[The Life of Shaun #71] I've got a sinking feeling...

Wow, what an exhausting two weeks this has been.  Cass has been very good at keeping us busy - we've had two weeks of orientation & introduction, culminating with Flagship this weekend.

I was not looking forward to it - dreading it, actually.  I hate these corny, touchy-freely corporate team-building type things.  Also, this one's not just a retreat, it's a weekend away at a Naval base ending in a sinking ship simulation.  Well, to my shock, the weekend was absolutely brilliant.  The program was fantastic, I really met several more people on my course, and got to do something I would never even think to do normally.

Friday we arrived at school to be bussed down to Portsmouth where we were greeted, shown our quarters in the barracks on HMS Bristol (which fought in the Falklands war), attended some short simple lectures, had dinner and drank at the Naval bar (£2 pints!), getting acquainted, then off to bed.  I have to say outright, the sleeping situation was... less than ideal.  It was in authentic military triple bunks, 20+ to a room.  And the showers, also not the best as they were open, but I have as a result now gotten over any hangups I have about showering naked around people I don't really know.

Saturday, after being awoken at 06.30, we were broken into teams and spent the day split between tasks, lectures and lunch.  I've been so lucky with teams at Cass; my study group at school is awesome, and my team this weekend was great - it makes all the difference, the day was so much fun.  This was followed by dinner at the Officer's club and, of course, drinks until the bar closed.

But today was the main even - the sinking ship simulation!  This is midsection of a warship attached to hydraulic arms, capable of rotating it up to 20° to simulate waves.  Then you are put inside with your team for a "hit" from an enemy and charged with doing emergency repairs to keep the ship from sinking.  As you are trying to do this, on top of the wave motion, hundreds of gallons of water are pouring through the holes from the missile damage, water's shooting at high pressure from broken pipes and there is a lot of smoke.  And there wasn't like 6" of water - it was at my head at its highest when the ship was level, causing it to reach near the roof on a side as it rolled in the waves.

My first job required me diving underwater to repair a blown out door portal, and then it was on to the holes in the walls and securing the portal door.  After we were done & back up in our starting room, another attack happens and much more damage is done.  This is when the room totally fills and your team and you are bobbing about in 6+ feet of water.  And these holes were big and the water just shot through them.  We were proud when the safety man gave us our review and told us we were one of the fastest teams he'd ever had with the first half of that task.  Which was great since the first half we were a little less cohesive, but we pulled together for the tougher challenge.

I've attached the only picture I could find online of the experience, but of course it doesn't capture it - It was intense!  And exciting and such a great team activity, and something unlike anything I've ever done or am likely to do again.  And as a result, I am exhausted!  It's back to class in the morning.

A great start to what I hope will be a great year!

"Navem servavi" - I saved the ship.

Cheers,
Shaun

--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
Clerkenwell, Islington
London, UK
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[The Life of Shaun #70] Dublin & London

Dublin & London
Here're some pics of Mary & me from our time in Dublin & London.

Cheers,
Shaun
http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/shaunec1/album?.dir=/8e6fscd&.src=ph&.tok=ph_2rhFBtNetRNRL

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[The Life of Shaun #69] School, Dublin, the Scissor Sisters & London

So, wow, grad school kicked my, um, bum last week; it's going to be a lot more work than I'd supposed - I am so glad I decided to take a year off to do it.  This week was just part of orientation & wind-up, so no "real" classes, but it's been all day, every day.  This coming week will be too, then at the weekend they're shipping us off to the naval base at Portsmouth to a flagship seminar where we'll stay in the barracks on the HMS Bristol (or some ship...) and participate in a sinking ship simulation where they put us in a section of a boat on hydraulics in a tank and proceed to fill it with thousands of gallons of seawater while we try and save it.  How this will help me with monetary policy I've yet to learn, but it will certainly be interesting...

On the travel front, I went to Dublin last weekend to meet up with my friend Mary Keany from New York.  I had a great time!  I have to admit, when I first got to the city I wasn't very hopeful.  It's very unassuming and decidedly poor for being the capital of the Celtic Tiger.  But as we were there for three days it grew on me.  It's so charming!  From the friendly people, to the accent, to the good night out, even to its blue-collar-ness.  I have to say, I can really see the roots of America in Ireland.  It has the same mix of middle class friendliness, zest for fun and overtones of religion.  I felt quite comfortable there.

