Well, my birthday weekend was a blast...I had half a thought to extend it and take one of my remaining annual leave days on Monday to make it a long three-day weekend, but then I remembered a home visit I had scheduled, so off I went to work yesterday. That's okay though, I'll take that day off on Friday Feb 2nd, which is the weekend of my yoga and hiking trip to the Brecon-Beacons in Wales. And then I've allocated my other three remaining annual leave days to a trip back to the States. I found an amazing fare online, so I will be going home for a couple of days, driving up to Boston for Nicole and Rob's wedding, then coming back to NJ in time to catch a flight to Peru or Costa Rica with Viv (we're deciding and booking everything this week), followed by a couple more days at home before I come back to the UK. Woohoo, let the new annual leave time begin! Five weeks of vacation a year definitely does make Allison a happy little worker bee. No word yet on my next rotation or potential move to Senior II, but you can bet I'll be posting on here when I do.
Anywho, on Saturday, we went to this amazing little restaurant/bar in Shoreditch called Cantaloupe. Limited menu,with a Spanish-North African influence, but everything was delicious! Everyone absolutely loved the meal, and it turned out to be quite the popular bar as well. Our meal ran pretty late, and the bar was just rammed by the time we left. 15 people decided to sing "Happy Birthday" at the top of their lungs (a few of those were big blokes with some sizeable lung power) and I was burning bright red by the end of the rendition, realizing quite a bit of the bar had joined in...I was bombarded with calls of "Speech, speech, speech" and then forced to deliver one standing in front of both strangers and friends. As embarrassing as that was, however, it was also a lot of fun, and I got a taste for being up higher than everyone else-- I later took advantage of the speakers at Ministry of Sound to dance on a stage, as it were. Technically not allowed, according to a sign posted on the speakers, but then nobody kicked me off either. Ministry was fun, although the "house" music tended toward techno and electronica. Around 2am, a live band went on, which I loved, but the headliner DJ who was on from 3:15 to 4:30 or so was a bit of a let-down, even for Nicole's boyfriend Dave who had been really looking forward to hearing this guy spin. But regardless, it was a great night, and I spent most of Sunday sleeping to recover, only getting up to join Nicole and Dave for a curry in the late afternoon. After which we watched Arsenal beat out Manchester United-- our house being Arsenal supporters :) I've got a few pictures below from Nicole's camera, haven't uploaded mine yet. Again, thanks to everyone for the cards, messages, flowers, and pressies!
Showing posts with label bars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bars. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
The Birthday Week
I was at one of my quarterly AMPs meetings this afternoon, which means I was at the Institute for Neurology in Queen's Square. This put me within short walking distance of Covent Garden. Some simple addition: It's January. I am the only person I know who has plenty of money left until next payday on the 31st. My birthday is on Friday. And the January sales are on...so yes, this equals Allison went shopping. For as much as I have boasted that I don't shop, I save my money for travel, this month, I broke that rule. Got some great stuff, and boy was it fun :)
Plans are coming together for the weekend. On Friday for the benefit of my co-workers, I decided to stay close by, and chose a pub that's a popular meeting spot for work things. I invited everyone on the stroke unit at the beginning of this week, and the OT team from the day hospital too. This morning I was in the main department for our weekly meeting with the acute stroke unit, and saw a big sign plastered on the door of the main office telling everyone to come out for my bday after work on Friday (thanks to Nicole, the little sneak who emailed someone in that office). So Friday has actually turned into quite the big event. But Saturday is the still the night we will be painting the town red. I've just now made reservations for 14 people for a restaurant/club in Shoreditch. We'll have some drinks at a bar or two in Shoreditch after dinner, during which time about 6 more people will be joining us. And finally around 11:30 or so we'll end up at Ministry of Sound, where at last count 10 more people will be arriving. I have a fabulous new birthday outfit with some new red lipstick too-- I figure this birthday calls for a little drama, don't you?!
Plans are coming together for the weekend. On Friday for the benefit of my co-workers, I decided to stay close by, and chose a pub that's a popular meeting spot for work things. I invited everyone on the stroke unit at the beginning of this week, and the OT team from the day hospital too. This morning I was in the main department for our weekly meeting with the acute stroke unit, and saw a big sign plastered on the door of the main office telling everyone to come out for my bday after work on Friday (thanks to Nicole, the little sneak who emailed someone in that office). So Friday has actually turned into quite the big event. But Saturday is the still the night we will be painting the town red. I've just now made reservations for 14 people for a restaurant/club in Shoreditch. We'll have some drinks at a bar or two in Shoreditch after dinner, during which time about 6 more people will be joining us. And finally around 11:30 or so we'll end up at Ministry of Sound, where at last count 10 more people will be arriving. I have a fabulous new birthday outfit with some new red lipstick too-- I figure this birthday calls for a little drama, don't you?!
