Ok so my first fortnight back home had me in Wisconsin surprising my grandma, heading to South Bend for senior week, at SLU bars having memorable nights and on bourbon street running into friends and friends parents. Things finally settled down when I got put back on the schedule at Petsmart. I worked at Petsmart for two long weeks, cashiering with a smile as always. Sometimes I feel like I am “above” that job (having worked in freaking Parliament like two weeks previously), but then I just get happy I have a job and keep asking for pet perks cards (you’ll save ten cents on the cat food if you sign up today, sir!)
A few more friends came in, and I got to see most of everyone at least for a little bit. Jerry had a party back in st Louis, so I saw all of those people, and I even went out to MIzzou with nick for a birthday party and we hit up the MU bars.
My brief reign in STL came to a close, and I packed up and headed up to the bend for my summer internship at Faulkner Strategies. Our apartment, where I am living with Sean and our friend KQ, is small, but it gets the job done and rent is cheap. Sean and I share a room, and we rarely turn on the ac to save money. Coleen came in to visit my first weekend there, and I was very happy to see her for the first time in America. Turns out nothing changed when we crossed the pond and she is just as cool over here.
I was worried a little bit about my first day at Faulkner, basically because I had no freaking idea what it was they they do and what I would be doing. I wore a suit the first day, even though I knew I would be overdressed, which I was. The front desk bookkeeper girl Rachel gave me a tour of the place and explained more what they do – they do direct mail targeted communications for political clients for their campaigns, as well as high resolution digital printing for local small businesses and non-profits. If someone needs a business card, mailer, poster, booklet, etc, these guys can print it.
They also do political clients for local, state, and national republican campaigns (yes, just republicans). Those things you get in the mail with bio information and reasons why you shouldn’t vote democrat are done by firms like this across the nation. Scott Brown winning in Massachusetts? You’re welcome. (the voters helped though). They are different because they are way more “creative and fun,” and the digital press can do a bunch of cool variable stuff that I won’t get into here. I work with two of the project managers who work with political clients and help them do research on candidates and compile information for their bio cards and issue mailer pieces. I won’t get too into detail so as not to bore people, but I have a lot of fun at work researching and learning about the political machine form the inside. Everyone there is close, and they all have a good time at work.
Life in the bend in the summer has been better than I thought. There are lots of students here, so there is stuff to do during the weeknights. Trivia, Sand Volleyball league (Sandy Clams for life), Summer Ultimate, Silverhawks games (which I have yet to take advantage of), Natty Light, and Turtle Creek’s pool. Cost of living is low so, thanks to ND’s internship fund, I will escape this summer with about zero dollars in my bank account instead of negative a billion. It will be good to have some job experience before I enter the real world, whenever and wherever that may be (I have a lot of thinking to do). I went home once for Sean’s graduation party and father’s day. It was good to get back home for a bit, as I might not be able to make it back to the Lou until august. Tune in to next post for my new York trip last weekend!
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Small World, again.
One of the highlights of summer so far was my trip to New Orleans for my cousin Lucy’s wedding. Mom, Dad, and I drove down on Thursday and arrived in town with enough time to head to Par O briens (I think), home of the (in)famous hurricane drink. We talked with the rest of the fam for a bit and called it a night in our old but charming hotel in the bottom of the French Quarter. Friday brought the swamp tour in the middle of hick-Louisiana with a down-home local gator hunter. We saw quite a few little alligators, and the kids on both sides of the family had fun throwing them marshmallows. There was no BP oil in sight.
We had lunch with Aunt Jellybean at a Spanish place recommended by Lucy’s husband and went to pick up Joshua from the airport, who technically broke military rules to get to his sisters wedding. That’s dedication. Both families had a crawfish boil in a park downtown. The crawfish were tasty, but near impossible to salvage meat from and not worth the effort, in my opinion. Definitely fun to try and a fun social event for sure. Later that night I hit the town with my Dad, Uncle, and cousins, and we walked up and down bourbon street. It was sortof weird having been to bourbon street before with the ultimate team over mardis gras and then contrasting it to this experience.
The place is much less crowded when it’s not mardis gras, and I was happy being able to recognize places that I had seen before. I didn’t want to show off my knowledge of Bourbon street too much in front of my parents, as I was techinically underage the past two trips to Bourbon street. My Dad bought me a few beers and we were walking down Bourbon when I got a tap on my shoulder from John Quigley’s dad. The quigley’s were in for their wedding anniversary, and John had told them I would be down here, so they walked down Bourbon street for the off chance they would run into me. Lo and Behold, another small world moment. Some good cathcup and texts to John and we parted way and finally settled in at a bar off of bourbon street where we could all here each other talk. Dad bought a round, and for some reason there was an extra shot of whiskey laying around. Being a noble mcgoron and against Dad’s wishes, I took the shot like a champ. No chase, no face.
I left the family early to meet my friend Jerry who is studying at Tulane at a concert/club nearby. I saw a few friends from HS and caught up with Jer-bear. We saw some good local music and almost got thrown out of the place when we were sneaking drinks of Malibu form a flask and my scotch from Scotland. Made for a pretty awesome night.
Saturday we walked around the Quarter and the French market and had lunch at What I think is the original bubba gumps.The wedding itself was in a park, and it was cozy and cute. Everything was quite well done with a New Orleans charm – including a march off band from Alex’s high school that played The Saints Go Marching In as the new couple danced down the aisle with the wedding party and guests in tow, waving handkerchiefs. It made for a fun time and introduced a lot of us northerners (their family was from Michigan) to life in New Orleans. The reception was a typical Mcgoron reception – lots of booze, piano man, and drunk aunts at the end of the night. We took two drunk people from the other side home at the end of the night, and then Josh and I got beer from the Unique Market and drank it with Gary, Pat, Dad, and Andrew in the hotel courtyard.
Sunday morning we woke up and went to Café Beignet, the birthplace of the (in)famous donut type, for some coffee and donuts before hitting the road to the Lou. I read a book about law school on the way back and got nervous about my future plans, which will probably be a theme in my next few blogs. I’ll take a break now and get some water because our apartment is scorching hot, then I will continue.
