Epilogue - Twas the Weekend Before Christmas

I wanted to write a short epilogue in regards to the poem I wrote and posted on Christmas Eve. (see here) Part of the poem reflected my lack of enthusiasm for the upcoming Christmas parties and events that the family had planned for the following days. I wrote this mostly in jest though those that know me know that I am not the most social of people and I’m not particularly fond of events that cause me to be surrounded by people I don’t know that well so there was some truth behind my jest. But the week did not end up working out the way it had been planned instead of having a schedule packed with events I ended up only attending one party and a small family gathering that happened at our place. Now if someone had told me on Christmas Eve that during my five days off I would only be going to that one party I would likely have been pretty happy about it but what actually ended up causing this to happen made my Christmas quite cheerless. I woke up Christmas morning with a high temperature, bad cough, stuffy nose and a terrible headache. For the next three days I basically lived in bed getting up only to use the bathroom and eat. On Saturday, the fourth day, I still wasn’t feeling that well but I got up and participated in the evening party. That was the first time I had left the house since Tuesday. Currently I’m still dealing with a cough and stuffy nose but the worst of it has passed, which is good since I am back at work now. It seems I had the flu. I’ve had colds here and there but I had not been this sick in years so it came as quite a surprise to me. So it seems that my “freedom” from the social events of the week came at the price of me being a prisoner to my bed. Pick your poison I guess.

So while it certainly wasn’t fun at the time it is hard not to look at back and laugh a bit. Maybe this is just what I get for writing a Christmas poem that poked fun at the upcoming Christmas affairs.  On the bright side I wrote the poem for laughs, which it hopefully got and now here's an addition that should be good for another laugh or two. So while I did not get to have much Christmas cheer for myself hopefully I was able to spread Christmas cheer to others this season.

Hope everyone had a good Christmas and now I say Happy New Year. Have some fun.

A Poem - Twas the Weekend Before Christmas

(note: I wrote this piece playing off the Christmas poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas". So when you read this use the rhythm from that poem. If you don't know that poem take a look and/or listen)

Twas the weekend before Christmas, as I sat in the house
it was filled with people cooking and cleaning, I felt like a louse.
I learned of the plans for the coming week that had been devised with such care,
and I was already worn-out knowing that friends and family would soon be there.

Every day off so many people to hang with what a family I’ve wed,
I’ll struggle to sleep as I am haunted by visions of socializing in my head.
As fear crept in I looked over at Colby our cat,
only to be jealous of his peace as he took a long nap.

I tried to look at the bright side of things as I sat there,
that I wouldn’t be at work for five whole days so who cares.
Still it was hard to be positive knowing how days disappear so fast,
and time alone with Priya just never seems to last.

I gazed at Priya and of course she did know
I wasn’t very excited with my lackluster glow.
After the schedule was finished she came near,
making a small smile on my face come to appear.

With Priya nearby my poor mood wouldn’t stick,
her affect on me is like a real magic trick.
To have fun this week became my new aim,
though Priya knows I prefer to be alone with her all the same.

Come now aunt, uncle, cousin and brother
come friend, neighbor, father and mother.
To our house, then your flat and maybe the mall
we’ll eat, shop, talk, anything as long as we’re together above all.

We soon talked about all the gifts we did buy,
and if we’d have time to open them on Christmas with all the cooking and cleaning that did apply.
We took some time to decide but I think deep down we both knew,
we’d unwrap them that night quickly before our decision was opened to judicial review.

As the four of us gathered I was a little aloof
I wanted to be there but my head was hurting and that was no goof.
As the presents were opened much fun was found,
and thankfully the pain in my head died down.

We brought the presents in and got off our feet,
and soon we were opening them enjoying the treat.
Take this, it’s a present for Zach,
I opened and found a beautiful art piece no mere knick-knack.

I hand Priya a gift and she is not wary
as I watch her open it I know she was the perfect girl to marry.
It does not take her long to know,
a pajama set from Victoria Secret was behind the bow.

After that to her a rug I did bequeath,
on windy winter nights to keep warm underneath.
Joan and Kan provide us simple beauty,
multiple gift cards to go see some movies.