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Sunday, November 05, 2006
The Fun Never Stops
Boy, have I been busy, and the fun never stops...I still have some stories from last weekend (Halloween weekend) which I hope to get to today, and this weekend I have been partying with housemate Nicole and some friends of hers who are here visiting from the States. On Friday night, we went to the Ice Bar, where literally everything is made of ice-- the tables, the seats, the bar, the glasses you drink from, the walls. You get a heavy parka sort of thing thrown over your head as you go in, and you only get to stay for about 45 minutes-- which I think has less to do with the owners being worried about people getting too cold, and more to do with wanting to get as many people in and out to make as much money as possible! We then went on to a club called Tiger Tiger for a little bit, which is where Nicole and her boyfriend Dave first met, a little over a year ago. And finally, we had reservations at Sugar Reef, a club you often see pictured in the papers with celebrities like Victoria Beckham (Posh Spice) falling out of its doors in the wee hours. We had a fantastic time, and as soon as I get ahold of Nicole's memory card, I'll post some really funny pics on here.
Last night, I joined up with them again at a bar called Porterhouse in Covent Garden. I think it's my new favorite bar. It kind of looks like a brewery inside-- they do have their own draughts and everything-- three different levels, and tons of good-looking men. As a matter of fact, I was sitting at a table chatting to Nicole's friends, when I hear Nicole behind me yelling, "Allison, I found you a cute Irish guy!" Imagine what shade of red I was as I stood up to meet him, or them, as it turned out to be two guys. Very friendly, very funny, both from Belfast originally, and one had spent an exchange year at Beaver College (now known as Arcadia) in PA. Wish I had gotten their numbers, because they were a lot of fun to hang out with, but we somehow lost them in transit to our next and last stop of the night, the Walkabout on Shaftesbury Ave. However, it was probably all for the best, because I had a great time being chatted up (this counts as a "pull"), but they live all the way over on the west side of London. It doesn't take very long living over here to learn that you almost might as well be talking about East Coast versus West Coast when you live on the east side of London and you meet someone from the west side. The tube stops running at about midnight, the night buses can be hard to figure out (even for someone who's sober), and a cab is really expensive. So everyone is usually very reluctant to go for a big night out on the other side of town unless they've got a place to crash. Anywho, we left Porterhouse, and took rickshaws (so fun! think I've got a pic of that too) to the Walkabout, and I think all of us ended up wishing we stayed at the first place. The music they were playing last night at the Walkabout left a lot to be desired, very much on the cheesy side.
So I've got a few days of work now, but then Carla arrives for a quick visit on Thursday morning!! She's taking advantage of Teacher's Conference Weekend in NJ, and will be here from Thursday to Sunday, so I need to get my tourguide act together!
Last night, I joined up with them again at a bar called Porterhouse in Covent Garden. I think it's my new favorite bar. It kind of looks like a brewery inside-- they do have their own draughts and everything-- three different levels, and tons of good-looking men. As a matter of fact, I was sitting at a table chatting to Nicole's friends, when I hear Nicole behind me yelling, "Allison, I found you a cute Irish guy!" Imagine what shade of red I was as I stood up to meet him, or them, as it turned out to be two guys. Very friendly, very funny, both from Belfast originally, and one had spent an exchange year at Beaver College (now known as Arcadia) in PA. Wish I had gotten their numbers, because they were a lot of fun to hang out with, but we somehow lost them in transit to our next and last stop of the night, the Walkabout on Shaftesbury Ave. However, it was probably all for the best, because I had a great time being chatted up (this counts as a "pull"), but they live all the way over on the west side of London. It doesn't take very long living over here to learn that you almost might as well be talking about East Coast versus West Coast when you live on the east side of London and you meet someone from the west side. The tube stops running at about midnight, the night buses can be hard to figure out (even for someone who's sober), and a cab is really expensive. So everyone is usually very reluctant to go for a big night out on the other side of town unless they've got a place to crash. Anywho, we left Porterhouse, and took rickshaws (so fun! think I've got a pic of that too) to the Walkabout, and I think all of us ended up wishing we stayed at the first place. The music they were playing last night at the Walkabout left a lot to be desired, very much on the cheesy side.
So I've got a few days of work now, but then Carla arrives for a quick visit on Thursday morning!! She's taking advantage of Teacher's Conference Weekend in NJ, and will be here from Thursday to Sunday, so I need to get my tourguide act together!
Monday, September 18, 2006
weekend update
Hmm, I've been rather blase about blogging lately, since I've been back from Turkey I guess...although I haven't had patience for much of anything since I got back from Turkey. The last few weeks of this rotation have really been dragging, and I'm just waiting for it to be over!!
