Sunday, November 1, 2009
One year later
I also forgot to mention I have now been in London for exactly one year!!! I arrived October 30th 2008... !!!! How time flies!!!
Chester, Ascot, Gothenburg
Last weekend Anne and I went to Chester to visit Byron here...
Byron and I went to middle school and High school together in Vienna. Vienna was (and still is) a fantastic place to live and we had such great times...
Byron and Gemma (his girlfriend) were kind enough to have us visit their lovely place in chester and stay with them for the weekend. Fantastic food, lovely fun talks and some great catching up and getting to know one another. Anne and Gemma had never met and Byron and myself hadn't spent any considerable time with our friends partner. But we all got on marvelously (This is a word that loads of people seem to use here in the UK, I haven't used Marvelous for quite a while but its a fun word, start using it...it's MARVELOUS)
Chester is a lovely town... very pituresque and quaint... definitely a place I would consider going to again just to relax. Anne snapped a great pic of me with the old shakespearan type houses in the background :-)
And the highlight of the weekend had to be Anne riding Joe (a horse that Gemma owns)...
Anne loves riding and horses and animals and so does Gemma. Rich loves beer, and football and beer and so does Byron... so it was a match made in heaven... :-) A quick detour to Burger king while the girls were riding allowed Byron and myself get down to some good ole burgering ..
A fantastic weekend topped off by seeing Mr. Hagan (my middle school football coach who is Byron's dad), Mr Heedles (my math teacher in high school and coach of my varisity football team at AIS) and Mrs. Hagan (Byron's mom who was also a teacher at AIS)...
Once back in London the stress started again and I've been super busy the past few weeks with lots of social arrangements outside of work as well... Dinner on Tuesday with Jennifer (one of Anne's closest friends who lives in Ystad) and her Jocke, Dinner on Wednesday for a girl that was leaving... great restaurant that does 50% off if you book in advance.. it was called the Clerkenwell Dining Room . I would recommend it for some good food if you can get the 50% off... I had the Salmon with loads of other seafood ... it was YUMMY!!!
Thursday finally a day off and headed to the gym and then Friday lovely dinner out at Ping Pong with Gemma, Alex, Bernie, Joao, Anne and myself. Farrrrrrrr too many glasses of wine.. I'm not normally a wine drinker but it was fantastically fun...
Didn't have time to be hungover because by 11 on Saturday morning I was at Waterloo station to meet Emma and Kieran (from my days in Bratislava) as well as John K, Laura and Gemma C. We headed to Ascot, the horse races.. it was an absolutely beautiful race course and it was a great day out... fantastic spending some quality time with Emma and Kieran but unfortunately I didn't win anyting on the horses... oh well :-) next time eh...
Now its a nice relaxing Sunday and we have one week until we fly to Sweden.. to Gothenburg to go to a Wedding of some really good friends ... John B and Carolina C... will be great.. more to come!!!
Byron and I went to middle school and High school together in Vienna. Vienna was (and still is) a fantastic place to live and we had such great times...Byron and Gemma (his girlfriend) were kind enough to have us visit their lovely place in chester and stay with them for the weekend. Fantastic food, lovely fun talks and some great catching up and getting to know one another. Anne and Gemma had never met and Byron and myself hadn't spent any considerable time with our friends partner. But we all got on marvelously (This is a word that loads of people seem to use here in the UK, I haven't used Marvelous for quite a while but its a fun word, start using it...it's MARVELOUS)
Chester is a lovely town... very pituresque and quaint... definitely a place I would consider going to again just to relax. Anne snapped a great pic of me with the old shakespearan type houses in the background :-)
And the highlight of the weekend had to be Anne riding Joe (a horse that Gemma owns)...
Anne loves riding and horses and animals and so does Gemma. Rich loves beer, and football and beer and so does Byron... so it was a match made in heaven... :-) A quick detour to Burger king while the girls were riding allowed Byron and myself get down to some good ole burgering ..A fantastic weekend topped off by seeing Mr. Hagan (my middle school football coach who is Byron's dad), Mr Heedles (my math teacher in high school and coach of my varisity football team at AIS) and Mrs. Hagan (Byron's mom who was also a teacher at AIS)...
Once back in London the stress started again and I've been super busy the past few weeks with lots of social arrangements outside of work as well... Dinner on Tuesday with Jennifer (one of Anne's closest friends who lives in Ystad) and her Jocke, Dinner on Wednesday for a girl that was leaving... great restaurant that does 50% off if you book in advance.. it was called the Clerkenwell Dining Room . I would recommend it for some good food if you can get the 50% off... I had the Salmon with loads of other seafood ... it was YUMMY!!!
Thursday finally a day off and headed to the gym and then Friday lovely dinner out at Ping Pong with Gemma, Alex, Bernie, Joao, Anne and myself. Farrrrrrrr too many glasses of wine.. I'm not normally a wine drinker but it was fantastically fun...
Didn't have time to be hungover because by 11 on Saturday morning I was at Waterloo station to meet Emma and Kieran (from my days in Bratislava) as well as John K, Laura and Gemma C. We headed to Ascot, the horse races.. it was an absolutely beautiful race course and it was a great day out... fantastic spending some quality time with Emma and Kieran but unfortunately I didn't win anyting on the horses... oh well :-) next time eh...
Now its a nice relaxing Sunday and we have one week until we fly to Sweden.. to Gothenburg to go to a Wedding of some really good friends ... John B and Carolina C... will be great.. more to come!!!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
ever get the feeling...
ever get the feeling that you are the only one thinking something... the only one that notices something... you sit watching everyone else get mesmorised by a person, a thing or place and you're sitting there asking yourself...
"i don't get it..."
I don't get why everyone has adopted a little boy at our workplace... surely an immature little pestering brat should be frowned upon... and told to grow up.. instead... everyone acts as though he is the little child of the office and cuddles and treats him nicely... when that little boy grows up... he's in for a rude awakening...
Group psychology is an extremely interesting thing... once you feel out of the group.. it's tough to get into it again...
Another thing I think is absolutely disgusting but appears to be quite common is Bullying at the workplace... what makes certain "@$$#ö/e$" think they have the right to be mean to others... probably bullied themselves as a child... bullied themselves on the tube or in other public circumstances... maybe they've never grown up...
I have one thing to say to them... "GROW UP"...
There's plenty more I'd love to write about this but it''s late and I've got to head to bed... but I'm due to write more on this topic soon
"i don't get it..."
I don't get why everyone has adopted a little boy at our workplace... surely an immature little pestering brat should be frowned upon... and told to grow up.. instead... everyone acts as though he is the little child of the office and cuddles and treats him nicely... when that little boy grows up... he's in for a rude awakening...
Group psychology is an extremely interesting thing... once you feel out of the group.. it's tough to get into it again...
Another thing I think is absolutely disgusting but appears to be quite common is Bullying at the workplace... what makes certain "@$$#ö/e$" think they have the right to be mean to others... probably bullied themselves as a child... bullied themselves on the tube or in other public circumstances... maybe they've never grown up...
I have one thing to say to them... "GROW UP"...
There's plenty more I'd love to write about this but it''s late and I've got to head to bed... but I'm due to write more on this topic soon
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
October!!! Are you kidding me----
It's already October? I only managed one entry in September. Time really flies and instead of trying to fill you all in on whats happened the past month I'll just choose some random things that I've noticed, I've experienced, I'd like to comment on...
It's been an eventful few weeks
Really LOTS has happened since I last wrote having just returned from Manchester. I can't believe that that's almost a month ago now. Settling in to work and it's becoming more and more routine. I've obviously still got lots to learn but that's nothing new...
London is changing... Summer to Fall....
I walk to and from work every day... it's exactly 30 minutes door to door. Fantastic to be able to get that kind of exercise and its a fantastic way to start and finish a day... on my way I have noticed the change of the seasons... When I first started walking, Kids were not going to school, people were still away on holiday, the sun was still very much shining every day as I left to go to work and as I came home... now...
The majority of people I meet on my walk to work are kids or parents with their kids... The last three days it has gently rained on my way to and from work... it's still enjoyable only a little less so... still just a trinkle...!!!
I see the same people at the same spot everyday as I walk. Everyone has this wherever they are in the world as people have their routines... the funny thing is one of the guys I see every morning, had the SAME SHIRT and the SAME Trousers on everyday... and i would start getting crazy dejavu... one day I didn't see him, but when I turned around, i did see him, it's only he'd changed shirt and trousers and it looked like a totally different person. Really interesting... today he walked in a suit!!! First time i saw that... stay tuned to find out what he'll be wearing tomorrow...
Sales isn't such a bad job... people aren't always best pleased to hear from a salesperson and you've learned all the best ways to shut telesales people up in the future... but it's a real skill and something that takes time to perfect... the same with face-to-face sales... Ben, the guy I work with is quite articulate and a very good sales person for having never had experience of it before... there's a lot to learn from him despite our personalities clearly clashing... it's not often that I've had to work sooo close to someone who I quite clearly clash on a personality level... but that's part of the great experience...
I've been eating lots of fantastic things.. London is the best place in the world for eating out... had Chinese food in China town (in SOHO) with my friend Giang from my time working in Lund...it was a fantastic time!!! Italian, Japanese, English... you name it i've eaten it...!!! Really recommend you to come over for the food...
I have joined the gym, Anne and I got a "couples" price and I have my first session with a "personal trainer" tomorrow... should be an interesting day... they also have a swimming pool and sauna and steam room... everything included in the price, hopefully i'll make the most of the gym.. gotta get back in to some kind of shape for the christmas FEAST!!! :-p
That's a very quick, quite uninformative update of whats new with me... i'll try to find some pictures to upload for next time ... hopefully after I've been at the gym a few times with Anne...!!!
