Still No Internet

We have pretty much moved in to the flat. Sadly, I haven't gotten around to taking pictures of the place yet. Perhaps I'll do that today and post tomorrow?

We still haven't figured out the internet. It's our next project, but trying to get the internet when you don't have internet is a bit of a challenge. We've been going to Starbucks and a local pub - where I am now - to get some facebook and proper email time. Now that classes have started again, I've bonded with the postgrad room on the third floor of the library to use their internet.

My classes are really great. It seems we are really diving into exciting projects for our publishing assessment. For creative writing I'm going to have a ton of work to do - but I'm not complaining.

I want to be a writer so I must write.

I want to be an author so I have to write more and write better.

In conclusion: Bring it on - I'm ready.

I'll tell you all more about my classes at Kingston once everything has settled a bit more.
xx, Kristin 

ps: If you want my new mailing address - send me an email at: kberg032@gmail.com and I'll get back to you when I get the chance!

London Re-Bound

It's been awhile since I've posted in this blog. I have been so busy building my other two blogs, working on my website and writing my book that I actually even forgot poor Dear New York existed!

Shame on me...

However, for those keeping up-to-date with me on here - my more personal blog - I have a few things I'd like to share:

• Kristinbergene.com - has been revamped, cleaned up and is now a very appropriate hub to my online life. I have a few more things in mind that I would like to add, but for now I am 100% pleased with how it's turned out after today's hardwork. Take a look and let me know what you think!

• My Return to London - My flight back to London is this coming Tuesday, 17 January. I'm leaving the good ol'east coast around 8:30pm and will land in the UK at 8:30am. You can just think about that time change and how it's going to kick my @$$ this coming week - I sure am. I think this is a good place to also mention that I've yet to start packing and that I've grown accustomed of going to bed around 2am - aka 7am UK time = screwed.

• New Year's Resolutions - I have this horrible idea of keeping track of my resolutions this year by posting them publicly online. I figured the guilt of showing the world my lazy side might keep me motivated to not let that puppy out this year. I'll be talking about how I'm going to try and keep a written journal, eat healthier, get more fresh air, finish the manuscript for book one in my trilogy, finish the illustrations of my children's book and many other things. You'll see in more in my up-coming posts. 

• My Book - I've made great progress on my book this week. I found strengths and weakness within it, and used both accordingly. Of course this is mainly thanks to a few great readers that have so lovingly volunteered their time and sanity to put up with my list of questions and dive into multiple drafts. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!!

Well, that's all I have to say for now! The next time you hear from me on here I'll most likely be back in the UK - unless I need a distraction from packing and getting organized over the next day. 

Also, if you're wondering - I always have a list of my other blogs and websites in the column to the right of this post. All you have to do is scroll down a bit to see my writing portfolio, my art design portfolio, my last travel blog and even my twitter account. OR you could bookmark kristinbergene.com and get to any of them at anytime - including this guy!!! 

I continue to wish you all a happy and healthy new year!

xx, Kristin

THANKS MOM AND DAD FOR THE POPCORN!!!

Norbiton Train Station - towards Kingston.

I am much worse at updating this blog than the one I kept in 2009, I wonder if that means something - haha.

From the last time I posted I have accomplished quite a list of activities - if that is what you want to call them, haha. I had a conference on publishing at Stationer's Hall, I dorked out with Ruth in various geek shops in the center of London, I went shopping for warm clothes, I wrote a paper on production in publishing - which required me to take books from the library - I agreed to attend the mid-night premiere to see the next Twilight movie, I emptied my fridge and have not restocked it, I booked a spontaneous trip to Wales for their Christmas events, and I got a ton of popcorn in the mail from my parents - etc, etc...

