Update...

Sorry I haven't posted a Blog in a while. Due to the situation at home, I haven't felt up to reporting on what is going on over here. I was in Amsterdam this past weekend with Curtis. It couldn't have fell on a better weekend. Crazy how this world works. I can't imagine what it would have been like to be alone this past weekend. It was so wonderful to see Curtis and comforting to be with him. I hope I was as much of a help to him, as he was to me! You can't imagine how difficult it is for me to be here right now. Curtis and I were talking about it, and I said...if I could be anywhere right now, I would want to be at my mom's house chillin on her couch with my mom and sisters watching AMERICAN FOOTBALL!!!. Even if there is nothing that I can do at home to change the situation, at least I could be there for support.



It really puts into perspective the importance in life. Being in London is a wonderful experience, and I am glad that I have taken the opportunity to come out here. But my family is my life and the most important thing to me. London is a beautiful place, but without my family (Michael included) to share it with there is a constant empty feeling that I have.



It has been such a relief to get the text messages from Jen updating us on the information as well as doing research on Internet. I think that last night was the first night I slept through the night. I didn't wake up until my alarm went off!

I keep praying for the best and sending over all my love!

I miss you all so much.

I will write more this afternoon and post some pics from my trip to Amsterdam.

Love Ya!

Note to self....Don't use the Work Blob in the UK!!!!

Funny story #.....oh man I can't keep track anymore...Too many.

My colleagues were asking me about my family and if I have been able to talk with anyone. So I tell them that I created a Blog so that I can communicate with everyone and that I talk to my Mom, sisters and Michael every once in a while. Then I tell them about my mom and her Blob story. They were all laughing....then Dawn (my manager here) pulls me aside and tells me "Lisa, I just wanted to make you aware that when you say Blob here it means That Time of the Month!!!" We were both cracking up...made the story that much funnier!

So anyways...I moved into my flat yesterday. I haven't unpacked completely yet, because I don't have a lot of storage space. I need to get some cheap bins or drawers for my clothes. Next week I am getting a UK bank account so that I can get my Internet hooked up and a TV. In the UK you have to get at TV license to have a TV in your home. And to do that you have to have a UK bank account and UK address. Weird...huh..a license to own a TV!

So Here are some pics of the place....

The Kitchen


The living room area


My Bed...it is hard...not the most comfortable bed!


My Bathroom




this last picture is my boiler...my water heater. It took me about 20 minutes last night to figure out how to get hot water. The boiler is in the kitchen and I have to turn it on and set it in order to get hot water and turn my central heat on. I'm looking everywhere in the bathroom, trying to figure out how to get hot water to wash my face! Here, you don't have a water heater on at all times, you only turn it on when you need it...makes sense...saves money...but I had no clue! The perks of the US! But, at least I get hot water...unlike Peru where I took cold showers for 6 weeks!

I am off to Amsterdam this evening to spend the weekend with Curtis. I am really looking forward to spending some time with Family!!! Everyone is great here, but there is nothing like friends and family! =)

I hope all is well with all of you. I love you and miss you all.

Becca I love you so much...even though you are thousands of miles away you are close to me in spirit...in my mind and my heart.

My Next Blob!!

No that wasn't a typo...I was talking to my Mom this weekend and she told me that she loves reading my Blobs and to keep sending them! Only Mom...Gotta love her. It is going to be so much fun when she comes out here...We are in for tons of laughs!

Anyways...some unfortunate news regarding my flat. There has been a delay in the funds being approved and being submitted to the rental company, so I haven't been able to move in yet. The date keeps getting pushed back. So I have had to extend my stay in the hotel. Only problem was that they did not have availability for Wednesday night at my current hotel. So tomorrow I have to change hotels, which is such a pain with all of my bags! But at least the hotel is just next door, so I can take a couple trips over with my bags. I will be so happy to finally get into my flat and unpack!

This doesn't include my bedding and towels that I bought over the weekend.

Work has been going great. I had my first broadcast yesterday and they have been assigning me more projects. So I am starting to get into the flow of things here. I have an fun editing project that I am working on right now and we have a big conference event tomorrow and Thursday that I will be helping out on. The variety of projects I have here is a real nice change. I am able to work on events that I typically am not involved with in SJ.

I am going flying to Amsterdam on Friday to visit Curtis for the weekend. I am really looking forward to it. It will be nice to see a familiar face =) Everyone here has raved about Amsterdam! But we won't be going to any "Movies" while we are there! ;) I think that Michael's story was enough of an experience for both of us!

More blobs to come later!

My first real weekend in London

The weather has been beautiful this weekend. The sun was out and it was in the high 60's might even have reached the 70's!

On Saturday I went to Oxford street and went shopping...well more window shopping that actual shopping. With the exchange rate the prices are outrageous, so I am trying really hard to not buy too much. But you all know me =) I have a hard time just window shopping! I went to a cute little restaurant for dinner that was off on a side street. FYI: the salad dressings in the UK suck!!! I haven't found one that I have liked yet!

Here are some pics from Oxford street.

(This is where I ate dinner)

Today, I went down to a shopping mall close to the hotel. I needed to buy bed lines and towels before I move in on Tuesday. The flat does not come with bedding, towels, etc. I really missed having my car today...lugging bags of comforters, towels, pillow etc on the bus was not the easiest thing ever. I can just imagine what it will be like when the rain comes!

(This is the shopping mall that I went to)

I miss you all tons. Thanks for the messages and e-mails. It is so great to hear from you guys.

Love ya!

