Last night was, of course, hilarious. We hung out here for a little bit with the kids in our house, then moved on to Redcliffe to meet up with the rest. We all just drank a little there in their "teacher's lounge" in the basement before heading to zoo bar. We knew it's always at least a good time, if not great. Lots of tourists, and they play 80s and 90s music, so we were there. We danced all night, but Elizabeth wanted to go home a little earlier than everyone else (wonder why), so Sarah stayed wtih all the kids in our house and I decided to take her home. We walked outside near one of the busiest parts of London, and could not find a cab to save our lives. We walked everywhere, finally finding one an HOUR later. They all had people in them! It was so sad, but we of course were cracking up the entire time. And since our phones are pieces of crap here, and I'm too lazy to figure out how to send texts, I always just leave up whatever the dictionary gives me and then send it. I texted Chad trying to tell him that "I took SHimma home" (Shimma is waht we call Elizabeth) and instead texting him, "thanks for baring (caring), I had to take rhino home". We all had a good laugh about that one today.
Our friend Kristin, who is always good for a hilarious story, went home by herself last night, and supposedly thought she was in a semi-sketchy area (she wasn't). So in order to "make herself as unattractive as possible so guys wouldn't talk to her", she decided it would be an awesome idea to buy a hot dog and carry it around. She is about 5' 10'' and eats more than all of us put together, and we always talk about her "fat kid" moments. Well, when she woke up this morning and went to put on her boots again, there was ketchup and onions in them!!!!
Today, we got up early and went to "tailgate" for the Chelsea game. It was really fun - seeing the atmosphere around the stadium was incredible. We didn't want to get tickets (they cost about 80 quid) so we went and got jerseys and hung out at a pub. I got Logan and Joey one too! Tonight, we're just going to have a more low-key night, and go to a pub or something. I cna't believe its already Saturday night! Having Sarah here is sooo fun but makes me really homesick. Can't believe she flew all the way here! WE're going to do more touristy stuff tomorrow before she has to go home :(
Saturday, 28 February 2009
Friday, 27 February 2009
Tourists!
Sarah's here! Today we did all kinds of touristy things; we went to Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, then on a huge tour of Westminster Abbey, where we saw where all the kings, queens, and famous poets and writers are buried. There was a plaque commemorating it's 900th anniversary. Can you imagine? After that, we went to find a pub and had fish and chips and a pint (it is a Friday in Lent after all :) and then took a long walk along the Thames. Rough life. Also, I was SO excited becuase it was a gorgeous day; really warm and sunny, for Sarah to see.
Then Chad took us on another private tour of Parliament so Sarah and Evan's girlfriend Brittany could see it. It was just as cool the second time, and he wanted to practice b/c his MP is making him give a tour to a bunch of school kids this week. We learned all kinds of new stuff, like that the Lords can't step over a line drawn in front of their chairs, because historically then you'd be in range of the other party's swords. That's where "toeing (towing?) te party line" came from. Also, found out that the first working flushing toilet ever in the whole world is still in Parliament, invented by, get ready, Sir Thomas Crapper. We had a pint on the terrace overlooking the Thames, a place that "regular" people aren't allowed to go!
Tonight, we're having a party for Elizabeth's birthday, and going to Zoo Bar. All the kids in our program that we're friends with are coming with us, so it should be a great time. Love and miss you all!
Then Chad took us on another private tour of Parliament so Sarah and Evan's girlfriend Brittany could see it. It was just as cool the second time, and he wanted to practice b/c his MP is making him give a tour to a bunch of school kids this week. We learned all kinds of new stuff, like that the Lords can't step over a line drawn in front of their chairs, because historically then you'd be in range of the other party's swords. That's where "toeing (towing?) te party line" came from. Also, found out that the first working flushing toilet ever in the whole world is still in Parliament, invented by, get ready, Sir Thomas Crapper. We had a pint on the terrace overlooking the Thames, a place that "regular" people aren't allowed to go!
Tonight, we're having a party for Elizabeth's birthday, and going to Zoo Bar. All the kids in our program that we're friends with are coming with us, so it should be a great time. Love and miss you all!
Monday, 23 February 2009
Haley, Will you start my apple for me?
Title is in reference to the fact that since part of my front tooth is fake, I'm not allowed to bite into apples. Haley "starts" all of my apples for me by taking the first bite. Where was I? After the pub crawl on Friday night, we woke up very early Saturday to tour the Highlands. We first went to a church that had been built by just one man. It was huge! It took him 50 years, and he built it because his mother didn't want to walk all the way to the nearest church. She, of course, died a few years before it was finished. But it was SO beautiful, overlooking a loch. Which one, I'm not sure, because there are so many. After that, we drove through the mountains and went to Loch Ness! Didn't see any monsters, but got some great pictures and enjoyed the scenery. The air is so incredible clean there compared to London we all just wnated to stay and breathe for awhile. We had lunch near the Loch, the worst burger I've ever had, and I even tried haggus! It's traditional Scottish, so I felt like I should. Then I nearly puked. I've never had that reaction to food before, but maybe it was the whole "innards of a sheep's stomach" thing that threw me off.
After that, we went to the Ben NEvis whiskey distillery and saw how they make scottish whiskey. They bring their water in from the mountains, so it has a really distinct taste. Bought dad and Logan a bottle! Later that night we checked into our hostel and just rested for awhile before heading out to get some dinner. Some Scottish people that had met a friend of ours in Barcelona joined us, and we went to a really nice Italian place. They ended up being super obnoxious though, and continued to be loud and annoying the rest of the night. After dinner we went to a pub with live music, which was really cool. You could tell it was a local place, because we were the only people in there that didn't know a ton of hte locals. After that, we went to a younger place that had dance music and stuff, but left after awhile because we had to get up so early and because we were tired of spending a bagillion dollars for one drink.
On Sunday morning we grabbed breakfast at the hostel before checking out, then went to Lock Lomond. The only reason I can remember the name is because it is associated with a really famous song. Two Scottish brothers were jailed in London, and the guards said that only one of them was going to get to live and they had to choose which would die. The younger brother told hte older that he should live, because he had a wife and children to go home to. The older brother agreed, then in the middle of the night slipped the guard a note telling him that the younger brother had been chosen to live. The next morning, they took the younger brother away, and to his surprise they freed him! While in jail before his death, the older brother wrote this song:
You take the high road, and I'll take the low road
And I'll be in SCotland before you
Where me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonny bonny banks of Lock Lomond
In Scotland, to take the "low road" means the spirit road, so obviously he would get there first. Very cool story. After that we went to see Hamish the Highland Cow (yes, there were places for busses to stop and look at a COW) We of course did, and instead of paying for a turnip to feed him, I gave him some of my pistachio nuts. He seemedt o like those just as much.
Finally, before heading back to London, we stopped at the monument to William Wallace. We climbed all the way tot he top of a huge hill where his monument is and took pictures over the city of Stirling, then it was time to get on the bus and head to the train station. The train ride was hilarious, we had 5 hours so we all just goofed around. They double booked our tickets, so we had no seats and eventually got to sit in first class! Got home around 11pm and wrote a paper for my HR class today.
