I hope you all planned on sticking with me through thick and thin because it's looking like there are going to be a couple more blog posts made from London. That's right, concerned citizens, my flight was canceled on Sunday due to inclimate weather (HA HA HA) and I have a shaky reservation for a 5pm flight on Thursday. I refer to this reservation as shaky because the amount of flights that have actually been leaving heathrow is deplorable. Tomorrow, 2/3 of flights are already canceled. It hasn't snowed in FOUR days. This is absolutely ridiculous.
There was a Canadian guy that was interviewed yesterday outside heathrow talking about all of the people living there, saying that there was basically one person out on the runways using inefficient equipment so no wonder no one is going anywhere. They should have EVERYONE in London, including the people living at the airport, outside clearing the runway with more than just a FisherPrice plastic beach shovel. I am literally never going to make it back to the United States. A representative from Heathrow actually said that currently, they're handling flights on an "is it really necessary that you fly?" basis. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
There are over 1000 people living in the airport. There's about 3 inches of snow. Something here does not add up. Cierra has just informed me that starting tomorrow, she's moving there as well in hopes of getting out. Her next scheduled flight is Christmas.
On the bright side, we have managed to get some people out and home safe. Emily, after having TWO flights canceled, is now in the air above me as we speak. Joe, Jill, Monica and Paul are all home in the US sleeping in their own beds.
And how has it been in the house? We're running a refugee camp. Several people without homes have moved in, including Alyssia and Michelle (Joe's girlfriend) and my friend Sam is here all the time. We're managing to keep the place clean for once, but NOT noise free, as I was woken up at 9am this morning by a JACKHAMMER doing construction up against the wall in my bedroom that I share with the building next door. This caused me to sleep until 3pm on and off and finally wake up with the most miserable headache.
The good news is as follows: I have the BEST friends who are all being super supportive on facebook and skype these past fews days, making me smile and changing their profile pictures to ones of me and them in my memory as though I have died (which I probably will, here.) My parents have been amazing at handling the situation and trying to get me out of here, and my brother is making me laugh as always via facebook chat so at least I smile once a day. Also, the people that are left in this house have bonded intensly over the past few days due to our shared situations. Matt keeps everyones mind off of the flights by blasting 90's music and insisting we do nothing but jam out for HOURS (which we did, last night, approx. 8pm-11pm...some hits featured aaron carter, old school britney, sublime, and michelle branch-"good branch"). Miriam, Cierra, Alyssia, Michelle, Sam and Ruth have been ROCKS. I honestly don't know what I would be doing right now without everyone.
So for now I'm trying to fill my days with productiveness but obviously that's not going as well as planned since I SUCK at productivity. I did do laundry last night, which is intense since I planned it so I would have JUST enough clothes to get home on Sunday. I have officially unpacked ONE of my two suitcases and feel a little like I have admitted defeat. I will attempt to keep you all in the loop over the next couple of days.
Cheers! (only, not really)
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Heathrow Airport is the MOST dramatic
Good evening lovelies, greetings from across the pond. I know it's been a while since my last entry, and this is mostly due to the fact that there has been little to report. Between my last post and this one, I have basically just been writing papers and working, preparing to end the stress of school with a bang and today was supposed to be spent packing. Let me explain what ACTUALLY happened.
Last night, I went to Emily and Alyssia's with Mimi and Cierra to drink and hangout because Emily was supposed to fly back to the states today. After drinking an entire bottle of wine myself, we somehow made it back home where I passed out, waking up this morning (and by morning I mean 12pm) to discover that the following things had taken place during my slumber:
1. Paul's flight was cancelled
2. Emily's flight was cancelled
3. It was snowing outside with an accumulation of about 3cm (NOT inches- CENTIMETERS)
4. All of the flights in the WORLD were going to be cancelled and I was going to die here
Now, while I was waking up slowly and absorbing all of this information with Miriam and Paul in my room, I was also hungover. I opened the door to the hallway to get a drink of water and BAM! was blitzed attacked by FIVE of my housemates with snowballs. I immediately assumed the fetal position while they continued to show no mercy. Eventually, the beating was haulted and I was offered a deal: give up Paul the terrorist (Matt thinks he's Jack Bauer from 24) and I would be spared. I agreed- I owe Paul zero allegiance. As I was agreeing to these terms, Paul and Miriam busted out of my room wearing ALL of my winter gear and basically screamed and ran while the guys and Ruth (that traitor bitch) opened fire.
Eventually, I got myself up and ready and a bunch of us (not Paul, he was sad he got hit in the eye with a snowball in a kitchen attack) walked over to hyde park to have a massive snowball fight. Although Matt really wanted to hit strangers, we kept it between the six of us. Then we hit Miriam mercilessly with 20 snowballs in a row for her 20th birthday while she shrunk in fear.
After warming up back at the house, Miriam Ruth and I went to Harrods to celebrate Miriam's birthday -where else?- at the chocolate bar. It was flipping delicious, as usual, and I conceived 5 chocolate babies. Yum. We shopped for a bit, and then called it a day and headed home.
Now I'm laying in my bed, and was just informed that Cierra and Matt's flights were also cancelled. I will probably be stuck here until christmas. I have to finish packing (and by finish, I mean start) but part of me feels like I shouldn't bother. Scheduled to leave for the airport at 1pm tomorrow, wish me luck.
Cheers!
Last night, I went to Emily and Alyssia's with Mimi and Cierra to drink and hangout because Emily was supposed to fly back to the states today. After drinking an entire bottle of wine myself, we somehow made it back home where I passed out, waking up this morning (and by morning I mean 12pm) to discover that the following things had taken place during my slumber:
1. Paul's flight was cancelled
2. Emily's flight was cancelled
3. It was snowing outside with an accumulation of about 3cm (NOT inches- CENTIMETERS)
4. All of the flights in the WORLD were going to be cancelled and I was going to die here
Now, while I was waking up slowly and absorbing all of this information with Miriam and Paul in my room, I was also hungover. I opened the door to the hallway to get a drink of water and BAM! was blitzed attacked by FIVE of my housemates with snowballs. I immediately assumed the fetal position while they continued to show no mercy. Eventually, the beating was haulted and I was offered a deal: give up Paul the terrorist (Matt thinks he's Jack Bauer from 24) and I would be spared. I agreed- I owe Paul zero allegiance. As I was agreeing to these terms, Paul and Miriam busted out of my room wearing ALL of my winter gear and basically screamed and ran while the guys and Ruth (that traitor bitch) opened fire.
