English Word of the Day...

Fortnight...

Now, I know this a word we've all heard before, but when saying your doing something in two weeks or for two weeks, do you really say that "I'm going on holiday for a fortnight." or "In a fortnight's time we'll be in the new year"? As it seems, the words that we've adopted from the British but dropped in the days of Lincoln, are still alive and well here in the mother country.

Okay, okay we were struggling for a word of the day...

Tomorrow we leave for Helsinki, Finland and I promise to have more interesting things to blog about on Tuesday when we get back!

Scarves--What are they good for?

So, one thing that is very noticeable in the limited wardrobe of the Brit is the scarf. Young or old, male or female, it is a staple. The thing we find strangest about it is the men that wear scarves without a coat, looped around their neck in a rather feminine fashion whilst being INSIDE. For instance, tonight we were at a sushi restaurant INSIDE the mall our tube stop is at. The manager of the restaurant was running around, making sure all of the patrons were happy wearing a HUGE wool scarf around his neck wrapped tight--as if he were wearing a neck brace. C'mon, he's got to be hot! This is not an isolated incident, we see it all the time--the British obsession with scarves! I must admit, in my efforts to 'fit in' and 'look like a brit' I have tried to wear a scarf and I just get hot and itchy. Truthfully, I don't even zip my coat here because it's just not that cold! Yesterday was the first frost for God's sake! It's JUST NOT THAT COLD! In relation to the scarf is the is female's wearing the pashmina. They wear it much like a scarf, but again, they're all wrapped up in it, and it's JUST NOT COLD! Maybe they have some kind of iron deficiency or something that causes them to be cold, but frankly at the quick pace that these people walk at, they should be breaking a sweat!

English Word of the Day...

The English Word for the Day is PUDDING...

Now, you may know what you think is pudding--the chocolate or vanilla, tapioca or my favorite rice variety. This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to pudding here. They call dessert pudding--most every dessert is called pudding. There is a "Pudding Table" at a buffet, or you get pudding with your coffee after a meal. This time of year, especially, there are lots of different puddings out, most notably he Christmas Pudding, which, though I haven't tried it yet, seems to me to be a cross between a fruit cake and spice cake.

Socialized Medicine is the DEVIL!

Last weekend, some of our expat friends told us their woes of getting a General Practitioner (GP) so I decided before we actually get sick, I should sign up with one. How it works here, in the land of socialized medicine, is that you have to sign up with a GP within a 2 miles zone of where you live. Then, that's the doctor you go to for everything. There's no Ear, Nose, and Throat Guy, or an OB/GYN or an orthopedic. So I went on the NHS (National Health Services) website and found a doctor in my zone. Called, and they told me I couldn't register because I hadn't been in the country yet for 6 months. I didn't think that was right, so I called the NHS...yep, I went right to the top! They told me that there was no such rule, and to call back the doctor. Well, after trying to impose my English politeness and later my American pushiness, I still wasn't registered. I then called the local Hammersmith and Fulham Health Authority and reported them. They suggested I try another doctor, which I did and they said I could CERTAINLY come in to register, and that the were open from 2-7 that day. I went at about 10 after 2 and was told that the office manager, the only person in the whole practice that can register someone was out that day. Wouldn't that have been some good information to tell me over the phone? So, now I'm going to try again today to get registered. We'll see how that goes...All I know is that I get strep throat at least once per year, and I better be registered by the time that hits me!

You know, people rave about this socialized medical system they have over here, and I suppose it is okay once you're in, but all I know is that in the states I wasn't limited geographically, and I could go to any doctor I wanted as long as they were covered under my policy. And even if they weren't covered under my policy, I could still go, I'd just have to pay for it! Honestly, I feel like it's almost like communist Russia, having to wait in line for a loaf of bread or something...

English Word of the Day...

I realize I have been slacking on my English Word of the Day since Thanksgiving. Many apologies as I'm sure you've all been anxiously anticipating the next ridiculous phrase that we hear every day coming out of these Brits' mouths. Today's is a "Phrase of the Day":

You 'LOOK LIKE DOGS BREAKFAST'. This phrase basically refers to something being bad. In the example, the person is probably referring to someone who looks ill. It can also refer to an inanimate object such as a report or spreadsheet that is poorly done.

It may seem as though this is a one off, and perhaps it's just someone's thing to say. Maybe you're thinking of Paris Hilton's "That's Hot", but we've both heard this phrase on several occasions in different company.

Ah, The Laundry Crisis

As you know, if you've either read my blog or spoken to me, we bring our laundry out to get cleaned. Well, right now, we probably have more laundry than we ever have at the cleaners and it won't be ready until Saturday. I think it was the combo of being in Berlin and having lots of wet, gross clothes that caused the overload. Nonetheless, we have now run into somewhat of a laundry crisis. Mike is quickly running out of pants (underwear) and I am down to one pair of jeans--I'm good in the pants department. The clothes won't be ready until Saturday. Herein the problem lies! We leave for Helsinki at 5AM on Saturday and will be gone until Tuesday! Those who knew me in college remember that I also refused to do laundry there and would adopt a policy when I ran out of underwear (pants)--just buy more! Some I'm headed out today to get Mike some underwear. I know what you're thinking, wouldn't it be better to just do the laundry yourself so you always have your clothes in your house? NO! It's still better this way, and Mike makes out like a bandit and gets new stuff! Everyone's happy in the Racano house!

Springsteen Live!

The other day, Mike found out that Springsteen tickets were going on sale yesterday at 9AM for this show at the O2 Arena here in London. O2 is a mobile phone company here, and their customers get first dibs at tickets, so we weren't sure what would be available come 9AM, but we were able to get them! We're so excited to get to see all of these "American" things while over here. All we need in BonJovi to tour over here between now and July '09 and we'll be all set!

In other news, the countdown is on--14 days until we come home for Christmas! We've got pretty hectic lives until then, so it will be a welcome break to get to see everyone!

Danke Sein, Darlin' Danke Sein

We're back from Berlin! What a great trip it was. I think that every high school student should take a trip there when they learn about the Iron Curtain in history class. It definitely brings it all together and helps to understand what really went on there! We arrived on Saturday morning, and went to work at the Christmas Markets! Germany is famous for its Christmas Markets and that's one of the biggest reasons we chose this time of year to go there. What a great choice it was! The Christmas Markets were fantastic! They had wonderful food---we sampled Bratwurst and beers, Pretzels and mulled wine...We ate and drank our way from one end of the city to the other! The crafts were fantastic, but like everywhere else you had to watch out for the cheaper stands as many of there wares donned the "Made in China" stamp! We started at the Alexanderplatz and worked our way back to the hotel going from market to market...just what Mike loves---watching me shop! That night we were both so tired from shopping and walking the city that we had a lovely dinner in our hotel restaurant, Mike had a Wienerschnitzel and I played it safe with a steak. I just was too tired to play games with food I wasn't sure about! On Sunday we took an all day (8 hour) walking tour of the city. Preston, our tour guide was an American from Oregon who was living in Berlin doing his master's in Modern German History. While his humor was a little questionable, we couldn't have picked a better tourguide for Mike and I. I guess you could call our tour "semi-private" as only Mike and I and one other Australian couple showed up for it. Our guide was really knowledgable, and like I said the whole experience really gave us some insight into how East and West Berlin were set up, how they interacted, how the Berlin Wall had two walls, with a death zone in the middle. We learned that the "New" synagogue actually survived the Nazi occupation and WW2 thanks to 1 man. Berlin is an interesting city. It is actuall 64 thousand million Euro in debt ($64 billion). Their city slogan is "Berlin--Poor but Sexy" and you can really see just how poor the city is. World War 2 ended over 60 years ago, and you can still see the destruction the allied forces caused. The city just doesn't have the funds to repair everything. There are empty, vacant lots all over the city, where they just can't afford to rebuild anything. Fronts of building that were blown away, have stayed blown away, just the rubble has been cleared. I think this is one of the reason why we liked this city so much. This was a city in Europe that actually had something to see. There were no fabricated tourist traps as in other cities we've been to. There was SO much to see that a weekend just wasn't enough. We're looking forward to going back in the Spring/Summer timeframe. We also got to see the square in which they burned the books in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade---today there's an ice skating rink on it--we had a beer there! We learned how families that were separated by the wall interacted--those on the West side, were able to obtain 1 day visas, and were able to visit their family in East Berlin for one day--the only catch was that the visas could only be obtained every 2-5 years. One this that really interested in us was that 80% of anything to see in the city is in East Berlin. I saw where Katarina Witt was given an apartment in East Berlin after winning her figure skating medals for E. Germany---the apartment stands on the lot where Hitler's bunker was. We got to see the hotel (Hotel Adlon) where Michael Jackson dangled his new son over the balcony all those years ago. I really could go on an on about the things we saw, and realy all the things we want to go back and see! I'll stop here though!

