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...

Chocolate, Lace, Beer and a Pissing Statue

So as I sit here typing, the cutest dog is jumping up and down, barking and begging for attention. He's just a little bigger than my foot, which he licks if I don't stick my hand down there!! This is Dash... I want to adopt him.

I'm staying with a family friend, Emma, in Brussels right now. Emma used to play tennis with my mom, and she is also the godmother of my freshman year roommate (small world, eh?). She spent the day showing me around the city - tons of chocolate shops and little beer houses. Did I mention waffle houses? Believe it or not, Belgium is also famous for its comics, many of which get immortalized as graffiti.

Yes, she insisted I tried the waffles! I got bananas and chocolate, but it turns out they're good enough to eat plain. The stories are true.

One of the pictures is a Belgian Landmark: the Mannekin Pis. The story goes that in a battle some guy was ballsy enough to stop and pee on the field, so now they celebrate him. Every time a nation comes to visit they change his clothes. I believe Venezuela was the last to dress him.

Here you can also see Emma and I wandering the Grand Place (she's staring away, admiring the architecture).

I loved this street with the flags, it just shows how much of an International City Belgium really is. Though the official language is Dutch, almost everyone speaks English. The country, however, is currently in political turmoil between the French half and the Flemmish half! That's why so many people had Belgian flags hanging from the balconies (you can see one on top of the Atomium).

Tomorrow, Bruges (without the assassins, for anyone who saw the movie...)

A Royal Ginger??

Currently having a debate with my workmates about the royal family.

"Last night Stephen Colbert called the Queen a cross dresser. Isn't that an insult?" James brings this up after his show last night in response to a London tube ad calling South Carolina gay.
"She's actually quite good looking..."

"What will you do when Charles takes over???" I wonder. That'd be awful.
"No damn different than it is now!" Adam says.
"They should just put Harry on the throne." Sacha suggests. "Throw some parties every night, smoke a bit..."
"He's not even Charles' son"
"That's right, they're all Germans, where did a f***in ginger come from???"
"They should get a black kid on the throne." James nobly offers. "With an afro..."

An Italian Mother Wants to Adopt Me

So I just ate a Colomba. That's after the antipasto, the best primo piatti (pasta) ever, il secondo (pork), fruit and wine. The Colomba is our dolce, a traditional Easter dessert that Silvia's genitori saved for her.

Maneeza and I have made our way to the little known island of Sardegna, just north of the mafia-favorite, Sicily. We're staying with my Italian teacher, Silvia, in Cagliari. Yesterday she showed us all around and we had an apperitif on the beach! After our traditional Italian dinner with her parents we started the night.

"If we get there by 1:30, we get in free!" she says. 1:30??? I'm thinking, that's when bars close in Columbia!! We danced at a club on the crystal clear water, and we could see right through to the fish and sand below. Around 5 we made it home. Despite the "typical Italian man" trying to dance on you all the time, I was pleasantly surprised by Italian nightlife. No one was drunk. That could've been because all drinks were €8, or they're just more interested in dancing...

Today we hit the beach! Good thing, because after a summmer in London I stuck out like a sore thumb surrounded by all those bronzed Italians! Silvia drove us around the beautiful coastline before we found a spot to towel down. The water was, again, crystal clear and gorgeous. The men don't wear "trunks" and even the little girls don't wear tops! Everyone is just there in pursuit of relaxation :)

Just a few days in Sardegna have a given me great practice with my Italian! Silvia's parents don't speak English, which "e problema!!" according to her mother, the first thing she said! But I found myself conversing very well with her, and she even said my accent isn't so bad ;) She'd like to keep me around to cook for. Am I starting to think in Italian? Cool.

On our way now to watch Silvia dance with her folk group in traditional Sardegnian costume...

PHOTOS: some of these were taken along the coastline: Silvia talking to Maneeza; we went to a ruin of the old city overlooking the town at sunset: the graffiti says "we love you a lot"

Help! There's a Naked German in My Room!

So there really is a sparsely-dressed German in my room. 4 of them, and they are growing something that smells suspiciously of pickled onions, or really bad sweat. That's hostel life. Eew. The other 2 people are a nice English couple - we've bonded with them!

Day One, from Roma.

