Tuesday 31 December 2013
Farewell 2013!!!
Since it's the last day of the year I figured I'd post something. I'm not going to get all sappy because I'm a robot and sort of hate that kind of thing. All things considered I think 2013 was a pretty awesome year. I got a lot of free food, I finally moved to England, and I got a sweet coffee machine. Of course with the number 13 in it I always knew it would be a banner year. 13 is an awesome number and it was always going to bring me some luck. And let's face it, most of what has happened to me so far this year has been pure luck. There is no way I should have found a job and amazing housemates almost as soon as I got here. I never have that kind of good fortune and it certainly had nothing to do with me, except for the fact that I was on almost every job and roommate finder website out there, but that doesn't mean you're going to get anything good. So if nothing else I will consider 2013 an anomaly and be thankful for it. Towards the end I've been a bit crazy and not really taking care of myself from a physical point of view. I'm pretty sure all of my organs are set to fail on me, so in 2014 I really am going to aim to be better. I already have several cans of soup in my cupboard ready for my lunches. Aside from that I'm trying to keep expectations low for 2014, despite what my resolutions indicate. Overall I just hope that things continue to go well and I don't give myself diabetes. If you keep your expectations low chances are at some point you'll be surprised. That's my motto going into 2014. On that note, I hope you all had a wonderful year and best of luck in 2014!
Sunday 29 December 2013
2014 Here I Come.....
Well, the new year is almost here, so naturally I'm making some resolutions for myself. I make this every year fully knowing that I will achieve none of them, but I figure it doesn't hurt to start the year off with some goals. So, here they are.
1. Tough Mudder.
My friend mentioned that he's putting together a Tough Mudder team and asked if I wanted to join. I said yes, but with the warning that I would most likely back down because I'm lazy and lack determination. However, as of right now I'm keyed up to train for it because it will help me with my two other goals to eat better and exercise more.
2. Eat better and exercise more.
For lunch today I had Pringles and Lamington, so I think it's safe to say that eating better is almost a necessity. I think I'm a borderline diabetic at risk of having a heart attack at this point. As for my exercise....it's equally as bad. I'm lucky that I'm still walking to and from work everyday.
3. Get out of London.
This sounds really bad. I don't mean it in an "I hate London and can't wait to escape it" kind of way. I just figure that since I'm here I should take the opportunity to see more of England, especially since it's so easy to get everywhere. I love London, but I don't want to be one of those people who becomes a London hermit and refuses to ever go anywhere else in the UK.
4. Learn how to cook.
This is a resolution of mine every year. It never happens because I don't actually enjoy cooking. If I win the lottery the first thing I'm doing is hiring a chef. I'll get them to make me everything in pie form because it's such an amazing and efficient way of eating a bunch of different foods.
5. Go to see a football and rugby game.
Most weeks I say I'm going to go to a pub and watch either a football or a rugby game and so far I've only done this twice (one match of each sport). Now that American football is coming to an end I need to make the transition into European sports.
6. Go to church more.
This may seem like a weird one, but realistically I've been terrible about going to church. I was going to go today at 6pm and then decided to watch the Dolphins last game instead (they lost to the Jets and it totally wasn't worth watching), so in the new year I'm going to try and be better about this because I think it helps me to be a better person.
7. Take a class.
Okay, I haven't talked about this with anyone. It's coming out of nowhere, but I sort of want to take a class in something. Somewhat to meet new people and somewhat just because I feel like my brain is atrophying and I think learning new things will help to focus my brain. I've considered language classes, but I'm pretty bad at learning new languages and get discouraged easily, so I might do something else instead.
8. Volunteer.
Now that I'm making this list I'm realizing how ambitious it is. I guess the key is to not do it all at once and overwhelm myself. I'm trying to be a better person because I think these first three months in London have been fairly selfish, so I think I should try to get back on track and volunteer. It's a big city and I'm sure there are lots of opportunities to do this.
9. Go to Greece and Russia.
I guess one of my other goals was to get out of London and technically this is out of London, but whatever. If you're being that technical then you're crazy. I thought I'd point it out before anyone beat me to it. Anyway, these are the two places I want to visit most while here. That and Norway, but apparently Norway is very expensive, so it's not good enough to make it into my goal list. Only an honourable mention.
10. Find a boy who's sole purpose in life is to cook for me and pay for the dog I will one day own.
This is more of a dream than a goal. I'm thinking of putting an ad in the paper. Someone's bound to go for it. Maybe I can bribe them with candy and beer.
Okay, that's it. Ten is a nice round number. Realistically we're flipping into an even numbered year, so the chances of it being good or productive are slim, but you never know. Aim high and all that. I think there's a saying that fits in there, but I'm not good with inspirational quotes. Basically I'm hoping that if I have ten resolutions I might get lucky and achieve two of them and that's enough for me.
1. Tough Mudder.
My friend mentioned that he's putting together a Tough Mudder team and asked if I wanted to join. I said yes, but with the warning that I would most likely back down because I'm lazy and lack determination. However, as of right now I'm keyed up to train for it because it will help me with my two other goals to eat better and exercise more.
2. Eat better and exercise more.
For lunch today I had Pringles and Lamington, so I think it's safe to say that eating better is almost a necessity. I think I'm a borderline diabetic at risk of having a heart attack at this point. As for my exercise....it's equally as bad. I'm lucky that I'm still walking to and from work everyday.
3. Get out of London.
This sounds really bad. I don't mean it in an "I hate London and can't wait to escape it" kind of way. I just figure that since I'm here I should take the opportunity to see more of England, especially since it's so easy to get everywhere. I love London, but I don't want to be one of those people who becomes a London hermit and refuses to ever go anywhere else in the UK.
4. Learn how to cook.
This is a resolution of mine every year. It never happens because I don't actually enjoy cooking. If I win the lottery the first thing I'm doing is hiring a chef. I'll get them to make me everything in pie form because it's such an amazing and efficient way of eating a bunch of different foods.
5. Go to see a football and rugby game.
Most weeks I say I'm going to go to a pub and watch either a football or a rugby game and so far I've only done this twice (one match of each sport). Now that American football is coming to an end I need to make the transition into European sports.
6. Go to church more.
This may seem like a weird one, but realistically I've been terrible about going to church. I was going to go today at 6pm and then decided to watch the Dolphins last game instead (they lost to the Jets and it totally wasn't worth watching), so in the new year I'm going to try and be better about this because I think it helps me to be a better person.
7. Take a class.
Okay, I haven't talked about this with anyone. It's coming out of nowhere, but I sort of want to take a class in something. Somewhat to meet new people and somewhat just because I feel like my brain is atrophying and I think learning new things will help to focus my brain. I've considered language classes, but I'm pretty bad at learning new languages and get discouraged easily, so I might do something else instead.
8. Volunteer.
Now that I'm making this list I'm realizing how ambitious it is. I guess the key is to not do it all at once and overwhelm myself. I'm trying to be a better person because I think these first three months in London have been fairly selfish, so I think I should try to get back on track and volunteer. It's a big city and I'm sure there are lots of opportunities to do this.
9. Go to Greece and Russia.
I guess one of my other goals was to get out of London and technically this is out of London, but whatever. If you're being that technical then you're crazy. I thought I'd point it out before anyone beat me to it. Anyway, these are the two places I want to visit most while here. That and Norway, but apparently Norway is very expensive, so it's not good enough to make it into my goal list. Only an honourable mention.
10. Find a boy who's sole purpose in life is to cook for me and pay for the dog I will one day own.
This is more of a dream than a goal. I'm thinking of putting an ad in the paper. Someone's bound to go for it. Maybe I can bribe them with candy and beer.
Okay, that's it. Ten is a nice round number. Realistically we're flipping into an even numbered year, so the chances of it being good or productive are slim, but you never know. Aim high and all that. I think there's a saying that fits in there, but I'm not good with inspirational quotes. Basically I'm hoping that if I have ten resolutions I might get lucky and achieve two of them and that's enough for me.
Friday 27 December 2013
British Style Christmas!!!
Alright, so first Christmas in England basically involved a lot of Skyping and a lot of drinking. It was surprisingly fun though. We had a proper dinner. Entirely cooked by Steve because I can't cook to save my life. We had turkey, pork, roasted potatoes, vegetables, and dessert, which we actually didn't make it to because we were so stuffed. We also forgot the stuffing, but we still have it to make for later. In case you're wondering about that table in the picture it's patio furniture from our backyard.
After that we went to the orphans Christmas, but it was really just a lot of people sitting around in groups of people they knew and it was kind of weird. So instead we went to Brewers, which is a gay bar. There was a drag queen in a Santa dress and I got a free Santa hat, so it was obviously a good time. I admittedly drank way too much though because as it turns out trying to keep on pace with three Aussies is very difficult. I don't recommend it if you're a lightweight.
To sum up, the only bit about this Christmas that resembled my Christmas back in Canada was going to midnight mass, but this was a good alternative. It wasn't as sad or lonely as I expected it to be, but maybe that's because I was drunk for the last half of it. I think mainly it had to do with the fact that I spent it with three other orphans who made it really fun.
After that we went to the orphans Christmas, but it was really just a lot of people sitting around in groups of people they knew and it was kind of weird. So instead we went to Brewers, which is a gay bar. There was a drag queen in a Santa dress and I got a free Santa hat, so it was obviously a good time. I admittedly drank way too much though because as it turns out trying to keep on pace with three Aussies is very difficult. I don't recommend it if you're a lightweight.
To sum up, the only bit about this Christmas that resembled my Christmas back in Canada was going to midnight mass, but this was a good alternative. It wasn't as sad or lonely as I expected it to be, but maybe that's because I was drunk for the last half of it. I think mainly it had to do with the fact that I spent it with three other orphans who made it really fun.
Tuesday 24 December 2013
It's a Christmas Miracle!!!
