... to break up the holiday stuff. The holiday stuff is for me as much as you guys and for people whose inboxes I don't wish to overload with huge emails. This is easier. Many are not regular readers so do not fret.
Tomorrow is first day of Law School. I think I know what I'm going to wear. Shockingly, it's not pink. But I am going to wear my new shoes that I purchased today. I'm not really nervous but it will be weird to go somewhere this significant and not know anyone. I haven't done that since I started University six years ago. My passport photos look awful. I'm not sure if my little suitcase will hold all my books. I also don't think I'm taking the right handbag but I will just have to make my peace with it as I didn't buy a better one.
Tomorrow is enrolment, getting books, student IDs, meeting tutors, getting timetables etc. I don't want there to be any hot men in my group. In my lectures, fine but not in my seminars. That would be distracting. If there is a choice between hot men in my seminars and no hot men at all, I would rather have no hot men at all. I'm going to learn about the law and get distinctions in all my assessments. Anything else is secondary.
I've done my nails, now I'm making a piece of toast and then going to bed. Tomorrow's gonna be weird!
Thursday, September 28, 2006
The Great Smoky Mountains... and the beginning of the shopping!
Ok we didn't see much of the mountains. We headed off from Richmond in the morning, the first cloudy day since we arrived decided to take place just then. We drove up to the mountains, hoping to drive across Skyline Drive and see some spectacular views, but encountered some fog. And not just a little fog. A lot of thick, white, unpenetratable fog. To the extent that we couldn't actually see more than about two feet in front of the car. So we drove down again.
We instead had lunch at a small cafe in Staunton (pronounced Stanton), some quiche and a cookie. Very cute, frequented by some students from James Madison University which is apparently nearby. The town was tiny and very all-american small town-like. Although we didn't get to see the mountains this was a nice experience.
In the evening we were due at Winchester, VA to spend the night. A whole lot of quiet in this place and we couldn't even find the obligatory junk food chains to eat in. We had chicken and biscuit (now this is no ordinary biscuit, its like a salty sponge cake that tastes kinda buttery) at Popeye's. And strawberry Fanta. OH MY GOD. I've never encountered this before, and E-numbers and sugar content aside, its so LOVELY!!! I'm not a big fizzy drinks fan, I would never buy any for the house, only have coke in pubs if I'm not drinking, but this I would buy. Yum. Can't get it here. Damn.
This day was pretty quiet, but the next day was our last day on the road!!! We were due to return Randy at Union Station in D.C. at 4pm the following day. So we headed off, driving through the mountains a little bit. This was one of the best drives we had - little winding roads and some great views (no huge drops but cute countryside and stuff). Randy did us proud, even though we couldn't take the roof down because it wasn't sunny. Boo hiss. We managed, with a little detour, to go into West Virginia for a bit, adding to our state count.
The first shopping stop was at Leesburg, where a large outlet park resides. It was very quiet as it was the middle of the day and a Thursday so we could shop in peace. This trip was the trigger for my love of Guess. Miss S is a big fan already and has brought back numerous items from her travels, now I got to go to a shop myself. Now there is one in London but I haven't even bothered to go in there as it's extortionately expensive. But this one wasn't, so we started the carnage on our bank accounts. Such lovely stuff. I'm still dreaming about a handbag I didn't buy and wish I hadn't... so cute!!! I made up for this later on though I'm sure.
We instead had lunch at a small cafe in Staunton (pronounced Stanton), some quiche and a cookie. Very cute, frequented by some students from James Madison University which is apparently nearby. The town was tiny and very all-american small town-like. Although we didn't get to see the mountains this was a nice experience.
In the evening we were due at Winchester, VA to spend the night. A whole lot of quiet in this place and we couldn't even find the obligatory junk food chains to eat in. We had chicken and biscuit (now this is no ordinary biscuit, its like a salty sponge cake that tastes kinda buttery) at Popeye's. And strawberry Fanta. OH MY GOD. I've never encountered this before, and E-numbers and sugar content aside, its so LOVELY!!! I'm not a big fizzy drinks fan, I would never buy any for the house, only have coke in pubs if I'm not drinking, but this I would buy. Yum. Can't get it here. Damn.
This day was pretty quiet, but the next day was our last day on the road!!! We were due to return Randy at Union Station in D.C. at 4pm the following day. So we headed off, driving through the mountains a little bit. This was one of the best drives we had - little winding roads and some great views (no huge drops but cute countryside and stuff). Randy did us proud, even though we couldn't take the roof down because it wasn't sunny. Boo hiss. We managed, with a little detour, to go into West Virginia for a bit, adding to our state count.
The first shopping stop was at Leesburg, where a large outlet park resides. It was very quiet as it was the middle of the day and a Thursday so we could shop in peace. This trip was the trigger for my love of Guess. Miss S is a big fan already and has brought back numerous items from her travels, now I got to go to a shop myself. Now there is one in London but I haven't even bothered to go in there as it's extortionately expensive. But this one wasn't, so we started the carnage on our bank accounts. Such lovely stuff. I'm still dreaming about a handbag I didn't buy and wish I hadn't... so cute!!! I made up for this later on though I'm sure.
I wonder if our ancestors were hot...
... I doubt it somehow though.
We spent the next day at Jamestown Settlement finding out lots of stuff about the founding of America. I wish we had had the time to go to Colonial Williamsburg, but alas we didn't. So this was the next best thing. Mind you we arrived at about 3pm so only had two hours to look around and it was enough. It's pretty small.
We saw a musket being fired (although it didn't work so well the second time, oops), went on board some boats and met lots of people dressed in period costume, telling us lots about the life of the colonists. I won't bore you with any more historical facts, but here are a couple of things that came up and we wondered about.
