FAQ's on our move back

My postings have decreased recently mostly because I am running out of different ways to say- "wait, where the hell did the last 18 months go???!!!"

We are heading into our third weekend left in London and also the last weekend of JP's twenties (Don't forget he turns 30 on March 18- make sure to send him loads of "You're OLD" messages!!). We rented a private room at a karaoke bar in East London tonight for our friends to play out all their American Idol fantasies in front of those who know and love them best. It should be a lot of fun- there are many times when we are out with our friends that we end up at someone's flat circa 2am having Ipod sing-a-longs that get us always wishing for a microphone, so hopefully the celebration is giant and fun tonight.

My very first posting on this blog was a FAQ's on our move to London. I thought it fitting that as we reach the end and are facing a lot of questions from co-workers, friends, and family that I try to answer what I can:

1. When do you leave London? We are leaving London on the evening of April 1.
2. When do you get back to the US? We land in the US on April 23. The three weeks between leaving and landing we will be spending time in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam exploring some of Southeast Asia's amazing beaches, cities, and countryside.
3. Where are you living when you move back? After much debate and back and forth- we have decided to move back into our condo for the short term. We will move in there on May 12. The time between we will be spending at a hotel in Laguna Beach (thanks EY) while we get the condo in order for our move in.
4. What is happening with the townhome you bought? The build has been pushed back and framing has yet to start. They are no longer giving us expected move-in dates but rather trying to guess when the framing will at least begin. We are ok with this as we need two jobs to qualify for a mortgage and as of March 25, we will only have one income! We anticipate hopefully moving into the townhome sometime in the fall of 2009 if all goes well.
5. Am I going back to EY in the US? At press time, there is a hiring freeze at EY which impacts me returning to anything. I am currently exploring some job options from here via phone interviews and such, but am waiting to do the aggressive job search when we return to the US.
6. Are you looking forward to going home? Yes and no. It is bittersweet as we love our friends and lifestyle here but are ready to return to better weather and a lifestyle that includes less alcohol and more vegetables.
7. What was your best trip or favorite memory of your time in London? How do you chose such a thing? It is tough, each trip was unique, and all our memories include a lot of laughter and fun. If I had to chose though- I would say Italy was my favorite trip and our Valentine's Day party last year was my favorite memory. There are many others in close second!
8. Would you do it again- relocate to another country? My honest answer is yes- but not necessarily with EY. All the logistical parts of moving abroad were made much more difficult by EY, but the experience of integrating into another culture, becoming much more self aware of how Americans are perceived abroad, and meeting people from every corner of the world has been the highlight of our experience here!
9. What will you miss about London? Our friends, our flat, the trips, public transportation, and the variety of things to do.
10. What are you ready to leave behind? THE WEATHER, public transportation (it's a love hate thing), the fast pace, and the lack of customer service.

Three letter words

While I can't do an entire posting with three letter words, I was walking my friend Kate's pug Zeus the other day and thought there was a theme to my life with three letter words lately. Why not share with you six?

First up, I got to help out some friends and walk their pug when they were working late. I miss dogs and loved the chance to hang out with the little guy while exploring the wilds of North London - Abbey Road, the Lords Cricket Ground, St. John's Wood, etc. Thing surburban with big leafy streets and no trash or dog poo. Yeah, it ain't like my hood!

We have had so much fun lately. Not only with the normal happy hours and pubs and such, but we successfully hosted our second annual fancy dress party. It went into the wee hours of the night and was super fun. I am sure the neighbors hate us, but we had a blast dancing, drinking, eating and laughing. I would like to carry this tradition home with me, watch out for the next fancy dress party in February 2010 in SoCal... As an aside- fancy dress in the UK means dress up- costume style. Our non - American friends had tentatively asked what I was dressing as in preparation for the party- to which I replied, well, a dress! I quickly realized we were thinking of two different meanings for the same thing. There should always be a reason to dress up once in awhile!