Well, yesterday it was super windy and raining, so naturally I got today off. I woke up today at my normal time and showered and everything and then it dawned on me that I should check the trains. Turns out they were all cancelled. So I called my office to tell the one other person who would be working that I couldn't make it in only to be diverted to the other office where they told me that apparently no one made it into my office. Thank you, Santa! Now I've been sitting around all day with my housemate watching Veep and catching up on a Christmas Carol, which I'm not reading at a good clip. I've also downed a pot of coffee because that's what days off are all about. I wasn't that bothered about going in today since I have a week off, but starting Christmas break early is always amazeballs. I cleaned my room and the kitchen, so now I feel like I can relax for two months. Seriously, now that it's winter, despite the balmy weather, I'm basically in my hibernation mode. And by basically I mean I'm fully immersed in it. I actually cancelled a dinner with someone last week so I could watch Dance Moms with my housemate. I faked food poisoning so that I could come home and wrap myself up in a warm blanket and veg in front of the TV. If that's not the beginning of winter hibernation I don't know what is. It's just so dark and cold outside and no one around here is teaching me how to be a bitchy and crazy dance mom, so I'm better off indoors.
On that note, I am about to head outside. I don't especially want to, but there's food involved and apart from church it will be my only time out of the house, so I can't really get out of it. Besides, I just bought an 18 pack of beer and my housemate and I have already decided that Boxing Day will consist of drinking and movies because going shopping on Boxing Day around here is basically a death wish for me. I would undoubtedly get trampled by the hoards of people who have lost their decency and have no problem elbowing a scrawny, small chick in the face. Speaking of which, I was ID'd at our corner store yesterday. The girl looked at my ID and went "Oh my gosh. 86?" Obviously my response was, "You got it. Don't let me fool you. I'm an old lady." In her defense, I was wearing a black toque and a hoodie, so I looked a bit shady. Okay, I'm already late for this lunch. I'll probably write on here again later because I won't be able to sleep knowing that Santa's coming.
On that note, I am about to head outside. I don't especially want to, but there's food involved and apart from church it will be my only time out of the house, so I can't really get out of it. Besides, I just bought an 18 pack of beer and my housemate and I have already decided that Boxing Day will consist of drinking and movies because going shopping on Boxing Day around here is basically a death wish for me. I would undoubtedly get trampled by the hoards of people who have lost their decency and have no problem elbowing a scrawny, small chick in the face. Speaking of which, I was ID'd at our corner store yesterday. The girl looked at my ID and went "Oh my gosh. 86?" Obviously my response was, "You got it. Don't let me fool you. I'm an old lady." In her defense, I was wearing a black toque and a hoodie, so I looked a bit shady. Okay, I'm already late for this lunch. I'll probably write on here again later because I won't be able to sleep knowing that Santa's coming.
Sunday 22 December 2013
Christmas is coming....
So, I started this yesterday and then never posted it because I actually got too lazy.
Well, it's Saturday afternoon and all I've done today is drink a pot of coffee and watch the X Factor USA finale. I have no investment in either contestant and I think they both suck, but I must know who wins. When this is your Saturday you know that you're winning at life. Nothing beats a Saturday of pure indulgence. Just relaxing and knowing that it's completely justified because all the sights and malls are insanely packed plus it's raining outside. The world wants me to be doing nothing indoors all day.
Anyway, I'm now preparing for Christmas and by that I mean I stole some decorations from work and I'm about to read A Christmas Carol. I sort of OD on Christmas spirit when we come to the Christmas home stretch. Christmas movies, A Christmas Carol, Christmas beats on my iPod. I love it. Of course I'm also the laziest person ever when it comes to actually coming through with presents at Christmas because malls are filled with youth and they scare me. So this year I'm aiming for the Polish Christmas on January 6th because I've only sent out Christmas cards. I've learned that shopping for presents is much harder without a car and no major mall nearby. I have some presents and wrapping paper, so it's just a matter of actually sending stuff back home. My defense will be that I'm trying to extend the time of Christmas joy by getting them sent over late.
Keeping on the Christmas theme, my housemate and I have found an orphans Christmas in the Clapham area. I'm actually very excited for it. I think it'll be fun to just have a chill Christmas that's pretty much just drinking and listening to Christmas music. Although I will admit that I'll miss my family. My Portuguese coworker said that she found it liberating when she spent her first Christmas away from home, but she went to her boyfriend's, so I don't think that's that liberating. You're still having a family Christmas. I think she's just pitying me and trying to pump me up for my impending orphans Christmas.
http://www.theclaphamnorth.co.uk/read-me/entry/christmas-is-coming
It's now Sunday and I'm watching a behind the scenes of Vicar of Dibley. British people are hilarious and geniuses. Anyone who can make the story of a vicar in a small village seem funny is phenomenal in my books. I always love behind the scenes because you learn all the thought and work that goes into a program and it's amazing how the smallest thing will be so planned out. Apparently the aim of the show initially was to push the Church of England to allow women to be ordained because the creator went to a wedding that a woman performed and he found it to be a lot more personal and well performed than when male ministers did it. There's your fun fact for the day!
Well, it's Saturday afternoon and all I've done today is drink a pot of coffee and watch the X Factor USA finale. I have no investment in either contestant and I think they both suck, but I must know who wins. When this is your Saturday you know that you're winning at life. Nothing beats a Saturday of pure indulgence. Just relaxing and knowing that it's completely justified because all the sights and malls are insanely packed plus it's raining outside. The world wants me to be doing nothing indoors all day.
Anyway, I'm now preparing for Christmas and by that I mean I stole some decorations from work and I'm about to read A Christmas Carol. I sort of OD on Christmas spirit when we come to the Christmas home stretch. Christmas movies, A Christmas Carol, Christmas beats on my iPod. I love it. Of course I'm also the laziest person ever when it comes to actually coming through with presents at Christmas because malls are filled with youth and they scare me. So this year I'm aiming for the Polish Christmas on January 6th because I've only sent out Christmas cards. I've learned that shopping for presents is much harder without a car and no major mall nearby. I have some presents and wrapping paper, so it's just a matter of actually sending stuff back home. My defense will be that I'm trying to extend the time of Christmas joy by getting them sent over late.
Keeping on the Christmas theme, my housemate and I have found an orphans Christmas in the Clapham area. I'm actually very excited for it. I think it'll be fun to just have a chill Christmas that's pretty much just drinking and listening to Christmas music. Although I will admit that I'll miss my family. My Portuguese coworker said that she found it liberating when she spent her first Christmas away from home, but she went to her boyfriend's, so I don't think that's that liberating. You're still having a family Christmas. I think she's just pitying me and trying to pump me up for my impending orphans Christmas.
http://www.theclaphamnorth.co.uk/read-me/entry/christmas-is-coming
It's now Sunday and I'm watching a behind the scenes of Vicar of Dibley. British people are hilarious and geniuses. Anyone who can make the story of a vicar in a small village seem funny is phenomenal in my books. I always love behind the scenes because you learn all the thought and work that goes into a program and it's amazing how the smallest thing will be so planned out. Apparently the aim of the show initially was to push the Church of England to allow women to be ordained because the creator went to a wedding that a woman performed and he found it to be a lot more personal and well performed than when male ministers did it. There's your fun fact for the day!
Sunday 15 December 2013
Get me to the church on time....
That title makes no sense. I just couldn't think of anything else with church in it and I have no creativity. I found a church! I was a bit unsure at first because it had a screen in it and was a bit empty when I first arrived, but it filled up a bit and the screen was only used to exploit the cuteness of children by making them sing some song they learned, so I accept it. The church is called Holy Trinity and it's located in Clapham Common, which is pretty cool. It was a bit of a weird service, not majorly traditional and they do the new Lord's Prayer, but they don't sing it and I can still say the traditional one, so I won't hold that against them. They offered me coffee, the main minister is a bit awkward, and the sermon was good, so I'm sold. Plus they have a "younger" service at 6pm on Sundays, which I would normally be totally against because I'm secretly 95, but they go to the pub after, so I'm willing to give it a shot. I've said "so" a lot in this post already. Anyway, it was a decent service. A little long, but I have yet to be at a service that is only an hour. I think long services are just a way of life here. As long as they give me coffee afterwards I'm on board. I also found out that there's a church right across the street from me, so I may try that one day, but I don't know if I'd like going to a church that's so close to me. There's no reason for this. The proximity is just a bit weird. What if the minister catches me stumbling home from the bar one night? I don't know why the minister would be at the church on a Saturday night, but you never know. These are the things I worry about when picking a church, which may be why it's taken me so long to find one.
Just to make me seem slightly cooler by now going on and on about church, I also went to a Christmas party last night. It was at my cousin's house and I was naturally nervous because I didn't know anyone there and I'm socially awkward. There were only about ten people at the party, which made it even weirder, but eventually I got into a groove and it was okay. That may have been because I'd had three mugs of mulled wine, but that's really not that much, so my awkwardness should have been worse. It was nice being in a different part of London and at a bit of a different party. So far most weekends I've just gone out and gotten drunk or lounged around my house, so it was nice going to a house party. I did leave with the following awkward send off, "I'll probably never see any of you again, but it was nice meeting you." I have no idea why I said this. I'm not good at goodbyes. I'll put it on my long list of New Year Resolutions. Tonight I'm going to watch X Factor with my housemates and gear up for my final full week of work before the Christmas break.
Just to make me seem slightly cooler by now going on and on about church, I also went to a Christmas party last night. It was at my cousin's house and I was naturally nervous because I didn't know anyone there and I'm socially awkward. There were only about ten people at the party, which made it even weirder, but eventually I got into a groove and it was okay. That may have been because I'd had three mugs of mulled wine, but that's really not that much, so my awkwardness should have been worse. It was nice being in a different part of London and at a bit of a different party. So far most weekends I've just gone out and gotten drunk or lounged around my house, so it was nice going to a house party. I did leave with the following awkward send off, "I'll probably never see any of you again, but it was nice meeting you." I have no idea why I said this. I'm not good at goodbyes. I'll put it on my long list of New Year Resolutions. Tonight I'm going to watch X Factor with my housemates and gear up for my final full week of work before the Christmas break.
Thursday 12 December 2013
1,2,3 Train With Me....
