6 Months Left To London

Find the Elephants!

2010-05-26T21:49:00.015+01:00

So yesterday, I met with Sabah and Hala for lunch to discuss the plans for next week. We had lunch in Covent Garden and caught a glimpse of a street performer, didn't see much cause we were just passing by. But if you ever do go to Convent Garden in the mid - afternoon or evening, you should look around for the street performers because some of them are really good. Some of them aren't good and so you just walk away after wasting 5 minutes of your life.

After lunch, we decided to go shopping on Oxford Street and made a small trip to the Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs stores off of Oxford Street. The Marc by Marc Jacobs stuff has nice stuff that is usually very reasonably priced. I've heard a reference in an article calling the Marc by Marc Jacobs store a 'pound shop' because they sell stuff that will actually just cost you a pound! Don't be fooled though, bags are still like 250 pounds.

On the way back, we spotted some of the elephants that have been placed around London. In case you haven't heard, the Elephant Parade Campaign organised by the Elephant Family Charity have placed over 250 model Elephants around London to raise awareness about the endangered Asian Elephant. Some of the Elephants are really beautifully decorated. I've spotted loads in Trafalgar Square, on and off Oxford Street, in Green Park and pretty much all over London really. Here are a few that we spotted yesterday:

Oh and I managed to 'make my mark' around 2 more places at uni. So now that's 3, 2 more to go (maybe more). Here is the evidence, again hopefully no one can see these although these 2 aren't as discrete as the first one was.

So that's all for now. At lunch we sorted out our plans for the rest of this week and next week. We will be going to Westminster Abbey to check out the books with the gigantic writing. As well as dedicating one whole day to the Science Museum, Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Will keep you updated so remember to keep watching THIS SPACE.

Are you watching???

EXAMS ARE OVERRR!!!!!!

2010-05-25T11:34:00.004+01:00

EXAMS ARE OVER!!!!

Pretty self explanatory. My exams are over. My year is over. My degree is over. Its very scary, I don't know what I'm doing, where I'm going. I have 3 weeks left in London. So much for 6 months!

SO here is the plan: to complete as many things as I can on the list.

If you refer to the CRAZY stuff list, no. 13 - write my name and class of 2010 in 5-10 places around uni. I've done it with the three coolest people I know in a place that hopefully no one will ever see cause we wrote our actual names down (pic is above). I'm hoping to get 4 more in, that's the plan for today.

My tube map pics are still in progress, I have quite a few places to go to still.

Museums - I'm planning on going to the Science Museum, British Museum, V&A Museum and Westminster Abby cause according to one of my friends there's these really old books where the words are like gigantic which I think would be totally awesome to see.

I better get to it. Watch this space - lots to come in the next few weeks!

So, its been a while....

2010-04-01T18:29:00.002+01:00

I have been really bad at updating. Its been over a month and I haven't updated or posted anything. I feel bad but I've just been super duper busy with uni. Then end is almost here!

6 months is no longer 6 months. Its April! I have less than 2 months left in London and I haven't done everything on the list yet. I knew I wouldn't finish EVERYTHING on the list. But I was hoping to do most of them.

Exam time is coming up and so I'll be too busy and stressed to do much then. But I have been working on the tube station photos, I'm almost done. I've got a part of the northern line, half of the central line, half of the circle line, a bit of the district line, half of the hammersmith and city line, a few other stops on the other lines. I am far from getting every single stop. This is not only because I've been busy with uni, its also because of stupid TFL closing down sooooo many lines during the weekends. =[ But I guess it wouldn't be London if there weren't any disruptions with the tube.

Do you have a blackberry? One of my friends recently got one since everyone is getting one now. I've had mine for over a year now and I love it, can't live without it. Blackberry Messenger is awesome because it lets you communicate with people all over the world without any extra charges. You can have long running convos with people, share pics with them and send funny jokes. Today, a friend sent me this one:

To maintain a healthy level of Insanity:

1. At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.

2. On all your cheque stubs, write 'For Marijuana'

3. Skip down the street rather than walk down and see how many looks you get.

4. Order a diet water when you go out to eat, with a serious face.

5. Sing along at the opera.

6. When money comes out of the ATM (cash point), scream "I WON! I WON!"

7. When leaving the Zoo, start running towards the car park yelling "Run for your lives, they're loose!"

8. Tell your children over dinner, "Due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go."

I love number 1, 4 and 6 and so I'm adding them to the list of funny/stupid/crazy things to do with a few modifications:

1. At lunch time, sit on a bench with a hairdryer and point it at people that pass by, just to see if they slow down and stare.

4. Order a diet water with a serious face when eating out.

6. MY FAVOURITE - I'm going to go to an ATM and scream "I WON! I WON!" when I withdraw money. =)

After exam time, I will have some time before I leave for good so will definitely try and fit the stuff on the list then and will do a massive update then.