The Joys of the British Housewife

Yes, I'm back to being a housewife. Apparently my availability from now 'til Christmas doesn't suit the temp agency, so I'm back to being unemployed until after Christmas. They didn't say that exactly, but I get the feeling that I won't get called now until the New Year. So, what's a girl to do with all this time on her hands? BAKE! I'm doing Christmas cookies this year! Today is day one of my baking spree, and I'm making peanut butter cookies! It's hard to find ingredients, so I started with those as I could find everything I needed. I think before I continue, I'll have to drop by the American food store to pick up some other ingredients!

Next week we're having our annual Jingle Bell Blast that we usually have for all of Mike's team. However, apparently people don't socialize with people they work with here, so I think it's just going to be us expats! Fine by me! I don't think we'll pull out the beer pong table this year, much to our dismay, but it would have to go outside, and it may be a little cold!

What a Nice Surprise!

Yesterday when we came back to the flat and collected our mail, Mike had a note from the Royal Mail that he had a package to pick up. Today I went to get it, wondering what it could be as we weren't expecting anything. Lo and behold it was a package from one of the partners that Mike used to work for in NJ filled with GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!!! It was really nice of him to think of us over here across the pond!

I heard from the temp agency today. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) wants me back. After I told her my availability between now and the New Year, she said she'd have to call me back. Well, I haven't heard back from her yet! Between now and Christmas, I'd only be able to work 1 full week, so maybe the passed on that!

This weekend we're going to Berlin from Saturday to Monday, and then in 2 weeks we're going to Helsinki, Finland from Saturday til Monday as well. Doesn't leave much time for me to actually WORK!

What a Whirlwind Weekend!

While I have to say it was WONDERFUL to see everyone at Thanksgiving the toll the trip is taking on me is crazy. We rolled into Peterborough yesterday around 9:30 AM. Mike decided to walk from home, so into the living room and to his computer he went. I, on the other hand, went to bed. I know I should have fought it and stayed up, but there's no way I could have. I slept until 3:00, when Mike woke me up to eat something. He made the American favorite Mac and Cheese for us. I was then determined to stay awake, and lasted until about 6:00PM when I was falling asleep on the couch. Mike sent me to bed for the night. I woke up again around 10PM and was worried I wouldn't sleep through the night again, but took some Benedryl and I was A-okay! Mike keeps telling me that you're not supposed to sleep like that because it will be harder for me to get back on track, but I'm not sure I could have stayed awake even if I tried!

This weekend we are off to Berlin to see their Christmas Bazaar and all the sites the city has to offer. I think we're most excited about seeing the Berlin wall and checkpoint charlie. We get back from Berlin around mid-day on Monday, so it should be a nice trip!

That's all from me for now, I need to go and do some food shopping--we don't have anything in the house!

No Electricity!!!!

This morning, as I was going through my usual routine on the computer, email, myspace, facebook, news. The power went out! I figured it was a normal power outage, and it would come back on shortly. So I waited. Then I called Mike to tell him to call me on the landline if he needed me because the power was out. He directed me to the circuit breaker box. The circuit breaker box is about 8 feet up (yes, we've got very high ceilings) so needless to say when I stood on a chair, I still couldn't reach. I literally had to move the entire kitchen table over to check it out. There weren't any switches flipped to off but the main one, and STUPID me, didn't realize that was a bad thing. I went back to my conclusion that the power had just failed and if I was patient, it would come back on. So I waited, and waited. Finally, about 4 hours later, Mike called to check on me. I told him that all the switches were on "on", but the one that's separate, which I later found out is the main. At this point I called the property management company, and they had an electrician out in about 15 minutes...It helps that it was considered an emergency because our heat is run by electricity. The electrician came and as it turns out, there was one circuit that was a short, the rest were okay, and luckily it's our backyard motion sensor that's out. He's supposed to come back tomorrow to get everything up and running, but for now, at least we have lights and heat! Just when I thought it was going to be a nice relaxing day at home....

Ice Skating at South Kensington

So the expats tried something new last night...something that didn't include alcohol as the main event...though we did hit up the pub afterwards! We went ice skating in South Kensington next to the Natural History Museum. One thing that I learned last night is that I freaking HATE ice skating. I went around the loop a couple of time and I was ready for a nice hot chocolate! I sucked it up for the sake of the group for the entire hour...feet hurting and all! Mike was a show off as usual, spinning and doing everything short of a double sow cow. It was fun, once I got my skates off and had a chance to sit down in a nice warm pub.

Last Day at IMechE...

Or is it...when I was leaving today, they gave me a bottle of champagne and said they would love it if I came back after my holiday. The people there are bloody mad, so it makes going to work interesting so I think I will give them a call when we get back next Tuesday. In the meantime, I'm really excited about having Monday and Tuesday off!

English Word of the Day...revised

So, I have been set straight by Queen Maureen. Bollocks does not mean shit or crap, but "balls". I suppose that it doesn't make much difference in usage.

PS...don't worry mom...no more bad words for awhile!

English Word of the Day...

Bollocks...

Meaning, crap, shit, etc. Most likely used when something hasn't gone your way...'Oh, Bollocks!' I've also heard it being used as in 'That red wine kicked the bollocks out of me last night!'

Promise to have some more 'non-curse' words next week!

Scotch Eggs...

Have you ever heard of a Scotch Egg? Probably not, right? Let me explain what it is...In essence, it's a hard boiled egg, in the center of a spam like substance that they call 'veal ham' wrapped in a pastry like a pot pie. This is served cold as part of a salad! A few months ago, Mike and I were faced with Scotch Eggs at my relatives' house, but they've recently popped again at the salad bar I sometimes go to for lunch. The Brits rave about it!!! They can't understand why I think it's weird at all. Although, when I explained to them what Macaroni and Cheese was, they were a bit disgusted...'Macaroni in a box?' 'Powdered Cheese?'...Needless to say I'm making some and bringing it in tomorrow! These people don't know what they're missing!

English Word of the Day...

Tick...

Translated to American it's like 'second'. Like the tick of a clock. Mostly used in phrases like...'I'll be there in a tick' or 'Can you call me back in a tick'. Another word used interchangably with this one is tinkle. Tinkle just cracks me up, as I think of a little child going wee wee when I hear tinkle.

English Word of the Day...

Knickers...

Some might call them underwear or pants. Don't call pants, pants though, pants here are underwear. LOL! You can use knickers in saying 'Don't get your knickers in a bunch', or 'Always make sure you change your knickers daily'.

Knickers = Underwear
Pants = Underwear
Trousers = Pants

While we're talking about underwear...sometimes they call a bra a vest but they also call it a bra as well.

Parliamentarians are schlebs...

Well at least the ones I met today. They were actually poorly dressed and carrying burlap sacks. At least one of them was! The Secretary of State was not nearly as well spoken as I thought he would have been, but I did get to shake his hand. He was kind of snobby as well, and came after the presentation started and stayed only a half an hour. I realize he's a busy man and all, but really. His speech was boring at best and he was literally reading it word for word from the page. On the upside, they let us out at 4:00 today in celebration for the event being over, and the whole department went out for a couple of pints. We'll see how long my stint lasts at this place. I can picture them having much more work for me to do after this week.

English Word of the Day...

By popular demand... BUGGER!

Yes, I actually am taking requests now. Bugger or buggar (not sure of the correct spelling) is another word you could use in place of fuck. For instance, "Buggar off!" or "Oh Buggar!". Lisa, the requester reminding me of a funny "buggar" story. When we were in 6th grade, and my uncle was coming to visit from the UK, my mom repeatedly told Lisa not to say the word "Booger" because it might sound like buggar and then our relatives would think she was saying a REALLY bad word! Could you imagine a 6th grader saying..."F this and F that" Thinking she as talking about boogers?????

Tomorrow's a Big Day!

So, I've been working at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers for the past few weeks as they are having a huge launch of allowing Engineering Technicians into their society. (Exciting Stuff I know). Tomorrow's "EngTech" Day and the best part about it is that I get to meet 3 members of Parliament AND the Secretary of State, The Right Honorable John Denham! Mike keeps telling me to bring my camera, but I think I may just have to take mental pictures of this one!

On another note, I am getting SOOOO excited to come home for Thanksgiving. The anticipation is making me a little homesick though, and I would think it would be the opposite. The whole weekend is going to be a whirlwind, but at least we'll get to see most of the people we'd like to. At least at Christmas we'll have a little more time and hopefully get to make all the rounds.

This past weekend we went to see "We Will Rock You" which is a West End show that features the music of Queen. Though the story line could have been better, the music was great. We went with our friends from Ohio, Chris and Kialee, and went and had dinner afterward at a place called The Texas Embassy, which was one time just that--before Texas became a part of the USA, they had their own embassy in London. So a few margaritas later, Mike and I were trying to find our way home. The tubes were closed, we were tipsy, and the cabbie wanted 45 quid to take us home...needless to say we took the night bus and had to wait 45 minutes for it.