But let me tell you, it's expensive.  Shockingly so.  It's not often a Londoner gets shocked about prices, but €17.50 for enchiladas?  Come on, now you're just taking the piss!  But I duly emptied my wallet several times and did my bit to support the Irish economy and keep multiple breweries in business.  Oh, yes, I had Guinness while I was there - I still don't like it.

More locally, I spent last night in Trafalgar Square at a Scissor Sisters concert I won tickets for.  They and it were fantastic.  I don't understand how they're not more popular in America.  They are huge here - the #1 album in 2004 and their new single "I Don't Feel Like Dancing" went right to #1 in the charts when it was released last week.

A notable paraphrase from Ana Matronic: "Prince William went to a party last week dressed as a Bond girl, and it makes us, the Scissor Sisters, very happy to know that the future king of England has a little bit of queen in him."

So a great concert, and a great band - buy their first album immediately and the new one as soon as it comes out (tomorrow here...).  And the whole night was amazing, being in Trafalgar Square for that.  I had a moment again where I realized how lucky I am to live in such an amazing city.

OK, off to take a bus tour with Mary Keany!  Hope all's well with you wherever you are.

Cheers,
Shaun

--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
London, UK
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[The Life of Shaun #68] Safe on the Emerald Isle!

Hello!

Just letting you all know I've arrived safely in Dublin.  First impression: it's cute.  :)  And TOO warm!  Who'd'a thunk it?  But I'll give more on the city when the weekend's done.  Just waiting across from the hotel for Mary Keany to show, so wasting time on here.

Cheers,
Shaun

--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
http://www.friendster.com/shaunism
London, UK

"Mission Accomplished."  -- George W. Bush, 01 May 2003
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[The Life of Shaun #67] And we're off!

Fifty-three minutes of work left, but who's counting?

 

Today is my last day at St. Ives before starting graduate school and I am so excited about it.  I am definitely ready for this next step.

 

My team and I went out to lunch at my favourite local pub, The Nelson.  Good panang curry and three pints - not bad for a Thursday!  My direct boss, who's only here for four months since my original boss left two weeks ago, bought dinner for everyone.  The payroll head bought my friend Nick and me an extra round, and my colleague Julia gave me a card and €20 for beer in Dublin.  All-in-all, pretty cool.  Those of you who've heard tell about my work know it hasn't been a total love affair.  But in the end, I can't complain; nice people and, honestly, if I'd've had a better job, I might well not've gotten the courage to take a full year off for school.  What's that about things always happen for a reason...?

 

Tonight: pack!

 

Tomorrow: Dublin, where I will be meeting Mary Keany (Hi Mary!  See you tomorrow!)

 

Weekend: Guinness!  (Well, just one, I'm more a lager man, but c'mon, you gotta have Guinness when you're in Dublin!)

 

Monday: School starts!  Yikes!

 

Orientation promises to be wretched.  Every day for two weeks, at late as 21h00 some nights.  And they're shipping me and half the class off to Portsmouth for the weekend two weeks hence.  I've been there before -- I am not excited.  But then after the two weeks "real" school gets down to business - and that I am excited about.

 

So, here I am, just over one year in London starting another new chapter in life (I hate that cliché, but after three pints it's hard to be original).  Life is exciting and good.

 

Cheers,

Shaun

--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
http://www.friendster.com/shaunism
London, UK

"Mission Accomplished."  -- George W. Bush, 01 May 2003

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[The Life of Shaun #66] This is a small country

Living in the middle of a huge city on the edge of Europe, I sometimes lapse and forget that Britain is a small country.  To remember, all it can take is realizing you've gone from London to the other end of the country in three hours.  Or you can watch X Factor, née Pop Idol, antecedent to American Idol.

I'm watching it now and the talent level of the audition pool is leagues below American Idol.  Yes, there are great ones, and yes, America has just as many humorously bad ones, but I am talking about the average.  So many of the people who are going through to the next round wouldn't stand a chance in the States.  And hearing Simon say, to someone who'd surely be shown the door on American Idol, "you're fantastic" makes you feel a bit bad for him - it must be hard coming back to this after hosting the show over there.

