Coming Back?!

I might just try to start the 'ol Blog again. I think I have enough back-stories from Austin now to keep this thing updated with good posts every week.

I'm gonna try guys. :)

Digital Camera?

Shirin (my sister in law) said in a comment that I need to post more pictures...and frankly I agree. Here's the thing: I don't have a camera to do that. I think this means that someone is going to have to get me one for Christmas. The last one I got for Christmas from my mom several years back was awesome but it just finally died and it only takes blurry pictures now. In the meantime I think I'll just describe pictures that I've seen here around Austin:

-There is a huge building downtown called the Frost Bank building. I think it's the biggest one in Austin and when you look at it from an angle, the top looks like an owl peering down at the city. Seriously.

-My training class for work took a picture outside of the main building. We have about six guys and six girls (all of various ages) and I think that might be a record for the number of males in once class. I was in the middle of the picture.

-East Austin (in some places) is occasionally considered the "less-than-desirable" place to live (I often drive over there for work). My supervisor and I passed a convenient store once while we were driving there and she told me that it sort of looked like an area she saw when she visited downtown Los Angeles (the bad parts).

-6th street at night - kind of like Mardi Gras but with less beads, more 18-year-old college students (if you can believe it), and fewer floats driving down the road.

Well, I think this little section is proving why I need to get a digital camera. Any takers for X-mas???

Nothing Much

I do pretty much the same thing every day. I guess I would post more but I honestly spend most of my time thinking about what I'm going to do about moving into my place. Other than that, my days are pretty much the same. Here's a typical weekday for me:

6:45am - wake up
7:30 - drive to work
7:55 - get to work and spend an hour on the computer checking work emails, AOL emails, sherdog.com, and finish any kind of CPS work I didn't do the day before
8:55 - training class begins...
12pm - lunch (usually leftovers from the night before or a sandwich or Sonic)
1pm - back to training
5pm - go home
6pm - go work out
7:30 - come home and take a shower
8pm - cook some pasta w/chicken in duck sauce (just kidding, but I do saute some damn good vegetables with the tomato sauce)
8:25 - eat and watch a DVR'd episode of the ultimate fighter or the office
9:15 - call Erika and sometimes my mom :)
9:45 - get on the computer and think about blogging something
9:46 - get off the computer
9:47 - get in bed and either read a little, think about filming the next "george" episode, or imagine myself on Season 7 of "The Ultimate Fighter".
10:15-10:45pm - go to sleep

And there you have it! My weekends are a little more exciting but with all the traveling I've been doing lately I still haven't seen everything Austin has to offer. I do still like here though and am really looking forward to exploring the city more whenever my flight benefits run out and I can't fly back to florida every other weekend. I'll let you know some more stuff then...

Yes, a New Apartment.

I pulled the trigger! I went with my gut and decided to go ahead and to lease a place in Austin for about 8 months (not sure why the lady didn't want a year lease but it didn't change anything so I'm fine with it). I move in November 17th!

I can FINALLY stop moving around this city from friend's floors to friends of friends' empty rooms. A place I can call my own...too bad it's a two-bedroom and I currently don't have a roommate. What I DO have, though, are some good prospects for people to move to Texas and live with me. They are:

ERIKA - Yep, she's still deciding what American city to move to now that she's a resident again (although now and then she says she wants to go back to London). Without going into a humongous story about what Erika and I are doing as far as our relationship is concerned - her chances of moving here are about 40% - 50% (in my mathematical opinion).

JAMES COOPER - That's right folks, the Coop might just give up his higher education job prospects in Florida and bring his talents to Texas. Considering that he was the first person I ever visited Austin with, it might be appropriate for him and I to room together. We'll see...guesses aside - James has a 35% - 45% chance of moving here.

Now what will I do with that 5% - 25% or so chance of having no one move here? I dunno. Call up some random friends from Kathleen High School and convince them that their dreams lie in that great state of Texas. hmmmmm...

New Apartment?