English Word of the Day...

Rubbish...

Mike's been bugging me to use this one although it's not very interesting. Rubbish meaning trash or garbage. They also use in in place of crap when describing something they don't like..."That's rubbish"..."Can you believe the rubbish on TV?", etc. I promise to have a better word tomorrow!

English Word of the Day...

Cheeky...

Mike and I have had a discussion of the actual definition of this one is real American terms. We've both heard it used in differnt ways. My definition is that it's when someone is "fresh". Mike's is when someone is being scandalous. Either way it's a funny word to describe someone's actions!

For the Toyota people, it kind of reminds me of when Lisa Pluta says, "You're freshy, freshy, freshy!"---"You're cheeky, cheeky, cheeky!"

English Word of the Day...

DODGEY--

This is one of my favorite English words and one that I've adopted into my own vocabulary. Dodgey, another word for sketchy or shady, can be used in describing something or someone who is not quite right. For instance, the South Bronx might be considered dodgey. I think what I like about this word the most is the pronounciation with the English accent--'dudgy'.

English Word of the Day...

Jumper...While this one isn't nearly as crass or controversial as the last one, it's a word that messes me up nearly everyday. In 'English' english a jumper is either a sweater or sweatshirt, which is a little annoying in that they don't really make the distinction between the two. When I think of a jumper, I think of a sleeveless dress that you would wear a shirt underneath. Similar to a little girls Catholic school uniform. So yesterday, when a woman at work complimented me on my jumper, she was speaking of my sweater, and then last night at the gym a woman suggested I put my jumper in a locker, meaning sweatshirt.

A Foggy day in London town...

Well, no it's actually quite sunny and nice, but I will tell you one thing that's actually drab and gray--the Londoner's wardrobe. I suppose I hadn't thought of it before since I wasn't in the business world, but now that I'm back at work I'm finding the business clothes of the Londoner boring at best. People don't wear color. They either wear black or gray and on a day the want to get a little crazy they wear navy blue. Yesterday I think I noticed it the most as I was wearing camel colored dress pants and a hunter green sweater. I might as well have been wearing day glow yellow and hot pink! No wonder why Mike won't wear his tan suit to work! Today I've decided to rebel against the norm and am wearing my pink tweed 'Legally Blonde' suit! I'll be sure to get a few stares on the tube! On another note, while I'm still talking about the Londoner's wardrobe, I completely understand the concept of not having a lot of clothes here. One, there isn't anywhere to put them in your house and two, they are super expensive. However, I think the average person should at least have enough to make it through a week's rotation. There's one particular guy in the office I'm working at who has been wearing the same pair of pants since last Wednesday. There's another girl who wore the same outfit 3 days in a row, but just changed her shirt! Perhaps I was spoiled from a young age, but I think that's just a bit gross! Okay that's all from me for now....Stay tuned for today's English Word of the Day!

English Word of the Day...

FAG--

Get your minds out of the gutter! No, no, no, it isn't a derogatory name for someone of homosexual orientation as it is in the states, but rather another word for cigarette. I still chuckle everytime I hear someone say, "I'm going to have a fag," or "I'm going to pop downstairs for a quick fag before my meeting. Care to join?" He he he! I actually thought long and hard on whether to post this one or not due to its American political incorrectness, but it was too good to pass up! Hope I didn't offend anyone!

Guy Fawkes Day

Today is Guy Fawkes Day. Who is Guy Fawkes and why does he have a day you may be asking? Well Guy (Guido) Fawkes was the mastermind behind a Roman Catholic plot to blow up the houses of Parliament and kill the king in 1605 by rolling a gunpowder keg into Parliament. This they thought would end Protestant rule! Unfortunately, the plot was unsuccessful, and people in England rejoice in the day.

What does this mean to two yanks living in London? Well, I can now say I can imagine what it was like to living in London during the 2nd world war. There are amateur fireworks going off all over the place! They aren't organized by the city or even the neighborhoods. There are just rogue displays going on all over the place! My brother Michael would be in his glory! AND no cops are chasing them! In trying to describe this, it's not like the fireworks you get at "South of the Border" driving down I95, these are serious shells! And they're really loud. We're actually wondering how long it's going to last as this has been going on since last weekend! Today is Guy Fawkes Day, so we're thinking it will be over shortly--hopefully! Walking to the gym today, I really could have thought there was an air raid going on if I didn't know any better!

English Word of the Day...

Along with my regular posts about the goings on in mine and Mike's lives, I'm going to post an "English Word of the Day". Today, I'm making an easy, not-so-controversial one. "BRILLIANT" Like the Guiness commericials may illustrate, this word is completely overused. In the American English language, you may use this word in describing a particularly intelligent person or even something that is very bright or shining like a star. Here on the other hand, it's used in place of words like excellent, great, super,fantastic. Where we would intersperse each of those, the English have simplified it in one word....BRILLIANT. And yes, the English even jump around when they shout "Brilliant" like the chaps in the Guinness commerical. More on chap at a later time!

XFactor vs. American Idol

I know that the US ripped off American Idol from England's Pop Idol all those years ago, but I have to say, I think the UK has the market cornered on talent shows. The Xtra Factor or X Factor for short is a show similar to American Idol--Hell, Simon is even a judge, but the format of the show is just far superior to Idol. For instance, they don't limit the talent's ages, but put them in 4 categories ( under 25 girls, under 25 boys, over 25s, and groups). The judging panel is way better and they have a vested interest in the talent. Each judge is given a group and each is trying to get their group to win. Sharon Osborne has the girls, Dani Minogue (the prettier of the Minogue sisters if you ask me) has the boys, SImon Cowell has the groups and a guy named Louie has the oldies. Now, the 2 best parts of this show are that 1) you only have an hour to vote and then the results show is on an hour later! No waiting till the next day in anticipation of who will go home. Furthermore, the results show is only 15 minutes long! They don't drag it out! 2) They bring it down to the final two "unsafe" contestants and then it's up to the judges who goes home. This would certainly have eliminated Sanjaya from the get-go last year!

More on the Squirrels...

Yesterday I was walking back from my lunchtime jaunt to Victoria Street and was strolling along St. James's Park when I saw a large group of tourists standing on the sidewalk staring up into a treet. I thought, "wow, there must be something cool up there", so I stopped to look and joined the twenty or so tourist staring up into the tree, taking pictures. When I stopped to look, I thought at first I wasn't seeing the thing everyone else is seeing. All that was there was another one of those pesky squirrels. I continued to stand staring at the tree because I figured there had to be SOMETHING else up there, but no. I've never seemed so many people so entralled with a stupid squirrel. When I took further notice, I saw several people chasing the squirrels, trying to feed them etc. I suppose it never dawned on me that squirrels could be such a novelty. When I got back to the office, I was telling the people there about the silly tourists and the squirrels, and one girls said--very excitedly I might add, "Yes, and if you stand very still, they will even climb you legs!". Who wants a squirrel to climb their legs!?!?!?!?!?!

Halloween in London

I was so wrapped up in our horrible commute yesterday, I neglected to tell you what Halloween was like in London. People here definitely know what Halloween is, but they really don't go "all out" with it like we do here. On my 3 mile walk home, I did see a few trick-or-treaters, but their costumes were like k-mart specials with the crappy masks. and plastic, garbage bag like shirts. The closest we came to trick-or-treaters were two slutty devils who rang our buzzer trying to sell Mike the services of a new gas company-- Though we're not sure that's all they were selling! Our neighbor upstairs let them in and they were up there for a little while...I suppose the could have been just pitching their product, but I'm a little suspect of that!

My temp job got extended through the end of NEXT week, so I'll be at this place for 2 weeks. The people there are nice enough (you can't expect much more from the English), and though the work is completely mindless, I did do my first mail merge today which I was pretty excited about---doesn't take much these days!

Finally, this weekend we're just going to chill out both days. We literally have had something to do every weekend since we've been here---Yes, August 3 was our first day here, so this is a much needed and deserved break in the action!

What a F@$ki&g Commute!

