and the end is near

As I write this I try to keep my eyes open so that my body won't suddenly fall asleep and miss the tube I'm supposed to catch in order to trek the one hour over to Heathrow Airport.
It is 4:07 am and I feel like I have been to the outer most corners of the work world. In the short months that I've been here I think I could have easily gained 20 gray hairs. I have tried not to complain about work thinking things would get better but it seems everyday bring about another unpleasant experience. It's not my nature to wine specially not about my own decisions but as I lay in bed trying to think of the positives of my move I find my jaws clenching and my body aching to get back home. This could be the holiday blues, or the wrapping up of 2008, in any case I am done and more than ready to be home. London and I have had a strange relationship since I moved.

The city itself I love as a city. I respect its history and love the fashion but for some reason it isn't for me. No se me parece que la latina dentro mio no aguanta el frio o lo gris que es la ciudad. Es triste en cierto modo porque se nota la diferencia que hace el sol en la vida de las personas. Se nota como todo el mundo camina con un paso rapido empujandote al tratar de llegar al tube, o empujandote mientras tratan de hacer las compras en cualquier tienda... he visto que es igual. Pero creo que mi suerte de siempre haber estado al rededor de personas bien amigables y de venir de una familia tan warm hearted que me cuesta acostumbrare a vivir en un pais donde una sonrisa es mas dificil de encontrar que una persona con un tan.- Ok that was a bit of a joke or a 4:13am tangent but I guess all I have to say is 2008 in London has been rough.

I found out recently that I won't be moving to Abu Dhabi until mid 2009- I will be here until AT LEAST May. And when my boss asked why I wanted to get out there so bad I wanted to scream out because that's where I'm supposed to be going, that was my original plan in any case I don't know if I'm upset about having to stay in london or because I am genuinely upset that things here don't even seem to go according to plans. E-mail sent are sent in a reactive manner at I think at this point on this Friday Morning I am spent. I am ready to be home with my family and do nothing for two weeks. I think everyone feels this around the holidays. Its a natural shut down of the body. It's a natural reaction to the nearing end. Speaking of. Happy Christmas to all and all the best for the new year. Maybe one day I'll make it out to Abu Dhabi. Maybe not. It's all TBD at this point. :) stay tuned to 2009

It's the most wonderful time of the year

Bracing Ourselves to go out into the very COLD night

Hyde Park's Winter wonderland in the distance a 15 minute walk from my flat.
Life size winter ornament

Nata got a kiss from a Reindeer
Jager Santa

December...

Is upon us with another gust of wind and another rainy day in my google weather forecast, rainy Thursday rainy Friday- I guess I better enjoy the rain while I get it since the desert isn't really known for its rainy forecasts. I enjoy the drops as they fall although here in London the drops are more of mists and drizzles that seem to fall at you from every which way. December has always been that nostalgic month that bring about the present feeling of wrapping up the year, the time when we take a final big breath and gather all the energy we have left to go through the final days of the year. At least for me, December is a time to go through with all those final plans, to see your life and your present moment and decide what it is you are looking for in the next year. Speaking of, December has brought upon carrolling in the tube on my morning commutes into work, it brought upon lights and Christmas trees around our desks, stalking full of what is apparently 80's candy, and in some way its brought upon that Christmas cheer which helps get us through the much colder days and even colder nights. December has also brought upon that feeling of family, those memories of Christmas time and the warmth of being indoors with bright lights angels candles and Christmas cookies. Speaking of- my return to the states is coming closer and closer and I feel an urge to hop on a plane yet again and make that trans Atlantic flight. I see myself in California arriving at a destination that is too familiar for comfort and becomes my safe haven. When I become a bit overwhelmed at work, or when I let my thoughts get the best of me I think of that long ass flight and the familiarity of being mid air suspended in search of a destination. Truth is I get that feeling no matter which direction I'm travelling the destination of arriving to those people who are the destination in themselves- of course I'm talking about mi familia. The family I've been so blessed to have, the family that truly brings me home no matter where our home may be that year. This year Santa Barbara next year who knows- but that's the beauty of being a Conneely the overcrowded house, the many visitors that always seem to pop by and the comfort of knowing that no matter what you will always have a hug to welcome you and a meal to fill you up. My flight departs on the 19th from Heathrow and after over a days trip I know I will be arriving to a family full of memories and a holiday that will fill me with the energy I will need to get through the rougher winter months here in London- but like November right before it, I know December will come and go so I will try to hold on to the days, try to enjoy this month in anticipation of the new year (my favorite holiday) a time to look back at the year and smile at the lessons learned and the friends we've made along the way, a time to look forward to another 12 months of who knows what time will bring and for now as I am listening to the amazing Cat Stevens I know that this December like those before I will continue to ' listen to the wind of my soul, where I'll end up well I think only God really knows.'