Star Spotting

Am currently searching for voiceover artists for our website show-reel. Many of these sites employ pretty serious actors! For a job we did a few weeks ago, we fairly seriously considered Jason Issacs, who played Hook in Peter Pan and Lucius Malfoy in all the Harry Potter movies - I would've gotten to meet him at the recording!! Right now I'm looking at the CV's (resumes) of Harry Potter's dad, Smee from Peter Pan, and men who acted in Gladiator, Elektra, Ali G- Indahouse, The Prince and Me, Hamlet, The Dark Knight and the Bourne Ultimatum! It's difficult not to pick those guys just to get them into the studio - unfortunately none of them quite fit the deep, rich, gravely voice we're looking for....



HAHAHAHA so now I'm looking up freelance motionographers, and I found the guy that did the opening credits for "I Love New York!" How fun. He also worked with Rachael Ray, so I guess he balances out...

There CAN Be Too Much Luxury...

So we just got back from a lovely afternoon at Windsor Castle. Unfortunately the Royal Family was not there relaxing this weekend, but that meant that we got to explore the State Apartment and more of the castle!

We wandered around with our personal audio guides, exploring the gardens and "moat" for a short time, but the real treat was Queen Mary's dollhouse. This was given to her as gift when she was grown up. It's huge! It includes a vacuum cleaner, complete electricity, and miniature crown jewels!!

The State Apartment took up most of the time. Lots of rooms with lots of paintings. Pretty impressive. We also got to see Henry VIII's tomb (at least where his ashes are). They put them in a chapel. Seems unfitting.

Today was a horrible day for travel, as it turns out. Not only were two of the major tube lines near us already closed, but as we were leaving our train into Windsor closed for "emergency engineering." We had to sneak onto a different train back to London, then we heard that a 3rd tube line was partially closed because "someone was under a train." They actually said that very nonchalantly.

What a Struggle...

So I've been capturing all day for an anti-knife crime video we're working on for a new client. What a terrible job I have, to flip through South Park and Little Miss Sunshine and footage of David Beckham...

This Is How You Make a Haircut Interesting...

So I went to Toni & Guy after work today (Soho is, after all, the Cultural and Gay center of London). I needed something a little darker. I have to say, here in the salon is where I experienced perhaps the most exciting thing so far. The massage chair. It's great enough when they wash your hair - with their magic hands. But when you lay their and get a back massage at the same time? Magic.

Now sometimes I feel chatty with the hairdresser. Today, however, was a magazine day. So we hadn't spoken much the whole time, and suddenly, near the end, he apologizes for being grumpy - the guy he had a date with tonight just called to cancel...

Poor guy. Tried to cheer him up. He could always veg out in the massage chair if he doesn't find anything to do...

We're on the Web

At work now. At the end of Lucha Libre the other night, some drunk revellers stormed the ring. Shows what happens when you give someone tequila and a mask! They jumped in the ring and started fighting each other, climbing the sides and jumping down. Security tried to wrestle them away, but as you'll see, they got attacked! Even after security removed them, other fans jumped back in the ring.

Tom recorded the fun on his phone (we are a digital company, come on now) and it's on YouTube. Type in Lucha Libre crowd takedown - this will make your day!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKim-dsmzB8

Cheerio.

Camden... Like South Dallas and East St. Louis

So tonight I celebrated the Fourth of July with Cinco de Mexican Wrestling! Just Kidding.

We had an official work outing tonight at Lucha Lubre - Mexican Wrestling. It was in Camden. I've heard lots about Camden - it's where Amy Winehouse lives and it's where all the stabbings are (knife crime is all the rampage here right now). When I got there it was this huge, really cool hippie market though, so apparently my flatmate is just nose-high full of crap.

However, when we were standing in the street at the ATM, a man walked by and slapped me on the butt! I turned around and gave him a dirty look but that just egged him on and he gave me a nasty smile. That's Camden...

We started out at a little Cuban bar with margaritas. Definitely smelled pot, and we weren't even in Amsterdam.

We walked down to the Roundhouse (where the event was) and I ate my first official London kebabs at a little place across the street!! They're not like American "kebobs" - it comes from the same term though.. meat on a stick. Kebab in Britain is like the big hunks on meat swirling around on a stick and they slick chucks off to put in a pita with veggies and sauce and whatnot. In America we've just simplified it by cutting it up into little pieces before putting it onto the stick. Interesting...

We had RINGSIDE tickets. They started off with the little people wrestlers. Did you know there is a difference between dwarfs and little people?? Look it up! (I've learned many things here. That, in addition to the fact that jumper=sweater and pants=underwear. Have made mistakes.) We bought masks to join the fun. Afterwards we headed to club Koko, had some drinks, put on the masks for awhile there as well. Why not...?

The pictures, by the way, are of the transvestite little person wrestler, regular little wrester, and my coworkers wearing the masks :)