Seeing Things With People

                So this was a busy week for me. In addition to it being my second week of full-time work, I actually had stuff to do. First up was Antony and Cleopatra on Tuesday night. After enjoying seeing Julius Caesar last month with Britbound, I figured this was a safe (and relatively inexpensive) bet. We were set to meet at 6:45pm and I worked until 5:00pm, so there was no point or time going home. But I also had very limited money. I took the bus to London Bridge and grabbed a bite to eat at Nando’s, where I had accumulated enough points to get a free half chicken. I read my book and ate chicken like a loner and still had forty-five minutes to kill.

                We were set to meet at The Anchor, so I popped in and grabbed a glass of wine and kept reading until it was time. Here’s the problem with meeting places: you don’t know anybody so when the one person you do know shows up (the Britbound host) you realize that all of you have been sitting a few people away from one another, completely oblivious. Once Marie-Clare gathered the group together we made random smalltalk before heading to The Globe. There were no huge Shakespeare buffs there besides me but it was an impressive group. It takes a certain kind of person to not really like Shakespeare but want to see one of his plays, and Antony and Cleopatra is hardly one of the better-known ones.

                In some ways this group was better than the last one, while in other ways they weren’t. Really, it was just because at the last one I met a girl from Canada, Mina, and she and I spent the whole night together talking and whatnot. So there was nobody this time that I got along with that well, but at least they all stuck together. Part of the reason I got to know Mina so well last time was because everyone basically split up and she was the only person still around. This time, everyone did a good job of keeping together. They were also a pretty friendly group, unlike last time. So it’s hard to say which I preferred. It definitely didn’t turn me off going to more events like this.

                I was a little nervous about seeing Antony and Cleopatra, especially since Julius Caesar was just phenomenal. In a way, it would have been better to see this one first, because there would not have been so high a bar set. But I knew this and I was pleasantly surprised. It didn’t match Caesar but it did a very good job trying. The combination of humor and drama was excellent and the cast were all quite good. I always love their dances which come out of nowhere (like when the men are drunk on a boat). They add such a unique feeling to the play. The actress who played Cleopatra was quite good. She looked so much like Gemma Teller from Sons of Anarchy and reminded me of her, too, which was actually really appropriate in a way. I don’t think it was a deliberate choice, but that would have been cool.

                After the show was over I high-tailed out of there because I had to work in the morning, and I’m still not used to consistently getting up at 7am every day. Wednesday was a normal day and then Thursday I did yet another thing! This is unusual for me. I usually do stuff once every two weeks, not twice in one week! I’m trying to get out more, so this is a good start. Up Thursday night was movie night with Sarah. There’s a summer cinema set up in Regent’s Place Plaza that shows two or three movies a week for free. I’d heard of it because people were talking about a screening of Cool Runnings they were doing on Saturday. That’s what Sarah and I were going to see initially, but her work schedule changed so we couldn’t. However, I noticed on Thursday they were showing one of the greatest movies of all time: Clueluess. I know, I know, Sarah and I have both seen Clueless at least a million times. Whatever, that movie is great. And it got us out of the house.

                Thursday happened to be Sarah’s day off which is why it worked out so well. And the night thing was the screening began at 6:30, so it wasn’t going to be a late night for me. And it was FREE! I met Sarah after work and we walked to the plaza, which was really nice. I’m a sucker for attractive concrete parks with no actual green space. It was a really nice setup. The entire area had lots of concrete steps that I assume businesspeople eat lunch on. Sarah and I sat on one of those really close to the screen. Had we been earlier we may have been able to snag one of the fifty or so beach chairs they had set up or the dozen bean bags. Oh well, at least we weren’t sitting on the concrete floor, like we thought we would be. Clueless was excellent, as per usual. We were both really glad we had gone. It put us in an excellent mood for the rest of the day. Summer isn’t over yet, hopefully I can make it to another one of these.

Movin' on Up?

                So Thursday last week was a BAD DAY. If you ever decide to pick up everything and move away from everyone and everything you know, you will have many BAD DAYS. I definitely have in the last three months. I mean, everybody keeps living their lives without you, your pets die (which you will never get over, by the way), and then there’s the whole money thing. Oh, the money thing. Being an adult is so hard. Nobody ever tells you that. Well, they do, but you don’t listen. Because you’re taught from everyone from people older than you to your school that you will be successful right away. Guess what? Not the case. Especially when you move to a new country. In Canada, you go to school and then you get a job. That’s how it works. But the UK places emphasis on work experience, not your education. I may have spent 5.5 years in university. I could re-enact the Cold War and have the Soviet Union win. Hell, I could probably have found Bin Laden. But as far as England is concerned, no work experience means no job. It’s been a stressful few months. I’ve had to do work I’ve never wanted to do. I made it twenty-three years without doing such work. But you can’ just sit around doing nothing.

                At the beginning of this month I registered with an agency that specializes in providing admin and reception work. Not great, but not hospitality at least. The interview went well (because I give good interview) and I was super optimistic. They implied that I’d be working every once and awhile, but for a week or two at a time, so I planned on using that money for rent and expenses and my money with my current job (which I would do evenings and weekends) for fun money. As with most things in life, it didn’t pan out like that. I didn’t hear one word from them, even when I tried to contact them. I pretty much gave up all hope and continued my fruitless job hunt.

                The last two weeks were hard. Really hard. I had shifts cancelled left and right. I was always waiting until the last moment before I’d be confirmed for work. I could only depend on one of the operations managers (a perk is being ‘favorited’ by a company or manager so that you can see those shifts and think ‘at least I’m guaranteed some hours this week’). It’s just not fun. You’re looking at your bank account multiple times a day, trying to calculate what you need to get you to the next payday, where most of your money will inevitably go to bills before you even hit Monday. I’d had several stressful days over the last couple weeks, usually caused by cancelled shifts. But on Thursday, it was because I was realizing I was about to get back-to-back tiny paychecks. And you can’t pay rent on tiny paychecks. You can’t save tiny paychecks. I had all these high expectations for myself and I felt like I was falling short on every one. So on Thursday, my mother told me if things didn’t get more regular I may have to come back to Calgary. I would hate that. I would feel like a failure. So just the mention of it got me even more upset. I had to go to work and I was still all emotional the entire way there.

                Then, something crazy happened. I was waiting with my co-workers outside the venue when my phone went off. It was someone from this agency I’d interviewed with a month ago. She told me she was recruiting for a position. It pays more and it’s full-time hours. Unfortunately, it’s also something called ‘temp-to-perm’, which basically means I work week-to-week and maybe one day they’ll offer me a permanent contract. But it’s definitely better than what I’ve been doing and is at least more secure for the time being. The recruiter called back awhile later to tell me they wanted me, and that I would start Monday. This could not have come at a better time, truly. Funny how things work out that way.

                So today I started this job. I was nervous. I barely slept last night. Sarah and I tried to have a relaxing evening yesterday watching Gossip Girl and not thinking about it but it was unavoidable. I had no idea what to expect. It wasn’t like I’d had an interview or anything. I had Googled the company, because that’s what you’re supposed to do, but that doesn’t tell you if the people are going to be nice, or if it’s hard work. I tried to go to bed early but I didn’t fall asleep until at least 1:30am. From there I woke up every hour and tossed and turned all night. I had to be there for 9:30am (usually 9am but because it was my first day I was meant to start later so they’d be set up and ready to go for the day) so I woke up at 6:50am because I overbudget for travel time. I slept in an extra ten minutes and I was still ready to go thirty minutes early. Which I actually liked. I was able to watch some TV and calm myself down a bit before heading out. The night before I went from being fine to getting more and more nervous the later it got. This morning I was nervous but also excited. This was to be my first office job. My first job without a uniform. A totally new experience.

