My Russian housemate Elena is quite a character. It's been a while since my last entry. Today me and Lena went to Hamstead Heath up in North London. It was quite a nice area of London where wealthy Londoners and celebrities lived. There were big and posh houses that were mostly detached. We went to the Hamstead Park which was a lovely big park that you could cycle in, walk your dog or just go for a lovely stroll. I saw quite a few squirrels but forgotten to take my camera with me, however Lena had brought her dying one to take some posing ones.
Like a whinging pom now, I have to describe what it's like spending your day with her.
Lena is quite an opinionated girl who is studying public relations in London is waiting for her visa to renew.
I've been out with her a couple of times during my short stay here and I think I have finally figured it out. She is your typical 24 year old Russian blonde(bleached of course), blue-eyed girl that is hoping to stay in London after her studies and not return back to her hometown Russian city in Minsk. She is on a Russian community website where she meets all her random men and takes them along for a ride.
Don't get me wrong but she is a really nice person but I find that Russian girls are only after one thing in a guy - as long as he's got a well paid job and is older that they are (I mean at least a decade) then, only then will they agree to go out with them.
Today we went on 2 buses to get to Hampstead Heath. In saying that, I ignored the nagging feeling at the back of my head that use to say, Lena is a tight and she likes things 'cheap and cheerful' and we might end up walking half of London, in today's case uphill. On the way there, we reached our destination with no problems. I have noticed that everytime she took me out somewhere, it feels like she's only been to the places once and second guesses at the turns and short cuts we should be taking to get there.
For lunch, we wanted to find a little nice cafe to sit in and have a snack. There were many lovely cafes along the road and the weather was quite nice today. As most Londoners would do, Lena insisted on getting a table outside the cafes.... everyone that we passed has seats on the inside which seemed just as appealing to me. Everyone else had taken up the tables outside, I didn't see a problem with sitting inside as the cars that passed by were probably polluting the food and drinks we were about to eat. Half and hour later, we finally found a good enough place to eat which was cheap and had a seat that was indoors but has all the doors opened so the sunshine could reach the table. I was relieved, we both ordered a pizza each.
On the way back, because she didn't want to take the tube as the bus will be cheaper, we ended up taking the bus in the wrong direction. Then she ran out of credit on her oyster card (as usual) and only ever carries 10quid with her everywhere she went (hence my new found cheap and cheerful places to eat at in London). So we had to find a tube station for her to top up since a bus trip without an oyster card is twice as much.
Lena doesn't really have many girl friends and only ever gets along with guy friends, in saying that I found that going out with her meant that we only did what she wanted and if I was to stop and look at the things that she didn't want to see, she would stand around looking bored and ask shall we go if she got impatient. She is quite opinionated and always has to be the one to have the last say.
On our way back, we decided to stop off at Kilburn which she raved about the little shops it had along the high street. So I looked forward to it. Kilburn is a dump. It looks totally run down and is heading towards the rough part of London.
We walked along and I told her I wanted to look in Primark. I wanted to buy some cheap underwear that I could easily throw out. Primark always sell a set of bra and brief for 3quid. When she saw that there was a long queue which was moving quite fast I thought, she said "why don't you go to other shops and I'm sure you can find them elsewhere". By that, I gave up and let her off. Then during out shopping stroll, she wanted ice-cream. We walked passed an ice-cream van and I asked if she wanted it still, her response was "oh if we get ice-cream, I'd prefer getting the one at McDonald's" which was 200metres back from where we were. I was about to slap her. We soon forgot about that.
One great entertainment I find about her is when she talks about the men in her life. She literally have men crawling to be with her, or have them trailing behind. Currently she is seeing her ex from a year ago but is also seeing a 49 year old Aussie guy from Melbourne who is an entrepreneur, but she has no intentions of having a romantic relation with him... so I was curious and I asked her why she was going out with him. She said that he took her out to expensive 3 course dinners in London and that was solely the reason and if he asked her out for dinner again, she would not refuse. She never cease to amaze me with her stories of the men in her life. Another guy who'd I'd met was called Nick (who was a splitting image of Russ) who is in a relationship with another Russian girl from Moscow, is planning to pay for her to come over to London for a month but while all that is happening, he is trying to woe Lena to be his. Lena is not attracted to him because he's somewhat like a commoner and is quite tight with his money however her gestures of affection towards him does not surprise me to see him craving to have more than just a friendship.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
bring on my first trip
This is coming to my 4th week in London now. Wow it seems like I've been here for such a long time already. There are a lot of things to do here but I really want to hire a car and go on a road trip to visit northern England, I want to see the beautiful countrysides I saw when Steve took me on a road trip and staying in the cute villages with their quaint pubs. You definitely need to get use to London in order to live it the its fullness.
