Leaving on a Jet Plane - The Sequel

It's been a rather hectic couple of weeks. I have been here, there and everywhere, both physically and emotionally. I spent a few lovely days out of London, some lovely afternoons in and about London, and embarked on the painful process of packing (I am surely the Imelda Marcos of clothes) and saying goodbye. Many curse words were uttered (packing) and many tears were shed.

But the adventure carries on. See you on the other side of the Atlantic.

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Blazin' over that Finish Line

One year ago, I quit my job and made plans to hop on a plane to London to commit 12 months of my fabulous life to academia, stress and chill here in London.

Today I submitted my Master's dissertation, ultimately ending my life as a student - re-entering normal adult life. I am ecstatic. It is raining like a mofo here but there is sunshine in my heart.

I am frickin' DONE! There are simply no words to describe this amazing feeling. No words.

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My (Very) Sordid Confession

The lovely Carol-Anne from La Familia Aissa bestowed this award on me weeks ago. I am horrible with awards and I think at this point I should say, I am a nightmare with them. I have gotten this one twice before so I think I am all 7-thinged out. However, there is one random, albeit amusing fact I can blog about. Brace yourself, folks...this is a doozy.

I have been a contestant in a pageant.

Now, don't get too excited. It was not Miss Universe or anything like that. Not even Miss Trinidad and Tobago, though looking back, that surely would have been the best thing I could have done for my life, since clearly it makes one employable in Trinidad and Tobago. But I digress...

It was back in my undergrad life. Dorm life. It was one of those things you did cause you were desperate, not cause you thought you were hot. I was not hot during my undergrad years. I had not yet unleashed the hotness I carry with me today. I was still breaking out of self-consciousness. So how on earth did I enter a pageant? Well, to keep my space in the dorms. Hall (dorm) life in Jamaica (where I did my undergrad) is akin to being in a sorority or fraternity. There is no "free" room. You had to earn your place. Each hall was a power by itself of course, but also within each hall, there was sub-frats or sorors, and you had those bragging rights to win as well. So be it sports, or the arts, you had to be doing something.

Wendy Fitzwilliam
Miss T&T and Miss Universe 1998

I love sports but I cannot play a sport to save my life. I failed miserably during my short stint as a cricketer during high school. Our team was rubbish but we won "Best Dressed" - a sure sign of the future! lol. Track - I sucked. Field events - sucked. Volleyball, netball - sucked and sucked.

But, I can sing. It's a hidden talent but it's one I am proud of. So when I was scoping out ways to keep my room and avoid the hell of off-campus accomodation, this seemed to be the way to make a splash. A pageant which they marketed as more talent than beauty, but there were no ugly girls in the pageant and the guys were excited and placing bets, so yeah...it was a damn beauty pageant.

I mean, in the end it was fun and I can tick it off my bucket list but at the time, it was a nightmare. Nightly rehearsals of my song - "I Still Believe" by Mariah Carey, followed by the nightly dance rehearsal. Oh yes, we had an opening dance. And not some crappy "I'm too sexy in my heels" pageant dance either where you "skin teeth" and do a two-step and a twirl, but a proper, booty shaking dance. The nightmare! Oh you should have seen the outfits for said dance. Black leotard, black tights and a green grass skirt. I still watch the photos and laugh and sorry, I will NOT be sharing the shame with you. But we danced to this song and admittedly, the dance kinda looked like this:



Jamaica being a proud sporting nation, we did not have swimwear (thank you Jesus!!), but instead modelled sports wear, and this is where we did the obligatory...

Good night ladies and gentlemen. My name is Trininista and I am a 2nd year communications student from Trinidad and Tobago..blah blah blah.

...with the big smile and pushed out chest. lol


Our hall colours were the always awful and never flattering yellow and green, so all the sports options were in those colours, except the cricket option which ta-da, your girl sported on the night, complete with pads and cricket bat. LMAO. Typing this makes me laugh. I mean can you picture it? lol. I kinda looked something like this...only cuter.

T&T cricket legend and world record holder, Brian Lara

Then we had African wear and I opted for a less voluminous beige number with a headband, which again set me apart from the pack in bright, huge dresses. These again, like the sportswear, were donated. I think I looked pretty on like boiled corn in that dress as well. For real.


We then had the talent segment, where out of sheer terror, I sang 90% of the song with my eyes closed but hit every note and somehow managed not only raucous cheers and foot stomping from my hallmates who never knew I could bust a tune, but a standing ovation. The long nights croaking out those lyrics had paid off.


Then there was evening gown - and we did not have sponsored gowns this time. You had to dig up something yourself. I must admit, I looked pretty hot in my midnight blue strapless evening dress.

But the segment that killed my chances was the question and answer section. Now, I am not sure how they do it in other pageants, but in this one, they gave us the questions and we were to formulate our answers and memorise them, cause they assured us we would have to choose a question from a hat and answer it on stage and these were all the questions. Great, cause all the questions were about the university (crap like motto, history etc) or Jamaica, none of which I was a master. But guess who got the only rogue question for which I did not know the answer? lol. Total nightmare. I remember my answer being a complete disaster and walking off the stage, not feeling like an Honours student but a complete idiot and my chaperone trying to convince me, but I think more trying to convince herself, that we could still win. Yeah right. lol.

