I survived the tube strike!

I survived the tube strike. I mean, luckily for me, they decided to strike on the one day I have an early school day because I would not like to have been one of the hamsters during rush hour today. I snickered to myself though as I observed the antics of one angry commuter on the underground train from Waterloo. I mean, this tube thing has been on the news, the notices are everywhere and even on the train, they keep reminding customers to make alternative travel arrangements. Furthermore on this particular service, they repeated over and over and over, that some stations were closed and the station which would have ordinarily been next at this time was closed. So when I saw the dude get off his seat and head to the door, knowing we were not yet close to the next stop, I had a smile and waited. Of course when we got to the station he apparently wanted to get off at - the one that they kept saying was CLOSED - and the train kept moving, though it was no surprise to anyone else on the train, it was an awakening for this idiot. He went from calm commuter to irate commuter, kicking the seats and taking out his frustration on his backpack. It was too amusing. Communication is a helluva thing.

So while I survived the tube strike, I nearly did not survive the shopping bag walk from hell. Note the 2 shopping bags.

But wait...they were not filled with sexy goodies like undies or pea coats, or turtlenecks or cute scarves or boots. Oh no. They were chock full of...

...BOOKS! I mean, how the mighty have fallen! I had bought some of my core texts second hand from a student from last year's intake and she brought them all for me today. My God. They weighed tonnes. It was the longest commute ever today, with these heavy text books weighing me down.

Now the harder part is reading them all!

I also think I am going to offer my marketing/consumer services to bars, to taste-test daiquiris across this great city and see who wins the prize for Best Strawberry Daiquiri. I went out to B@1 last night, and had an s.d on their happy hour 2-for-1 special, and they left something to be desired. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would probably give them a 5 for the drink, but a 10 for the vibe and the service. But I am aware that I probably should not be too hard on them - daiquiris take a special skill. lol. I love the bar though and will give them another try - maybe not the strawberry daiquiri though. However, the daiquiri from Friday night at Ha Ha scored a high 9, leaving them in the lead...for now. So who is up for the daiquiri challenge and willing to sponsor my daiquiris for the rest of the academic year? Calling all bartenders!!!

I will refrain from going over the ordeal of the psychotic attention from some of the male patrons last night. Needless to say, it was the oddest moment of the evening.

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Rainy weekend...no...life, in London

So after a long week of classes and group assignments and commuting and all that other fun stuff associated with grad school, the girls and I (and Scott) went out for drinks. I am as boring and predictable as ever and of course had a strawberry daiquiri and the S.D. at our local Ha Ha Bar and Grill was awesome. Special thanks to our cute bartender, Jamie for being so cute and sweet and giving us hope for the male world. We had such a good time and we really needed it because the work is now coming at us fast and furious and soon we will be bug-eyed, anti-social creatures.

I also think the warm days are officially over. Goodbye sun. Hello rain. This is the England we expect and have nightmares about. Grey skies, rain, sourpusses in the rain. I planned to go to the shopping centre down the road today and donned my best light drizzle outfit, only to have it go from light drizzle to heavy drizzle. Then the "every 15 mins" bus became a "every 50 mins" bus and then when it got there, it was packed with Londoners, smashed against the glass doors that the driver decided he would not take any additional passengers. So after all that, I had to walk right back down the street to the house, where I got into my tights and under my blanket and went off to dreamland.

The tube strike starts tomorrow, but I have promised to go out and have some drinks with my Soybean, so pray for me, kids. Slow ass transportation in the rain? Not a good combo.

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Cuppa Coffee, Anyone?

It's been a really long time since I have had to do anything other than watch tv and sleep on a Sunday. I sat down with the best intentions of reading this global marketing text and after the second page I was nodding off. I am probably too old for this school thing or the text books are probably more and more tedious. Also the worst thing one can possibly do is look at just how much you need to read in total. It is a sure way to go crazy. I decided to take a break, make a cup of coffee and waste time online until I felt re-energised.

Ummm...yeah.

The coffee worked a bit, but I really miss my oversized coffee mug and my next purchase outside of fluffier socks and thermal underwear will probably be a cute coffee/soup mug for winter days and nights. I really am in love with the Blue Celtic Ceramic Mug below. It's so me. Feel free to buy it for me as an early birthday/Christmas present.

















I also miss having a warm body in my bed. Out of the gutter, kids. I meant a dog. The neighbour's dog has been barking up a storm since yesterday and is currently out in the backyard looking as cute as a button. I love how his mum calls him in for breakfast every day. Precious. I also ran into him yesterday during his walk and he is so affable and loving and cute. I really miss having a dog and though it definitely will not happen here, with my dog-hating cousin in the house, I want to have a dog again soon. Until then...the warmest thing around here is my laptop, which I should get off if I am to finish reading these 6 chapters.