We had lunch with Aunt Jellybean at a Spanish place recommended by Lucy’s husband and went to pick up Joshua from the airport, who technically broke military rules to get to his sisters wedding. That’s dedication. Both families had a crawfish boil in a park downtown. The crawfish were tasty, but near impossible to salvage meat from and not worth the effort, in my opinion. Definitely fun to try and a fun social event for sure. Later that night I hit the town with my Dad, Uncle, and cousins, and we walked up and down bourbon street. It was sortof weird having been to bourbon street before with the ultimate team over mardis gras and then contrasting it to this experience.
The place is much less crowded when it’s not mardis gras, and I was happy being able to recognize places that I had seen before. I didn’t want to show off my knowledge of Bourbon street too much in front of my parents, as I was techinically underage the past two trips to Bourbon street. My Dad bought me a few beers and we were walking down Bourbon when I got a tap on my shoulder from John Quigley’s dad. The quigley’s were in for their wedding anniversary, and John had told them I would be down here, so they walked down Bourbon street for the off chance they would run into me. Lo and Behold, another small world moment. Some good cathcup and texts to John and we parted way and finally settled in at a bar off of bourbon street where we could all here each other talk. Dad bought a round, and for some reason there was an extra shot of whiskey laying around. Being a noble mcgoron and against Dad’s wishes, I took the shot like a champ. No chase, no face.
I left the family early to meet my friend Jerry who is studying at Tulane at a concert/club nearby. I saw a few friends from HS and caught up with Jer-bear. We saw some good local music and almost got thrown out of the place when we were sneaking drinks of Malibu form a flask and my scotch from Scotland. Made for a pretty awesome night.
Saturday we walked around the Quarter and the French market and had lunch at What I think is the original bubba gumps.The wedding itself was in a park, and it was cozy and cute. Everything was quite well done with a New Orleans charm – including a march off band from Alex’s high school that played The Saints Go Marching In as the new couple danced down the aisle with the wedding party and guests in tow, waving handkerchiefs. It made for a fun time and introduced a lot of us northerners (their family was from Michigan) to life in New Orleans. The reception was a typical Mcgoron reception – lots of booze, piano man, and drunk aunts at the end of the night. We took two drunk people from the other side home at the end of the night, and then Josh and I got beer from the Unique Market and drank it with Gary, Pat, Dad, and Andrew in the hotel courtyard.
Sunday morning we woke up and went to Café Beignet, the birthplace of the (in)famous donut type, for some coffee and donuts before hitting the road to the Lou. I read a book about law school on the way back and got nervous about my future plans, which will probably be a theme in my next few blogs. I’ll take a break now and get some water because our apartment is scorching hot, then I will continue.
Home at last
So it’s been a struggle the past few weeks deciding whether I should keep blogging about my life now that I have returned back to the boring old United States. After many many sleepless nights mulling the subject over, I decided that even though my life may be quite boring from here on out, it would still be good to document my adventures so I don’t forget them. So basically I am writing for my own memory’s sake, and if you loyal readers want to follow along, you are more than welcome to. Bon Appétit!
I’ll pick up where the last blog left off I guess – we flew home from Merry old England. Our last night in town was pretty much perfect. We cooked our final pot luck dinner and wasted our money on a final pub crawl, hitting a Belgian pub near our flats, the Jerusalem tavern, ye olde mitre (even older than the cheese I think), the Cheshire Cheese one final time, and to end off the semester of pubs, a last stop at the City Pride, the place where TJ and I started it all 5 months prior. A quick stop at Farringdon Grill and some pics behind the coutner with my favorite fast food guys rounded off our final beautiful London night.
The next day in the airport was much less amusing. We waited several hours in the airport to get clearance to fly around that damn volcanic ash cloud. It was quite sad leaving London and Coleen in the same day. I arrived home in chitown to applause on the plane, hugs from mom and dad, and a quick 4 hour drive to Wisconsin (with a t-bell stop along the way). We surprised grandma and grandpa for a mother’s day brunch and a few stories of my London adventures. It seems my aunts and uncles had been tracking my blog, so I didn’t have to go over as many details as I thought, which was quite lovely.
The next week I spent at home reorienting myself to the good ole US of A. I got jack in the box tacos with Jimmy my first night back – I sure missed those things, and talked about his upcoming trip to Barcelona. Most of the week I spent waiting for friends to get in town. We had a few good nights at bars down by SLU, including a run in with a friend’s underage sister, and an interesting night involving polar pops from circle K. I hadn’t getten on the schedule at Petsmart yet, so I was allowed a few days to unwind before I made my glorious return to South Bend.
Sean and I drove up to the Bend to bid farewell to our senior friends. We stayed at Katie Citro’s house and lit the town on fire for two days (if you consider getting tricked by Kate Gardner into moving her furniture from house to house painting the town). Nevertheless, I had good reunions with Bennett, Griffin, TJ, Barloh, and other Knott Boys. We hit Club Fever on Thursday night, which will not be mentioned ever again in this blog.
In a bout of spontaneity, despite what Griffin says, Sean and I called and audible and stopped in Champaign Illinois on our way home to party with some ND and U of Illinois kids. It took us about 5 hours and some great Chicago confusion to get there, but our night in Champaign was great, playing drinking games and judging the state school girls at the U of I bars.
I’ll pick up where the last blog left off I guess – we flew home from Merry old England. Our last night in town was pretty much perfect. We cooked our final pot luck dinner and wasted our money on a final pub crawl, hitting a Belgian pub near our flats, the Jerusalem tavern, ye olde mitre (even older than the cheese I think), the Cheshire Cheese one final time, and to end off the semester of pubs, a last stop at the City Pride, the place where TJ and I started it all 5 months prior. A quick stop at Farringdon Grill and some pics behind the coutner with my favorite fast food guys rounded off our final beautiful London night.
The next day in the airport was much less amusing. We waited several hours in the airport to get clearance to fly around that damn volcanic ash cloud. It was quite sad leaving London and Coleen in the same day. I arrived home in chitown to applause on the plane, hugs from mom and dad, and a quick 4 hour drive to Wisconsin (with a t-bell stop along the way). We surprised grandma and grandpa for a mother’s day brunch and a few stories of my London adventures. It seems my aunts and uncles had been tracking my blog, so I didn’t have to go over as many details as I thought, which was quite lovely.