                I arrived at the location half an hour early, as I’d planned. I waited outside the entrance for a bit. I noticed people had to enter a code to get through the gate. At which point, of course, your brain goes ‘oh, crap.’ I had no clue where I was supposed to go so I snuck in behind some people only to find myself in a courtyard with still no idea where to go. I saw a stairwell that people were using keycards to get up. I had no idea what else to do so I called the company. So awkward. Turns out I went through the wrong entrance and one of the employees came out to rescue me. Fortunately, the guy at the desk next to me apparently did the same thing his first day. It’s a logical mistake to make…Screw you, Google Maps.

                The training went fairly well I think and everyone seemed really nice. They all know each other better than they know me, but that’s to be expected. They were still very friendly. I found out most of them started as temps before moving into a permanent position at this company so that bodes well, fingers crossed. It’s weird, working in an office for the first time. I have a desk and a computer. There’s a kitchen. Like, an actual kitchen. With not just a freezer and a microwave but an oven. People literally cook themselves chicken up there for lunch. There’s also a staff room with a TV and books and a guitar (!!!). And you get a lunch break. That lasts an hour. What is this nonsense? I don’t think I’ve ever had an actual lunchbreak. It’s always been more like ‘go cram food down your throat while you have a chance’. And the job is 9:00am to 5:00pm. Like real people! I might actually be able to go out and do stuff!

                I was back home by 6:15pm. It was crazy. Sarah and I went to the library so I could pick up some more books. Then I made us gnocchi for dinner and we sat on the floor (we still don’t have furniture) and watched – you guessed it – Gossip Girl. I actually felt like an adult today. I’m not out of the woods yet, by any means. My current job is by no means assured. I’m still going to be a hobo for at least the next three weeks.  But it’s something and it came along right when I needed something to make me feel better about my life choices. We’ll see how I adjust to this new development.

In Da Club

                On Friday the stars aligned and Sarah and I both had the night off. I had worked a day shift (so rare for me) and Sarah’s night shift, unfortunately for her, got cancelled. I got back around 7pm and we had some pizza and watched Gossip Girl for awhile. As per usual, the characters on Gossip Girl went to a nightclub. I mentioned how I wanted to go dancing and Sarah agreed. There’s a really popular club, Faces, five minutes away. So we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to go.

                Have you ever noticed that when you have to get ready for work or something it takes an hour? But when you decide to suddenly go clubbing you’re dressed, made up and out the door twenty minutes later? Weird how that happens. We headed to the club where there was already a line at 10pm. And all the girls were gorgeous, dressed to the nines. Part of me is shocked we even got in. It’s not like Calgary: even the bouncers were wearing suits and bowties. It also turned out to be ladies night so we got in for free! Note to selves: if going to Faces, go on Friday.

                The club didn’t live up to my expectations originally. This is one of the most well-known clubs outside of Central London. In Calgary I went out all the time but I haven’t been to a nightclub in London since I moved here. And you walk in and there’s literally two bars, a huge VIP area you can’t even get into, and the tiniest little dance floor. It was underwhelming. But then, around 10:30pm, the walls opened up to reveal a much bigger area!

                The music wasn’t great. It was a lot of dance and house music, and then switched to rap. I can get down with rap (they played Niggas In Paris which is like the greatest song of all time and everyone knew all the words and it was awesome) but at clubs I tend to prefer Top 40 and classic pop hits and stuff. Singing along while dancing is really fun. Don’t ruin that for me, Faces! So the music isn’t as good as Calgary. But the décor? Absolutely. Calgary’s clubs basically look like a plain box with some lights and bars set up. Faces is really swanky looking. Overall it seems like a pretty decent club. It’s surprisingly cheap and looks beautiful.  I just don’t like the music. But the important thing is IT’S ONLY FIVE MINUTES AWAY. So once we got bored/Sarah had to work really early we just left. No $40 cab ride, no night bus adventure. Walked home and were back by 1am.

                And now I’ve got the club itch out of my system. At least for a little while.

Nerding Out

                So I took Friday and Sunday off, initially in the hopes of attending Wireless Festival. That didn’t work out, of course, but I kept those days free because I really, really needed a break. Friday was a pyjama day. I literally did not leave the flat. It was great. I got some serious TV watching done. I did work for almost nine hours Saturday, but Sunday brought with it another day off. Unfortunately, Sarah was working. But my friend decided to come up to London for the day and keep me company.

                We met at London Bridge at lunchtime and headed to Nando’s. Obviously. We had the strangest waiter who was really nice but wouldn’t stop talking to me about Canada and Nando’s and random stuff. It was really funny. From there we walked to the Tower of London. There must have been five million marathons going on because everyone seemed to be wearing a t-shirt supporting some cause or another. We had also forgotten that it was a Sunday. In July. There were a lot of tourists around the Tower of London (especially Tower Bridge) but surprisingly less than anticipated in the actual tower. Of course, because of my super awesome Historic Royal Palaces membership card I got in for free.

                We walked around the tower for a bit while I basically gave a guided tour because I’m a huge dork and spend way too much time there. We couldn’t see the crown jewels or the torture exhibit because there were huge lines. Because everyone loves diamonds and violence, I guess. We did take a Beefeater tour because you can’t go to the tower without taking one. It was hilarious, as per usual. I actually learned some things I didn’t already know, like about the tower’s architecture. That’s what I enjoy about the Tower of London: I learn something new every time I visit.

                After the tower we grabbed a few drinks at Wetherspoon’s before going our separate ways. When Sarah got back she and I watched Gossip Girl, as per tradition. I really don’t know what we’re going to do once we’ve finished the show. Our lives will be empty.

                On Monday I worked, but I had a day shift, which was unusual. I’d been meaning to go to an event hosted by Britbound for awhile, but they either didn’t interest me on days I had free or I had to work during social events that I did think I would enjoy. As it so happened, the stars aligned and I got my work schedule early enough to realize that I could go see Julius Caesar at The Globe. They took care of the booking fee so tickets were only £5. I was a little nervous before going, because I was going by myself and I wouldn’t know anyone and how would I find them? My brain was going crazy.

                I received an email saying to meet at a pub called The Anchor at 6:45pm. I knew there weren’t very many people going but I wasn’t really sure what to look out for. Fortunately, Marie-Clare, the Britbound employee who organized the event, arrived in a jumper with the company’s logo on it. I walked over and started discussing Shakespeare with them, because obviously we all had that in common. She had to leave and head to the theater early to make sure there wasn’t anyone waiting there, but did tell me if I was ever thinking of going to another play to let her know because she’d like to come. I really liked that. It’s cool when you don’t know many people that everyone is willing to just do stuff.

                While I was sitting around I met this Canadian girl named Mina and we talked for awhile. I didn’t talk at all to the other people going. Mina and I headed to The Globe together and I’m glad we did because we never found the other people from our group. We were ‘groundlings’ which meant standing. I had stood for a performance once before, several years ago, and it was a struggle. To be fair, Henry VIII isn’t exactly the most exciting play. I figured that now I’m more used to standing for long periods of time, maybe I could do it. Would I have preferred a seat? Yes, who wouldn’t want to sit down? But did I survive standing? Yes.

                It was a sold out performance so it was pretty crowded, but we were back enough that we had a good view of the stage. The actors are also always coming in and out of the audience which was a funny way to get jostled around during the show. Julius Caesar actually means a lot to me, even though it isn’t one of my favorites. That’s because it was the first Shakespeare play I ever read, when I was eleven (I was a weird kid, alright?). It was the play that started it all and I’d never seen it performed on stage or as a film.