It's been an eventful few weeks
Really LOTS has happened since I last wrote having just returned from Manchester. I can't believe that that's almost a month ago now. Settling in to work and it's becoming more and more routine. I've obviously still got lots to learn but that's nothing new...
London is changing... Summer to Fall....
I walk to and from work every day... it's exactly 30 minutes door to door. Fantastic to be able to get that kind of exercise and its a fantastic way to start and finish a day... on my way I have noticed the change of the seasons... When I first started walking, Kids were not going to school, people were still away on holiday, the sun was still very much shining every day as I left to go to work and as I came home... now...
The majority of people I meet on my walk to work are kids or parents with their kids... The last three days it has gently rained on my way to and from work... it's still enjoyable only a little less so... still just a trinkle...!!!
I see the same people at the same spot everyday as I walk. Everyone has this wherever they are in the world as people have their routines... the funny thing is one of the guys I see every morning, had the SAME SHIRT and the SAME Trousers on everyday... and i would start getting crazy dejavu... one day I didn't see him, but when I turned around, i did see him, it's only he'd changed shirt and trousers and it looked like a totally different person. Really interesting... today he walked in a suit!!! First time i saw that... stay tuned to find out what he'll be wearing tomorrow...
Sales isn't such a bad job... people aren't always best pleased to hear from a salesperson and you've learned all the best ways to shut telesales people up in the future... but it's a real skill and something that takes time to perfect... the same with face-to-face sales... Ben, the guy I work with is quite articulate and a very good sales person for having never had experience of it before... there's a lot to learn from him despite our personalities clearly clashing... it's not often that I've had to work sooo close to someone who I quite clearly clash on a personality level... but that's part of the great experience...
I've been eating lots of fantastic things.. London is the best place in the world for eating out... had Chinese food in China town (in SOHO) with my friend Giang from my time working in Lund...it was a fantastic time!!! Italian, Japanese, English... you name it i've eaten it...!!! Really recommend you to come over for the food...
I have joined the gym, Anne and I got a "couples" price and I have my first session with a "personal trainer" tomorrow... should be an interesting day... they also have a swimming pool and sauna and steam room... everything included in the price, hopefully i'll make the most of the gym.. gotta get back in to some kind of shape for the christmas FEAST!!! :-p
That's a very quick, quite uninformative update of whats new with me... i'll try to find some pictures to upload for next time ... hopefully after I've been at the gym a few times with Anne...!!!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Manchester...
A week in Manchester... or more correctly.. in Wilmslow...
I spent a week in Wilmslow, a very posh suburb to Manchester where there are far more Bentley's than Fiats...
Having arrived to Wilmslow on Sunday evening (at 19-ish) following a two hour train trip from London... I immediately met up with a group of the others who were on the same training course. The reason I was up there was for Pareto Law (the recruitment agency that I got the job through) sales training (the foundations of selling). It was an extremely interesting week of training culminating in Thursday's cold-call test where we (we were a group of 23 people on the course) one by one had to call the trainer who was pretending to be a potential buyer of our product. We had to convince him to have a meeting. I went fourth out of 23 and was the first person to successfully book a meeting so I was extremely happy with that although I felt slightly like I had weaselled my way in... ie. there is a lot of room for improvement... but all in all, a great training session and learned a hell of a lot in terms of Sales...
It is also interesting, already on the day I arrived, I felt a bit under the weather and unfortunately I wasn't able to shake off the sore throat, stuffy nose and headache throughout the week... this in part meant that I wasn't as social with the other individuals in the group as I might have been. At the same time I was also not interested in spending any more time with the guy I work with than I would have to and he was ... as he normally is... loud and self-centered and good at initially connecting with people. The combination meant that I took a real backseat which is extremely interesting and worthwhile at times.
It's always interesting with group dynamics and especially when there are so many different personality types and people that want to take up a lot of place. The fact that the ages ranged from 21 to 47 also had a major part to play although some of the people in their 30's acted more like 21 year olds than certain 21 yo's... The English society is very much about going out and socialising and drinking every night... and if you miss out ... especially if it is a bad reason, then that can be quite detrimental to your "social-standing" ... it's definitely interesting... dynamics of a group!!!
While up in the Manchester area I was fortunate enough to meet up with two of my friends from yesteryear... I met with Ria, a Finnish PhD student in Manchester on the Monday night at Kro2. A great Danish bar in manchester. It was really interesting to hear how she's been doing. It's a completely different world, the world of doctoring!!!
On Tuesday I had the fantastic opportunity of going to Chester to meet my really close friend Byron... meet his lovely girlfriend Gemma, their dog Poppit, and see their current flat... everything was absolutely fantastic!!! Had a lovely lovely meal and a great chat... really miss Byron! Glad we're in the same country at least... Now Anne and I need to get up there so Anne and Gemma can ride horses and Byron and I sit in the pub and reminisce...!!! :-)
Finally, yesterday after having arrived back in London at 21.00, Anne and I went to meet another of my closest friends, Gemma and Alex... we went to a pub called the Queenshead & Artichoke on Albany Road (just opposite Great Portland Street). Great tapas and atmosphere.. highly recommend it!!!
Now I'm back in London with a cold... hopefully meeting up with my friend Santiago from Colombia who I met in Slovakia!!! Life keeps on tick tick ticking away...
Finally... last weekend Anne and I attended an AWESOME Michael Jackson themed party hosted by my sister Mathilda and Simon... it was their house warming party... to make things better Antonia and my cousin Louise came over from New York and Sweden respectively... earlier in the day a group of 15 of us had learned the Thriller dance at the Pineapple Dance Studios at Covent Garden... Hugely recommend it... it's expensive £25 per person for 2 hours.. but a great group activity, great bonding and a lot of fun!!! Get ready to sweat... I'll try to get a video up of the dance shortly...!!!
Here's one or two pictures to leave with... :-)
I spent a week in Wilmslow, a very posh suburb to Manchester where there are far more Bentley's than Fiats...
Having arrived to Wilmslow on Sunday evening (at 19-ish) following a two hour train trip from London... I immediately met up with a group of the others who were on the same training course. The reason I was up there was for Pareto Law (the recruitment agency that I got the job through) sales training (the foundations of selling). It was an extremely interesting week of training culminating in Thursday's cold-call test where we (we were a group of 23 people on the course) one by one had to call the trainer who was pretending to be a potential buyer of our product. We had to convince him to have a meeting. I went fourth out of 23 and was the first person to successfully book a meeting so I was extremely happy with that although I felt slightly like I had weaselled my way in... ie. there is a lot of room for improvement... but all in all, a great training session and learned a hell of a lot in terms of Sales...
It is also interesting, already on the day I arrived, I felt a bit under the weather and unfortunately I wasn't able to shake off the sore throat, stuffy nose and headache throughout the week... this in part meant that I wasn't as social with the other individuals in the group as I might have been. At the same time I was also not interested in spending any more time with the guy I work with than I would have to and he was ... as he normally is... loud and self-centered and good at initially connecting with people. The combination meant that I took a real backseat which is extremely interesting and worthwhile at times.
It's always interesting with group dynamics and especially when there are so many different personality types and people that want to take up a lot of place. The fact that the ages ranged from 21 to 47 also had a major part to play although some of the people in their 30's acted more like 21 year olds than certain 21 yo's... The English society is very much about going out and socialising and drinking every night... and if you miss out ... especially if it is a bad reason, then that can be quite detrimental to your "social-standing" ... it's definitely interesting... dynamics of a group!!!
While up in the Manchester area I was fortunate enough to meet up with two of my friends from yesteryear... I met with Ria, a Finnish PhD student in Manchester on the Monday night at Kro2. A great Danish bar in manchester. It was really interesting to hear how she's been doing. It's a completely different world, the world of doctoring!!!
On Tuesday I had the fantastic opportunity of going to Chester to meet my really close friend Byron... meet his lovely girlfriend Gemma, their dog Poppit, and see their current flat... everything was absolutely fantastic!!! Had a lovely lovely meal and a great chat... really miss Byron! Glad we're in the same country at least... Now Anne and I need to get up there so Anne and Gemma can ride horses and Byron and I sit in the pub and reminisce...!!! :-)
Finally, yesterday after having arrived back in London at 21.00, Anne and I went to meet another of my closest friends, Gemma and Alex... we went to a pub called the Queenshead & Artichoke on Albany Road (just opposite Great Portland Street). Great tapas and atmosphere.. highly recommend it!!!
Now I'm back in London with a cold... hopefully meeting up with my friend Santiago from Colombia who I met in Slovakia!!! Life keeps on tick tick ticking away...
Finally... last weekend Anne and I attended an AWESOME Michael Jackson themed party hosted by my sister Mathilda and Simon... it was their house warming party... to make things better Antonia and my cousin Louise came over from New York and Sweden respectively... earlier in the day a group of 15 of us had learned the Thriller dance at the Pineapple Dance Studios at Covent Garden... Hugely recommend it... it's expensive £25 per person for 2 hours.. but a great group activity, great bonding and a lot of fun!!! Get ready to sweat... I'll try to get a video up of the dance shortly...!!!
Here's one or two pictures to leave with... :-)
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
A fantastic August
It's terrible when you don't know where to begin... I've been extremely bad at keeping this updated this month but what a month it's been. I'll try to fill you in as much as possible...
