Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Earl-y Awakening
I don't care though because I'm going out with bus stop guy again tomorrow night. By the way, don't EVER drink this. 80 proof?!?! Is this date rape alcohol and someone forgot to tell me? Just curious.
Current Music: Turin Brakes - Emergency 72
Monday, January 30, 2006
She Works Hard for the Money
On Thursday night I went to Marc's friend's charity thing at Mojama. They had fortune cookies on the tables for the Chinese New Year. I'd meant to save some of the fortunes because they were silly/dumb but I guess I left them at the bar. Also, I stole someone's silver lighter off the table in case anyone is missing it.
On Friday I met Joy for lunch, then at night I went to Loop (yes, again.) Ana's boyfriend Fennsee works there along with Salvatore and their other housemate. I had fun with Ana, but I still don't like that place. What kind of club makes you queue outside, then queue again to get into another floor (where the coatcheck is), and then you have to queue again for that? Ridiculous.
All night I successfully managed to avoid hearing any results of the finale of Celebrity Big Brother as I'd planned to watched the entire rerun on Saturday (such avoidance tactics included telling people things such as "pleeeease, I'm begging you to stop talking about it!!!" in the bathroom of the bar.) That was until early Saturday morning when I accidentally heard the winner, etc. announced on the news. Aaargh! I can't believe Preston only came in fourth. And Barrymore second? Huh? I'm still confused, I didn't understand one word that guy said throughout the entire show. Plus, he's so obsessive-compulsive about doing the dishes - you'd think he'd rinse the soap off them first before putting them out to dry. You can get sick from eating food off of soapy dishes, duh!!!!
On Saturday night I went to Sway for Tanya's birthday. The place was nice and the style sort of reminded me of Eugene. It was very similar to some of the smaller pay $20 at the door type clubs in New York. I was exhausted and wanted to catch the last bus home so I only had one drink (I think that'd be a first for me in London) and left around 12:30 am (although there was some shady police investigation going on in the center of Camden Town so it took me an hour to get back from Holborn.)
Yesterday I met Maristela in Covent Garden (that place is a real pain in the ass the get to from my flat.) We walked to Trafalgar Square to watch the Chinese New Year celebrations (mainly the dancers and acrobats on the stage.) She has a Chinese-English friend she was going to call to wish a happy new year; when we looked up at the stage she saw her friend was actually one of the presenters which was ran-to-the-dom. We met Ana and Fennsee for coffee, and then I met up with Mairead and Mike at Waxy O'Connor's off of Leicester Square. The three of us went to Mr. Wu in Chinatown for dinner which was better than other Chinese food I've had here, but again nowhere as good as in the states.
I'm trying to do some research before class today, but how am I supposed to understand anything with all these abbreviations? (As taken from the UNDP website regarding Bolivia and The Millenium Goals): "During 2001 the UNCT prepared an MDGNR which has served as an important instrument to position MDGs in the national agenda and introduce the concepts, targets and goals as permanent instruments to measure success or failure." Errr, help? Anyone?
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Well Do Ya, Do Ya Do Ya Wanna...Botswana?
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
The Mystery of the Xawaalada
My neighborhood in London, Kentish Town, is inhabited by a nationality of people I have never seen before. They amaze me as they all have the same exact facial features - doe eyes, chocolate colored skin, skinny noses and lips, and most of the women wear Islamic head scarves. Their features are so distinct from anyone I've ever seen, and almost all of the individuals look alike - the men, women, teenagers and children all have similar faces. There are a few internet-type shops run by them that are titled "Xawaalada Dalson" which is a language that also mystifies me as I've never read anything like it. Some of the men hang out in random unfurnished, need-to-be-fixed-up shops on the main road, and they keep the door slightly open so whatever they are doing in there can't be illegal, I just can't figure out what it is they do. So anyway, my guess was that these were North African Muslims. I asked my ever-so-wise father what he thought and he had some quality guesses. Out of curiosity, I would like it if you guys could offer up what nationality you think these people may be in the comments section - WITHOUT Googling "Xawaalada." I've done it and my mystery is finally solved, but I'm curious to see what everyone thinks.
Now, a few random points:
- I've just met with my dissertation supervisor. He wants me to hand in a 3,000 word introduction by 2/21. That's like a whole paper. And that's like totally insane!
- I am going for a trial tomorrow for a job working as a bar bitch at Earls Court for an events company. I'm not sure if I should be excited about this or not, but at least its money.