Since I have yet to see a single snowflake here I thought I'd share this Buzzfeed article with you. Vintage Christmas in London.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ailbhemalone/16-magical-photos-of-old-time-festive-london
I have to admit that I'm really looking forward to Christmas here. I'll miss my family of course, but it will be interesting to see what Christmas will be like as an adult orphan who still has family. Plus, for the first time ever I have a week off at Christmas. My brain might get overwhelmed with so much time off, but probably not because I've only been working for a month.
My train was delayed by a solid twenty minutes this morning because the headlights were flickering or something. While we were stopped at a station I attempted to snap some pics. This was a pretty big fail since I was in a train and only half a coffee in, but the results are displayed for you below. I also attempted to get some fog shots, but the train was moving and they just ended up being crazy blurry. Anyway, it was a beautiful morning and despite having to wake up earlier than usual I was still able to appreciate it. I know eventually I'll become a jaded train rider, but so far I love it. It's calming, I get to read the paper and drink my coffee, and if I'm lucky I get to listen in on teenage girls gush about boys and how far they've gone with them. Living the dream.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ailbhemalone/16-magical-photos-of-old-time-festive-london
I have to admit that I'm really looking forward to Christmas here. I'll miss my family of course, but it will be interesting to see what Christmas will be like as an adult orphan who still has family. Plus, for the first time ever I have a week off at Christmas. My brain might get overwhelmed with so much time off, but probably not because I've only been working for a month.
My train was delayed by a solid twenty minutes this morning because the headlights were flickering or something. While we were stopped at a station I attempted to snap some pics. This was a pretty big fail since I was in a train and only half a coffee in, but the results are displayed for you below. I also attempted to get some fog shots, but the train was moving and they just ended up being crazy blurry. Anyway, it was a beautiful morning and despite having to wake up earlier than usual I was still able to appreciate it. I know eventually I'll become a jaded train rider, but so far I love it. It's calming, I get to read the paper and drink my coffee, and if I'm lucky I get to listen in on teenage girls gush about boys and how far they've gone with them. Living the dream.
Just to add to my train joy I will say that I'm insanely grateful that I take the train and not the tube. Even though some people at Clapham Junction can be rude and push you out of the way the tube is far more volatile. I think grown men would be willing to shove me on the tracks to get a spot on the tube. This may be way stabbings are so high in London. I bet 80% of them take place in the tube during rush hour. Male train riders are far more gentlemanly. And obviously the girls who ride trains are way cooler and prettier than the ones on the tube.
Sunday 8 December 2013
Weekend Update: Doing it up Clapham style
Once again laziness has taken over me. I should really start blogging on the train because I'm on it for about half an hour each way, so it would be a good use of my time. Instead I read the Metro and then bring up the day's topics to my coworkers so they think I'm smart. Unfortunately I usually only read about half the article and so I don't have much to contribute. I can have one good comment and then I'm done because I have no idea what I'm talking about. My favourite part of the paper is actually the good deeds and love section. People write things like "To the guy with the hot bod that gets on at Embankment everyday. I think you're totally gorg and we should go for a drink. - The Girl Wearing a Hideous Jumper." Do these things ever result in a date? They're always signed off in the weirdest way and just make you seem like a stalker. Half the time they'll say something like "We made brief eye contact and I think it's love." I smile at almost everyone I pass because my awkwardness doesn't know what else to do. Now I'm nervous this is being misconstrued. Thankfully no one is going to fall in love with me at my train station because I always look disheveled and under caffeinated in the morning. The good deeds portion of the section is far less creepy. It always makes me happy because it shows you that even in a city where grown men push you out of the way to get a spot on the tube there are still good people out there. It's comforting, especially the ones where kind citizens help drunk people get home. I suspect one day this may apply to me and I'll have to write into the Metro thanking them.
Anyway, this weekend I planned on staying in and being lazy, but I got dragged out on both Friday and Saturday. Thankfully both times were within Clapham and therefore required little energy or planning on my part. Friday I came home from dinner with my friend and my housemate goes "I want to get drunk and dance." I asked if she meant in the living room, but obviously this wasn't the case. I guess that was just wishful thinking on my part. We ended up having a lot of fun and I had an amazing sub before coming home. The best part was having half of it left over for the next day. Then on Saturday I was full out asleep on the couch while watching X Factor and a different housemate came home and told me we were going out. I was in my pajamas, but I figured I'd already been sleeping for two hours so why not. We ended up going to a pub down the road called Pensbury Arms. We were expecting it to be a cool local pub, but when we went inside there were about five people and a bunch of laser lights and a DJ. We got one beer, which oddly enough lasted us until closing time at 11. We considered ourselves lucky for making it out alive because the place was insanely sketchy. In the back room there was a chick completely passed out on the table and there was some guy carrying around a mic singing Paradise by Coldplay. They had karaoke, but this guy seemed to be the only one doing it. Needless to say, we will be returning just to see if it's always like that. I figure if nothing else it's a good place to predrink because the drinks were cheap and you consider it a good night when you make it out in one piece.
There's not much else to report. I've only taken about two photos recently and these are them.
This is a photo of a tree at my local grocery store. I'm very happy every time I go in because I get to know how many sleeps there are until Christmas. It's hard to keep track without an Advent Calendar.
Anyway, this weekend I planned on staying in and being lazy, but I got dragged out on both Friday and Saturday. Thankfully both times were within Clapham and therefore required little energy or planning on my part. Friday I came home from dinner with my friend and my housemate goes "I want to get drunk and dance." I asked if she meant in the living room, but obviously this wasn't the case. I guess that was just wishful thinking on my part. We ended up having a lot of fun and I had an amazing sub before coming home. The best part was having half of it left over for the next day. Then on Saturday I was full out asleep on the couch while watching X Factor and a different housemate came home and told me we were going out. I was in my pajamas, but I figured I'd already been sleeping for two hours so why not. We ended up going to a pub down the road called Pensbury Arms. We were expecting it to be a cool local pub, but when we went inside there were about five people and a bunch of laser lights and a DJ. We got one beer, which oddly enough lasted us until closing time at 11. We considered ourselves lucky for making it out alive because the place was insanely sketchy. In the back room there was a chick completely passed out on the table and there was some guy carrying around a mic singing Paradise by Coldplay. They had karaoke, but this guy seemed to be the only one doing it. Needless to say, we will be returning just to see if it's always like that. I figure if nothing else it's a good place to predrink because the drinks were cheap and you consider it a good night when you make it out in one piece.
There's not much else to report. I've only taken about two photos recently and these are them.
This is a photo of a tree at my local grocery store. I'm very happy every time I go in because I get to know how many sleeps there are until Christmas. It's hard to keep track without an Advent Calendar.
This is an extremely blurry photo of Harrods. I can tell you right now that you should avoid Central London at all costs during the Christmas season. I was so excited going out earlier in the day because Harrods has Christmas stuff and there are lights everywhere, but by the time I was heading home I was just pure cranky from all the people. It was insane trying to get anywhere.
Work is going well. I'm getting free food on a regular basis and one of my coworkers is my train buddy on the way home. I also learned something new this week. Squash is juice. My coworker kept mentioning how we had a ton of squash and the whole time I was thinking that I hadn't seen any squash in the entire building. I didn't want to show my ignorance so I just agreed. Then later in the grocery store I saw juice on the shelves and it was called squash. Very strange. This week the head of the company is coming in, which is a bit daunting because he apparently likes people to be very professional and I have a tendency to make awkward and inappropriate jokes when I'm nervous. Hopefully he just chalks this up to me being a crazy Canadian. I'll just say the heatwave they're having here is effecting my social skills.
Sunday 1 December 2013
Just Because It's Christmas.....
Of course since I said I'm not drinking all the time I now have to admit that I didn't go to church today because I was too hungover. In my defense I had no intention of going out on both Friday and Saturday, but my housemate basically bullied me into it. The good thing is that both nights were in Clapham, so I got to walk home at the end of the night and not spend any money on a cab. Thankfully I did have some productivity this weekend. I managed to get a couple of Christmas presents and I saw some cool stuff downtown. Please do your best to appreciate the pictures I'm about to show you. I had to force my friend to stop every five minutes while I took lame touristy shots of all this stuff.
They are loving Christmas over here. The decorations are all over the city and they're crazy. I'm constantly like a little kid screaming stuff like "Oh my gosh, it's so pretty." If all of that wasn't enough excitement I also went into a toy store.
In case you're wondering, I have no idea who that child is, but after about ten minutes of standing around waiting for parents to acknowledge my presence and allow me one small photo I finally just took the creepy route and snapped a photo of some unknown child. In all fairness, had I been in the photo I would have been similarly creepy and respectful of the Lego Queen. This store was overwhelmingly fun. There were people screaming and throwing airplanes at my head. Kids were everywhere and I learned that Furbys cost £80, which is absolutely bonkers. Now that I'm older I feel so bad for putting my parents through the stress at finding money for a ridiculous toy I would only use for a month. I had no idea that Lego and Ninja Turtles figurines were so expensive. I feel like I've lived a very sheltered life.
In other news, I'm actually reaching a ridiculous point with missing my dog. I saw a dog on the tube today and I was smiling like a psychopath the whole time. Despite this the owner allowed me to pet her. Apparently she didn't realize that I was one second away from kidnapping her dog and renaming it Beneficent Benson. Her real name was Jesse (although she totally looked like a Beneficent) and she was some sort of black dog. Not a lab. Anyway, I've actually started to research getting some other kind of pet, like a ferret or a hamster. I don't need a pet, but I'm having some sort of weird maternal instinct without Bean around. I just want to look after something. The only thing holding me back is that my housemates may not enjoy the smell of a ferret and might actually find it repulsive.
As a final thought on the weekend, it's now December, so this is just a reminder to you all that "Just because it's Christmas and at Christmas you tell the truth." That sounds weird out of context, but you should all watch Love Actually and bask in the amazingness that is the Christmas season. The end.
Friday 29 November 2013
Happy Weekend!!!