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Back to School

I am too tired to write much. I mean, it's like they tried to pack a lifetime of induction knowledge into 8 hours. It was just too much and not just for my old brain, but the young'uns were struggling too. I mean, who puts the librarian's session after lunch?? REALLY??? I was waging a serious battle with sleep at that point. I think she realised a half hour before the scheduled end that she, her presentation with the cute graphics and her examples were just not making sense at that point and she surrendered a full 25 mins ahead of time. We could read the pamphlets.

Yes peeps. Back to school. It was an okay kinda day, just too much for one sitting, man. The classmates are alright. Mostly Europeans, with 2 Nigerians, one Yank and one Trininista. No Brits. The Bajan and the last person aren't here yet. One dude is pretty annoying but I put on my best laugh and did not stare at him blankly, nor did I roll my eyes. Impressive. The two module leaders we have met so far are pretty cool and their classes should be interesting. And I am the ole timer in the group, I think, though I suspect one of the guys is hiding his age. lol. The timetable is a bit intimidating with one 3 hour class first thing on a Monday morning. I mean...who thought of that? And a 5 hour class on a Friday! Sadists. So, again, I have not a single regret about last weeks's vegging on the couch.

I also think I have literally lost about 8 pounds already. I had to keep pulling my jeans up all day which was highly annoying. All this pedestrian action is really taking its toll, and granted, weight loss is a great thing, but not when you cannot afford to buy new jeans cause the ones you have are apparently getting too big. lol. I have been eating really healthily as well, which does not help. I mean when a decent sized bag of pre-cut stir fry veggies cost a quid, you're gonna be eating pretty damn healthy. lol. I am supposed to have a "date" tomorrow but if I feel anything like I feel now, then that is going to be a disaster of royal proportions. I am really exhausted.

Headache of the century and a mother who wants me to stay up past midnight so she can Skype at 7pm her time. The things I do...

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Student Life in London

It's Sunday, so I can really sit back and take some time to catch up on cyber life. I did not have a US to UK adapter until last night so battery life on the laptop was seriously compromised. Add that to the fact that a ruthless Pakistani dude sold me a dud adapter which had me in all kinda vexation last night, forcing me to walk out the road in my pyjama bottoms to get another one so I could Skype with my mums. The scary thing about this whole scenario is that even in my silk pyjama bottoms, I was still more stylish than the natives and still managed to pick up a  man in Budgens.

I had a nice day yesterday though. Even in the face of serious penny pinching, where there is a mall, there is a trininista and when I called up my "uncle" who is also here with his daughter, who is also entering fab starving student life, and he told me they were at the mall, I made a detour (I was heading to Oxford Street) and let my Oyster card take me to Westfield Mall instead. Oh the temptation. The boots, the scarves, the gadgets, the trinkets. The empty wallet. The horror. I did pick up a few essentials from Boots and from Lush, which included

Buffy. My skin does not do well in this weather and has been ever so dry and itchy. Buffy to the rescue! I also managed to pick up - can you guess? A Nigerian. I should rename this blog, Trininista's Nigerian Adventures. I was standing in Next waiting for my uncle and this dude leaves his route to walk into the store, most likely gobsmacked by my effortless beauty (lol) to chat me up. Fortunately for him, he was young, hip and good looking so I did not give him the normal treatment, i.e. instant "begone". But still, it must be a skill they learn in school - Annoying 101 - cause he still had the aggressive come atcha hard behaviour of his not so good looking countrymen. So while he lasted longer than the average Nigerian admirer, he still got the dismissal with one turn of my head.

I was so excited to come home and take a Buffy shower, and then totally rub myself down with Palmer's Cocoa Butter Lotion with Shea Butter. Heavenly. I had the evening all planned - post-Buffy broccoli au gratin and chicken dinner, with some boy time, some mum time and a movie. It just did not turn out anything like this initially and ended up with a bit of a meltdown. And after such a brilliant day too. I am not sure. I think between the tiefin Pakistani causing me to miss my call with my mum, a bit of homesickness, added with the downtime I have not had in about 5 weeks where I had been juggling my day job and getting ready to come here, plus the fact that I well burn the chicken while chatting online with the HP support technician as I tried to figure out why my laptop was not charging (before I realised the Pakistani factor was the cause), which was horrifying and totally mind numbing for a student, and no boy time, AND PMS...the catalyst behind it all - in a matter of minutes, I went from Buffy smurf to Bitchy Bawling Smurf. lol. But it was needed. When I got the adapter after my pyjama bottoms outing, I got to talk to my mum, the baby and my sister in law, and I had 3 pieces of the burnt chicken with some juice, minus the broccoli and I camped out on the couch with Motrin 800 and Confessions of a Shopaholic and all was right with the world once more.

