Rain, job, life update

My blog lacks life updates.

I've been going through an awkward phase for the past two years. I've tried not to be all philosophical and Generation Why-ee on the blog. But every time I start writing life updates, things get 'philosophical' and Generation Why-ee real fast. So I delete everything and post some Instagrams! This is me inside a tree.

Here's what's happening. 

London is wet and chilly. Summer hasn't arrived and I'm not sure it will. June was the rainiest June since 1910, and we received 3x the monthly rainfall average in the first ten days of July. For as long as I can remember, the ten day weather forecast has consisted of rows of gray clouds with the occasional red lightening bolt.  Last week I couldn't find my raincoat and refused to buy another one, in protest. (I've since found my raincoat, thank goodness.) It's yuck. I know it's hot in the States, but I would give a little toe for sun and shorts and the sweet relief of a cold beverage. I like London when the sun's out. But the sun's rarely out. And in the never ending rain, it's soggy, dirty, and gray.

One quiet Friday afternoon at the bank, my dear colleagues were googling each other and stumbled across this blog. As they clicked through, I was mortified. I was also very thankful I choose not to discuss my job (in detail) online. If you ever have questions about investment banking or my role in the industry (is that vague enough?), please email me. My internship ends mid-August, and then I'm meeting Hannah in Italy for a few days of traveling. And then… no idea. 

I mean, I have ideas. Lots of them.

I've been busy applying for jobs, interviewing for jobs, worrying about jobs, discussing jobs for a few months now. My strategy targets the continental United States, London, and Australia. I'm covering all my bases. The search has its ups and downs. I love the rush after a good interview and the hope after applying for that perfect job that I'm overqualified for (which happened once, and 24 hours later, I was rejected, but you know… the hope in the beginning was great). I enjoyed writing my first four cover letters, but now I begin every cover letter by opening Word and grumpily typing 'JUST GIVE ME THIS JOB.' 

When I'm in a good mood, it's exciting 'having options' and being young and talking about the future. When I'm in a bad mood, I'm convinced I'm going to be broke, alone, and cynical forever. And if you send me articles about the bad economy, god help you.

I've come up with a system to help me deal with uncertainty. I list all my options and highlight the pros and cons for each.

Some examples.

No job, sleeping on my sister's dirt floor pantry in Alabama 
Pros: sunny weather, being near family, biscuits and gravy
Cons: no money, no friends, no Dave

Or,

Interning for free at a nonprofit or comms agency in Colorado 
Pros: sunny weather, work experience I want, Shelley lives in Denver
Cons: no money, no family, no Dave

Or,

Working in finance in London 
Pros: money, Dave, being in the same place for 1+ years
Cons:  the *&^**%&*! rain, professional angst, I miss my friends

Basically, I will enjoy and benefit from being anywhere, somehow.

Fun things I've done lately: a girls weekend with church folk, staying out til the sun came up, eating lots of pasta and pizza, reading good books. Tonight I might go to a surprise birthday party, if I convince myself to change out of my sweat pants and venture back outside (lame, I know). Next weekend we're going to a friend's wedding in Oxford. Then the Olympics, then Italy, and between now and then, I've got four days off to squeeze in.  

Life ain't too terrible.

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Ricotta scones

Did you hear?

The Queen recently had her sixtieth anniversary of being queen.  Hurray!  The UK loves their Queen (for the most part). We got two days off and people flocked to London and fleets of ships sailed down the River Thames and there was an epic concert and Elton John wore hot sparkly pink under a brilliant fireworks show.

Melissa was visiting over this Jubilee weekend. We went to a musical, ate at a fancy restaurant, enjoyed an indoor British barbecue (it was raining, but my, what delicious salmon), and headed to the pub after Monday night's concert.

Perhaps my favorite part of the weekend, besides spending time with kinfolk, was baking scones. I was feeling grumpy and cold and unpatriotic and our afternoon tea plans had fallen through. So I baked scones. Ricotta and raspberry scones, recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen, to be exact.

They are amazing. Truly delightful. You don't even need to butter them (if you're American) or top them with clotted cream and jam (if you're English). They're perfect all on their own. I've baked them twice in the past week. I will bake them again before the month's over. Do try them for yourself, in honor of the Queen, or just because they are heavenly.

Linking with love: photo from Smitten Kitchen (best food blog ever)

This weekend...

... I had brunch with my friends Trisha and Megan. I ordered:

Heaven. The pancakes were so fluffy. The creme fraiche (what is creme fraiche?) so rich. The berry compote so tart. I almost went back for seconds the next morning.