I'm trying to get in the habit of posting but that damn LeftHandedNinja.com website has been taking up much of my computer time lately. If you have not been to the site, by the way, you should totally go right now.

Anyways, I went to look at an apartment for the second time today. The place is really nice and has pretty much all the things I'm looking for in a place here. Look for yourself if you want to here: Falls on Bull Creek.

Although it has some negative ratings on certain apartment websites, I talked to three, real-life people who live there and they said they loved the place. It is inexpensive, 15 minutes from my work, remodeled with new carpet/floors/paint, and has an awesome pool. It's also in a really cool part of Austin in the rolling hill country.

I'm thinking about signing a lease soon. I just have to ensure that someone will move to Austin in order to share the rent now. hmmmmmmmmm...

Rolling along...

Well, it looks like I'm going to have to be more diligent with this blog because I didn't mean for the posts to be a month apart. I'll try to post more (for my mom's sake at the very least).

The past month has been pretty much all training. I spent a week in Waco, TX in a classroom, a week in Belton, TX in a classroom, and then a couple of weeks at my regular office in Austin doing on the job training. It's been cool so far and I've been meeting a ton of people and especially getting to know my fellow trainees (about 19 of us). The nice thing is - I'm getting paid the same amount for this training as I do for my regular job so it's a pretty sweet gig.

As far as the non-job aspects of my life go:

-Erika is in Miami right now and is actually about to come visit me in Austin this week. She's figuring out where she wants to live in America now that she's back for good from the UK.
-I've taken a couple trips in the past month - One to Arizona to see Erika (she was visiting her cousin out there) and one to Tallahassee.
-I moved into a new place, but only temporarily. This is because I had to get out of my friend Ashley's place (She was being gracious enough to let me sleep on her floor for over a month - AND FOR FREE!) and it just so happened that a friend of hers needed a roommate for just about two months. This bought me some time and now I am trying to figure out where I will live more permanently. This is kind of hard, however, because of the fact that Erika might possibly come to live in Austin, as well as James Cooper (albeit less possible).

We'll see what happens with the living situation...right now I'm enjoying my flight benefits on Continental (they run out Oct. 29th) and trying to stay stress-free with everything else.

New Post, Same Blog

Well, I decided to bring the old blog back into existence now that so much has changed with my life. Lemme bring you up to speed:

1.) I moved back from London, England to Lakeland, FL (my parent's house) in late May '07.
2.) I hung out/took road trips/watched a lot of Flip That House for about two months.
3.) I ended up deciding to move to Austin, TX (basically on a whim).
4.) I stayed with a friend for a few weeks until I found a job (rent free too! THANKS ASH!)
5.) I flew back to Florida, saw some friends, welcomed my girlfriend Erika back into the United States (a whole other story worthy of it's own entry), and packed up as much stuff as I could into a few suitcases before my final flight to become a true citizen of Texas.

...and that's pretty much it. I think I might write a book called "Five easy steps to a new life" based on my experiences.

So as of today I have put in my first week at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. I am a Child Protective Investigator in training (we train for about 3 months before I get my own case load). I'm sure I'll have plenty to write about over the next few months/years so just stay posted. It should be an interesting time...

Actually...

Well, things didn't quite turn out like I thought they would for my last bit of time in Britain. I never started my job at the Borough of Bromley Social Work agency. I'm actually home in Lakeland right now at my parent's house.

I'm going to start work here in town at a temporary job while I figure out where I'm going to move (Target moving date = Labor Day). So yeah, America is my place of residence now. How 'bout that?

I got a Job

So yeah, I guess I start work next Wednesday for the Bromley Council. How 'bout that?

The agency that I've been talking to set up my interview for when I got back from Italy (pictures coming soon) and today I went in and talked with one of the managers from the "Older Person's Team". I think I'll be helping review cases and doing other social work stuff while I'm there.

The whole "finding a job" process was something I was kind of worried about for this summer but now that I have something, I'm chuffed! Pints on me!

Back in London-Town

Well, I just spent a week in America and now I'm back in my country of origin (well, in terms of like, 8 generations ago maybe...I'm sure we have at least ONE British ancestor in the family).