Okay, so it's only my 3 day of actually commuting to and from work at rush hour, but toda might have been one of the worst commutes in London history, well in Tara's London history. So at 5:30 I left the office and head down the street to the Tube. It's only a 3 minute walk, and all was well. When I got into the station, I had to reload my tube pass, and the first machine I went to was out of order (I should have known then it was going to be bad). I went to get on the train, and my train was delayed. When we went to get on it, the first train had a fault and was running through empty. The next train was SO packed that nobody could get on at my stop. The same happened with the next 3 trains. I then just got on the next train, even though it wasn't going to my destination, but figured I would be able to change trains down the line. We were packed like sardines, and yes, my claustrophobia was in full effect, but I perservered, and made it to the station where I was going to change trains. Then, over the loudspeaker I hear "Ladies and Gentlemen, we're sorry to inform you that there will be no further District Line Service in either direction". Just what I needed! Now, I had to walk from this station all the way home. I first stopped to call Mike, but my phone died. It just gets better. Luckily, I thought to bring a pair of sneakers in my purse and changed out of my 3 inch heels...thank God because I had to walk just under 3 miles to get home. You may be thinking "Why not hop on a bus, or grab a cab?". Well the bus lines were about 100 people deep and there certainly were no cabs to be had. I wasn't even 100% sure where I was going, but there was a Chelsea Football game tonight, and I just followed the Blue Jerseys home. As soon as I got home, I ran to call Mike b/c we had gotten cut off earlier, and he was having a similar issue. He was stuck at Victoria station and couldn't even get as far as I had. He was able to get on a bus, but then, they kicked everyone off this bus! Gotta love London transport! Luckily, he was able to get a cab, but in approaching the stadium, he had to get out because the roads were closed. He too had to walk about a mile home. Needless to say, we both needed a beer when all was said and done! Let's hope for a better ride tomorrow!

Tara's 1/2 day = A Whole 3 Day Assignment

Yes, I completed my assignment by lunchtime today. After lunch they were scrambling to find something for me to do! Basically, my whole task was to collect RSVPs for this big event the Institution of Mechanical Engineers are having to launch a new program for affliation. I certainly have collected RSVPs before, but this company had an ass backwards way of doing it, so I redid the whole thing. The girl that was overseeing me asked how I knew how to set up the spreadsheet, and when I told her I was a marketing analyst for Toyota, she was surprised. She said that whenever they get temps they are usually not experienced at all. Unfortunately, my experience didn't lend to any more challenging tasks, but I was busy for a good portion of the day. The only time I didn't have anything to do, they literally told me to 'have a look around the internet for awhile.' Fine, twist my arm!

One funny thing that happened to me---I went to a sandwich shop around the corner and got a sandwich and soda to go, and I went and sat in St. James's Park to have my lunch and read my book. There I was minding my own business, when along came a squirrel on the bench next to me. At first I didn't think he realized I was there, but when I went to shoo him away he literally hissed and clawed at me. I jumped up from the bench and he ran away. Damn people always feeding the squirrels, the little bastard thought I was going to feed him!!! It kind of reminded me of the squirrel I used to feed birdseed to in the backyard when I was a kid--he turned on me too! He used to come and knock on the door when he was hungry and when we stopped feeding him he went crazy if I remember correctly. Something to note: Squirrels aren't wrapped too tight, so keep your distance!

Do you know what we do to fish in London???

We catch 'em, batter 'em, fry 'em up, and eat 'em for dinner along with some chips! That's exactly what we did to the Dolphins tonight! It was a great game tonight at Wembley Stadium. Though it was a "Miami Home Game", and they really tried to maintain that with the Miami annoucers and the Miami cheers and stuff. The crowd I would say was 1 part curious English people, 2 parts Miami Fans, 3 parts Giants fans, and 4 parts random NFL fans. There were Cheeseheads from Lambeau, Jets fans wearing helments, Viking fans wearing their horns, and yes, there was even a Pats contingent. The game was a little sloppy on both sides, but I suppose that was due to the weather--Luckily the seats were all covered! The highlight of the game for me had to have been the streaker! No, that wasn't Mike running across the field naked--though he was kicking himself for not thinking of it! Just Kidding! Mike only had one outburst, which was warranted, but still an outburst at that stadium was defintely a scene--at some points I think you could hear a pin drop!

I have my first day of work tomorrow, so I think I probably should get to sleep! More tomorrow!

Fall Back...

Just a reminder that we're different from the US here. We've already changed our clocks. So until you all change yours we're only 4 hours ahead of you. Happy Sunday and GO GIANTS!

...and the day just gets better!!!

I have my first temp assignment starting on Monday! I'm working in the events department for the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. Apparently, they have a very large event coming up that they need help organizing--and that's my specialty! The assignment is only booked until Wednesday, but the temp agency said it COULD go longer. We'll see. I'm just happy to have something to do! It's not one of the "big bucks" jobs, but it's an income. It's better than watching old episodes of Two and a Half Men all day! This means I can't overdo it at the Giants game. Oh well.

We Got 'Em!!!!!!!

How exciting! We got tickets to the Giants Game on Sunday!!!! They released the unused players tickets this morning, so for all we know, we're sitting in the Manning family section. Actually, I'd hope they'd give them better seats than the 500 level, but maybe they're the water boy's family tickets! Regardless, we're very excited to go! Unfortunately, we have to cancel the party that we were planning on throwing for the event, but I don't think anyone will be too put out! SO! Mike's coworker Marygrace is having a tailgate party at her house- also in Fulham, and we'll all go to the game from there! Her dad even flew in for the game!

The good news...

The good news is that apparently I type fast enough to get a secretarial job and that's where all the big bucks are. (Can you sense the sarcasm in my blazing fast typing?) So I'm officially signed up with the temp agency, and if they don't call me in the next week or so, I have to call them. In speaking to Mike, he said the pay may not even be worth it--For the "good paying" secretarial/PA jobs, they pay 12-15 GBP, for the other regular office type work it's 6-12...So like I said I can get paid the big bucks, so I guess we'll see! By the time I get taxed, etc, it's going to be next to nothing...

My Country 'Tis of Thee...God Save the Queen....

Did you know the songs were one in the same??? Today during the Rugby World Cup Final, the entire bar broke out into song when God Save The Queen came on. Mike and I too broke into song, but to another song all together. We sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee"...same tune...we got a few strange looks, but it was totally fun belting out "LET FREEDOM RING" rather than "God Save the Queen"! Another funny thing about the English Rugby team anthems was that one of them was "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot". I said to Mike, "Isn't this a slave song". He didn't know what I was talking about, but I knew I was right. Later on in the night, another American standing next to us was saying the same thing! I KNEW I WAS RIGHT! Mom and Dad paid for a History Degree for a reason! We were all laughing about how the English wanted to "Carry Me Home". The other American said he even asked an Englishman why he had a slave song as an anthem, and he couldn't even say why. The English don't even know it's a slave song!

MY COUNTRY TIS OF THEE
SWEET LAND OF LIBERTY
LET FREEDOM RING.

LAND WHERE MY FATHERS DIED
LAND WHERE THE PILGRIMS CRIED
FROM EVERY MOUNTAINSIDE
LET FREEDOM RING!

VACATION!!!!

Or should I say VACATION(S)! We just booked out vacations for the summer! Good thing that the UK gives Mike 30 vacation days!! We're going on a 13-Night Northern Europe Cruise, leaving from London. It hits Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm, St. Petersburg, Latvia, and Estonia (I think!). That's from July 27-August 10. THEN, we're going to Mauritius and Paris from August 26-Sep 5. We were able to do that vacation on all points, so we're flying business class London-Paris-Mauritius and back and we're spending 2 days in Paris on the return leg. We also booked Oktoberfest with our expat friends on the September 19-22! What a schedule!

SO...if anyone is planning on visiting us this summer, book the Chateau Racano soon! Time is running out and space is limited!

Love to everyone!

The Butcher Shop...

There is a butcher shop down the road from us that we've been dying to try since we moved here. Yesterday, I decided to go and get a couple of steaks for dinner there, and what an experience it was! First, I arrived around 2PM on a Friday and had to wait in line for a half an hour. It was like waiting in line for toilet paper in communist Russia! Finally, I got into the store and the man in front of me ordered 2 lamb breasts which looked kind just slabs of boney meat. The butcher asked the man if he wanted them chopped, and he did. so with 2 knives (one in each hand) it was a chopping frenzy. I think I even got a little meat ricochet splatter on my face. Next, it was my turn...I just asked for 2 sirloin steaks and she just put them in a plastic ShopRite style bag and then handed them to me. They weren't wrapped in butcher paper or anything. I was a little grossed out by the whole thing. Have I mentioned the smell? It was awful, just imagine pounds and pounds of raw flesh everywhere and pigs heads on the counter, bleh. As you can tell I was thoroughly grossed out by the whole experience! Though the steaks were decent, they certainly weren't the best we've ever had, so we may be trying elsewhere for our meat going forward!

Since When is 40 hours/week part time???

Did I miss something? Was there a summit on employment norms that I missed out on whist (my new favorite word) without internet????? Apparently, in the world of Harrods, 40 hours per week M-F is part time and being an elf is a "full-time" position. When I asked what above what I put on my availability would be considered "full-time" the girl told me that I would have to work 3 out of 4 Saturdays per month...NO THANK YOU! So she's put me in a pile for "part time" work, and I should know by Friday. WHATEVER. I called Adecco today and sent them my CV. Maybe they'll come through!

