So, the flatmates arrived yesterday. It seems like I have a really good group here this semester. There are 2 guys and 2 girls. Yesterday night I worked so there wasn't too much to talk about. Oh, one thing remember that store that I saw get robbed? Well I went by and checked on the owners the next day and they were really nice. When I went to grab a bite to eat at Eve's across the street later in the day one of them was there and he bought my lunch! Very nice.
Today I did a lot of walking around. A store I like called Marks & Spencer was having a Summer Clearance Sale and I went around amongst their different Central London locations and bought a couple of nice shirts and a pair of jeans (only 5 gbp).
This evening I went to the South Bank with my friend Sowmya and 2 of her friends who are here visiting from Germany. We had dinner at Wagamama and then walked around. We walked all the way to Trafalgar Square before they were too tired to continue and returned to Canary Wharf. Now I am here at 11pm updating this blog which I have been bad about keeping up to date these days.
I have a TON of things to do with my classes this term so between work, travel and homework I am going to be busy as can be!!
I am going to the Tate Modern Gallery tomorrow morning so I hope to have some cool things to discuss and pictures to share with you then.
Night,
~Jenn
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Day 75, 76 & 77 Part 1
Today's my Birthday. The 77th day I have been in London. I love the number 7 so that's a cool fact that it's my Birthday :-)
I have been very slow to blog so I'll try to make this one count.
Monday was the August Bank Holiday. We were off from work and I decided not to try to fight the crowds at the Nottinghill Carnival (Billed as Europe's Biggest Street Party) and instead head back to somewhere I knew with my friend Sowmya -- Brighton. Unlike the last time I went to Brighton this time I the weather was perfect for the beach. We left from London Bridge Station at half past one and were on our way to "London-by-the-Sea" as it is often called. The train was buzzing with folks heading down to this seaside getaway. When we arrived we decided to start our trip with a walk down "The Lanes". These are just building with very narrow alleyways in between the shops. It's quite a charming little spot and this time I took a few pictures of the area so that I could give you a better impression.
After ducking into a few shops we wandered over to the Royal Pavilion. The weather was really lovely and I got a few really nice photos of the palace. After that it was down to the shore.
When we got to the beach we went down and had a seat on the beach and got some sunshine and watched the crowds. There were lots of folks on the beach and in that frigid water as well. After hanging out by the shore for a bit we walked up to the boardwalk or pier (not sure what to call the area we were in) and we were drawn to a band playing Beatles tunes. I took a couple of snapshots of them too. The music was really quite good -- Hard to believe they were just Buskers and not the house band. I was particularly drawn to this one guy who played an electric violin. He was incredible. I should have taken a video of it.
After the band ended their set we thought it best to make our way back to Brighton Station so that I would be back in time to check in for my online classes. We stopped for dinner at an Asian Buffet called Wokamania. It was pretty good. They had a fusion of Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Singaporean (is that right?) and Indian food on the buffet and it was quite nice, albeit a bit pricey at 12.90 per plate not including the drink.
The train ride home was packed. The train had 9 cars and we had to walk through 8 of them before we were able to find a seat, but we did and it was a nice smooth train ride home.
When I got home I noticed that it was a bit unusual on my street. The building was a bit dark and there were men working on the sidewalk. When I got to my flat I realized that the electricity had gone out. I decided not to come upstairs since it was dark and instead go to the lobby where the lights were on. I am glad I was paying attention because on the way there I noticed that there were people in the computer lab downstairs and it dawned on me that they would not be able to get out of the room since we have electronic doors down there. I walked down the hall to check on them and they were very glad to see me. I alerted the receptionist and she came down with me and told the folks how to disengage the locks on the door. Since the phones were down in the building and it was pretty much empty there's no telling how long they would have been down there before someone had come and let them out. (Probably about 2 hours).
Tuesday (today) I had to work. I spent the early part of the day very happy because the management were finally able to fix the showers in my flat. I moved into a new flat last Friday and the showers have been pretty much junk so I had been going downstairs to take a shower in the kitchen. What a pain that was. But now we have working showers!! Woo Hoo. After a refreshing shower I went to work. Tonight was pretty unremarkable aside from working on a student's laptop who had basically crashed her system and needed to have the OS and drivers reinstalled and her data backed up. My boss did the data backup but I piece-mealed all her drivers and such back on (all recovery disks were back in California where she was from).
After work I hung out and chit-chatted outside of the building the security guard. We were out there for about 45 minutes when a former student came by. He introduced himself as Aiden and was talking about his time here and how he loves the city so much that he just had to come back after he graduated. I totally can see why...it's great!! Well as it turns out, he just got finished filming part of the new Batman movie and he has a small speaking part in it. He actually worked with Heath Ledger and is a credited actor in it. How cool is that? Of course most actors have more than one job and his other job was a nightclub bouncer so he hung around for about 30 minutes telling antidotes about drunk and disorderly customers. Sometime during this conversation 2 motorcycles with 2 riders each came flying by us. As it turned out just a few doors down they kicked in the front of the computer store and grabbed some stuff and dashed out. It all happened very quickly but it was sort of funny how it happened right there in our plain view. It certainly gave the first few hours of my birthday some excitement.
Anyways, it's now 3:16 am and I need to get some rest as tomorrow I have plans to go out and see some theater and have dinner with friends. Hope to have more exciting stuff to chat about later today or tomorrow.
That's it for now. Hope you enjoy the pictures!
I have been very slow to blog so I'll try to make this one count.
Monday was the August Bank Holiday. We were off from work and I decided not to try to fight the crowds at the Nottinghill Carnival (Billed as Europe's Biggest Street Party) and instead head back to somewhere I knew with my friend Sowmya -- Brighton. Unlike the last time I went to Brighton this time I the weather was perfect for the beach. We left from London Bridge Station at half past one and were on our way to "London-by-the-Sea" as it is often called. The train was buzzing with folks heading down to this seaside getaway. When we arrived we decided to start our trip with a walk down "The Lanes". These are just building with very narrow alleyways in between the shops. It's quite a charming little spot and this time I took a few pictures of the area so that I could give you a better impression.