Bedfont Studios

Here are some pics from the studios here in Bedfont

This is my cube. Dawn, Simon and Melissa (the other producers sit there as well)

This area is behind be (in the same room). This is our Media Processing area, where we upload all of our video to the web.

This is the control room where we monitor all of the video from the studios.

This is the hallway leading into the studios...see what I mean about the Purple!

This is our small studio....

And this is our large studio...there is that purple again!

And there I am...posing in the hotel before I head off to work. It is cold here...hence the jacket and scarf. No rain yet...so the galoshes haven't been broken out yet!

Finding my home away from home

Today was my first day in the office. The campus as well as the studios are a lot smaller than San Jose and it looks nothing like the SJ office (great décor: not all the same grey cubes and white walls – they use color - - lots of purple and teal!) Everyone has been so friendly and helpful. They have been very considerate of my “adjustment time” and don’t want to throw too much at me too fast. I have received a couple projects and hopefully that will ramp up in the next couple of weeks.

Yesterday, I went house hunting. I looked at nearly 15 different places. I had lots to choose from, which was really nice. I narrowed it down to two places yesterday and we put an offer on both. The first one was a 2brm, 2 bath, 2 story flat (very spacious and nice) and it was the only one that had a separate washer and a dryer in the unit. I thought this would be perfect, especially when my Mom and Joanne come out to visit. But the negatives about this place was that there was construction going on behind and below the unit, it wasn’t furnished yet and it was a little over a mile to the nearest train station and there was not a lot within walking distance. The second place was a 1 brm 1 bath very modern flat. It had a combination washer and dryer and a shared backyard space. It was about a half mile from the train station, close to parks for running and near a plaza with lots of restaurants and little shops.

Today I found out that they estimated that the construction on the first place would not be completed for another month (and we all know how the estimated time frame holds up!) It also wouldn’t be ready for me to move in for another couple of weeks, because they would have to furnish it. So sorry Mom and Joanne….I had to go with the One Bedroom place. But I am very excited! Although it is smaller I think that it will be perfect for me for the next 5 months. The location is ideal and I get to move in on Monday.

I removed my address per Auntie Kathy's request =) If you need it for anything just e-mail me and I will send it to you.

Oh and by the way if you were wondering Richmond is nothing like Richmond CA…it is more like Walnut Creek. Apparently everyone out here wants to live in Richmond.

Here is a picture from the flyer. I will take more on Monday to share with you.




Ok…so now for the fun part! Here are my Funny British stories for the day:
1. Cheryl (the lady who took me house hunting yesterday) gave me a packet with lots of useful guides, maps, etc. Then she told me to put it in the boot. I must have looked at her like she was crazy…I had no clue what she was talking about. She started laughing and apologized…and said…”oh I guess you call it a trunk”. So apparently a boot is the trunk of the car and the bonnet is the hood of the car. Ironically, one of the books that she gave me in the packet has a list of all these little things that are different about the UK and the US. So I will have to study up!

2. For lunch yesterday the relocation company took me to a sandwich shop. There weren’t very many options for me (with all my food issues) so I thought a salad would be safe. Well, apparently they didn’t have salads yesterday…so I ordered a lemon chicken jacket potato. I had no clue what I was going to get…but chicken and potatos…seemed safe. And it was, it was actually very good…it was chicken over a baked potato…come to find out after reading my handy British American glossary book...a Jacket Potato is a Baked Potato! Makes so much sense to me know!

I’m sure there will more stories like these to come, so stay tuned….

As always…I love you all so much….and miss you tons!

Arrival to London

After, Ten and half hours, 3 movies, 1 book, and the worst turbulence that I have ever experienced….I finally made it to London. I didn’t do much yesterday, just tried to adjust to the time change. I hardly slept on the plane, so I was super tired when I got to the hotel. I walked around the hotel area and went to the gym for a little workout, but that was about it. Oh…they have ESPN here so I watched the Cal and USC football games!

Today, Sunday, I successfully took the tube to London without getting lost! I went to Regency street, which has a bunch of shops and restaurants. I went to the movie and saw “The Women”. I’ve never gone to the movies by myself before…but I guess that is something I am going to have to get use too! After the movie I got some lunch and walked around window shopping.

Tomorrow I go and look for my apartment. I am looking forward to figuring out where I will spent the next 5 months. I’m anxious to get settled. It is kinda hard being here alone…ok…maybe more than kinda! But I think that once I get into a routine with work things will get a lot better.

I thought I would share with you a few things that I have found to be different in the UK…

□ A British accent can make anything sound proper…even a toilet paper commercial. “When you have finished your bit, use the tissue that won’t hurt your bum”
□ Seeing a little kid sitting in the “driver seat” of a car. I have taken a couple double takes!Not use to seeing kids sitting on the left hand side of a car.
□ Street lights turn to yellow before they turn green.
□ Signs to show you where the bathroom is simply says “toilets”
□ Exit signs are “Way out”
□ Every stop on the tube (underground system) the announcers says “Please mind the gap” translation “Watch the huge gap between the train and the platform”

I forgot to take my camera with me downtown today, so I don’t have any pictures yet. But this is day 2 of about 150, so I have plenty of time to catch you up!

I love you all so much….and Miss you tons.

Last Family BBQ

Lisa's Going away BBQ at Michaels

Mom, Dave, Gianna and me.
My Family! PGRJN (Promessi, George, Rich, Jenkins, Newbry)

My Favorite Girls!

My Love!

My Bestest Friend in the whole wide world.

Gianna taking after Grandma. She loved those bones!

My little Princess...I'm going to miss you so much!

Big G and Little G

Look at the pretty dress my Aunties got me.

I am going to miss you all so much. Thank you for a wonderful day! I love you all!