I'm not sure if I really like their summer weather. As soon as I get on the tubes or buses, its stuffy as and there are no good ventilation through them, so if you get a smelly person, it permeates through the entire area.
Anyway I am getting ready for my trip to Berlin, I have an itinerary that I am going to stick to. Will post it as soon as I find out how to attach a word document onto blogger.
I'm not sure if I really like their summer weather. As soon as I get on the tubes or buses, its stuffy as and there are no good ventilation through them, so if you get a smelly person, it permeates through the entire area.
Anyway I am getting ready for my trip to Berlin, I have an itinerary that I am going to stick to. Will post it as soon as I find out how to attach a word document onto blogger.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
lindsey and her smoking habits
No wonder I feel a bit strange when I am in the house. With hardly any windows opened, I've just be informed by Lena that its very common for people to mix tobacco with weed and that Lindsey does it all day long. Gosh and I have been feel not 100% since I've moved in.
On another note, on Friday a film directed by Woody Allen called "WASP 09" will be filmed on our street the whole day. The cast includes Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Naomi Watts, etc. They will be filming at the exterior of 17 Powis Terrace! Not far from number 5!
On another note, on Friday a film directed by Woody Allen called "WASP 09" will be filmed on our street the whole day. The cast includes Anthony Hopkins, Antonio Banderas, Naomi Watts, etc. They will be filming at the exterior of 17 Powis Terrace! Not far from number 5!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
brick lane and east london
Today Helena, my Russian housemate took me to Brick Lane market in East London. This famous area is well known for its roughness and the dodgyness as I witnessed what people were selling. It was like a bric-a-brac market with a focus on vintage clothing. There was a huge diverse range of food stalls which was pleasing, a lot of African, Morrocan, Spanish, Japanese, Malaysian, numerous Indian (one that we can barter with for a free bottle of wine) and poor Chinese food.
Lena took me to Brick Lane first and my impression of it were not surprising, most people packed whatever used items of clothing or house hold items and lined them up along the pavements and placed a price on it. Not many tourists around, it seemed more like local people here trying to find bargain vintage clothing. East London is certainly poorer and it showed in the buildings which were covered in grafitti. There were rubbish every where on the streets and lots of black Africans and Indians dressed in hommy clothes looking like gangsters hanging out in the dodgiest parts of London. It wouldn't be safe there at night. There were people selling all sorts of junk you could find. The orientals here were selling pirated dvds and they would go into a corner with a customer to discuss which film they wanted to watch. Me and Lena realised as we scooped past that there were actually selling porn and trying to be discreet. It was funny to watch.
After this she took me to Spitafield markets. It was more up market and classier to walk through and it was under cover. More cafes and places to eat. Lena found a goldish necklace with a gun and a rose on it. She thought it was very clever, so she bought it. Mind you she didn't stop going on about it for the rest of the day and worst to come when she put it on, she kept asking me if I liked her necklace. I bought a cute little stringed necklace with a square ceramic pendant. There was a cute loveheart handpainted onto it so it looked really simple and sweet.
Next up we found our way to the flower market. A very famous place apparently. The entire street lined up with florists selling flowers that I'd never even seen before. It was beautiful. Everyone was waiting for the end of the day to arrive so that when time comes, all the sellers will try to get rid of everything. You could easily buy 3 huge bunches of roses for a fiver! My favourite were sunflowers, they were gorgeous, bright and big.
It was a very good day indeed. I got to see the other side of London which I didn't have chance to the last time I was here. We were both very tired by the time we got to the tube station.
Lena took me to Brick Lane first and my impression of it were not surprising, most people packed whatever used items of clothing or house hold items and lined them up along the pavements and placed a price on it. Not many tourists around, it seemed more like local people here trying to find bargain vintage clothing. East London is certainly poorer and it showed in the buildings which were covered in grafitti. There were rubbish every where on the streets and lots of black Africans and Indians dressed in hommy clothes looking like gangsters hanging out in the dodgiest parts of London. It wouldn't be safe there at night. There were people selling all sorts of junk you could find. The orientals here were selling pirated dvds and they would go into a corner with a customer to discuss which film they wanted to watch. Me and Lena realised as we scooped past that there were actually selling porn and trying to be discreet. It was funny to watch.
