Graduation.

FINALLY!!
I'm back!! So much has happened since I last posted. I literally had the title of my next blog "Graduation" with an introduction but never got around to finishing it. I have had the chance to do some really fun trips and would like to start keeping a record of things for myself, and I hope they are interesting enough for you to read too!

On Monday November 21, 2011.... my course finally had our graduation ceremony!! YAY. We actually recieved our results in October but it was still a nice feeling that is official. I am not really into formal ceremonies, the main reason being my last name starts with a "W" so it always takes forever for it to be my turn to stand up and walk across the stage.

The ceremony was in Royal Festival Hall which is located right near the Thames so it had an amazing view. It was nice for everyone to celebrate with our families.


Afterwards, a group of us went out to dinner to celebrate with a proper British meal, at a bistro pub called, Fire Station. I absolutely LOVE this place, everytime I have been I always seem to find something good to eat. Also they do the best "chips" (chunky french fries). They are a little bit crispy on the outside and fluffy & potatoe-y on the inside. Yum!!! I highly recommend this place for a midweek meal because it's so easy to get a table in the resturant but it's a really fun after work atmosphere.

Quarter Life Crisis, #2?

Last August, I turned 25, and I guess I can say I did experience the phenomenon of a quarter life crisis.

 I quit my job, went back to University, and moved to a new country.

If you're lucky enough to be younger than me & are curious then you should probably check out this website: http://www.esm.vt.edu/~sdross/text/quarterlifecrisis.html

I thought the whole quarter life crisis thing was a joke but apparently there is some truth to it. According to an article in the Guardian, "Being twentysomething now is scary – fighting millions of other graduates for your first job, struggling to raise a mortgage deposit and finding time to juggle all your relationships." <-- whole article


Awesome. So now I am 26, I should have everything all figured out, right?  I guess, you'll have to keep checking my posts. But... I can tell you i had a really fun 26th birthday!  Turning 26 was a much less stressful experience, even down to the party!


I keep trying to explore different parts of the city & try new restaurants but sometimes that is hard when I find one that I LOVE! For my birthday dinner my mom, my American friend Audrey & I  went to a place called Caffe Vergnano ! It is AMAZING. I have not been to Italy yet, but to me it seems really authentic. Our server was from Italy, and even the dryer in the bathroom was an Italian product. We shared a bottle of Proseco (Italian version of champagne), bruschetta, and I had seafood pasta. My favorite course was, of course, dessert & I had tiramisu. I look incredibly bloated in all my pictures we took after that but... I think it was worth it. 


Afterwards, we went to a place called The Sugar Cane in Clapham ! It was really fun, and I have not been anywhere like it in London! It is has a Tikki-Bar theme, two floors, and really yummy drinks. They actually had an amazing special of two for 1, £6 cocktails! It was a little out of the way, but it was nice not to have the Central London prices, places for everyone to sit, and skipping waiting in a long "queue" to get into the bar.  


It was an especially fun evening because a few international university friends came as well as new friends who are local Brits. It's always nice to see your friends meet & get along with your other friends. Hopefully, one day I will be somewhere where Undergrad, Post Grad, Work, High School and British friends can all be in one place, although, I am not sure everyone would be able understand each other. 

top 5 things I wish I knew before starting my Masters!

1. Do not buy the books before the first day of class

When I was in high school or in undergrad I felt like it was important to show up to class having brought all the required texts on the syllabus. The majority of professors this year, however, did not follow textbooks exactly or used a vast amount of supplemental material. One professor even said, "Do not buy that book even though it says required on the syllabus." What a waste of money. I would recommend waiting until the first class to make sure you actually need to drop the £70 at the book store. Also, the library has copies of any book so you can always borrow them

 *important note do not depend on a library text book during exams because it wont be there!

2. You can add more money to your student card online
One of the biggest dilemma's any student faces at Uni Westminster is the terrible printers. The school just doesn't have enough! On due dates there are lines out of the door! DO not wait until the last minute to print something! Most people rely on getting change and manually adding it to their cards with the machine. Guess what will happen:

It is much easier to to do it with a card online, just remember to bookmark the page when you are not in a panic because it can be tricky to find it.

 https://isls-tcs1.wmin.ac.uk/balance-uow/balanceentry.jsp

3. It is not embarrassing to ask someone their name
Coming here I have been exposed to many new names and last names. In the beginning it was hard for me to pronounce many of them. I would normally ask them to repeat it but after the first time time I was embarrassed. Guess what, if you are struggling with someone's name... someone else is most likely having a tough time too. It is slightly embarrassing in the first 5 minutes to ask them again but it is 10 million times more embarrassing when you are trying to introduce them to someone else at a later date. Asking them how to spell it can help, and if you still cant get it then give them a nickname :)

4. You NEED to practice before you give a presentation
I am pretty comfortable presenting in front of a group, and public speaking doesn't scare me the way it used to. Even when you are in a group with members that are good at speaking, make sure you schedule time to go though your presentation a minimum of 5 times. It is important to have transitions and most importantly TIMING. Professors are picky about the timing.