It was Kan’s turn as he received nice sweaters for himself
mostly because he deserved them but also to keep him from taking the ones off my shelf!
An iron skillet, oven glove and baking sheet were Joan’s spread,
now she can cook us her cookies, treats and breads.

As we looked at our gifts I couldn’t help but smirk,
I was so glad Priya liked them after all my shopping work.
It was as good a night as one could compose,
as for the busy week before us nobody knows.

So now our break is coming at us like a missile,
and I admit part of me still wants a dismissal.
But don’t worry I’ll be good and keep my spirits light,
let me say thank you for reading and "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

London: Where to "Go"

I have lived in London for over a year now and during that time I have spent numerous hours in the city just wandering around seeing what I could see. As I explored the city one of the most important questions that arose was, “where to go?” And of course by “go” I mean where can I go to the restroom and which places are the best? I am a person who drinks a lot and by that I don’t mean alcohol I just mean drinks things like soda, water, etc. So when I’m out on the go I often need to find a place to “go”.  

Not surprisingly two of the nicest restrooms I have found downtown are in museums. The British Museum, which is located near the Tottenham Court Road and Holborn stations, offers great facilities that one can get to fairly easily with no cost. If you are further South in London by Trafalgar Square then definitely go to the National Portrait Gallery. Both of these places offer large restrooms with numerous stalls and are kept clean. And, of course, when you go to and at these places you end up in some really cool places to visit.

Next is Oxford Street where I often end up amidst all the shopping. Here you can find numerous restrooms in various stores particularly the larger department stores. Often these restrooms are fairly small and are not as well kept as one would expect but they are generally easy to find and they are usually unpopulated particularly if you go out of your way to visit the basement or higher floors. If you are on the west side near Marble Arch and Bond Street specifically go to Primark, House of Frasier, John Lewis or Debenhams. I put that list in geographical order with Primark being the furthest west, closest to Marble Arch and Debenhams being the furthest east about a block east of Bond Street. Now if you are on the eastside of Oxford Street closer to Tottenham Court Road there is a Marks & Spencers on the south side of the street, which has decent facilities. But beyond that there are not a lot of great places to go on the eastside of Oxford Circus.

Now if you get to Tottenham Court Road station one can quickly find more restrooms by venturing south. One of the restrooms I use the most frequently is the one in Foyles Bookstore just south of Tottenham Court Road station. The reason I have used that restroom so much is not due to it being very nice, in fact it isn’t, but because of its location. Tottenham Court Road station is the station I usually get off at when I am coming downtown to meet up with Priya so after an hour and a half on a bus and train I often want and need to go. Also the store is directly across from the Chipotle I eat at so after a big burrito and bottle of water and around 30 minutes I often end up across the street at the bookstore. Let me say again that these are not very nice bathrooms. They are small and old and they are cleaned just infrequently enough to be bothersome. Again the main reason I use them is their location both where the store is and where the bathrooms are in the store. In the store itself I like where they are because they are on the second floor (what Americans would call the third floor) in the back on the same level as the philosophy, history and religion books, which is right where I end up whether I need to go or not so that’s nice.

If you continue further south you’ll end up in Leister Square and there you’ll find the bathroom that after Foyles' I have gone to the most. It’s in Burger King. It is a two level restaurant with the restrooms on the top floor. While they don’t exactly want people who are not customers using their facilities it is easy enough to slip in and out without being noticed due to the location of the bathroom in the store and that there is usually a lot of people so nobody is watching. This is not always the case there have been times when I have gone here and they have a employee sitting upstairs by the bathroom watching people come in and out. I have never actually seen this person stop anyone so I don't really know if they are their for security or cleaning duties or what? Now most of the time I will be a customer here due to the fact that Burger King is one of the few restaurant chains here in London that provides free refills on soda so I don't have to "sneak" in. So really this Burger King not only provides me a restroom that I use quite often it also provides me liters (gallons for Americans) of soda that facilitate my need to use their bathroom and the many others I have mentioned on this list. Now the restroom itself is not a large one (two stalls and two urinals for the guys) but they keep it relatively clean considering it is a fast food restaurant.