With just four weeks to go until my last day at work, I am starting my job search. I wouldn't give up our experience here for anything, but I must say that we certainly didn't anticipate a world wide recession to take hold of the job market while we were gone. This leaves me job-less and looking. I have had interviews and phone calls but I think it will be another round of shameless job searching and interviewing. I thought I was beyond that after our move here, but alas, I am back in the market.

We are facing all sorts of uncertainty and insecurity as we make our way back accross the pond- but would I have it any other way? We often joke that we chose to do everything the hard way... Maybe just once I wouldn't mind just one thing being easy.

Enough of the pity party though- what I can report is that we land in the US on April 23 and will be moving back to our little condo in Rancho for the short term while we figure out next steps. I can't wait to feel the sun on my face and swim in the sea, and eat some mex (ican) food! :)

Look out weekend cuz, HERE I COME!

Writers block

It occurred to me that I haven't posted since my last rant and as I sit here deciding what to update on my mind has drawn a blank.

I will start slow with some random updates and even perhaps keep this short!

Snow: Yes, it is true, London got some good snow, most in like 20 years. We got snowed in for two full days with no food in the house. Good times. It was beautiful though- and kind of crazy to see so much of it in the city. I wish it had not shut down the city- it is kind of embarrassing but it was fun while it lasted. The rest of the country is experiencing more snow this weekend, and I secretly hope that we get just a little more. Here are some pictures of our street and back courtyard area:

Out and about: In an effort to search out all the greatest spots in London before we leave we have been making it out and about in full adventurous mode- trying new bars and restaurants, even renting out the golf simulator at our gym. It has been fun- and a good kick in the arse to not keep repeating the same places. Well, that is half true- we are still at Mr. India once a week.

More babies: It seems that if you are my friend, you are either having babies or getting pregnant. It is incredibly exciting. It is also overwhelming. In the first 5 weeks of 2009 I have had 7 friends announce pregnancies and 3 other friends have babies in the last few weeks. Congratulations to Michelle, Robyn and Priti for bringing 3 gorgeous girls into the world!

Tonight we are heading to our friends Kate & Stuart's house to welcome their pug Zeus to London. They have decided to extend their stay in London so they decided to move out their dog to join them. In proper expat style we are having a flat party to welcome him before heading out on the town.

I still got nothing witty or exciting so I'll end it here. That my friends, is all she wrote.

Joys of public blogging

I must admit, I live in fantasy land most the time. I think this blog is read by just a few people and occasionally I will hear from an old friend on Facebook or sametime here at work who is like- oh, love the blog, etc. However, the idea that people who don’t know me actually read this never even occurred to me until I looked at a recent comment posted on my last entry.
The comment had to do with my Hugh Grant sighting. I didn’t publish it simply because I thought it to be a tad confrontational and sarcastic, and my intended spirit of this blog is more or less for me to just keep my close friends and family up to date on our London antics. However, it totally opened my eyes to the fact that anybody could read this. I am not changing the security settings or anything because all I care about are those of you whom I know who are reading this. However, the comment compelled me set the record straight on Hugh Grant- perhaps he is taller than 5’8” but he was not as tall as I thought he would be, nor is he 6 feet tall. I stand by the tanned and botoxed comment and argue that actually Botox isn’t long lasting and it is entirely possible that he has had recent work done. Finally, it was my sighting, my “encounter” as you called it and I am at liberty to share with my readers just what my impressions were. Thanks though, for feeling the desire to correct me and make assumptions about my eye sight and such. You are a rockstar.

Enough on that front- this week has been full of excitement- and Inauguration spirit has swept us up as well! In true London fashion I caught the ceremony at a pub. I’m proud and excited and looking forward to change and progress. I have heard a lot of debate on just how fast things can turn around- and I don’t expect immediate turn around on issues or problems, just smart decisions and different thinking than what we’ve experienced before. I will keep my expectations on the lower end simply because some of Obama’s “to-do’s” are incredibly complex and not things you can just change in one day, one week or even one month. It is interesting here to observe people who are just as excited as Americans and feel a sense of camaraderie with Americans. On the news this morning one of the reporters said “And we have a new President of the US- but it feels like he is President of all of us!” Interesting perspective I never considered before moving here.

