Major catch up + crime part 2

Hmmm... so I'm up to 12 Nov... and it's now 11 Dec?! Right, so I was in Hamburg and had a wonderful day with Tine. I guess when you are this far behind this is about all you can remember. I do remember it was a great day hanging out and going to a very German restaurant for dinner.

Sun 13 Nov - a really fab day! We caught the train up to Luebeck to visit Hans & Kathrin (Tine's parents). They put on a lovely brunch at their place for us and we spent the day walking around the city just chatting and catching up. It was really great to see them again. Kathrin used to be an English teacher so we exchanged sayings we use. I taught her "blank canvas" and "curiosity killed the cat". She taught me "sugar shock" which I guess we'd call sugar overload. Germans would also say someone/something is a lucky mushroom rather than a lucky charm. My favourite was Schokoladezeit - it's your best side, the side you'd show when you want to impress. Literally means chocolate side.

Mon 14 Nov - A monday... I dont remember much apart from head wobbling at my desk, literally falling asleep. This jogs my memory for the rest of the week. I went to bed really early just about every night!

Oh yeah! Facebook is good for jogging the memory....

Thu 17 Nov - we had a night at Rubens and 41 with the sales team. It was great, they set us a challenge in the different parts of the hotel - pick a cheap champagne from a £5k bottle, name their new cocktail, propose to the sales manager... it was fun and silly.

Fri 18 Nov - can't for the life of me remember what I did, although that weekend was lovely and mild (12 degrees haha). I spent a bit of time out in the sun. On the Sunday evening Ally, Carina, Matt, Tim and I met at The Three Kings for Cheslea vs Liverpool! Unfortunately the score didnt go my way. I went home, had a 2hr nap and then went back to bed after a little while up :)

I dont remember the week following until the Friday night:
Fri 25 Nov - went to the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland with Ally, Matt & a few of their friends. It was lots of fun!

Saturday 26 Nov - Finished my Christmas shopping. Go me!

Sunday 27 Nov - Went to the pub with Tim and watched Liverpool vs Man City.

Monday 28 Nov - I think I went to the gym

Tuesday 29 Nov - Went to the Carling Cup quarter final at Stamford Bridge vs Liverpool. Again, the result wasnt very good for a Chelsea fan!

Wednesday 30 Nov - Another blow in the safety stakes! We got burgled! The bottom half of our door was kicked in and the front room tv was gone. I was so lucky to have my room and stuff untouched.

The next post will be soon! And will start with my long weekend in Norway! YAY!

Me & Nat enjoying a ride at the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland

Germany... finally

Oh dear, I'm over a month behind in my blogging. I'm going to struggle to remember what I've been doing. I have got a few days saved from a draft so I'll post it and keep going...

Monday 7th November - Just went to a work function with Rich, did a little networking and went home

Tuesday 8th November - I think I went home and bummed

Wednesday 9th November - Went to the gym and did a little exercise

Thursday 10th November - Well, one of my London dreams came true on this day. I got to go to the Graham Norton Show! Tim & Carina came along. It was brilliant. His guests were Sir Cliff Richard, Lord Alan Sugar, Kelly Rowland & Micky Flannigan. To be honest I was most excited about Graham & he didn't disappoint.

Friday 11th November - We had a couple of minutes silence in the office for Rememberence Day and also went to the Horse & Groom for Natalie's birthday. Straight after work I had a flight to Hamburg. I was lining up at the only open ticket window at Hyde Park Corner, watching the time quickly tick away while the guy in front tried to consolidate the credit on about 10 Oyster Cards! In the end I had to risk a fine and commit fare evasion otherwise I'd have missed the train and therefore my flight. I flew with Lufthansa which was great I must say. Tine welcomed me at Hamburg with a big smile and hug. My word it was cold. We caught the train back to her flat and just chatted caught up and ate her corn soup before heading to bed.

Kathrin, Tine, Me

Crime part 1

Can't believe how fast time flies. What did I get up to this week?

Sunday 30th October - I went to Stonehenge, Windsor Castle & Bath with my housemate Pedro. It was pretty cool. We had to be at the Novotel Hammersmith at 7:30am for the pick up. We actually left Victoria Coach station at about 9am and the bus drove past our street on our way! So we were imaging the sleep in we could have had. Anyway it was a good tour.

Monday 31st October - I didn't go to the gym because it was Halloween. Tina, Graham, Pedro and I carved pumpkins and ordered pizza. We had some trick or treaters come to the door which was fun.

Tuesday 1st November - I think I was going to go to the gym but went home instead and lazed about.

