24 May 2008

First Few Days In London

I finally got to my hotel Wednesday early evening just in time to watch the UEFA Championship match of Chelsea v Man United. I was excited about watching my first football (work with me folks) match in a legit English pub (R.I.P John Bull). Naturally, most Londoners were rooting for Chelsea. Here's some pics that shows the agony of defeat from a couple patrons and an incredible hottie enjoying the thrill of victory, even though he blew his shootout goal:

Here are my completed items thus far...

1. Opened Bank Account - One would imagine this would be rather easy as banks in the US drool at the mouth with the possibility of someone opening an account at their branch. My HR Manager had to set up an appointment with the local HSBC bank and write a reference letter vouching my employment. It's not a piece of cake opening an account here. Point - US.

2. Searched and found a flat - I easily sent a good 30-35 emails to set up appointments to arrange viewings for interested places. People simply don't respond back to you, or you get fishy responses back from people out of the country wanting to rent you "their" home. Don't get me started with trying to find a place that accepts dogs either. F'gettaboutit! I saw a few places, but gladly ended up paying an agency to find my new home away from home. Point - US

3. Established a Mobile #: I got a Pay As You Go plan since I don't have a local address with a debit card, nor cell phone history here. I get my Debit card sent to me next week and after I have some history here, I'll get on a monthly contract here where I may qualify for a free XBox, Wii, PlayStation or Laptop. I haven't heard of deals like that in the US. Point - UK

4. Realized I Need To Buy Oil Stocks: The cover story of the Independent today had an interesting article about how the world is running out of it's oil reserves. These two lines blew my mind, "In Britain, the price of petrol has risen to an average...£5.15 per gallon. In the US, where drivers pay much lower prices, gasoline is more than $4(£2) a gallon." Good grief! I knew gas was more expensive here, but didn't realize it was $10.21 a gallon!! No matter if you're in the US or UK, unless you get at least 35 miles to the gallon you'll eventually have to bite the bullet or find some transportation alternatives. I'm starting to like this Underground Tube more and more. Point - UK

US 2 - UK 2

13 May 2008

Best Cover Band IN THE WORLD!

Just another ho-hum Monday night on the Sunset Strip boys and girls. Last night Feo, Jessica, and I ventured out to Hollywood to watch the GREATEST COVER BAND IN THE WORLD! If you never caught an old GNR or Motley Crue show back in the hey day, you're in luck! Steel Panther performs every Monday night at the Key Club and brings the type of debauchery that my good friend Slash writes about in his Best Seller.

The Metal Gods were smiling down upon us as Corey Taylor from SlipKnot and Scott Ian from Anthrax joined the oversexed potty mouth boyz for a rendition of You Got Another Thing Coming from Judas Priest. It was Totally Awesome Dude!! Kelly Clarkson, Tommy Lee, Pam Anderson, Pink, Jessica Simpson/Tony Romo, Jeremy Pivon are amongst others who have joined these guys on stage to do some covers as well.

If you are able to survive the lame tattoo tool bands before them, then you'll have a treat once the clock hits the stroke of midnight. Too bad they could not have come on earlier for a longer show. It was definitely worth the $20 admission at the door.

03 May 2008

Rita, we're not in LA anymore!

The other night Ale, Mari, Ferny and I decided to do a Downtown LA bar crawl. We met up at Broadway Bar, then Golden Gopher, took a pit stop to check out Mari's ultra cool loft, then went to one of my favorite bars of all time, BAR 107. Sitting at the bar you see above 3 obscure paintings, a 70's velvet painting of Shafts girlfriend, Fidel Castro's mistress, and a biblical painting in full on rococo fashion. You immediately think, "Rita, we're not in LA anymore!" BUT YOU ARE! You check what's there to drink and you are amazed they not only have Schlitz, PBR and Tecate, but in big cans to boot!! One tall PBR por favor. Pimp Daddy Fernando had a slew of dollar bills and suggested we hit the photo booth. Here's the evidence:





If you are looking for wussy KISS-FM club music, this is not your place. If you are looking for chill DJ spinning everything from Bob Marley to The Clash this is the ticket. There was also this bartender chick that taught Ale and me how to wrap our hair with a chopstick. I wish I remembered her name to credit her. All the other bars including Edison and Pete's Cafe are good to have a drink and nibble, but if you are committed to some down home fun venture to this magnificent dive.

On a side note, Mari and Ferny met for the first time this evening and turned into telenovela lovers by their last photo pic. LOVE YOU GUYS! I have the best friends in the world, hands down!