In other news, NaNoWriMo is going terribly and I do not know when I will focus on that. Maybe today, before class, and while finishing my laundry, packing and preparing for tonight. Also, I have yet to find a place to live, and I am completely unable to keep up with my incoming emails - so much stuff, all the time. Thanksgiving plans have failed to move forwards, and I am not really motivated to work out the kinks without help. BUT the golden light at the end of this tunnel is -

I AM GOING TO WALES THIS WEEKEND. 

(Cardiff to be exact). 

Mentally - I am still doing really well, and I am really loving everything about being here. But do not worry, I am super excited for Christmas and to see my family and friends. Also I am super excited for New York Pizza, wings and an antipasti salad - So, if someone wants to put that order in for me? All the doubts I had before coming are gone now, and honestly I cannot even remember the details of those extreme moments of panic - I am sure they are in this blog somewhere.

Ruth and I at M&M World, London. 

Sure, I do not know what will happen once I get my degree.

But, I have a plan, and I know what I would like to happen.

But that is all in the future, and there is no point is killing myself today about what will happen in a year. A year ago today, I had no idea I would be back in London. I had the plan of moving to New York City, or Boston - maybe even Seattle - after getting decent experience at The Freeman's Journal. Working towards a degree in publishing and creative writing was not even a real consideration and it took a few more months to bring me to that single decision. Which is silly of me after all, because I love books, so working with them is just the correct answer.

My point is, right now is really good, and in one year the most important thing will be that I am still able to feel confident and happy. That is really the most important thing for anyone. If all I have in one year is the memory of this experience, and the knowledge I have gained, I want that to be enough. However, I am sure my dedication to carving out a niche for myself, and my stellar work ethic will continue to pull me through.

And on that note,

Myself, new winter gear
and a poppy. 

THANKS MOM AND DAD FOR THE POPCORN. 

(It's one of my favorite foods). 

Here's for constant optimism,
xx, Kristin

At. Last.

Acorns dropped from the trees. Thuds without rhythm, without intent, only falling with the winds assistance. Lacking grace, but confident in stride I step through the woods. My feet crackle the autumn leaves, twigs, and by an unavoidable meeting of the fates – a slug. These woods are perfect.

A golden light makes his way in-between the blushing leaves, warming beneath the canopy. From the road, I glanced to this secluded bit of woods, and with instinct turned towards her. She is leaning back against the steep incline. Both fighting the pull of gravity from above, and the force of hillside below. Why was no other sneaking asylum under her branching reach? How could it be possible that only I was inclined to lean against her ancient trunk? My head fell back, resting against the rough bark and I exhaled. The day was gone.

The building fear was gone.

          The swelling exhaustion was gone.

                           The tightening knot of no release - was gone.

I was alone. Only the thudding of the acorns, and the magpies calling, stopped the perfect silence. Wind flushed my too-long bangs over my eyelids, and tickled my nose. From the road, waiting for the sixth car to pass I had seen this spot, but from here there was no road. There were no cars and there was no one out there looking for asylum. My shoulders loosened, my back curved, and my lips did both. The golden light was flittering between the leaves and I knew they had been found.

The loss of words is no easy challenge for one who writes. Time passes swiftly, the last grain of sand passing as soon as the first. Each grain hitting the next as they shoot though the vertical passage, gaining speed. 

How quick the turner turns and then time is gone. First one turn, then the second, third, fourth, a day, a week, a month, and the words are even harder to recall. The story is lost, shadowed by a darkening mist encroaching on the foundations of your story, your words.

You sit in effort. A long awaited moment of time just for yourself. Hands ready for the usual, golden warmth to flow from mind to fingers, but it does not come. How much time has passed? How many turns? No light can puncture that mist, it is a nagging and cloudy fortress. Notes are no good, the words are choppy and weak, and even the persistent pen feels cumbersome. But, even now when your mind and materials seem against you, you know what you need. You always know what you need.

Acorns dropped from the trees. My back pressed into the trunk. A blushing warmth touched my cheek, and between the blinking of my eyelashes, I saw that golden light return.   

xx, kristin

CRAZY Days

It has been so crazy here over the last few days. In the short span of a week, so many things have happened, changed and exploded. It is unbelievable that only one week has passed since arriving here in London.

