May 2009

Hello again! See, I said I would be a little more consistent from now on...

So about the month of May, even though it was ages ago now. In England, there aren't very many proper holidays - there is Christmas, New Year's, Easter, and then "bank holidays". How boring and so very English is that? Anyway in May there are two bank holidays - one at the end and one at the beginning to make for two nice long three day weekends. The first I didn't do much other than study - yes, the month of May was very consumed with work and studying, again. Don't I lead a super exciting life that's worth blogging about?

Well anyway work did actually lead to a rather exciting trip at the end of May - I went to Bulgaria for a few days as one of my clients owns some property there. I always love to see new places, so I was quite excited to go! We went to the capital, Sofia, and stayed in the Hilton which was...the same as every other Hilton. Sofia was interesting though - you can still definitely see the communist influences in the architecture and infrastructure, but there is a load of construction going on as well that seems to have a western influence too. A lot of the buildings were old and pretty dilapidated - chunks of the wall missing, paint peeling, etc., but then right next to these buildings would be a sparkling new high rise. The most startling thing to my spoiled American eyes was the "buses" - more like trams really, that literally looked like they had come straight out of 1945. Well, not straight b/c then they wouldn't have been in the state they were in. Here is a picture:
To be fair, here is a picture of the city, hopefully you can see how beautiful it is:

And for good measure, this is how you spell "McDonald's" in Bulgarian:

So that was Bulgaria. To back track a bit, in the middle of May I had my first official guest in my flat - my friend Lina came to visit from Sweden! She was only here for a short weekend, but it was still so good to have her. She had lived in London herself for a few years several years ago, so it was nice not to be obligated to do all the touristy stuff. We did go to Portobello Rd market (I've fallen in love with this street market, even though it's pretty touristy and extremely crowded, things I generally loathe, I love it. I love the things you can see and smell and hear. And buy, of course). On Saturday I also made American pancakes for breakfast, and then we had Swedish pancakes for dinner! It's a wonder I didn't gain ten pounds from that weekend, really. On Sunday we were low-key - a bit of shopping for clothes for her one-year-old daughter (I love to buy baby clothes so I spoil all of my friends' kids), and the baby to be (Lina is expecting her second in August). All in all a fantastic time and I was so sad to see her go. She also met James for the first time and gave her seal of approval, but I mean really, who wouldn't? He's perfect.

Also in May four girls from the States came to visit! Three of the girls (Meisel, Jenn, and Jenni) were close friends from my Kansas City office, and one of them brought a friend of theirs along that I had only met once. It was such an amazing time - they got here on a Friday morning and unfortunately I had to work until about 3 that day, but when I got home we immediately went to a pub and started drinking while we waited for James to arrive for dinner. The girls were being true Americans - a bit loud after a few drinks (uh, you know who I mean) - but I loved every second of it! It was good to be in the company of Americans again. They all loved James too and were quick to make fun of how ridiculously cheesy we are with each other.

Saturday we did the touristy thing but I turned it into a bit of a pub crawl as well - pub-site-pub-site, you get the picture. It was quite fun indeed. Sunday we did the British museum, Tower Bridge, oh, and a pub. I took them to all kinds of fun restaurants too - food you can't easily find in KC - Lebanese, Indian, Korean, etc. They went on to travel round Europe for the next few weeks, then came back through London for a night on their way back to the States. I had so much fun while they were here and it meant so much to me that they came - I know it's expensive to get over here but it was so nice to be with good friends. Especially since it's been a bit slow making friends in London. Well, other than James. So thanks girls for coming!! Here are some pics of their visit, and there are plenty more on facebook:

At Big Ben:
And on the London Eye:Ok well that wraps up the month of May, but June will be coming soon! I miss everyone back home and I hope all is well!

Heather xoxo

April 2009

It's been ages and ages since I've written, and I'm sorry! I hope everyone hasn't given up on me. I've been horribly busy at work, and for April and May I was studying for an exam to get certified in international accounting standards so all of my time outside of work was taken up with studying. But anyway, enough excuses.

I went home for about a week and a half at the beginning of April - to KC for about two days then to Ohio for Easter and to just chill (well, unfortunately a larger proportion than I would have liked was spent studying). On the plane on the way to the US I sat next to a marine who had been in Iraq for four years and was returning to the States for good. He was a massive person - I'm not exaggerating when I say that his forearms were the size of my thighs. He was very nice though, and interesting to talk to. Once again, it was nice to be back in the States and surrounded by all of the American accents. I won't be home again until Christmas, mainly because most of my family is coming to Europe this summer to visit.

After my return from the States I dove right back into work and have been busy ever since. I haven't decided which is worse - to work longer hours but for a shorter period of time like in the US firm, or to continually work 45-50 hours for six months of the year, like in the UK firm. I won't lie, I'm weary of work.

Also in April James (MJ's real name - everyone knows about us in the office now) took me to his hometown of Harrogate, in north Yorkshire (a county in north-east England). Once again, I was completely enthralled by the quaintness of the English countryside, and Harrogate was lovely. His family has since moved elsewhere, but he still has quite a few friends there. Harrogate was discovered to have sulphur springs years ago, so back in the day it was the place that all the royals and posh folks went to have healing baths and such nonsense. James and I went through the little museum for the springs/Harrogate (extremely random and overpriced, but funny due to the randomness), and got to taste the sulphur water (disgusting - no idea how they used to drink it. I mean I'd have to be really bloody sick and think that it was going to work miracles to drink the stuff). We also went to a famous teahouse called Betty's and had a proper cream tea (tea with scones, jam, and clotted cream). Yummy! I bought some delicious tea there to fill out my collection that's growing in my cupboard - seriously I'm becoming a proper English tea-drinking girl!