After ducking into a few shops we wandered over to the Royal Pavilion. The weather was really lovely and I got a few really nice photos of the palace. After that it was down to the shore.
When we got to the beach we went down and had a seat on the beach and got some sunshine and watched the crowds. There were lots of folks on the beach and in that frigid water as well. After hanging out by the shore for a bit we walked up to the boardwalk or pier (not sure what to call the area we were in) and we were drawn to a band playing Beatles tunes. I took a couple of snapshots of them too. The music was really quite good -- Hard to believe they were just Buskers and not the house band. I was particularly drawn to this one guy who played an electric violin. He was incredible. I should have taken a video of it.
After the band ended their set we thought it best to make our way back to Brighton Station so that I would be back in time to check in for my online classes. We stopped for dinner at an Asian Buffet called Wokamania. It was pretty good. They had a fusion of Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Singaporean (is that right?) and Indian food on the buffet and it was quite nice, albeit a bit pricey at 12.90 per plate not including the drink.
The train ride home was packed. The train had 9 cars and we had to walk through 8 of them before we were able to find a seat, but we did and it was a nice smooth train ride home.
When I got home I noticed that it was a bit unusual on my street. The building was a bit dark and there were men working on the sidewalk. When I got to my flat I realized that the electricity had gone out. I decided not to come upstairs since it was dark and instead go to the lobby where the lights were on. I am glad I was paying attention because on the way there I noticed that there were people in the computer lab downstairs and it dawned on me that they would not be able to get out of the room since we have electronic doors down there. I walked down the hall to check on them and they were very glad to see me. I alerted the receptionist and she came down with me and told the folks how to disengage the locks on the door. Since the phones were down in the building and it was pretty much empty there's no telling how long they would have been down there before someone had come and let them out. (Probably about 2 hours).
Tuesday (today) I had to work. I spent the early part of the day very happy because the management were finally able to fix the showers in my flat. I moved into a new flat last Friday and the showers have been pretty much junk so I had been going downstairs to take a shower in the kitchen. What a pain that was. But now we have working showers!! Woo Hoo. After a refreshing shower I went to work. Tonight was pretty unremarkable aside from working on a student's laptop who had basically crashed her system and needed to have the OS and drivers reinstalled and her data backed up. My boss did the data backup but I piece-mealed all her drivers and such back on (all recovery disks were back in California where she was from).
After work I hung out and chit-chatted outside of the building the security guard. We were out there for about 45 minutes when a former student came by. He introduced himself as Aiden and was talking about his time here and how he loves the city so much that he just had to come back after he graduated. I totally can see why...it's great!! Well as it turns out, he just got finished filming part of the new Batman movie and he has a small speaking part in it. He actually worked with Heath Ledger and is a credited actor in it. How cool is that? Of course most actors have more than one job and his other job was a nightclub bouncer so he hung around for about 30 minutes telling antidotes about drunk and disorderly customers. Sometime during this conversation 2 motorcycles with 2 riders each came flying by us. As it turned out just a few doors down they kicked in the front of the computer store and grabbed some stuff and dashed out. It all happened very quickly but it was sort of funny how it happened right there in our plain view. It certainly gave the first few hours of my birthday some excitement.
Anyways, it's now 3:16 am and I need to get some rest as tomorrow I have plans to go out and see some theater and have dinner with friends. Hope to have more exciting stuff to chat about later today or tomorrow.
That's it for now. Hope you enjoy the pictures!
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Day 72, 73, 74
In case you were wondering..I'm still here. I have just been negligent with my blogging these days. Everything is just getting so routine now that I haven't really had anything interesting to blog about. On Friday I went to Kensington for the first time but all I did was go into a few shops. Saturday I stayed home and watched videos and this morning I walked around Brick Lane.
I had some great food on Brick Lane. It was Thai.
This afternoon I had to come to work. Nobody has been by the library in the last 2 hours.
Hopefully tomorrow I will head out to the Nottinghill Carnival and return with cool pictures of the festivities.
Until then...Enjoy this video. It's Bangra music and it's pretty cool despite the cheesy vid.
Check out this video: Panjabi MC - Mundian to Bach Ke
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I had some great food on Brick Lane. It was Thai.
This afternoon I had to come to work. Nobody has been by the library in the last 2 hours.
Hopefully tomorrow I will head out to the Nottinghill Carnival and return with cool pictures of the festivities.
Until then...Enjoy this video. It's Bangra music and it's pretty cool despite the cheesy vid.
Check out this video: Panjabi MC - Mundian to Bach Ke
Add to My Profile | More Videos
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Day 70 & 71
Yesterday (Wednesday) was pretty unremarkable. Today is more of the same so far, if anything happens contrary to that I'll be sure to advise.
An interesting piece of news from yesterday's Metro, A man was held in jail for "Stealing Broadband" the article can be found at http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=62813&in_page_id=34
It's pretty funny, I haven't ever seen a case where someone was treated so harsly before. This guy was using his laptop to tap into someones unsecured broadband connection to us the internet. His punishment £500 and possibly 6 months in jail. What do you think? Is that really too harsh? I mean the people who were being piggybacked had an open/unsecured internet connection. Aren't they in essence providing free WiFi to the masses?
Hit me back with your thoughts on this. Because I am running out of interesting things to discuss in this blog at the moment I am going to start inserting random weird things that I come across as I see fit.
Hope all are well...If anything interesting happens tonight I'll be sure to come back and update.
~Jenn
An interesting piece of news from yesterday's Metro, A man was held in jail for "Stealing Broadband" the article can be found at http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=62813&in_page_id=34
It's pretty funny, I haven't ever seen a case where someone was treated so harsly before. This guy was using his laptop to tap into someones unsecured broadband connection to us the internet. His punishment £500 and possibly 6 months in jail. What do you think? Is that really too harsh? I mean the people who were being piggybacked had an open/unsecured internet connection. Aren't they in essence providing free WiFi to the masses?
Hit me back with your thoughts on this. Because I am running out of interesting things to discuss in this blog at the moment I am going to start inserting random weird things that I come across as I see fit.
Hope all are well...If anything interesting happens tonight I'll be sure to come back and update.
