Jason's Daily Notes

It was our first full day in the Cotswolds. We started the day by going to Tesco, stocking up on essentials for our Christmas meals, including steak. (We couldn't buy everything at the Cooperative the day before, as they were closing and already asking us to leave!)

We brought the food back to the house, and we had some lunch, consisting of leftover pasta (half of which I made into a nice carbonara).

Because the days are so short, we had to make the most of the few daylight hours we had. So we rushed out around 12:00 to Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. We got there in good time, but there was some traffic as we entered the town itself. We managed to park in a parking structure (on the 3rd floor, in a tight space) and headed directly for the Shakespeare birthplace, which was just a block away. We paid, went through a little exhibit about Shakespeare's life story, and then went outside to the actual house where he was born and raised. There were helpful guides in each room to give us information about what happened in each room. Shakespeare's father was a pretty successful glove maker who sold gloves and other leather goods from a window in their house that opened up onto the street.

We got up, packed up, and left Neath, Wales by 10am. We couldn't find our umbrella. Apparently I had left it at the restaurant/pub last night, but there was no sign of it anywhere.

We packed up our stuff and hit the road again. We didn't get breakfast, though. The plan was to buy some lunch in Cardiff, on our way. My uncle drove, and the driving was easier today, because we had a shorter route and most of it was on the motorway.

I chose a cafe in Cardiff that looked not too central (so as not to intimidate my uncle with difficult driving/parking). It was called Cafe Calcio, a trendy student-focused cafe that was highly rated for its breakfast/brunch offerings. We parked the car (with a little bit of difficulty) about 2 blocks away and walked there. I had "eggs brenedict" - a full English put into the form of eggs benedict. After some confusion, my mom ordered the salmon.

We then walked around the (quiet) area before returning to the car; we all agreed that the houses in that part of town at least reminded us of San Francisco. We then drove out of the city, headed on the M4 east back into England. The weather was cloudy and breezy, with only a few passing moments of showers. We switched over to the M5 headed north and then got off the motorway to head to the Cotswolds. The views were really nice, so we stopped at a turnout to take a few pictures.

Before long, we had arrived at our new home, Bourton-on-the-Water. The key was left under the potted plant by the door, and we quickly settled in.

Since things were bound to close for Christmas, we soon headed out to the nearby Cooperative supermarket to stock up on food (so we wouldn't starve over Christmas!). We got to the store about 10 minutes before they closed for the day (it was Sunday after all, so they closed at 4)!

We spent the evening in the house, watching some TV and preparing a dinner of pasta (bolognese). Uncle really liked the block of English cheddar that he bought.

Woke up in Porthmadog, Wales. I slept pretty well (but I always sleep well when I travel, and generally most other beds are better than mine in my flat in London). My mom, uncle, and I went downstairs to get breakfast. We were the only guests staying in the hotel that night. My uncle and I each ordered a full English breakfast, with my mom getting some fried fish thing. The workers were just cleaning up the pub and getting ready for the day. By 11:00, we were out of the hotel and on our way.

We drove south, stopping by  Harlech Castle. The weather was not cooperating, however: It was foggy, drizzly, windy, and chilly. In such conditions, it was nearly impossible to enjoy the good views of North Wales. Nevertheless, we parked the car, walked over to the castle, and took some pictures. [Note, at this time, several parts of the UK were under flood warnings as heavy rain pelted the region.]

We continued the drive, with rain showers sputtering on and off the whole way. We bypassed Aberystwyth, only stopping for petrol. My uncle was still pretty uncomfortable driving, especially starting and stopping in a busy area. Driving on the opposite side of the narrow country roads was also difficult: The car tended to drift over to the left side, and so I constantly had to yell that we were about to hit the curb or go off the road! Additionally, we wanted to get all our driving done before nightfall, which came very early, around 16:00.

We drove a bit through the interior of Wales, which was hilly but not too noteworthy nonetheless. We were soon in South Wales, on the M4, arriving at our hotel in the small town of Neath by 15:30. The hotel was in the town centre, but luckily there was a car park just for hotel guests a block away. We checked in and moved our stuff into our second-floor room. The room was spacious, with three single beds, one for each of us. We settled in, watching some TV (US X Factor) for a little bit. I also took the time to organize/ my entire email inbox, archiving emails from several years ago!

We were soon hungry, however, so we walked around the town center at 18:00. Everything was already closed, and it was dark and quiet. Rain continued to shower down, so I had to shield my camera from getting rain drops in the lens. We walked around and found another castle overlooking the Morrisons parking lot! (The castle was closed, though.) Eventually we settled on having dinner at the restaurant connected to the hotel. But all the tables were reserved! We just sat in the pub and ate there, while watching Liverpool win 4-0 against Fulham. I had the most amazing burger - it is definitely in the top 5 burgers I have ever had, if not the best ever! It was just the patty, with cheddar on relatively plain bread, but wow, it was delicious. I'll credit it to the restaurant using only Welsh ingredients. Also, I ordered Tatrs and Caws (taters and caws?), which was basically potatoes drenched in a creamy cheese onion sauce. Amazing! My uncle had a steak and my mom had some chicken, neither of which was that great.