But in the end, it was good fun and I had a room for the next academic year and I can tell my daughter one day that her mother was an almost-beauty queen. Riiiiiiiiiiight. Thanks Carol for digging that one out of me. Hope it made up for the delay in posting the award.

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When Every Day Feels Like Friday the 13th

Dog tired.

I try not to blog when I feel the way I have been feeling over the past week. It's just like a Debbie Downer. The week basically sucked. I'm not sure why...there was nothing in particular. No unmistakable crisis. I guess it was just a bit of everything. Amusingly enough, spending an entire week working with the youth of this nation really would depress anyone. lol.


So I had a bit of a PT job this week, working on campus - no biggie, just some cash inflow to stem the increasingly traumatic outflow. So, basically it was helping out with clearing. Clearing...a new thing for the non-British me. 

Clearing is a service available between July and September, but for most people it is used after the exam results are published in August. It can help people without a university or college place to find suitable vacancies on higher education courses. If you are flexible and you have reasonable exam results, there is still a good chance you will find another course through Clearing. - UCAS

This has to be one of the most depressing yet at the same time, entertaining jobs ever. First, I was forced to spend an entire week with undergrads - and not just undergrads, but annoying, mostly childish undergrads. Sweet Lord. My eyes rolled in their sockets too many times this week. I mean, I am on the phone, on a call, and this nimrod across from me is playing drums on the desk we share, while I am trying to listen to the poor woman on the line. I had to put her on hold 3 times to ask him to stop, and he looks at me like I am crazy, laughs and continues doing it. And then they wonder why noone will hire them when they graduate!

Then you have the actual clearing, and dealing with that. On the one hand, you have to be the one to tell kids that their grades suck so bad that there is nothing they can get into. You have to listen to their little sobs and their angst over being left behind while all their friends go off to university. Then there were the ones who declined offers at other schools, so they could go through clearing, hoping they could get in to a better course, and then there is no space, leaving them with no offers, no school and a good box about the ears from mum because next year they are going to have to face the tuition increases. When I applied for my degrees, there was nothing traumatic about it. I had choice. I'm a nerd. Getting the student loan was a chore, but I did not have these issues and my heart hurt for some of these kids. Honestly.

Wine needed!!

On the OTHER hand...there were also the ge(r)ms representing the future of England. Kids who had really crap grades and wanted to get on to LLB courses and other courses requiring upwards of 300 points. But it's not even the blind ambition. It was the attitude. No crying and pleading but just damn rude and bright! Example: 

Girl: Yeah...so what can I get for like 80 points? [NB. 80 points can't get you sh...]
Me: (still trying to be helpful, cause it was clearly early on in the process) Not sure if there is anything available but let me check. (check when I know there is nothing). I am so sorry, but we do not have anything available at the moment.

Girl: Wha? Check again.

Me: (annoyed, cause she was not crying or hurting, she was being a twat) I'm sorry. There is nothing available.
Girl: Yeah, you just hang on, yeah. Lemme talk to me mum. (puts me on hold, but I can hear the little witch, saying, "That bitch says there ain't nothin'. And I know she's black...that black bitch.". Then the mother chimes in, "she ain't probably wanna help you")

Me: I can still hear you.

Girl: Oh...ummm...so there's nothing? Can you try again? (suddenly pleasant and conciliatory)

Me: Sorry. Best of luck.

Crying purges the soul they say

She lucky I eh cuss way her ass!

Yes. It was a STELLAR week! Waking up early to go deal with this shit. Then having to suffer through the mind numbing and nasal assaulting bus ride every day. On Thursday night, with a combination of fatigue, the skull blasting headache, stress over my dissertation (supervisor has yet to give me feedback and time's a-going), the frickin' bitter and nasty weather, and then getting to the part of my book where the female lead gets killed (lol...the agony), I got home, had some bran flakes and yogurt for dinner, crawled into bed, and cried myself to sleep.

Today was not as awful as the rest of the week has been, in terms of how I felt. The sun was out, the phone calls were less annoying, I was reading a new book, the lunch was better (lol), still no disso feedback but that's another story, a 20 year old undergrad was hitting on me, despite my grouchiness, inevitably making me laugh, and I got a bottle of White Zin on my way home, had some hummus and let go of the last few days. I am exhausted, a bit frazzled but such is life. And I am getting paid. Well, not yet, but eventually. And, the weekend is here. I get to see a friend, and be a slouch for a couple days. I need it I think.

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Saturday Girls' Fun in London

Nature at Kew Gardens

On what was surely the hottest day this city has seen in weeks yes, I was in bed, laptop desk and laptop in full effect, transcribing interviews. Well, one interview. I had done the others during the week and left this one for last as it was the longest and from memory, the most convoluted. Tedious is not the word to describe the process of transcribing interviews. I don't think the word exists. Boring is another simple adjective. Mind numbing. It's not fun. But I finished it....some 7 hours later. Of course this included a lunch break, complete with a re-run of Grey's Anatomy, a snack break, Twitter breaks, supper break etc.

I'm a bit exhausted and my right shoulder and arm hurt, I guess from immobility and all this damn typing. But it's Monday - a new day!

