This weekend I decided to venture out to a place that I hadn't been yet. I've been here for a little over a month and I can't believe I still haven't covered a large portion of this incredible city. We took a day trip out to Hyde Park & Kensington Palace (home of Princess Diana). It's a short tube ride away from the dorm and we hopped out at Hyde Park. Now, normally I'd think that going to a park would be boring as hell, but the day was beautiful. It was clear, blue skies and the sun was out. We made our way through the park and it was just so nice to feel the sun on my face. The park is huge, and it's similar to what Central Park would be. There were people rollerblading and skatboarding down the strip. People sitting along a tree enjoying a book, picnic or playing some good old football. A lake divides the park in half and the water's infested with ducks, geese, swans, pigeons and other birds. I was able to borrow a friends camera and take some pictures. It felt great to have a camera in my hands again and being able to take my own pictures at my discretion.
I don't know what it was about this particular day that made this ordinary park so enjoyable. It could have been that the sun was out and I got a chance to sport the Oakley's for old times sake. The rays of sun just glistened off the ripples of water the swimming ducks made. You could sit on the bank of the lake just close enough so the geese and swans swim right by your feet. A few even gave us a little performance of shakin' their tail feathers (shout out to my boy Nelly). Haha.
We finally made it through the park and came to what is Kensington Palace. Well, actually I had no idea it was Kensington Palace because I'd seen houses back home that are bigger than that. I suppose that's why everyone fell in love with her because of her humbleness. I didn't go in, just merely walked around the "palace" and wasn't very much impressed with it. Tell you the truth I was disappointed. The thing is I have not idea what I was expecting. I mean Buckingham Palace is no out of this world splendor.
Since we were just on the outskirts of Zone 1 we decided to walk to Portobello Market which is in the famous Notting Hill sector of London. I'd been to the market before and every time you find something new there. Basically, it's like a swap meet on this long road that's pretty famous: Portobello Road. The streets are lined with stalls of antiques, produce, clothing, knick-knacks and crap. There is literally something for everyone there and it's incredible how many people show up to walk up and down this thing. If you go at the right time you can get some ridiculous bargains for the fresh fruit because most of the vendors are trying to get rid of it before they have to pack up. There is a vintage clothes sector and independent brand section. It's mostly geared toward women and the stuff is by no means cheap. You can find some good knock offs. I suppose it's kind of like Canal Street in New York. I've never been, but so I've heard.
This city is growing on me a lot. I'm going to find it difficult to leave here simply because I've become so accustom to the big city life. Everything here is so fast paced, lively (except the people on rainy days), and ecclectic. There is so many things you can do here and you'll never get bored. I still haven't been to one entire half of my surrounding neighborhood. It's insane.
The part that really makes me realize that I'm in London is everytime I ride the Tube. I suppose it's because it's not something that I'd do back home or have the option of doing when I get back. It's so awesome to have to commute via public transportation. Dont' get me wrong though I miss driving and I miss my car. I see Golf's everywhere and I'm always taunted by them. The Tube to me is awesome. You can literally get anywhere you want. Sometimes it's packed as shit and you just force yourself on it. Like Sardines. You have people breathing down your neck. Certain stops get like that and sometimes you get a car that's empty. The people are often quiet in it, hardly anyone talks and everyone's pretty much kept to themselves. If anyone is talking it's usually the American's being loud. Sometimes we get these nasty looks. The stations are located soo far Underground that a few escalators are sooo long. The tube station nearest my dorm (Russell Square) has 175 steps to go up. You take lifts to get up, but if you want you can take the stares. Sometimes we'll race eachother up them. It reminds me of doing stadiums at UF. A good work out.
It's interesting because I can see this city changing me. In a good way. I'm definitely learning a lot more about myself than I anticipated. I knew that I'd grow up here, but I had no idea that I'd do it so drastically. It's going to be interesting to come back home and see what life is like after this experience. I'm excited to see how much I've grown up and changed.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
It's been a while...
Who knows if people are still reading this thing, but I've definitely been neglecting the shit out of this blog. I thought I'd be a lot better about keeping people up to date but there's just been so much going on that I have no idea where to even begin. For the most part I'm still partying almost every other night and whether it be hard core wasted or just sipping a beer whilst cooking dinner-- I'm drinking. I've had a little slip with the classes, so my recommendation if you are planning to study abroad DON'T TAKE CLASSES THAT ARE TIME CONSUMING BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT GOING TO WANT TO STUDY. The thing is that people who don't go to you UF are taking classes at Huron and the Huron classes are just a joke so they have the time and energy to go out every night. So, you get lazy and unmotivated because no one around you is doing work except for the few that go to UF also, but even they are lazy.
Let's get some updates:
Weather: The weather has been absolutely miserable the last couple of days. It's been what people normally envision London to be like. Rainy and gloomy. It actually flurried this morning which was cool to see. There still hasn't been a heavy snow fall yet, but I'm crossing my fingers. I'm determined to see snow before I leave even if I have to travel to the fucking French Alps. The thing is with the rain here is that it's nothing compared to the rain we get in Florida. In Florida when it rains, it pours. Here it's like a light drizzle and people are flipping out about a little rain. I guess the combination with the cold it can be a little miserable, but at least you're not drenched when you get to your destination. It's funny because I know what rain is and so the drizzle doesn't bother my all that much.
My Visa: It was a lengthy process and it caused me a lot of stress. I probably got a few grey hairs from the whole production, but I was able to pick up my visa today from the Italian consulate. Unfortunately, they are only allowed to grant me a visa until 3 months before my British visa expires which is in July. So, I only have permission to travel until April 22. It's a very limited time frame and at first I was really disappointed that I wouldn't be able to go backpacking with Scanlan, but then I realized that it's better than getting denied. At least I'm not confined to just Great Britain. Not like this massive country doesn't have a lot to offer.
