Adventures in London: Issue 53

This weekend marked one year to moving to London. I really cannot believe that it was this weekend 52 weeks ago that I took a one-way flight to London. That is was 52 weeks ago that I wrote you all saying that I had landed in London and had taken a tour of Portobello road and Notting Hill with my dearest friends. 

It has certainly been quite a year and I feel like I am just scratching the surface here on what London has to offer. It has been an exciting adventure thus far and I am looking forward to celebrating more anniversaries here :-)

To celebrate my 1 year here, I went out with a couple of friends for something I NEVER thought I would actually enjoy - Golf. I remember back in 2000 when I was living with my brother for the summer. After coming back from work, he and I would go to the driving range to hit a few golf balls. I basically spent the hour hitting 5 balls. Not cause it took me that long to hit them, but because I could only manage to hit them 5 feet from the tee. 

We took a trip on the Northern line to Morden to a pitch n putt 9-hole course for a day of golfing. I was not confident that I was going to be able to make it through the 9 holes, but I am happy to report that I did. After a few holes and rubbish swings that only went 10 ft in front of me....I got the hang of it. Thanks to some "coaching" from the boys, I was able to actually get some air under the ball and even made par a couple of times. 

There is something about golf that was enjoyable. Certainly never thought I would ever say that. Until this weekend, the only kind of golf I ever wanted to play was mini-golf. Guess things can change! In a time when running is proving to be difficult, I reckon golf can be something that I can focus on.  Let's see, I am not quite ready to trade in my training shoes for a 9-iron but I will keep my options open.  

Other than that, the weekend was rather chill. My friend Pat and I finally celebrated a piece of business that Mindshare won. It involved a great number of hours during pitch time and those have been doubled since we won the business (and it has only been a couple of weeks)...so we thought a night of "catching up on life" was in order. 

We caught up over a movie marathon (Lock stock and two smoking barrels, Snatch and The Departed), pizzas, cheese and a bottle of monkey shoulder scotch!! 

Thank you everyone for joining me on this past year. I am looking forward to another year together. 

Miss you all

xoxo

T

Adventures in London: Issues 1- 52

During my performance review, my boss asked me how I would sum up the year - 2 thumbs up, 2 thumbs down or a bit of both. My answer was, 2 thumbs up. It has been quite a year, and not all in a good way, but I am thankful for it. There have been numerous highs, and with that there have been numerous lows. But through it all, I've kept a smile on my face (well for most of it). 

When I look back on the year, what comes to mind are all the times I cooked, the miles I ran, the books I read, the photos I took, the experiences I've had, and the moments I laughed. Yes, there are other I suppose I could focus on, but no good ever comes of that. It's been a grand year, and it has happened like a blink of an eye. 

Thank you to you all for being by my side through this year. It has been a pleasure living this adventure with you and I am looking forward to what the next year holds for us. 

xx

T

Adventures in London: Issue 52

As the say goes - when one door closes, another door opens. Mom left from home on Wednesday morning....that was directly followed by my uncle from India landing in the evening. Before I get into that though...

To celebrate Mom's stay, a bunch of us went out for drinks on Tuesday. It is always uplifting when your Mom gets a bigger "weekday" drinks than you do :-( In all seriousness though, it was good to get everyone together. We had a good mix of family, "The Americans" and friends for drinks and cheese at Bedford & Strand.  It was not an easy couple of weeks juggling work and family, but I have to say I am so happy that they visited. May not have had the chance to spend a great deal of time with them, but it was such a pleasure to see them. Not to mention LOVE having a freezer full of curry!! 

So back to the HIGH of the week. As mentioned earlier, the day Mom left, my uncle (aka her younger brother) came into town for the weekend.  It was a great visit and I am glad that I had the opportunity to just spend the time with just my uncle. It was a short visit, but we made the most of the time together. We had great fun eating a variety of steak selections, making sure our Rose bottle would not go bad, walking around the city, eating at Browns, trying to get into Lord's to watch the Ashes and relaxing over a cold beer. To be honest, all things said and done, I could have spent the entire time just sitting in an old English pub drinking, eating and talking.  I am so lucky for the family that I have!! We are an quirky bunch when not together, but when together  - - there is no place I would rather be. 

That same day, after seeing my uncle off, my cousin and I did an impromptu site seeing. When we got to the tube station we noticed a number of signs and souvenirs for the Beatles... we asked the silly question and discovered that Abbey Road was a two minute walk away.  It was just too good to resist, so we walked over and tried to re-create the famous album cover. This photo was the best that we could get. Reckon, the Beatles did not have to deal with cars and buses :-)

You know while in London, I have come to learn that everyone has a past. You cannot change a person's past, but at the end of the day, a person's history is what makes them who they are. 

