Update

The past few days have been pretty busy with orientations, fairs, and shopping. So far I've been to Freshman Orientation, General Course Orientation, Accounting Orientation, Registration, Fresher's Fayre, and met with my Academic Advisor. Hours of my life lost with no gain.
I joined some clubs, the typical: Finance Club, Student Investment Club. Some new ones: Hummus Club, German Club. And some frightening ones: Rugby. That may be a mistake, but we'll soon see. When I asked the captain if there were any guys my size, he said there were smaller guys and that I'd never run into the big guys on the field. I didn't think the playing field was segregated like that, but what do I know about rugby anyways. I still think he's lying to me, especially because everyone I've seen so far is absolutely humongous. So far I've gotten a couple emails from the captain asking about my level of experience and detailing tryouts on Saturday. I'm not too afraid of getting hit, I mean I did play football for four years. I'm more afraid of not understanding the game and making some terrible mistake like making a forward pass or something. But then again, there are 3 teams for every level of ability and experience. I'm not even trying to move beyond the 3rd team. Though I imagine this will turn out like Bad News Bears, I bet I'm still the smallest guy on this team.
But despite the pain I will likely experience from rugby (I'm expecting to break my first bone!), the pain of trying to get a cellphone is so much worse. Firstly, as a Verizon customer, I couldn't unlock my phone from home because Verizon phones are unlockable. Secondly, when I first checked out a Cellphone Warehouse, they told me I could buy a pay as you go phone (a burner, if you will) or a 2 year contract. Not wanting either, I went next door to a Phones4u, where the guy told me about a monthly rolling plan that can be canceled at any time. 350 minutes and unlimited texts, sounds ideal. But here's where the trouble begins. To buy this sim card, I need a British debit card since they still have chips in them (so outdated). Without the chip, I couldn't buy anything but a pay as you go. So, I went to HSBC to ask if they could switch my US card to a UK card, but they couldn't do anything since my account was registered in California. So to get a new card, the bank in Fremont would have to request the card and send it to me. It's easier to just set up another bank account. So, I went back to HSBC with my passport and set up another account. But first I had to get a signed letter from LSE saying I was a permanent, though temporarily, resident of the UK. Then the bank manager had to email ad get confirmation that I had an HSBC account in the US. Once that was all done, the account was made, but the card won't be mailed to me for another week. Herein lies another problem, I don't know where the mailboxes are in my building or have a key to open them. God only knows what I'll need to get that key. And once I get this card and activate it, I'll have to transfer money into it, and then finally I'll be able to get this sim card. In the meantime, I got a pay as you go phone and simple £10 plan for a total of £15. At least I have a phone, but I'll have to go through the whole process of switching my number to my new plan once I get the new sim card. Why must this place be so complicated and convoluted?

There's more I want to say, but at this particular moment, I have to go back to campus (a 25-30 minute walk) so I can head over to Berrylands, LSE's athletic fields, for Party in the Park, another Orientation Event. More to come...

Day One

Ten hours on a plane, 24 hours and counting without sleep, but I'm in London.
London's not too different. lies. It's different. For one thing, the ground floor of a building isn't Floor 1. Also, all their electrical outlets have switches, so I didn't think my plugs were working for about five minutes. But I'll get to these strange differences in a second, let's first get to my adventures getting here.

Landing at around 6:48 AM, I cleared customs around 7:30 and was heading to school with my uncle around 8:15. I got to school at 9:05, about an hour early I thought. Wrong, I was 5 hours early. Ten AM check in begins tomorrow. I'm still a day early, which may explain why I realized I had nothing to do at all today.

Anyways, I headed back to my uncle's house, where I helped watch his kids and run errands. I also ate lunch at his mother's place. So much for my grand plans once I arrived in London. But around lunch time, I began to feel horrible. I almost wanted to throw up my chapatti. I was so tired, full, thirsty, and disoriented that I almost passed out in my food. But then it passed.

I got back to my dorm around 2 PM and got into my room with the help of my neighbor. My room is a single, and sized as such. There's a small desk and bed, a closet with too many shelfs, and a sink. The sink is a nice touch. But because I came a day early, my key will expire at 10 AM tomorrow. Apparently, I am signed up for a one day stay, then a continued stay. So, I need to get a new key for some reason. And this isn't the only annoying bureaucracy of being in England. They also wouldn't give me my ethernet cable because they were required to give them out tomorrow. They also had to reset my keycard three times already, and this is my temporary, one-day keycard.

But me being the supersmart compute wizz that I am, I got onto the LSE wireless network anyways. But the interwebs recognized that I wasn't in America anymore. Here are some examples of what happened when I went to may favorite sites:



I'm such a geek for finding any of that interesting. But here is the best part about the UK, by far:
That's BBC iPlayer, and I'm watching Top Gear, again.

Oh and here's what I saw on the A40 freeway into the city today:
Banksy telling me to slow down.

