Adventures in London: Issue 44

How can you beat a week that starts in London, finishes in St Thomas, USVI and has a stop over in NYC?!? You really cannot. In every which way, this has been an utterly blissful week. 

Despite a rough weekend of all work and no Wolverine, everything worked out on Tuesday when we had our presentation with the client.  I am not going to bore you all with work stories since I am trying my best not to make this the "work adventures in London". I will say, please try to understand that when I do talk about work it is not because that is the only adventure that I have here - - rather it is part of the adventure. I am playing a whole new game here and it is terrifying and exciting at the same time.  Each day I am expose to new facets of thinking, communicating and working and with that comes numerous opportunities to learn and grow. I am trying to make the most of every opportunity that I have here cause I am truly amongst some of the greatest minds and abilities to view the situation here. 

Who knows how I did it, but Tuesday night (well really Wednesday morning) I managed to tidy the flat, pack and even took a 2 hour nap before my 0630 car pick up for NYC!!!

Arriving in NYC, I immediately went to my brother's apartment where I was greeted by my lovely nephew Kadin. It took him a bit to recognize who I was or what I was doing there, but soon enough he was all hugs and kisses (or headbutts and "mmmm" sounds). 

There have been so many "Kadin first" that I have missed out on living in London, but there is one that I was happy to be there for...the day he said my name!! It may be more "Eenie" than "Tini"...but I am not going to complain!! It is the greatest and most touching moment when  you hear your 18 mos nephew say your name.  There is just something precious about this boy. I cannot put my finger on it, but something about him is .... well I cannot even find the word for it. To be able to hear his voice, laughter and see him run around the house... well that is a lucky person that gets to be able to spend time with him. If there are 2 things that I am truly jealous of my brother it is the 5 extra years of memories he had with Dad and all the next 5 years worth of memories and moments that he will have with Kadin. 

Speaking of memories, a friend pointed out while I was in NYC that my memories are dictated by my stomach. Aside from spending time with my family and friends, a good portion of this weekend was about having some of my favorite meals and cuisines in NYC. I think I covered all the bases - Mexican at Sinigual, Mac N Cheese and crispy bacon at Cafeteria, $1 tacos at the Wharf, everything bagel with cream cheese at Daniel's, Jamba Juice, Brother Jimmy's BBQ, french vanilla coffee at Dunkin', Patsy's extra garlic pizza....okay I don't know about you but I am hungry and therefore am going to stop. Each time I come back home I am always afraid that people are going to thing that I have changed so much that we can no longer just pick up where we left off. I know I am going to change while living here, but I can only hope that I don't change that much that people don't recognize me anymore :-( 

On Friday, it was off to St Thomas for "my little sister's" wedding. This was the most unique, breathtaking and peaceful wedding that I have been to. The weekend in general was a rather unique on. For starters, I made the decision do the island vacation solo. I rented a car in the Virgin Islands (interesting experience as they drive on the left side, but the steering wheel in on the left too), and I spent the first day just exploring the city. I am not going to lie, it would have been nice have a +1, but you cannot always wait for a +1 to do the thing that you want to. Some times you just have to get on with things before you miss the opportunity and ability to enjoy the world around you. 

On Saturday, a few of the folks from BU went on a boat ride to the British Virgin Islands. The day was absolutely amazing. We arrived at the boat at 0715 and were greeted with the question of whether we wanted a "Bloody Mary" or "Mimosa"? Served in sippy cups the drinks did not stop flowing until we returned 9 hours later. Our tour of the Virgin Islands included a hike in the Baths at Virgin Goudas, lunch on Marina Cay, snorkeling in the Diamond Reef, and a swim into Jost Van Dyke to visit the Soggy Dollar Bar (the birthplace of the yummy Painkiller). 

It was great to just have a day in the sun, relaxing, swimming and just enjoying the island spirit. I came to an interesting realization while catching up with my friend's mom. We were talking about the experience of moving to London and I told her that for once I was truly happy. I don't mean to imply that for the past 29 years I have not ever been happy....don't misunderstand me. It just that right now, this whole experience just seems to make sense. It seems to fit me and I am not looking for any missing pieces. I often spent too much energy focusing on the missing pieces that I failed to enjoy what I had in front of me. Moving here has given me perspective on things :-)

Back to the one-of-a-kind truly mesmerizing wedding. Nay & Matt got married at his parent's house that overlooked the Virgin Islands. It was a rather intimate gathering of friends and family to share in their glorious moment. There really are no words to describe the wedding and that evening. It was a sincere pleasure to see Nay; to see her glowing, smiling and all around happy. 15 Sept 2002 seems like such a long time ago. When we meant, we were at such different places in our lives, 8+ years later I am so very lucky that although we are at different stages of our lives that we are still in each other's lives. Nay, thank you for allowing me to share in your day... I am truly blessed and honored to have you as my sister xx