Savor the Moment.

After 8 glorious weeks in Old London Town, it was finally time for me to tip my hat and close the first chapter of my year as a traveling gypsy-girl. Although I am looking forward to Asia (never mind that my money goes from being worth 1/2 as much to 3 times as much), I must say I absolutely fell in love with London. Here is what I already miss, what I've learned, what I would do again in a heart beat... (In no particular order)

♥ I learned that I made the right choice. I was afraid I would regret my decision to quit my job and travel, but the second I stepped off that platform (minding the gap) I knew I had escaped Corporate America scott-free.

♥ I learned that London is the most beautiful city I've ever laid my eyes on. I enjoyed the English love for columns, their sense of history, their winding streets and their ornate post boxes. (What can I say, I love bright red!)

I even love the reactions to London architecture from visiting friends:

Ceda Xiong talking about some buildings near Regent's Park in London. "They are so blaaaah. As if they were carved out of mayonnaise. They are grand without being distinctive."

Kostas Sakellis talking about the London architecture. "They really like their columns here. I mean, we've seen Doric, Ionic and Corinthian columns in one building before. But I can't really pinpoint the central theme for London's architecture. You go to Paris, to Prague, to Milan, you can see it right away. London's more like a hodge-podge array of buildings."

♥ I learned that I have an infatuation with scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. Polish it off with a pot of Royal Blend tea from Fortnum and Masons and you have a perfect Sunday afternoon high tea experience. (I even have milk in my tea now - how English of me!)

♥ I learned that London has amazingly beautiful men dressed up in suits EVERYWHERE. On the tube, in the streets, in the Starbucks, in the parks... All wearing gorgeous tailored clothes! A city where pink is the fashionable color among the men folk. I LOVE IT.

♥ I learned that London attracts women with backbone. I've met many wonderful, strong, focused and intelligent woman that I am honored to call my friends. Ceda Xiong, Camilla Macapili, Philippa Cornish,Val Wei, Carey Nickels, Charlie and Chris Boyce and Rika Games come to mind…

Camilla, Ceda and I hanging out together. You gotta love strong Asian women!

♥ I learned that London water is CRAP and the only way to make it drinkable is by filtering it, and then masking it with dollops of Ribena. It's amazing that I didn't blow away as dust - thank god for Ribena, blueberry juice and cups and cups of tea!

♥ I learned that you can't escape from the Investment Bankers in London. I'd meet people on the tube, on the bus, in bars and clubs, even my fave bookstore and they were all in finance. (It's actually funny I met any at all, since they are usually strapped to their desks.) Even Tony Dixon, my old Singapore schoolmate has "fiscal" in his title. In the old days, they used to try to impress you with their pocket protector and slide rule... Now, it's their crackberries. Nothing sexier than "lets Google-map it." Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Here are some awesome jokes from my IBing friends:

How to Explain What You Do for a Living

It's the time of year you have to repeat who you are and what you do about a billion times. For most of you out there, even those who don't work in some obscure area of finance, this can be somewhat of a difficult task. Which is why we've come up with a handy 20-seconds or less response - tailored to each person you might encounter over the holidays.

Enjoy!

Parents: "I have a job."
Uncle Marty: "Buy Google."
Grandparents: "You want more cake?" (Them: "What?") "I said, do you want more cake?"
Younger brother: "Whatever you do, don't do what I'm doing. People will tell you it's awesome but it's not."
Friends from high school: "Investment banking's great because I'm learning a lot - the learning curve is really steep. And my MD is awesome. I mean this guy is such a badass. Dude, this one time ... "
Person at party you want to get rid of: "You ever see American Psycho?"
Hipster/trustafarian: I work at JPMorgan - just like your Dad.
Girl at a house party: "You come here often?"
Girl at bar: "I was in banking, but I'm in vertically integrated manufacturing now. I quit to start my own line of t-shirts. We just got picked up by Barneys so it's really a breakthrough year for us. Hey ...maybe you'd be interested in modeling?"
Girl from Staten Island: "You're my f*cking assistant. Don't you know what I do?"
Another banker: [secret handshake]
Default answer for anyone outside of NYC: I'm in finance.

