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Thursday, December 21, 2006

My Advent Calendar

I remember having an advent calendar as a child. Traditionally, one door of the calendar is supposed to be opened each day to reveal a part of the Nativity story and the birth of Jesus. But since most of these calendars generally included chocolate I would often cheat and open doors ahead of schedule.

So I was an ornery child with a very short attention span. I feel no need to apologize for my erroneous behaviour.

Advent calendars are big in the UK - I daresay, much bigger than in Canada. While they’re not necessarily traditional or relate to the birth of Jesus, they’re still fun. The boys and I have a Cadbury one hanging on the wall. I’ve been following the Time Out London calendar to enter new competitions each day. I’ve also been opening doors of the online Wagamama advent calendar … and have also tried clicking on doors ahead of schedule (some things don’t change) but to no avail; it won’t let me!

But seriously, so much has happened in the last month that it seemed like something new and exciting was happening each day. I know that’s not true but man, did it ever feel like it! Thank goodness big things really didn’t happen every day … otherwise I think I’d have collapsed by now.

So, here’s my own personal countdown to Christmas for you. Or, me in December, if you will.

The first of December came. Then, and only then, was I allowed to put up Christmas decorations. I didn’t go mental. As a matter of fact, I stuck to the essentials - a (fake) tree, some ornaments and Christmas lights. And I think I did alright, especially since WHSmith charged me 60% less than they were supposed to on the tree. (I would’ve owned up at the till except none of the trees had tags at the time and I only found out the actual retail price weeks later.)

Matt and I took to ice skating the next weekend at Somerset House which, I’d been told by my friend Zeena, is the place to go if one is going to attempt ice skating in London. Sure enough, it was phenomenal. There was a big, beautiful Christmas tree, music being pumped through loudspeakers … and Matt was definitely very impressive on ice skates. Although I must say it was a bit odd to be on an ice rink with so many people who just did not know how to skate. Can’t really fault ‘em though; snow and ice sports are just not a big thing here … unlike Canada, where we grow up instinctively knowing how to skate, ski and shovel our driveways.

Anyhow, we also grabbed a mulled wine from the café après skate before making our way home to top off what was truly a Christmas-y kind of evening.

From Saturday, 9th December through Monday, 11th December, we were off to Budapest. What a beautiful city! Our first day, we tucked in to massive portions of goulash, meat platters and dumplings, all smothered in paprika, wandered around Buda (the west side of the river), explored Buda Castle on Castle Hill and stopped in for a dip at the Gellért thermal baths. In the evening, we crossed the river to the Pest side (the east side of the river) to stroll the banks of the Danube, check out the Christmas market, sip mulled wine and snap pictures of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge and Parliament buildings in high winds.

The next day, we walked the length of Andrássy út from Oktogon station to Hósök tere, or Heroes’ Square, to look up at the Millenary Monument and then wander through the adjacent City Park. We made our way back into town to grab our bags from where we were staying on Baross tér, across from the Keleti train station, before negotiating a 4500 forint fare for a cab to take us to Ferihegy International Airport where we could catch our flight back to London.

There was much in Budapest that we missed; turns out that a day and a half was not quite enough time. Many places we wanted to see were closed on Monday, such as the House of Terror and the Museum of Fine Arts. Plus, it would be nice to catch a boat down the river, visit the Holocaust Museum (however heart wrenching I expect it to be) and get the opportunity to try out more than two words in Hungarian. All the more reason for us to go back!

Note: Check out the rest of our Budapest pics on Matt's flickr site!

The following week at work was the busiest I’d had. Christmas at Virgo is no small feat; I had to organize the sending out of 665 Christmas cards to clients, old contacts and suppliers, and 63 presents which needed to be wrapped, labeled, packaged and posted. Excel has been the bain of my existence for the past month … but no more! Yippee!

I tell ya, e-cards all the way next year. Not only are they more environmentally and fiscally responsible, but they’re easier too, overall. Speaking of which, we did have an e-card developed also - branding the same across the board! (Oh God, I’ve become a marketing nerd.)

Despite the tasking responsibility of undertaking Virgo Christmas project 2006, good things came of the work season too: staff debauchery in central London at Sugar Reef, our annual company update, where we ordered pizza in to the office and each account team performed a hilarious sketch to highlight the work it did this year, an excursion to Kew to have lunch at Ask and skate at the Kew Gardens ice rink, and drinks to mark the departure of a long time Virgo, my Canadian friend, Andrea.

I was defeated yesterday by the cold that’s been going around the office and stayed home ill, but am now on holiday for the rest of this week and then it’s off to Kent with Matt on Saturday to hang with his family for Christmas. I have all next week off also (our office is shut inbetween Christmas and New Year’s) but with the month I've had I'm looking forward to sitting on my butt and being bored very, very much.

And so, as per my managing director via our company Christmas email, “All that remains is to wish you all a wonderful Christmas break and a safe and happy New Year!”

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

P.S. Forgot to mention that we also went to see a live taping of Extinct on ITV at Teddington Studios in mid-December. It was a week-long show on endangered species of which we saw the turtles and tigers episode. Definitely an eye-opener and heartbreaker ... let's all live more sustainably!

# posted by @anatingor @ Thursday, December 21, 2006

Comments:

My dear friend and London roomie Heather worked at Somerset House! Neat place, eh? Also cool in the summer when the fountains go off by surprise and soak the tourists.

Budapest for the weekend? Insane with jealousy!

Have a merry English Christmas and be glad you're not trapped at Heathrow,

Brook

# posted by

Anonymous : Friday, December 22, 2006

Thanks for the nice comment! Merry English Christmas indeed ... and definitely did count my non-Heathrow need blessings!