Spring Break: My spring break plans with Laura have gone through some minor changes. We decided that it'd be best if we just hung out in London for the 7 days that she's here. It's definitely better that way because there is so much to do here and I want to make sure she gets a chance to see everything this incredible city has to offer. I can't have her leave and wish that she had seen that one extra thing. So, I'm very excited about her coming and showing her the ropes. Every day I walk around London and I feel so privileged and "cool" because I'm in London. I'm really getting comfortable with this big city life and I know my surroundings really well. So, I can't wait to show her. So...for the Huron spring break (which is the week before UF's) I've decided to go to Italy. I'm so fucking excited because Italy is my number one destination of choice. Here's my itinerary. I'm flying out to Rome Sunday March 5 in the morning. I arrive Sunday in Rome and spend Sunday night, all of Monday, Monday night, and all of Tuesday. Then we take a train over night to Florence which is about 5 hours away so we didn't get a hostel for that night. So, we spend all of Wednesday in Florence, Wednesday night in Florence then Thursday morning we're heading to Pisa and spending all of Thursday in Pisa. Then Thursday afternoon we're heading to Venice (2 hours away) and checking into our hostel there and spending the night. Then we spend all of Friday in Venice before we fly out Friday night back to London. Then Laura Bess Henry arrives at 9:35 in London and I just pick her up for a week of absolute chaos.
Museums: I've become quite the museum conosseur(sp). Because of my Arts in London class our homework is to go out to museums and events on our own. This past weekend we decided to go to the Natural History Museum where they have dinosaur fossils and full skeletons and it's ridiculous. I'd never been to one like that so I felt like an 8-year-old boy. It was great. I've also gained a great appreciation for art while here. Some museums, like the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Tate Britain are incredible. There is so much different crap in all these museums and they're all free so I spend a couple of hours in each. The funny thing is that I still haven't been to the British Museum and I live 2 minutes away. People come from all over the world to see this museum and I still haven't gone. I guess cause it's just so accessible that I just don't take advantage of it.
My Internship: Working in London makes me feel like a grown up. I feel so old getting up and going to this PR agency two days a week. It's cool though. The only complaint is that it's such a large agency that it's hard to get a real good aspect of the PR world. I was hired as an intern for the Technology and Interactive Entertainment team, so my main focus is on that. What I do like about it is that it's international and I'm sure it can open up some serious doors for me. I feel like they don't think I can handle the tasks they really want me to do. They did however get my drunk last thursday during LUNCH. They took us out to lunch and bought us bottles of wine, and shots. Then on top of that at the end of the day they had beer for us to commemorate some people leaving the office. Then on top of THAT they got a bar tab at this posh bar in Soho. Needless to say I took full advantage and got sloshed with these people and got to know them. It's great because they don't treat me like I'm just a stupid intern. They look at me like a professional then I realize that I'm 21-years-old and I'm an adult. That's weird to say, but sometimes I just feel like people still look at me and think I'm just an immature college teenager.
I wanted to give you guys a brief update. I'm hoping to keep this thing updated on a regular basis. Hopefully people are still reading.
Let's get some updates:
Weather: The weather has been absolutely miserable the last couple of days. It's been what people normally envision London to be like. Rainy and gloomy. It actually flurried this morning which was cool to see. There still hasn't been a heavy snow fall yet, but I'm crossing my fingers. I'm determined to see snow before I leave even if I have to travel to the fucking French Alps. The thing is with the rain here is that it's nothing compared to the rain we get in Florida. In Florida when it rains, it pours. Here it's like a light drizzle and people are flipping out about a little rain. I guess the combination with the cold it can be a little miserable, but at least you're not drenched when you get to your destination. It's funny because I know what rain is and so the drizzle doesn't bother my all that much.
My Visa: It was a lengthy process and it caused me a lot of stress. I probably got a few grey hairs from the whole production, but I was able to pick up my visa today from the Italian consulate. Unfortunately, they are only allowed to grant me a visa until 3 months before my British visa expires which is in July. So, I only have permission to travel until April 22. It's a very limited time frame and at first I was really disappointed that I wouldn't be able to go backpacking with Scanlan, but then I realized that it's better than getting denied. At least I'm not confined to just Great Britain. Not like this massive country doesn't have a lot to offer.
Spring Break: My spring break plans with Laura have gone through some minor changes. We decided that it'd be best if we just hung out in London for the 7 days that she's here. It's definitely better that way because there is so much to do here and I want to make sure she gets a chance to see everything this incredible city has to offer. I can't have her leave and wish that she had seen that one extra thing. So, I'm very excited about her coming and showing her the ropes. Every day I walk around London and I feel so privileged and "cool" because I'm in London. I'm really getting comfortable with this big city life and I know my surroundings really well. So, I can't wait to show her. So...for the Huron spring break (which is the week before UF's) I've decided to go to Italy. I'm so fucking excited because Italy is my number one destination of choice. Here's my itinerary. I'm flying out to Rome Sunday March 5 in the morning. I arrive Sunday in Rome and spend Sunday night, all of Monday, Monday night, and all of Tuesday. Then we take a train over night to Florence which is about 5 hours away so we didn't get a hostel for that night. So, we spend all of Wednesday in Florence, Wednesday night in Florence then Thursday morning we're heading to Pisa and spending all of Thursday in Pisa. Then Thursday afternoon we're heading to Venice (2 hours away) and checking into our hostel there and spending the night. Then we spend all of Friday in Venice before we fly out Friday night back to London. Then Laura Bess Henry arrives at 9:35 in London and I just pick her up for a week of absolute chaos.
