... and received my first Christmas bonus!!!

My boss pulled me aside just now and told me that even though I'm a temporary worker (and paid by the hour), they are giving me a 400 pound Christmas bonus as a thank you for my hard work!! 400 pounds!! That's over 800 dollars!! It's almost like I have a real job!!

Eeee- so happy!!!!!!!!

Here are my pictures from the Leeds Castle and Rochester trip. Facebook has made them appear darker than they actually are for some reason...

http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2210387&l=e039a&id=3200197

...then finally left London!

The weekend before last I went on my first BUNAC day trip to Leeds Castle and Rochester. It was my first time leaving London in the two months that I’ve been here.

The weather that morning was amazing. We arrived at Leeds Castle under clear blue skies and sunshine, which made for some gorgeous photos. The castle was built in the middle of a small lake, has expansive, very well-kept grounds, a hedge maze with underground grotto, and lots of peacocks (including two rare albino ones) running around. Very cool place to visit.

The second leg of our trip took us to Rochester (home of Great Expectations), which was having its annual Charles Dickens Christmas Festival. Rochester’s main street where the festival was being held was absolutely adorable, and there were lots of people dressed up in Victorian clothing wandering the streets taking pictures with people and playing music. The festival was fun, but strangely enough (my friends noticed this too), other than the Christmas music being played and the availability of mulled wine and mince pies, there was very little that was actually Christmas-y about the festival. Oh well. The trip was really fun overall, and I got to meet and hang out with a bunch of other Americans on the BUNAC program.

The next Saturday I ended up taking a day trip to Canterbury with one of the Americans I met the previous week. We started out the day exploring the big cathedral, then saw the Canterbury Tales visitor attraction, which is a series of animated dioramas illustrating a few of the more amusing Canterbury Tales. Then (as it started to rain) we went to the Canterbury Roman Museum. After seeing the museum we stopped at the front desk to ask for tips on what else we should see. We chatted with the guy behind the counter for a half hour or so before heading off to lunch. After lunch (at this cute local pub) we went to see this museum in a big medieval tower that was used for the town’s defense. It turned out that the guy at the Roman Museum worked at the Tower too, and since we were there near closing time, he took us up to the very top of the tower to check out the view (the top deck has been closed to the public for the last 20 years). The view was amazing, and the guy gave us a few postcards for free as well. All in all it was a pretty good day. :-)

Wednesday morning was interesting. I had gone to bed the night before with a massive headache (and quite possibly a fever), but I woke up the next morning feeling fine so I got ready, ate a muffin for breakfast and headed to work. As soon as my train started moving I felt dizzy, weak, and semi-nauseous. Then my train was diverted, which made everything seem worse at the time but ended up being a good thing in the end. If my train hadn't been diverted I would have ended up at Bank (which is a huge maze of an underground station with few staff) instead of Tower Gateway (a small, above-ground station) where I met Katrina. As soon as the train reached Tower Gateway I started feeling really terrible. I ended up sitting on the concrete platform by myself trying to regain my composure and figure out what to do. After a few minutes an Irish woman (Katrina) approached me and asked if I was alright. I told her I wasn't feeling well and she helped me up and took me by the arm into the station's information office where she worked. She gave me one of her chairs and some water, and talked to me and looked after me until I felt a little better. She even gave me a hug (telling me I reminded her of her 22-year-old daughter) and her cell phone number in case I needed anything else after I left her office. Katrina is definitely one of the nicest people I've encountered so far in London. I decided in the end to go to work (even though I still felt weak) because I felt safer going somewhere where people would be around to help if my condition deteriorated. I still don't know what was wrong with me that day- I didn't start feeling better until late afternoon- but I'm glad my train was diverted and that I still went to work since my co-workers helped me all day too.

..and experienced British bureaucracy

Ugh. I had to take an extended lunch today to have my National Insurance number interview at the Department of Work and Pensions. I ended up spending almost an hour and a half at their office so, including transportation both ways, my “lunch” lasted almost two and a half hours (and I didn’t actually get to eat during that time).

I exited the Underground and, totally disoriented (as I tend to be after leaving any Tube station), I proceeded to walk in the opposite direction of the office. I wouldn’t have gone in the wrong direction had there been any street signs within 500 yards of the station! That’s one of the things I hate about London. Americans can bitch about lack of signage/confusing signs all they like, but at least we generally have signs to begin with!! In London, you’re lucky if you can find a single road sign at an intersection, and if you do find one, it’s never in the same place as in the last intersection, and the size and style of the signs varies depending on age. I don’t think anyone can drive around this city without getting lost.