~Jenn
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Day 69-Movies
Today was another work day. This evening I went out to see the Bourne Ultimatum. This movie was really cool because about 20 minutes of it take place in London. Waterloo Station is one of the places where a big scene took place. It's really cool to be able to say "I've been there". Aside from that the movie plot was also pretty good. There is an exceptionally intense fight scene that takes place in Morocco. I won't spoil the movie, suffice to say if you think a movie has to have a romantic scene in it to be good you will be disappointed, however if you like an intense action flick it's a great one to see.
Thats all for now.
~Jenn
Thats all for now.
~Jenn
Monday, August 20, 2007
Day 68 - Part 2
Well, I am happy to report that my day improved. Thanks to friends. Don't know what I would do without them.
After work I caught up with Sowmya and we met for dinner & theatre. Just what the doctor ordered.
We shared a pizza at an Italian Cafe in Leicester Square and then caught Elling. If I had to choose one play to see twice, this would be the one. It was SO good. It had a very minimal set and only had a cast of 5 but it was terrific. The play is about two guys in Norway who are conditionally released from the nuthouse to have a go at reentering society. Both of the main characters and the supporting cast were terrific. They were so endearing and it was terrific. The entire time I was laughing and on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen to the duo next. Fantastic.
After that we had small talk on the way to the tube and then home. It was a really cool evening and after 5 minutes of complaining about the stupid way my Monday started out, it was completely out of my mind. These type of moments are the best part of living in London.
That's all for now.
Cheers!
~Jenn
After work I caught up with Sowmya and we met for dinner & theatre. Just what the doctor ordered.
We shared a pizza at an Italian Cafe in Leicester Square and then caught Elling. If I had to choose one play to see twice, this would be the one. It was SO good. It had a very minimal set and only had a cast of 5 but it was terrific. The play is about two guys in Norway who are conditionally released from the nuthouse to have a go at reentering society. Both of the main characters and the supporting cast were terrific. They were so endearing and it was terrific. The entire time I was laughing and on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen to the duo next. Fantastic.
After that we had small talk on the way to the tube and then home. It was a really cool evening and after 5 minutes of complaining about the stupid way my Monday started out, it was completely out of my mind. These type of moments are the best part of living in London.
That's all for now.
Cheers!
~Jenn
Day 66 & 67 (Part One)
This weekend was fun. I hung out with my non-FSU friends all weekend, going to clubs, playing cards and just hanging out and watching TV, that was all fun stuff. I was introduced to a new TV series that is great called Life on Mars, the series is complete now but a friend has recorded them so I am going to have a chance to catch up with it in my free time.
With regards to Day 67 Part One, It's only noon now, but I have already had enough happen today that I thought I would blog about it.
It's Monday. I got home last night around 2am. At 6:00am the fire alarm goes off in the building. The siren is just outside my bedroom door and the sound it makes is so sickening that it could actually be used as a torture device. It's horrible. It momentarily goes off, but then it resumes. So I have to fumble around 1/2 dressed, get some pants on and my bag and HOPE that it's not an actual fire so that I don't get burned up while I am trying to make myself decent since I have to go out into the street. Needless to say when I got downstairs the night security informed me that it was a false alarm. Someone was cooking with Olive Oil at 6am and burned it and that is what set it off. $#&*£@ is what I want to say. This happens SO often and it is always some inconsiderate person who puts something on the stove and then fails to watch it properly or is too dense to open the vent in the kitchen when they are cooking.
Anyways, I went back upstairs and fell back asleep -- for an hour. At which point someone was knocking on the door. So, I had to get dressed AGAIN and go see who was there. By the time I got up and to the door they were gone. $#&*£@ again!
So, I go back to bed again for what seems like a minute and then the alarm goes off. And I am at work. So, now here is the situation...My roommate asked me to switch my day off with her at the beginning of the month. I really didn't want to do it because my birthday is 29/8 and I would like to have a long weekend as I was originally scheduled to do so. However being the far too nice and conciliatory person that I seem to be with her I agreed. As it turned out, the day I agreed to swap with her my bosses decided to close the library anyways so she got the day off. So, I asked her to switch with me on Sept 2 so that I would have more than one day off this week. Her response was I don't want to have to work 2 Sundays in a row. She suggested that she would work 1/2 the day which to me is still SHIT. Unbelievable. I sent her an email back that said, Oh, well I simply thought that since I was doing YOU a favor by switching my day off with you that you would do the same for me, but I see how it is. So, don't worry about it. What I didn't say was that I am not going to do her any more favors. I am over it. I checked my schedule and I have already conceded far more days off to her than she has for me and I am just over it. No more favors.
So if that didn't already have me irritated, there is still more to be annoyed about. My boss just came back from vacation today. While he has been out, I think I have been doing an OK job with the office stuff. Anyways a student came in and they had an issue with a misspelled name on their account and I corrected it which was apparently the wrong thing to do. Then right in front of the student he jumped down my throat to correct me. I guess this is a British thing, but in the US, generally you are pulled aside and corrected about things that you do wrong and this really made me look like a total incompetent ass in front of this other person, not to mention about 2 inches tall as well.
After all that, I just wanted to get away from the office for a bit to re-collect what's left of my nerves, but I wasn't able to go to lunch because they have to do an orientation. So I will just have to sit here and be miserable for a bit longer.
You know what? This is probably TMI but I am not even PMSing this is just a really shit day. To top it off. I found my 3rd gray hair this week (aggh!).
I can't believe that in 9 days I will be 32 years old.
Can the day get any worse?
I'll let you know later.
~Jenn
With regards to Day 67 Part One, It's only noon now, but I have already had enough happen today that I thought I would blog about it.
It's Monday. I got home last night around 2am. At 6:00am the fire alarm goes off in the building. The siren is just outside my bedroom door and the sound it makes is so sickening that it could actually be used as a torture device. It's horrible. It momentarily goes off, but then it resumes. So I have to fumble around 1/2 dressed, get some pants on and my bag and HOPE that it's not an actual fire so that I don't get burned up while I am trying to make myself decent since I have to go out into the street. Needless to say when I got downstairs the night security informed me that it was a false alarm. Someone was cooking with Olive Oil at 6am and burned it and that is what set it off. $#&*£@ is what I want to say. This happens SO often and it is always some inconsiderate person who puts something on the stove and then fails to watch it properly or is too dense to open the vent in the kitchen when they are cooking.