Wednesday 2nd November - I went to the gym after work

Thursday 3rd November - I went to see Fulham vs Krakaw Champaions League game at Craven Cottage. It was pretty intense. There were loads of Krakaw fans, and a lot were in the Fulham section which made the atmosphere very tense, a lot of swearing. They got kicked out and moved up to the other end of the stadium. By the end of the game there was an entire section now full of fans who'd been moved. Schwarzer took a great save and Fulham won 3-1

Friday 4th November - Went to the Horse & Groom with my colleagues after work

Saturday 5th / Sunday 6th November - Have been feeling a little anxiety building up and stayed in bed most of the weekend. Need to get out and see some friends to make sure I don't let myself go into that isloation mode I sometimes put myself in when I'm feeling a bit off. I'm going to Curtain's Up soon for pub trivia with Carina and Tim so hopefully that will lift me a little. I was walking up to the supermarket earlier today and had my purse in my hand. Like a flash, this guy rode past on his bike and snatched my purse out of my hand. I ran after him for a few metres but it was pointless, so I ran home and called Lloyds and Encompass straight away to cancel my cards. The visa guy with Encompass was dreadful! He was misspelling EVERYTHING! I had to keep on saying STOP, listen again. These are the things he got wrong... my credit card number, my first name, my last name, my phone number, my street name in Sydney, my street name in London, my suburb in London "Hammersmith... like you hit a nail with a hammer!" Maybe I was a little flustered but he was still hopeless!

My 1st Halloween!

Haylo gets married & Chelsea get hammered

Wednesday 26th  October - Decided it was time to go to the gym and couldn't use my cold as an excuse anymore. Couldn't remember how to use the machines though so I felt a little silly and just generallly hated it really haha.

Thursday 27th - Had lunch with my boss as the others had lunch with an ex-colleague. It was good to sit and chat which we haven't done since my first week. In the evening I went and got my snow gear and boots.

Friday 28th - Last day for one of the girls in the office. Also Rob's birthday so we ordered pizza in. Had a great night, met up with Tim & Carina to celebrate Haylo & Tom's wedding back home. Went to some place called Koko in Camden and there was a big Halloween night on. When we came out the 27 bus was out the front! I didnt even know it went past there so that was lucky. I left my heels on the bus though :( sad days. Although they did give me bruises so it's probably for the best.

Saturday 29th - Had a nice long Skype chat with Jenny, then went to the football to see Chelsea v Arsenal. Crazy game, lost 5-3! It was mental! Came home and slept and watched x factor and getting some rest and relaxation in before heading to Stonehenge, Bath & Windsor tomorrow.

Celebrating Haylo & Tom's wedding at Koko with Tim & Carina

A post today about today

My blog has become more of a listing really. It's ok, just as long as I have somewhere to remeber all the stuff I'm getting up to on this side of the world. I met Cat for dinner at The Swan in Hammersmith which was lovely. Got home and had some chats and laughs with some of my housemates.

The Swan, Hammersmith

A few more dreams realised

So here is the stuff I've gotten up to. Still catching up on all this blogging business. Not giving it up, just want to make sure I keep account of what I get up to.

Sat 15th October: 3 Kings Pub - Man Utd vs Liverpool 1-1. Chelsea vs. Everton at Stamford Bridge with Matt 3-1. Met up with Ally and Tim after for Cocktail Week but ended with Lasagne at 11pm after an unsuccessful Cocktail Week mission.

Sun 16th: Slept in and missed Stonehenge Tour. Went and watched Aus vs Kiwis in Rugby semi back at 3 Kings, lossed. Went to National Gallery.

Monday 17th: RCH Quiz & Curry Night - came 3rd.

Tuesday 18th: Got home and went to bed at 6:30pm, could feel a cold coming on. Booked trip to Norway :)

Wednesday 19th: Gym induction. My long-term goal is to complete the program they have written for me. Didn't train though, definitely got the cold.

Thursday 20th: Went to Graham Norton and missed out on tickets as they over-allocate in case of no shows. We went to Pizza Express instead.

Friday 21st: Went home after a half day, feeling really average. Just stayed in bed from about 2:30pm until the next morning.

Saturday 22nd: Still not 100% but went down to MacDonald Botley Park near Southampton for girly spa weekend with Ally.

Sunday 23rd: Caught a cab into town and shopped and then watched Man City thrash Man U 6-1! Disappointed by Chelsea's loss to QPR though.

Monday 24th: Blocked sinuses, still not great so skipped gym until Wednesday and just went home to rest after work.

Chelsea 3 - 1 Everton

The most expensive blog

Ok, I wrote have of this on the 15th and half on 19th so it's all over the place!
So it's now Saturday the 15th October and I have yet again let my blogging get away from me. Not to worry. I'm sitting in bed at 10am preparing to fulfill a lifetime dream... see Chelsea play in the EPL.

Maybe I'll go back to last Friday. 4 of us housemates went out for Pedro's birthday. We had a couple of drinks at a pub in Chiswick and then headed into town, around the Piccadilly area. We met a few of his Italian friends and had a good night. It was good going out with my housemates coz at the end of the night we all went back to the same place. He was flying to Italy for the weekend on Saturday morning so we stayed up with him until he had to go. We got pizza at about 2 in the morning, it was awesome. I didnt envy him leaving as we all headed to bed.

For the rest of the weekend I was feeling a little mopey and homesick. I tried to get myself out of it but I wasn't trying hard enough. I walked up to Hammersmith and was going to go in and see a museum or something but I had picked up a package from Royal Mail and bought a few things up at the shops that I now had too many things to carry so I walked home. Although I did stop off at a little tea room for French toast and to read my book. Ally & Matt came over for pizza and we watched X Factor with Tina. On Sunday we went to Spitalfields markets which was ok. I think I preferred Portobello. I was pretty tired and had a lazy Sunday evening in.