My entire weekend was not crap though. The lovely Cat and I spent Saturday afternoon in Kew Gardens,and despite the chill which bored through my brown body early on, it was a lovely afternoon, with a great friend. With all the bad news this weekend - the Norway tragedy, the death of the ever talented but so troubled Amy Winehouse (huge fan here) - God knows we could use some light!

Kew Gardens is stunning and had it been a sunny day, this would have been just perfect. I highly recommend it, friends when you visit London. It's a great escape from the hustle and bustle and you can spend an entire day there and not get bored by its beauty. Nor from its many non-human residents, including my friend from yesterday's Silent Sunday post.

I will confess though - the Palace tour was amusing, though a bit disappointing. But even if you are scared of heights like I am, still do the Treetop Walkway. It's just as the name suggests - a walk in the trees.

It's back to the academic grind but at least we have the memories...

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The Great Mother/Non-Mother Divide...and Pyjamas

So someone took offence to this post.  That's fine but I have a few things to say here, because it irks me...irritates me to quote said reader.

I am not a mother. My mother is eager for some more grandkids, but I have other priorities in my life right now. Some of my best friends are parents and I think it is a wonderful thing. Truly beautiful. But...being a mother does not somehow make you better than me. If you are like this, then you are to quote the reader's description of me, superior, snotty and judgemental. I posted this entry because of women like this, who think that populating one's uterus is the key to all understanding. One day, God willing, I will be a mother and I hope to not be like this.

I do not appreciate women like this, who think that their problems are better or worse than a woman with no children. I make no apologies for loving fashion and fabulousity, for wanting to travel and enjoy all that life has to offer. Am I rich? No. Am I spoilt? Hardly. But just as some women love craft, cooking, writing etc, I also have my interests.

My parents, who did not have all the opportunities in the world that my brother and I had, worked hard and raised us so that we would be able to access all these things. My father especially wanted me to be able to access these things without falling into the dependency trap. I had the gift of having the main man ...MAN...in my life tell me that he wanted me to have access to education so I would never have to depend on a man for anything.

I went without a lot to get a lot - I am paying for my Masters degree - tuition of over 11,000quid - out of pocket. Add living expenses, in a very expensive city, and it's a big chunk of my savings - savings I accumulated over the years not from being spoilt or born with some kinda golden spoon, but from doing without. I did without a lot of things. I love fashion, yes, but I don't own a single item of clothing that has an expensive label on it. I buy shoes at Payless, and guess what? I am still frickin' awesome! If you don't think you're awesome enough to pull on a pair of jeans and a clean shirt to go out in public, more power to you.

I live a poor student's life at the moment, in a country that is not mine, away from everything I know and love. I joke about these things because being a bitch about it will get me nowhere and I chose this, just as I am sure you chose to be a mum.

I joke about not being able to afford cheese or buying eggs or sausages on offer. It's hilarious to me how long it takes me to decide whether I will splurge on frickin' sausages. I joke about the 3-4 days I sometimes go, without sleep, so I can finish assignments and do well. I joke about sitting in my room during the day in winter without the heater on because I am mindful that I am living in my cousin's house rent-free and heating is expensive. I joke and gripe about the weather in the UK, where I have been sick and in bed more times than I have been in the rest of my life combined. I have medical issues I don't mention cause that is not really anyone's business. I have commitments and frustrations like anyone else. Before I left my job, my days started at 3.30 every morning and ended at 10, 11 at night. I did this EVERY DAY!!! To get to work on time, to face the music for 8, sometimes 12, sometimes 14 hours.

So don't think because I don't have sick kids or shitty diapers to wash, that my life is perfect and moving along swimmingly. As Trinis would say, yuh farse and bright! I get depressed sometimes but only sometimes because guess what - someone else has it worse than I do. Much worse. I have great friends, great, amazing family and a damn good life. Should I apologise for this?

And because you have a child, like the millions of other women on the planet, somehow you are better than me or your issues more important than mine? I don't think so.

Let me just add something else here - my mother had 2 kids. My parents were both public servants in Trinidad, which means we were not rich. My brother and I got sick like other kids. We had things we wanted and needed like other kids. They had to find money to get these things. And yet, my mother was and is the most beautiful woman I know. She had a very demanding full time job, 2 kids, a house to run, a husband to look after (you know these husbands are the other child in the brood), always had dinner on the table even after a hard day at work, and yet, she was always beautiful. Sometimes she would have to do without so we would have but she was always sharp, well put together and a queen. I never saw my mother leave the house looking less than she was. So lady with a problem, if I think leaving the house without having a shower, walking through the supermarket at 5.30 in the afternoon in your bathrobe is annoying, it is because I saw even with all her frustrations, my mother always looking like class. She could not always go to the hairdresser - I soon learnt the art of applying relaxer to her hair. She could not always buy a new outfit. But she was always taking a moment for herself and keeping herself looking presentable.

My friend who has kids, posted this in response to my question regarding your opinion:

when the babies come, time gets ridulously short. those leisurely hours at the hairdresser, getting mani/pedis simply no longer exist. you get so wrapped up in your role it is easy to let it slip because nothing matters more to you than the... baby at that time. BUT that is all the more reason why you need to take time out and take care of yourself. Its an easy trap to fall in but you have to make yourself a priority too.

