working, playing, and gold digging?

So today is day three at my internship. I love it. I love the work I am doing and I love the people I am working with. I am working at Peculiar Management, a tiny little music management and PR firm that has about 6 or 7 main clients that they manage. Its great because I'm actually getting to do work with the two women I'm working with. I'm not doing the whole intern goes and fetches the coffee thing, but rather I'm learning the ins and outs of what they DO here. The first day I got here Julia, my boss, set me up with an email address through them and everything, sent me all the files from their database that I would be working on updating and evolving while i'm here, and then let me have at it. One of the bands they manage is doing a small acapella tour in September and then a much larger full ensemble tour in December. So Julia wanted me to start researching advertising and press opportunities for the September tour, because these are all places the baebes (The mediaeval baebes is the name of the band--they are great) haven't been yet. I started that, but it was really only two main areas I need to research and as I started looking around I found some places where I could post the event online myself through radio station websites without having to go through much hassle. So Julia told me to go ahead and do it. Why not? She had me write up a couple blurbs about the various shows, she looked over them, and then had me post them. After that I started researching some areas that the baebes aren't actually touring in in september, but areas that they are lacking contacts on their database. After that I took my lunch break. Julia told me about all the different things that are in the area and I settled on Chinese food. I miss chinese. Everything here is sandwiches and Indian food for quick lunches. So it was a nice change of pace. Oh PS it was HOT. It IS hot. Seriously hot. And they don't really believe in air conditioning here. I mean its bearable, but only because I refuse to wear pants or jeans. And its sunny, so its also quite nice. Getting a nice little tan :).

Anyways. I get back from picking up lunch and I come into the office to eat it and Julia and I chat a little bit while I eat. Then I kind of go outside on our balcony (our office is this cute little rooftop office...I'll have to take a picture of it sometime when I have a camera again...womp womp). After taking a nice little break I come back in and Julia sits me down to teach me how to do the merchandise and inventory stuff for them. So I file all of the orders that Claire (who is not in because her computer has been fried so she is taking it to the mac doctor) had printed but not yet filed yet. Then I print out all the new orders and invoices and file them accordingly and then I make note of all the pre-orders for the baebe's upcoming album because the people who have bought these packages will have their names published at some point on something. Then I do the accounting for all the new orders and the tickets using the paypal system set up. Here is the kicker, for all of those who are familiar with me, I GET TO USE EXCEL TO DO THIS. Not only do I get to use Excel, I got to update the formulas for the spreadsheet AND as I create new ticketed events for the December tour, I GET TO RECONFIGURE IT AGAIN. fjaw;ieofh;aoie;fef. I am so excited. Anyways, after I did this I was pretty much done for the day. I headed home, went to the gym, went grocery shopping with Jen, and then made dinner and went to bed.

The second day of work was yet another learning experience. Claire's computer was being nursed back to health so I would see her Wednesday, so it was just Julia and me again. I came in and started off on the database that I had started updating the day before. I checked the ticket and merch orders. I had packed two merch oders yesterday to ship out but there were no new ones. There were a bunch of ticket sales, but Julia said I could wait until tomorrow and just do the accounting for all of those at the same time. So I kept doing the research. I took a break for lunch, and then Nick Marsh, one of the artists the company manages dropped by. He is launching a new album in September so he came by with the demo for it. Julia had me print up a press release for the album while Claire emailed her the list of press contacts this demo was to go out to. I finished with the release and then packed envelopes with the album and the release and then Julia showed me how to print address labels from an excel spreadsheet (amazing) and then she took me down to the post office. We mailed off the merch orders from yesterday as well as the 50 copies of the album--called A Universe In Between in case anyone is interested. Julia showed me which credit cards to use for which artists and whatnot so I would know how to mail the stuff out myself in the future. When we got back we did a little bit more work. But around 4:20 she decided we had done enough for the day and we should end early. But There was no going home. Oh no. She decided it was time to end early and go out for drinks. :) This is my kind of boss. She took me to this pub right near the tube station where I catch the tube back home and bought me a couple coronas. HAHAHA CORONA. I haven't had a corona since I left the states. It was actually really nice. This pub looks like a house from the outside, a pub on the inside, and then has this BEAUTIFUL multi-floor wooden back porch with a ton of seating. So we went out on the back porch to the top and sat out there and just talked for a while. We talked about how she got into the music management business, some of the tours she has gone on, her visits to the states, my time in London, what I've done here, what my future might hold, our hobbies, etc. It was really nice. When I left I went to PIcadilly Circus and joined Erin, Shahar, Erin's co-intern Mike, and his friend for a quiz night at another pub (we decided we were going to emulate the British working crowd). Well, it was British trivia, so we failed miserably, but the guy gave us a free round of drinks for being good sports. We also got to watch the Spain Portugal game, so I was happy. Then I headed home for the day.

The other slightly interesting/weird thing that happened yesterday:
So earlier I wrote about this polish guy I had gone on a date with and then decided I no longer wanted to see ever again. So I just never called him back. And when he picked me up I just never picked up the phone. Well the thing is he never quite stopped calling. He will still give me a ring at least once or twice a day... or he did until yesterday. I stress now that I never picked up the phone or responded to a text in any way shape or form. Now, 4 weeks later, I would think that he would have gotten the hint. So anyways, yesterday he called while I was at work and, of course, I didn't pick up. So then a little while later I get a text from him. So I decide to skim it. I didn't actually read the whole of it, but let's just say it was a very strongly worded text in which I THINK he tried to say I was a gold digger....though I'm not exactly sure how he came to that conclusion from our one date on which I tried my hardest to pay for my half of the meal... but yah. I'm pretty sure he told me I was a horrible person and then ended the text with "bitch." So dear Arti (I refuse to text back because I really just don't wanna go there): I'm not sure why you think I'm a gold digger or a horrible person, because its not like I told you I was going to meet up with you and then didn't. I never promised you anything. And PS--YOU are the 30 year old man pursuing a 20 year old who is only here for 6 more weeks...hmm...I wonder what your intentions are. Kthanksbyeeee.

Radhi

Six in Six out (part 2)

Day two in Scotland began as a lovely sunny morning (although it never got properly dark). I woke up, went and took a shower, came back, and there was Nicky. In his birthday suit plus socks. just chillin out in his bed chatting up a storm with me like it was nothing. Everyone else was running around getting showers and getting dressed and Nicky and Paulie were just lounging about in bed. Pretty sure they were still pretty drunk. But I can't complain because it was most definitely an entertaining way to start off the day. After we were all dressed and ready to embark on our day's adventure, we headed up to the hostel's bar--which during the day is more of a cafe--and had breakfast. I had "orange drink" and some toast with nutella (YUM) on it. There is a reason I refuse to actually buy the stuff. It is all I would ever eat. Anywho, we finished our yummy but simple breakfasts (hey its free, who is complaining), and went down to reception to ask how to go on our merry way. And then we went.

We first decided to go to climb the volcano, Arthur's Seat. It was hot out and it was the attraction we wanted to see that was farthest out so we figured we would get it done when it wasn't yet noon and we would then work our way in from there. It wasn't a tough climb or anything (keeping in mind that none of us had really brought proper walking shoes except pratik...guess it may have been a good idea to plan this all out before we got there) but it was kind of steep for the first half. We got nice and toasty. We chatted as we walked up and when we made it to the top the view was just gorgeous. You could see the entire city and the monuments that we had been seeing around town like the Scot's Monument that looked so big from the town center looked so SMALL from up there. We sat there for at least an hour. Legs dangling off the edge of this huge grassy volcano, a nice breeze, just looking out. It was one of the most perfect moments of my life. One of those moments that seems to encompass forever even though it feels like it only lasts a fraction of a second. Looking out at all of that beauty I couldn't help but feel that no matter what happens to me in my life, in a world where places like this exist, something good will come of it. I dunno. It doesn't even make sense when I write it. It probably doesn't even make sense when I try to explain it. But in that short time looking out over what can only over and over be described as breathtaking beauty, anything seems possible.

