I Am Such a Muppet!

There was a recent conversation that Heather and I had, and it was totally related to work.  We were talking about our favorite Muppets, because we're all Muppets at one time or another.  For me it's no question- Kermit the Frog.  I had him on the zipper of my jacket when I was little.  When I was three I was convinced that my mother was pregnant with him.  I can't tell you the disappointment I felt when my brother was born looking like a pink person rather than a green frog.  I think I forgave him quickly enough, but my attachment to Kermit has remained.  I think he suited my personality, and according to the article that Heather sent me, I identify with an order Muppet for the most part (my books at home are nearly alphabetized).  My sister identified with Miss Piggy, described as a chaos Muppet.  In this way of sorting Muppets, chaos Muppets and order Muppets pair with one another.  Bert and Ernie are a prime example, as are Kermit and Piggy.

The original article that this conversation stemmed from had to do with the Supreme Court Justices, but the model is applicable to most work situations.  Here in the London Center we are a prime example.  Who is each staff member?  I think Sarah is Scooter.  The gofer on the original Muppet Show, he kept things running, even when it looked like disaster was imminent.  Similarly, we wouldn't be able to put the lights on in the London Center without Sarah making sure we're on the good side of the electric company.  Heather is the Swedish chef.  Experimenting and trying new things as she goes, though definitely less frenetic.  I'd like to think I'm like Rowlf, but I'm probably more like Beaker, without knowing it.  On the upside, I've never been blown up, electrocuted, eaten by a large monster or lost a body part.  And Bill.  He's a tough one to pin down.  Sometimes he's Fozzy Bear, sometimes he's Elmo.  Endeared to the hearts of many, but sometimes people don't get his joke.  No matter which Muppet he is that day, the only thing that's definite is that judging by his office floor, Bill is a Chaos Muppet, without a doubt.  And working as a group, I think Heather, Sarah and I all feel at times that we are the Kermits to Bill's Miss Piggy.

Not out of control, emotional or volatile, but I bet some of the sandwiches in Bill's bag are blue and fuzzy.

Taking this one step further, I also thought about which film we are.  I'm no expert on the cinema of the Muppets, but this past semester I thought we were the reject version of The Muppets Take Manhattan- The Muppets Take on Elsie.  Positive differences- no one got amnesia, no one ran off and joined the circus, and no one went crazy with Joan Rivers in a department store.  That aside, we had a big production to put on (the reception for our 40th anniversary), and I thought it went really well!  We had a pretty packed house, too, just like the Muppets.  Oh yeah, we didn't have a surprise wedding at the end, try as Sarah did.

I imagine you're all wondering, which Muppets are our faculty?  That's easy, they're Cookie Monsters.

-Claire

Bill's Top 10 Memories of Spring '12

In reverse order, here are Bill's top 10 memories of spring '12, with added commentary by Sarah and Claire (these really are Bill’s top 10, just like those were really his texts)

Devon looking up Putney on her first day in London

10.  Arrival day, January 10th, 2012, we meet you: hectic for everyone, but sure gets the adrenalin running. It’s our ‘putting faces to names’ day…and the first day we heard that cheery laugh. Claire and Sarah mostly remember how open some of our students were about taking strangers into their hotel room on the first night.  That was a very kind thing to do. (Just to clarify, the strangers were both our students, one of whom hadn’t been allocated a hotel room)

9. Welcoming our Provost, Dr Kelly, and VP Carl Sgrecci, and hosting the 40th anniversary reception.  40 not out!

8. Rounders’ day in Hyde Park, our first time playing the game which eventually turned into baseball; Sarah’s team sneaked a narrow victory over ‘southpaw’ Claire’s, partly through a rather liberal and some would say, dubious [or Welsh], interpretation of the rules.  Sarah’s number 1 highlight of the year: beating Bill to the post and getting him out!  The Welsh don’t just sing.