Full of beer and food, we settled in to our room and fell asleep relatively early.

It was the first day of my family Christmas trip through England and Wales. I was awoken around 08:30. My mom and uncle called to say that they were on their way to my flat (to pick up a few thinsgs from their bags. They got lost - it took them like an hour to just walk the 5 minute walk to my place! Apparently my uncle asked for directions to Brixton and they walked all the way to Brixton! Sigh.

Mike awoke before I could take off, so I was there when he received his gifts. Oh well. My mom and uncle were off, taking the tube from Stockwell to Tottenham Hale, where we had to change to a national rail service. The next train was in 20 minutes, so we snacked on some croissants and coffee while waiting. The train eventually came, and we got off after only two stops. We walked from there to the car rental place, and soon I was off with a rental car. We definitely made sure to buy the additional insurance!

And then we were off. After my embarrassment trying to drive on our trip to Scotland this past May, I let my uncle do the driving. Unfortunately, he was also not too experienced with driving a stick shift. It was obvious that it was still a bit of a struggle to get the car going at times, but somehow we made it out of London and onto the M25 and then the M1.

I directed us to exit at Luton, where I would practice driving! I found a residential neighborhood with lots of streets that seemed perfect to practice on. So we parked the car, and it was my turn to go!

I was a little late to work because I couldn't find my Oyster card! I was really distraught - where could it be?!

At work, there was little for me to do in the morning. Instead, I started to help Dren out with the logistics in the office. He taught me how to prep devices for shipping, which I picked up somewhat quickly. There was a lot to do today: There was a deluge of orders coming in right before the Christmas holiday, and frankly, the logistics of the company was not able to handle that many. Raj, Dren, Faith, and I cut it down to the line, resetting devices and prepping them to ship. We even had to run down to catch the FedEx guy at the very last minute to deliver the very last shipment. WHEW.

And I had to leave at 18:00. I chatted with Simone on my way out. The agreement to sponsor my visa had changed. As I feared, the company would no longer be able to sponsor me. So I'm basically SOL. Not too unexpected but still, it was a heavy decision. We parted on good terms, though, so I hope that they'll leave me a good reference.

I returned home, getting off at Stockwell because I wanted to ask whether an Oyster card had been found. Nope. :(

I stopped by home, where Mike and Kayleen were off to watch Stomp. Fernanda joined me at my flat before we walked over to meet my mom and uncle for dinner at a nearby Portuguese restaurant (Cantinho de Portugal). Fern was able to order for us; the food was great, filling, and affordable. It was really an enjoyable dinner.

We returned home, dropping my mom and uncle off at their place, and Fernanda sleeping over at my place. I had to turn her away as I packed up her and Mike's Christmas gift :) Kayleen, her friend Julie and Mike returned to the flat and we chatted briefly before they went to bed.

Went to bed, after preparing everyone's gifts - I had to be up early to pick up our rental car :)

I returned to work after my graduation day. It was a dreary and dark day, as all days are in London this time of year. Work was draggin on, and I had little motivation because I got the feeling that I wouldn't be staying there much longer.

My mom and uncle stayed at home, because they were too tired and still feeling under the weather. I had time to meet them after work, because I had to help them move into their new apartment, which was toward Stockwell. We dropped off some stuff at my flat first, so that they would have less stuff to carry.

I accompanied them to their new flat before quickly leaving to meet up with some friends at a pub near Victoria. There was Severine, Helene, and Delfin (who was visiting London for a few days, trying to sort out his job situation - hopefully he'll be in Milton Keyes!), and Cece and Abhi, whom I hadn't seen in years! It was great to meet them and to catch up with them too. Abhi works for Facebook which is really cool and impressive. Helene is working for Starbucks, while Sev is working some nanny job I think (?). We had a couple drinks each. But then it was starting to get late, so we parted ways. I accompanied Delfin to the tube, where he had some trouble topping up his oyster. I took the Victoria line a few stops to Stockwell, and I rushed home in the rain. It was 00:30.

Little did I know: That moment would be the last time I had any record of my Oyster card :(

Even though I didn't have work, I still had to get up early to meet my mom and uncle and get to LSE in time for the 10:45 graduation ceremony. I dressed up in my suit and tie, and I met them around 08:30. We waited at Groveway for the 59 bus, which took us all the way there.