I agree that it is too easy a trap to fall into and too easy an excuse to use all the time. My girlfriends have kids. None were privileged, some of them are single mothers and still, they manage to show that being a mother - single or otherwise - does not preclude you from being fabulous. And being fabulous does not mean expensive clothes, heels or makeup. Please read my posts properly before making comments. I go out in jeans and baby tees most of the time but I still think I am the cat's meow. All women, mothers or not, need to make time for themselves.

I am not saying there are not times when mothers will jump out of bed to run out the door, to do whatever - but to use that as an excuse for all eternity is a cop out. If you describe your life as a mess, then maybe it will be a mess. That's the trap my friend is talking about and you have clearly fallen in it. There are so many other mommy bloggers out there, and I am sure they will also agree with you, and don't get me wrong, I know it is the truth. But don't use that as an excuse to get away from having some love for yourself either. Me time, for anybody, is vital. So if I don't agree with you that life is a mess, I am sorry. I prefer to aim higher, despite its challenges.

I imagine motherhood is both rewarding and challenging. So is the rest of life and we non-mums live it as well. Just remember that.

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Thinking about the Afterlife (lol)

I am sitting in my room, desperately trying not to cry over my dissertation (well, maybe "cry" is an exaggeration, but I am in slight panic mode) which is always at the top of my mind. If you think going out is at the top of my mind, you are very wrong.  I go out to actually forget about the challenges I am facing with this dissertation. I doubt I am supposed to sit and sulk in my room about it when that changes nothing.

Anyway...I am keeping positive and I have had 30% success this morning, after yet another all nighter, stalking potential respondents and getting some early feedback, which are still bold MAYBEs, but better than definite NOs.

Then in the middle of the ever boring and tedious task of transcribing interviews, I started thinking about the afterlife. Not THE afterlife but life after my Master's, because there are definitely some things I am looking forward to.

Warm weather and sunshine. The morning chill, the midday chill, the afternoon chill, the evening chill, the night chill. And the dreariness. The gloom. Not fun. Yesterday was not too bad actually. I boldly left the house in a strapless maxi dress (with a shrug in hand of course), even though I was not sure how long the sun would last but I said, screw it...the dress is just taking up space and not being worn, so might as well risk it. Good decision all round!

Shopping trip - I was looking at old Miami and NY photos last night, and checking out the stock at my favourite retailers. lol. Shoot me. I love it. I cannot wait to get a good shopping trip under my belt. And not just that but it also incorporates travel, vacation, meeting up with friends - all in one shot!

Dinner party - I love entertaining and love having friends over. I am so going to have a graduation do once this is over and have my people over to celebrate my triumph over academia and student life madness. I can actually focus on cooking again, in the way that I like - trying new recipes and experimenting in the kitchen and entertaining and having fun and catching up. I really miss that. It's not quite the same when you're trying to save money and time.

Personal space - There is definitely something to be said about one's comfort level being back in one's own house. I miss my own bed, my environment, my bathroom. My Glade Plug-Ins and scented candles. lol. Living with a man is not always a winning situation. The smell of football socks and other such rank odours are not smells I may soon forget but I know I will NOT miss it.

Getting a cute someone in my life - A month ago, in an email to my friend, Nic, I wrote (Nic is Trini like myself so the email was in full blown Trini. I have not made any edits):

"I fed up with man though. They annoying. If I could, I would be down by Battersea Dogs and Cats Home adopting a lil dog to love. They cute, just need food and an ear rub and they doh answer back, and unless is a pitbull, they doh kill yuh either."

I really do miss having a dog and after having my own little princess dognapped almost 4 years ago, I never replaced her. Being here, in Dog Happy England, and being surrounded by the cuteness, I have finally decided I want a cute doggie in my life once more. I think I have suffered enough. So while the household has 2 dogs, whose main job is allegedly to protect the premises (what a laugh!), I want MY dog. My baby - to cuddle with and take on drives and greet me when I come home from work.

And just general well being. Sure there will be job stress and other such life challenges, but I am just ready to put this school thing behind me. Soon. Positive thoughts today!

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Wordless Wednesday: Happiness in a Box

Bliss. It takes very little to make me happy!

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Challenging and Channelling Awesome

Just a bit of light reading

Though it may seem lately that I am Miss Fun in the Sun and Miss Sex and the City, in reality, I am still a Master's student. That has not changed. I am still unsalaried and unable to even buy my favourite mascara (£10, Boots! Really?) and more importantly, bound to academia. While I may not have classes, which gives me significantly more free time than I had in the first two terms, allowing me to have a life, I am still often sitting behind the laptop, reading PR journals and stalking PR groups and people. It's just that writing about that is not always fun or interesting - not as interesting as salsa dancing. lol. I have been doing a lot of the PR stalking  recently as I try to overcome the most niggling hurdle yet - my Master's dissertation.

It is one thing to have to do research, and quite a hair pulling experience when one has to depend on others to complete said research. With my research method being qualitative research by way of in-depth interviews, I am handicapped by the good will or in my case, lack thereof, of my respondents. I have been grinding my teeth over the past month trying to grab 30 minutes of people's time to complete my data collection so I can get started on analysis and presentation. I am NOT a last minute kind of person and I foresee this major speedbump taking me down uncharted waters for me - the last minute hustle.