Anyways, I went back upstairs and fell back asleep -- for an hour. At which point someone was knocking on the door. So, I had to get dressed AGAIN and go see who was there. By the time I got up and to the door they were gone. $#&*£@ again!
So, I go back to bed again for what seems like a minute and then the alarm goes off. And I am at work. So, now here is the situation...My roommate asked me to switch my day off with her at the beginning of the month. I really didn't want to do it because my birthday is 29/8 and I would like to have a long weekend as I was originally scheduled to do so. However being the far too nice and conciliatory person that I seem to be with her I agreed. As it turned out, the day I agreed to swap with her my bosses decided to close the library anyways so she got the day off. So, I asked her to switch with me on Sept 2 so that I would have more than one day off this week. Her response was I don't want to have to work 2 Sundays in a row. She suggested that she would work 1/2 the day which to me is still SHIT. Unbelievable. I sent her an email back that said, Oh, well I simply thought that since I was doing YOU a favor by switching my day off with you that you would do the same for me, but I see how it is. So, don't worry about it. What I didn't say was that I am not going to do her any more favors. I am over it. I checked my schedule and I have already conceded far more days off to her than she has for me and I am just over it. No more favors.
So if that didn't already have me irritated, there is still more to be annoyed about. My boss just came back from vacation today. While he has been out, I think I have been doing an OK job with the office stuff. Anyways a student came in and they had an issue with a misspelled name on their account and I corrected it which was apparently the wrong thing to do. Then right in front of the student he jumped down my throat to correct me. I guess this is a British thing, but in the US, generally you are pulled aside and corrected about things that you do wrong and this really made me look like a total incompetent ass in front of this other person, not to mention about 2 inches tall as well.
After all that, I just wanted to get away from the office for a bit to re-collect what's left of my nerves, but I wasn't able to go to lunch because they have to do an orientation. So I will just have to sit here and be miserable for a bit longer.
You know what? This is probably TMI but I am not even PMSing this is just a really shit day. To top it off. I found my 3rd gray hair this week (aggh!).
I can't believe that in 9 days I will be 32 years old.
Can the day get any worse?
I'll let you know later.
~Jenn
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Day 64 & 65
I am not entirely sure what to blog about here today. This week has been sort of dull. I have been hanging out in the city all by myself. Everyone at the study centre is out of town this weekend so for the most part I have been out visiting some local night clubs with friend and then playing cards. The night clubs in London are sort of interesting. Last night I went to two clubs, one was called The Loop and is located in Hanover Square and the other is called TigerTiger and is located in Piccadilly Circus. The second club is one of the larger clubs in London. It was actually the club that was targeted by those recent bomb attempts. It was really packed and the folks there were super friendly. It is a very large club that played lots of really good music. The funniest thing that I heard there, was a remix of the 80s Dolly Parton song 9 to 5. It cracked me up that they were playing that song there.
Tonight I went to a different club called "Wax-Bar" it was another packed place. For some reason I just wasn't really feeling it there so I made it an early night.
Not sure what is in store for tomorrow. I'll let you know when I figure it out.
~Jenn
Tonight I went to a different club called "Wax-Bar" it was another packed place. For some reason I just wasn't really feeling it there so I made it an early night.
Not sure what is in store for tomorrow. I'll let you know when I figure it out.
~Jenn
Friday, August 17, 2007
Day 63 - Dropped the ball
I was playing cards last night and forgot to come back and blog about it. Sorry.
I didn't get home until 1am anyways.
All of the staff are out of town on holidays. This place is a ghosttown.
Anyways, I don't have too much else to say other than perhaps a brief comment about the news. This month has really been struck with a lot of tragic stories, These miners in Utah who are trapped and then the 3 rescue workers who died yesterday trying to dig them out, the bridge in Minnesota, the Earthquake in Peru and what is starting to look like another active hurricane year. Just a lot of unfortunate things occuring this month.
Hopefully things will start looking up a bit!
Anyways, Happy Friday to everyone! If I get a chance I'll come back later tonight and recap the day.
~Jenn
I didn't get home until 1am anyways.
All of the staff are out of town on holidays. This place is a ghosttown.
Anyways, I don't have too much else to say other than perhaps a brief comment about the news. This month has really been struck with a lot of tragic stories, These miners in Utah who are trapped and then the 3 rescue workers who died yesterday trying to dig them out, the bridge in Minnesota, the Earthquake in Peru and what is starting to look like another active hurricane year. Just a lot of unfortunate things occuring this month.
Hopefully things will start looking up a bit!
Anyways, Happy Friday to everyone! If I get a chance I'll come back later tonight and recap the day.
~Jenn
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Day 62-Almost Nothing..but then Something
Today was almost nothing..but then at the last minute I was invited to the pub with Colleen (the roommate) and Charles (another student/staff member). It was a lot of fun. Basically just drinks and chit-chat but it was good.
I have a substantial buzz so this blog will be short and potentially incoherent, for which I apologize immensely. The conversation consisted mainly of football & politics but was good.
Everyone will be leaving tomorrow for various vacations and I will be alone in the building...nice.
Anyways I am too buzzed to continue, I have stressed out the spell check long enough. Have a good night. :-) <3
~Jenn
I have a substantial buzz so this blog will be short and potentially incoherent, for which I apologize immensely. The conversation consisted mainly of football & politics but was good.
Everyone will be leaving tomorrow for various vacations and I will be alone in the building...nice.
Anyways I am too buzzed to continue, I have stressed out the spell check long enough. Have a good night. :-) <3
~Jenn
Day 61-Nothing Much..
Not too much happened today. I am just enjoying the summer. Today's temp has been in the upper 60s. It has been very nice aside from some rainy weather around lunchtime.
Otherwise, today was pretty much just another Monday.
Might be going to see a comedy show tomorrow...just have to wait and see.
~Jenn
Otherwise, today was pretty much just another Monday.