That's all for now!

Not that We're Ungrateful or Anything...

But please don't send us any food. Unfortunately, we got at 50 GBP/$100 bill for a birthday package I got. We have to pay VAT taxes on this end when the package goes through customs. I'm not sure if it was because of the description that said "snacks" or what, but the taxes are sooo not worth that VAT! We did not get charged VAT for the other two packages I got though, just the one with "sundries".

So thanks again for all the birthday gifts, cards, and wishes!

Harrod's Here I Come!

Well, I got a text message and follow up email earlier today! I've got an interview at Harrod's tomorrow at 2:00PM and they say that if it goes well, I would be there until after 5:00! I know I said I wanted to do something in London that I would never do in the States, and I think this one really takes the cake! Full Time Christmas Grotto Host--In short, an elf! Greeting people coming to see Father Christmas, etc. Sadly, or maybe not so sadly, I think I'll be really good at this. I guess I'm looking at it as a chance of a lifetime to do something like this--and I'd get a 33% discount!! I just hope they are okay with my schedule requirements--I don't want to work weekends, but I'll work like crazy Mon-Fri AND I'll be gone for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. I figure I might as well be up front with them about it! The email had very specific instructions on what I was and was not to wear/bring to the interview. I have to wear a black matching suit with a white or pastel colored blouse and black matching shoes. I also need to bring a passport picture! I had to get one of those today--How embarressing, I had to go to a photo booth at the tube station to get it!

So wish me luck in my interview tomorrow! Honestly, if I can't get a job as a freaking elf, I'm not going to get any job here!

It just doesn't get much better than this...

The only thing that could make this day any better than it already is would be if the Giants were playing today. We're able to watch football in the comfort of our own home, we made homemade pizzas and I can sit here in my pajama pants! We're meeting more and more of our neighbors which is good. We're thinking we may ask them to come over for football one Sunday--they aren't Americans, but who could turn down NFL? I'm going to be uploading pics from both Amsterdam and Portugal soon, so stay tuned!

IT WORKS!!!!

Finally, we've only been living in our flat for about a month, and finally today we got the internet up and running! I'm a very happy girl, and Mike is very happy that he can watch football AND have his stattracker on the computer! HOORAY! I can't even express the glee we felt when we got home this afternoon and saw the little light flashing green on the router!
So, now I have no excuse for not looking for a job! I'm actually thinking about being an elf at Harrods...They have openings in the "Santa Grotto". I know that I'm really having high hopes for my careers opportunities!!!

Alright, lots of things to do on the internet...more updates to come!

I'm baaaaaaaaack!

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the lapse in blogging! I've actually been REALLY sick since we got back from Portugal. I wound up having to sit next to a guy on the plane that was coughing and sneezing all the way to Portugal, so I got his sickness! The whole trip we were joking that I was going to get TB from the guy, and I think I came pretty close--I was down for the count for over a week! Luckily, they sell codine over the counter here!---See I guess England ain't that bad afterall. So although England is a 3rd world country--for even more reasons than I mentioned--I think I was just having a moment that day. So please do not begin hating our greatest ally for the simple reason that I don't have internet access in my home yet. And please don't let it stop you from visiting!!

On to Portugal--We flew in on Friday night, and checked into our hotel. We called Amanda at her hostel and made plans for the following day. We were taking a river cruise up the Douro (sp?) to the vinyards. It was a beautiful cruise and the best part was that we were like the only tourist on the cruise, so it was a great experience. We boarded the boat at 10, and sat down for our breakfast. There was a family sitting next to us, and a little girl turned to me and said, 'Why do you speak the same language as me?' As it turns out, little Zara and her family were from Australia and were travelling in Europe for 5 weeks. So for the morning I was talking to Zara, and coloring with her...in the afternoon, Amanda took to reading her fairy tales in Portugese--interesting! The cruise finished and we took a bus to a local winery where it was really just a tourist trap to get you to buy there port, which I think is dreadful by the way. We wound up getting back around 9:00PM and went to dinner in what I think was the only restaurant open in the entire city. It was Cuban night and they had a salsa band there! Cuban Salsa in Portugal--yes! The next day we wanted to spend some time seeing the sights of Porto. The only problem was that it was Sunday, and as in every Catholic city in Europe, most things are closed. We took a very nice stroll along the river and sat at a restaurant for awhile. It was all in all a great day!

The next week was pure hell for me, so we're just going to skip right over that part!

Saturday, we went to Kaileigh and Chris' place in Chiswick--more expats--and we did a mini bar crawl there. It was a good time. Sunday, it was back to the Sports Cafe for the Giants game! V-I-C-T-O-R-Y Victory, Victory, That's our cry! Yay! We weren't on the big screen this week as it's still the rugby world cup. I still don't get that sport--Kimmy you're gonna have to explain it to me when I get home! So Scotland and Argentina were playing. It's a big deal because England beat Australia and there could be a scotland/england final. Which I don't get b/c in the soccer world cup, you'd never have a Eastern USA team and Western USA team, so I don't get why Scotland gets its own team. I'm now on a mission to figure it out. It's the same bloody country afterall!

Yesterday we got our Satellite Dish, and now have around 400 channels...including US ones like E!, Bravo, etc. The best part is that I also get the food network, so my friend Rachel Ray won't miss me too much! I also got my phone call that said our internet was hooked up...Later I found out that that means in 3 working days, my internet will be up...YES, England is a 3rd world country! I've only been waiting since Sept 14!

Next on my list of things to do is get a job. We'll see how that goes in the next couple of weeks...I'm not optimistic...Let's see, I have to tell them that I'm on holiday for about a week in November for Thanksgiving, another week in December at Christmas...It's almost funny!

Talk to you soon!

PS...we can now receive phone calls on our Vonage phone. We'll be able to make outgoing ones when we get our internet, but it works great!

England is a 3rd World Country...

...and here's why:

1. They have condenser dryers and not tumble dryers. This has become the bain of my very existence. So much so that we are now sending our laundry out for wash and fold. In doing a cost analysis, it's actually cheaper to do that than to run the condenser dryer for the 3 hours it takes to actually dry clothes until they are crispy. Yes, crispy is the best way to describe your clothes after they come out.

2. It takes a bloody month to get internet in your flat and a blasted 6 weeks to get cable.

3. They don't have much in terms of variety in the food stores.

4. The don't have American football.

5. In the suburbs in places like Manchester, they have a serious bullying problem. Who bullies kids nowadays?

6. Most people here are either toothless or missing quite a few teeth. Go to a dentist! Get yourself some dentures, for christ's sake--do something!

Sure, they may have socialized medicine, Prince William, and very few homeless people, but a girl needs her internet dammit! So here I am in the hot and smelly internet cafe once again writing my blog!

Today we're leaving for Portugal. After quite a bit of blood, sweat, and tears (not really) we got ourselves on an all day wine tasting cruise. We're hoping to meet up with Amanda tonight, but we're staying in different hotels in different parts of the city, so that should be interesting. We are looking forward to Portugal though.

Talk to you soon!

They say it's my birthday....da da da da da da

Yes, yes, here it is. The very best day of the year. Twenty-eight years ago today the world was blessed with my presence, and quite frankly, it hasn't been the same since! Hahaha!

First off, thanks everyone for the birthday wishes and cards and packages and everything! Having the messages from home has been really wonderful!

Today I went to get my hair done. I got my hair colored and cut and blown out. I was a bit nervous at first. My hairdresser, Rebecca, had bright orange hair, hot pink eyeshadow, purple tights, and pretty much looked like the singer Pink. Not what I'm used to at all! I have to say though, I think I got the best color I've ever gotten. She had a weird cutting technique where she twisted my hair and then cut into the twists. The place really kind of reminded me of my place at home DePasquale but on a smaller scale--funny, but the girl had even heard of DePasquale--they're WORLD FAMOUS! She was from New Zealand and will be here for 2 years--so it was a match made in heaven!

Tonight, Mike is getting home from Brussels and we're going out to dinner. Just a local tapas place near our house. Then this weekend, we're going to Porto, Portugal to meet my friend Amanda! What a birthday extravaganza! I hope all of my friends back home aren't missing my annual birthday extravaganza too much--though I'm not sure I could top last year's Survivor Party.

That's all for now! Talk to you all again soon!

Love,
The birthday girl

OH...Mike wanted me to make it perfectly clear that we didn't partake in the legal drug trade in Amsterdam...we neither purchased drugs, not took them!