Anywho, we finally decided we should get up otherwise we wouldn't get through any of the things we had planned to do that day...and we were all MAD hungry after the climb up there. So we took one last look out at the view and then started to make our way back down the volcano. After taking one last look out at the view we came down from Arthur's Seat and started walking back towards the town center. On the way there we came across a restaurant that looked good for all of us. It had normal food, vegetarian food, AND it had haggis, neeps, and taters. Erin really wanted to try haggis and she got Maggie to split a sample portion with her....to both of their surprise, we discovered that haggis unexpectedly crunches in places where there should be no crunch...hmmm....glad to be a vegetarian. PS, for those of you who don't know, look up haggis because I'm not telling you what's in it. Its that bad. So we finished up eating, settled the bill, and then went back outside to head towards the National Museum of Scotland. However, we got slightly sidetracked along the way. We ran smack dab into the start of the gay pride parade's march through edinburgh. I'm talking huge blue double decker bus full men dressed as the village people with the sound system BLARING macho man. What did you expect? OF COURSE we started dancing along with them. hahaha. It was glorious. We got stickers and posters and one guy had on the same stunner shades as I have :) Kieran invited me to go with him to the parade in London on July 3....but I dunno if I wanna go participate (it costs 25 pounds...thas a lot) or just go cheer them on as they march by (which is probably what I'll end up doing) But nonetheless. It was a blast. So after that we finally made it to the National Museum.

The things we wanted to see at the museum: harry potter chess set (Lewis Chess men), Raja aka Pratik (endangered Sumatra tiger) Ching Ching (Panda bear) and DOLLY (my long lost love). So we started with the Lewis Chess Men and then worked our way through the animals. These chess men basically inspired the Harry Potter chess men and are also some of the oldest chess pieces known to man. However, what makes them so special is the way they look--each one of them is so intricately carved, especially in the face, that one can instantly know not only the purpose of the piece, but also see all of its facial features and even the emotions the artist decided to give it. So after we saw the chess men, we went to go see Raja and Ching Ching. Ok so I'm not really sure at all what the tiger's name really was but it was a stuffed sumatran tigress and her baby cub (the Sumatran Tiger is an endangered species). We all think Pratik looks like Raja, the tiger from Aladdin, so we decided it was something we needed to see. And Ching Ching...well I mean, next to Penguins (and possibly Koala bears), who doesn't think a panda bear is just about the most adorable thing in the world? After seeing these two, we moved down to the bottom floor to go see Dolly.
Dolly--the sheep who was so controversially cloned oh so long (not so long) ago--has now passed (although her clone lives on) and is stuffed and chillin out in the National Museum of Scotland. Her namesake, for those of you who are wondering, is Dolly Parton, who has her own set of rather famous...twins. So for those of you who don't know, I enjoy a good BAAAAAA. so I feel that Dolly and I had a good connection right from the get go. I mean, we basically were meant to meet. I'm just sad I couldn't meet her when she was still alive to have a good chat. Oh well.

After visiting the museum, we made our way to the Edinburgh Castle. Out of all the castles I have seen since we have been in England, this is by far the most renovated. And while it is great that the rooms and things have been turned into memorial's and mini museums explaining the history of the place, and it is BEAUTIFULLY situated overlooking the city, I feel like it may have been lacking in some of the regal-ness of the other castles (even though those were more empty) just because the others hadn't been changed to pretend to be something they weren't. But it was still pretty incredible. We went and looked at the war memorial, we went to the Great Hall where a school choir had put on a performance and was singing "Defying Gravity" from Wiked...one of my favorite songs. We went into the royal apartments, AND WE SAW THE CROWN JEWELS OF SCOTLAND. We saw the sword, the scepter, and the crown. We also saw the Stone of Destiny, which Marky Mark had told us allllll about the day before. It actually has a pretty interesting story. It was the stone upon which all of the Scottish Kings were originally crowned. Then England took it. A student at Edinburgh University decided that for guts and glory he was going to steal it. He actually succeeded in stealing it from Westminster Abbey in the 1950s. He also broke it into two pieces in the process, but he had it put back together. However, the Scottish Police turned it back over to England and it was eventually returned to Scotland by the Queen. So all is well again. Kinda. We took some pictures at the Castle, and then decided it was time to head back to the hostel for a little nap.

We had been on our feet all day and I thought I was going to pass out while I was still standing up. So we went back and went to sleep for a couple of hours. When I woke up Nicky and Paulie were back. Naked again. hahahaha. They seem to hate clothing about as much as I do. They had gone sight seeing a little during the day and had come back to shower. They went out to drink and we went out to eat dinner, drink, and watch the USA game. We would meet up later to go on a ghost tour together. So we went to the Bank Bar to watch the USA game. The service was terrible, the bartender was a bitch, and the food didn't suck, but it wasn't really worth the hastle. This was probably the only place I didn't like in the whole of Edinburgh. We literally waited I think for about an hour before we got most of our dishes and all the person who took our order said was "don't worry it's coming" and then they sent one of us the wrong sandwich. Twice. Its not like we ordered elaborate meals or anything either. It was like...nachos...chips (fries)...and sandwiches. Anywho. We didn't wanna leave because they had a TV showing the game and we had a table (in hindsight the empty table should have been a sign). So we dealt with it. All to see the US fail miserably and have a fat ginger redfaced scotsman scream "f***ing Americans" at us at the end of the game (which we completely did not deserve. Sorry buddy. Can't really help the fact that I was born there. If you wanna take it up with my mom, I'm sure she would have some lovely choice words to say to you). That was our one and only experience in Scotland with someone being completely and utterly rude to us as well. So Bank Bar. To you I say....you suck.

After Bank Bar we headed back to our meeting place with the tour company we had been using--neweurope tours. They are really cool I like them. Very informative. We met our tourguide for our Ghost Tour!!! haha so this ghost tour. Edinburgh is supposed to be one of the most haunted cities in the world. Really...its just a bunch of creepy ass weirdos in their history. We did, however, learn about the first case to ever be solved forensically by a Dr. Bell. A man poisoned his wife and then to hide the evidence created a gas leak in his home and lit it on fire. Dr. Bell was able, for the first time ever, to prove that the woman had been dead before the explosion. That she was not killed by it but rather by a poison. At the time, a young man by the name of Arthur Conan Doyle was working in Dr. Bell's apprenticeship. That's right. THIS STUFF WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR SHERLOCK HOLMESSSSSS. WHAAA?! But yah. We learned all sorts of weird stuff about what people used to believe about fairies (the not good kind) and vampires and the such. The perhaps scariest part was a true story we were told about a man who cut his friend's head off and drank his blood when his friend said something rude about his friend's "girlfriend." Now pass this off as some weird scary medieval shit, but let me tell you. It happened in 2004. Not so medieval huh? The crazy guy who thought he was a vampire was in love with Queen Akasha (Alliyah) in the movie Queen of the Damned and decided that when his friend told him it was just a movie and in fact the actress had already passed, it was time to kill for his queen. WHAT A WEIRDIE.