This weekend we are heading to two parties: the first for our friend Chris who turns the big 3-0. We’ll gather at his favourite BBQ joint near his flat for some pulled pork and Coors Light on tap. On Saturday night we are going to a friend’s house for a Burns Night party. It is a Scottish tradition and takes place every year around the famous poet Robert Burn’s birthday. It will include whiskey, poems, singing and eating a traditional Scottish meal of haggis and other not so delicious foods. We are going for the experience and the company- it sounds like it will be a real riot and a night that we wouldn’t be able to experience at home. More info on trusty Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burns_Night

Shout out this week to my oldest and bestest friend Michelle, who gave birth to her first child, a little girl named Kate. She was 2 weeks early and came out weighing 9 lbs 1 oz. I think Michelle deserves some sort of medal for that as 9 pounds just sounds scary to me. Mum and little Kate are doing great.

Pictures to come on the parties of the weekend! Until next time…

Countdown

10 weekends to go. There is nothing like a countdown to prompt action...

With that in mind we took to the streets this weekend and were non stop. Friday night we enjoyed some pub action with friends. Yesterday we had brunch with some friends and then headed to the pub for some day drinking action that led to evening drinking and Mr. India. We hit up a great restaurant and pub in Parson's Green- a little area on the water (very near Craven Cottage where Fulham Football Club plays) and enjoyed loads of wine and chatting with our friends. Today we headed out to Richmond- a posh little neighborhood in West London known for the largest park (with deer!) in England. We had lunch with some friends and then took a nice stroll through the park. All in all, it was a fabulous weekend with some cold sunshine and lots of pubs and friends. We couldn't ask for more! (Ok, that isn't true- maybe weather that is warmer than 45 degrees...)

This last week was much more exciting than past weeks- all due to the ultimate London celeb sighting- that of HUGH GRANT! To make a long story as short as I can make it- JP was out with some buddies and saw Hugh out with his blokes in a pub. Being the very nice husband he is he promptly sent me the following text: " Hugh Grant in pub". I was close by with a girlfriend enjoying some wine and chatting and glanced at my phone. Within 60 seconds of seeing the text we had finished our wine, paid our bill and ran to the pub. The boys were laughing at us at the sheer giddiness we displayed upon our entrance to the pub. Some thoughts on Hugh: He is short. He can't be taller than 5'8". How did he date Elizabeth Hurley? He is 48 years old (we googled it) and he is still super cute. He is tan and fairly botoxed. You can't be tan in England even if you tried. He had the same smile and facial ticks he has in his movies too. He was with some of his "mates" who were all middle aged, balding and not good looking in the least. Hugh also shut down a few females who approached with the hopes of chatting with the hottie. My friend and I blissfully situated ourselves with direct views of the star and shamelessly stared, texted all our friends and giggled like two teenagers. We had no photo opp unfortunately but we enjoyed every minute of our star sighting. What a funny thing seeing a star does- I was not calm cool and collected. In fact, I think for the first 10 minutes at the pub I had trouble stringing sentences together. Sad sad.

So, basically we can go home now. I mean, pints with Hugh Grant, about a mile away from Notting Hill no less.

I also have developed an expensive new habit- Reformer Pilates. My friend and I went this morning and took a free class at this exclusive little studio in Notting Hill and man oh man do I finally understand why these famous stars are so toned and fit. I went from hinting to downright telling JP that this is the new thing that will transform my life. So what if it costs 25 pounds per session? Good health is an investment right?!

With that said, it is time to kick back and relax finally. Life is tough these days- pubs, strolls, expensive pilates courses. I love my life.

The Shortlist

As time winds down here, I’m having a lot of those “Love London” moments that I want to pause to help me remember them as well as appreciate them while they are happening. At the same time, I am having many moments that make me immediately think- “only 2 ½ more months of this and I’m outta here” Recognizing this, I thought I would shortlist (I love lists, almost as much as I like long blog posts…) the top ten things about London I love, and to even it out, the top 10 things I hate. I will start out with the hate, b/c I am a glass half full type of gal who likes to end on a positive note:

HATE

The weather- which includes the almost non-existent daytime we get during the winter months -average temps right now are at about 40 degrees and we get about 7 hours of daylight, if you call daylight clouds and grey skies.