Eventually, I got myself up and ready and a bunch of us (not Paul, he was sad he got hit in the eye with a snowball in a kitchen attack) walked over to hyde park to have a massive snowball fight. Although Matt really wanted to hit strangers, we kept it between the six of us. Then we hit Miriam mercilessly with 20 snowballs in a row for her 20th birthday while she shrunk in fear.
After warming up back at the house, Miriam Ruth and I went to Harrods to celebrate Miriam's birthday -where else?- at the chocolate bar. It was flipping delicious, as usual, and I conceived 5 chocolate babies. Yum. We shopped for a bit, and then called it a day and headed home.
Now I'm laying in my bed, and was just informed that Cierra and Matt's flights were also cancelled. I will probably be stuck here until christmas. I have to finish packing (and by finish, I mean start) but part of me feels like I shouldn't bother. Scheduled to leave for the airport at 1pm tomorrow, wish me luck.
Cheers!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
I bet Jude Law is in there
You should all be very sad, as this is the beginning of the end of my beautiful posts. I will be leaving London 10 days from today, and it doesn't make much sense to continue my abroad journal into 2011 when I will be residing in rural DC. I'll finish out the month and then probably start a new blog about my college adventures. Keep an eye out for the link to that, I'll make sure to add it in a post so all my loyal followers can continue to read about my life.
You'll be thrilled to know that last night I finished the most miserable paper of my life and only have two more, a final, and a small project to go. While the rest of you in New York and in the District are winding down your semester, I'm basically just starting to get to the worst part. Just have to remember to breathe- ten days...ten days.
I've been feeling rather nostalgic lately, however, for this beautiful city even though I haven't left it yet. I feel like the time flew by but every time I remember a specific event it seems like ages ago. It is going to be SO weird to go back to the states, see American money, buy a lean cuisine, not be legal to drink- I didn't think I'd have reverse culture shock but I am starting to worry. I will miss London so much, but I think all the drama and academic bull shit is clouding my mind and causing me to only want to go home. I said this to Alyssa the other day on Skype and her response was, "Enjoy it while you can, and quit wishing you were back in Mineola. You HATE Mineola." And she's right (mostly). I haven't been back in Mineola for more than a week since this time last year, and I was miserable. I just miss everyone I love there so much (including her!) and cannot wait to see them.
In exciting update news, I've been back to Winter Wonderland since I last posted. I went with Emily and Cierra and it was SO fun. Even though it was basically pouring and I totally ruined my brown Uggs, I had the best time. We rode the Ferris Wheel and the GIANT slide that you ride down on a burlap sack and catch air over the ramps (you know what I'm talking about...?) and Cierra went down it so fast she went straight through the foam wall at the bottom just like they do in the movies. SO worth three pounds.
Sunday, Joe and Matt cooked steak and potatoes for everyone and it was absolutely delicious. Monday I had class and then went over to Alyssia and Emily's apartment for Alyssia's birthday. We had chicken that they made and it was pretty awesome, which surprised and scared me a little. I will be living with Alyssia in about a month and if this girl starts to believe she can cook my whole apartment will become a fire hazard.
That's about it for now- I'm at work at the moment and obviously not getting anything done. Next week on Tuesday night I'll be DONE with class and assignments, and Wednesday is my office Christmas party. For those of you who are my DC lovers, shoot me a message on Facebook to let me know if you want to hang out/come visit over break in New York. My next post will undoubtedly be an effort to procrastinate.
Cheers!
You'll be thrilled to know that last night I finished the most miserable paper of my life and only have two more, a final, and a small project to go. While the rest of you in New York and in the District are winding down your semester, I'm basically just starting to get to the worst part. Just have to remember to breathe- ten days...ten days.
I've been feeling rather nostalgic lately, however, for this beautiful city even though I haven't left it yet. I feel like the time flew by but every time I remember a specific event it seems like ages ago. It is going to be SO weird to go back to the states, see American money, buy a lean cuisine, not be legal to drink- I didn't think I'd have reverse culture shock but I am starting to worry. I will miss London so much, but I think all the drama and academic bull shit is clouding my mind and causing me to only want to go home. I said this to Alyssa the other day on Skype and her response was, "Enjoy it while you can, and quit wishing you were back in Mineola. You HATE Mineola." And she's right (mostly). I haven't been back in Mineola for more than a week since this time last year, and I was miserable. I just miss everyone I love there so much (including her!) and cannot wait to see them.
In exciting update news, I've been back to Winter Wonderland since I last posted. I went with Emily and Cierra and it was SO fun. Even though it was basically pouring and I totally ruined my brown Uggs, I had the best time. We rode the Ferris Wheel and the GIANT slide that you ride down on a burlap sack and catch air over the ramps (you know what I'm talking about...?) and Cierra went down it so fast she went straight through the foam wall at the bottom just like they do in the movies. SO worth three pounds.
Sunday, Joe and Matt cooked steak and potatoes for everyone and it was absolutely delicious. Monday I had class and then went over to Alyssia and Emily's apartment for Alyssia's birthday. We had chicken that they made and it was pretty awesome, which surprised and scared me a little. I will be living with Alyssia in about a month and if this girl starts to believe she can cook my whole apartment will become a fire hazard.
That's about it for now- I'm at work at the moment and obviously not getting anything done. Next week on Tuesday night I'll be DONE with class and assignments, and Wednesday is my office Christmas party. For those of you who are my DC lovers, shoot me a message on Facebook to let me know if you want to hang out/come visit over break in New York. My next post will undoubtedly be an effort to procrastinate.
Cheers!
Friday, December 3, 2010
You may be overreacting a BIT
It's official, I'm on twitter. Follow me- GennaMarianna- I have a ton of interesting things to say. Although I do suppose it would be quite redundant to read my blog and then read my tweets (look at me, using lingo!) so don't feel peer pressured or anything. Just a suggestion- I like to look like I have a ton of friends.