I am okay again. I head to school tomorrow and though I am not 100%, I have mentally picked out my First Day/Back to School outfit and aim to make a winning first impression, which as I told Soy will also include being on my best behaviour. This includes

- No rolling of eyes at Nigerians - a tough challenge,  but if they were not so aggressive I could hang with them
- No rolling of eyes in general
- No snide comments at dotish people
- No sucking of teeth at dotish people
- No cussing
- No sarcasm
- No general me-ness

They can get all that on Tuesday. With pleasure. Going for a coffee now with my soon to be married Italian. All the good ones...gone.

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Sky High Rant

I usually never sleep on long flights because I have crappy circulation and I like to get up and walk and stretch my legs every hour or so but believe me, by the time I get on ole BA 21whatever, I will be completely knackered. Moving a bed from one corner to another is hard work and tiring. Moving a life from one hemisphere to another is simply exhausting. And juggling my day job and my side job as Super Trininista, packing and transferring sold vehicle etc is really taking a toll. Okay, well maybe I am making it sound totally terrifying but shite, I am really tired.

I also have a rant. I remember when I was a student at UWI in Jamaica, good ole Bwee aka Caribbean Airlines had luggage concessions for students, recognising that we had books, we had clothes, we had food, we had equipment in some cases. So when your old grip was busting at the seams with a year of your life stuffed inside, and your other bag had a semester's worth of food (because all Trini students in trying to beat the Jamaican inflation reserved one bag for non perishable foodstuff), the counter staff at Bwee were very accomodating. I not saying they were selling the hog cause I had to pay overweight charges once cause I got there after all the other hungry students had come in with their overstuffed bags, but they made an effort to understand our plight.

Fast forward now to the age of airline capitalism where you might soon have to pay to pee on an airplane, and I am packing a year of my life away and of course, I dunno if you can do it, but trying to fit a year of your life, even if you're drabulous and not fabulous (like me)  into one suitcase is impossible. My winter coat alone took up half of one bag, not to mention boots and other cold weather accoutrements. Of course I still have to buy other things when I arrive in ole Blighty cause yuh cyah pack everything, but one bag, with my Caribbean skin and hair toiletries and warm clothes is already stuffed. Let's face it, Boots cyah help me, my black skin and my black hair! Boots is no Pennywise! What's more, this is not Jamaica I am going to, so I have not a scrap of food in the bag - just clothes, heavy coats/sweaters, just shoes, just books, my laptop. I am not being unreasonable!

Now don't get me wrong eh. I think among all the airlines I have used in my life, British Airways ranks at the top with excellent in-flight service, timely departures, great movies, though the food could use a bit of haute cuisine love. BA is great. But...British Airways allows you ONE free bag and one cabin bag, which already has my laptop and yuh doh wanna be stuffing too many things into the bag with your laptop. I mean, seriously? You eh talk about jeans and then your warm weather clothes yet. I mean, BA, I not asking for a free extra bag, but oh gosh, a lil discount at least!

So with this dilemma in mind and vexation that these people have no consideration for students coming from tropical Third World countries, I tweeted to British Airway's rep and was told I needed to call 1-800-AIRWAYS. Let me just say this BA, doh waste a big woman's time eh. When I called the number, I got a dude who told me they only ever made concessions to missionaries going to feed the poor in places like Africa. I kid you not. But missionaries doh wear clothes other than what...a pair of shorts and an old shirt and some boots? They don't need two bags! The food they are taking to Africa cannot fit into a bag. It's called cargo. I am not asking for cargo concessions. Just a discount on my university-bound bag. Uni books are not paperback novels. They are heavy. Where is the consideration for higher education? No consideration that students

1.are  unemployed and probably trying to save the £32 these bandits at BA and God knows who else (Virgin? AA?) charging for each additional bag
2. need to pack more than the average traveller cause they are packing for a year or more

But to the Twitter person, this is not a new thing so I am sure you knew what phone dude was going to tell me so why make me waste the phone call? C'mon. I am as busy as you are.

I am not sure if Caribbean Airlines still allow students luggage concessions nowadays but a belated bless you for your hospitality back then. I will pay my £32 cause I will not be naked and cold in London because of BA. But they better at least have a better meal than the meals they served when I travelled with them in July and August. I deserve at least that. My deep BA loyalty is being seriously tested.