My week at home was great and I want to thank all my family and friends who made so wonderful. I'll see you all soon enough again, as I am coming home in mid-June for good.

I am actually already packing my bags again to go meet my mom in Italy for a long weekend so I'll have to cut this post short. I'll write more whenever I get back.

I'm off to have a much-needed Curry (the one true thing I will miss for the rest of my life here in London).

See ya
Bren

Last Days at Work

Well, it's almost quitting time for me here at Positive East. The place that has been my home for 32 hours a week for the past semester will no longer be a part of my daily routine. No more wonderfully large lunches from the canteen. No more talking about where everyone is going for their 6-week holiday. No more taking the cramped tube from the West end of London all the way to the East end (alright I'm not gonna miss this one too much).

I know I'm being a bit dramatic about all this but I am going to miss this place. The people here made my experience so much fun and the clients I got to help really opened up my eyes to some international issues I might not otherwise have learned about. I'll definitely miss this place.

I've put some pictures up of the office I work in. I had to send an essay and some pics of me "in action" back to the Human Rights Group who gave me a small stipend to do this internship. I didn't really know what they meant by "in action" so I just took some obviously posed pictures with the help of my colleagues. Here they are:

Here is a picture of me looking intently at a file with my coworker:

These fake "pointing at words on a sheet of paper" shots are great

Another intent look from me. I love the fact that Tseguy is smiling directly at the camera when I am clearly concerned with an African Team email that is being written.

Two Posts for the Price of One!

This is basically a direct rip-off of one of Gabe's blog posts a month or two ago but I'm still doing it anyway. *ahem*

Who beat me up in the picture below? None other than Jess "The Joker" Liaudin! Okay, while he's not as famous as the guys my brother grappled with when he got his bruises (Forrest Griffin and Rory Singer), Jess is well-known in the European fight circuit and has even fought Shonnie Carter before (he was the only fighter I recognized from Jess' record).

So yeah, I went to the London Pancrase gym a little while ago to do some kickboxing and grappling and they kicked my ass. It was great! My arm still hurts from an armbar one of the guys put on me but all the rest of the cuts and scrapes have healed. It was so nice to mix it up again because I haven't done any kind of fighting for months. I've only been a handful of times to the gym but whenever I stop my internship and start a PAYING job I think I'm going to sign up for the butt-kicking on at least a weekly basis.

Nothing Much Going On

At the request of some anonymous comment I'm writing a post...finally. My lack of blogging lately can pretty much be summed up like this - nothing's really happening! Seriously, while I did have a wonderful Easter weekend in the English countryside (I'm just waiting for the pictures to be uploaded to post on that), there hasn't been much else to write about. The days in which I have some free time are pretty much the same lately. Here are a couple of things I might do:

-Discuss with Erika when we should go to Tesco to get groceries
-Cook the groceries mentioned above
-Figure out which pub we're going to after work on Friday
-Argue with Erika about whether or not we should move back to the States
-Plan future trips we're taking
-Talk in British accents to amuse ourselves

And that's about it. In all honestly I haven't done much to talk about. I'm getting ready for home next week when I fly back to America to graduate. That's exciting. As soon as THAT happens I'll probably have much to write about. Until then...British life as usual.

Back in the U.S. of A.

So I'm traveling back to Florida in about 3 weeks to walk at my graduation (please come). I can't wait to go because the thought of visiting is really exciting! I'll get to see my parents and brothers and sisters and friends and everybody I haven't seen the whole semester. My favorite part will undoubtedly be telling all the cool and interesting stories I have to the locals because anything international always garners a little more enthusiasm. Also, I can wow everyone with my knowledge about pints and Chavs!