On Monday night Ally and I went to our bums, tums and thighs class and it was brutal! I'm still feeling it in my abs. Later at home I was watching tv with Tina and Pedro and Embarrassing Bodies was on and this girl was on there describing her symptoms in her private area and then the guy was examining her and then they showed it. Pedro and I went berserk! Tina thought we were funny but I couldnt believe they'd show something like that on TV!

Oh right, so I figured out the cure for mopiness. Spend lots of money :/ I booked flights to visit Tine in Germany, booked a Stonehenge/Bath/Windsor tour and… bought tickets for me and Matt to see Chelsea vs Everton (as mentioned above). I was trying to book Chelsea vs Liverpool but that was always going to be impossible, but then all of a sudden the Everton tickets were showing seats.

Later that evening I also booked a girly spa weekend for me and Ally.

On the Tuesday “Call me Bubbles” tried again, this time near Liverpool street. We werent great but the quiz master assumed we gave up and stopped reading our score! Wednesday I was supposed to go fir gym induction but Nikki invited me to go out for London Cocktail week so I had a tough time (not) changing my plans. It was great but really badly organised. Between the 2 of us (both in marketing) and her friend (in event management) we thought of all these things they should have done… apps, a map, addresses, recipes… etc.

Thursday night was the Winter Wonderland at the Montague hotel which was cool. It going to be held in December. On Friday night I stayed in and relaxed after a busy week and before a busy weekend.

Pedro's Birthday

Keep your clothes on!

I had a normal day at work and then went to my first gym class... bums, tums & thighs. It was great but soooo hard. I was confronted with the normal gym change room behavious though, the older ones just walk around naked! One gets completely naked before taking off her shoes...why? I dont want to see it. I could tell I was going to feel it later. I even walked home! It's a 25 minutes walk! Go me!

New Forest photography

What a fantastic day! I woke up nice and early and skyped the Cellich/Myles clan who were having the annual Grand Final party. It was nice chatting and seeing a few familiar faces. I had booked for a forest photography workshop. I got picked up at 7:20am and there were only 2 of us on the tour (the other was an English guy called Tim) with 2 teachers (Ian & Brian). I learnt loads, the weather was perfect, the scenery was amazing. When I was back in Brockenhurst I was walking down the street and saw a pony standing in front of a cottage door so I stopped to take a photo. As I was standing there I felt someone walking towards me so I went to step aside for them. I looked up and there was a giant pony standing in my face HAHAHA!! It was really funny! I caught the train back to London in the afternoon. Such a good weekend!

Doing the stuff you always say you'd like to...

It’s October! I am definitely making the most of this weather and caught the train down to New Forest National Park. I’m staying a night at the Cloud Hotel in Brockenhurst. It’s a cool town where ponies (yet owned) are free to wander around! I had a walk down the high street and then caught the train to Lymington which is a cute seaside town. They have markets on Saturday so I walked around and enjoyed the small England town atmosphere. Back at the hotel I defined relaxation by reading my book in the garden and then transferring the same activity to the bathtub in my room. It was heaven. One of those things you dream about doing like it's impossible. I just had dinner in the hotel which was a 3 course meal and really nice. I think I am the youngest guest by about 30 years though.

Pimms

It’s been a warm week, a heatwave in fact – high 20’s! Everyone of course was making the most of it and Ally, Matt and I were no exception. I met them down at the Blue Anchor right near Hammersmith Bridge were we had Pimms and a debrief on the week.

Any excuse to shop

Back to Westfield… more shoes. HAHA nah, I actually need training shoes for exercise ans they’re much cheaper here. I’m really happy with the ones I got because the sole is really flexible and they’re really light which will be good for dance style exercising. My sneakers back home are much too heavy for zumba and classes like that.

I went to the gym! What?!

After work I went and joined the gym! GO ME! Then I went down to the river with 3 of my housemates, Tina, Pedro (Francesco) and Graham. I can’t believe I’d not been down to the river before. We had dinner at the Old Ship. It was great! We had a good night and lots of laughs.

The Old Ship

Wicked!

I was lucky enough to score a couple of tickets to see Wicked through RCH. I invited Tracey to join me. She came into the city with Daniel and Caitlyn and Chris met us after work. I had a 15% off  offer ay The Rainforest Café through RCH so I suggested there as the kids would love it too. Dinner was good although when it was time to settle the bill they wouldn’t give me the 15% off which was slightly embarrassing. The show was incredible! I have possibly not heard an audience applaud so loud before.

 

Live at the Apollo

The start of a busy week. Carina had scored 4 tickets to see Live at the Apollo. The best part is  it’s in Hammersmith. It absolutely poured in the afternoon and the line for the theatre was outrageous. We were around several corners. We met up with her flatmate Paul and Haylo’s other friend Tim. It was great to be hanging out with Haylo’s friends. The theatre was like a sauna! The acts for the night were Sean Lock, Ed Byrne, Lee Nelson, Jason (?), Jimeoin and ??. The last guy was American so a different type of humour. He was awful! He came out and made some jokes about having been a weed addict and it seemed like her was still on it. It was really awkward and people were leaving and it was really cringe worthy. I walked down the Great West road to get home and like a proper numpy I walked straight past my own house hahaha. After a shower to cool down I skyped Jackie & Jenny which was awesome!

