Ahh...Mexican food!

There is a shortage of Mexican food in London and this poses quite the problem for me...a lover of mexican food. I finally found a place sporting traditional mexican food, drinks and decor. While it wasn't as good as Taco Del Mar or Baja Fresh (my two favorite places of all time) it was pretty darn good.

Look how excited Heidi and Vydia are to get their food! Funny thing is, we all ordered the same thing. I guess great minds think alike and share the same tastes!




This was taken on a different night, but it's three friends and me riding the tube. An awfully nice guy took the picture for us.



And to follow that with yet another unrelated topic to the postings' title, I am pleased to report that I worked my first rugby game this past weekend. Not only was I the first person to sell a keg, I was also the top seller of the day. If that doesn't give me bragging rights, I'm not sure what does. I was a Heinekin girl decked out in a Heinekin fleece, apron, gloves and a stupid stupid beenie (we all looked rediculous in the beenies). The backpack was a Heinekin backpack as well. To boot I also got asked out on several dates and asked to work private parties. On a side note, rubgy is quite the rough and tough sport. The guys were dropping like flies!

Last but not least, I love my job at Morningstar. I'm learning so much about the UK financial market. It's the third largest in the world, behind the US and Japan. London specifically has the third largest and longest running stock exchange. I got to meet with Bob this past week...he's our financial know-it-all. And believe me, he knows it all! I took like 6 pages of notes and still had a million more questions. He's agreed to bring me along to meetings and include me in projects. I hope to be like Bob some days...to know my industry and it's markets so well. Gives me something to aspire to... : )

Everything is going fabulous. If I could just get rid of the darn cough that started after Christmas, I'd have nothing to complain about.

Much, much love to all.

Burns supper...

Several girls and I attend an official Burns Supper celebration (traditional event celebrating the famous scottish poet Robert Burns). The event was a hoot...am so glad we went.

The event started with a scottish bagpipper leading the procession of the haggis..



Then we had the toasting of the lads and laddies. The lads made a toast to the laddies and then we laddies responded with a toast to the lads. I have to admit, they weren't conservative by any means!



Then a little ditty to honor the immortal memory of Rober Burns...



Haggis...in all its glory. Have to be honest, I couldn't eat it. I tried a bite, but just couldn't get myself to eat any more than that. By the looks of it, can you blame me?



My friend Lauren and I read poems written by Robert Burns...we only did this because we were told in advance that if you brought a poem to read you'd receive a free whiskey!





We ended the evening with some good ol' traditional scottish dancing. Can't say I was any good, but neither were any of the lads! We just ended up spinning a lot and laughing even more.

This is a couple of the girls that I shared my first Burns Supper with!

My humble flat...

Now that my room is somewhat put together, I have pictures to share. Let me tell you what a process it has been to get all this "stuff". First, I have to find a store that sells what I need which isn't always easy. Then I have to get there when they are open (stores here close early). Then, I have to lug the darn stuff home on a crowded bus and carry it back to my flat. I've come back exaughsted on more than one occasion... I should note that I'm very lucky to have a cancer research store near my flat (used goods store that raises money for cancer research). I have found several gems including IKEA mirrors, silverware, storage bins and discounted books.









And this is my new tube stop...Turnpike Lane Tube Station. I am in zone 3 in the NE end.

Morningstar

As promised, here are pictures of my office. The Morningstar London office serves as the european headquarters for Morningstar UK and is currently the largest office. They moved in to their new office the day before I started, and as I've already mentioned, it's quite posh. I'm sure you'll see why I love being in the office...

This is the front of our building. If you look closely, you'll see a red bus in the picture. That's where my bus drops me off each morning. I love walking off the bus and right into the building!



This is part of our front lobby.



This is one of our 4 conference rooms.



This picture shows several different things... First, where the wooden shelves are- that leads into our kitchen and eating area. Second, the hanging dome lamp and four chairs- that is one of our little meeting areas in the office. We use the space for group meetings. The walls are like white boards, so we can write all over them. So cool! Third, the desk area is my department (data relationship managers- DRMs).



This picture shows two things. First, take note of the window seat and fun pillows. These have internet hook-ups so that you can take your laptop by the window to work. Second, if you look at the row of desks farthest back...the second chair in from the left is mine! It has a flat screen monitor that is attached to a swivel arm so that I can show it to the people sitting on either side of me.

TCB

TCB=Taking care of business

This week has been quite a productive week, if I do say so myself. I started two jobs AND found a home.

