my last weekend!

hi everyone!

yes, i know i gave up on my blog while I was here - I didn't ever really think i'd stick with it anyway. putting pictures on facebook was just so much easier, so that's what i did. anyhow, i figure i'd commemorate my last weekend in london with a blog entry.

Friday was my last day of work, which meant basically I had to tie up loose ends before leaving so Pete wasn't totally lost in regards to what i've done on certain projects, etc.

On my last day of work, also, Cindy came into london to visit! she is staying with her friend Jacqui in Cambridge, but came into london for a temping agency meeting or something like that. Anyhow, we went for lunch, and then wandered around aimlessly, past a market, and even into a magic shop! I returned to work and pete and I finished up the day by heading to the HMV at oxford circus where he bought me BloodSugarSexMagik on vinyl as a farewell present :). what a guy


A 400m stretch of Oxford Street was shut down yesterday because of a huge blaze the previous night. Apparently the lost business for the day amounted to approximately 1 million quid. I took a few photos of the building that caught fire.

After that, I retired back home for just a few minutes before going to Baker Street to meet my buddy Dan from Croxley. We met up and telephoned my friend Stephanie, a girl I met in frosh week at Dal, and who just happened to be in london for the weekend! she was on a canadian backpackers pubcrawl and she had invited us along! so, we went to London Bridge and found our way to the first pub, which was just inside the Borough Market. We bought our pints (of Mealtime Raspberry) just as everyone was leaving, so we had to down those quickly. No problem.
The next pub was situated on the Thames, with the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral looming in the background. We went inside, got some pints (it was really warm and really smoky, so we went outside to drink on the riverside instead). All the places we went actually had really really slow service - it was kinda annoying actually. It was at this pub where I was introduced to a friend of Stephanie's named Dave (there were actually two Daves....). Dave said, "so you went to QEH, do you know Jon Goguen?" and I was pretty shocked! So we continued to talk about jonny, ian higgins and colin algee, who all know dave from Lacrosse. How's that feel guys, getting talked about halfway across the world! haha.

Unfortunately I didnt get any pictures of Dan on my camera by some weird fluke - i think they must be on stephanie's camera. we visited one more riverside pub called the Thameside, which had a nice terrace on the river. After that, we went to a greasy spoon under a tunnel somewhere, and we ordered either fish and chips (which I had) or a beef burger (which dan had) or a doner (not quite a donair, but it's what dave had). Note: I just noticed Dan's head behind this weird red-head guy who i don't know. so i DID get a picture of him, sorta

from l-r: amy, dave, stephanie

After this place, we went to a Belushi's (like a chain aussie pub) and just hung out there for a little bit before eventually retiring home. We took the tube home and made sure this girl named Amy made it to her stop ok (Edgware Road, which was apparently opened on June 15th, but several, several years before I was born - thanks wikipedia). Dan stayed the night at my place on the air mattress that so many of my friends have experienced - he lives in Croxley which is almost as far away as you can possibly take the tube. He didn't want to have to make that big journey in his slightly intoxicated state, and I understood. We played some Frets on Fire (guitar hero clone for the pc) and then went to bed. He had to work in the morning, so we woke up and I saw him off.

That was my friday! Saturday holds possibly attending a guitar show with Caleb from the Dahn Lab, going to some pubs with Pete and his mate Dougie in the evening, and probably some souvenir purchasing somewhere in there. Sunday should be mostly packing, and possibly more souvenir buying if necessary. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings if they don't get a souvenir - I don't have all that much room to bring stuff back, and furthermore, since i'm buying souvenirs in pounds (money), it adds up very quickly. 10 people x 5 quid/souvenir = 50 quid = 125 bucks canadian for what are essentially nic-nacs haha. so it will likely just be souvenirs for the family, just a heads-up.

anyway, on that note, I hope i haven't disappointed too many people with my lack of blog posting (sorry janet, I know you probably would have liked a few more to stem your boredom this term). for those readers of the blog, there will be a return-home bash on Monday night at Maxwell's Plum at approximately 10pm! I would love to see everyone there, and I look forward to having my first Keith's in 4 months.

