O-Town Concert

Back in my elementary and middle school years, boy bands were the trend. 

NSYNC was my favorite followed by the Backstreet Boys. I'm fairly sure I made my Mom and Dad take me to the CD store at the mall to buy new cds the day they came out. 

I was devastated when NSYNC stepped aside as a group. Love ya, Justin Timberlake...but get the band back together! 

Anyways, I was also a fan of O-Town. Again, another band that fell to the wayside following a few hits and albums.  But, as of this year, they have reunited! They are without one member, but they still got it. 

Chelsea Football Club

Last Friday, Susannah and I went to the Under the Bridge venue at Chelsea Football Club to see them perform for the first time in a decade! 

It was a flashback to our years of middle school. Both opening acts were boy bands, and they played the major hits of our youth during the breaks. Although, we both agreed that being adults now made the evening better with a pint or two! 

O-Town performed several of their hits, talked about getting back together, and played their new song!

Well worth the trip down to Fulham to see them perform! Be sure to check out their new song, 'Skyfall!'

Recapping: Instagram Photos

I'm about to be done with grad school in a matter of a few days. As I plan on recapping the Aldwych tour, O-Town, and grad school in future posts, I figured I would at least post a recap of my week. Apart from studying, I did try to add in a few fun things to keep the atmosphere light!

Front Row Seating for Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown, former PM of Great Britain 

Tower Bridge

Sunset

My LSE Class Ring

Brunch is always the answer!

Traveling across the river!

Shard

HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge

Shine Bright, London!

Latest Happenings

Over the past week, London has had a wave of spring weather. 

50 degrees, sunny with a few rain clouds, flats, spring jackets...as you can see, you won't find me complaining. London avoided a hard winter, but I'm nevertheless still excited to push the pea coats aside.  

The above photo was taken of my backyard last week on a nice day. And yes, I live along a canal! 

This post isn't going to focus on schoolwork as well...that deserves another post once again. Let's talk about fun activities! 

Last Thursday night, Susannah, Alyssa, and Crystal and I got dinner at the Real Greek in Shepard's Bush before we went and saw Gavin DeGraw. We had standing room only tickets, but we managed to make our way to the front of the crowd. 

Post the concert- which was fabulous and a ton of fun- we met Gavin DeGraw in the pub next door to the theater! Talk about a fun night! And, yes that was the second celebrity encounter in two weeks...

On Friday, I met up with my friend Eleanor who I met via the Smart Girls Group and social media! She's studying abroad this semester,  and she was in London for the weekend! We went to a BRGR.co in Soho to check out their version of "afternoon tea." It was sliders, milkshakes, brownies, and iced tea!

Mini Milkshakes!

Twist on Afternoon Tea 

Friday evening, LSE hosted a "trial" on the baby boomers! I served as one of the members of Generation Y on the jury. The event took place over the course of two hours with evidence from witnesses, opening and closing statements, academics playing the judge/clerk, and the jury actually deliberating. Without going into the whole case, we the jury did find the baby boomers non-guilty on all the various charges! 

Finally, this past weekend, I really explored more of my neighborhood- something that I often don't get to do! On Saturday, my friend, Chelsea, and I took a graffiti class at a gallery on Portobello. While I am no Banksy, I did make this lovely creation: 

Graffiti Class Accomplishment  

 The real Banksy? 

On Sunday, I met up with a few friends to check out the Rum Kitchen! I've been wanting to try it for sometime...and before a capstone meeting, a drink was a must! After all, it is my birthday month!

How was your weekend? Did you try anything new in your neighborhood? 

My Selfie with John Travolta!

Yesterday, I met John Travolta. And, I took a selfie with him. 
I know, I know…just a normal Sunday.
Kidding! It was an awesome way to meet a celebrity.
Earlier last week, I got an email from Ticketmaster about last minute tickets to attend a "Conversation with John Travolta." Now, I'm more of a concert and musical person. But, I jumped on this chance as every other event I've attended that has been a conversation has turned out to be awesome. 
(We can discuss the Laura Bush story in a future post!)

So, last night, the event happened! Bu,t before I got inside the theater, I ran into the BAFTAs Red Carpet or the British Academy of Film and Television Awards! Talk about luck! 

John Travolta was amusing as ever during his discussion with Barry Norman. 

He discussed the highs and lows of his career, his personal life, and what he could be doing in the future. Playing a future Bond villain came up numerous times…
 He brought several audience members on stage and danced a few numbers with them. And, at the end, the entire audience sang "Happy Birthday" to him!

John, his sisters, and Barry Norman

Now, I'm not a huge John Travolta fan. If Ryan Gosling wants to hold one of these chats, we'll be talking about how I got front row seats. But, I wanted to capitalize on this event. 
 If you don't know, I had a knack of meeting the SU basketball team quite a lot during college. My best friend, Katie, and I even got Jim Boeheim to stop and take a photo with us in the middle of a crowd with a few clever lines. 

Meeting Jim Boeheim in 2010 

So, last night, I was prepared for how I was going to meet John Travolta. 
Staking out the stage door, I made friends with a few older women. The four of us strategized to avoid the outstanding number of older men that wanted to meet him! 
Two hours post the show ending, he finally emerged. Now, I've never been in a crowd like this before. 

I described it to one of my friends as a mosh pit!

