I will try to sum up the past few days as briefly as possible, less for your sake and more for mine, considering that I just took a Melatonin and didn't get back from work today until around 7PM.
Monday... I don't think there was anything particularly noteworthy about my day at work, other than the fact that I felt like a true Londoner, or at least a true commuter, while making my commute. I've noticed in the past week that a lot of Londoners wear headphones -- iPod earbuds mostly -- on their way to and from the tube stops as they make their way to work. I thought that this would just be confusing and probably lead to my being hit by a car because I wouldn't be paying attention, but I decided to live life on the edge and try it anyway. I figured I'd keep the volume at lower level so that I could still be aware of everything around me (including traffic and large buses approaching me), but loud enough so that I could have a soundtrack accompanying me on my way to work. Honestly, I have to say that having music playing in the background walking to the tube, and then being on the tube, definitely made my commute a lot more enjoyable. It sort of got me ready for the day and I found myself wanting to tap my foot or, more dramatically, break out into song (or use some of my sweet dance moves).
My work day was good, but it was when I got home that things just seemed to go from bad to worse. It started raining as I got off of the tube and made my way back to Nido, but even that wasn't particularly bad, especially because rain seems to be an almost every day occurrence. I made a list of tasks I needed to accomplish that evening and so I set about trying to complete each one. My boss gave me Friday off from work since my cousin, Amanda, is coming to visit, so I knew that I would need to book train tickets and hostel tickets. I had so many credit card issues, mostly because of some SecureCode feature that I was unaware of and did not have the code to, that I could not make my purchase the first time. I had to call MasterCard and talk to someone who was not particularly patient nor helpful, and then in a fit of frustration, hung up. My mom had to call the credit card company and straighten everything out and then I finally was able to book the tickets. With that done, I set about booking a hostel -- and seeing as though I only knew that I'd have Friday off as of that day, I was booking very late. There were few hostels available and only one that could host both me and my cousin for two days. I found myself only getting more frustrated as I booked my hostel, displeased with the way the whole planning process was going. Not only was it a tedious process, but it was also expensive.
Meanwhile... In the midst of my travel plan issues, I was doing laundry. Now, I might not be the most domestic person in the world, but I certainly know how to do laundry. I put my laundry into the machine, let it wash and then transferred the two loads of laundry over into the dryer. I returned 45 minutes after putting the clothes in the dryer only to find that my clothes were still damp. Thinking that another hour would do the trick, I reset the dryer and went to deal with booking my train/hostel for the weekend. An hour goes by, I'm already frustrated from my previous issues, and I return to retrieve my clothes. I open the dryer, and what do I find? Soaking wet clothes. None of the dryers worked and the technician hadn't come in to repair them yet.
Now, if I had been at home, or even in my room at school, this would not have been a huge issue. But my damp clothes, combined with the fact that I had already been upset with all of the obstacles from booking my train and hostel earlier AND the fact that my room is about the size of a shoe-box, made this very difficult and very inconvenient. Unfortunately, my roommate was in the same situation, so we had about 3-4 loads of damp laundry air-drying in our room. We draped our clothes over our desks, over the closet doors, in the bathroom -- everywhere -- and there still really wasn't enough room. I went to bed with the smell of laundry detergent permeating through the air, seeing as though I had the wet clothes right next to me on my desk. It was a nightmare, and I was just hoping that some of my clothes would be dry by the next day.
Tuesday... I tried to approach Tuesday with a positive attitude seeing as though the previous evening had been full of frustration and inconveniences. I wasn't going to the office that morning though. Instead, I met my deputy editor and the photographer at Heathrow Terminal 5 to do some interviews with British Airways customers and employees, asking them questions regarding the 2012 Olympics being hosted in London. It was an interesting experience. We would approach different people at the airport, and some were more receptive than others. A few people rejected our requests to talk right away, while others enjoyed the chatting. I was more excited than nervous though, but I think that had to do with the fact that I was out of the office and interacting with people. It's always kind of exciting to listen to other people's stories and hear what they have to say or where they're coming from.
After getting some opinions from people, we got to ask some of the BA employees questions too. We went behind the scenes to the lounge-like area where the employees, including cabin crew and pilots, go to hang out. I'm so used to only seeing the airport from a customer perspective -- only hanging out in the Terminal or wandering around the internal convenient stores -- that I failed to realize that there had to be a place for the employees of the airport too.
Once we finished up with all of the interviewing, I got to see British Airways headquarters at Waterside. The building reminded me of a mall, with one central sort of walkway in the middle with stores and offices on either side. Windows were a main part of the building, and surprisingly, it was sunny outside so there was a ton of light and warmth streaming into the building. It was sort of confusing because I knew it was an office building, yet there were stores, a mini-grocery store/market, and even a hair salon inside of it. I also got to check out British Airways' heritage museum which stores the company's history, including mannequins donning uniforms from over the decades and model-airplane-size replicas of the types of jets and planes that used to be flown. The day definitely went by a lot faster being in a new place and seeing new things. I guess the only downside was that the commute was about an hour -- but even that wasn't so bad because I just popped in my earbuds and let Lady Gaga take me back to Kings Cross.
I am happy to say that most of my clothes have dried and my trip to Paris is booked. I'm leaving Friday morning with Amanda, so I will definitely have plenty to share -- especially considering neither of us knows French and we will need to navigate to reach the Eiffel Tower.