Museums: I've become quite the museum conosseur(sp). Because of my Arts in London class our homework is to go out to museums and events on our own. This past weekend we decided to go to the Natural History Museum where they have dinosaur fossils and full skeletons and it's ridiculous. I'd never been to one like that so I felt like an 8-year-old boy. It was great. I've also gained a great appreciation for art while here. Some museums, like the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Tate Britain are incredible. There is so much different crap in all these museums and they're all free so I spend a couple of hours in each. The funny thing is that I still haven't been to the British Museum and I live 2 minutes away. People come from all over the world to see this museum and I still haven't gone. I guess cause it's just so accessible that I just don't take advantage of it.
My Internship: Working in London makes me feel like a grown up. I feel so old getting up and going to this PR agency two days a week. It's cool though. The only complaint is that it's such a large agency that it's hard to get a real good aspect of the PR world. I was hired as an intern for the Technology and Interactive Entertainment team, so my main focus is on that. What I do like about it is that it's international and I'm sure it can open up some serious doors for me. I feel like they don't think I can handle the tasks they really want me to do. They did however get my drunk last thursday during LUNCH. They took us out to lunch and bought us bottles of wine, and shots. Then on top of that at the end of the day they had beer for us to commemorate some people leaving the office. Then on top of THAT they got a bar tab at this posh bar in Soho. Needless to say I took full advantage and got sloshed with these people and got to know them. It's great because they don't treat me like I'm just a stupid intern. They look at me like a professional then I realize that I'm 21-years-old and I'm an adult. That's weird to say, but sometimes I just feel like people still look at me and think I'm just an immature college teenager.
I wanted to give you guys a brief update. I'm hoping to keep this thing updated on a regular basis. Hopefully people are still reading.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
London Beckoned Songs
Artist: Panic! At the Disco
Song: London Beckoned Songs about Money by Machines
Lyrics: "Just for the record the weather today is slightly sarcastic."
Again, I've been slacking with this blog thing. I really anticipated being better at keeping you people back in the States more entertained and up-to-date with my shit over younder. It's been a hectic couple of days. It's odd because it's not like I'm burdened by classes because I don't watch them or attend them. It was just a crazy week in general. I've been going out almost every night and when we don't hit up a club, bar or pub than we are drinking in the dorms. I haven't yet been concerned by my excessive drinking binge because it's not problematic, but I'm giving it a rest for this week. It's time I start catching up with the real reason I'm here.
I ended up finding my Double Stuf oreos. Unfortunately, I paid close to $11 for them and I'm being a stingy little jew about sharing them with people. As I have every right to be considering that's almost 4 times the amount they cost back home. I still waiting for my friends to send me packages. HINT HINT. It'd be nice to get mail once in a while on updates with your guys lives. Just an idea.
So every day I wake up hoping to spend the day doing something interesting and really gaining a better feel for what this enormous city has to offer. I've pretty much seen everything touristy there is to see. I'm saving a lot of the real touristy shit for just before I leave and when Laura comes. Such as going on the London Eye. I really want to do that with Laura and the Salvador Dali museum is suppose to be ridiculous.
I've been jogging at night with my buddy Shane here and we ended up running down to Regent's Park the other night which was pretty sick. It's kind of like central park. Sketchy at night so we didn't really run through it, but we were convinced we saw a drug deal going down. I wouldn't be surprised considering the streets here are absolutely bare at night from 9 p.m. till the morning. The quality of life here is just completely different.
I also ended up going back to Portobello Market. They really love their market's here. With good reason though. This market is located in Notting Hill (like the movie). It's a really nice area. It reminded me of some place a celebrity would want to live. The market is located down this long street named Portobello Road. Fitting right? It's ridiculous how many stalls of antiques, vintage clothing, tourist shops and just insane amounts of stuff everywhere. They have some of the freshest produce and you jsut walk and walk and it feels endless. If you're into thrifting it's a good place to hit up, but make sure it's on a saturday because I think I wrote last week that I went on a Sunday and it sucked. The stuff isn't cheap by U.S. dollar standards, but sometimes you can bargain with the people. Nothing really struck me as worthwhile. I do however really want to buy a Beatles vinyl record of Abbey Road. I've been searching for more things for my new apartment more than anything.
There was this small shop that had all these black and white photos of james dean, marilyn monroe, vintage tin signs (like license plates) with 60's coca-cola ads, guiness ads, and jack daniels. It's a pretty sweet store, but expensive of course. Again, I'll probably end up hitting that place up before heading back to the states.
As for this weekend we ended up going to a Karoke bar on Thursday which was really awesome. I ended up singing Bryan Adams- Summer of 69. I mustered up the courage to sing knowing very well that I can't. I was drunk needless to say and my friends all jumped in to help out. It wasn't bad. I actually had a blast though.
On Friday we went to an Australian bar named Walk About which was another good place. It was an on old church converted into a night club so it had stain glass everywhere, a dome shaped ceiling, two floors it was sick. I ended up pre-gaming and had a good time. They don't know how to make Jack and cokes here for the life of them. And they don't sell FOSTER'S beer in Australia. It was sort of like a mainstream indie club. They played a really good mix of songs and genres. They love The Killers here and mixing Eminem's songs into trance songs. They dont' play a lot of "crunk" music like LiL John here. I may just not being to the right clubs.
On Saturday we decided to meet up with the other dorm that lives in South Kensington. It's the ritzy part of town where Madonna and other celebrities own flats and stay at their hotels. There are few Huron people from the states living in those dorms and they invited us over to one of their local irish bars called Kavanaugh. Again, we pregamed and I drank Stella Artois (a Belgian Beer) with 5.2% alcohol. I usually buy the cheapest thing of whatever is on sale at the time to drink for the weekend. I knocked back about 5 bottles in an hour and the great thing is that I was able to walk on the Tube with the bottles so you dont' have to force them all down. The bar was OK. It was an irish bar and they dind't know how to make get this.... an IRISH CAR BOMB! We had to order each piece of it separately. They did have a live band playing covers though. That was cool. Other than that it wasn't anything particularly special. Just a good time out with good people. We all hang out in crowds ofl ike 40 of us. It's crazy. I got plastered again, but not to the point of incoherence though. I could walk home and take the bus fine.