When I’m down on Strand Street and have moved east of Trafalgar Square towards Priya's office there are a few places one can go for sure. The best bet is Mcdonalds. There is one just to the east of Charring Cross station. It is a two level restaurant and the restrooms are on the bottom floor. Similar to Burger King they don’t really want you using the bathrooms if you aren’t a customer but it’s pretty easy to get in and out without being noticed. And unlike with Burger King I am usually not a customer here but I feel I’ve bought enough McDonalds over my life time to justify “going” there. Now you can also use the facilities at Charring Cross or a little further south by Embankment station but those are pay toilets. So that means you need 20 to 50 pence to get into the bathroom. The turnstiles for getting into the restroom are about waist high and the type with the three bars that make a triangle shape that you pay and push through. While paying is bothersome when you’ve got to go you’ve got to go. Now I will admit there have been a few times that I was desperate for a bathroom and found myself with no money in my pocket so I surveyed the scene, waited until I thought no one was looking and jumped over the turnstiles and used the facilities for free. The restrooms by Embankment station are not very guarded so it isn’t that difficult to sneak your way in to the,. Believe me that is not something I’ve made a habit of but it has happened.  

If you are on the south side of the river and find yourself near the London Eye there are facilities right next to it but similar to the ones at Charring Cross and Embankment you have to pay to use them.

There are of course other places to “go” in London but these are the places I have gone to the most often since I’ve lived in London. So if you ever find yourself in London wondering where to “go” hopefully this will come to your mind and help you find the relief you so desperately need.  

(pictures and actually ranks are forthcoming)

Christmas Fears - An Empty Box

I consider myself to be a fairly thoughtful person whether that be as a husband, a friend, a son, a brother or any other role I may fill. Traditionally part of being thoughtful has meant I am fairly good at getting presents for the people I care about. I tend to keep track of things they like and I am then able to figure out things that will likely enjoy receiving particularly things that they will not simply get for themselves. But this Christmas I find myself stuck in a way I never have before. I simply cannot find or think of good presents to give to the most important person in my life, Priya (my wife).

Now unlike last year at this time I currently have a job, which brings both good and bad with it. It is good because it means I have more money than I did last year. Last year I was basically getting Priya presents with her own money, which is not the most rewarding feeling for the person giving the gift. Really it just feels like rather than giving someone a present you are just running an errand for them. The downside to having a job is that unlike last year I do not have very much time to shop or look around for things. There really is no way for me to go shopping alone without Priya knowing exactly what I am doing. I tried to do that Sunday. I told Priya I was going to go out for a bit but there was no way to hide what I was actually doing so I finally admitted I was going to the mall.

I went with multiple items in mind and had done some research online to see if certain stores carried the things I was looking for. I headed to the mall with high expectations but after 3 hours there all I had accomplished was buying myself lunch and a new drink container to take to work. Before I left I did buy Priya a small gift. It was a book of origami on how to make different origami animals and it included lots of origami paper. I of course know Priya likes to do origami but what made this stick out in my head at that moment was that she was doing origami at home when I left and she had been doing it the day before. When I saw the book I could have sworn that the day before Priya had said she didn’t have any instructions on how to make origami animals and she wished she had some. She had been spending a lot of her time Saturday making origami ornaments for our Christmas tree. Then that morning before I left she told me she was going to be doing origami all day along with a few other assorted chores. So when I got home, deflated and defeated from my failed trip I went ahead and gave her the origami book right away rather than waiting until Christmas. Yes, given my lack of any other gifts this was not the smartest of moves but I thought for sure that it was something she would want at the time to make animal ornaments for the tree so I shouldn’t wait. Maybe that is a bit too practical of a way to look at it but that’s how I saw it at the time. Anyway after I gave her the book she was happy but I discovered that she had never said she needed instructions for animal origami but rather already had a bunch. I was shattered. Of course I couldn’t hide this and I soon confessed to Priya that I had not been able to get her anything that day and in fact I had nothing. She told me not to worry about it but of course that was a bit hard to do especially knowing she has already gotten me at least two gifts which she went out of her way to get.