We had our graduation dinner last night. My friends and I organised it and we managed to get 50 something people to come. Which is pretty cool for Comp Sci =) It was a lot of fun, it was great to have everyone there, together as a group ONE LAST TIME. Its going to be sad to say good bye to a lot of people. Last night reminded me how awesome these last 3 years have been and how I have the most amazing and awesome friends anyone could ask for. =)

What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare...

2010-02-21T22:54:00.004Z

Have you ever just stopped and looked around you? Like say you are walking home, have you ever taken the time to stop and take a good look at where you are? To see what is around you and to appreciate the fact that you are so lucky to be there?

I did that for the first time today. Life is always such a rush, especially in London. These three years have gone by soooo fast. I feel like I need to take my time and enjoy everything as I experience it.

Tonight as I passed Trafalgar square, I looked at the fountain and I thought to myself, Wow - In high school, I never thought I'd be here. I then walked up to Waterloo Bridge and I thought, let me go see the London Eye and the Big Ben from the bridge. I walked half way across the bridge and I stopped. I stopped and stared.

Now some people may call this a waste of time, most people in London see this view everyday and to them its no big deal. But it IS a big deal. There are approximately 4.5 billion people (maybe more) around the world that have never seen the view that I saw tonight. So there I stood on the bridge staring at the view for 5 minutes and...I felt lucky. I felt lucky to be in London, to be able to see this beautiful view and to be given the many opportunities that I have been given through out my life.

There is a poem by William Henry Davies, the first two lines go something like this:

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

This poem describes perfectly how we walk through life taking advantage of everything and not really seeing all that is around us. We don't always notice the details of which there are so many. Now I'm not saying that everyone needs to stop in the middle of the road and stand and stare every where they go. We all have a lot going on, every day there is something to do. But sometimes, when you have the time, just STOP. And take a good look around you.

Believe me when I say, its an amazing feeling. =)

Test

2010-02-12T22:28:00.001Z

Woohoo
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

New Layout

2010-02-12T21:47:00.000Z

My Layout is super duper boring so I'm going to be editing it...soon. When I get the chance =P So watch this space!

Also, If you have any ideas/comments on a new layout please let me know. Thank you =)

Movies

2010-02-12T21:31:00.000Z

I LOVE the movies. Just as much as I love Music!

But Movies - they are totally awesome. I could spend a whole day at the movie theater. =) The best part about movie theaters in London is that you can get student discounts on weekdays. Best student offer I have ever seen is Cineworld 2 for 1, with student discount that comes up to 3 pounds per ticket! (Found on Student Beans Cineworld 2 for 1 is valid Monday to Thursday only)

Why do I like the movies so much? I don't know. I guess its kind of an escape. But its also just FUN. I love going for good and bad movies. Good movies you can enjoy because they are good and bad movies you can enjoy while you mock them. Its perfect entertainment. I also love popcorn and nachos and those are two things that you can usually have at the movies. If your up for breaking the rules, you could totally sneak a Subway sandwich in your bag.

I like watching all kinds of movies. Comedy is the best. Romance - ehh okay, depends on who is acting (can get too cheesy at times), Horror/Thriller - depends on my mood, Action - totally awesome!...what other genres are there?

Anyways, point is I love going to watch movies on the big screen. =)

Its like I wrote, every note...with my own fingers

2010-02-10T15:20:00.001Z

What does music mean to you?

I love music. Not just like a regular person loves music. I LOVE music.

Its hard to explain sometimes. Its difficult to put into words. Have you ever been in a bad mood? Have you ever had a horrible day when you were really upset about something and it was hard to get rid of the feeling?

I believe that music can cure that. Well most of the time at least. Its all about finding the right song. The one that fits your mood perfectly and brings you out of it. Its like for 4 minutes and 5 seconds, your problems are not so bad any more. For 4 minutes and 5 seconds, there's hope.

Have you ever heard a song and just felt like everything makes sense? Music inspires me every single day. It keeps me sane, it keeps me going. Music means the world to me.

For those of you having a bad day, take a deep breath and just LISTEN.

CRAZY AND AWESOME stuff

2010-02-08T22:37:00.000Z

I don't know if any of you watch the tv show, How I Met Your Mother. If you don't, you really should cause it totally AWESOME!

Barney Stinson is a character on the show and he is probably the most awesome and funny character ever! He does the craziest, most outrageous things and that is what makes him AWESOME. =) Like Barney, I want to do awesomely crazy stuff in the last few months that I have here. Things that don't need a reason or explanation. So far I've come up with a few things that I think are crazy awesome:

1) Go to every tube station on the map and take a picture
2) Place crazy and funny posters and signs up around uni
3) Write stuff on post-its and stick them in different places around uni/London
4) Go to a club and play wingman/woman for a friend using Barney Stinson's magical ways - "Have you met Ted?" Youtube it if you don't know it, trust me when I say you'll love it.
5) Prank someone at uni
6) Dress up as a superhero and walk around uni/London (maybe even take pics with people)
7) Pretend to host an online tv show and then ask random questions to people at uni/on the street
8) Watch 3-4 movies in one day
9) Walk in to a random lecture at uni and start screaming how sorry you are for being late. Sit down and listen to the lecture for 5 mins and then get up and start screaming about how sorry you are for being in the wrong lecture.
10) Walk into a lecture before a professor/teacher does and start teaching something totally random until the actual professor walks in.
11) Throw a proper surprise party - you know one where the person is REALLY surprised and not faking it because they already found out
12) Break out into song and dance in a public place - just like GLEE (you should watch that too if you don't already)
13) Write "Ranz was here Class of 2010" in 5 to 10 different places around uni.
14) Create a large mural/drawing and have people write messages/sign it - that's not crazy but its totally awesome
15) MAKE SOME MOVIES (i.e. a video resume, a fake music video, etc.)

