My new job!

I finally started my new job at DLG Architects today. It was so tiring! Taking in all the information about the firm, the project, meeting all of the people in the office, learning Microstation - it is always such process to start at a new place. The people so far are very nice and I don't have my own desk yet, but will get one this week I think. I am sitting at the desk of someone who is on holiday for the week. It is in a great area, right by Liverpool Street station, and an easy commute from my house. It is not too much longer than I commuted in Seattle, so that is great. I have added their website to the right side links if you want to take a look.

This image has nothing to do with my job, but I did take it on one of my last days before I had my job. That is the London Eye, the giant ferris wheel thing that is right on the water's edge - it is SSOOO cool! And the House of Parliment on the north side of the Thames River.

I finally accepted a job...

Finally, got it all sorted out. I am going to be working with DLG Architects starting 9am Monday. I am sooooo excited, and not just for the paycheck. That is quite exicting too, don't get me wrong, but I am excited to finally stop searching and just get into it. Yeah, it will get in the way of my tourist activities, but I have throughly exhausted all of the free activities, so I feel good about stopping that now. I would like to have to be somewhere each day, have a purpose everyday. I am feeling a bit lost here without something to have to do, somewhere to be. Plus, I am going to meet people and that will be great too!

And who knows, this might just be a temorary thing, but it might not. So I am excitied about the possibility of what is to come. Oh and about the Foster interview, it was nuts!!! Their office is over 600 people, and it is totally an architecture sweatshop of sorts - one big room with huge long tables that sit 15+ people on each side of the aisle! They even have their own coffee shop in the office! They are in the process of interviewing hundreds of people, so they said they would get back to me in 2 weeks. So I will let you know what I hear. Unless it is bad, and then I just won't mention it again!

Oh yeah, and how cool is this model???!!! It is at a place called the New London Architecture Center and it is a model of the central part of London, every single building in the city and all of the planned new buildings, including the new proposed Olympic Village for 2012. It is amazing!

How cute are they?

Here are my niece and nephew, Kelsey (just 2 days old) and Bradley is two. This was just after the new year, and I am sure Kelsey is much bigger and more exciting these days. Less sleeping and more crying I am sure!

Me and my Sistas!

You get bonus points for knowing where this picture was taken, Carol and Katie! I finally got these pictures off my camera and thought it would be nice to see them on my blog. I miss you crazies!

I got an interview with FOSTER AND PARTNERS!!!

And this building is designed by them, hence the reason for the picture. So I got an email last week saying with the subject "Invitation to Interview" and I about fell over...I seriously never expected anything to come from me sending my stuff to them, hoped, but definately didn't count on it. So tomorrow (Monday at 10am) I am going to interview there. I am totally excited, but freaked out too! This could be great, or it could be as bad as the interview I had at Make, that was horrible.

Anyway, keep me in your thoughts, and I will let you all know what happens!

Here are my flat mates!

We went on a house outing today to a the Kentwood Manor House in the North of the city. We had lunch out in the sun, although from this picture you would never know that it was sunnier just a bit earlier!

So from the left:

Emma - footware designer from Stratford Upon Avon (where Shakespere is from!) She just got back from a work trip to China with 35 new DVD's - SWEET!

Brett - Has sight problems but does really well as an IT specialist for the mostly government projects, and very quick witted! Not sure where Brett is from but somewhere close by London.

John - from Ireland, south of Dublin somewhere on the coast. Currently unemployed, so of course my buddy! We share horror stories of our stupid recruitment agenices and kill time watching tv together during the day while everyone is actually earning money!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I am planning on celebrating the occasion tonight along with many others I am sure! A friend that I have met here, Maria, her sister is coming into town from the States today, so we are all going to find an Irish Pub in town and have a Guiness to celebrate.

I hope everyone at home is wearing Green for the occasion! I know I am!

Grandpa, got any big plans for the day? Painting any roads green or Grand Marshalling any parades?

I guess nothing exciting has been going on with me lately...

I have been getting settled into my house with my flatmates and i really like it here. My flatmates are really great, outgoing, but not partiers and very respectful, which is really nice too. I will get a picture of all of us together soon. I am going to proposed a house dinner, so I will get it up as soon as I have it.

The job hunt is still on, yes STILL on...Sucks. I have had a few great interviews, but one firm couldn't hire me full time, wanted me to work freelance, which is illegal on my visa, so that didn't work out. It would have been a great firm to get on with, but oh well. Then I had a really great interview on Tuesday, and got job offer! And this time it is a good offer from a good firm. I am looking over the offer and will get back to them on Tuesday with my final decision.

Then in the middle of all that, i came home yesterday to find that Foster and Partners (yes, THE Foster and Partners) had invited me for an interview! And it seems that SOM London is intersted too! How did this happen? I get nothing for 4 weeks and then all of the sudden when I need to make a decision on an offer, others want to interview???!!! And the other firms are really good and would be amazing to work for!!!!

So I have to wait and see what happens with them to see what I will say to this firm that offered me a job. It is all very overwhelming to say the least. And I am tired. Just tired of the whole process of looking for a job. It is never a fun thing, but in a strange country it just makes it harder. But my plan is to have something (even if it is just a temporary thing) by the middle of this coming week.

So here is my house!

Here is where I live. It is a townhouse/duplex thing and my house is on the right. And my room too. I decided to decorate my room with maps of Europe and the UK to remind myself of the close proximity of everything over here. I even have started to get in touch with the family that I have over here in Whales and in Slovakia.

The house is nothing exciting, but I like it so far. Great transport to the city and close to other great neighborhoods.

My online photos

I set up an online photo album so you can peruse my photos if you want/feel the need to see what I am seeing. Isn't the internet amazing???!!! You can either follow the link right here, or you can always find it just to the right below the link to the London Tube map.

www.laurainlondon.shutterfly.com

The job hunt-

So I finally had a few interviews last week, one really good one and one really bad one. And of course the one I really wanted was the bad one. Why does that always happen? And then on Friday I got a call from the place where the interview went well and they offered me a job. Now I am sure you are saying, "That is great!" And it is, or at least should be. But here comes the ethical dilema, as Garth would say - they only do very traditional and/or classical architecture, not at all what i am interested in. Do i go with them just because they have an opening for me here and now, or do I stick it out and try and find something that will better my career and hope that comes soon? Am i in London to get a good job or am I here to find something that will pay the bills and get the enjoyment outside of work? I am not sure, ideally both. But as i can for sure tell you, i am not living in an ideal world here. Ideas?

Haircut time!

The job hunt sucks and i was having a hard time figuring out the moving thing, so I decided it was time to change something that I had a bit of control over. So the hairs on my head got the brunt of it, and it felt so good. It is hard being over here and not really having control of anything, the social life is miserable, no job (which means on income), until this past Wednesday no real place to live. But in theory, this will all pay off someday soon. Or at least it better!