Might be going to see a comedy show tomorrow...just have to wait and see.
~Jenn
Monday, August 13, 2007
Day 60 - We Will Rock You!!
I went to see "We Will Rock You" the Queen Tribute Musical. It wasn't my idea, but it was pretty good. The plot was weak, and the comedy bits were slightly corny, but the music was pretty damn good. There were lots of really talented singers in the production and the sets were very well done. They had a mock up of the Tottingham Court Road Underground Station of the future and it looked really similar to the real one. Interesting..
Other than that...It was just a regular work day. My boss is on vacation this week so wouldn't you know it...all sorts of issues came up today. I had to call him and ask him a question while he is on vacation and that made me feel dumb. Even though there really wasn't any possible way I could have known what to do I still hate having to call someone who is on vacation and ask them questions...
So, that's all for tonight. It's 11:30 and I am going to try to get to bed early tonight ... I regret to inform all you folks who are in Tallahassee and other warmer parts that it is presently 64 degrees and breezy outside.
Until next time...
~Jenn
Other than that...It was just a regular work day. My boss is on vacation this week so wouldn't you know it...all sorts of issues came up today. I had to call him and ask him a question while he is on vacation and that made me feel dumb. Even though there really wasn't any possible way I could have known what to do I still hate having to call someone who is on vacation and ask them questions...
So, that's all for tonight. It's 11:30 and I am going to try to get to bed early tonight ... I regret to inform all you folks who are in Tallahassee and other warmer parts that it is presently 64 degrees and breezy outside.
Until next time...
~Jenn
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Day 58 & 59 - Greenwich, Maritime Museum, Indian Food & More
This was a busy weekend. I am starting to make some local friends now and spending my weekends doing fun stuff. This weekend I was out having fun and was in far too late last night to blog and out again this morning too early to blog again.
It started off yesterday with a lunch at Costa's (an Italian Coffee Shop) in the Holborn neighborhood. Lunch was a simple sandwich, but I mention the lunch because while sitting outside enjoying the lovely weather I managed to catch this amusing scene on my camera:
At one point in time there were two of these guys out there but I didn't get a chance to snap a picture before the other one had gone back inside...
Later in the day we decided to go out to a club...and had to take a train to get there. At one of the stops on the way to the club a group of about 16 school-girls who couldn't have been more than 17 or so got on the train all dolled up to go out in the city. The volume in the carriage immediately went up as they were very excited about their night out. I felt like there could be a secret filming for the upcoming Bratz movie going on and we just didn't know it. It was funny and cute.
The club was a ton of fun too. So many folks there from all over the world all just dancing and acting silly. It was a fun and amusing time.
This morning I got together with my friend Sowmya to do some sight seeing. We started our day with lunch in the Tower Bridge area of town. We had a very interesting Italian dish which consisted of rice, chicken and cheese baked in a ball shape that was covered in seasoned bread crumbs. It was tasty and unlike any other Italian dishes that I have had before. After that we grabbed a boat down to Greenwich. That was a cool trip too. The ride down was about 45 minutes long and included a very brief audio tour of the Thames River, I have already taken this cruise before but I didn't go down the river this far so I have some new pictures to show of areas that I hadn't seen last time I went.
Once we arrived in Greenwich we went to the National Maritime Museum. It was cool. London has a long history of Maritime travel and such so there was a lot to see. There were several smaller boats inside the museum and countless models of boats that were far too big to be included in the exhibits. I took a ton of pictures while I was in the museum. After the museum we went around the corner to see the Royal Observatory. This observatory, which sits atop a hill, is the location of 0 Longitude and the home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). It was a beautiful day and the area is surrounded by a big park and many Londoners were spending it playing in the sunshine. It was really nice.
After the Museum and the short break in the park we checked out a couple of markets and then went to our final destination of the day, Croydon. We had dinner in Croydon at a South Indian restaurant Chinnai Garden that was incredible. I had an entirely vegetarian dinner and have to say that if all veg. food tasted as good as this did I wouldn't miss meat in the least bit. I don't even know the names of any of the food I ate other that Domas (which is probably spelled wrong) but it was all very good. I had my friend order the food and just asked for anything but fish and nothing too terribly hot and what I got was an assortment of really delicious foods and a drink that was some sort of yogurt drink that was very tasty too. We ended up having dinner with her cousin's cousin and his friend, I unfortunately cannot remember there names but they are both young surgeons and were terrifically fun to talk with. I think we will probably end up getting together again before I leave London.
Anyways, that's all I have for now. Hope you enjoy the pictures. I tried to label all the different places I went.
~Jenn
It started off yesterday with a lunch at Costa's (an Italian Coffee Shop) in the Holborn neighborhood. Lunch was a simple sandwich, but I mention the lunch because while sitting outside enjoying the lovely weather I managed to catch this amusing scene on my camera:
At one point in time there were two of these guys out there but I didn't get a chance to snap a picture before the other one had gone back inside...
Later in the day we decided to go out to a club...and had to take a train to get there. At one of the stops on the way to the club a group of about 16 school-girls who couldn't have been more than 17 or so got on the train all dolled up to go out in the city. The volume in the carriage immediately went up as they were very excited about their night out. I felt like there could be a secret filming for the upcoming Bratz movie going on and we just didn't know it. It was funny and cute.
The club was a ton of fun too. So many folks there from all over the world all just dancing and acting silly. It was a fun and amusing time.
This morning I got together with my friend Sowmya to do some sight seeing. We started our day with lunch in the Tower Bridge area of town. We had a very interesting Italian dish which consisted of rice, chicken and cheese baked in a ball shape that was covered in seasoned bread crumbs. It was tasty and unlike any other Italian dishes that I have had before. After that we grabbed a boat down to Greenwich. That was a cool trip too. The ride down was about 45 minutes long and included a very brief audio tour of the Thames River, I have already taken this cruise before but I didn't go down the river this far so I have some new pictures to show of areas that I hadn't seen last time I went.