After thinking about all this and then reading the blog of my brother and sister-in-law (the latest entry is about moving - http://modaresibeal.blogspot.com/2007/04/dilemma.html), I am really considering moving back to the states as my best option once my work visa runs out over here in London (June 27th). Much to the dismay of my girlfriend, who really wants to stay, this option has been at the forefront of my mind for a little while now. I don't think I'd move back home anywhere in Florida though (for longer than a couple of months at least). I've been thinking a lot about California for some reason lately. I guess I am still in a sort of "adventure mode" and don't quite want to find that "perfect place to settle" yet. I do want to get a more permanent job, however, and NOT spend my days in a new place doing unpaid work or waiting tables. I'm up for any kind of social work job though.

I guess I'll just keep feeling my way through all this. I've made so many pros and cons lists (again, I just saw one on Gabe and Shirin's blog) I'm really getting sick of them. There seems to be no good way to make this decision so perhaps I'll just flip a coin. I guess we'll see...

SPAIN!

We went to Barcelona a couple weeks ago and now we finally have the pictures loaded up. The trip was taken with myself, Erika, and our friend Lauren Kelley. Lauren is actually a friend from Florida State that happened to be on the same work visa as Erika and I. We all shared a small, loud hostel room and ran all around this wonderful city. Take a look:

This is us drinking some very good sangria and eating tapas at a little cafe on the main street

_

Me receiving a gift from a winged golden woman

The market we found was pretty awesome. We ended up buying some meat, cheese, bread, and wine and having a picnic in a park at the very top of a hill. Nice place.

The obligatory "Japanese Tourist" picture

Our hostel room was soooooo small. Our tiny room fit 8 beds. You pretty much see the entire room in this picture. Quality establishment.

Even though we couldn't swim in the fountain we could still take exciting pictures

Erika hates fish

Notice the golden whale in the background



The people in the background were amazed at my jumping abilities

All But Erased from Google

Amidst searching the web for jobs, trying to find dog breeds that fit my style, and just general playing around on the internet, I did a search for "Brendan Beal" on Google. Now I have done this plenty of times in the past and it has mostly come up with the same results. Besides my champion wrestling status, involvement with an old internship at FSU, and a mention on someone's blog or something, I didn't have many genuine hits. It seems now, however, that I have been all but obliterated from a Google search. This is all thanks to Brendan Beal from New Jersey.

Apparently, this guy stole my name, played a little football at Roxbury High School, ran the 40 in 4.55 seconds, and now a ton of top college teams want him to play for them. This is great for him sure, but did he ever think of the consequences of getting hundreds of tackles during games??

Now that "Mr. Beal" is such a hot shot you barely even find a mention of the real me on a Google search. Nothing but pages and pages of "Football prospect has a 4.3 grade point average" and "Beal to look at Notre Dame this weekend". Sheesh. I had above a 4.3 grade point average and no one was putting me in all the big web sites.

Oh well, I guess I'll just have to make my mark elsewhere and regain the "Most Mentions of Brendan Beal on the Internet" award. Maybe I could start robbing banks...

A Whole New Side to Harry Potter

So Erika and I went to go see the theatre production of "Equus" last night. For those of you not familiar with the newly released London play, it's about a boy who is kind of crazy and ends up blinding 6 horses with a metal pick. Most of the play is about his interactions with his new psychologist. Daniel "Harry Potter" Radcliffe plays the boy. If you're not familiar with Harry Potter than where the hell have you been for the last decade?

Anyway, the play ended up being pretty good regardless of Harry Potter and the play's way of romanticizing mental illness was very cool to me. There was also the whole naked scene...

Yep, that's right boys and girls, the innocent little wizard gets buck naked in the final scene (along with his naked female costar) and prances around the stage like a Centaur in the Forbidden Forest. And lemme tell ya people, Harry Potter was indeed "hairy"! Man, it was like he had his own forbidden forest down there.

Surprisingly enough, no one yelled "Accio Erectus!" (Gabe gets props for that one) when the Hogwarts soon-to-be graduate stripped down. In fact, everyone actually seemed to be paying attention to the play. I know they were just pretending though because earlier I had heard more than one remark of: "I wonder how big his willy is?" coming from daft old British women. Perverts!