- I have a date tonight. Yippee!
Current Music: Tears - Lovers
Sunday, January 22, 2006
The Bus A Bus (uhhh Rockin to the Beat)
Last night I met a guy at the P.O.W. bus stop on my way out. We took the bus to Camden Town together and then he gave me his phone number. He lives near me, is cute, and he was sober (extra bonus.) So I've got meeting guys on the bus and the Silverlink covered. That just leaves the tube and the DLR that I should probably work on for future.
I met Laura at The Montagu Pyke and then we met Zoe at The Mean Fiddler for Frog. What I thought was going to be a promising indie night ended up to be very confusing music-wise. Bloc Party! Here comes the hotstepper? We Are Scientists! Informer? The Go! Team! Pump Up the Volume? etc. etc. That was the weirdest, most wrong combination of music I've ever heard at a club. And this place is popular? How are DJs even allowed to do that? I swear to god Subway was playing better music when we went to get our late night sandwiches.
Current Music: Blur - Country House
Saturday, January 21, 2006
The Night I Lost My Pants
I went for tapas at Jamón Jamón with John which served big portions and was really good. Then we went for a drink at NW1. I had to kill about half an hour before going to Angel and it was stupid for me to go home, so I went into Liberties for a pint to kill time. I befriended the bartender, Mark, who wanted to me stop by today if I was in the neighborhood (I was but not near the pub.) Then on my way to Angel I got a text from Christine saying she was going to be late, so I went to The York to kill another 20 minutes or so. As I ordered a half pint, the girl next to me started talking to me and we ended up chatting for 45 minutes. Some random bought us both a glass of wine but the bartender wasn’t allowed to tell us who it was from?! The guy (actually, older Swedish man) revealed himself later, he was annoying. After I traded numbers with my new Peruvian friend I went to Pitcher & Piano and met up with my friends from class. I feel bad for Bryan with a Y because I subjected him to my non-stop (loud) talking in his ear. I think I told him my uvula story too, poor guy.
What else...On Thursday I had a low key night; just met Zoe for a drink at the Lock Tavern. Today I went to Café Nero to do some reading for Monday’s class.
I'm writing to Maristela right now on MSN and I'm watching her through her webcam, it's really freaky!
Oh yeah, I'm not purposely giving myself props, but apparently I'm an "expert kisser."
You're an Expert Kisser |
You're a kissing pro, but it's all about quality and not quantity You've perfected your kissing technique and can knock anyone's socks off And you're adaptable, giving each partner what they crave When it comes down to it, your kisses are truly unforgettable |
Current Music: The Streets - Don't Mug Yourself
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Choose Your Wallet
Current Music: Incubus - Nice To Know You
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
I Can Tell That We Are Gonna Be Friends
Today I went to the local surgery down the road to sign up with a GP. They had a random staff meeting and the office was closed, which was just my luck. Then I went to Camden Town just to be out of the flat for a bit. I dropped my CV off at the Virgin Megastore (who aren’t hiring) and a random pub on the high street. I bought a white sweater with a small union jack pattern on the shoulders. It's nicer than it sounds and it's only subtly "British," so I may be able to get away with wearing it here. Then I found a random used CD shop I'd never seen before and I bought Cast's Mother Nature Calls, Athlete's Vehicles & Animals, Mark Owen's In Your Own Time (I just saw him and it was only £3, why not?) and singles by Leaves and Dubstar for only £8 total.
On Monday night I met Ana and her Italian housemate Salvatore. We went to Yates in Leicester Square. It was really crowded for a Monday (I didn’t know it was usually like that since I’d never been before.) We danced, it was fun.
I had my two new classes on Monday and Tuesday and I have one tomorrow. I already learned more in the first three hours of my Latin America and Globalisation class than I did in a whole semester's worth of two other classes from last semester. In Tuesday's class, we discussed the differences between lying and bullshit for three hours. I'm wondering if that's £7000 down the drain. I guess time will tell.
By the way, sorry if I offended any vegetarians or vegans with my last post. I just really like meat!