Pondering sight at The Bridge

Kylie & Alex’s wedding day, such a shame to miss it! My tourist day for the week. I had a nice and easy morning and then headed to Stamford Bridge to do the Chelsea Stadium tour which was really cool. After that I had some lunch at GBK. I was observing a blind couple having lunch as I ate. I was so intrigued and so many questions came to mind. What would happen to their relationship if they could see? Would they be attracted to each other? Do they even want to see? Then I was thinking of the less deep things like if she knew a stick was holding her burger together and would she feel it if it poked her in the eye. It really made me thankful for my sight. I wasn’t done being a tourist so I headed up to Regents Park to play with my camera. I reckon my camera was almost quivering in my bag with excitement. It was a stunning place! I walked in and thought this is where I’d have wedding photos. Queen Mary’s Rose Garden was not only beautiful, the smell was incredible! I wish I could post a smellography album on Facebook to share with everyone. The evening was quiet, I just got ready for the week ahead and relaxed.

The Press Room at Stamford Bridge

Shoes shoes shoes

A bit of a running errands kinda day. I popped into the post office so send a few things. Then it was off to the hairdressers. I had heard a few bad hairdresser stories about hairdressers in London so I was slightly apprehensive. I tried out Headmasters in Hammersmith and I was actually really happy with my experience so that was a relief. Granted, I had the colour codes with me so there was no colour consultation necessary. I wonder if I might try something a little different next time. Then I went to Westfield London where I bought 3 pairs of shoes… ummm… yeah… well, the 1^st pair were boots which I needed to buy because the ones I was wearing broke and I was walking around with the zipper undone. Plus my feet were wet inside because they weren’t wet weather friendly. The other pair were flats to replace the £6 Primark ones that got ruined at Portobello. The 3^rd pair was for luck I guess J I had a quiet evening in watching X Factor.

Bacon butties

It seemed like the team were slightly hungover so we all got bacon sandwiches. I was fortunate enough to feel better than the day before. After work I made my way home, stopped in Hammersmith to do some shopping and have dinner on the way. It was a pretty early night.

Ten-pin team night

Work as normal. We had a team night in the evening. First we had dinner at The Chesterfield Mayfair. I could get used to 5 star service and product. Then we went to a bowling alley. Our team won and I got the highest score which meant I could go to work at 10am the next day. I wasn’t feel that well actually. I had a sore throat and a headache and the music was so loud.

My 1st Chelsea game!

Sat 17
I planned to meet with my friend Nikki and a few friends of hers and go to Portobello markets. Apparently it's the biggest antique market. There were loads of cute stalls although I didn't buy anything. Nikkie'a friends were Tash, Beks and Belle, all from Contiki. It rained quite a lot and my £6 shoes from Primark pretty much got destroyed and I was walking around, I mean squelching around in soaked feet all day. I had to just not care, otherwise it would have ruined the day. I really wish I could figure out the shortcut for £. There was this store (which I have ranted about on Facebook already) that has window display full of old antique sewing machines but then when you go inside it's a modern clothing store. Apparently it's a chain but I think it's really stupid and I'm putting my marketing / brand hat on now. It would attract the wrong market who would be disappointed upon entering; meanwhile the actual market wouldn't know they exist. So many potential customers lost from a simple brand failure. For lunch we went to a Thai restaurant which was really nice. Then of course I had strawberry and nutella crepes for lunch dessert, although with the rain, it was kinda awkward to eat. We then headed to Brick Lane where there was a music festival. I don't think I was non-conformist enough for that area, in my regular un-ripped jeans and girly top, jacket & scarf. I needed some torn fishnets, or in the case of one guy a bright pink tracksuit. I did enjoy the difference in the different areas of London though. I was pretty tired so I left the girls fairly early and got home with just enough time to watch X Factor, hahaha sad for a Saturday night I know. Although one of my housemates, Tina, came and joined me in my room to watch which was nice. An observation I made today was that I'm starting to be able to tell when someone is from Essex HAHA. The accent, the OTTness of their fashion, and the fake eyelashes are a pretty good giveaway. A girl asked me in Brick Lane if her hat looked stupid with her outfit. She was wearing a new LA Lakers cap. I said I wouldn't wear it but it looks fine and if she looks around, she has nothing to worry about because anything goes. She was happy with that. We chatted a bit and they were from Essex (which I had secretly guessed haha).
Sun 18
I had a pretty breezy morning, skyped with Andy and Rachel which was cool. Also skyped with Katie, Stu and James. I love Skype. Then I decided to go back to Portobello to take some more pictures and wander a bit more because it was so crowded the dat before. Unfortunately the full markets weren't on but it was still nice. Later that afternoon Chelsea were playinng Man U so I organised to meet Ally & Matt at a pub in Hammersmith for the game. The pub I picked was a little more Man U than Chelsea. It was a really exciting game. Unfortunately Chelsea lost 3-1 but it's unusual for big names to have a really action packed game as they usually play quite defensively. I certainly wasn't very impressed with Torres, missed 2 goals and tried a stupid bicycle kick shot which was well out of line considering he's already struggling. They're calling him the £50m ^#*@ up. Wow, it really was a great game! Got a pretty early night because I was starting to feel that might be getting sick feeling.
Mon 19
Week 3 already and learning more and more every day! All went well, nothing interesting to report on.
Tue 20
Same as yesterday