Today a nwe intern started at Stella! We're finally not the babies anymore, and since the archive room is finished and beautiful, we got to do actual work today, which was great. I finally feel like I'm learning stuff. And being in the office all day gives us a much better opportunity to bond with the other girls, whereas in the basement it was just Elizabeth and I all the time.
Time to write a marketing paper, grocery shop, shower, etc! Love you all!
After that, we went to the Ben NEvis whiskey distillery and saw how they make scottish whiskey. They bring their water in from the mountains, so it has a really distinct taste. Bought dad and Logan a bottle! Later that night we checked into our hostel and just rested for awhile before heading out to get some dinner. Some Scottish people that had met a friend of ours in Barcelona joined us, and we went to a really nice Italian place. They ended up being super obnoxious though, and continued to be loud and annoying the rest of the night. After dinner we went to a pub with live music, which was really cool. You could tell it was a local place, because we were the only people in there that didn't know a ton of hte locals. After that, we went to a younger place that had dance music and stuff, but left after awhile because we had to get up so early and because we were tired of spending a bagillion dollars for one drink.
On Sunday morning we grabbed breakfast at the hostel before checking out, then went to Lock Lomond. The only reason I can remember the name is because it is associated with a really famous song. Two Scottish brothers were jailed in London, and the guards said that only one of them was going to get to live and they had to choose which would die. The younger brother told hte older that he should live, because he had a wife and children to go home to. The older brother agreed, then in the middle of the night slipped the guard a note telling him that the younger brother had been chosen to live. The next morning, they took the younger brother away, and to his surprise they freed him! While in jail before his death, the older brother wrote this song:
You take the high road, and I'll take the low road
And I'll be in SCotland before you
Where me and my true love will never meet again
On the bonny bonny banks of Lock Lomond
In Scotland, to take the "low road" means the spirit road, so obviously he would get there first. Very cool story. After that we went to see Hamish the Highland Cow (yes, there were places for busses to stop and look at a COW) We of course did, and instead of paying for a turnip to feed him, I gave him some of my pistachio nuts. He seemedt o like those just as much.
Finally, before heading back to London, we stopped at the monument to William Wallace. We climbed all the way tot he top of a huge hill where his monument is and took pictures over the city of Stirling, then it was time to get on the bus and head to the train station. The train ride was hilarious, we had 5 hours so we all just goofed around. They double booked our tickets, so we had no seats and eventually got to sit in first class! Got home around 11pm and wrote a paper for my HR class today.
Today a nwe intern started at Stella! We're finally not the babies anymore, and since the archive room is finished and beautiful, we got to do actual work today, which was great. I finally feel like I'm learning stuff. And being in the office all day gives us a much better opportunity to bond with the other girls, whereas in the basement it was just Elizabeth and I all the time.
Time to write a marketing paper, grocery shop, shower, etc! Love you all!
Sunday, 22 February 2009
Scotland: THe first, the biggest, the best
That was the mantra of our tour guide all weekend. It was hilarious; everything he talked about was either invented by a Scotsman, or a Scotsman perfected it. He was awesome though, and knew everything there was to know about both Edinburgh where we spent Friday, and hte Highlands, where we spent the rest of the weekend. He wore a kilt the whole time too! WE've herad true Scotsman go commando underneath, but didn't want to ask.
Our hostel in Edinburgh was SO great. Clean, comfy beds, a huge common room, and an awesome view of Edinburgh castle right outside the window! We got there in the pouring rain after a 5 hour trainride on Friday morning, and went on a guided city tour with Mike. We saw where the old gallows used to be and heard about all of the city's most famous, and infamous, inhabitants. One was a dog named Bobby who is one of hte only recipients of the keys to the city because he was so beloved and lived in teh streets after his master died. Also, about how it used to be a gated city and "the smelliest city in London" because of all of the people crammed in. There is a really cool heart shaped monument built into the ground outside of the cathedral too. It's where the prisoners were kept, and they were so often poorly treated that the heart is a reminder to treat people well and to not tolerate cruelty. Everybody is supposed to spit on it when they walk by. We saw Parliament, where the decision was made after SO much fighting to stay away From the English to form the "United Kingdom", statues of Adam Smith, all kinds of stuff. Also at the cathedral, we saw remnants of the punishment for smaller crimes. If it was big, you of course got hanged. But for lesser crimes, you had your ear nailed to the church wall, and you weren't allowed to have anyone help you get it off. People would come by and spit on you until you finally ripped it off of the wall, and there are a ton of rusty nails stuck in the wall still today.
In the afternoon, we went to the National Scottish Museum and walked around for a little bit. We saw the cafe where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book, and did some touristy shopping also. Friday night we went on a pub crawl around Edinburgh, which was SO much fun. The boys in our house were also in the city, and met us there. We went to 5 different pubs, and a club at the end. There were some interesting characters to say the least, and I swear I can't understand a word that most Scottish people say, but it was hilarious and we were all together, which is always good for a laugh.
I'll add the rest tomorrow i'm too sleepy :)
Things we learned:
-"Botched job" comes from a Scottish dude named Botch who built a really important bridge, only to have it fall down immediately
-The Campbell's still have the reputation of being the meanest clan in Scotland - there are still some places where they won't let you in the door if your surname is Campbell
-The huge fight scene in Braveheart actually took place around a river, it was really integral to the battle, but isn't shown in the Mel Gibson version
-You have to be really tough to live in Scotland; everyone looked like they could drink you under the table, and the weather nearly always sucks. They were all so nice to us though, and were genuinely interested in everything we had to say.
Our hostel in Edinburgh was SO great. Clean, comfy beds, a huge common room, and an awesome view of Edinburgh castle right outside the window! We got there in the pouring rain after a 5 hour trainride on Friday morning, and went on a guided city tour with Mike. We saw where the old gallows used to be and heard about all of the city's most famous, and infamous, inhabitants. One was a dog named Bobby who is one of hte only recipients of the keys to the city because he was so beloved and lived in teh streets after his master died. Also, about how it used to be a gated city and "the smelliest city in London" because of all of the people crammed in. There is a really cool heart shaped monument built into the ground outside of the cathedral too. It's where the prisoners were kept, and they were so often poorly treated that the heart is a reminder to treat people well and to not tolerate cruelty. Everybody is supposed to spit on it when they walk by. We saw Parliament, where the decision was made after SO much fighting to stay away From the English to form the "United Kingdom", statues of Adam Smith, all kinds of stuff. Also at the cathedral, we saw remnants of the punishment for smaller crimes. If it was big, you of course got hanged. But for lesser crimes, you had your ear nailed to the church wall, and you weren't allowed to have anyone help you get it off. People would come by and spit on you until you finally ripped it off of the wall, and there are a ton of rusty nails stuck in the wall still today.