Two weeks ago.. just before I was starting my new job at Purple Matrix, I went back to Sweden for a weekend and subsequently on a 5 day cruise starting in Copenhagen, going up to Bergen in Norway, and on through the FJORDS to GEIRANGER and then back. It was the trip of a lifetime and included only the members of my family.
All the food was included and a number of activities. The only thing you paid for really was the alcohol but they had a really good system in place. There are tons and tons and tons of pictures and I won't be able to put them all up but I can assure you it was an incredible trip. We ended up really catching up with eachother which is nice when we all live all over the place. The food was fantastic and we had two great waiters that served us every night. Antonio and Renante... One from India and the other from the Phillippines... All the service staff were extremely helpful and it was really such a relaxing week at sea. The cruise stopped in Bergen, Europe's rainiest city and also in Geiranger, a city of 200 people in the fjords up north in Norway. Breath-taking scenes. We kayaked around the big cruise ship and around waterfalls and went to the top of one of the mountains... Definitely recommend it. We went with a cruise ship operator called Royal Carribean and the ship we were sailing on was called Vision of the seas.
Before we went on the cruise Anne and I spent the weekend in Malmö/Skanör. We arrived in Sweden on the Friday night and the Saturday was spent with our respective friends in Malmö. For me it was a heavy beer-drinking session beginning at noon. It ended rather drunkenly with me crashing the party Anne was at with some of my friends... Took the last bus home at 3 after an absolutely fantastic day. Got to meet up with Per K, John B, Anders H, Fredrik N, Fredrik G, Arsim A and many more...
The following day... the Sunday, we had a giant Party for my parents who turned 60 + 70 this year. Anne and I decided to take pictures of everyone with a funny clown nose and will put together a book. Below is a picture of Anne and I...
This was also a phenomenol party... lots of fun... and we were really lucky with the weather and all.
Returning to London, I started my job on the Monday. It has definitely been an interesting two weeks and I am really enjoying being back in business. All my colleagues are extremely friendly, possibly with the exception of one whose first job this is. I can relate to the difficulties of starting to work and all the insecurity that comes with it and in his defence he has been getting better every week so fingers crossed. He's also extremely talented at what he's doing (selling) and I'm sure he'll be extremely successful. As I am indirectly competing with him, this adds an element to the equation as well.
The role at the moment involves a lot of cold-calling and a lot of rejection. We are going to Manchester next week for a weeks long training session. It promises to be an extremely interesting week I am sure. Apparantly a lot of drinks and the like which kind of scares me... drinking with a bunch of 21-22 year olds... :-/ but I'm sure it'll end up being alright.
The weekends have been action packed with dinners and shopping and relaxing... last night we had a crayfish party with Al and Nin (our flat mates), Mathilda & Simon (my sis and her bf) and Simon (Whitey) another friend... it got really messy though... way too many snaps (shots of aquavit) way too quickly... wasn't feeling all too well and collapsed in my bed at the early hour of 11.
The next few weeks promise to be good with a Michael Jackson themed party. A week in Manchester. Hopefully some good news from work and my first sales. I promise to try to update this a little more cause I have loads of fun thigns to say.
I'll leave you with a pic of my family from the cruise...
Two weeks ago.. just before I was starting my new job at Purple Matrix, I went back to Sweden for a weekend and subsequently on a 5 day cruise starting in Copenhagen, going up to Bergen in Norway, and on through the FJORDS to GEIRANGER and then back. It was the trip of a lifetime and included only the members of my family.
All the food was included and a number of activities. The only thing you paid for really was the alcohol but they had a really good system in place. There are tons and tons and tons of pictures and I won't be able to put them all up but I can assure you it was an incredible trip. We ended up really catching up with eachother which is nice when we all live all over the place. The food was fantastic and we had two great waiters that served us every night. Antonio and Renante... One from India and the other from the Phillippines... All the service staff were extremely helpful and it was really such a relaxing week at sea. The cruise stopped in Bergen, Europe's rainiest city and also in Geiranger, a city of 200 people in the fjords up north in Norway. Breath-taking scenes. We kayaked around the big cruise ship and around waterfalls and went to the top of one of the mountains... Definitely recommend it. We went with a cruise ship operator called Royal Carribean and the ship we were sailing on was called Vision of the seas.
Before we went on the cruise Anne and I spent the weekend in Malmö/Skanör. We arrived in Sweden on the Friday night and the Saturday was spent with our respective friends in Malmö. For me it was a heavy beer-drinking session beginning at noon. It ended rather drunkenly with me crashing the party Anne was at with some of my friends... Took the last bus home at 3 after an absolutely fantastic day. Got to meet up with Per K, John B, Anders H, Fredrik N, Fredrik G, Arsim A and many more...
The following day... the Sunday, we had a giant Party for my parents who turned 60 + 70 this year. Anne and I decided to take pictures of everyone with a funny clown nose and will put together a book. Below is a picture of Anne and I...
This was also a phenomenol party... lots of fun... and we were really lucky with the weather and all.
Returning to London, I started my job on the Monday. It has definitely been an interesting two weeks and I am really enjoying being back in business. All my colleagues are extremely friendly, possibly with the exception of one whose first job this is. I can relate to the difficulties of starting to work and all the insecurity that comes with it and in his defence he has been getting better every week so fingers crossed. He's also extremely talented at what he's doing (selling) and I'm sure he'll be extremely successful. As I am indirectly competing with him, this adds an element to the equation as well.
The role at the moment involves a lot of cold-calling and a lot of rejection. We are going to Manchester next week for a weeks long training session. It promises to be an extremely interesting week I am sure. Apparantly a lot of drinks and the like which kind of scares me... drinking with a bunch of 21-22 year olds... :-/ but I'm sure it'll end up being alright.
The weekends have been action packed with dinners and shopping and relaxing... last night we had a crayfish party with Al and Nin (our flat mates), Mathilda & Simon (my sis and her bf) and Simon (Whitey) another friend... it got really messy though... way too many snaps (shots of aquavit) way too quickly... wasn't feeling all too well and collapsed in my bed at the early hour of 11.
The next few weeks promise to be good with a Michael Jackson themed party. A week in Manchester. Hopefully some good news from work and my first sales. I promise to try to update this a little more cause I have loads of fun thigns to say.
I'll leave you with a pic of my family from the cruise...
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Triathlon, vacation and some fun
As promised let me tell you about last weekend...
It was really really interesting yet extremely tiring. I volunteered for the Mazda London Triathlon. For those of you who don't know what a Triathlon is, it is a sport in which you Swim, Bike and then Run a long long distance all one after the other. It's like a marathon in three different events.
I worked as a Marshall in the transition area. The Transistion area is where the competitors change between Swimming and Biking and where they change from biking to Swimming. The London Triathlon is the largest Mass participation Triathlon in the world with over 10,000 competitors in two days. It is split up in different types of races including the Super Sprint which is about 750 m swimming, 20 km biking and 10 km running up to the Olympic categories which is over 1700 m swimming, over 40 km biking and at least 25-30 km running. I can't remember what just now.
Below are some pictures of the transition area. You see how you basically have less than a meter to change. All the bikes are lined up and people obviously easily forgot where they were going. They were specified in special lanes but even then it was huge.
As you can see it was incredibly large. There were over 100 rows of bicycles and lots to keep track of including different racers transitioning at different times. People who were running colliding with those going out on bikes.
It started at 8 am on the Saturday and finished at around 8 on the Saturday as well. On the sunday however we needed to be there at 5 am and it finished at 8 am. you are standing the entire time and answering questions from competitors, leading people in the right place, checking different things. It was extremely tiring but very rewarding. To watch the nerves and anxiety of people before they start and the relief and sense of accomplishment when they have arrived is fantastic!!! I am inspired to do it one day but my swimming has to improve considerably.
As you can imagine I was completely dead on Monday though but otherwise this week has been extremely nice. Knowing that you have something to look forward to in two weeks time means that its easy to take a few days off now. I had a lovely Lunch with Bernie yesterday and have managed to get caught up on a lot of things that I've been meaning to do.
I leave you with a comic that I saw on the BBC yesterday. He's the One Line guy. He has some other good stuff as well. It's quite witty! Enjoy
It was really really interesting yet extremely tiring. I volunteered for the Mazda London Triathlon. For those of you who don't know what a Triathlon is, it is a sport in which you Swim, Bike and then Run a long long distance all one after the other. It's like a marathon in three different events.
I worked as a Marshall in the transition area. The Transistion area is where the competitors change between Swimming and Biking and where they change from biking to Swimming. The London Triathlon is the largest Mass participation Triathlon in the world with over 10,000 competitors in two days. It is split up in different types of races including the Super Sprint which is about 750 m swimming, 20 km biking and 10 km running up to the Olympic categories which is over 1700 m swimming, over 40 km biking and at least 25-30 km running. I can't remember what just now.
Below are some pictures of the transition area. You see how you basically have less than a meter to change. All the bikes are lined up and people obviously easily forgot where they were going. They were specified in special lanes but even then it was huge.
As you can see it was incredibly large. There were over 100 rows of bicycles and lots to keep track of including different racers transitioning at different times. People who were running colliding with those going out on bikes.
It started at 8 am on the Saturday and finished at around 8 on the Saturday as well. On the sunday however we needed to be there at 5 am and it finished at 8 am. you are standing the entire time and answering questions from competitors, leading people in the right place, checking different things. It was extremely tiring but very rewarding. To watch the nerves and anxiety of people before they start and the relief and sense of accomplishment when they have arrived is fantastic!!! I am inspired to do it one day but my swimming has to improve considerably.
As you can imagine I was completely dead on Monday though but otherwise this week has been extremely nice. Knowing that you have something to look forward to in two weeks time means that its easy to take a few days off now. I had a lovely Lunch with Bernie yesterday and have managed to get caught up on a lot of things that I've been meaning to do.