1. The people pretending to be settlers should have all had English accents. In 1607 the people who came over on the boats were English. To preserve true authenticity, the staff should have spoken the King's English, not have varying levels of Southern, Midwestern and Bostonian accents. This was disappointing.
2. The original settlement was a bunch of men. There were no women for obvious reasons (in 1607 going to found a new country was considered inherently too dangerous and too exciting for women to partake in). Women arrived a couple of years later to perform their duty as wives to the settlers. Now it makes me wonder, if you were a young lady of high moral standard (apparently they had to be in order to qualify) and you decided to head off to the New World to meet a husband and you arrived and they were all mingers, what would you do!?! I mean obviously being a woman among 20 horn-ridden men who hadn't seen a female in years you wouldn't be short of offers, but how cheated would you feel if none of them were hot!? Ok I am clearly making the assumption that 17th century women cared about this stuff, I imagine there were other criteria they considered more important for a husband, but I wouldn't be too happy if it were me. Although saying that, if you can't find a husband in England and had to be sent off to marry a lone ranger across the pond, perhaps you were past the point of caring much about what your husband was like as long as you got one.
After our outing to Jamestown we drove up to Richmond, VA, where we failed to find the town centre (the only time we got lost during the holiday and that was only because we didn't have a map of Richmond) and just had a quiet evening in the hotel in the suburbs.
We spent the next day at Jamestown Settlement finding out lots of stuff about the founding of America. I wish we had had the time to go to Colonial Williamsburg, but alas we didn't. So this was the next best thing. Mind you we arrived at about 3pm so only had two hours to look around and it was enough. It's pretty small.
We saw a musket being fired (although it didn't work so well the second time, oops), went on board some boats and met lots of people dressed in period costume, telling us lots about the life of the colonists. I won't bore you with any more historical facts, but here are a couple of things that came up and we wondered about.
1. The people pretending to be settlers should have all had English accents. In 1607 the people who came over on the boats were English. To preserve true authenticity, the staff should have spoken the King's English, not have varying levels of Southern, Midwestern and Bostonian accents. This was disappointing.
2. The original settlement was a bunch of men. There were no women for obvious reasons (in 1607 going to found a new country was considered inherently too dangerous and too exciting for women to partake in). Women arrived a couple of years later to perform their duty as wives to the settlers. Now it makes me wonder, if you were a young lady of high moral standard (apparently they had to be in order to qualify) and you decided to head off to the New World to meet a husband and you arrived and they were all mingers, what would you do!?! I mean obviously being a woman among 20 horn-ridden men who hadn't seen a female in years you wouldn't be short of offers, but how cheated would you feel if none of them were hot!? Ok I am clearly making the assumption that 17th century women cared about this stuff, I imagine there were other criteria they considered more important for a husband, but I wouldn't be too happy if it were me. Although saying that, if you can't find a husband in England and had to be sent off to marry a lone ranger across the pond, perhaps you were past the point of caring much about what your husband was like as long as you got one.
After our outing to Jamestown we drove up to Richmond, VA, where we failed to find the town centre (the only time we got lost during the holiday and that was only because we didn't have a map of Richmond) and just had a quiet evening in the hotel in the suburbs.
Fancy a shag?
In Charleston we encountered our first - and probably most hilarity-causing - cultural difference.
For my American readers, shag to us in England is a rather often-used slang word for sexual intercourse (anyone who has watched Austin Powers will know). In South Carolina, shag is the state dance with a somewhat long history. (State dance?!? Those things exists?! Honestly...) The book "Shagging through the Ages" had us in stitches for about twenty minutes. It included old newspaper articles such as "Shagging world-record broken in Charleston", "Famous artist breaks leg during shag" and "Shag contest draws record audience".
That aside, we had a fantastic time in Charleston. This was definitely one of the absolute highlights of the holiday for both of us. We arrived quite early having left Savannah behind, the drive was only about an hour through some non-descript country roads playing "I Spy" (telephone pole anyone?! It was shocking how hard we found it to guess correctly when there really wasn't that much to see).
We stayed in the Holiday Inn in the historic disctrict and were very pleased to find the hotel had a concierge. Once we met him, I remembered having read about this guy on TripAdvisor as being legendary and I would agree. We waited a while to get to see him but it was well worth it. This guy is magic. He organised our entire visit (he got SO EXCITED when he realised we were from England and about our accents. When I said "brilliant" he nearly fell off his chair as it was his favourite British word!) and got us reservations for dinner and a walking tour the next day. He gave us a map and drew on it where to go that afternoon and we had an absolutely fantastic time!
The weather was lovely once again thankfully and we headed on down King Street which has all the shops. It was SO PRETTY! Everything is old, everything. We strolled down towards the riverside walking through what we were told are the most beautiful streets in Charleston and this wasn't a lie! The houses are all straight from Gone with the Wind - complete with window shutters. I could live there so happily! We saw the house rented previously by Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow, dubbed the Grandest House in Charleston. It was pretty cool! We walked all the way down to the Battery and back up again (so called as during the Civil War and others that's where the guns were). It was like going back in time. I know I've said this before but it really was. I knew Charleston was going to be pretty but I didn't genuinely expect to be quite this impressed!
For dinner we got a bit dressed up and headed on to Hank's Seafood Restaurant as recommended and booked by Kevin the concierge. It was lovely, of course. I had traditional Charleston Prawn Curry, which wasn't really anything special as it really tasted like curry sauce from Tesco's... but the atmosphere etc was great. We proceeded on to enjoy the balmy summer night at the rooftop bar of the Market Pavilion Hotel.
