random thoughts

The past few days have been a bit rough... a lot has happened. I have accepted a new job and resigned from my current. I have dealt with over zealous co-workers, crazy customers, lost my favorite earring, found my favorite earring. Had my first experience with the national health care system... which at first went horrible, though after the redemption of the manager, went wonderful. Celebrated yet another holiday away from the states, this one even less recognized than Halloween. My thoughts have been all over the place, and I have thought of so many things to share with everyone. Though at the moment they seem to escape me outside of random bits and pieces. So, I guess I will share some of them.

- Buskers, they are the people who sit and play music or sing for donation instead of simply begging. Did you know that to preform at the tube stops they must apply for these positions. I was amazed by this. They are quite good though, so that does make sense. I love it when they are there. It makes everything seem so much more... welcoming, not as cold.

-We have put up our Christmas tree... it is small, doesn't take up much space, and is really all we need. It is decorated with lights purchased from the home and garden store down the road, one strand from b&g. And ornaments that made the trip from Missouri. I managed to fit quite a bit in our luggage, and knew that these small reminders of comfort would come in very handy. I like to think I have outgrown the small homesick girl that I once was, but who am I kidding. It is made much easier with Alex, but there are still a lot of tough times. There at the top, front of the tree is the sacred Texas ornament so often  debated about between my father and I. :)

- I can see my breath as I type this. It is cold! I never realized how much I appreciated central heat (and air... but for me more heat), I find my fingers and toes turning white more and more, be it at home or work. We have a few heaters we cold plug in more, but then it drains through the money for electricity much faster. We light candles, bundle up in layers and sit with blankets on. Here they have hot water bottles instead of heating pads or such, so I am considering getting one of them. Though I think we may begin to resort to the heaters soon.

-For some reason, I always had this idea that I wanted to know what it was like to have to really watch my money. Not just a bit, but where it really mattered. To have to choose between food and the month's issue of vogue. Silly I know, but it was something I saw as a positive, something to really make you learn and grow. There are so many songs, television shows and movies after it, I wanted to know what it might be like. And when you don't have to, no matter how strict or tight you try to be with your money, I have now learned it is simply not the same, because it doesn't have to be. I now have realized, it is true, it does make you learn and grow a lot. I appreciate parent's now more than ever, for providing money (when the decision was between food for a few days, or our phones being cut off) and so much more. In my little dream scenario I was never married so of course my decision always went to vogue. I saw me curled up eating roman noodles or something random like my meals of pickles, cheesy noodles and frozen peas. when you have someone else in your life, someone else to consider and someone you put before yourself.... vogue goes out the window.

- It is the random things that I find myself missing, and it comes without much warning at all. On the way home tonight I felt the extreme desperation for a route 44 diet Dr. pepper from sonic.... or a diet Dr.. pepper period for that matter. I miss the warmth of being able to run around my apartment in shorts and a t-shirt, my exercise ball and the comfort of all things clean and welcoming. I miss Nakato and walking into somewhere that you are known. Having a place to go buy all the things I needed, even if it was in Kansas City, St. Louis, Dallas or some other more distant location. I miss being able to pick up my phone and call a friend, a parent, anyone. I miss not depending on the tubes... (which are on a 24 hour strike starting tonight at 6:30 pm) though, I am so glad I don't have to deal with car issues, re-payments, de-icing and the like. I miss black Friday and all of the chaos and fun that it was.

I will leave with this as I am exhausted, cold and a bit home sick once again, tomorrow I am sure will turn for the better, and I will remember again why it is I love London so. If not tomorrow, I know it will on Tuesday when I get the day off again with Alex to enjoy this wonderful city we now call home.

The next station is...