In the afternoon, we went to the National Scottish Museum and walked around for a little bit. We saw the cafe where JK Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter book, and did some touristy shopping also. Friday night we went on a pub crawl around Edinburgh, which was SO much fun. The boys in our house were also in the city, and met us there. We went to 5 different pubs, and a club at the end. There were some interesting characters to say the least, and I swear I can't understand a word that most Scottish people say, but it was hilarious and we were all together, which is always good for a laugh.
I'll add the rest tomorrow i'm too sleepy :)
Things we learned:
-"Botched job" comes from a Scottish dude named Botch who built a really important bridge, only to have it fall down immediately
-The Campbell's still have the reputation of being the meanest clan in Scotland - there are still some places where they won't let you in the door if your surname is Campbell
-The huge fight scene in Braveheart actually took place around a river, it was really integral to the battle, but isn't shown in the Mel Gibson version
-You have to be really tough to live in Scotland; everyone looked like they could drink you under the table, and the weather nearly always sucks. They were all so nice to us though, and were genuinely interested in everything we had to say.
Thursday, 19 February 2009
"I got a little label happy"
WE FINISHED THE ARCHIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pictures to come soon. It is so beautiful, it makes me want to cry to see all of htem agazines lined up so nicely. Need an Italian Vogue from March 2005? No problem, just go to I, then V, then 2005, then March. It's awesome. Our bosses were SO happy wtih us - they didn't imagine it would turn out so well.
After work, I changed and went straight to the Royal Opera House - and found out that I am definitely not an opera person. It was the 7 Deadly Sins, which I thought would be good, and it was horrible. Singing wasn't that great, couldn't hear the voices, the whole thing was just kind of blah. Dissapointing, because I really wanted to be sophisticated London girl who likes the opera. Oh well, I think I'll live. Went to Pizza Express for dinner (here it's a gourmet place - weird huh?) with Haley and Erin, then came home to pack for Scotland!
We are going to have SO much fun in Scotland. We're going to see Loch Ness, having a whiskey tasting on Saturday, all kinds of cool stuff. I'm about 99% sure I'll end up buying a kilt. :) Miss you all - lots of fun stuff to come on Sunday when I get back! If i could fit it, I'd bring my laptop, becuase it's a 4 1/2 hour train ride, but I don't want it to get jacked, so you'll just have to wait.
Love you all!
After work, I changed and went straight to the Royal Opera House - and found out that I am definitely not an opera person. It was the 7 Deadly Sins, which I thought would be good, and it was horrible. Singing wasn't that great, couldn't hear the voices, the whole thing was just kind of blah. Dissapointing, because I really wanted to be sophisticated London girl who likes the opera. Oh well, I think I'll live. Went to Pizza Express for dinner (here it's a gourmet place - weird huh?) with Haley and Erin, then came home to pack for Scotland!
We are going to have SO much fun in Scotland. We're going to see Loch Ness, having a whiskey tasting on Saturday, all kinds of cool stuff. I'm about 99% sure I'll end up buying a kilt. :) Miss you all - lots of fun stuff to come on Sunday when I get back! If i could fit it, I'd bring my laptop, becuase it's a 4 1/2 hour train ride, but I don't want it to get jacked, so you'll just have to wait.
Love you all!
Tuesday, 17 February 2009
Real work? Nope, back to the archive
So, I tried to write an entry yesterday (sorry dad) but I guess it didn't post. Sunday I just did boring stuff like grocery shopping and laundry, and went on a HUGE run. Very uncharacteristic of me. Luckily, when I was still really far from home and wanting to stop to walk, one of those lovely surprise London rainstorms began, and it proceeded to rain sideways for the next half an hour, enough to make me want to haul ass home and get a great workout!
Yesterday, we got to actually do real work. We were doing inventory stuff, taking in returns and mailing sendouts, and it felt like a real job! In a gross story, a certain magazine returned dirty lingerie to us. Ewwwww. Today though, it was back to the basement for us. We're making real headway though, and it has to be done by next week because dun dun dun, Stephane is coming next Wednesday. He is basically the boss off of the Devil Wears Prada. I'm not joking. We also packed a HUGE box of stuff for people to wear when they all go to Paris for fashion week in a few weeks. We can't go because we have class, but it'll actually be nice to be in a quiet office, maybe have a chair to sit in? (We currently sit on a backless bench, that is, when we're even in the office and not in the dungeon :)
Just got home to a Valentine's Day package from mom and dad with ranch dressing! Yessss. Haven't been able to find it anywhere here. Also, got chocolates from dad, love you! Tonight I'm going to try and actually do some homework, considering I've done about a minute of it in the last month, I guess I'm due. Am SO excited for Scotland this weekend, and I'm going to the Opera on Thursday! Busy busy busy. Love you all!
Yesterday, we got to actually do real work. We were doing inventory stuff, taking in returns and mailing sendouts, and it felt like a real job! In a gross story, a certain magazine returned dirty lingerie to us. Ewwwww. Today though, it was back to the basement for us. We're making real headway though, and it has to be done by next week because dun dun dun, Stephane is coming next Wednesday. He is basically the boss off of the Devil Wears Prada. I'm not joking. We also packed a HUGE box of stuff for people to wear when they all go to Paris for fashion week in a few weeks. We can't go because we have class, but it'll actually be nice to be in a quiet office, maybe have a chair to sit in? (We currently sit on a backless bench, that is, when we're even in the office and not in the dungeon :)
Just got home to a Valentine's Day package from mom and dad with ranch dressing! Yessss. Haven't been able to find it anywhere here. Also, got chocolates from dad, love you! Tonight I'm going to try and actually do some homework, considering I've done about a minute of it in the last month, I guess I'm due. Am SO excited for Scotland this weekend, and I'm going to the Opera on Thursday! Busy busy busy. Love you all!
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Loving on the 'Henge
Friday night was pretty fun, we had to salvage it at the end though because the club we had planned on going to was REALLY expensive to get into. When we decided to get ou tof line and leave, a British girl who was about 7 feet 8 inches came up and accused us "lot" of stealing her phone. When I told her that was ridiculous and that we wouldn't do that, she said "well, you are ridiculous people, and I don't usually have to deal with people like you, but I'm being forced to." She then proceeded to stand creepily near us calling her phone over nad over hoping to hear it in one of our bags. Weird. Wonder what she meant by "people like us?" COllege students? Americans? Normal people? :)
Yesterday we got up reeeally early and went to see Stonehenge and Bath! The trip was about 2 hours to Stonehenge (I slept the whole way). Can you think of anything more romantic to do on valentine's day? We messed around and took a bunch of fun pictures, and of course bought postcards, then hit the road for Bath, where Jane Austen is from and where the Roman baths are. The Roman baths were awesome; thousands of years old and a lot of it is still completely intact. There was a guided audio tour by Bill Bryson, my favorite author, so I was all over that. I got a tile to add to me and my mom's collection too! We collecting tiles from everywhere we travel, then putting them together into a giant mosaic-y type thing. We went to lunch at a little pub and got fish and chips, then walked around until it was time to go. Bath would be one of the coolest places on Earth to live; it's very picturesque, with so much history it's ridiculous.