I leave you with a comic that I saw on the BBC yesterday. He's the One Line guy. He has some other good stuff as well. It's quite witty! Enjoy
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Mission ACCOMPLISHED!!!
Well, it was a LONG time coming but it's finally happened.
As of Friday last week RICH has a PERMANENT JOB in LONDON!
First let me send out a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me in this crazy ordeal. Your support has meant A LOT LOT LOT to me.
So what is the job you may ask?
I am going to start work on the 17th August for a company called Purple Matrix.
The company is a fairly small entrepreneurial company located at Old street in London. The company provides Small and Medium sized enterprises (SME's) with IT- Support services. SME's often outsource these kind of services as it is too expensive to have someone looking at it solely within the company.
The company is run by two guys who have been selling it without the help of any sales force for 10 years but that is all about to change. Myself and another guy are going to join the company and begin selling their product. It is then thought that within 3-6 months one of the two of us will become team leader and eventually Sales director and run a team of 4-6 sales guys. It is an extremely exciting opportunity to help develop a sales organisation for a small company from scratch. There's potentially a lot of money to be earnt as well however there is great competition in the sector so that will definitely be an interesting challenge.
So what have I learnt? What tips can I give to others who are in the same situation?
1) Remain confident. - It is the hardest thing to do because rejection is extremely difficult. Often times you are not too sure why you didn't get the job/interview etc and the feedback is not that great. Don't forget that the feedback is not always true either. A lot of employers think it is easier to give one excuse when in fact it is down to something completely different that they don't want to touch. In my instance, they might say it is because I am over-qualified but in fact it is because I have been unemployed for 8 months and they worry what I have been doing in that time. It is far easier to say over-qualified than "I'm not willing to take a risk on you".
2) CALL. - The best and only way to get anywhere in London and probably anywhere is to call. Call the recruiters to show that you are interested. Call the company and ask them if there is any job openings. For many people this is extremely difficult because you end up calling strangers and in some cases irritating them but in most cases a person is interested to hear from you if you ask smart and interesting questions. Don't give them a reason to be uninterested in you.
3) Look at your CV, listen to your answers to questions from their perspective. If you are in the UK or US, do NOT be too humble. If someone asks you if you have any experience talking on the phone, do not think that only because you called 100 contacts in total at your last job, that that is not enough. Any experience is good experience and should be highlighted if you think you can and want to do it. Your mind is mightier than you think and if you put your mind to it you can do anything that you WANT to do. Yet again, it is all about confidence.
4) Set up ROUTINES. It is imperative that you have routines. Test out the way in which you best manage yourself. When looking for a job and when looking for a job for that long, discover how you like to work. For me it is getting up early and setting my day up like a real business day. I like to have my evenings free so I work until 5 or 6 having started at 7.30. With these routines you easily resist other temptations. If you are person who has less discipline, devise a way to prevent yourself from turning on the tv, picking up a book, and generally procrastinating.
5) Meet people. Don't isolate yourself. Don't sit indoors all day. Go out if only for a walk, for a shop, to meet friends for a drink. I found that when I had been indoors for too many days in a row that my productivity fell considerably. I remember going to Brussels or just doing something completely different for a weekend and coming back rejuvenated and ready to take a stab at it again. It is important to interact with others.
6) I fell into the trap where I isolated myself from my friends because I didn't want to constantly be saying that I'm still looking for work. I didn't like getting in touch with people without having interesting news for them. I felt I put my life on hold and this is a dangerous thing, especially if you have a relationship. I am the wrong person to ask how you do this because I believe that in my case it is my survival instinct that causes me to turn inwards and hide all the emotions.
7) Attend networking events. In any city there are an abundance of networking events that you can go to free. You might not have a clue as to why you are there and might find it tough to talk to people but it builds up your confidence and ultimately might lead to some great contacts which might help you get a job.
8) Be yourself. Don't forget that despite the frustration at not getting a job, you have to remain true to yourself. You have to determine which jobs are for you and which are not. You have to answer questions based on what you want to do as I said before because otherwise you won't get the jobs.
9) Surround yourself with good friends and supportive people. This is key because you need their support more than anything. You may need a right good kick in the backside as well at times and only good friends and people that know you, know when the right time for that is.
10) ....
I'm sure there are more things to say here but I can't think of them just now. If I remember anymore I will continue on where I left off.
Once again. What a feeling! There are still going to be tough times ahead but one hurdle has been overcome and I look forward to the next one.
What I am glad for is that I have an incredible girlfriend who has supported me throughout. A beautiful and tranquil new place to live. I have a new job which I am looking forward to starting. I have two weeks vacation before I start and I am going to Sweden this weekend to celebrate my parents 60 and 70 years on this planet and also to spend some Quality TIME with my close close friends in Malmö.
Next time I write I'll fill you in on my adventurous weekend at the Mazda London Triathlon!!!
As of Friday last week RICH has a PERMANENT JOB in LONDON!
First let me send out a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me in this crazy ordeal. Your support has meant A LOT LOT LOT to me.
So what is the job you may ask?
I am going to start work on the 17th August for a company called Purple Matrix.
The company is a fairly small entrepreneurial company located at Old street in London. The company provides Small and Medium sized enterprises (SME's) with IT- Support services. SME's often outsource these kind of services as it is too expensive to have someone looking at it solely within the company.
The company is run by two guys who have been selling it without the help of any sales force for 10 years but that is all about to change. Myself and another guy are going to join the company and begin selling their product. It is then thought that within 3-6 months one of the two of us will become team leader and eventually Sales director and run a team of 4-6 sales guys. It is an extremely exciting opportunity to help develop a sales organisation for a small company from scratch. There's potentially a lot of money to be earnt as well however there is great competition in the sector so that will definitely be an interesting challenge.
So what have I learnt? What tips can I give to others who are in the same situation?
1) Remain confident. - It is the hardest thing to do because rejection is extremely difficult. Often times you are not too sure why you didn't get the job/interview etc and the feedback is not that great. Don't forget that the feedback is not always true either. A lot of employers think it is easier to give one excuse when in fact it is down to something completely different that they don't want to touch. In my instance, they might say it is because I am over-qualified but in fact it is because I have been unemployed for 8 months and they worry what I have been doing in that time. It is far easier to say over-qualified than "I'm not willing to take a risk on you".
2) CALL. - The best and only way to get anywhere in London and probably anywhere is to call. Call the recruiters to show that you are interested. Call the company and ask them if there is any job openings. For many people this is extremely difficult because you end up calling strangers and in some cases irritating them but in most cases a person is interested to hear from you if you ask smart and interesting questions. Don't give them a reason to be uninterested in you.
3) Look at your CV, listen to your answers to questions from their perspective. If you are in the UK or US, do NOT be too humble. If someone asks you if you have any experience talking on the phone, do not think that only because you called 100 contacts in total at your last job, that that is not enough. Any experience is good experience and should be highlighted if you think you can and want to do it. Your mind is mightier than you think and if you put your mind to it you can do anything that you WANT to do. Yet again, it is all about confidence.
4) Set up ROUTINES. It is imperative that you have routines. Test out the way in which you best manage yourself. When looking for a job and when looking for a job for that long, discover how you like to work. For me it is getting up early and setting my day up like a real business day. I like to have my evenings free so I work until 5 or 6 having started at 7.30. With these routines you easily resist other temptations. If you are person who has less discipline, devise a way to prevent yourself from turning on the tv, picking up a book, and generally procrastinating.
5) Meet people. Don't isolate yourself. Don't sit indoors all day. Go out if only for a walk, for a shop, to meet friends for a drink. I found that when I had been indoors for too many days in a row that my productivity fell considerably. I remember going to Brussels or just doing something completely different for a weekend and coming back rejuvenated and ready to take a stab at it again. It is important to interact with others.
6) I fell into the trap where I isolated myself from my friends because I didn't want to constantly be saying that I'm still looking for work. I didn't like getting in touch with people without having interesting news for them. I felt I put my life on hold and this is a dangerous thing, especially if you have a relationship. I am the wrong person to ask how you do this because I believe that in my case it is my survival instinct that causes me to turn inwards and hide all the emotions.
7) Attend networking events. In any city there are an abundance of networking events that you can go to free. You might not have a clue as to why you are there and might find it tough to talk to people but it builds up your confidence and ultimately might lead to some great contacts which might help you get a job.
8) Be yourself. Don't forget that despite the frustration at not getting a job, you have to remain true to yourself. You have to determine which jobs are for you and which are not. You have to answer questions based on what you want to do as I said before because otherwise you won't get the jobs.
9) Surround yourself with good friends and supportive people. This is key because you need their support more than anything. You may need a right good kick in the backside as well at times and only good friends and people that know you, know when the right time for that is.
10) ....
I'm sure there are more things to say here but I can't think of them just now. If I remember anymore I will continue on where I left off.
Once again. What a feeling! There are still going to be tough times ahead but one hurdle has been overcome and I look forward to the next one.
What I am glad for is that I have an incredible girlfriend who has supported me throughout. A beautiful and tranquil new place to live. I have a new job which I am looking forward to starting. I have two weeks vacation before I start and I am going to Sweden this weekend to celebrate my parents 60 and 70 years on this planet and also to spend some Quality TIME with my close close friends in Malmö.
Next time I write I'll fill you in on my adventurous weekend at the Mazda London Triathlon!!!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
This is the week...