The views again - gorgeous!!! Clear night, red moon, a cascading pool and two hot girls with short skirts and a long drink. What more could you ask for? Well perhaps some gorgeous men to buy the drinks for us but you can't have everything... (Please note it must be included in here that Miss S, my partner-in-crime, actually got a free drink from the barman!)
In the morning we trotted off to take part in the guided walk that Kevin the Concierge had booked for us. This would make our trip, he claimed, and he wasn't lying. The guide was so knowledgeable about all things Charleston and although we only walked for about a mile it took two hours and was packed full of facts.
Now those who don't know me very well will not know about my history obsession. I love museums, period dramas (the ones on TV, not the ones of the female variety), old houses, history books and historical adaptations etc. This tour and Charleston in general was full of stuff about history and from the Southern perspective for that matter, not the Northern one, which the one you always read about. Here are some facts we learned and stuff we saw:
*Boring history geek alert*
Charleston, originally Charles Town after the contemporary regent, was built as only 4 blocks by 8, so it was TINY and the location was chosen due to the peninsula being easily accessible by boat and thus amenable to trade. Most of the original town is still there!
The Civil War started in Charleston both politically and physically. Politically when the democratic party at their annual conference couldn't pick just one presidential candidate (due to booing by hired thugs) and put forward too many. Thus the vote was diluted and Abraham Lincoln was elected president with only 39% of the votes! Thus all the stragglers got upset about the new president and agreed to sign the secession agreement (to sever the Confederate from the Union). The secession was also signed in Charleston, in the building we were in, although it's been knocked down and rebuilt and is now a law firm. And thus the war was pretty much a certainty.
The cemetery we went to see houses some 4000 inhabitants, many in mass graves due to illnesses and suchlike. The pirates' flag with skull and crossbones came from the style of gravestones used there as the skull with wings is in fact the angel of death and was used to make people afraid and associate pirates with death. There was also a really cute little cat living under the church!!! (A live one).
The Charleston Single House was built in order to protect the inhabitants from the heat and humidity which was unseen to colonists coming from the cold and rainy England. The houses in Charleston all face in the same direction depending on whether they are on north/south or east/west roads - so that they get the minimum amount of sunlight! The houses are all one room wide, not because of frontage tax (we'll come to that in Georgetown) but to be more opulent, and the front door leads to the patio to avoid having to build a corridor through the whole house.
The current state of Charleston is quite different from the historical Charleston, as a lot of landfill was developed to grow the peninsula, from rock (there is no natural rock in Charleston, or Savannah for that matter!) and debris that was transported to the country on boats bringing lighter stuff to the country. So a lot of times we were standing on places that started off as river.
Almost all the houses on the Battery are original antebellum houses. Hardly any have been destroyed. There was a huge fire that swept across the city and a few hurricanes but apart from small corrections the houses have survived.
One of only three(?) surviving buildings where the declaration of Independence was signed is in Charleston. Unfortunately we didn't have time to visit.
There was SO MUCH else that we heard and I wish I could remember it all. The tour was really fantastic and packed with information and we enjoyed it muchly. We liked Charleston so much, we just didn't want to leave. But we had to, alas I will be back one day to catch up on all the stuff we didnt get to see.
From Charleston our journey took us up the coast through Myrtle Beach and Wilmington to Raleigh, NC. Looooooong drive. Boring drive. Raleigh we didn't see much of. Only the Days Inn and the highly authentic Waffle House complete with trailer trash waitress missing all of her front teeth. Lovely.
For my American readers, shag to us in England is a rather often-used slang word for sexual intercourse (anyone who has watched Austin Powers will know). In South Carolina, shag is the state dance with a somewhat long history. (State dance?!? Those things exists?! Honestly...) The book "Shagging through the Ages" had us in stitches for about twenty minutes. It included old newspaper articles such as "Shagging world-record broken in Charleston", "Famous artist breaks leg during shag" and "Shag contest draws record audience".
That aside, we had a fantastic time in Charleston. This was definitely one of the absolute highlights of the holiday for both of us. We arrived quite early having left Savannah behind, the drive was only about an hour through some non-descript country roads playing "I Spy" (telephone pole anyone?! It was shocking how hard we found it to guess correctly when there really wasn't that much to see).
We stayed in the Holiday Inn in the historic disctrict and were very pleased to find the hotel had a concierge. Once we met him, I remembered having read about this guy on TripAdvisor as being legendary and I would agree. We waited a while to get to see him but it was well worth it. This guy is magic. He organised our entire visit (he got SO EXCITED when he realised we were from England and about our accents. When I said "brilliant" he nearly fell off his chair as it was his favourite British word!) and got us reservations for dinner and a walking tour the next day. He gave us a map and drew on it where to go that afternoon and we had an absolutely fantastic time!
The weather was lovely once again thankfully and we headed on down King Street which has all the shops. It was SO PRETTY! Everything is old, everything. We strolled down towards the riverside walking through what we were told are the most beautiful streets in Charleston and this wasn't a lie! The houses are all straight from Gone with the Wind - complete with window shutters. I could live there so happily! We saw the house rented previously by Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow, dubbed the Grandest House in Charleston. It was pretty cool! We walked all the way down to the Battery and back up again (so called as during the Civil War and others that's where the guns were). It was like going back in time. I know I've said this before but it really was. I knew Charleston was going to be pretty but I didn't genuinely expect to be quite this impressed!
For dinner we got a bit dressed up and headed on to Hank's Seafood Restaurant as recommended and booked by Kevin the concierge. It was lovely, of course. I had traditional Charleston Prawn Curry, which wasn't really anything special as it really tasted like curry sauce from Tesco's... but the atmosphere etc was great. We proceeded on to enjoy the balmy summer night at the rooftop bar of the Market Pavilion Hotel.