So you are all probably reading these entries and thinking that I've become this raging alcoholic that does nothing but spend my money on night clubs, bars and pubs and that I'm practically ruining my liver. Believe it or not I drink in moderation compared to some of the people here. What you guys don't understand is that there really is no pressure to get work done here, the university we go to is a joke compared to UF, and the UF classes really dont' require that much attention until before the test. What else are we suppose to do? We're in this great city with a bar/restaurant on every corner (no joke) we like to explore. We've even managed to convert some none drinkers into drinkers. Like my roommate Andy who never drank back home, but now socially drinks with us and usually gets pretty wasted.
You see it's just like at home...drinking is fun. We go to cool places that play quality music and we have a good time. Sometimes it can get old, but that's why we change up the venue. I've also managed to learn that Stella gives me this ridiculous kind of drunk that feels like a dream. It's hard to explain, but you know how when you dream you feel like you are there and it's vivid, but in reality you're not there. That's what the drunk feels like. I'm in the situation, I remember everythign the next day, all the conversations, but not the details or specifics and it all feels like a dream the next day. It's strange and I probably sound like schmuck, but you have to experience it for yourself.
Contrary to what many of you may think I'm actually have a good time here. If I sound like a certified alchy- I'm sorry, but when in Rome. If everyone here is going out to have a good time together I'm not going to sit at home twiddling my thumbs waiting for something exciting to come my way. There is a kid here who does that and it annoys me because it's like what the fuck did you come here for? I know it's all about drinking and getting drunk every night, but you could hang out with us. I'm just not the type of kid to not join in on the fun. Not to mention people can't resist to get me drunk and take ridiculous pictures of me that I just delete the next day.
I'm looking forward to week of school work and relaxing....never thought I'd say that. We'll see how long this mentality lasts.
Song: London Beckoned Songs about Money by Machines
Lyrics: "Just for the record the weather today is slightly sarcastic."
Again, I've been slacking with this blog thing. I really anticipated being better at keeping you people back in the States more entertained and up-to-date with my shit over younder. It's been a hectic couple of days. It's odd because it's not like I'm burdened by classes because I don't watch them or attend them. It was just a crazy week in general. I've been going out almost every night and when we don't hit up a club, bar or pub than we are drinking in the dorms. I haven't yet been concerned by my excessive drinking binge because it's not problematic, but I'm giving it a rest for this week. It's time I start catching up with the real reason I'm here.
I ended up finding my Double Stuf oreos. Unfortunately, I paid close to $11 for them and I'm being a stingy little jew about sharing them with people. As I have every right to be considering that's almost 4 times the amount they cost back home. I still waiting for my friends to send me packages. HINT HINT. It'd be nice to get mail once in a while on updates with your guys lives. Just an idea.
So every day I wake up hoping to spend the day doing something interesting and really gaining a better feel for what this enormous city has to offer. I've pretty much seen everything touristy there is to see. I'm saving a lot of the real touristy shit for just before I leave and when Laura comes. Such as going on the London Eye. I really want to do that with Laura and the Salvador Dali museum is suppose to be ridiculous.
I've been jogging at night with my buddy Shane here and we ended up running down to Regent's Park the other night which was pretty sick. It's kind of like central park. Sketchy at night so we didn't really run through it, but we were convinced we saw a drug deal going down. I wouldn't be surprised considering the streets here are absolutely bare at night from 9 p.m. till the morning. The quality of life here is just completely different.
I also ended up going back to Portobello Market. They really love their market's here. With good reason though. This market is located in Notting Hill (like the movie). It's a really nice area. It reminded me of some place a celebrity would want to live. The market is located down this long street named Portobello Road. Fitting right? It's ridiculous how many stalls of antiques, vintage clothing, tourist shops and just insane amounts of stuff everywhere. They have some of the freshest produce and you jsut walk and walk and it feels endless. If you're into thrifting it's a good place to hit up, but make sure it's on a saturday because I think I wrote last week that I went on a Sunday and it sucked. The stuff isn't cheap by U.S. dollar standards, but sometimes you can bargain with the people. Nothing really struck me as worthwhile. I do however really want to buy a Beatles vinyl record of Abbey Road. I've been searching for more things for my new apartment more than anything.
There was this small shop that had all these black and white photos of james dean, marilyn monroe, vintage tin signs (like license plates) with 60's coca-cola ads, guiness ads, and jack daniels. It's a pretty sweet store, but expensive of course. Again, I'll probably end up hitting that place up before heading back to the states.
As for this weekend we ended up going to a Karoke bar on Thursday which was really awesome. I ended up singing Bryan Adams- Summer of 69. I mustered up the courage to sing knowing very well that I can't. I was drunk needless to say and my friends all jumped in to help out. It wasn't bad. I actually had a blast though.
On Friday we went to an Australian bar named Walk About which was another good place. It was an on old church converted into a night club so it had stain glass everywhere, a dome shaped ceiling, two floors it was sick. I ended up pre-gaming and had a good time. They don't know how to make Jack and cokes here for the life of them. And they don't sell FOSTER'S beer in Australia. It was sort of like a mainstream indie club. They played a really good mix of songs and genres. They love The Killers here and mixing Eminem's songs into trance songs. They dont' play a lot of "crunk" music like LiL John here. I may just not being to the right clubs.