RBTT - also on my sh... list.

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Jurassic Park Personified

When I made this decision to go back to school, one thing I kept saying to myself and to others was "I am getting older" and though you try to fool yourself into thinking you're that hot spring chicken you were when you did your spin as an undergrad, you soon realise that you're a damn dinosaur. (a hot dinosaur, excuse you)

I have been following the social networking chatter from the 2010/2011 intake at my school and I felt like Ty - Tyrannosauraus Rex. I mean, wow...was I this young and foolish once? What's worse, one chick who would probably share a couple classes with me asked my age and I told her, and you would swear I had some infectious cyber disease after that. It was somewhat alarming but more hilarious than anything else. Am I going to be the old fart in the classroom with all these silly twenty-somethings? God help me. Are there going to be more Edward Cullen and Justin Bieber aficionados than people who could tell you about Boyz II Men and Russell Crowe? Will I be that woman I used to frown on at age 19 - the old lady on the block? Yeah. Mature students look different, act differently and even dress differently and as I was going through my own back to school wardrobe, I knew I was going to not be as disheveled as some of the people you see on campus. Well, not all the time anyway. And you would think I was like in my 50s or something. I am still years away from ticking the 35-40 box on application forms, so damn...when did I become a relic?

But note friends, I did not say I felt like a Brontosauraus, all slow and wombly and chewing on grass like a wuss. Nope. I am fierce, I am the H.B.I.C in the park, and will bite your head off if you're annoying. Gives a whole new meaning to the saying "I may be old, but not cold".
I think I am better prepared now for this than I was at 22. I think the life experiences I have had since then have given me enough perspective to appreciate where I am now, and how I managed to get here. The one great thing about where I have been is that I have been able to keep my brain from turning to mush and it's probably sharper and more receptive to knowledge now than it was then. I think I can embrace this new challenge with the force of the fabulous and super woman that I am and love it and succeed at it. I probably have more to show for myself than some of these young'uns and more to show them as well. And show them that 30 definitely is not ancient. I used to think so too when I was their age, but it's a pretty good place to be actually. They may be surprised that I can actually relate to them, and think this old battleaxe is quite a trip! Cause I am. I  am pretty damn awesome!

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Quick, hopefully painless update

So I have been cryptic about the stuff that's been on my mind for weeks now, but with everything happening just as God wanted it to happen, I guess I can let you all know that I am relocating for a while. As soon as they tearfully let me go, the Brits have tearfully started my welcome back party. I am leaving my life in Trinidad for a bit to head back to good ole Blighty to study, explore, soul search and take a load off. It was not a very easy decision but it was the best decision for me. I leave in a couple of weeks on my new adventure. I swear...I can start the book now. Blessed I am, and bountiful is my life.
(and you go...wow...just so??)

Now that you have picked yourself off the floor, I have more bad news, but I am hopeful that this will not be a major problem. I saw it becoming a major crisis because having been exposed to Sky and the rubbish they show, I realised...OMG...Grey's Anatomy!!!

It hit me that unless I could access the same streaming sites I access now after a long day at the office has caused me to sleep away the Grey's hour forcing me to stream the episode the next morning, then I am screwed and my Grey's loving fan club is screwed!!! I am hoping to find a solution to this predicament ASAP so I can stay in the loop and in touch with my Grey's girls and guys.

And yesterday it became apparent that my life was taking a huge huge dive. I saw the awesomest pair of black and brown heels and they fit me perfectly and then I pictured myself rushing from train to tube to bus, and in that picture, I was wearing flat, comfy shoes and not these beautiful heels and depression hit me like a ton of bricks. And my blog name will certainly lean more towards the flip flops and sneakers and maybe, hopefully some cute boots, but definitely not heels. I have already instructed mumsy to vacuum seal my beautiful animal prints, my red leather pumps, my gun metal slingbacks for fear of dry rotting. Damn you public transportation! Damn you!

But the silver lining in all this, just think of the adventures I can blog about for the next 14-15 months of my life. I mean, unemployed Trini in London, the chronicles. Can you see it?

To the few people who did know and helped in the decision making process and gave moral support, gracias. You guys and gals are the best people in the world and I love you to bits. To all my peeps, I am still here basically. You don't see me anyway but I will talk to you as often as I can via this medium.

So...now you know. Leave your comments and pledges of financial support below. More of the latter hopefully.

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Reunited...and it felt so good.

So it's 6.30am on Sunday and after a hellish week, why am I awake so early? No, it's not because I was eager to tell you about the reunion last night, but since I am awake I can tell you about the reunion last night.

