JOB!!! (and other stuff...)

As of Friday, 28 October, I have a job. It's not the most posh, but I'm excited for it and it's income. I'll be working as a receptionist for a recruitment agency near Tower Hill, which means I get to run the front desk (though I don't have to answer phones), reformat people's CVs, manage some databases, and do whatever jobs anyone needs done. It's 40 hours per week and paid holidays and apparently really busy all the time. The agency itself is comprised of mostly young people (mid-late 20s) who like to go out after work and hang out. They were all tremendously friendly and fun at my interview. So, I start Monday (tomorrow) and will shadow the current receptionist for two weeks before she leaves. Not too shabby!

Since my last post, I've been busy. I've spent a couple of days looking for jobs, etc., and then found and got this one. I've hung out with my flatmates, who are all pretty fabulous (minus one that's leaving very soon, but he's just weird...) and have watched a lot of movies and television in an effort to save money instead of going out too much. Friday Kate and I went to the London Eye and walked all over the Trafalgar Square and Leicester Square areas. This was the first time that I really saw Big Ben and Westminster, so I feel like I can officially feel like I'm in London now. (photos: London Eye; view from the Eye of Westminster, Parliament, and Buckingham Palace (and I think the neighborhood where I live off in the distance somewhere); view down the river of St. Pauls (my office is near the egg-shaped building); and Trafalgar Square)





Saturday, G.P. (another flatmate from Virginia) and I went to Guildhall and the London Museum. The ruins to the Roman Ampitheatre are below Guildhall Art Gallery, so besides neat art of London and old important British people, we got to walk among my first set of Roman ruins! The London Museum was really neat too. There were all sorts of artifacts and collections from all eras of London and British history, though we missed about 1500 years worth due to the redesigning of Post-Roman through Elizabethan period exhibits. (photo: Ruins in Guildhall)


Today we went back to Camden Market with Sam (another flatmate from Mexico), his visiting sister, and Kate and will soon go grocery shopping and maybe to a movie (a "cheap" one). Emma Watson, the actress who plays Hermione in the Harry Potter movies, was rumored to be at Camden Market signing autographs, but we didn't see her.

This weekend we were also supposed to go to Stratford-Upon-Avon and Warwick Castle, but so many people had conflicting plans that we postponed it for awhile. We also contimplated going to one of the London Film Festival movies, but they're frickin' expensive (though many of the actors from the movies have actually been here for things like "Walk the Line").

Anyway, London is great! I'm loving it and am v. glad to be starting to earn some money. I miss good Mexican and Southwestern food, Kraft mac n' cheese, Jiff peanut butter, and cheap movies. I love the tube (esp. the Baker Street Station), the conversations I overhear on the tube, Cadbury dairymilk chocolate bars, that I have an accent (even to other Americans), and the feeling of not being in a big city while being in one of the preeminent cities of the world. The tv shows here are a bit odd and we've watched just about anything once, including the celebrity ballroom dancing show "Strictly Come Dancing", the Simpsons, realestate reality shows, and a culture piece of middle-aged baby-boomer women complaining about everything from toilet paper to punk kids with hoodies. I'm trying to read a lot and am currently reading some Sherlock Holmes, in honor of my favorite tube station. Next in line is "A Tale of Two Cities" since there's a BUNAC Christmas trip to Leeds Castle and a Dickens festival.

Coming up this week and weekend: "Egypt", a BBC miniseries on the discovery of King Tut; Guy Fawkes Day and Bonfire Night; Possible day trip somewhere; and Harry Potter Day on Sunday!!! Anyway, I'll get the pics from the Eye and all up soon.