London - On my Own Saturday

Ah Saturday. My last day in London. What to do? What to do? 

I kid. I already knew I'd be getting on the hop on and getting off at the Tower of London. The bus ticket I purchased came with a boat tour as well and it leaves from the Tower of London. 

Highlights of the bus tour. 

The Elizabeth Tower that houses Big Ben.
People call it "Big Ben" but he bell in the tower is Big Ben, not the tower.

Parliament

London Eye

London Eye across the Thames

Did I mention it was breezy?

The Tower Bridge

Tower Bridge

Tower of London

Tower of London

This is Hank. I stood by him for 30 minutes waiting for the bus.
He and I got to know each other very well.

St. Paul's

The Shard. Tallest building in London.

One of the newspapers on Fleet Street.

As planned I hopped off at the Tower of London. Me and the HORDS of people that is. I couldn't believe how many people were there. The wait to get in was 4 hours. So, no, I didn't see the Tower of London. 

I did hop on the boat tour up the river Thames. It was windy but it didn't rain. The boat went one way to Westminster Abby which was the other place I wanted to see. That line was over 2 hours. So I didn't do that either. 

I stayed on the top of the bus for as long as I could but it got cold. For the last 30 minutes of the tour I went downstairs. I was chilled to the bone. But when I hopped off by my hotel, I went into Cafe Nero to get myself a hot chocolate and headed back to the hotel to relax. Tomorrow was going to be a long day heading home and I really was ready to head home. 

London - Hop On Hop Off with Alison

I slept pretty good last night. I keep waking up at 2 am and am awake for about an hour before I some how fall back to sleep. 

Al and I were meeting up at 11 so I had time in the morning to go have some breakfast. I had noticed this little coffee shop just down from the hotel, Caffe Concerto. The place was full ish when I got there but was seated right away. I saw they had a bacon sandwich on their menu and so I ordered a Flat White and this bacon sandwich. 

I didn't expect to get fries with the sandwich for breakfast, but there you go. This sandwich wasn't nearly as good as the other one I had. The bread was too thin and it had mayo on it. Weird. I added the brown sauce because, frankly, that is really what makes this sandwich so delicious. 

Al was early and so we set off to get on the hop on hop off. But before we did we wanted to get a coffee. We walked a little past the bus stop to a Cafe Nero and Al got a coffee and I got a hot chocolate with marshmallows. 

The bus showed up and we were getting on. As we were headed to the second flow, Al was in front of me on the steps, the bus lurched and she lost her footing and fell back on me. Not only did she knock most of the hot chocolate out of my hand and all over me, but she landed on my head and it compressed my neck a little. I didn't notice it then, but later that day/night it really felt like whiplash. 

The weather was partly cloudy and we knew we'd get rain. But we didn't care, we stayed on the top of the bus and road that around most of London. It did get wet and windy and cold, but we persevered. 

We "hopped" off at Victoria station to have lunch. Al remembered a pub in that area from the days she worked in that area so we thought we'd go there. 

We found this pub The Duke of York. She thought it was the pub she was looking for but it wasn't. No matter, we went in and we had lunch. The pub advertised that they wanted you to experience their pub, their food, and your friends without any interruptions, so there were no TVs, no wifi, no brands. And the food, was amazing. I had bangers and mash and Al had a chicken club. 

After lunch we hopped back on and the weather turned again. The wind came up and the rain came down. We saw the rest of the bus tour and hopped off where we started. Al still had some time before her train so we popped into Caffe Concerto for an afternoon tea. Well, she had tea, I had a coffee and then I had a Fanta and we split scones. And the scones were delicious!

Tomorrow I plan to do the hop on hop off and the boat tour that came with it. I'd like to see the Tower of London but I kinda figure the lines will be ridiculous so we'll see. And of course, the weather will dictate what I really do.

London - The Inside Man premiere

Here we are, day 2 in London. The jetlag is wicked this time. Not being able to sleep on the plan on the way over really made the jet lag horrible this round. 