The utter loss of humanity people have when they enter public transportation. Are you pregnant? Walking with a cane? Have a stroller? I feel really really bad for you if you have to get on a crowded tube. People have no shame in their game and will elbow, push and crowd you out. Forget about gentleman rising out of their seats for the ladies- British chivalry does not exist in the Tube.

TV. We have no cable and we watch a lot of Friends and BBC news and The Dog Whisperer. Our other options are terrible UK soap operas and even worse reality shows.

The loss of good sushi and Mexican options here. It is painful and we have substituted with Indian and Thai in the short term- but sometimes a girl just needs a burrito.

The UK firm. I don’t know who reads this so I will leave it at that.

Not having a car. I like to think of myself as relatively green, but I miss having a car to run errands. Some days I just don’t want to walk the mile from the store to my house loaded with bags and in the rain just so I can pick up some needed supplies from the drug store.

The way people communicate here. In an effort to save people’s feelings, people just don’t say what they think, what they mean and tell you what they want. Instead they beat around the bush, dance around answers and don’t answer questions. It is and incredibly time consuming way to operate.

British customer service. It is about non existent.

Having to always walk downstairs to use the restroom in public. Often the stairs are steep, smelly and not temperature controlled. Also, once you get to said public toilet it is often clogged or not flushing and there are no paper towels which makes people not want to wash their hands which leads to germs which leads to me getting sick…. You can see the repercussions.

The ever public blowing the nose/hanky up the sleeve habit. First of all, these people are just gross overall- but public blowing of the nose (like, both sexes, all ages, restaurants, the pub, you name it- disgusting). While browsing at a bookstore yesterday, this woman who was all but standing on top of me pulls her hanky out of her shirt sleeve, blows her nose as hard as she can, and crumples up the hanky and sticks it back up her sleeve. A year later I am no more used to this and it makes me vomit a little in my mouth every time it happens.

LOVE
The pubs. They are cozy, mostly friendly and normally you can get a place to sit while you drink. There is one on every corner of this country- seriously!

Public transportation- yes yes, I hate the tube at rush hour, but overall the public transportation system is efficient, organized and gets you where you need to be without having to worry about traffic and parking. It is not cheap for those of you who think we are saving all this money without a car- but it works and you can go to pubs and not worry about driving after. Plus, I have read so much this year b/c you always need something to read on the tube.

The work life balance. People here come in at 9am and work until about 5:30/6pm and then they go home. They have lives. They don’t work many weekends. They aren’t married to their blackberries. They take sick days when they are sick. It is a nice change of pace from 50-60 hour work weeks, “I don’t take vacations or sick days” type of mentality that people reward in the US.

There is always something to do here! Art exhibitions, new bars and restaurants, markets, street fairs, you name it and something is happening in this city, and you don’t ever have to repeat outings if you don’t want to!

Travel- from here we are 2 hours away from any Central/Eastern/Western European country.

Happy hour. Along with work life balance- people here get together after work for the pint and it is a glorious way to end the day.

Aesthetically this city is gorgeous, and even though there is no daylight, it is nice to walk around at night with the buildings all lit up and historic sights on every corner.

Fashion. I can’t partake as much as I’d like because I would rather travel than shop- but I really like the stores and options here. Not that I don’t miss rocking the flip flops and jeans- but it is cool to see other options and various ways of dress.

Our friends. We have some incredible friends here who make life more interesting and keep us busy while we are missing our friends at home.

Increasing my awareness of the world outside the US. I have learned more about other cultures and countries than I ever dreamed- in both very direct and indirect ways. It is so interesting to understand our impact on the entire world and also I have become much more patriotic in my time here, I love the USA!

Happy New Year!