After the ghost tour the company bought us all a pint and then we went off on our merry way. We also separated from Nicky and Paulie, who we would see later at the Hostel. We went to Rose Street and ended up at this bar where the whole crowd had a good 20 years on us. But that did not stop us from having a blast. Maggie and I heard ABBA blaring from their speakers from outside and demanded that we go in. One of the best decisions of the night. SO MUCH FUN. We danced to all the oldies and then some. Some scottish music too. It was so much fun. Unfortunately, that place closed around 12:30, so the search was on for another place to continue our Scottish adventure. What do we find? A crazy ass latina club in the basement of a building in the middle of Edinburgh? Sounds good to me. The place was called El Barrio, and it was crazy. There were tequila girls going around pouring tequila shots for people on the dance floor and people dancing salsa all over the place. It was like little mexico in the middle of Edinburgh. It was awesome. I danced salsa, meringue, taught prats how to, and just had a great time in general. Finally, around 2:30 ish we decided it was time to head back to our hostel. So we began the journey back. We got back, got in our jammies, and got in bed. Nicky and Paulie were already there. We all talked drunkenly in the dark for a while before dozing off to sleep.

We woke up on Sunday morning and got ready to trek back to the bus station to get on the bus and head back to London. We said our farewells to Nicky and Paulie, who were leaving in the afternoon, and began a somewhat sad walk. We enjoyed our time in Edinburgh so much. The city, the group we were with, everything seemed to just work out for us. We got on the bus. If the trip to edinburgh was arctic thunder, then the trip back was like the sahara desert. Dear England: please invest in better air control in your transport vehicles so we do not have to resort to opening emergency exits to get some air flow going. So we ended up sitting near each other but next to some random people. Which usually freaks me out but it turns out the guy I was sitting next to is a really interesting person. His name is Parris and he is a music video director in New York. He runs a company called Goreela. He started the company up himself and is now doing things with some pretty big artists (not their hit songs or anything, but the lower key songs on albums). He has worked with Busta Rhymes, P Diddy, Jay Z, and the like. He was a really interesting person to talk to as far as just talking the logistics of business and business relations and the evolution of the music industry. He also had a wireless internet card so we streamed the England game while we were on the bus (it was about a 10 hour ride back) and watch them get obliterated by Germany. When we got back to London we headed back to the Crofton. Our internships start this week so we got everything in order, made dinner, parted ways, and got set to start off as working londoners!

Radhi

Six in Six out: Nicky, Paulie, and the Americans take Edinburg

Edinburgh, Scotland. Oh how I love thee. Seriously. Love.

So Thursday night we got on a National Express bus to Edinburgh from Victoria Station. Stocked with two sandwiches, a sprite, a bag of chips, and 5 of the most amazing people in the entire world (Pratik, Erin, Shahar, Maggie, and Jen, I love you guyyyyssss), I faced an 8 hour bus ride through the Scotland night--which in case anyone was wondering, never REALLY gets dark during the summer. What ensued for the next 8 hours can be described in two short words I attribute to Maggie. They were the first two words out of her mouth when we got to Edinburg: Arctic Thunder. Those eight hours I felt I was on the verge of getting frostbite. The whole time. We sat there trying to fall asleep shaking and cuddling to keep warm. All the while wishing it would just get dark so that we could finally fall asleep. And it did get dark...kind of....between 12 AM and 12:15 AM. After those 15 minutes of darkness though? Yah. you guessed it. Light once more. But All of that was wiped from my mind (except the cold) when we reached the outskirts of Edinburgh. This city is gorgeous. I love everything about it.

We got into the coach station at Edinburgh around 7:30 in the morning Friday morning and our first stop? The elephant house cafe. For those of you who do not know, this cafe is a small little coffee shop in the town center that is the birthplace of Harry Potter. HIS BIRTHPLACE. This is the cafe where J.K. Rowling first began writing the Harry Potter books. We were there around 8:30 on a Friday morning and it just seemed like this gorgeous quaint little town surrounded by this immense beauty. It was absolutely breathtaking. No wonder she was inspired. And I say quaint because it gave off that kind of feel but the buildings are anything but. They are regal and old and just amazing. So we had our breakfast at this place and took some pictures along the way of the city, monuments and such, and then we made our way to hour hostel. The place we stayed at was amazing. Free breakfast, free Wifi (too bad I didn't know so I didn't take my computer...not that I would have had any time to use it anyways) and a bar that was open till 5 am so when everyone came back from their nights out they had a place to hang out and get to know some of the people they were staying with. We quickly dropped off our bags (we were there way before check in at noon) and then went back up to the town center to catch a walking tour of the city. We figured that would take the tour, find out about the city, see the sights on the tour, and then decide where we more specifically wanted to go for the next day. So we went to meet our tour guide, Marky Mark. He took us around the entire town, telling us stories and history and generally entertaining us. We went to a graveyard (second most popular place for public sex in Scotland, right after public restrooms), where we saw Tom Riddle's--aka Lord Voldemort's--tombstone. Thats right, JK took her inspiration from the actual town and the people who once lived there. WE LIVED THE HISTORY THAT INSPIRED HARRY POTTER. We went by the castle, the Grass Market, the Scot's monument, we learned the story of Deacon Brody, the true inspiration of Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde." The tour was pretty awesome, and Marky Mark made it tons of fun :) After the tour, we went back to our hostel, got our rooms and put all of our stuff in, got changed real quick, and then decided it was time to eat (didn't hurt that it was also time for the Brazil/Portugal game). So we went to a restaurant/bar right next to our hostel and watched it there while we ate. Then we went back, showered, NAPPED, and then when we woke up, lo and behold, our roommates had arrived.

So we were staying in an 8 person mixed room at this hostel. There were 6 of us, and that left 2 beds. For Nicky and Paulie. Our australian roommates. Anywho, we finished getting ready and headed back to the town center (we did a LOT of walking on this trip) for our pub crawl. Oh dear. This pub crawl. Well I know it started at the Bank Bar, where we all had a pint and started chatting with the people who had been on our tours that day and with our tour guides and some of the other tour guides. At the next place we went to we had a 53 glass long jager train. ONLY ONE GLASS PER PERSON. After which we starting talking to some scotsmen, one of whom bought me my first shot of Scottish whiskey, but refused to let me mix it with coke. "You will ruin it." So there was that. Then we left and went to a place with live music....then a club called Frankensteins I think....and then the last place: this five story club where you can't find anyone when you try but you find everyone when you aren't looking for them. Once we got here, we proceeded to dance the night away. There were some guys from Northeastern on our tour who came on the pub crawl that we met, Maggie made some friends, Erin made some friends, and we all just had a good time :) Afterwards, we STUCK TO OUR RULE of six in six out, all left together....despite a slight almost mishap...and then we headed back to the hostel. We got back, changed, and were headed up to our hostel bar when in walk...er, stumble...Nicky and Paulie. So we take them with us. Shahar and I talked to them for a while. I'm not sure what it is exactly that they do but they were doing a few days vacation after having traveled to Edinburgh for work. They claim they do something for a toy store. They also claim to be 23 and 24....but we are not sure on any of these details. They are also weird. completely WAF. So we hang out with them chatting for a while and decide its bed time because we have a full day ahead of us and its lookin like we will be running on about 4 hours of sleep after not having slept much on the bus anyways. We get back to the room and get in bed. Nicky goes into a corner, strips naked. I mean, NAKED. except for his socks, and then leaves his clothes in the corner and gets in bed. These guys are bat shit nuts. Anywho. That was day one in Scotland. Ohhh dear. More to come on this later.