The views again - gorgeous!!! Clear night, red moon, a cascading pool and two hot girls with short skirts and a long drink. What more could you ask for? Well perhaps some gorgeous men to buy the drinks for us but you can't have everything... (Please note it must be included in here that Miss S, my partner-in-crime, actually got a free drink from the barman!)
In the morning we trotted off to take part in the guided walk that Kevin the Concierge had booked for us. This would make our trip, he claimed, and he wasn't lying. The guide was so knowledgeable about all things Charleston and although we only walked for about a mile it took two hours and was packed full of facts.
Now those who don't know me very well will not know about my history obsession. I love museums, period dramas (the ones on TV, not the ones of the female variety), old houses, history books and historical adaptations etc. This tour and Charleston in general was full of stuff about history and from the Southern perspective for that matter, not the Northern one, which the one you always read about. Here are some facts we learned and stuff we saw:
*Boring history geek alert*
There was SO MUCH else that we heard and I wish I could remember it all. The tour was really fantastic and packed with information and we enjoyed it muchly. We liked Charleston so much, we just didn't want to leave. But we had to, alas I will be back one day to catch up on all the stuff we didnt get to see.
From Charleston our journey took us up the coast through Myrtle Beach and Wilmington to Raleigh, NC. Looooooong drive. Boring drive. Raleigh we didn't see much of. Only the Days Inn and the highly authentic Waffle House complete with trailer trash waitress missing all of her front teeth. Lovely.
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Savannah, GA. No we did not take the midnight train, we drove up the coast from the Sunshine State and arrived outside our Historic Inn about 6pm in the evening. Just in time to have missed out on all the good parking spots and having to drive up to the multi-storey car park. Although this wasn't so bad seeing as we were given a suggestion to park on the roof where the views were truly amazing from.
The Inn cost us quite a few dollars for the night but it was well worth it. The decor was incredible, we felt as if we had been taken back in time to the 19th Century when the Deep South was still in its glory and Scarlett O'Hara was flouncing around in her giant dresses with young men bringing her all her heart's desires. (Please note this was not exclusive to Savannah, wait til we get to Charleston!)
Our room on the third floor comprised two humonguous four-poster beds (high enough to provide vertigo to the bravest of travellers), gorgeous high ceilings, wooden furniture, old-style sofas and dressing gowns. And complimentary bottles of water (these were NOT free in DC, $4 I tell you! $4!!!!)
We spent the evening exploring the riverside of Savannah. The atmosphere was very deep south, weather was warm and there were street performers, musicians etc very relaxed ambiance and generally lovely. We started off at the Savannah Candy Kitchen
Oh my god we had died and gone to heaven - it's basically a huge sweet shop where they make taffy and praline and chocolates in the premises. The smell was heavenly - we both bought big bags of flavoured taffy, straight from the conveyor. Yum! Obviously we didn't want to spoil our appetites so we only had one... or two... to taste.
For dinner, since we were in the South, we wanted something local. I was considering for a while having grits but I wasn't quite brave enough. The riverside restaurant we chose looked pretty basic from the outside and the portions looked like nothing special when they arrived but they tasted so good! I had linguine with grouper in breadcrumbs and creamy sauce and I can still taste the lovely flavour. We don't get grouper in England much unless we pay ourselves silly so I was brave and had this whole new kind of fish and I didn't regret it.
We couldn't find much nightlife in Savannah but that was probably because we were at the opposite end of town to all the bars and only hung around at the riverside, so we had an early night in our gorgeous beds. It was here that I discovered the Gameshow Network. Oh dear, I could spend a long time watching that!
In order to make the most of the town we got up early, planning to take part in a carriage tour around the town. Unfortunately though, the carriages were booked by a large tourist group so we couldn't have a tour. Instead we walked around the various squares and MAN was it quiet. Admittedly this was Sunday in Georgia so the world and his wife were in church, but we didn't really find much to entertain us in Savannah. So we headed off to Charleston, not so much disappointed with Savannah but perhaps hoping that there had been more to see. A tour would perhaps have provided us with this - goddamn tourist groups!
The Inn cost us quite a few dollars for the night but it was well worth it. The decor was incredible, we felt as if we had been taken back in time to the 19th Century when the Deep South was still in its glory and Scarlett O'Hara was flouncing around in her giant dresses with young men bringing her all her heart's desires. (Please note this was not exclusive to Savannah, wait til we get to Charleston!)
Our room on the third floor comprised two humonguous four-poster beds (high enough to provide vertigo to the bravest of travellers), gorgeous high ceilings, wooden furniture, old-style sofas and dressing gowns. And complimentary bottles of water (these were NOT free in DC, $4 I tell you! $4!!!!)
We spent the evening exploring the riverside of Savannah. The atmosphere was very deep south, weather was warm and there were street performers, musicians etc very relaxed ambiance and generally lovely. We started off at the Savannah Candy Kitchen
Oh my god we had died and gone to heaven - it's basically a huge sweet shop where they make taffy and praline and chocolates in the premises. The smell was heavenly - we both bought big bags of flavoured taffy, straight from the conveyor. Yum! Obviously we didn't want to spoil our appetites so we only had one... or two... to taste.
For dinner, since we were in the South, we wanted something local. I was considering for a while having grits but I wasn't quite brave enough. The riverside restaurant we chose looked pretty basic from the outside and the portions looked like nothing special when they arrived but they tasted so good! I had linguine with grouper in breadcrumbs and creamy sauce and I can still taste the lovely flavour. We don't get grouper in England much unless we pay ourselves silly so I was brave and had this whole new kind of fish and I didn't regret it.
We couldn't find much nightlife in Savannah but that was probably because we were at the opposite end of town to all the bars and only hung around at the riverside, so we had an early night in our gorgeous beds. It was here that I discovered the Gameshow Network. Oh dear, I could spend a long time watching that!
