PG-13 Rated

I’ve made no secret that one of the things I thoroughly enjoy about life in London is the pub culture. It is part of so many aspects of life here- I’ve have breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a pub. I’ve gone to the pub when I’m bored, before meeting friends, after walking around, to escape the rain, to escape the cold, even to a baby shower at the pub.

Last week I was more or less introduced to the after work culture here. Until last week, if I did go out after work it was to meet my other expat GEP friends. Upon entering my 5th week with the UK firm, I finally made it out after work with my new team for a drink.

The night started out much of the same, a bunch of nice looking ladies, all in HR, all with fun war stories, all looking to blow off some steam head to the bar next to the office. We settle into the comfy couches and chairs and start ordering bottles of wine. I was enjoying myself, getting to know the others. A few people rambled in and out of the bar through the night to catch a train or get home to their kids. There were a small group of us that were in it for the long haul. The group mainly consisted of some senior level people in my group. The night turned funny when the highest ranking professional in the group announced that her nether regions had started to turn gray. This wasn’t one of my female compadres in the office with whom I’ll go grab tea or coffee with once a day. This was a leader, a director no less! I won’t give away too much in terms of this person’s identity- but nonetheless, it was the last person I expected to hear such a thing from. I’m all for raunchy talk on occasion, truly I love to shock others and love it when somebody surprises me with an off the cuff remark. I have to admit though- this one threw me off a bit. The best part was that because of the noise and the accents- I didn’t hear this person at first. I actually leaned in and said “excuse me, what did you say?” To which, the announcement was repeated, this time with more vigor. Isn’t that grand? The conversation took some fun turns from there- and ended with a bit of a comparison of sorts among the older people in the group. I held my ground, smiled, laughed when appropriate… what else could I do? And they say Americans are the obnoxious ones.

This weekend was one of those weekends you hear about from your friends or family in the Midwest or the East coast- we got a freak warm weather front that rolled through that produced very sunny skies, and mild weather- and it drove everyone outdoors! I rocked the flip flops both days and didn’t even wear my overcoat out at night. The best part was that the whole city basically comes from hiding on these rare days. JP and I went to the park yesterday and brought with us our softball gloves and a ball to throw around. Half of London was there with their dogs, bikes, skates, soccer balls. It felt so good to feel the sun on our face and be outside without scarves and jackets. I thought to myself that if it was in the low 60’s at home, I would have not ventured outside, I would have stayed in and complained that it was freezing. It is so different when day in and day out it is cloudy, cold, and windy. We didn’t do much of significance this weekend, just enjoyed the weather and being with our friends.

This week will be the same as previous- with work and JP hanging in there for busy season and a pretty bad commute. We’ll be getting ready for the biggest party of 2008, our Valentine ’s Day dance on Saturday. Can’t wait!