One year later...

Strange how things happen.

I'm on the same computer, same lounge, same airport, and writing in this blog on the same date, one year later.

My flight back to Chi-town leaves in an hour and a reflective state begins to take over.

Another whole year is about to go past and I think again what I've accomplished and what I've achieved.

But before I even touch that subject I must say this.

How cool are cab drivers?

I always take a cab to the airport when I go home around the holidays because I lug around a large piece of luggage that I choose not to take up and down the stairs of the underground.. Anyway, I distinctly remember both cab drivers I had a year ago, and one I just had on the way to the airport today.

What a vast wealth of information cab drivers can be! Last year I remember distinctly learning about the Lincoln statue by Parliament. Apparently, there was some "law" or ordinance that Lincoln's statue could never be resurrected on non-US soil. But obviously, there's a Lincoln statue just outside of Parliament. Well it turns out, apparently, that soil was actually brought in from the States before the statue was resurrected and place underneath the statue! True or not true, I'd have to google it. But how cool is that if it were true?

Today I learned about the whole Arsenal and Hot Spurs football rivalry. My driver is a big hot spur fan and explains his reasons behind it. He talked about how the English stick to their teams through thick and thin and if its one game a team will win throughout the season, it should be against their rival. In this case Arsenal. Every game he not only checks the Hot Spur score and see if they won, but straightaway checks if Arsenal lost!

The whole conversation was spawned by my observation that the English love their sport. They are passionate about it. Especially football! (soccer) We talked about how the NFL had a game here in London and it was completely sold out, even though, he reckoned, that probably most of the people watching did not know the rules!

Not only if the knowledge I gain from the driver is enough, but the cab route is scenic as well. The ride takes you through all the major sites: London Eye, Parliament, Buckingham, Westminster Abby and the posh neighborhoods of the West.

Anyway, for my lovely friends that read this blog, hopefully I'll see you all soon! Give me a ring or a mail! Cheers!

Yankee doodle dandy

So I was drawing out cash in my drunken stooper and commented to another drunken lady about using the ATM and she says..

"Okay.. Mr. Yankee Doodle Dandy."

nice.

Yay for my American accent.

Snow, slush, and socks.

I keep having these blogworthy moments.. and I'm not writing them down!

Speaking with another friend that is also in London, who used to be one of my interns, and who also lived in Chicago... we had a great exchange about our former cities..

"Chicago is an amazing city. And you know that when you live there. But you really REALLY appreciate it when you move away. There is a greater appreciation for Chicago once you live in another city. Its like you know it when you live there, but you REALLY REALLY know how GOOD it is when you move away."

Its not like you take it for granted, you know how good something is, and you appreciate it. But once you don't have something for a while, you know its there, and you don't think about it so much.. but when you do think about it.. it really hits you.. wow.. that IS something I really enjoy and love!

Kind of like Portillo's cheeseburgers. When I lived in Chicago, I KNOW I loved it. I know how much I enjoyed it. But you really don't "appreciate" it as much because its just there and you can eat it anytime. Then sometimes I'll have this craving for it over here. And you know what? I can't have it. This is frustrating. You then think to yourself... wow, that really is a good cheeseburger. Chargrilled, dripping with grease, bread gets all soggy if you don't eat it fast enough.. Mmm Mmm good.

Or like snow. My parents told me that Chicago finally had its first proper snowfall this year. I was thinking to myself. Wow. Snow. It doesn't snow here. Yeah, sometimes snow is annoying, especially when it starts melting and turns into slush and then you don't wear snow boots and it gets into your socks. Then your socks are wet all day and this is the absolute worst. I can't think of anything worse than wet socks. Well maybe getting a paper cut between the webs of my two fingers, although, that's instant pain, whereas if you were in public you can't just take your socks off and walk around barefoot. You have to just bare the cold wetness of it all after each and every step.. URGH.. But anyway, I digress.

So yeah, snow, I miss looking outside and watching snow fall. It doesn't happen here. And if it does, all hell breaks loose and apparently the city completely shuts down. I think that would be funny. After all, people wear scarfs here when its like 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Its not that cold!! Sheesh.

Anyway, I guess I'm just mentally excited since I'll be home in two weeks. Sorry for the ramblings, but like Abby mentioned, I need to "just write."

I'm crap.

Happy December!!

Yeah, I know, I haven't updated this as frequently as I want to. I always try to keep it London-centric, but perhaps I may take a different approach and even blog about my stupid daily experiences that are not so london-centric... and maybe that will inspire more blog posts...