You may think, why in the world would I want to do all that stuff and do I really have the time to do it? Well I probably don't have time to do everything on that list but my aim is to at least do between two to five things on the list. I really need to focus on my coursework and my final year project as well as my graduate program applications and job applications. But I will definitely make time to do as many of the things on the list as I can.

I will try to document some of the stuff too with pictures. =) So watch this space!

Updated List

2010-02-08T22:30:00.000Z

My first ever reader commented on my first post! Granted I know this person and told her to read my blog, it still counts right? I have a reader!

Anyways, this reader suggested something cool and so it is going on the list!

1) Museums - Science Museum, Tate Modern and the British Museum (I've passed through it but never had the chance to actually see the exhibitions.)
2) London Aquarium (it sounds cool =p)
3) Outside of London - Stone Henge, Cambridge and/or Oxford
4) Shakespeare's Globe
5) A couple of West End plays/musicals (I have seen 'The Woman in Black', '39 Steps', 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!'and 'Dirty Dancing' and I loved them all, I love the theater.)

6) Walking tours

I love walking especially in London and so a Walking tour sounds perfect. =)

Restaurants

2010-02-06T20:41:00.000Z

I'm a vegetarian and so sometimes its hard to find a good place to eat. Although I have to say that most restaurants in London always have 1/2 vegetarian options.

However, using the Happy Cow website, I have found a variety of vegetarian/vegan restaurants all over London and the plan is to visit as many as I can and maybe even right reviews on them if I have the time.

Here is the List of Restaurants (some I have already been to):

1) Loving Hut
2) The Poetry Cafe
3) RedVeg - best burger ever, sadly London branch has closed down =(
4) Peking Palace
5) Veggie Inn
6) Maoz Falafel
7) Veganroutes
8) Veggie Vegan 222
9) Woodlands
10) Vanilla Black
11) The Vegetarians Paradise
12) Chutney's, Diwana's, Ravi Shankar - all on Drummon Street
13) Itadaki Zen
14) Haha Veggie Bar
15) Greens and Beans
16) Saf Restaurant
17) Rainforest Creations
18) POGO cafe
19) Jashan
20) Chennai Dosa

I probably wont get the chance to eat at all the restaurants above but will definitely make the effort to go to a few of them whenever I get the time.

Readers - if you have been to any of the above, please tell me about your experience. If it was good/bad, if I should bother to even try the food. Or if you have been to any good vegetarian/vegan friendly restaurants that are not listed above, tell me about it and I'll add them to the list!

Thanks for reading =)

6 months left to London - places to go

2010-02-06T20:15:00.001Z

6 months left to London - well less than that if you take out a month for Easter and the fact that its already February.

The plan is to make the most of the time that I have left here in London. I want to visit as many restaurants, tourist spots, museums and sites that everyone should see when they are in London.

I have done the basic tourist stuff a couple of years ago when I came to London with my parents on holiday. So I have seen Buckingham Palace (saw the changing of the guards), The Big Ben, Parliament, London Bridge, the London Eye. I took one of those Red Bus tours and that takes you to the main places. So to me, seeing those things again is not really a big deal especially since I see a lot of these places when I'm going around London.

I go to uni on the Strand which is right next to Somerset House and Waterloo bridge which has a great view of The Big Ben as well as the London Eye. Uni is also 5/10 mins walk from Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, China Town and Piccadilly Circus.

The thing is, all these places I've mentioned are very typical for visitors to see when coming to London. I see all these places pretty much on a weekly basis. I want to go and see places that are different, I want to make sure that by the time I leave, I have truly experienced and seen London (and a few places outside of London).

Here is a very small list of a couple of places that I want to see in the few months that I have left:

1) Museums - Science Museum, Tate Modern and the British Museum (I've passed through it but never had the chance to actually see the exhibitions.)
2) London Aquarium (it sounds cool =p)
3) Outside of London - Stone Henge, Cambridge and/or Oxford
4) Shakespeare's Globe
5) A couple of West End plays/musicals (I have seen 'The Woman in Black', '39 Steps', 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang!'and 'Dirty Dancing' and I loved them all, I love the theater.)

Clearly that list is super short and so I need your help readers (If I have any?). If you live in London or have lived in London previously or have just visited briefly - tell me what places you have enjoyed the most in London and why you think its worth it for me to go there.

Until then, I will start with the list I have and will be writing about my experiences. =)