The next week I spent at home reorienting myself to the good ole US of A. I got jack in the box tacos with Jimmy my first night back – I sure missed those things, and talked about his upcoming trip to Barcelona. Most of the week I spent waiting for friends to get in town. We had a few good nights at bars down by SLU, including a run in with a friend’s underage sister, and an interesting night involving polar pops from circle K. I hadn’t getten on the schedule at Petsmart yet, so I was allowed a few days to unwind before I made my glorious return to South Bend.
Sean and I drove up to the Bend to bid farewell to our senior friends. We stayed at Katie Citro’s house and lit the town on fire for two days (if you consider getting tricked by Kate Gardner into moving her furniture from house to house painting the town). Nevertheless, I had good reunions with Bennett, Griffin, TJ, Barloh, and other Knott Boys. We hit Club Fever on Thursday night, which will not be mentioned ever again in this blog.
In a bout of spontaneity, despite what Griffin says, Sean and I called and audible and stopped in Champaign Illinois on our way home to party with some ND and U of Illinois kids. It took us about 5 hours and some great Chicago confusion to get there, but our night in Champaign was great, playing drinking games and judging the state school girls at the U of I bars.
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
Top 5's
I was bored in the car on the way home, so I will round out my London blog with a top 5 compilation.
Cups of Coffee
1. Monmouth Coffee Company (Seven Dials). Perfect cup to get through a morning of Philo. Never forget that smell and the wooden stirring spoons. A bit expensive though. The last cup I got on the last afternoon
2. Despatch Box (Houses of Parliament). A perfect mocha, tax subsidized. Great for the walk from work to class the second half of the semester.
3. Costa Coffee. Flat White. Specifically from the place near Farringdon Station after the Westminster Pub Crawl or to kill the hangover before the V and A
4. Caffe Nero. The workhorse the whole semester, Best value to get through class. Specifically from the one on the corner of seven dials
5. Café Canova. Closest thing to American filter coffee for only a pound? Sign me up.
Honorable mention: that place next to Notre Dame in Paris, although it was incredibly expensive.
Museums
1. Museum of London. Perhaps the best organized museum I went to. Quite informative and synthesized lots of information in an easy to process format. A great Saturday afternoon. Just wish all of the exhibits were open.
2. The Louvre. Awesome two and a half hour experience. Cana, Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Etruscan couch people, and Hammurabi’s code! Art and artifacts to the heart’s desire. I came outside a much better, much more intelligent person. And we got in for free!
3. Tower of London. Great tour guide and a ton of history in two hours. Beautiful day with the family, and I didn’t have to pay the entry. Wish we had longer to see the crown jewels!
4. Invalides (Paris). Gets the edge over the Imperial War museum because we went there when it was empty, and I got to roam the exhibits by myself. Very informational, if not incredibly slanted towards French military “victories.” Plus Napoleon’s tomb is there!
5. British Museum. Went here five times, and I still didn’t get through all of it. The iconic museum of London lived up to its promise indeed. Great for an hour stop before class or to take the visitors in for the weekend. Definite must see if you want to look at the pillaged treasures of the Empire!
Honorable Mention: Musee D’Orsay (Paris), Musee Vaticani (Rome), Imperial War Museum
Never in a Million years: Tate Modern
Days of class
1. St. Patrick’s Day (duh). Everyone in green. Keggs and Eggs. Very few people sober. Professors getting mad. Fewer care. Pint at the break in Macro. Pub hopping after. Teaching the English how to drink. One of the best days in London.
2. Last day of class. Pints in the pub with Heffernan, O’Boyle, and Surredge. Drinking with professors can’t be wrong.
3. Last day of Theatre Class before Dublin. Acting out a scene on a postcard for Charles Duff and watching the whole class make asses of themselves. Awesome.
4. Third day of philo. Talking about the case of the conjoined twins still sends chills down my spine.
5. Second to last day of Macro. Only because I paid attention and got to answer his questions about politics.
Beer/ales
1. London Pride. My favorite real ale. Light and sweet. No wonder it’s the highest selling ale in London.
2. Sam Smith’s brewery bitter. 1.99 at the Cheshire Cheese. Not the tastiest, but it’s a good ale and can’t beat the price.
3. Bombardier. One of the most memorable Ales I’ve had on the ale trails. Not very bitter. Good stuff.
4. Guinness, especially the ones in Dublin. Creamy and it tastes like ice cream!
5. Fosters. 2.30 at the Exmouth on Monday nights. Can’t go wrong.
Meals
1. Ping Pong. Dinner with ND alumna and Sam Kaltenbach. Great drinks and dim sum and great talk about life and football. Super expensive, but we didn’t pay!
2. Carbonara in Tuscany. Great wine and Peter and I ate all the pancetta before it made it to the table. Splendid.
3. Il Gatino Blanco (Tuscany). I ate boar twice. Authentic Italian. Perfect last night in Tuscany.
4. Flat dinner with Kucich and OBoyle. Great discussions, good pasta, and good bonding with the floor and professors early on in the semester.
5. Intern dinner with Professor Heffernan. Great roast and awesome stories from Heffernan. Three hours of drinking with the prof.
Honorable Mention: Indian dinner #1 in our flat. Chorizo after the play in Coleen’s room.
Fish n Chips
1. Pillotchry, Scotland. The little place on the highlands tour takes the cake. Crispy and salty. Hit the spot after a long day of sitting on a bus.
2. Fryer’s Delight. Arguably the best in town. Wouldn’t disagree. The smell of that place makes my mouth water. Soo good.
3. City Pride. Surprisingly good fish n chips for a pub. Great chips. Best in town, and the beer batter could not be beat. A bit pricey though.
4. Star. Grease fest, but if you want to get your money’s worth, this is the place. Largest portion and cheapest price.
5. Nicholson’s pubs – any stop on the Ale trails. TJ and I tried the menu at the Clarence off of Piccadilly. A great dinner to settle the stomach mid pub crawl.
Honorable Mention: Cheshire Cheese. The Two Brewers off of Seven Dials
Favorite Pubs – I’m judging not based on the nights I’ve had in them, but on overall experience from the beer, atmosphere, company, and overall memorability.