Don't you ever feel...

That sometimes there's a purpose for the emotions that you experience? For the things that happen or the people that come into your life? There's a sort of mystic in the air that lets you know there's something more than what you see in everyday. I feel this week has brought upon something more that I was missing when I arrived. It seems when we are too busy trying to adjust to a new city, a new team, new friends, new modes of transportation, new accents, new fashion, new everything, we miss out on the one thing that is always constant. Our thoughts and inner most desires. For me, my thoughts have always revolved around my ambitions, my desires have always revolved around my feelings and my emotions. For as long as I can remember I've wanted to act, I've longed for the stage, and longed to be part of that world of story telling. To me that world was second nature. When my sisters and I would act out skits and plays, to me it was part of who I was. Dancing and lip singing to Paula Abdul's 'Will you marry me boy' on top of our coffee table as I looked into the camera half of the time and over at my sisters in the background motioning for me to move my arms more, giving me general stage directions to be more Paula Abdulesque- Anyway performing wasn't taught to me it was within me and just came out as we created another new skit, another show after dinner to present to the numerous peace corps volunteers that stayed at our place with the price of having to witness another performance with outlandish outfits and over done hair and makeup.
These memories come back to me as I long for the world in which i was able to act in which I was able to tell stories through art. I've found that as we grow older it becomes harder and harder to hold on to those dreams we cherished so deeply as children. Those desires that were crucial to live out are hidden in the background of our lives and we must give way to other needs and other momentary ambitions.
Performing is an ambition I'll never be able to get rid of, or forget, it lives within me and visits me every now and again giving me a nudge to seek the opportunities available for me in the realm of art wherever i may be. This past week I've become ana ssociate member of New Voices, a club that is part of teh Old Vic a theater here in London whose Cretive Director for the past year or so has been Kevin Spacey. http://www.oldvictheatre.com/newvoicesclub.php
As an associate member I ama bit more connected into the world of art and the opportunities that could arise from knowing a little bit more that has to do with my passion.
You know how people say that songs lead our lives through different stages? And there is pretty much a song for every moment in our lives? For me the song that brought me back to theater performance, and brings back those oh so familiar feelings that will always live within me is La Vie en Rose- Edit Piaf. An amazing singer an amazing life, an immortal song. And the truth is I don't know why or how this song came into my life, but the voice of Piaf digs deep into my emotions and brings me to tears as I get chills down my back and believe once again that anything is possible.

