Week 1 Down...

Sorry for the delay in blogging, the big city has kept me very busy. My first full week here in London Town was great, although I feel like I haven’t quite adjusted to the time. Most days I feel like I’m chasing the sun and just abbreviating long days at the office with little naps here and there. But I had a good restful weekend, so I think I’m finally back on track.

I started my internship last Tuesday. I’m working for a company called “Let Me Play” and they produce high profile summer sports camps all over the UK. Summer camp is not nearly as popular here in the UK as it is in America and LMP is at the very top of the sports camp market in England. Their camps are all residential and feature the highest qualified coaches from all over the world as well as coaches from prominent football clubs in the UK. They also have relationship with many professional players who volunteer their time to come do training sessions or even to just hang out with the kids. In American terms, it would be like going to a private club and being taught by the likes of Andy Roddick or the Williams sisters, that quality of players.

Speaking of celebrity contacts, my very first day on the job, my boss Amy put me on the phone with a pro footballer called Richard Langley, who will be coming down the camp going on next week. I didn’t even know his name as she was passing the phone to me, but he was very nice and easy to interview. I wrote a feature article about his going to the camp and it has already been picked up by 2 newspapers for features and one other who will be sending a film crew to the camp to interview him.

My job at LMP is quite comprehensive. As a company, they have never done any proactive PR or Marketing; everything has been knee jerk reactions to inquiries. So I will be building a company wide program from the ground up. It’s really exciting for me that they are giving me so much responsibility and freedom, but I must say I’m feeling a little nervous and inadequate. I just have to keep reminding myself that I’m good at this stuff, I know what I’m doing, and that I’m all together awesome.

Work days are really long. Start at 9 and go til 6. When you add in commute and walking times, I’m out the house about 8:15 and not home until 7. By the time I get home, I’m so hungry and tired that I have no energy for anything but dinner and bed, which really is fine because the cheaper I am during the week, the more I can splurge and play on the weekends.

One thing about my office…it’s seems to be a black hole that attracts the only good looking men in London. Seriously, all you see walking down the street are men who don’t shave, brush their teeth, wear deodorant (a major problem on the tube!) or give a hoot what they might be wearing. But everyday, at least one person walks into my office that is the kind of hot that you literally can’t look away, like a human bug zapper. As the new girl, I’m trying to be as quit and unassuming as possible, but if can’t figure out how to make my face cool down or wipe the stupid smile on my face, it could become a problem.

My bosses are so good to me. They give me all the freedom to be creative and are willing to help with anything I need. Also, they sent me an email saying that they would like to contribute to my entire London experience and will be paying me 10 pounds a day (about 15 dollars) and are giving me every Friday off to explore the city. SO GREAT!!! While the money is only about enough to pay for coffee and lunch everyday, it still helps let me able to do more fun things on the weekends, I’m very thankful.

Speaking of weekends. This past weekend was very relaxed. My roommate Summer and I both bought a bottle of wine and spent both Friday and Saturday night sipping and chatting, it’s been a pleasure to get to know her. We also went shopping on Saturday on Oxford street, a little like The 3rd street Promenade in Santa Monica, but with New York style traffic. Then on Sunday, we went to a fantastic revolving sushi bar right new our house, then for a walk in the park. I spent the rest of the day doing laundry and cleaning the flat.

Next weekend, we have a 4 day weekend for Easter so Summer and I have decided to fly to Mallorca Spain!!!! I’m so so so excited about this. Mallorca is one of the Balearic Islands off the coast of Barcelona, Europe’s Hawaii, and just happens to be the home town off my most favorite athlete ever, Rafa Nadal. No, I will not be stalking out his house (I already know he won’t be there)!! We just want to go lay on the beach and relax, we will only be there for under 48 hours, oh well.

Sorry about not having any more pictures yet. Just haven’t had the time, but I promise there with be a plethora when I get back from Spain.

I’m not really missing anything from home yet, just pinching my brother and good TV. I can’t believe that after 15 years of loyal watching, I missed the last 3 episodes of ER ever!! I’m so sad, and most websites won’t let you watch videos from outside the U.S. I also have no idea how Jack Bauer is getting along saving us all from total destruction, again. Instead, I watch bad British reality shows, and BBC News. There are no restrictions on TV here so there is a lot of cussing and even nudity. Crazy Brits… but at least I have my good friends on "the office" to keep me company. Cheers from London everyone!!