After this she took me to Spitafield markets. It was more up market and classier to walk through and it was under cover. More cafes and places to eat. Lena found a goldish necklace with a gun and a rose on it. She thought it was very clever, so she bought it. Mind you she didn't stop going on about it for the rest of the day and worst to come when she put it on, she kept asking me if I liked her necklace. I bought a cute little stringed necklace with a square ceramic pendant. There was a cute loveheart handpainted onto it so it looked really simple and sweet.
Next up we found our way to the flower market. A very famous place apparently. The entire street lined up with florists selling flowers that I'd never even seen before. It was beautiful. Everyone was waiting for the end of the day to arrive so that when time comes, all the sellers will try to get rid of everything. You could easily buy 3 huge bunches of roses for a fiver! My favourite were sunflowers, they were gorgeous, bright and big.
It was a very good day indeed. I got to see the other side of London which I didn't have chance to the last time I was here. We were both very tired by the time we got to the tube station.
random
Quite glad to be in London at this time of my life. Now I can say that I was out of boring Adelaide and not having to deal with the boredom and settled life that everyone has succumb to. Least I can go out whenever in London and go eat or see some theatre or go to a museum. If I feel like it I can go away on weekends to a different country and go on an adventure. Least then I can go back to Adelaide and be more settled.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
portobello market
Finally got there! Around 2pm, I had managed to get off my butt and walk down to the market which only took a few minutes. I was very pleased that I'd finally made it after being here for 2 weeks. There was such a diverse range of things to see. It was amazing. I lived extremely close to the fruit and veg part of the market and the food looked amazing. Of course there were plenty of tourists on a Saturday but no doubt, I saw stalls with seafood being deep fried in a huge wok, paella being cooked in these massive circular pans, chirozo sandwiches with a Greek salad, Africa food, crepes of all sorts.... the choice was extensive I wanted to try it all.
Then further up the street were clothing stores of all sorts, Indian stores with beautiful lanterns, some commercial branded shops and down the other side of the Portobello road were the classic antique stores. It seemed to stretch for miles.
It was extremely warm being in the sun today, in Adelaide this weather would be very cool but it was because the humidity was present which made it ten times worst somehow. every where I went I felt sticky and hot. Not many shops had any air conditioning so I wonder how they would survive if the day was 35C on a humid day.
Apart from that I didn't have enough time to walk the whole market because Manchester had asked me if I could lend him 40quid for the week as he had lost his wallet after his big bender. I had to go meet him at Westbourne Grove, he couldn't remember where my place. When we met, I gave him a good piece of my mind and told him off for being so irresponsible. Now I will wait to see if I will get my 40 quid back on Friday.
Anyways, Lindsey bought some pork chops and I quickly pan fried them up with some cajun seasoning along with some boiled potatoes and broccolini. Now I will relax on my Saturday night and watch something on television. I miss home today. I miss Toffee and going to visit Steve in Bridgewater.
Then further up the street were clothing stores of all sorts, Indian stores with beautiful lanterns, some commercial branded shops and down the other side of the Portobello road were the classic antique stores. It seemed to stretch for miles.
It was extremely warm being in the sun today, in Adelaide this weather would be very cool but it was because the humidity was present which made it ten times worst somehow. every where I went I felt sticky and hot. Not many shops had any air conditioning so I wonder how they would survive if the day was 35C on a humid day.
Apart from that I didn't have enough time to walk the whole market because Manchester had asked me if I could lend him 40quid for the week as he had lost his wallet after his big bender. I had to go meet him at Westbourne Grove, he couldn't remember where my place. When we met, I gave him a good piece of my mind and told him off for being so irresponsible. Now I will wait to see if I will get my 40 quid back on Friday.
Anyways, Lindsey bought some pork chops and I quickly pan fried them up with some cajun seasoning along with some boiled potatoes and broccolini. Now I will relax on my Saturday night and watch something on television. I miss home today. I miss Toffee and going to visit Steve in Bridgewater.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
you think you know when you don't
I am regreting my abrupt decision to going away with Dave to Berlin in early August. Last night I went out with Dave for a Japanese meal to talk about our trip together. I had the feeling during the day at work, he didn't want anyone else to know about the trip we were about to go together on, in case people thought that we were a couple. I felt like yelling at him and saying who cares, you are going home in a few months and there ISN'T anything going on between us, I will make sure and clear about that to everyone should they ask. Yuck, go out with Dave, enough said. Dave works in CSU which is basically specimen reception and preparation. Before I left back in January 09 to go back to Oz, I got him in contact with Jackie from Reed Health who has now switched him over to having a better pay package.