Anyway, the play was well worth the money we spent and we had pretty good seats for it. If anyone ever comes to London in the next few months while it's still running - go see Equus. You may never get another chance to see this horse-love themed production in quite the same way.

On a Lighter Note...Amsterdam pictures!

So when I actually did have a passport Erika and I went to Amsterdam. We flew on EasyJet airlines for only about £45 and stayed in a cool hostel for two nights. Overall the trip was awesome. We ended up meeting a lot of people: A group of American girls, a couple from Argentina and a couple from Italy, a group of Ohio boys, and these two guys from Australia - one of which moved to London last week and now we're all talking about possibly sharing a flat when Erika and I move out. Crazy, huh?

We did loads of stuff and I got to spend time in one of my favorite places in the world (Tokyo and Hawaii edge it out...barely). I had so much fun I'm already planning a return trip sometime this summer! If anyone has nothing to do for a weekend, please contact me. :)


We finally got the pictures uploaded although as it turns out, we didn't really have the camera at the most fun moments of the trip. Oh well, you can still see some of the city below:

The stairs to our hostel - they were sooooooo steep. I hit my head multiple times.

Erika standing by the huge "amsterdam" sign near the Van Gogh Museum

Me pointing at something across the canal (probably at a woman in the Red Light District)

Erika and I went ice skating

See the little kid falling right beside me? I pushed him! HaHa!

We had just left the Heineken Brewery when I spotted this gem of a bar: Palladium!

Loss

This weekend was a bit sad. Never have I been so close to wanting to leave this country and run home to my family.

My grandmother died last week and they buried her on Friday. I wanted so much to fly to Pennsylvania and be with my family but the cards were just stacked too high against me. I guess I just felt it would have been too much trouble to get there and now I'm kind of regretting my decision. It's so sad to know that my dad doesn't have any parents alive now and it's sad that I'll never get to see my Nanny again. She was a good woman with a good heart and she was always very nice to me. Her loving ways will never be forgotten.

I also experienced a loss of a different kind this weekend. It wasn't as devastating as the death of a family member but it was still damn stressful to deal with.

I had my passport stolen on Friday. To make matters worse, I had my drivers license, work visa, and birth certificate stolen as well. I had given these documents to Erika to scan at her work that day in order to complete my application for a British social worker certificate (I have to have this certification in order to work here more permanently). Unfortunately Erika's purse got stolen later that day (she's alright, don't worry) with all those delicate documents inside it (not to mention Erika's ipod, £100, and all her credit/debit cards). Overall, it was a pretty bad Friday.

It's Sunday now and we both feel better about everything now that we have our lives back on track a little bit. I'll go to the American Embassy tomorrow and hopefully get a new passport soon. Luckily, I have perfect scans of the documents so that should speed the process along.

I also talked to my mom, dad, and brother who all attended the funeral. It was nice to hear from them their thoughts on the ceremony. I don't feel quite as bad about not flying back as I did.

When it rains it pours, huh? Oh well, I guess when life throws something at you, you just have to deal with it in whatever way you can. I'm sure everyone will get through all this stuff and life will go on like it always has.

Clockwork Orange

Sometimes I really enjoy being in a city where there is so much to do. Last night we got the chance to see a performance of this production called "Clockwork". The show is based on the book "A Clockwork Orange" and was actually sold out for the short run of 3 shows this week. Being the ultra-savvy person I am though I managed to snag a few return tickets to see a stage version of the Stanley Kubrick film I loved so much. I love London...

Unfortunately the show wasn't all that great. I guess I should read the book or something because while the plot was similar (with slight variations) to the movie, the dialogue was occasionally long and arduous. The main character would go on these metaphorical monologues filled with too much symbolism and words that maybe only British people understand. All in all though it was still very interesting to see someone put this story on a stage. Now if only someone would do a "Red Dwarf" production...

Churches, Rocks, and Baths

I got back a couple of days ago from an impromptu road trip across southern England. An American friend of ours called me up and said that he and another friend of his (a guy we actually met at a restaurant in Brick Lane) were renting a car and driving around and if I would like to come. I took him up on his offer and eventually at 6:30am on Saturday morning we all met up and drove off.