These have become the words of my day, I hear them... usually 10 times, sometimes more as you can see by last weeks post on my extreme tube experience. The next station is... I go through let's see.. on the way home (the most important part) leave from Green park (which is one of my favorite parks in London), on to Bond street, here you can change for the central line, then to Baker street also with changes to Metropolitan line, Central, Bakerloo, and Hammersmith and City. Next I approach, St. Johns wood, no changes of other lines here, and onto Swiss Cottage, also no changes to be had here. I then approach MY station, I have began to take ownership of it, yes.. which is the wonderful... Finchley Road, where you can also change for the Metropolitan line. I see this as both a negative and positive, on weekends like last when they were doing work on my Jubilee line... I have the option to use Metropolitan, but an other time, I dislike this fact... I want when I am getting on the tube for everyone to know that this wonderful area is what I call my home, I am not transferring, I am HOME! It is a marvelous area, the best in my opinion. Silly, I know, why does it matter but, it is something I think of. Most people read in the tube, if you are lucky at the time, you may get a seat, making it easier to take part in this tube transport ritual, not everyone though, some people sleep, talk, mess around on their phone or just stare off into space. I find myself reading, or "people watching."  Most people do everything within their ability not to make eye contact, I have decided that it is because they don't expect anyone to reciprocate. I find it quite fun when you do though. It has been a bit random, their was the Arabic girl, who seemed a bit surprised when I gave her a smile, she was really sweet, very friendly, you could just kind of tell, she wanted to talk. Then there are the random smiles, glances, people surprised to see that I am not yet tough and calloused to the rituals of the "big city." There was the man last night, he was older, and had a good laugh with me across the tube of the man near us who didn't know how to get his groundings, he acted so secure and confidant, but then the train started up and he stood no hope. It was good for a nice laugh.

Tubes... they are an interesting thing, I have begun to see them as these announcements, these, "the next station is..." and other random announcements concerning delays, which are daily and where to change trains along with closings for this reason and that. Then there are the news stories, they aren't always on the news though. There are the suicides and the "accidental deaths." It never occurred to me how many people there were or how non-big of a deal they made it. The other day, they closed Bond street station for an hour, this was because of an electrical explosion at foot locker that is right by it. Though, while purchasing our bowls (no, we didn't have bowls until 2 days ago, we ate cereal out of wonderful plastic Eskimo Joe's cups sent with us from the Chaloner's! I hear them talking about the close at Bond and a woman's speculation that there was another suicide and a body on the tracks, the  associate said she was sure it was not that, she herself had been on the train when there was a body on the tracks, and they did not stop the train, let alone close the station. I believe this because last week there was a body found early in the morning on a track, and it only caused a very minor delay. It is so sad to me to think that these people's lives, these people who have so many who care about them, and are the world to people, their lives have been reduced to minor delays on a tube line during a morning commute.  I am doing my best not to become accustomed to these incidences and turn into one of the commuters refusing to give a smile to my neighbor on the tube, or directions to the tourist who is lost.

Snow and Reindeer eaters....

So, last night we were "invited" to the Christmas lights switch-on at the Burlington Arcade. It was strictly invitation and RSVP only, there were people at the doors, with the lists and the whole nine yards, and somehow I managed to get invitations from work. Everyone else there seemed to think it wasn't worth their time but Alex and I decided to give it a try... help us get in the Christmas spirit, attend an event, and it was hosted by Helena Bonham Carter (for those of you whom might not know... like myself until 2 weeks ago, she is an actress, specifically Bellatrix Lastrange in the Harry Potter series.) I did not see her as I was later getting there from work, Alex is proud to say they made eye contact! ha ha but we were there at the same time, she however was just surrounded by a swarm of people. I was more interested in the free adult beverages and canapes. After leaving we decided to venture down Bond street because it was also the night of their lighting ceremony. Upon turning the corner to walk down this wonderful street we were greeted with one of the most amazing sights... SNOW!!! OK, not real snow, but a dozen or so snow machines. It looked identical falling from the sky (Top story windows) and it was magical! Though, on the ground... it looked a bit more like soapy foam gone wrong, so, we kept our focus up! There were several ice sculptures, my favorite was of a Gucci handbag outside the store, and another of a large diamond, i believe it was outside of Tiffany's but I am not sure. As we strolled through the wonder and excitement of newly decorated shops to boast their excitement of the Holiday season, Alex spotted a (petting zoo, with a cow) well, this is what he claims to me at first, upon further examination, it was reindeer, not for petting, but to see (though Alex and I did have a decent debate over one of them being a "cow" ... I was right, only reindeer). As we look upon these wonderful little creatures that share in Christmas tales of wonder and delight to children (and adults) across the world, a man comes up to stand next to me and for some unknown reason decides to talk to Alex, myself and one of the people working the exhibition. His claim... "They taste really good!" ugh, my face must have said it all, I am not a vegetarian but as most people know, I do have quite a bit of difficulty  thinking of the process, thinking of eating the animals, and seeing the bones and bits of it. Then this man proceeds to tell us about how wonderful it is and so on... We all gave him the awkward laugh in response and didn't really want to say. He finally fessed up and said he was vegetarian, a huge wave of relief washed over me and I am sure I showed it. He then stepped up saying, "Ya, a secondary vegetarian, I get vegetables and feed it to the animals.. then eat them, and these reindeer are amazing!" Ugh, I was left speechless... he walked away, and so did we, I am pretty sure I said something out loud about not liking that man. Though I don't mind much if he heard me. But, at the end of the night, it was a wonderful fun and magic filled evening.