7. Discussing with my solicitors the 6 figure damages I might eventually receive from this blog post for interviewing me in absentia and putting words into my Listerine clean mouth that ‘might’ be there or might not.  OK, OK, they probably are there somewhere, but don’t tell the ‘blog-meister’.  Not as much as the damages Paul McCartney is seeking from Bill for libel.

The prize for making it to the top of the Tor?  Getting to be in this photo!

6. Our first trip - the devil’s chair, the pilgrimage up the Tor, the medieval clock, scissors arch and ‘memento mori’ in Wells cathedral, overnighting in Bath, checking for curfew violators, having a staff meeting at 2am… For the record, no that wasn’t Sarah trying Bill’s door at 2am.

5.Our three ‘shows’ – voice concert, acting scenes and fights – give me back my crisps! Tons of talent.  Claire’s happy that her ceiling hasn’t collapsed from stage combat yet.

4. Being lured away all too often from the grindstone by Professors Hrkach and Swafford in their bold attempt to find the hostelry that serves the ‘perfect pint’.  Where were Sarah and Claire?

3. The ‘gap year’ ceilidh in the Leith church hall during the Edinburgh trip. I like raffles. Bill won 5 times in a row.  This prompted Alex Holt to email Claire to ask if it was worth turning in the program evaluation as Bill seems to rig raffles.

2. Devon’s bagpipe ‘happy birthday’, preceded by the two candle bearing ‘altar girls’ [however charming, I regret to inform them that it’s probably too late to pursue a vocation in the church!]  We disagree.  We’re still planning on starting up our own order of nuns.  It’s our third backup life-plan.

The wind came first, then the hail.

1. Teaching [oops..scratch that… that’s from another list]; numero uno has to be the hail storm & hurricane descending from  Arthur’s seat; we almost needed to be helicoptered off! Don’t tell the home campus!  Sarah will never forget the moment she turned around to see 4 students hugging the ground for dear life.  She then turned to Bill and asked, “Seriously, what do we do if we lose students to the storm?”  He didn’t answer.

Next, Bill’s top 10 spring ‘12 regrets…

Bill's Working on the Book

Bill Sheasgreen: Claire, I'm trying to write a book about London Center and its 40 years.  Would you help me?
Claire Mokrauer-Madden: Sure!  I'd love to help.  What can I do?
BS: There are so many facets to Elsie's history, and my specialties are World War II and later 20th century youth culture.  I'm considering presenting Elsie in her youth as a post Mary Quant-loving, experiment of the 1970's, but I can't seem to mesh that with her Victorian facade.  Any ideas how to resolve this?
CMM: I don't think the London Center was born as a bi-product of the swinging 60's.  As one of many American study abroad programs to have been established in London in 1972, can you talk about studying abroad in London and how the experience has developed over the last 40 years? 
BS: Perhaps.  I've certainly seen it all happen.  Disguised as a history lecturer, I was a part of London's 1970's scene on the King's Road in Chelsea.  I walked the same streets as Mick Jagger.  He learned his famous swagger from me.  That's a little known fact that could go into the book!
CMM: You seem to make a lot of assertions that I find hard to believe. 
BS: No, that's a true fact.  I would put you in touch with the man himself to confirm, but we aren't on speaking terms anymore.
CMM: I'm not surprised to hear that.  What can you say about Elsie in the 1980's?  Didn't Ithaca buy the building then?
BS: Yes, the 80's were a good time for us.  I remember when Ithaca bought this building, and the sellers were generous enough to include Fred as the caretaker in the deal. 
CMM: Fred certainly was the glue of the London Center while he worked here.  And if he was out of glue, it was nothing a few nails and/or screws, some honey mustard dressing and some white paint wouldn't fix.
BS: We were also doing much of our faculty selection from north London.  Not that we were biased, but it was nice to have a good group of Arsenal fans.
CMM: I was about to take exception to that and tell you I wouldn't help you with the book!  But if it was all in support of Arsenal, I bet you were blinded by passion.
BS: Perhaps we could include a chapter in the book about Elsie's Arsenal years.
CMM: Probably not.  But a chapter about Fred would certainly be nice.  Except for the London Center's more recent alums, most students who passed through our doors will have at some point been made to think that they opened the door into Fred's head and nearly knocked him down.  The closest thing we now have to Fred's practical joking is you Aprils Fools jokes.
BS: Oh, yes!  Shall we have a chapter about how successfully we've celebrated April 1st for so many years?
CMM: Perhaps.  Are you bummed that April 1st is on a Saturday this year and you won't be at work for it?
BS: Who says I won't be at work for it?
CMM: True point.  But will you be designing a prank for yourself?
BS: Undisclosable.
CMM: I don't think that's a word.  Don't use it in the book.
BS: But I will possibly be including April Fools jokes in the book. 
CMM: So have I helped you?
BS: Barely!  We haven't made it to the 90's or the 21st century!
CMM: Perhaps they can be included in volume 2?
BS: You think I'm going to make it to volume 2?
CMM: I have high hopes for volume 1. That'll be the hard one.  Volume 2 will probably write itself.
BS: I like your optimism, whether or not I share it.  You've been a big help, and I have a lot of ideas to use.  Volume I of the London Center's history is going to be amazing!
CMM: I wait with baited breath!