The first place we stopped at was a town called Salisbury. We went to the famous cathedral there and walked around it for about an hour. The place is huge! It was actually really cool to see because we pretty much had the place to ourselves (compared to a place like Westminster Abbey at least). I was able to see the giant vaulted ceilings and other interesting architecture. I even got to see the Magna Carta, which for some reason is there. It was neat because a little old British woman told me all about the history of it and boasted that their Magna Carta was in such better condition than the British Museum's Magna Carta. Funny lady.

Next, we went to Stonehenge. It's funny to see because it's just right off of a little highway. I'm sure the Stonehenge historic society (if there is one) is angry about the touristy nature of the site but it did make it easy for us to find. I didn't think I'd like Stonehenge that much (I dunno...rocks in a circle? come on) but with the little audio guide they gave us, the walk around the legendary place ended up being absolutely brilliant! I learned a lot about the history (did you know that the devil actually brought the stones there from Ireland?!) and absorbed as much as I could of the atmosphere around the area. Would recommend.

The last place we trekked to was Bath. This town is famous for the roman bath houses in the area and has some other very charming elements to it. We only did a small amount of touristy sight-seeing before we started just hanging out for the evening. We enjoyed some pints at a local pub, ate some nice italian food at Pizza Express (nicer than it sounds), and ended up going out to a couple of different clubs and bars that night. All in all it was a long night.

Now during the road trip it was just me and my two buddies, Jon and Jonathan. When we got to Bath, though, we met up with Erika and her friends who had taken a train that day. We all hung out and did the things mentioned above but when it was time to go to bed I decided to forego the 9-mile trip outside of Bath to sleep in the room Jon had booked (it was the only available one on late notice but I think it only had two beds). Instead I snuck into Erika's female-only hostel and slept all night there. It was kind of fun hiding under the covers when someone would walk around in the room and I ended up sneaking out early in the morning without anyone yelling at me. I felt like I was my brother Casey back at college (I'm sure he did stuff like this).

Finally it was time to go home. The guy who had rented the car (Jonathan) lived 3 hours north of London so it wasn't really on the way for him to take us home. We ended up getting a cheap bus ticket though, and made it home by mid-afternoon. 100% successful trip. I don't have the pictures uploaded yet but I'll get 'em soon.

My First Real Client!

Well it's official - I'm a real social worker! Yep, I got my first real client at Positive East today. While the work we did together was not exactly ground-shattering, I was still able to help him a little bit. His name is “Sunday” and he is from Nigeria. All I did was register him with our agency and assess some of his needs. It was actually a very simple process because all he really wanted to do was find out about the services we offer. I told him everything we could do for him, referred him to one of my colleagues for further advice on a certain issue, and said goodbye. Afterwards I wrote up case notes, made copies of the important documents, and did everything else a bona fide professional would do. Very exciting for me!

The rest of my work lately has been a little less exhilarating but I’m actually doing a quite a bit of stuff. Besides reading old case files, observing other people, and participating in FSU’s online discussion boards for my internship; I’ve been preparing for my life after graduation. This mainly includes dealing with the large amount of paperwork it takes to become registered as a social worker in the UK. I have my CV (resume) mostly done, essays written, and am halfway through all the other junk an American has to do in order to work more in Britain. I’m doing all of this in preparation for a more permanent job somewhere around London after I’m done with my internship. Even though I’m split 50/50 on my decision to either stay here or move back to the US, I’m still covering all my bases in case I decide to stay.

Although I do miss home at least a little and I could get a job much easier there, I still know there is much more for me to experience over here in this country. Also, I would be getting paid in pounds if I got a job here so effectively I am making about double the dollars…although the cost of living is expensive here and all other expenses are in pounds so the argument could easily be made that I won’t save a penny more but I’m not listening to that side right now. :)

I guess we’ll just have to see what happens…

What We Like To Do

In this installment of Big B[r]en I’d like to take a second to describe some of they typical activities Erika and I like to spend our time doing. Some of these activities have pictures to illustrate them and some don’t – so use your imagination.