                I have seen many a Shakespeare play performed on stage during my time. I have to say, this may actually be the best one I’ve ever seen. Julius Caesar isn’t exactly riveting and it really depends on the acting and the actors did not disappoint. The actors playing Cassius and Mark Antony were excellent but the real star was Brutus. He looked and acted the part, and Brutus isn’t exactly the easiest role to play. They also used vocal harmonies in a really unique and interesting way and the dance they do at the play’s end (because back in Shakespeare’s day they had to get all the dead people off the ground to prove they weren’t dead and so people would tell their friends it was good rather than super sad) was hilarious! It was traditional Renaissance stuff but they kept adding modern moves. I swear I saw some twerking in there.

                Overall it was an excellent evening and definitely makes me want to attend more Britbound events in the future. I’m starting to settle in and relax more. There’s no point living in London if I’m not doing cool stuff when I get the chance. And what a perfect way to start actually getting out and doing these social events than a Shakespeare play?  

Throw Me Down in the Lazaretto

                As you can probably tell from the lack of posting anything for the last little while, I’ve been quite busy. I’ve only had two days off work in the last two weeks. I’ve taken today (Friday) and Sunday off. I thought about taking yesterday (Thursday) off as well but ended up working in the afternoon. Why? Because there are three concerts occurring this weekend that I would kill to see. Realistically, however, I was never going to afford to go to all three of them. I did, however, end up making it to one of them and I’m really glad I did because I definitely would have regretted this particular concert.

                I love concerts, as anyone who knows me is aware of, but it’s been awhile since I saw somebody in concert I haven’t seen before, the last being Taylor Swift last June but I don’t count her because I went to see Ed Sheeran. Twice. So let’s say Mumford & Sons in May was the last band I saw for the first time. Of course, this weekend in London, there were three people I hadn’t seen live! On Thursday the absolutely amazing guitarist Jack White (from The White Stripes, if you don’t know) was playing the Hammersmith Apollo. On Friday, Kanye West was headlining Wireless Festival, and Bruno Mars was headlining Sunday. Let it never be said I have a specific taste in music.

                I was planning on doing my Stubhub trick like I’d done with One Direction, but these concerts were very popular and ticket prices did not drop like I was hoping. Earlier this week I began to accept the fact I probably wouldn’t be seeing any of the shows, but there was this nagging feeling. It wasn’t for Kanye West, whose music I love but is a complete tool, or Bruno Mars, who I was hoping to see to make up for last year’s concert being cancelled. It was Jack White. I have loved him since The White Stripes. I love his solo stuff even more. And he’s so eccentric you never know when he might suddenly retire. As it got closer to Thursday and I watched the number of tickets available on Stubhub drop and drop, I got more and more disappointed.

                After work on Thursday, there were only two tickets left and they were expensive. And then a lot of stuff came together. First, I made it to the bank in time (like, they literally stayed open an extra two minutes to help me – thank you so much Gants Hill branch of Lloyd’s!) to put money on my account, just in case a ticket became available. And then, the venue itself, Eventim Apollo, released one ticket. It was the purchase price. Not as cheap as I wanted, but not as expensive as Stubhub. I wouldn’t have to go to Oxford Circus to get the ticket; I could pick it up directly from the venue. I had to do it.

                As soon as I had the ticket confirmation, I was so relieved. I really don’t care if I see Kanye or Bruno Mars. But Jack White… I respect him so much as a musician. I would have regretted not seeing him, especially in a venue like the Apollo (for you Calgary people, think of it like the Jubilee: beautiful building, great acoustics, big show yet intimate). I had gotten dressed before buying a ticket, just in case, so I was able to run right out the door. It was funny being at the Apollo, because when I work outside of London that is always the meeting point. I am very well-acquainted with the front steps. It was a much different scene that day, though, because there were hundreds of people lined up, waiting for the doors to open at 7:00pm. I got my ticket from the box office and joined the line.

                Yes, I went to this concert alone. My friend Alessia wanted to come, but only if tickets were £30. This morning, when tickets were not that cheap, I let her know. Maybe another time. This is hardly my first time alone at a concert. I’ve seen Ed Sheeran and Paul McCartney alone, so I’m used to this. You’re listening to the music, anyway. Inside the venue is quite nice. It probably only holds about 2000-3000 people and there’s literally couches surrounding the entire upper bar area. The seats inside are nice. Think theater, not concert venue. There’s not a bad seat in the house, which I always love. Apparently Jack White does too because at one point in the show he talked about how he just came from Glastonbury and it was nice playing a show where the audience wasn’t a thousand feet away.

                I have no idea who the opening band was. Probably someone from his record label, Third Man Records. I can’t decide if I liked them or not. They were kind of like The Sex Pistols meets folk rock. It was weird. Jack White came on right on 9:00pm with Sixteen Saltines and played for two hours. It was not the greatest concert I’ve ever been to (that honor is a toss-up between Paul McCartney and Mumford & Sons) but he is, without a doubt, the best guitarist I’ve ever seen. He combines his insane guitar sound with drums, bass, keyboard and violins to make the most interesting and unique sound. He played many songs, including some of his White Stripes and Raconteurs hits. He did, however, miss out on some of my favorite songs, like Freedom at 21 and I’m Shakin. There’s some White Stripes stuff I would have liked to hear, too, but, as I have mentioned, I am actually a bigger fan of his solo albums. His performance got more and more passionate the further into the show. The 45 minute encore was just non-stop energy, finishing with Steady as she Goes and Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground. But what I loved the most (see what I did there?) was that my favorite song of his, Love Interruption, was actually the best song in the concert, too. It’s not often that my favorite song is also the best live, so that was nice.

                After the show I was waiting for some of the people to get on the tube because I hate crowded transport when I realized I was standing near where the band would be leaving. I was unable to resist waiting with people. I met the drummer, some comedian who plays with Kasabian, and model Cara Delevigne. I never saw Jack White, because I really needed to make the last train, which left at 12:19AM. I have no clue if he ever came out and I don’t want to know. I’ve learned there’s nothing scarier than being in Hammersmith and hearing the train station broadcast ‘this is the last train to Central London’. Close call.

                So yeah, it was a great concert and I’m glad I went. I would have been kicking myself forever. Hopefully I will get the chance to see him again. As for Kanye West and Bruno Mars?  You can’t have everything. They’ll be back, I’m sure.

Monday Night in Shoreditch and Adventres on the Night Bus

The unfortunate reality of my job means sometimes shifts will get cancelled last minute, and that was the case Monday. Sarah got the notice Sunday night and was able to find herself some work during the day Monday. I didn’t find out my shift was cancelled until almost noon on Monday, so I had an unexpected day off. To make up for this I got myself a shift for Friday (which originally I had off). But this still meant I had a problem: I was going to have to sit around all day in a flat with no internet. The horror. I had no movies on my computer besides the Back to the Future trilogy and Ted and only four episodes of The Kennedy’s. I got through a significant amount of these Monday before eventually losing my mind and text-begging Sarah to go somewhere with me that night.

                We decided to head to Shoreditch but, in an attempt to spice things up a bit, I went on Britbound’s Facebook page and asked anyone if they wanted to join us. I’ve seen lots of people do similar things on the page to varying degrees of success. I got one person who had just come to London who wanted to join us. So we met up with David, an Australian, at Liverpool Street station and began wandering around Shoreditch, in particular, Brick Lane. We walked from one end to the other before eventually settling in at a cool little bar called The Verge. We hung out there drinking and talking until it closed at midnight. I was talking to all the bar staff and we got some free stuff because we were basically the only people there. I met the owner at one point and it turned out he was from Canada! Calgary, actually. Small world. I will definitely return to this bar at some point. It’s actually really easy for Sarah and I to get to Shoreditch.