*Bill really is working on a book celebrating the 40 years of history in the London Center.  We look forward to the final product!

You'll Have to Sit Down for This One...

What do I do when I'm low on blog post ideas?  Embrace the random factor.

I may or may not have previously mentioned that the London Center is 40 this year.  As a result, you may imagine that we have been through our fair share of chairs in this building, but what you may not know about are the real classics to which we have clung.  Yes, your worst fears are true.  Today I will be reviewing the chairs of the London Center. 

My first chair is not just a chair, but the set found in Bill's office.  I would like to be able to put a date on them, but their classic design and unending series of tears in the leather just say to me that they have been around the block a few times.  These chairs welcome coffee talkers, visiting alums, faculty and the surveyors who will be giving Elsie a once over.  The set of four (2 taller armchairs, a lower armchair and a loveseat) are centered around a table that has hobnobs on it on a good day, and a semester's worth of Bill's Sport in the UK marking on a bad day.  On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best, Emily and Michael gave them a 9.85 overall for comfort, ease of use and closeness to biscuits.

Emily stealthily checks the arms of the chair

Michael is loving the loveseat

The next chair is also part of a set and also green.  Under the stairs in the front hall there is another loveseat and an ottoman that is most frequently used as a seat.  It seems that the comfort of these items of furniture balances out the danger involved in getting into and out of them.  They are truly seats for experienced sitters.  They sink and suck you in when you sit on them and have a table, a wall socket and a radiator nearby, as well as a small window.  What would only make the situation better would be if so many people didn't bump their heads on the stairs standing up to leave the sofa.  Also, if you listen closely, you can hear Harry Potter quietly doing magic in the cupboard under the stairs and plotting his escape.  Points out of 10? 9.2, say Brittany, Carolyn and Cristin.

Neither Brittany or Carolyn bumped their heads standing up!

Cristin didn't mind that there's no back to the ottoman

Next we moved up to the Common Room.  Here is a similar style to the set in Bill's office.  These chairs are old, broken in and wear their age well.  If I were to compare them to zoo animals I would say they are most comparable to wise elephants.  The leather sags in places, but these chairs don't seem to be forgetting the last 40 years.  Literature lecturer Lee White gave them a 6 out of 10.  He wasn't impressed by the chair's lack of support and was disappointed by how far away it was from any biscuits.

Lee wears his disappointment about the lack of biscuits

Fourth is our freshest set of chairs.  Within the last year the faculty room received leather armchairs which are still so new, they smell a bit like the shop.  These chairs don't leave the sitter too high or too low, but rather just at the right height.  Ian Green, film lecturer, felt they were some of the best in the London Center, giving them a 10 out of 10.