Well, the weekend is finally here! I'm doing several things this weekend. I'm going out tonight. Despite the fact that I frequently talk about alcohol on here I'm sure it'll be a comfort to all to hear that I don't actually drink that much, especially in excess. I'm going out in Clapham, which is awesome because it means I don't have to pay for a cab and I know how to get home. A very rare occurrence. Most importantly, I have to find a new church before Sunday. I tried another new one last Saturday and it was mind numbingly boring. I actually almost got up and left. If that wasn't enough there were only three people in the choir and about ten people (not an exaggeration) in the congregation. I'm not big on socializing, but this complete lack of parishioners means that my singing can actually be heard because apart from the choir I'm the only one singing. I'm awkward in the best of situations at church. In these conditions I'm a hot mess. I wanted to run away the whole time. Also, during the sermon the minister kept calling God the "King of the Universe". The whole time I was just picturing Jafar becoming a genie at the end of Aladdin. It was very disturbing. Anyway, the hunt is on. I want to find one before Christmas. If all else fails I'm going to becoming a parishioner at St. Paul's Cathedral and sound incredibly important and classy. After whatever service I choose to go to I might try to watch some football (American and/or British) in a pub with my friend. I think we're also visiting a toy store. I may come back with a Furby and Lego.
Oh yeah, I bought a book on grammar and one on writing by Stephen King. I figure if I'm going to continue with this blog I should probably learn proper grammar because otherwise half of what I'm writing won't make sense.
For those of you who want an update on work, it's going very well. Everyone's super nice and it's quite chill there. I now have a jar of peanut butter there so I can snack on it whenever I want and I think I've found my favourite coworker. She laughs at all my "jokes" about food. I don't have the heart to tell her that I really do eat candy and McDonald's as much as I say I do.
Oh yeah, I bought a book on grammar and one on writing by Stephen King. I figure if I'm going to continue with this blog I should probably learn proper grammar because otherwise half of what I'm writing won't make sense.
For those of you who want an update on work, it's going very well. Everyone's super nice and it's quite chill there. I now have a jar of peanut butter there so I can snack on it whenever I want and I think I've found my favourite coworker. She laughs at all my "jokes" about food. I don't have the heart to tell her that I really do eat candy and McDonald's as much as I say I do.
Thursday 21 November 2013
My New Heroes
Women who walk in heels in London are like superheroes. All of London isn't cobblestoned, but for the most sidewalks consist of small bricks. I always wear flats and I roll my ankle on a daily basis. No joke. I either trip, get caught in a gap, or have my ankle do a full on roll every morning. So women who wear heels around here are amazing and I aspire to be as awesome as them one day.
On a total side note, I finally woke up to my alarm this morning instead of waking up a thousand times to make sure I haven't slept in. This means I've finally settled into a routine. Since I'm now in a routine I've decided it's finally time for me to stop eating a bag of candy everyday. I think both my teeth and body in general will appreciate this gesture. Besides, I can replace candy with coffee now that I'm not paying a fortune for it everyday. I haven't bought a coffee all week and this pleases me very much.
Monday 18 November 2013
Weekly Update
Alright, so I've been the laziest person when it comes to blogging. There's absolutely no reason for this. Although admittedly my life is significantly less interesting now that I'm working.
So, week one of the job is done. I don't have too much to report because it was really just an introductory week. I learned the databases and the kind of info I'll be gathering. More importantly I've confirmed that I get free coffee, my own desk, and occasionally free food. I also got to go to Faversham (aka Kent) for the first two days of my training. It was my first time being out of London since getting here, so it was nice seeing some of the countryside. Sutton (where I'm actually based) is also really cute and apparently has a good shopping mall.
In addition to the excitement of my job I solved a couple of questions I had about food. I'd been asking around a lot about the milk situation. Whenever I get coffee they only have skimmed and semi skimmed milk, which is weird. It turns out that semi skimmed is 2%. Word on the street is that 1% has been introduced and it has an orange cap. They allegedly also have whole milk, which might be 10%. I learned all of this from a bartender because as you all know I'm becoming an alcoholic. I actually asked around at work, but no one knew the answer to the percentage of semi skimmed milk and then I was asking my friend in a bar and the bartender magically had the answer. My other question was answered by my housemate. It was regarding bacon because they only ever seem to have peameal bacon here. Even on Egg McMuffins. Apparently they have "streaky bacon"....aka normal bacon, but it's fairly uncommon.
Now for an update on coffee. There are no cheap coffee places here. It's simply not a thing. However, Costa Coffee has some awesome cups on right now.
That was the large. The medium is a gingerbread theme and I don't know or care what the small is because I'll never get that size.
Now for the biggest news of all....I got an early Christmas gift....and it's a....
Ta da! A coffee maker! Up to this point I've been drinking instant coffee and I hate it a lot. It's not just that the taste is bad, but I can only make one cup at a time. For someone with a legitimate caffeine addiction this is a big problem. Now I can make a huge pot and I can program it to make coffee in the morning. Plus it has a built in filter so that I don't have to buy them. I have a feeling we're going to be best friends and spend many happy mornings together. Now I just need to explore what coffees I like. This time I got Waitrose coffee, which is a store brand. One pack is the equivalent of one coffee from any place that isn't Starbucks. By that I mean in cost. I just realized that I didn't explain that at all.
Oh, right. I found this place where you can do outdoor skating. I think it's called Somerset House. Before you get your hopes up I didn't go skating because you have to book tickets, I don't own skates, and there's the small issue of me being the worst skater to come out of Canada ever. Everyone here says "You must be so awesome at skating." I think someone's been spreading a rumor that we all either play hockey or take figure skating. I actually did take figure skating for a year, but that was a long time ago and since then I've lost every skating skill I once had, which was basically skating backwards and sliding on my knees. Anyway, it was a cool place and less blurry than my terrible shots make it seem. I wish I could blame this on being drunk, but I'm actually just a bad photographer.
And there you have it, my sporadic and largely uninformative weekly update.
So, week one of the job is done. I don't have too much to report because it was really just an introductory week. I learned the databases and the kind of info I'll be gathering. More importantly I've confirmed that I get free coffee, my own desk, and occasionally free food. I also got to go to Faversham (aka Kent) for the first two days of my training. It was my first time being out of London since getting here, so it was nice seeing some of the countryside. Sutton (where I'm actually based) is also really cute and apparently has a good shopping mall.
In addition to the excitement of my job I solved a couple of questions I had about food. I'd been asking around a lot about the milk situation. Whenever I get coffee they only have skimmed and semi skimmed milk, which is weird. It turns out that semi skimmed is 2%. Word on the street is that 1% has been introduced and it has an orange cap. They allegedly also have whole milk, which might be 10%. I learned all of this from a bartender because as you all know I'm becoming an alcoholic. I actually asked around at work, but no one knew the answer to the percentage of semi skimmed milk and then I was asking my friend in a bar and the bartender magically had the answer. My other question was answered by my housemate. It was regarding bacon because they only ever seem to have peameal bacon here. Even on Egg McMuffins. Apparently they have "streaky bacon"....aka normal bacon, but it's fairly uncommon.
Now for an update on coffee. There are no cheap coffee places here. It's simply not a thing. However, Costa Coffee has some awesome cups on right now.
That was the large. The medium is a gingerbread theme and I don't know or care what the small is because I'll never get that size.
Now for the biggest news of all....I got an early Christmas gift....and it's a....
Ta da! A coffee maker! Up to this point I've been drinking instant coffee and I hate it a lot. It's not just that the taste is bad, but I can only make one cup at a time. For someone with a legitimate caffeine addiction this is a big problem. Now I can make a huge pot and I can program it to make coffee in the morning. Plus it has a built in filter so that I don't have to buy them. I have a feeling we're going to be best friends and spend many happy mornings together. Now I just need to explore what coffees I like. This time I got Waitrose coffee, which is a store brand. One pack is the equivalent of one coffee from any place that isn't Starbucks. By that I mean in cost. I just realized that I didn't explain that at all.
Oh, right. I found this place where you can do outdoor skating. I think it's called Somerset House. Before you get your hopes up I didn't go skating because you have to book tickets, I don't own skates, and there's the small issue of me being the worst skater to come out of Canada ever. Everyone here says "You must be so awesome at skating." I think someone's been spreading a rumor that we all either play hockey or take figure skating. I actually did take figure skating for a year, but that was a long time ago and since then I've lost every skating skill I once had, which was basically skating backwards and sliding on my knees. Anyway, it was a cool place and less blurry than my terrible shots make it seem. I wish I could blame this on being drunk, but I'm actually just a bad photographer.
And there you have it, my sporadic and largely uninformative weekly update.
Friday 8 November 2013
The Mysteries of Laundry in the Winter
Since we're moving into winter I'm faced with the problem of laundry yet again. I was starting to get the hang of it because when it's summer it rains less and therefore your laundry dries quicker. My strategy is typically to do laundry when it's sunny out so that I can dry them outside and they take one day to dry instead of two. Now that it's winter it rains just about everyday. It doesn't necessarily rain for long, but a day can start out sunny and then suddenly it's pouring. Only for half an hour, but it's enough to soak your clothes, undoing all the dryness.
Just to give you an idea of my drying process I decided I'd post a couple of photos to demonstrate the thought and hard work that goes into laundry in the UK. I am currently drying my clothes in three separate places. My underwear I lovingly hang on my bed to spare my roommates from having to see it when they come into the living room. It's also to spare me embarrassment since I don't have the coolest underwear around. Of course now it's on the internet with a picture of my teddy bear, so that's probably more embarrassing.
Place #2: The living room. This is where I hang my clothes if the day takes a nasty turn from sunny to raining. It takes longer to dry, but it does the trick in the end. If I were a normal person I'd just buy a rack for my room so that I could hang my underwear on that and not have to wait for my roommates to be done drying their clothes. That would take all the challenge out of drying my clothes though. Plus none of my roommates do it, so I don't want to be the snob who's too good for the public drying racks.
Last but not least, there's the outdoors clothes line. If I'm home alone I admittedly hang my underwear out there because it dries a lot faster. Hanging my clothes outside is my favourite because it makes me feel like some old Italian woman who likes her clothes to smell like the fresh air. Also, I like my clothes to smell like fresh air....or gas since we live right by a major road.
Okay, so obviously this is taken post rainfall. I decided that I don't care enough about that sweatshirt to bring it back in. It already got soaked and it will take ages to dry regardless of where it is. Total side note, do you see that shed in the background? I tried all my keys on it and it's locked. I'm convinced there's a dead body in there. Or maybe somebody's super creepy doll collection.