5.Think really really carefully before you chose a dissertation topic
This one seems self explanatory. Of course, but take it a step further than choosing something that you are interested in, or have experience in. It helps to really be thorough in determining that you can find enough data, and you will be able to write the 15,000 words. Quite a few of my classmates & I decided to change topics after receiving our proposals back. This is not the end of the world but obliviously takes away time and is stressful.

Royal Wedding!!

People from back home keep asking me about Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding.  At first, I wasn't very excited. What exactly does the Royal Family do? Not a lot of Brits have been able to give me a satisfying answer. Most people simply say that the family is good for attracting tourists which is important income!

I watched the movie The King's Speech but this didn't really help either...but I did enjoy it!

But then it happened! Little by little, I have become really really interested in all things Royal Wedding related. I read all the stories, look at magazines, and am even considering getting a hat. Stores are selling memorabilia even pillows with their faces and even THESE (&%&??!!)

My fascination, I think, happened because I love Kate Middleton. I love learning about her dress (one of my friends has a friend who knows the designer!) and what she is up to now that she is about to be a Royal.

I love learning about her because there are more and more things that I like. She shops at Top Shop, at one point worked a 9-5 job, goes to the gym.... ok, I guess that's where the similarities between us end.

Richard Lowe, head of retail and wholesale at Barclays Corporate says: “Kate Middleton is expected to do for many British high street names what Michelle Obama did for J Crew in the US. Shoppers really
get inspired by these big glossy images of her in styles which are very accessible.”

I recently found out that Lifetime has made a movie about the story of William & Kate so for all of you back home who wont be able to get near Westminster Abbey can watch THIS!

Some Events

This year my uni has really encouraged us to attend as many events as possible to learn about different industries and most importantly, network.  Some of them were really interesting and fun!

Professors and our class representatives have planned several Marketing Symposiums each semester. Different speakers have come just to speak to our program!

Some pictures: (I actually got these from the blog: (http://mbsmarketingthinktank.blogspot.com/)

In the past few weeks I also attended:

Technology for Marketing and Advertising Exhibition 

We talked to different venders, and heard several different speakers. The two I enjoyed most were Boots and Acuity.

Boots is basically an equivalent CVS or a Rite Aide. They have cosmetics, pharmacy, grooming products, odds and ends like that. At home, Target actually carries "Number 7" make-up.  The Boots speaker told us all about their loyalty card program which was really interesting.

With information they collect on the cards they are able to figure out who is shopping in their stores and want they want!  They know so much they offer different specials tailored to each location.

This is the Boots ad I have seen the most:

Acuity http://www.acuity-ets.com/

is a company that specializes in eye tracking! They use glasses to follow what your eyes focus on when you look at an ad. 

Last week I attended the the  international food & drink event (IFE). One of the professors at University of Westminster had a stand promoting a beverage called fresco. I had the best time! Different vendors brought their products from literally all over the world. I made the mistake of not eating lunch before but by the end I was actually full from trying different samples.  Some pictures:

London Fashion Week

Finally, an update!

Two weeks ago I had the chance to go to a really exciting event, LFW!! It was held at Somerset House which is huge & beautiful. Here's a link to learn more about the actual building, http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/about_somerset_house/. 

 I was really impressed with all the lights & I am searching for more pictures!  

Entrance to Fashion Week:

Of course, all the important people see the real runway shows in the daytime during the week, so sadly, no celebrity sightings.  The show we saw featured 3 popular designers & one of them actually made the costumes for the movie Black Swan!! (On a side note, I really enjoyed that movie and if you haven't seen it... you should!!)

One of my favorite things that I learned about is "color blocking" which is really in! It is when you wear very bright colors that clash. Since my absolute favorite pieces in my wardrobe are LBD's this was a little new & I decided to try it! 

Models Color Blocking

ME! color block-ing on the runway

As you can see from the picture room was pretty small so we had a really good view! It was interesting to see the models. The presenter made a point to tell the audience that the designers had deliberately chosen to use models of all sizes. This was probably in response to the Size 0 Debate as fashion designers received negative attention for only using very very very thin models.  