Radhi

Cambridge...goodbyes...hellos

So imperial college summer ball: mad fun. REALLY cold. The whole thing was outside. And it was a rather cold night. yah. But I had a great time. Drew and I went and listened to Plan B while everyone else was waiting in obscene lines to get drinks. We managed to push our way all the way to the front and it was a great show. he really delivered. After that Jen and I took a break to go get food because we were mad hungry and the alcohol really wasn't doing a good job of keeping us warm (this was about the time that I started complaining of cold boobs, for those of you who know me real well, this is a pretty common occurrence) and we ate chips (fries) and crepes. Then we went back to the main stage and saw The Noisettes. Again, amazing. The singer has this great husky voice that melts my heart. Afterwards she walked by me like half a foot away and I didn't even realize it till her security entourage nearly flattened me to the floor....oops. But yah. After that we headed back to Imperial's main campus area where they have sports night and the like and hung out there drinking cider (still really cold out) and dancing. Then we stumbled home at some point and passseeeed outttt. That was the end of the weekend as far as I'm concerned because from that point on it was time to crack down (sort of) and do some work.

Sunday I woke up and started my paper. I also outlined my case study for my international business class. For those of you I haven't already told, in this class I am planning a major world takeover. I'm serious. COMPLETE WORLD DOMINATION. Its called the business strategy game, played online, and I won't bore you with all the details but basically I am managing a virtual company online against my peers and I am ruling the world. This was the last round. So I got pretty closed to finished with my paper, ordered thai food with Jen and Gauri, and then went to bed cause I was pretty exhausted.

Monday I woke up, got dressed and headed out to a beautiful day in Cambridge with my professor John Lang and the rest of my International Business class. Dr. Lang decided we have done enough hard work. We were ready for the exam tomorrow and it was time we all spent some quality time together outside of class. And I know it sounds like i'm saying this cause he let us be lazy, but this man is legitimately the best professor I think I have ever had in a college course. He is considerate of his students and teaches through experience along with lecture, which I think is very important. Anyways. Our day in Cambridge. We took the train out there, he met us, then he took us punting, showed us around Cambridge University and its various individual colleges (Emmanuel is his college) and then we went around the town, got some dessert pastries, and went to his home where his wife had prepared us a delicious meal out on their back patio. Their home is very modern German with regars to interior design (his wife is German) and it is breathtakingly gorgeous. We ate, chatted about the exam (he practically told us exactly what he was going to ask us from the case study that he had already given us) and then.....TADA! He announced the winner of the final round of the Business Strategy Game. I WON YAY! WORLD DOMINATION COMPLETE. haha and to top it all of my prize for winning was a bottle of french champagne. Then he told us he wasn't proctoring our exam the next day, which was really sad for us because that means that is the last time we might see him. Of course he also offered to let us stay in his guest house if we ever wanna come up to cambridge for a weekend while we are here and I think i'm going to take him up on that. I loved the town and me and two of the other girls in my class really want to meet his family (he has two adorable little sons) so hopefully that wasn't goodbye for real. Regardless, I am definitely keeping in touch with him. Then we got dropped back off at the train station and for the ride back me and my classmates sat and outlined our answers to the case study questions. So when I got home all I had to do was work on my paper. Again....this week was mostly me watching the World Cup and working on that damn paper.

Tuesday's exam was easy peasy. Then I finished my paper, went to a couple internship tutorials (BORING) and then went to the gym, came back to Crofton, and showered. When I got out of the shower I had a call from Taleb. So I called him back and then went to go meet him in Hyde Park. He took me to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, which I haven't been to yet ( I go running in the park but I've never been on that side of it yet) and it was beautiful. We sat there with our feet in the pond soakin up the sun for a couple of hours just hanging out and talking. About work, "uni," as they call university, life, friends, world cup soccer, and the like. Then we went for a walk in the park going further into the side towards Marble Arch, where I had not yet gone. We hopped on the tube, went to his place, watched the second set of soccer games for the day (YEEUH argentina) and then just lazed around on the couch watching tv. It was a nice relaxed lazy tuesday. He dropped me home and I went to bed.

Wednesday I woke up, went to class, came back, made food, worked on my paper and watched soccer. Watched the Isner Mahut tennis match some, and studied for my international management exam. I even went back to Princess Diana fountain and studied there some but ended up coming home after a little bit. And then slept. That is literally all I did. And I talked to torre for a little bit. But yah. Thats it.

Thursdayyyyy.....TODAYYYY. Woke up. Went to class. took the exam. EASY peasy. I love summer classes. Well i think i love summer classes in London cause they aren't reallllly that much work (I don't feel like). But anywho. Then i went to Sainsbury's to get my passport photo taken (so I could get an STA student travel card and get eurotrain tickets at halfprice to paris) and then came home, made lunch, and went to do laundry with Jennifer. After laundry we came back, changed into workout clothes, and got Bella and went to STA to book our TICKETS TO PARIS FOR JULY 30!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited. I can't wait. We are staying at Bella's family's apartment there so we don't even have to pay for lodging. We just get to ship off to Paris for a weekend, just us three girls, and live it up.... watch out men of paris ;) Haha. So after we booked our tickets, Jen and I went to the gym, where I finished watching the Mahut Isner match (GO USA) and then we came back to the Crofton (after a minor detour for shopping). We are making dinner and packing now and getting ready to go to SCOTLANDDDDDD. Yay men in kilts. Super excited. Going with Erin, Maggie, Pratik, Jen, and another girl I don't know. haha. But yah it should be mad fun. We are going to be back on Sunday night. But we leave tonight on a Bus. SO EXCITED. fjaeow;ifhaoweif. Can't wait. It's the perfect end to a semester's worth of work. And its supposed to be warm and toasty in Scotland too. Hello shorts :)

I'm off to a lovely weekend. Tell you all about it when I get home :) much love

Radhi

Honeymoon is over

So it has been a whole month since I have been in Londontown (give or take a few days) and it would seem that the honeymoon is over. Don't get me wrong, I'm still having a BLAST and I still love it here. But I have finals next week. And I know that they aren't going to be that hard (they are case studies and I was given the cases early) and I have a paper due. And while I know this really isn't a lot of work, it IS the first time I have had to do any real work since I have been here. I had two presentations this week, but I LIKE doing that sort of stuff. I'm pretty good at winging a presentation on the fly. So here I am, on a Saturday afternoon in London (thank god its gloomy out or I don't think I would have had the self control to stay in) writing my paper....or not writing my paper because I am blogging...and watching the world cup.

The past week hasn't really been very eventful...just classes and doing some work and hanging out with friends....and a little (lot) bit of day drinking with my awesome teammates (I love you, but never again). I am going to a ball tonight. Haha. yes a ball. I thought it was funny that they call it a ball too but from what I've heard its kind of like a prom? I dunno but some of the bands playing sound really great and on top of being a foodie i'm also a music junkie (unless its country) so this should be good. So really, once I'm done with this paper (which isn't even due until Thursday) I should be home free and ready to have funsies again....not that I'm not having funsies anyways...but I guess its just hanging over my head. It's odd because this class counts as much as any other class I've ever taken at BU, but I can't bring myself to care about it as much as I care there....but doing well thus far so I guess its ok.

Then there is the whole I've been here for a month thing and now that the novelty has kind of worn off I'm also missing home a little bit. Miss my parents, my sister, my friends. One of my best friends is leaving for the semester before I even get back so I won't even get to see her....till about christmas. Well thank god for skype. But yah. Homesick. I am just happy that I have made friends here who serve to remedy the homesickness just a bit. I have my friends in the program, who are amazing. The girls I've traveled with, the ones in my kitchen, Adriana from my team (love our sangria bonding), and OF COURSE my columbian goddess jennifer. Who is one of the best roommates in the entire world. I really do luck out when it comes to roommates. It turns out people CAN stand to live with me and I always get paired with the few who can :) Then of course there are the people I have met here; those who I have hung out with for just a night and those who I have continued to hang out with after. Taleb and his friends are great and a complete riot to hang out with. Alex (Ihab) was telling me about this chick he took to dinner the other night in attempt to buy discounted cigarettes (long story) and I don't think I've laughed that hard in AGES. And then there are Sophie and Keiran, who invited me to the gay pride parade in London who are so like many of my friends in Boston. I guess I have mad a little home for myself here in London that can't replace but can compensate for the fact that I miss everyone at home.