You may have also heard that currently London is experiencing a huge giant mega blizzard at the moment. Oh, wait. Did I say blizzard? I meant it snowed for a little yesterday and now there's a half inch of snow on the ground. I get confused because of the way everyone's freaking out, you know? Like, with all the panic, I expect to walk outside and have to look UP to see the top of snow drifts. Alas, not only must I look down, but I must also use my magnifying glass.
As for my super fun day to day activities, that would include going to class, going to work, and trying to stay awake. I especially enjoy that last one. When I get back to New York, I am sleeping for three days straight to make up for the three months that I didn't. That means, for those of you I told I would be back on the 19th, I won't actually be available until the 22nd. Once the 22nd hits though, I am DEFINITELY down for a good time. I miss my Mineoleans!
So I'm in the office now, avoiding work as usual. In the next ten days I have 3 papers do, which is normal for the end of the semester, so I'll probably be working on those all weekend. But I am down to skype with anyone looking for an excuse to procrastinate! That's all for today folks, it's been a dull couple of days. Alyssia's birthday is on Monday though, so that should be fun- we're having dinner at her apartment to celebrate. Then, on Tuesday, I think I'm going to Surrey (just outside of London) to see Sam in her school's musical. News on those adventures to come.
Oh, PS: I have become mildly obsessed with tea. Promised myself it wouldn't happen but...they got me.
Cheers!
You may have also heard that currently London is experiencing a huge giant mega blizzard at the moment. Oh, wait. Did I say blizzard? I meant it snowed for a little yesterday and now there's a half inch of snow on the ground. I get confused because of the way everyone's freaking out, you know? Like, with all the panic, I expect to walk outside and have to look UP to see the top of snow drifts. Alas, not only must I look down, but I must also use my magnifying glass.
As for my super fun day to day activities, that would include going to class, going to work, and trying to stay awake. I especially enjoy that last one. When I get back to New York, I am sleeping for three days straight to make up for the three months that I didn't. That means, for those of you I told I would be back on the 19th, I won't actually be available until the 22nd. Once the 22nd hits though, I am DEFINITELY down for a good time. I miss my Mineoleans!
So I'm in the office now, avoiding work as usual. In the next ten days I have 3 papers do, which is normal for the end of the semester, so I'll probably be working on those all weekend. But I am down to skype with anyone looking for an excuse to procrastinate! That's all for today folks, it's been a dull couple of days. Alyssia's birthday is on Monday though, so that should be fun- we're having dinner at her apartment to celebrate. Then, on Tuesday, I think I'm going to Surrey (just outside of London) to see Sam in her school's musical. News on those adventures to come.
Oh, PS: I have become mildly obsessed with tea. Promised myself it wouldn't happen but...they got me.
Cheers!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
That guy is REALLY spicy
Happy almost December, loyal fans. It's hard to believe that November has actually come to an end and I will be back in NY in less than three weeks. As most of you may have read on my facebook wall, I'm excited that it this abroad experience is ending. It's not that I'm not having a great time- I really am- it's just that with the weather, and drama in my house, and everyone running the academic program here being a total dumb asshole, I'm at wits end and need to return to the familiar.
I've had a great past couple of days but the issues with FIE (my program) have been especially trying. I have three papers due over the next two weeks which is normal for this time of year, except that no matter how hard I work my professors have all informed me that it is literally impossible to get an A in their classes. Apparently, since British students hold themselves to MUCH higher standards than Americans, they don't receive A's because that would mean that they are perfect in every single way. If I work my ass off, and do an assignment exceptionally well, I deserve a good grade. I get that things are different here, but at the end of the day these grades are transferring back to an AMERICAN school, where C's are NOT the norm and certainly unacceptable (especially for someone on scholarship). So thanks a heap Britain for all of your ego, but I'm over your bullshit. And, while we're on the subject, forgive me if I don't pity the fact that your universities are soon going to cost 6000 pounds a year. The dollar equivalent of that is about $9500, AKA what I pay for HALF a semester WITH a decent scholarship. So if your students are so smart why don't you tell them to get a job and stop bitching?
In happier news, these past four days have been a lot of fun. Saturday night I went with Miriam and her friend Silvana to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, which is basically a giant Christmas carnival with booze, rides, shops and singing reindeer. Sunday, my flat hosted a Thankgiving, complete with a Turkey-based feast and Christmas music to get us in the holiday spirit. There were 17 people, tons of food and fun, and about 100 pies. SOOOO many pies. After we ate ourselves into a coma, Ruth and I took a walk around the town to alleviate our food babies and ended up at a casino where I lost about 15 quid on a slot machine. Sad day- at least I was considerably drunk.
Yesterday was a boring stay at home day- the only thing that ended up making it fun was that Emily and Alyssia's internet broke so they came over to do their gazillion papers. Alyssia slept over because we had plans for today and she didn't want to have to come all the way back, so we had a super awesome sleepover and bonded and got pumped about living together next semester.
This morning, I woke up to one of my flatmates FLIPPING out because it was snowing. I almost committed murder because it was an hour before I actually had to be awake for class and I was up late the night before. At around 9:30am Joe and I met our BLC class down by Brick Lane for a field trip, where we learned about the history of one of the most cultural areas in London. It would have been 100 times more awesome if it wasn't an outdoor walking tour, since it was snowing a lot and probably about 25 degrees.
When I got home from Brick Lane, Alyssia and I ate some lunch and then I took her to part 1 of her birthday date (both parts were surprises!). We went down to the Natural History museum and went ice skating! (Side note about ice skating- going today reminded me how innately spastic human beings are. QUITE entertaining.) I thought I was going to fall on my ass and make a fool of myself for the hour we were on the rink, but I ended up taking to it really quickly. I was surprised at how good I was and how much fun I had! I haven't been ice skating in probably 5 years at least. Alyssia and I had the BEST time, and especially enjoyed watching this one guy fall every five seconds. I would like to note his determination though- it was inspiring. He spent most of the hour on the ground.
After ice skating, we took the bus to Harrods where I introduced Alyssia to the Chocolate Bar. We shared an order of triple chocolate fondue and ate until our veins were flowing with chocolate. I could have poked myself and bled chocolate. Mmmm...chocolate.
And tonight will be an early night, since I have my internship tomorrow and got a mere five hours of sleep last night. Trust me, I will be making the most of my last few days here but when I wake up on the 19th with my bags packed, I will be happy to head home. I love London so much, but it's at the point where it's becoming almost too stressfull to enjoy. The good news is, my friend Alex B is coming to visit this weekend so there will definitely be some alcohol to ease my mind.