1. City Pride. My first and last pub stops in London. It wins for sentimentality’s sake, but this was a great place to go for a quick pint, to watch the game, or to sing karaoke with drunk ND kids. Versatile bar, great food, and a hilarious 19 year old bartender. I’ll never forget TJ’s and my first night in this place, and the countless pints of London Pride consumed in the ensuing semester. Pride ftw.
2. Princess Louise. Loved the fun-house atmosphere when you first walk in trying to find a place to sit. Awesome décor, friendly staff, and cheap Sam smith’s bitters. Had great talks here with Coleen, TJ, and Dan and Owen on our final night together.
3. International Bar (Dublin). Last day in Dublin finds us in this tiny bar listening to a local Irish band playing authentic music right next to us, and a drunk bachelor party on the other side. Quintessential Irish experience and some good spirited heckling. I also apparently look like some sort of English celebrity I found out.
4. The Globe (Edinburgh). Awesome bartenders who gave us free drinks for knowing Matt chronert. Ran into a guy form Wales and talked politics with him. A great end to an awesome pub crawl. Super friendly place.
5. The Rocket. Again for sentimentality reasons. This pub will always have a good place in my memories not so much for the beer, but for the fun times I had here and its knack for brinigng people together J
6. Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. Has to be in the top six. Great atmosphere, and you will always run into ND kids taking their parents out for a drink. Went here on the last night in town. Cellar looks like the bar in Inglorious Basterds. Never forget this one.
7. Ye Olde Mitre. A darkhorse candidate sneaks into the seven-spot. Secretive location and friendly staff. Went here on the last night and had a great time. Also has the pricness louise feel to it with multiple rooms and good beer selection.
8. Seven Stars. Old timey pub behind grays in fields where Owen and Dan took me. A cat ran around the quiet bar chasing a mouse. Our table was right next to a real iron boiler, and the bathroom was up some creaky stairs and next to the bedroom of the owner. Great conversation and great authentic London feel.
9. Sir John Oldcastle. Can’t go wrong with a wetherspoons pub. Beer and Burger deal can’t be beaten in terms of price. Had some good meals and pints here with friends and family. Good to go in a bind if you want a decent dinner. Roomy and quiet enough to hear yourself talk.
10. Black Friar. Sneaks into the top ten because of the sheer history of the place. Cool shape and nice dark corners for drinking. Favorite pub-crawl stop for sure. Drinking where Henry VII lobbied the Church to leave it? Sounds good to me.
Honorable mention: The Crown, Clerkenwell. The pub near Westminster with the division bell. The Blue Blazer (Edinburgh)
Never in a million years: Exmouth Arms. O’Neill’s. Sorry.
Weekend/Day trips
1. Edinburgh. Despite the atrocious bus rides, the day tour of the town, pub crawl, and highlands tour were perhaps some of the most fun 48 hours ever. Great traveling companions and some awesome stories to last a life time. Plus we got to see Nessie (sort of)!
2. Cinque Terre. Counting this as a day trip from Lucca because it sortof felt like that. Awesome scenery, perfect weather, great group of people. One of the prettiest places on Earth, and a place and day I will never forget. For some reason the drive out and back are the things I think about first.
3. Stratford upon Avon. Great relaxing one-nighter away from London. The trip to the Cotswolds was gorgeous. Never forget Chipping Campden or the nice Bed and Breakfast owners. Taking communion over Shakespeare’s grave and meeting the nicest parish folks ever = once in a lifetime experience.
4. Wales. Talk about once in a lifetime. Finally got to see the constituency of my MP and campaign for the party. Met some friendly welsh Labour people and had great talks about JFK. Will never forget those fleeting hours walking around Rumney and South Cardiff.
5. Dublin. A great feeling of being home. Got to hang out with friends from school and see some of my ancestral homelands. Awesome Guinness and free lodging. Wish I had more time here.
Honorable Mention: Greenwich village. Windsor.
Definitely Not: Versailles.
Nights out
1. Rocket #2. The night I “met” Coleen. Can’t beat that.
2. Pub crawl in Edinburgh. Drinkin with a good ole southern boy and talking about life in Scotland. Cool pubs, great bartenders, great stories, great talks about politics. Way too much drinking, but still one of the best nights out by far.
3. Booze Cruise. Again an obvious choice. Culmination of the entire semester with 130 of our closest friends on a boat ride up the Thames. I think the most memorable time was the pregame. Drinking an entire bottle of wine and cheap cider while partying it up in the flat while ignoring advice from the rectors. Drinking in the cab on the way there. Pictures of parliament. Watching the entire London Program get more and more inebriated in a closed space. Sounding like a broken record, I will never forget that night and the friends I made this semester.
4. St. George’s Day. Meeting that kid at Jerusalem tavern and drinking fosters at the Ex through the St. George’s flag. Apparently I had perfect Chicken and lost my girlfriend. Great night.
5. Soho Gay Bar. Screwing an 8 pound cover at Oneills to wander around until we found another late license. Ending up in a multi level bar with shirtless bartenders grinding on each other. Sticking out like sore thumbs, but Im pretty sure all five of us had a better time than we would like to admit.
Honorable mention: sportscafe beer pong (thanks, coleen). Pub crawl with the office managers.
Never in a million years: ONeill’s nights (bathtub, anyone?)
Friday, 7 May 2010
All these things that I've done ...
As I watch the election results trail in on the BBC, I think back about all the things I've done this semester and how it could possibly be May 7 so fast. It seems like a few days ago we were waiting in the airport for our bus to the flats and walking to the London center in a jet lagged daze. Now, after four months of walking through cold rain to class, plays, work, weekend trips, blog posts, and pubs, the sun is shining on my final day in London. I don't know really what to think, and it probably won't hit me until a few weeks from now. But I know that I will miss this place dearly. Besides St. Louis and Notre Dame, London is now my third home, a place where I will surely return.