Amerstam=Ann Frank+Beer+Pot+Prostitutes

Well, that's it in a nutshell! What a beautiful city though. I can't upload my pics here in the internet cafe, but will as soon as I get internet (in a week or two). They say Amsterdam in the Venice of the North as it has lots of canals and quaint bridges, and row houses, etc. The architecture is amazing! We stayed at the Pulitzer Hotel which is a Starwood Luxury Collection property. We were really up in the air as to whether it was luxurious or not. We were upgraded to an Executive Suite b/c of Mike's status there--Our room really reminded me of Aunt Marty's attic where Stephen and Brian's room was! We werein the gables of this row house and had REALLY steep steps up to our room. Was it cool to stay there, yeah, but it was a bit tight, and certainly not 'luxurious'!

When we got there it was around 7 or 8 o'clock and we went to grab some dinner. Mike wanted to show me the red-light district as well. We ate at an Argentinian Steak House...there are tons of Argentinian steakhouses there--I thought that was weird! The food was good, as was the price! From there we went to the red-light district which was certainly an eye opening experience. Girls--some really young girls--rent windows along either side of the street and stand in them scantally clad in either bikinis or bra and underwear trying to sell 'their wears'. What's funny about it is that all the prostitutes have to register, and all charge the same price and they pay taxes and everything. It really bothered me how young some of the girls looked...I would say they were all between 15 and 25 years old. Along the road going to the red-light district there were also lots of 'coffee houses' that don't sell coffee at all, but rather pot. In this area, I'm sure you could get a second hand high if you stood on the street long enough! It's perfectly legal to smoke marajuana, and really quite acceptable-even in restaurants!

On Saturday, I wanted to go to this antique toy store that got a great review in my travel book...what a let down! It was really a junk store with used (garage sale type) toys! From there we went to the VanGogh Museum. I didn't think Mike would like it, but he really got into it. It was really laid out well, and gave you the story of VanGogh's life along with the paintings. Mike thinks it's terrible that the public feels that VanGogn had such a tragic life. In reality, he mooched off his brother his whole life, never worked a day in his adult life, and just travelled all around painting. Then, he decided to off himself and cut off his ear. Nothing really tragic about it! They also had paintings of other artists there as well, so we got to see some Gaugin, Picasso, etc. From there we went and had lunch in a charming outdoor cafe and each had a couple of beers while we watched the street performers. One street performer in particular came and set up this huge pole with roles dangling from it. He then proceed to strip down to a thong--did I mention he was about 70 years old?--and then do acrobatics on the ropes...He really was quite good, but I have to say, I think the whole crowd was a bit disturbed by the thong! We only had a few appetizers for dinner that night and then went to an outdoor beer garden right in the heart of the city. It was great for people watching--especially since we were located on the road to the red light district.

Sunday morning we got up and headed right for the Ann Frank Museum--we tried to do that the day before, but it was Yom Kippur and closed. The line was all the way up the street, but it went quickly. I think we only waited about an hour. This was quite possibly the best museum I have ever been in. I was surprised that Mike had never read 'The Diary of Ann Frank' in school--especially being from Marlboro, but it was good because they gave a synopsis of the book as you went through. We were even able to go to the hidden apartments behind the bookcases and up the very steep steps where Ann and her family lived. I was very interesting and very well done! On Sunday we also hit a Christmas shop, got my wooden clogs, and visited a diamond factory. What a day, right? We were exhausted!

We still don't have internet in the house yet, so my posts may be a little sparce still. They say we might be up and running in a week or 2. Things go so slow here!

I'm Back!

and forgive my lack of capital letters. i'm using the keyboard at an internet cafe and it's all different, and i pay by the minute so i'm typing as quickly as possible! The move went well...nothing lost, nothing broken! It was really nice to have all of our clothes. Sadly, we really scrimped on the amount of 'things' we brought with us, as we weren't sure how much room we'd have, but really, we have quite a bit and could use some of those things! On saturday we had our housewarming party with all of the expats we know. people were pretty impressed by how big our place was. one girl said she didn't think places like ours existed in london! On Sunday we went to ikea...everyone goes to ikea here...LOL and looked for some furniture...we didn't buy it b/c they didn't take amex, but i went back today with cash. they will be delivering our stuff tomorrow. This weekend we're going to Amsterdam Friday night and returning on Sunday. We were going to go from there to Brussels as Mike has to go there for work on Mon, but I have to be home for our British Telecom appointment...as soon as we get phone, we can get satellite and internet! So i can't miss that appointment! So Mike is going to come home with me on Sunday and then take the train to Brussels on monday morning...he promises he'll be home in time for my birthday dinner! Next weekend we're meeting my friend Amanda in porto,portugal for the weekend...we're really the world travellers! That's all for now, I have to do my food shopping online now, so i need to conserve time!

Quick Shout Outs...Feel better soon Mom--she had surgery last week...and Congrats to the Canovas! I heard Matt and 'Riss and expecting another little bundle of joy!

Tomorrow's the day!

Greeting folks!

Tomorrow's the big day! We move into our flat! I can't even tell you how excited we are to get our of this hell hole known as the Cloisters! Okay, it's not THAT bad--but we're ready to get out of here...it's just not big enough for 2 people to live here, eat here, sleep here, or even watch tv here! That being said, I'm afraid I may be on a break from my blog for awhile. Things are so backward here. We're getting our broadband internet service through SKY--kind of like DirectTV in the states, we're also getting our cable from them as well. So, we can't sign up for SKY until we have a phone line...that makes perfect sense, no problems here--Well, I just called British Telecom (BT) and they may take a couple of weeks to set it up! It's going to take AT LEAST a week to get a call back from them after they figure out if there's a phone line already existing. So here's what that means--no cable, no internet, no American phone number, no BT phone number--not until BT gets us up and running! URGH! Somethings in this country are so ass backwards! So I may be signing off for a while...we'll see if our BT Openzone (internet we're using now) works there...you need a hotspot, so we don't know yet!

Today I'm just packing us up! It's amazing how we lived this long with such few things, but the trick will be fitting those few things back in our suitcases! I'm all set, I just have to figure out Mike's stuff!

That's all for now! Until we meet again!

Peterborough Here We Come!

Move-In Countdown: 2 1/2 days!

Today I was on a mission. I was going to find a place to buy our TVs that would deliver them on Friday. What's a lady of leisure to do without television???? Yesterday, I went to Harrods to look at their AV department. It was actually quite a nice selection (surprised?), and since I am now in the "Harrod's Frequent Shopper" club, I would have gotten cash back on my purchase. Quite frankly I wanted to buy the TV there just because it would be easy, but they wanted to take 2 weeks for deliver...2 WEEKS! I had to check them off the list. Then, I went to John Lewis which is kind of like Macys or Lord & Taylor, and they didn't take American Express. Today...this was my mission. I went online to find some electronics stores and found a place called Curry's. I jumped on the tube and was there in 20 minutes. It only took me a few minutes to pick out what I wanted--They had a 32" Sharp Aquos on sale, and there was a deal to get the stand...SOLD...then I needed to find a little TV for the bedroom...There was a Panasonic on sale...SOLD! Here's where it got a little complicated. Here I am making small talk with the salesman (who I found out didn't even make any commission on me!) he's running my American Express card, and SLAM! He has to call for special authorization. I knew this was going to happen...I guess English people don't make big purchases here. Our cards have been getting flagged for fraud left and right. So the salesman, Gerald, had to call Amex...They put me on the phone and said that I couldn't make the purchase and that someone would call me back in 48 hours! 48 hours! There's NO WAY I would have my TV in time then! Here's where I think being married to Mike has rubbed off on me! I simply told the woman on the other end that this was simply unacceptable and that I wanted to speak with someone who could resolve the matter now. She put her supervisor "Eddie" on the phone. Eddie told me that I simply could not make the purchase--end of story. Maybe his story, but not mine! I told Eddie that we were Platinum customers and although we were new customers in the UK that our Amex history in the states was stellar and that he was making a very serious mistake. He took my US Amex information...then he apologized!

In the end, I got my TVs! I'm very excited about this! We're having them delivered at 2:00 in Friday...

Another deliver coming on Friday is a whole slew of groceries! YES, I am having all of our 1st foodshop groceries delivered at 4:00 on Friday. This way, we don't have to figure out how to get them from point a to point b. They come to us! We had a really big shopping list because not only are we just moving in, but we're having a housewarming party for all of our expat friends on Saturday night. The plan is to grill, but I suppose we'll have to see about that, since I'm not sure where to find a grill! I'm making sausage and peppers and buffalo wings along with the burgers, so I guess we'll figure something out if we don't have a grill in time!

10:00---get our keys to Peterborough Villas
12-1:00---our shipment gets delivered
2:00---our TV gets delivered
4:00---our groceries get delivered

5:00---we're all set!!!!!!!!!!