Cheers!
I've had a great past couple of days but the issues with FIE (my program) have been especially trying. I have three papers due over the next two weeks which is normal for this time of year, except that no matter how hard I work my professors have all informed me that it is literally impossible to get an A in their classes. Apparently, since British students hold themselves to MUCH higher standards than Americans, they don't receive A's because that would mean that they are perfect in every single way. If I work my ass off, and do an assignment exceptionally well, I deserve a good grade. I get that things are different here, but at the end of the day these grades are transferring back to an AMERICAN school, where C's are NOT the norm and certainly unacceptable (especially for someone on scholarship). So thanks a heap Britain for all of your ego, but I'm over your bullshit. And, while we're on the subject, forgive me if I don't pity the fact that your universities are soon going to cost 6000 pounds a year. The dollar equivalent of that is about $9500, AKA what I pay for HALF a semester WITH a decent scholarship. So if your students are so smart why don't you tell them to get a job and stop bitching?
In happier news, these past four days have been a lot of fun. Saturday night I went with Miriam and her friend Silvana to Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, which is basically a giant Christmas carnival with booze, rides, shops and singing reindeer. Sunday, my flat hosted a Thankgiving, complete with a Turkey-based feast and Christmas music to get us in the holiday spirit. There were 17 people, tons of food and fun, and about 100 pies. SOOOO many pies. After we ate ourselves into a coma, Ruth and I took a walk around the town to alleviate our food babies and ended up at a casino where I lost about 15 quid on a slot machine. Sad day- at least I was considerably drunk.
Yesterday was a boring stay at home day- the only thing that ended up making it fun was that Emily and Alyssia's internet broke so they came over to do their gazillion papers. Alyssia slept over because we had plans for today and she didn't want to have to come all the way back, so we had a super awesome sleepover and bonded and got pumped about living together next semester.
This morning, I woke up to one of my flatmates FLIPPING out because it was snowing. I almost committed murder because it was an hour before I actually had to be awake for class and I was up late the night before. At around 9:30am Joe and I met our BLC class down by Brick Lane for a field trip, where we learned about the history of one of the most cultural areas in London. It would have been 100 times more awesome if it wasn't an outdoor walking tour, since it was snowing a lot and probably about 25 degrees.
When I got home from Brick Lane, Alyssia and I ate some lunch and then I took her to part 1 of her birthday date (both parts were surprises!). We went down to the Natural History museum and went ice skating! (Side note about ice skating- going today reminded me how innately spastic human beings are. QUITE entertaining.) I thought I was going to fall on my ass and make a fool of myself for the hour we were on the rink, but I ended up taking to it really quickly. I was surprised at how good I was and how much fun I had! I haven't been ice skating in probably 5 years at least. Alyssia and I had the BEST time, and especially enjoyed watching this one guy fall every five seconds. I would like to note his determination though- it was inspiring. He spent most of the hour on the ground.
After ice skating, we took the bus to Harrods where I introduced Alyssia to the Chocolate Bar. We shared an order of triple chocolate fondue and ate until our veins were flowing with chocolate. I could have poked myself and bled chocolate. Mmmm...chocolate.
And tonight will be an early night, since I have my internship tomorrow and got a mere five hours of sleep last night. Trust me, I will be making the most of my last few days here but when I wake up on the 19th with my bags packed, I will be happy to head home. I love London so much, but it's at the point where it's becoming almost too stressfull to enjoy. The good news is, my friend Alex B is coming to visit this weekend so there will definitely be some alcohol to ease my mind.
Cheers!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
It's so fluffy I'm gonna die!
In a couple of hours my parents will board a plane at Heathrow headed for New York, and I can't stop thinking how strange it is that in three weeks I'll be doing the exact same thing. I have 21 days left in this country and, given how quickly the other hundred or so went by, I'm only now realizing how much there is that I haven't done. Luckily, I have the advantage of being young- if all goes according to the plans I have for my life, I will be back in Europe eventually.
Also, I had the advantage this week of doing a lot of fun stuff with my parents while they were visiting. Wednesday, I went to work as usual, where there was a small fiasco that involved me stuffing, unstuffing, and then restuffing 80 envelopes. Around 4:30pm, my parents met me at the office so we could have dinner, but my boss insisted that they come up and meet everyone in the office and sit down for a cup of tea. We ended up hanging out with my boss and coworkers for about an hour, and it was a lot of fun because I got to show my family where I worked and what my days are like here. After their visit we went to TGIFriday's for some delicious food and then nextdoor to a comedy show that I bought tickets for weeks ago. It was an improv group like last time, with a bar and open seating with a tiny stage in front. And, also like last time, the comedians were HYSTERICAL- my entire family was falling out of their chairs laughing.
Thursday was, as everyone knows, the beautiful American holiday of Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I am not in American, and it took my family and I hours to actually find a turkey so my mom could cook a nice meal for us in their hotel. During the day, we all went to an exhibit at the Queen's Gallery in Buckingham Palace called the Victoria and Albert exhibit of antique art and paintings, and then to the royal stables where we saw royal horses and royal things and I got a royal lollipop for free at the gift shop. (No seriously, it was royal- it said Prince on is. They ran out of Princess ones.) We also saw the carriage that Kate Middleton is going to ride in when here and William get married in April of next year. Lucky bitch.
After the museums we went back to cook dinner (or at least my Mom did, while Matt and I watched Friends on TV!!), and then ate around 5:30 with my friend Sam joining us. We watched the Holiday (which came in a box set with Love Actually), and laid around with portruding bellies from a delicious feast. Yum sweet potatoes with marshmellows. On Friday, I had work and then I went to my parents hotel, where Alyssia met up with us so we could all eat dinner together. Because I didn't book Ice Bar tickets soon enough, we couldn't get in, so we had fast food in a super shady BK by the Earl's Court tube and then went to see Despicable Me in Leicester Square. It only JUST came out here, which is weird since I saw it opening night in DC in July. And yes, it STILL made me laugh my ass off. If you haven't already seen it, I suggest you do soon.