In order to make the most of the town we got up early, planning to take part in a carriage tour around the town. Unfortunately though, the carriages were booked by a large tourist group so we couldn't have a tour. Instead we walked around the various squares and MAN was it quiet. Admittedly this was Sunday in Georgia so the world and his wife were in church, but we didn't really find much to entertain us in Savannah. So we headed off to Charleston, not so much disappointed with Savannah but perhaps hoping that there had been more to see. A tour would perhaps have provided us with this - goddamn tourist groups!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
First holiday entry - FLORIDA
So it was that two girls woke up before dawn one Thursday morning and began their journey to the land of the free. Following an eight-hour flight to DC, a half-hour queue through immigration (seriously, a queue of about 50 people all catching connections and you have ONE COUNTER OPEN!!? This was not America's finest moment...) and a lung-destroying run through the terminal, we arrived in Tampa armed only with cameras, money and passports. The mention of the extensive queueing at immigration and the running through the terminal perhaps suggests to you that making the connecting flight was just a teensy weensy bit tight. So much so in fact that they held the gate open just for us, as customs phoned up to get the staff to hold the gate open. A sardonic applauds wouldn't have surprised me.
The only logical conclusion you can thus come to is that we made it onto the plane to Tampa, but our luggage did not. So our first night was spent with very little to keep us comfortable, as security restrictions meant we couldn't take any cosmetics on the plane. K-Mart was our saviour and after we'd collected Red Randy (yes, we are sad and named our car) we spent a small fortune on girly things. Stuff was SO CHEAP!!! Just as an example a nail care product I regularly buy causes me to cringe every time it is rung through the till at £8.99. Imagine my excitement when I discovered the same product in K-Mart for $2.99. That's like £1.50!!!! Unbelievable.
Our luggage arrived overnight and being a bit keen we phoned reception at6am (we woke up early, it was 11am in the UK emBusch Gardens Tampa Bay
The main problem we encountered as tourists, which followed us throughout the holiday until we reached the metropoles, was the lack of reasonable, non-junk food available. As a result we ate a whole lot of fried food and very little vegetables - I did really miss my greens! Big detox for the next couple of weeks to get rid of all the unhealthiness. In Busch Gardens I had salmon with supposedly vegetables but I wouldn't have been surprised if someone had told me they were rubber. Other than that it was burgers, ribs and fries all round (I am a sufferer OAS, so I can't have fresh fruit and veg and thus salad!)
In Tampa we took a brief drive to Ybor City, which is the so called Historic District. EVERYWHERE in the US has a historic district. We translated it to mean the oldest houses in that area regardless of age - ranging from antebellum dwellings to early century townhouses. Even the tiniest little villages have them and some are more impressive than others. It was fairly cute - some little shops and stuff but didn't feel like the cuddliest of areas. We did encounter a Coyote Ugly though which was hysterical but were too tired after our day rollercoasting to enjoy it much.
Florida didn't get the chance to enjoy us for long - the next day, Saturday, we piled our cases into Red Randy and zoomed off towards Savannah. Our drive took us six hours north via Orlando and Daytona Beach, where we took a stroll along the seaside. The ultimate Spring Break spot was sooooo quiet, it was actually quite nice for the ocean-walking. And the weather, in spite of warnings on The Weather Channel, was glorious!!! The spot where we lunched was a mexican bar and all the walls and tables were adorned with comments from previous patrons, most spring-break related. Drunken students really are easily amused!!!
The only logical conclusion you can thus come to is that we made it onto the plane to Tampa, but our luggage did not. So our first night was spent with very little to keep us comfortable, as security restrictions meant we couldn't take any cosmetics on the plane. K-Mart was our saviour and after we'd collected Red Randy (yes, we are sad and named our car) we spent a small fortune on girly things. Stuff was SO CHEAP!!! Just as an example a nail care product I regularly buy causes me to cringe every time it is rung through the till at £8.99. Imagine my excitement when I discovered the same product in K-Mart for $2.99. That's like £1.50!!!! Unbelievable.
Our luggage arrived overnight and being a bit keen we phoned reception at
The main problem we encountered as tourists, which followed us throughout the holiday until we reached the metropoles, was the lack of reasonable, non-junk food available. As a result we ate a whole lot of fried food and very little vegetables - I did really miss my greens! Big detox for the next couple of weeks to get rid of all the unhealthiness. In Busch Gardens I had salmon with supposedly vegetables but I wouldn't have been surprised if someone had told me they were rubber. Other than that it was burgers, ribs and fries all round (I am a sufferer OAS, so I can't have fresh fruit and veg and thus salad!)
In Tampa we took a brief drive to Ybor City, which is the so called Historic District. EVERYWHERE in the US has a historic district. We translated it to mean the oldest houses in that area regardless of age - ranging from antebellum dwellings to early century townhouses. Even the tiniest little villages have them and some are more impressive than others. It was fairly cute - some little shops and stuff but didn't feel like the cuddliest of areas. We did encounter a Coyote Ugly though which was hysterical but were too tired after our day rollercoasting to enjoy it much.
Florida didn't get the chance to enjoy us for long - the next day, Saturday, we piled our cases into Red Randy and zoomed off towards Savannah. Our drive took us six hours north via Orlando and Daytona Beach, where we took a stroll along the seaside. The ultimate Spring Break spot was sooooo quiet, it was actually quite nice for the ocean-walking. And the weather, in spite of warnings on The Weather Channel, was glorious!!! The spot where we lunched was a mexican bar and all the walls and tables were adorned with comments from previous patrons, most spring-break related. Drunken students really are easily amused!!!
The conclusion of the training contract saga...
