Something Borrowed, Something Blue

Summary: The London essentials/I wish I had something more interesting to say

Word of the day: fag
I saw a headline today about keeping fags away from children, and I did a double take, and then remembered that “fags” mean cigarettes. Turns out they just upped the age to buy cigs in England to 18. And I'm here to tell you that that just does not work.

What I learned today: I am really, really American. Basically, I like coffee and working and talking to random people at bus stops AND I CAN’T HELP IT.

Next time I go to London I will...bring over all the American junk food I can find.

When I get back I am going to yell at ABC for making my life miserable because I have to find bootleg links everywhere of the first half of Grey’s Anatomy, then do it all over again for the second half. (They don’t let me view it on their Web site from the U.K.)

I had a really awesome post idea about the differences of American media and British media, but I should keep thinking about that one.

I also want to talk about working at a trade magazine, but my head is spinning too much over this derivatives story I’m working on, and I’m too ticked at my online TV misfortunes (wait until my kids hear about what their mom went through back in '07 when the Internet didn't have everything).

Instead I’m going to do that horrible thing when I just ramble on about what I’m not going to talk about.

How ‘bout I’ll tell you what I was thinking about on the escalator today, which was the “essential London” tools you have to have to be authentically London.

(I dedicate this post to my friend Catherine, whose wedding I am missing this weekend because I am in London.)

They are: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. And a handful of dismissive phrases, such as "I can't be bothered." [editor's note: Ellie has some sort of affliction for this phrase that has not yet been diagnosed. It's so cold and English that it makes her fragile little midwestern heart break every time she hears it.]

The Tools

something old: a fuzzy scarf you picked up at a market somewhere

something new: an umbrella with original decor, because you will go through a lot of these

something borrowed: a book to read while crammed between a smelly person and a large old man on the tube

something blue: an Oyster card, which is your travel card around London. All you do is swipe it, and the rush of being a Londoner reverberates through you.

The end.

I am watching: Grey’s Anatomy, if it ever stops loading!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!