To start, my first week at Morningstar went really well. My co-workers are a very lively bunch and I love my desk. The first week or so is always hard when starting a job because so much information is thrown at you, and you are in the process of earning respect from your counterparts. They are allowing me to work as many hours as I want and have offered me wage incentives for the data entry portion of my job. As I already mentioned, they have also told me that I can take long weekends to travel and whatnot. The flexibility is fabulous.

This week, I also completed my training for my concessions job. I can now confidently say that I am capable of pouring a pint of beer. No need to laugh BUT I will be carrying a backpack full of 21 1/2 pints of beer to sell at sporting events. In case you're curious, it's heavy. So I've got that strapped to my back and then a nozzle that sits at my waist and cups on the side of the pack...and a smile to boot. The type of beer I will sell depends on our customer for that particular event. We cover football (soccer), rugby, and concerts. Apparently we also travel outside of London. Sometimes as far as Scotland. When it came to training regarding the pouring of the beer, these guys were not messing around. Apparently the amount of foam is crucial as well as the pint line on the cup. Strict laws are in place to ensure that paying customers receive a full pint of beer and no less. But if we pour too much, than we are wasting our product. And, under no circumstances are we allowed to throw away a pint of beer. All these rules!

As for my house. Man oh man was it a search for a place to call home. I looked at some very dodgy places. On one occasion, after seeing one flat, I told the gentleman that there was no need to show me his second available flat. But, I have succeeded in finding a 7 bedroom flat that I will share with one girl and 5 guys. We share 2 and a half baths, a kitchen, a TV, and a washer and dryer. There is also a shared computer with internet. I am going to look into buying a router so that I can continue to use wireless on my laptop. The area is great and boasts a shopping center, movie theater, grocery store, several pubs, and casual dining. I'm pretty pleased. I will officially begin staying there next Saturday night and my commute to work shouldn't be much longer than what I am doing now. I plan on keeping my gym membership at the hostel because it's a good price and it gives me a way to keep meeting new people.

Sunday nights are movie nights at the hostel and again this week I have organized a group of people to go. I am a big fan of free events.

Unfortunately I have no new pictures to share but should have some soon of my workplace and my new home.

On a very random note, I have a fun fact for my TAM girls (Tacoma Art Museum). To give a bit of background, I was a marketing intern at Tacoma Art Museum during my senior year at PLU. My login name for my computer was mintern which stood for marketing intern. The name stuck, and before I knew it, my name in the department was Mintern...a name that I answered to with great pride. Upon leaving at the end of the year, the girls gave me a custom designed shirt with MINTERN sprawled across the front. I also wear that with great pride. And I usually sign my emails and letters to them as Mintern. Ok, so that's the background. When I was doing my flat search,I was shown a place on a street called...yep, you guessed it...MINTERN. I almost wanted to live there just for kicks. Truthfully, now I just want the street sign but am not sure how strict the laws are here regarding property, etc.

For those interested, my home address is:

173 Harringay Road
London, N15 3HP

My work address is:

1 Oliver's Yard
London, EC1R 1HQ

For packages, it might be best to send them to my place of work since there will always be someone there to receive it.

Much love to all!

3rd time's the charm

Today I got my THIRD job offer after having THREE interviews with the company. I am incredibly excited about the offer and have accepted. I officially start tomorrow morning (1/10) at 9:00 with Morningstar. They are a US based financial company that provides independent financial research and financial tools for investors. I will have a dual-role position of PR and data relationship management. They moved offices this weekend, and I couldn't believe how posh their new office is. It was like being in a high-powered marketing agency... Later on down the road when I'm not worried about looking dumb, I'll take some photos and post them.

Their website is
http://www.morningstar.co.uk/
http://www.morningstar.com/
http://corporate.morningstar.com/US/asp/home.aspx?xmlfile=202.xml&pgid=hetopcompsite

I can't tell you how blessed I feel. Today I feel like I took a really big step in accomplishing one of my largest goals for this trip. God is very, very good. I celebrated by buying myself some raspberries!:)

On a side note...I have two examples of just how small our world is.

First, my second interview with Morningstar was a phone interview with their headquarters in Chicago. The individual that I interviewed with went to high school just down the street from my university in Tacoma.

Second, a few days ago I met two guys from Eugene, OR. Their U of O jacket kinda gave them away. We ended up talking and shooting some pool...later I found out that one of them used to play on the lacrosse team at U of O. A few years back they worked at the Lone Pine Farms Haunted Corn Maze as a fundraiser for their team. Now this is the very haunted corn maze that I haunted this past fall as the Lone Pine Witch.