Cheers,

Stan


ps. it is supposed to get up to 29 degrees by Monday here - it better not be freezing when I get home, or I might want to get right back on the plane.

back from a 3-week blog hiatus

with all the time i've spent without writing a blog entry, you'd think i'd be chalk-full (chock-full?) of london-y goodness. this isn't really the case. besides the weekends where I have had visitors to keep me entertained, the rest of the weeks have been passed by watching countless episodes of x-files and trying to keep up with shows from back home (i'm on season 6 of x-files now, and isn't Lost crazy?!). since I've actually had the internet at home, i've felt less of a need to post blogs because I get to talk to a lot of people on msn and I don't feel as lonely. such as it is, here's an update for all those keen readers back home (or wherever you happen to be).

My first visitor was the charming Mr. John Sime. I took my first day off work (5 vaca days left!) to hang out with john that weekend, which made it even better! we took what I dubbed "the shotgun approach" to sightseeing: that is, you go onto a tube line and then through the course of the day, just see whatever happens to be the next closest thing. Scatter, and hope to hit something good. we saw, in no particular order:

• trafalgar square
• big ben
• london eye
• imperial war museum
• the show Stomp in covent garden
• the canadian bar The Maple Leaf
• buckingham palace
• green park (finding neverland!)
  
• picadilly circus
• oxford circus (the huge hmv)
• tower bridge
• city hall
  
• anything else john? you can put it as a comment

for supper one evening, we went to Brick Lane. I don't know if you are familiar with it, but the idea is, there is a street with lots and lots of Indian restaurants along it. You walk down the street, and each place has a guy standing outside trying to get people in. You then barter with said person, and try to get yourself a deal. Here's how ours went-

1st guy - hey you guys wanna come in here? for you, free drinks this evening
us - hmm... we're just gonna keep walking, but we might be back
2nd guy, down the road - hey there fellas, come on in tonight. for you guys, 25% off our menu!
us - hmmmmmm... we're just gonna go a few more places to check them out
2nd guy again - tell you what, I think you'll want to eat here. 25% off our menu, and free drinks
us - ok you've got a deal



the good mr. sime then took his leave, and i went back to another week of work. nothing of consequence really happened that week. nothing worth sharing anyway, as far as i can remember.

the next day, colin o'flynn of electrical engineering fame told me he was coming up for a few days to london the following weekend. needless to say, that made me happy. after work I went to go meet up with him, and we walked from cannon st. past st. paul's cathedral, to covent garden where we went to the Maple Leaf for a quick one, and then the Walkabout, an aussie bar. pub, sorry, they don't have bars over here I don't think. I would just like to take this opportunity to praise my own impeccable sense of direction, as we basically wandered from the total opposite direction from the way I had gotten there before, and found our way straight to it. I couldn't believe it. I digress. We then met up with colin's friend claire, and a few of her friends from the castle she is currently doing an exchange in, which is located in Bath, England. we went to kelly's (one of the friends) house in Soho, and then went to Walkabout in Leicester Square - but this one was more like a club than a pub. Also, it was in an old church... it was kinda unsettling. The next day, colin and I went to the Tate Modern, trafalgar square, st. pauls cathedral again, big ben, the london eye, westminster abbey, and played bowling and bumper cars at this arcade on the river thames. the boardwalk-esque thing made for some amaaaaazing pictures of big ben from across the river, it was fantastic. (see my facebook for better resolution pics)


we played some cards that evening with his friends, and then i had quite the trek to get home on the night buses. that was fun. ...

the next tuesday, I went to the Millennium Dome for a meeting! It was pretty cool to see it so close up! (anyone who's interested can look up "The O2" on wikipedia for a little backstory) Also, the 13th of feb marked my 1000th day of being friends with oml! so that was special also. Other than that, work was work for the rest of the week - pete (my boss) and I had a few beers after work on thurs/fri, so that was good as well.