Finally, it was time to head home. There was no way I was going out, as I had gotten exactly 3 hours of sleep the night before from Haley's birthday. A few of us decided it would be an awesome way to spend Valentine's if we rented Spice World and made dinner. Unfortunately, they didn't have it, so we got Made of Honor (spelled honour on the cover here) and it made us SO excited to go to Scotland next weekend! After the movie I got to talk to Logan for awhile, then went to bed. He's pretty sure he's coming for his spring break, so I can't wait to start planning fun stuff to do with him!
Also, dad came home yesterday! Home with an awesome new heart on Valentine's day (sorry, had to say it.) I can't wait to talk to him and see how he's doing.
Today I have to do usual boring Sunday things (grocery, laundry, etc) and start writing a few papers that are coming due. I literally haven't done more than an hour of reading for homework since I've been here, so I think I can handle it :) Love you all!
Yesterday we got up reeeally early and went to see Stonehenge and Bath! The trip was about 2 hours to Stonehenge (I slept the whole way). Can you think of anything more romantic to do on valentine's day? We messed around and took a bunch of fun pictures, and of course bought postcards, then hit the road for Bath, where Jane Austen is from and where the Roman baths are. The Roman baths were awesome; thousands of years old and a lot of it is still completely intact. There was a guided audio tour by Bill Bryson, my favorite author, so I was all over that. I got a tile to add to me and my mom's collection too! We collecting tiles from everywhere we travel, then putting them together into a giant mosaic-y type thing. We went to lunch at a little pub and got fish and chips, then walked around until it was time to go. Bath would be one of the coolest places on Earth to live; it's very picturesque, with so much history it's ridiculous.
Finally, it was time to head home. There was no way I was going out, as I had gotten exactly 3 hours of sleep the night before from Haley's birthday. A few of us decided it would be an awesome way to spend Valentine's if we rented Spice World and made dinner. Unfortunately, they didn't have it, so we got Made of Honor (spelled honour on the cover here) and it made us SO excited to go to Scotland next weekend! After the movie I got to talk to Logan for awhile, then went to bed. He's pretty sure he's coming for his spring break, so I can't wait to start planning fun stuff to do with him!
Also, dad came home yesterday! Home with an awesome new heart on Valentine's day (sorry, had to say it.) I can't wait to talk to him and see how he's doing.
Today I have to do usual boring Sunday things (grocery, laundry, etc) and start writing a few papers that are coming due. I literally haven't done more than an hour of reading for homework since I've been here, so I think I can handle it :) Love you all!
Friday, 13 February 2009
Birthdays and Boots
Whew, just got out of a freezing cold shower! All of the bathrooms, with the exception of one, are currently "out of order," so we all have to use the same shower, and I got up too late for the hot water apparently. Today we are going to Parliament! Our friend Chad is interning there, and since he has a pass to get in he can show us some of the parts that the public don't get to see.
Yesterday we finished organizing the archive magazines! The piles are sorted according to country, magazine and date, but of course we found 4 more boxes of magazines when we cleaned the rest of the room out. I felt like a moving company all evening when we were moving like 100 boxes from room to room :) After work I found My Perfect Boots! They're beautiful and perfect and I love them and will wear them everyday :) We then came home and made dinner with everyone - it's kind of a like a sorority this weekend because all of the boys are out of town! Then we got ready and went over to Redcliffe for Evan's birthday celebration. We went to a fun club, lots of 80s and 90s music that we knew all of the words to (Chad and I had a battle to see who could get further into Ice Ice Baby - I won) There were a ton of people that came from a costume party beforehand, so it was hilarious to see Ninja Turtles and fairies running around the dance floor also.
The 5 girls from our house all got a cab home together, and everything was fine until we got home. We were going from Chelsea to our house, a ride we've made a lot of times before, and we knew that it's always around 10 pounds. The meter said nine when we got to the house, and I guess he thought we weren't paying attention, but he turned hte meter off so it was blank and when we gave him a ten pound note, told us that we owed 14. THen told us we were crazy for thinking that such a long ride (it wasn't long) would only be ten pounds and when we told him we weren't going to give him 14 becuase it said nine, he told us to F*** off and get out of his cab. LUckily it was the 5 of us together, and we just laughed it off, but I was really annoyed.
Time to get dressed to go hang out with important decision makers! I hear they have 2 pubs, a drycleaners, and all kinds of cool stuff in there!
Yesterday we finished organizing the archive magazines! The piles are sorted according to country, magazine and date, but of course we found 4 more boxes of magazines when we cleaned the rest of the room out. I felt like a moving company all evening when we were moving like 100 boxes from room to room :) After work I found My Perfect Boots! They're beautiful and perfect and I love them and will wear them everyday :) We then came home and made dinner with everyone - it's kind of a like a sorority this weekend because all of the boys are out of town! Then we got ready and went over to Redcliffe for Evan's birthday celebration. We went to a fun club, lots of 80s and 90s music that we knew all of the words to (Chad and I had a battle to see who could get further into Ice Ice Baby - I won) There were a ton of people that came from a costume party beforehand, so it was hilarious to see Ninja Turtles and fairies running around the dance floor also.
The 5 girls from our house all got a cab home together, and everything was fine until we got home. We were going from Chelsea to our house, a ride we've made a lot of times before, and we knew that it's always around 10 pounds. The meter said nine when we got to the house, and I guess he thought we weren't paying attention, but he turned hte meter off so it was blank and when we gave him a ten pound note, told us that we owed 14. THen told us we were crazy for thinking that such a long ride (it wasn't long) would only be ten pounds and when we told him we weren't going to give him 14 becuase it said nine, he told us to F*** off and get out of his cab. LUckily it was the 5 of us together, and we just laughed it off, but I was really annoyed.
Time to get dressed to go hang out with important decision makers! I hear they have 2 pubs, a drycleaners, and all kinds of cool stuff in there!
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
"The Special Relationship"
Today had work, class, and class again. At work we read through some magazines and listened to our poor manager get yelled at for daring to send the same dress to two celebrities to try on, because they might both wear them during this awards season. Geesh. After a little while went back down to the basement, and got through the last few boxes of France. Tackling the good old US of A tomorrow and then they're ALL sorted! Only took two weeks :) THen we have to move htem all back into the room, oh joy. It'll be such a sense of accomplishment when it's finished though, weird as it sounds. Again, never thought I'd hear myself say this (see myself type this?) but I am SO tired of magazines!
We found out this morning that the exchange rate has dropped again to 1.43 so we made sure to get money out after work; every little bit helps! After that Eliz and I went over to where our college is and grabbed lunch at a Chipotle type place that was sooo good. A little taste of home. Then went to marketing class, which is always very entertaining. At the beginning of each class, we have to talk about an aspect of marketing that is different from at home. I whined about bagels that come unsliced here, and got made fun of for the way I say baaagel (apparently).
When we got out of class it was super windy and rainy and COLD. Basically, a typical day :) Went to our internship class to find out that the catering staff had forgotten our snacks again, for which our teachers were so angry that they let us out of class a little bit early! We talked about the "special relationship" between Britain and the states, and about how it gets talked about a lot more here than at home, at least to my knowledge.