Ian's comfy in the new faculty room chair

The final set of chairs is easily my favorite.  If I was told they came with the building, I would believe it.  These old, green friends have been repaired innumerable times, but being too good to let go of, they are currently haunting room 8.  They're lumpy but loveable, socially awkward but trend setting.  They're representatives of life- they dictate where you're allowed to sit on them (bumps vs. holes), but welcome you with aged velour upholstery.  They take and they give- they're not just a place to sit, they're a way of life.  11 out of 10!

For Rosie, the party starts in these chairs

If you're really well behaved I'll let you know next week which classroom chairs we're still using since the 1980's!

-Claire

How Are We Settling In?

Today marks the first day of the second quarter of the semester in London.  How does the time fly!  I'm getting the sense that everyone is settling into their classes, their work placements, their flats.  Students are finding budget airlines and hostels, learning to use the bus, finding places to go on the weekend in London.

With any luck you're also starting to feel like Londoners.  Has anyone stopped you on the street to ask you for directions?  Were you pleased with yourself when you knew which way to send them?  Did you fake an accent so they wouldn't know they were asking someone who has only lived here a month?

Here are some things going on around here that all good locals should know about:

• The Six Nations is a rugby tournament between England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, France and Italy.  It's shown on tv in many pubs around town.  Even non-rugby fans come out for this one.  It started last weekend (4 Feb.) and will run until 17 March. 
• The Queen's Diamond Jubilee is this year.  She found out 60 years ago (yesterday) that her father, the king, had died and that she was now queen.  The big party is the first weekend in June, so if anyone asks what you're doing for it, you can casually reply that you'll be out of town that weekend.  (It'll be similar to Elsie's Ruby Jubilee)
• The 2012 Olympics are in London this summer.  Again, if anyone asks if you're going to any events, you can casually reply that you're getting out of town and renting out your flat.
• The honours list went out earlier this year and now Helena Bonham-Carter can join Elton John and Mick Jagger leading the British army into war.  Well, it doesn't quite work like that, but you know what I mean.  Also, an honour that had been awarded a few years ago has recently been rescinded.  Ex-Sir Fred Goodwin, head of Royal Bank of Scotland leading up to the credit crunch has received a lot of flack for being a dilettante as the country sunk into financial disrepute and he retired, claiming a massive pension.  He's now on the same list as Robert Mugabe for having his honour taken away.
• Karen Gillen has announced that she is leaving Doctor Who.  How will the Doctor find a replacement for Amy Pond?

 There are loads more ways to get into the local mindset and immerse yourself in the culture of living in London.  Even grocery shopping is a cultural experience.  You can wait until the end of the semester to do all the touristy things you were too settled-in to get to.

-Claire

40 Things We've Learned

Combining my need to quantify anything I can with the end of the semester, here are 40 things we have all learned this semester.