Anyways. So I guess I should go hit the books again. Back to this game and my paper. Ball (hehe) tonight. More work tomorrow. Love you all :)

Radhi

A lesson in food, culture, and fun in London

So I met this guy a while back named Taleb who has become a pretty good friend of mine. he is Lebanese, which is pretty cool. He lives in London with his younger brother and works for Harrods. I met him at sports cafe...he is kinda older (27ish i think?) but great to talk to because he studied and is now working in the sectors of business that interest me--International Management. Anywho, when I got back from Wales he called and asked if I wanted to have dinner. Nothing special or anything, just dinner. So I said yes. I think it would be awesome to have a contact over here to just talk to and go to for advice if I need and also he is a really cool person. So Monday night, after I finished classes and the gym and some homework I had to work on, he picked me up for dinner (yay I have a friend who has a car). We drove to a Lebanese restaurant. Here is the other cool thing about him: I love to try new foods and experience new cultures, and he is extremely Lebanese. He grew up there and moved here and so he has maintained a lot of the culture. I think he enjoyed introducing me to the food as much as I enjoyed getting to try a new cuisine. I had no idea what to order, so he decided to be a vegetarian with me and got us hummus and all of the other regular dips and stuff, but then this Spinach kind of pastaish dish and these Spinach pastries that were ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. Seriously? I need to figure out how to make these/find them closer to our place at the Crofton/find some in Boston. They will quickly become an obsession of mine. I also feel really comfortable around him because he isn't a creepass interested in a girl 7 years...maybe more...younger than him that he met in a bar, but that doesn't mean he is disregarding me. Since when did people decide that a guy and a girl can't be friends? We are being friends :) After dinner, he drove me home and I did some more homework and went to bed.

Tuesday night went to Sports Cafe with Rani and Jessica and Jennifer...I'm getting tired of the Sports Cafe though because it is an american bar and I love my friends from the program, but I am here to meet British people. This will probably be the last time I go there. Oddly enough, saw Taleb there. He was there with his cousin, so I got to meet him. They wanted to play pool, but (in the words of cousin) the "dumb americans are hogging all the pool tables playing that dumb ping pong drinking game." Haha they were using the pool tables (covered up of course) to play beer pong. He was not too thrilled about this. But Rani and I were tired, so we left pretty early with Jen and Jessica and called it a night.

Wednesday...pretty uneventful. Studied for my quiz...went to class..took my quiz. Then I took Pratik out to Imperial. Lots of fun ...that is until this group of really rowdy girls from UF showed up and started being obnoxious. It is a wednesday night girls. You are at a British University pub. Come on. Lets not be THOSE americans. Oh I was also informed that everytime I thought I was saying "peace" with my hands as I often do when I leave somewhere, I was giving a rather nasty hand gesture. Yes see apparently when the British were fighting the French they used two their index and middle finger to pull the bow, while the French only used their middle finger. So the British would show the French their two fingers as an obscene gesture waving and taunting as if to say "look what I still have" (because when the French captured them they would cut off those two fingers). So anywho. Palm facing outward= peace. Palm facing in....just don't do it.

Thursday was pretty much some of the same. Went to class, came back. NAPPED (it was amazing), went to the gym, and then went out to Oneil's. I had never been before but a bunch of people had been raving about it. Gotta say? Liked the setup, not too expensive. but in the end it is just another big bar that a lot of Americans in London go to. And it isn't that we didn't try. Jen, Gabby, and I did stop by another pub earlier that had NO americans. We also tried to go to a Club party that we found ourselves that nobody from our program was going to, but the cover was 20 pounds. Umm....no thanks. So Oneils it was. Its ok though. Im going to start looking early for British things to do next week :) Upside? Oneil's is in the middle of Chinatown. So when we left....and after I took care of a certain someone in an alleyway (I love you)...I got to get some chinese food before we headed home. I'm getting pretty good at this whole navigation thing too! I found the Nightbus and everything.

Friday morning I woke up and went to the gym (yay me) and then when I got home Jen and I went to the Natural History Museum. I haven't felt like such a little kid in a long while. We went through a "Creepie Crawlies" exhibit (bugs), a Dinosaurs exhibit (there was a huge T-Rex at the end that they had created that scared the crap out of me and Jen cause it was lifelike and RAWRed at you), and then through the human biology exhibit. The last one was really neat because it had fun interactive things and games that show you how the various parts of your brain and muscles and things work. Could have spent all day there but, alas, didn't have all day. After that, we walked down Cromwell road in search of a new restaurant to eat at (again, my foodie tendencies coming out). We stepped into this Italian restaurant and immediately I was excited because the customers in the Restaurant were speaking Italian. If you want to know if a restaurant serves good food, find out if the people of that ethnicity like to eat there or not. So we ate there. I had a great italian pizza...with artichokes, which I LOVE. I had the itis immediately after we left. But I also had a team meeting. Thank god Juan and I got through the stuff we needed to for the meeting pretty quickly because I passed out as soon as I got back to my room. But that was only for a little bit. Taleb called to see what I was doing and if I wanted to bring some friends over to his place because he was having a house party. We had spoken previously about my obsession with Sheisha (the one part of lebanese culture I am familiar with) and his brother was setting the hookah up for the night so he told me that my friends and I should go. We made arrangements for him to come pick up me, Jennifer, and Gabby at 10:30. In the meantime, we went to go watch the French v. Uruguay game at Imperial. The place was packed and it was a very anticlimactic game. Definitely don't want to go watch games there anymore...just not the atmosphere I'm looking for. There weren't enough seats and people were standing in the way so you couldn't always see the TV. Anywho, after the game, I came back with Jen, we had dinner, and then Taleb came and got us. It was a very relaxing night of hookah (for me).....and a rather fun night for Jen. hahahahaaaa. Turns out one of Taleb's friends is half Columbian, so Jen met her cousin. Also...his brother gets rather rowdy after drinking half a bottle of whiskey (yes. half a bottle) and so he and Jen had a blast dancing around. The rest of us had a blast laughing at them :) (love you jen). Finally I had to get Taleb to drive us back because Gabby was going on a trip at 9 am in the morning. Came home and went to bed :) I love relaxing nights.

Saturday woke up for an adventurous day of sightseeing! I went out with Pratik and a bunch of his friends from the Conflict Resolution Program to go see Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Tate Modern Museum, and the Globe theater. I saw this one piece called "Exploding Shell" by Christopher Richard Wynne Nevinson that legit had me staring for about 30 minutes. I'm not a huge art buff or anything, but it really got to me and I'm not sure why. Still has me thinking...I might post on it later. It was a TON of fun...we saw a blockade, took pictures with a police officer, pretty sure we saw the car the queen was in on its way to the airport from Windsor...you think I'm kidding but I'm not. We had a yummy lunch together at this chain cafe place called EAT (clever guys). And then headed back to South Ken to watch the England v. USA game. We watched it at a pub/restaurant called Archangel. Note to self. If you are ever in a bar full of British people and the USA team scores a goal against England, DO NOT (I repeat, DO NOT) yell obscenities at them in dead silence. They can hear you. And they won't be too happy. Pretty tired. Called it a pretty early night. Had a BLAST though. Solid weekend in London.....loving it. The weather is actually pretty great. None of the British gloom and doom yet....lets hope it stays that way :)

WIth love from London,

Radhi

Gwynedd, Caernafron, Bangor, Sean Smith, and sheep shearing...baaaa?