The seafood and chicken paella Dave and I cooked Saturday night was pretty darn good, too. Fact: you can make very convincing paella and risotto from normal long grain rice.

On Sunday I discovered the charming Candid Cafe. It's tucked away on a quiet street behind Angel Tube Station and makes you feel like you're in on a secret. Cozy and colorful with lots of eclectic furniture and paintings and books. The staff are really rude and the coffee isn't great - yelp.com agrees with me. But the cheesecake is yummy. And we got a little table in the sunshine. I'll be going back.

This weekend...

... I had a couple of pints and a steak pie at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese. It's a classic pub pub, with low ceilings and ornate wooden stair railings and bar tops, and it's been around since the 1500s. If you visit me, I'll take you there.

I watched Hurt Locker and can safely say I'd rather be an investment banker than an Improvised Explosive Device specialist.

Today it's so cold and rainy. My boots, raincoat, and umbrella didn't keep me dry, so I picked up some hearty lentil and sausage stew for lunch.

Right now I'm enjoying hot tea and an MTV special on Katy Perry's greatest hits with my roommate Shadma.

My favorite KP hit?  Teenage Dream, hands down. Doesn't it make you want to be in the middle of summer already?  I want to drive to Cali.

Stay dry, eat some stew.
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Linking with love: rainy London photo

23 Things I Learned When I Was 23

I learned that...

1. Having a tan looks and feels good. I thought I'd embraced my whiteness. Then this summer I got a real tan. And it looked good. And I miss it.

2. Minnesota is a beautiful state.

3. Driving solo for eighteen hours is not a good idea.

4. Pleurisy is the inflammation of the lining surrounding the lungs. Pleurisy burns and hurts a lot.

5. New Orleans jazz is groovy. 

6. Mardi Gras is gross and awful, especially when I'm desperately searching for a taxi at 4am.

7. Alabama has all sorts of funky homegrown festivals that I haven't discovered. 

8. I love bike rides in Grand Teton National Park. Okay, so I love most things in Grand Teton National Park, but I didn't go on a bike ride until my last week. It was one of my favorite afternoons of the summer. We discovered a hidden country store with free gingersnap cookies hot out of the wood-burning oven!

9. If I don't ask, I probably won't receive.

10. Being brutally honest to the right person relieves guilt and makes problems more manageable.

11. Blackberry produces mediocre phones. I'm sorry I cheated on you, Apple.

12. Extra exercise gives me more energy than extra sleep.

13. Six-foot live Christmas trees smell nice, but they're a pain in the ass to get rid of.

14. The City of London is its own separate city; it even has its own police force and tax code. 

15. I may prefer the countryside to city life. But I reserve the right to change my mind always.

16. I'm high maintenance, just like my dad said I was. I thought he was very wrong, but then in the middle of a serious relationship, I discovered he was very right.

17. It's almost always a good idea to meet up with friends I haven't seen in years, even if I think it might be awkward.

I learned how...

18. To skip a rock (sort of).

19. To ski (sort of).

20. To use London's bus system.

21. To crush garlic cloves so that they're easier to peel.

And why…

22. Grown ups don't do extracurriculars... 9-5s make you tired.

And what…

23. P&L, ETD, OTC, and CDS stand for… profit & loss, exchange traded derivatives, over the counter trading, and… I can't remember CDS, actually. I'll get back to you on that one.

Oh!  And the first thing I learned when I was twenty four:  how to make amazing lentil burgers.

Happy Lent(il)...
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London Breakfast Club: Camden Passage Part 2

The Breakfast Club continues to make its way down Camden Passage in Angel! Here are two other places we've tried…

The Breakfast Club

Not to be confused with my breakfast club, this restaurant is trendy indie Angel at its best. 

The décor is colorful and funky, like a wacky American diner, with retro appliances and kitschy trinkets all over. It's cozy, bright, and so hot right now. On weekends, you'll find a line out the door after 10am, no exceptions. And you'll say 'I don't think so' and swiftly move on to another Camden Passage breakfast gem. This happened to me several times last fall. 

Finally this January Australian Hannah and I managed to beat the crowd one Saturday morning. The atmosphere didn't disappoint, but the food did. My french toast was dry and the coffee was only okay. Hannah enjoyed her eggs benedict even though they weren't as good as Gus's (a yummy café in Canberra). And Dave's portobello mushrooms were soggy. Oh no!  

I mean, the food wasn't terrible. But given all the fuss and London prices, I expected yummier. Maybe the cooks were having a bad morning.