Today I didn't have anything special on the list. Tonight is The Inside Man premier, the reason I'm in London. That means I have all day to find something to do.

My first stop was to meet up with a colleague whom I've worked with but have never met. She's an Enterprise Customer Success Manager in the UK. We've worked on many projects together and it was a blast to meet her. 

As we sat and drank coffee we discovered we're both photographers and we both scrapbook! It's rare I run into a colleague that scrapbooks. It was a ton of fun to chat with her about scrapping and taking photos around London. She gave me a lot of ideas for shots, but none of them was I able to get to. 

After coffee with D, I headed off to Trafalgar Square. I remember seeing Trafalgar Square in 2007 when I visited London and remember thinking then that it'd be fun to wander around the square. It was very close to where I was staying so off I went. 

According to the Interwebs, the square is named to commemorate the Battle of Trafalgar. I had to dig deep to remember what the battle of Trafalgar was about. The battle was during the Napoleonic Wars and was one of the largest British victories off the coast of Cape Trafalgar. 

The square has 4 corners to it and on each corner there's some statue. 3 of them are permanent and the 4th changes on a regular basis. The 4th plinth (that's what they call it) is called Antelope by Samson Kambalu. The bronze statue sculpture is of a preacher who was killed anti-colonialist uprising in Malawi. I am sure there's some type of symbolism here that I'm missing, but that's ok. I did really appreciate the sculpture though.

The middle of the square has a column dedicated to Horatio Nelson, a vice-admiral in the Battle of Trafalgar. Around that column are 4 lions. These were what I really wanted to see. Large cats! 

The four lions at the base of the Nelson column represent the heroism of Lord Nelson. I'm not really sure why I love finding large lion statues, but I do. We find them everywhere too and now I'm starting to think I should make this a "thing". 

Once I was done walking around the square, I decided that I needed food. I hadn't really eaten much the day before and I think the time zone messed up my appetite. I found this little deli down a small road off the square. I glanced at the menu and KNEW I was eating there. They had bacon sandwiches. MMM. Alison introduced me to bacon sandwiches (with brown sauce) in 2007 and I swear I've dreamt about them.

The jet lag was catching up to me and I figured I'd go back to the hotel and take a nap before the premier. I was slowing getting more and more anxious about the premier and I needed to just chill out. 

See, I have this anxiety about attending gatherings where I don't know anyone. I don't feel like I'm good with small talk and these situations always require small talk. You add having to speak to customers to that and you get a serious anxiety attack headed your way. 

The premier is a big deal at KnowBe4. The Inside Man series is a big deal at KB4. This is the 5th season and boy or boy is it getting good. You can see the trailers of the other seasons to get an idea of what the series is about. Season 1, Season 2, Season 3, Season 4 and now Season 5. The Twist & Shout team has really outdone themselves for Season 5. 

Now, I was a huge skeptic when I came onboard to KB4. I thought, "Really? A mini series on security training. Give me a break." Turns out, I was wrong. They did such a good job with the writing and you learn and don't even know that you learn things. 

I binged Season 4 right before I left so I was ready to see Season 5. I also wanted to meet some of the actors. I wasn't really sure I'd get a chance to, but since I was hosting a customer I was in the VIP section and I knew the actors would show up there. 

But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

I got to the premier early and wanted to meet a few other colleagues. I also feel like getting to gatherings early puts me in a position of "belonging" there and it's easier to talk to people who are coming to me instead of me coming to them. I know, it's crazy. 

So, I have my customers I'm hosting and we head to the VIP lounge. I chatted with them a bit and was chatting with a few other customer success managers there when suddenly I see the main character Mark heading right towards us. He and another main character, Fiona, stopped right in our group and started chatting. Fiona eventually moved off but Mark hung out with us and chatted for a good 15 minutes. His first comment to me was he was "amazed" that I flew all the way from Seattle. He asked about the time difference, the length of the flight and whether I was on UK time yet. He said he's seen photos of Seattle and thinks it'd be nice to visit. Of course, I told him I'd be happy to show him around. Ahem. 