                After The Verge, despite it being midnight and a Monday, we decided to go down to Shoreditch High Street and try to find another bar. We were kind of successful. First, we found a place that only served expensive cocktails. Nope. But Sarah and I did get discount entry tickets for some nightclub around the corner we may or may not use at a later date. The second bar was too full. Finally, at the third bar, we found a table and stayed for another drink. It closed at 1:00am and we went our separate ways. And then the night bus adventure began.

                Sarah and I probably should have actually checked where we were supposed to get the bus, in hindsight, but we thought we had gone the right way. And I swear the bus was at least the right number, even if it was going the wrong direction. But we really thought we were on the correct bus until it terminated at Tottenham Court Road. Thinking the best way to get on a bus that wasn’t terminating was to walk back the way we came, we did just that. Except none of the bus stops had our bus listed. Turns out we were walking on a completely random road. In the wrong direction. By the time we found the bus it was 2:00am and we had basically gotten to its departure point at Oxford Circus. So it took us an hour to get home, and we drove past allllll the places we had walked by. Oops. Well at least we now know the night bus.

Side Note: The night bus was freakishly busy. It’s 2:00am on a Monday, people. What are you doing up?  

Move In Day!

So after much stress and frustration we finally got approved for our flat. We could move in basically anytime but figured it would be best to just wait until I got back from France. Before, however, we went in to sign the tenancy agreement and do a walkthrough. We met them Wednesday morning at 10am. It was the man who had shown us the flat and the landlord himself. They are both very nice and that’s who we will be dealing with for any issues we have, which is good.

                First, they walked us through the flat, taking inventory of all the furniture and any damage that is already in place. We get a copy too. Then they showed us the boiler and gas and water meters. They were very helpful with our questions. It didn’t take as long as we expected; only about forty-five minutes. Sarah had to work that afternoon so she left shortly thereafter, but I was going to show the place to my parents so I waited around. We weren’t moving our suitcases or anything until Sunday but we did bring over some of the household stuff we’d bought, so I spent the time waiting for my parents setting that up. It wasn’t much: some toilet paper, dish soap, garbage bags, etc. But it was less we would have to do Sunday. I also brought over the sheets I had bought and the blanket and housecoat my parents had brought over. So I made my bed and put a few things in my closet. It already felt more homey after getting my sheets and pillows in order. And my Batman blanket on the bed.

                Also while waiting for my parents I ordered our internet connection. I’ve never done it before. We literally chose our provider, Talk Talk because we had seen their advertisements on the tube. See, Mad Men? It does work! Also Sandra and Imogen use them, so we knew how well it worked. We didn’t bother ordering TV or landline, just simple broadband internet. Unfortunately, it will take until Wednesday to get it live, which means we are going to be internet-less for the first few days. At least we have our phones. It seems to be the cheapest provider, which is good. We don’t need anything fancy. Just a way to get our emails and watch Netflix.

                I went to the tube station to get my parents and show them around. I think they liked it but I can’t be sure. Then we left and I wouldn’t return until Sunday. Sarah booked us a minicab while I was in France. It was going to pick us up at 1pm. She had stressed that we had a lot of stuff (seriously, it’s like it multiplied over two months) and they came in a van. Yay. Then we drove to our new place. We dragged all our stuff upstairs and began unpacking. Sandra gave us a lovely moving out present: a much-needed iron. It was so nice of her and something Sarah would end up needing the very next morning.

                Sandra came by around 4:30pm to see the place. I had finished unpacking all my stuff. I showed her around and then she and I left to go walk around the neighborhood. There is so much here! There’s dozens of restaurants, several bakeries, three grocery stores, several pubs, a nightclub, a few lounges, a dry cleaners, and more! It’s very well serviced, by the look of it. Sandra was impressed with the fact that it had a lot of houses, which apparently typically has less crime. She also found that it was very multicultural, instead of there being one dominant culture. All signs point to us having chose well. She left after our walk and me and Sarah headed to Sainsbury’s to buy a few things. She finished unpacking and then we christened the flat in the only way we know how: with red wine, pizza and One Direction. We ordered pizza from the Domino’s around the corner and drank our wine out of one of our going away presents (it’s a wine glass that holds an entire bottle that says ‘finally, a wine glass that fits my needs!’). And we had One Direction night, of course. We watched their documentary, This Is Us, first (we watched their performance of Teenage Dirtbag four times because we have problems) followed by their concert DVD. We are already the worst neighbors ever (they better get used to our monthly One Direction nights) but it was an excellent and very fitting first evening in our new flat.  

Nice is Nice

My dad left on Thursday to go golfing in Scotland and Ireland for ten days or something. My mom isn’t the biggest London fan (she’s a bit better now that she’s realized it can be sunny on occasion) so before coming she had debated whether to stay in London for a few extra days or if she and I should go on holiday. After getting my current job, which has flexible hours, I was able to go away with her. We had looked at deals offered on sites like Groupon before settling on British Airways. They can be expensive but they also have a thing called Last Minute Deals, where you have to go away that month but it can be really really cheap. Then it was a matter of choosing a location: there were deals everywhere from Barcelona to Copenhagen. Ultimately we chose Nice, in the French Riviera. Ironically, almost a year ago I had suggested Nice to her in passing.

                I had to wake up really early to get to Gatwick Airport to catch my flight. I had cancelled my shift the night before (good call) but it didn’t make me any less tired. I had originally requested a minicab to pick me up at 4:15am, which I later changed to 4:45am, when I realized I didn’t have to be at the airport until 6:30am because I had carry-on luggage. I took a minicab to East Croyden station, to catch a train to the airport. Because it was so early, I had to get a cab there or else leave on a nightbus at 3:00am. Easy decision. Funnily enough, I caught the train I would have been catching had I been picked up at 4:15am. Unfortunately, that meant I arrived at Gatwick just as my parents were leaving their hotel. I sat and read for awhile before I began getting nervous at my parents’ absence. They both had to check baggage and neither of them were there. They came in running just past 6:30am and we had to rush to security. My dad’s flight was boarding at 7:05am and it was really busy. We thought he would miss the flight so our goodbyes were very rushed. My mom and I actually got through security before him, because they decided to swab his iPad. Security is so lax in the UK. I accidentally left my sunglasses on my head and the only reason I got a pat-down was because the machine randomly selected me. On the way back I would leave coins in my pocket and walked through just fine. We all made our flights. We had a hen party on ours. It’s a bachelorette party. All the girls were dressed the same and were obviously really rich because when my mom asked them were they were staying they said St. Tropez. You know who goes to St. Tropez? Beyonce.

The flight was a quick two hour trip (yay for Europe!) and customs was a nonevent. Another stamp in my passport and not a word was spoken. We then had to catch a public bus to our hotel, because there aren’t shuttles. It was a little confusing trying to figure out where we were supposed to get off. I eventually asked the driver. Just in time, too, because he told me it was the next stop. We got to our hotel, the Beau Rivage, around 11:30am. Check-in wasn’t until 3:00pm but we thought we would try our luck. The girl at the front desk was really nice. Not only did she give us a room right away, she changed it from a queen bed to two twin beds. The floor in the hallways has pebbles in the design, which makes it look like you’re walking on the beach (Nice, if you don’t know, is famous for its pebble beaches rather than sand). It was really cool! Our hotel room was nicer than I expected. I always think that when you can get flights and a hotel for so cheap it’s probably going to be a bit ghetto but it wasn’t at all. It was, however, very hot. We couldn’t get the air conditioner working.