Friends, Romans, Countrymen… oh wait- I’m not Mark Antony on the speakers stump in the Roman Forum, I’m Angie and I’m blogging… apologies.

Italy was fabulous, amazing, incredible, fun and yummy! We spent 11 days abroad in the boot shaped country and spent our time taking in the sights, eating pasta and pizza with abandon, drinking house wine for 3 euros a ½ litre, and taking full advantage of the siesta. A quick recap:

Rome: We spent four nights (including Christmas) in Rome. We stayed near the Colosseum and took us where Rick Steves told us to go. The city is great- it is organized chaos at it’s best. The people are nice (and most speak enough English to get you by) and everywhere you go there is some ruin or statue on the corner. It is incredible. We went to the Borghese museum, took in some great Baroque statues and art and then did our own walking tours to discover the city. On our final day there we did an organized tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum and heard fun stories of people from thousands of years ago inventing everything from roads to cities to socialism. It was really cool to get a refresh of history lessons that we had long since forgotten. We stayed at a hotel that treated us like we were at a bed and breakfast: Hotel Lancelot: www.lancelothotel.com

Siena & Tuscany: We took a coach bus from Rome to Siena on our fifth day in Italy to the town of Siena in the Tuscany region. Tuscany is just what it is portrayed to be- rolling green hills, vineyards and rows of olive trees, big hill towns surrounded by nothing. I can imagine during the spring it would be even more gorgeous, but we really liked Siena. I think in all this was our favourite town mostly because of the slower pace, lower prices, gorgeous scenery and great food. We explored neighboring villages and cities while there, courtesy of a mini-car we rented on one day and then a guide we hired to take us wine tasting and such the second day. We saw Cortona (where “Under the Tuscan Sun” was based), Montelcino (where they make the expensive and tasty Brunello wine), Montepulcino (more wine!) and Buonconvento. Here we stayed at a villa/guest house that was much like living in someone’s home- which is both good and bad. It was pretty loud, which if that is the only thing we can complain about we are lucky. http://www.villaeldasiena.it/

Florence: Finally we headed into Florence for the last two nights of our trip. By this point we were a little tired out of museums and such which is really a shame because Florence was the birthplace of Renaissance art and even for us art novices we knew there was some great things to see. After waiting through a painful reservations-but-you-still-have –to-wait-an-hour-in-line thing at Ufuzzi we enjoyed the place but decided we had enough of Italian run museums (completely unorganized, inefficient- like herding cats or something) and just concentrated on roaming the streets, admiring the various piazzas and enjoying gelato- which supposedly is the best in Florence. We loved our hotel here- in the middle of everything and reasonably priced. http://www.hotelsantamarianovella.it/

Food: Italians know what they are doing. We didn’t have one bad meal- even the more touristy spots served delicious and fresh pastas and pizzas. I think we have spent over a year deprived of really good food here in London (yes yes, there are good restaurants- but let’s get real…) so this was a real treat for us. There aren’t many options other than Italian food options- so if you are watching your carbs then forget it – but I challenge someone to go to Italy and say they are on a low carb diet… Italians don’t eat Italian food when they visit other countries, and they are all convinced their region’s food is the best. I won’t argue- it was all great.

Holidays: We spent Christmas in Rome, which was a treat. There were a few things open, but the weather was so nice that we just walked around the whole city and enjoyed all the street performers and other tourists and took lots of pictures. We enjoyed a Christmas Eve dinner of five courses of fresh fish that was the highlight of our time in Italy. We had Christmas dinner at the hotel with other guests staying in Rome for the holidays and met some nice people that night. New Years Eve we spent in Florence with another incredible meal (Florentine steak! Yum) and then followed the crowds to the main piazza in town to watch the incredibly unsettling and yet strangely entertaining firework shows put on by the towns most drunken and rowdy people- there was no organized show, just loads of illicit fireworks going off all night long. We fell asleep to huge bangs and booms, but it was part of being in Italy (the Italians love loud noises).

All in all, other than our honeymoon, this was the best trip we’ve taken. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays as much as we did! Pics are on shutterfly and some are on Facebook as well.