Oh wales...

I had a blast this weekend getting out of the city for a while and I must say it was a much needed break and I think I have returned to London refreshed and ready to get back into things. Had a nice train ride out to Bangor with Thania, Sarah, and Jen (almost died in the minicab on the way to the Euston train station. But we made it to Bangor around 10:30, checked in to our bed and breakfast (which was absolutely cute and adorable AND had free internet....what?). We literally put our stuff down and then decided that we should head out for a nice little night out on the town. So we went down to where the woman who runs the place, Joanna (who was so sweet), and asked her what was good in the town to do. So she gave us some direction toward the pier and the Tap and Spile tavern, and we headed out that way. I would say that we got there around 11 ish. I ordered my first Old Rosie cider....never again. One pint of that stuff (7.0 %) will really get your juices flowing. The funny part was that we sat down and then last call was at 11:20 and the place closed at 11:40. Well, we were definitely not in London anymore....where things still close semi early on the weekdays, surprisingly. So after we went to the Tap and Spile, we weren't quite as exhausted as we thought we would be, so we headed into the main part of bangor to see if we could maybe get a glimpse of this "crazy" nightlife that Joanna had referred to.
Crazy....yeaaa.....we ended up getting fries at KFC (KFC and Subway seem to be the only two things in Bangor that stay open as far as food goes past 5 pm. We are pretty sure eating out for dinner is illegal here). After hitting up KFC...ps, I've never been to a KFC in the states before...We went to this club place called Jupe. When we got into Jupe, we got a few drinks and the four of us girls sat down and started talking. Well, I got thirsty and went back up to the bar to order my next jack and coke (I love jack) and this guy calls out to me. Annoyed because we are trying to have a girls night I start to walk away but he just calls out "excuse me! I was just wondering if you recognize my friend over there." So now I'm interested in who this idiot is thinking up the lamest pick up line in the entire world. So I turn around and go stand next to him and ask him who he is talking about. He points out this guy who is his friend. "Sorry love, I just wanted to know if you and your friends recognize my buddy over there." Sorry bloke. I have no idea who your friend is. He is kinda cute but I have never seen him before in my life. I tell the guy that I don't and then go back to the girls and we continue to enjoy the music and relax. Then, this old guy comes up to us and starts trying to chat us up. I don't want to have any of this, so I decide to go hang out with the other guy and his friends (the one who had talked to me before). I wanted to get to know some welsh people! It turns out they weren't welsh at all. They were from Birmingham, England, and also visiting Wales just for the weekend. But I did find out who their allegedly famous friend was--they finally introduced me, Thania, Jennifer, and Sarah to them (I made the girls come join me...that old guy was CREEPY).
So we are talking to the guys and finally they call their friend--who has been taking pictures with complete strangers for the past 30 minutes--and introduce him to us as Sean Smith. And from the blank looks on our faces they clearly realize we have NO idea who he is. And from the look on his face, Sean was actually kind of relieved we had no idea who he was. Apparently, Sean Smith is a singer, and a rather good one. He competed against Susan Boyle and lost to her in the semifinals of Britain's Got Talent (that is why a ton of people recognized him--really popular show here). So we chatted with him, and he was relieved to find some people here who weren't fawning over the chance to get to meet him and talk to him. The only regret I have about that night is that out of the four of us girls, NOT ONE of us thought to take a picture. We eventually decided it was time to leave Jupe and head back to the Garth Guest house and get some rest so that we could wake up for our 8 am breakfast. We said goodbye to the guys and headed back. We went to bed.

We woke up the next morning and all took turns with the shower and bathroom--thank god nobody else was trying to get into the restroom (there was only one for all of the guests....of course there could not have been more than like...8 to 10 guests. While we were getting ready for breakfast, we also youtube'd Sean Smith. Pretty good voice. Sang one of my favorite songs in his time on the show (Ain't no sunshine) and actually did pretty well with it. We all sat there kicking ourselves in the butts for not taking a picture with him, and they left for Birmingham that morning. So there went our chance to get with (I mean be friends with...minds out of the gutters please) the "famous" Sean Smith. After lamenting the fact that we missed our chance with stardom (kinda) we headed off to the bus depot to get to Caernafron, where Edward I built his flagship castle during his castle building campaign in northern England. We went around the castle (which no longer has a mote, by the way) and took a guided tour, which was very informative. Our guide was also hilarious, which didn't hurt anything. After our guided tour, we climbed around a little, went up the towers, found the King's bedroom (not really, but it could have been!) took some pictures, and then left. It was actually pretty neat being there. I have seen ruins from thousands of years ago from all over India, Egypt, and Jordan, but the history that went along with this place was so much more complete and contemporary. After we finished up at the castle, we went to the Black Boy Inn for lunch, where we amused ourselves playing glee music on the jukebox until our food arrived (yes, we were those americans). After we ate we shopped around Caernafron the city for a while--we went to a little market, and then we went to actual stores. Then we went to the bus stop and took the bus back to bangor and did a little more shopping in the town's center and the continued on our way back to Garth Guest House...where we took a 3 hour nap. And it was glorious. I was so tired, I literally passed out.
When we woke up, we got dressed and headed out to find dinner somewhere. It was around 8:30 by now, and not one restaurant was open. not one. Well ok, Subway and KFC were, but seriously? We wanted yummy noms for dinner. We headed out to the area where the pubs are and went into a pub and got dinner there. There were also these guys there that WOULD NOT stop looking over and staring at us...I'm pretty sure one of them was throwing little pieces of paper at us and kept hitting sarah too. I will never understand boys' need to be obnoxious. But anywho, we finished up dinner, went to our place, got changed (kinda) and then went out for our crazy night on the town. We wanted to go to a club, but when we got there (at like 10) it was so packed that we could not handle it. So we ended up going back to the pub we were at for dinner and had some drinks there (those boys were still there and continued to throw things at us...Thania stared one of them down....get a life boys). So after the pub we decided we didn't want to try the first club again. Or it was closed. I don't remember. So we kept walking and we went to this other club. We walk in, start dancing, and these three (or four?) guys come up to us and start talking to us about sheep shearing. HOLD THE PHONE, we found our welsh men. They were hilarious. It was one guy's birthday and he was plastered. They started talking to us about their sheep...I swear, it was like a "my dick is bigger than yours" contest. The one guys was like...yah my farm has been in my family for 92 years. I have 100 sheep. The other guy took the number up to 1000. By the time we left that club someone was claiming to have 10,000 sheep. We took pictures in the street as we walked to the next place and (to my hearts true delight) started BAAAAAA-ing as we walked. It was great. Only in Wales would this be considered true entertainment for a nights. At the bar we went to next, we sat outside with them and just talked. One of them tried to convince me on the industrious nature of sheep shearing and how profitable a market it is. He claimed that his net worth is 47.2 million pounds and that if he wanted he could up and move to South Kensington and live like a rockstar. PUH lease. So we eventually said goodnight to our new welsh friends (who invited us out to their farms for the next day.....to which we politely said no), and headed back to Garth....had a lovely skype call with Deepti on the way (sorry babes. love you!). When we got back we pretty much passed out.