On Saturday we decided to meet up with the other dorm that lives in South Kensington. It's the ritzy part of town where Madonna and other celebrities own flats and stay at their hotels. There are few Huron people from the states living in those dorms and they invited us over to one of their local irish bars called Kavanaugh. Again, we pregamed and I drank Stella Artois (a Belgian Beer) with 5.2% alcohol. I usually buy the cheapest thing of whatever is on sale at the time to drink for the weekend. I knocked back about 5 bottles in an hour and the great thing is that I was able to walk on the Tube with the bottles so you dont' have to force them all down. The bar was OK. It was an irish bar and they dind't know how to make get this.... an IRISH CAR BOMB! We had to order each piece of it separately. They did have a live band playing covers though. That was cool. Other than that it wasn't anything particularly special. Just a good time out with good people. We all hang out in crowds ofl ike 40 of us. It's crazy. I got plastered again, but not to the point of incoherence though. I could walk home and take the bus fine.
So you are all probably reading these entries and thinking that I've become this raging alcoholic that does nothing but spend my money on night clubs, bars and pubs and that I'm practically ruining my liver. Believe it or not I drink in moderation compared to some of the people here. What you guys don't understand is that there really is no pressure to get work done here, the university we go to is a joke compared to UF, and the UF classes really dont' require that much attention until before the test. What else are we suppose to do? We're in this great city with a bar/restaurant on every corner (no joke) we like to explore. We've even managed to convert some none drinkers into drinkers. Like my roommate Andy who never drank back home, but now socially drinks with us and usually gets pretty wasted.
You see it's just like at home...drinking is fun. We go to cool places that play quality music and we have a good time. Sometimes it can get old, but that's why we change up the venue. I've also managed to learn that Stella gives me this ridiculous kind of drunk that feels like a dream. It's hard to explain, but you know how when you dream you feel like you are there and it's vivid, but in reality you're not there. That's what the drunk feels like. I'm in the situation, I remember everythign the next day, all the conversations, but not the details or specifics and it all feels like a dream the next day. It's strange and I probably sound like schmuck, but you have to experience it for yourself.
Contrary to what many of you may think I'm actually have a good time here. If I sound like a certified alchy- I'm sorry, but when in Rome. If everyone here is going out to have a good time together I'm not going to sit at home twiddling my thumbs waiting for something exciting to come my way. There is a kid here who does that and it annoys me because it's like what the fuck did you come here for? I know it's all about drinking and getting drunk every night, but you could hang out with us. I'm just not the type of kid to not join in on the fun. Not to mention people can't resist to get me drunk and take ridiculous pictures of me that I just delete the next day.
I'm looking forward to week of school work and relaxing....never thought I'd say that. We'll see how long this mentality lasts.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Another DRUnken Night
To all my friends:
You know how the say you don't realize what you got till it's gone. Well that saying is fucking right. I mean c'mon I've been here for four fucking weeks, I've met some ridiculously cool people, saw ridiculously cool things, experienced ridiculously cool stuff and somehow it all reverts back to the people I'm comfortable with-- my friends.
I fucking miss everyone back home so much. I miss hanging out at the fraternity house... drinking... talking... that fucking skate board... the bitching... the slamming of doors... the just walking in and out of any room at any fucking moment and saying "hey what's going on?"
The people here are great, but it's so hard sometimes. It's hard because you don't have that fucking safety net, you don't have that one person you can run to just in case, or when something stupid happens to you and they'd completely understand because they know it's typical you. I miss that.
I'm here and I've wanted to be here and I still want to be here, but this whole experience would be heightened with my friends, my peeps... I feel like I'm struggling here... I'm not an anti-social person, I'm not the outcast, I'm not hanging out alone, but it's just not the fucking same.
It's tough sometimes...it'd be hard to understand when you guys are all around eachother all the time. I miss the familiarity... the safe... the known. There was never any question of who was your friend back there, who liked you, who you could go party with, who was up for a random night of drinking and who you tried to avoid. Here it's like everyone is in the same boat so you're kind of just forced to be hanging with eachother. Even if it's not particularly your crowd.
More than anything this is just a "What's up" to my friends back home. I never realized what type of friends I had or what type of friend I am. There are some genuine people back home that just ... get me.
It's funny cause I've always been so confident in knowing who I was and what I stood for. There was never any question. I knew what I liked, what I wanted and How I was going to get it. Here it's like I have a part of that, but I've lost a part of that. Sometimes it just seems like I'm pretending with these people. I fucking hate it. Trust me I try to snap myself out of this shit and it could just be the weather here that makes me feel down sometimes, but this blows.
I miss you guys.
Fleishman Hillard International Communications
I just got back from my first day at Fleishman Hillard International Communications and I have to admit it was fun. They ended up setting me up with my own desk at what they call pods. Essentially they are cubicles, but more modernized and not as claustrophobic. It was an early morning and I had to be there at 9:30 a.m. which apparently will not be normal because the expect me to be there at 9 a.m. It's only a 20 min. walk from my place so it's not too bad, but it's still a hike.
They set me up at my pod and introduced me to the tech team. They put the previous intern who now works full time as my Line Manager. We sat down and outlined my goals I wanted to accomplish while spending time at Fleishman Hillard. They had some fantastic objectives for me and really wanted me to delve into a little bit of every aspect of PR. I told them that my main objective is to get things for my portfolio and I asked them if I could possibly transfer to a Fleishman Hillard back in the U.S. They said they could write a letter of recommendation and definitely get me an interview, but can't guarantee a job. Obviously!
I didn't do much of anything today. General PR work. I didn't feel like an intern because it was a tedious task that as a PR personnel I should be doing on a daily basis. They gave me the tabloids and broadsheets (their newspapers) from this past weekend and told me to scan through them searching for the company's clients. They were doing the same thing, but from today's newspapers and they just didn't have time to do it from the weekend's editions. I outlined some relevant articles. It wasn't a horrible task because it helped me get oriented to the culture around Britain and their style of writing.