I know, crazy!

Back in London

I have returned to London and I must say that I had several lucky breaks along the way. At the airport in Endinburgh, they said that my carry on was too big and that I needed to check it. This was going to cost an additional 30 pounds (my ticket only cost 12.99 pounds). The guy let it slide though and didn't charge me. It was almost like a bonus because I didn't have anything to carry around with me while waiting for the plane.

I arrived in London and took a train into central london. The terminal station for the tube was closed and thus I had to figure out which night bus would get me to my hostel. What I haven't told you yet is that I got sick in Scotland which makes traveling that much more fun. Once again, I rose to the occasion and determined which bus I needed to take...now it was just a matter of figuring out which spot I needed to catch it at. At one stop, the bus driver told me it was the right bus number but that I needed to go to a different street. I got myself there and waited. Finally the bus came and it was the same driver from before. He just smiled, told me to get on and wouldn't let me pay the bus fair. He also made sure that I got off at the right stop.

To top it off, my hostel gave me a price break on what they charged me to store luggage while I was away in Scotland. 2006 is off to a great start, minus the being sick. I really feel for my roommates in the hostel because I know my coughing at night keeps them up. I am the roommate that no one wants...:)

An update on jobs. I had a second interview with the financial company just before christmas. It was a phone interview with their headquarters in Chicago. I have a third interview with the head guy at the London office this coming Monday morning at 9am. I have to convince him that he should create a marketing position for me. You can all wish me luck and say a little prayer. The kicker is...the tube system will be on strike tomorrow and Monday. Is anything ever easy here? So, I will be figuring out how to get to the interview by bus.

That's the news for now. Stay tuned and in the meantime I send all my (love)

Part 2 of Attempt 2

Edinburgh Palace

(Rhona and Mhari. Rhona was much more excited about the swans behind the palace, than the palace itself)

Rosslyn Chapel
The DaVinci Code is one of my favorite books. So you can imagine my excitement when Martin, Mhari, Rhona, Catriona and I went to Rosslyn Chapel which plays a part in the book. We spent the afternoon deciphering codes, debating the symbolism and after lunch we uncovered the Holy Grail (that was a joke). In all honesty, the church is breath taking. It was built by masons over a period of 40 years. It was intended to be an additional 92 feet long but that dream ended when it's visionary died. The church is currently undergoing so restoration...so restore what they damaged on the last restoration attempt. Thus, I don't have too many pictures of the outside but here are a few of my favorite. You can look forward to seeing this church in the movie when it comes out in May.

(If you look closely, you'll see ears of corn outlining the window. These were carved 40 or 50 years before Columbus discovered America and their presence in the church gives question to whether or not Columbus was the first to discover America)

(Part of the ceiling...isn't it amazing?)

(We were able to catch Rhona just long enough to capture this kodak moment)

Attempt 2

Let's try this again...

Endinburgh Castle

Please refer to post: "Castles, Palace's and the Da Vinci Code" for pictures from the Edinburgh Castle

HolyRood House

This is the queen's official residence when she is in Scotland and it is located at the bottom of the Royal Mile.

Scottish Parliment
The scottish parliment recently moved in to their new building which is located at the bottom of the Royal Mile just across from Holyrood House. The amount that it was estimated to cost and the amount that it ended up cost were two very very different numbers. The architect said that he envisioned a parliment reaching out to the landscape. This is it's not tall enough to be seen when you are at the top of the Royal Mile. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures in most places in the building. I think the pictures I was allowed to take will give great insight into the abstract creativity of the architect.

(Mhari and I in the debating chamber)

(The architect included these figures in the debating chamber. If you look at the picture above, they are located on the left hand side, just below the cameras. They represent the people of Scotland. He wanted to remind the members of parliment that the people of Scotland would always be watching them and the decisions they made...even if they were there physically. If you look closely, you'll see that the left side of each figure is a little higher than the right. This represents a shoulder of a person and how they might look of they were peering in. Martin, Mhari and I thought they looked a bit more like whiskey bottles)

(There is much debate surroundingthese figures on the outside of the building. Unfortunately, the architect died just prior to completion, so we will never know what he fully intended them to be. When asked, he usually responded by asking the person what they thought the shapes represented. Guesses range from members of the parliment to hair dyers. Here's an opportunity for audience participation. What do you think they represent?"

Mission Not Complete...

The post below is not what it was intended to be... the program got glitchyso I will try again tomorrow.