Things I will miss:
The walk into class by myself with the same playlist on my ipod. Coffee at Caffe Nero before Philo. A full monday of Political Science. Walking back with random people. Walking into Parliament and seeing Big Ben. Answering letters from Welsh people. Talking politics with Dan and Owen. Walking home with the sun still out. Double decker buses (38 to ... Victoria). Being able to get around town without a car. Oyster cards. Topping up five pounds at a time. The tube, duh, especially the Piccadilly line and Farringdon Station (please, mind the gap between the train and the platform). British accents. People who say "mate" and "cheers" all the time. Pubs. The City Pride. The Cheshire Cheese. The Rocket (of course). Real Ales. London Pride. Pub crawls. Included sales tax. Shopping at the four aisles at Tesco. Strongbow 2 Liters for 2.38. Digestives and Tesco Custard Cream biscuits. Fish and Chips. Using vinegar instead of ketchup. Passing by three hundred sandwich shops and Pret a Mangers on the walk to anywhere. Late night Farringdon Grill (Lamb Doner kebab, small, with chips please). Having the music channel consistently on the TV. Being within walking distance of a pub at all times of the day. Exmouth Market. The view from our flat of the parking garage (not sure why Im gonna miss that). Mooching off of other people's dinner parties. Pregames before Oneill's. The theatre. The walk up St. Martin's lane and seven dials. Monmouth coffee company. Candy Cakes. That place where the Union Jack flies right next to the French flag. Complaining about Ryanair to anyone who will listen. Telling stories about spring break. Team Hot Route. Coleen (duh). Talking late night with Peter and Colin. Skyping with friends and family back home when its morning there. Visiting the British museum whenever I am bored. Picking random things to do on Thursdays and Fridays. Runs down to the embankment and up to Big Ben and back. Having cars stop for you on a time at the crossing lamps. Free newspapers on the tube (Standard. Free Standard. Standard.). Big Issue. Big Issue. Big Issue. Cafe Canova (two eggs scrambled toast sausage and a white coffee to take away please). Eating lunch in the basement and listening to everyone. Checking email on my ipod during econ. Doing anything during econ that isn't econ. Taking pictures of anything and everything that might be touristy. Being a tourist. Giving people directions even though I have no idea what I'm doing. scottish people. People actually caring about soccer. The pub chalkboards that brag about food, beer, or when the next soccer match is. Being convinced to go out when I knew I shouldn't have. Convincing others to go out when they know they shouldn't (Colin). Talking about republicanism with Colin and Andrew Clark. Seeing ND kids around town or at a random market (or on the Eiffel tower). We own this place. Planning dinner with Colin and Peter. The song Bed Rock and Stereo Love. Surviving on five pounds a day. Farringdon road. Rosebury Avenue. Trafalgar Square, and everything in between.
I'm gonna miss this place dearly and all of the people I have met here. But I am stronger, smarter, and more humbled (and more poor) after my semester. I have gained an appreciation for the rest of the world, and experiences to last a lifetime. "When I get older, I will be stronger .... They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin flag .... and then it goes back." It's not goodbye forever, just for a little bit, but it still makes me sad. The beat will go on without us here, but now I think we all feel like a part of the pulse. The weather is gorgeous here in London and the clock is ticking, so it's time to go outside.
Things I will miss:
The walk into class by myself with the same playlist on my ipod. Coffee at Caffe Nero before Philo. A full monday of Political Science. Walking back with random people. Walking into Parliament and seeing Big Ben. Answering letters from Welsh people. Talking politics with Dan and Owen. Walking home with the sun still out. Double decker buses (38 to ... Victoria). Being able to get around town without a car. Oyster cards. Topping up five pounds at a time. The tube, duh, especially the Piccadilly line and Farringdon Station (please, mind the gap between the train and the platform). British accents. People who say "mate" and "cheers" all the time. Pubs. The City Pride. The Cheshire Cheese. The Rocket (of course). Real Ales. London Pride. Pub crawls. Included sales tax. Shopping at the four aisles at Tesco. Strongbow 2 Liters for 2.38. Digestives and Tesco Custard Cream biscuits. Fish and Chips. Using vinegar instead of ketchup. Passing by three hundred sandwich shops and Pret a Mangers on the walk to anywhere. Late night Farringdon Grill (Lamb Doner kebab, small, with chips please). Having the music channel consistently on the TV. Being within walking distance of a pub at all times of the day. Exmouth Market. The view from our flat of the parking garage (not sure why Im gonna miss that). Mooching off of other people's dinner parties. Pregames before Oneill's. The theatre. The walk up St. Martin's lane and seven dials. Monmouth coffee company. Candy Cakes. That place where the Union Jack flies right next to the French flag. Complaining about Ryanair to anyone who will listen. Telling stories about spring break. Team Hot Route. Coleen (duh). Talking late night with Peter and Colin. Skyping with friends and family back home when its morning there. Visiting the British museum whenever I am bored. Picking random things to do on Thursdays and Fridays. Runs down to the embankment and up to Big Ben and back. Having cars stop for you on a time at the crossing lamps. Free newspapers on the tube (Standard. Free Standard. Standard.). Big Issue. Big Issue. Big Issue. Cafe Canova (two eggs scrambled toast sausage and a white coffee to take away please). Eating lunch in the basement and listening to everyone. Checking email on my ipod during econ. Doing anything during econ that isn't econ. Taking pictures of anything and everything that might be touristy. Being a tourist. Giving people directions even though I have no idea what I'm doing. scottish people. People actually caring about soccer. The pub chalkboards that brag about food, beer, or when the next soccer match is. Being convinced to go out when I knew I shouldn't have. Convincing others to go out when they know they shouldn't (Colin). Talking about republicanism with Colin and Andrew Clark. Seeing ND kids around town or at a random market (or on the Eiffel tower). We own this place. Planning dinner with Colin and Peter. The song Bed Rock and Stereo Love. Surviving on five pounds a day. Farringdon road. Rosebury Avenue. Trafalgar Square, and everything in between. I'm gonna miss this place dearly and all of the people I have met here. But I am stronger, smarter, and more humbled (and more poor) after my semester. I have gained an appreciation for the rest of the world, and experiences to last a lifetime. "When I get older, I will be stronger .... They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin flag .... and then it goes back." It's not goodbye forever, just for a little bit, but it still makes me sad. The beat will go on without us here, but now I think we all feel like a part of the pulse. The weather is gorgeous here in London and the clock is ticking, so it's time to go outside.
Wednesday, 5 May 2010
Pleidleisiwch Lafur!