First of all I went from:

• Eternally grateful to the Adam's family for taking both Stacey and myself into there small bedroom upstairs.
• Freaked and stressed because I could not find a place to move in a decent amount of time, aka: the end of this coming week.
• Relieved, because Philippa set Stacey and I up with a friend with two bedrooms to rent in New Malden.
• Stressed again, because one room was very much smaller than the other - and one would have felt very guilty to get the larger room with a desk. 
• Eternally grateful to the Adam's family for suggesting I rent this room from them, without a contract, so that Stacey and I might continue looking for a flat without stress.

Then I learned that:

Myself in front of the Parliament Building,
just out of Waterloo Station and under the
shadow of the London Eye: 20, Sep. 2011

• I could still manage my way around central London.
• I still LOVE Harry Potter - getting to enjoy the last film on the largest Imax screen in all of Britain. (My fourth time seeing it, of course).
• My degree is going to kick my butt, and I have only been introduced to half of the course! (The other induction is tomorrow for Publishing). 
• I am still capable of making friends, even though I was practically on solitary confinement for the last year and a half. 
• Jet lag takes a long time to kill off.
• I can survive on little food during the day when stressed.
• I can survive on little sleep during the night when overwhelmed.
• The internet makes this world a very, very small place. 
• My writing style gives me strengths as a story builder.

Every night I go to bed after midnight. Every morning I get out of bed early to start my day. But I still keep trudging on with a smile, because I made it and I am following through on my goals. As long as you love what you are doing, you can afford to smile even in the most difficult parts of the journey.  

And this was my first week in London...

xx, kristin

Order of Events

Dear London,

I now believe I know what order I need to do things in, I just need deadlines. Hopefully tomorrow several emails will arrive and give me dates - and perhaps a checklist - of what I need to accomplish. For now though, here is what order I believe things need to be done in...

1. Student Space - I need to log onto Student Space so I can check the daily listings on flats. This cannot be done until I hear from the tech office and they give me a new password into my account - which should be tomorrow morning.
2. Find a Flat - Something that Stacey, Ruthie and I agree on and fits our needs. Phillipa said she would look at a falt for us, if we found something we really liked. This is also needed for the CAS and the Visa with a UK address.
3. Get Loans - Have the money safely place in my account, or at least okay through the university. There is little I can do before I have the money in my bank.
4. Put Payment on the Flat - Which I need the loans for, and the location.
5. Pay for Tuition - At least 50% of my tuition, but I think I will pay in full. This way it is out of the way and they can include that on my CAS.
6. CAS - Apply for my CAS, which I can do after June 20th, once I have a UK address and my tuition is paid.
7. Visa - Apply for Visa, which I can do after I get my CAS.
8. Appointment for Visa - Schedule an appointment, which comes at the end of the Visa application. This is where I bring in my biometrics, which is the paperwork and identification that complets the application process.
9. Buy Plane Ticket - This is going to depend on a few things, like whether or not I want to wait for my visa to come through. One thing I know for certain is that it will be a one-way ticket, because I literally have no idea when I will be coming home. AND, while I was aiming for September 4th, I think I will have to wait for the following weekend... which is September 11th. Though, I don't know how I feel about that either, maybe I will do September 10th instead?
10. Shopping Trip - I am also planning a shopping trip where I find several new outfits that can interchange. This is so I can pack a little amount of clothing. I am also planning on donating most of my clothes before I head overseas, after I go shopping.

That is the plan, but like I said before I have no dates for anything. Somewhere in between I hope to have time to work on my writing abilities, so I can start the year strong. Also, I would like make time to see my family before I move to London for 10-ish months.

AND this is yet another boring post by me and this process, only made better by the following SURPRISE picture...

Amsterdam: Fall 2009, Photographer: Kristin Bergene

xx, Kristin