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...