It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas..

If I could just end my internship with last night's Christmas party, by all means, I would do so in a heartbeat - not even because it's so challenging and I'm burnt out now that I'm very aware of how soon I get to home (A WEEK FROM TOMORROW!), not even because there's a BAJILLION things I want to re-visit (and sadly, so many things I want to visit for the first time still!) and I suddenly have come to the realization that despite counting down until when I go home, I haven't seen and done everything that I've had in mind just yet. Instead, it's because I'm not sure I could be anymore flattered by the compliments that I've been graced with this week, and I want to leave at the highest point I can reach.

So I should backtrack a bit first... Luckily (oh man, luckily) for myself, a new work experience student started this past week and will be there until I finish up this coming week. Which, although my first thought was of course (immaturely) "Aren't I enough?" Well, I wouldn't have been.. because as I'd expect no one in America should know (or even care to know) the Chancellor issued the pre-budget report this week... aka, this Wednesday (oh joy, I was lucky enough to work that day!) was CHAOTIC. We offered a 13-page feature on the section, and the editor sent us out to collect not 3, not 4, not even 5 interviews... BUT TWELVE. TWELVE?! Just to put in perspective, on a semi-controversial (moreso political than financial) question, it sometimes takes me a good two - two & a half hours to find someone appropriate for the slots. The PBR couldn't possibly be a more difficult question to ask individuals to comment on - adding the fact that we were sent out just an hour or so after the report was even announced. Unless everyone in the UK has SKYNEWS running 24/7 in their offices (which I doubt), I don't understand how the hell anyone would expect people to be experts on the issue just an hour after its release.

That being said, thank God I had a partner in crime this time... because after they had sent me out for a good hour, I had actually reached a point where I called my mom on the brink of crying. So, once I returned to the office exclaiming that it was more or less impossible - and after the other intern (a graduate student at a London university) returned with the same verdict - they sent us out together to see what would happen. We came back an hour or more later with six interviews, which to our extreme luck the editor had agreed on long before we had even collected six... and we left that night with lots of words of congratulations and gratitude from the entire newsroom staff. DEFINITELY an extremely difficult assignment. DEFINITELY.

So come Thursday, I was assigned two fairly challenging stories - both thankfully more politically and legally based - and the intern and I did the interviews together (in about an hour!) After submitting the second of my stories, my news editor turned around from a few desks over and said, "Alyssa! Excellent job on the **** story. Really nice work - very tight and crisp. Solid writing!" I felt so flattered and so humbled that the NEWS EDITOR was complimenting my writing.. I smiled and thanked him shyly and didn't think too too much about it, although it did send me home with an extra skip in my step.

Fast-forward to Friday where I worked in the features section - and even managed to goof up.. The office Christmas party was yesterday, but I assumed we weren't going since we technically work on Fridays. That being said, it was only about 3pm when (on an empty stomach) I shared a Christmas ale with the features editor and one of the reporters. Delicious stuff, but goodness did it hit me FAST. I barely had ANY but I suppose that's how it goes when you don't eat all day.

I didn't necessarily want to go to the party because I obviously don't know people as well as they know each other, not to mention there's the whole two papers, two projects and a final that I still have yet to accomplish. But I went, because I didn't want to come off as rude or uninterested... and I'm very glad that I did go (even if I was damn near drunk after just one strawberry daquiri). But while I was there, the deputy editor came up to me apologized for coming off as intimidating during my initial interview for the position - and proceeded to congratulate me and thank me, saying that had I not been willing "to dive in and put in the extra effort" it never would have worked out. I couldn't have been more flattered, even if I did try to play it off cooly.

Speaking of things that I tried to play off cooly... four $12 drinks later, I decided to head home before getting 45 minutes from the bar and realizing that my final exam notes were in a bag that I had left at the front of the bar. UGH.

Nevertheless, an awesome night.

Through the Years We All Will Be Together...

This post is going to be horribly written, despite the fact that the past week has absolutely been incredibly amazing - and a nice vacation from the reality that I have a nearly-impossible workload ahead of me in the next five days...

As most people know, whether from my bringing it up every 10 seconds in conversation or through various facebook statuses, Chris visited for the past 10 days or so... While the week saw him in bed sick for the first two or three days, my working shifts until 8pm at my internship and horrible, horrible weather... as always, I had an incredible time and cried when saying goodbye at the airport (thankfully, I was anxious over the fact that I was over half an hour late for class, otherwise I would've made a huge scene, as usual hahaa)

I had dreams of us getting fabulous pictures together at Big Ben, the Monument, Tower Bridge, etc. and none of that happened. In fact, dare I point out, I think we literally got one picture together - and even that was sort of a fail because we asked for a picture in front of St. Paul's and the tourist who took it failed to get any of St. Paul's Cathedral in the background.

It makes me feel terrible to think we missed out on enjoying London itself together, but then I realize it doesn't necessarily matter. There were hilarious moments, like freaking out in the Earls Court hostel because we were CONVINCED a murderer was in the building... watching A Muppet Christmas Carol together... and all of the incredibly delicious dinners - not to mention sneaking into and out of my building a dozen times.

It might not have been what I had in mind in the sense that I wanted so badly to show all of London to Chris myself, but sometimes things don't work out as scheduled... and sometimes, that's just fine with me.

Nevertheless, when we hopped on the 9-hour overnight bus to Scotland, I had very high expectations - and yet the entire trip exceeded them. We did a walking tour first thing in the morning after having coffee and hot chocolate with Justin at Cafe Nero on Princes Street... and despite the cold, POURING rain throughout the 3 1/2 hour tour, I'm pretty sure all three of us had an amazing time. And that night, we embarked on a pub crawl, which was absolutely hilarious - despite the fact the Mexican food + alcohol didn't fair too well with Justin. The next day brought beautiful sunshine and an incredible amount of pictures that will never do the day justice...

But, I think the highlight of my whole trip was when the three of us sat together in a pub for a good three hours and reminisced... about our trip, about our semesters abroad, about Christmastime, and about how despite our distances, despite the turn of events over the past couple years and despite where we may find ourselves in the future, we always seem to find ourselves back together. That in and of itself made the entire 10 days memorable... And with a toast, we vowed to future excursions which - without a doubt - I look forward to.

As miserable as Chris probably was on the National Express bus back to London, I don't think I could stop smiling.. and it absolutely crushed me (as usual) to see him leave today. And that? That had nothing to do with London, and that's totally okay.

Nevertheless, the only good thing Chris leaving symbolizes is the main thing keeping me determined to get work done (although I haven't actually done anything yet) - and that is the fact that in less than two weeks I will be back home decorating the Christmas tree, sleeping in my own bed, eating my parents' cooking, visiting Peddler's Village, seeing A Christmas Carol in Princeton and... oh yes, Christmas Eve & Christmas Day with the family. I've love, love LOVED London, but I can't help but have a one-track mind... only 12 days until I'm home again at the best time of the year...