Investment banking Joke

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. Descending a bit more he shouted, "Excuse me, can you help? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago BUT I do not know where I am." The woman replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 Feet above the ground. You are between 40/41 degrees latitude, north, and 59/60 degrees west, longitude." "You must be an investment banking analyst", said the balloonist. "I am", replied the woman, "How did you know?" "Well", answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct but I have no idea what to make of your information and the fact is, I am still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all, if anything, you have delayed my trip."

The woman below responded, "You must be a Managing Director" "I am," replied the balloonist, "But how did you know?" "Well," replied the woman, "You don't know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problem. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it is my fault."

♥ I miss walking up and down the Thames, late at night watching the buildings blink and hearing the soft rush of the water. I even miss the wretched east-European gypsies begging for my change, gesturing to the borrowed baby in their arms. (Did I really just go that far?).



♥ I miss all the public places... Trafalgar Square (when the sun is out), the Parks with their waterfowl, the courtyards and the musuems... AMAZING.

♥ I learned that the English have a very interesting sense of style... While most of the time I really enjoyed it (the boots, the 3/4 length black coats, the scarves) there were some instances where I asked myself, what the pho?

Yep. Red tights and blue flats WITH a striped skirt. The horror.

♥ I also learned that London is full of (crazy) people with big hearts. I have to make a mention of Alex here, who was insane enough to take me in for TWO MONTHS while trying to start a new job and get used to a new city. I left towels on his floor, ate his food, flooded his bathroom, took over half the closets and ran amuck... All while he's slaving away at work (allowing me to enjoy the fruits of his labor).

Alex, what I think what I will most remember is:

1. Having dinner together at home, and our trips to Tesco's.
   
2. Watching Heroes and House - and me usually running away at the scary bits.
3. You trying to speak Indonesian to me, and failing miserably.
   
4. Me trying to speak Indonesian to you, and failing miserably (but since yours sucks more than mine, I usually got away with it.)
5. Seeing my clothes folded neatly into a little pile after I tore my cupboards apart trying to find a certain shirt. How did you not want to kill me?
   
6. You eating all my chocolate. You bastard. (I guess I should mention you did buy it for me, but STILL.)
   
7. Listening to the strange noises the washing machine makes.
   
8. Leaving post-it notes everywhere. DON'T FORGET YOUR OYSTER CARD!
   
9. Sharing electrical adapters, since we didn't have a million around the house.
   
10. The fact that there's a man with more clothes than me. I felt like a failure as a woman.
    
11. Running away to Northampton for an awesome weekend.
    
12. Talking while I iron your shirts, with you collapsed on the floor. (Why was ironing so relaxing to me? Why the hell does this sound so domestic?)
    
13. Drinking lots of Ribena (hot and cold) and cups of tea.
14. Slumber parties with Erika consisting of all of us on our laptops.
15. Lunches in the Park with yummy sandwhiches from Pret a Manger (I LIKE it, ok?)
16. Whoppers at Burger King.
17. Going to see theather shows (they both ROCKED.)
18. Lots of hugs.
    
    
    
    
    London Reflections
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    ♥ Last but not least... I learned more about myself. I'm more confident of my capabilities now, and I feel like I'm slowly opening up to the world again. I thought this trip would be very hard, but it has been nothing but amazing and spirit-lifting. The memories I'll carry and the friends I have made will last me a life time. I know that when I'm 60, I'll look back on this time and know I made the right choice. I won't reflect on my life and say, "Damn, I wish I spent more time at the office." I'll laugh to myself, smile, and think, I am so blessed to have such an amazing and rich life. Thanks to all of you who contributed, you know who you are.
    
    With love and affection and deepest gratitude,
    Riani Townshend