And what am I doing right now? Sitting in bed, debating over whether or not I should take a giant nap to catch up on all the sleep I missed this week (and for the past three months, for that matter.). I woke up early to have breakfast with my family before they left, and now I'm home doing schoolwork and fighting to stay awake. Miriam has a friend visiting so I'm going to meet them in Hyde Park later at "Winter Wonderland" and my kitchen looks like a bomb hit it (as usual) so I'll probably also do some cleaning. I miss you all and hope you had a wonderful holiday with your families.
Cheers!
Also, I had the advantage this week of doing a lot of fun stuff with my parents while they were visiting. Wednesday, I went to work as usual, where there was a small fiasco that involved me stuffing, unstuffing, and then restuffing 80 envelopes. Around 4:30pm, my parents met me at the office so we could have dinner, but my boss insisted that they come up and meet everyone in the office and sit down for a cup of tea. We ended up hanging out with my boss and coworkers for about an hour, and it was a lot of fun because I got to show my family where I worked and what my days are like here. After their visit we went to TGIFriday's for some delicious food and then nextdoor to a comedy show that I bought tickets for weeks ago. It was an improv group like last time, with a bar and open seating with a tiny stage in front. And, also like last time, the comedians were HYSTERICAL- my entire family was falling out of their chairs laughing.
Thursday was, as everyone knows, the beautiful American holiday of Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, I am not in American, and it took my family and I hours to actually find a turkey so my mom could cook a nice meal for us in their hotel. During the day, we all went to an exhibit at the Queen's Gallery in Buckingham Palace called the Victoria and Albert exhibit of antique art and paintings, and then to the royal stables where we saw royal horses and royal things and I got a royal lollipop for free at the gift shop. (No seriously, it was royal- it said Prince on is. They ran out of Princess ones.) We also saw the carriage that Kate Middleton is going to ride in when here and William get married in April of next year. Lucky bitch.
After the museums we went back to cook dinner (or at least my Mom did, while Matt and I watched Friends on TV!!), and then ate around 5:30 with my friend Sam joining us. We watched the Holiday (which came in a box set with Love Actually), and laid around with portruding bellies from a delicious feast. Yum sweet potatoes with marshmellows. On Friday, I had work and then I went to my parents hotel, where Alyssia met up with us so we could all eat dinner together. Because I didn't book Ice Bar tickets soon enough, we couldn't get in, so we had fast food in a super shady BK by the Earl's Court tube and then went to see Despicable Me in Leicester Square. It only JUST came out here, which is weird since I saw it opening night in DC in July. And yes, it STILL made me laugh my ass off. If you haven't already seen it, I suggest you do soon.
And what am I doing right now? Sitting in bed, debating over whether or not I should take a giant nap to catch up on all the sleep I missed this week (and for the past three months, for that matter.). I woke up early to have breakfast with my family before they left, and now I'm home doing schoolwork and fighting to stay awake. Miriam has a friend visiting so I'm going to meet them in Hyde Park later at "Winter Wonderland" and my kitchen looks like a bomb hit it (as usual) so I'll probably also do some cleaning. I miss you all and hope you had a wonderful holiday with your families.
Cheers!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
You're not a very good stand up comedian! It's because I'm sitting down.
And here is the promised official update of the past 5 days of my life. I know you were all on the edge of your seats so prepare yourself because it's going to be the best thing you've read since the Bible.
On Saturday, my parents and brother arrived bright and early in the beautiful(ly freezing) city of London. They were cold, tired and cranky, so we got some lunch, toured my flat, met some of my housemates and then headed back to their apartment. I swear the three of them dropped like flies once we stepped in the door. I managed to keep my mom up for a half hour to watch an episode of Modern Family, but even for that she was in and out of conciousness. Eventually, she admitted defeat and went to bed around 7ish, at which point my dad woke up and offered to take me to a casino. We took the tube to Knightsbridge and gambled the night away: we both lost a lot playing poker but then I won 50 quid on the slots! After we got tired of wasting money, he went back to his flat and I went back to mine to sleep.
Sunday, I woke up relatively early to get over to my parent's flat so we could all eat breakfast together. After breakfast, I took them back to Knightsbridge where we spent a couple of minutes admiring the windows of Harvey Nichols and Harrods (pictures on my mom's facebook!), which we really cool and got me in the winter-Christmas mood. Then we went into Harrods to eat lunch (HAHA) at the Chocolate Bar. "Hey Genna! This sounds like a magical place that I want to go to when I die!" It is, unknowing citizen, it is. It is the land where chocolate dreams come true. Just to give you a general idea, for lunch I had triple chocolate fondue and a Reese's milk shake. "Hey Genna! That sounds really fattening! Was it worth it?" Oh, how naive you are, unknowing citizen. Chocolate is always worth it.
After we left the Chocolate Bar, my mom and I went to Camden Market while my dad and my brother went to some WWII museum. We spent about 4 hours at Camden and bought so much stuff we literally needed to buy a small roll-ey suitcase to bring it all home. Once my whole family met back at the flat, we showed off our goodies to my brother and dad (who pretended they did not care about our pretty scarves and bags of real green tea and new purses) and then walked to an Italian restaurant up the block for dinner. "Hey Genna! You're a lightweight when it comes to drinking. Is it genetic?" As a matter of fact, it only took two bottles of wine to get my entire family completely pissed (there's some London slang for you) at dinner in a very quiet (but not for long!) place. We were laughing so hard we were crying and then, one of my childhood dreams came true. My mother, who normally does not condone my eatery-cleptomaniac tendencies, not only encouraged me but ASKED me to steal the salt and pepper shakers from the table where we were sitting. Now, I'll admit, she said nothing about the full set of silverwear and shot glass I also slipped into my purse. After we left, as I was bragging loudly to my dad about everything I took and waving it around in the air, the waiter chased me out onto the street screaming...I didn't realize until I saw him waving my gloves that he was simply returning something that I had left. I thought for sure I was going to prison- but at least my food there would have flavor.
After dinner, we all went to see the Social Network, which was amazing and I recommend it to everyone. We got out pretty late, so I went straight home to bed because I had class early the next day. Monday was super boring for that very reason- class 9am-2:30ish with a short break in between as usual, and then I met my parents at their hotel so we could all go to Jay's flat for dinner. Jay is a friend of my Dad's for about 30 years now or so, and he has houses all over the world. He was in London this week and wanted to have all of us over for a traditional Indian meal (Jay's Indian, you guessed it!). Although I wasn't eager to try everything that was cooked for us, I enjoyed what I did eat and overall it was pretty entertaining. Jay is such a nice man, and it was nice to finally meet him after hearing such amazing things about him from my dad. It also helped that his house was freakin sweet and he has his own personal staff.