Our teachers (and Ariane) - we were so happy to have them
join us

I thought it was a great evening with great people. Of course I was helter skelter at home because I did all my errands in the morning, and came home tired and mash up, and then took a power nap and overslept. lol. But I got there in good time - in time enough to meet up with Kim and her husband, who were exploring the school grounds. Kim is a trip, yes. A lot has changed about the school and not much has changed. The gym still evokes great ill feeling as it did back in the day when we had to wear those awful blue leotards for P.E. Class, and walking through the school you still get the feeling that this is a school you would want your daughters to attend. Thw tamarind tree has been trimmed but it's still there in its menacing glory and the staff lounge is pretty bangin'. The sixth form block is not the way we left it, but really reflects the great strides the school has made in everything that it does.

Well, Kim and I saw that the swings were still intact and we decided to take our chances in our old age on the swings that our Form 1 hips wriggled into during break time. Magically my busy career and over 20 hips got into the swing and off we went - making a bag o' noise as we went higher and higher, regaling in our girlhood memories while the men probably wondered what on earth had gotten into these 2 women. And as we mention the men...

Kudos to the men who came to support their wives. It could not have been easy to leave one's Laz-Boy or PS2 or football reruns, and put on a nice shirt and toe pinching shoes to come to an event filled with cackling women, talking about stuff they did when they were 12. But they seemed to bond nicely, formed a nice man clique/bromance in a corner and I think managed to survive what otherwise could have been a very painful evening for them. lol. I think the non-Trini men enjoyed the entertainment as well. Our dancer was really good and in case you wanted to know, she is a Form 1 ARCHIBALD student. As a proud Cavelle past student and House Captain, I was crushed.

But for the women it was great. I think I can say that for everyone. Some people had not seen each other since the final exam, or since graduation, so coming back and rekindling those bonds was awesome. What made it even better was that the teachers who gave us so much during our time at the school, continued to show they care by showing up at the event, to see their girls, how beautifully we all turned out. So big shouts to Mrs Chan Sing, Mrs Dinnoo, Mrs Ramgoolam, Mrs Ishmael, Mrs West and Ms Ramadhar for everything - both now and then.

The amazing thing about our school is that we are winners and that may sound like a grand accolade but it's true. Every woman in that room, and even the ones who did not turn up, has done so well in life. Happy, settled, successful - and that's no easy feat. I am really proud of the way we all turned out and really happy we were FINALLY able to make this reunion happen. And the thing is, even though you may not necessarily have been BFFs with every single woman in the room, you were still happy to see them, happy to hear they were doing well, and that they were blessed with success in whatever shape or form. I know there were some people who thought they would be judged but seriously, it was not about that. Not having a husband, or having put on weight are not valid excuses especially when you think about the real issues other women here and around the world have to face on a daily basis. Man, I put my fat tail in a dress and I went solo and had a fab time. A couple people, the mummies, were so happy they had a really good excuse to leave the popos with grannies for a few hours so they could enjoy a real night out - something they had not had in eons as anyone with kiddies can attest. (not me, but just saying...)

Thanks to the ladies who made generous contributions to the Students Services Fund, which we presented to Mrs Ramgoolam as our contribution to the school that served us so well for 7, 5 or 2 years. I would like to challenge our girls though to show that the girls schools can do as well, or even better than the boys' schools when it comes to mobilising the troops and resources to help the school out. Too many of us out there with skills and powerful networks, man. Even if it is by helping to promote an event or selling tickets or negotiating some corporate sponsorship but the school continues to do great things.

I managed to get 2 photos the entire night, though I know I am in dozens of others. It truly was a great evening and sorry to the ones who did not come - you missed out. But maybe we can do it again soon. Thanks to the US-based and the Aussie-based girls who made what I consider an amazing effort to be here. Shame on you local girls! lol. Thanks again to Denyse for making the event such a success - dinner was great, dessert was sinfully fattening (my diet took a major hit last night eh) and the vibe from our small group was awesome.

Looking forward to storming the UK version of this event next month, and I know the NY girls will get their reunion all planned for Aug 22 as well. I am sure FB will be replete with photos so those of you who have the means and permissions to do so, can check out the action there. For my non-FB readers, take it from me - it was nice. An evening of gorgeous, intelligent, driven women, getting together over old times and some scary photos (Andrea...please NEVER post that photo online. Wow, I was a damn hot mess at 14. Age brings fashion sense).


And I also realised that more people than I thought actually read my blog. I was tickled. Awww...you guys (blush). But you must leave a comment so I know you are here, so I can say oye!

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