                I had been to Nice before, four years ago, but this was my mom’s first visit. Our hotel was situated in a great location, right on the Promenade des Anglais and just two minutes from Place Massena. Our first stop was the Hard Rock Café. I am one of those crazy Hard Rock people. I love going there. I love watching the music videos and I love the food. I’ve been to Hard Rock’s all over the world. My parents hate it but humor me. This one was quite nice. There was a patio area (too hot) and an upstairs, indoor area (meh) but there was also some tables inside slightly but still with the breeze from the patio and a view of the water. My mom actually really liked it. She took the seat where you could see the ocean and people and I took the seat facing the TV (I seriously like the music videos, okay?).

                Their menu is slightly different than the ones in North America, so I ended up trying a new drink. Usually I get their sangria but it wasn’t there. My mom and I both tried a drink called Pickled Tink. It’s strawberry something, vodka and pina colada mix. It was so good! We also had spinach dip for an appetizer, which they don’t usually have on their menu. My main, of course, was hot wings. I love their hot wings in general but the chef must be really good here because they were even better than usual!

                After lunch we tried walking down the Promenade des Anglais some more but it was so hot. I could feel my skin burning and even my mom was complaining about the heat. We got down as far as the Negresco Hotel before turning back. Once at our hotel we had little day naps but were very hot, even in our room. We had a tour booked for 7:00pm so we eventually had to get ready. The tour was to take us to Monaco. I have been to Monaco before and absolutely love it in the evening. There were just four of us on the tour: me and my mom and an Australian couple. Our guide was very nice. He first took us through the Old Town of Nice before heading up the coast to Monaco. I love that drive, especially as the sun is going down. Unfortunately he did not take us to the palace in Monaco, which was disappointing. The view is spectacular. All the multi-million dollar yachts in the harbor and the whole city. Oh well, at least I’ve seen it before. He did take us around Monaco a bit. He even took us on the entire Monaco Grand Prix track, which goes right through the city! Going to the Monaco Grand Prix is on my bucket list, so I thought it was awesome.

                As part of our package we had booked the tour with a three course dinner. It was an okay Italian restaurant. The Australian couple did not book with dinner but ended up joining us anyway. It was not as awkward as I thought it would be. She was a big talker and her husband was one of those adorable men who just sit there thinking to themselves while their wives talk forever. Dinner came with ¼ bottle of wine each. My mom doesn’t drink wine so I got hers too. It was actually half-decent wine. For our starter we both got ravioli which was really good. For our mains we had a choice of fish or veal. I don’t like either but figured I’d be safer with the fish. I was disappointed. Salmon is growing on me but I still am not a fish fan. I don’t like the texture. For dessert my mom had a tart and I had crème brulee for the first time. It was so good! I’ll definitely have to get it again sometime.

                Dinner took ages and by the time we had finished we only had about an hour left in the city. We headed up to the famous Monte Carlo Casino. I actually really remember my way around Monaco from last time so I was able to lead everyone up there without any difficulty. We had to go past the hairpin turn from the race track, then up through some gardens, before finally finding the casino. It is truly a spectacular building. The architecture is just breathtaking. Even if gambling isn’t your thing, go in for a drink or something, because it is really something. The Australian lady had forgotten to bring any ID so she and her husband didn’t go in. My mom and I did. It costs €10 to enter and you must have ID. I knew this from last time so it wasn’t a big deal. Last time I won €40. I wasn’t as lucky this time. I played until I was back at even, but we didn’t have a whole lot of time to do anything else, so I just played some more and eventually lost it all. I wasn’t playing with very much so it wasn’t exactly devastating. The second time I played I at least acknowledged that I was going to lose and my mom was okay with it.

                We had a little bit of time before we were being picked up so we walked around looking at all the fancy cars parked out front. The people of Monaco literally drive their cars up there so tourists will take pictures of it. There is so much wealth in Monaco it’s ridiculous. On the drive back we got to see a town called Eze all lit up. It’s on the hillside and looks really beautiful at night. We got back around midnight to our hot room and would only have a few hours sleep before our next tour.

                The one thing I missed out on on my last visit to Nice was going to Cannes. I love movies (duh) and Cannes is famous for the Cannes Film Festival. I didn’t know enough about Cannes to go on my own so we booked a tour that would take us to Cannes and through Provence. Pickup could be any time between 8 and 9am so we didn’t get much sleep. Especially since it was SO HOT. We basically sweat from the second we landed in Nice to the second the van picked us up. Even with breakfast (one of the better hotel breakfasts’ I’ve had) I still felt crappy. For the first leg of the tour it was a struggle to stay awake. I was tired and I’m fairly certain I had mild heat exhaustion. We first stopped in Antibes for twenty minutes to look at the harbor. You should see the size of these yachts! They are bigger than houses! I want one. I want a big one, because you won’t feel the waves as much. And, because, of course I’d want the big one. They were insane. From there we headed to Cannes.

                My biggest complaint about this tour is that we didn’t have a lot of time in Cannes. Only about forty minutes. For someone who really wanted to see Cannes, it was not enough time. We were very rushed the whole time, basically running from spot to spot, taking a picture and leaving. We were dropped off at the Festival Palace, where all the film premieres take place. We walked into the shop where I bought a cool-looking t-shirt about the film festival. They had handprints outside in the cement, like on Hollywood Boulevard. Had we had more time, it seemed like we could actually go inside. Instead I just took a quick picture of/on the steps to the cinemas, like in all the premiere pictures at Cannes. We then headed to a kiosk nearby. I needed to get my body temperature down, and to have some caffeine. I grabbed a Red Bull and some Diet Coke, which actually did the trick. We walked towards the beach and found the spot where the stars do their photocalls before their premieres. I took a few pictures. There was even a cruise ship in the background, like in a lot of the photos I see! We were about ten minutes away from pickup time so we had to get walking down to the pickup point, which was kind of far. We got to walk past all the hotels along the beach, where they have posters for the films premiering at Cannes. There were none right now, of course, but I could picture it.

                After our way too short visit in Cannes we headed to a village up in the hillside of France. We would get two and a half hours there, which was annoying considering how little time we had in Cannes. It was a cute village but we could have done it in an hour. First my mom and I walked around, trying to find a place for lunch. I wanted escargots but she really wanted something with carbs, so when we found a restaurant overlooking the hillside that had a club sandwich for her and ravioli for me, we decided to eat there, figuring we would be able to find escargot in Nice that evening. We grabbed some ice cream for dessert at a little shop and bought a macaroon. My mom had never tried one before. I really like them! Then we sat around waiting for our pickup time. Seriously, they should have given us ninety minutes in Cannes and ninety minutes here. I don’t even know how the other six people on our tour killed time, because they didn’t even have lunch.

                We then headed up through the hills of Provence. We saw a village made out of stone, which was pretty cool, and drove up to Gourdon, which is a village famous for gingerbread. My mother decided she spoke French better than me so when I insisted a shop sold gingerbread she didn’t believe me. It was actually really funny. The shop owner gave us a taste of the gingerbread which I really liked but my mom didn’t because apparently only gingerbread men are good. She’s weird. We then drove to Grasse to visit the Fragonard perfumery. I could have visited that before but I am really sensitive to smells so last time I sat outside with the hungover people I was with. This time I decided to go in. It was included in our tour so I figured if I got sick I could just leave and it wasn’t like we had bought the tickets. I made it through the tour. It was interesting, kind of. They showed how they make and bottle the perfume. As someone who can’t really wear it, I don’t really care. That was the last stop on our tour and we headed back to Nice.