Flat sweet flat

I know its taken a while to get this post up but I have been busy moving into a new flat and getting used to a more settled life in London. So it's been a month since I moved to the great gray city and I can't believe how fast it seems to have gone by. Lets start with the flat hunt. After having said yes to moving into a flat with a lovely couple, two weekends ago ( I was supposed to move in Nov. 5) I decided to follow my gut and see one more flat. I wasn't one hundred percent convinced that living with a couple in their 30s would be the best London experience I could ask for so I kept an appointment to see a final flat on Tuesday night and made my way to Lancaster Gate to meet three Greeks...little did I know that this final meeting would bring me to where I sit today. The meeting of the roommates went well except for the fact that I got lost on my way to the flat- which now seems ridiculous since it it located about 2 blocks from the one with the couple I was supposed to move in with. But I followed my footsteps in circles and finally made it to my ultimate destination. The roommates were all nice, friendly and I instantly knew they were great people who I could see myself living with. Of course me being late put me face to face with the last person they were supposed to see that night ( who was early) an older foreign man who was sitting in the kitchen. We played the interview/get to know each other game and little by little the uncomfortable you're a stranger game seemed to pass as we all got to know a little about each other. I learned that Nikoletta the girl with a big friendly smile who opened the door and showed me around was from Connecticut but originally born in Greece. She had just finished her masters and was in the search of a job. (which she has since found) Natassa, a Greek PHD student and Marketing teacher sat beside me and spoke in somewhat of an accent that made me think she was Portugese (from portugal not Brazil) but of course she was born and raised in Greece in a town called Thesaloniki.. she is a great source of knowledge and an excellent cook! We have decided to teach each other our native tougnes so while I will finally learn Greek she will learn more spanish that just the phrase "No soy espanola soy Griega" which she had to learn because everyone seems to think she is Spanish. Then there is the man of the house Spyros- yup you guessed it Greek number 3- He just turned 27 a couple of days ago (pictures below) and works in Marketing as well. He loves himself a computer game which keeps him occupied most of the days and nights a thing about boys and video games I will never understand but living with someone that holds such a regard for them will hopefully help me. After I spoke a bit about Bolivia and los Conneely's I left to treck back in the cold to Turner House and as I walked down the block I heard my name through my ipod's loud singing and as I turned I saw Nik running to catch up with me.. as I took my earphones off she let me know that they wanted me to move in. She was still smiling and said "we are pretty fast" and I thought. Perfect. I said thanks.. which I assume is what you tell someone when they say you are cool enough to move into their house and walked back with a similar Nikoletta smile on my face. Mainly because I finally felt that I had followed my gut to the right place and because I was tired of relying on Turner house. The move happened that weekend after I called the sweet couple and told them I had found a cheaper place... ( I still fear I might see them as I walk in our neighborhood) but hey you can't compete with 3 greeks~ and a cheap ass rent in the middle of cenral london. The best part about the move was of course the 3 great roommates, but also the fact that I can walk to work in about 30 minutes. It's a wonderful thing for such a big city! The neighborhood is lovely right beside Hyde Park and close to the famous Portobello road which I still have to venture towards. The move was painless except for a minor ankle injury caused by one of my heavy body bag of a suitcase falling on poor Nik's ankle ( I think she just got rid of the bruise) we celebrated my move and Nik's new job with a bottle of Champage, then in true international fashion, we sat around in Spyros' room and watched YouTube videos of Shakira, Juanes, and several Greek artists- none of who I can remember well enough to pronounce or write names for- they were good nonetheless. We talked about the similarities between spanish and greek and continue to find them. Today I found out that pucha-aa word we use a lot in spanish.. or at least in bolivia mean a completely different (a bit more dirty) word in Greek... pucha! Danica knows the real meaning hehe... pero that's the fun of international households.. and I've definitely gotten used to the sing songey greek words that are still meaningless yet pretty to hear.

Since moving in I've been exploring a bit more to places like China Town, Covent Garden, Leinster Square and the famous Soho night life. (Natassa and I went salsa dancing last wknd) Parecia como si baje las gradas a un club en la habana con pura salsa desconocida y movidas prohibidas jeje pero la pasamos bien bailamos y regresamos a la casa. On the way home we found a Saxophone player on the street who was playing to his hearts content and helping the silly drunks on the way home get one final dance in before calling it a night... a fun sight to see and take pictures of! Despues de eso no mucho mas.. el trabajo me esta matando dia a dia pero taking it one day at a time. The final accomplishment worth mentioning is I finally purchased a ticket home for the holidays. Watch out Santa Barbara here I come :) But not before another month of discovering more of what London has to offer. Esta semana tengo bastante trabajo al igual que playtime on Friday meeting up after work with Mia and Klaus and thier kids for dinner at their place after work and then Sat tengo dos cumpleanos que atender un almuerzo de la chica del Spencer(amigo de la Dani) at a restaurant itsallgreektome- that's the name porque obviamente la chica del spencer tambien resulta ser griega jeje.. despues en la noche celebraremos el cumple de mi roomate at paradise.. hmm if only paradise came with a beach and a tropical drink.... I may have to wait until December and home for that. Or perhaps I can make it happen.

Here are some things I thought about these weeks that I think are worth mentioning

Obama winning- of course History in the making must be mentioned and celebrated (in my office's case with little blue cupcakes)

Mami's sesame chicken- because I love it and thought about making some but afraid I'll destroy the taste for myself.

Going back to Chicago- mainly because I miss the people there....:)

Lallopalooza and making it a yearly occurence mainly to see Ash and Joey every year :)

Heather finishing her 4th? marathon this time the infamous NYC marathon- woo hooo
Watching Kobe walk for the first time!! (me watching not him walking) apparently at 9 months he's an expert. Bello mi sobrino!

Acting... Writing... Art in general- then again when don't I think about this.