We met up with James's friends from school (primary/high school) on the Saturday night and went to a few pubs/clubs. We were all pretty far from sober by the end of the night but it was a really good time and James's friends are lovely. We met up with them again the next night for curry for one of the girls's birthdays. On the way back from Harrogate we stopped in a town called Knaresborough with an idyllic view of a bridge high over a river, and a ruined castle high on the hill. So gorgeous. If you are on facebook, all of our photos are on James's page. We also stopped in York, the largest city in north Yorkshire, and went to see the cathedral there and had a few pints in a pub (of course).

Later in April we went to Burnham for James's granny's birthday, and I met the parents...gasp! It was fine though, his family was so nice and fun-loving. His aunt's house, where the birthday party was held, had the loveliest backyard ("garden" as they call it here, and a proper English garden at that) with amazing landscaping. I made beer bread - James was assigned to brings chips (crisps in England), but I couldn't 't show up with just a bag of chips to meet his parents for the first time - and it was such a hit! Now he gets to meet my parents at the end of July when they come to visit...

Well, unfortunately that's about it for April, what with the studying and working bits, but I won't bore you with that. I'll write May and June entries this week, I promise!

xoxo,
Heather

Springtime and vomit

It's been much, much too long since I've written, and I'm so sorry! But I'm writing now and get ready for a long one. Since Denisse's visit so much has happened, good and bad.

The weekend after Denisse was in London I went to a friend's birthday party in a rather dodgy part of London. At one point, a bum wandered into the party (I think someone had left the front door open), and he started ranting loudly at various people at the party. I also observed him standing next to the counter with all the liquor trying to get as many bottles and cans into his jacket as he could. When something wouldn't fit in one he would try another one until he found a spot. The party was very fun though, we stayed out until after 4 and I was a zombie the next day. I didn't do anything on Saturday until Dasha's friend Dana's leaving do (this is the English word for a party/event/get-together) at a bar in Covent Garden, as she left for a secondment to Tokyo for six months. Whilst there, a guy came over to me and said, "Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but you are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen". It was so flattering! And rather unusual, b/c I've come to realise (and also been told by other English folk) that English men are no where near as forward as American men with women. So an incident like this would never normally be expected here in London (at least from an Englishman). For example, I made most of the first moves with MJ. He did ask if I wanted to go to lunch "sometime", but I was the one to ask him on our first official date. This difference in culture is somewhat nice b/c you don't have to worry about being harassed by annoying men at a bar like you sometimes do in the States, but also could be somewhat frustrating b/c on the off chance that you do want someone to come talk to you they probably won't. The other difference I've noticed between American and English men is that English men are much more loyal to their women. I don't just mean they don't cheat on their wives/gfs, I mean that they dote on their girls more, and aren't embarrassed to admit to being in love or doing things that make their girl happy just b/c it makes her happy. I feel like American men are much more standoffish and aloof with women than English men once they are in a relationship. But that's just my opinion.

The next weekend, MJ and I went on a mini-holiday to visit the Cotswolds - a picture-perfect part of England (think thatched roofs and sheep-dotted countryside) populated mostly by middle-aged white people but in a charming way. We took the train up on the Friday after work and then a taxi to the village. We had to book the taxi in advance b/c the station was so small that there wasn't a taxi rank. On the train up, I was reading an American accounting magazine (I know, lame), and MJ said, "There are a lot of big words in there for an American magazine", and the guy sitting next to me (MJ and I were across from each other at one of those tables on the train) could barely contain his laughter. I had to explain that MJ never stops taking the piss out of me (aka giving me crap) for being American. It was pretty funny. We stayed in a hotel that was hundreds of years old in a village called Stow-on-the-Wold (complete with uneven floors and very low wooden ceiling beams that poor MJ kept hitting his head on). It was very charming and quaint, as was the entire village. Our room even had it's own name!

On the Saturday we went to see something that I don't believe exists in the States - a model village. This is a miniature version of a certain town (generally the one that you're in) with knee-high buildings, trees, and streets. We went to see this in one of the neighboring villages called Bourton-on-Water - the model village was outside the back of a pub. We took some pictures being godzilla (original thinking, I know) and then came across the model of the model village. That's right - a model model village. And within this model, which was about a tabletop in size, there was a model of the model! Within that book-sized model, there was a model of the model. Or, to put it another way, a model in a model in a model in a model. I know, it made my head hurt a bit too.

After the miniature model conundrum (where does it stop??), we went on our own little pub crawl to sample the fine ales of the Cotswolds. Oh, by the way, a real ale (not something we have in the States) isn't carbonated and is served at room temperature. I don't like it so much. But our pub crawl was loads of fun anyway b/c they also have normal beer - we went to two or three of the four pubs in the village. I love beer. That night, we made the most of the heart of the British countryside by eating traditional English cuisine on Saturday night (chicken tikka massala, chicken passanda, peshwari naan and boiled rice).

On Sunday we did absolutely nothing, and it was absolutely wonderful. Once we checked out of the hotel, we went to another of the pubs for pub lunch and tea. Pub lunch in Britain is a very hearty meal and sitting for hours drinking tea/beer. MJ and I bought a paper and sat and read up on what was happening in the world for a good two and a half hours or so. It was a very relaxing and perfect Sunday. On the train on the way back to London one of the guys in our carriage had an epileptic seizure and the people next to him had to do the whole 'Is there a doctor on the train' thing - a bit scary!

The next Tuesday I got sick at work - spent about an hour vomiting up my lunch. I went home and stayed there for the next three days. Well, I did come in for about half the day on Wednesday, but even on my way there I knew it was a bad decision. I couldn't keep any food down and hardly even water - sometimes I would just be retching on an empty stomach. I was so miserable by Thursday that I finally went to the doctor, who told me that I had a kidney infection, and a very bad one as they don't see them very often where they make people vomit. The doctor put me on antibiotics for a week and it took them about four and a half days to work. I've never been so sick in my life - I missed two and a half days of work, didn't leave the flat for three days, and lost about five pounds or so b/c I couldn't eat a proper meal for about a week. Now none of my trousers fit me, or rather, the trousers that I've recently bought don't fit me, and the ones that I bought years ago and were a little tight fit perfectly again! The sickness was terrible though, I would never wish it on anyone. Another weird side effect was that I couldn't control my body temperature - if I didn't have a sweater or a blanket on I would shiver uncontrollably, but then if I put too many layers on I would sweat like a pig - disgusting. I was like a bloody crocodile - temperature regulated by my environment. Trying the tube on my first day back to work was an awful mistake - it was so hot that I sweat right through my suit (gross, I know), and then I was out of it for about half of the day again. But I'm better now, and very thankful for my health everyday, it's amazing how easily we take it for granted.