Anyway, tomorrow is the Lord Mayor's Show. I might go check it out. There's a parade and fireworks. I've decided that the Brits really love their fireworks. Any sort of event they have ends in them. I think they like to have a steady stream of them just to keep things interesting.
http://www.lordmayorsshow.org/
To sum up this post, I have no idea how to do laundry in the winter here. It seems impossible since winter is filled with rain. You have to constantly plan two days in advance so you can have clean clothes. I'm still not sure why people don't have dryers here. I actually haven't met one person who owns a dryer. It's some kind of weird conspiracy.
Just to give you an idea of my drying process I decided I'd post a couple of photos to demonstrate the thought and hard work that goes into laundry in the UK. I am currently drying my clothes in three separate places. My underwear I lovingly hang on my bed to spare my roommates from having to see it when they come into the living room. It's also to spare me embarrassment since I don't have the coolest underwear around. Of course now it's on the internet with a picture of my teddy bear, so that's probably more embarrassing.
Place #2: The living room. This is where I hang my clothes if the day takes a nasty turn from sunny to raining. It takes longer to dry, but it does the trick in the end. If I were a normal person I'd just buy a rack for my room so that I could hang my underwear on that and not have to wait for my roommates to be done drying their clothes. That would take all the challenge out of drying my clothes though. Plus none of my roommates do it, so I don't want to be the snob who's too good for the public drying racks.
Last but not least, there's the outdoors clothes line. If I'm home alone I admittedly hang my underwear out there because it dries a lot faster. Hanging my clothes outside is my favourite because it makes me feel like some old Italian woman who likes her clothes to smell like the fresh air. Also, I like my clothes to smell like fresh air....or gas since we live right by a major road.
Okay, so obviously this is taken post rainfall. I decided that I don't care enough about that sweatshirt to bring it back in. It already got soaked and it will take ages to dry regardless of where it is. Total side note, do you see that shed in the background? I tried all my keys on it and it's locked. I'm convinced there's a dead body in there. Or maybe somebody's super creepy doll collection.
Anyway, tomorrow is the Lord Mayor's Show. I might go check it out. There's a parade and fireworks. I've decided that the Brits really love their fireworks. Any sort of event they have ends in them. I think they like to have a steady stream of them just to keep things interesting.
http://www.lordmayorsshow.org/
To sum up this post, I have no idea how to do laundry in the winter here. It seems impossible since winter is filled with rain. You have to constantly plan two days in advance so you can have clean clothes. I'm still not sure why people don't have dryers here. I actually haven't met one person who owns a dryer. It's some kind of weird conspiracy.
Tuesday 5 November 2013
Happy Guy Fawkes Day to One and All!!!
Today I had peanut butter toast for breakfast, Thai for lunch, and chicken enchiladas for dinner. So basically the perfect trifecta of meals. I'm saying that now because I'm on some weird Mexican kick. In reality I wish there was some All Lovin' No Oven ice cream sundae thrown in, but there was no room, plus they don't have Cold Stone Creamery here. Or if they do then the entire city is conspiring to hide it from me. Anyway, basically what I'm saying is that GFD rules. I had a lot of great food, I saw some fireworks (no burning effigy!), and.....
Is your mind blown??? I found a peanut butter supplier! Happy Guy Fawkes Day to me! As a side note, I can take pictures that aren't blurry. I just happen to look better in the blurry ones. I'm not sure what that says about my physical appearance, but I'm not going to over think it. Anyway, yeah, I have someone who just arrived from Canada and brought me peanut butter and he's going home at Christmas and already said he'd bring me some when he gets back. Speaking of Christmas.....
Happy Red Cup Day! They have finally arrived meaning that Christmas is around the corner. There are no holidays in the way and that means that if I want to be totally out of control I can start listening to the Christmas playlist that never left my iPod. Also, in case you're wondering I ordered a peppermint hot chocolate to christen the arrival of the red cups. They don't have peppermint mochas here, which is mildly disappointing. I'm secretly hoping that they're waiting until December to unveil it, but they already have gingerbread lattes and some kind of toffee one, so it's not looking good.
In case you haven't noticed, the absence of Thanksgiving in the UK has had a weird effect on me. I'm now throwing all of my love for Thanksgiving into the other holidays and it's making me a little overly keen. The good news is that my one roommate is equally as insane and is willing to watch Elf with me this weekend.
Is your mind blown??? I found a peanut butter supplier! Happy Guy Fawkes Day to me! As a side note, I can take pictures that aren't blurry. I just happen to look better in the blurry ones. I'm not sure what that says about my physical appearance, but I'm not going to over think it. Anyway, yeah, I have someone who just arrived from Canada and brought me peanut butter and he's going home at Christmas and already said he'd bring me some when he gets back. Speaking of Christmas.....
Happy Red Cup Day! They have finally arrived meaning that Christmas is around the corner. There are no holidays in the way and that means that if I want to be totally out of control I can start listening to the Christmas playlist that never left my iPod. Also, in case you're wondering I ordered a peppermint hot chocolate to christen the arrival of the red cups. They don't have peppermint mochas here, which is mildly disappointing. I'm secretly hoping that they're waiting until December to unveil it, but they already have gingerbread lattes and some kind of toffee one, so it's not looking good.
In case you haven't noticed, the absence of Thanksgiving in the UK has had a weird effect on me. I'm now throwing all of my love for Thanksgiving into the other holidays and it's making me a little overly keen. The good news is that my one roommate is equally as insane and is willing to watch Elf with me this weekend.
Sunday 3 November 2013
A jaunt to the heath.....
I've been a truly lazy blogger lately and I really have no excuse. I need to go sit in some more coffee shops because that way I don't get distracted by my housemates and/or the TV. Columbo and Murder, She Wrote are on everyday. Who can resist that? Only a monster.
So I went to Hampstead Heath twice this week because I'm super weird. I may even go next week. It's got great views of the city and beautiful trees everywhere. Plus there were loads of dogs and I was hoping I might be able to steal one. There was also a ferret on a leash. I'm not going to lie, I thought it was weird but also thought about having a pet ferret would be totally awesome. I'm actually considering trying to volunteer at an animal shelter because I'm starting to go through Bean withdrawal. I miss her face so much and I'm starting to become that creepy lady who pets every dog she passes. That was totally off topic. Hampstead Heath. Gorgeous. Go to Parliament Hill for some decent views or a sweet tobogganing hill if it's winter. There's also a place called Pergola, which is really cool. You get to walk through some stone building and there's this giant house with a tennis court. It's awesome.
Oh right. They also have random ponds and a women and men's swimming area. It's just a part of the pond sectioned off for you to swim in. Apparently it's been there for ages and that's why they still have men and women swimming in separate areas. I asked my friend if I would be zapped by an electrical fence if I tried to jump in the men's area. He assured me I wouldn't be so in the summer I'm going for it. For some reason I envision myself doing this with a swimming cap and one piece bathing suit on. Also, if you're in Hampstead go to the Spaniards Inn. It's super old and was mentioned by Dickens. It's got a bunch of rooms you can sit in and the food is decent.
http://www.thespaniardshampstead.co.uk/
I also went to see some fireworks on Friday. This Tuesday (November 5) is Guy Fawkes Day, aka Bonfire Night. Guy Fawkes is basically a guy who is known for being involved in the Gunpowder Plot, which was a plot to overthrow James I and restore Catholicism to England. He was captured on November 5th, so that's the link (I just want to note that I got this information from Wikipedia. I'd hate to be nailed for plagiarism on my blog.) Now every year Brits put on a fireworks show and burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes to commemorate it, which is oddly pagan and therefore very fun. I have yet to see a burning effigy go down, but the fireworks were phenomenal. They have some pyrotechnic geniuses in London. They had some cool swirly ones and ones that seemed like they were rebounding off each other. Visually stunning. My hats off to the man who put two weeks and thousands of dollars into his GF fireworks display. It was a masterpiece. I'm planning on seeing some on Tuesday as well since that is the official Guy Fawkes Day. If I don't get to see a burning effigy I'm going to be disappointed. I'll probably take matters into my own hand and perform the pagan ritual in my backyard. If I don't write another blog by next weekend it's because my computer and house were burned from a pagan ritual gone wrong.
Total side note: If you're reading this in North America (so everyone) you can watch V for Vendetta to commemorate Guy Fawkes Day. It serves the same purpose as burning an effigy. Although it's less fun, so you should probably just have a bonfire too.
So I went to Hampstead Heath twice this week because I'm super weird. I may even go next week. It's got great views of the city and beautiful trees everywhere. Plus there were loads of dogs and I was hoping I might be able to steal one. There was also a ferret on a leash. I'm not going to lie, I thought it was weird but also thought about having a pet ferret would be totally awesome. I'm actually considering trying to volunteer at an animal shelter because I'm starting to go through Bean withdrawal. I miss her face so much and I'm starting to become that creepy lady who pets every dog she passes. That was totally off topic. Hampstead Heath. Gorgeous. Go to Parliament Hill for some decent views or a sweet tobogganing hill if it's winter. There's also a place called Pergola, which is really cool. You get to walk through some stone building and there's this giant house with a tennis court. It's awesome.
Oh right. They also have random ponds and a women and men's swimming area. It's just a part of the pond sectioned off for you to swim in. Apparently it's been there for ages and that's why they still have men and women swimming in separate areas. I asked my friend if I would be zapped by an electrical fence if I tried to jump in the men's area. He assured me I wouldn't be so in the summer I'm going for it. For some reason I envision myself doing this with a swimming cap and one piece bathing suit on. Also, if you're in Hampstead go to the Spaniards Inn. It's super old and was mentioned by Dickens. It's got a bunch of rooms you can sit in and the food is decent.
http://www.thespaniardshampstead.co.uk/
I also went to see some fireworks on Friday. This Tuesday (November 5) is Guy Fawkes Day, aka Bonfire Night. Guy Fawkes is basically a guy who is known for being involved in the Gunpowder Plot, which was a plot to overthrow James I and restore Catholicism to England. He was captured on November 5th, so that's the link (I just want to note that I got this information from Wikipedia. I'd hate to be nailed for plagiarism on my blog.) Now every year Brits put on a fireworks show and burn an effigy of Guy Fawkes to commemorate it, which is oddly pagan and therefore very fun. I have yet to see a burning effigy go down, but the fireworks were phenomenal. They have some pyrotechnic geniuses in London. They had some cool swirly ones and ones that seemed like they were rebounding off each other. Visually stunning. My hats off to the man who put two weeks and thousands of dollars into his GF fireworks display. It was a masterpiece. I'm planning on seeing some on Tuesday as well since that is the official Guy Fawkes Day. If I don't get to see a burning effigy I'm going to be disappointed. I'll probably take matters into my own hand and perform the pagan ritual in my backyard. If I don't write another blog by next weekend it's because my computer and house were burned from a pagan ritual gone wrong.