Anyway, I managed to make it to the office right at the exact time of my appointment. To make a long story short, first they mixed up my name with someone else (a Karolina Petrovsky), then after 25 minutes they realized their error, then I had to wait some more, then they finally saw me for the interview, then I had to wait again to get my passport back. All the while my poor co-worker Jo was covering the reception desk for me. Thank god I had warned her about the interview.

Our landlord finally came and fixed the settings for the radiators… sort of. The settings seem to have been changed for weekdays, but the damn things were still running all weekend. Now he has to come back to figure it out. Assuming he gets it fixed hopefully we won’t run out of gas in the middle of the month again. For now, we don’t have gas until he adds more money to our gas card on the 1st. Why gas service here is pay-as-you-go I will never understand.

So I thought I posted an update about the departure of the Colombians but as it turns out, I wrote the thing but never actually posted it.

Yes, they left. Sonia, Alia, Jennifer and I were very relieved. And it turns out Marc was too- even though he hung out with them fairly often he wasn’t a fan of their habits either. Their room was empty for about a week and all was good. Then two Bulgarian guys moved in. My first impression wasn’t very good- they smoke in their room just like the Colombian guys and spend forever in the bathroom in the morning. But it turns out they’re very friendly and social, they know how to clean up after themselves, they don’t blast loud music all the time, and even though they smoke in their room they keep the door is closed so it doesn’t permeate the house. In conclusion, they seem to be an upgrade.

Everyone in the house is now employed, so trying to use the bathroom in the morning is almost impossible. (That was the only good thing about the Colombian guys- their schedule was so weird that we never had to compete for the bathroom with them.) I changed my schedule so that I shower at night though, and it actually solves quite a few issues.

Now the major problem in the house is with our landlord. He gives us a monthly allotment of money to pay for gas service to the house, but it appears that it’s not actually enough to heat the house. I guess heating your house is some sort of luxury that’s not included in the rent? We don’t even have hot water most of the time. I feel like when I go home I’m in a third-world country instead of the U-fucking-K! Thank god the shower is electric or I would have moved out already. If this whole issue doesn’t get resolved I will definitely be relocating in January when I can get my full deposit back. I keep thinking about this place we looked at up in north London- it was a big house run by a company called Accommodation London that (for the same price we pay now) includes a twice-weekly cleaning service for the kitchen and all the bathrooms. I told Sonia and Alia about it and they seem really interested too. The only problem is that it is a little far from central London. I’m wondering if we can find something similar that is closer.

Jen and her friends are having Thanksgiving dinner at a pub in Windsor tonight (about an hour outside of London). I get off work slightly too late to make it all the way out there, so I guess I’m not having a Thanksgiving dinner. Maybe I’ll find a Thanksgiving-y sandwich for lunch today or something. I think I would be sad about it if there were any real indications here that it’s Thanksgiving, but since there’s not it’s not a big deal. My co-workers keep asking me why I didn’t take the day off. I don’t think they really understand the holiday.

It’s finally feeling sort of winter-y in London. While in California when it rains, it rains, here it will rain lightly for a while, then the sun will come out for a few hours, and then it rains again, suns comes out, et cetera. I don’t think it’s too bad since you get breaks from the rain pretty consistently. You just have to remember to carry an umbrella with you all the time.

I rode a double-decker bus in London for the first time this weekend (our train line was closed for construction). It was pretty cool. The normal city bus runs a block away from my house and goes right into central London. You pass (among other things) the Tower of London, Tower Bridge, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus and Oxford Circus. It’s a pretty good tour of the city for only 90 pence! (And if you get a driver as crazy as the one I got you’ll be on the edge of your seat the whole time.)

The "Finer Things" Club

In the spirit of "The Office" Jen and I have decided to make our own "Finer Things" club. This past month was our French month, where we saw Les Miserables on stage, hung out and learned to curse (in French!) with our lovely Parisian roommates, and I am currently in the process of reading the unabridged version of Les Miserables. This month will be English month, where we plan to see Mary Poppins on stage, dine and drink beer at authentic English pubs, converse regularly with English people, and Jen plans to continue her literary tour through the great works of British literature. Oh, and I just got a free copy of the Hobbit (which was written by an English dude!).