                After a quick rest in our hotel my mom and I went walking through Place Massena to find a nice place for supper. Remember how I had ravioli for lunch because I figured we’d find escargot for dinner? My mistake. Nice is full of Italian restaurants (I guess because of its proximity to the country). Had I wanted ravioli I could have eaten at any number of restaurants. We did have a nice walk through Old Town during our search, though. We had resigned ourselves to return to the Hard Rock (my mom, ironically, was encouraging this – apparently because she really wanted another Pickled Tink). I had seen a restaurant on the same block that looked promising earlier, so we checked out their menu first. It had escargots! Decision made. It was called Balthazar. It’s typically a piano bar but today it was set up to watch the World Cup, which had started the day before (I saw some of the opening ceremonies in Monaco). I seem to always end up in Europe during the World Cup and always watching the games at some restaurant or bar. It’s kind of fun, because everyone gets so into it. My escargot were delicious! They were very traditional, which meant I had to pull them out of the shell. For my main I got some duck, which wasn’t very good. But I had my French meal and that’s all that mattered.

                Saturday was our last day. We had originally thought to stay until Sunday, but it would have been harder for my mom to get back to Calgary. We didn’t really need the extra day, anyway. Maybe if we had been in Barcelona or someplace, but I felt like three days was enough. The tricky thing was that our choices were limited to a 7:30am flight (to early) or 7:30pm (a little too late). We laid in bed until check-out time, which was noon. Then we headed to the Hard Rock for lunch. We tried the bruschetta for our appetizer this time, which was probably the best bruschetta I’ve ever had. We ate in the upstairs section this time. We chose poorly, because for some insane reason there was a birthday party happening for a five year old. What five year old has a birthday party at the Hard Rock? Anyways, there were a dozen screaming children running around. It was annoying and loud. But the food was good.

                We still had time to kill before heading to the airport. We weren’t really sure what to do. We had seen these trams on the Promenade des Anglais the last few days so we went to check it out. It turned out it was a little hour-long tour of the Old Town and up to the ruins of a castle. It wasn’t too expensive and we had nothing better to do, so we took it. It was actually really enjoyable. The audioguide was actually quite informative and the views of the city from the top of the hill were breathtaking.

                From there we walked down the beach and through the streets for a bit before heading back to the hotel to get our luggage and get on the bus to the airport. We were two hours early for our flight which turned into even longer because the plane was delayed. I only brought one book and their free wifi was terrible. I also missed my last train in London, so I didn’t get back until 1am. Sigh. But it was a nice trip with my mom, who headed home the next morning to Canada.

 

The Weekend and Also, My Parents Came to Visit

Friday

I had to line up a lot of work because my parents were coming to visit so it was a pretty busy week. I started on Saturday and had applied for work for the next week. My job apparently decided I was working too much (I see I’m taking time off the next week, they see a really tired employee come day six) so I ended up getting the Friday off before my final Saturday shift. Sarah and I saw this possibility coming (she also had Friday off) and had decided to use the magical world of StubHub (www.stubhub.co.uk) to see if we could get half-decent, day-of tickets to see One Direction. That’s right. We woke up to find that tickets had dipped to our pay limit (we were going Sunday already so we weren’t going to pay more than a certain amount to see them Friday). The boys were playing Wembley Stadium for three nights and this was their first show. Our tickets were in Standing Yellow, which was in a back corner of the football pitch.

I met Sarah at Oxford Circus at 3:00pm to go grab the tickets. In Canada, when you get tickets off StubHub you get them emailed to you and you just print them off. Here you go to StubHub’s last minute ticket center. Which meant we got actual tickets! They were really cool. They had One Direction’s faces on it! We then walked to find some food which ended up leading us on the scenic route to Baker Street, where we eventually settled for some little cafeteria. I got some crappy lasagna (my mom makes the best lasagna all other lasagnas suck) and fries. Sigh. Then we headed up on the train to Wembley. You can always tell who is going to a One Direction concert because they are female and probably wearing their faces everywhere. We weren’t, but only because I left my hoodie in Calgary (and Sarah’s One Direction duct tape). The scene at the train station was madness. There were girls everywhere. The gates wouldn’t open until 5:00pm so we had half an hour in the craziness. That being said, the view from the train station was pretty cool. The stadium is in full view across the pathway, there were double decker buses riding on the bridge in front of it, and a giant One Direction billboard plastered across the front.

We waited outside longer than necessary, until Sarah realized that Wembley Stadium was outside. It was organized chaos to get in. We all had specific entry gates and they would only let about fifty people in at a time. The arena itself is huge. Normally the area with concessions is jampacked but it was so big in there it didn’t seem very busy. We sat on some couches we found and listened to a radio program that was recording from the stadium. Everything got pushed back half an hour so it was a lot of sitting. Their opening act, 5 Seconds of Summer, also opened when we saw them in Vancouver. We skipped them then, too.  Finally, at 8:00pm we went to our standing section to wait for the concert. They played some really fun music while we waited, like Bruno Mars’ Locked Out of Heaven, which definitely made the waiting easier. Then it started. I screamed and danced and freaked out. It was good times. I love Harry Styles. And I’d get to see it again Sunday!

Saturday

The next day was a bit rough, mostly because we didn’t get in until late as we missed the last train and had to take the night bus. I had to get up at 10am to work. When I’d finished at 8pm, Sarah and I headed to Trafalgar Square to meet my parents, who had just come in from Canada. They were jetlagged and tired and had been walking around all day so all we did was walk to Covent Garden so I could grab some Shake Shack to eat. It was a tasty burger.

Sunday

                Sarah, Sandra and I had all cleared our schedules to hang out with my parents all day. We started off with Sunday buffet brunch at Babur, the Indian place Sarah and I had eaten at nearly two months before. We were cautious not to fill up (Sarah and I have learned from our mistakes). From there we took the train down to London Bridge. My parents really like walking, and I don’t, so I tried to find a happy medium. The walk from London Bridge to Waterloo takes about forty-five minutes and has a lot of nice things to see. On the walk you pass Southwark Cathedral, Shakespeare’s Globe, Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge, Oxo Tower, ITV Studios, BFI, and more. My dad wanted to see The Old Vic, so we walked a little past the station so I could show him. I also freaked everyone out by pointing to a restaurant and giving the exact date Harry Styles ate there. Oops.

                From Waterloo we headed to my parents’ hotel, the London Edition. First we stopped to pick up our second round of One Direction tickets. We were in the stands this time, in Club Wembley. Everyone but me and Sandra had a nap at my parents’ hotel. We got to Wembley Stadium around 5:30pm this time and there was far less of a crowd waiting outside. We walked the whole arena again before grabbing some surprisingly tasty pizza and some not so tasty popcorn. We skipped 5 Seconds of Summer again. They announced that the boys would be coming on at 7:45pm, but it was more like 8:30pm again. This time Sarah and I could see the whole stage, though the boys themselves were very very small. That’s the problem with arenas. There’s not really a good seat. If you’re close, you can’t see all the action. But if you’re in the stands, you’re far away just because of the size of the place.

                This concert was even more fun than Friday’s. I danced around and screamed and acted like a fourteen year old. It was really great. Did I mention I love Harry Styles? We had to catch the train because everyone needed to get up early. Again, it was organized chaos. They didn’t want everyone rushing the station so they held us back until everything was clear. The police were so well-prepared. They brought a microphone and a record player and started playing One Direction songs through the mic! It was funny and thoughtful of them.