The press here is ruthless. They have absolutely no censorship. For example, there was a guy convicted of killing his wife and child. He was arrested, but hadn't yet been charged. Without shame they call the a bastard and good for nothing. Not those exact words, but along those lines. They just flat out called the guy out, which wouldn't fly in the states. It'd be libel. They also curse in the newspaper, some feature nudity and alot of their "news" sounds more like gossip.
They are also ridiculously obsessed with David Beckham. They are auctionining off 2 letters he wrote when he was 16 to a friend for £1,500 = $3000. WTF? But like I said I didn't mind the task because it's something that I should get used to doing if I want to be serious about PR. Scan the environment, monitor the surroundings etc. etc. etc.
From the looks of it they have some really awesome things lined up for me. I'm conscious of taking the tasks they give me and completing effectively and efficiently. I want to show them I'm capable of doing so much more than they may think.
On the walk home I felt so mature and old. It was strange. I could picture myself doing this for a living. Reporting to work at a 5 story PR agency. Knocking out a few hours, taking lunch in Convent Gardens (an outside mall of sorts) and walking home after a long days work. I love big cities man and I'm finally starting to feel grown up. I've had an internship before but this is completely different than having one at home. This agency is huge. It's roughly 100-150 people divided into different departments. I'm not working in a small agency with 7 people. There's constant commotion, interaction and work to be done. It's never slow.
I'm really feeling this "real-world" experience-- I can't lie. It kind of makes me excited to go out and find a job and start earning money. Score!
They set me up at my pod and introduced me to the tech team. They put the previous intern who now works full time as my Line Manager. We sat down and outlined my goals I wanted to accomplish while spending time at Fleishman Hillard. They had some fantastic objectives for me and really wanted me to delve into a little bit of every aspect of PR. I told them that my main objective is to get things for my portfolio and I asked them if I could possibly transfer to a Fleishman Hillard back in the U.S. They said they could write a letter of recommendation and definitely get me an interview, but can't guarantee a job. Obviously!
I didn't do much of anything today. General PR work. I didn't feel like an intern because it was a tedious task that as a PR personnel I should be doing on a daily basis. They gave me the tabloids and broadsheets (their newspapers) from this past weekend and told me to scan through them searching for the company's clients. They were doing the same thing, but from today's newspapers and they just didn't have time to do it from the weekend's editions. I outlined some relevant articles. It wasn't a horrible task because it helped me get oriented to the culture around Britain and their style of writing.
The press here is ruthless. They have absolutely no censorship. For example, there was a guy convicted of killing his wife and child. He was arrested, but hadn't yet been charged. Without shame they call the a bastard and good for nothing. Not those exact words, but along those lines. They just flat out called the guy out, which wouldn't fly in the states. It'd be libel. They also curse in the newspaper, some feature nudity and alot of their "news" sounds more like gossip.
They are also ridiculously obsessed with David Beckham. They are auctionining off 2 letters he wrote when he was 16 to a friend for £1,500 = $3000. WTF? But like I said I didn't mind the task because it's something that I should get used to doing if I want to be serious about PR. Scan the environment, monitor the surroundings etc. etc. etc.
From the looks of it they have some really awesome things lined up for me. I'm conscious of taking the tasks they give me and completing effectively and efficiently. I want to show them I'm capable of doing so much more than they may think.
On the walk home I felt so mature and old. It was strange. I could picture myself doing this for a living. Reporting to work at a 5 story PR agency. Knocking out a few hours, taking lunch in Convent Gardens (an outside mall of sorts) and walking home after a long days work. I love big cities man and I'm finally starting to feel grown up. I've had an internship before but this is completely different than having one at home. This agency is huge. It's roughly 100-150 people divided into different departments. I'm not working in a small agency with 7 people. There's constant commotion, interaction and work to be done. It's never slow.
I'm really feeling this "real-world" experience-- I can't lie. It kind of makes me excited to go out and find a job and start earning money. Score!
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Harrods
It's so hard for me to update this blog. I don't know what constatutes a new entry and what's interesting or bizarre enough to write about. Anyways saturday I went to the world reknowned Harrods department store. The store is impressively massive and overwhelmingly packed with shit and tourists. It's nothing that Saks 5th Avenue isn't back at home. Over priced, overly dramatic and just really nice to look at stuff because the price tags are ridiculous. However, the one difference is that in Harrods there are affordable things, but they just may not be worth while buying. The place is about 7 stories tall with an Eyptian room, Wine room, Fine food grocery store, meat deli, gelato bar, home furnishing, mens, womens, kids, electronics. Their slogan is "Everything, for Everyone, Everywhere." Except in Latin I think.
We ended up going down to the wine and liquor area because they give you free shots to taste the liquor before you buy it. They also have an assortment of oddly, but uniquely shaped bottles for you to purchase as much (or little in my case) of liquor as you want. This french girl helped me out and started giving me shots of the liquor and was insanely nice and knowledgable about here liquor. She said she had to be as a part of her job and then told me that the french are known for 3 things:
1. SEX
2. FOOD
3. LIQUOR
In that order. Hmm.......
I felt bad because she was so helpful that Shane and I both bought 200 ml (approx. 4 shots) from her. I got this drink called Caracao Blue, which tastes deliciously sweet. Perfect for after dinner she said. That's one thing that Harrods had was incredible customer attention and service. Every person in there was willing to assist you in any way, shape or form without giving you a smug look as if you couldn't afford the things in the store. One kid tried on a £5,000 Rolex watch. Only after the lady behind the counter saw him looking at it and asked him to try it on.
Harrods structure is impressive. It's built with intricate detail and expands till forever. Every floor we went on we tried going down a separate flight of stairs so as not to pass the same stuff. You really couldn't. We got lost on one floor for a while and then couldn't find the right stairwell to lead us outside.