Guinness Extra Cold

My friend, who many years ago first introduced me to beer, studied in London this past summer. The first night I saw him after he'd returned, before I could even ask him how it was, he said three words, "Guinness Extra Cold." That's all. I love Guinness, the only guy among my friends at school who will drink the dark stuff, but I'd never heard of Extra Cold. I thought the beer was just cooled down. Nay!

Here's more awesome Guinness Extra Cold ads.

Well, actually that's what it is. Guinness Extra Cold is normal Guinness fed through a super cooler until it reaches 3.5°C, which is like 38.3°F, just above freezing. For that reason, it has it's own draught tap at bars and pubs. Yet for some reason, people have this strange stereotype about British people that they like their beer warm.
From what I hear, from this one friend, the beer is so cold and smooth that it's almost thick. Some will complain that it's too cold, but their dumb, not that I've even tried it yet. So they may be right, but only time will tell.
I've been trying to figure out what to do when I first get to London and have time to kill before getting into my room. Usually, I like to do something authentic whenever I go somewhere, even though that suddenly sounds really pretentious. For instance, whenever I come home, I like to go to In N Out or a Taqueria. So, I was thinking, dreaming really, that the first thing I'll do when I get there will be to find a pub and get a beer, a legal beer, my first since I was last in London. But at 8 AM and being severely jet-lagged, that may be strange and/or moronical. I guess it can wait until later that night. Still, I'll probably have to get breakfast when I get there, seeing as it'll be the early morning (midnight at home). But an English breakfast? Probably not. I've heard they serve decent meals in pubs, so I might do that. I'll see if any nearby pubs have breakfast/Guinness Extra Cold.
At worst, Guinness found an excuse to come up with some kick-ass new ads, especially the video above. That's a play on my favorite ad of all time, which is here:

Garrett.

Anxiety-Induced Insomnia

Why is it that I only post at 1Am? Maybe that's the only time when I am bored enough to do so. Nonetheless, with only 3 days left in America, I am beginning to freak out, and not just because I just started packing. Aside from the obvious fear of being overwhelmed by everything in London, I am really just wondering how everything will turn out once I get there, the unexpected...

Thankfully my Mom contacted her cousin, whose husband's brother lives in London, and who will be able to pick me up from the airport. Though I was initially hesitant at having to depend on the far-reaching powers of family (I am independent, that's what going to London is meant to symbolize!), I am grateful that this will be one less worry for me. I could imagine it now: me landing at 7AM in London, trying to transport four bags through Heathrow, while wondering how and who I should contact. I'd struggle trying to dial a number because I'd sit there wondering how to dial a + sign. Then I'd have to use the limited money (£) I had to get a train ticket into London. Once I dragged all my bags onto a train, I'd arrive in the city and have to pull the four bags through the train station until I found the Underground and got another train that would drop me off somewhere near Carr-Saunders Hall. Then, I'd have to drag the bags the numerous blocks until I actually got there. At this point, I'd be sweaty and gross and exhausted, but hey, I made it. Instead, I'll have help loading the bags into a car and have door-to-door service to my hall. Why was I so childish to initially refuse the help of others? Idiot...
Still, I'm scared shitless. It's gotten to the point where I'm listening to my Holiday (to be politically correct) playlist that is usually reserved for December. Christmas music is so cheerful and calming, yet it has an air of expectancy, and that's what I need right now. Too bad Christmas is still 94 days away (thanks Wolfram Alpha). Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...

While I was trying to fall asleep, I realized one flaw in this plan. If my plane lands at 6:55AM (GMT?), then the latest I would arrive at Carr-Saunders would be 9AM (and that's if it takes forever to get my bags and get into the city), which is still an hour before I am able to check-in and get into my room. Lame...what will I do while I wait to get my room? It'll be like when you get on a cruise ship and they still have to load your luggage into your room, so in the meantime, you explore the ship. So, I'll explore London, maybe get a phone or find a grocery store or a pub. But it's the walking around the city, even at 9AM on a Saturday, that frightens me. I already feel like an impostor, an interloper (my new favorite word, after maladroit), and worst, a tourist. And even without these retarded, unprovoked feelings, I'm sure I'll get lost, but all the better to kill time I guess.

Oh yeah, another thing, this whole thing in London is still one of my four years in college. Education is supposed to happen. So that means I need school supplies, right? Like notebooks and calculators? I'm still wondering if it's a joke that students in England don't buy textbooks. I wonder if I'll be the only kid in class who doesn't have a book, and that's if I can figure out which classes I'm in. I registered online for my classes, but it doesn't seem like LSE is too intent on letting us know what's going on. So far, I don't know if I'm for sure living in Carr-Saunders, what room, whether I bought linens, what classes I'm in, if the classes I want are available, when classes take place...but I do know how I can get to Wales or Scotland on the cheap! Maybe that's something else I can go pick up Saturday morning. Though in reality I think I may pass out on the sidewalk outside my residence hall and wait for all the 17 and 18 year old English kids who'll inevitably live in my building to rob me. Like stealing candy from a stupid, jet-lagged American.