I was in a very good mood all day because dad's surgery went so well and he's doing great! I gave some money to a homeless guy on the tube because I figured if I can take that much cash out of an ATM and everything, I can give this guy a little money. Got home around 9pm from class and found that our entire street was taped off with police tape! Eventually the cop told us that somebody on our street had a gun or something. (Handguns, etc. are all majorly illegal in England, along with mace, which is a huge crime) Came home and had an awesome dinner; I made ricotta and spinach ravioli with mushrooms and tomatoes on top. Yummmmmm.
About to read some stuff for school and maybe watch a tv show before bed!
We found out this morning that the exchange rate has dropped again to 1.43 so we made sure to get money out after work; every little bit helps! After that Eliz and I went over to where our college is and grabbed lunch at a Chipotle type place that was sooo good. A little taste of home. Then went to marketing class, which is always very entertaining. At the beginning of each class, we have to talk about an aspect of marketing that is different from at home. I whined about bagels that come unsliced here, and got made fun of for the way I say baaagel (apparently).
When we got out of class it was super windy and rainy and COLD. Basically, a typical day :) Went to our internship class to find out that the catering staff had forgotten our snacks again, for which our teachers were so angry that they let us out of class a little bit early! We talked about the "special relationship" between Britain and the states, and about how it gets talked about a lot more here than at home, at least to my knowledge.
I was in a very good mood all day because dad's surgery went so well and he's doing great! I gave some money to a homeless guy on the tube because I figured if I can take that much cash out of an ATM and everything, I can give this guy a little money. Got home around 9pm from class and found that our entire street was taped off with police tape! Eventually the cop told us that somebody on our street had a gun or something. (Handguns, etc. are all majorly illegal in England, along with mace, which is a huge crime) Came home and had an awesome dinner; I made ricotta and spinach ravioli with mushrooms and tomatoes on top. Yummmmmm.
About to read some stuff for school and maybe watch a tv show before bed!
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
And..Back to the Archive
First of all, thank GOD for good doctors. My dad is fine and just got out of surgery. It went textbook well, and he's still asleep but I'm going to call my mom for further updates later.
Yesterday and today we were back down in the archive (surprise surprise). It took us EIGHT hours today to get through the United Kingdom magazines; to sort and organize them by date. Almost done though; I'll feel such a sense of accomplishment to see all of them stacked so nice and neat. I never thought I'd say this, EVER, because I am a crazed magazine fanatic, but if I never saw a magazine again, I totally wouldn't mind.
VERY tired, and going to bed soon probably. More tomorrow :)
Yesterday and today we were back down in the archive (surprise surprise). It took us EIGHT hours today to get through the United Kingdom magazines; to sort and organize them by date. Almost done though; I'll feel such a sense of accomplishment to see all of them stacked so nice and neat. I never thought I'd say this, EVER, because I am a crazed magazine fanatic, but if I never saw a magazine again, I totally wouldn't mind.
VERY tired, and going to bed soon probably. More tomorrow :)
Sunday, 8 February 2009
Back to the City
Just returned home from my weekend in the country with Chris, Neil, and Delphi. It was SO fun! They couldn't have been more welcoming, and Delphi and I had a lot of fun together. On Friday when I got there, I stepped out of hte trian into a good 6 inches of snow! When I had left the city, there was no snow on the ground and no sign of any to fall. After getting settled, we walked to the local pub and had a pint and I met some of hte people who live in their village and played with all of hte local dogs. When we got home I gave Delphi her book and she loved it! She is SO gorgeous: dark ringlets and freckles, and the cutest accent! Being around British accents all the time is so great; it seems like they speak the English language the way it was meant to be spoken, if that makes sense. She made me a keepsake box with my name written on it to put all of my memories from my trip in. THen we got takeaway fish and chips and ate it while watching Night at the Museum (Friday is family movie night.) Saturday, we went to St. Alban's Cathedral and walked around (it was beautiful) and then walked to the town of St. Alban's to go shopping, where Delphi and I got matching Beatle's t-shirts. We came home and watched Bedknobs and Broomsticks, then had a great dinner of soup, and bread with all kinds of cheese. We played Barbies and did their hair until bedtime.
Today, we woke up and while Chris took Delphi to her Irish Dancing class I stayed home with Neil and got all of my homework done (LOTS of reading). It was interesting to read about the "special relationship" that Britain and America have while sitting across the table from him - we had a lot of fun talking about how true some of it was. When the girls got back, we went on a long walk (about an hour) through fields covered in snow and muddy lanes to the pub for lunch, where we had the traditional Sunday roast. It was delicious!
After lunch we came home and made apple crumble, and Delphi and I played with some of her doll sets and watched High School Musical 2, which I had never seen. It was about what I expected, but she loved it :) Then, sadly it was time to go. It was the perfect weekend to be with family and I felt like I really was at home. I couldn't believe how much energy Chris has (she's 8 months pregnant) and how incredibly nice their family is. Neil and Delphi are planning on coming into London in a few weeks to go to a museum, and I'm definitely going to go with them. I can't wait to see them again.
In other news, on the subway to the train on Friday on my way to Harpenden (where they live) I open the METRO newspaper and what do I see an article about? THE CREATION MUSEUM! It was so cool to see "St. Petersberg, Kentucky" all the way over here, but so embarassing that that kind of crap made headlines across the ocean. The article totally mocked the concept of hte museum, luckily, and also made a joke about how he "waded through the flabby masses and their offspring." Sound accurate?
The girls were going to go see a movie tonight, but I'm actually really tired so we're going to go tomorrow instead and see "He's Just Not That Into You." Should be really funny. Thanks Andrea for being the first to comment - miss and love you!
Today, we woke up and while Chris took Delphi to her Irish Dancing class I stayed home with Neil and got all of my homework done (LOTS of reading). It was interesting to read about the "special relationship" that Britain and America have while sitting across the table from him - we had a lot of fun talking about how true some of it was. When the girls got back, we went on a long walk (about an hour) through fields covered in snow and muddy lanes to the pub for lunch, where we had the traditional Sunday roast. It was delicious!
After lunch we came home and made apple crumble, and Delphi and I played with some of her doll sets and watched High School Musical 2, which I had never seen. It was about what I expected, but she loved it :) Then, sadly it was time to go. It was the perfect weekend to be with family and I felt like I really was at home. I couldn't believe how much energy Chris has (she's 8 months pregnant) and how incredibly nice their family is. Neil and Delphi are planning on coming into London in a few weeks to go to a museum, and I'm definitely going to go with them. I can't wait to see them again.
In other news, on the subway to the train on Friday on my way to Harpenden (where they live) I open the METRO newspaper and what do I see an article about? THE CREATION MUSEUM! It was so cool to see "St. Petersberg, Kentucky" all the way over here, but so embarassing that that kind of crap made headlines across the ocean. The article totally mocked the concept of hte museum, luckily, and also made a joke about how he "waded through the flabby masses and their offspring." Sound accurate?