Mark and Fiona selfie.
I probably should have learned their real names.

The other thing I he said that really made me smile. He said he was really learning a lot about security. When he took this role he had no idea about security and what that means, but after 5 seasons he now knows to not pick up any random USB and put it in his computer. I love that the cast is learning security stuff.

After I chatted with him, I was on the look out for my new favorite character Violet. She's Mark's sister in the series and gets introduced to us in season 3 I think. Anyhow, she's a spitfire and a bit of a rebel and for some reason I love her character. I barged my way into the circle she was in and asked for a quick selfie with her. 

My new favorite character Violet

Then it was off to the theater to watch season 5. I got to sit in the VIP section too and there was popcorn and candy at each seat! 

Season 5 was amazing. It really was done so very well and the storyline is getting more and more interesting. There's a death in Season 5 and I found myself crying over this darn show. 

Once the show was over, I just left. I didn't want to hang out and do any more talking or go to any "after" parties. Not that I was invited or there were going to be any after parties. But I was sure if I ran into KB4 people I'd be asked to go and I was really tired. 

Besides I needed to get sleep because I was meeting up with Alison tomorrow and we were going to do the Hop on Hop off bus. And I needed to be awake and alert to enjoy the bus trip. 

Airplanes and Long Trips

Well, I made it. 10 hour flight - is a long flight. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I rose at my normal time and did the normal things; feed the cats, get coffee, start work. I was only working a half day as I needed to get to the airport. The drive to the airport was fast and I got princess parking at the parking lot. The shuttle to pick up was there immediately too. Everything was on schedule and running smoothly. Almost too smoothly, said the pessimistic voice in my head.

Once inside, the ticket counter for Virgin Atlantic was empty. So I waltz on up and gave them my bag. Headed off to go through security. 

SeaTac has this cool new feature where you can schedule your time to go through the queue for security. I did that but was an hour early for my time. The nice lady at the check in let me go through anyhow.

Again, no one in line. It was starting to creep me out. 

Through the scanner thingy and WHOA…pat down time. And this time not just a pat down, but I swear I needed a cigarette after. I was completely checked. All good and I was on my way. Now I had 3 hours to wait. 

I headed out to the S gates, which was a big mistake. They don’t have a Starbucks out there and the food options are sketchy at best. Still I had a Peet’s coffee and found a piece of banana bread to go along with it. 

They finally boarded us and quickly I might add. On board I had an exit seat but I wasn’t expecting it to be the type with metal sides so you can’t life the arm rest. No worries I’ll just wait and see if I can move across the aisle. 

The flight attendant passed by and said we weren’t full so I could move. Now I was in a seat with the bulk head. Lots of leg room and no on in my aisle yet. 

Then another flight attendant stopped by and said people tend to cross through there and it can be very distracting and did I want to move up to another row. So I moved again. Third seat. Still no one in the row with me. 

The doors closed and that was that. On this massive 787-900 I think there was maybe 75 people. It was absolutely empty. It felt kinda luxurious to have a whole row to myself.

Let me just take a moment and rave about Virgin Atlantic. We flew them to Scotland for the first time in 2018. Amazing flight. And amazing flight staff. From the counter agent who went above and beyond to spell Janet’s name right after I had spelled it wrong. To the incredible on board staff who were chipper and happy the entire time. I swear by this airline and sadly don’t get to take them too often. 

Today’s flight was no different. The crew were friendly, helpful and made sure we were all set with water and food. Really a stellar experience. 

The flight itself was uneventful. I didn’t sleep much and so I’m pooped right now but have to stay awake. 

Heathrow is a HUGE airport. I think we walked a half of a mile to get to the passport control. But that was uneventful and my luggage was waiting for me when I got to the other side. Then found a cab and off we went. It took an hour and a half to get to the hotel. Traffic is ridiculous. 