Any suggestions for the next month?

... and received some good news!

It appears that the Colombians may be leaving the house. Woohoo! Our landlord brought some girls by to look at their room today, and the French girls told me that he brought some other people by yesterday. We're all crossing our fingers that they're actually leaving. Their dishes are piling up again and they're still smoking upstairs. I definitely wouldn't be surprised if the landlord is kicking them out.

It looks like I'll be doing laundry every weekend until I buy more work shirts. I thought I came here with more clothes, but I really didn't bring that much. I don't think I'll be buying any clothes until I get at least a few more weeks' pay and buy my return plane ticket for Christmas. So far the only store I've bought any clothes from (I bought a sweater) is Primark. The store is amazing. Sooooo cheap- even with the exchange rate! The sweater I bought was 4 pounds (regular price). I walked out with a big bag that included a bathrobe, a flat sheet, the sweater, and slippers, all for 18 pounds. I also can't tell you how much I love buying things here for the listed price and not having to worry about sales tax. America should really jump on that.

Monday is Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Night. There have been fireworks shows all weekend, and the local kids have been setting off fireworks for the past few weeks. When they first started I thought I was hearing gunshots! I still don't completely understand the holiday. We were going to go see one of the fireworks shows on Saturday night, but we ended up deciding to go see the big one next week for the "Lord Mayor's Show." Those fireworks will be set off from a barge in the middle of the Thames right in central London. It should be fun!

So a lot has happened in the past week and a half…

I started my job last Friday and trained until Wednesday. Now I’m on my own! I’m an “Administrator/Receptionist” for two partnered legal recruiting firms. So far I like the job a lot- it seems to be a good balance of getting to work alone (and undistracted) and getting to have some human interaction once in a while. The Receptionist portion of the job is actually quite small since we don’t do more than about five interviews a day. I basically only buzz the interviewees in, give them paperwork to fill out, then call upstairs to let the interviewer know they’re here. I don’t even have to answer phones! The Administrator portion is what I spend most of my time doing. I’m the first person in the company to screen the applicants’ CVs before they are forwarded to the consultants. I usually reject at least half.

My commute is pretty hectic. The Docklands Light Rail (first leg of my daily journey) is definitely crowded but is usually relatively easy to board and the trains aren’t too hot since the line is above ground. After I transfer to the Tube (second leg), I have the pleasure of trying to cram myself onto the Central Line trains. I’m the person who manages to shove their way onto the train and then must duck their head and watch their backside so they don’t get squished in the closing doors. Always makes for an interesting commute. I think the level of crowdedness I encounter every morning on the Tube definitely rivals (and sometimes surpasses) the Unitrans busses on Picnic Day, just to give you an idea.

The weirdest thing about living here is that it all feels so natural. Occasionally Jen and I realize again that we’re living in London. I still feel like we haven’t completely gotten our brains around the idea.

Our house now has all its residents living there. Two Colombian guys moved in a week or so ago and two French girls moved in last weekend. The French girls are really cool and Jen and I have been hanging out with them fairly often. The Colombian guys seem friendly, but so far they’re been pretty annoying. The day they moved in they left their huge pile of bags in the hallway all day so they blocked the stairs, the entrance to our bedroom, and the door to the kitchen. That was my first inkling that I might not like them. Once they unpacked, we learned that they brought a stereo for their iPods and they play loud music constantly. They also smoke in their room (it says in the lease they’re not allowed to). Last but not least, they filled the sink completely full of their dirty dishes. The French girls talked to them and it turned out that they didn’t know how to wash dishes because back in Colombia they’re rich and have had maids all their lives. So the French girls (bless them) taught them how to wash their dishes. I hope they get their act together soon.

In other news, our friend JJ went back to Hong Kong yesterday. He was one of our first friends in London, so it was really sad to see him go. He and another mutual friend and I went to the Hilton in west-central London on Monday night to go have drinks at the bar on the top floor. It’s the only tall building in the area so you can see absolutely everything. It was amazing. I’ll post the pictures once JJ sends them to me.

Here's the link to my London album. Let me know if it doesn't work!

http://ucdavis.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2195738&l=4765f&id=3200197

...and tried to get used to British humor.

