FREEDOM!

My dissertation is finally finished. I just need to print off two copies tomorrow and hand it in.

Tonight, most of my program is going to eat at our favorite Italian restuarant in Piccadilly Circus, then going out. Tomorrow will mianly include packing. Then starting at 5pm my entire program (undergrads and postgrads) rented out the top floor of the local pub for a catered meal and celebration festivities.

I'm currently listening to "The Final Countdown" on repeat in iTunes.

Man does it feel good to be done. It's now offficially summer vacation!!!

Revisions

I'm currently rereading and revising what I've written and then I'll add my conclusion.

7,476 words. I should hit 8,000 after the revisions are done + 600ish for the conclusion.

Word Count

7,000

Exams Over!

Finished my second of two exams this morning. Both of them went fairly well.

I'm currently taking a 5 minute break from my dissertation. Currently my word count is 4,902. It needs to be at least 8,000. I'll be researching/typing all night tonight, most of the day tomorrow, and hopefully I can finish up Thursday...

Lot of Writing

The last couple days haven't been exciting at all. I've just been writing my dissertation basically, taking breaks occassionally. I've written 4,000 words out of 8-10,000.

Exam on Monday, exam on Tuesday, dissertation due Friday, Rob comes Sunday!, Ireland Tuesday!....

House of Lords

On my last day of work I went to see the House of Lords debate. Most of the power in Parliament lies in the House of Commons and so that is the most important chamber, but I wanted to see the Lords at some point. It was a little more tame than the Commons, but still worthwhile.

Here are two articles from The Guardian and The Times that highlight the committee hearing with Jesse Jackson that I went to yesterday:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/26/simon-hoggarts-sketch
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5976582.ece

Last Day with the MP

My MP Mark and I said our goodbyes and thank yous today. He really kind and gave me a going away present, London: The Biography by Peter Ackroyd. The book is nearly 800 pages and is supposed to be fantastic. My friend John is read Thames by Ackroyd and he really enjoys it.

I actually owe John a big thank you. He sent me a text today saying that Rev. Jesse Jackson was being interviewed at the Home Affairs sub-committee meeting. I ran over and saw him answer questions from MPs on violent crime and drugs for a little over an hour. Basically, Jackson believed that in order to limit drug related crimes we need to focus on cutting the supply of the drug and less on halting the demand for it. He also spoke about reforming the prison system so that young convicts can be educated ("We need to raise them up, not lock them up"). At the end of the session the MPs asked a couple questions about Obama, the Civil Rights Movement, and MLK to which he gave the most intriguing answers.

By the way yesterday on my tour of Big Ben. I climbed over 300 steps to the top of the clock tower, walked behind the faces of the clock, saw how the giant mechanical clock works, and witnessed the chimes and Big Ben sing at 10am. It was so freakin' cool.