So, those of you who have been avid followers of my blawg will know that the most prevalent legally related (and any other related for that matter) dilemma in my life recently has been my search for a Training Contract for 2008.
For my across-the-ponds readers, a Training Contract is a two-year "on-the-job" programme that you have to complete after Law School in order to qualify as a lawyer. No bar exams or suchlike here. You get paid, it's like a job, and the big City firms also give you money to live off during law school and pay your fees.
Now getting one has been the bane of my life. You may remember my inspiring posts detailing my interview experiences etc earlier in the summer, rejection after rejection and other issues to boot.
Thus I'm sure you will be relieved to read that it's all over. Whether thats a good thing, I'll leave to you to decide, but it's over. I have heard back from all the firms I have applied to apart from one. So, all the interviews I have got I have had and now there are really no more chances.
So here is the lowdown:
Applications - 18
Downright rejections - 12
Assessment days - 2
Rejections from assessment days - 2
First round interviews - 4
Rejections after first round interview 1
Second round interviews - 3
Total rejections - 17(one haven't got back to me though)
Total number of Training Contracts - 1
Yes that is correct. You read it right. The whole saga has all been worth it. This morning, I had a second round interview at "Week of interviews Part II". It was a bit tough. I was nervous as hell as I knew it was my absolute last chance to get a TC or I would have to take a year out after Law School and apply again next year for 2009. They said they would let me know this afternoon, and by the time I got home and was getting out of my suit, shaking uncontrollably, the phone rang.
They want me.
Oh yes, I have been offered a training contract. I love them, they are my saviours! I really liked the firm when I went to see them before and was so excited when they offered me a second round interview. And apparently it went well! I answered the questions best I could and it seems to have worked.
The relief is unbelievable although I am not sure it feels quite real just yet. So far all I have got is rejection after rejection so getting someone to say yes is just surreal. This means that when I walk through the Law School doors on Friday it will be with less pressure about my future and I can truly focus on the studying. I won't need to get a part-time job (although I probably still will to save up), I can afford to stay in the flat I live in now, and I will be able to keep myself in shoes.
A BIG FAT HURRAH FOR ME!!!
(And I will update you on my holiday soon, promise, but yesterday I was caught up in interview prep!)
For my across-the-ponds readers, a Training Contract is a two-year "on-the-job" programme that you have to complete after Law School in order to qualify as a lawyer. No bar exams or suchlike here. You get paid, it's like a job, and the big City firms also give you money to live off during law school and pay your fees.
Now getting one has been the bane of my life. You may remember my inspiring posts detailing my interview experiences etc earlier in the summer, rejection after rejection and other issues to boot.
Thus I'm sure you will be relieved to read that it's all over. Whether thats a good thing, I'll leave to you to decide, but it's over. I have heard back from all the firms I have applied to apart from one. So, all the interviews I have got I have had and now there are really no more chances.
So here is the lowdown:
Yes that is correct. You read it right. The whole saga has all been worth it. This morning, I had a second round interview at "Week of interviews Part II". It was a bit tough. I was nervous as hell as I knew it was my absolute last chance to get a TC or I would have to take a year out after Law School and apply again next year for 2009. They said they would let me know this afternoon, and by the time I got home and was getting out of my suit, shaking uncontrollably, the phone rang.
They want me.
Oh yes, I have been offered a training contract. I love them, they are my saviours! I really liked the firm when I went to see them before and was so excited when they offered me a second round interview. And apparently it went well! I answered the questions best I could and it seems to have worked.
The relief is unbelievable although I am not sure it feels quite real just yet. So far all I have got is rejection after rejection so getting someone to say yes is just surreal. This means that when I walk through the Law School doors on Friday it will be with less pressure about my future and I can truly focus on the studying. I won't need to get a part-time job (although I probably still will to save up), I can afford to stay in the flat I live in now, and I will be able to keep myself in shoes.
A BIG FAT HURRAH FOR ME!!!
(And I will update you on my holiday soon, promise, but yesterday I was caught up in interview prep!)
Sunday, September 24, 2006
New York New York
Stop press - Susie Law School has fallen in love.
Oh yes, I have fallen in love with the gorgeous, exciting, beautiful, exhilarating and fabulous city that is New York. The Big Apple, the city that never sleeps. I am a City girl at heart, as those who know me will testify to. I love London, now I love New York.
So what's so good about it, and what's the difference?
First of all, everything in NYC is high. Outside of the City and Canary Wharf, a few random buildings aside, London is essentially no more than six stories high. New York, in it's essence, is sixty. Less of Manhattan than of London seems old. I love little old houses in London, random mews cottages and Victorian townhouses, whereas Manhattan is more about the size, height and opulence. Condos replace townhouses, high-rise apartment buildings replace the cottages.
I like people. Lots of them. I like where I live because there are always people around. London has a lot of people, but they seem more concentrated to particular places. In New York, we didn't go anywhere that was even close to the exhilarating or suffocating (depending on your point of view and how much time you have to maneuvre through them) crowds of Covent Garden on a Friday night. People are everywhere but they are more evenly spaced out. In London you can turn a corner and find a completely deserted road right next to a busy area - in New York, everywhere you go there are people.
Central Park - the only thing that comes even close to this in London is Hampstead Heath and even that is forced to cough up the dust left behind by Central Park. It's like a nature reserve in the city. It has hills, little nooks and crannies, water, so many different beautiful places to see and you can truly get lost in it. Hyde Park is nice, it has pretty features and fountains and stuff but you can still essentially tell you are in the City because it is flat and there aren't that many trees. In Central Park you could just as well be in the forest miles from civilisation. The trees rise up to dizzying heights, hiding the surrounding buildings and keeping noise far away. Despite this the most spectacular views were those from the Jackie Onassis Reservoir and the meadows where park meets architecture, and the trees complement the rising Central Park Towers and Midtown skyscrapers. Gorgeous.