At one point, I was next to one of the security guards behind John. Tried the "hey, it's my birthday line too." 
That didn't work. 
And, then I had my moment of inspiration. I touched John's hand, and said "let's take a selfie." 
And, he just stopped.  
Unfortunately, as you can see below, others did not stop and bumped us. 
It's a half selfie. But, it's a selfie. Plus, he touched my hand. 
Mission Accomplished. 

What a way to start a week off! 

Holiday Parties!

It's that time of the year again! 

The holiday season has officially taken over all aspects of my life. From the small decorations I have in my flat to the Christmas lights twinkling around London, you can't escape the feeling!  I had three different holiday parties this week as well as the LSE Christmas Concert!

Tuesday, some of the girls and I grabbed tickets to see the LSE Christmas Concert. There was both a choir and an orchestra!

Earlier in the day, my office had a Christmas Luncheon! Last week was my last week at the US Embassy for the internship, so it was great getting to have one more outing with the friends and mentors that I've gained!

Thursday evening, I had two holiday parties to hop to. But of course, what is a holiday party without an ugly Christmas sweater! This year, I went for the sweater inspired by the movie, 'Home Alone 2.' The slogan? "Merry Christmas, Ya Filthy Animal!"

The first party on Thursday was the Pi Phi UK Alumnae Holiday Party! We tried out a new bar in the Holborn area. It was great catching up with old friends and meeting new ones!

Maryann and me

Later in the evening, I headed over to Islington for the MPA Christmas Party! It was great to see a lot of people before we head off for a four-week break!

Capstone Partners 

Alyssa, Susannah, and me!

How many holiday parties are on your calendar this year? Any great Ugly Christmas Sweaters?

The Band Perry Concert!

Last Monday, Jenny and I snagged cheap tickets to see The Band Perry perform at the Forum in Kentish Town. Yes, you read that right! Country music is quite popular in the UK although cowboy hats and boots still aren't that mainstream.

Jenny and me

I hadn't been to the Forum in ages, and we had standing room only tickets. Thankfully, the long line to enter the building was not indicative of the available space. We wound up in about the sixth row of the standing area. Lindsey Ell was the opening act. Not the usual country music I listen to, but she performed a great set to get us ready for a fun concert. 

And, I do mean fun.

The Band Perry puts on an amazing show. There was no down point of the show. The music kept going, feet kept the beat, and there was plenty of dancing!

A HUGE Recap

Well, my goal of becoming a better blogger lagged off again this past week.

It's been a busy couple of weeks in jolly ole England. After Romania, I was swamped with a bunch of schoolwork dealings with my capstone project, my internship, tourist activities, and getting over a stomach bug. The stomach bug aside, despite the workload with school, the last two weeks have been full of laughs and memories as usual!

Last Thursday, I had dinner with two of the first years in my program. One is my first year buddy who as I've mentioned before has a CNY connection. The three of us went out to Wahaca for margaritas and some Mexican food!

The Wahaca location that we went to was in Covent Garden which has been decorated for Christmas. You just have to love London getting in the holiday spirit as soon as possible!

Last Friday, four of my friends in my programme hosted their house-warming party as they had just moved in together. As always, MPA parties are a ton of fun.

Saturday, I took myself to see Fantasia: Live in Concert at the Royal Albert Hall.  Believe it or not, that was the first time I had ever set foot inside the Royal Albert Hall. Even back in 2010 when I lived a street away, I had only explored the outside of the building. While I couldn't take photos during the performance, I did snap a few shots beforehand! And, don't worry…I was tapping my foot to the music the entire time!

The Royal Albert Hall

At this point, I'm sure you are wondering when I do my homework…I swear, I do!

Last Sunday, I explored part of my neighborhood that I rarely get a chance to go to. What's cool about living in Ladbroke Grove/Notting Hill is the ability to see the clash between old and new. There are a ton of the famous Notting Hill colorful homes, the new building that I live in, and the old council housing buildings that were built in the 1950s/1960s.  I plan to write a post in the future on the history of my road, alone, but here's a sneak peak now!

Old v. New on Kensal Road

Sunday evening, my friend Emma invited a bunch of us out for Indian food and to meet her Mom!

Emma and her Mom!

And, on this past Tuesday, there was a Levo League event for the London club about dressing for success. It was great to hear some tips about professional wardrobes as well as catching up with old friends.

How has your week been? Have you done anything exciting?

The Sound of Change: Live!

Yesterday, I went to the Sound of Change Live concert sponsored by the Chime for Change organization. Nicole and I bought tickets when we first saw the concert advertised, and we are so happy we got to be there to experience the amazing concert that is designed to help every girl, every woman, everywhere.  

The concert took place at Twickenham Stadium- normally a rugby stadium. But, it was perfect to have 50,000 people present for the movement.  The concert started at 6pm and was/is being broadcasted to 155 countries. The US is getting encore performances on channels today. 

The concert started with a zumba performance and a surprise appearance by Jessie J! From there, the concert never stopped. Numerous guest appearances by actors and actresses, activists, videos highlighting projects, and performances happened in addition to the ones that had been announced for weeks!  Take a look at the photos below! 

Nicole and me!

Mr. James Franco and Jessica Chastain

Madonna honoring women making a difference in Pakistan 

Ryan Reynolds and Zoe Saldana 

The one and only...Gloria Steinem 

JLO on stage!

Mary J. Blidge and JLO performing Come Together by the Beatles

Timbaland 

Queen Beyonce performing WHO RUNS THE WORLD? GIRLS. 

Jay Z and Beyonce

Beyonce