adaptive parrots

Who would have thought that I'd have more to write about.
And this is partially because, although my roommate got in at 2:30 last night and is apparently "exhausted", she is still awake and writing and chatting and texting and having the light on, which means I can't sleep, although it's 11 and I'm approaching exhausted. But my other roommate is apparently out, so she'll come in later and wake me up anyway.
Picking the bed that faces the door was stupid. Any time someone opens the door I get light right in the face. And it's bad feng shui to boot.
Maybe bad chi is flowing in and I'm getting all of it. I'll go to Chinatown and buy a ba gua mirror then. Not only will that remove the bad chi, but it will annoy (and possibly blind) anyone who comes in late. Good plan.
The tour around Kensington was good. We went through Hyde Park and saw the parrots that live there. According to the lovely tour guide Allie who I'm hoping I can take home with me, someone had them as pets and let them loose, and they've reproduced and adapted. Hence the shock of bright green parrots in a snow-covered tree.
The neighborhood is super posh. We saw the armed guard glaring at people outside the Israeli embassy, and the Bentley parked outside Kensington Palace.
The tour showed us a street called Millionaire's Road, or something to that effect, AND a Pizza Hut.
Despite the tour being pretty great on Allie's part, it kinda sucked, weather-wise. I was told, "it's not that cold, you won't need boots or even rain boots", and then we tromped through the snow in the park while some of us were wearing sneakers with holes in them. And due to the damp, I couldn't shake off the cold.
Napping with a hat and a couple of layers helped with the chill, and the orientation went well.
Post-orientation, we (Lauren+Shannon+me) went shopping at a place called Marks & Spencer, or M & S, but will always be S&M to my brain. They have pretty good food, and I got a pillow. We successfully navigated the side streets and made it to Kensington High Street, which made me proud of us.
And now I want to go to bed. Maybe my roommate is waiting for me to go first. I really hope so.