Castles, Palace's and the Da Vinci Code

Scotland is rich in history and the buildings are absolutely amazing. As already mentioned, the royal mile is located in Edinburgh and it is home to the castle and the queens residence in addition to the recently built Scottish Parliment. I will attempt to show you some of the places that I visited in an organized fashion...

Edinburgh Castle

(Picture taken from Princess Street looking up at the Royal Mile)

(Picture taken from a lower street looking up at the back of the castle)

(Picture of the front entrance to the castle)

(Tank displayed in the castle...much smaller than the one I drove in Tacoma!)

Wee walks and police reports

My cousins in Edinburgh are "outdoor lovers" (Steph, that should make you smile) and they took me on a few "wee walks" (Martin, that should make you smile).

Martin, Mhari's husband, is a ranger for a large territory of the national park in Edinburgh. He had quite a bit of insight for our wee walks and greatly increased my knowledge of outdoor things (I sound smarter already). You can be sure that I know the procedural response for ice in the national park.

Our first walk was on Christmas Eve. Neil and Nicola and their two kids + Mhari and Martin and their two girls + me = a darn good time. The kids were real troopers and the highlight of the walk came when we got to throw stones in the water. They were young enough not to catch on to the fact that I can't skip rocks.


Martin, Mhari, their girls and I set out again to conquer the Scottish hills after I returned from Glascow.
Also, several great walks were taken on beaches in Glascow. The weather was cold but nothing can really detract from the beauty of water and the fun of looking for beach treasures.

And on to the police report...

On the evening of 30 December 2006 at approximately 1730 I witnessed a female walk directly in front of a moving Lothian Bus. After impact, I was the first responder on the scene and provided medical attention while waiting for medical authorities to arrive. My campus safety days came in handy needless-to-say. My name is officially in a Scotland police report... I think that's something to boot. Sorry, no pictures were taken of the incident. My hands were fully...literally.

Haggis anyone?

Christmas was spent in Edinburgh with family from my mom's side of the family. We are
I spent the first bit of my stay with my mom's cousin Mary and her husband Ali. Wonderful hosts I must say. For those of you who aren't familiar with Scotland, everything is much smaller. Homes, cars, refridgerators, showers...the list continues. It is incredibly expensive to live in Edinburg and the space is fully utilized. Most homes do not have a dish washer or dryer....let alone a freezer in the house. But for those of you who may think different, you can dry clothing outside on a line even in sub-zero degree temperatures. Who knew!

Must say that it was hard to be away at Christmas. Especially on Chrismas Eve which I enjoy more than Christmas morning. Everyone was asking about my family's Christmas traditions... I told them we make pizzas and play "mystery gift". I followed that by telling them that we aren't too representative of traditional american families!

On Christmas morning, we went to Neil and Nicola's (Neil is Mary's son). They have two children, Andrew and Eliah (have to be honest, I don't know how to spell her name but the pronunciation is Aylee). It's always fun to watch kids open parcels (not gifts...parcels).
Christmas evening was spent with Mhari and her husband Martin (Mhari is Mary's daughter). They have two small girls, Rhona who is 2 and Catriona who is 11 weeks.

Rhona was having nothing to do with her parcels and she had the biggest pile! Once she opened one, she was satified and wanted to play with the toy rather than open a new one.

By pure accident, I took part in the opening celebrations of Hogmany in Endinburgh(4 day celebrations for the New Year). I walked out of a museum and was swept up by the candle light procession that had started on the Royal Mile (famous street where the castle and queens residence is located) and ended on Princess Street (main street in the city center). Thousands of people... at first I had no idea what was going on.

It turned out to be great fun. The festivities included an outdoor ice skating rink, carnival rides and games and a scottish band of bag pipes. Below are pictures...most of these are from Princess Street. Of note, the "Maze of Terror" looked like it had nothing on the haunted corn maze that I haunted this fall. As the Lone Pine Farms haunted corn maze witch, I think I have the right to judge such matters.




New Years was spent in Glascow with my mom's cousin Peter and his wife Catherine. They have three children, Catriona 20, Fiona 18, David 15. Must admit that I do not have pictures of the kids but in my defense, two of them were out of town for the holiday. We went to a church service that night which I must say was a nice way to start the year. I avoided the usual new years resolutions this year but did spend time reflecting on the ups and downs of 2005. A lot happened last year much of which pushed me to where I am now. I have lots of growth to build on and a clearer picture of who I want to become.

Peter and Catherine are quite the troopers as we stayed out until 3:45am. Their neighbors throw a party every year and we joined in on the festivities.

Must say that I greatly appreciated the phone calls and emails during the holidays. I felt incredibly blessed.