last weekend, i was graced by the presence of yet more friends! Lauren came down from inverness, scotland for a few days, before leaving for Cairo. Finding her at Victoria Station turned into quite an ordeal (my fault, i forgot her mobile # on my computer at home, and I wasn't about to call my landlady to try and figure my computer out). Not only did I not know where she was, I also didn't know she was going to be an hour late! So when it was 8:50 and I was panicking trying to find her, I didn't realize she wasn't even in London yet. So, after extensive amounts of walking, I decided to take the tube all the way back home to get her # and call her. long story short, I found her eventually, we bought a few groceries for the next day, and then we retired at my house for the night (watching several episodes of x-files as well - thankfully lauren's also a big fan).

The next day, we got off to a decently early start. we hit a lot of the places I went with John two weekends previous, but they are cool places so I didn't mind revisiting them in the slightest. in addition, we saw the Tate Modern, the Millennium Bridge, and the British Museum. within, we saw sarcophagi, pyramid drawings in hieroglyphics, the Rosetta Stone, ancient money, tombs, roman statues, etc. it was pretty cool.
After I said goodbye to Lauren, I came home and got in touch with Marie and Emma, and met up with them later that evening.


They were in town for a few days before going to Paris to visit their friend Johanna. They dropped their stuff off at my flat, and then we went to eat supper at wherever we could find a place. We settled on Garfunkel's, just off of Oxford Circus. We felt quite a bit like Americans - we had a platter with bbq ribs, chicken wings, 1/2 chickens, onion rings, coleslaw and fries. To drink? Budweiser was all they had left. Anyhow, after polishing that off, we tried to find a pub for a drink, but being a sunday night, not a lot was open. We wandered for probably a half an hour before we found a place - 10 pound cover charge for the 3 of us combined, then once inside, a stella was 3.50 pounds, and gin & tonics were 4.50 pounds. WOW. we stayed for one drink (obviously) and then walked back to the tube and came home.

This wraps up 3 long weeks of stories. this actually took like 1.5 hours to type up with all the pics and whatnot... but i wasn't exactly paying attention the whole time, so maybe 1 hour if I sat down and dedicated all my concentration to it. anyhow, hope this whets all you bloggers' appetites for delicious goings-on in london (yes janet, this means you too).

Next weekend, john and erin will be here, and we shall see the Blue Man Group, from the 4th row! I will keep you posted.

until next time




ps. all my pics can be found on my facebook profile - and the most recent album is right here!
this is 60 of 232 pictures I took this weekend. crazy eh?

Trafalgar Square / Big Ben

On Friday, I went with Peter to a meeting about a project we’re working on. This meeting was in a building close to the St. Paul’s tube station. This didn’t really click in my mind until we strolled into the square while we were looking for the building the meeting was in – then the large dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral came around the corner and looked down on us. I’ve never had a job where I can work and sightsee in one of the largest cities in the world before, so I thought that was kinda neat. The building also had a really good view of the cathedral and the square below.

That night I had planned to get a beer with a few of the guys from the other company (Buro Happold), but by the time I’d caught the tube and finished up at work, I got there too late and didn’t find them. So I went to Oxford Street, but on my way, some creepy guy asked me to “come here a sec”. He looked really sketchy, so I said “no, sorry” and kept walking. I was only about 40 metres away from Oxford Street, so I knew if I could get there, I would be safe in case the creepo wanted to stab me or something. He said “HEY you, come here a sec” and I replied again “no, sorry” and sped up without looking back at him. I made it to Oxford Street, and went into the Curry’s (Futureshop sorta) and looked around in there to make sure he wasn’t following me or anything. He wasn’t, and that was the last I saw of him.