 

Monday

                I was working Monday night but I had the morning and afternoon off to hang out with my parents. My dad had booked a Rock & Roll Tour of London in the morning. It was very informative. It took us all around Soho, Highbury & Islington, and Camden, showing us many sights of the British music scene. They tailor the tour to your interests, which is good and bad. Nobody said they liked The Rolling Stones or Led Zeppelin, so we, unfortunately, did not hear much about them. I said Joy Division, though, and they actually found a way to incorporate them into the tour, which was impressive.

                Our tour finished around 12:30pm in Trafalgar Square. We went to Covent Garden to meet Sarah and introduce my parents to the wonders of Nando’s. They were impressed. Afterwards Sarah went back to the flat and my parents and I went shopping briefly, before I went back to their hotel to get ready for work and they walked down to Harrod’s.

 

Tuesday

                Another early morning as Sarah, Sandra and I headed to Victoria to meet up with my parents. We had booked a coach tour of Stonehenge and Bath. The coach wasn’t completely full, which was nice. Everyone mostly slept on the drive out to Stonehenge. Even our guide stayed quiet, after acknowledging the fact that everyone was probably going to fall asleep. Good call. We got to Stonehenge in about an hour and a half and had an hour to look around. The tickets were included in our tour, as were the audio guides. You have to take a shuttle partway up to Stonehenge and then walk for a bit. Sometimes I really like audioguides but today I was just not in the mood to listen, so Sarah and I just walked around. You’re not allowed to get close anymore, because people suck. They would try to push the rocks over or deface them in some way. That, and the ground is unstable after all these centuries. Stonehenge has actually been a tourist attraction since the 17^th century or something like that.

                It was pretty cool to walk around something so old, but it’s also kind of overrated. I thought it would be bigger or more imposing; that I would somehow feel insignificant when standing there. But honestly, it’s just some old rocks in a cool pattern. My dad thought we were going to Easter Island and kept asking where the giant heads were. After we took the shuttle back down to the Visitor’s Center and went in the exhibition. It was basically a museum dumbing down what was said on the audioguide. What is Stonehenge, why did they build it, etc. My favorite room was a room of theories about Stonehenge’s existence. It’s up for debate and I like conspiracy theories like that. Then we were back on the bus to head to Bath.

                The ride to Bath took another hour and we sometimes drove through some countryside villages. I was more excited to see Bath than Stonehenge. The city is beautiful. The buildings are a mix of Roman and Georgian architecture and it’s a really cool combination. They also primarily use these kindof gold-beige stones which are so pretty. When we got off the bus our guide took us on a walking tour of the city. We saw the exterior of the Roman Baths, the Royal Crescent (which I found really cool) and some other famous landmarks. Mostly I just really liked walking around the city, taking it all in. I don’t think I could spend more than a day there, but it sure is nice to look at.

                We had forgotten to book tickets to the Roman Baths with our tour except for Sandra who booked separately from us. By chance, there was one token to enter left over, so Sarah and I used the two to see the baths. They were really cool. It’s basically the ruins of a spa. After walking through it they have a miniature of what the baths would have looked like. It was really cool to see how it would have looked. It really did look like a spa with a bunch of swimming pools and hot tubs.

                After we finished at the baths (we skipped the audioguide again) we met up with my parents and went looking for a bite to eat. We visited a pub which actually had some really good chicken wings. It’s really hard to find good hot wings in England. They are my favorite. But these were fine. We did a quick walk through the shopping area which turned into us almost missing our bus. There wasn’t anything left to the tour after that, just the drive back to London.

Wednesday

                Sarah and I spent the morning at our new flat (more on that in another post). I met my parents to show them the new neighborhood and then we headed to Camden. My parents had taken an interest in it after our Rock & Roll tour so I took them to the high street so they could check out the markets. It, unsurprisingly, wasn’t really their scene. We did shop at H&M for a bit and grabbed some lunch at Wetherspoon’s. My dad tried the veggie burger and loved it. My mom tried the purple drink and loved it. Then we headed down to Oxford Circus where we shopped at H&M (again), Debenham’s and TK Maxx.

                Sandra met us down at Oxford Circus and we went to supper at Belgo, the mussels restaurant. I’d been to the one in Bromley with Sarah but this time we went to Covent Garden. The food was just as good (my mother is hard to please and she really liked the mussels) but the restaurant was really crowded and loud. Oh well, it was still a very satisfying final meal with my parents.

               

Being Productive. Sort of.

                Sarah and I don’t have work until Thursday (her) and Friday (me). We had hoped to work Tuesday and Thursday but things didn’t pan out that way. But the six eight hours or more days in a row absolutely murdered me so I can’t say I was too upset to have four days off. It also enabled us to get some stuff done (and a lot of sitting around).

                On Tuesday we finished up our flat application. We both had to fill out an application form that the landlord sends to his referencing company. It’s a little stressful because there’s so many variables. At the end of the day, though, it is the landlord who makes the final decision based on information received from the referencing company about how risky they consider Sarah and I to be. He keeps talking about filling out paperwork, though, so he obviously thinks this is going ahead. I hope it does. I’m tired of living on a couch. I’m ready to start settling. Besides Sarah and I both filling out the application form and sending it off, we also had to pay £150 for the referencing. It seems like a lot but we have learned over the last few weeks that in the grand scheme of things they can charge you for, that’s not that bad.

                We thought paying the fee would be difficult. For some reason we were overcomplicating it. Our original plan was to put the money on Sarah’s UK bank account then go back to the flat and transfer it to the landlord via the internet. In reality all we had to do was hand the bank teller the money and they put it right on the landlord’s account. Duh. We’re stupid. It was so easy and it transferred really quick. By Wednesday morning I had an email from the landlord saying he had received the payment. After our visit to the bank we stopped by a couple discount stores to start picking up some stuff for our eventual flat. We know that it will take some time to make wherever we live feel homey but we need to start grabbing some stuff. Most important is sheets and we managed to buy some sheets and a blanket for incredibly cheap. We literally walked up and down the aisles grabbing essentials you wouldn’t normally think of, like garbae bags, toilet paper and soap. They might not be as important as pillows but could you imagine going to wash your hands and having no soap? Ew.

                We spent the rest of Tuesday binge-watching Gossip Girl (we’re several episodes into season 4 now). Wednesday we had booked the day off of work because we had tickets to Clarence Darrow, a play starring the greatest actor to ever walk the fact of the earth: Kevin Spacey. He is mine and Sarah’s favorite actor. The play was a one-man play at The Old Vic, where Kevin Spacey is the Creative Director. The stage is just a small piece of floorboard in the center and the seats go full circle around it. This was the Dress Rehearsal, as the opening night was later that day. Our tickets only cost £10, as the theater reserves one hundred seats for under 25’s.

                The play itself was just okay. It’s about an American lawyer, played by Kevin Spacey, who basically just narrates his life and his court cases. Some parts were interesting, like when he fought for teaching evolution in school or against racism. Some parts made me want to fall asleep. Kevin Spacey was fantastic. I imagine doing a one-man play is incredibly difficult. He’s just an absolute legend. So he was great to watch but the play itself it boring. Oh well, at least I’ve seen him live.

                After the show as we were walking to the bus we ran into a girl we had worked with all weekend. It was funny because I kind of forgot that we know people besides each other now, and running in to people we know is an actual possibility. It makes me feel more settled here. We took the bus back to the flat and waited for Sandra to get back. Last week Sandra decided to brave the crazy and come to the One Direction concert next weekend with Sarah, me and my parents. She even suggested we watch my One Direction movies to warm her up. Well you don’t need to ask Sarah and I twice, we are more than happy to watch ALL THE THINGS.