After watching the show & seeing the women up close we all decided that we are glad we are not models. It seems very difficult and honestly, they were not as glamourous or pretty as we were expecting. After watching Victoria Secret 2011 Fashion Show I felt a little fat & depressed but in the up close & real life fashion show... I was really glad I had just eaten a huge hamburger! =)

We chose to buy "Gold tickets" which came with free gift bags! Slightly disappointing the contents were a lot of dental products but I love the actual bag :)

SOTU 2011

I watched/read the transcript of the 2011 State of the Union Address this morning. I am always struck by how the President is SO articulate. One of my favorite quotes:

‎"We are part of the American family. We believe in a country where every race and faith and point of view can be found, we are still bound together as one people; that we share common hopes and a common creed; that the dreams of a little girl in Tucson are not so different than those of our own children, and that they all deserve the chance to be fulfilled."- President Barack Obama

I MISS EVERYONE !

CV's

Recently,  I began working on my "CV" which stands for "Curriculum Vitae"! In Latin this means "course of life" and (at first) I believed it is a synonym for the American word "resume". However after researching online and a discussion with some  friends I found out that there are some pretty significant differences.

Some people informed me that a complete CV requires some personal information. I was shocked! ONE extreme example: I found CV that revealed a person's martial status, age, health status, and hobbies.

This one is completely fictional:

D. Buckham
Contact:
Buckingham Palace, La, CA
db@gmail.com
900-092-9929
Nationality: English
Languages: English and conversational spanish
Marital Status: married
Birthday: 10/8/1970
Health: multiple knee injuries
Hobbies: watching Manchester U.  and designing purses with my wife

After speaking with another person (not from UK) I learned in some countries it is now common practice to add an image of yourself on your CV!

Hobbies can show off your desirable strengths or traits.  My fictional candidate's hobby could reveal an interest in the arts and creative ability.... (?) A picture helps employers remember a perspective employee's name/face after an interview.  In the states, there are very strict laws during the application and interview process.  Despite the some of the positive aspects of the detailed CV's, I think the costs might outweigh the benefits of this practice. This story just was in the news: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12161045

Regardless, if I include my hobbies, I think my altered resume/cv has improved in 2011!

Abbreviations

Hi Everyone!
Sorry I am behind. However,  I am waiting for SOMEONE to send me some pictures so I can properly fill you in on my Christmas break!

I am working on responding to emails and procrastinating. One of the things I have realized recently is  that I have conflicting feelings about abbreviations. This is probably because my mother hated them so much. I was taught to say, "Yes" instead of "Ok" because that word was not "proper" English. What does OK even stand for? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okay] If the word "Whatev" came out of my mouth I would probably be grounded depending on the context and how I innotated.

This, of course, was all before the prevalence of the internet & before me or any of my friends had cell phones. In the year 2009 (...I am being generous) when my mom figured out how to text she has changed her stance on this issue.  For example, I receive "When R U coming home?" pretty frequently.

After being surrounded by people who are not native speakers of English (and English people for that matter!!) I am frequently exposed to abbreviations on a daily basis. Many of them I never knew existed!
When typing and texting I often have to consult friends to decipher the meaning of some responses I receive.

I have discovered two categories of abbreviations:

The first I consider to be Necessary Abbreviations. This is the style of abbreviations that I feel comfortable using. An example would be the text above, or many are acronyms. The main reason for using these would be to save time in a realtime chat (fbook, gchat), or maybe to simplify a fast text message.  I am not a fabulous writer, and I cannot spell!!!! The abbreviations have a purpose for making things easier and messaging more efficient. To me, there is a significant difference in typing "over the top" and simply putting OTT.

Some examples:
fb=facebook
brb= be right back
wtf= "welcome to facebook"
smh=shaking my head
ott=over the top  (This one is British! It's really fun to use, try it!)
omg= oh my gosh
bff=best friend forever (bf= is boyfriend , which is is why this is different)

Ones I use... but probably should not:
ppl= people
u=you

The second category are Unnecessary Abbreviations. They completely baffle me.
Some examples based on an anonymous & completely random messages I have received via text or Facebook.

1. miss ya loadz!, hpe u gud thoug!


-loadz- not an abbreviation, but WHY the z and not the s?
-hpe=hope*
-gud=good
-thoug=though*

Some more: 
ve=have
dem=them
da=the
ma=my
ya=you
wat=what

I have never heard anyone say "da" instead of "the".  It is just one letter short of the real word so why not just type "the"?  Changing "my" to "ma" doesn't really make sense to me either. Why not just put the correct letter? 


I suppose "ve" instead of "have" you are saving typing two characters. 

Can anyone explain this to me?

Well,  I am now off to a virtual group meeting via Skype. I am pretty excited to see how this works!