What is even more maddening is I got my transcripts yesterday for my degree thus far - minus said nightmare of dissertation. There is not a B on that sheet of paper. I should be ecstatic about this, and I am, cause if you have been reading this blog from the start of this adventure, you know through health, illness, thick and thin, I have been very committed as I am to most things in my life. Instead, I am more anxious than happy. I have been trying to forget my stress by going out more and not "sweating the small stuff" but this is not small stuff. This is a headache.

But I am keeping the faith. I just need 5 more interviews - which may sound like easy pickings but right now, from where I am sitting, and after countless attempts, it seems like an insurmountable mountain.

Still, I am awesome...in case I needed to remind any of you. AWE-SOME!

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Books Cannot Fill My Belly!

Shopping at Waterstone's
Photo credit: The Guardian

Once upon a time, there was a girl who used to be able to strut into any store and buy anything she wanted. Not because she was rich or anything but because she believed that working hard, 5-6 days a week, for long hours, should have some perks - like vacations, cute shoes and other such treats. Not saying she splurged on expensive and useless things. No. However, working surely did not mean just stashing the money into annuities, pension plans, insurance, car payments, bills, groceries and savings and not treating onself to a nice dinner, a nice vacation or bookstore porn.

Today I walked into Waterstone's and surrounded myself with the fresh smell of new books. There they were - all around me - calling to me. I quickly found 3 books I wanted, which went nicely with the store's 3 for 2 summer special. Ten minutes later, I left the store empty-handed - the beautiful books back on the shelves. Why? I was weighing the pros and cons of buying books that were not school-related, on a student's salary of £zero!!!!

I kept seeing carrots and juice and chicken that could be bought with the £20 the books would have cost me. Or the multiple printed drafts of this dissertation, once it gets off the ground. Travel card renewal which always sets me back about £135. But for £20 I could buy not just books, but sanity.

All those lovely books at Waterstones
Photo credit: The Guardian

I then came home and started idly searching for books online, where they were significantly cheaper (cue harps), but still, my neurotic sense of financial responsibility made what should have been a routine purchase, a 3 hour nightmare, because now I was weighing the cost of the book against the literary value of the book and whether I should get two books or one, and whether the books were worth my hard-saved pounds sterling. I mean, really...can £3.99 buy you a Nobel Prize winning novel? I doubt it. Yet, here I am -bookless, cause I am worried that the £3.99 book may be shit.

I used to complain about my job - the long hours, the commute, the silly people in and out of the office - but it gave the opportunity to buy silly stuff, without all this number crunching. I could buy a silly book and not worry about it being silly.

I am a bit frustrated with the dissertation, and it has been a weird couple of weeks and thus, I am having an "I am ungrateful and greedy" day but seriously...I am allowed to sometimes.

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Beating the Funk

I have been in a funk the past few days - a funk I have been unable to shake. I think between this dissertation, this shitty weather (thanks for summer, London!), and other miscellaneous stuff, I am just a bit tired emotionally. Sitting in an office, making tedious and mind numbing RSVP calls to people who clearly did not want to attend the event in question, for the better part of my afternoon, did not help to put any spunk in my step either. I have also had to tolerate the rudeness of people here via phone, email and in person all week. I don't do well with rudeness - not well at all and I often really have to take a moment, or two (or 50!) to compose myself before responding to or interacting with people who have no manners or who do not understand common courtesy.

Yes. I am a bit stressed. I don't like the word "depressed" cause there are people out there with REAL problems. I am a bit stressed for sure, and maybe a bit bored. Uninspired. Not even these little babies could cheer me up, which spells big trouble. I only had one, which is a major first!

Chocolate covered mini doughnuts. They are literally bite-sized!

Still, the weekend should be promising, once the weather changes. Taste of London starts tomorrow and I will be attending the Saturday sessions with my girlfriend. I love culinary festivals - just anything involving food really. I love great food and I appreciate people who take time to really prepare something awesome, creative and divine. And socialising with food as the nucleus is just a great time!

Some of London's top chefs will be on hand at Taste of London
Photo credit: Taste of London

The demonstrations and masterclasses will hopefully be exciting, the food should be fantastic (!) and most importantly, once God grants me sun, which usually perks up my mood, it will be a fabulous opportunity to pick myself out of the funk and look cute! No...fabulous!

As an aside, I noticed under the list of exhibitors, under "T" (cause you know I went looking after I saw Barbados and Jamaica), there was indeed Trinidad and Tobago! But just that - Trinidad and Tobago. So I have no idea if it is the Tourism Development Company, the Ministry, a company. Please...I don't want the suspense to kill me.

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The Suit Maketh The Man

So you will probably be hearing me rant about my Master's dissertation over the next several weeks. While I will not bore you with the mechanics of it, my sample is comprised of FTSE 100 companies. This means that I will probably be heading down to The City a few more times before this nightmare is over.

For the non-Brits, The City is a casual way of referring to London's financial district. It's akin to Wall Street in New York, I guess. The best part about this neck of the woods is that generally, my eyes are not assaulted by grungy fashion. Indeed, I am a sucker for a man in a suit. Sucker! So just sitting on a bench for 5 minutes, admiring the well dressed men first, and the people in general, second is a joy.

It's a huge deal. While I am wholly supportive of people expressing themselves through their clothes and so on, some of the fashion statements can be pretty darn scary. I don't get for example, why any woman would leave the house in a pair of ripped tights (pantyhose), or men wear t-shirts with obvious stains or wear their pants hanging off their asses. And worse than the pants hanging off their butts, is the yucky, grungy looking underwear which assault my optical senses. If you must participate in urban fashion statements, can you at least invest in clean, non-crusty looking underwear?