                And so Sandra came home and we watched This Is Us, their documentary, their Up All Night concert and most of their music videos – some of them several times. We also ate Chinese food. It was kind of a perfect day: Kevin Spacey and One Direction. And now I’m super excited for the concert June 8^th. Right now Sarah and I have June 6^th off so if we don’t get work we’ll go on StubHub that day and see if we can get super cheap tickets and see them TWICE! IT’S PERFECT!

A DAY OFF!!!

So after a crazy six days of exhausting work in three different locations Monday was my much-needed day off. The day began with sleeping in. Yessss. I’ve had to get up at 6am for the last four days and work nine to ten hours on top of that so sleep has been necessary. After catching up on Mad Men (this week’s episode was really really good – watch it) Sarah, Sandra and I caught the bus to Surrey Quays to see X-Men: Days of Future Past.

                I have an Odeon Film Fan card so I got 25% off today, because they have Film Fan Mondays. It’s pretty sweet. Unfortunately, the movie kind of sucked. I love the X-Men film franchise. I have seen every single one of them, including those terrible Wolverine movies. X-Men: First Class was brilliant and I am a diehard Michael Fassbender fan. I have voiced my concerns over the newest film combining the new and old casts but I still held out hope that it would be good. It’s just…blah. They try so hard to bring in as many cast members as possible that there’s no focus in the story and the entire thing seems disjointed. They should have kept to the new cast. They also lose track of the canon, majorly. One of my favorite things in the film series – that isn’t in the comics – is the relationship between Magneto and Mystique. I love it. The actors old and new have this intense chemistry and it’s so great to watch. In this movie they just throw that all away. The best part was Evan Peters as Quicksilver. And he wasn’t even in it that much. Side Note: Props to the filmmakers for that little inside insinuation about Magneto being Quicksilver’s dad. I hope he has a bigger part in the third one. Michael Fassbender is a better actor than this movie deserves. He elevated the first one to a really high level but couldn’t save this one. I know you’re probably thinking this is just me being hard to please but Sarah and Sandra didn’t like it very much either. In fact, Sarah’s exact words after the movie ended were “Evan Peters was the only good thing about that movie.”

                After the film we bid adieu to Sandra and headed to Waterloo. We had both put our names in to a draw to win tickets to Graham Norton and Sarah had won. We had found out last week that the guests for our episode were insane: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Charlize Theron, Seth MacFarlane, and Coldplay. Wow. They said someone would meet you at 5:15pm and we showed up an hour early and there was already a huge line. We stood in the rain for an hour before they gave us wristbands with numbers and warned us that they didn’t guarantee entry. We had numbers 110 and 111 so we figured we would be pretty safe. They told us to come back at 6:00pm, for when they would let people in. At that time we realized exactly how many people were hoping to get into the audience. Seemingly all the employees had brought friends and family and there were 180 people with priority tickets. Then they started calling our wristbands ten at a time. It did not look good. A guy started sending everyone with numbers over 250 home. Fortunately, Sarah and I got some of the last spots. Phew.

                I’ve only ever been to one other talk show taping, The Late Show With Jimmy Fallon, and the audience here is much bigger, as is the stage. Before the host comes out a warm-up comedian comes on. His job is to get the audience laughing and clapping. Then Graham Norton came on and continued to warm us up. His first guests were Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, who are starring in The Edge of Tomorrow. Everyone went nuts for Tom Cruise, obviously. He is a funny one. On the one hand, he’s insane. On the other hand, he is actually a very mild-mannered person. In fact, I would go so far as to call him boring. He answers questions very simply and directly. He doesn’t tell any funny stories or anything. But he seems like a genuinely nice person. He knows he’s lucky and he doesn’t take it for granted. He interacted with the other guests who came out and was really excited to see Coldplay. Like, leaning forward in his seat for a better view excited. He also was the only guest who stopped and shook the hand of every single person sitting in a floor seat before thanking the entire audience for coming. I was impressed. Emily Blunt was surprisingly funny. She does a spot on impression of an African American woman (she was talking about her daughter she gave birth to not too long ago).

                Then came out Seth MacFarlane and Charlize Theron. I love Seth. Everyone knows this. I was so excited to see him and he did not disappoint. They were promoting A Million Days to Die in the West, which I really want to see. For someone known for his crude humor, Seth is one of the most charming people I’ve ever seen. He just oozes charisma. You can’t help but want to pay attention to him. He also can whip out his impressions without hesitation. He did everyone from Brian and Stewie Griffin to Kermit the Frog. The best one, though? He sang the ‘Thunder Buddies’ song from Ted! As for Charlize Theron…she was there. I don’t really know what to say about her.

                The musical guest was Coldplay. I don’t like them but it was enjoyable enough. Their set was beautiful. Chris Martin is actually really cool. I thought he was going to be a bit more hipster douchebagey but he was interacting with the audience before and after the song and really put all his energy into performing. He was also interviewed briefly with a band member and they were pretty funny.

                All and all not a bad day and just another reason why living in London is so cool.

Flats Flats Flats

                So we’ve ticked getting jobs off of our list and now face one big obstacle: finding a flat. We’ve been hoboing it up on my aunt’s couch for a month and a half and it’s time I start sleeping by myself. The only problem? Finding a flat is really hard and expensive. The BritBound Facebook page frequently has people advertising rooms but it’s never what we want. Either it’s only one room available or you’re sharing with too many people. I kid you not, I saw someone offering a room in a 3-bedroom flat where each room has three girls sleeping there. NINE people in a 3-bedroom flat. I actually am pretty sure that’s illegal.

                We had already toured our dream flat, the one in West Kensington, but it was time to get realistic. Today was the second day of our weekend and we had purposefully set it aside for flat viewing. We saw three places today. The first two we viewed through an agent. The first flat, in Sydenham, was okay. It was a bit old – the furniture looked very worn – and the second bedroom was basically a closet. We moved on to one in Forest Hill. It was a 3-bedroom but the price was ridiculously cheap. This is when we realized that we would not be using an agent. To get a flat through an agent you have to pay £150 each for referencing. Then you pay a £200 holding fee. All this before you even move in, at which point you surrender ten weeks’ rent. We were expecting a deposit but all those extra fees are just ridiculous. Not to mention you have to prove your combined income equals rent times 30. As in, a combined income of 36-39K. It’s ridiculous. There’s only 12 months in a year, why do we need to prove we can pay for two and a half? The second flat was nice-looking but I hated the building. It looked very estate-like and not very homey until you actually got inside. It’s also smack in the middle of two train stations and picturing walking home late at night, I didn’t feel safe.

                We were feeling pretty dejected about the whole thing when we went to our third viewing in Gants Hill. We had found this one through Spareroom (www.spareroom.co.uk), a flat website where you pick your requirements. The rent was ridiculously cheap but the flat is quite far out of the city: in zone 4 (we were hoping for zones 1-3). The road it is situated on is quite nice. I could definitely picture myself walking it late at night and not worrying about getting raped and murdered. It’s also about five minutes from the tube station. The night bus is excellent, with stops through all the major points of central London. Did I mention the rent is cheap? It’s furnished and two-bedroomed, like we wanted. We would need to buy a couch and a TV but we’re saving so much money it doesn’t matter. It looks like that might be what we do. I just have to find out what the utilities cost and then we’ll give them permission to reference us. Hopefully we don’t get screwed there. We still can’t make times 30 (we’re more like times 28) but I’m going to hope for the best. Who knows? I could have my own flat in the next week or two!