six [Mon, 7-Dec]
The day began with our final day of Monday classes: The Network Metaphor and New Renaissance with Don Foresta and our check-in hour with Fred. It was very suddenly sad once we realized we would never be seeing Fred again (we would be seeing Don the next day) — he was a great contact to have this semester in terms of exploring London, and his British Cultural Studies course was probably my favorite in terms of aligning with my interest in television and expanding my cultural horizons on it.
The afternoon was work-work-work. It was time to get down to business in the Vassar world as we all tried to complete our finals. I can happily say I completed my City as Material project to be presented on Tuesday and the first drafts of my papers for the other courses. Woohoo! All that was left to do was celebrate while taking a well-deserved breather…
And that’s when I encored Monday Madness at Sticky Fingers! After first going with Madre and having a great time with great food in a great environment, I decided it was precisely where I needed to be on my final Monday night in London, further facilitated by the fact that I am out of food. It actually sounded so great that Avey and Mike decided to join me — once again, the company made it so enjoyable. We strolled through our neighborhood to High Street Kensington while chatting about how soon enough these streets would be a distant memory instead of familiar stomping ground. Upon arriving, we went British with Pimm’s Cocktails to start, followed by a round of burgers (I went with the classic Sticky Fingers Burger…and remembered how much I love red meat; Avey stayed true to her vegetarian roots with a Veggie Burger; Mike went gourmet with the blue cheese and caramelized onion rendition). And then dessert happened. We “dared to share” as the menu suggested and tackled the Sticky Sundae. We also got festive with a round of shots named after Rolling Stones songs: Brown Sugar for me, Stray Cat Blues for Mike, and Jumpin’ Jack Flash for Avey. In a nut shell: yum, yum, and yum. I haven’t gone out to dinner with friends in incredibly long, yet another treat aspect of the outing.
We told ourselves we walked it all off on the way home………………….right. Basically there was nothing else to do but veg out on the couch and let the phenomenon of digestion run its course. Avey and Mike did some work while we embarked on a Kill Bill Vol. I and II marathon. I was in a great place with work which worked out well since I could dedicate my full attention as it was my first viewing. I absolutely loved the films, and the Monday in general!
