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.