Tuesday, thanks to the help of one of my awesome teachers here that I love, (whose preggers and super adorable) I was able to take off of class so I could spend more time with the family. We had breakfast together and then went to the Natural History museum, which is right by my flat. The museum is HUGE so we didn't get to see all of it, but we did get to see pickled animals in pickle water (still don't really get it but, ok...) and some cool life size moving t-rex robot in the dinosaur section that made me nostalgic from that time that I was a dinosaur. Those were the days....
That night, we went food shopping for Thanksgiving dinner that my mom is cooking tomorrow, ate some chinese food and then watched Love Actually as I've been waiting for forever to see it since I got to London. I will not bore you with the adventure Matt and I went on to FIND the movie and a way to play it on our hotel TV, but I will leave you with the following figure: 80 quid. That's about how much we spent during the course of 2 hours during which we searched literally all of London for this fucking movie and got to experience about 6 stores, 3 cab rides, and about 30 minutes of walking on a HIGHWAY. Details upon request.
And now, I'd love to tell you about today since it was super fun but I am super tired from all the super fun so once again, I must leave you hanging with the promise that I will most likely finish tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers, enjoy the day. Tune in tomorrow to see what I'm thankful for.
Cheers!
On Saturday, my parents and brother arrived bright and early in the beautiful(ly freezing) city of London. They were cold, tired and cranky, so we got some lunch, toured my flat, met some of my housemates and then headed back to their apartment. I swear the three of them dropped like flies once we stepped in the door. I managed to keep my mom up for a half hour to watch an episode of Modern Family, but even for that she was in and out of conciousness. Eventually, she admitted defeat and went to bed around 7ish, at which point my dad woke up and offered to take me to a casino. We took the tube to Knightsbridge and gambled the night away: we both lost a lot playing poker but then I won 50 quid on the slots! After we got tired of wasting money, he went back to his flat and I went back to mine to sleep.
Sunday, I woke up relatively early to get over to my parent's flat so we could all eat breakfast together. After breakfast, I took them back to Knightsbridge where we spent a couple of minutes admiring the windows of Harvey Nichols and Harrods (pictures on my mom's facebook!), which we really cool and got me in the winter-Christmas mood. Then we went into Harrods to eat lunch (HAHA) at the Chocolate Bar. "Hey Genna! This sounds like a magical place that I want to go to when I die!" It is, unknowing citizen, it is. It is the land where chocolate dreams come true. Just to give you a general idea, for lunch I had triple chocolate fondue and a Reese's milk shake. "Hey Genna! That sounds really fattening! Was it worth it?" Oh, how naive you are, unknowing citizen. Chocolate is always worth it.
After we left the Chocolate Bar, my mom and I went to Camden Market while my dad and my brother went to some WWII museum. We spent about 4 hours at Camden and bought so much stuff we literally needed to buy a small roll-ey suitcase to bring it all home. Once my whole family met back at the flat, we showed off our goodies to my brother and dad (who pretended they did not care about our pretty scarves and bags of real green tea and new purses) and then walked to an Italian restaurant up the block for dinner. "Hey Genna! You're a lightweight when it comes to drinking. Is it genetic?" As a matter of fact, it only took two bottles of wine to get my entire family completely pissed (there's some London slang for you) at dinner in a very quiet (but not for long!) place. We were laughing so hard we were crying and then, one of my childhood dreams came true. My mother, who normally does not condone my eatery-cleptomaniac tendencies, not only encouraged me but ASKED me to steal the salt and pepper shakers from the table where we were sitting. Now, I'll admit, she said nothing about the full set of silverwear and shot glass I also slipped into my purse. After we left, as I was bragging loudly to my dad about everything I took and waving it around in the air, the waiter chased me out onto the street screaming...I didn't realize until I saw him waving my gloves that he was simply returning something that I had left. I thought for sure I was going to prison- but at least my food there would have flavor.
After dinner, we all went to see the Social Network, which was amazing and I recommend it to everyone. We got out pretty late, so I went straight home to bed because I had class early the next day. Monday was super boring for that very reason- class 9am-2:30ish with a short break in between as usual, and then I met my parents at their hotel so we could all go to Jay's flat for dinner. Jay is a friend of my Dad's for about 30 years now or so, and he has houses all over the world. He was in London this week and wanted to have all of us over for a traditional Indian meal (Jay's Indian, you guessed it!). Although I wasn't eager to try everything that was cooked for us, I enjoyed what I did eat and overall it was pretty entertaining. Jay is such a nice man, and it was nice to finally meet him after hearing such amazing things about him from my dad. It also helped that his house was freakin sweet and he has his own personal staff.
Tuesday, thanks to the help of one of my awesome teachers here that I love, (whose preggers and super adorable) I was able to take off of class so I could spend more time with the family. We had breakfast together and then went to the Natural History museum, which is right by my flat. The museum is HUGE so we didn't get to see all of it, but we did get to see pickled animals in pickle water (still don't really get it but, ok...) and some cool life size moving t-rex robot in the dinosaur section that made me nostalgic from that time that I was a dinosaur. Those were the days....
That night, we went food shopping for Thanksgiving dinner that my mom is cooking tomorrow, ate some chinese food and then watched Love Actually as I've been waiting for forever to see it since I got to London. I will not bore you with the adventure Matt and I went on to FIND the movie and a way to play it on our hotel TV, but I will leave you with the following figure: 80 quid. That's about how much we spent during the course of 2 hours during which we searched literally all of London for this fucking movie and got to experience about 6 stores, 3 cab rides, and about 30 minutes of walking on a HIGHWAY. Details upon request.
And now, I'd love to tell you about today since it was super fun but I am super tired from all the super fun so once again, I must leave you hanging with the promise that I will most likely finish tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers, enjoy the day. Tune in tomorrow to see what I'm thankful for.
Cheers!
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Oh my GOD you guys!
