Home for a Month.

I got home late on Monday from London, and I'll be spending the next month on-and-off at home here in Oroville. A summary of my time here so far:

-- The weather outside is incredibly green and warm. I jumped on the trampoline in the back yard today.

-- I've been eating good meals at the traditional times of day and watching daytime TV. 

-- I'm completely broke and am relying on my parents to get me the things I need. 

-- I'm listening to the 90's station on XM radio right now. Vintage Britney Spears just came on.

In short, I feel like a kid again! Papers, exams and dissertations are half a world away. I may eventually get bored, but right now I hope it never ends.

The last highlight in Lent term was having afternoon tea at the House of Lords with my boss, Lord Philip Gould, the Baron of Brookwood. I've been working for him since December, but have hesitated to write about it on my blog because I wanted to make sure it worked it out and respect his privacy. But at this point, now that I've established my work ethic as an dedicated unpaid intern (read: indentured servant) I think it's appropriate.

I'd been on a tour of Parliament before, but going with him was a bit different -- instead of paying for admission and waiting in a long line to get in, I got to enter through the "peer's entrance" where I got a badge with my photo on it. Philip showed us around the lavish rooms, and I almost felt like I was breaking the rules at a museum when I sat in the chairs in the main Lord's hall:

Of course, the Queen wasn't there when I visited. 

After a brief Margaret Thatcher sighting, we setting into a room to have tea, scones and cucumber sandwiches. Once outside, Jim (my classmate and fellow intern) posed for a photo with Lord Gould. It was one of my coolest experiences of my time in London!