Total side note: If you're reading this in North America (so everyone) you can watch V for Vendetta to commemorate Guy Fawkes Day. It serves the same purpose as burning an effigy. Although it's less fun, so you should probably just have a bonfire too.
Tuesday 29 October 2013
Museums and Stuff
I just realized that I've been a total slacker on here and I haven't even talked about all the museums I've gone to. I'm now going to take you on a tour of a couple of London's museums.
1. Natural History Museum
This museum was very fun. First off, they have a wicked dinosaur exhibit. It's really cool and has a lot of dinosaur skeletons and some animatronic dinosaurs as well. The museum is very much laid out for kids, so it's also fairly interactive and the blurbs on what you're looking at are interesting and relatively short. They also have this awesome glowing globe thing that you go into to enter the geological portion of the museum. It took the whole day to get to, but a lot of the exhibits were pretty amazing and visually stunning. They had a giant replica of a blue whale that was awesome. That being said, the museum is a bit dated. One of the maps actually had USSR on it. In retrospect I should have donated some money with a note attached saying "This pound is donated specifically towards any map that doesn't acknowledge the dissolution of the USSR." 2. Victoria & Albert Museum
The building of this museum is very attractive. Lots of marble and arches. They also had a really cool exhibit on some ancient architecture. I didn't have as much fun at this museum because as someone pointed out "It's more of a posh museum." Direct quote. It did have some nice art in it though. Apparently they often do special exhibits and once did one on Star Wars, so I'll have to keep an eye out for that.
3. Madame Toussaud's
Not technically a museum, as I'm sure you know. The wax figures were quite impressive and it made for some good photo ops. Additionally, there's a ride in it that shows you the history of London. I use the term ride loosely. It's a cab on a track. It was pretty cool though to see it all. It's funny to see the difference in the wax figures. Some of them are insanely well done whereas others look nothing like their human counterpart.
I actually have some photos with me in it, but I'm always embarrassingly short compared to the people I'm posed next to. Also, they have professional photographers there to take pictures of you with Obama, the Royal Family, and some other one. I think you have to pay for them, but I wasn't feeling lame enough to find out. As an aside, this one was £30, so you have to really want to see some wax figures.
4. Sherlock Holmes Museum
This was a weird one because as all of you know (or should know) Sherlock Holmes is not a real person. Obviously I knew this going into the museum, but I figured they'd have some artifacts (I'm blanking on the word I actually want to use here) from the shows and movies. This museum is really just a recreation of what Sherlock Holmes' house would probably look like. They also had some super creepy wax figures and just random stuff from the books, like knives and stuff. I'm happy I went I guess, but I'd say skip it. Especially if you don't have copious amounts of time like I do.
I'm definitely not an expert in art. In fact I know very little about art. I know nothing about technique or the different art periods. I basically know that impressionism is a thing and that a lot of art snobs don't like it. That being said, I love looking at it. I'm so bad at art that I have such an appreciation for what artists do. At least with the more classic artists. Admittedly I find a lot of modern art to be a bit questionable. I'm pretty sure I could throw paint angrily at a canvas and sell it for $1,000. Thankfully this art gallery was filled with older art that I couldn't create in a million years so I enjoyed the whole thing. There was one series of paintings that chronicled a husband and wife who basically hated each other and ultimately died of some disease. It was random and I loved it.
I'm going to try and go to St. Paul's Cathedral this Friday, so I'll try and blog about that. Tomorrow I'm staying in with my roommate and watching scary movies because that's what unemployed bums do when their roommate's have a day off. I swear I'm going to start working soon.
Thursday 24 October 2013
Adventures with Peanut Butter
Well loyal blog readers, the day has finally arrived. I have finished my jar of Kraft peanut butter and now I've had to move on to Sun-Pat. I always knew this day would come, but I don't think I was ready for it. Sun-Pat claims to have an American recipe, but I can tell you right now that it's different. I think it tastes more like peanuts and therefore contains less sugar than Kraft.
The coolest thing about SP is that it comes in a glass jar. Very classy. However, it doesn't have the tin foil covering that I enjoy peeling, but it does have a sticker to seal it so that you know no one broke in. I guess that will do. Since I have no other option I suppose this peanut butter is passable. I'll still eat a pb sand a day, but I'll admit that I already miss the sugary goodness of Canadian pb. I've said it before and I'll say it again, anyone who comes to visit me must pay me a tithe of one jar of peanut butter. Any size will do since all sizes are bigger than the ones here. When my roommate saw my jar of Kraft he commented on how big it was. I told him I brought the small size. It was only a little 1 kger. Imagine if I had brought the 2 kg one. His mind would have been blown. In case you're wondering, Sun-Pat is a puny 600 g. They actually have Skippy here, but the jar is essentially travel size (my guess is 200 g). I could eat it in 10 minutes flat. In fact, I hope someone dares me to do that just so I can prove I'm right.
Farewell my beloved smooth Kraft peanut butter, like my Converse sneakers I shall miss thee.
The coolest thing about SP is that it comes in a glass jar. Very classy. However, it doesn't have the tin foil covering that I enjoy peeling, but it does have a sticker to seal it so that you know no one broke in. I guess that will do. Since I have no other option I suppose this peanut butter is passable. I'll still eat a pb sand a day, but I'll admit that I already miss the sugary goodness of Canadian pb. I've said it before and I'll say it again, anyone who comes to visit me must pay me a tithe of one jar of peanut butter. Any size will do since all sizes are bigger than the ones here. When my roommate saw my jar of Kraft he commented on how big it was. I told him I brought the small size. It was only a little 1 kger. Imagine if I had brought the 2 kg one. His mind would have been blown. In case you're wondering, Sun-Pat is a puny 600 g. They actually have Skippy here, but the jar is essentially travel size (my guess is 200 g). I could eat it in 10 minutes flat. In fact, I hope someone dares me to do that just so I can prove I'm right.
I took a photo of me smiling with the Sun-Pat to try and trick myself into thinking it would be good. Even before opening it I knew it wouldn't be the same, but at that time I still had hope.
Tuesday 22 October 2013
To the gym...and beyond!
Disclaimer: This is a couple days old now. When I originally tried to publish it my internet was being annoying.
I finally made it to the gym! I have to admit, I wasn't going to go. I was going to once again succumb to my laziness, but my roommate basically told me to get out and while I was gone she'd clean her room. The workout was great. I felt a bit out of place because no one here seems to clean the machines. So I awkwardly went up to someone and went "Um, so, are there like cloths or anything so I can wipe down the machine?" They looked at me with a blank face and then told me to just use paper towels if I really felt it was necessary. After that I shut my mouth and avoided speaking to anyone. Apart from that it was a decent workout. I'm not as out of shape as I thought and some of the machines are really cool. The other confusing part was that you have to put in a pin code to get in and then they put you in this weird glass thing that then allows you to enter the gym. Hard to explain. I'll take a picture next time. Oh, and they also have random neon lights in every gym I passed. I'm not sure if that's some sort of motivational tool or if gyms turn into nightclubs at night, but it was interesting all the same.
In sadder news, I've had to dispose of my beloved Converse sneakers. They had holes in the bottom and smell bad. Their official time of death was 4:37pm and they now reside in my trash can. Converse sneakers, you had a good run and got me through a lot of rough times. I will miss you. You served me well.
Update: One day after my workout my legs were so sore that I had a limp. I haven't been back to the gym since, but I do intend on going back eventually because I still haven't kicked my candy habit. I figure if I'm going to have no teeth by the end of this year I should at least attempt to be fit. Also, I tried to replace my Converse sneakers and I'm having a tough time because my feet are a size 3 here. I don't know if that makes my feet sound dainty or child like. I'll ask around and get back to you on it.
I finally made it to the gym! I have to admit, I wasn't going to go. I was going to once again succumb to my laziness, but my roommate basically told me to get out and while I was gone she'd clean her room. The workout was great. I felt a bit out of place because no one here seems to clean the machines. So I awkwardly went up to someone and went "Um, so, are there like cloths or anything so I can wipe down the machine?" They looked at me with a blank face and then told me to just use paper towels if I really felt it was necessary. After that I shut my mouth and avoided speaking to anyone. Apart from that it was a decent workout. I'm not as out of shape as I thought and some of the machines are really cool. The other confusing part was that you have to put in a pin code to get in and then they put you in this weird glass thing that then allows you to enter the gym. Hard to explain. I'll take a picture next time. Oh, and they also have random neon lights in every gym I passed. I'm not sure if that's some sort of motivational tool or if gyms turn into nightclubs at night, but it was interesting all the same.
In sadder news, I've had to dispose of my beloved Converse sneakers. They had holes in the bottom and smell bad. Their official time of death was 4:37pm and they now reside in my trash can. Converse sneakers, you had a good run and got me through a lot of rough times. I will miss you. You served me well.
Update: One day after my workout my legs were so sore that I had a limp. I haven't been back to the gym since, but I do intend on going back eventually because I still haven't kicked my candy habit. I figure if I'm going to have no teeth by the end of this year I should at least attempt to be fit. Also, I tried to replace my Converse sneakers and I'm having a tough time because my feet are a size 3 here. I don't know if that makes my feet sound dainty or child like. I'll ask around and get back to you on it.
Sunday 20 October 2013
Night Out!!!