The girls were going to go see a movie tonight, but I'm actually really tired so we're going to go tomorrow instead and see "He's Just Not That Into You." Should be really funny. Thanks Andrea for being the first to comment - miss and love you!
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Prawn Curry?
Woke up at 4am to my roommate yelling explitives in her sleep this morning! It was so hilarious; even Amy doesn't talk in her sleep as much as my roommate does. Got mom's package before work this morning! A little taste of home; skyline chili, oyster crackers, and spaghetti, and more cookies than I'll ever be able to eat. LOOOOOVE her (and miss her like crazy)
Went to work in the rain, (what? rain in London?) and was immediately banished to the archive room to work on our project. After nine more hours today, we FINALLY got through sorting the magazines by country, and even sorted some of the smaller piles by magazine and publishing date (who knew that people in Latvia read Vogue?). My boss was super happy, and I got to leave half an hour early! I used this time to further hunt for My Perfect Boots (yes, I capitalized that). I hoped that wearing skinny jeans to work would set the right vibe and they'd find me, but they continue to elude; sigh, maybe tomorrow. Had a great lunch with Kate today, the other intern that started with us. She's British, and is given more trustworthy duties like answering the phones, so we rarely see her and it was great to get to talk to her more.
After work, came home to make dinner and got out a prawn (not shrimp here) dinner I bought the other day. I followed the instructions, and when I got it out of the oven it was like prawn curry soup. YUCK. I took one bite and immediately made a turkey sandwich instead. So much for trying to be mature and expand my palate huh?
Tonight, most people in my house are going to Ice Bar, but I'm going to go do karaoke (spelled wrong) with some people instead because we're going to Ice Bar for Haley's birthday next weekend. It's weird to think that next weekend will literally be one of the last I spend in London, since I'm traveling so much.
In great, awesome, can't wait news, LOGAN IS COMING! Probably in March for spring break. I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. I'm going to save some of the cool touristy stuff for when he comes, so I don't pay to do it twice, and I'd also like to take him up to Liverpool so we can go on a Beatles tour together. Elizabeth left work early today to go visit her boyfriend who is studying in Sevilla and I couldn't be more jealous.
Can't wait to go visit Christy and Neil tomorrow! There may not be any more blogs until Monday, as I'll probably get back Sunday evening and will have a ton to catch up on. We're supposed to get a lot more snow tomorrow, and it would be SO fun to play with Delphi. That's all for now; stay tuned for more news from the archive dungeon and a Beischel reunion!
Final Thought:
Logan's roommate Zach, who I love, just wrote me this poem and I think everyone should read it (excuse the bad word at the end; I refuse to censor his beautiful prose)
Christiinnee chrisstine, how I miss you sooo
Christine ohhhh christine, how could you gooo
Christine babay babay i cry tears all the time
ohhh where did she go, my ray of sunshine
I hope londons cool and you really adorrre
itBut I hope you fuck up and get deeporrrted
PS - Will someone please comment at least just once? I feel like a loser; everyone else gets comments!!! :)
Went to work in the rain, (what? rain in London?) and was immediately banished to the archive room to work on our project. After nine more hours today, we FINALLY got through sorting the magazines by country, and even sorted some of the smaller piles by magazine and publishing date (who knew that people in Latvia read Vogue?). My boss was super happy, and I got to leave half an hour early! I used this time to further hunt for My Perfect Boots (yes, I capitalized that). I hoped that wearing skinny jeans to work would set the right vibe and they'd find me, but they continue to elude; sigh, maybe tomorrow. Had a great lunch with Kate today, the other intern that started with us. She's British, and is given more trustworthy duties like answering the phones, so we rarely see her and it was great to get to talk to her more.
After work, came home to make dinner and got out a prawn (not shrimp here) dinner I bought the other day. I followed the instructions, and when I got it out of the oven it was like prawn curry soup. YUCK. I took one bite and immediately made a turkey sandwich instead. So much for trying to be mature and expand my palate huh?
Tonight, most people in my house are going to Ice Bar, but I'm going to go do karaoke (spelled wrong) with some people instead because we're going to Ice Bar for Haley's birthday next weekend. It's weird to think that next weekend will literally be one of the last I spend in London, since I'm traveling so much.
In great, awesome, can't wait news, LOGAN IS COMING! Probably in March for spring break. I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. I'm going to save some of the cool touristy stuff for when he comes, so I don't pay to do it twice, and I'd also like to take him up to Liverpool so we can go on a Beatles tour together. Elizabeth left work early today to go visit her boyfriend who is studying in Sevilla and I couldn't be more jealous.
Can't wait to go visit Christy and Neil tomorrow! There may not be any more blogs until Monday, as I'll probably get back Sunday evening and will have a ton to catch up on. We're supposed to get a lot more snow tomorrow, and it would be SO fun to play with Delphi. That's all for now; stay tuned for more news from the archive dungeon and a Beischel reunion!
Final Thought:
Logan's roommate Zach, who I love, just wrote me this poem and I think everyone should read it (excuse the bad word at the end; I refuse to censor his beautiful prose)
Christiinnee chrisstine, how I miss you sooo
Christine ohhhh christine, how could you gooo
Christine babay babay i cry tears all the time
ohhh where did she go, my ray of sunshine
I hope londons cool and you really adorrre
itBut I hope you fuck up and get deeporrrted
PS - Will someone please comment at least just once? I feel like a loser; everyone else gets comments!!! :)
Wednesday, 4 February 2009
Tales of the Archives
LONG day. We went to work until 12:30 (archived the entire time and almost got through the first round of sorting!). There are about 6,000 magazines, not exaggerating, in the archive, and we're nearly done sorting by country. Unfortunately, once we have them all out in the hallway, there isn't anywhere to organize them because the archive has so much other random crap in it. I wore my brand new jeans today and it was really cold in the basement; that combined with squatting a million times to pick up magazines gave me, as Joey would say, the chafes. Lovely. :)
After grabbing a quick lunch we headed over to school and went to our Marketing in the UK class, which is always a pick me up. Our teacher is hilarious, and has all sorts of activities planned for every class session to make it more lively, since they are all scheduled to be 4 hours long. He even gives us a kindergarten snack break halfway through! My next project in the class is to write a loooooong essay pretending I own a company that rents private jets to business execs, rich people, etc and the micro and macro effects that would dictate how good my business would be. I'm going to try and have a lot of fun with it, and will probably end up spending more time thinking about what my planes would have in them (plasma tvs, chairs that recline into beds, hot tub, full bar,every movie ever made on demand, etc) than the effects of the economy.
After that, went to my NEXT class, for all of the interns, where we learned about "Britishness." What makes a Brit a Brit? It was actually really interesting, and we talked at length about citizenship laws and stuff, and got a copy of the citizenship test, which is total crap. They ask who the patron saint of Wales is on it! And when the first census in England took place! I've heard the American citizenship test is just as ridiculous.
