Weeks 13, 14, & 15 (Dreams Come True!)

We’re still at it! My pride knows no bounds!

Week 13: This week I treated myself to some more time in the theatre district and I ended up stumbling upon a statue of one of my favorite film moments, Daniel Kaluuya in “The Sunken Place”! I instantly remembered hearing about the creation of this statue many months before, but it had slipped my mind in coming to London so I was grateful to be able to see it for myself in one my favorite spots in London. My curiosity ended up bringing me back to that same physical media shop that I’d discovered a few weeks earlier and I spent hours going through the different DVDs, blu-rays, and collectors sets. I felt like a kid in a candy store, but if that kid had spent his whole life walking past that same candy store with apathy, attempting to ignore the importance he could tell it would one day hold in his life. I had to exercise supernatural restraint (thank God) because I knew I couldn’t take everything I wanted home with me, nor could I afford it. However, I did walk away with one thing, a Blu-ray copy of one of my favorite films ever made. ‘Minari’, a film that I deem worthy of being the beginning of my (hopefully) expansive and diverse physical media collection. This landmark was punctuated by the cashier asking me if I’d ever seen the film before, and in turn allowing me to ramble about it for longer than I felt I had any right to. Feeling unreasonably accomplished, I made my way back to Rodeo Doughnuts for a treat before making my way back home, relishing in the atmosphere of the ‘Minari’ film score. This is genuinely all that I can remember from this week, and that should tell you everything you need to know.

Week 14: Surprise, surprise, I came back! Every time I come back, I get closer and closer to buying something I know I shouldn’t and spending money I don’t have. I didn’t though! Another lesson in adulting! I did however, decide to indulge in an oft-revered cinematic experience, one that had become so substantial in my mind, that it almost certainly did the film a disservice. This week I saw a showing of ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ on 70mm film and it was… important? I’ve had a remarkably testing time ruminating on this film, and my time with it. Numerous things went through my mind as I sat in the theater. “This is strangely slow, verging on self-indulgent”, “Do these, pensive, lingering shops work in the films favor?”, “I feel like I’m being lulled to sleep”, “Okay, this looks really good. I see why movie lovers are so desperate to hold onto film as a medium”, “The guy snoring in the row behind me is my vessel by which I will express my boredom”, “I will yet, keep my eyes open out of respect for the great privilege I’ve been given in being able to experience this film in 70mm”. Then I woke up. That final shot of the movie glossing over my weary corneas. I felt disappointed, but mildly accomplished. Sure, I fell asleep and was quite bored throughout, but I can spot the significance of the film, albeit from afar. In light of this achievement, I decided to treat myself to more physical media browsing, stumbling upon an awesome collectors version of ‘Deep Blue Sea’, I got a picture of it that I’ll make sure to attach below. Another important anecdote to mention is that I hit 1,000 days on my Duolingo streak this week! It’s shockingly impressive the amount of hubris it’s taken to spur me towards this point.

Week 15: I woke up every day this week with the realization that this would be my last month in London. Frantically, I scoured my brain for things I’d neglected to do because I recognized that the opportunity to do those things would be few and far between in my lifetime. One of those things was to go to an Everton soccer match. With the home tickets having been booked for months, I foraged the internet for alternatives, resigning myself to the fact that I would never get to see my favorite team play live. I was a certain ways down the list of remaining fixtures when I came upon a game that would be played on May 10th between Fulham and Everton. I saw that the stadium was only an hour tube ride away and that the ticket was within my price range, so I decided to pull the trigger the day of. Off I was towards my next journey with utter abandon, the only thing occupying my mind being the sequence of tube stops to reach my destination. To my misfortune, all of the away tickets had been bought up by the rest of the Everton fans coming in from Liverpool, so I had to settle for sitting with the Fulham constituency. I spent the entire game undercover, revelling quietly at each moment of Everton triumph. It was surreal seeing these players up close, realizing in real time that a television screen doesn’t do the athleticism of these professionals justice. Everything was sharper, quicker, and that made our eventual victory taste that much sweeter. It was a magical day, one that I struggled to fully take in, meeting it only with “when can I do this again”. I already miss those grounds, this beautiful sport, and I yearn to go again. I might as well have been floating the entire train ride back, chuckling happily at the sound of the scousers on the tube rambling about the win. I was in a place I had never been with people I’d never met, but somehow I felt as though I’d belonged. A sensation so powerful that it was if I’d grown up here in a past life.