Anywho, let's see, what did I do over the weekend? On Friday night, I went out with Nicole, Dave and Leeanne in Wanstead. And I was actually pretty impressed, they have a nice string of bars with DJs along the High St. Dave made a big deal out of the three housemates being out together for the first time, and insisted that we do it at least once a week from now on. By the time we'd been out for two hours or so, and Leeanne was being rude not only to us, but also to complete strangers, I needlessly pointed out to Dave that this is why it so rarely happens (needlessly, because Dave has been out with Leeanne much more often than I, and knows well what happens when she drinks). At the second bar that we went to, it was my turn for a round of drinks, so I leaned over the bar to tell the barmaid I wanted four drinks and proceeded to list them. Unfortunately, she misunderstood me, I guess with the music being so loud, and proceeded to give me four gin and tonics (the first drink I listed, my current drink of choice), plus the other three as well. Doh! I had help with the extra drinks, but had to do my fair share as well. In addition, Nicole and I started chatting to a guy sitting at the bar, who then insisted on buying us shots-- I had to tell him at least four times I wouldn't touch a shot of sambuca before he believed me, and he finally settled on buying us kamikaze shots. This guy told us at least twice after he'd gone off and come back (toilets maybe, who knows) that our friend was out of control, should be cut off and maybe we should go check on her (meaning Leeanne, who was over by the DJ somewhere). Nicole and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and said she's a big girl, she can take care of herself. We'd already defused at least two potential verbal fights, because she curses out anyone she thinks is staring at her, and we got cursed out ourselves for our efforts to keep the peace. The bar was playing some pretty good music, stuff you don't normally hear, such as Bob Marley and Stevie Wonder, and all in all it was a good night. I was pretty hung over on Saturday, and spent some time catching up on sleep.
Yesterday, I finally saw Nicole and Rob for the first time since mid-August, when they returned from their trip to Boston. We went on a pub walk-- a really nice 5 mile walk and it was warm with lots of sunshine. Aside from my first experience with stinging nettles, and the grass and air being filled with daddy long legs (not the spiders, that's what they call these winged things with long legs here), it was a great hike. And we didn't get lost this time, no thanks to the guy who wrote the book, but rather really good sign-posting. I've got a couple of pictures I'll try to get to later on tonight. We had a good pub lunch afterward at a picnic table overlooking the surrounding fields, with the best sticky toffee pudding I've had in a long while.
Oops, gotta go, morning handover meeting now. love, allison
Anywho, let's see, what did I do over the weekend? On Friday night, I went out with Nicole, Dave and Leeanne in Wanstead. And I was actually pretty impressed, they have a nice string of bars with DJs along the High St. Dave made a big deal out of the three housemates being out together for the first time, and insisted that we do it at least once a week from now on. By the time we'd been out for two hours or so, and Leeanne was being rude not only to us, but also to complete strangers, I needlessly pointed out to Dave that this is why it so rarely happens (needlessly, because Dave has been out with Leeanne much more often than I, and knows well what happens when she drinks). At the second bar that we went to, it was my turn for a round of drinks, so I leaned over the bar to tell the barmaid I wanted four drinks and proceeded to list them. Unfortunately, she misunderstood me, I guess with the music being so loud, and proceeded to give me four gin and tonics (the first drink I listed, my current drink of choice), plus the other three as well. Doh! I had help with the extra drinks, but had to do my fair share as well. In addition, Nicole and I started chatting to a guy sitting at the bar, who then insisted on buying us shots-- I had to tell him at least four times I wouldn't touch a shot of sambuca before he believed me, and he finally settled on buying us kamikaze shots. This guy told us at least twice after he'd gone off and come back (toilets maybe, who knows) that our friend was out of control, should be cut off and maybe we should go check on her (meaning Leeanne, who was over by the DJ somewhere). Nicole and I looked at each other, shrugged our shoulders, and said she's a big girl, she can take care of herself. We'd already defused at least two potential verbal fights, because she curses out anyone she thinks is staring at her, and we got cursed out ourselves for our efforts to keep the peace. The bar was playing some pretty good music, stuff you don't normally hear, such as Bob Marley and Stevie Wonder, and all in all it was a good night. I was pretty hung over on Saturday, and spent some time catching up on sleep.
Yesterday, I finally saw Nicole and Rob for the first time since mid-August, when they returned from their trip to Boston. We went on a pub walk-- a really nice 5 mile walk and it was warm with lots of sunshine. Aside from my first experience with stinging nettles, and the grass and air being filled with daddy long legs (not the spiders, that's what they call these winged things with long legs here), it was a great hike. And we didn't get lost this time, no thanks to the guy who wrote the book, but rather really good sign-posting. I've got a couple of pictures I'll try to get to later on tonight. We had a good pub lunch afterward at a picnic table overlooking the surrounding fields, with the best sticky toffee pudding I've had in a long while.
Oops, gotta go, morning handover meeting now. love, allison
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