So the next day we woke up, decided to skip out on breakfast, and instead we all showered and started to get ready to leave our rooms at the Garth house :(. Joanna introduced us to her son, who was wearing a spiderman shirt and had just gotten back from a trip to Disneyland and the states. He was a cute kid. Shy but cute. We packed up our bags and left them with Joanna when we checked out, and then headed up to the bus depot again to catch the bus to the Beaumaris castle. We hung out there looking around in the light drizzle that hit us on Sunday. Thania almost got hit by a bird. literally. After the castle we weren't really hungry for lunch, but the other three girls WERE in the mood for ice cream...so we went to get ice cream for lunch. Silly girls. Anywho, after we had the ice cream, we headed back on the bus to Bangor. We walked out to the pier and sat there for a while just talking. Then we headed back to Garth, got our bags, and took a cab to the train station. We hopped on the train (or what we hoped was the right train) and settled in for an hour ride to Chester, where we were going to switch. Our train stopped a couple times (pretty sure it was so that cows could cross the tracks) and we were getting a little worried cause our stopover at the Chester station to catch our train to london was only like 15 minutes. As we drew nearer to where we thought we were going, Sarah started getting worried we got on the wrong train but, alas, they finally called the Chester station and we all breathed a sigh of relief. That is of course until we realized our train for London was already at the platform. We literally grabbed our bags and did the classic "late for a train" hollywood SPRINT at our train. Cause, lets face it, none of us wanted to get stuck in Chester (aka bumblefuck) England for a night. We made our train (cue actual sigh of relief) and settled in for the rest of the ride. This is right about when I realized I hadn't eaten anything that day. So I went to the dining car, got some food, got sassed by the dining cart guy, and headed back to my seat. Passed out. We reached London and took the tube to the station nearest our Crofton. When we got out, it was like rebirth into civilization. In contrast, it really is crazy how few people are in Bangor and how many people are in London. I was once more in danger of being hit by cars! Oh goodie. We walked back to Crofton, and I went STRAIGHT to Pratik's room. HE IS HEREEEEE!!!!!!! So excited. Looks like its gonna be a great next nine weeks loves!

Radhi

Wake up in the morning...

So I'm going to Wales this weekend for a little bit of rest and relaxation. It turns out its going to be a girls weekend out: Thania, Sarah, Jennifer, and meeeeeee. Yesterday Jennifer and I baked some cookies and got some junk food together for the trip. I packed up a little and got my stuff together. We printed our passes and everything and got everything ready to go. I was finally starting to get excited last night about the trip because all that was standing in between the trip and me was one more class. And I like this class!
Then I woke up this morning. With a feeling of absolute, indescribable dread. I have no idea why. Nothing is wrong. Nothing happened between last night and this morning. Nothing. Nothing changed. Just me. This is absolutely silly though. I'm in London, having the time of my life, I'm going to wales tomorrow, I am going with great friends (who I am lucky to have made in such a short time), and I can't think of anything that I have to feel this dread about. But, nonetheless, there it is.
I wonder if there could be some reason that I'm not as happy as I was last night but looking back on it the only thing that could have changed between then and now is me. This was literally like 6 hours ago. And it isn't one of those "I just feel down" kind of days. I feel as if something is seriously WRONG and I just can't figure out what. It kind of scares me. And by kind of I mean alot. And I keep trying to make myself feel better by telling myself its just a weird feeling but it isn't. I have had weird feelings before and they have come and gone and they have felt nothing like this. I have no idea what this is. I am sitting here in one of the most interesting classes I have ever taken (my international business IR class--I am learning how to run the world through an online simulation) and I can barely even make myself pay attention.
I'm trying to write this down...bang it out, if you will, on my keyboard so that I can get it out of me onto the screen and see if it will make me feel better. A sort of self drive on screen exorcism, if you will. However, I'm finding it isn't helping. I'm writing the words, but they aren't changing how I feel. So then maybe this is just one of those weird feelings that I get and I'm overreacting. And it will be gone by tomorrow or the next day. If that is the case and I am blowing this out of proportion then I really need to take a moment and breathe and take everything into perspective. Ever have that feeling that you know you are being absolutely ridiculous? That whatever you are feeling can't possible be as important as you think it is but you can't help going on about it anyways? That you are really just acting like a big fat baby, so you put on a smile, quit your bitchin, and get on with your day, but you KNOW that that smile is not yours. It is a stranger's smile. It means nothing to you. It is a showpiece placed to placate the people around you--to avoid the discomfort of having a debbie downer around when everyone else is having fun. Ever notice how nobody really answers the question "how are you" truthfully anymore? It has become like the greeting "hello." when someone says "hello," you usually respond back with another automatic greeting. Hello. Hello. Well, "how are you" has become much of the same. When someone asks you never really tell them how you are. Usually you answer with a generic "fine," or "good." And its fine that your answer doesn't really mean anything because they aren't really interested in how you are doing. Society has just deemed it polite that you ask. So no matter how we feel, we put on a smile and say "fine."
How am I? I'm fine. How am I really? I guess I'll know in a few days. Maybe a change of air in the country side in wales will do me good. I'll know in a few days.

Radhi

The Boys come to town, seed theory, their sage dating advice, and some disasters of my own Part 2

Ok. so I think I left off on Saturday? So saturday the guys went off to Wembly early in the morning to go look around there, and I couldn't even make myself get out of bed after club egg utnil at lest 12. So I opted to not go with them. Instead, Jen and I had some serious grocery shopping to do. I mean, SERIOUS. SO we went to Sainsbury's as soon as we were able to get our lazy butts out of bed and bought up all of the giant list of things we needed. I'm serious. WE HAD NO FOOD LEFT. So when we got back we got all of our stuff sorted out, put it away and everything and were good to go. Then we got lazy kinda so I just made a PB and J sandwich. haha. We just bought all this food and I couldn't even be bothered to make anything decent to eat. All on another day. Then I went to the gym. I just could NOT sit still any longer. It is one of those days (it was the first rain that we had had during the day since we have been here and I have to say I was NOT thrilled). But yah I really just didn't know what to do with myself. Arti called earlier in the morning to ask if we were still on for dinner. I called him back, told him yes, and then Jen and I went to the gym. At the gym did our little workout, came home, showered, and crawled in bed.
Ok. Yes, I know that it was a Saturday night, but I honestly was happy to be in bed and was really just ready for the night to end right then. RIGHT THEN. so I think I might pretend that it did?
Hahahahaha. no I'll finish. But seriously, I tried my hardest to make it end. The boys were still in Wembly, and they were supposed to be my buffers for this dinner with arti. Fail. Jen and Thania were going to come with me but when they found out the guys were gonna come, they decided to go see Sex in the City 2 (vomit) so that was another fail. So now I am trying frantically to get out of this dinner with an almost complete stranger and Bella is nowhere to be found to make a phone call telling him I am deathly ill and projectile vomiting. But alas. I have shot myself in the foot by agreeing to this dinner and for fear of looking like a huge jerk, I go.
So I call Arti and tell him that I don't feel so well and ask if I can just meet him at 9:30 for a late dinner (I really don't feel like spending that much time with him). So then I take a nap, get dressed in the most dowdy thing I can find, and then get to the tube station, hoping that I'm late and he thinks I stood him up and that he just leaves (even though I can't bring myself to not go because it would be so mean and I would cry if someone did that to me). I get there and give him a call. And he is there. So i wait where I am until he finds me.
We say hello and I'm actually feeling a little better about being there and we walk around Picadilly Circuis for a little while till we find a little Italian restaurant that we both feel will be good so we walk in. It is this adorable little restaurant called Bella Italia that feels like a little place right out of an italian village. It was actually a rather nice walk over (besides the rain) because we talked and I got to know a little bit about him. Arti is actually from Poland (leave it to me to not be able to find a British man in the UK). He lives here and so does his older brother, and his parents and his other 4. yes FOUR brothers and sisters live in Poland still. Oh and did I forget to mention he is 30? Hahah. yah. 30. oops. Well. I'm pretty sure that was the point in our conversation in which I decided to enjoy dinner and then never see him again (he clearly thought this was a date even though I had told him I was planning on bringing other people and they couldn't make it).
So we go in the restaurant and walk down to the seating in the basement and sit down at this cute little table. We talk a little more (although I'm seriously getting strained for stuff to talk about here) and then we order our food. I try to order a glass of wine, and arti, attempting to be a man i guess, cancels my order and orders a whole bottle. OK. listen up. Two things really peeve me off when dining with boys. Excessive PDA, and WHEN YOU TRY TO ORDER FOR ME. I don't care if it is food or drink, I will order what I want. If I didn't suggest ordering a whole bottle of wine, it is because I only wanted a glass. Guys.....I may be taking a shot in the dark here, but its cute when you open doors and pull out our chairs. It is chauvinistic (in my opinion) when you try to make decisions for us (even if they are small ones like what you think we should eat or wear). We are capable human beings. (hahahahaha quincy later commented that "that bottle is not all he thought he was buying," and I actuallly think its really funny. Clearly arti completely misread me if he thought that was the case).
So I ordered a fussili pomodorini...which was fun to say even though the waiter looked at me like I was bat shit nuts...and it was actually surprisingly delicious. That night was the first that I had gone to a proper sit down restaurant for a nice dinner since I have been here and, as a major foodie, I have to say (apart from the disaster date which wasn't supposed to be a date) it was a lovely experience. I am on the hunt for "must go to" restaurants in London so if you know of any, lemme know! So back to dinner. We talk over dinner just chit chat. What I'm doing with my life...how busy I am (my excuse for not answering phone calls) What he is doing with his life (nothing--he is a 30 year old man pursuing a 20 year old foreigner...lets get real). Before I know it, I have consumed half a bottle of wine (ok, so I know I didn't order it but I mean....if you put it in front of me its not like I WONT drink it....it was good wine) so thanks to my tank like abilities for not letting me get drunk. We finish eating. There are some awkward silences but nothing too bad...except arti tends to stare when he has nothing to say. And I don't really very much like being stared at. So there is that.
We head out of the restaurant and I am going to Oxford the next day at 9 am so I have a pretty early morning so I tell him I have to head home. He walked me to the tube station. And then, of course, leans in for a kiss. To which I respond by turning my cheek. Nothing like a nice friendly kiss goodbye (forever) on the cheek :) Goodbye Arti....nice knowin ya