Thank God for Frank Sinatra, that man's voice can calm a tiger. Are tigers in need of calming? Probably in the way I'm in need of sleep. But then again, what does it matter? I'm moving 8 time zones away in 3 days. To acclimate with that schedule, I'd have to be nocturnal. So, fuck it, I say, I'll just screw up my internal clock, reset if you will, so that when I get to London, I'll just be exhausted beyond belief. I think the best way to beat jet lag would be to combine every remedy I've ever heard of. So, first things first, I'll fast for about a day beforehand, drinking only water to stay hydrated. Then I'll stretch repeatedly to keep the muscles from tightening. And keep away from the booze while sitting in the sunlight. This sounds like a game I used to play when I was a kid, only back then, I would stare at the sun while pretending to be a Power Ranger. Power Rangers don't get jet lag!

In the end, I guess it's the fear of the unknown, the new, that plagues me. But isn't this something I should welcome? We shall see... (PS, Ratatat is some solid music at this hour.) But besides all the obvious fears, I'm also afraid I'm going to blow up my iPod by plugging it into the wall the wrong way...or something else preposterous like getting arrested in a Tesco for not signing my credit cards. Someone smart once said, "Expect the best, prepare for the worst." I do the opposite by expecting the best and that's it. God, I'm so fucking lazy.

Anyways, expect pictures of red buses and telephone booths (which I may be dependent on for the first few days) in about a week. I don't know what to expect, but those two are safe bets.

What to Expect?

Having returned from Georgetown, I now face the fact that I am only days away from moving to London. The whole moving to a new country/continent doesn't bother me that much, nor does the new school/style of education. My biggest worry is the social factor. Who will I hang out with? I've made friends here who are going to LSE, but I wonder if I'll actually see them that often when I'm over there. Or will I hang out with only Georgetown kids? That seems to defeat the point of going abroad to me.

Whenever I go on Facebook and see yet another new gallery of my friends in other foreign countries, I can only help but wonder if I'll have pictures like these posted. Will I suddenly create these friends who will want to go to Amsterdam, Wales, and Scotland with me? Will they want to watch a match at Emirates? Or will they only be into hitting the pubs? I guess I can only do my best to make some friends and not worry too much about it.

Another question I have is whether or not I will actually care or do much schoolwork. But that's a less important issue...

Hash House Harriers

Hashing is the activity in which you run in a group, following a trail left by the "hare" (imagine Hansel and Gretel). Then, once you done running, or sometimes, while you're running, you drink beer. It's a running and drinking club, basically. I enjoy running, and the idea of a "drinking club with a running problem" sounds cool, I imagine this will turn out like my Dad's hiking group, a bunch of weird, eccentric old people with a strange superiority complex trying to stay in shape while having fun with like minded people. Hashing sounds awesome enough that I just might have to check one of these out, especially because it seems like a really British thing to do.
At the same time, living so close to Regent's Park, I may just stick to running there. But if that becomes repetitive or boring, it may be nice to get out and learn about some new routes like I did with the tri team at school. And there's beer afterwards! Running the city has always been my favorite way to learn about a new city, so hashing may be a good fit for me.

I just wish there was an LSE hashing club (kennel) so that I could run with people my age. At least that way, I'm meeting people my age.

Visa: Go

Today, September 2nd, 2009, I finally received my UK visa. And of all the days to have it, for today I had my wisdom teeth removed. It's not like it's some grand coincidence, but I had imagined me staring at the UPS package tracking site as if my visa had a GPS tracker on it. I imagined running to the door and signing for my visa and passports. But instead I has high on nitrous oxide, lying in a bed looking like a chipmunk.

But when I got home, the package was waiting. Anti-climatic, but it really should be. All the worry was unnecessary, but hindsight has good eyesight or whatever. Anyways, now that this is done, my mom is finally comfortable buying me a plane ticket over there, and more importantly a peacoat. Labor Day sales, here I come.

But here's my real question: What if I hadn't gotten my visa? What would I have done then? It's too late to try to return to Georgetown as a junior, as classes began last week. I instead imagined going to the UK anyways and living the life of an illegal immigrant. Or would I have had to take the year off and live at home and find a way to get my tuition back from Georgetown? Thank God I didn't have to resort to any of these scenarios.

Another thing I also wonder is this: If for some reason I couldn't go to England, would I still care about football (soccer)? Would I still look forward to watching Top Gear on TV? What would I tell my friends? It's a horrible scenario, where I can see only one positive emerging (aaspacio), but that's an entirely separate issue.

Now I actually have to worry about what life in London will be like. Damn, that's exciting. I can actually look forward to my time in the UK without those stupid, unnecessary worries.