I know the UK has hugely talented people - there just isn't nearly as big a pool to draw from.  To emphasize this they've even had to expand what they draw from.  There are three categories here now: 16-24s, 25 & overs, and groups.  In the end each judge coaches a category and they "compete" to have someone from their category win.

We could very well get another Will Young out of this season, but we're gonna have to wade through a lot more pain than my American friends will finding the next Kelly Clarkson.

Cheers,
Shaun

--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
http://www.friendster.com/shaunism
London, UK
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[The Life of Shaun #65] Our cool flat, Definitely Nottingham and my bad chi

As you know, Natasha and I love our flat; it's a perfect fit for us, ideally located, and just a great place to live. Well, this past Thursday the management agency threw a BBQ for the residents (in the private garden, natch) - they had (veggie) burgers and dogs, salads and lots of wine and beer! Very cool. Seeing that it was a fight to get my last management agency in New York to change the bulb in the hallway, having this one do all this definitely took me aback. Oh, and we got to take three unopened bottles of wine with us as a parting gift at the end of the party. ;-)

Last weekend I took an overnight trip to Nottingham - just to see another city, check out some new bars and clubs. Well, I had a good time out, but I can definitely see why the town's not called Yessingham. Oi! Gertude Stein would've been at home - there is no there there.

Lastly, we tried to rearrange my room today to improve my feng shui; my bed's in the coffin position - very bad. But unfortunately the size and shape really won't allow any other set up, so it's as it was. But, I did notice that my door actually opens on an angle, so I think technically it's not the coffin position. However, anyone who knows any tricks for improved chi or energy flow, please let me know

That's about it at Rosebery Court this week - just wanted to give an update. Hope all's well where you are. It's a bank holiday weekend here - so long weekend here! Yahooey!

Cheers,
Shaun

--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
http://www.friendster.com/shaunism
London, UK
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[The Life of Shaun #64] 100 bottles of beer in my stomach, 100 bottels of beer...

My anniversary weekend has been really nice.  Todd being in town assured debauchery and drunkenness, and dinner was really nice.  And a bit of surprise.  I was sitting there at the table with five friends and realized, hey, I do have a group of friends here, I am building a social circle; it's kind of snuck up on me without me even noticing it.

Thank you to all of you who were with me over the weekend, and the rest of you I hope to see soon, either here, the West Coast in December/January or East Coast in April.

xo,
Shaun

--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
http://www.friendster.com/shaunism
London, UK
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[The Life of Shaun #62] Lovely & Brilliant

Five-hundred-twenty-five-thousand six-hundred minutes, five-hundred-twenty-five-thousand pints of beer!  Oh, wait, that's not how it goes, is it?  This is how you can tell it's a show about life in New York and not in London.  You can't survive Manhattan without at least a pint of vodka flowing through your veins at all times.  In London, unless you fancy $18 cosmos as standard, you drink beer.  Lots and lots of beer.  Fortunately they embrace white beer here.  Try it immediately.

 

Here I sit, on the afternoon of the eve of my one-year anniversary in London; Todd from New York is in town, I've had two pints at lunch, carefully selected friends have been invited to Thai tomorrow, and an even more select few are coming; the weekend holds promise, and the searing heat has given over to grey, cool, sweater weather.

 

So what do I think of my circumstance?  Of London, the year that's past, Natasha, all those and what I've left behind?  Well, lately, quite a lot.  I suppose the coming of this anniversary has naturally bent me towards introspection, and I've come to decisively cloudy indecision.

 

Natasha has been amazing.  I expected a roommate, but I got a partner in the truest sense.  Not just the friend she's become, but the person who's lived this experience with me and understands.  I remember how hard it was moving to New York, not knowing anyone in the flesh, and what a different move this was.  London feels diminished when she's not here.

 

I miss my New York friends immensely.  I have friends here, some of whom I've grown closer to than I'd expected, others I've rarely, or never, seen.  But the depth within the breadth I'd grown to have in New York is lacking, and it can feel emotionally naked.  Of course I can't have the type of friends I built up over seven years in just one, but that doesn't make me miss them any less.

 

I love writing sterling cheques.  I love when the phone is engaged, looking right then left to cross a street, snogging & pulling, taking the rough with the smooth, taking the piss, putting asides in brackets and brilliant or lovely things.  I love living and working abroad, amongst people who've grown up in a different culture than I.  It's so much fun learning the little ways their lives are different from mine: the different perspectives, the different collective memories & experiences.  I love living "so close to" Europe. 