It's hard to think that a week from now I will be back home, and British politics will seem a world away. But yesterday at least, I was right in the thick of it, campaigning for Alun Michael and the Labour party in Cardiff South and Penarth. The train out to Wales from Paddington was quick and I got some good studying done and talked to Dan about economics. We got off the train in the center of the Welsh capital, and Owen walked us through downtown to the campaign headquarters. Downtown Cardiff seems like a European city, with walkable promenades and accordion players and cafes. Apparently at night it turns into a party zone. The city was clean but small and walkable. It seemed like a great place to live and work and was a welcome respite from the daunting maze of London.
Owen explained some of the history of the town and the story of Cardiff Castle. Cardiff is a wonderful place, and I wish I had more time to tour and take pictures instead of work! We arrived at the nerve center, a Union building near downtown covered in bilingual "Vote Labour" signs. Dan and I answered a few emails after we met the constituency staff, the other half of Alun's team. There were two student interns my age, and we sortof bonded throughout the day. After lunch Alun, Dan, and I traveled into Penarth, a better off suburb across Cardiff Bay, for a campaign stop at a mental health clinic. It was surreal driving around Cardiff in the car with the guy that used to run the whole country.
At the center Alun answered questions to the ten or so older individuals in the small common room. It was great to see his answers close up. He was honest but was sure to attack the other parties whenever he had the chance. Since my research paper centered on devolution, I got some first hand research when he responded to questions on how he works with the Assembly Member from the same constituency. The hour talk was fascinating for me, but routine for everyone else.
After the talk we went back to the office briefly and then off to do some real legwork - leafleting the village of Rumney with other campaign workers. I met a friend of Aluns who had been involved in Welsh politics for years, as well as the future Labour candidate for the Welsh Assembly. Both were incredibly upbeat about hitting every mailbox in the neighborhood with leaflets (no tv or radio ads here, its all old school). I had a great talk with them about American and British politics. There were a few "bite your tongue, Charlie" moments when we talked about some things, but for the most part I was just taking it all in and enjoying the moment. We laughed about sports and how everything seems to be bigger in America. Apparently one of them had been watching a documentary about JFK, and he began a question to me as everyone else groaned "So you're an American right? I've been reading stuff about JFK, and I was wondering ..." I cut him off before he finished and said "Total conspiracy!" to laughter all around. Apparently they had all been debating whether the assassination was a coverup or not, and then the American rolled in to settle the dispute.
I was amazed by the sheer enthusiasm of the workers in campaigning for my boss, and the overwhelmingly welcome attitude towards the new guy. Leafletting was fun, and we only ran into one person on the street who was mad at our presence. I met a few people at the mail slot and handed them papers in my American accent "So there's an election this Thursday, you may have heard about it. Alun Michael for Labour!" Smile give pamphlet turn around walk away. The sun was out and kids were walking home from school, talking with the constables on their regular beat. It was picture perfect (wish I took pictures, but I was engrossed).
After leafleting Rumney, we took some pics and went back to the office for a rest up. We then went back to South Cardiff for a real test - door to door campaigning. They had a voter registration of every voter in the area and the results of prior questions to the houses, so we knew for some whether we would be asking a Tory for their vote. I was incredibly nervous, so I watched my bosses do the first few knocks. First door, no answer. Second door, Owen gets shot down by a non Labour voter.
It took me about 20 houses to finally get my nerves settled. It felt like my first ever call at the phone center. I was scared shitless I would freeze up at the door. Talking to random voters in South Wales about an election I can't vote in about policies I still don't completely understand. First door, no answer. Second door "Good evening I'm sorry to bother you but my name is Charlie with the local Labour Party, I was just wondering if you were planning on supporting us this Thursday?" The first people said they couldn't tell me who they would be voting for but they said probably not Labour. The guy was friendly and just smiled and my nerves melted away. I thanked him and bid him a good evening, and tallied my result with our record keeper. In the next hour or so we moved up and down several blocks of smashed together town homes (sortof reminded me of Norwood ohio, with shorter and slightly wider houses). I got a handful of Labour supporters and a lot of no answers. Since I was not well versed enough to argue, when I got no's I would just turn away. Other campaigners tried to converse and away the voters. My boss even got a little defensive at the door in conversation with a voter. Only a few people spoke Welsh, as there seemed to be a lot of minorities and immigrants in this neighborhood. A few people got locked into long conversations as we moved down the close quartered streets, but for the most part it was a beneficial experience for the campaign. It was great to get the presence out there and drop a leaflet, at least letting the voters know that one party cared to stop by. Alun Michael should win handily tomorrow, thanks to the dedication of his army of volunteers (not to mention his record of service to Cardiff).
The day went by extremely fast, and before I knew it, it was time to make it back to the train for the trip back to London. I told Alun I had my British Politics exam the next day, and he chuckled "well you should walk it!" Indeed I did. I asked Alun for an autographed leaflet as a souvenir (Owen chuckled), and he gave me some stickers and a poster. I told them I wished I could vote on Thursday, and Owen mentioned "Well, you could ..." to which I responded with the old adage "Vote early, vote often!" to laughs by everyone. Handshakes and hugs goodbye to the people who shaped my experience abroad, and I hustled into the station clutching my Labour paraphernalia. I rode out as the sun set over Wales, thinking about what the hell it was that I just participated in. It's hard to come up with an insight hat can be put into words, but for some reason I just felt like I was part of something more that day. I was smiling the whole way back.
Owen explained some of the history of the town and the story of Cardiff Castle. Cardiff is a wonderful place, and I wish I had more time to tour and take pictures instead of work! We arrived at the nerve center, a Union building near downtown covered in bilingual "Vote Labour" signs. Dan and I answered a few emails after we met the constituency staff, the other half of Alun's team. There were two student interns my age, and we sortof bonded throughout the day. After lunch Alun, Dan, and I traveled into Penarth, a better off suburb across Cardiff Bay, for a campaign stop at a mental health clinic. It was surreal driving around Cardiff in the car with the guy that used to run the whole country.
At the center Alun answered questions to the ten or so older individuals in the small common room. It was great to see his answers close up. He was honest but was sure to attack the other parties whenever he had the chance. Since my research paper centered on devolution, I got some first hand research when he responded to questions on how he works with the Assembly Member from the same constituency. The hour talk was fascinating for me, but routine for everyone else.