Current Music: Matthew Sweet - Sick of Myself
Monday, January 16, 2006
Bigmouth Strikes Again
Sunday, January 15, 2006
You Can’t Mistake My Biology
Around midnight we left and went to the real G-A-Y. The bouncer asked us what bars we've been to in the area. I knew that Thirst and Moonlighting were definitely the wrong answers as they were probably not lesbian enough, but we still managed to get in. The boys in there were seriously cutting up the dancefloor. Mairead and I met two boyfriends who told us we were too sexy to be lesbians. I guess a gay guy calling us sexy is a pretty good compliment! (Especially considering I can't get a straight guy to tell me that.) We ended up dancing with them all night which was really fun. We also picked a good night as Mark Owen was performing. It was a personal bonus considering he's my favorite member of Take That, and we were able to stand in the third row!
I got home really late (I'm not quite sure how I still have feet to be honest), and as a result didn't do much today except for watch the new OC. I got totally lost near the Marylebone High Street for about 20 minutes, which I have to say is a very cute area to get lost in. I eventually found Alex and I took him for a belated birthday dinner at Zonzo which was an Italian restaurant on the rather ghetto Edgeware Road. Then we watched Celebrity BB at his flat.
Now I'm back here and I'm thinking about switching my classes so it looks like I'll be heading to Wells Street tomorrow to check out the one I'm contemplating taking.
Current Music: The Libertines - Boys in the Band
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Me and the Skirts
On Thursday, after I handed in my paper, I finally made it to the gym. I cancelled that out by having a beer and the most disgusting hamburger I've ever had at the Shakespeare's Head on Carnaby Street with John. It was really gross.
At night I met up with Laura in Camden Town and we had dinner at Wagamama. I can't believe I've been living here since August and this is the first time I've gone there. We went to Bar Vinyl after which has an entertaining pizza menu.
I went to Cafe Nero yesterday to read my cheesy cheap book, The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant. I like it because it takes place in Renaissance Florence (the main character's palazzo is down the block from my old apartment) and I like reading the historical and scenic bits. My goal is to finish it by Monday while I have no work to think about whatsoever, which ultimately will not happen.
Then I went for dinner with Zoe and Joy at Zensai Bar. I had a peanut butter martini which was delicious, and the food was pretty good too. Afterwards, on the street, some guy told me that I "dropped something" so I would bend over because I was wearing a short dress. I shouldn't have been bothered, but I just think it's REALLY RUDE. It was strangely similar to the incident with the keys.
We went to The Worlds End and met up with Laura. After Joy and Zoe left, Laura and I went to the Good Mixer. The guy behind me at the bar decided to lift up the back of my dress. I turned around, grabbed him by the sleeve, yanked on it, yelled at him asking "You just picked up my dress?? You just picked up my dress?!" Gave him two small punches on the arm with the side of my fist, told the female bartender that he had picked up my dress and to please have him removed from the bar, but she looked completely clueless to what I had just said. I turned to the male bartender instead, told him the same thing and he ran around the bar immediately. My assailant (who was like 40 years old) told me he was leaving and walked out. The bartender got through the crowd with another male bartender but I told him the guy'd already left. They still went outside the bar and I don't know what happened but they came back pretty quickly. Hooray for the Good Mixer male bartenders!!! Oh yeah, I cried for two minutes after that, but would you expect anything less? It was strangely similar to the incident with the Jagermeister.
After that we went to the Lock Tavern for a drink to end the night. I'm not even going to mention all the food I ate in between. Lets just say that I had no self control yesterday.
Today Laura and I watched Jodie's eviction from the Big Brother House. Looks like I got the first three nominations correct as well as the first evictee. How cool would that be if I got every prediction right? So not happening.
Mairead is coming over here to pre-drink tonight before we go out. We don't have a plan though, so if you have any ideas please let us know. Cheers!
Current Music: Pulp - Disco 2000
Friday, January 13, 2006
Heather Is Awesome!
January 12, 2006
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this reference on behalf of Heather Billdodger in regards to your apartment.
Heather and I have been friends for over 10 years, and I have been trying to avoid her for 9 ½ of them. She is an irresponsible person who has been working a steady job frightening children as an elementary school teacher for the past 4 ½ years in ghetto-ass Queens, NY. Heather has rented two previous apartments in the local ghetto, as well as houses that were falling apart in Oneonta, NY over the past 6 ½ years.
Heather is one of the silliest, smelliest, and most untrustworthy people I know, and I highly recommend her for destroying your apartment.
If you have any questions, please do not contact me as I have fled the country in my attempt to escape her.
Sincerely,
Meredith "SuperPus" Fromkizzle
PS - You knows I loves you baby!