I miss everyone back home. xoxo

more fun stuff: going out!

When we are not in the common room, or eating... we are out!!

London is similar to DC because there are a lot of fun places to go!

My new friend Mark, our social director, promotes for different clubs!

mark & me 

My favorites so far:

http://www.chinawhite.com/

http://www.embassylondon.com/embassy/london/

Fun stuff!

So what do we do when we're not in the common room?? We eat ALOT and party!

Sometimes people host dinner parties! Yum! <3 It's really fun because each person is from a different country & lives in a different part of London. 

Some pics!!

THANKSGIVING!! I actually celebrated twice which was nice! I really missed this holiday. It's a little hard to explain Thanksgiving it's so fun!   

Throw back pic: Thanksgiving 2007 at the Mounts! 

Classes of course were not cancelled so it was a normal day, until 5:00PM! Kailee, my friend from NY, who is an amazing cook hosted Thanksgiving at her apartment! It was amazing & we had all the LOTS of the traditional food. English stuffing tastes a little different but overall it is still good!! Between us we had a lot of wine :)

On Saturday we hosted a thanksgiving dinner at ours!!

THREE desserts.

this is my mom's favorite tablecloth. it is from the 70's, can you tell? it is NEON green and orange.

i made this!

Finally, an Update!!

I don't know where to start! Sorry, I have not been updating my blog.  Let's see... since October and my last post my life has changed because of classes getting harder & harder!

For each module (class) we have had a to complete an intense group project! It has been SO much work. I have learned a lot about ME! Would I like to work with myself? Maybe!  Yes, because I think I am reliable, hardworking, and PROMPT!  But, also NO... because maybe I am a little grumpy when I hungry!! :)

Thank you to all my group members!

 In one of the buildings there is a little room called the "Post Graduate Common Room" .

It has become all everyone's second home. Some proof:

fadi sleeping

Miguel sleeping

Rishi sleeping

Valeria just taking a break!

I have never taken a nap in the common room because I DON'T want a pic to end up on the internet :)


So, what have we all been working on?

Some highlights:

For my Advertising Management and Brand Delivery Class, our group had to be an "Ad Agency" and create a pitch for  any product that we chose!

 10TENX

we were created on november 10, 2010

We chose Whole Foods. It's been in London since 2007 but it's not doing very well compared to the States!

One of the print ads we created:

 For my Consumer "Behaviour" Module:
 My group had to create a youtube presentation based on our paper. We chose CHIPOTLE!! yes, ill admit it- this one was my idea!

My group member said she would kill me if I posted the entire thing but this is the introduction featuring... me!! Just an FYI I had strep and a fever during filming which is why I do NOT look my best.

 I don't have any cool pictures or videos from the other projects! Sorry!

Happier Post- Pictures from last week and weekend!

Last week I was able to go to some museums, see friends and spend time some the family

About 7 minute walk away from our flat is Kingston Upon Thames .  It is really scenic & relaxing. I went running along the river a few nights ago and it was really beautiful when the sun was setting! When I was little my grandpa & I would go on walks & always bring a bag of bread and feed to their local swans. They are so pretty but surprisingly large & aggressive. Make sure you throw the bread as far as you can because they are always hungry & will try to get very close to you :)

home to lots of hungry swans & ducks

me, evie, lucy on my iphone 

if you have some extra time to kill, look at THIS. It my uncle's youtube video for his hobby.  I was really surprised to see that it had 24,539 views!!

I was also able to try a new museum, the London Design Museum. Unluckily, I didn't take any pics but it is my new FAV place to go! It has a a really cool exhibit with so many different things. My favorites were about fashion (Alex McQueen, environmentally friendly furniture, as well as new inventions. My friend was really impressed with bikes that you can fold up! My favorite was the PANDAS!!!!!!!! Loads of rows of little toy pandas with red eyes are connected to a motion detectors. They "watch" you move and can spin around as you change direction. Make SURE you youtube that video! My friend and I walked around in circles several times, which was def entertaining!

Some pics from the photo exhibit at another museum the  V&A!! 

Crazy right! Some guys I know CLAIM they are huge redskins fans... would you do this?!! Their roster might take up more space!

classic LBD from 1955: I am OBSESSED

in a new city be VERY aware of your surroundings :(

I had some bad luck on weds. I went to lunch with some friends at a nice restaurant (yum! on baker street) that wasn't very crowded. I was texting with several classmates, checking email and doing stuff with my iphone. A homeless man walked into the restaurant and approached our table, I turned to look at him and PUT MY PHONE DOWN. He said he wanted to sell us a newspaper for 50 pence and displayed it on the table. We all said no thank you and within 2 minutes the restaurant owner escorted him outside. About 5 minutes (UGGH!!!) later I wanted to check for responses on my phone and it was GONE! He had SLID my phone off the table underneath that dirty awful newspaper, right under my nose!!! I ALMOST gave him 50 pence!!!!!!