The Breakfast Club has several locations around the city and they serve lunch, dinner, and drinks, too. On my birthday last Friday (yes indeed, I'm twenty four!) Dave and I tried the one in Spitalfields. I got a burger with applesmoked cheddar and portobello mushrooms (not soggy this time, hurray!). We had a couple of beers and Dave tried the chilli… all in all, pretty tasty, but nothing mind blowing.

I would go back for the atmosphere. I've heard that at least one location has a secret bar tucked away somewhere, too. Patrons must provide a secret code before entering. All I know is that during dinner people kept disappearing into a 1960s refrigerator… I'll go exploring and report back soon.

Med Kitchen

You can find Med Kitchen in several locations around London. One of Dave's friends reckons they have the best breakfast in London. We beg to differ. You'll have a good breakfast, and it might be better than waiting an hour for a table at Elk in the Woods or Kipferl or The Breakfast Club, but it's not incredible. Unless you're starving and desperate for food, like I was this weekend. Then it's incredible. Does that make sense?  

The menu covers all the English breakfast basics. A couple months ago I had eggs benedict and they tasted vinegary. On Sunday I had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on toast; no complaints, very satisfied. The six boys at my table ordered full English breakfasts and got a lot of food for their buck. And we were all happy with our fresh and blended juices. A couple months ago the coffee was pretty bad, and on Saturday I tasted Dave's cappuccino and it was pretty bad again. 

To sum up: if you go to Med Kitchen, go hungry and stick to eggs, toast, and your juice of choice.

This photo is totally unrelated to breakfast. It just makes me laugh.

Tomorrow is Pancake Day in the UK!  Apparently this is the British version of Fat Tuesday. I whole heartedly approve as pancakes are my favorite comfort food of all time. I'm considering getting up super early and going out for blueberry pancakes before work...

Posts to come this week: 23 things I learned when I was 23; 23 things I loved about my birthday week; skiing photos; and plans for Lent.

Happy Monday!

London Breakfast Club: Camden Passage Part 1

So back in Wyoming, some friends and I started Signal Breakfast Club.

This entailed dragging ourselves out of bed once or twice a week and going out for breakfast together. My favorite place was a cafe at Heart Six, a ranch fifteen minutes outside Grand Teton National Park.

Oh, those views. Oh, their biscuits and gravy.

Then I moved to London, where the urban landscape is only okay and the people don't do white sausage gravy.

But I'm happy to report that I've continued Breakfast Club... because no matter where I go, breakfast is my favorite.

There's a trendy little street in Angel called Camden Passage with loads of cafes and vintage shops. Here are two places in Camden Passage I've breakfast clubbed at so far...

Elk in the Woods

Elk in the Woods is woodsy and rustic (in a trendy not-actually-rustic way) and my latte was good. The breakfast menu is inventive without being too bizarre. I had some fancy pancakes with an unusual fruit compote - they were different and really delicious. Dave had this baked egg and potato thing... frittata, perhaps?  It too was yummy (and healthy). Zara had a traditional English fry up and got the best value for money, in my opinion. The other two dishes were just enough... and just enough is not enough if you like to overeat at breakfast like me.  I would go back, but not if I was starving.

Kipferl

 

I love their website homepage. But that's beside the point.

Kipferl is a self-described Austrian/Viennese place.  The space is open and cool but nothing special. The coffee was good... it might've been very good, but I can no longer remember. They serve breakfast all day long, but you might be tempted by the lunch menu like I was (though I tried my friend's apple saucy french toast - mmmm).  I had a bowl of beefy brothy soup with pumpernickel bread - very nice - and then this: 

STEIRISCHER BACKHENDLSALAT [try pronouncing that one]

Styrian style salad with strips of breaded chicken with pumpkin seed oil 

dressing and roasted pumpkin seeds 

Absolutely delicious. The chicken was tender, the greens fresh with lots of flavor,  and all the pumpkin ingredients, perfect. I almost always prefer breakfast foods to lunch/dinner options, but I had no regrets here. I would definitely go back. And I would probably order the same thing.  Plus apple strudel.

And here's London Breakfast Club: Camden Passage Part 2.

PS!
I went skiing last week!  And I didn't die!  Hurray!  Photos and commentary to be shared shortly.

The fat life

A long time ago, a girl I knew always talked about loving "the fat life." In short, the fat life is the life that feels rich and perfect, even while it's imperfect.

Right now, life is rich and perfect. It's a wonderful feeling. Coming back to London after Christmas, I feel more settled and peaceful. I feel at home. I feel energized when I think about the future (read: job applications). Dan from Wyoming and Hannah from Australia have stopped by for week-long visits; we've had brunch at the Orangery and raspberry cocktails out of teapots and plenty of time for catch-up talks. I've joined a challenging choir. Dave and I are taking salsa lessons (thanks, Groupon). I'm solidifying friendships. I love our church and home group.