1. Austrian radio IS a gangster's paradise.
2. It's really hard to find things with the number 40 in them.
3. Charlton is having a great season.  Arsenal's is just ok.
4. How to handle a legal drinking age.  Hopefully.
5. We were lucky to survive another Antony Gormley statue that won't be at the Olympic Park.
6. Elsie isn't a person or a poltergeist, she's a chair.
7. The London Center is highly trustworthy.
8. One person can actually carry the big table in the common room.  The London Center needs to recruit more wrestlers.
9. Bill may secretly be on Marks & Spencer's advertising team.
10. Ask Jack to show you how he ties his scarf...
11. Bill can be as vague on Facebook as he is in real life.
12. Carry an umbrella, even if it's sunny.
13. Never forget your Tesco Clubcard.
14. Will the taxi coming down the road stop before it hits you? You can never tell...
15. It's not getting any easier to climb the Glastonbury Tor.
16. Playing cricket in the Common Room is a lot of fun!
17. Everything you need to know about Westminster and the City of London can be learned in 5 hours.
18. The London Center staff have limited space in their stomachs for Jaffa Cakes.
19. Can we get a dog next semester?
20. Taking the coach to Paris is a lot of fun, right?
21. Kenneth Brannagh is really good at knitting!  And knitting is cool.  Just like a fez.
22. The jumping in front of Stonehenge thing remains a mystery...
23. We'll never be able to kiss Oscar Wilde again!
24. Songs at football games are both humorous and rude.
25. 4 months is not long enough in London.
26. Will Jack make a surprise appearance to next August's Edinburgh Festival?
27. Bill is EXTREMELY miffed that no one wants to dance with him at a ceilidh.  He would have worn a kilt, too.
28. American Thanksgiving in London is possible.  Even on a Thursday.
29. This semester's quizzers are few but very good.
30. Probably only a few people read the book of the term.  Probably no more than 39.
31. Mudlarking could become a mandatory class excursion.
32. You can pick up and move a cow's reproductive tract!
33. A Christmas Story is capitalist and It's a Wonderful Life is socialist.  Are our leanings determined by which we prefer?
34. What's still the number one way our students try to stay in the UK?  Find a Brit with a charming accent and get married, of course!
35. Who can say no to some lovely, homemade baked goods?  Not our students, not our staff, and not the guys who come to look at our gutters.
36. Americans can sometimes put their foot in it by misunderstanding slang.
37. Did you think you knew how Hamlet ended?  Micheal Sheen may just do your head in...
38. Sainsbury's may be further away than Waitrose, but pounding the pavement can save you pounds (that you can spend on baked goods).
39. A good chocolate Hobnob will never go amiss.
40. London is wonderful!

-Claire

40 Things

Aldgate to Dulwich Library

• Winks
• Thieves with their treasure in a cave
• The year Caligula was sole Consul of Rome
• 5 x 8
• Flood length
• Maximum number of baseball players allowed on a major league team
• The road between London and Birmingham
• Top songs each week
• Zirconium
• 1 college junior + another college junior

Watch this space for more things to do with the number 40.  We want to be creative about how we celebrate turning 40 and we want creativity from the students, too. 

I think this has all the earmarks of a photo competition.

-Elsie

Reasons to Celebrate

1. New carpets.   
2. Bastille Day.  It's today.  France is probably partying in the streets.
3. The fall semester starts in a little over a month in London.
4. Visa applications being approved.
5. A really good job packing your luggage.
6. Finding a flat.
7. Friends coming to visit London.
8. Kittens.  Just to continue the theme.
9. Catching a 6:03am flight.  Not as easy as it sounds.
10. Birthdays.  Claire just had one.  Bill's was a few months ago, and Heather and Sarah have them coming up in a few months.  Everyone has one this coming academic year, even those people born on February 29th.  And the London Center is turning 40 this year!  

Recalling my student days, we didn't usually need much of a reason to celebrate.  Receiving lost luggage was a reason for celebration, seeing a film was a reason to celebrate and even Tube strikes were reasons to celebrate.  The ICLC has more fixed criteria, but turning 40 surely meets it.  In that time we have had over 6,000 students, well over 100 faculty, approximately 78 trips to Stratford upon Avon, 8 directors (plus a few interims), and an unquantifiable number of cups of tea during the Irish Lit class.  When asked to count how many times ICLC students have arrived late due to delays on the Circle line, that task was found to be impossible.  Yes, a lot has happened over 40 years at Harrington Gardens.

Put your party faces on, the ICLC is turning 40!

Being the 40th anniversary of the Ithaca College London Center, it is our Ruby Jubilee.  Therefore the theme color of the year is red.  Gifts will be given to staff members who have rubies as their birthstone.  All baby girls born to people with any association to the ICLC will be named Ruby (their middle names will be Elsie.  Their surnames will be left to the discretion of their parents).  As it is a Jubilee year for us, that Tube line will run a special service to Gloucester Road (via the Circle, District and Piccadilly lines).

There may be some facetiousness presented here (except for the gifts to staff members with rubies for birthstones), but we do intend to celebrate!

-Elsie (who has been on holiday)