Familiar faces...

It was often that I would run into someone I new in Springfield, Branson, or even Kansas city but not so much here in London. I probably know a total of 20 people here and that is including Alex, family, a handful of friends and people I work with. Though I barely know anyone, I often see people I know. Ok, not literally, but it is an average of at least once a day or more that I see a bit of someone I know in someone else. It might be a smile, or look, maybe a bit of someone's style or their mannerisms. There are also the people that look like people I know, or that may be mistaken for them. The ones that really get me are ones that I have lost a bit of connection with, people that might not know I am living here and I might not know of their whereabouts. For a moment in time I get a slight glimmer of hope in a familiar face. Maybe it is some long lost friend... only to be disappointed upon doing a double take and realizing that it is not. Though it is not a lost friend or acquaintance these people still do bring me comfort, they are somehow a bit more welcoming, make the journey on the tube past loads of random people whom don't give you the time of day or could care less about your life. Though I am sure these people don't notice me or care about me in the slightest, I appreciate them. I appreciate them for reminding me of old friends and bringing a bit of familiarity to an otherwise unfamiliar world.

At home...

We are all moved in, and... finally have Internet and TV at home! So, Expect updates and posts much, much more often! We live in Hampstead, which is WONDERFUL!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampstead , check it out! And, about a 10-15 minute walk from our flat is Hampstead heath... which is so great, because it feels like you are removed from the chaos and crazy bits of central London! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampstead_Heath

We took a few photos the other day that I plan to load later today to show what our London is like! It is so different than being here on holiday! I see everything in such a different perspective than I did when I was here visiting and the novelty in things such as riding the tube, the taxi's, the buses etc are all somehow not as... glamorous! Take last night for example... my tube ride is usually 12 minutes, (yes, i have timed it!) though on the weekends, they like to shut down lines to do "work" so, i succeeded in planning a route to get to work which worked very well. Then, on the way home, I walk so confidently over to Piccadilly circus station, through the crowds of people, only to be shouted at and met with closing gates, that they were not allowing admittance at the time. (I later learned due to over crowding). So, I headed toward my usual station, green park. Determined an alternate route form there, with several transfers and waited only to be packed like a sardine, breaking all personal space barriers and basically snuggle with other tube patrons. They announce about every three minutes all the lines that are closed, all the places they won't be stopping, etc. One of these being no stopping at Piccadilly due to the overcrowding. So, I finally make it to my first destination to switch... a station I had never been too, Hammersmith, where you have to leave the station, walk across the street and enter another to get to the line I wanted to take. At this point I called Alex to let him know I was on my way, since I should have been home 30 minutes before. (This is at about an hour into my attempted journey home). I then board a train, wait about 5 minutes for it to depart and then go for a while, I was intended to go to baker street! But... then we stop, and sit, they continued to announce something about how the train would only be going to a certain spot, that it wasn't running past it (for repairs of course) then I realize, (it took me a while because a ton of other people stayed sitting) that the train would take me all but one stop short of baker. There are so many different accents and some are very strong, so when the middle eastern man had continued to say that the train wouldn't be running I could only make out the second stop, and was unable to realize that we wouldn't be making it to baker street. At this point, I leave the train, find an attendant and try to hold back the tears, I was getting so frustrated and was tempted to just walk the rest of the way! He gave me direction to catch the bus to baker street (no cash on me, he said they would let me on because of my Oyster card and the tube troubles) he asked where I was from and I said Hampstead. He kind of laughed and said, no, where in America! haha he had not been to Missouri or Texas though, but he was quite nice. I made my way to the bus stop, and decide I might as well try to walk, there were so many people waiting, i begin my trek and realize I am now on 15% IPhone battery and walking in the wrong direction (IPhone gps is not the best). So, I go back to wait, I managed to help some French guys find their way, which I was quite proud of. I climb on the bus, again far to close to everyone and wait for baker street to come. Needless to say, I managed to make my way home... 2 hours later, but home! Which was wonderful! It was made all the better to come home to TV, Internet, and a wonderful husband ready to make whatever my heart desired for dinner. He suggested a stir fry so we tried something new and he made a wonderful Chinese noodle style stir fry! I am getting hungry just thinking about it! I was able to skype with my wonderful friend Lauren last night and my parent's this morning! Which made such a difference! It really is beginning to feel like home! I will post some photos and give information about work and other thoughts soon, maybe in a few hours! And, we have our address, so anyone wanting to send a letter or anything, e-mail me and I would be happy to give it to you! Love and miss you all!