A few weeks ago we had a planning dinner for an audit that I was on, and it was loads of fun - one of the managers organised a game of Clue but with a theme for the client, and my team won! The dinner was very nice - it was in a private boardroom-esque room in a nicer pub, and the wine did not stop flowing. Let's just say the night ended with me falling down half a flight of stairs on the way into the tube. I still have a scar. Brilliant showing in front of my colleagues.

Speaking of work, I've been pretty busy but still not as bad as the States - I worked my first 50 hour week last week but still wasn't working on the weekend. I just had a lot of catching up to do from being sick.

Two weekends ago I went to a surprise birthday party for one of MJ's friends in the O2 centre, a giant arena for concerts and sports with loads of restaurants, a movie theatre, and a few amusement park rides surrounding it, all under the same roof. It's like a mini city. This is where I saw Coldplay. Anyway, the party was fun, and then we all went on bumper cars which was even better. One of MJ's friends and I then went on the biggest ride, which was loads of fun but there were a few times when it crossed my mind that one should not go on rides such as these after drinking. I contemplated the trajectory that vomit would get from being flung through the air by the giant steel pendulum from which I was being swung. Fortunately I didn't have to find out.

The very next night I went back to the O2 to see Snow Patrol with Dasha. They were very good and I love the band so it was amazing to hear the music live, but I was a little disappointed with the concert overall. There just wasn't much production value and when I go to a concert I want more than the band singing to me exactly like I can hear it on the record. But it really still was great.

Last week I went to Slough (sounds like plow) for work on Friday, which is the setting of the English version of the show The Office. I was so excited that I took my camera to take pictures of the buildings that they show in the opening credits (b/c that's the only bit that actually is in Slough). Slough is a very mediocre and nondescript commuter town outside of London, so you can imagine what I looked like on a busy street taking photos of a parking garage. It would be similar to someone getting excited about taking photos of a Wal-Mart in America. But it was awesome, and anyone who has seen The Office would be very proud of me. I was going to post the pics with this blog, but I am lazy and do not want to plug my camera into my computer and then go through the process of posting them. Sad, I know. But it is late.

Last weekend MJ and I took a day trip on Sunday to Oxford. His sister lives there so I met her (big step!), and she was so lovely and we got along really well. We just kind of tooled around town all day, the weather was gorgeous as it had been all week, so we just walked around the university and the park, ate lunch, ate ice cream, went to the pub. Excellent relaxing day! There were these people called Morris Dancers in the streets everywhere, which was a bit odd but added to the charm I guess. They were dressed in all kinds of weird costumes, and were dancing in the streets to accordions and flutes and bagpipes. Apparently this is an ancient form of fertility dance but they are having trouble getting the younger generation interested. Wonder why...

I'm coming home in a week and a half - on the 2nd. I'll be in KC for only one day, the 3rd, and I'd really like to try to see everyone! I'll send an email out soon to try to organise a little get together for everyone, but leave your calendar free if you can!

As always, I'll leave you with some new words, although I must apologise if I've told you these before, I can never remember and am too lazy to look back though.

Pancake day = Fat Tuesday - much more tame than the American version.

fair dos = fair enough

xoxo,
Heather

Fire! And Being Tourists in London

Last Tuesday someone tried to burn our building down. Yep, someone tried to kill most of the London employees of GT. It all started with an innocent little fire alarm that we all thought was a drill b/c they tend to run these a few times a year (yes, we have fire drills like we're in 3rd grade - quite practical actually, not sure why the US doesn't take part in these little excuses to waste a few minutes of the day, keep everyone from nodding off at their computers, you know), but when we had all trooped outside I noticed a few maintenance men doubled over like they were struggling to breathe and one was holding a cloth to his mouth. Then someone said, "Is that smoke?", and sure enough, smoke was coming from these vents beside the building that lead to the basement. The fire wardens came round and told us that it was a real fire and to just go ahead and go to lunch, since it was about noon. We went to our little local GT pub called the Jollies, and that kitchen probably hasn't seen so much action at lunch time in years. We were told that we could head back to the building around 12:45, but we didn't actually go back until 1:45. The building smelled faintly of smoke and the lights weren't working - not a huge deal since we still had daylight (and no one has actual offices, remember?). Then about 3:30 the fire alarm went off again and when we made it outside the smoke was pouring out of the basement vents. We headed back to the pub (not a bad Tuesday all in all), and they told us around 5 that no one was allowed back in but they would escort groups of ten at a time up to get their things if they needed them. The people who went back said that the smoke was so bad in the building that their eyes were burning and they could feel it in their lungs. Later we heard rumors that it was arson, and sure enough, the next day the head of the London office said that there was a police investigation regarding the fire! We've all been speculating who it might have been (one of the people made redundant last year??), but apparently there is now a member of the security group who is a suspect. Scary - one of the people who's supposed to protect you is trying to kill you. Maybe this will teach us a lesson to be polite to our security guards and wish them a good morning and good night. So now we have increased security (? - assuming they're not all bad I guess) who simply stand there and watch us tap in and out of the gates going into the building, making sure we each have a pass to get in. Quite creepy actually. So with a major snow storm two Mondays ago and fire last Tuesday, we're all wondering what's going to happen this Wednesday. MJ thinks it's going to be zombies. That would be an interesting email - "Due to the undead roaming the streets, please refrain from coming to the office unless you are ensured of your safe journey both to and from home." I guess we'll see tomorrow. And girls - the "hot fireman" steryotype is true in Britain as well, but also like the US, the live versions are generally disappointing.