Outside of the Old Building were crowds of graduates, many already dressed up in their cap and gown. I caught a glimpse of Kristi, who was there with her parents. We said hi, and I quickly rushed off to pick up my gown and tickets for the ceremony. The Student Services Center was hectic with people queueing to get suited up and to collect tickets. But somehow I made it, saying hi to many classmates along the way - Alexandru, Thibault, Aditi, Danial, Qian, Thomas, David F., and Christoph among them.

I entered the ceremony, where I parted with my mom and uncle (who were sitting upstairs) and met many more classmates - we were all seated in two subsequent rows. I ended up sitting between Suxin and Alexandros. People were catching up right until the start of the ceremony, which was nice, formal but constrained by LSE's usual lack of spacious facilities. The head of the university gave a relatively uninspired speech, and we all walked across the stage, being cheered on as could be expected. Ana won the award for best dissertation; how cool! At the end, there was an honorary degree bestowed upon the former treasury of the World Bank; he is Chinese and his name was Justin I think. It was pretty cool to hear him accept the degree to graciously and with some humor.

After the ceremony, I hung with Kristi for a minute before reuniting with my family. We took a couple pictures but headed straight to the photographer to get my portrait taken. There, behind me, was Gagandeep and some of his friends. The photos were ok, but I felt that my smile was too forced and I didn't look that great :( And it took some time before we could properly take my pictures with the big foam letters spelling out "LSE 2012"! Then, we headed to the 4th floor restaurant for the reception, but it was already over! :( Sadly, I didn't get to even say hi to many of my classmates. But Thibault and JB were there to at least have a picture with me.

So, I then returned my cap and gown, and we then walked around looking for a place to eat. Conveniently, there was the sushi restaurant right on Kingsway, so we popped in for a somewhat late lunch at 14:30. There, seated at two tables next to each other, were JB and his family, and Maya and her family! We said hi and congratulated each other again.

My mom, uncle, and I, instead of going home, headed to the National Gallery to fit some sightseeing in. However, my uncle was still not feeling well, so mom and I insisted that I take him home (he can't figure out how to get home by himself). So I did; we took the bus from Trafalgar Square. Then,  I returned via tube to the museum to find my mom, whom I had left with the telephone but she wasn't picking up when I rang. So I methodically but determinedly walked through the entire museum, room by room, scanning for her. It took less than 10 minutes before I found her - yes! I then accompanied her back home and dropped her off around 18:30.

The plan was for my [IMEX] classmates to meet up on campus for drinks at 19:00 and then find a restaurant or bar to go to afterwards. However, the Tuns was closed, and there was no update from them on Facebook. So, I decided to join the other [M&S] classmates who were at All Bar One. I got there, and it was just Aditi, Thomas, and Elena. We chatted over a couple drinks, and they caught me up on all the gossip between classmates. It was pretty interesting, actually. Thomas noticed that at the next table, there was his old dorm mate (?) and they had a mini-reunion. We also got a free bottle of wine from the previous party that was leaving.

We left as the bar closed, around 11pm. Kerem met us, walking down Kingsway. We had a brief reunion, and he introduced me to his girlfriend, before I tore myself away and forced myself home (I did have work in the morning). Good times! Wish I could have seen more classmates, though.

I had to go to work; it was my first day back after my holiday in California. My uncle was not feeling well, and my mom was also tired, so they stayed in the apartment all day.

It was a dim and dreary day, and things felt different at the office. First, the two rooms that our office had occupied were now consolidated into one. Secondly, there was a reshuffling of employees: Ecehan was gone, and so was George, but there were two new logistics helpers: Faith and Abi (sp?). Thirdly, it seems like the company's momentum had suddenly collapsed. Many problems had popped up, including several bills and creditors calling to demand that they be paid by the company, and Jas coming back in tears because the company couldn't afford to pay her. Basically, it looks like the company is having serious cash flow problems.

I talked with my supervisor about their decision regarding my sponsorship, and they said that they would sponsor me, if I would stay on minimum wage. Seriously?! There is no way that I would accept that. I told him that, and he said that there would be an answer for me in a couple days. At LEAST I got my paycheck - finally. During lunch, I went over to Bayswater to deposit the cheque. I needed the money; rent was due.

I worked the whole day, but I made an effort to leave as soon after 6 as possible, coming home at 7pm and buying some Christmas stuff, including wrapping paper and a gift for Asia. Mike was making dinner for us (breaded chicken cutlet with vegetables) - what an awesome guy. I packed up a gift for Asia and went off to meet her around 9:30pm. I think having a birthday is important, but having one so close to Christmas could leave you often being neglected. So that's why I felt it important to see her. I met her at Belsize Park station, and we walked over to Hampstead Heath, strolling to the top of Parliament Hill (I think that's the name) and chatting the whole way. It was pleasant. I didn't get back home until midnight-ish. I needed rest - in the morning, it was my graduation, after all!