And speaking of tights, they are not pants, ladies. So unless you are wearing black boy shorts under them, please cover your ass with a skirt or dress (note, I did not say shorts - I never could wrap my head around the concept of wearing tights with shorts. It looks stupid!). I have seen too many white or coloured panties in the street under nylon hose pretending to be pants! And it was like the Daily Mail had read my mind, or just that the trend is so popular that it is everywhere!

So I sat on a bench on Tuesday and just enjoyed well dressed people, specifically the men I admit. It was like Christmas!

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Danger: A Trip Into Trininista's Handbag.

Today I asked my Facebook friends - what's in your handbag?

I then decided that Pablo and I would show you what was in my handbag! It was a long journey. lol.

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The Week That Was

London's National Gallery

Well, I guess I can give a recap of the week that has been here in London, in my world.

With it being a bank holiday weekend here last weekend, there were a lot of things happening in London - as usual. Though I am still officially a student, without formal classes to attend, every weekend is like a bank holiday weekend for me, but I digress. I decided beforehand that I would go to the Busspepper Eighth Anniversary Party on Sunday, where the week began. Usually a good lime, this one was disastrous. The venue was in my opinion a poor choice for such an event and there were just way too many people crammed into a small space, making it too hot, too stifling. I did not enjoy it as much as I had hoped, but then I was also distracted by news from home.

When I opened my eyes on Monday afternoon, there was a full-on barbecue in the backyard, with people and everything. Too tired and annoyed to participate, I did some research for my dissertation and spent the rest of the evening, night and next morning (no sleep inserted here) doing letters/emails to prospective respondents and making appointments. I managed to get 4 quick confirmations but the water seems to have run dry and I am following up on the laggards today. I just want to reiterate that this dissertation is the nightmare of my life!

On Wednesday I managed to scrape myself off the bed and go to campus for a workshop on...you guessed it...dissertation research. Fun.

Thursday was much more pleasant as I decided to enjoy the brilliant sunshine and venture into parts unknown, namely Hammersmith. Beautiful area. Very green and vibrant, yet not claustrophobic. There was a lovely market on as well and even better, a burrito giveaway at the new location of Tortilla. I had never heard of the chain but I saw about 50 or so people in a queue and I asked what was going on. Well, needless to say - student +no money + free lunch = me standing in line, talking to a lovely Aussie lady about vacations, while waiting to get to the counter to order my unexpected lunch.

I  had some school-related tasks to complete (snore) but once they were done, I then ventured back to Trafalgar Square, where I sat in the sun with tourists, had my free burrito and gaped for a while before spending the next few hours in National Gallery - fave place ever! I took a walk back down Waterloo Bridge where I was so sorry I had left my camera at home, cause the view off the bridge on a clear sunny day is breath-taking. When it's sunny in London, it's beautiful - just beautiful.

Beckenham Park,
Photo credit: Wells Consultants

On Friday, I journeyed to Beckenham this time - another area I had never been to and beautiful beautiful beautiful. Very posh, but very green and woody. My "date" gave me a great director's cut version of the Beckenham tour before we settled in for drinks and dinner. It was such a nice evening that I lost track of time and ended up having to face my worst nightmare - the dreaded night bus - to get home.

Saturday afternoon, I met up with my girlfriend, Nic, for lunch and drinks (and gaping) at Las Iguanas, followed by more drinks at Be@1 - where as usual, the oddballs of London seem to turn up. Again, no camera, but I shared a drink with Woody Woodpecker, Bugs Bunny, a female cow, a dragon, a fairy, a pink bride and a ghoul. I kid you not. Drinking in London is unlike anything I have ever experienced. lol.
Sunday, I was exhausted really but still managed to go to Blackheath for lunch at Locale, where I had the best scallops and a wonderful main course of gnocchi with king prawns. The weather by now was back to normal, i.e. rainy, but the company was great and the food was better - not to mention the 3 glasses of pinot grigio. At the table next to us was a party which included two Guyanese women, so of course I had to strike up a conversation cause that is how I am - farse and chatty.

Rafael Nadal ended a great week with some scintillating tennis, which I watched over another glass of wine, and here I am - back with the research and stress. It's really dreary today and I am so tired (I could barely type this as you can tell) so I think the rest of today will be spent in bed with the disso...hopefully with the disso.

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Warm Weather Vixen

Spring in the UK - pretty

I looked up the weather forecast in Port of Spain, Trinidad yesterday and it is forecast to have thundery showers for the next week. Compare this to the warmth and bloom of the London weather and I would swear someone is playing a joke on me. The weather really has been brilliant. I saw the family next door - husband, wife and four-legged son - sunbathing in the backyard 2 days ago and shorts and flip flops are everywhere.