Apparently, professional thieves do this all the time. After speaking with several classmates I felt SLIGHTLY better (No, not really!!!) because this is a frequent occurrence and I am not the only IDIOT out there. Everyone had a similar story about themselves personally, a family member or friend that was scammed & robbed. One friend had his wallet stolen in the same fashion (newspaper trick), another girl's friend had had TWO iphones stolen within a week of each other, and were lots of stories of stolen purses, phones, wallets, passports etc. I am hoping insurance will cover my phone but if not i will miss it & the apps, photos, music, GPS, etc, very very much. 

:(

the "Big Smoke"

 I am getting into a more routine schedule with school now that induction are over! I have classes 4 days a week Mon-thurs which means I always have a 3 day weekend!

I have been going out in London, seeing some museums, spending time with new friends, and seeing some family!

No question about it- London is it dirty! One of the yuckiest things I have noticed is when all stores, restaurants, shops etc close the staff simply leave their huge trash bags outside on the street. They must be picked up very early in the morning.  I snapped a picture when i was in Leicester Square a very popular  tourist area last night.

YUCK!!!!

I didn't have very good luck with my camera because none of the other pics from that night turned out that well! :(

words!

One of my friends has a blog and created a list of her favorite british sayings! She came up with:

1. Rubbish. Usually meaning garbage or junk, but also often quoted as such, “I did this essay the other day. It was rubbish.”

2. Que. Said instead of line up. ie. There is a large que right now to buy train tickets.

3. Query. A question or inquiry. I also love the way inquiry is pronounced here - “in kwee ree”, instead of “in kwi ree”.

4. I love love love the way Londoners pronounce the word Yogurt as Yogg gert. Just watch the move Notting Hill with Hugh Grant and skip to this part to see what I mean…

Spike: “This yogurt tastes as if it’s gone a wee bit sour.”

William: “That’s because it’s not yogurt. It’s mayonaise.”

…..

I can ADD to this list:

1. People here do NOT refer to anything over the age of about 10 as school:

school= American elementary school

college= American high school

university=college & grad school

and everyone shortens it to just "uni"

2. "brilliant"= awesome, sweet, (or Kewl for a certain population in rockville)* of course we do have this word in the states it is just used in everyday convos or as frequently!

3. Stunning=hot, pretty, good-looking

4.full stop= period (.), the symbol to show the end of a sentence

5.brolly=umbrella**

(**my mother might have made this up as she is the only one who i have heard actually say this)

6.redtops= crappy newspapers like the Mirror or The Sun

7.prof= professor or teacher

some of my favorites

I have been exploring some of London's Tourist Attractions, Museums, and Art Galleries.
Here are some of my favorite pics I snapped with my iphone!

The London Eye! this was taken from London Bridge. You can actually go on it at nighttime I think! There is always a insanely long line but you sit in a little box on the wheel and you can see the whole city.

(friends from class Rashie, Neelam, Fabio, Stacey and Sahill. They rep India, Russia, and Italy!)

Pictures from Regents Park! Everything that you would expect from an English garden. We can actually walk here from campus in about 10 minute.

New Diet

A few people know that since I have been here I have been experimenting with a vegan diet! I choose to try it for health reasons. Many people have been very confused with the decision and it has been really challenging because, of course, i love meat & cheese (as you can see from my previous post).

To my surprise, it has not been as difficult to cook or go out with friends as you would expect! I have had no meat or cheese and only a handful of dairy products since Dulles airport.

I'll show you some things that I have been eating recently:

*My first experience cooking with puff pastry ... haha hopefully it will be better next time!

I am a fan of chicken pot pie & i was trying to replace it with something with veggies.

Alot of things I have been trying! Fake meat seem to be pretty good with the exception of sausage. It alls tastes good with alot of Franks!(yes !!! hot sauce has made it over here)

Eating out:

London is such a diverse city there are soooo many choices! Alot of great vegan/vegetarian options!I had actually met up with friends at a wonderful restaurant called "Gourmet Burger" and was able to leave full & happy!

                                                                   my "burger"

Last night I went to a restaurant called "El Cantara"in SoHo. Soho I think is my new favorite spot & i can't wait to go back!! Unluckily... all I took a picture of was the sangria! haha, yes since  it is a new change I have cheated a little bit. I have had 2 hot chocolates from the school's coffee shop, a gin & tonic, and a few glasses of sangria!