Going to Museums

The picture to the above-right is of one of the many awesome pieces of art at the Tate Modern Museum. This was me going down one of the many slides of artist Carsten Holler’s. This museum of modern art has many exhibitions and wonderful pieces to look at...regardless of your comprehension of what the hell the artist was thinking when he or she painted/sculpted/threw-up-on it. Among the other museums I’ve seen so far, the John Soanes is my favorite (thank you Garrett).

Hanging out in the Cold



Okay, so maybe things to do with the weather shouldn’t really constitute “what we like to do” but the two days we had snow here were enough to make this Florida boy feel pretty excited (notice the incredulous "I'm tired and don't know what face to make" look I'm giving to the camera). Erika even built a snowman at her work one of the days...I think she looked much happier in her pictures.

Going on Dates

Erika and I occasionally treat ourselves to a dinner, show, or something else “date-like”. Here we are out on the Millennium Bridge after going to a club. I believe this is the last night we ever went to a club though because they are way too expensive and the DJs play truly awful music. It’s a mix of American 80’s pop (slow and fast songs), British techno, and other generally crappy selections (like multiple tracks from the Grease soundtrack). Mingle Mixx where you at?!

Aimlessly Walking around Town

You never know what you might find just walking around central London. We’ve seen plenty of musicians, street performers, or BBC-related stuff…like this picture here shows. The guy in the red sweater was doing a TV spot for some kind of contest that featured tickets to the “Rocky Balboa” London premiere as well as a dressed up chicken and bread-ninja in the background. Here, I’ll zoom in for those not-so-sighted individuals:

As you can see, the “bird-person” is about to tackle the television host. London is an awesome place.

Well, that’s some of what we spend our time doing (aside from work and sleep). We also go to pubs, do our grocery shopping at Tescos, and are currently planning a few trips over the course of the next few months (our first one is in a couple weeks – Amsterdam here we come!).

Remember, if anybody wants to visit us, you are definitely invited. It could be you in the background of that “bird-person” picture next time!

Our Adventure, Of Sorts

Well, Erika and I got back from the hospital a little while ago. She woke up this morning suffering from severe waves of pain in her stomach (I started thinking of you Gabe). She said it had happened before though so she still went to work (she's kind of stubborn like that). About an hour later after we were both working she called me and told me that she was definitely going to the h0spital and asked if I would come with her. My supervisor was gracious enough to let me go so I packed everything away and met up with my aching girlfriend a few tube stops down the line.

We eventually found the Chelsea something or rather hospital and signed in for Erika to be seen. Eventually someone saw her and gave her an examination. They didn't find anything like appendicitis but told her that if it got worse to go to the Accident and Emergency immediately (British version of ER...without George Clooney). Erika got a prescription for some stomach muscle relaxers and we went on our way. She is feeling a little better now but still doesn't want to eat much. I think this ailment will pass though and I hope it doesn't come back.

The thing about this little adventure is that we were so worried the hospital wouldn't want to treat Erika because she was not a British citizen and we didn't have much money. Low and behold, the National Health System (NHS) is colorblind (or nationality-blind?) to its patrons. We were able to simply sign in like everyone else and they took care of Erika like anyone else. The best part of it is - all of Erika's care was FREE (except for a small, 6 pound charge for her meds)! Yep, they pretty much don't charge for anything short of elective surgery here...no matter who you are. Go Britain!

So all in all, even though we were dreading both the results of the trip and the process itself, it ended up being as pleasant as a hospital trip can be. I know people take a much bigger blow in the form of taxes when it comes to funding this health care system, but it sure did work out for us in the end. Cheers.

My Mum's Visit

A week or two ago I received a gift via airmail. It showed up at my work one Wednesday morning and after going downstairs to check on it, it turned out to be my mom! When she arrived we had the usual exchange of pleasantries with lots of hugs and kisses (and a report of what I’d been doing). Finally after all the updates though, we set off on a weekend of adventure!

