March Sadness

March is probably my favorite month for one reason: the Madness. Growing up in Kentucky it was basically a foregone conclusion that I would be raised on college basketball.  One of my earliest and favorite basketball memories was in 1986.  UL was playing Duke in the NCAA championship game.  My brother Scott and I were allowed to stay up late to watch the whole game.  We were all at my Grandpa Benny and Grandma Birdie's house.  At age 8, this was my first chance to cheer against Duke, many subsequent opportunities would follow and thanks to Christian Laettner, I would actually get to develop a grudge against the team. But then, Grant Hill was also on that team, who I kind of loved... but I digress. The 1986 final was a great game. Never-Nervous Pervis, are you kidding me? The best. When UL (Go Cards!) beat Duke my brother (then 6) actually cried.  He hated Louisville then.  How times change. Anyhoo, I have watched the tournament every year since. 

In high school we watched games in between classes (and sometimes during class) in the student lounge.  In college, well, we were almost mandated by the administration and coach Knight at IU to watch the games. In Boston, I think they set up a TV in the library at GHP (my office) and Jodie, Mamta, and I definitely watched the night games together in our basement apartment.  I'm pretty sure Jodie and I cheered against Duke, sadly for Mamta, but all three us of cheered on the Cards together.  Somewhere between Boston and Austin, Brooke and I spent countless nights in random bars cheering on the Hoosiers to (almost) victory in 2002.  In grad school at Texas, I spent whole days at the Fox and Hound with Mehul watching games until my eyes bugged out of my head (still cheering against Duke, much to Becca's chagrin).  In 2003, many of us actually went to see some of the games live in San Antonio and when Texas made it to the Final Four, Mehul made sure that we were in New Orleans at the games.  Even when I had a for real career-like job in DC I kept an eye on the games in real time online (thank you CBS Sportsline!) and occasionally wandered downstairs to the office gym to watch close games. I am nothing if not dedicated.

Besides only being able to watch the games online and not on my actual TV, the saddest part of my March is that no one here cares.  At all.  In fact, no one even knows that they should be caring about something.  When I go into work on Tuesday (4 day weekend for Easter holiday-- but I like to think of it as days off work in honor of the first two rounds) no one is going to have the foggiest idea what I am talking about when I exclaim how well I am doing in my Hoopla pool, I lament about how Kentucky and Indiana have already lost, round 1, or I complain about my sensory overload.  Because really, the best part of March Madness is sitting around with friends watching 4 games at once, trying to remember the brackets you filled out, eating chicken fingers and fries with honey mustard or other bar food and complaining about how much your eyes burn from too much television.  Oh. What fun. 

This year, Andy and I will be watching the games online, checking our brackets, and drinking tea and eating biscuits in a country where no one else but us cares.  At least I have the blog to wax nostalgic. 

And while I can't possibly stay up for all of the 9:30 EST games (because it's like 1:30 am until day light savings when it's 2:30 am) though I may try, I will definitely be slingboxing 'One Shining Moment' and watching it later. What is it about that song? Luther Vandross's voice gives me chills.  In fact, I am going to YouTube past years right now.  Love that Montage.  

Desperate times call for desperate measures

I miss US television.  Luckily, my dad is an early adopter of technology and bought a Slingbox last summer.  The technology actually boggles my mind. I have no idea how it works or why it should even be able to work but really I don't care.  It works. It's like magic.  Andy and I can access my parents' television and their DVR via my computer.  So we can set their DVR to record, let's say, LOST, and watch it later while my parents continue to watch their TV without interruption.  Genius.  So, we have been able to stay current (like a day later because of time difference issues) on LOST, Project Runway, and Friday Night Lights... and one day we will stay current on our (my) other favorite shows now that the strike is over. 

Oddly, being over here has made me crave all things American, even those shows that I would never have watched at home.  Shows I probably scoffed at actually.  Really, I just mean American Idol.  I am not entirely sure how Andy and I started watching it this season.  Maybe it's the whole absence makes the heart grow fonder thing?  I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that we not only watch it but we enjoy it. Oh no.  And to make matters worse, I have my favorites.  

One good thing about being here is that they play some US shows every single night.  Some are shows I have seen over and over and probably memorized like Friends and Sex in the City, but also others that I tried to or wanted to get into at home but didn't for whatever reason like House and Numbers.  Now I have the time and the drive.  Even more fantastic is that because for most shows the UK is a season (or series as they call it here) behind, I can now start watching the two shows that started in the fall that I couldn't take on because I didn't have time. (Call me a terrible TV fan for prioritizing an international move and a wedding over new television. I can take it!)  That's right,  ITV2 will soon be airing Gossip Girl and Pushing Daisies.  It's incredibly exciting. 

Something else I have decided to do, is to take on a few British shows... but it's hard.  The channels really are dominated with US television shows (because they are so good). Sometimes I forget I live in London until I am reminded by the British voiceovers in all the adverts. We should have moved over here years ago when they had The Office and Coupling.  A show called Gavin and Stacy is coming back for a second series so I am going to try to take that on... plus there's Skins which I am going to try as well.  The other stuff is harder to dive into.  Neighbours and East Enders just aren't grabbing my attention.  Gavin and Stacy is actually going to be made into a US TV pilot so that's a good sign.  I will of course let you all know which shows win me over.  

Beyond my Prime Time TV watching, I miss my Good Morning America.  The BBC "Breakfast" is okay but it's just not the same.  No one can replace Diane, Robin, Chris and Sam, clearly.  But maybe that's okay... I mean, now I can at least get to work on time. 