So I had another job interview yesterday. The posting was for an administrator/receptionist and I was unclear as to who the job was actually for since the contact was a legal recruiter. I learned upon arrival that the job is actually for the recruiting company itself. The interview seemed to go really well and I held off from writing about the job on this blog since I didn't want to jinx it. They said they would call me today telling me the news.

I waited around at home all day so I wouldn't miss the call, and one of the interviewers finally called shortly before 5pm. I picked up the phone and we did the usual greetings and how-are-yous. Then he says, "Well, I have some bad news..." and I died a little inside, replying "Oh... okay." Then he says, "You got the job. You're going to have to work for us."

I'm going to have to learn to take NOTHING he says seriously. It was all in good fun though. He and the other woman I interviewed with (both will be my bosses) are hilarious, and the office seems to be pretty relaxed and fun (except when big clients or company higher-ups come in). The office is going through some major changes right now that sound like they'll keep my job lively. The office will also be moving to new a new building sometime before Christmas. I'm super excited to start on Friday.

... then saw a show and a sang karaoke!

The lack of internet in our house is a big issue right now. I can't blame our landlord, because the phone company came by yesterday to set up our line and couldn't because no one has the key to some random room in the housing complex. Very frustrating. Without internet, I can't look for a job, and not having it at home means I will be lugging my laptop across town to the BUNAC offices every day for the foreseeable future.

I applied for a few more jobs on Monday, and as it turns out, on Tuesday a woman e-mailed me saying to call her to set up an interview. I just got the e-mail (Thursday). Rarr. I left her a voicemail... I hope they're still setting up interviews!

In happier news, I had an awesome day yesterday. First, Jen and I got half-price tickets to Les Miserables at the "tkts" booth in Leicester Square. That booth is awesome. You can get super cheap tickets to almost all the major shows in London if you go there early on the day of the show. So we saw the play, which was really good. Then I got to see Picadilly Circus, the front of Buckingham Palace, and Trafalgar Square. Then Jen and I went to the "Texas Embassy" which is a Tex-Mex restaurant in London that a friend recommended to us. The food was alright, but the best parts were dessert and the free soda refills. We totally stuffed ourselves. Then we hobbled over to Oxford Circus, where a guy who's staying in our house for a few days (named JJ) had invited us to karaoke night at a pub. Jen and I were very reluctant to sing, but JJ wouldn't let us leave without doing it. I sang "I Want It That Way" by the Backstreet Boys, mostly because I already know all the words, and it's perfect for those of us with a limited vocal range. It was really fun. At the end of the night Jen, JJ and I sang (mostly yelled) "Shape of My Heart" by, again, the Backstreet Boys. People must have thought I was a huge BSB fan.

JJ is a total character. He is one of the loudest, happiest, most enthusiastic people you will ever meet. He walks into the house and immediately starts jabbering away at us with a huge smile on his face and inviting us out for karaoke the next night. After talking to him for a few minutes, I noticed the T-shirt he was wearing. It had two men's room icons side by side, with a single word underneath each one. The one on the left said "You" and had the icon with a small penis, and the other said "Me" and had the icon with a huge penis. I would normally see that shirt on someone and assume they're a total asshole, but JJ is one of the nicest and most outgoing guys I've ever met. He is SUCH a character. Totally hilarious. He's only staying in the house for three days, but I think we'll probably hang out with him again if he stays in London.

(JJ is the guy in the middle in the group picture)

... in our new house!

We moved in Sunday night. Made two trips from Egham (on the far western outskirts of London) to the Docklands (just to the east of Central London). Took about two hours each way. Yuck. Anyway, now we’re here. Jen did some walking around the area a few days ago, and it turns out we’re only a few blocks from the nice areas on the river and one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants. Pretty much all the nice stuff is on the other side of the big street. Our side of the street definitely looks a bit shabbier in comparison. But one of the benefits of living on the wrong side of the tracks is the food. There are tons of little kabob shops just a block away. I have yet to eat at any of them, but the Spanish guy (our only other roommate at the moment) has been eating nothing but kabobs. He really hates the food in England.

So now to tell you about our house. Not QUITE as done as we were told it would be by Sunday. All the real essentials are done (toilet, shower/tub, sinks, washing machine, our room) but a lot of little things still haven’t been completed (drapes on our windows, bathroom floor, stove/oven, some painting). The kitchen is still being worked on, so we can’t do much other than microwave right now. Fortunately we probably wouldn’t be cooking anyway since we still don’t feel settled. The only thing we can check off our list of things to do right now is housing. We still need jobs, national insurance numbers, and bank accounts. I think I’ll be fine eating kabobs for a while.