On Saturday, I went to the library and got a few e-mails and stole some more internet til mine gets set up at home. Then, I took the tube to Waterloo station, where Mr. John Sime will arrive on Friday. I wanted to make sure I knew where I was going before he arrives. Once I got there, I really needed to use the loo, but the only bathrooms there cost 20p to use, and I had only brought some bills and put them in my Oyster Card pouch thing (Oyster card is essentially a tube pass that you wave in front of sensors on the way in and out). So I went back to the tube. I had planned on going to Marble Arch and Hyde Park that day, so my next stop was going to be Marble Arch. However, when we got to the Charing Cross stop, it said “This is Charing Cross, alight for Trafalgar Square,” so I decided to go there instead. Upon exiting the station and getting my bearings, it turned out I was IN Trafalgar Square. And it was HUGE. Big fountains, hundreds of people, a huge spire, and the National Gallery. Everyone was taking pictures, so I followed suit (not like I wasn’t going to anyway though). After taking some pictures, I decided to go see the Gallery (which is free, like a lot of places in London). People seem to really like drawing Jesus – I probably saw 100 paintings with Jesus or Mary or someone holy in them. In addition, I saw some Van Gogh, Picasso, Degas, Monet, etc. It was pretty neat, but unfortunately I was not allowed to take pictures inside.

After that, I figured I’d go to Marble Arch, but then I saw something out of the corner of my eye on the way back to the station entrance – Big Ben was just down the street. So I figured I’d check that one off my list too, and ventured down the street. I took a bunch of pictures of the tower, and by that time I was getting very hungry, so I decided to stroll on back home. One tube ride, and I was home. That’s the best part of London – the tube makes it seem very small, and on top of that, every time I arrive at the station it seems the train is just getting there (thus far I’ve never had to wait more than 4 or 5 mins for a train). Actually, that’s a lie – the morning after the “HUGE” snowstorm (2 cm or so probably, the most snow London has received since 2003, which is ridiculous) I had to wait for the 3^rd train because I couldn’t jam into any of them before other people did.

So all in all, Friday and Saturday were quite eventful days as far as sightseeing goes! Oh and all the time in between has been filled with X-files watching, I’m on season 4 now.

Last but not least, I am still waiting for my internet to get “set-up” on the provider end. That will be a glorious day. Stan out.

ps. pictures to come, blogger is just being really annoying at the moment. see my facebook in the meantime, the pics are all there.

the Tate Modern

Today I went exploring. I planned my route out to get to the Tate Modern museum near London bridge, but when I got to my tube station (warwick avenue) it was closed due to train vandalism (which reminds me, on one of the signs in the station last week it said one of the lines was closed due to “person under train” or something like that). Anyhow, a bobby nearby told me to take a bus to Baker Street (of Sherlock holmes fame) and then catch the tube from there. So I did, and it went fine. Then I made my way to the River Thames, where I took lots of cool pictures. Shortly after, I found the Tate Modern, and went inside. The museum was free, which was great. I went inside, saw a few of the galleries, and took some decent pictures. Apparently, you’re not allowed to take pictures, according to a man there with a walkie-talkie. At least I got in some good ones before I was told this. I saw some real Picasso paintings – one was weird like you’d expect when you hear the name Picasso, but the other one was a portrait which looked pretty realistic. Also, I saw some work by Andy Warhol which was pretty neat too. Some of the pieces were ridiculous, and I could have done a similar work myself. One of them was called “Grey” and it was just that. A large canvas painted uniformly grey. The write-ups next to some of the paintings made me roll my eyes, as they were sort of interpretations of what the painting is supposed to mean, etc. They had written a fairly in-depth writeup for “grey” which was unnecessary in my eyes. Other paintings and sculptures there were along the same lines as that, and are heralded as “great art”, which makes me wonder how some people are thought of as prodigies, and others as hacks, when all the pieces are so entirely subjective. Anyway, it was worth going, and it was pretty neat to see how they’d transformed an old power station into a 7 storey art museum. Oh also, I think I need to buy a tripod, because night shots are impossible to take on my camera due to underexposure – I only got a few to come out properly, and that’s because I set the camera down on the ledge on the riverside. I’ll look into that someday.

