two years ago

i cannot believe that i was in london two years ago...how did those years go by so quickly? almost seems impossible, the way time goes by so quickly and how i feel as if i am standing still, watching life spin around me. the memories are still in place, my friends still alive and well...but where am i? have i achieved everything that i wanted to, met the people i wanted to, kept the ones i always hoped to?
london was definitely the best time of my life, a segment of my life that i cherish above others...and sometimes i wonder if i can relive it. was it the place, the people or just me in general? what would happen if i went back...would it be the same?

old faces...dearest friends

last night i was skimming over my london pictures, wondering how it had happened so fast. i was there two years ago, and yet it feels like a memory. my dream is to one day go back, maybe live there for a few years and work, who knows. i am constantly checking mintel's site to see if they are hiring new people, what positions are open. london...the city of my happiness...miss you so much.

Friends

one can never have too many. but the ones who really love and stick up for you - they are few in number. i have to admit when i first went to london, i wasn't going to meet anyone. i was working 40 hours a week at my internship and didn't think i would have time to hang out with other people. but as usual, i was proven wrong. i met several people who are still having such a great impact on my life -- and i cherish them so much. it's interesting how people are put together, how some people are just drawn to one another by likes/dislikes, geography or something. chance meetings and than later deep friendships happen over night, unexpecetedly and then i wonder how i ever lived without knowing them. i looked forward to coming back from work, to eat dinner and catch up on the day's happenings and find ourselves at our usual pub, looking at the cute british men who strolled in. over a pint or my usual snakebite, i would wish that my four months would never end, that it could be like this for the rest of my life. i had nothing to complain about -- a fun job, nice coworkers, great place to live and wonderful friends to share it all with.
london -- it really was the best time of my life. and my friends are responsible for making it so. it's sad that i cannot see them everyday like i used to, but two years have passed and we can still call and email and occassionally visit and it doesn't feel like one day has gone by. distance separates us, but our memories and experiences together bring us back to that one place that we will call "home."

Wagamamma's

there is a chain of japanese restaurants called wagamamma's. waiters take your dishes on an electronic device which beams it straight back to the kitchen - which is in the back but you can see the cooks making your food. they have the best noodles and desserts -- and their dumplings are to die for. whenever we didn't want to eat in the dining hall, which was almost all the time, we would head up to high street and find ourselves sitting at wagamamma's, on the benches and usually sitting next to some complete strangers. i would order my usual miso soup with the sweet potato dish and water and listen to my friends oogle over the cute waiter, rueben, who worked there. and i would stare at the cooks who were quite busy but looking very cute being so. wagamamma's...i wish we had places like that here. bring a bit of london back to the states and visit it whenever i wanted to.
wagamamma's was more than food - it was almost like an escape from everything - school, work, life in general. it was on the third floor of a building and as i rode the elevator, it felt as if i was being taken away from the anxiety and stress of the day. i knew there would be good food and conversation waiting for me at the top. my stomach would grumble in anticipation, hoping there wasn't a long line in front of me. my week almost revolved around my next visit.
where are those kind of places here? i guess i just haven't found a restaurant that makes me feel completely at home or with friends that i will cherish forever.

Where are all the pubs?

talking to my good friend, i found out that two of my favorite pubs were shut down. in our lovely neighbhorhood of kensington, the black widow and finnigan's was a favorite hangout for me and my friends. and they no longer exist. fond are the memories of karoake, first dates, fisn & chips, 5 guinesses to win a st. patty's hat, etc. it was a shock -- how could they do that us? granted, they have forgotten the american students who made patronage to those pubs almost every night. and so much so we knew the owners by name and they new us by drinks :-) gone...all gone.
i was never really into drinking or the bar scene until i went to london. granted, pubs are a way of life over there. it's not only a place to socialize, it's a place to find yourself. you find one that fits your personality, your mood or one that satisfys your taste buds. you become a regular, you have your own seat and slowly, the rest of the crowd becomes your friends. you relate to the weather, prime minister, that bloody good game of fotbal the night before...and you slowly become a part of that pub, almost as if it's yours. for me, it was the black widow, right off of queen's gate terrace, sandwiched by good ol' starbucks and cafe flo. with a gothic interior/exterior, spooky sounds in the bathroom and oddly shapen seating arrangement, it was an adventure. with the best snake bites and fries - i found it to be an escape from my day of working in the city. my friends and i, it was a given, go there almost every night to enjoy the different characters that walked through the door, oogle at the hot bartender/owner and enjoy a show of karoake every now and then. good times...
it's interesting how one place, one building can make such an impact on your life.

The sense of smell

it's interesting how certain smells bring back certain memories. all of a sudden i think i am back somewhere just cause my nose picks up something it used to know. when i was in london, i wore 2 perfumes and everytime i wear them, i think i'm back there...my friend alyshia wore jlo's still and i can distinctly remember every time i was with her whenever i smell it -- her in my "dorm room" after a night at the black widow...dinner at wagamamma's...night at the theatre watching 'thoroughly magnificent millie', 'gershwin' or 'tonight's the night.' and so, out of weakness, i had to go buy my own bottle - so i can go back to london whenever i wanted. so today i am wearing still and thinking of all those great memories the smell brings to mind. and wishing with all my heart that i could go back.
i never realized how much you could lust for a city - wanting to be there so badly you ache inside, coveting the lives of every englishman/woman that are living there right now, not being able to tell yourself the reasons why you aren't there right this moment. it's sad -- and the only way i can explain it is that i truly left a part of my heart there...and i can only be whole again once i return.

London Calling

so this is how desperate i am to keep in touch with london -- i but anything i see that is associated with london. was in my college bookstore the other day and they have desk calendars themed london -- yup, i went and bought it - not even caring that it cost oh around $15. yeah -- rip off, but they have some great pics of the city.
still bummed out that i will be not going to london next year, but there's always a bright side to bad things, just haven't figured it out yet. just hoping that i will have an opportunity -- one day.