Dodgy interviews

So that we are all on the same page, "dodgy" means sketchy.

I have been to some dodgy, dodgy interviews. The "dodgiest" interview was for what I thought was an assistant marketing position. Turns out, it was for a fast track to management position and those who were interviewing with me were looking for a "career" (if you could call it that). We were told that over 200 people had called on the posting and that the 20 of us in the room were chosen for an interview because the owner "liked us". Gotta be honest...I was given an interview offer within 2 minutes of my initial phone call so these statistics didn't really impress me.

The 3 hour interview was run by a Chinese man who used the f-word more than 30 times. He only drinks one type of water which of course he doesn't buy himself. Why would he? Now that he makes loads of money he pays his personal assistant to do tedious tasks such as shopping. He assured us that he liked each and every one of us but that his goal during his presentation was to scare as many of us away as possible. Sitting there, listening to this guy... I kept thinking "is this real?" "Is he really saying tht?" He told us that his 8 week management training program would be hands down the hardest thing that any of us would ever have to go through. He would push us so far out of our comfort zones...and he went on to describe how he would go about doing this. For girls, he would make us watch the movie The Ring II in a large dark room. Then he would take us into the wilderness and leave us blindfolded and alone. We would hear certain noises (which he demonstrated for us) and we would find out that we were standing next to a well. He would then push us in...only to see if we would still have a positive attitude. The saddest part is, the people around me kept saying "yes" while he was talking as though he was speaking words of wisdom. Needless to say, this is yet another job that I didn't accept. It did make for a great story though!

On the positive side, I have had a really great interview with a financial company and am hoping that it will pan out. I have also applied to work at sporting events on the weekends. Heck yes I would like to be paid to watch soccer (football) games.

I have finally started being a "tourist". Aside from the 4 musicals I have seen, I have also gone to Big Ben and the London Eye. These are some of my most favorite pictures that I took...







I finally met some girls from the US. Most people that I meet say that there are Americans everywhere here....yet I JUST met them. They heard my "accent" in the hallway of our hostel and tracked me down. These girls are a kick. We'll just say that we bring the party to the pub ( in addition to our own deck of cards and ice cream) and people are pickin up what we are throwing down.

Here's a quick lowdown of my peeps:


Me, Debora (roommate from Brazil), Sue (roommate from China) at the pub


Me, Rachael and Rebecca (all-american girls) at STOMP


I am heading to Scotland for Christmas to stay with family and am really looking forward to it. The Christmas decorations are few and far between here BUT I have found a few displays that rival the tacky plastic decorations that adorn our American homes.


I actually met the family of this flat while I was taking the picture. They were pleased that I was so tickled by their decorations.


If you look closely, you will see a Homer Simpson Santa coming out of the window at this fire station.

More to come soon. In the meantime, remember to....

London or bust

And so my grand adventure begins...


My flight flew out of Portland on Tuesday, December 6. Truth be told, mom may have held it together a little better than I. I was lucky enough to sit by a guy from Norway on my flight from Chicago to London. He was absolutely fabulous.

As with any trip, there are complications. The first complication that I faced was in relation to luggage. The airline sent my big piece of luggage on a later flight and had to arrange to deliver it to my hostel. This actually was a blessing because it meant that I didn't have to transport the dang thing. The second complication came shortly after when I learned that the bus I was to take from the airport to my hostel is no longer in operation. I'm proud to say that I didn't sit down and have a good cry but rather made my way to the tube system and got myself to my destination. Anyone who knows me knows that I am terrible with directions so this was quite an accomplishment for me.


I am staying at the International Student House, which can host up to 220 travelers at any given time. It is one of the largest youth hostels in London. I have had three roommates thus far from Brazil, China and Japan. There is a pub in the hostel...which isn't much of a surprise because there are pubs everywhere. Below is a picture of some crazy crazy guy singing some song about a woman name Elaine at Thursday Karaoke night.


I take the tube several times each day. Luckily, I have a tube stop located directly across from my hostel. My tube stop is Great Portland Street Station.



I have had two job interviews. One job I was not eligible for because of the type of work visa that I have, the other ended in a job offer. I have declined the offer because it wasn't quite what I was looking for and will continue to job hunt. In the meantime, I am also looking for a flat and am going to look at my first one this evening. I went to see the musical Lion King with one of my roommates and spent Sunday at a market in Camden Town. Must admit that I have never seen so many drugs sold right out in the open. Mushrooms and poppers galore. I opted to purchase sour candy and chocolates, but that's just me.

I feel incredibly blessed and continue to see God's hand in the smallest of details. Sincere thanks to those of you who have emailed with words of encouragement and kept me in your prayers.