Knowing (soon to be) famous people
Well I'm back home in Winnipeg. I've been here since the 24th. Always nice and relaxing to be home. The biggest stress is always 'Hmmm... what should I eat next'? Seriously, I have been eating NON-STOP since I got here.
I think the last time I felt hungry was on the flight over here. Since I've been back I've had chicken curry, a turkey dinner, lamb curry, mountains of baked goods, boxes of Ferrero Rocher and we just went out for some Thai food tonight... dyarrr, I've gotten so many new clothes this holiday season and I don't think I'll be able to fit in them after this week :P
But to the topic at hand. One of my best friends from high school, Ramzi, has always had an ear for music. You could always find him strumming his guitar or planning for the next big 'Steak' concert. Yes he had a band in high school and it was named 'Steak'. No surprise there were no Hindus in the band :P
Sad to say Steak broke up soon after high school, but out of the ashes was born a new sound that would shake the very foundations of Indie Rock... Ladies and Gentlemen I present '
The Ramzi Helewa Sound Experiment'
Best Week Ever
I know exactly what you're thinking "Oh my gosh, it's been almost a week and a half since your last post. Where did you go Arvind???"
I went to LONDON!!!
Last week I went to the UK to visit my beautiful baba (a.k.a. Camilla) who I haven't seen since the end of August :( I really missed her these past few months and being with her again was so amazing. She's a great girl and so much fun to be with I'm sure you would really enjoy her company as much as I do. Last week was so much fun with her and I can't wait to see her again. But enough sappiness for now let's get to the real reason you are here... PICTURES!!!
(The first part of the week I didn't take many photos so I'll randomly put some in that don't make much sense but are possibly humurous)
So I arrived in London late on Monday night where Camilla picked me up from T3 at Heathrow Airport. Wasn't as good looking as I thought it would be be, but perhaps the other terminals are nicer.
On Tuesday we headed up to
Manchester, Camilla's home town. Her cousin had tickets to a concert but was busy so gave them to us. Oh by the by the group we saw was The Fugees!!!! Man, that was a great show. Wyclef Jean is such a performer. A really dynamic performer with alot of energy and character who really engages the audience. I would definately love seeing him on his own. And of course Lauryn Hill has an amazing voice. Silly me though I forgot to bring my camera so I didn't get any photos. But I did try and get some voice and video recordings on my cell phone. It was kind of funny though cuz half the people in the audience were doing that!!! Was I at a Fugees concert or a Nokia Advertisement :P
The next day Camilla and I went shopping in Manchester. Let me say everybody in Manchester, and probably the UK in general, dresses much better and with a lot more style. We've got much to learn here in North America about fashion.... clown suits can be a good idea :P
On Thursday Camilla and I headed back to London for the 'business portion' of the trip. I had an interview with RBC Capital Markets and she with L'Oreal. I haven't heard back from RBC yet but expect to either tomorrow or sometime after Christmas. I really really hope that I get the job. But first I have to be invited back for their 2nd round of interviews. Keep your fingers crossed.
(On a side note I'm watching Star Trek: TNG right now and Riker just got his ass kicked by an old admiral.)
The interview went perfectly fine and if you must know how it went just ask :) After the interview I toured around London a bit (because Camilla was still in hers). I went to
Leicster Square (pronounced Lester... stupid Brits) which is a really cool area with lots of cineamas and theatres. It's also next to Piccadily Circus, Soho, The National Gallery and Trafalgar Square. I randomly chose a direction and went walking down Charing Cross Road. At first I stumbled upon a church called St. Martin-in-the-field. Ironic because it's actually in the city :P
There was a nice lunch time musical show going on. Unfortunately I was pretty tired so I spent the show napping during the performances only to be awaken by a sudden round of applause. I guess it kept me from sleeping the afternoon there :P
After the show ended I was pretty much on the doorstep of
Trafalgar Square. I snapped a few photos.