Bodean's

Today we went to Bodean's in Fulham--right down the street from where we're to live as of Friday. Mike was feeling a little uneasy about the bar in Piccadilly...there were 3 floors and all kinds of sports going on...at least Bodeans was dedicated to American Football! We were able to see the Jets v. New England game...not much of a game but it was really nice to see something familiar...The best part for me was that they had LIght Beer! It may have been Coors Light, so it tasted more like water than beer, but I'll take it! We had real American food....nachos and wings for an appetizer and then burger and steak for the main course. We spanned that, along with about 6 beers each, for the 3 hour game, and it was brilliant! The waitresses were American so they understood when we didn't want any Guacamole---it's hard, very hard to get 'special orders' here! Our waitress was even from Florida and went to USF, she didn't know Stephen though, we asked! So now, the first game has just finished and Mike and I are "properly knockered" as they say here. Now, off to bed, and only 5 more nights in the Cloisters! I really can't wait to move! Mike's afraid I'm going to be let down, but I just can't wait to have our own place! Granted Fulham doesn't have the shops that Chelsea has, but they are only a few tube stops away! Besides, I've joined the Harrod's club, and that gives me cash back for all transactions, so we'll be shopping there often...it's not more money, so it's worth it!

Bath, UK Sept 8, 2007

Today we took a train ride to Bath--Just an hour and a half West of London. The day started out well, took a nosedive, and then ended on a good note! Read on...

When we arrived, we really hadn't done much research on the city, other than that the Roman Baths were there, we really didn't know much else. So like every other cit we've visited we took the City Sightseeing Tour Bus to see what there was. We really enjoyed the bus ride and learned alot. For instance, there are city ordinances that state that you have to use Bath Stone (Local Limestone) on the facades of the houses in order to keep them all uniform and in the Georgian style. Back in the day, the whole house was made fo the Bath Stone, but it's become too expensive for that nowadays. We also saw Nicholas Cage's new home. He lives at No. 7 Laura Place. The funny thing about this, in order to keep his privacy, he's removed the number from the front door---next door is 6 on one side and 8 on the other...Now, I'm not rocket scientist, but I'm pretty sure no. 7 would be in the middle of those two, don't you? Following our City bus tour, we got some lunch in a pub and went inquiring about a side trip to Stonehenge. We made it JUST IN TIME! We gave the shop our deposit and were heading right for the bus. Here's where the day went south...the tour bus driver gave our seats away! I really thought Mike was either going to wring the guy's neck or start crying! I can honestly say, I haven't seen him get this upset since we got banned from ordering pizza from Veneto's! He was ranting and raving to the driver, then we went back to the shop where we bought the tickets, more rants--People don't really flip out here, so it was a bit of a scene! It was ridiculous though, we were holding tickets! Mike was so mad that we went to go rent a car to drive ourselves to Stonehenge, it was 1:30, and they closed at 1PM! Here Mike declared (in the words of Christopher Rotola) that this was his "WORST DAY EVER"! Quickly, I said we would go and see the Abbey and the baths and take the scenic tour, and we would have missed all that if we did Stonehenge! We went and saw the Abbey which was interesting because there was an AMERICAN flag inside! It was a flag from WW2! Also in the Abbey, back in the 16th Century the wealthy people of Bath would pay to have themselves buried INSIDE the church. It was very expensive, but they were promised a quicker entry into heaven if they did! You can see pics of the tombstones inside the chuch. Finally, at the end of the day we made our way to the Baths after the crowds had gone and the que had died down. It was really very interesting to see. Of coure we both touched the water which was against the rules, and it was really very warm--not hot, but like Bath Water (no pun intended). Our tour brochure said that one American called it "the best 90 minutes they'd spent in Europe"...Now, I wouldn't go that far, but it was neat to see! After that, we just walked around the quaint little city and then back to the train and back to our London abode in the Cloisters (only for another 6 days though!)

Tomorrow marks the first day of American football....It's usually a holiday at our house and Mike usually has a sleepless night before because he's so excited, but we have to say it's a little anti-climatic here. We are going to see the first game at the "American Sports Bar" in Piccadilly Circus--I think they are showing the Dolphins game, but it's not that same as seeing everything...The Giants game doesn't even start until 1AM here! We're making the most of it here, and when we move we're getting Sky Sports which shows all the games.

On a sidenote, Mike has mentioned that he feels as my blog can sometimes be a little "Anti-Mike"...While I agree that sometimes I do poke fun at him, all of what I say is true, as I tell Mike sometimes the truth hurts! Hahaha! So to everyone Mike has told that I sometimes exaggerate my stories, or tell slight un-truths, please know that it's just his male pride getting the better of him, and yes, he did almost cry when he didn't get to go to Stonehenge...we were almost at a Chris Rotola boiling point--luckily I know how to handle a 6 year old!

Porto, Portugal

We are jetsetters! Tomorrow, we're taking the train to Bath, to explore there for the day and coming back that evening, next weekend, we move into our new digs, Amsterdam the following weekend, AND we just booked ourselves flights to Porto, Portugal for the following weekend! Whew! I'm tired just thinking about it! My friend Amanda is going to be in Poro that weekend--I knew this before we left, but I guess in all the craziness here, it just slipped my mind! Well, she emailed me yesterday asking if we thought we'd be interested in meeting her there--she even found us flights for 20 Pounds! How could we pass that up!!?!?! We get to see a friendly face from home AND get to visit another country! We're both really excited about Portugal because it wasn't really a country on our radar to visit, and PORTO is the Port Wine making captial of the world--Mike is very excited!

Like I said tomorrow we're hitting up Bath, which is supposed to be like a Jane Austen novel come to life for all you literary gurus. I think 2 of her books were even set there. We were going to stay over, but decided to just come back that night, save the money for another destination where we HAVE to stay.

Sunday is the first day of football! We're going to go to Piccadilly Circus to the "American Sports Bar" to watch. The Giants don't play 'til the night game, so we won't get to see them...as it is, the 1:00 game starts here at 6:00!

Only 1 more week at the Cloisters! The countdown continues! Every night before we go to bed, we say all the things we can't wait for...I can't wait for my pots, pans, and knives--and a normal sized kitchen. Mike can't wait for a human sized couch and a queen sized bed!

An Unnecessary Trek Across the City...

As far as we knew this morning when we woke up, the strike was still on. Mike work his Nike Air Cole Haans to work (he got a blister yesterday) and he was figuring out the best route to take! Sadly when he got to work, having passed no tube stations along the way, he came to find out that the strike had been suspended! He made a 3 mile trek across the city in his dress clothes for nothing! Have you ever walked 3 miles straight in a city? I assure you it isn't pleasant, especially in this city...sweating is not an option. You can be out for a leisurly stroll, and it may be chilly enough for you to need a sweater, but I assure you, walk 1 or 2 blocks and you are drenched! And if you're not drenched I may consider having you sweat glands looked at.

Today and tomorrow Mike is in a training class in Greenwich, which is in the East part of England (blah!) and has to stay overnight. We're not 100% sure of the overnight thing, we think it may have something to do with networking etc. So tonight I'm on my own...the best part, I don't have to cook! It's just me, some mac and cheese, a few tabloids and some reality TV. AND I don't have to share our minute couch!

Labor Unions + Labor Day = Labor Strike!

They don't even celebrate Labor Day here, but yesterday, they might as well have! Last night at 5:00 the tube shut down because the maintenance workers went on strike. Only the Piccadilly and Northern Lines were open...and that's really NOTHING! Mike was able to take the Piccadilly Line home, but this morning when he got to our local station, the weren't taking any incoming passengers, so he had to walk to work. It took him about an hour! I think we mapped it out last night, and it was about 3 miles from here! The other option was to take a bus, but when he got to work, Mike found out that the busses were so crowded that the drivers were just skipping stops! They are saying that they are going to do this 3 days a week until they get their demands met. What demands, you may ask? Well they are apparently doing all of this maintenance to the tubes, and it's supposed to take like 15 years or something to complete. They just want to know that if the company they work for changes hands that their pensions, salaries, and jobs will still be in place. If you ask me that's a load of crap. In the corporate world, how often are companies acquired and people laid off? Needless to say, the whole city is in an uproar over it, so I think I'm just going to sit tight here! I can walk to the Victoria & Albert Museum which is one I haven't visited yet, and I have to do a little food shopping for dinner tonight.

Just a spoonful of sugar...

Helps the medicine go down, medicine go dow-own, medicine go down! Last night we went to see Mary Poppins in the West End which is London's answer to Broadway. I liked it, but Mike wasn't impressed. I think that he's just spoiled though! Honestly, I thought the effects were good! Mary flew in with her umbrella and they really flew kites, and Burt even tap dances on the ceiling! It was certainly worth the 1/2 price tickets. We're hoping to take advantage of that often!