MJ and I went to the same pub after the second fire drill and it was slightly thrilling to have to sit across the table from each other and pretend like we barely knew each other and engage in idle chit chat. We were two of the last four and ended up leaving together, but I'm almost positive one of the two already knows about us, and the other was too drunk to notice.

Wednesday MJ took me to dinner for his VDay and my 'it's just Wednesday' dinner. He had told me about this restaurant that he always took girls to for dates, and I told him that he had to take me there sometime, just so I could see what his "game" used to be. Well, I told him to surprise me this Wednesday, and he took me to this place. Good game, MJ. It was actually pretty good - one of those gourmet pizza places. Except apparently the British are too cool to cut a pizza up for you (well, the nicer places at least), and they give you a table knife to cut it up yourself. I think I spent as many calories cutting the damn thing as I took in eating it.

On Thursday I tried to come into work early (meaning 8 am - we start at 9 am here - I know you all in the States are jealous), and was slightly delayed due to the arrest of a woman on the bus that I was riding. I was bopping away with my headphones in, and when we stopped for an unusually long period of time at a bus stop, I realized (I just had to go back and correct the spelling of that word - I spelled it 'realised' first - I'm finally integrating!) that there was a bit of a commotion going on behind me. When I stopped my music I heard this man shouting at a girl to give him her information, and when she kept refusing he shouted down to the driver to let the rest of us off and transfer us to the next bus. I assumed that he was a police officer with the way that he was ordering the driver around. So I never actually saw her get arrested but if not that was an overly aggressive way to get some digits. Either way I couldn't help but smile - you never know what's going to happen in London!

Speaking of, I don't know if I ever told this story, but when my grandma was here with me the first two weeks we got onto the tube after going to a show and there was a man slumped in one of the seats, passed out, with vomit covering the front of him. It smelled so awful we had to move carriages at the next stop. Ah, London.

Thursday was my brother Tim's 20th birthday and I got to Skype him to tell him happy birthday - I love skype so much - it's magic! The rest of you should get on and find me - we could talk via webcam, it's the best!

Also on Thursday I went to dinner with MJ again, this time to meet some of his friends that I hadn't met before. They were really, really lovely - much better than Ben let's just say. There was Brinda (Brin) and Bal, who are married, Charlotte and Niko (dating) and Charlotte's sister Lizzie who was visiting from Manchester. Not sure why I felt compelled to tell you their relationship status just there, like this is facebook or something. I'm such a dbag sometimes. Anyway, they were all very warm and funny and welcoming and I could tell that they all had really good hearts. And they seemed to be ok with Americans, which is always a plus. We ate at a Latin American place, and it was SOOO delicious! Real Mexican food - exactly what I've been craving all this time! I ate so much I thought they might have to roll me out of there.

Last Friday MJ sent me the following text: "Three months ago today we met for the first time Knoxy. And I'm still crazy about you. xxx" I literally swooned! He's amazing.

This weekend Denisse was in town from the States - my first visit from the US!! She was here for work, but stayed over the weekend to see me and tour London a little. On Friday we went to eat dim sum with Dasha and her friend Ruth. I also got to see Denisse's baby bump for the first time (she's 5 months prego with baby #1) and it's so adorable!! For those of you who don't know her she's a beautiful, tiny Latin American girl who is going to be all belly in about a month I bet. Saturday we went to Portobello Road, which I hadn't been to since I was a tourist to London in 2005, and I completely fell in love with it! I'm totally addicted to that place now - it's so beautiful and busy, but not too crowded and hectic. Just bustling, if you know what I mean. They had some really unique clothes there too, which is the main reason that I'm addicted.

We met up with MJ for lunch around one at a warm little pub, and we all had bangers (sausages) and mash - a very English meal for Denisse! Then we did the super touristy stuff - Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament, Trafalgar Square. Both MJ and Denisse have those giant cameras with the titan lenses, so we were incredibly conspicuous, but that's part of the fun, right? The photo posted above with Denisse and her camera and I and my map is my favorite from the day b/c we look like such tourists! It turned out to be a really lovely, albeit cold day, so we walked everywhere mostly. After all of that walking we went back to my flat so that she could see it, and rested for a bit, then went and had Thai at one of my neighborhood pubs. They had decorated the place for VDay - it was so cute! And they had two very old men play love songs on a keyboard and drums while the owner sang along. And he walked around and gave roses to all of the ladies in the room. When we left the owner said through the mic, "Now you've got them all liquored up..." and MJ gave him a big smile and a double thumbs up. So embarrassing.

I was quite depressed on Sunday after Denisse was gone b/c it made me miss all of my friends back in the States. I have friends here and all, just not as many as back home, and the making of these friends seems to be more slow going since there isn't a built in social network like college, and the office is so big here it doesn't lend itself well to making friends very easily. I know it will just take time, but it does make me sad to be without my friends back home.

Well on that uplifting note I'm going to say ta ta for now, but not without a new word:

pootle = amble

Miss you all, love you!

Heather

January

I'm trying to make up for my lack of writing this past month by writing twice in one week - I hope I still have some readers left! January started off pretty tame since my flatmate Dasha was out of town in the States on a little Christmas time holiday to see friends. The first week back was full of MJ, yoga, and getting over jet lag. Also getting back in the swing of things at work. I think it wasn't until Thursday that I could legitimately say that I cared about work again. But good thing b/c it got really busy the next week. I started my first UK audit at this time, and went to Sheffield last week and the week before for the bulk of the fieldwork. Sheffield is a city about two hours north of London by train, and everyone was telling me how awful it was, saying that it was ugly and rather economically depressed. I guess it used to be a big steel town in years past, and it just doesn't have much to offer now. So I wasn't looking forward to a stellar time while away from home, but then I guess that's pretty on par with the away jobs from Kansas City to Small Town USA. When we got to Sheffield though I was pleasantly surprised! First of all since it was a bigger city we got to stay in a nice hotel, instead of, you know, Best Western or Country Inn and Suites. We stayed in a cute little boutique hotel within five minutes walk of the client, both being in the city centre (I guess Britain's word for downtown). The city centre was actually really lovely - I was told that they had just remodeled everything in 2005 or so, so there were pretty fountains and nice shops and restaurants everywhere. The people who told me that it wasn't nice must have been talking about outside the city centre. Or maybe I just have low expectations... Anyway, the audit is going well, just pretty busy. UK audits and US audits don't seem to be that different actually, I guess it's all GT in the end right? They just put extra Us in words and esses where zees should be...