Two interviews this week and potentially some more interesting stuff. It's a good week. Had 3 and a half hours worth of math testing (numeracy, verbal reasoning, clerical reasoning... bla bla bla) and two hours of interview yesterday which I got positive feedback from which is always good. Have another interview on Friday this week and I'm looking forward to it. Feel I have a good chance to shine. So we shall see how it works out. In other news...
1) Friday night we are going to U. R. the night (a smirnoff original night) at Matter.
http://www.facebook.com/urthenight
Should be a great night of wackiness...
2) Last weekend in the flat we are currently staying. Then we move in to the next one. Exciting stuff. Really looking forward to it now. Nice to be able to feel like you have a real "HOME" again. :-)
3) My friend Danny (from Japan who I went to school with in Belgium) was in London two weekends ago and we got a group of 7 together to see him. Here's a pic or two.
4) Celebrated Fourth of July by spending around 6 hours in Regents Park with Gemma and her friends which was absolutely Lovely and then another 6 hours at Rachael and Oscars place playing Beer Pong and generally having a good time. So good weekend.
5) One month and counting until I'm in Sweden.. can't wait...
1) Friday night we are going to U. R. the night (a smirnoff original night) at Matter.
http://www.facebook.com/urthenight
Should be a great night of wackiness...
2) Last weekend in the flat we are currently staying. Then we move in to the next one. Exciting stuff. Really looking forward to it now. Nice to be able to feel like you have a real "HOME" again. :-)
3) My friend Danny (from Japan who I went to school with in Belgium) was in London two weekends ago and we got a group of 7 together to see him. Here's a pic or two.
4) Celebrated Fourth of July by spending around 6 hours in Regents Park with Gemma and her friends which was absolutely Lovely and then another 6 hours at Rachael and Oscars place playing Beer Pong and generally having a good time. So good weekend.
5) One month and counting until I'm in Sweden.. can't wait...
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Summer has broken... new home...
Its summer!!!
Hope everyone's enjoying the ice cream out there in the warmth!!! :-) It's incredibly incredibly warm here in London. Four straight days of 30+ degrees. A little too warm if you ask me. That might be why you haven't heard from me. I've been sweating soooo much.
In other news. Anne and I have found a new home. We are moving in with a lovely couple from New Zealand (guy) and Canada (girl). We're going to be living a stones throw from Canonbury rail station.
It's a great place. With a little garden and a nice big room and a pub next door. We move in the 18th July! :-)
Interview wise I've got 2 lined up next week. Both with financial firms. I also attended a Sports Marketing - Social Media networking event on Tuesday evening which was extremely enjoyable. I'm currently temping for Hattrick.org which is the worlds largest online football manager game. So things are happening.
Hope everyone's enjoying the ice cream out there in the warmth!!! :-) It's incredibly incredibly warm here in London. Four straight days of 30+ degrees. A little too warm if you ask me. That might be why you haven't heard from me. I've been sweating soooo much.
In other news. Anne and I have found a new home. We are moving in with a lovely couple from New Zealand (guy) and Canada (girl). We're going to be living a stones throw from Canonbury rail station.
It's a great place. With a little garden and a nice big room and a pub next door. We move in the 18th July! :-)
Interview wise I've got 2 lined up next week. Both with financial firms. I also attended a Sports Marketing - Social Media networking event on Tuesday evening which was extremely enjoyable. I'm currently temping for Hattrick.org which is the worlds largest online football manager game. So things are happening.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The headlines today...
Here's the headlines that met me today as I was coming back from an interview...UK Jobless Total hits 12- year high. Click the link to read the article in the London Paper (a free paper handed out every evening in london).
Here's a quote:
Here's a quote:
"As many as 300 jobseekers are chasing every vacancy. Fast-food giant McDonalds says it is swamped by more than 2,200 job applications everyday, with bank workers, graduates and teachers among the applicants"Nice to know that I might not even be able to get a job at McDonalds. :-) Great when the job market gets to this. In the metro, it stated the same thing but in a study conducted by asking 1000 managers, they found that the managers believed that "If you hadn't found a job within 6 months of being made redundent, you were unlikely to because of the negative stigma of having been out of work so long". Put those two and two together. 2.2 million people out of work and yet no lea-way from managers who have never been in such a situation before. God-forbid those same managers are made redundent and find it difficult to find work for 6 months.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Looking for a home
As of the first of August, Anne and I are moving to another home. Where is yet to be decided but it'll be exciting. We've already started looking and we've got everything from large one room apartments in Chelsea for £600 a month (bills included) to £400 on this side of town sharing a houes with 4 others. We'll see how it works out.
Here's a random example... not even a place we've applied to but you'll get an understanding. :-)
A place in Islington Newington Green - click there to see the place.
So if you know about a place or someone with a room that costs no more than £600 a month in London... which accepts a lovely Swedish couple. Please let me know!
Otherwise if you are not one bit interested in it... maybe you'll be more interested in this hilarious clip that I was told about by a good friend of mine a few weeks ago...
check this out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peLmnkqm6-Y
:-) Happy Camping!
Here's a random example... not even a place we've applied to but you'll get an understanding. :-)
A place in Islington Newington Green - click there to see the place.
So if you know about a place or someone with a room that costs no more than £600 a month in London... which accepts a lovely Swedish couple. Please let me know!
Otherwise if you are not one bit interested in it... maybe you'll be more interested in this hilarious clip that I was told about by a good friend of mine a few weeks ago...
check this out
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peLmnkqm6-Y
:-) Happy Camping!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Wembley, Good friends and Sun
Here I am at my office desk... :-) Working away on another application, on my temping job or another project. :-) My friends Anders and Stedde (Fredrik) came to London on a TUESDAY to THURSDAY this past week for the England-Andorra game. As big fans of minnow teams they just couldn't resist this David v. Goliath battle.
And here we are outside Wembley stadium. A state-of-the-art stadium. Really enjoyed it. One day I'll see Sweden lifting the World Cup in this stadium I have a sneaking suspicion :-P Anyway, now you can put a face to my friends names too.
Due to the Tube Strikes which began just as my friends arrived and finished just as they left... it was imperative that we head off to Wembley early. We did so and we left 20 minutes before the game ended as well. It went smoothly enough considering the entire city was at a standstill. The last time Anders was here, we were going to watch a Premier League football game, or a game in the Championship but due to the snow they were all cancelled. As you can see from the pic below, Wembley was not completely full but it was a good showing... around 60,000... double what we get for a Sweden game at Råsunda for a top game:-P
Before the game we'd been drinking...
and after the game, we continued drinking...
So it was quite a heavy night. But nonetheless absolutely fantastic to get to spend some time with my friends. Good laughs all around. Had some spicy chicken... some crazy kebab and a wacky sausage... among other things :-)
In other news... I'm currently working temporarily for an online soccer management game called Hattrick.org. If you like that kind of thing you should check it out. It's the largest and oldest of its kind and very popular around the world.
Almost forgot, the sun has been out these past few days which is really nice as well. Especially considering that Anne's mom is coming to visit this week. Hope the sun stays out as London is far more interesting in the SUN:-)
Lookin forward to a good week with Anne's mom in town...!!!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
6th June...
Celebrating the Swedish national day at flat 40...
A Swedish Meatball party... menu...
Home made meatballs...
Home made mashed potato
Home made gravy
Home made Kladdkaka (goo-Cake) :-P
A Swedish Meatball party... menu...
Home made meatballs...
Home made mashed potato
Home made gravy
Home made Kladdkaka (goo-Cake) :-P
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Alls quiet on this front
Having not heard from me for a few weeks, I just wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive. Still fighting and still trucking.... I promise to come with more information soon.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Toughest week for a while..
This week that just passed has been one of the tougher weeks I've faced. The death of Alejandro was a shock and a tragedy. You have to dig quite deep to summon the energy, the determination, the positive thinking to continue a job hunt. Those who are working and are busy at work can submerge themselves in work which can lighten the heavy weight of this kind of news. Obviously it is important to have the chance to mourn as well but life gets back to normal. I have been and am still optimistic about this entire job hunting ordeal in London despite the incredible stresses I'm under but even the most optimistic of people are affected with news that lowers ones spirit so.
I'm more convinced than ever that moving to London is the right thing for me and now was the right time to do it. I know that it is very difficult to understand the situation I find myself in if one hasn't been in my shoes but it's a real battle out there to get even the most junior of jobs. In the middle of this tough week I had an interview at a small online sales house. An interesting company which I think has great potential but as with most interviews, its sometimes difficult to get a good feel for how you did. As I was myself, there's nothing else I can do. Still these jobs I'm getting are entry level. Starting from the bottom and working my way up.
Have yet to hear their decision but fingers crossed. Would entail another interview with the managing director.
I've also managed to organise some "temp" work for a maximum of 20 hours per week. We shall see where that leads...
On Saturday I spent the day at Twickenham watching the Guinness Premiership Rugby Union Final... between Leicester Tigers and the London Irish... an interesting experience. 82,000 people. Rugby is a fantastic sport and real hard mans sport. Also managed to drink 9 beers in the space of around 6 hours. Good day out and nice way to get my mind off the tough week that I'd just had.
Anne's just come back from Sweden where she spent the weekend so I'm off but wish me luck for another interesting week in London hunting jobs.
I'm more convinced than ever that moving to London is the right thing for me and now was the right time to do it. I know that it is very difficult to understand the situation I find myself in if one hasn't been in my shoes but it's a real battle out there to get even the most junior of jobs. In the middle of this tough week I had an interview at a small online sales house. An interesting company which I think has great potential but as with most interviews, its sometimes difficult to get a good feel for how you did. As I was myself, there's nothing else I can do. Still these jobs I'm getting are entry level. Starting from the bottom and working my way up.