One thing we did miss in NYC though, were the men. I am forced to resign myself to the realisation that Americans do indeed work too hard - we did not see a single gorgeous Wall Street trader or high-flying lawyer so they must all be at work 24-7! Nor did we see any handsome specimen representing any other professions for that matter. This was a huge disappointment. London wins hands-down on this count. Ok, perhaps we just didn't know where to look but just walking down the street in London chances are you will bump into at least a few attractive males without really having to look. It's not hard work. In NYC specifically and USA generally, the talent was poor.
The Shopping!!!
Shopping in New York is out of this world. Ok, so I didn't really get started until near the end, couldn't really find anything early on in the week (ok, read that as "couldn't find anything I could afford" as I found plenty of gorgeous things outside my budget) while the other two were racking up phenomenal withdrawals on their bank accounts. Even so, I stayed within budget but am still missing a few crucial items from my autumn wardrobe.
However I did purchase Bruiser, a hangbag that is a chihuahua - yes I know, the Legally Blonde connection was too good to resist.
In addition I bought a hat, boots, a pair of jeans, four pairs of trousers (oops, but I needed them and they fit so nicely!), a pair of trainers, three skirts, two jumpers, a cardigan, two belts, underwear, a top and two handbags. Wow is that all? The problem is though that in spite of all these trousers and skirts I still don't have tops to wear them with, or a winter coat. Which is kinda crucial. Oh dear...
And what else did we do?
I will not bore you to tears with a day-to-day description of what we did, if you want one of those you can ask me. Here are the main facts:
So... in no particular order my ten best USA moments:
Panic over everyone!!!
You can refrain from suicide attempts and turn away from the bottle - I am back in London town and back in action to update you on my latest antics, namely my AWESOME holiday. I have a lot to write about so be patient, it will not all appear in a single post, this is just the start to calm your nerves in case you were worried about me being stabbed in the subway or suchlike.
Currently my body thinks it is 5.30am. I have been awake since 9am yesterday (2pm GMT) and only managed half an hour's sleep on the plane (flew back overnight). So I've so far been awake for almost 21 hours and bedtime isn't for another 12. Thus, I would like to apologise in advance if my posts are ridiculous, but they may entertain you nonetheless. At this point it suffices to say that the holiday was fantastic.
The really crap news out of the way first of all - I have NO TRAINING CONTRACT!!! I have no prospects of securing a Training Contract. Until 2009. So there. This week I will be job hunting, and Strippers-R-Us will be in line for an audition in worst-case-scenario (Mum, I know you're reading this, I wouldn't really do it DON'T WORRY!). I also missed the deadline for signing up for optional courses in Law School so have sent them a kindly email and will be ringing up tomorrow. Also I have lots of reading to get on with. Law school starts on Friday - so this week will be a busy one!
Now I'm going to the supermarket to get food, then I will be back later to detail my holiday. So much fun!
Currently my body thinks it is 5.30am. I have been awake since 9am yesterday (2pm GMT) and only managed half an hour's sleep on the plane (flew back overnight). So I've so far been awake for almost 21 hours and bedtime isn't for another 12. Thus, I would like to apologise in advance if my posts are ridiculous, but they may entertain you nonetheless. At this point it suffices to say that the holiday was fantastic.
The really crap news out of the way first of all - I have NO TRAINING CONTRACT!!! I have no prospects of securing a Training Contract. Until 2009. So there. This week I will be job hunting, and Strippers-R-Us will be in line for an audition in worst-case-scenario (Mum, I know you're reading this, I wouldn't really do it DON'T WORRY!). I also missed the deadline for signing up for optional courses in Law School so have sent them a kindly email and will be ringing up tomorrow. Also I have lots of reading to get on with. Law school starts on Friday - so this week will be a busy one!
Now I'm going to the supermarket to get food, then I will be back later to detail my holiday. So much fun!
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
What holiday feeling?
Ok, today I am supposed to be packing.
However, the annoyance of the Training Contract search is increasing daily.
In addition to the e-mail saga and the rejection yesterday, I today found out that I've been invited to a second round at Week of Interviews Part II but it is while I am in the US.
Now if one more person asks me if I can cancel my holiday - the answer is NO. It has cost me £2000. Coming back early would cost me another £1000+. Seriously - I'm a student. I've been saving up for this holiday for a year. I HAVEN'T GOT A SPARE £1000!!! Now if the law firm was prepared to refund my costs then yes fair enough, but somehow I dont think a transatlantic flight qualifies as "reasonable expenses".
Perhaps I'm thinking about this all wrong. A lot of people will say "but it's your career" etc. And if it was a matter of flying back/cancelling a week in Spain fair enough, but I physically do not have the money to make this change to my plans. There is no guarantee I would get a TC anyway even if I did come back. I have paid myself sick for this trip and have been dreaming about going since I was 13. I am feeling a bit like maybe I don't deserve to get a TC because I'm not changing my plans to go to the interview - there are so many people out there who would do it at the drop of a hat. There are no words to explain how much I want to be a lawyer but I physically don't have the money or the desire to cancel this trip. I made a conscious effort not to go earlier because the firms were telling me they would interview first week of September but obviously that is not the case. Silly me.
That is now the third application in two days that has gone tits up. I am probably just a bad person and destined to die TC-less and lonely :(
However, the annoyance of the Training Contract search is increasing daily.
In addition to the e-mail saga and the rejection yesterday, I today found out that I've been invited to a second round at Week of Interviews Part II but it is while I am in the US.
