Last Days Across the Pond

Here are some random shots from my last days in London.

Here are some pictures from my office at Whitecoat. I've mentioned all the movie memorabilia, the light sabers and 800 strong DVD collection. The ET and R2D2 were impulse purchases by my boss. The other image is the view from my desk :)

Here is the cake that my coworkers bought for me on my last day, or at least what's left of it. It's the best chocolate cake I've ever had!!! We tore through it.

And finally, after an entire summer in the city, I saw my exact dream car. Olive green Mini with a soft top. Beautiful :)

This is the Crispy Duck... named after the London specialty of Chinatown. My coworkers introduced me to it - needless to say, I've never been the same. It's little pieces of fried duck that you eat with thin tortillas, onions, cucumbers and ginger sauce. Delicious.

I Never Thought a Man Could Wear a Jumper

I can't believe I haven't done this yet: teach yall about all of the weird things English people say! I know I'm forgetting things... I've learned lots from my work friends, particularly when they make fun of me.

Pants: Trousers
Underwear: Pants
Cab: Taxi
Sweater: Jumper
Soccer: Football
Football: American Football
Fries: Chips
Chips: Crisps
Cookies: Biscuits
Weird: Dodgy
Trash Can: bin
Crap!!: Rubbish! / Bollocks!
Tank Top: Vest
Cash Register: Till
Elevator: Lift
Z: Zed
Jerk: Wanker
Bangs: Fringe
Line: Queue
Would like to: is keen to
Great: brilliant
Bathroom: Loo/Toilet
Apartment: Flat
Tennis Shoes: Sneakers
TV: Telly
Cigarette: Fag
Leave: Pop out
Cell Phone: Mobile
Friend: Mate
Whore: Tart
Priest: Vicar
Goodbye: Cheers

"Working" Late

It's 9:30, and I'm returning to the office after a 12 hour day. This is the second time I've come back late — the other night we all came back here at 3am after a £200 meal in Chinatown and a midnight showing of Dark Knight. Today was the big Intel show! Basically lying to journalists about how we didn't completely produce this film on the Macs at our office...


On another note. James said he would offer me a job if I weren't going back to the States. Damn. This situation actually really sucks, because I love the people I work with. I wish I could take these guys back with me to America and do what I love! That would be a good deal. Sweet. Plus everyone would love their accents. And all their toys.

My being here has been called "pronoia" - the feeling in the back of your mind that something is going right!

Here's the Stuff I Forgot...

It's not that I necessarily forgot any of this stuff, it's just that I've been very selective about posting pictures, as our internet is reeally slow! Here's some of the things you haven't seen this summer...


Two great pictures from Italy. This graffiti says "Life is just the beginning of our immortality." This was a pretty sunset as we were strolling around Cagliari.

This painting at the Tate Britain really struck me. It's like a businessman hanging on the cross, with buildings burning in the back. Could be interpreted many ways...

I love this picture of my mom from when we were in Geneva. She's going to hate it. Very unexpected, and check out the fog in the back! What is a Master of Complications? Who knows, they have them in Geneva.

We passed by Frying Pan Alley on our Jack the Ripper tour (another favorite!). Does the name suggest the method of killing?

The lovely sex shops of Soho... what a fun place to work. Also down the street... the Scientology Center!!!

Some of the amazing architecture in Barcelona, as well as the crazy street dancers. That's gotta hurt your head!

Here is beautiful Hever Castle (probably my favorite UK spot of the summer!), view from the garden. Hever, remember, is where the Boleyns grew up!

Okay, this sign looks something you'd see outside a pedophile's house. It's like going up to a shady van that says "FREE CANDY!" Just kidding, these signs are everywhere, alerting that you can top up your mobiles, but the crossed fingers? Weird.

Hmm. This sign for home killed meet is supposed to be enticing, is it?

Seriously? I still can't get used to having a bar on campus. It's like, finish class, have a beer before (or instead of) the next one! Everyday the courtyard was full of kids drinking.

This pub in Covent Garden is called "Nag's Head." I imagine all of you Hanley's will get a good laugh out of that.

Here you can see Michelle with a bag of chips...erm, "crisps," bigger than she is.

Maybe I Could Be a Party Planner!

So we're working like crazy on this Intel job right now. Everyone keeps throwing us different information, i.e., "Oh, we thought YOU were in charge of providing £6000 worth of software!!" We've got 4 brand laptops with a brand new, never realized Intel chip in them (we've discussed selling them on E-Bay. These PCs are driving us mad though... as one is randomly installing some program in Spanish. Iniziando!

This morning there was a solar eclipse! The total eclipse of the sun could only be seen in Russia and China, but some of it could be seen here. Pretty cool, eh?

What's That Orange Smell? One of My 5 a Day!

So I finally got up the nerve to chat with my boss about how I'm doing. I asked how he thought things were going and later told him I can't read him. He agreed that he gets a little wrapped up in projects but said he thinks I'm doing excellent. They're giving me more responsibility on this Intel job we're working on right now.

This, by the way, is kind of like events planning, which is kind of fun but super stressful. I've been on the phone and emailing all day trying to figure out this event for Tuesday. We're only a lowly post-production house! Sheesh!

A Man on the Train Called Me 'Madame'

I'm wearing horribly smelly bowling shoes. I'm also eating chips and salsa (first of the summer) and drinking beer as I bowl with a bunch of kids! Emma has a group of Latina friends here in Belgium, and all the couples are here today with their kids. It's hard core Spanish emersion... everything I used to know so well forgotten and everytime I try to speak it comes out as Italian. I did manage to say, however, "Estoy bien" rather than "sto bene." Frickin romance languages.

Bruges was beautiful. Per the movie, I avoided climbing the clock tower, though we did look at it. We just meandering the beautiful streets and looked at the steepled buildings. By now I've seen lots of churches in Europe, but I have a new favorite. It's so tiny you almost miss it! Ornate gold every where, and they even supposedly have the blood of Christ there.

This weekend was luxury. The bathroom I had to myself was bigger than the entire bedroom I've been staying in all summer. I also didn't share with 5 other girls...