After a lovely weekend with the family, it was off to Big E's for her housewarming/ engagement BBQ. Mark and Big E finished their house (it is outside of Central London and just divine. Give it a couple of years, I can see a move to subburbs as well). 

You know I worry sometimes. Each gathering that we have as a group only grows and grows. We used to have "simple" dinners with our circle here, but now every gathering is like Thanksgiving dinner. Big E certain went all out with briskets, ribs, slaw, homemade salsa,  baked beans, bacon wrapped peppers, bacon dip....oh i am getting hungry just thinking about it. 

We spent the day/ night doing what we all do best - eating, drinking, laughing and having a grand time!! 

My blood family may have left this week, but my english family is here to stay. 

xoxo

T

Adventures in London: Issue 51

I don't have a lot to write about regarding this week. Sad, but true. Believe it or not, but I have gone a full week without taking a single picture. Despite Mom being here, a work trip to Milan and visits with family friends, not a single photo. To be honest, I have not had a single ounce of energy to bother. 

A friend of mine at work and I had an interesting conversation one day after work regarding relationships and marriage, etc. We both get a bit of slack for the the number of hours that we put in. We are not unaware of the fact that we are not married or that we spend too much time working. It is not that we don't want to get married (okay I am talking solely for me now), cause we do. I do think about wanting to be a plus one. To find a person that I can spend my life smiling with. That looks at me like they just won the lottery, like a mom looks at her newborn for the first time. For a girl who has a preference for even numbers, I have certainly be odd for too long. 

I guess the thing for me is, I am not ready to plateau at work. I am not at a stage with my career that I can say that I am ready to settle down. There is so much more I want to achieve in the workplace and the time that is required to do that does not leave me much time for other things. Even training has taken a back seat when things get busy. I know I would not to be fair to anyone else in my life. Right or wrong, but work right now is my number one priority.  May not always make me the happiest camper in the world, but it is the one thing that I can control. I cannot control or have a say in what the stars have written for me. 

I know this sounds all like excuses. The truth is, when you find the person you are meant to be with, it doesn't matter what else is going on. It will just fall into place. So when it is time, I will find that person that I can make my own sundaes with, go hiking in the clouds with, bike across the twin bridges with, run in the rain with.... Someone that when I look into their eyes, I see home. Maybe I will find that (again). 

Well sorry I don't have more to write about.  On the work front, I went to Milan on Thursday for a client meeting. It was an absolute nightmare getting the material ready for this meeting, but it was worth the effort as the meeting well brilliantly. This weekend since I was work free,  Mom and I enjoyed the weekend by shopping (picked up some new perfumes and "skinny" jeans) and eating pani puri and spending time with some of Mom's friends in Morden. 

Not very exciting of an update, but it is the best I can do. 

xx

T

Adventures in London: Issue 50

Last year I spent 4th of July with Great Brittain and our friends. This year however, I was in Great Britain with my friends. It has just been a year, but that weekend seems like ages ago. How many happy hours have come and gone, BBQs occurred with amasing burgers & beer pong, and pictures have been taken? 

For me, it may be a year ago, but it is over 5000 photos ago that I celebrate America's independence day in the land of the free..

This week marked my family's last couple of days in London.  It was a sincere pleasure having them in town and being able to share my home with them. I just wish that work did not get in the way of me being able to spend quality time with them. Thankfully though, we had the Paris trip and some quality time together with that. Below is a video from our last dinner together. Going to miss that little man and hearing him scream my name. The head tilt...who knows where that came from, but it is our little thing :-)

The Saturday after Bhai and Jamila left was 4th of July. It was not quite like celebrating in the States or NYC, but it was nice to at least celebrate the day (even if there were no fireworks). 

My friend Si threw a 4th of July BBQ at his flat. He definitely went all out with a menu including over 20 dishes including burgers, 5 types of sausages, buffalo wings, kebabs, cheese, and plenty of starters. 

The next day, Mom and I went to visit her Aunt and Uncle in Oakwood. It was a nice family day of stories, food and Wimbledon. Despite have loads of work to do, it was a pleasure to spend the day with family and watch the men's tennis finale (and what a match it was). I hope one year I will be able watch the match live. Unlike the US Open it is not as easy to get tickets, but it is always worth a try :-)

Hope you all are well. Miss you dearly

xoxo

T