CNN Digital and the days that were oh so much brighter

California! Because the sun finally came out for a day or half day in London and it made me miss the west coast

Looking forward and onward to who knows what the future will hold ahead... until next time-

Cheers!

Semana 2

I decided to write this week in Gray. To those of you who know me... you might guess why...London is gray so it seems only natural that the font color of this weeks posts be gray. I can't believe I've only been here two weeks. It seems too long yet to short a time. Long because of work and the ever so busy task of finding a flat to live in, but short when I think of two weeks in the states and what I did in that span. So anyway this past week I have spent working and dedicating myself more to the flat hunting I so weakly avoided the first week. I've seen a total of 4 flats so far ( not counting one which I was supposed to see but the people who were supposed to show it to me were not there.) Basically I travelled for an hour to an area I had never been before to see a place that wasn't shown to me. But oh well all part of the fun learning experience I guess. So BEFORE that long unsuccessful trip I met up with a friend from Bolivia Adrian Guachalla who I hadn't seen in five years. One of the perks of travelling is that you can always catch up with old friends who you haven't seen in years and reminisce and catch up on the past x number of years- this is exactly what Adrian and I did. He is currently in London working at the Royal Opera house (pictured below) and he is actually a theater friend who was a fellow Jellicle Cat in the Philharmonic production I was in as well as my undertaker of a "husband" in Oliver. From way back in my musical theater days. (which should tip you off Adrian is also my gay musical theater friend which is why husband is in quotes:).. So Adrian and I went over to the royal Opera house and on the way saw the infamous Square and great Covent Garden Market along with other theater houses. I of course was like a kid in a candy store and loved the hour and a half walk along narrow alleys and crowded streets. You can see some of the traditional pictures of that nice dry Saturday.

So those are some pictures of a lovely touristy Saturday... and the font gets more gray and cold because come Sunday....

I got a taste of the typical London day. It was rainy from the first sun ray and gray till the first touch of black hit the night sky. I must say it is not the best environment to be out and about getting things done. Things like finding a place to live. BUT after a nice Saturday evening I decided I HAD to make myself get out and look for a place. SO today I left my flat around 10:30 ( I must add that the time change happens a week earlier in the UK so I woke up at 11 and thought I was late so headed downstairs to my office to print out a bunch of flatshares from the websites and to call a couple of places to set up viewings. So I saw three places. The first was small but very nicely decorated. It would be a small room with my own bathroom however living with the owner a 34 yr old lady who was very interested in my lifestyle and the fact that I was staying for more than 6months (which has been a problem in my search). The second was waaay tooo small but nice living with two other girls an Australian who works in event management for a Hotel and a British girl who was a bit mean looking and pretty bossy- I named her the head of the flat. But it was just waay to small and made me think of living in a matchbox.. so onto the 3rd. I was feeling disillusioned and exhausted since I had been in the general area sine about 1:30 and my last appointment was at 5. So I headed to the flatshare that was actually looking for a 4-6 months stay. As I looked at the beautiful Victorian entrances I thought this is a place I could see myself living in. However the catch is that the place is a room living with a young couple. They are very nice but they are an older couple looking for someone to rent a room from them. The flat is old but it had a personality and it had a great Victorian feel to it with a modern decorating touch and also gave me the comfort of not having to lie to the owners/flatmates about the length of my stay in London. So now I feel like Goldilocks but I am still not 100% satisfied with either three... and I don't have much more time. I have given myself the personal time limit of this week to find a place and know that it's gonna take some work But by next weeks blog I hope to have a place locked in so that I can finally feel like I'm actually living in London. Here are some pictures of my rainy Sunday in case you wanted to take a look at the area I'm looking at.

Me using one of the AP phones :) A Rainy Fall Day- Pretty Church by flat #3 - Outside Flat #2

So that was my weekend. Besides a crazy Friday night out meeting one of Danica's friends from Fiji who is a great guy Spencer and his friends from an MBA program here in London. The night was fun but the most interesting part about it was an Australian friend I made Kate who turned out to be a great girl who has been living in London for 3 yrs and is 23 and friend with the "Americans" in the MBA program. She gave me some good London advice and gave me her card to go out later so that's nice.. starting to make some friends :) I also met up with Spencer again on Sunday and met his lovely girlfriend from Wales. She is half Greek half British and a great person as well. We went and got Burritos which were delicious after a week of eating potatoes!! ( I had no money for the first week I was here since the bank still hasn't given me a pin number and it takes 3 days for a check to be processed here) But that's a whole different story... anyway it's 1 am and I have to get up for work tomorrow morning since Emirates Airlines sent us a Brief at 5:30 Friday night expecting a plan before noon YAY- the joys of what to expect in the thrilling world of AdSales!