Today I brought Mike to CarGiant. Honestly, I wasn't thrilled about the area it was in, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't my imagination, and sure enough it wasn't. Mike says that the area reminds him of Newark, where it's more than likely you'll get robbed at least once a year. So that put the kabosh on that job. I was supposed to go and have a 2nd interview on Tuesday, but I'm going to call the recruiter and cancel. I guess there's really 2 things about a job that makes it worthwhile...the location and the task. This one, that task was good, but location bad. I'm willing to compromise on both, but not when it comes to safety! It's probably better anyway. We move into our flat in exactly 13 days and I really want to get it set up like home...and being home will help me do that! I'm sure something will come up though!

After that we were supposed to take a walking tour, but alot of the tube lines were closed for maintenance, so we missed the tour, but we went to the Tower of London anyway. There we saw the REAL crown jewels, and the world's largest diamond--well, until they found that one in the Congo this week. Mike was saying that he really wasn't very impressed with the clarity of it, but I suppose when it's 52 carats, it's tough to find NO flaws!

Today we also booked our trip to Amsterdam for my birthday. We're going the week before it as it was a lot cheaper than the week after. We're staying in a hotel right next to Ann Frank's house...I love that! I've decided that my souvenir there will be wooden clogs...not to wear of course, I get blisters from everything--the last thing I need is splinters on top of it! No, I'd like to just put them on a shelf. They also have a really cool Christmas shop there from what I read, so maybe I'll get some unique ornaments. We're excited to get out of the UK for a bit the Euro is doing nearly as poorly as the dollar, so our British pounds will go far!

We're in for the night tonight, just chilling out. Mike actually went to the local store to buy some diet coke and came back with 2 six packs of beer, so I guess SOMEONE is planning on getting a little wasted tonight! Tomorrow we're thinking of trying the walking tour again, but from what we understand there's still going to be working on the tube so maybe we'll try to do one of the local ones.

Touching Service, Terrible Photos

Hi All!

I just returned from my jaunt to St. James' Park to Royal Watch at the Memorial Service for Princess Diana. Mike thinks I'm becoming slightly obsessed, and quite possibly I am, but what else am I supposed to do all day!?!? I first set out this morning to get us some 1/2 price show tickets for tonight. They have a TKTS booth like in Manhattan and I was able to get us Mary Poppins tickets...10th row! From there I walked to the chapel where they were having the service. I was able to get right up front for the action, although, the photos I took don't give you a sense of that proximity. Also, my camera died after only a few shots....so no too much to show.

The last shot is of the Princes, both William and Harry arriving at the chapel. The thing I found most amusing was that while everyone was arriving, (Richard Branson, John Major, Tony Blair, the new PM, and Elton John are also pictured) the crowd was clapping. The Princes arrived and there was a roar of hooting and hollaring, Prince Charles arrives, and silence---one person broke the silence and screamed "Hypocrite!!". Then the queen arrived and more hooting and hollaring. I knew that the public opinion of Charles was poor, but I never would have guessed it was that bad. The best part was the 3 older women standing behind me giving commentary of everyone who walked in. Princess Ann, Duke of Kent, Prince Michael, Duke of Edinburgh.

That's all for now, I have to rest before the show tonight!

Diana--Princess of Wales Memorial/Kensington Palace

These are some pictures I took outside Kensington Palace. You can't take any photos inside, but I hope to describe it as best I can. As I'm sure you are aware, tomorrow marks the 10th anniversary of Diana, Princess of Wales passing. As you walk up to the gates of Kensington Palace (her former residence) there is a air of sadness. Children, not much older than Christopher and Matthew are taping flowers to the gate and leaving colored pictures for the Princess. The television cameras are everywhere and reporters are scouring the crowd for the one great quote that will get their story published.

I walked around to all of the flowers and cards and poems to read what everyone had to say. I think the most priceless one was a cartoon of Charles and Camilla and the bubble from Charles' head said, "Well, Camilla, looks like your about as welcome as Foot and Mouth" or some thing like that. And the person who brought it wrote, if this is what will be the monarchy of England, I'm moving to Iraq! Just as I was finishing reading that cartoon, and laughing to myself, I was asked to be interviewed by CBS news. LOL! I almost crapped my pants! It wouldn't be nearly as cool if it had been the BBC or something, but it was CBS and everyone back home would be able to see it! I sudddenly found myself pissed because I didn't put any make up on this morning...and I even thought about it!

I tried to take the high road and be as diplomatic as possible...after all I do have to live in this country for the next two years. That's all I need are the dear Dutchess of Cornwall's henchmen coming after me!

Here's a summary of what I was asked:

In the interview they asked me if I thought that the service and
memorial were a bit over the top, and I replied that I felt as though
the world wants to remember her for all of the wonderful things she did,
for her worldwide impact, and charitible contributions. That I felt
that the memorial is just a testament to the great woman she was
publicly and privately.

THEN, they asked me what I thought about all of the hullaballoo going
on with the guest list, etc. I took the high road, though I wanted to
say that Camilla was a caniving bitch, I simply said that things like
this have a certain way of working themselves out and that as it
stands now the right people will be there to remember Diana, and the
wrong ones will simply be left out.

The entire memorial in the palace was absolutely breathtaking. You went from room to room watching footage of the Princess from the time she and Charles were just dating to her final days. There was a large focus on her dedication to her children and charitable works. The had interviews with her dressmakers, friends, Royal servants, etc. I was literally in there for about 2 hours, until I walked away from that and into the palace tour. I took the tour and went back for another look at the memorials! They had her most famous dresses that she wore on display, one's that I can remember seeing her wear in pictures (probably my mom's tabloids). They also had a room where you could write a little note about Diana in a book. So I did! The memorial was very tasteful and classic. Very much like Diana.

The rest of the palace was interesting as well. I really enjoyed this tour, I think the most of any of the one's I've been on lately. They gave you an audio guide, so you actually could appreciate what you were looking at. As it seems, I got to see the room where Queen Victoria was baptised, her bedroom, completely restored, and the king and queen's galleries where they went and took walks when the weather wasn't up to par.

I have to say I was a bit disappointed in the shop. Like every tour, it ends up in a shop, and I was hoping to get some Diana memorial souvenir or something, but the only thing they really had were notecards with her photographs on the front, and I really don't picture myself sending those out!

Tomorrow, I decided that I am going to go to the Memorial Service at a chapel near Buckingham Palace. It's "invite only" but I'm a sucker for Princes and Dukes and the lot (I think I get that from my mother!) so I will set up came on the sidewalk, hopefully close enough to get a glimpse of my Prince William. Hello! magazine says that his girlfriend Kate Middleton won't be there tomorrow. I think I WILL wear make-up tomorrow--you never know!---Just Kidding Mike!

Notting Hill Carnival

Hi All,

Sorry I haven't blogged in a couple of days!

In my last blog, I mentioned that we were heading out to the Notting Hill Carnival. Stupid me, I pictured Tilt-A-Whirl, Cotton Candy, and maybe even a zeppole. This was more like CARNIVALE that they have in Brazil, etc. Here's the story behind it. I guess in the 60s a lot of the people who lived in Notting Hill were of Carribean descent, so they wanted to celebrate their heritage with a parade and festival. Today, it's turned into this huge thing where over 3 million people travel in to be a part of it. Sounds right up my alley, right? WRONG. It started off with us not being able to get off at the Notting Hill Gate Underground Station. The red flags should have gone off then! So we got off that the next station and walked to where we thought the carnival was (truthfully, we just followed the crowd). We followed the crowd into this crazy mob scene of people who were all drinking in the street to the point of oblivion (I guess we wouldn't have minded that if we were too), and dancing to rap music, and eating jerk chicken. Quickly, I started to get a case of claustrophobia, and we decided that we needed to get out of there. As we were trying to get back the way we came, we realized we couldn't but had to snake around Notting Hill to get out. So, there were no scrambler, no caramel apples, no carnival games to win Homer Simpson stuffed animals. Just drunk people on the street, people trying to sell you weed, and jerk chicken.

When we finally go out of there, and to a tube station, we found that it was only letting people off, and you couldn't get ON the tube there, so we had to continue walking to one that would let us on. We were probably at the carnival for about 45 minutes to an hour, and most of that time was spent just trying to get the hell out of there!

The news on Tuesday showed that a teenager got shot while at the carnival! I knew that place was bad news! Shootings here are VERY few and far between because they have ridiculously strict gun laws. Even the cops or "bobbies" don't carry guns! So you can imagine the uproar this had!

Today I am going to Kensington Palace. This is where Princess Di used to live when she was in London. I think they are having a memorial service both today and tomorrow. Apparently, they have all kinds of exhibits there with her dresses, etc. It's a pretty big deal here--10th Anniversary of her death. The big scandal was that Camilla was going to attend the private service that the Prince's arranged, but I suppose her PR people thought better of it, and she is no longer attending. How tacky to even think of going! You only ruined the poor girl's marriage--and she outwardly spoke about how she didn't like you! Jeez Camilla!