Why the Brand Manager for the New York Yankees should be given a promotion or how baseball turned into 'just fashion'

Has anyone noticed the ridiculous amount of people with Yankee gear (some Red Sox too)who obviously have no idea what they are wearing? It is so strange how a hugely popular (sorry Katie) baseball team can turn into just a logo, no tie to the actual game, history, players at all. They have seen in various films and such and naturally it. I managed to ask one of these people wearing a Yankees cap, if he was a fan of the team (the jerk who wanted to knife me on the train) and his response was first 'baseball what's that?' secondly, 'oh it's not the Yankees, it's fashion'. To further my British baseball education I asked someone I work with regarding baseball and his response was 'it was the most boring four hours of my life, people kept falling asleep all around me, I tried to get drunk but the beer you have is not strong enough'. Another commented that she enjoyed the seventh inning stretch the most while watching the Sox at Fenway. All this comes down to the Brand Director for the Yankees should be given a raise for a fabulous job of extending the brand to a whole new batch of customers, even though they have no idea what they are wearing. Cheers!

D&D BFFs and SHINE, TIME, MIME

So a few of us went to the Concert for Diana this past Sunday and before I talk about the funny things I must say that it was truly an amazing event and truly fantastic that it was in celebration of one woman.

At first we were all sitting in different places due to our late ticket getting but we eventually moved to a row all together that was 2 rows down from MATT LAUER's box---yes, I typed Matt Lauer kids. And because we had such prime seats (to Matt--not the stage ;-)) we also saw Simon Cowell, Randy "Dawg" Jackson and Ryan Seacrest (who happened to be wearing a race flag as a shirt) Stars galore at this thing kids. We saw performances by Joss Stone, Nelly Furtado (AMAZING), The Feeling, Pharrell, P.Diddy, Kanye, Tom Jones, Sarah Brightman, Josh Groban, Rod Stewart and some other British bands.

The entire Wembley stadium went WILD when Donny Osmond and some other "Josephs" came out and sang a song from Joseph and the Technicolour Dreamcoat. I have never seen an entire stadium get that excited over a Broadway song!? They loved doing the wave in show lulls and really it was quite excessive...its cute the first 4 times but after that ridiculous. We danced and went wild for Kanye and were truly amazed that according to his set Diddy was tight with Diana--He sang the most dramatic version of I'll Be Missing You I have ever seen. Choir, fire, lights him in a white suit. It was definitely a tribute of someone who had had been her BFF not someone who had been asked to the concert because the Princes liked him.

Oh and Take That showed up. In our American naivete we asked the girls in front of us who they were and they about pitched us into the field (but considering how many beers one of them had thrown back I am not sure she could lift her finger in front of her face). They were THE pop group of Britain pre-Spice Girls (yes there was pop pre-Spice Girls) they broke up and then got back together minus Robbie Williams about a year ago. (Oh sexy David Beckham introduced them). They sang about SHINE and TIME and we thought the next song would be MIME but it actually was a song we knew..."whatever I said, whatever I did, I didn't mean it. I just want you back again..." (now do you Americans know who they are?)

just thought I would add a little sumin sumin to this lonely blog...instead of study for my comp ;-)

It does not happen only in movies

So, you know how in every single romantic comedy movie at some time the cast just burst into songs (i.e. My Best Friend's Wedding)? This this apparently does not only happens in movies. It also happens to grad students in London. Twice.

The first time we were at Gloucester Arms (our local pub) and the pub started playing Star (or You Say) from Lisa Lobe, and Ashely, Josselyn, Katie and myself jsut started singing the WHOLE song without stopping. The funny thing is that the four of us realized what we were doing, but did not stop. It only encouraged us to keep singing louder.. oops, I feel bad for the people there now, but whatev, they probably laughed for a while.

So, the second time was last Sunday as Jen, Ashley, Katie, Jill and I were on our way back from Spetifield market (or whatever it's called) and on the tube we started singing first the same Lisa Lobe song, and somehow someone mentioned... "Do you know what other song is one of those forgettable songs? One of us by Joan Osborne." So as you can imagine, we ALL start singing the song in the tube.