Last night was my first proper night out in London. I have to say that going out in London is way more fun than going out in Toronto. Mainly because with my accent I apparently have crazy appeal here. Plus I have an instant conversation starter. So many people would talk to me at the bar just to find out where I was from. The best part of my evening however was making two new friends named Jethro and Angus. I would have been pumped to meet just one of them with names like that, but to meet them both was just amazing. On top of that I now have plans for Tuesday to go to a pub quiz night in Clapham. Now I have two friends outside of my housemates in Clapham. Soon I'll have five and according to the Babysitter's Club that's a lot of friends. Anyway, it was a good night out and I made it home safely, so all in all it was a success.
Friday 18 October 2013
Ponderings of the week
These are all related to Clapham since I rarely venture to other neighbourhoods.
1. Everyone seems to own a scooter. I'm talking push scooters here, not even electric ones. They're everywhere and not limited to children. I feel like I'm missing out on some kind of trend.
2. No one seems to work. I see a suspiciously large number of people drinking coffee at all times of the day. How do people afford to live in London without a job?
3. Neon yellow pinnies (10 points to anyone who knows what a pinny is. Hint: You had to wear them in gym class) seem to be worn by a lot of people here. Are they all construction workers? Do they do this so that they don't get hit by cars? If I get one will I be instantly cooler and more accepted in my neighbourhood?
4. Do people here not run on coffee the way we do in North America? When I told my roommate I was considering buying a coffee machine she said the one she has would suffice, but hers only makes one small cup at a time. I need at least three of those a day to function.
5. Were these candies created to give me a sugar addiction and possibly lead me down a dark path towards diabetes?
6. Can I get on one of the many reality shows that exist to humiliate you when you're drunk and pathetic in a club?
7. I know they get American TV, but I never see anything but Friends on. Do they think that Friends is an accurate depiction of life in North America?
I have a lot more ponderings, but these are my main ones for the week. It's given me a lot to think about. I really need to start working soon so that I don't care about these mundane things so much anymore.
1. Everyone seems to own a scooter. I'm talking push scooters here, not even electric ones. They're everywhere and not limited to children. I feel like I'm missing out on some kind of trend.
2. No one seems to work. I see a suspiciously large number of people drinking coffee at all times of the day. How do people afford to live in London without a job?
3. Neon yellow pinnies (10 points to anyone who knows what a pinny is. Hint: You had to wear them in gym class) seem to be worn by a lot of people here. Are they all construction workers? Do they do this so that they don't get hit by cars? If I get one will I be instantly cooler and more accepted in my neighbourhood?
4. Do people here not run on coffee the way we do in North America? When I told my roommate I was considering buying a coffee machine she said the one she has would suffice, but hers only makes one small cup at a time. I need at least three of those a day to function.
5. Were these candies created to give me a sugar addiction and possibly lead me down a dark path towards diabetes?
7. I know they get American TV, but I never see anything but Friends on. Do they think that Friends is an accurate depiction of life in North America?
I have a lot more ponderings, but these are my main ones for the week. It's given me a lot to think about. I really need to start working soon so that I don't care about these mundane things so much anymore.
Tuesday 15 October 2013
Off to Camden I Go
Try not to be too shocked by this, but I actually managed to do something interesting today. So far I've been squandering my time off in London by never leaving myt was pretty area or just going to see the touristy stuff that I've already seen. Today I went to Camden Market, which is still a tourist attraction, but one I've never been to before. I'm going to start with the fact that there was a cookie bar there. The moment I saw that sign I had to go. Turns out a cookie bar is just a cookie shop where you go and sit at the counter like it's a bar. Naturally I got a peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie heated up. It was amazing.
So Camden Market is basically just a bunch of random little markets. A lot of it is just pure tourist stuff, but they had a lot of food stands and some vintage shops in there. They also had a lot of weird names like The Railway or Horse Tunnel Market, so that made it fun to explore. Lots of random statues too. Now I'm to go watch the England vs. Poland game. Fingers crossed for England!
Monday 14 October 2013
Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Well, obviously by being here I've missed my favourite holiday. I would totally sacrifice Christmas for Thanksgiving, but unfortunately Thanksgiving is just too soon for me to be flying home. I managed to hang out with two Canadians this weekend and yesterday I had dinner in a Canadian pub, so I feel that that's as close as I can get to a Thanksgiving here. I say that in the hope that you're all aware I can't cook, so cooking a turkey isn't an option. Also, what would I do with a giant turkey? If I were to make a whole turkey for myself I may as well just buy a cat and call it a day. My big attempt to do get a Thanksgiving meal item was asking my roommate if pumpkin pie is a thing here. It's not. They have pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks still, but no actual pumpkin pie. Why you gotta play me like that, London? I don't know why the Brits haven't jumped on board with a holiday that's dedicated to thanks and eating, but I'm thinking I should work on converting them for next year. Or I'll just fly home and get to eat pie. I did get to watch football and I got mashed potatoes and vegetables with my meal yesterday, so I didn't do too badly. My original plans were to sit at home sulking about the fact that I'm missing my favourite holiday, so I'm considering this alternate version a success. Happy Thanksgiving to all my family and friends! I hope you all enjoyed your delicious meals and pumpkin pie. Now that you know that pumpkin pie is a rare commodity you should all savor it more. Really appreciate what a luxury it is. Then tell me about it so I can live vicariously through you.
Friday 11 October 2013
Happy one month anniversary to me!
So it's my one month anniversary in London. I'm not sure if you can even say it's been one month since half of that was spent in other countries, but whatever. Sadly I had McDonald's yesterday so today I will not be having that in celebration. In fact I'm having an extremely lame day in celebration, but tomorrow I'm going to go to the British Museum. It may be sad that that's my treat, but I don't care. I'm very excited for it.
Things I've learned so far:
1. Where to buy a blow dryer, towels, groceries, and clothes.
2. That pedestrians don't have the right of way or if they do no one cares.
3. That the person who created the traffic lights was most likely an aspiring evil genius who hates pedestrians. I discussed this with a Canadian PhD student and she agrees with me, so I know I'm right.
4. Everyone in England wonders why I moved here leading me to believe that I could have convinced someone to do a house swap with me The Holiday style. My mom is now an empty nester so I'm sure she would have been on board with this.
5. I found a gym that costs less and gives me more than my one back home. Plus it's open 24 hours a day and you don't have to sign up for a contract, just like Snap. I wasn't going to join a gym, but after a month of eating mostly carbs and candy I think it might be necessary.
6. Being sick is apparently appealing to everyone in London.
7. The service here is terrible and I love it.
8. That if I'm given too much time to do nothing I become extremely lazy and more sloth like.
9. Museums are still free and now that I know that I might go crazy.
10. I don't understand half of what people are saying.
11. The TV here is crazy raunchy. I actually saw a guy get a cold sore burned off his penis the other day. It was revolting and I can't get it out of my head.
Things I have yet to learn:
1. Cheap coffee. Yeah, I'm still going on about this. It is the bane of my existence. I've been to at least 10 different coffee shops since arriving here. The day I find anything under £2 that gives me more than a thimble of coffee is the day I will know I belong here.
2. An internal sense of direction. I'm still lost on a very regular basis. I'm getting better, but barely.
3. Where I can get a cheap haircut. I thought I actually found a place, but then it turned out to be a men's barber shop. For a split second I considered going in anyway and claiming to be an extremely effeminate man just to see if they would give me the haircut, but ultimately I decided against it. So now the search continues. I just want a First Choice or Super Cuts. Is that so much to ask?
4. How to make new friends. I haven't really tried that hard to make new friends. To be honest I'm kind of enjoying the time to myself, but when the time comes that I need to make new friends I'm not sure how I'll do it.
5. Probably loads of other stuff, but I'm watching a show on nudists so I can't think of them right now. I'll update you again at two months.
Things I've learned so far:
1. Where to buy a blow dryer, towels, groceries, and clothes.
2. That pedestrians don't have the right of way or if they do no one cares.
3. That the person who created the traffic lights was most likely an aspiring evil genius who hates pedestrians. I discussed this with a Canadian PhD student and she agrees with me, so I know I'm right.
4. Everyone in England wonders why I moved here leading me to believe that I could have convinced someone to do a house swap with me The Holiday style. My mom is now an empty nester so I'm sure she would have been on board with this.
5. I found a gym that costs less and gives me more than my one back home. Plus it's open 24 hours a day and you don't have to sign up for a contract, just like Snap. I wasn't going to join a gym, but after a month of eating mostly carbs and candy I think it might be necessary.
6. Being sick is apparently appealing to everyone in London.
7. The service here is terrible and I love it.
8. That if I'm given too much time to do nothing I become extremely lazy and more sloth like.
9. Museums are still free and now that I know that I might go crazy.
10. I don't understand half of what people are saying.
11. The TV here is crazy raunchy. I actually saw a guy get a cold sore burned off his penis the other day. It was revolting and I can't get it out of my head.
Things I have yet to learn:
1. Cheap coffee. Yeah, I'm still going on about this. It is the bane of my existence. I've been to at least 10 different coffee shops since arriving here. The day I find anything under £2 that gives me more than a thimble of coffee is the day I will know I belong here.
2. An internal sense of direction. I'm still lost on a very regular basis. I'm getting better, but barely.
3. Where I can get a cheap haircut. I thought I actually found a place, but then it turned out to be a men's barber shop. For a split second I considered going in anyway and claiming to be an extremely effeminate man just to see if they would give me the haircut, but ultimately I decided against it. So now the search continues. I just want a First Choice or Super Cuts. Is that so much to ask?
4. How to make new friends. I haven't really tried that hard to make new friends. To be honest I'm kind of enjoying the time to myself, but when the time comes that I need to make new friends I'm not sure how I'll do it.
5. Probably loads of other stuff, but I'm watching a show on nudists so I can't think of them right now. I'll update you again at two months.
Thursday 10 October 2013
JOBBED!!!