My weekends in January were pretty packed as well - Dasha, MJ, Andrea, and Dasha's friend Natalia all went to this fantastic house party a few weekends ago. There were loads of people there but it kind of felt like we brought the party - we had two giant bags of beer, an Ipod loaded with a killer 80s playlist, and a good chunk of the party. The flat was a multi-level place with the kitchen on the lower level, and part of the party was there while the rest was on the ground floor. We ended up staying in the kitchen all night and when we finally ventured upstairs there was no one left, even though our half was still going strong! Not surprising though, I mean Dasha and I did rock out to Africa by Toto at least four times - who wouldn't want to stick around for that?? We've been on this 80s music kick lately - seems like every Friday night we end up coming back to the flat, turning 80s music up loud, and having dance party central in our living room. So lame but so damn fun. Last weekend Dasha disappeared into her room when we got home and emerged wearing lycra head to toe, with legwarmers and a sweet headband! So awesome.


The weekend before the house party I went with MJ to his friends' birthday dinner at a hibachi Japanese restaurant and it was very entertaining, as those places usually are. Another slightly big step for me, but I can't seem to help it anymore, I'm falling for this MJ guy pretty hard. He's one of the sweetest men I've ever met and one of those people who you can just tell has a truly good heart. And he seems to really like me which is an extra bonus...he's very attentive to me and dotes on me. What more could a girl want? Well this cynical girl, at least. He asked what I wanted to do for Valentine's Day and all I said was, "Can we please just not celebrate it?" He looked a bit taken aback so I had to explain that I do like romance, just not the kind that's contrived b/c Hallmark says so. He still seemed a little disappointed - such a romantic, I love it! We had actually planned to go away this weekend to the Cotswolds (an area of London known for its quaintness - think 200 year old cottages with thatched roofs and antique shops on every corner), but snow stopped us from going. So he has now convinced me to go to dinner on Wednesday for dinner "just b/c it's Wednesday" - not a V Day dinner. Likely story. Oh well, I guess if he wants to take me to dinner I won't object...twist my arm. So far any time with him is good time.


Except one bit - which wasn't even his fault. Do you remember when I wrote about meeting some of his friends for the first time and there was one guy that had just returned from living in the States who wouldn't stop giving me crap for being American? Last weekend we went to a party hosted in his flat, and MJ and I arrived a bit later than most people but jumped right in chatting and playing random drinking games that I'd never heard of but were fun all the same. About an hour into said party, Ben (this is America-hating friend) announces that it is time for boat racing, and begins to fill a pan with water. He and another girl at the party demonstrate how this "game" is played and lay on their bellies at either end of the pan and try to blow a match from their end to the other first. I think this whole thing is pretty odd, but dismiss it b/c many things in this country are odd to me. The demonstration ends and new volunteers are sought. I am somehow volunteered (actually come to think of it it was Ben's gf who volunteered me - even de-nominating her friend and suggesting me in her place. Perhaps she's not too keen on Americans either), and not one to be a party pooper, I accept. My opponent is some guy I've never met before - as are the rest of the people at the party except Ben and his gf. So the 'boat race' begins, and just before the race ends, Ben slams his hand down into the pan and completely soaks both of us with water. I might as well have taken the pan of water and chucked it into my face - my hair was wet, the entire front of my shirt was soaked, mascara was running down my face. It quickly dawns on me that this was the entire point of this whole production. Let me clarify - I go to a party of mostly professional adults, and the highlight of the party is to play a mean trick on two unsuspecting people, one of whom is brand new to the group. I can't say that my reaction was much more mature than the incident to begin with - I simply got up and went into the bathroom to dry off, locking the door behind me. I was furious. I wanted nothing more than to leave and never see or speak to Ben again. But he is one of MJ's best friends so I tried to stick it out for him. It was pretty obvious how upset I was and Ben was apologizing the rest of the night, but I generally ignored him or was just a downright bitch to him. I'll admit I didn't handle it in the best fashion, but other girls will attest that sometimes we let our emotions get the best of us. I mean really though, at least the worst thing we do to people in America is make them buy a round of drinks or, I don't know, a keg stand or something.


This Sunday it started snowing - giant, sticky flakes, and it continued all through the night. Monday morning we awoke to a winter wonderland! It was still snowing that morning and in the end we got about 12 inches. London never gets this much snow - they said the last time was 18 years ago, so the city is completely ill-equipped to handle the situation. The tube was down, no buses were running, and there was hardly a taxi to be found. Fortunately the head of London audit emailed that morning and told us to stay home unless we could guarantee our safe journey to and from the office, so I stayed at home. "Un"fortunately the internet receiver on my computer wasn't working so I couldn't connect to the VPN at work, so I could only do about 2 hours of work. The rest of the day I napped and watched some program about the Earth's magnetic core. At least I was kind of engaging my brain, right? Towards the end of the afternoon my flatmate Andrea and I went to Primrose Hill, a park about 10 minutes from us to go sledding on the giant hill there. When we got there I was blown away by how many people were there! Since snow isn't common in London hardly anyone had a proper sled, so everyone was using anything they could get their hands on. Andrea and I brought our air mattress which didn't end up working too well, there were several people with metal road signs (pretty sure that's illegal but it was brilliant), trash can lids, pieces of tarp, I even saw an ironing board! We ended up using a To Let (i.e. lease) sign that was laminated cardboard so it flew over the snow (which by the time we got there was a mixture of ice and mud). It was so much fun - I felt like I was 6 years old again! We also made snow angels and tromped around the park, looking at every one's snowmen and snow forts. Someone was even working on a proper igloo! Well, not blocks of ice, obviously, but the basic shape was there. Someone else had built a headless man sitting on a bench, so you could get behind it with your head on the neck and take a picture - so clever! There were people with proper skis and snowboards going down the hill, there was even a guy dressed in a penguin costume (wtf?)! It was such a good day and everyone was in such good spirits. Snow makes the cold worth it. They're calling for snow again tomorrow morning and Monday again so I'm crossing my fingers! This is also why MJ and I couldn't make it to the Cotswolds - they're still getting it there. Apparently they've run out of salt as well. Oopsie.