I love the fat life.

A holly jolly Christmas

I'm back in London and very happy.  This year I had two wonderful Christmases, one in Alabama, the other in England. Here are Dave's photos from the past few days...

From top to bottom: wearing a Christmas hat at Christmas lunch; pretty lights and nativity scene in Southwold; me and Dave's brother Richard walking along the coast in Southwold; friends and I outside London's Natural History Museum after ice skating.

Happy Halloween!

Last Saturday night we went over to our friends' artsy studio apartment for pizza, wine, and board games. Both our friends do professional photography work (you can google Dizzy Finch London) and got these super dramatic shots of us preparing to dig into the pizza (which we ordered by meter... weird).

I intend to provide a more substantial, wordy update soon, but I never know quite what to say anymore!  Photos are much easier. In brief, I'm settling in nicely... having good days, loving autumn and hot drinks and orange leaves and pumpkin-based foods, taking swing dance lessons, having bad days, getting to know people better, going to Ireland this weekend, still missing American deodorant, deepening my knowledge of Blackberries and Excel... 

You know... life.

I hope everyone had a beautiful October :)

  

Open House London

It was sunny today! So Dave and I wandered around Islington (our borough, or neighborhood) for awhile...  This weekend was Open House London, a kind of celebration of London's architecture by opening up unique homes and buildings to the public, and we visited an architectural photographer's home. It was pretty cool. Along the way, we stopped for ginger beer and lollipops and later for fresh corn, peppers, and potatoes at Chapel Street's Sunday market.

Z is for zed

Yesterday someone asked me what code was invalid. The invalid code was 3TZ and normally I would've said, 'Three, tee, zee.' This time, however, I paused, then replied: 'Three, tee, zed.'


Z is pronounced zed here. I don't know why, and I don't like it. Having lived in the UK before, zed isn't new. But my willingness to conform is. At least when it comes to work speak. Goal 1: sound like I know what I'm talking about (fake it til I make, say zed like the locals, etc.). Goal 2: know what I'm talking about (this is harder). Ultimate goal: be an autonomous, competent part of our team. WHOA DREAM BIG.


On Thursday, some intern girls and I headed to Bond Street after work for Vogue's Fashion Night Out, hoping to run into Gwyneth Paltrow and score some bargains. I was tired and starving, as I am every weeknight these days, and to our pleasant surprise we discovered many designer stores were serving free champagne (the nice stuff I can't afford!), cocktails, and delicious finger foods. I enjoyed nonchalantly walking through a couple boutiques, sipping my champagne, pretending I could afford £800 coats. But for the most part, I sort of felt like Anne Hathoway in The Devil Wears Prada - everyone was skinny and impossibly well-groomed and -dressed, and I hadn't shaved my legs in a few days and was wearing flip flops. 

London is new and I feel like I'm playing a part in a play. Sometimes it's stressful. Like at work when everyone's joking around and I need to ask a question but don't want to feel stupid or interrupt the jokes. Or when I'm walking down the street and the wind's blowing and my hair is frizzy and all in my face and I'm fumbling with my purse and umbrella and Oyster card and I feel clumsy and Anne-Hathoway-in-Devil-Wears-Pradaesque. But it can be inspiring, too. It's like a new school year, except even newer, and I have these first few months to build a different life.


I love weekends. Enjoy yours!

Jolly good!

I'm in England, drinking tea, eating buttered toast with strawberry jam, looking out a huge window... and the street view reminds me so much of the animated 101 Dalmations movie. Classic London architecture and leafy green trees.

My journey was uneventful until I arrived at King's Cross Station and discovered my destination tube stop, Angel, was closed. I conferred with a policeman who said, "you look tough," and decided to walk. With 130+ pounds worth of luggage. Up what I can only assume is London's only San Franciscan hill, because London is always flat when I'm not acting as my own pack mule.

Mountains, banks, & cheesecake

Today I'm waiting on UPS to deliver my passport and UK visa. And then I'll buy a plane ticket, hopefully in time to avoid the hurricane.

The past two weeks have been chaotic. But chaos energizes me. I kind of love it. A few days ago, after I'd applied for my visa, I started getting stir crazy. By noon on Wednesday, I'd almost booked a plane ticket back to Wyoming so I wouldn't miss Signal's annual Christmas party. (It's an old tradition, having Christmas on August 25 when everyone is together. It started in Yellowstone, but we do it better.)