Once we arrived in Greenwich we went to the National Maritime Museum. It was cool. London has a long history of Maritime travel and such so there was a lot to see. There were several smaller boats inside the museum and countless models of boats that were far too big to be included in the exhibits. I took a ton of pictures while I was in the museum. After the museum we went around the corner to see the Royal Observatory. This observatory, which sits atop a hill, is the location of 0 Longitude and the home of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). It was a beautiful day and the area is surrounded by a big park and many Londoners were spending it playing in the sunshine. It was really nice.
After the Museum and the short break in the park we checked out a couple of markets and then went to our final destination of the day, Croydon. We had dinner in Croydon at a South Indian restaurant Chinnai Garden that was incredible. I had an entirely vegetarian dinner and have to say that if all veg. food tasted as good as this did I wouldn't miss meat in the least bit. I don't even know the names of any of the food I ate other that Domas (which is probably spelled wrong) but it was all very good. I had my friend order the food and just asked for anything but fish and nothing too terribly hot and what I got was an assortment of really delicious foods and a drink that was some sort of yogurt drink that was very tasty too. We ended up having dinner with her cousin's cousin and his friend, I unfortunately cannot remember there names but they are both young surgeons and were terrifically fun to talk with. I think we will probably end up getting together again before I leave London.
Anyways, that's all I have for now. Hope you enjoy the pictures. I tried to label all the different places I went.
~Jenn
Friday, August 10, 2007
Day 57 - Hanging Around
Today I went to the British Museum and walked down Oxford Street. I took a detour from my normal path and found a charming little area called Carnaby Street which had a cute little area of shops and pubs and I also checked out Hamley's Toy Store (the largest toy store in Britain) and Liberty Department Store. Liberty is pretty much along the same lines as Harrod's or Selfridge's on a smaller scale with the exception of the fact that it is in a terrific Tudor building. Inside the the store everything is a deep dark wood and there are lots of ornate carvings in the trims and moldings around doors and the elevators are quite pretty. Outside it looks a lot like the Globe Theatre. It really does stand out against all the stone buildings that surround it. I should have taken a picture but here is a link to the Liberty website with some of their history and photos...
I also went back to the British Museum. I took a few photos, they're here in a slide-show.
Hope you all enjoy!!
I also went back to the British Museum. I took a few photos, they're here in a slide-show.
Hope you all enjoy!!
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Day 56-3 Day Weekend
Ok, I have a 3-day-weekend..but I am sort of broke. I mean not totally broke, but not in a position to spend a lot of money. I can't decide what to do over the next three days to maximize fun but minimize spending.
I guess that tomorrow I will go around an try to take some pictures of stuff....Not much else I can thing to do..Maybe a museum? Even though I did the British Museum already maybe this time I can go and make better notes of what I see there..that could make for an interesting blog entry....we'll just see.
That's all I have for now.
~Jenn
I guess that tomorrow I will go around an try to take some pictures of stuff....Not much else I can thing to do..Maybe a museum? Even though I did the British Museum already maybe this time I can go and make better notes of what I see there..that could make for an interesting blog entry....we'll just see.
That's all I have for now.
~Jenn
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Day 55-Out and About
Tonight I went out for a few hours with Sowmya. We wanted to go to the Comedy Store but discovered to our dismay that 20 minutes before we arrived they had exhausted their supply of tickets.
Instead we checked out the Hard Rock and walked around in Leicester Square. I took a few pictures of Piccadilly Circus which is like London's version of Times Square.
Hope you enjoy..sorry for the short blog.
~Jenn
Instead we checked out the Hard Rock and walked around in Leicester Square. I took a few pictures of Piccadilly Circus which is like London's version of Times Square.
Hope you enjoy..sorry for the short blog.
~Jenn
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Day 54-Random Photos
I decided not to write much today and to offer a different sort of blog instead. Please give me feedback about it...Like it better or not? Should I keep doing the slide shows or switch to this sort of thing.
~Jenn
You're greeting upon arrival...
Views of the Reception Area...
View on the ceiling in the reception area...
Exterior Views of the Study Centre..
My new flat...
The stairs...
More stairs...
Still..more stairs...
Living Room...
The Bedroom...
Cool buildings nearby...
And a classic...
~Jenn
You're greeting upon arrival...
Views of the Reception Area...
View on the ceiling in the reception area...
Exterior Views of the Study Centre..
My new flat...
The stairs...
More stairs...
Still..more stairs...
Living Room...
The Bedroom...
Cool buildings nearby...
And a classic...
Monday, August 6, 2007
Day 53-Work
Today was a typical Monday.
Worked and did laundry.
Absolutely nothing interesting to report.
~Jenn
Worked and did laundry.
Absolutely nothing interesting to report.
~Jenn
Day 52 - Yet Another Late Night
Ok, going to have to get in earlier for the rest of the week.
Today I was out late again, now I am tired. Just wanted to mention one weird thing ... on my way home I saw a fox scavenging for food. This is pretty odd because there are no trees or grass nearby to hide said fox. I have no idea where he came from, it was just strange.
That's it. My blog for the night.
Hope you are all well.
~Jenn
Today I was out late again, now I am tired. Just wanted to mention one weird thing ... on my way home I saw a fox scavenging for food. This is pretty odd because there are no trees or grass nearby to hide said fox. I have no idea where he came from, it was just strange.
That's it. My blog for the night.
Hope you are all well.
~Jenn
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Day 51 - Another Late Night
This post is actually going up the day after. I got in last night at 2am.
It was another adventurous day to say the very least.
I went out to Tottingham Hale yesterday to meet a friend to go to Ikea. If you don't have an Ikea store near you and have never been before it's an interesting place to go so you should check it out. Basically it's a Scandinavian furniture store with accessories for the house as well. The store is full of cheap furniture designed for those with minimal living space in mind. It has quite a few neat items there and many many bizarre items there as well. You can check out their webpage if you'd like to see some of the sorts of stuff that they have for sale.
After Ikea we went to a little town called Wood Green where we grabbed some food at a Portuguese Restaurant called Nando's. The food is extremely good there. We had marinated olives, chicken pita w/pineapples, chips & spicy rice. It was really tasty albeit one super spicy little bit on my chicken wing actually made my nose start running. It was still pretty terrific. I would recommend the place to anyone looking for a good meal on a lowish budget in London.