I know I've been lousy at updating lately, and I apologize- it's actually been a really hectic week. I went on two field trips for class last week, one to the new Wembley Football Stadium for international marketing and one to Parliament for my British life & cultures class. I love how most of the sights I'm seeing in the country I live in are mandatory for grades! I know I already wrote about the stadium so I won't double-bore you, but Parliament was fairly interesting although I didn't take any pictures and almost fell asleep during the tour. I cannot believe how much I haven't been sleeping since I got to London...Christmas break is going to be one giant nap for me.
Wednesday I had work all day, which was mostly the same as usual. I kept entertained my distracting my co workers and getting a sufficient amount of emailing done, and then I met my flatmate Ruth at our house so we could get ready to go to the theater. We had bought tickets way back in September to see Legally Blonde, and it was finally time- second show in less than a week! We had a great time on our little date, and the show was pretty good. Not as good as Sami made it out to be- I found it to be a little annoying at parts, but it was still funny and a much needed break from a long start to a short week at work.
Thursday and Friday were boring work days as well, pretty much bonding with my boss and procrastinating a bunch (although I do work, I swear!). I was mostly just excited for my family to arrive in London (they were due early Saturday morning) so I didn't have much to keep me busy besides planning out our week together.
Now that my parents have been here for about 5 days, I have a lot to update in this blog. Unfortunately, it's 1:30am and I just came from the apartment where they're staying (which is SUPER nice) and I have work in the morning so I wanted this to be a simple quick update. Tomorrow, I'll get around to the good and juicy stuff that's been going on in my life.
Cheers!
Wednesday I had work all day, which was mostly the same as usual. I kept entertained my distracting my co workers and getting a sufficient amount of emailing done, and then I met my flatmate Ruth at our house so we could get ready to go to the theater. We had bought tickets way back in September to see Legally Blonde, and it was finally time- second show in less than a week! We had a great time on our little date, and the show was pretty good. Not as good as Sami made it out to be- I found it to be a little annoying at parts, but it was still funny and a much needed break from a long start to a short week at work.
Thursday and Friday were boring work days as well, pretty much bonding with my boss and procrastinating a bunch (although I do work, I swear!). I was mostly just excited for my family to arrive in London (they were due early Saturday morning) so I didn't have much to keep me busy besides planning out our week together.
Now that my parents have been here for about 5 days, I have a lot to update in this blog. Unfortunately, it's 1:30am and I just came from the apartment where they're staying (which is SUPER nice) and I have work in the morning so I wanted this to be a simple quick update. Tomorrow, I'll get around to the good and juicy stuff that's been going on in my life.
Cheers!
Monday, November 15, 2010
The light just snap krackle popped
This continuance is specially written for Kate, who doesn't believe I'll finish posting about my weekend and thinks that all of my facebook advertising is a ploy to encourage readership for stale blog updates. Ha! I have bested you, Face, and will always be one step ahead. <3 <3 <3
Saturday was a long day. After getting only about 5 hours of sleep or so after a fun Friday night, I woke up to an all too chipper Kate and an appropriately chipper Vanessa (chipper meter determined in direct correlation to the hour), who had just arrived at Heathrow airport that morning. They had one full day left in London and so it was my job to show them the best of it, so we got to work. Of course our first stop was Camden Market, my favorite shopping destination in the city, where we spent a couple of hours looking around. I'm amazed at how every time I go there I see a new section of it I never knew existed.
After we left Camden, we noticed that pretty much all the tube lines were down due to construction, but we managed to make our way down to Westminster to see the crucial London sights. We saw the River Thames and took some pictures together in front of the London Eye.
It didn't take long for Vanessa and Katie to convince me that we had to ride the London Eye, even though it was expensive, I was damn near broke, and I was almost positive I was going in a week when my family visits anyway. We got our tickets and stood online for about 20 minutes and could not have possibly timed it better. We got on just as the sun was going down and the whole city was lit up beautifully. Just as our pod hit the highest point on the wheel, fireworks were being set off on the River right in front of us in honor of Rememberance Day. It was so scenic it reminded me how much I have totally fallen in love with this city over the past few months. Katie, on the other hand, didn't need as much time to grow appreciation. She had been declaring since the moment she arrived that London would one day be her permanent home.
After the Eye, we met up with three of Vanessa's friends who were also visiting London so we could all have dinner together (along with Alyssia and Emily), at my favorite Chinese food place Hare&Tortuous. Because the tubes were down we had QUITE an adventure getting to the resturant, but I won't waste time and energy describing the ordeal because it was insanely frustrating and disheartening. On the upside, dinner was delicious, and afterwards, Vanessa, Katie, Alyssia, Emily and I all went back to my flat for a drink. Bedtime was early that night for sure.
Sunday was an overdue lazy day. I hadn't sat in my flat awake for more than an hour since Wednesday, and I was so tired and wiped out I could hardly get out of my bed. I slept 12 hours, during which Katie left for the airport, and then woke up to say goodbye to Vanessa when she got back from seeing more of London that afternoon. I grabbed some groceries, made some lunch, and watched a lot of television. Got to catch up on my shows!
Today, I was back to a hectic routine; I had to wake up extra early and take the tube an hour out into zone four for my international marketing class field trip to Wembley stadium. The tour of the stadium was actually a lot of fun, and I was really excited to see more of London- especially on class time and on someone else's dollar. Now that I'm leaving in just five weeks, I feel like I have to see everything! I already know next week is going to be insane and filled with London adventures, since my parents and Matt (!!!!!!) arrive on Saturday for a week long visit. I miss Matt so much, I haven't seen him since May, so he better be prepared for a lot of squeezy hugs.
Tomorrow, I have another class field trip (British Life & Cultures) to see the houses of Parliament. Should be sufficiently dull- no one knows as little about politics as I do. The good news is, today I found Nutella cereal in the supermarket and will be having a deliciously fattening breakfast in the morning.
Cheers!
Saturday was a long day. After getting only about 5 hours of sleep or so after a fun Friday night, I woke up to an all too chipper Kate and an appropriately chipper Vanessa (chipper meter determined in direct correlation to the hour), who had just arrived at Heathrow airport that morning. They had one full day left in London and so it was my job to show them the best of it, so we got to work. Of course our first stop was Camden Market, my favorite shopping destination in the city, where we spent a couple of hours looking around. I'm amazed at how every time I go there I see a new section of it I never knew existed.