During our few days together I managed to see more of the city than I had been able to in the entire previous month. We went to Westminster Abbey and she explained all the different histories of the kings and queens buried there. We went to Trafalgar Square with it's many visitors and saw an artsy/neat but confusing light show (no pictures of that one unfortunately, although we couldn’t really tell you what the purpose of it was anyway). We visited little sites like the Royal National Theatre, walked the Millennium Bridge, and pretended we were rich whilst shopping at High Street Kensington (The only thing we really contemplated buying was a little bit of chocolate though).

The most fun for me, however, was dining in the little cafes, pubs, or other eateries. We got to have wonderful food AND sit in each other’s company in a warm, quiet place (except the pubs). Truly the stuff I know my mom and I like to do most. Also, we spent quite a bit of time riding around the tops of the double-decker buses so I could impress my mother with my keen, but sometimes-faulty sense of bus direction. For those of you who don’t know, anyone can figure out the Tube – it takes a hardcore adventurer to brave the bus system of London…not that I really fall into either one of those categories yet.

If truth be told, I had one of the best visits ever among all the years of inter-family holidays I’ve experienced. It turns out my mom still knows how to party…or at least walk like a soldier involved in a land war across Asia.

Enjoy the pictures!

Here is a picture at the Abbey - apparantley my Mom took the exact same one years ago.

-

This is Me and Ricky Gervais...er...my Mom eating at a little cafe (I think I've improved on Gabe and Shirin's method of concealing her identity)

Here is me riding a lion in Trafalgar Square:

Next week's pics - The day it snowed! (really cool for Florida natives...not so cool for those living in the colder parts of America already)

Digital Camera mishaps

Well, I wanted to post all the pictures from my mom's visit this weekend but it seems that we don't have a working cord that will get the digital pictures onto the computer. In the meantime, here is a picture of Erika and I in front of where we had our first meal in London - a Rice Noodle place.

FINALLY

I didn't want to start my blog without first having some pictures to post. Well, ladies and gentlemen, I have finally mastered the art of transferring digital pictures to the modern computer (not really, we just finally found our thought-to-be-stolen digital camera the other day). I'm not really sure where to start this first post seeing as how I've been in Britain almost a month. I guess I'll just start small and build from there. I'll have the first entry dedicated to...


The Facts:

-I'm here with my girlfriend (her name is Erika if you didn't know) in London for the next 6 months... more like 5 months now.

-I'm doing an internship through Florida State University at an HIV centre (not the same as a clinic and yes, it's spelled correctly) called Positive East. After I'm done with this placement I'll have my much-anticipated Masters in SociaWork (anticipated the most by my parents probably - I'll finally be done with my 7-year stint at FSU).

-I live in West Kensington - which is a lesser version of the very poshSouth Kensington (i.e. cheaper but still a cool area). Erika and I share a very tiny flat on the top floor of a building that is about 50 yards from the tube station. We share our accommodation with one roommate who we have yet to meet. Apparently, he is in New Zealand...hopefully for a while. :)

-We're eating pretty well considering we're on a small budget and I've even been able to make it over to the famous Brick Lane for some spicy curries. I joined a gym too - it's a pretty nice one but very expensive...I think I'll only be able to afford this first month. Oh well.

-I haven't done much as far as travelling or tourist stuff...but I'm finally getting some free time lately and have been able to see at least a little bit of London. The next few weeks should be fun because I'll have more free time so expect some exciting posts! (I've got to get you people to come back, right?)

That's pretty much it. As the weeks go by I'll put up some more pictures that we've already taken and all that jazz. The people are nice, the weather is cold (but not too cold), and the pubs are really awesome. I haven't seen Lister from the show Red Dwarf yet (shout out to Gabe), but I'm keeping my eyes peeled. That about sums it up.

Cheers

soon...

Whenever I get some pictures on the computer I will start posting. Until then - Enjoy my photoshopped profile pic.