After class, to which everyone comes straight from work, we all needed a break. We went to a place called Natural Burger and I had probably top 3 hamburgers of my life (it could have something to do with the fact that I was about to eat my arm I was so hungry.) Dad's is still the best though. Nothing beats one made on your home grill while you sit around with family and have a Corona. Miss you all!
Came home and grabbed a shower, now just catching you all up before I head to bed! I think we're going to try to hit up Ice Bar tomorrow night, if not then definitely for Haley's birthday next weekend.
Love,
Me
After grabbing a quick lunch we headed over to school and went to our Marketing in the UK class, which is always a pick me up. Our teacher is hilarious, and has all sorts of activities planned for every class session to make it more lively, since they are all scheduled to be 4 hours long. He even gives us a kindergarten snack break halfway through! My next project in the class is to write a loooooong essay pretending I own a company that rents private jets to business execs, rich people, etc and the micro and macro effects that would dictate how good my business would be. I'm going to try and have a lot of fun with it, and will probably end up spending more time thinking about what my planes would have in them (plasma tvs, chairs that recline into beds, hot tub, full bar,every movie ever made on demand, etc) than the effects of the economy.
After that, went to my NEXT class, for all of the interns, where we learned about "Britishness." What makes a Brit a Brit? It was actually really interesting, and we talked at length about citizenship laws and stuff, and got a copy of the citizenship test, which is total crap. They ask who the patron saint of Wales is on it! And when the first census in England took place! I've heard the American citizenship test is just as ridiculous.
After class, to which everyone comes straight from work, we all needed a break. We went to a place called Natural Burger and I had probably top 3 hamburgers of my life (it could have something to do with the fact that I was about to eat my arm I was so hungry.) Dad's is still the best though. Nothing beats one made on your home grill while you sit around with family and have a Corona. Miss you all!
Came home and grabbed a shower, now just catching you all up before I head to bed! I think we're going to try to hit up Ice Bar tomorrow night, if not then definitely for Haley's birthday next weekend.
Love,
Me
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Talar Ut
Any idea what that means? Yea, me either. Polish? Swedish? Taiwanese?But I spent nine hours today sorting 5,000 magazines (didn't finish) into boxes according to country. I think we were up to about 25 different languages when we left today. Unfortunately, the only languages I can distinguish are Spanish, French, and English. But now, I think i'm fluent in about 40 more. This "archive" is the most unorganized thing I have EVER seen. It is in the basement of the building, and the whole place smells like gas. ANd it's cold - I wore my jacket and gloves all day. On top of that, everyone was stressed out all day because FedEx didn't run yesterday so we were swamped. (You know, they shut down completely because of hte 3 huge inches of snow :)
Anyway, we got yelled at a lot because people were taking their stress out on the two Americans in the basement. I got yelled at for "stealing" a sheet from a newspaper because it "might" have had a story about Stella in it. Really, I had already looked through every paper for Stella stories and just wanted a picture of a giant snowman in Hyde Park. Elizabeth and I had a great time though, and just can't do anything but laugh most of the time. It really is comical what we're doing - basically manual labor. But at least we have each other - I don't know what I'd do if I was the only one. Definite highlight of the day (besides nearly peeing my pants every 15 minutes from laughing so hard at our "job" - I think the gas fumes started to get to me) was my lunch. I ran out and got a bagel with bacon, brie, spinach leaves, and tomato on it and it was SOOO good.
After work, we were going to go to TKMaxx (like TJMaxx, but British) to pick up some Tshirts we really want. They are designed by Stella for Comic Relief, and feature the Beatles with red noses. All of the proceeds go to charity, and they're only ten pounds. Didn't happen though - we're going this weekend because we didn't get out of work until 7. Came home and made dinner and were cheered up by all of our roommates singing the soundtrack of Mama Mia until we couldn't stop laughing. Now I'm just taking a break from my paper on British family life, which I am amazingly nearly knocked out in about an hour. Tomorrow I have work until lunchtime then class all night, so I want to make sure I'm caught up.
I'm definitely visiting Christy and Neil this weekend! I'm going on Friday afternoon and Christy is meeting me at the train station. Can't wait to meet them and Delphi, and to give Delphi her book! Should be a nice relaxing weekend; I'm really looking forward to it. Miss and love you all!
PS- Anna told me last night that Megan (Walsh) reads my blog alot, so I had a dream that she was the Queen of England last night and I was her crown polisher. Art imitating life?
Anyway, we got yelled at a lot because people were taking their stress out on the two Americans in the basement. I got yelled at for "stealing" a sheet from a newspaper because it "might" have had a story about Stella in it. Really, I had already looked through every paper for Stella stories and just wanted a picture of a giant snowman in Hyde Park. Elizabeth and I had a great time though, and just can't do anything but laugh most of the time. It really is comical what we're doing - basically manual labor. But at least we have each other - I don't know what I'd do if I was the only one. Definite highlight of the day (besides nearly peeing my pants every 15 minutes from laughing so hard at our "job" - I think the gas fumes started to get to me) was my lunch. I ran out and got a bagel with bacon, brie, spinach leaves, and tomato on it and it was SOOO good.
After work, we were going to go to TKMaxx (like TJMaxx, but British) to pick up some Tshirts we really want. They are designed by Stella for Comic Relief, and feature the Beatles with red noses. All of the proceeds go to charity, and they're only ten pounds. Didn't happen though - we're going this weekend because we didn't get out of work until 7. Came home and made dinner and were cheered up by all of our roommates singing the soundtrack of Mama Mia until we couldn't stop laughing. Now I'm just taking a break from my paper on British family life, which I am amazingly nearly knocked out in about an hour. Tomorrow I have work until lunchtime then class all night, so I want to make sure I'm caught up.
I'm definitely visiting Christy and Neil this weekend! I'm going on Friday afternoon and Christy is meeting me at the train station. Can't wait to meet them and Delphi, and to give Delphi her book! Should be a nice relaxing weekend; I'm really looking forward to it. Miss and love you all!
PS- Anna told me last night that Megan (Walsh) reads my blog alot, so I had a dream that she was the Queen of England last night and I was her crown polisher. Art imitating life?
Monday, 2 February 2009
SNOWWW DAYYYYY
Yep, that's right, I'm sure you've all seen it on TV, but we had a massive snow storm here last night! (And by massive, I mean about 4-5 inches) It's the most snow LOndon has had at once in 18 years! We had to go to work today until lunch, but all classes at City were cancelled! It was amazing how unprepared the city is for snow. Nearly all of the tube lines were either shut down or severely delayed, the busses weren't operating, and hardly anyone showed up for work! Absoluutely ridiculous. The streets weren't plowed and the sidewalks weren't shovelled either, so everyone was coated in a nice layer of slush. We were looking all morning online for, you know, a sign as to whether or not we had class. No word until ONE PM. Ridiculous. I can't believe how unorganized this place is. It's a university!