Holidays in a foreign land

One thing I have realized is that though I am obviously not living in Springfield any more, many bits don’t feel much different. I am not all too sure that it has fully sunk in that this is home, it still does maybe feel a bit like a vacation. There are some things I thought I would miss greatly and others that I didn’t think I would notice much. The odd thing of it all has been that if anything, my expectations as to which things would land in which category has practically fully switched. For example one such thing would be Halloween, I wasn’t massive by any means when living at home, my celebration of the holiday consisted of choosing the perfect pumpkin and creating a jack-o-lantern to decorate along with other festive decorations, so in retrospect I guess I was moderately active in the Halloween celebration. I was not however the type to dress up (not at all let alone provocatively like so many girls my age would) and go to the local pub-crawls or trick-or-treating. To many regards I didn’t like the holiday because it reminded me of loss, being that several people I knew had lost their battles with cancer mere days before this holiday and thus I was reminded me of them each year in conjunction with the holiday. So, my point to this being, I didn’t think I would miss this holiday much, but I am surprised by how much it has hit me. I think possibly because there is so little excitement around it here, and I guess, I simply miss that hype and excitement. I fear the same may prove it’s self true with Thanksgiving, a holiday that at home I disliked more than liked. I hated the food when so many people treasured. If anything at home I was more of a Scrooge of Thanksgiving.  There were many a Thanksgiving where I sat out the holiday festivities, I would spend the day at home alone, enjoying a day of TV marathons and full relaxation, eating the foods I liked, not all the turkey, stuffing, cranberry crap that everyone loved. I often felt as though too much of the focus was around food, I saw it as such a gluttonous celebration. I may have gone so far as to give a speech in my senior year at college in anthropology of this matter exactly; I recall many of those in my class giving me a glare of insanity as if I was somehow not American. Though there are a few things I absolutely love about the holiday, 1. The turkey trot, 2. Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, & 3. Black Friday.  For anyone who does not know of these “Amy” traditions, the turkey trot is the annual 5k on the morning of Thanksgiving, it is usually cold, there are tons of people many dressed up as turkeys or Indians, and it is nothing short of fun! Then there is the best parade on earth (in my opinion, the wonderful Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and huge balloons flowing through the streets of New York City. And last but not least, is “black Friday” as I am sure many people love it because of the wonderful deals they get when shopping, I love it because I am the person working. We would go into work in the wee hours of the morning, usually around 4am, and open the doors as soon as we could, usually 4:30, the energy, the excitement, the pure thrill of the official beginning of the Christmas shopping, there is really nothing like it! So, with saying this, I am afraid that I may miss Thanksgiving more than I have anticipated. Though, my wonderful husband has agreed to get up on the morning (assuming we are both off work, if not, another morning) and run 3.1 miles with me, and if I am not at work, I will hope I might be able to find the parade on the television. I am not yet sure if a day of such chaos exists comparable to “black Friday” but I do know, many places are placing holiday windows and decorations out as I type this. I am excited to see which holidays they may celebrate here with more excitement and grandeur than we did in the states, or holidays that we may not have even known. We did carve wonderful jack-o-lanterns and I know that my non-American husband will do everything in his power to help me feel more at home in this country that neither of us are custom to.