It proved to also be a good sunny weekend for me as was evidenced by compliments from different people of the male variety especially, who commented that the sunny weather really flattered me and I looked so beautiful and glowing. I had to remind them that I am a child of the tropics and I was born in a sunny world. I feed off blue skies and sunshine and while any normal person feels better when the day is bright, for me, after a horrid first winter and 2 long semesters, I guess it just showed. As promised, I ditched the customary jeans outfit for dinner on Friday evening and wore a long summery sundress with a cute lightweight shrug and matching flip flops and accessories, and of course put the MAC and Sacha light eyecolours to work, so I had a fun, youthful and warm look. The reaction from said date was more than I expected, with compliments pouring like London rain, and based on this reaction, I applied similar mojo to my Saturday lunch date get-up. Friends, clearly winter and school life were deterrents to my love life...or at least to dating success! lol. Warm weather Vixen I am! (V for Vixen!)

Speaking of vixen, just indulge my feminine longing for a minute.  I have shared some photos of my recent trip to Bath and Cardiff with you in the previous entry but I forgot to share 2 awesome female sightseeing miracles.

We walked into Dune in Cardiff and there it was - the key to happiness, or at least to fierceness. I dreamt about this bag last night. The duo are a combined £190 - way beyond my student budget but one can live in hope. Very Vixen, don't you think?

Anyway, it is taking me an entire weekend to throw a couple sundresses, 2 pairs of flip flops, 2 pairs of jeans and some t-shirts into a suitcase. The inevitable But I might need this strikes again. Let me get back to that and some breakfast. Now I am not sure what rainy Trinidad is all about, but rainy Trinidad is still as good and better than the London "heatwave". Home is where the heart is, not where the heat is (though rainy Trinidad is still 10 degrees hotter than sunny London).

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L - Last One

My current reading material has
nothing to do with academia

It's my 200th entry! Cheers!

I woke up this morning, knowing no matter what, it was going to be an awesome day. Why, you ask? Today I submitted my final assignment with the exception of my Master's dissertation. After 6-7 months of sitting on a bed, in various stages of cold weather dress - socks, layers, sweat pants - with the night light blazing, laptop heat searing into the thick blanket I used to cover my legs to protect them from the laptop burn, heater blasting. Through snow, rain, cold winds, fox cries, hunger, cravings, coughs, colds, tears, headaches, frustration, tedium, mania, homesickness, creativity, stasis - through it all, I managed to not go crazy, but also got great grades and had some really great moments.

And today I kissed the cover page for my assignment in great joy. Needless to say, the dissertation is a whole other nightmare, but I don't have to worry about that for a few weeks, during which I will be sightseeing in Wales and soaking up the rays back home in Trinidad and Tobago. I won't have to, and this is for you, Kai (lol), Britishify my words, but can ask for a roti, curried channa and aloo and chicken, with maybe some pumpkin chokha and a Shandy. I walked to campus with my massive Sainsbury's bag filled with all the books that had set up camp on my bed and I brought them back home - their home. The library. My bed is a book-free zone, friends! Except for the Michael Connelly book I am reading at the moment.

Yep. Life is pretty damn nice today and tomorrow, you have to visit so I can tell you about the excitement earlier this week. Can't get into that today, but feel free to take some guesses. For the ones who know, don't guess - don't spoil the fun!

Hoping the sun comes out at some point today, but if not, believe me when I say there is sunshine in my world at the moment. Wear your sunscreen, peeps! I am bright and I am hot stuff! Dunno, but Arrow came to mind today - an oldie, but a goodie.

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Knackered Technology and Knackered Biology

Red Rover keeping me company as my laptop slowly dies

I have missed Photo Challenge days as I knew I would, but the end is near. The end of student life, so bear with me. I did not take this photo and it's just a test photo actually but I added a border. lol. Hope that counts for something! And it goes with my A to Z Challenge post which is about the word - KNACKERED.

I always liked that word knackered. For the non-Brits, it means "tired". Knackered - exactly how I felt yesterday evening when I got home. It was a full day, which included a lot of repetition, digging deep for emotions and delayed trains. These things on paper may seem trite, but over a 12-hour period, it can be exhausting. But still, it was an interesting day. My computer is also pretty knackered. This laptop has seen more words and been through more article reading, article searching, referencing, assignment typing and editing and emailing and turning in, skyping, blogging and surfing, than the average laptop. Between rigorous student life, where 80% of my time is spent on the laptop, and staying in touch with family back home and friends around the world, my laptop has really been working hard. So when I saw the blinking red light on my battery icon saying I should definitely consider replacing my battery, I was not really surprised. The timing was shit, as I am praying it does not conk out before I finish my proposal today. I have overworked it and also I have fallen asleep over this laptop enough times, with it hooked up to the main, to know that this battery would die pretty soon. I hopefully get my new battery in the post before this one dies. Kudos - another K - to my wonderful laptop battery for braving the academic storm with me!

Knackered - it's a pretty cute word, as is its synonym shattered. These Brits have some great words let me tell you - some of my faves include plonker, naff, wonky, twit. There are some others like wanker,which are less PG and which I try not to use too regularly. To me, it means absolutely nothing but I could not tell a dude I thought he was a wanker. lol.

I had finished the proposal and was just editing and as in usual trininista style, I found things I was not happy with and I am now adding words instead of taking them away. It will be another long day but I am sure less enjoyable than yesterday especially since it is grey outside. The 5 sunny days of spring have come and gone. Back to London as I know it. I hope I get at least an hour of sun tomorrow as I want to spend part of my day in the park, because tomorrow marks the end of structured student life. Celebration weekend!