After dinner it was time to head back to Central London. The train was 14 stops away from my destination. Somewhere on that ride I decided to bypass my house and go clear to the other side of London and play poker in Acton at The Western. If you're curious about the distance. Under the streets of the city. If you were driving there it would be 13.5 miles from one place to the other but the train takes you through the city so it takes even longer. Poker was a lot of fun. I ended up finishing the tournament in 6th place and basically just making back my buy in plus 5GBP, but the fun of it was that when I play I get a chance to socialize with the locals which is really the reason I like to play so much. Toward the final table I was seated next to a young Polish guy and we talked about Poland and he asked me questions about Florida and it was nice. He suggested that if I go to Poland for a weekender that I go to Krackow. Now I have to find a way to work that into my plans...What I really wish that I could do is just come back to the US a week or two later than I originally intended and travel around Europe a bit after school is over and before I head back to the US. I am definitely coming back to Europe now that I have been here. It's so cool.
After the poker tourney was over, I realized that I missed the train so I had to find my way back to London via the bus. The part that made me slightly nervous was when the bus for Park Royal ended and I had to find the bus to connect to Central London.
It was about 1am and the streets were darkish and the only folks out in the street (it wasn't super crowded out there in this neighborhood) were young folks who were drinking and hanging out and some iffy looking characters. A couple of guys tried to talk to me/hit on me but I just kept walking and pretended that I didn't hear them. It turned out to be cool though. The bus came and I took it to Oxford Circus and then walked the rest of the way home. There are many clubs on Oxford street so it is always crowded with party kids walking down the streets. I ended up meeting a friendly French kid who was walking near me on the streets and I talked with him for a couple of blocks and then I went to McDonalds which was full of drunks. Very interesting again. On the way out the door the African Security guard started hitting on me. Stuff like this really doesn't happen during the daytime so I don't know whether it's just that the friendly folks come out at night or that I was looking better than usual. Either way, it was funny.
Ok..so that's my long drawn out commentary on last night's adventures. Today I am supposed to go with Sowmya to tour the Palace. If they let you take photos inside I will have them here to post! We're also going to Harrods and this time I will take pictures there too!
Have a great day!
~Jenn
It was another adventurous day to say the very least.
I went out to Tottingham Hale yesterday to meet a friend to go to Ikea. If you don't have an Ikea store near you and have never been before it's an interesting place to go so you should check it out. Basically it's a Scandinavian furniture store with accessories for the house as well. The store is full of cheap furniture designed for those with minimal living space in mind. It has quite a few neat items there and many many bizarre items there as well. You can check out their webpage if you'd like to see some of the sorts of stuff that they have for sale.
After Ikea we went to a little town called Wood Green where we grabbed some food at a Portuguese Restaurant called Nando's. The food is extremely good there. We had marinated olives, chicken pita w/pineapples, chips & spicy rice. It was really tasty albeit one super spicy little bit on my chicken wing actually made my nose start running. It was still pretty terrific. I would recommend the place to anyone looking for a good meal on a lowish budget in London.
After dinner it was time to head back to Central London. The train was 14 stops away from my destination. Somewhere on that ride I decided to bypass my house and go clear to the other side of London and play poker in Acton at The Western. If you're curious about the distance. Under the streets of the city. If you were driving there it would be 13.5 miles from one place to the other but the train takes you through the city so it takes even longer. Poker was a lot of fun. I ended up finishing the tournament in 6th place and basically just making back my buy in plus 5GBP, but the fun of it was that when I play I get a chance to socialize with the locals which is really the reason I like to play so much. Toward the final table I was seated next to a young Polish guy and we talked about Poland and he asked me questions about Florida and it was nice. He suggested that if I go to Poland for a weekender that I go to Krackow. Now I have to find a way to work that into my plans...What I really wish that I could do is just come back to the US a week or two later than I originally intended and travel around Europe a bit after school is over and before I head back to the US. I am definitely coming back to Europe now that I have been here. It's so cool.
After the poker tourney was over, I realized that I missed the train so I had to find my way back to London via the bus. The part that made me slightly nervous was when the bus for Park Royal ended and I had to find the bus to connect to Central London.
It was about 1am and the streets were darkish and the only folks out in the street (it wasn't super crowded out there in this neighborhood) were young folks who were drinking and hanging out and some iffy looking characters. A couple of guys tried to talk to me/hit on me but I just kept walking and pretended that I didn't hear them. It turned out to be cool though. The bus came and I took it to Oxford Circus and then walked the rest of the way home. There are many clubs on Oxford street so it is always crowded with party kids walking down the streets. I ended up meeting a friendly French kid who was walking near me on the streets and I talked with him for a couple of blocks and then I went to McDonalds which was full of drunks. Very interesting again. On the way out the door the African Security guard started hitting on me. Stuff like this really doesn't happen during the daytime so I don't know whether it's just that the friendly folks come out at night or that I was looking better than usual. Either way, it was funny.
Ok..so that's my long drawn out commentary on last night's adventures. Today I am supposed to go with Sowmya to tour the Palace. If they let you take photos inside I will have them here to post! We're also going to Harrods and this time I will take pictures there too!
Have a great day!
~Jenn
Photos from London Eye Trip
Here are the late photos from the London Eye that I went on last Thursday. There is a also a picture of my library on the slide show, a few from the OXO Tower restaurant and some one of my Flatmates and I.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Day 50 - Night out on the town...
Tonight I had a really nice London Evening. I went out with a girlfriend to see the matinée showing of Avenue Q. The show was a little bit crude but a lot a bit funny! I would definitely recommend this show to anyone looking for a light/funny show. The songs are pretty catchy too...however just because it has puppets doesn't mean it's for kids...leave them at home. It's a grown-up show.