Adventures in London Transport

There is almost no way around taking some form of public transportation if you live in London. Few people have cars (and those that do, have to pay a congestion tax to drive into the city) and and taxis do not come cheap so they are for special occasions. The city is big, like really big. The Tube has 6 zones, concentric circles with downtown being zone 1. It takes Andy and I an average of 45 minutes to get to work and we live in zone 2. Like I said, it's a big city. After being here for 6 weeks, we have had our fair share of highs and lows making our way across and around town. I submit to you all some tales from the roads, the tunnels, and the sidewalks.

Tube (also known as the London underground): The first line began running trains in 1863 with a few stations and one track. Now there are 268 stations and almost 250 miles of track. As of March 2007, the city estimated that 3 million people ride the tube every single day. Oh, I can attest to that. It seems that the tube is only just being updated now(maybe the first time ever?) in honor of the upcoming Olympics so stations indiscriminately close on the weekends for work(Emily, Bob, and Emily and Ryan-- you got to experience the joy) and both minor and major delays plague rush hour. Somehow, incredibly, in a city that gets phenomenal rain, the tube also hasn't figured out how keep it together when the track lines are wet... so, like today, the tube is late and uber-crowded and hot from too many people breathing at once and smells like wet dogs from all of the umbrellas and rainboots. But whatever, the tube goes everywhere.... and it's just getting bigger, so there's that.

Bus (double deckers and plain old one-levels): It has to be said that in DC I rode the bus when I saw it coming. Interesting experience and definitely not the same vibe as the Metro. In London, I dunno, I kind of love the bus. If you sit up top it's sort of like a cheap tour of London neighborhoods. Plus you are pretty high up which feels powerful. And shockingly, they run on time. What? So far the bus gets my vote for favourite London transport.

Taxis (black cabs and other cars): I think we have only taken 2 maybe 3 taxis since we have been here. Our first was a Mercedes (two actually, one for Andy and one for me) that took us from Heathrow to our storage unit with our ridiculous number of bags and boxes (hence two cars!). The second one took us from our temporary flat to our current flat and had to use GPS to navigate the city. So, cabs, eh. Expensive.

Walking (at your own risk): This weekend we had two interesting walking experiences. On Saturday we had to hoof it about 2 miles to the UK version of UPS to get a package that the Parcel Post would not leave for us here. The weather was crummy and we had to walk on a sidewalk down a highway for half of it but in the end, we were rewarded with our coffeemaker! (THANK YOU HEATHER! You saved our lives. Nescafe was about to kill us). Then on Sunday, I had a run in with a mini. Andy and I were walking to meet friends for dinner in Notting Hill and well, a car came flying around the corner (serious bat out of hell action) and kind of sort of hit me. My knee was the first thing it hit and then it ran over my shoes before i jumped out of the way (only one tire got my two feet). I was pretty stunned. The driver didn't even look back and by the time I got the words out about what happened it was too late for Andy to chase the car down. Seriously though, it hurt. Miraculously, I walked away slightly dazed with no more than a bump and bruise on my knee. My feet are totally fine so it seems. Thank you Rocket Dog boots! You saved my feet.

Lessons learned? Um, leave early for any tube journey and bring breath mints and patience (plus an ipod and reading materials), look both ways 3 times before crossing the street, don't waste your money on a taxi, take the bus and sit up top when it's available.

Love and Miss

We have only lived here for about six weeks, maybe a few days more than that, and I have already started compiling a list of things that I love about living in London.  Some of my favorite things about living here may not be specific to living in London, as much as just living abroad.  

Comprehensive recycling schemes

Free family planning

Fair trade products without a huge mark up

No extra charge for prepared foods at supermarket

The mail slot in my front door

Tea with milk and sugar 

Posh accents

Inexpensive fruit and vegetables

Mint humbugs and Maynard wine gums

Compulsory 5 weeks of vacation

Double Decker buses

Strongbow Cider

Serving beers in brand and type specific glasses

Bobby uniforms

Schoolchildren in their uniforms with matching hats 

Prime Minister's Questions (PMQ) every Wednesday

Simple income tax structure

Boxing Day and other random bank holidays

Cheap flights to hundreds of cool destinations

The number of guests who come for a visit and stay with us

Being weighed in stones

The Queen and her hats

Delicious Indian food 

Then again, there are a bunch of things that I miss about the US, of course:

Family and friends

How easy it is to set up house (e.g. Utilities)

Super fast broadband access

Clear water from the tap

Full sized refrigerators

Reasonably priced public transit

Real coffee (e.g. NOT Nescafe) served everywhere

Half and half and flavored creamers

Quaker Oatmeal Squares and Post Great Grains with Dates, Raisins, and Pecans (e.g. fabulous cereal)

Showers that are fully enclosed

Beds larger than a double

Smiling faces and chatty strangers

American Television and my DVR

Separate washer and dryer

Garbage disposals

Cliff bars

Trader Joe's trail mix 

WHY?

If you have ever met me, even for a minute, you know that I have a slight, if not significant, love affair with television.  When Andy and I were planning our move to London, I was immediately worried about keeping current with my shows.  Ridiculous? Of course not.  Well, maybe a little.  The writers strike coincided with our move and suddenly I wasn't behind in my TV watching and had time to figure out how I was going to stay devoted to my shows.  Luckily, the strike is now over and new episodes are on the way.  Phew.  In that spirit I wanted to create a blog comparing US and UK TV, and thus 'straddle the pond.' 

Then I realized, hmm, maybe no one wants to read about my television watching exclusively, so I decided to throw in some other discussions and notes about what I miss about the states and what I love about living abroad.  And since I have a tendency towards the random, I am sure I will just go ahead and post whatever I am thinking at any given moment as well.  Enjoy...