, humidity, and lack of driving. School started in a couple days, so I spent the weekend relaxing and trying to get over the jetlag. I wandered around Kensington a bit and got myself a membership with the Kensington Central Library. It's not that they're a big library with a large selection (quite the opposite), but they're a quiet and nice area to go to study. Plus Imperial College's library has a very very limited selection of books, so I figure the more libraries I sign up to, the better. Maybe then I'll find the books I'm looking for as opposing to buying them. Part of me just wishes I could ship my entire 900+ book library here from Colorado. A friend of mine asked if I had Crime and Punishment that she could borrow, and it bothered me that I had to say no, because my copy was in another country, halfway across the globe.

I digress...the struggles of being a bookworm in two countries.

I began classes with a slow start. I'm only taking one class this first half of the term, and two the second half. It does sound a bit confusing, but it makes sense to us students. This half of the term I'm taking the class on museums. I thought it would be a good way to explore more of London's museums that I haven't yet seen. Each week we read some articles about a different aspect of museums, and then go visit a museum gallery to complement our reading. So far I've been to the British Museum's Enlightenment gallery (I did geek out on the books and Greek pottery thank you very much), the Science Museum's Medicine Gallery, and the War Museum's soldier exhibit. There are so many museums in London, it's amazing! I also enjoy the fact that most museums here are free. Back in Denver, all our museums are very pricey to get into, so it's difficult to justify as a student, or family for that matter, going there.

From the Enlightenment Gallery 

Besides my museum's class, I've been keeping myself busy by starting up a couple more podcasts. Human Angle is slowing down a bit, as both Jacqui and I are busier this term, so we will only be putting out episodes every two weeks. However, I'm starting a podcast with my friends Matthew and Sunita on young scientists (under 35 years) and their contributions to society. Sunita and I are also making a separate podcast discussing current popular science reads, including interviews with the authors! So stay tuned!!!
Besides podcasts and school (including my dissertation research), I'm still on a job hunt. If anyone has any openings, including some with work sponsorships, as I'd like to stay in the UK for longer than my student Visa allows, let me know!
Until next week!
Kenna

War Museum