This is the National Gallery
This is the public toilet in Trafalgar Square. Careful not to piss in the wind :P
This is Trafalgar Square from the National Gallery.
Afterwards I went in the Gallery to one of the wings and saw a lot of paintings from famous artists such as Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet and Chahal. Unfortunately I couldn't take pictures so I didn't. Not a good idea to be a criminal in a foreign nation... unless it's Singapore.
On Saturday Camilla took me around London a bit more. The day started at
Camden Markets which is a really cool market area. It reminded me of the markets in South East Asia quite a bit, but with more expensive prices and less bargaining power. It's not an average market area though. There's a lot of cool and funky stores/stalls with different and eye catching fashions ranging from punk and goth/rave to urban to sporty to trendy. Really cool area and I can't wait to go back... if only to bargain :P
Afterwards Camilla and I went to go see a musical The Producers. That was really fun and enjoyable. Enough said. I'd like to see the movie though.
On Sunday we went to Central London to see the two famous bridges:
Tower Bridge and
London Bridge.
Here's a picture of me (the first on one this post I think) in a non-GQ pose from the London Bridge with the Tower Bridge in the background.
And here's some girl who wanted to get a picture with me. I think she's part of my fan club. Guess she's kind of cute ;)
After a late lunch Camilla and I walked along the Thames towards the Tower Bridge. Other than the cold it was a really pleasant walk with a lot of great photo ops.
That's the ship the immigrants come in on.
So Camilla has made me believe I'm an expert photographer with a great eye by introducing me to the wonderful setting of
Sepia. Tell me what you think.
Tower Bridge... at Night.
Man leaning over the rail behind Camilla in front of the Tower Bridge... at night.
Possibly the same man... at night.
Tower Bridge in colour... at night.
London... at night
London in colour... at night.
Arm length shot... at night
Camilla happy to see me... at night.
Camera tripping out... at night
I like this shot cuz it's at night.
People driving... at night.
That's the London Bridge... at night.
And then all of a sudden Camilla tried attacking me... at night.
But I showed her.
After, Camilla and I stumbled upon an open-air skating rink. Unlike rinks in Canada where you can go skate anytime (for free) in the UK skating rinks are a novelty and you have to buy tickets for a time slot. When we went all the time slots were sold out. But the theme for the semester has been 'Balls Deep Champion' (ask Rohit) so went to the ticket counter to see if we could get in. Our efforts were rewarded with free tickets... huzzaa!!!
Man, British people really suck at skating. Now, I'm not one to brag often but I saw a lot of this
It was pretty funny but alot of fun. It had been sometime since I had been ice skating and it was great looking like I was Elvis Stojko next to everybody :P
The next day (sadly my last with Camilla :-( ) we went to go see Buckingham Palace, which is right behind Green Park.
Now I don't know if you've ever seen B.P. before but personally for me I had trouble finding the damned thing.
By the time I did I had a little bit of time for a few shots.
GQ SHOT!!!
The next stop for the day was
Canary Wharf. A few interesting people tend to live there...
The best part though is the fact they all reside in the area called 'Canada Square'
Portrait of a Brown Man in Canada Square
I thought this was a cool shot. It's right outside the tube station. A group of clocks, all adjusted to the same local time, but with different numbers printed on the face.
The docks at Canary Wharf
Ok funny story for next photo...
So I had a bit of a runny nose most of the week and that day in particular. But all day Camilla refused to look at me, hug me or speak to me cuz she kept telling me my nose looked gross. I thought she was just refering to my runny nose, which I tried to keep reasonably presentable. So finally I said ok fine lemme take a picture and see what the big deal is. Turns out I had a
booger in my nose :P
Anyways the next day I left for Canada :(... Camilla my dear I had an amazing week with you. You're my best friend and so much more and I hope that no matter what happens things between you and I work out. I'm sure they will. I can't wait to see you again, but until then keep smiling... if only cuz you don't have to see my boogers anymore :D
