Communication Breakdown

I have lied to you all. Sort of. And for this, I apologize.

The internet company called us and let us know that we will not be receiving internet in the flat until this coming Friday, which is a little frustrating but I guess it happens. That's the only real downside to this London experience: the internet. It's a little different using the keyboards (see previous entry about that...I don't remember which one) and the internet cafes are either overpriced or overcrowded or their browsers just plain don't work. Haha, yesterday I spent a good 15 minutes trying to convince my e-mail account that it was okay to open up for more than 30 seconds so that files could be placed onto a flash drive and placed on my computer back at the flat. But, like I said before, this sort of thing just happens. You can't really plan for anything like this. It's like having a child when you and your wife/husband already have 5 kids, the youngest of which is 16. That actually was the case with a baby dedication at the church Luke and I went to today, so no, it's not as random as you may think.

At any rate, when was the last time that I updated this excuse for a public website. Hmm...Wednesday. Okay. Thursday was my interview with ESPN, which went very well. They were just bought out by Disney, so when I walked into the Walt Disney Company building, there were High School Musical 2 posters plastered everywhere and the soundtrack was playing in the elevator. I cannot WAIT to see Zac Efron every day at work! My supervisor, Nick Smith, is a pretty chill guy. Although there will be a lot of work to be done there ranging from organsing closets full of promotional materials to writing highlights for the website itself, it will be well worth it for several reasons. First of all, I have my own desk with my own computer and access to ESPN 360. Promotional t-shirts/mugs/stress balls and everything minus a free car are mine for the taking. And...*drumroll* they may or may not be paying me £60 a week for transportation compensation. Wow. This is going to be well worth it. Now comes the hard part: faking my hardcore enthusiasm for sports. Somehow the idea of memorising the stats of LaDainian Tomlinson this season doesn't measure up to the sheer wonder of wandering over the hand-placed bricks and well-traveled concrete sidewalks that compose the vast majority of this city that I am growing to love with each passing moment I spend here. It doesn't bother me too much though. The only thing that could make it better would be meeting in the Lion King themed meeting room instead of the soccer (football, Seth, FOOTBALL) themed one. That and a nice visit from a brown-eyed Pennsylvania girl.

It feels like I've been here before, like some part of me has blood that mixed with the muddy flow of the Thames. And then I remember the Lloyd side that came from my grandmother and everything makes sense.

Sidebar: more deodorant may be necessary when I go home. Walking for 4 hours will do that to you. As will sitting inside of a crammed Pentecostal temple building for 90 minutes under hot lights and pumping speakers.

Coming back to the family, this was how my Saturday was actually spent. (Quick note: Friday didn't have much; Luke taught to solve a Rubik's Cube and we had pizza and went to Harrod's.) Saturday, I went to meet some relatives on my dad's side since we hadn't seen each other in about 10 years. That can be pretty nice sometimes, you know? There were 4 people that I met up with. Here's who they were:

Alan: my grandmother's cousin
Olga: grandmother's sister
Jade: Olga's daughter
Tom: Alan's flatmate/best friend

We spent about a half hour trying to figure out how we were related and what first cousin, onec removed meant. I think I understand it, but at the risk of being chastised by Alan for the rest of my days, this information will not be printed. If you really do want to know, here: you can see for yourself officially. Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you're getting the best possible information. Thank you, Michael Scott. But I digress. After much hugging and traversing about various trains, we arrived in Greenwich and Tom, Jade and I walked underneath the Thames in this underground tunnel that runs from a park where Henry VIII let his dogs run to the opposite side of the river where the University of Greenwich stands. There we went into the Painted Chapel, saw a few buildings and admired various windows before heading over a Vietnamese restaurant where we took in an excellent buffet luncheon. I had seaweed for the first time on a plate (I may or may not have eaten it on the beach when I was younger) and some really hot soup with red peppers. Haha, red hot chili peppers. That's funny.

Following this, Alan and Olga retired to Alan's flat so that they could talk and catch up on the three years they had not seen one another while Tom, Jade and I walked up the hill to the Royal Observatory and Greenwich Prime Meridian-ish area. And in case you were wondering, yes, I did stand in both hemispheres at once. The special feeling I felt after doing that proceeded to last about 0.43 seconds before letting the 8-year old behind take his turn straddling the line. From there we walked to Blackheath, where Alan and Tom's flat was, where we shared afternoon tea and talked about various events/people/times/places until it was time to leave. That's the long and short of it. It was a lot more fun than expected, considering that the youngest person other than me was 52. Not to say that older people aren't fun, they just...aww crap, there's no getting out of this one. My bad.

Today was a good overall day. And in case you can't tell, I like my chronologically ordered entries. My mom has had to deal with this method of accounting for my days in high school, as well as college. Maybe a more freely written entry is in order next time...hmm. ANYwho, Luke and I went to church today at Kensington Temple, which was large, a little too loud and very free in the Spirit. It was a nice place and the pastor had a great sermon going (before we skipped out to go on a tour of the East End markets), but it seemed to lack a welcoming environment. Who knows, maybe I'm just used to my home church(es). But the search for a home church in London will continue, I suppose. As I said before, the tour of East End markets was afterward. Anyone who comes to the city of London MUST go here. Some of the best food and best t-shirts I have seen were to be found, not to mention an exorbant amount of women's blouses. One of the best booths that caught my eye was a free trade, AIDS-benefiting t-shirt booth with simple messages printed across the front (e.g. "Simplify simplify" and "Truth is freedom"). They were 20 pounds, but sadly, none were in my sizes. Be prepared with money when you go. I only brought 5 pounds and could barely afford lunch. They had delicious pad thai too, totally unfair.

And now, as usual, I am sitting in the London Centre, resting my legs for another journey to the tube station...and then to an internet cafe to do Skype since the LC closes at 5 today. Mary made us walk a little fast, so I'm a little more tired than usual. Keep me posted (oh what a pun) on what's going on back at home with anything, especially sports. And sadly, I may need to know what's going on with the presidential primary races. I really don't like politics, but it's nice to know who's winning.

Keep it fresh, keep it real and keep your eyes on the road when you're driving. It's better to be safe and not multi-tasking than spin out in the snow and hit a guardrail. Believe me, I know.