Current Music: Sufjan Stevens - Chicago
Monday, January 09, 2006
Celebrity Big Bruva
So just to get this on paper (or on blog) I'm gonna put down my predictions...(Guess I'll do a full order rather than just top three for fun?)
Eleventh: Jodie (Can someone shut this ho up already?)
Tenth: Pete (Didn't think I'd say this but I've gotten used to his lips)
Ninth: George (Totally looks like one of the Staff VPs from my old company)
Eighth: Rodman (Unsurprisingly has successfully proved himself to be one of the dumbest people on earth)
Seventh: Tracy (Another total idiot. Of course they pick the two dumbest Americans to be on this show)
Sickth: Chantelle (I like her but I can't see her winning)
Fifth: Rula (Harmless but boring)
Fourth: Faria (Harmless as well)
Third: Barrymore (Can’t feel the hype since I’m a detached American so am settling him in at third)
Runner Up: Preston (Hello holy hotness; he sums up everything that I want in a soulmate)
Winner: Maggot (You knows it)
Dumb. Just So Unbelievably Dumb.
This past weekend is blurry to me as I was busy working on two papers (4,000 and 5,000 words done, now only a 2,500 word one left to go) but I think I’ll be able to recall everything.
On Thursday night I went to Solo's (as in Dan, not the debit card) to watch Celebrity Big Brother (more on the show, my new obsession, later.) Him and his friend Simon cooked dinner and we just hung out until Alex called me asking to stay over as he got locked out of his flat. It was past midnight so it was technically his birthday too. I bought him a muffin and put a birthday candle in it for him when I met him at my flat; I thought it was a good last minute effort.
On Friday night Laura and I went to XFM night and met up w/Solo, Dandan, Simon and some of their friends. They played really good music and I kissed a cute rocker-ish boy who said I had a crackin' ass. This is their MySpace: Knievel Genius.
We went back to Solo's and literally did nothing from what I can remember until we all went to bed around 6:00 am. Laura and I left around 11:00am , I raced home and changed, made it to the British Library around 12:30 pm, worked till 4:30 pm, raced home again, got ready and headed to Sunil's for his dinner party thing. Sorry Sunil but I think that may be the first and last time I am coming to your house as it took me 1 1/2+ hours to get there. I took a Silverlink, the tube, a bus AND got picked up from there (South Harrow.) After his party I made the long trek back to town where I went to Alex's birthday at Thirst. It was a good assortment of friends there.
On Sunday I lazed around for most of the day until starting my paper around 6:00 pm. I'm so not looking forward to this last one, but it should be a piece of cake compared to the other two in regards to length. I will be having a massive celebration on Thursday after it's all over.
Today is my dad's 60th birthday. Even though he doesn't know about my blog (and I would probably die if he did), happy birthday to him anyway!
Friday, January 06, 2006
Fingers Trace Your Every Outline
Heather (she thinks it looks like Sue from Binghamton)
Then I decided that I needed one but am definitely no good at self portraits. So I made the South Park me in my Halloween costume instead, complete with tart make-up:
Me on Halloween
Current Music: The Chemical Brothers ft Richard Ashcroft - The Test
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Reunited And It Feels So Good
Saturday
The girls arrived in the AM and we did the "Hi!!!!!!!!!!" dance of joy. We hung out for a bit, then stopped by Alex's flat to say hi. This is his supernice courtyard that I aspire to live in one day:
We then headed to Notting Hill for the Portobello Road market. We looked at some ghetto antiques and a mechanic Santa Claus...
Mehmet was working there so we stopped by to say hi, then caught a bus to Knightsbridge...
We walked through Harrods. I'd been there years ago but holy crap that place is huge!
They even had opera singers by the escalators...
Liz made some new friends in the balcony... Then we did a bit of walking through Trafalgar Square and ended up at some Thai restaurant which had no other customers in it which is always a good sign. We also walked through Leicester Square which had a huge carnival, and then traipsed through Soho and Chinatown. We went home, changed and headed over to the Koko for a Jew-Do as it was Xmas Eve. The line was loooong, so we drank some beers during our wait, in traditional homegirl style. Liz was obviously outraged by the cover charge while I was mostly concerned with getting drunk...
For real though...
With added Ben and Jez...
They played good dance music (minus the garage) and that place was really nice. I bumped into Mojama Guy who had taken me on the date to McDonalds. That was an uberweird experience since I never returned his calls. In a last ditch effort he had tried to lure me over to his flat with episodes of Prison Break. Luckily I had seen all of them or I would have been tempted to go. There was no chemistry there, but on Saturday I was drunk and tried to tell him I did like him, or something unnecessary and stupid like that. Afterwards Ben, Dandan and James came back to the flat for a while.