Unfortunately, I start my internship at Fleishman Hillard International Communications (an international PR agency) Monday at 9:30 a.m. I say unfortunately because that will cut my drinking time in half. Lol. However, I'm excited for this opportunity because they have offices in Chicago and New York and it's potentially a great place to intern or work this summer if I enjoy it enough here. The office is located in a nice part of town here (Convent Gardens) and handles everything from Health, Public Affairs, Consumer products, technology, Web design, Advertising, almost everything. It's a well rounded agency and I think I'll get a great opportunity to delve into a little bit of everything and maybe give my liver a break?
We ended up going down to the wine and liquor area because they give you free shots to taste the liquor before you buy it. They also have an assortment of oddly, but uniquely shaped bottles for you to purchase as much (or little in my case) of liquor as you want. This french girl helped me out and started giving me shots of the liquor and was insanely nice and knowledgable about here liquor. She said she had to be as a part of her job and then told me that the french are known for 3 things:
1. SEX
2. FOOD
3. LIQUOR
In that order. Hmm.......
I felt bad because she was so helpful that Shane and I both bought 200 ml (approx. 4 shots) from her. I got this drink called Caracao Blue, which tastes deliciously sweet. Perfect for after dinner she said. That's one thing that Harrods had was incredible customer attention and service. Every person in there was willing to assist you in any way, shape or form without giving you a smug look as if you couldn't afford the things in the store. One kid tried on a £5,000 Rolex watch. Only after the lady behind the counter saw him looking at it and asked him to try it on.
Harrods structure is impressive. It's built with intricate detail and expands till forever. Every floor we went on we tried going down a separate flight of stairs so as not to pass the same stuff. You really couldn't. We got lost on one floor for a while and then couldn't find the right stairwell to lead us outside.
Unfortunately, I start my internship at Fleishman Hillard International Communications (an international PR agency) Monday at 9:30 a.m. I say unfortunately because that will cut my drinking time in half. Lol. However, I'm excited for this opportunity because they have offices in Chicago and New York and it's potentially a great place to intern or work this summer if I enjoy it enough here. The office is located in a nice part of town here (Convent Gardens) and handles everything from Health, Public Affairs, Consumer products, technology, Web design, Advertising, almost everything. It's a well rounded agency and I think I'll get a great opportunity to delve into a little bit of everything and maybe give my liver a break?
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Shunt
I just got back from probably the most bizarre play I'll ever seen in my life. In London is uber ( I use the word because there is no better term to describe ) trendy to convert places and make interactive shows out of them. Well tonight's play was in abandoned underground tunnels that have been around for years. They are just as you would invision dark, cobblestone, abandoned tunnels to be: eerie as all fuck.
The play is different. It's located within a tube station in London Bridge. You arrive at the abandon tunnel and there is a lady outside with a bunch of keys numbered from 1 to 500. You show her your ticket and she hands you a key with a number on it. First she asks if you are with a group. If you commit the error of saying yes (like I did) she pulls numbers on opposite sides of the spectrum. You walk through the tunnel entrance and it's pitch dark. It's a long stretch of cavernous archs lit from the darkest corners. It's freaky shit. You walk and you have no idea where you are walking and you're completely expecting someone to you pop out and grabbed you and kill you. No joke. You have no idea what you are getting yourself into.
At the end of the tunnel is a posh bar. There are crates around set up like tables, a small bar with a neon SHUNT light lit and a billards table. You stand around for a bit, order drinks if you're so inclined and then finally you are ushered into another tunnel. As you walk in there are these maid, butler people to take your keys and check your coats. As you approach them they have the guys go to one side and the girls to another. You hand them your keys and they give you a card with a person's name on it. They say to you-- you'll be "Tony Montero" tonight. (That's who I was.)
You're then ushered into a lounge area with more creepy maids and butlers serving OLIVES?!? The lounge is decorated like a swingers lounge. There are cushions on the floor, florescent lights and the walls were converted into giant screens that featured buildings. It's suppose to look like you were looking out a penthouse window overlooking a city. So they show the tops of sky scrapers etc. There's a piano, and mood lighting. I decided to sit along side the wall and made it obvious. One of the waitresses came up to me and asked me my name. I said Tony. She said "scout the room for any single or couple that you find attractive. If you can't find one come find me and I'll pick one at my discretion. Now. Do you have any allergies?" I say No. She says "Do you have any back problems?" I say No. She says "Ok. Great take off your clothes and leave them on the floor the maids will be buy to pick them up in a bit." And she walks off. I sit there bewildered as shit and decide to join the rest of people I went with. I went with my class Arts in London.
While you're standing around in this lounge. It reminded me of Eyes Wide Shut. It's a really sketch place that they make you feel you are in some orgy or swingers lounge. The maids are constantly running up to this mike and making random announcements, calling out peoples names, saying we'll start in a bit, telling us to introduce ourselves and mingle. They then start walkign around with giant tubs of petroleum jelly (vaseline) and start randomly putting them around the room. They ask people if they are allergic to latex. It's so fucking weird.
Then a guy storms in through this tiny door with a tarp and says to everyone standing in his way. Move because flood of water will be coming through and you'll get soaked. So people are all moved to one side of the room. Now that I think about it it's probably jsut a way to make everyone focus on the main scene. Over the intercome a voice comes on and says a penthouse of people are about to witness a terrifying act from high above the street. In 4 minutes a power outage will leave the city in darkness. Through the windows of the penthouse strangers will witness a brutal murder. The lights go out.