Ok well must sleep (stayed up entirely too late again writing this one - I just get so carried away!).


xoxo,
Heather

Swimming with dolphins! Kansas City, and the return to London

I know it's been ages since I've written, but I have a valid excuse - I haven't had internet access in my flat since I returned from Christmas break b/c one of my lovely flatmates decided to change our service to this awful company where nothing is easy and it takes a customer service call that you have to pay for to get connected to the wireless router. Brilliant. Anyway, I know I haven't been keeping my New Year's resolution to write every week but let's just start calling it my February resolution. I have so much to write since it's been so long, so this will have to come in installments. First - before I returned to London:

My mom's Christmas present to my Dad was to have the whole family go swimming with dolphins at the Indianapolis zoo! Well, we didn't actually get to swim, but we did loads of other cool things. We wore wetsuits, but we were inside in the dolphins' 80F tanks anyway so it wasn't a big deal. Wetsuit was good to hide my pasty skin though. Anyway, first we got into the tank about waist deep and two of the eight dolphins at this zoo came up to us and the trainers showed us things on the dolphins like their ears (tiny, tiny pinpricks on the sides of their head!), this weird film over their eyes that keeps the salt water from drying them out, their belly buttons, how you tell a male from a female, etc. At this point we also got to touch them - we held their flippers (like we were dancing with them), rubbed their belly, gave them a hug, and took a photo with the dolphin kissing us on the cheek (this was only hard copy from the zoo employee, so unfortunately I can't post it). We also did this thing where we put our hand on the dolphin's rostrum (this is the technical term for their 'beak'), and the dolphin kicked it's tail so we could feel how powerful they were. One of these two was pregnant, due in 1-2 months, so she had a very big belly! It was so cute but I wished that we had come when the baby had already been born. The other one of these two did a very cool trick (they call them "behaviors") where he leaped straight into the air, twisted, then dove back in.

Next we went to another tank where we played with two of the male dolphins and they did all kinds of tricks, and we got to give them one of the signals to do a trick. They did flips, "walked" on their tail in the water, back dives, and did a breach - where they jump out of the water and land on their side to make a huge splash. My trick was the breach. Then we gave them a fish after they performed each trick. The last thing that they did was a trick where we stretch our arm over the water and the dolphin comes up and touches your hand with his flipper, kind of like a handshake. The whole experience was so amazing!! The dolphins were so friendly and adorable, and they seemed like dogs in the way that they really seemed to enjoy being around humans and doing things to please us. I love how they always seem to be smiling at you too. It made me want to quit my job and become a dolphin trainer. :) We couldn't take photos since we were in the water, but there was one guy who was there with his gf but was just observing, so he took loads of photos and told us that he would email them. Maybe eventually I'll get to post some.

The Indianapolis zoo was really amazing other than the dolphins as well, we went a few hours early to just walk around and see the other animals. They had a tank where you could pet sharks (small ones of course), the penguin exhibit was set up so that you walked through the middle and could see them swimming underneath a glass floor, and we got to see the sea lions being fed. They did a few tricks as well and were barking (they were so loud!). They had three walrus there and they were incredible! The largest was 2,600 pounds - massive! They were all such hams - especially the youngest, coming up to the viewing window and interacting with us, and he would come above the water and make noises like he was talking to us. I had no idea they were such social creatures! We also saw the polar bear swimming, which I had never seen one swim before - it was like he was doing his morning laps - so cute! The desert exhibit was also very well put together (and nice to be warm after how cold it was outside) - loads of cool lizards and snakes.

Ok, so you can tell that I'm kind of into animals, but it was so fun! My grandma came with us in my brother Matt's place (the one who lives in Phoenix and couldn't make it home), and she loved it too, it was so fun to have her there.

I made it from Ohio to Kansas City with only a minor delay and a short sprint to the connecting flight in Milwaukee (I was the last one on the plane, but this was very mild compared to my journey to Ohio), and arrived just past midnight on the 31st. I stayed with my friend Myers who was so nice to come and pick me up, and on the way home I asked him what we were doing that night. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Now? It's already past midnight!" I told him that it was still early - in London on a proper night out I would stay out until at least 4 am. He responded with a shake of his head and told me that he couldn't roll with me. So we went back to his place and went to sleep, where I got an entire bedroom and bathroom to myself since his roommate was out of town (sweet!). The next morning we awoke and watched football (the real, American kind) in the morning since the bowl games had started, and I can't tell you how content my soul was to sit on a couch and watch football. Living in London and being a fan of American sports, there is an ever-present level of disappointment and emptiness in not being able to watch the sports that you love, or even have a conversation about them with a knowledgeable counterpart. Ah well, I know I should get into the sports here and I have been watching some football (ahem, soccer) games on TV as well, but I don't think there will ever be the level of passion that I have for American sports. I mean, these things take a lifetime of cultivation, you know? Most of you know how much I love the Buckeyes, and I like to think that my mom was breeding me to be an Ohio State fan from the womb (which she was, of course). Kansas came later in life, but I love my Jayhawks no less passionately...but I digress. I spent NYE day at Carmax getting an estimate on my car and being sorely disappointed with just how steep the market has plunged (again, if anyone is looking for a 4runner, it's going for cheap now). The good news was that I did have a car to drive around while I was there and it was so great - I really love that car and I missed it! This is embarrassing to admit but I gave it a little hug when I climbed behind the wheel.