Have yet to hear their decision but fingers crossed. Would entail another interview with the managing director.
I've also managed to organise some "temp" work for a maximum of 20 hours per week. We shall see where that leads...
On Saturday I spent the day at Twickenham watching the Guinness Premiership Rugby Union Final... between Leicester Tigers and the London Irish... an interesting experience. 82,000 people. Rugby is a fantastic sport and real hard mans sport. Also managed to drink 9 beers in the space of around 6 hours. Good day out and nice way to get my mind off the tough week that I'd just had.
Anne's just come back from Sweden where she spent the weekend so I'm off but wish me luck for another interesting week in London hunting jobs.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Alejandro...
Alejandro, my brother...
Yesterday I was told the terrible news that one of my closest friends from high school in Belgium, Alejandro, had sadly passed away suddenly in Chicago. At the young age of 27 he unexpectedly got a Brain Aneurysm and apparantly the doctors could not do anything to save his life. Needless to say I'm hurting. A friend with passion, with spirit, with a smile which could get kids giggling, so full of optimism will be so sorely missed. Having received a mail from him one week before he passed, his tone was one of optimism at the future and of enjoying life. He was desperately looking for a break in the world of acting and had sacrificed a lot to follow his passion. His life is an inspiration to me and having already embarked on my journey to follow my passion, it is a further reminder that should I die tomorrow, I will die a happy man who followed his heart.
That he is now gone in all but spirit is the harshest form of realisation that physical distance between friends means nothing. It is 6000 km between London and Chicago. But there is absolutely no distance between the hearts of our friends, between ourselves, our friendships. That's the reality we live in today with geographical distance no match for the strength of friendships. The strong bonds you create with certain people on this world are magical and Alejandro is and will always be a part of me.
It is especially difficult to explain the emptiness I feel today as I have not seen Alejandro since Thanksgiving 2002. My emptiness is not one of realising that we will not seeing eachother on a daily basis. That break occured many many years ago. Friendships are however forever and not bounded by distance. My friendships build on the hope, the excitement, the strength and energy caused by once again meeting and sharing the memories of the past. On the knowledge that when we reconnect we refuel our friendship, we refuel our spirits, the realisation that "Dro, you haven't changed a bit..." . The mails on a Sunday after 6 months which say "Hey, I know I've been bad at keeping in touch" that totally make your day... I gain my strength from these moments to refuel and this is the first time I have encountered the realisation that my sources of inspiration and energy, of strength and power can be taken whenever. A realisation that the memories continue and the marks from where he touched me will live on forever. It hurts that to gather strength from him now will sadly come from the past and from my memory. Ultimately Alejandro's passing has changed little in my everyday but has caused the first deep tear in my soul. I'm happy to say though that he lives on through me and all the rest of the people he touched.
"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." Thomas Campbell, Hallowed Ground
Alejandro was the person at St. Johns who lived closest to me. It took me probably 15 minutes to walk or 2 minutes to drive. Our families car-pooled together. We'd always go out to Brussels and Waterloo together and get lifts back together. Coming back to visit while at University we came home after a late night out and sat in the quadrangle of a school near him and drank a few beers and got chased away by the superintendents screaming strange things in flemish. The first day of school 1998 when we were both new I asked Do you play sports. He said "no, well a little Lacrosse". What you like to do? "Man i love music", Do you play an instrument "yea, guitar" and I was like "Thats really kool". We went to Bordeaux together where we both hated Toni Braxton together. We played a strange form of KOOSH ball together in the water. We sang on the roof together. We played chess at sunrise together. We spent thanksgiving together in 2002. We laughed together. We sang together. You introduced me to Mappa mundo's, my favorite bar in Brussels. You introduced me to The Cure - "Friday I'm in Love" which is our themetune. You said Rock Steady. I said PRUUUUUUUUUNE JUICE!!!!!
To Alejandro's family, there are no words that I can say but know that my positive thoughts and energy are with you through these troubled times.
To my friends, we have a bond that gives me strength and I am grateful for it and the way it fuels my life. Be careful but enjoy life.
This energy, this thought, this moment, this reflection, this clump in my throat, this sweat, these giggles, these memories, these tears and these smiles are for you Alejandro! Hope you've got the internet up there so you know that you touched my life and inspired me to live life the way it should be lived. I will continue to do so for the rest of my life. Thanks my friend...
I'll leave you with the last words he wrote to me last sunday...
"Well guys I'm off to get stuff done. I hope to run into you on-line or on the street. Talk to you soon."
Yesterday I was told the terrible news that one of my closest friends from high school in Belgium, Alejandro, had sadly passed away suddenly in Chicago. At the young age of 27 he unexpectedly got a Brain Aneurysm and apparantly the doctors could not do anything to save his life. Needless to say I'm hurting. A friend with passion, with spirit, with a smile which could get kids giggling, so full of optimism will be so sorely missed. Having received a mail from him one week before he passed, his tone was one of optimism at the future and of enjoying life. He was desperately looking for a break in the world of acting and had sacrificed a lot to follow his passion. His life is an inspiration to me and having already embarked on my journey to follow my passion, it is a further reminder that should I die tomorrow, I will die a happy man who followed his heart.
That he is now gone in all but spirit is the harshest form of realisation that physical distance between friends means nothing. It is 6000 km between London and Chicago. But there is absolutely no distance between the hearts of our friends, between ourselves, our friendships. That's the reality we live in today with geographical distance no match for the strength of friendships. The strong bonds you create with certain people on this world are magical and Alejandro is and will always be a part of me.
It is especially difficult to explain the emptiness I feel today as I have not seen Alejandro since Thanksgiving 2002. My emptiness is not one of realising that we will not seeing eachother on a daily basis. That break occured many many years ago. Friendships are however forever and not bounded by distance. My friendships build on the hope, the excitement, the strength and energy caused by once again meeting and sharing the memories of the past. On the knowledge that when we reconnect we refuel our friendship, we refuel our spirits, the realisation that "Dro, you haven't changed a bit..." . The mails on a Sunday after 6 months which say "Hey, I know I've been bad at keeping in touch" that totally make your day... I gain my strength from these moments to refuel and this is the first time I have encountered the realisation that my sources of inspiration and energy, of strength and power can be taken whenever. A realisation that the memories continue and the marks from where he touched me will live on forever. It hurts that to gather strength from him now will sadly come from the past and from my memory. Ultimately Alejandro's passing has changed little in my everyday but has caused the first deep tear in my soul. I'm happy to say though that he lives on through me and all the rest of the people he touched.
"To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die." Thomas Campbell, Hallowed Ground
Alejandro was the person at St. Johns who lived closest to me. It took me probably 15 minutes to walk or 2 minutes to drive. Our families car-pooled together. We'd always go out to Brussels and Waterloo together and get lifts back together. Coming back to visit while at University we came home after a late night out and sat in the quadrangle of a school near him and drank a few beers and got chased away by the superintendents screaming strange things in flemish. The first day of school 1998 when we were both new I asked Do you play sports. He said "no, well a little Lacrosse". What you like to do? "Man i love music", Do you play an instrument "yea, guitar" and I was like "Thats really kool". We went to Bordeaux together where we both hated Toni Braxton together. We played a strange form of KOOSH ball together in the water. We sang on the roof together. We played chess at sunrise together. We spent thanksgiving together in 2002. We laughed together. We sang together. You introduced me to Mappa mundo's, my favorite bar in Brussels. You introduced me to The Cure - "Friday I'm in Love" which is our themetune. You said Rock Steady. I said PRUUUUUUUUUNE JUICE!!!!!
To Alejandro's family, there are no words that I can say but know that my positive thoughts and energy are with you through these troubled times.
To my friends, we have a bond that gives me strength and I am grateful for it and the way it fuels my life. Be careful but enjoy life.
This energy, this thought, this moment, this reflection, this clump in my throat, this sweat, these giggles, these memories, these tears and these smiles are for you Alejandro! Hope you've got the internet up there so you know that you touched my life and inspired me to live life the way it should be lived. I will continue to do so for the rest of my life. Thanks my friend...
I'll leave you with the last words he wrote to me last sunday...
"Well guys I'm off to get stuff done. I hope to run into you on-line or on the street. Talk to you soon."
Friday, May 8, 2009
The Surprise, the week, the assessment center
I realise I haven't had the chance to write for over a week and some of you haven't found out what the surprise Anne was giving me was, how the interview went and lots of other fun stuff so I think in all fairness I'll have to start at the beginning...
As it will be long I'll put some headings for those interested in just one component...
Friday 1st May
The Interview
I had an interview at Huddle.net on Friday at 12.30... it was for a marketing and sales executive and was a very interesting role... albeit it a quite junior role, but great potential to grow and develop the role.. if you haven't used Huddle.net go onto their website here. It's a fantastic product which allows online collaboration, document sharing and project management online... It's a type of extranet/intranet hosted on the internet... great for companies and students trying to work on projects ... anyway...
So the interview consisted of me having 15 minutes to prepare a presentation on how to use Facebook and what's good about it... and then delivering it... after that we had a little chat and came to the conclusion that I was over-qualified for the role and that it wasn't quite the right role for me... gratefully though they recommended me to a recruiter called Pareto which finds sales graduate jobs... and an hour after the interview they called me up and invited me to an Assessment centre that took place yesterday...
After the interview I met up with John B and Carolina who were in town... it was fantastic to see them albeit for a short hour or two... but at 15.00 Anne told us we had to go someplace... and so we did...