The maids then run around frantic and yell at us to sit down. Everyone sits down and no one has any idea what's going on. The shades are drawn and this little set is revealed. There almost like mirror images. You see the silhouette of two couples having sex. Then you see them draw the blinds and the two guys crawl out the window with candles. They climb onto this roof top and you're sitting on the floor watching them. Simultaneously they make it to the middle of the roofs where the two houses meet. They light cigarettes and pretend to talk. As they are doing there things their two girlfriends start using the phone. Just then a creepy killer shows up in the dark wearing a pigs head. Freaky. The two bigs end up killing the girls.
The lights go out and the two guys just sit there and stare at the audience. They are peering into "the penthouse window" and see us staring at them. Just then this red phone rings sitting on top of the piano. No one in the audience moves. It keeps ringing until finally a girl stands up and answers it. She listens to what the voice ont he other line says and asks if there is some guy's name in the room. Obviously, another guest with his alias name. He stands up ( a member of the audience) and walks over to the phone. He listens and then before hanging up says "swallows". Almost 15 people in the audience just stand up and walk out of the room through the tiny door. It's bizarre because tehy just do it instinctively. Members of my class just got up and walked out.
I was so confused. Then the lights go out. I'm not going to outline the entire play, but it continues like this the rest of the time. You are ushered into these rooms and you are a part of this ridiculous plot that you have absolutely no idea what's going on. You are lead down random tunnels- phones ring - lights go out - there is full frontal nudity- some humor - murderers - sketchiness - and then.... it's over.
And you have no idea what the fuck you have just been through, but you know it was bizarre as all fuck.
The play is different. It's located within a tube station in London Bridge. You arrive at the abandon tunnel and there is a lady outside with a bunch of keys numbered from 1 to 500. You show her your ticket and she hands you a key with a number on it. First she asks if you are with a group. If you commit the error of saying yes (like I did) she pulls numbers on opposite sides of the spectrum. You walk through the tunnel entrance and it's pitch dark. It's a long stretch of cavernous archs lit from the darkest corners. It's freaky shit. You walk and you have no idea where you are walking and you're completely expecting someone to you pop out and grabbed you and kill you. No joke. You have no idea what you are getting yourself into.
At the end of the tunnel is a posh bar. There are crates around set up like tables, a small bar with a neon SHUNT light lit and a billards table. You stand around for a bit, order drinks if you're so inclined and then finally you are ushered into another tunnel. As you walk in there are these maid, butler people to take your keys and check your coats. As you approach them they have the guys go to one side and the girls to another. You hand them your keys and they give you a card with a person's name on it. They say to you-- you'll be "Tony Montero" tonight. (That's who I was.)
You're then ushered into a lounge area with more creepy maids and butlers serving OLIVES?!? The lounge is decorated like a swingers lounge. There are cushions on the floor, florescent lights and the walls were converted into giant screens that featured buildings. It's suppose to look like you were looking out a penthouse window overlooking a city. So they show the tops of sky scrapers etc. There's a piano, and mood lighting. I decided to sit along side the wall and made it obvious. One of the waitresses came up to me and asked me my name. I said Tony. She said "scout the room for any single or couple that you find attractive. If you can't find one come find me and I'll pick one at my discretion. Now. Do you have any allergies?" I say No. She says "Do you have any back problems?" I say No. She says "Ok. Great take off your clothes and leave them on the floor the maids will be buy to pick them up in a bit." And she walks off. I sit there bewildered as shit and decide to join the rest of people I went with. I went with my class Arts in London.
While you're standing around in this lounge. It reminded me of Eyes Wide Shut. It's a really sketch place that they make you feel you are in some orgy or swingers lounge. The maids are constantly running up to this mike and making random announcements, calling out peoples names, saying we'll start in a bit, telling us to introduce ourselves and mingle. They then start walkign around with giant tubs of petroleum jelly (vaseline) and start randomly putting them around the room. They ask people if they are allergic to latex. It's so fucking weird.
Then a guy storms in through this tiny door with a tarp and says to everyone standing in his way. Move because flood of water will be coming through and you'll get soaked. So people are all moved to one side of the room. Now that I think about it it's probably jsut a way to make everyone focus on the main scene. Over the intercome a voice comes on and says a penthouse of people are about to witness a terrifying act from high above the street. In 4 minutes a power outage will leave the city in darkness. Through the windows of the penthouse strangers will witness a brutal murder. The lights go out.
The maids then run around frantic and yell at us to sit down. Everyone sits down and no one has any idea what's going on. The shades are drawn and this little set is revealed. There almost like mirror images. You see the silhouette of two couples having sex. Then you see them draw the blinds and the two guys crawl out the window with candles. They climb onto this roof top and you're sitting on the floor watching them. Simultaneously they make it to the middle of the roofs where the two houses meet. They light cigarettes and pretend to talk. As they are doing there things their two girlfriends start using the phone. Just then a creepy killer shows up in the dark wearing a pigs head. Freaky. The two bigs end up killing the girls.
The lights go out and the two guys just sit there and stare at the audience. They are peering into "the penthouse window" and see us staring at them. Just then this red phone rings sitting on top of the piano. No one in the audience moves. It keeps ringing until finally a girl stands up and answers it. She listens to what the voice ont he other line says and asks if there is some guy's name in the room. Obviously, another guest with his alias name. He stands up ( a member of the audience) and walks over to the phone. He listens and then before hanging up says "swallows". Almost 15 people in the audience just stand up and walk out of the room through the tiny door. It's bizarre because tehy just do it instinctively. Members of my class just got up and walked out.
I was so confused. Then the lights go out. I'm not going to outline the entire play, but it continues like this the rest of the time. You are ushered into these rooms and you are a part of this ridiculous plot that you have absolutely no idea what's going on. You are lead down random tunnels- phones ring - lights go out - there is full frontal nudity- some humor - murderers - sketchiness - and then.... it's over.
And you have no idea what the fuck you have just been through, but you know it was bizarre as all fuck.
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