I got settled and put my head down for a wee nap. Turned on an alarm so I wouldn’t over sleep. Then got out and did some walking. 

My hotel (Zedwell Picadilly Circus) is a great location, but to say I was shocked at the room would be putting it mildly. 

It’s called a cocoon and I think you can see why. 

The bed is a double size pushed up against a wall. No closet. No dresser. No TV. No nothing. The space between the bed and the bathroom is about 3 ft. It’s crazy how small it is. And how boring it’s going to be at night without a TV. 

Tonight I went and walked around Picadilly Circus. It’s the theater district and it really is a circus (that’s not why it’s called that BTW). But it’s like Time Square in NY in that it has all sorts of lights everywhere. I’ll have to share photos later since the internet is crap and slow. 

Tomorrow is the big premier. I met with my boss today and am excited to be participating. I’ll be hosting one of our VIP clients at the premier - which was new to me, but it’ll be fun. 

London or Bust

Here we are. The night before I fly off to the city of London! The last three weeks flew by faster then, well, fast. I've kept myself busy doing almost nothing important. I kept all social engagements to a minimum...hahaha I almost got that out without laughing. There haven't been that may social engagements, and that's perfect. 

I'm all packed. Truth be told, I was packed Saturday. This is a quick 5 day trip to a place that is familiar so packing wasn't difficult. I still followed my "packing checklist" though. I mean, that checklist has saved my hide more than once. I update it and add/remove to it after every trip. The last trip to Switzerland, I added constipation pills considering how constipated we both got after eating cheese for days on end in Switzerland. Today, ironically, I added "stop pooping" pills since that's the new fun side effect from Metformin. Regardless of which poo pill I need, the point is, I have them on the check list and I should be fully covered. 

I have my plan for the days in London mostly figured out. I'm actually planning very little. I want to mostly "wing" it. Yes, you read that right. I want to try to not be so planned and just go with the flow. I'd really like to see the Tower of London and am focusing on doing that on Saturday possibly. I need to be careful with doing too much to hurt my foot again, but I really don't think I can skip a trip to the Tower. I've seen it before, but have never done the tour and really want to. I left it for Saturday because well, Wednesday is when I get in and I figured I'd be exhausted. Thursday is the premier. While it's at night, I wasn't sure if I could do the tower AND the premier and not hurt my foot. Friday is the hop on hop off with my pal Alison who lives outside London. Which leave Saturday. 

The other reason I've left it rather free is photography. I've been taking the iPhone Photography course and it has me all excited about photography again. And well, I figured walking around Picadilly Circus (which is where my hotel is) that should offer up some great options to practice my new, improved skills. 

Bottom line is I'm excited for this trip. Now I just have to get past the 9 hour plane ride. Ugh. That's the worst part. The flight there and then the flight home. 

When next we meet I'll be in London and will share with you what I decided to do. Stay tuned. 

March Sunday Dinner

March Sunday dinner's theme is "Burger Bar".  The idea being I'll provide the burgers and buns, and everyone else brings what they like to put on their burgers. Have I mentioned I love these themes?

And since we're having burgers, I'm making Mom's Macaroni Salad. I went to put it in my recipe blog and realized I had already put it in there, but sans photos. And then I forgot to take a photo of it when it was done. Some day I'll get a phot of it, but not today. 

Tonight's guests are Graeme/Rose, Kathy/Rowland, Claudia, Janet, Sherrie and I. Small groups are best these days. These are some fun, fun peeps. We laughed all night long. 

The food:

So the theme for this month's dinner was "Burger Bar." I wasn't completely sure what we were going to do with regards to appetizer and desserts being something around burger bar. So we did what we do best, we ignored it. 

I bought some high quality burgers and grilled those bad boys up. American cheese topped each one. I had cheese options, but everyone wanted American. And why not? It's the best. 

Burger toppings were en point too. All the condiments (mayo, mustard, ketchup, and BBQ sauce), a gallon of grilled onions, bacon, crispy onions, lettuce/tomato, and pickles. I mean, come on? That makes one righteous burger. 