For NYE night I went with Myers, our friend Young and his wife Ashley (one of the best couples ever), and their two friends to dinner at this lovely restaurant near KUMed called Thomas. It was delicious and from there we went to a house party, since bars are always over crowded, over expensive, and overly lame in general on NYE. Knowing the group of people who were said to be in attendance at this party I had initially thought it was going to be pretty fun, but when we got there I quickly realized that it was entirely made up of married or engaged couples except Myers and I. There were even several prego girls there to liven things up. Myers and I decided just before midnight to wander upstairs (from the basement, where the party was happening) to escape the awkwardness of all the making out, so I spent the first seconds of 2009 sitting alone in a Kansas City living room eating miniature Reese's from a little glass dish. Reese's is my fav though so I really can't complain there. The rest of the KC trip was a blast though - had lunch with three GT girls, then met them and Greg out that night for drinks on the plaza, got to see H2 for a bit one evening, had dinner with Rach, Ang, and Jax, and also spent some time with Kelly. I know I didn't get to see everyone I wanted to, but you'll have that with a short trip.

The trip back to London was uneventful and (gasp!) on time!! I didn't manage to sleep a wink though, so I was jet lagged for a good three days. The guy that I'm seeing (he hates that I call him The Boy but I think it sounds weird to call him The Man - not b/c he's not a man but b/c it sounds like I'm congratulating him every time I type it, like 'oh, he's The Man!' Anyway, I think I'll call him MJ for now), met me at my place just after I arrived, which was nice b/c Dasha was still in the States on a Christmas trip and Andrea was at his sister's. It was really good to be back in London but I felt so empty leaving home again, I really miss everyone! Especially my family. And I was so looking forward to using Skype to talk to them with my new computer, but of course when I got home there was no internet, as aforementioned. Grrr...

Right, well it's nearly 1am here and I must sleep to not be a total zombie at work tomorrow. I'll write more about my January tomorrow, but I'll leave you with some more interesting words and phrases that have been part of my continual learning process of British culture.

gubbins = the word you use when you don't know what it's called, like "thingamabob", but it must be technical in nature, as in a TV gubbins or computer gubbins. Still waiting to use this one as I'm not entirely sure of the context yet.

chavvy = white trash (the adjective). A chav is white trash the noun.

OTT = over the top. E.g. "Wow, that's so OTT." Maybe we use this abbreviation in the States as well, but not where I've lived.

Sixth Form = high school. Kind of, it's the last two years of school before uni (university), when you're 17-18. Most people here, in classic English pronunciation fashion, mash these two words together and pronounce it "sicthform" (think of the "th" as very lispy and barely discernible).

University = college. Close enough, but I'm pretty sure they use the word college to talk about either sixth form or the training you get once you decide on a profession after uni (like an apprenticeship), so I try to stick to the word university when I speak of my experiences in college.

They pronounce the letter Z as "zed". No idea why.

Tea, other than the oh-so-popular beverage, can also be used as a synonym for dinner. As in, "I had pasta for tea."

Jumper = sweater

Till = cash register

There are many levels of giving thanks - "ta" is used when you're only marginally appreciative, like when someone moves out of your way or does something that they're expected to do, and is generally used with someone that you don't know (like a cashier or bus driver). "Cheers" is used as a very common replacement for thanks. Every English person I've met probably says cheers 50+ times a day, but not to say goodbye as most Americans misinterpret. They do say it when they are leaving or getting off the phone, but it's always to mean thank you and not goodbye. Then of course there is "thanks" and "thank you", which seem to be a bit more formal.

Right, must sleep. Love you all!

xoxo,
Heather

A Warm Welcome Home

I am currently in Ohio, at home for Christmas, but it was not a smooth journey getting here. First, the cab that I called to take me to the airport never showed (what jerks), so I had to frantically hail a cab on my street where they are not often available, with my very large bag in tow. I ended up leaving about 45 minutes later than originally planned, and was completely stressed that I was going to miss my flight. But all said and done I made it to my gate with time to spare. I flew Continental, and their procedure for seat assignment for this flight was to assign them as the people checked in, unbeknownst to me. I didn't check in until the morning of my flight, so I got a lovely middle seat. For a nine hour flight. Groan. But fortunately I wasn't sitting next to an overly large person (well one of them was slightly spilling into my seat - she was American, of course) or a screaming child, so I guess it could have been worse. Oh, and the in-flight tv/movie service stopped working about three hours into the flight, that was another nice bit. When we finally reached Newark, about six inches of snow had just fallen, thus we were forced to wait for another 50 minutes while they cleared the snow from our gate area. I've never been closterphobic, but those 50 minutes seemed like they were about 3 hours. We couldn't leave our seats since we were technically "taxiing" although we were in reality in no motion at all for almost the entire 50 minutes. There were several times when I wasn't quite sure if I was going to be able to stop myself from leaping out of my seat and screaming like a maniac. This is very rude and I know that they wanted to get there as badly as I did, but when we finally were deplaning and the crew was thanking us while leaving the plane, the only response that was going through my head was, "go f.. yourself". Awful I know. I had read a few articles about how this holiday season was going to include some of the worst weather in years, so I was slightly prepared, but not for what I was about to walk into.