Let’s talk about food. A lot of foreigners give the food here pretty bad reviews. I haven’t had that experience, thankfully, but that’s probably because I know the big secret (and actual British people will tell you this): eat only at chain restaurants, places that serve ethnic food, and places that have been recommended by others. It’s a chain for a reason, right? And ethnic food is usually a pretty safe bet (and there’s tons of it in London). If you’re only eating at random pubs, you’re likely going to end up eating some bland, bad food.

So I had my interview yesterday and it seemed to go really well. I was completely at ease, and the interview ended up being just a nice conversation with two women- one American and one British. The building and office was REALLY impressive. The building is only a year or two old and is super trendy and fancy. It also houses the UK Google offices and is located just down the street from Buckingham Palace! I hope they pick me!! *crosses fingers*

Jen and I will be moving into our new place tomorrow. We've decided we're going to make two trips with our stuff instead of trying for one (Jen just about broke her back lugging her things from Heathrow to Egham).

There was a happy change with the housing- the Japanese girls decided not to live in the house, so we're taking their room instead for an extra 10 pounds a week per person. Our new room is actually the house's living room, so it's huge and has a fireplace and built-in cabinets. It also has a couch and a TV! Our former room is about one-third the size and wouldn't have had a TV, so we're really excited about the upgrade, especially since our house doesn't have a common room. I don't know how we would have watched British TV otherwise.

Jen and I went to Royal Holloway's on-campus club last night. It was Hogwarts-themed, so everyone was dressed up like Harry Potter. They also had a guy dressed like Hagrid up on stilts wandering around the dance floor, which was pretty cool. The music was super cheesy (I'm told all the themed nights are like that). The highlight of the music was when they played the Saved by the Bell theme song followed by Huey Lewis and News' "Power of Love" (from Back to the Future).

Well I need to take care of some online business before move-in tomorrow, so this will be it until I have internet again! Wish me luck with the job!

...then spent a week looking for housing.

Six days have passed since Jen and I arrived in the UK. We've been staying with Jen's friends outside of London and have filled every day looking for housing. The first half of our search was filled with long trips to unsuitable rooms in locations (usually) too far from the Tube stations. We were getting to the point where the search felt hopeless, but then yesterday things finally turned around. We saw two places yesterday that seemed like definite possibilities, and one today. While the long search was definitely frustrating, the one good thing about it was that I've gotten to see lots and lots and lots of London. It's a huge city and each borough has a totally different look and feel. I haven't gotten to see the touristy places- the closest I've come was one day in between looking at rooms when Jen and I went to Westminster and I got to see Big Ben, the Parliament building, Westminster Abbey, and the Eye (all from afar). That trip probably lasted all of 20 minutes. I figure I'll see all the famous places eventually, so I'm not in a rush.

Here's the info on the place Jen and I chose to live:

It's a room in a row house in the Canary Wharf District just to the east of central London (cool area- not too city-like, but not too residential). The house is just a block away from a major street with pubs, cafes and bus lines, and the train station is about a 7 minutes' walk away. The house is being redone at the moment (they say it will be ready by Saturday) and we can look forward to all new furniture, floors, and a redone kitchen and bathroom. No one is living in the house yet, but the landlord has told us that the other roommates are two Japanese girls, two Colombian guys and one Spanish guy. All are about our age. We think the setup will be pretty good for getting to know the roommates since we're all moving in at the same time.

In employment news, I have an interview on Friday for the only position I've applied for so far. Jen and I have been so busy each day and so tired each evening that we haven't had any real time to look for jobs or send out our resumes. The job I have the interview for is at the American Express offices here, and it pays really well. I would be a team assistant for two vice presidents. The only potential issue right now is that the job is only through April 1, which works absolutely perfectly for my work visa but may dash my hopes of working and living here longer than 6 months. I'm definitely going to ask on Friday if there's any possibility of being employed past April 1st.

So yeah, things are coming together. I'm going to look for more jobs to apply for tonight, but I feel rather lost as to what I really want to do. The team assistant job sounds fine (and it's always good to work for a company that's well-known), but I feel like a more desirable job is probably out there somewhere...