Wed 21
The big day! Chelsea vs Fulham at Stamford Bridge! So excited! Oh yeah, prior to that, I had a very ridiculous incident of stupidity. I had lunch in the lunch room and later at my desk I couldn't find my phone. SO I searched my bag, the lunch room, and sifted through 2 garbage bins of post-lunch junk to try and find it. I asked the lady near the lunch room if it had been handed in and she said no and had I tried to call it? Hadn't thought of that! Called it, it rang and no answer. Went back to my desk and tried again. I heard it ring and it was in the cupboard charging, where I had put it 20 minutes earlier! I was so glad I hadn't raised the alarm to everyone coz I felt really silly!
Callie in my team announced she is leaving, but doesn't have another job lined up at this stage.
After work I met Ally & Matt at a pub near the stadium and we had some dinner and then headed into the stadium. I was so excited! The hardest part was not being able to cheer on my team because I was in the away crowd. Schwarzer is Fulham's goalie so it was great to see him play condidering he's pretty much my equal favourite Australian football player (with Harry Kewell). It was bitter sweet though becuase he'd make a brilliant save and I'd be disappointed that we didn't score and then excited about Schwarzer. He really should be playing for a bigger team, he's brilliant! The game went to penalty shootout becuase it was Carling Cup knockout and 0-0 after full time, a missed Fulham pentalty and a 10 man Chelsea squad. We won 4-3 and of course Schwarzer saved the 1st one like he does. What a hero.
One of the highlights of being at the football is the fan songs. I came home with the following circling my head:
"Stick you blue flag up your a$$!"
"John Terry, your mum's a thief!"
"It's so quiet at the Bridge! Shhhhhh" (when the Chelsea fans were sitting quietly)
"Are you Torres in disguise?!" (whenever a Chelsea player stuffed up)
Oh and my favourite was when they'd go OOOOOOOOO leading up to a Chelsea goal kick and as he'd kick it they'd yell "YOU'RE SH#T! AAAAAAAAHHHH!" hahaha all in unison.
I can't wait to go back!

FAIL

Oh dear, I have a lot to write about the last week and it's 11:50pm on a Wednesday night as I begin typing. I may have to put it away and continue later.
Thu 15
I went to work as usual and decided to go to Oxford St for a spot of shopping. It's a fantastic shopping strip although it is so crowded that I couldn't get into it. I bought a little skin care kit from a brand I've seen recommended and some summer pj's because my doona is so hot haha. The problem will be when I have to get out of bed and it's cold, I won't be dressed for it.
Fri 16
Went to work and the bosses were all out of the office. I went to the pub with Callie, Sasha, Liz & Rob for lunch. In the evening I met up with Keith & Cat in East London (Liverpool Street). There was a group of about 8 of us there. I tried to make conversation with one of the girls and asked if she lived near her friend and she just said "no actually"... right, so where do I go with the conversation from here? Turns out she was wasted which kind of explained it. I also bought a ticket to the Royal Mews and Wedding Dress Exhibit but bought it for a Monday, when I will be at work, and it was the only day available left so that's a screw up. Turns out I can actually get access to the State Rooms for a year now so at least the money isn't wasted but still it would have been cool to see Kate's outfit.

My office

Million dollar Swedish bum

I think I'll stop putting daily headers and just post when I can. So last one was a week ago. I woke up on the 1st day feeling pretty normal so I guess I was just having a freak out day the day before which is normal. I've been getting to know my job and my colleagues and so far so good!
Last Thursday I was lucky enough to score some free tickets to see Million Dollar Quartet so Ally came along with me and it was brilliant! It's about a night at Sun Rocords when Carl Perkins was recording with Jerry Lee Lewis backing up and Elvis & Johnny Cash both stopped by. They ended up having this big jam session. The guy that played JLL was incredible! His piano playing skills were unreal!
I went out for a post work drink with my colleagues on Friday which was nice, except I'm not used to the smoking culture here.
Ally and I visited Bek on the weekend which was awesome. We got cheap flights with Ryanair. The only problem is their airports are in the remotest locations! It was a 2hr flight, but an 8 hour journey! By the time I got home I figured my return journey had included 1 plane, 2 trains, 2 buses and a cab! I think for the time and cost for all the extra transfers and such it's almost worth paying the extra to fly out of Heathrow.
Uppsala was so pretty, it's basically a university city. We picked the right weekend! The weather was gorgeous and they were having a cultural festival. We basically just hung out with Bek and her uni pals and wandered round and that's about it really. My favourite things about Sweden were a) the greeting Hej Hej (Hey Hey) b) the people are gorgeous c) the Flogsta Scream - every night on campus at 10pm exactly the students go on their balconies and just scream for a bit! It was awesome! HAHA!
I didn't do all that much on Monday except work and Tuesday I worked and then caught up with Lisa, an old colleague from Creative for dinner. We had Vietnamese on the West End, it was really good. When I was walking back to the station this guy came up and said "Excuse me, you can tell me to get lost or whatever but I was walking behind you and I thought you had a great bum and I just wanted to tell you" and then he walked off! HAHA I was like "oh ok thanks?!" It was so random!
Today I worked and did some groceries and came home and sat in the lounge room with Tina, one of my housemates and chatted and watched TV. Now I'm watching Man U play Champions League (at a normal time of day!). OH YEAH! Today Rob from work called and was running late and needed Suzie's (boss) number. I texted it to him and when he was reading the message he got hit by a car! He wasnt hurt or anything but OMG!

