i can't believe it's already been over two weeks since i've been here!
my first week of work was...frustrating. even though i have been with the company the longest out of everyone here, i was still (and still am) the new kid that is ramping up. ramping up on how digital works over here, and how adap.tv uk does things in general. ramping up is simply the worst, but everything will seem normal in a matter of time...i hope.
working in san mateo made it tough for there to be much of a social scene after work because almost everyone drove. it's a different story here! the office is located conveniently next to pubs and the ever so exclusive no. 5 cavendish. on fridays, no. 5 cavendish has a 2 for 1 drink special and is located right next to our building (i work at 4 cavendish). at about 10pm it becomes this nightclub that people wait in line for to get in. we just so happened to stay long enough that they stamped our hands so we could come and go as we please! i called it at night at 12:30.
i'm still trying to decide where to live so i headed up to north london on saturday to walk around and get a feel for the neighborhoods up there. i took the tube up to finsbury park then walked south. i passed by the arsenal football team stadium and eventually ended up at the islington area. north london is a place i could definitely live in because the commute to work would be amazing! the housing in north london is what i think of when i think 'london.' very cute, quaint, and clean. after that i headed over to east london to check out the hackney area. hackney has this reputation of being hipster, but it didn't seem that way to me at all! perhaps it's because i'm used to all hipsters in sf! i could definitely live there. they had the broadway market going on, on saturday which had tons of food stands. everything looked so good! it is also located by this park that reminds me of delores. the perfect place to picnic on a sunny day.
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saturday night i went to a rave. i know...right? tish (my coworker) had an extra ticket so i said, why not!? it was a bunch of djs playing deep house music in two rooms followed by some standing-in-place dancing. it was fun, and i'm glad i went, but it's not something that i'll be doing often. i was the lame grandma who called it at night at 1:30am while the others left at 5:30! i don't know how they do it!
sunday i bid farewell to my airbnb and moved into an empty room in james's flat. james is one of my coworkers who happened to have a housemate move out before their lease ended so i'll be staying here for the next two months before moving into something permanent. it felt really nice to finally unpack my suitcases even if it's short term. i finally feel semi-settled and it sure feels much homier than where i was staying before. james also has two other housemates (zoë and miles). they are all great! i really lucked out. they have been wonderful. we went out for a steak dinner on thursday night then went to the pub and had a few drinks before heading home to surprise cupcakes they got me for my birthday which was on friday! zoë played stevie wonder's happy birthday song and serenaded us with the karaoke set :)
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then i turned 28 on friday! i was a little sad to be away from all my friends and family but i felt the birthday love from everyone around here and online! tish had everyone sign a birthday card for me at work and gave me a some play jewelry as a gift. adam surprised me with a package of chinese condiments to make me feel more at home, a dinner reservation at restaurant gordon ramsey when he comes to visit (three michelin stars!!!!!!!) and then the most beautiful bouquet of flowers showed up for me at work. he spoiled me big time. after work, tish organized a drinks for my birthday so we headed out to a bar in oxford circus and stayed there for several hours. finally james and i called it a night and bussed home at 2am. i was truly touched by how thoughtful everyone was. having all these great people surround me is certainly helping me adjust to life here.
my first week of work was...frustrating. even though i have been with the company the longest out of everyone here, i was still (and still am) the new kid that is ramping up. ramping up on how digital works over here, and how adap.tv uk does things in general. ramping up is simply the worst, but everything will seem normal in a matter of time...i hope.
working in san mateo made it tough for there to be much of a social scene after work because almost everyone drove. it's a different story here! the office is located conveniently next to pubs and the ever so exclusive no. 5 cavendish. on fridays, no. 5 cavendish has a 2 for 1 drink special and is located right next to our building (i work at 4 cavendish). at about 10pm it becomes this nightclub that people wait in line for to get in. we just so happened to stay long enough that they stamped our hands so we could come and go as we please! i called it at night at 12:30.
i'm still trying to decide where to live so i headed up to north london on saturday to walk around and get a feel for the neighborhoods up there. i took the tube up to finsbury park then walked south. i passed by the arsenal football team stadium and eventually ended up at the islington area. north london is a place i could definitely live in because the commute to work would be amazing! the housing in north london is what i think of when i think 'london.' very cute, quaint, and clean. after that i headed over to east london to check out the hackney area. hackney has this reputation of being hipster, but it didn't seem that way to me at all! perhaps it's because i'm used to all hipsters in sf! i could definitely live there. they had the broadway market going on, on saturday which had tons of food stands. everything looked so good! it is also located by this park that reminds me of delores. the perfect place to picnic on a sunny day.
flower stand at the broadway market
saturday night i went to a rave. i know...right? tish (my coworker) had an extra ticket so i said, why not!? it was a bunch of djs playing deep house music in two rooms followed by some standing-in-place dancing. it was fun, and i'm glad i went, but it's not something that i'll be doing often. i was the lame grandma who called it at night at 1:30am while the others left at 5:30! i don't know how they do it!
entrance to the rave
sunday i bid farewell to my airbnb and moved into an empty room in james's flat. james is one of my coworkers who happened to have a housemate move out before their lease ended so i'll be staying here for the next two months before moving into something permanent. it felt really nice to finally unpack my suitcases even if it's short term. i finally feel semi-settled and it sure feels much homier than where i was staying before. james also has two other housemates (zoë and miles). they are all great! i really lucked out. they have been wonderful. we went out for a steak dinner on thursday night then went to the pub and had a few drinks before heading home to surprise cupcakes they got me for my birthday which was on friday! zoë played stevie wonder's happy birthday song and serenaded us with the karaoke set :)
zoë singing her heart out
then i turned 28 on friday! i was a little sad to be away from all my friends and family but i felt the birthday love from everyone around here and online! tish had everyone sign a birthday card for me at work and gave me a some play jewelry as a gift. adam surprised me with a package of chinese condiments to make me feel more at home, a dinner reservation at restaurant gordon ramsey when he comes to visit (three michelin stars!!!!!!!) and then the most beautiful bouquet of flowers showed up for me at work. he spoiled me big time. after work, tish organized a drinks for my birthday so we headed out to a bar in oxford circus and stayed there for several hours. finally james and i called it a night and bussed home at 2am. i was truly touched by how thoughtful everyone was. having all these great people surround me is certainly helping me adjust to life here.
the flowers that adam sent
phil and i at happy hour
some of the adap.tv crew after several hours of drinks. (no, my face didn't have ish on it, it's the camera's fault!)
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