 

"London's prohibitively expensive" someone told me just before I moved here.  As a Manhattanite, I shrugged her words off and laughed inside.  Wow, a slap in the face can hurt sometimes.  I was out Wednesday not having drinks with someone, and he got a vanilla milk shake.  For $7.50.  On top of this I've had some lingering financial worries hanging over me from New York that've made most every week a nervous, wrenching uncertainty.  It's been hard.  But it's also given me the momentum to take the plunge into school full-time, move forward and get on top of this situation.

 

With enough planning I can get anywhere in Western Europe, and much of the East, for $100 or less.  But it's costing me $1,200 to see friends and family this December.

 

Every morning and evening when I walk over the Blackfriars Bridge and can look from the Houses of Parliament and London Eye on one side, to St. Paul's, the Gherkin, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf on the other, I often feel stunned, but always feel lucky.  This city is amazing; amazing in a way you can never grow tired of.  And I live here.

 

I find London's Los Angeles-like sprawl frustrating.  I know some of you made fun of me for it, but I loved living in my tiny bubble in New York.  Everything and most everyone I wanted was near - what's so bad about that?

 

I relish getting to be a kid in a candy store again.  London's still so new; there's still so much to see and find.  I have areas I love, but there are so many I haven't even seen yet, and ones I like but rarely get to.  This fades after enough time in any city, but London will allow this to go on much longer than most.  What's that saying about a man who grows tired of London...?

 

So what do I think?  Did I make the right choice?  Am I still glad to be here?  Absolutely.  Am I ready to leave?  Definitely not.  But in the same breath, I feel more like a New Yorker than ever.

 

I miss you all.  Come visit soon.

 

Cheers,

Shaun

--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
http://www.friendster.com/shaunism
London, UK

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[The Life of Shaun #61] Saving Citibank, La Familia (less Pappi) and topping

As I am sure all you financially savvy people know, Citibank's assets haven't been growing as fast as its competitors and has been surpassed by HSBC as the world's largest bank and is nearly losings its market capitalization rank to (gag!) Bank of America.  Well, I'm stepping up to the plate and doing my part!  I've taken out a silly amount of fresh debt in student loans from Citibank so I can take a year off work and go to grad school for my MBA full time.  Citibank obviously needs the money more than I do, so I am doing what I can to help.

 

Now, in truth, I do have some secondary less altruistic motives behind my actions.  One, I've learned that the system works differently here than in America, and not having the right letters after your name can be a hindrance, so I want to get some more letters ASAP, PDQ; the potential jobs I've been coming up for just aren't what I want to do for two years while doing the program part time.  Another is the desire to, hopefully, move on to more interesting and rewarding work more quickly.  And yet another is the freedom I'll have from not being tied to the school for two years; as we all know, I have serious commitment issues with schools.

 

So very good about that.  It feels right and I am excited about both going back to school full time and seeing what it's like over here.  Wish me luck!  And wish the hand of Bush to be kind over the next 13 months; should he crash the economy I may be in a prickly situation.

 

Also, as such, my vacations will be curtailed; other than the ones I've already bought tickets for, the only new additions will be America; the West Coast in December/January, the East Coast in April.  Stay tuned for dates.

 

In other news...

 

My mom, sisters Lara & Lisa and Lara's kid Emilio came to London to visit me over this past weekend.  I haven't seen them since I went back to America in March, so it was really good to see them.  I played tour guide, as best as one can with a 23-month old child, and showed my city off well, I believe.  Mostly it was just good to show them my life, where I am, what I do.  My good friend Sean even joined us for dinner one night and survived to tell about it.  Bless.  Attached is a picture of Lisa (blonde), Lara (brunette) and Emilio (baby).

 

Last for this installment...

 

Does anyone else distinguish between 'top up' and 'top off' or is that my own applied nuance?  I think topping up just means increasing/adding, but topping off means increasing/adding to the maximum amount.  My English coworker disagrees*.  Is this another Americanism or simply a Shaunism?

 

Cheers,

Shaun

 

*She also doesn't accept gotten as the past participle of got, but that's one of my favorite idiosyncrasies of American English and I refuse to drop it.

--
Shaun Coley
scoley@gmail.com
http://www.friendster.com/profiles/shaunism
London, UK

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