Sooooooo then this brings me to Sunday funday. The last day of the boy's stay in London and my amazing trip to Oxford and Blehnheim Palace. We went to Blenheim first, leaving 43 Harrington Gardens, where we are taking classes, bright an early at 9 am. Jennifer, Thania, Sarah, Gabby, Trish, Sam, Quincy, and Gauri all came as well, it was great fun. When we got to Blenheim we broke off into groups to go explore what we wanted to of the castle and its immense grounds. Thania, Sarah, Jen, Gabby, and I went around first to go see all of the Winston Churchill displays (he was born in the palace) and then around the state rooms which had all of the old furniture but also some pictures of the present day Duke of Marlborough and his sons the Lords Blanford and his daughters. So his older son is entitled to the estate and all, but he is only going to take title because apparently he is in and out of rehab all the time and nobody really trusts him to take care of the place. So the younger son is going to take over the estate (way to go younger siblings) so after seeing the immense grounds and amazing palace (and after the disaster that was last night) I decide it is time I went about finding this younger Lord Blanford. Hahaha....maybe I can make Blenheim Palace my future home! Ok all jokes aside, the place is gorgeous. It is hard to believe people still live there because it is like something straight out of a film adaptation of a Jane Austen novel. haha. I expected to turn around and see Mr. Darcy--although it would be really creepy to wake up at night for a glass of water and have to walk around the palace to get it. But they have this amazingly large organ that I am sure sounds amazing and this library with all of these encyclopedias and FIRST EDITIONS of novels like "Treasure Island" and "Pride and Prejudice" (I am a huge book nerd....this library was like a dream for me). After we went outside, we decided to have a walk around the grounds and gardens, which were extensive and BEAUTIFUL. There was a Secret Garden, which reminded me of the movie beyond the name but also because there was just so much beauty there.
After we walked around, we went and had lunch at the Palace cafe on the back patio of the palace and just sat, relaxed, took in some sun, and ate some yummy food. After that, we went back onto the bus that was going to take us to Oxford and I passed out for about 5 minutes, and then we got to Oxford and got out. We were given a short walking tour of the little town, and then we went off to do our thing. Jen and I went with Trish, Gauri, Sam, and Quincy this time. We went to Christchurch, and then to the gardens there, we went to a little baguette shop because a few people got hungry, we went to get ice cream (not a big fan....i know....I dont like ice cream. So sue me) and then we went to Lincoln College and visited the courtyards of a bunch of other colleges (or Unis as they call it here). After all that walking around and picture taking, we went to the Oxford University bookstore and Jen and I bought matching sweatshirts...hehehe....team hot pink :) Then we went to....drumroll please....the TURF TAVERN: Oldest Pub in Oxford! Hahaha. It is this charming little pub with a ceiling that even I thought was low and this Turf Tavern summer ale brew that um....was kinda gross. But hey. You try a little of everything. And now I can say I've been there. We hung out there, got some chips, chatted up the bartender (who let me take a picture of him) and then headed back to the bus for our trip back to London...during which everyone fell asleep. I love naps.
SO I got back, showered, changed, and headed out to meet the boys for dinner and their last night out. I met them at Picadilly Circuis and from there we walked to a pub for dinner and drinks. From there we went to another. Then a club, then a restaurant for more more drinks. Finally (after some dumb incidents I'd rather not repeat) I made it home, said goodbye to them, and went to bed.
Its funny but throughout the entire night I feel I finally got to see a side of the boys that I had never really seen before. It is different hanging out with the guys just me and them versus hanging out with them with me, them, and our other friends. I feel like they are a lot more open with me when they aren't with everyone else. I actually got some pretty funny advice from them in the form of Kushan and Praveen's "Seed Theory," which honestly, the way they use it, doesn't really make that much sense at all. So seed theory.... apparently it is the way these boys land their girls (ps they share girls a lot....which is kinda gross but whatever). So they basically go after their good friends (mistake number one, because you either have to A find a new friend circle after you are through with your little escapade--and these are escapades none of these have ended up as actual relationships with the exception of one--or you B have to deal with awkward whenever you guys hang out). So you go after your good friends and you make some form of substantial contact with them outside of your friend circle. Again, can I point out that when they gave me examples of "substantial contact," they cited facebook wall posts? Again. How does this work? But apparently this contact apart from your plans is the planting of the "seed" that will become your special relationship that will eventually lead to a hookup. A lot of work and time and planning for a very short lived hook up if you ask me. But hey. They are happy with it so whatever. My favorite was Paven....poor poor paven in his antibiotic induced sobriety...is looking at the two of them like they are out of their minds as they try to explain this theory to me.
All in all though, a lovely weekend in London with the boys. I was sad to see them go. So arti had asked me to call him on Monday so we could do something (we didn't have class because it was a bank holiday). What did I do on monday? I did not call him. I screened and rejected all 7 of his phone calls. I went to the gym, watched a movie, and lazed about. Yes, that is right. I had a perfectly respectable lazy monday and I loved it. Great end to a very interesting and fun (and informative thanks kushan and praveen) weekend.

Radhi