After the talk we went back to the office briefly and then off to do some real legwork - leafleting the village of Rumney with other campaign workers. I met a friend of Aluns who had been involved in Welsh politics for years, as well as the future Labour candidate for the Welsh Assembly. Both were incredibly upbeat about hitting every mailbox in the neighborhood with leaflets (no tv or radio ads here, its all old school). I had a great talk with them about American and British politics. There were a few "bite your tongue, Charlie" moments when we talked about some things, but for the most part I was just taking it all in and enjoying the moment. We laughed about sports and how everything seems to be bigger in America. Apparently one of them had been watching a documentary about JFK, and he began a question to me as everyone else groaned "So you're an American right? I've been reading stuff about JFK, and I was wondering ..." I cut him off before he finished and said "Total conspiracy!" to laughter all around. Apparently they had all been debating whether the assassination was a coverup or not, and then the American rolled in to settle the dispute.I was amazed by the sheer enthusiasm of the workers in campaigning for my boss, and the overwhelmingly welcome attitude towards the new guy. Leafletting was fun, and we only ran into one person on the street who was mad at our presence. I met a few people at the mail slot and handed them papers in my American accent "So there's an election this Thursday, you may have heard about it. Alun Michael for Labour!" Smile give pamphlet turn around walk away. The sun was out and kids were walking home from school, talking with the constables on their regular beat. It was picture perfect (wish I took pictures, but I was engrossed).
After leafleting Rumney, we took some pics and went back to the office for a rest up. We then went back to South Cardiff for a real test - door to door campaigning. They had a voter registration of every voter in the area and the results of prior questions to the houses, so we knew for some whether we would be asking a Tory for their vote. I was incredibly nervous, so I watched my bosses do the first few knocks. First door, no answer. Second door, Owen gets shot down by a non Labour voter.
It took me about 20 houses to finally get my nerves settled. It felt like my first ever call at the phone center. I was scared shitless I would freeze up at the door. Talking to random voters in South Wales about an election I can't vote in about policies I still don't completely understand. First door, no answer. Second door "Good evening I'm sorry to bother you but my name is Charlie with the local Labour Party, I was just wondering if you were planning on supporting us this Thursday?" The first people said they couldn't tell me who they would be voting for but they said probably not Labour. The guy was friendly and just smiled and my nerves melted away. I thanked him and bid him a good evening, and tallied my result with our record keeper. In the next hour or so we moved up and down several blocks of smashed together town homes (sortof reminded me of Norwood ohio, with shorter and slightly wider houses). I got a handful of Labour supporters and a lot of no answers. Since I was not well versed enough to argue, when I got no's I would just turn away. Other campaigners tried to converse and away the voters. My boss even got a little defensive at the door in conversation with a voter. Only a few people spoke Welsh, as there seemed to be a lot of minorities and immigrants in this neighborhood. A few people got locked into long conversations as we moved down the close quartered streets, but for the most part it was a beneficial experience for the campaign. It was great to get the presence out there and drop a leaflet, at least letting the voters know that one party cared to stop by. Alun Michael should win handily tomorrow, thanks to the dedication of his army of volunteers (not to mention his record of service to Cardiff).
The day went by extremely fast, and before I knew it, it was time to make it back to the train for the trip back to London. I told Alun I had my British Politics exam the next day, and he chuckled "well you should walk it!" Indeed I did. I asked Alun for an autographed leaflet as a souvenir (Owen chuckled), and he gave me some stickers and a poster. I told them I wished I could vote on Thursday, and Owen mentioned "Well, you could ..." to which I responded with the old adage "Vote early, vote often!" to laughs by everyone. Handshakes and hugs goodbye to the people who shaped my experience abroad, and I hustled into the station clutching my Labour paraphernalia. I rode out as the sun set over Wales, thinking about what the hell it was that I just participated in. It's hard to come up with an insight hat can be put into words, but for some reason I just felt like I was part of something more that day. I was smiling the whole way back.
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Killing the Bucket List
Most of us spent the last full week of school killing off the items on our bucket lists. The last day of classes of Philo and Macro were uneventful, and I spent most of my time organizing my thoughts and life for the trip home. On Thursday we had our final Church Music class in Westminster Abbey after our exam that I forgot we had. We got a private tour of the Abbey before Evensong, performed by the world famous Choir every day at 5pm. One of our guides was the organ director for the Choir, and the other was a very entertaining priest at the Abbey. He took us to the altar space where every King and Queen of England/GB has been crowned since 1096. St. Edward the Confessor (the same St. Ed of St. Eds hall at ND) is buried behind the high altar, along with Richard II, Edward Longshanks, and a few other Shakespearean monarchs. Our guide turned a blind eye as we touched the chairs that the monarchs sit in on special occasions at the Abbey (like Diana's funeral). They looked quite uncomfortable. There was about a millennium of history in this little nave behind the main altar, form the last true Anglo-Saxon king (Edward) to the wars with Scotland (Longshanks) up to Shakespeare's time.We then went to the famous Poet's Corner, where Dickens, the Bronte Sisters, Chaucer, Handel, and many more are buried, all in about a 100 square yard space. I stood on top of Dickens' grave and paid my respects, then strolled about two yards to Handel and doubled back to visit Chaucer. Skipped the Bronte sisters because, let's be honest, their books sucked. This dark little corner has more artistic talent than all of America it seems. I wonder if JK Rowling will be buried there. The layout of the Abbey was not what I had expected, as for such a large building, it is laid out so that not many people can see the actual altar. The Choir area blacks almost everything since it sits right in the middle. They had to build three levels to seat everyone for Elizabeth II's coronation.
Evensong at the Abbey was also not what I had expected. The Choir was a lot smaller than I thought, and the service was short. The music was beautiful, however, and I left feeling accomplished for having seen so much history and music in a small period of time. We also got to see the coronation chair on the way out, which is just a big wooden chair. It also looks pretty uncomfortable, so Charles will probably be squirming by the time he gets crowned.