After we left Camden, we noticed that pretty much all the tube lines were down due to construction, but we managed to make our way down to Westminster to see the crucial London sights. We saw the River Thames and took some pictures together in front of the London Eye.
After the Eye, we met up with three of Vanessa's friends who were also visiting London so we could all have dinner together (along with Alyssia and Emily), at my favorite Chinese food place Hare&Tortuous. Because the tubes were down we had QUITE an adventure getting to the resturant, but I won't waste time and energy describing the ordeal because it was insanely frustrating and disheartening. On the upside, dinner was delicious, and afterwards, Vanessa, Katie, Alyssia, Emily and I all went back to my flat for a drink. Bedtime was early that night for sure.
Sunday was an overdue lazy day. I hadn't sat in my flat awake for more than an hour since Wednesday, and I was so tired and wiped out I could hardly get out of my bed. I slept 12 hours, during which Katie left for the airport, and then woke up to say goodbye to Vanessa when she got back from seeing more of London that afternoon. I grabbed some groceries, made some lunch, and watched a lot of television. Got to catch up on my shows!
Today, I was back to a hectic routine; I had to wake up extra early and take the tube an hour out into zone four for my international marketing class field trip to Wembley stadium. The tour of the stadium was actually a lot of fun, and I was really excited to see more of London- especially on class time and on someone else's dollar. Now that I'm leaving in just five weeks, I feel like I have to see everything! I already know next week is going to be insane and filled with London adventures, since my parents and Matt (!!!!!!) arrive on Saturday for a week long visit. I miss Matt so much, I haven't seen him since May, so he better be prepared for a lot of squeezy hugs.
Tomorrow, I have another class field trip (British Life & Cultures) to see the houses of Parliament. Should be sufficiently dull- no one knows as little about politics as I do. The good news is, today I found Nutella cereal in the supermarket and will be having a deliciously fattening breakfast in the morning.
Cheers!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Katie is moving to London, apparently
I have spent entirely too many hours wearing stockings in the past ten days. I can get passed this though, because I look so damn cute in my little professional outfits I think it's worth the annoyance. My internship is going really well- I love my boss and all the people I work with, and I just found out I'm actually going to receive a small amount of compensation at the end of the seven weeks (paid in GBP, score!) even though its kind of against the rules. The days are long of course, but they don't drag which is good. Twenty-four hours a week is a lot, but I suppose it hardly compares to how much I worked this summer. I also kind of enjoy my twenty minute commute every morning; I take the number 14 bus from South Kensington to Green Park (yes, I sit on top of the double deckers...I don't care how long you live here it's still cool) and on the way get to see great parts of the city. The windows in Harrod's (which are comparable to the holiday windows at Sax Fifth Avenue) look amazing because it's Christmastime and the whole city is getting ready for the season.
Besides working so much at my internship, I had the most hectic, insane, fun week in London. Wednesday, I went straight from my job to meet one of my flatmates, Ruth, in Picadilly for dinner and a comedy show. We had bought tickets for the show through our abroad program for 5 quid, which was an amazing discount. After dinner at TGIF, we sat down at the comedy club for happy hour drinks and the show. It was hysterical, I literally have not laughed that hard in a long time. I didn't think it was going to be that funny because it was improv instead of stand up, but it was really entertaining.
After the show, I got home and Katie was sitting on my couch!! (This wasn't a surprise, I knew she was coming but it was still just like Christmas morning!) She brought my chocolates from France to thank me for hosting her for the weekend, which was adorable and one of the million reasons why I love her. We spent some time chatting and catching up, but then I had to go to sleep because I had work early the next morning. During the day on Friday, Katie met me on my lunch break at this yummy salad place, and then came to see my office. After I got out of work, we had a quick dinner at my flat and then went with Mimi to see Wicked at the Apollo Theater in Victoria. It's already one of my favorite shows, but the singing that night made me fall in LOVE. The cast was incredible, and the woman who played Elphaba (who yes, had an Irish accent!) blew Idina Menzel out of the water.
Friday, I had work again but it was good to know I had an exciting weekend coming up. Friday night, everyone in my flat plus about 18 other people visiting went out to a club. I haven't gone out with everyone in a LONG time since I was travelling so much last month and have just been so tired all the time. We went to a club called Pacha, where there was a random fashion show going on. Katie and I got home super late and then, much to my distaste, woke up super early on Saturday morning for another long day.
I'm going to finish updating a little later, I have to eat some dinner and work on a paper I have due on Tuesday. It would also be nice if I could find an open washer/dryer to get some laundry done.
Cheers!
Besides working so much at my internship, I had the most hectic, insane, fun week in London. Wednesday, I went straight from my job to meet one of my flatmates, Ruth, in Picadilly for dinner and a comedy show. We had bought tickets for the show through our abroad program for 5 quid, which was an amazing discount. After dinner at TGIF, we sat down at the comedy club for happy hour drinks and the show. It was hysterical, I literally have not laughed that hard in a long time. I didn't think it was going to be that funny because it was improv instead of stand up, but it was really entertaining.
After the show, I got home and Katie was sitting on my couch!! (This wasn't a surprise, I knew she was coming but it was still just like Christmas morning!) She brought my chocolates from France to thank me for hosting her for the weekend, which was adorable and one of the million reasons why I love her. We spent some time chatting and catching up, but then I had to go to sleep because I had work early the next morning. During the day on Friday, Katie met me on my lunch break at this yummy salad place, and then came to see my office. After I got out of work, we had a quick dinner at my flat and then went with Mimi to see Wicked at the Apollo Theater in Victoria. It's already one of my favorite shows, but the singing that night made me fall in LOVE. The cast was incredible, and the woman who played Elphaba (who yes, had an Irish accent!) blew Idina Menzel out of the water.
Friday, I had work again but it was good to know I had an exciting weekend coming up. Friday night, everyone in my flat plus about 18 other people visiting went out to a club. I haven't gone out with everyone in a LONG time since I was travelling so much last month and have just been so tired all the time. We went to a club called Pacha, where there was a random fashion show going on. Katie and I got home super late and then, much to my distaste, woke up super early on Saturday morning for another long day.
I'm going to finish updating a little later, I have to eat some dinner and work on a paper I have due on Tuesday. It would also be nice if I could find an open washer/dryer to get some laundry done.
Cheers!
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