Enjoying Swedish market treats with the girls, not as good as it looks...

Care for some tea?

Probably my lowest day so far. I guess a combination of post-holiday blues, missing home and new-person nerves at work. It was information overload, I guess I probably got overwhelmed. Not feeling motivated to be part of the corporate world again after 3 glorious weeks of travelling and being a lady of leisure. Alas the journey must end. I did go and see the other 2 hotels and had Afternoon Tea at The Milestone Hotel with Callie, that was brilliant!
At the station after work an Italian couple were trying to ask me a question about the tube and they had no English skills. They'd circled a few stations but obviously what I was saying was wrong and I said sorry I don't understand and they got really frustrated with me. My train came and I got on and started to get teary. Haha I was clearly overwhelmed by the day I'd had. Just been relaxing at home since.

Afternoon Tea at The Milestone

The Hotel Inspector

I had such an exhausting day although it was good. I met the team I will be working with and got acquainted with my new office. I pretty much spent the day out and about inspecting hotels. I saw the Rubens Hotel, 41, Chesterfield and Montague. I did this with Callie, the PA to my boss Suzie. We also enjoyed lunch at bbar which is a Red Carnation restaurant. It was amazing. I had a selection dips with pita bread, ravioli and then a chocolate brownie and ice-cream for dessert. I was so full and exhausted by the end of the day. I even got into bed and had a rest when I got home. In the evening I went to Nando's with 3 of my housemates, Tina, Francesco and Graham. It was really great getting to know them and having a laugh.

Welcome to Red Carnation

It was a good 1st day. I had orientation at the Rubens Hotel. It had finished by 3:30pm and I was exhausted by the end actually. There were 12 in my group from all different hotels and all different parts of the world. There was 1 girl who could barely introduce herself for her English skills. During the morning we had to tell the group a little about ourselves and when we got to lunch the favourite drink we had said in our introduction was waiting for us at the table. It was a good example of the 'no detail too small' part of the hotel chain's tagline "No request too large, no detail too small". At lunch I was talking to a few of the other newies and when I looked up the table I realised I had half a plate left and the rest had finisehd. HAHA I had been talking too much. Actually there was barely any talk at the rest of the table. Maybe there were too many language barriers. I watched TV for a little bit with Tina & Francesco in the evening.

The View from the front of my office. It may be a brick wall

but it's Buckingham's Palace's brick wall!

The Great Hall

My last day of freedom before becoming a full time employee again. I explored Oxford a little more and saw a few places where Harry Potter was filmed, including the Great Hall (pictured below). I have been enjoying unemployment. Oh well, I am excited and a little nervous about starting at Red Carnation Hotels tomorrow. I headed back to London failry early and did loads of boring things like groceries and washing. I bought a TV aerial but when I tried it out it was terrible. Then I retuned the TV through the original aerial and it was worse. Then I retuned it again after moving the TV over about 30cm and it is now perfect. So I'll be returning the one I bought.

The location fot The Great Hall scenes in Harry Potter

Books books books

A big day of walking and exploring. I have pretty much covered the whole city. I started off with breakfast on my own in the dining room at St. Benet’s, at a table which seats 34. I felt like a lonely princess haha. I decided to go to University Parks and walk around and enjoy the scenery. It is a gorgeous park, definitely a great place for photography. I then walked to the Oxford University Natural History Museum and had a look around. Then I did a tour at Oxford Castle which was still a gaol until 1996. Other places I explored included Christ Church College, Bodleian Library (although the tours were booked out), New College (although the entrance was nowhere to be found) and the Botanic Gardens. I ended my day with a visit to Blackwell’s Bookstore. A massive 5 level shop with wall to wall books. I can only imagine how much time and money Mum & Grandma would spend with a limitless supply! I decided to give Jane Austen a go so have purchased a few of her books. For dinner I tried Café Rouge and enjoyed another serving of banana & chocolate crepes for dessert. And as a bonus I got back and realised X Factor was about to start. I was never into it back home but here it’s on a whole different scale.

Oxford

My 1^st weekend away. I decided on Oxford. I found a website where you can book accommodation in a college. I chose St. Benet’s Hall which is only costing me £90 for 2 nights including breakfast. Such a great way to do it! I got to Oxford in about the middle of the day after catching a train from Paddington in London. Hop on/off buses are a great way to get acquainted with a city. You get your bearings, transport and audio on-board. I just sat on the tour for almost a full round of the loop when I arrived. I explored the city and took loads of photos. Oxford University doesn’t have 1 campus, it is a collection of colleges across the city. Many notable people have come from Oxford University including Bill Clinton, John Wesley, C.S Lewis, J.R Tolkien, Tony Blair and Albert Einstein just to name a few. Students must sit their exams in full academic dress and there are only 3 semesters per year totalling 24 weeks between October and May.