Taken from here.

I miss the mountains. I miss my mountain friends. I wish I could stay there forever - or at least for the rest of the season. 

But London awaits me!  

Can we pause for a moment to count the ways in which London is the complete opposite of mountain life? 

Restaurant work, investment bank. 

Hiking boots, high heels. 

Black bears, black taxi cabs. 

Millions of trees and less than half a million people in the entire state of Wyoming; millions of people and itty bitty green spaces. 

But I love city life. It'll be nice to have dozens of ethnic restaurants in my neighborhood, to walk everywhere, to catch buses, to see shows and museums and street theater, to stay in on rainy days with a cup of tea, listening to the comforting hum of the street below my window. And pubs. There are pubs everywhere. And meat pies. And bookshops.

I'm also excited about working in an investment bank, primarily because I never, ever thought I would ever work in an investment bank. A brief explanation: I'm part of a business internship program that helps Americans find jobs in London-based companies. Technically, it's not a "real job" because I'm not getting a paycheck, but practically, it's a real job. I'll be working full-time in the bank's risk management department. Didn't I major in English and history? Yes, yes, I did. Do I know anything about finance? Not very much, no, but I have been paying more attention to NPR's finance features. That's a start, right?

I think this job will be a huge and satisfying challenge. Lots of people quit jobs like these and embark on round-the-world journeys and call that the adventure... I'm doing it in reverse. And if I'm awkward and awful in investment banking, if I hate it after 12 months, I can dislike - and avoid - the industry for the rest of my life, knowing that I gave it a shot.

Kind of like I do with oysters.

And who knows? Maybe investment banking will be like cheesecake. I thought I hated it for years, and one day I tried it. The rest is history.

Well...

On Wednesday, I said goodbye to the mountains...

...and am headed to London some time this week!

What a whirlwind. 

Teton photos, London updates, and stories in general to follow shortly.

North, west, east

This is my last week in Alabama for a few months! I'll be sifting through stuff, packing, and visiting with folks --- also one of my good friends from elementary school is getting married!  I haven't been to a wedding in a long time.

Last week I heard back from my NYC interview and I'm in!  I've decided to fully pursue this UK option, which means over the next month or so I'll be interviewing with different companies in London. Hopefully I'll find a good fit. Then it's all about visa and plane ticket getting!

Bonus feature: Shelley got accepted and to my delight has decided to move to London, too. Of course, Shelley or no Shelley, I'm overjoyed about London because Dave's there and I love England and I'm ready to work at a real job. If you'd asked me five years ago if I'd happily move back to the UK, I'd have said "YES!  But that's probably not going to happen." Surprise surprise.

But it'll be extra great with Shelley around. I feel incredibly blessed to have such good friends. And I feel extra incredibly blessed to have them in my daily life after high school and college are over. (Speaking of these people, Hannah's 23rd birthday is today!  Celebration!)

I finished Elizabeth Gilbert's book "Committed" this week and she writes about us building intimacy by sharing stories at nighttime. Mostly she's writing about romantic relationships and marriage, but her words remind me of friendship, too:

"This is intimacy: the trading of stories in the dark."

I spent awhile remembering the many times I've stayed up until 3 or 4 in the morning just talking with my friends. In a tent on a rainy night. Wandering around, lost, in a big city. On the couch long after the movie ended. On overnight buses.

Real friendship.  It's good stuff.

Vague plans & stuff

Howdy folks!

I'm having a productive night.  So far, I've cooked green chicken curry for dinner, emailed a professor, messaged a friend in NYC about staying with him when I fly up for an interview (!), and written a postcard to my friend Lauren who recently moved to Bulgaria with the Peace Corps. The remainder of the night will include a workout and some research and essay planning.

Operation UK update:

Since my first offer, I've gotten a second university offer and an interview in New York for a business internship program.  It's official --- I've got options!

When I went home last weekend, several people made comments like, "so you're moving to London, huh?"  This confused me because, at that point, I hadn't definitely decided to move to London. It's a big and complicated decision. But the bottom line is, I want and need to move to London. And already I have two, maybe three, ways to do it.

So, I would like to officially declare that I am officially moving to London in the fall! I don't have a visa yet, or a plane ticket, and goodness knows things could change. But screw being cautious --- if I can help it, when the leaves go orange, I'll be moving into a tiny flat and drying my clothes on radiators and buying my groceries at Sainsbury's (and being a teeny tiny 2ish mile walk from Dave --- what?  no jet lag?). I've already researched community gardens where I can grow organic tomatoes and cool choirs that maybe someday will let me sing with them.

Hip hip hooray :).