After the Abbey we booked it to the Globe theatre for a student performance of the Playing Shakespeare class. They did a half hour version of Twelfth Night in an off-Globe theatre with the entire program present. It was hilarious and fun to see everyone in the same spot again. After that show Peter, Lizzie, Coleen, Colin, Kate, and I rolled to the real Globe Theatre nextdoor to see Macbeth. We had tickets in the open air standing area for 5 pounds, where the "groundlings" used to sit in Shakespeare's time to heckle the actors. The play was AMAZING. The second we walked into the grounds, it felt like a creepy hellish carnival, with the three witches from the play, one of them a midget, running aournd the crowd and creepily laughing, while the revolting Porter walked around on stage and out of tune horns played from the upper levels.
The weirdest part of the experience was being in the ground level, where they forced the crowd to stick their heads through a black tarp to keep us in place. It's hard to explain in words, but I think they wanted the crowd to be a part of the play in sortof a graveyard type symbology. Little did we know how much we would take part, as the play began with the witches revealing a wallet they had supposedly stolen from the crowd, and actors would frequently appear in holes in the tarp within the crowd, bloodied and screaming. The porter even dumped water, supposed to be pee, on the front row. The show was creepily good, albeit a bit long. One person fainted, either form the exhaustion of standing up or the r-rated stage combat and gore. Having read Macbeth three times for school. I thoroughly enjoyed myself seeing Shakespeare in its original setting. An amazing experience for five pounds.After the show we headed straight to O'Neill's for our final Thursday hurrah. I woke up on Friday to meet Kristin and her roomate from Dublin to head to Abbey Road, which I had been wanting to see since I got here. 
The day was gorgeous, and we found Abbey Road and the famous studios where the Beatles recorded their highest selling album. The studios had notes written all over the walls in homage to the Beatles. We mulled around for a bit and waited for our turn to cross the most famous intersection in the world. Of course, we did the album cover, although we weren't exactly prepared and didn't know how to pose. One American dad had his family practice the walk out and even had his son barefoot to mimic Paul. One person got yelled at by an angry postal worker for being in the middle of the road, but for the most part the drivers were at least tolerant of all the tourists.
After Abbey Road we took a trip to Borough Market, a massive food market in Southwark, for lunch. I had emanadas and Kristin and TJ got Ostrich burgers. We then went to the British Museum for a bit, and I went back to get ready for the Booze Cruise, a Notre Dame London tradition.
Every year the entire program gets together for a boat trip on the Thames without any professors, just students. 150 college kids on a boat, and you can probably guess what happened. We all dressed up according to the theme, and most people kept it classy. The boat took us down past parliament and back up past the tower bridge. Four hours on a boat with the people we have all been living with for the entire year. It was fun hanging out with everyone one final time, but the aftermath is still hitting the fan in terms of stories and gossip. This night will probably be one of the most memorable of the semester (for those, like me, who actually remember). I had a great time and some good chats with the friends (and girlfriend) I made over these few months. I'm gonna miss a lot of these folks and this city.
Saturday morning was spent recapping the ridiculous things that happened the night before before we finally made it out to East London for a soccer match. Leyton Orient vs. Wytcome Wanderers. A tier 3 match, so sortof the equivalent of Division 1 AA or Division II in the NCAA - they were still professional soccer players, but not as good as the top tier Premier League. We showed up to the sounds of bass drums, banging on bleachers, and people singing the team song. It was the way football is supposed to be watched - with a bunch of drunk cursing English folks in a raucous crowd. My favorite insult was "you knuckleheaded tosser!"
The crowd chanted several cheers all having to do with the word "Orient" and some form of clapping. The fans were rabid and ferocious against the visitors, who were relegated to a separate corner of the stadium. I wore red to support the home team O's, and we were rewarded with an excellent match and a 2-0 Leyton victory. I had wanted to go to a match for a long time, and I am glad we went to a lower level match instead of the premier league. We got the real English football atmosphere and to see a great game with great seats without breaking the bank. I can finally cross almost everything off of my bucket list except for Wales, which will happen on Tuesday. It was quite an accomplishing weekend, and I feel like I can now go home happy.
The day was gorgeous, and we found Abbey Road and the famous studios where the Beatles recorded their highest selling album. The studios had notes written all over the walls in homage to the Beatles. We mulled around for a bit and waited for our turn to cross the most famous intersection in the world. Of course, we did the album cover, although we weren't exactly prepared and didn't know how to pose. One American dad had his family practice the walk out and even had his son barefoot to mimic Paul. One person got yelled at by an angry postal worker for being in the middle of the road, but for the most part the drivers were at least tolerant of all the tourists.
After Abbey Road we took a trip to Borough Market, a massive food market in Southwark, for lunch. I had emanadas and Kristin and TJ got Ostrich burgers. We then went to the British Museum for a bit, and I went back to get ready for the Booze Cruise, a Notre Dame London tradition.
Every year the entire program gets together for a boat trip on the Thames without any professors, just students. 150 college kids on a boat, and you can probably guess what happened. We all dressed up according to the theme, and most people kept it classy. The boat took us down past parliament and back up past the tower bridge. Four hours on a boat with the people we have all been living with for the entire year. It was fun hanging out with everyone one final time, but the aftermath is still hitting the fan in terms of stories and gossip. This night will probably be one of the most memorable of the semester (for those, like me, who actually remember). I had a great time and some good chats with the friends (and girlfriend) I made over these few months. I'm gonna miss a lot of these folks and this city.
Saturday morning was spent recapping the ridiculous things that happened the night before before we finally made it out to East London for a soccer match. Leyton Orient vs. Wytcome Wanderers. A tier 3 match, so sortof the equivalent of Division 1 AA or Division II in the NCAA - they were still professional soccer players, but not as good as the top tier Premier League. We showed up to the sounds of bass drums, banging on bleachers, and people singing the team song. It was the way football is supposed to be watched - with a bunch of drunk cursing English folks in a raucous crowd. My favorite insult was "you knuckleheaded tosser!"
The crowd chanted several cheers all having to do with the word "Orient" and some form of clapping. The fans were rabid and ferocious against the visitors, who were relegated to a separate corner of the stadium. I wore red to support the home team O's, and we were rewarded with an excellent match and a 2-0 Leyton victory. I had wanted to go to a match for a long time, and I am glad we went to a lower level match instead of the premier league. We got the real English football atmosphere and to see a great game with great seats without breaking the bank. I can finally cross almost everything off of my bucket list except for Wales, which will happen on Tuesday. It was quite an accomplishing weekend, and I feel like I can now go home happy.
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