Off to bed!
Monday... I don't think there was anything particularly noteworthy about my day at work, other than the fact that I felt like a true Londoner, or at least a true commuter, while making my commute. I've noticed in the past week that a lot of Londoners wear headphones -- iPod earbuds mostly -- on their way to and from the tube stops as they make their way to work. I thought that this would just be confusing and probably lead to my being hit by a car because I wouldn't be paying attention, but I decided to live life on the edge and try it anyway. I figured I'd keep the volume at lower level so that I could still be aware of everything around me (including traffic and large buses approaching me), but loud enough so that I could have a soundtrack accompanying me on my way to work. Honestly, I have to say that having music playing in the background walking to the tube, and then being on the tube, definitely made my commute a lot more enjoyable. It sort of got me ready for the day and I found myself wanting to tap my foot or, more dramatically, break out into song (or use some of my sweet dance moves).
My work day was good, but it was when I got home that things just seemed to go from bad to worse. It started raining as I got off of the tube and made my way back to Nido, but even that wasn't particularly bad, especially because rain seems to be an almost every day occurrence. I made a list of tasks I needed to accomplish that evening and so I set about trying to complete each one. My boss gave me Friday off from work since my cousin, Amanda, is coming to visit, so I knew that I would need to book train tickets and hostel tickets. I had so many credit card issues, mostly because of some SecureCode feature that I was unaware of and did not have the code to, that I could not make my purchase the first time. I had to call MasterCard and talk to someone who was not particularly patient nor helpful, and then in a fit of frustration, hung up. My mom had to call the credit card company and straighten everything out and then I finally was able to book the tickets. With that done, I set about booking a hostel -- and seeing as though I only knew that I'd have Friday off as of that day, I was booking very late. There were few hostels available and only one that could host both me and my cousin for two days. I found myself only getting more frustrated as I booked my hostel, displeased with the way the whole planning process was going. Not only was it a tedious process, but it was also expensive.
Meanwhile... In the midst of my travel plan issues, I was doing laundry. Now, I might not be the most domestic person in the world, but I certainly know how to do laundry. I put my laundry into the machine, let it wash and then transferred the two loads of laundry over into the dryer. I returned 45 minutes after putting the clothes in the dryer only to find that my clothes were still damp. Thinking that another hour would do the trick, I reset the dryer and went to deal with booking my train/hostel for the weekend. An hour goes by, I'm already frustrated from my previous issues, and I return to retrieve my clothes. I open the dryer, and what do I find? Soaking wet clothes. None of the dryers worked and the technician hadn't come in to repair them yet.
Now, if I had been at home, or even in my room at school, this would not have been a huge issue. But my damp clothes, combined with the fact that I had already been upset with all of the obstacles from booking my train and hostel earlier AND the fact that my room is about the size of a shoe-box, made this very difficult and very inconvenient. Unfortunately, my roommate was in the same situation, so we had about 3-4 loads of damp laundry air-drying in our room. We draped our clothes over our desks, over the closet doors, in the bathroom -- everywhere -- and there still really wasn't enough room. I went to bed with the smell of laundry detergent permeating through the air, seeing as though I had the wet clothes right next to me on my desk. It was a nightmare, and I was just hoping that some of my clothes would be dry by the next day.
Tuesday... I tried to approach Tuesday with a positive attitude seeing as though the previous evening had been full of frustration and inconveniences. I wasn't going to the office that morning though. Instead, I met my deputy editor and the photographer at Heathrow Terminal 5 to do some interviews with British Airways customers and employees, asking them questions regarding the 2012 Olympics being hosted in London. It was an interesting experience. We would approach different people at the airport, and some were more receptive than others. A few people rejected our requests to talk right away, while others enjoyed the chatting. I was more excited than nervous though, but I think that had to do with the fact that I was out of the office and interacting with people. It's always kind of exciting to listen to other people's stories and hear what they have to say or where they're coming from.
After getting some opinions from people, we got to ask some of the BA employees questions too. We went behind the scenes to the lounge-like area where the employees, including cabin crew and pilots, go to hang out. I'm so used to only seeing the airport from a customer perspective -- only hanging out in the Terminal or wandering around the internal convenient stores -- that I failed to realize that there had to be a place for the employees of the airport too.
Once we finished up with all of the interviewing, I got to see British Airways headquarters at Waterside. The building reminded me of a mall, with one central sort of walkway in the middle with stores and offices on either side. Windows were a main part of the building, and surprisingly, it was sunny outside so there was a ton of light and warmth streaming into the building. It was sort of confusing because I knew it was an office building, yet there were stores, a mini-grocery store/market, and even a hair salon inside of it. I also got to check out British Airways' heritage museum which stores the company's history, including mannequins donning uniforms from over the decades and model-airplane-size replicas of the types of jets and planes that used to be flown. The day definitely went by a lot faster being in a new place and seeing new things. I guess the only downside was that the commute was about an hour -- but even that wasn't so bad because I just popped in my earbuds and let Lady Gaga take me back to Kings Cross.
I am happy to say that most of my clothes have dried and my trip to Paris is booked. I'm leaving Friday morning with Amanda, so I will definitely have plenty to share -- especially considering neither of us knows French and we will need to navigate to reach the Eiffel Tower.
Off to bed!
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