Our dinner didn't really go as smoothly as it should have. As you begin to get to know a person once you're out of the working environment, you begin to realise how different you are to them. The only thing I had in common with Dave was that we work together in the same medical industry and we are both from Australia. Everything else differed greatly. He preferred paying for branded clothes in high street shopping areas where as I can easily go into Primark or Uniqlo or H&M to find my bargains. Our talk about the trip was quite was unsatisfactory, I suggested that we stay at a hostel to meet other people while he said that he likes to have his own time alone and rather a hotel. So he suggested that I can stay in a hostel while he stays at a hotel. Go figure.
I think it came to the point where he became really comfortable with me at that stage. With what and how he felt about me, he started describing about my character as a "outsider" describing to me my actions of the way I've come into the laboratory to work. He said that I am a person with attitude, I felt extremely offended and asked him what he meant. He said that I walked around the lab like I was stuck up and that I was better than everyone else. Then because I confided in him about how crossed I was about the lateness issue with Alison, he said that I shouldn't be complaining because I should be greatful that I have a job and that I should be happy that I have a job to go back in Australia. Having him say to me when he didn't know me at all, I was deeply offended. I told him that I was extremely greatful for my job back in Adelaide and that I am very happy I have that to go back to when my UK trip is over. I explained that there must have been some misunderstanding but he didnt want to listen.
After this, Manchester texted me and wanted to meet up, I suggested to him that we all meet up and explained to Dave that Anthony was a great chef who has earned a michelin star is about to star in the youngest masterchef launching on TV in September. He has also scored a place in Hell's Kitchen after masterchef.... Dave had no incling nor reaction to anything I said, his reactions were mundane and monotonous. Nothing I said seemed to impress the poor guy. So I bluntly said that he was someone that was hard to please... to my surprise, he willingly admitted that he was. With that, the mood of the evening was set. After dinner, Manchester was running late, Dave departed back towards Tooting and I headed for Bayswater to meet up with Manchester. I am seriously having second thoughts about our trip. Even on facebook, he checks everyday along with gmail. He has not added me on as a friend on there so I have taken it off today. I might start looking for hostels in Berlin.
Our dinner didn't really go as smoothly as it should have. As you begin to get to know a person once you're out of the working environment, you begin to realise how different you are to them. The only thing I had in common with Dave was that we work together in the same medical industry and we are both from Australia. Everything else differed greatly. He preferred paying for branded clothes in high street shopping areas where as I can easily go into Primark or Uniqlo or H&M to find my bargains. Our talk about the trip was quite was unsatisfactory, I suggested that we stay at a hostel to meet other people while he said that he likes to have his own time alone and rather a hotel. So he suggested that I can stay in a hostel while he stays at a hotel. Go figure.
I think it came to the point where he became really comfortable with me at that stage. With what and how he felt about me, he started describing about my character as a "outsider" describing to me my actions of the way I've come into the laboratory to work. He said that I am a person with attitude, I felt extremely offended and asked him what he meant. He said that I walked around the lab like I was stuck up and that I was better than everyone else. Then because I confided in him about how crossed I was about the lateness issue with Alison, he said that I shouldn't be complaining because I should be greatful that I have a job and that I should be happy that I have a job to go back in Australia. Having him say to me when he didn't know me at all, I was deeply offended. I told him that I was extremely greatful for my job back in Adelaide and that I am very happy I have that to go back to when my UK trip is over. I explained that there must have been some misunderstanding but he didnt want to listen.
After this, Manchester texted me and wanted to meet up, I suggested to him that we all meet up and explained to Dave that Anthony was a great chef who has earned a michelin star is about to star in the youngest masterchef launching on TV in September. He has also scored a place in Hell's Kitchen after masterchef.... Dave had no incling nor reaction to anything I said, his reactions were mundane and monotonous. Nothing I said seemed to impress the poor guy. So I bluntly said that he was someone that was hard to please... to my surprise, he willingly admitted that he was. With that, the mood of the evening was set. After dinner, Manchester was running late, Dave departed back towards Tooting and I headed for Bayswater to meet up with Manchester. I am seriously having second thoughts about our trip. Even on facebook, he checks everyday along with gmail. He has not added me on as a friend on there so I have taken it off today. I might start looking for hostels in Berlin.
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