Much ado about groundlings

A little depressing seeing all the Facebook statuses about the start of spring back home, although I wouldn’t trade it for the adventure I’m having. We went to the Shakespeare Globe Theatre which is on the South Bank. On the tour, the 1^st thing the guide said was “This isn’t the original theatre” andI thought “WHAT?! This is a fraud!”. However the more he talked about it the more fascinated I was. He was so passionate about it. It has been rebuilt exactly as per the old one. And having seen the theatre apparently makes some of his works make more sense as they were written for that style of theatre. It would be very daunting for an actor/actress to perform there for the first time because there are no stage lights in your eyes, making the audience invisible. The crowd can stand right up against the stage. Back in the olden days it cost 1p to be a ‘groundling’ as Shakespeare called it. They were also known as ‘stinkards’ as they were the cheap seats (although no seats at all) used by the poorer people who would probably shower twice a year. They also fit double the amount of people in there than what is allowed today. We did end up seeing a play that afternoon in the theatre. It was “Much Ado About Nothing” and we were ‘groundlings’ which only cost us £5. It was brilliant! I almost cried at the end when the crowd was clapping and cheering. Not bad for my 1^st Shakespeare play experience.

Later that evening I met Carina (Haylo’s friend) at The Porchester Pub for trivia. It was a good night and lovely to meet her, even if we came last haha. We need to recruit more members to our team “Call me bubbles UK”.

When I got home I tried to skype Mum & Dad but my internet was so bad and my TV reception was so bad that I got very agitated. Plus, the road outside my room was still noisy at midnight and I wasn’t able to book Ally & my flights to Sweden so I was very cranky when I went to bed and didn’t sleep very well.

Brighton

I met Ally, Matt and Carmel at their place which was very exciting since I haven’t seen them since their wedding in December. Ally, Carmel and I went to Brighton for the day. It was a really nice day down near the pier and on the rock beach. And it was great catching up with Ally & Matt and filling each other in on what’s been happening. In the evening we had a pub dinner at The Swan in Hammersmith. I had a chicken and cider pie which was really nice!

Handyman Tan

What a massive day again. I decided to get a bunch of stuff from Argos for my room, including big items such as bedside table and desk. I went to Ealing Broadway to pick up the table. It was 13kg! So I had to carry it, pus the over-the-door organiser and hairdryer back to the station, on the train and then home. I was nothing short of a nightmare. My arms were literally going to fall off, or at least I was about to cry from the pain. Opened up the box and realised I needed a few tools so I went up to Hammersmith as there was some other stuff I needed. While I was up there I bought a TV. I did a pretty good job building my little table. I also wanted a desk and rug from Argos but there was no way I was carrying something that heavy again so I got delivery. Don’t know why I didn’t do that in the 1^st place. Again, did a nice handyman job and got the room looking nice and homely. Only problem is the TV reception is terrible in my room (although fine in the living room), and the internet in the house is very poor.

W6 9NL

BANK HOLIDAY - A bit day for me, was able to move into my new room at the share house. My address is 52 North Eyot Gardens, Hammersmith W6 9NL. I had to do about 3 trips because I did so much shopping in the week since I arrived. In the evening I could hear housemates downstairs and I felt a bit awkward going down and saying “Hi, I live here”. First I met Edin from Hong Kong and her partner Dietmar from Germany. They seemed nice, shy and tend to keep to their own room if they’re not in the kitchen. I could hear a couple of people in the lounge room so I went in and introduced myself. There was Tina and Graham, both from Birmingham, although not together. They both seem really nice. Not long later, Francesco arrived home from Italy, he’d been in Turin visiting his family for the weekend. The other housemate is Jenny from Sweden, although she’s been in London for 14 years. I was glad I broke the ice.

mmm Sunday Roast

I had a great day. I started off skyping with my parents and then with Bee & the kids so that was nice. I headed down to Bromley for the day to visit Rachel’s best friend Tracey and her family. They moved here earlier this year. They have 2 gorgeous kids, Daniel (7) and Caitlyn (3). Dan already has a bit of an accent. I went to their church with them and then to their place for lunch. It was lovely to have a home-cooked Sunday Roast. 

The Bridge

I thought I’d go to the Museum of Natural History at opening time to avoid the queues. Should have learnt my lesson from the Vatican City years ago. Everybody else has the same idea. Since I have loads of time to go back on another day I saw the queue and walked away instantly. Chelsea played Norwich in the EPL so I was kitted up in my cardi and scarf and headed to Fulham Broadway to mingle with the crowd and hopefully find a pub to watch it in. Aiming a little high maybe – everywhere was reservation or members only. Feeling a little “meh” (probably due to boredom from being my own company all week) I couldn’t be bothered so I just came back to Ally & Matt’s to listen to it on the radio. Actually I fell asleep for a bit. UK’s X Factor has just started last week and I’m actually really into it. It’s hard not to be because it’s all over the news.