# posted by

@anatingor : Tuesday, January 02, 2007

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Thursday, December 21, 2006

Sold Everything ... "It's faith in something and enthusiasm for something that makes a life worth living." - Oliver Wendell Holmes
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Advent calendars are big in the UK - I daresay, much bigger than in Canada. While they’re not necessarily traditional or relate to the birth of Jesus, they’re still fun. The boys and I have a Cadbury one hanging on the wall. I’ve been following the Time Out London calendar to enter new competitions each day. I’ve also been opening doors of the online Wagamama advent calendar … and have also tried clicking on doors ahead of schedule (some things don’t change) but to no avail; it won’t let me! But seriously, so much has happened in the last month that it seemed like something new and exciting was happening each day. I know that’s not true but man, did it ever feel like it! Thank goodness big things really didn’t happen every day … otherwise I think I’d have collapsed by now. So, here’s my own personal countdown to Christmas for you. Or, me in December, if you will. The first of December came. Then, and only then, was I allowed to put up Christmas decorations. I didn’t go mental. As a matter of fact, I stuck to the essentials - a (fake) tree, some ornaments and Christmas lights. And I think I did alright, especially since WHSmith charged me 60% less than they were supposed to on the tree. (I would’ve owned up at the till except none of the trees had tags at the time and I only found out the actual retail price weeks later.) Matt and I took to ice skating the next weekend at Somerset House which, I’d been told by my friend Zeena, is the place to go if one is going to attempt ice skating in London. Sure enough, it was phenomenal. There was a big, beautiful Christmas tree, music being pumped through loudspeakers … and Matt was definitely very impressive on ice skates. Although I must say it was a bit odd to be on an ice rink with so many people who just did not know how to skate. Can’t really fault ‘em though; snow and ice sports are just not a big thing here … unlike Canada, where we grow up instinctively knowing how to skate, ski and shovel our driveways. Anyhow, we also grabbed a mulled wine from the café après skate before making our way home to top off what was truly a Christmas-y kind of evening. From Saturday, 9th December through Monday, 11th December, we were off to Budapest. What a beautiful city! Our first day, we tucked in to massive portions of goulash, meat platters and dumplings, all smothered in paprika, wandered around Buda (the west side of the river), explored Buda Castle on Castle Hill and stopped in for a dip at the Gellért thermal baths. In the evening, we crossed the river to the Pest side (the east side of the river) to stroll the banks of the Danube, check out the Christmas market, sip mulled wine and snap pictures of the Széchenyi Chain Bridge and Parliament buildings in high winds. The next day, we walked the length of Andrássy út from Oktogon station to Hósök tere, or Heroes’ Square, to look up at the Millenary Monument and then wander through the adjacent City Park. We made our way back into town to grab our bags from where we were staying on Baross tér, across from the Keleti train station, before negotiating a 4500 forint fare for a cab to take us to Ferihegy International Airport where we could catch our flight back to London. There was much in Budapest that we missed; turns out that a day and a half was not quite enough time. Many places we wanted to see were closed on Monday, such as the House of Terror and the Museum of Fine Arts. Plus, it would be nice to catch a boat down the river, visit the Holocaust Museum (however heart wrenching I expect it to be) and get the opportunity to try out more than two words in Hungarian. All the more reason for us to go back! Note: Check out the rest of our Budapest pics on Matt's flickr site! The following week at work was the busiest I’d had. Christmas at Virgo is no small feat; I had to organize the sending out of 665 Christmas cards to clients, old contacts and suppliers, and 63 presents which needed to be wrapped, labeled, packaged and posted. Excel has been the bain of my existence for the past month … but no more! Yippee! I tell ya, e-cards all the way next year. Not only are they more environmentally and fiscally responsible, but they’re easier too, overall. Speaking of which, we did have an e-card developed also - branding the same across the board! (Oh God, I’ve become a marketing nerd.) Despite the tasking responsibility of undertaking Virgo Christmas project 2006, good things came of the work season too: staff debauchery in central London at Sugar Reef, our annual company update, where we ordered pizza in to the office and each account team performed a hilarious sketch to highlight the work it did this year, an excursion to Kew to have lunch at Ask and skate at the Kew Gardens ice rink, and drinks to mark the departure of a long time Virgo, my Canadian friend, Andrea. I was defeated yesterday by the cold that’s been going around the office and stayed home ill, but am now on holiday for the rest of this week and then it’s off to Kent with Matt on Saturday to hang with his family for Christmas. I have all next week off also (our office is shut inbetween Christmas and New Year’s) but with the month I've had I'm looking forward to sitting on my butt and being bored very, very much. And so, as per my managing director via our company Christmas email, “All that remains is to wish you all a wonderful Christmas break and a safe and happy New Year!” Couldn’t have said it better myself. P.S. Forgot to mention that we also went to see a live taping of Extinct on ITV at Teddington Studios in mid-December. It was a week-long show on endangered species of which we saw the turtles and tigers episode. Definitely an eye-opener and heartbreaker ... let's all live more sustainably! # posted by @anatingor @ Thursday, December 21, 2006 Comments: My dear friend and London roomie Heather worked at Somerset House! Neat place, eh? Also cool in the summer when the fountains go off by surprise and soak the tourists. Budapest for the weekend? Insane with jealousy! Have a merry English Christmas and be glad you're not trapped at Heathrow, Brook # posted by Anonymous : Friday, December 22, 2006 Thanks for the nice comment! Merry English Christmas indeed ... and definitely did count my non-Heathrow need blessings! # posted by @anatingor : Tuesday, January 02, 2007 Post a Comment Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom] << Home Subscribe to Posts [Atom]