Oh one other thing – I am watching the x-files and the guy who plays Locke on Lost is in this one episode. And the girl who plays Amanda in Saw was in the last one I watched. Anyways, I saw Lost action figures advertised in one of the tube hallways, and I saw the Lost board game in a book store. Just thought I’d mention that.

the first week

well, it's been a little over a week, and my first full week of work is over. work itself isn't too bad, it's getting a little better. it still involves a lot of phoning people to get information about their products, and searching the internet, and looking through "good practice guides" for figures and space requirements and stuff like that. I'm apparently in the "building service engineering" field right now - I don't think this is where i'll end up in the end. To the left is a picture of 30 St. Mary's Axe, it's pretty close to the office I'm sitting in right now. I haven't gone to see it any closer than this picture shows, but perhaps I will one of these days.

Last night I went to a lecture by a guy who became the world's first cyborg. He has had chips implanted into his body to run tests to see what was capable. When he entered his university hallway, the light would turn on for him automatically, the door to his lab would open when it sensed him approaching, and a voice would welcome him to the room. They've hooked up a machine to rats' brains and they can essentially control these rats through machines using a remote control, it's insane. Also, they've implanted chips into a man's brain to essentially cancel the effects of Parkinson's disease - they had a video which showed him in a very advanced stage in that he couldn't walk without help at all, he had bad tremors, etc. When the power packs were turned on, he got up out of his chair, and walked around like you or I, it was phenomenal. Anyway, you might be wondering about the picture up there on the right - one of the guys I went to the lecture with looks exactly like rick bruiser from Super Punch-Out, it's uncanny. One of the other guys looked just like John Frusciante with his new short hair. The guys I went with are all Irish, around 24-26 years old I think. Ken, Angus, Bryan, and Dermott were the fellas I hung out with after the lecture - we went for some Thai food (ginger beef was amazing, and I had a Tiger beer, like the Thai restaurant with Don Macdonald). After that, me and Ken and Angus went to a pub and had a few beers and crisps (chips for you canadians). I had a Fuller's Ale first, then a Hoegaarden, both of which were pretty good.

Also, despite the huge storm yesterday (which i didn't notice until I tried to make my way through the insanely packed Liverpool St. Station), we've had such warm weather, it's ridiculous, like 12-15 degrees above zero. Quite a difference compared to Halifax, which I hear had like -30 degree weather.

Oh, anyone who wants to look at an article about the lecture guy, follow this link:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/05/12/visionary.warwick/index.html

Anyway, that's about it from me for now.

first days of work

i've started my first days at work, which is basically in downtown london. the buildings around here are pretty cool, i will take some pictures tomorrow. work seems ok, but i will have to do a lot of phoning manufacturers and stuff like that, which i don't really like doing, so that's kinda too bad.

as for my house, my landlady is an older woman who, once she starts talking, doesn't stop. she rambled for upwards of 2 hours the other night, just after i gave her back her telephone. all i did was nod and smile and occasionally say "oh yeah, uh-huh" (thomas you know what i'm talking about).


i think I will get a mobile phone soon, and apparently I can call canada for 5p a minute, which is pretty decent. also that way, I don't have to ask my landlady for her telephone, and thus avoid her rambling.

I have only met a few people here so far - boss (seems like a good guy), boss's wife (from halifax, nice person), boss's wife's friend (also from canada, and she was cool), landlady (see above), and flatmate (from turkey, learning english at a college here). I pretty much just stay in my room at home, which sucks cause as most of you know, I don't have the internet.

Anyway, I am on lunch break at work, so I should probably eat my food and whatnot. I am eagerly awaiting visits from Lauren, John, Emma and Marie. They really can't come soon enough. Bye for now,

Stan

saying my goodbyes

during my last days in halifax, i've been saying my goodbyes to everyone i can.

after sime set up his blog for his travels in france
(http://johnsimeinfrance.blogspot.com),
i had to do the same. rob and thomas set one up too, for their "travels" around halifax.

anyhow, here are some pictures from my going away celebrations. for additional pictures, check out my facebook profile i guess, it's the easiest way to post pictures, I find.


ps. i'm new to this blogspot thing, and formatting is a big pain, so gimme a break haha