After the show we came back to the flat and tried to encourage some of the others here to go out to the club but they didn't feel like coming out so we went on our own. We decided to try our luck in Soho. After checking out several bars we settled on a place called Club 49. The draw to the club was some recognizable hip-hop music however the play list converted over to club/house type music within about 20 minutes of our arrival. We had a couple of really good fruit-juice cocktails at the bar. I had a passion fruit martini, a blueberry daiquiri, and the bartender's secret drink which contained vanilla vodka, passion fruit and other stuff..pine-apple juice & apple juice etc You get the picture. They were tasty drinks. After having the drinks we went downstairs to the dance floor and bounced around for about an hour and a half. It was fun. This was the first club that I have been to since coming to the UK and it was nice.
So, it's 2am now so I am going to end this blog for the night.
I took a picture while out..I'll share it with you later.
~Jenn
After the show we came back to the flat and tried to encourage some of the others here to go out to the club but they didn't feel like coming out so we went on our own. We decided to try our luck in Soho. After checking out several bars we settled on a place called Club 49. The draw to the club was some recognizable hip-hop music however the play list converted over to club/house type music within about 20 minutes of our arrival. We had a couple of really good fruit-juice cocktails at the bar. I had a passion fruit martini, a blueberry daiquiri, and the bartender's secret drink which contained vanilla vodka, passion fruit and other stuff..pine-apple juice & apple juice etc You get the picture. They were tasty drinks. After having the drinks we went downstairs to the dance floor and bounced around for about an hour and a half. It was fun. This was the first club that I have been to since coming to the UK and it was nice.
So, it's 2am now so I am going to end this blog for the night.
I took a picture while out..I'll share it with you later.
~Jenn
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Day 48 & 49 - Hey I missed a day...
I just realized that I forgot to post a blog last night...I was so busy I guess it just slipped my mind! Yesterday was a very busy day and today has been a little different as well...so yeah...that's my excuse.
Last night I moved into my new flat. It is HUGE. It's 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and there are only 2 of us in there at the moment which is very nice. I know this goodness is going to really fly by...
Last night we went to dinner at the OXO Tower. This is a pretty upscale restaurant right on the Thames River. It was OK. A little to gourmet to me. The meal consisted of a salad which had a variety of lettuces, odd nuts and a piece of bread along with a ball of mozzarella that looked like a hard boiled egg. Dinner was a skin-on baked chicken breast (served luke warm at best) on top of a bit of mashed sweet potatoes. Desert was a lemon tart with a raspberry ripple cream on the side. Desert was the best part. From what I hear the meals were about £35 each. I think that £34 of that probably went to pay for the view. The food was OK..but I definitely think it is the atmosphere that sells this restaurant. Everything there was branded with the name of the restaurant from the dinner plates to the stainless steel champagne chilling buckets.
After dinner we went on the London Eye. Luckily it was not raining so the view was terrific. I took a lot of pictures from up to 185m above London. Hope you enjoy them!!
Tomorrow I am going to do the town with a friend. We're going to see Avenue Q and then perhaps a pub or a bar. Should be a lot of fun.
Anyone have any great plans for this weekend to share? I don't have any plans to travel this month really..mostly due to lack of funds (things are really expensive in August in Europe because everyone is on Holiday). This will change in the fall and be countered by lack of time....Murphy's Law applies in Britain too....go figure!
Oh, Eileen I saw that you made the front page of the newspaper. Sorry to hear it was for something like a freak lightning storm and not the purchase of a winning Florida Lotto Ticket. I hope that they can get your house back in order soon!
I also saw that there is some suspicious tropical activity going on right now. I hope that that doesn't come to fruition.
Anyways, time for me to fly... Hope everyone has a great night!
Take Care,
~Jenn
Last night I moved into my new flat. It is HUGE. It's 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and there are only 2 of us in there at the moment which is very nice. I know this goodness is going to really fly by...
Last night we went to dinner at the OXO Tower. This is a pretty upscale restaurant right on the Thames River. It was OK. A little to gourmet to me. The meal consisted of a salad which had a variety of lettuces, odd nuts and a piece of bread along with a ball of mozzarella that looked like a hard boiled egg. Dinner was a skin-on baked chicken breast (served luke warm at best) on top of a bit of mashed sweet potatoes. Desert was a lemon tart with a raspberry ripple cream on the side. Desert was the best part. From what I hear the meals were about £35 each. I think that £34 of that probably went to pay for the view. The food was OK..but I definitely think it is the atmosphere that sells this restaurant. Everything there was branded with the name of the restaurant from the dinner plates to the stainless steel champagne chilling buckets.
After dinner we went on the London Eye. Luckily it was not raining so the view was terrific. I took a lot of pictures from up to 185m above London. Hope you enjoy them!!
Tomorrow I am going to do the town with a friend. We're going to see Avenue Q and then perhaps a pub or a bar. Should be a lot of fun.
Anyone have any great plans for this weekend to share? I don't have any plans to travel this month really..mostly due to lack of funds (things are really expensive in August in Europe because everyone is on Holiday). This will change in the fall and be countered by lack of time....Murphy's Law applies in Britain too....go figure!
Oh, Eileen I saw that you made the front page of the newspaper. Sorry to hear it was for something like a freak lightning storm and not the purchase of a winning Florida Lotto Ticket. I hope that they can get your house back in order soon!
I also saw that there is some suspicious tropical activity going on right now. I hope that that doesn't come to fruition.
Anyways, time for me to fly... Hope everyone has a great night!
Take Care,
~Jenn
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Day 47-Horay Horay!!
It's moving day!!
Well it's night actually..but I am up to the challenge of moving at night.
We have a HUGE new place and there are only 2 of us sharing it.
For 4 weeks I have the luxury of turning off the lights when I want to go to bed without consulting the other party in my room.
In addition...I have my OWN BATHROOM!!!
It really doesn't get much sweeter! I feel like the Queen of England!
Ok, well I got to get back to moving..
Talk to you guys again later!
Happy Birthday Dad!!
~Jenn
Well it's night actually..but I am up to the challenge of moving at night.
We have a HUGE new place and there are only 2 of us sharing it.
For 4 weeks I have the luxury of turning off the lights when I want to go to bed without consulting the other party in my room.
In addition...I have my OWN BATHROOM!!!
It really doesn't get much sweeter! I feel like the Queen of England!
Ok, well I got to get back to moving..
Talk to you guys again later!
Happy Birthday Dad!!
~Jenn
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