Kimmi's stay

The last couple of weeks have been quite eventful and exciting. On Thursday the 20th, I was finally able to make it to one of my school’s basketball matches. Let me tell you, they sure are different. The match I watched was Year 11 (15-16 year olds) and the skill level was not the highest I have ever seen. I was able to shoot around with them a bit before the game and I gave a couple of guys some pointers. It was amazing to see them get so excited when I taught them how to shoot a lay up and explained what boxing out was. Now I am no basketball genius myself, but I know a bit about what is going on so it was nice to feel useful and to share the knowledge. The hard part about basketball for them is their football (soccer) instincts and their only knowledge of basketball is the NBA (now that is something full of fundamentals). I saw kids trying to pass behind their back and doing way too much dribbling for their own good. All in all though it was a great time.

Friday Kimmi arrived into central London and I was thrilled. I had to work so I met her at the train station after work. We went back to my place, had a snack and I showed her the brilliance of Deal or No Deal (a British game show). After this we explored Piccadilly Circus, Soho, Leicester Square and the surrounding areas. We caught dinner at a pub and then headed to Chinatown to a bar. After some good people watching, we headed to Primrose Hill, which has a spectacular view of London.

Saturday we had a traditional English breakfast next door to my flat, went to Notting Hill Gate and Portobella Road Market, and then out Greenwich for the day. Adam joined us for the entire day and JP met us out in Greenwich. We had a Cornish pastry and a pint after viewing the beautiful park and flirting with both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres at the same time. The day was mostly sunny so that worked well into our day. That evening worked out spectacularly. I had wanted to bring Kimmi to a club of some sort and it just so happened that that evening one of the managers for my Esprit job was hosting his 30th party at a rented out club. So not only did we go to a nice club, but it was private and we were on the list. We danced the night away and had a blast! We finally made it home around 4:30 in the morning so Kimmi was able to see the night buses in full action.

Sunday we awoke quite early to several explosions, sirens, and a hovering helicopter. Since Kimmi was there, I was sleeping in Adam’s room. We both got up, looked at each other, and he said, “We better make sure that everyone is not running in the opposite direction. We got out of bed, looked out the window to see a massive smoke cloud and a huge blaze. The bus carriage was on fire, which is only three blocks from our flat. We dressed and went outside to watch. In total, 14 double deckers were ablaze with 8 completely destroyed. As of now, a 15 year old boy is in custody; over £2 million in damages. What an event to start the day out with. After finally getting ready, Kimmi and I headed to the Camden markets where she was thrilled to see such a diverse population. We had lunch and did some major people watching.

From here we went to the National Portrait Gallery and looked at paintings and a photograph display. Afterwards we went on to a pub to watch a spectacular finish to the Liverpool and Manchester United match. After Manchester won in the last minute, we grabbed a coffee and strolled along the Thames to catch Parliament, the London Eye, and Big Ben (among many other attractions) in their most glorious time (at night with beautiful lights). Beings we had such a short amount of sleep thanks to the late night out and the explosions, we went to bed quite early.

Monday I worked and then Kimmi and I caught a West End show on the spur of the moment. We went to see Fame at the Aldwych Theater. I thought the show was alright, some good dancing but a weak plot. All in all, we enjoyed ourselves.

Tuesday I finally went to the Prince Albert in Notting Hill. This is a pub that is always full of young trendy people that is near one of my bus stops. JP, Adam, Kimmi, and I all went to experience it first hand. The pub itself was quite normal, but the crowd was younger and funky. To truly experience it, I think we need to go on a weekend. This was Kimmi’s last night in London. I had a great time showing her around and she seemed to have a great time as well. She reminded me of some of the things I forgot about London that I love so much. It was great to have a fresh set of eyes and ears to point out the things that have become so normal for me. Thank you Kimmi for coming!!! I really appreciate it and had an absolute blast!

Wednesday I saw Jarhead with a girl from work at Shepard’s Bush. It was a pretty good movie overall, nothing too exciting, but it was not boring either. Afterwards we had some homemade pasta at her place. The house was such a cute little place.

I am going to cut this off now because I want to post something before I start receiving hate packages for not posting anything.

Cheers,

Adam

News as of today 4.2
The big news that I have been mentioning has to do with me staying longer. As of now, I am in the application process of a UK work permit. The school I work for has asked me to stay on longer and has since hired someone to complete the application for us. I would be staying here for another year!!!! It is so exciting!! I have known about this for about a month now but have been unsure of what I wanted to do. One night after playing football with the teachers, I was listening to my I-Pod on the train home and decided then and there that I do want to stay! I would come back to the States at the end of July for Ben and Kara’s wedding and stay for a couple of weeks. I would then return to the UK until April of 2007. I do not know if my application will be accepted, but I am hoping so. If you have any comments/advice or anything in regards to this, please feel free to email me. This decision will not be an easy one so any wisdom would be nice.

I hope all is well for everyone and I look forward to hearing from all of you!