Stepping back in time

I enjoyed today. I sat in and relaxed for a good while. Probably didn’t head out until about 11:30am. I went to South Kensington. Walked into Harrod’s and had a look around. It was too crowded for my liking. I went to the Victoria & Albert Museum, which I actually found pretty boring. I suppose with a friend or guide it might have been a little more interesting. For lunch I ate lasagne at an Italian restaurant and it was lovely. Then I headed to the area where my dad used to live – 15 Cranley Place. It was so cool walking around his old area. I had booked to see a show called Potted Potter so I headed to Leicester Square and had banana & chocolates crepes for afternoon tea before the show at the Garrick Theatre. The show was pretty funny actually. It was a Harry Potter parody showcasing all 7 books in 70 minutes. After the show I headed back to Ally & Matt’s, stopping at Tesco on the way. I’ve just been relaxing in front of the TV with the Argos catalogue all evening.

What a Thriller!

Because I had been walking non-stop since I arrived I decided to take it pretty easy. Lounged around for a while before I had to see Naheed in Hammersmith and collect my keys and pay the rest of my deposit. I did a little shopping in Primark. I had booked to see Thriller Live at the Lyric Theatre on London’s West End so I headed into town and had a dinner of BBQ ribs at Adam’s Ribs before the show. The show was brilliant! There was a little black boy sitting a few rows in front who was probably about 4 years old and was dancing so enthusiastically! It was really cute and funny. I found myself watching him as much as the show!

Ships & Shards

I headed out first to O2 where I visited the Titanic Exhibition. It was quite interesting. The most fascinating thing I found out was that 3^rd class had 2 showers to share between 700 people! However in that time people were only bathing once a week so it was not a problem. I then headed into the parliament area of the city and wandered around and took some photos. In the evening I met Keith after work and went to his & Cat’s place for dinner. A mirror fell off the bedside table and smashed on the floor! It just happened out of the blue. It freaked me out a little because earlier that day a black cat had walked past me. I had a nice chat to the bus driver on my way back to Wimbledon station.

More shopping!

It was a rainy day so I went to Westfield. Then I went back to explore more of Oxford St. I visited the Britain tourist office on Regent Street and got loads of brochures on travel around the UK.

Interview day!

Today was an absolutely crazy day! I had my bank appointment at Lloyds TSB on Oxford St. It was a nice way to open an account. The guy sat with me and chatted and explained the account. My interview with Red Carnation was at 12:30pm at the Rubens Hotel. I met Liz, Suzie and Richard and it went well I thought. Well, I hate interviews so it was ok. They said they’d give me a call. So I headed back to Oxford St and shopped ‘til I dropped! Actually I didn’t buy loads, but did get a nice jacket and duvet cover. Suzie called me to offer me the job while I was on Oxford St. Of course I accepted and the best part was that they decided the start date would be Monday 5^th September so I have an extra week to explore and settle in before I start. At 7pm I met Naheed at the house I’m moving into and paid her a £350 deposit. The room is lovely and the house is beautiful. It’s on the market just so she can get an idea for the market at the moment, she says she’s not selling. I had a little peak around the net and found it's worth £1.45million! My rent is inclusive of all bills, council tax and internet which is good.

Curtains Up!

I was supposed to go down to Bromley with Bek and see Rachel’s friend Tracey but ended up postponing as I had 4 inspections come through at different times. The 4pm one was really nice, in Sands End but the room was tiny! The 7pm was ok, not blown away by it. Couldn’t see myself being too connected with the housemate. The last one was gross, no living room, the guy didn’t say anything, just pointed. I headed back to a pub in Barons Court – Curtain’s Up – where Bek was catching up with her friend from her TTC London days. It was nice meeting some people and Nikki took my number and said she’d invite me along to girly nights that she organises.

Saturday 20th August 2011

Bek and I had some brekky at the local café. I had woken up at 2am! We went into the city and wandered around before she went to visit friends and I inspected 2 places. The 1st was ok but a bit messy and not available until 10^th. The 2^nd was in a council estate, I felt like I was walking into an episode of the bill. After that I just wandered around the area and relaxed. Bek and I got Pizza Express for dinner and had some cider before we went to bed. We also watched Britain’s X Factor.

 

A new chapter

Thursday 18^th – Friday 19^th August 2011

An emotional day, farewelling my family and friends. So glad to have flown over with Bek. We wanted to claim our tax on our cameras but by the time we went through the gate and got through customs it was final call for our flight! The flight was fine, Virgin Atlantic were pretty good, no complaints at all. We got upgraded to a more roomy section thanks to work contacting the rep for me. Watched Black Swan (disturbing) & Just go with it (some funny bits but mainly rubbish). Had a little scare at Hong Kong airport because my working visa is valid from 22^nd and so they were worried I’d be denied at the border. I think they were more worried than me. Bek now has an expired working visa in her passport and she has had no problem.

We got to LHR and started to make our way to Ally & Matt’s place. I realised it’s all well and good to have loads of luggage when you have people to help you load it in the car and get it to the airport, but once you get to the other end you’re on your own. Bek and I had to wait until the real estate agent opened so we could get the key to the flat so we sat in Starbucks and invented the life stories of the people passing by. Then we were deciding who out of each group crossing the road was the best looking. It was very entertaining.

Went to 1^st contact office to collect my welcome pack and then headed out to Westfield where we met up with Keith for lunch. We also bought some towels because we hadn’t brought any with us and all I could find at the local shop was face washers. Then we went back and sat in Kensington Gardens and then walked back to the flat. Stopped at TK Max, a brilliant shop! Literally 100’s of scarves. For dinner we had Thai and some cider and went to bed at about 9pm.