The Surprise
Anne told us we were going to take the tube at Liverpool street but in fact we jumped on the Stansted Express and upon arriving there we headed right through the Security check without checking in as she'd already checked in before we got there and printed the boarding pass... I still didn't know where we were heading but I knew that we were going on a jet plane... :-)
We get to the gate as its boarding... and for the first time I realise where we are heading... the next picture MIGHT give it away...
That's right DUBLIN.... hence the Guiness (which I must say was absolutely fantastic... much better there...) YIPEEEE ... I've always wanted to go to Dublin... to Ireland... what a fantastic surprise...
Once we arrived in Dublin we were going to get a bus into the city where Anne had fixed accomodation... and as we left the Arrivals area and started looking for where to get the bus... there was KIERAN... my friend from Ireland who I met in Bratislava... Anne had sorted out for him to be in Dublin that weekend as well.. FANTASTIC!!! :-D Just gets better and better...
Here's a pic of Kieran and I at Bray Head... a beach just south of Dublin... :-)Anne had fixed a nice apartment hotel... not far from the center of dublin... and when we got there we were told there was a leak in the room we were supposed to get so they upgraded us to their nicest "Apartment"... but it wasn't so much an apartment as a HOUSE... three floors, the largest living room I've seen for a long long time.. enough space for 8 couches... and much much more... three fantastic balcony's and 3 bathrooms... very impressive... It was right next to Shelbourne Park (The grayhound racing track in Dublin) and within eyesight from Landsdowne road (rugby and football stadium)... which is being rebuilt... for some reason I had a sneezing fit in many pictures while in Dublin but in the following pic its Shelbourne Park in the background...
There was one more surprise and that was waiting at Messrs Macguire ( a famous pub in dublin)...by O'connell bridge... And that was that Edwina, another friend of mine from Ireland who I had met in Bratislava as well, was there too... Sooo many surprises :-)
So it was an absolutely fantastic weekend away... in which we got to chill with Kieran and Edwina, see some fantastic nature outside Dublin including in Bray and and surrounding areas... !!! We also saw this old monastary which had this tower built to protect them from the Vikings, if they heard they were coming they'd just climb up using ladders and then draw the ladders up so that nobody could get in.. clever... :-)
I can't thank Anne enough for a fantastic get-away, I really needed to get away... and what better place than Dublin and to see some friends too... I'm a LUCKY guy...!!! As you can see from below...
Sadly the surprise trip was over far too fast as always but fantastic memories and nice to get out of London a bit... THANKS ANNE... I was super HAPPY as you can see
This Week
The assessment centre
So yesterday I went to an assessment center with 48 other highly talented young people... an interesting day for sure made up of group assignments, presentations and one-on-one's... at the end of the day I was asked to join a group of 11 others into a seperate room where they told us that we had "unfortunately" gone through... the old trying to trick us... but the quality of the other 11 meant that it wasn't too hard to tell that this was the group that went through... it was quite strange though because I didn't think I did a great job... anywhoo... I was one of the 12 that went through out of a group of 48 and now they're going to look for jobs for me and put me forth to final interviews with some of their clients... so hopefully something will come of it...
Temp work
I also have an opportunity to do some temp (temporary) work for an ex-colleague of mine... who needs some help structuring some statistics among other things... So if nothing else it's been a good week... albeit for one thing...
Chelsea
Chelsea (my fav. football team) played against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final and played really well but didn't finish off their opportunities when they had them and they were "kicked in the teeth" as you say when Iniesta (a Barcelona player) scored in the last minute of the game... whats worse is the referee ( a norwegian) had arguably the worst game of his life... he missed at least 2 clear penalties and some might argue a few more than that... Luckily football is just a game... although there is soo much money and politics that its often more than that... at first I was furious but when you really think about it... the referee is only human... there are psychological factors that come into account when you have to make decisions based on what you see in high speeds... imagine you had to choose who to employ by a 3 second clip of them walking... or decide what to buy for lunch by a 1 second taste while blind-folded... yes referees are trained to see certain things... and they are in many cases professional now meaning they get paid only to to this but when the pressure is sooo immense and perhaps you are having an off day, the repurcussions are huge... I think it is understandable that the Chelsea players were absolutely furious and enraged but what can do you... sport is sport, and although I often think that Chelsea are harshly done by a lot of decisions and fate has dealt them a lot of cruel blows... I am sure it is the same for most teams.. no matter what team you support you will think that you are hard-done by because that is what you remember most...
nevertheless, the lose was a low point of the week as it was sooo close and I think Chelsea fully deserve the Champions League despite what many people argue is a bought team... my worry is that this was our last chance to win it... there is a possibility that we'll be back next year but I think we had a real chance this year particularly with the boss we have.. Guus...
So that was a little update of whats been going on with me this past week... I think it is quite outrageous that there are sooo many terrific and intelligent people out there without work at the moment which is very clear having been at the assessment center yesterday... a real pity that young people and old people alike are struggling to get work... there's a lot of us out there... and I don't think the general public really understands that...
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Eventful Friday
It's due to be an eventful Friday tomorrow.
Interview at lunch. Prepared as well as I can.
And then there's the Afternoon Delight - I'm receiving a surprise from Anne. I have no idea what it is... all I've been told to do is to pack my bag as if I am to be staying at a friends house until Sunday...
Tune in on Monday to find out what happened! :-)
Interview at lunch. Prepared as well as I can.
And then there's the Afternoon Delight - I'm receiving a surprise from Anne. I have no idea what it is... all I've been told to do is to pack my bag as if I am to be staying at a friends house until Sunday...
Tune in on Monday to find out what happened! :-)
Monday, April 27, 2009
Oxford: you make your own Break...
You make your own breaks!
Whether you make your own opportunities to find work, to move forward in your career, to get the last toy at Toys'R'Us at the Christmas Rush or purely to organise a chance to get away... there is a lot that you can do yourself by trying.
Sometimes its not that easy to just get away because it takes quite some effort just to get out of bed. When planning is involved it's easy to take the option of doing something that takes no effort and no planning . Getting up and going when you actually can just as easily lay in bed all day can sometimes be tough. But when you do get up and go you see wonderful things. Anne and I saw Oxford on Sunday and saw some wonderful things.
You see guys in Yellow suits playing the TUBA...
Cute little kids... acting like a gangster... threatening a tree at the Botantical Gardens...
Flowers that look like witches fingernails...
Fantastic sights. It's extremely easy to get to Oxford from London. There is a bus called the Oxford Tube that runs every 15 minutes and runs all night long. Whats funny is that in Oxford all we heard was proper English. Everyone spoke with a fairly posh accent... everyone looked fairly proper as well... there were quite a few tourists but luckily you could find some quiet spots too.
Quite funny... from the Botanical Gardens in Oxford we were able to see a proper cricket game too.. reminding me of my time in Australia playing cricket.. the gentlemans sport:-) and no... we didn't watch it all... it takes several hours to play...
It's quite unbelievable that it's been 2 years since Anne and I met. It feels like just yesterday but I'm sooooo happy she is here with me in London. It's incredible how much easier it is to move with someone to share your pains and joys.
I'll leave you with some more pictures from Oxford.
As this was a nice day away and a surprise day away at that for Anne, it was great to see that she enjoyed it as much as she did. :-)
Whether you make your own opportunities to find work, to move forward in your career, to get the last toy at Toys'R'Us at the Christmas Rush or purely to organise a chance to get away... there is a lot that you can do yourself by trying.
Sometimes its not that easy to just get away because it takes quite some effort just to get out of bed. When planning is involved it's easy to take the option of doing something that takes no effort and no planning . Getting up and going when you actually can just as easily lay in bed all day can sometimes be tough. But when you do get up and go you see wonderful things. Anne and I saw Oxford on Sunday and saw some wonderful things.
You see guys in Yellow suits playing the TUBA...
Cute little kids... acting like a gangster... threatening a tree at the Botantical Gardens...
Flowers that look like witches fingernails...
Fantastic sights. It's extremely easy to get to Oxford from London. There is a bus called the Oxford Tube that runs every 15 minutes and runs all night long. Whats funny is that in Oxford all we heard was proper English. Everyone spoke with a fairly posh accent... everyone looked fairly proper as well... there were quite a few tourists but luckily you could find some quiet spots too.
Quite funny... from the Botanical Gardens in Oxford we were able to see a proper cricket game too.. reminding me of my time in Australia playing cricket.. the gentlemans sport:-) and no... we didn't watch it all... it takes several hours to play...
It's quite unbelievable that it's been 2 years since Anne and I met. It feels like just yesterday but I'm sooooo happy she is here with me in London. It's incredible how much easier it is to move with someone to share your pains and joys.
I'll leave you with some more pictures from Oxford.
As this was a nice day away and a surprise day away at that for Anne, it was great to see that she enjoyed it as much as she did. :-)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Who are they?
What would you say to this man if you sat next to him on a plane... Nicely trimmed 'tache?
This guy has doned a suit and greased his hair but normally he sells you kebab?
Perhaps a model for SpecSavers?
A guy who took the wrong door in the hotel and ended up on stage in front of thousands of people?
A bodyguard to some 5 year old superstar?
A woman who lives for the weekend and the rodeo?What if I put numbers in front of their names....
#22 Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud
#7 Mukesh Ambani
#16 Li Ka-shing
#19 David Koch
#24 David Thomson
#12 Alice Walton
You guessed it here is the entire list of the worlds billionaires as published by Forbes on the 11th of March.
Now chances are you won't be sitting next to one of these people on your next bus trip, or stand next to them in the queue for the cinema, but whats striking and whats interesting is that even if you did, the majority of us wouldn't recognise them.