Goodnight all! Besos y abrazos-

Nat

One week in

Hello all! As many people have advised me, (Kellie :) I have started my own blog in order to keep everyone up to date with the many happenings in my life. So far not too many except for the London move which has gone pretty smoothly. I am now in London, cold rainy, gray London. And I'm enjoying it! I must say arriving to city where everyone drives on the opposite side of the street and huge two story buses drive speeding down tiny narrow streets was fun and scary at the same time. Needless to say it took some adjusting. I am now in one week in and still adjusting. As we travellers know it takes a bit to get into the speed of things in a different time zone, let alone a different country.

So in an effort not to bore you I'm going to highlight the events thus far.
Upon arriving into London Heathrow, I walked the miles and miles to customs in which I got questioned for 20 minutes on why I was staying for only 4 months when my work permit stated I was allowed in London for the next five years? (this was my first lesson that perhaps I should have lied on the form) anyway after showing actual evidence that I was indeed allowed in the country, I got let through the shiny gates into the regal city. I then walked another couple of miles to baggage claim and exchanged the thoughtful $100 my parents gave me as a parting gift into the measly 54 pounds that I had for the next week. Gracias mamita!

I decided to exchange money at the airport in case the driver which had been arranged for me wasn't paid. Then I began to panic thinking perhaps 54 pounds isn't enough for such far a drive! I did just get picked up by a very formal driver who probably smelled a whole lot better than I did at the time and definitely looked a whole lot cleaner than my airplane hair, swollen eyes, look I was wearing. Anyway, the driver was nice and spoke all of three words as he stuffed my overstuffed suitcases into his silver Mercedes Benz. - "Where you goin?"

I began to panic yet again as I was sure if my company was nice enough to hire a driver to pick me up at the airport, they for sure were nice enough to tell him where to take me. Luckily I had memorized Turner's address by heart as I had sent dozens and dozens of e-mails to HR and my new team before arriving. So I asked the nice smelling man to drive me to Westminster- Little did I know I was asking him to drive me all the way from the outskirts of London to the very center of the city. Either way, I began thinking as we drove through green pastures that London was different than what I thought, I didn't expect to see much green except in the countryside. I thought all I would see were overly fashioned teens and ridiculously posh women prancing around in the latest (not to be worn by Americans just yet) fashion. However as we drove for the first 20 minutes I began to think of my experience in London as a quaint almost provincial experience.

I was woken from my daydreams by loud honking and traffic as we entered London's center. I began to see the big tall red double Decker buses and got excited to see a different London a busy, crowded London. I thought ok this is probably a more realistic idea of what's to come. And I was ok with the busier non provincial side of things. All the while I kept dodging cars that seemed to be driving way too close to ours and kept doing double takes on cars passing by which seemed to have no drivers in the driving seat, of course I had to remind myself to look in the passenger seat for the driver. (something I'm still not used to)- I kept thinking I could never drive in London!

So anyway I was dropped off at work and found out that no one was expecting me but the security guards with a keycard to the flat I was to stay in and keys to the door on the 6th floor (two floors above my office). The nice young security guard helped me with my overstuffed suitcases and showed me in to my new home for the next several weeks. (Pictures below...) It's a nice- bigger than I expected- flat for one person. With a great modern kitchen including washing machine ( all kitchens in London seem to have their washing machines in their kitchen-) and dish washer- which give the plates more of a slight spray than a wash. Either way it's home and it's been great. Right in the center of London. I wake up and walk the two floors to my desk and sit there and work my little tail off for usually 10 to 12 hours trying to figure out the best way to take care of the numerous tasks at hand, then I walk the two flights back up to my nice flat and start the endless search for my semi permanent flat. It's been a lot harder than I thought, but I have a lead on a couple and will most likely be viewing some tomorrow.

As I head on to my great quests, I thought I'd post a couple of pictures to help with my descriptions of my flat and London in General. :) Until my next London Adventure

Love and miss you all! As they say here in Lodnon-Ta!

Nat