Part of the difficulty I currently face whenever I try and get gifts for Priya is that many of the things I know she likes are things that are best bought by the individual themselves unless they have been specifically pointed out to you (clothing, bags, scarves, shoes and the like) otherwise you will most likely only be getting them something that they will want to return in which case all you really ended up giving them was an errand to go run. Sadly at this time no random pointing out of outfits or bags has occurred and if I were to take Priya shopping and just hold up an item and say “What do you think? Do you like this?” than it would not be very difficult for her to figure out what I was really asking, “Do you want this for your Christmas present?”

So as Christmas grows ever nearer I find myself ever more fearful that my first Christmas married to Priya will be one filled not with joy but with empty boxes.

An International Thanksgiving

Living here in London Thanksgiving is not a holiday that is celebrated. Now it isn’t totally ignored either. The people here are aware of Thanksgivng in fact the retail world here has tried to create a Black Friday here like the one we have in the States. It’s kind of weird going around the town and seeing a bunch of Black Friday sale signs and having no Thanksgiving associated with it. So far the rush here to go out shopping is nowhere near the frenzied levels we achieve in America. I think one of the main problems with Black Friday sales here is that most people don’t have the day off like they do in the States. The simple fact is you can’t go shopping if you are at work.

In our house two of the four people living there are American so it was decided that we would have our own little Thanksgiving. It wasn’t really because Joan or I really felt the need to celebrate it rather we just thought it would be fun also Priya and Joan wanted to do some cooking. We decided to have it on Saturday rather than Thursday because no one had Thursday or Friday off so we didn’t really have the time or energy to try and do it on those days.

Of the four people in the house I am the only one who doesn’t do any significant amount of cooking. Priya’s father, Kan, does a lot of cooking. He specializes in Indian food constantly providing us with delicious curries. Joan and Priya like to experiment a bit more and they cook and bake all different kinds of food. Given all the talent for cooking in this house Thanksgiving seemed like a natural things to do. After some serious deliberation about what to make for the meal they decided to make a Mexican meal rather than the more traditional American meal of Turkey with all the trimmings. I, of course, will never say no to a homemade Mexican meal so I was excited by the decision. I didn’t need turkey or anything like that to feel like it was Thanksgiving just hanging out with family was enough for me.

Saturday came and Joan and Priya spent much of the day cooking. Kan spent time working on the living room. It’s being repainted, rewired and basically just redone. I spent most of the day upstairs cleaning the bathroom and our bedroom and such. Priya’s brother and his wife were coming to dinner so cleaning the bathroom was important. Don’t get me wrong the bathroom wasn’t disgusting it gets wiped down fairly regularly but still it needed a good scrubbing so that’s where I came in. I really hate scrubbing the bathroom because by the time I’m done I’m hot and sweaty and all I want to do is take a shower but I don’t want to get in the shower and defile my work. A clean bathroom just doesn’t last very long.  

Priya’s brother and sister-in-law showed up around five ready for the meal. Priya’s sister-in-law, Pat, is from Brazil and she brought black beans and salsa both of which were delicious. Joan created some salsa of her own, guacamole and quesadillas. Priya made green chili chicken, rice and a pineapple upside down cake.

As the meal was being prepared Kan cleverly noted how international our Thanksgiving was going to be. We were celebrating an American holiday with Mexican food at an Indian’s house in London. The guest list included a Brazilian (Pat), a Japanese American (Joan), three Indians (they are ethnically Indian not nationally. Kan grew up in Kenya while Priya and her brother were born and raised here in the UK ) and myself.

The meal was great and the conversations were fun. During dinner Priya’s iPhone was softly playing music in the background and at one point an instrumental song came on being done by a full orchestra, which caught my attention. The music sounded very familiar to me but I couldn’t place it. She then told me that it was the theme music to the character Guile in Street Fighter. Someone had actually decided to take all the video game music from Street Fighter and use an orchestra to play it. The idea seems silly but it really was quite cool. Anyway this discovery led to a long conversation about video games, cartoons and general activities all of us did as children. Joan found this conversation pretty interesting because she did not have children nor did she watch TV so she didn’t know any of the cartoons, games or music we were talking about. The fact is Joan got rid of her last TV in 1971 and didn’t live in a house with a television again until she moved here to London. Nor did she listen to much music so she has this sort of 30 year gap of knowledge concerning TV, music and movies. Of course she has one of the most interesting lives anyone can imagine so I don’t think she needs to worry about what she “missed”.