Some of them have earned the money themselves. Some have inherited it. Some have found it in a bush beside the highway... or maybe not... I refuse to believe you stumble over that amount of money... in certain cases in which it is inherited it might not necessarily be through the hard-work and perspiration of the individual themselves....
Interestingly enough if you look up a lot of these names, many these people are also using their money to do good in the world instead of lavishly overspending on ridiculous non-essential things... I say many because obviously there is still the wastefulness of some...
Does the money make them happy... no...nothing we know makes them happier when they go to bed at night than someone who's just found a job, someone who's just written a poem or someone who has just seen the sun set... but for the majority of us we'll never understand the world they are living in... and apart from a select few we will not strive to accomplish it either...
Don't get me wrong... I like the list of the worlds Billionaires 2009. I don't think people should look down on people simply because they have money, simply because that is what drives them... nor should people worship the ground these people walk on... if there are lists for the best songs, lists for the best books, lists for the best restaurants... then why not for the worlds Billionaires... the majority of them are no more famous than you or I... they might purchase slightly more expensive things but also give more to charity... the world we live in is an intriguing place...
Here's a few lists I haven't seen though...
List of the world's happiest people... List of the world's greatest accomplishments ... list of the world's best friends... but I suppose these are far more difficult to set up standards to measure. :-) Thank god... Imagine the pressure of being the world's best friend... :-)
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Ostiarius - the word of the day
An ostiarius, a Latin word sometimes anglicized as Ostiary but often literally translated as porter or doorman, originally was a servant or guard posted at the entrance of a building.
Why this word? Why today?
As some doors open, others are shut and throughout my journey to find a job here in London I've been through what seems like an infinite number of doors...
Some of the doormen are friendly when I'm on my way in, and when I'm on my way out
Others are not friendly at all, possibly cause they have too many people coming in and out of their doors...
Some doormen I know from the past and get me in through the back enterance...
And then there are the ones that are only too glad to see the back of me but who welcomed me as a king...
Today I was shown out of one door by a friendly Ostiary... the outcome however is as definite whether the Ostiary is kind, cruel or unremarkable...
Today another door opened and the doorman is someone I know...
Tomorrow one door is wide open ...
So you see... I have met a lot of these doormen, and gone through a lot of doors... but not yet got a foot in
I'll leave you with a funny picture taken on Monday... Anne and I met this pigeon while crossing a street in London... Standing and waiting until the light turned green... quite a site... fancy meeting a patient Londoner... but then again, it was Easter, he might have been an out of town pigeon...
Monday, April 13, 2009
Hmmmm... what do I see
Easter... how lovely it is to have four days off.
It's been an extremely quiet easter... London has practically been dead except for all the tourists but luckily we've stayed clear as much as possible...
Anne and I have had the apartment to ourselves... first time we've really been "alone" since I moved from Sweden in November and although we get on with our temporary flat mates really really well, it kind of reminds us that we are getting older and that we enjoy having our own space, being able to do what we like in our own apartment when we want to... not as easy when you are living with others even if you get along with them...
Thursday night Anne and I attended the filming of the Chris Moyles Quiz night. Its free to get tickets to be in the audience for these shows so its a great night out...only it takes around 4-5 hours of filming. If you want tickets you can get them from Applause store. For those of you who don't know who Chris Moyles is, he is the biggest Morning Radio DJ in the UK and has a show on BBC Radio 1... he's now launched a TV show where celebrities compete for something that Chris Moyles owns and loves. This week the winner won his BBQ. The loser has to sing karaoke...
The Celebrities we got to see were Gary Barlow (singer in the band Take That), Denise van Outen (Singer, actress, business woman) and Stephen Fry (all-around Genius and very well liked English man)...
It was a great show that aired yesterday (Sunday)... but some of the funniest parts were cut from the programs possibily because they were not PC (politically correct) or for other reasons?!?!?
Now while we're still on Thursday night, I have to highlight this... the UK has an OBESITY problem... the number of OBESE people we saw on Thursday night was INCREDIBLE!!! Literally around 10-15 members of the audience of 300 were seriously obese. That's a staggering number. All over town wherever we walked on Thursday there were Obese people. I'm talking seriously obese and I listened in to the majority of them to make sure they weren't American tourists... It's a serious issue but when you see everyone walking around with packets of crisps (chips) you understand why that is... Throughout the weekend we have continued to notice people who are not taking care of themselves. If there's one or two fine, it might ..."NOTE: it MIGHT" be a disease but this many, its damn well lazy and unhealthy people and unfortunately probably extremely sad and self-confident people too... Terrible to see and I obviously don't judge them on their weight but its a real societal problem when you see sooooooooooooo many... Note I would say the same if I thought everyone I saw was underweight too but clearly I don't see that many
Like I said before, it was a calm weekend... on Sunday we went to the Natural History museum to see the Best Wildlife Photography Exhibition... incredible pictures... highly recommend going there if you are in town before the 26th of April...
The museum was full of families... young kids with their parents... soaking up as much information as possible... its funny to see their minds fill up with knowledge... their curiousity and their willingness to scream, shout, run, trip, play, roll around on the ground, eat ice cream so that their entire face is covered in vanilla ice cream...
Realised you haven't seen a pic of me for a while so here's a pic of me outside the museum.
Interesting thing happened on the way back on the tube from the museum... Anne and I were on the tube and a quite professional looking man came on, sat down across from us and started talking, he was turned slightly to his right and talking to what we can only assume he believed was his imaginary friend... but nobody was sitting in the vicinity... he got off and I turned to Anne and said that was strange... as I did that... I slightly hesitated... what if Anne was just a figment of my imagination, my imaginary friend Anne, nobody else could see her and I thought she was here but she wasn't in fact... how strange would it be to one day wake up and find out that a friend you had was imaginary...!!! anyway, quickly realised she existed when others could notice her...:-p
This week I have two potentially interesting meetings with companies so fingers crossed... Never give up... here's a clip I found on CNN today which pretty much sums up what I'm going through as well... interesting that it affects soooo many people in so many ways...!!!
Anne and I are now goin out for a walk... bringin my camera so hope to be able to take some nice snaps...
It's been an extremely quiet easter... London has practically been dead except for all the tourists but luckily we've stayed clear as much as possible...
Anne and I have had the apartment to ourselves... first time we've really been "alone" since I moved from Sweden in November and although we get on with our temporary flat mates really really well, it kind of reminds us that we are getting older and that we enjoy having our own space, being able to do what we like in our own apartment when we want to... not as easy when you are living with others even if you get along with them...
Thursday night Anne and I attended the filming of the Chris Moyles Quiz night. Its free to get tickets to be in the audience for these shows so its a great night out...only it takes around 4-5 hours of filming. If you want tickets you can get them from Applause store. For those of you who don't know who Chris Moyles is, he is the biggest Morning Radio DJ in the UK and has a show on BBC Radio 1... he's now launched a TV show where celebrities compete for something that Chris Moyles owns and loves. This week the winner won his BBQ. The loser has to sing karaoke...
The Celebrities we got to see were Gary Barlow (singer in the band Take That), Denise van Outen (Singer, actress, business woman) and Stephen Fry (all-around Genius and very well liked English man)...
It was a great show that aired yesterday (Sunday)... but some of the funniest parts were cut from the programs possibily because they were not PC (politically correct) or for other reasons?!?!?
Now while we're still on Thursday night, I have to highlight this... the UK has an OBESITY problem... the number of OBESE people we saw on Thursday night was INCREDIBLE!!! Literally around 10-15 members of the audience of 300 were seriously obese. That's a staggering number. All over town wherever we walked on Thursday there were Obese people. I'm talking seriously obese and I listened in to the majority of them to make sure they weren't American tourists... It's a serious issue but when you see everyone walking around with packets of crisps (chips) you understand why that is... Throughout the weekend we have continued to notice people who are not taking care of themselves. If there's one or two fine, it might ..."NOTE: it MIGHT" be a disease but this many, its damn well lazy and unhealthy people and unfortunately probably extremely sad and self-confident people too... Terrible to see and I obviously don't judge them on their weight but its a real societal problem when you see sooooooooooooo many... Note I would say the same if I thought everyone I saw was underweight too but clearly I don't see that many
Like I said before, it was a calm weekend... on Sunday we went to the Natural History museum to see the Best Wildlife Photography Exhibition... incredible pictures... highly recommend going there if you are in town before the 26th of April...
The museum was full of families... young kids with their parents... soaking up as much information as possible... its funny to see their minds fill up with knowledge... their curiousity and their willingness to scream, shout, run, trip, play, roll around on the ground, eat ice cream so that their entire face is covered in vanilla ice cream...
Realised you haven't seen a pic of me for a while so here's a pic of me outside the museum.
Interesting thing happened on the way back on the tube from the museum... Anne and I were on the tube and a quite professional looking man came on, sat down across from us and started talking, he was turned slightly to his right and talking to what we can only assume he believed was his imaginary friend... but nobody was sitting in the vicinity... he got off and I turned to Anne and said that was strange... as I did that... I slightly hesitated... what if Anne was just a figment of my imagination, my imaginary friend Anne, nobody else could see her and I thought she was here but she wasn't in fact... how strange would it be to one day wake up and find out that a friend you had was imaginary...!!! anyway, quickly realised she existed when others could notice her...:-p
This week I have two potentially interesting meetings with companies so fingers crossed... Never give up... here's a clip I found on CNN today which pretty much sums up what I'm going through as well... interesting that it affects soooo many people in so many ways...!!!
Anne and I are now goin out for a walk... bringin my camera so hope to be able to take some nice snaps...
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