Sunday
Christmas day in London seriously sucks if you're a Jew. We slept late, then walked down to Camden Town to attempt to find something that was open. It really felt like the World's End as the entire town was deserted...
We took a walk to Regents Park singing Christmas Carols all the way, but our spirit was crushed again as even the playground was closed!
It was pitch black by the time we left the park, so we headed home and watched Millions which I'd just gotten from my brother on DVD. We took a dinner break and went to McDonalds as that was literally the only place open in K-Town other than the 24 hour delis. Ben came over and we drank and played Uno, Bullshit and Asshole. It was really the longest day of my life.
Monday
We got up early and went for a traditional English Breakfast at a local cafe which was tre nasty. We then went to the Barnet v. Peterborough game which got me several laughs during the week. I don't get it, they won, so how bad can they be?? Contrary to popular belief, you can see there were people in attendance at this game. Also, Barnet player #16 is H-O-T. Come on Barnet!!!
We Northern Lined it down to check out the Eye/I, "The Big Ben", Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey...
We took the longest bus ride in history, then frolicked down Carnaby Street (not in Austin Powers fashion though) and ate at O'Neills which was probably a no-no considering they have them in New York.
We later discovered that Boxing Day is almost as bad as Christmas Day in London as most of the bars are closed. We ended up in Trafik in Shoreditch. After leaving the bar and roaming around town with two dudes we met in hopes of finding another bar, they ditched us in favor of house music and we went back to Trafik. Heather did her best Debbie hairdo impression which was pretty funny...
We got hit on by a group of 19 year olds that acted, very 19. The one I met was cute and very mature for his age, and when his friend immaturely said that maybe the cute one should take my phone number, three of them whipped out their phones, just as 19 year olds would. He goes to my school and texted me the next day saying he'd look out for me at the school pub. Now I have to look good everytime I have class, which is not what I need right now. Anyway, two of them phoned me (or Marilyn as they called me) asking for Heather (or Hannah as they called her) about 7 times the next day (so 19.) This is us with two of the youngins...
We went back to Graham's and H, E and I slept in Andy's bed (shhh don't tell him, although I think he already knows.)
Tuesday
Snow?! WTF?! It was 50 degrees here the week before, and the Americans came and brought snow? The three of us went for a decent meal (for once) at Giraffe, walked through the Camden Markets and bused it up to Madame Tussauds. Erica somehow got us past the 2 1/2 hour line by paying some dude at the front 25 quid per ticket which I assume he pocketed as that was the shadiest deal ever. Then we took photos with wax celebrities like Penelope Cruz and Will Smith...
Tom Cruise minus Katie Holmes... Go team Jennifer!Heather got to play guitar with Justin Hawkins, she did a jump off the stage and everything...
She also hearts MLK...
We went for a Brick Lane curry afterwards, and then played a silly drinking game at the Elbow Room in Shoreditch because once again it was a Bank Holiday and everything was freakin closed!!! We came back here and watched/recited all the words to Love Actually before bed.
Wednesday
Here is Erica representing for her roommie at Liverpool Street when civilization had finally returned to normal...
We then went to the Tate Modern which was ridiculously boring. Do not bother going there if you ever come to London. We walked over the unexciting Millenium Bridge as well...
And ate at some place that tricked us. Three out of four of us believed gammon steak was actually steak when it really was salty cooked ham. Oh well.
We met up with Zoe, Laura, Rachael and Graham and went to the Absolut Icebar. This is some of us pre-bar...
This was us inside the bar...brrrrrr!!!!!!!
The glasses were even made of ice...
Zoe got trapped in the Absolut bottle...
We went to one of the Wetherspoons pubs afterwards, which I think was called Lloyds on Tottenham Court Road...
We then headed to Cheapskates night at Moonlighting on Greek Street. This place was so ghetto. It had leopard carpet, bouncers that searched you when you walked in and threw out your gum (a gum free club?!) and an unfilled hot tub. This definitely has to serve as a strip club on some nights. It was a student night which meant all drinks were 80 p, but also meant that everyone inside was 19 years old. No, my man was not there.
I'm tired so I'll finish summarizing the second half of their trip tomorrow!
Current Music: Ryan Adams - The Rescue Blues