Wanderlust: The Fast Times of London

Hello friends, it's been a crazy few weeks! As of tomorrow, I will officially no longer be in posh Kensington.(Even though my street is the most ghetto area of Kensington.) I am packing up shop and moving to east London. This means I will have to say goodbye to my hopes of running into the cast of Made in Chelsea, and start brushing up on my cockney. East London is very exciting and up and coming. Imagine that Kensington is like the upper East Side of NYC, and Leyton in the east is a bit like a trendier, nicer version of Brooklyn. The area consists of trendy cafes, shops, bars, and is inhabited by mainly hipsters. I think I may need to buy some oversized geek chic glasses to fit in, I already have my skinny jeans ready! My new roommates include a lovely girl named Lola, originally from Nigeria, and her adorable Jack Russel Terrier dog named Monica. I couldn't be more thrilled to say goodbye to living next to the highway, in a pest infested flat, with a horribly negligent landlord. I'm makin' moves, literally.

I was dutifully following the election from abroad, and was very happy to hear the results. Even though I didn't hear the news until the next morning because I was too knackered to stay up all night to await the announcement. Guess I'm not a true ex pat.

Work has been great, but crazy busy. It seems every day I am rushing around town off to a meeting of some sorts. I am very proud to say that I have made my first sale! Two sales actually, I managed to secure two sponsors for our London group...yay commission! Our first huge event is this weekend in Bloomberg's office. It is a hackathon, where techies will spend 36 hours nonstop building mobile apps, and then presenting them to our judge panel. I love Fruit Ninja and Angry Birds as much as the next person, but that is the extent that my mobile app skills reach. Maybe I will learn a thing or two, but mostly I plan on playing with the remote controlled helicopters, eating all the buffet food, and wandering around with my clipboard trying to look important.

I got a chance to visit my friend Shelley's beautiful country home last weekend. We had a ball and loved playing with her horses and alpaca, and swimming in her toasty heated pool! The home is nestled on 100 acres of gorgeous rolling hills, it was like something out of a postcard, so picturesque. It was very nice to get away from the city, guess I am officially a city girl when the countryside sounds alluring!

I am thrilled to announce that I will be returning home for the holidays! I am counting down the days until I return on December 17. I cannot wait to visit everyone, witness sunshine again, and partake in the legendary cookie party. I cannot believe I almost missed my first cookie party, whew that was a close call. Since I booked last minute, and the flights are during the holiday season, there is no way I could find an affordable direct flight. So, lucky little me gets to fly from London to Minneapolis(9 hours) and then have a 3 hour layover, and then fly from Minneapolis to Tampa(4 hours.) All I have to say is thank goodness for the free wine, in-flight movies, and my iPad.