Success!

Good news everyone! I have found a GREAT apartment in a great area with a great roommate. It is on the border of Shoreditch (southern/western Hackney) and Islington Green (southern/eastern Islington) if that means anything to you. It is a very modern place, which is difficult to find in London. It has a doorman (safe and secure so my mom is at ease) and a gym. The apartment is 2 bed, 2 bath with a big common area and extra closets - also hard to find in London. The commute to work should be pretty simple by bus, tube or walking and there are lots of restaurants and shops near by. My roommate is Nigerian and she studied in the States. She is an investment banker at UBS. I met her today and we had a nice chat. Last night I saw the place with the girl who is moving out. There is sufficient furniture for all of my stuff and plenty of room to relax, etc. Yay!!! Thanks for your prayers and thoughts, I could really tell they made a difference as it was about the time people were reaching out to me and saying they were praying that everything worked out...just like I knew it would!

No One Mourns the Wicked

One good thing about London (in my opinion, anyway) is the plethora of really amazingly good theatre! I have just been to see the show Wicked, which is the prequel to the Wizard of Oz, basically. It's the story of how both Glynda and the Wicked Witch came to be and carries through the end of the story that we know as the Wizard of Oz. It was brilliantly done and so neat to be seeing a show in London! I chose a midweek matinee to cut down on crowds and I was able to scoot over in my seat to a place that was 20GBP more, but unoccupied. Only 10 rows back - a great place to watch any show!

I am in Victoria now, right across from the theatre. This is a small theatre district and there is another big one near Covent Garden/Leicester Square. All of this is collectively called the West End. Well, I might be a bit off on my definitions of areas (in case anyone's checking) but the West End is where you go for theatre. And a lady landlord who drove me around the other day showed me a small theatre in Kilburn where many big shows start before they come to the West End. A good way to get in on the beginning of something big...for a much better price!

Today I got a temporary phone and without even using it yet, I feel much more comfortable. This means I can use the computer and the phone at the same time and hopefully have some better communication with people that I'm trying to contact about rooms. If you'd like to call, get yourself an international phone card with a good rate to the UK (not sure what a good rate is...) and call 00 44 7767 052 654. Remember I am 7 hours ahead of Denver!!!

That's it for now. I'm off to do some more apartment hunting.

Apartment Hunt

I haven't had much luck yet finding an apartment, which is really discouraging so far. I'm very hard to get ahold of since I only have a land line and since I'm out learning the city, I'm not at home much. I check email 2-3 times a day and send out emails that many times as well, but it seems not very many people get back to me! I have seen many things online that seem promising, but I won't know until I can get ahold of some of these people. Just sharing my frustration with you so it doesn't overwhelm me. I have until Sunday to find a place and I know in the end it will all work out.

Finally in London

Well, everyone, here I am in London! I don't have my own computer or phone, so communication is VERY difficult. I had no idea how reliant I was on those things. But I am having a good (although difficult) time learning London and enjoying exploring different neighborhoods and tourist attractions too. Ben left today to head back to the States, so now I am all on my own. :(

We went to Paris on Weds/Thurs and that was great! I'm very glad Ben was with me, because now I know not to go there by myself! I have lots and lots of pictures of both Paris and London but I will have to wait until I have my own computer (early Feb) to share with you.

I just wanted to update everyone to say I'm here and doing great. Today I am searching for more apartment contacts and trying to get some shopping done. Cheerio!

Wild Blue Yonder

Well, everyone tomorrow is my last day in Denver. Late tomorrow (Thursday) night I'll leave for a quick (2 day) stopover in NYC on my way to London. By noon GMT (5 am MST) on Sunday I will be in London! The last couple weeks have passed very quickly and I haven't gotten to see or talk to everyone I would want. But I'm not falling off the face of the earth. Shockingly enough, London has email! (That was my sarcasm poking through.) Anyway, I am still available, although temporarily offline over the weekend.

During my first week in London I will set up a new bank account, look at a few apartments...and take a trip to Paris! I booked the train tickets today and am looking forward to that adventure. Stay tuned for some great pics of my first week!

4 weeks of "vacation"

Friday was my last day at Deloitte in Denver. I had a very nice lunch with many of my friends and then I had a going away party. I had such a great time talking with everyone and was very happy to see so many friends. Some who I currently work with, some who I used to work with and some I've never worked with but came out to support me!

Today was my official last day in my apartment. I had a couple friends help me move the last of the big stuff out and now it is safely in the new owner's garage. I am living with a couple friends for the next 2 weeks while I help them remodel their house and also do all of my pre-move things - doctor visits and seeing friends mainly.

My next day of work (at Deloitte anyway, not counting remodeling!) will be February 4 and I'm looking forward to learning about my new colleagues and my new position.

I'll try to get some pictures from my party posted before I go. Very soon I will be having more exciting pictures of Europe!!!