The only difference between real life and movies is that in real life people don't sing along with you. buuuu people suck!

cheeri-o

beep

We have a fire alarm test every Monday at 8:50am. This is monumentally annoying, but probably less obnoxious for us than for the undergrads who are trying to sleep in. Hah.

One thing I've discovered is that when the alarm goes off, the elevators (yeah, "lifts," whatever) automatically descend to the ground floor. The last two weeks I've managed to get into one just as the alarm began to ring, which gives me a nice uncrowded ride directly to the bottom to go to class. So the trick is to time it so that you get into the elevator right at 8:50, because if you try it any later you'll have to take the stairs. Of course, now my secret is out and I'll have to find new ways to avoid sharing those tiny metal booths with people.

Skinny grad students!

Well yes, apparently we are skinny now, or at least not fat enough for the Lady of the Lift to scream at us to get off her lift. She still has most of the same issues. She doesn't know if shes going up or down, if she's closing or opening the door, and she is still annoying as hell. But at least we are not fat anymore! woo hoo!

I don't know why I though it was important to blog about this, but it just is!

cheeri-o!!

Good luck with all the papers, yeah I should be writing that, instead of this blog.

What is 'Punting'?

For all of you wondering exactly what Punting in Cambridge is, Katie and I came up with what we consider to be a fairly accurate definition: HOT HALF-NAKED MEN WITH BIG STICKS.

In reality, punting is no more that a gongola ride with a shirtless hot guy with well defined muscles. Even though you take the tour to see the gardens and the buildings, we focused on the punters, because that was more visually appealing than grass and old buildings. Although we did see where they filmed the broom sceen in the first Harry Potter movie.

Overall Cambridge is not that bad, but I would only go back to see the punters.

By the way, one undergrad was left in Cambridge because they are all not very bright and can't follow directions. Apparently be here 10 minutes before 4.30 means...santer over at 4.45 or whenever. I only wished we could leave more undergrads behind.

Oh... by the way, apparently they do not like to sit with us as evidenced by the fact that our tour guide had to ask them like 10 times to fill the seat next to us, until she finally had to order one to do it. She was nice though.

Can you Text me what you just said? and Project Lovebirds

Okay so wonders upon wonders at Heaven, one of the hottest gay clubs in the world apparently, I get hit on. I meet this guy with a heavy French accent who falls extremely hard for me--I mean who wouldn't? We exchange numbers and he promises to call me on Saturday (looking really pitiful I might add).

He called me at noonish on Saturday and asked "when he could meet me?" not "if he could meet me" but WHEN. I said that I was working on papers and would call him about 3:30. Katie, Josselyn and I are at a pub and he calls twice and texts once BEFORE 3:30. I text him about meeting in Trafalgar--nice BIG and PUBLIC place. He doesn't text me back and everyone including Erik (who now joined us) says to call him. I call him and cannot understand a LICK of what he is saying. He keeps saying WHAT? because clearly to him "what" is the equivalent of of the 5Ws and the H and I am saying "what" because I do not understand a word he is saying. Everyone is cracking up and finally I am just like, "can you text me what you just said and we will discuss it that way?"

He calls back later and I understand EVERYTHING he says--why because he got a friend to call and ask questions. So Josselyn, Katie and Erik go with me to be my chaperones/body guards for this "date." The dubbed it Project Lovebirds. I tried to determine why exactly he was at Heaven and if this was a place he frequented but no progress made there. He also brought two friends but mine were incognito--just following us around in case he tried to drag me off into the London sunset. But as you can tell I lived to blog about it so all is well that ends well.

Tips for sketchy European dates:

1. BIG and PUBLIC places only
2. Order drinks in bottles--no food
3. If he calls a grand total of about 7 times in a day and makes you promise to call him the next day, you now have a big burly boyfriend/girlfriend just getting out of jail ready to maim anyone that has tried anything with you.
4. Let him know that "come home with me" is not appropriate first ten minute conversation
5. Hire the crackjack bodyguard team of Josselyn, Katie and Erik--they have top of the line equipment, the ability to meet randoms in Trafalgar and x-ray vision for those really sketchy times.