The great thing about talking about Street Fighter was that it went along well with our international theme in that each character is from a different country. We laughed as we went through all the players and where they were from and how those players made our countries look. We got to tell Joan about E. Honda who is the sumo wrestler from Japan. He can launch himself like a bullet and move his hand very quickly allowing him to strike you numerous times very fast. Then there’s Dhalsim the Hindi Yogi who can stretch his arms/legs extremely far out and spit fire. Then we just couldn’t stop laughing as Pat described how much she didn’t like Blanka, the Brazilian character who was basically just a green monster. America was represented by Guile, an air force member and Ken a karate guy. The whole conversation made me wish we had a good old Super Nintendo with Street Fight 2 along with some other games (Mario Kart) to play.  

The night went on with good food and good conversation and then we found ourselves in front of the TV. During dinner one of the things that had come up was the show Honey Boo-boo. For those that don’t know it is a show based on this weird little girl and her family. They live somewhere in the American south. She was “discovered” on the show Toddlers and Tiaras. Now Priya and I had watched an episode recently because it was playing On-Demand and we were bored. It was the Thanksgiving episode so we thought it might be fun. It was filled with disgusting and weird things that just make you shake your head. During dinner we found out that Pat was a huge fan of that show. So after we all ended up in front of the TV it wasn’t long before we were playing Honey Boo Boo for everyone. It really isn’t a show I could follow on a regular basis but it is just so odd it’s worth watching once. It’s funny because in America I know people from the South who get embarrassed by these people and don’t want people to think that all Southerners are like this family. Now I admit if I was watching this show in America I would simply associate this family with the South and feel no connection to them. But here in Britain one quickly becomes embarrassed of this family because they are American and you realize that many people who watch the show here just end up associating this family with all Americans. It’s funny how one’s location can affect one’s views about other people, ideas and events.

So that was our family Thanksgiving here in London. It was a great time with almost nothing I associate with a traditional Thanksgiving in the State be that food, events (watching Honey Boo-Boo rather than football) or even conversation. I look forward to see how next year goes assuming we are all still around here in London.

Good But Not Good Enough

So it’s official I did not get the job I wrote about in my last entry. Apparently I passed the test though I’m not sure how that is possible given that I was told I got 13 out of 27 questions right. That score would not be considered passing on any other test I have taken in my life but hey I’ll take it. When they called me in I was told I did really well in my interview. They said I was very thorough with my answers and they liked what I had to say but clearly in the end that was not enough. I was told that if another spot became available I should definitely reapply. Now while that’s all nice to hear but at the end of the day the fact remains I didn’t get the job. Further I was told that my current position could only be guaranteed until the end of December. After that time they may have to let me go or they may be able to keep me on. Basically moving forward this is a month to month position so I really need to find a new job.

That bums me out for two reasons. First is I just don’t like looking for work. It is all consuming and very depressing especially as a 32 year old person who is just going from job to job with no real path towards a career. Second and probably more important is the fact that I actually like working here. Now this is not due to the work itself though that is just fine. Rather it is because I get along so well with my co-workers and just enjoy being here. For the most part I think all Admin jobs are the same when it comes to the work and how fulfilling it is or should I say how not fulfilling it isn’t. So I would say that what really makes a good Admin job is your co-workers. If you like who you are working with you’ll like your job if not then you won’t. And here I really like everyone I work with, which I admit is a bit of a surprise to me. There is almost always someone who I don’t really get along with that well but that just isn’t the case here. So that is what I will miss most about this job.

Back to the internet to once again surf for another job.

Back to Work

Well Priya and I returned home from our trip to Denver last Friday and while we were only gone for 10 days I feel like I’m still trying to get back to normal here in London. The first few days back after any long trip always include some jet lag and just general tiredness but this trip has taken me a lot longer than normal to get over. Priya and I returned on a Friday so at least we had the weekend to rest before we both went back to work but it wasn’t enough. Obviously neither of us was looking forward to Monday but it was for different reasons for each of us. Priya because she had a lot of work to return to and she knew she would be working long hours (staying late and working on the weekends) trying to accomplish all the new tasks that have been placed upon her since Penguin Publishing and Random House decided to merge. For me I didn’t want to go back to work not because I didn’t want to work but because I was afraid of how much I had forgotten after a two week vacation. I had only been training for two weeks before we left and now I had been gone just as long. I was scared because I didn’t want to let my team down or just look stupid.