So apparently the good city of London is on board with my awkwardness. I got the job I interviewed for yesterday. I legitimately said I was lame at one point during the interview. When she called to tell me I sounded so surprised she went "You sound shell shocked. Are you okay?" They're probably thinking they've made the biggest mistake in hiring me. Not only did I get a job, but I got a job that's in my field and I think they have free coffee there. It's an hour out in Sutton, which is too bad, but Sutton is really cute so I'm willing to do it. I was honestly prepared to be unemployed for ages and I was wondering how I'd pay for my drinking problem, but it looks like my alcoholism can continue. I'm kidding. I honestly don't have a drinking problem. My family is probably legitimately worried about my drinking habits, but I haven't had a drink since Tuesday. That was a joke, but true at the same time. Anyway, to celebrate I'm getting McDonald's tonight because that's what champs do.
I found this pond in the park to sit in because I thought the call was going to be bad news. There's a legitimate fishing contest that's going on there this weekend, so I'm obviously swinging by for that. The poster also mentioned something about swimming. I only half read it, but in my mind people are wearing speedos and diving for fish. How can I possibly pass that up?
Total side note: I was sick for both my interview and when I looked at the house I'm currently living in. Be honest with me friends and family, do I hold a greater appeal when I'm sick? I'm beginning to think I do because I never had this much luck as a healthy person. I'm planning on being sick all the time to keep this lucky streak going.
I found this pond in the park to sit in because I thought the call was going to be bad news. There's a legitimate fishing contest that's going on there this weekend, so I'm obviously swinging by for that. The poster also mentioned something about swimming. I only half read it, but in my mind people are wearing speedos and diving for fish. How can I possibly pass that up?
Total side note: I was sick for both my interview and when I looked at the house I'm currently living in. Be honest with me friends and family, do I hold a greater appeal when I'm sick? I'm beginning to think I do because I never had this much luck as a healthy person. I'm planning on being sick all the time to keep this lucky streak going.
Wednesday 9 October 2013
I want my blankie
For those of you who actually read some of my initial blog posts you should remember that my original packing list involved wanting a lot of blankets and I deemed that insane. Now that I'm constantly sick all I want is my pink afghan. I miss snuggling up with it. Perhaps this is why Linus was always my favourite Peanuts character. Everyone made fun of him, but he knows where it's at. I still stand by my decision not to bring it. It was way too huge to bring, but I'm now missing it. On a totally random and unrelated note, I had my first job interview today and it blew. Since I haven't had an interview in two years I basically talked at lightning speed and made lame jokes the whole time. On the bright side, it's over with and now maybe I'll be less neurotic for the next one. It's always good to get one bad one out of the way. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself.
Tuesday 8 October 2013
What's the deal with the coffee?
Update: I solved the mystery of the Pac Man van. On my way home from the grocery store I saw some guy scraping off Pac, so it seems that this guy got a deal on a van because there was Pac Man stuff all over it and now he's trying to clean it so his friends don't think he's lame. I'm thinking that I should replace that brainy bitch Velma in Scooby's gang. I'm clearly way more efficient than she is.
Now I have a new and very important mystery to solve. Finding cheap coffee. This is more of a quest than a mystery. I've been working on it since I got here. Here's a tip for anyone thinking of moving to London. Don't be fooled by their £1.25 coffee. If someone says you're getting a coffee for a £1.25 it means it looks like this.
That's right. For what would be around $2.00 in Canada you get a tiny styrofoam cup of coffee. I've been tricked into this multiple times now. I'm beginning to think that Starbucks is my only option because clearly people in Europe think that a shot of coffee will do me for the day. They are sorely mistaken. Thanks to IMAX I require probably a litre of coffee a day. I know it's sick and I've tried to go off it, but my body is sluggish without it. I think IMAX should probably buy me a coffee maker and a lifetime supply of coffee grounds and filters since they're responsible for my dependency on coffee.
In other news, I was asked for directions today! Granted the guy was asking everyone he saw, including a woman who resembled the crazy cat lady from The Simpsons, but I was still excited about it. At least I look like someone who may know directions and not someone who's wandering the streets lost and confused. If I was able to give him directions to where he was going that would have really made my day. Instead he had to rely on the crazy cat lady.
Now I have a new and very important mystery to solve. Finding cheap coffee. This is more of a quest than a mystery. I've been working on it since I got here. Here's a tip for anyone thinking of moving to London. Don't be fooled by their £1.25 coffee. If someone says you're getting a coffee for a £1.25 it means it looks like this.
That's right. For what would be around $2.00 in Canada you get a tiny styrofoam cup of coffee. I've been tricked into this multiple times now. I'm beginning to think that Starbucks is my only option because clearly people in Europe think that a shot of coffee will do me for the day. They are sorely mistaken. Thanks to IMAX I require probably a litre of coffee a day. I know it's sick and I've tried to go off it, but my body is sluggish without it. I think IMAX should probably buy me a coffee maker and a lifetime supply of coffee grounds and filters since they're responsible for my dependency on coffee.
In other news, I was asked for directions today! Granted the guy was asking everyone he saw, including a woman who resembled the crazy cat lady from The Simpsons, but I was still excited about it. At least I look like someone who may know directions and not someone who's wandering the streets lost and confused. If I was able to give him directions to where he was going that would have really made my day. Instead he had to rely on the crazy cat lady.
Monday 7 October 2013
Meeting Up....with fellow Canadians
So today I attempted a Canadian meetup group. For those of you who aren't nerdy and don't need assistance making friends there's a site called meetup.com that allows you to pick groups that interest you and go meet new people. Up until this point I've been hesitant because meeting new people is terrifying. It brings out all my social awkwardness and typically ends in me drinking too much. I'm also just too lazy and would rather stay home, but I don't want my roommates to think I'm a total hermit and it's a Monday, so I figured I have nothing to lose. We met up at a Canadian themed bar called The Maple Leaf.
It was a pretty cute place and they played hockey on TV, which is cool. The meetup wasn't terrible. I met some cool people and made a new friend that's living in Clapham, but they all really wanted to talk about Canada and your life in London because so far that's all we have in common and it was kind of boring from that respect. The one guy gave me a tip that the best meetups to go to are the ones where you all have a common interest, like religion or whatever. I'd be a bit afraid to get into a Christian group though. Even though I'm fairly religious I'm not really into other Christians because I'm a horrible person. They start throwing Bible quotes at me and when I don't know them I feel judged and inadequate. I prefer to just spread love and peace like a hippie. Anyway, the point is that I'll probably go to this meetup again and try to talk to people that don't like to talk about the politics of Canada because that's not what I want to talk about with anyone. I will also point out that I only had one beer, which for me is impressive in a pretty intimidating social scenario.
On a way more fun note, check out this photo of a...trailer? RV? Van? from the parking lot near my place. I can't decide if it's for something or if this person just really loves Pac Man. "Chomp on this" makes it sound like it's for some sort of food, but then there's no indication of a type of business on it. I'm glad me and the gang (the gang being my cell phone and iPod) have another mystery on our hands. Ever since I figured out the mystery of the laundry I've been bored.
Suck it, Paris!!!!!
http://news.yahoo.com/london-steals-title-best-city-world-paris-082514726.html
London is the best city in the world! I clearly saw this coming and that's why I chose to move this year. My favourite line is that it's easy for foreigners to fit in. That's me! So far I'm not fitting in since I look perpetually lost and keep almost getting smoked by oncoming vehicles, but I'm sure eventually that will change. If not I'll die knowing I was in the best city in the world. I also want to point out that I just moved from the #3 city in Canada to the #1 in the world. I'm all about moving up.
London is the best city in the world! I clearly saw this coming and that's why I chose to move this year. My favourite line is that it's easy for foreigners to fit in. That's me! So far I'm not fitting in since I look perpetually lost and keep almost getting smoked by oncoming vehicles, but I'm sure eventually that will change. If not I'll die knowing I was in the best city in the world. I also want to point out that I just moved from the #3 city in Canada to the #1 in the world. I'm all about moving up.
Saturday 5 October 2013
Update: How to do laundry in London
I forgot to explain how the Brits do their laundry. It turns out that my roommates weren't lying when they said having a washing machine was a huge bonus. It costs £3.40 to do a small load of washing. I signed away the first born child I'll never have just to pay for it. Drying however is only £1. So I've decided I'll buy a drying rack for most stuff and just lug wet laundry to the dryer when needed. I've also decided that I should consider pimping out our washer for the low price of £2 a wash to help sustain my drinking problem.
You know your roommates are awesome when....
Before I even get into my night I'm just going to say that I was in my sweatpants by 6pm and had every intention of going to bed around 9pm completely sober. Here's what happened instead....
That totally made it seem like I went on some crazy bender last night. Like I came back wearing a bunch of glow sticks and found two guys in my bed. In reality my night consisted of getting drunk and watching movies. So this post is dedicated to the awesomeness of my roommates. First off, they gave me free food. That was enough to win me over because free food is basically my favourite thing. The only thing that could be better is free McDonald's, which I'm aware is food, but they obviously didn't come home with free McDonald's for me. They don't even know that my favourite meal is the Quarter Pounder with a Coke (aka combo #1). Unless I'm splurging and then it's a Big Mac meal. Interesting fact, in Munich they don't seem to have the Quarter Pounder meal. They just have hamburgers and cheeseburgers. Perhaps the thought of ordering fast food by weight repulses them. I felt too gross to ask. Anyway, so my one roommate supplied me with dinner and dessert making her my new favourite roommate. My other roommate also provided me with a secondary dessert, so he's a close second. Then we cracked open a bottle of wine each and watched Dirty Dancing and Disney movies all night. We were full out singing to The Little Mermaid and it made my day complete. Belting "Part of Your World" at 1am, although annoying to the neighbours, is so satisfying. Mainly because you think you sound just like Ariel thanks to all the booze. By the end of the night I'd had about a bottle and a half of wine and went to bed at 4am. Although for the last two hours I was Skyping with my family, so I can't pin that one on my roommates. The point is that my roommates are amazing, but may also be a very bad influence on me. They can all drink a lot more than me and at this point I have no friends so my only option is to succumb to peer pressure and try to keep up with them. Unfortunately for me my health is rapidly deteriorating, so I think I have no choice but to admit defeat and be a loser that stays in tonight. It'll be boring, but if I can get rid of my smoker's cough voice it will totally be worth it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)