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Impossibility... and Camera Emotions

It's been a long weekend, folks. I headed to campus on Friday, for an event that was clearly a waste of my time, and decided to make the most of the spring weather and take some London photos. Sadly, my bottle of water was not closed properly, and on the bus, the woman behind me said, Miss, your bag is leaking. Besides the fact that my bag was now a soggy, wet mess, my camera was also fully bathed in water.  I tried it up to yesterday and nada. My camera was gone.  But hope springs eternal.

The good news is that I have a replacement camera. My friend decided to give me his old one, which he was happy to get rid of, and I am now camera-happy once more. Friends are great!

The weekend was pretty good though. I had the most relaxing time - between meeting new friends, and having the best time over great Caribbean food, to spending a day yesterday cooking, watching movies and simply lying in bed, talking, then sleeping - it was a good weekend.

The bad news is, it is now Monday and I am almost 1200 words over the word count of my dissertation proposal.  I for Impossible!! Editing 1200 words out of an already abridged document will be a major challenge but one that will have to wait. I am going to take a shower and head to the mall - my eyebrows need to be threaded and no 1200 words can stop that from happening.

I also decided to pull out platforms this weekend and face the spring sun with style. Sure I looked good, but walking the length and breadth of London, chasing trains and buses in platforms is not fun. By the time I got to my last train, I pulled my ever trusty flat and comfy flip flops out of my bag and hobbled the rest of the way home. lol.. Will it stop me from bringing back another pair when I go home in a couple of weeks? Probably not. lol.

Photo challenge today - I do admit I am in a bit of a rush, but these are said platforms - both beauty and beast - and they fit in nicely with today's theme of lines. And these are my very first shots with "new" camera so will be testing it out over the course of the week. I will try to get some more shots later but 1200 words and neat eyebrows are priorities today.

SITS Photo Challenge - Lines and Repetition I

SITS Photo Challenge - Lines and Repetition II

And do you want a line of repetition? Here is my neighbourhood.

SITS Photo Challenge - Lines and Repetition III

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Exhaustion + Excitement Equal...

SITS Photo Challenge, Day III - Lighting

Exhausted. It's a rough week. I am struggling. Yet, I am bubbly today because I just spent an hour sitting on the lawn in the backyard with a glass of water, in a tank top, jeans and flip flops - no scarf, no jacket. Flip flops!!! The ecstasy!

The sun, high in the sky, did what a sun is supposed to do - give off heat. Friends, it is WARM in London today. Honest to goodness, Caribbean definition of WARM. I forgot how tired and annoyed I was with this mood board I am supposed to make, and just sat there - in the sun, never-see-come-see, baking my brown shoulders and chest and arms and face. I could have died from joy. So while E is for exhausted, it is also for excitement, enthusiasm and enjoyment - all in abundance in my world on this warm, bright,beautiful, sunny day.

And to prove it to you, my photo challenge today was about lighting and I think Pablo showed what he can do with some natural light indoors, but today it is all about the magical illumination in my backyard. I think the neighbours have absolutely given up on me now, cause I was laying on a towel in the grass, smiling, and then taking photos of a football. Yep. I won't be surprised if I see the NHS yellow ambulance pull up to get me later - to take me to the nuthouse. Envy. Another "e" word. Envious of my simple joy.

SITS Photo Challenge, Day III - Lighting
Football porn

And I had some water with me.

SITS Photo Challenge, Day III - Lighting
Bring out the lime wedges. The sun is here!

I used the photos I like the most in my collage.

SITS Photo Challenge, Day III - Lighting
I love photo collages

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The Letter D and Yummy Close Up Perspective

My portable laptop desk

So I am hard at it in the library, and I am trying to kill two birds with one stone with this entry - my A-Z Blogging Challenge and my SITS Photo Challenge. So on to the first one.

Today's letter is D, and here is my new laptop desk. Well, it's really not mine per se. I had seen the ad on tv for it, and thought, dude, I need me one of those! I spend a LOT of time on my laptop, doing research, assignments, and of course, skyping, tweeting and FB-ing. I sit on my bed 99% of the time, so the laptop lives up to its name and is usually on my lap. Laptops get hot and they burn. I use my blanket as an insulator but when I came home last week and saw the magic desk and knew the owner was NEVER going to use it, I swiped it. It's really great. I feel so productive now that I have it. And it's really cute. It has a night light and a beer holder - well, okay okay...a drinks holder. Yep. I love my stolen desk.

D is also for dinner, which also allows me to segue into my photo challenge photos today. Though it was pretty simple last night - pasta and minced beef - it was fun to cook, and even more fun to eat and always fun to make into a photo star. I thought I would share this one. Perspective wise, I think getting close up to food is great and really highlights the yumminess of it and creates longing. Are you longing?

SITS Photo Challenge Day II
Macaroni with lean mince, chock full of onions, garlic, chillis, sweet peppers and tomato and herb pasta sauce

But this, a re-posted photo, is one of my fave food close ups ever. I got low and tried to get the flesh-falling-off-the-bone chicken at an angle. I can only ever take photos of my dinner when I am home alone. It looks a bit odd to be getting on the floor or on the chair to get aerials, side shots and table level shots of my food.

SITS Photo Challenge Day II
Slow cooked curried chicken, with curried chick peas and potatoes and warm chapatis

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