Sunday night I did not sleep well. All I could think about was the fact that I honestly couldn’t remember how to do my job. In my head I couldn’t remember what systems I was supposed to use, how to help the customers with new claims or even what my user name was. The next day came and sure enough I had to ask for help just to open my account. In many ways it was similar to my first day of work because I had to have someone sit with me for the first hour and remind me of all the things I had forgotten. They told me not to worry about it but I was quite embarrassed about all the help I needed. The timing was particularly bad because I had applied for a full time position at the company and was offered an interview Tuesday the 12^th. The interview was being preceded by a test and that is not the best time to have forgotten things. The worst part about the test was the fact that no one could really tell me what was going to be on it. I was handed study materials that covered months of training for the position and I had no idea what I should study. All I knew for sure was that there was no way I would be able to even look at all this information let alone study it before the test. I had to just pick and choose what to study. I focused on a more general overview of the department, the systems they used and the most common tasks they worked on rather than the specifics such as varying statistics or housing pricing. I also spent a lot of time memorizing vocabulary and various welfare benefits that affect the work they do here. I spent all week and weekend studying. I find it truly frustrating to study for a test for which you don’t really know what material they are going to test you on. Give me the information I need to know, let me go learn it and then I know I’ll be fine. But if you make me guess what kind of things you might ask me then it makes studying seem all but pointless.

So Tuesday came and I took the test in the morning. Sure enough a majority of the test was over material I had not studied. The test was composed mostly of very specific questions such as knowing the exact number of claims the department deals with or what the set award amount is to a family with three children and a non-dependant adult in a house with 4 bedrooms. These were not the types of things I had studied. Like I said I had decided to study the more general overview of everything the department did. The only good thing about this test was that it was multiple choice not fill in the blank or essay format so at least I could guess and who knows maybe I got lucky a few times.

My interview came in the afternoon and overall I felt pretty good about it. I was with my interviewers for quite awhile, almost an hour. That was mostly because I talked a lot and provided them with long answers to all their questions. Now I might find out that I ended up saying something I shouldn’t have simply due to the fact that I said so many things. But generally I think it is better to give too much information rather than too little. None of the interview questions really stumped me so that was another thing that I took as a bonus. At the test there were four other people taking it with me so I knew they were all up for the same job and all of them were being interviewed that day. The test was at 9am and my interview was until 3pm so I was their last interview for the day. Whether that is good or bad I don’t know? After my interview they told me they would hopefully have their decision by the end of the week and they would talk directly to everyone they interviewed and let them know what their decision was and why they made it.

So today is the last day I have to live with hope for a full time job before I find out if I’ve got it and if I do if it is a job I should take. The main problem I had with the interview is they were not very specific about what the salary would be. It was clear that the salary would vary depending on who they asked to take the job. After talking to my manager and Priya they both thought that in a sort of weird way my lack of experience might be an advantage in that they would be able to pay me the least amount of money to do the job. When I heard that it made me both optimistic and a little sad because I really want to be offered a fair amount if I’m going to do this job. I don’t want to just make minimum wage. But that isn’t something I really need to worry about unless I’m offered the position.

Now Priya’s time back has been really rough. She has had to stay late at work almost every day and even had to work on the weekend. The company just doesn’t seem to grasp how much work is required to make this merger succeed and have thus not picked a sufficient number of people to work on it. Most nights Priya is not getting home until 8 or 9pm leaving her with no time to do anything except eat, shower and jump right back into bed to sleep for 4 to 5 hours before she has to get up and do it again. Sometimes I hang out late downtown so I can go home with her but I still get to stop working at a reasonable time. Priya deserves better whether that means more help or at least more money.

So that’s where we are at right now nothing exciting to offer just a lot of work. Anyway fingers crossed about me being offered the new job here.