After work, we all got bundled and went over to Kensington Gardens (attached to Hyde Park) and played in the snow for a few hours! It was SO much fun. There were snowmen and people everywhere, and lots of little kids who had never played in the snow before. We fed the swans in the lake (prawn chips, that's all we had at home). Yes, I said prawn chips. They have prawn (shrimp) flavored everything here. We tried to build a fort to protect us from the boys that live in our house, but it was no use. They killed us. How many people can say they spent the afternoon playing in the snow in London? Not many I'm sure. We got some great pictures!
After the park, we changed clothes and went to the pub for a pint to warm up :) Now we're all just hanging out at home, trying to get some homework done and hoping for no school tomorrow either. Not that it would matter for me, I have to work all day anyway. I'll probably turn in early tonight and maybe try to get a good crack at this paper tomorrow morning as well, since I'm not finding any inspiration at present.
In VERY exciting news and in the spirit of travel, I'm going to visit Chris and Neil this weekend! I can't wait to meet Delphi and see where they live, and it'll be great to have a taste of home and family while I'm abroad. For those of you that don't know, Chris is my dad's cousin who lives just north of London with her husband and daughter, with a baby on the way! Can't wait to see them and give Delphi the book I wrote for her!
Time to get to that paper - home and family life in the United Kingdom. Couldn't be more exciting. I would have written it last night, but wanted to watch the SuperBowl for the commercials, only to find that there were NO commercials aired here. It just played straight through! So we decided to book that trip to Paris for all of the girls in my house, and called it a night.
Love and miss you all!
After work, we all got bundled and went over to Kensington Gardens (attached to Hyde Park) and played in the snow for a few hours! It was SO much fun. There were snowmen and people everywhere, and lots of little kids who had never played in the snow before. We fed the swans in the lake (prawn chips, that's all we had at home). Yes, I said prawn chips. They have prawn (shrimp) flavored everything here. We tried to build a fort to protect us from the boys that live in our house, but it was no use. They killed us. How many people can say they spent the afternoon playing in the snow in London? Not many I'm sure. We got some great pictures!
After the park, we changed clothes and went to the pub for a pint to warm up :) Now we're all just hanging out at home, trying to get some homework done and hoping for no school tomorrow either. Not that it would matter for me, I have to work all day anyway. I'll probably turn in early tonight and maybe try to get a good crack at this paper tomorrow morning as well, since I'm not finding any inspiration at present.
In VERY exciting news and in the spirit of travel, I'm going to visit Chris and Neil this weekend! I can't wait to meet Delphi and see where they live, and it'll be great to have a taste of home and family while I'm abroad. For those of you that don't know, Chris is my dad's cousin who lives just north of London with her husband and daughter, with a baby on the way! Can't wait to see them and give Delphi the book I wrote for her!
Time to get to that paper - home and family life in the United Kingdom. Couldn't be more exciting. I would have written it last night, but wanted to watch the SuperBowl for the commercials, only to find that there were NO commercials aired here. It just played straight through! So we decided to book that trip to Paris for all of the girls in my house, and called it a night.
Love and miss you all!
Sunday, 1 February 2009
What? A trip every weekend?
Just booked a trip to Paris with all 8 girls in my house! We're going March 6th, then the following weekend I'm going to Barcelona, then a weekend in London and then my adventure weekend in Wales! Whew. We all booked a hostel together (8 girl room, no worries mom and dad we'll be safe we're the only ones in it).
In other news, it is BLIZZARDING here! It's been pouring down snow for the last 4 hours, and people are freaking out. My friend tried to order in Chinese food for dinner and they said they wouldn't because of the hazardous roads. I feel like all of London will be shut down tomorrow. Unfortunately, it doesn't snow underground, so I'll still have to go to work. There are literally no cars on the road at all, very quiet and peaceful.
We're just sitting around watching the SuperBowl, hoping for American commercials and hanging out! More tomorrow - cross your fingers for a snow day!
In other news, it is BLIZZARDING here! It's been pouring down snow for the last 4 hours, and people are freaking out. My friend tried to order in Chinese food for dinner and they said they wouldn't because of the hazardous roads. I feel like all of London will be shut down tomorrow. Unfortunately, it doesn't snow underground, so I'll still have to go to work. There are literally no cars on the road at all, very quiet and peaceful.
We're just sitting around watching the SuperBowl, hoping for American commercials and hanging out! More tomorrow - cross your fingers for a snow day!
"A guy a cop and another guy? That's practically a massacre!"
Watched Pineapple Express with the girls last night - SO funny (hence the quote). We went to rent a movie and went to Waffle House, a little hut on the corner that sells Belgian waffles with anything you can think of on them. Then came upstairs and watched a bunch of American TV shows (illegally because everything is blocked here) before going to sleep. It was nice to have a relaxing, inexpensive night. Woke up this morning and went to the grocery with Bita and Audrey. It SNOWED TODAY!!!!! Just a few flurries here and there, but still very exciting to me after hearing about all of hte blizzards you guys have been having. We went to Marks and Spencer for groceries - it's good because they mostly have organic healthy stuff, but bad because I needed some chocolate. Bad. :) So after Mark's and Spencer we went to Tesco, which sells a lot more American stuff and got my weekly stock of Diet Pepsi, only to find out that it is being discontinued at the grocery!!!! I might have to go cold turkey if that's the case until I get home.
Came home and did a mountain of homework. I had about a million pages to read for my international HR class (yawn) and have to start a paper regarding the differences between families in the UK and in America. Again, totally stimulating. Actually, the reading wasn't that bad, I just would rather be outside doing something rather than reading. I still feel like I"m on a four month vacation and shouldn't be subjected to homework while I'm here!
Tonight, I'm going to go get some sushi with the girls in my house, then watch the beginning of the Super Bowl! It doesn't air here until 11, so I probably will only watch until halftime. Gotta get up and go to work! I read an article in the paper last week entitled "How to Throw a SuperBowl Party" - the main requirements, according to the article, were to have plenty of popcorn and Budweiser on hand. :) Wishing I was at home to eat all of mom's delicious food and dad's "secret" chili! A lot of places in the city are having parties, but they all cost a ton of money to get in, and since the tube closes at midnight we'd have to take a cab home from wherever we went. No thank you.
Hope everyone has a great time tonight! Miss and love you all!
Came home and did a mountain of homework. I had about a million pages to read for my international HR class (yawn) and have to start a paper regarding the differences between families in the UK and in America. Again, totally stimulating. Actually, the reading wasn't that bad, I just would rather be outside doing something rather than reading. I still feel like I"m on a four month vacation and shouldn't be subjected to homework while I'm here!
Tonight, I'm going to go get some sushi with the girls in my house, then watch the beginning of the Super Bowl! It doesn't air here until 11, so I probably will only watch until halftime. Gotta get up and go to work! I read an article in the paper last week entitled "How to Throw a SuperBowl Party" - the main requirements, according to the article, were to have plenty of popcorn and Budweiser on hand. :) Wishing I was at home to eat all of mom's delicious food and dad's "secret" chili! A lot of places in the city are having parties, but they all cost a ton of money to get in, and since the tube closes at midnight we'd have to take a cab home from wherever we went. No thank you.
Hope everyone has a great time tonight! Miss and love you all!
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