Now if one more person asks me if I can cancel my holiday - the answer is NO. It has cost me £2000. Coming back early would cost me another £1000+. Seriously - I'm a student. I've been saving up for this holiday for a year. I HAVEN'T GOT A SPARE £1000!!! Now if the law firm was prepared to refund my costs then yes fair enough, but somehow I dont think a transatlantic flight qualifies as "reasonable expenses".
Perhaps I'm thinking about this all wrong. A lot of people will say "but it's your career" etc. And if it was a matter of flying back/cancelling a week in Spain fair enough, but I physically do not have the money to make this change to my plans. There is no guarantee I would get a TC anyway even if I did come back. I have paid myself sick for this trip and have been dreaming about going since I was 13. I am feeling a bit like maybe I don't deserve to get a TC because I'm not changing my plans to go to the interview - there are so many people out there who would do it at the drop of a hat. There are no words to explain how much I want to be a lawyer but I physically don't have the money or the desire to cancel this trip. I made a conscious effort not to go earlier because the firms were telling me they would interview first week of September but obviously that is not the case. Silly me.
That is now the third application in two days that has gone tits up. I am probably just a bad person and destined to die TC-less and lonely :(
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Rejections rejections...
So the firm in my post yesterday have filled all their interview posts and helpfully made some spiteful comment about me not checking my junk mail. So that one's out.
Also, Week of Interviews Part I have just called and said they won't be offering me a TC because apparently I "didn't show enough motivation to be a solicitor and particularly in their firm". I agree that I wasn't so keen on them so that's fine, but not showing enough motivation to be a solicitor??? OH DEAR! I've used the same reasons for all the firms I've applied to so if they feel that way chances are other firms will do too. Particularly the ones who asked me about what I think solicitors do all day.
Still haven't heard from Week of Interviews Part II so I'm guessing that one's a rejection too. So really I only have two chances left to be offered a TC or a second round interview.
Looks like I'll be looking again next year - Strippers R Us here I come!!!
Also, Week of Interviews Part I have just called and said they won't be offering me a TC because apparently I "didn't show enough motivation to be a solicitor and particularly in their firm". I agree that I wasn't so keen on them so that's fine, but not showing enough motivation to be a solicitor??? OH DEAR! I've used the same reasons for all the firms I've applied to so if they feel that way chances are other firms will do too. Particularly the ones who asked me about what I think solicitors do all day.
Still haven't heard from Week of Interviews Part II so I'm guessing that one's a rejection too. So really I only have two chances left to be offered a TC or a second round interview.
Looks like I'll be looking again next year - Strippers R Us here I come!!!
Monday, September 04, 2006
Stupid technology.
I received an email today from a law firm, wondering why I had not taken part in the online reasoning test they invited me to in early August. They presume I have withdrawn from the application process and would like to know why, and where I have accepted an offer from and why.
(what offer, you may ask?!)
Those of you who have been following my blawg can probably hear me screaming right about now. And yes, that banging you hear is my head against a big fat brick wall.
Obviously I never got the email. My obsessive junk-mail-checking indicates it never arrived. I got no invite. Full stop. Now they've probably filled all their places and I have no chance. Obviously I have emailed them to explain but it's a bit too little too late. I can't believe that technology is responsible for me missing out on an interview. I mean I'm not fussy, if somewhere I applied to invites me to an assessment, I will take it!
I can't help but think that back in the days of carrier pigeons, invites to training contract interviews had a much higher chance of arriving.
AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!
(what offer, you may ask?!)
Those of you who have been following my blawg can probably hear me screaming right about now. And yes, that banging you hear is my head against a big fat brick wall.
Obviously I never got the email. My obsessive junk-mail-checking indicates it never arrived. I got no invite. Full stop. Now they've probably filled all their places and I have no chance. Obviously I have emailed them to explain but it's a bit too little too late. I can't believe that technology is responsible for me missing out on an interview. I mean I'm not fussy, if somewhere I applied to invites me to an assessment, I will take it!
I can't help but think that back in the days of carrier pigeons, invites to training contract interviews had a much higher chance of arriving.
AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!
Friday, September 01, 2006
My week of interviews - Part III
Today's interview - corporate giant with reputedly evil interview.
Not so evil. They have been my number one choice since I started looking into firms, and they remain so still. Now all I need is for them to offer me a training contract.
The questions weren't too bad, thankfully, and there were only a couple that I had issues answering, but I just don't know what they thought of me. These included "What exactly do you think we do in a typical day" and "should law firms represent unethical companies" - oh yes, that one again! Ethics are going to be my downfall!!! In terms of interview technique I think I did fine, in terms of fitting in they're probably a better judge than me. And if they think I am unethical (although I'm really very very nice and was trying to be less moralistic than last time, when it went down like a lead balloon) then that could pose a problem.
News next week. No news from Part II yet either. Watch this space. I really like this firm and I think I did ok, but then the same happened before and I didn't get anywhere.
Plan B is if I don't get a TC then it's definitely a sign from the Universe that I should be a barrister.
Not so evil. They have been my number one choice since I started looking into firms, and they remain so still. Now all I need is for them to offer me a training contract.
The questions weren't too bad, thankfully, and there were only a couple that I had issues answering, but I just don't know what they thought of me. These included "What exactly do you think we do in a typical day" and "should law firms represent unethical companies" - oh yes, that one again! Ethics are going to be my downfall!!! In terms of interview technique I think I did fine, in terms of fitting in they're probably a better judge than me. And if they think I am unethical (although I'm really very very nice and was trying to be less moralistic than last time, when it went down like a lead balloon) then that could pose a problem.
News next week. No news from Part II yet either. Watch this space. I really like this firm and I think I did ok, but then the same happened before and I didn't get anywhere.
Plan B is if I don't get a TC then it's definitely a sign from the Universe that I should be a barrister.
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