Are you ready for some football?

Hi Everyone,

Let me first just say that I am putting the following behind me:

- Getting detained for 6 hours, searched and fingerprinted at Heathrow
- Losing the company portfolio before my very first meeting with the new boss
- Visiting every police station in zone 1 my first week in London (looking for the portfolio)

What I learned:

- Indian women don’t particularly like me
- Always check the taxi before you leave
- The police in London are useless. You might as well call yourself an officer of the law

It’s all in the past. It’s time to move on….

Okay, let me get right into it.

Eating & drinking: Let's just say there is no lack of either. Vacation mode must be over immediately. I appreciate the hospitality, but I have to stop. I went out for drinks or dinner every night this week. The plus--I didn't have to pay. The negative--I have fat face. So with that said, the party is over. I really need to fall into a normal routine. It was fabulous while it lasted & it was good for me because I was social and met a lot of people....but, the party is over and it’s time to detach from vacation mode. Major Heathrow Injection.

Brick Lane: This is a famous street of Indian restaurants. At first I thought, why all the hype? How good could the Indian food be in London? Well, the moment the food got to the table, I couldn’t stop eating. It was brilliant! (as they say in London). I will be sure to bring you all there when you come for a visit.

Work: I am still slowly getting into it. The people are nice. At this point they have to be nice to me. I will have more on this topic as the months go on.

Soccer “football’: All I have to say is “bouncy, bouncy bouncy!” (I will have more about that later)

I can't count on my hands the amount of times that I said I could never get into soccer. Well, I was wrong. I got invited to a Chelsea game by an American, Justin. I actually connected with Justin through Mo (Mo’s cousin is dating his cousin). He has been working in London for two years and he has season tickets. The stadium is a 5 minute walk from my flat so it’s very convenient to go to a game. Although, tickets are next to impossible to get so it won’t happen very often. Anyway, what an experience! It’s nothing like soccer in American. It’s basically the American football of Europe. The fans are actually much worse than watching fans go at it at a Giants-Philly game. They won’t even allow the away and home fans sit together. When you go to a game it’s a full day experience. First, you go to the pubs that surround the stadium. They are absolutely packed and worse than Oscar’s on a Saturday night (for you Scranton people). You walk in and everyone is chanting, singing and jumping in the air. They have specific songs that speak to the team and the players. There must be about five or six of them. My favorite is bouncy! bouncy! bouncy! (Catchy tune) After the pub scene, you go into the stadium, grab some beers and start chanting again (they love the chanting). I had 3rd row seats so it was awesome to see the game so close. The players are amazing. They run up and down the field for 45 straight minutes, with no timeouts or commercial stops. There is only one 15-minute break the entire game. There is no subbing unless someone gets hurt. I can see why they get paid so much money (more than American football players) because they have major skill and are insanely fast. The fans go absolutely nuts the entire game. In conclusion, I admit I enjoy soccer. There I said it. I can’t wait to go to another game.

Cable/Internet: Still none of that. They didn't show again. Take 3 on Friday. Customer Service is awful in London. To be continued…

Weather: Nothing lower than 42 so far. Winter isn't so bad here. Yes it rains, but it usually rains for a few hours and then it stops.

Coming to America: I finally feel settled and now I have to go home next week for my Visa. See you soon!

I still have an entire city to explore. I still have to check out the museums, go the park when it's warm out, see some shows, visit the markets, go inside the palace….on and on and on…. Hopefully I will get to experience a lot of that with some of you.

Until the next one….