Customs was easy enough - my entire carry on was filled with tea that I didn't want to be demolished in my checked luggage, but fortunately border patrol didn't have a problem. It took about an hour to get my checked bag, most likely due to something having to do with the snow, but in the mean time I learned that my flight to Columbus had been cancelled, along with almost every other flight out of Newark, La Guardia, and JFK. Doing my best to maintain my composure, I called my mom (thank goodness I still have my Sprint phone!), to tell her the news, and proceeded to a monstrous line of people waiting to find the next way out of NY. Whilst in line, I heard people saying that they had no more hotel rooms to give, and they were giving pillows and blankets out and telling people to scout out a comfy patch of airport floor. Sweet. Somehow, even after standing in line for 30 minutes, I was still last in line (typical), but it turned out to be a blessing b/c a very kindly lady took the last few of us in line to another desk where there were other agents waiting to help us right away. Brilliant. On of these other passengers happened to be a fellow Buckeye that was supposed to be on the same flight as I was! Unfortunately, he was in front of me and took the last possible option out of any airport in NY to Columbus. He looked at me with an 'I'm sorry' look, and once again, all I wanted to say was, "go f.. yourself". I had the rotten luck of choosing the most incompetent airline agent imaginable - she couldn't find anything to get me even close to home, and this is after I told her that I could fly into Columbus, Cinncinnati, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Toledo, Philidelphia, or Pittsburgh. So by the time they found me something, the entire staff at this particular desk was working on my itinerary, and I ended up flying US Airways to DC, then Delta to Cinncinnati. One of the agents made the comment that she had no idea Ohio was such a popular destination this time of year, and I said, "It's all the Buckeyes going home - they sent out the homing device!"


I knew that the hotel rooms were taken, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask, and lucky I did - b/c I was an international passenger, I got one! Glorious, glorious hotel room. Ended up being a smoking room so felt rather more like an ashtray, but still glorious to sleep in a bed and not the airport floor. The airline also gave me a voucher for food and a taxi to La Guardia (where my flight the next morning was to depart), so I ate some lovely trail mix for dinner and dry cereal for breakfast. Yummy.


By the time I arrived at the hotel it was around midnight and my flight was to leave at 8 am. To get to La Guardia using the taxi voucher, I had to return to Newark and take the taxi from there, and not knowing how long this round about journey would take, I decided to play it safe and awoke at the unmentionable hour of 3:30 am. Nothing like 3.5 hours of sleep in two days to get rid of jet lag. The flight to DC was only about an hour gate to gate, and I slept for almost the entirety. You know how kids can fall asleep in the darndest positions, and you wonder how tired they must be to sleep like that? This was me on this flight, I fell asleep with my head flopped forward, not leaning against the headrest like a normal human being, and stayed this way until I awoke with about fifteen minutes left. My recollection of take off was only a slight joustling and felt a bit like a dream. Honestly it was like I had been drugged. Thank goodness I didn't drool, b/c when I awoke from my coma I realized there was a very cute boy sitting next to me. I was still a bit mortified by how I must have looked whilst sleeping so didn't say anything, but he struck up a convo with me anyway. When he learned that I was headed to Ohio, he told me, rather apologetically, that he had attended LSU (b/c of the football nat. championship last year), but I told him it was cool, that it was a good thing he wasn't from Michigan, then I would have to stop talking to him immediately.


Because I was flying US Air to DC then Delta to Cinnci, I had to collect my bag at the baggage claim and re-check it with Delta in DC. I only had about 50 minutes between the flights, so I was a bit nervous, but my bag was the second one off of the plane so I was optimistic. Until I got to the check in desk and saw yet another enormous line. By the time I made it to the gate they were just beginning to board. I think I may die of a heart attack if I continue to travel this much, and have this terrible luck. On this second flight I was in the very first row, so loads of leg room, and I sat next to another pilot who was on his way to start his workday. He was telling me all about flying, for example, all flights from east to west fly at even altitudes (e.g. 28,000 feet), and all flights W-E fly at odd altitudes. Interesting stuff. He was also originally from Zimbabwe and we had a little talk about the mayhem that's going on there. He asked me if I knew of an assassin to kill the president there.


Finally made it to Cinncinnati around 1 pm on Saturday, after missing the wedding of a friend of the family that had started at noon in a town in northern Ohio. In fact, my family was at this wedding as they were supposed to have picked me up from the airport on the way to the town, so we had to scramble and have my Grandma come get me in Cinnci. Hooray for Grandma! On the way home, we stopped at a Chipotle to eat lunch - it was like heaven. Nothing says welcome home like a Chipotle burrito. Mmm, wanting another one now.


Another thing I noted: I was struck by the glaring commercialism of an American Christmas. They definitely celebrate with decorations, song, lights, etc. in the UK, but nothing like the excess of America. The holiday music was blaring at a surprising pitch from every airport speaker in Newark (and La Guardia), and poinsettas, Christmas trees, and lights were overtaking the hotel lobby. I could only smile and feel that warm fuzzy feeling that one only feels when they're home.


And it is so lovely to be home. I love being surrounded by so many American accents, knowing when I see the word football that it means the sport that I'm actually thinking of, and seeing the sun. And I totally forgot about the insane Midwest weather, but was quickly reminded. The Monday after I arrived it was below 20F, was almost 50 the next day, and then by the evening it was cold enough for freezing rain. Which made for another fun travel experience. Mom, Megan (sister), and I had gone to a town about an hour away for a little last minute shopping and the trip back took a little over 6 hours. Yes, 6 hours after trying two of three possible routes home and both were blocked with accidents. We heard on the radio that there had been an accident on the third route as well. So we sat. And sat. Very luckily, we had a portable DVD player in the car and had just purchased Arrested Development for one of my brothers. We felt a bit guilty for opening a Christmas present, but it was the only thing that kept us sane.


Other than the unlucky travel experiences, home has been amazing. Loads of relaxing, loads of family and friends, and more Mexican food! My family also celebrated my birthday again, since I told them not to spend the money to ship presents to me, but I had completely forgotten and was totally surprised! Christmas was great as well, the best present was a computer so that I can finally Skype my family (and anyone else who has Skype!) from London - yay!

Well, must be off, and this novel of an entry is long enough. Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and other happy holidays, and also has a happy new year! Oh, and I hope anyone traveling has better luck than I did - I'm crossing my fingers for a better flight back to London than the flight here!

Cheers,
Heather