Our side dishes were, of course Mom's mac salad and Kathy's Calico beans. 

Photo from Noshing
 in the Nolands

Appetizer was from Graeme and Rose which were these little risotto balls of goodness. Risotto with cheese, basil and then covered in panko and deep fried, called Arancini. These things were amaze-balls.  Those two really raise the bar for appetizers. 

Then there was dessert. Janet raised the bar there too. She made this wonderfully, delicious lemon pound cake and then decorated it all up with berries. So gorgeous and, let me tell you, so delicious. 

The best story of the night was Lucy being in love with Graeme. Graeme is allergic to cats and for some reason Lucy just wanted to be on his lap. She was determined. At one point, she just sat down not taking no for an answer. Poor Graeme. We had to have Claudia go get some allergy stuff from her car to save him. I think I'm going to have to buy some to have on hand just for Graeme. I can't control Lucy. It's easier to just feed him pills. 

This was a funny photo. The two nutballs in the background thought we were doing the "funny" photo. Fooled them. I love their spirit though and I love all these people. Every one of them brings something special to my life and I can't imagine what life would be without them. 

Next month our theme is Thai. Not even sure what that will be like. I'd be willing to bet most these folks have never made Thai food before. 

London Baby

My entire life I've lacked the "lucky" gene. I don't win things. I have bad gambling karma. And I generally am the raffle winner who puts in ALL the tickets and wins nothing. It's a good life. It keeps my expectations low and me humble. That all changed on a cold day in Seattle last week. 

I woke to an "urgent" 7am meeting from my boss. I immediately started sweating wondering if today was the day I was fired. Or what mistake I had made to cost the company. Insert any panic stricken thought you can come up with. I had them. This, I know, is a version of PTSD because back in the day the last "urgent" 7am meeting from my boss, I got fired. So I get nervous. 

All the same, I got my coffee and dialed into the Zoom call and waited for him to show up. It was snowing, and the anticipation of potentially losing my job had me in a bad mood. I was already creating stories in my head around what I was going to do. Soon his admin dialed in and her attitude didn't give anything away. She calmly said he was running behind but was on his way. She asked about the weather and we chatting about the difference between our 34F versus her 80F in Tampa. 

Finally, he dialed in. He wasn't on video so I couldn't really gage his expression. Then he starts, "Well Jenn..." I held my breath. My heart was racing. I had worked myself up into quite the panic. He continues, "Well Jenn, you won!" 

Won? Wait, what? 

He said, "You won the free trip to London to see the Inside Man Premier". I was still silent. His admin had to ask if I was still there. Finally, my brain kicked in and I said, "Are you serious? I won? That never happens." 

That's right, I won a free trip to London! 

So here's why a free trip was even available. 

My company, KnowBe4, has a series called The Inside Man. It's a series of 8 minute episodes telling a story that actually teaches you about security and privacy. It's very well done and has quite the following with our customers. There are currently 4 seasons. Season 5 is being released this March and to make a splash they have a movie premier of it. We invite customers and fans to this premier and its a very big deal for many people. 

This year, my boss came up with the idea to send one of the Courseware team's employees. So in our last large team meeting he announced that everyone who has been nominated as Teammate of the Month will be added to a drawing for a free trip to London to attend The Inside Man premier. 

I remember at the time of this announcement thinking, "Wouldn't it be cool?" Followed quickly by, "No need to worry since you don't have that type of luck." 

Turns out I do! 

The company is paying for my air and 2 nights in a hotel (along with food for those days). And since I figured I was all the way over in London, I might as well stay over the weekend. 

This is a quick turn for me and travel. Once I learned I was going, I immediately went into planner mode. And then I freaked out because my bone spur is still not heeled and I got to wondering how I'd walk around London. For a millisecond I thought I might decline the trip. Then I realized, I can do what I can and that'll be enough.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go buy a lotto ticket while my luck is on the positive side.