General Life Bits

So what happens when Kenz and I live through a week without any noteworthy events happening? If we don't do anything particularly London-esque, am I still obligated to write about our London life?

If a tree falls in the woods, but there's no one around to hear it - does it still make a sound?

I've been expecting this day to come. I had all this stuff planned out - I was going to start doing research about various parts of the city and go there, take pictures, then report back to the blog. Yet, I didn't plan ahead and it's Friday and I've got nothing to show for it. Hopefully I'll be able to anticipate these types fo weeks in the future. Good news is we've got some things popping off this weekend that'll make for an eventful blog post next week. Until then, I guess you'll have to persevere through a boring Friday post.

And I know that really upsets you, because you're depending on some Pulitzer-worthy, hilarious, yet endearing post from me every Friday. And if it's not good enough, then your weekend is just ruined.

I know, I know, I know - you don't have to tell me.

No - I know! Shhhh, don't speak. I won't believe you if you try to tell me otherwise. Don't lie. We both know you pine for Fridays, and if I don't have something amazing, then you're absolutely devastated.


We had Owen and Celia over for dinner last Saturday...

I shared the last can of a certain baked bean import with them...

Kenz came home from school with this badass technical drawing. All of the dimensions are exactly doubled from the real life screwdriver. 

I got to talk to Kara's dog, Pepper, on the facetime. 

But, other than that, we just lived like regular 'ol folks. Right? I mean, aside from being in one of the best cities in the world. 

Other than specifically Internet things (like my new NBA blog and re-starting the podcast - neither of which is targeted for an audience over 40, so keep that in mind if you follow those links), there's not much new happening. 

Kenz mentioned needing to get back on the blog and post something. We'll see if that happens. Feel free to pressure her into it: c [dot] mckenzie [dot] gibson [at] gmail [dot] com. I'm sure she'd love to hear from you. 

If you have any suggestions about something for us to go do or see in the city and report back to the blog about, by all means, let us know via email (I still hear from people asking abut where they can comment on the blog - you can't. I disabled comments, so there!). 

Have a happy Friday! It's sunny and (kind of) warm here! Hope it is wherever you are, too. Get outside and take a walk! 

Thanks for reading. 

February stuff

The two things February has on offer: cold weather and Valentine's day.

Delightful Valentines Greetings (name that movie!)

Most of you probably know this, but Valentine's day six years ago was when I called up McKenzie to ask her to be my Valentine. I was really nervous about it, thinking that she wouldn't want to go on a date or that she would laugh in my face for asking her out on Valentine's day. The phone call went something like this:

Me: So do you have a Valentine today?
Her: No. Do you?
Me: No. (then, as I'm gathering the courage to ask her out, she interrupts me)
Her: Well, my roommate and I are having an anti-Valentine's day dinner if you want to come over and eat with us.
Me: ...Suuure, that sounds great. (shit)

It wasn't until a few days after that did I actually get to ask her out on that date.

The next year, she made it clear to me that she doesn't really like Valentine's day, thinks it's kind of stupid, and doesn't require flowers or chocolates. I was happy to oblige.

A few years after that, she got mad at me for not doing anything for Valentine's day.

Me: But you told me you didn't like Valentine's day!
Her: Yea, but that was back when I was trying not to scare you! I want some flowers!

Of course. I'm the idiot. I should've known better.

This year was a bit scary because I hadn't done much planning ahead. And Kenz knew it. And she was giving me grief for it. Fearing that I'd be murdered in my sleep, I set out on the 14th to make some power moves. I got some half-price tickets to the Gershwin musical, Crazy For You, some chocolates, and some flowers (the holy trinity of Valentine's day).

I also made some "coupons" that read:

This voucher is good for one:


"McKenzie, you're absolutely right."


Fine print:
There are no restrictions regarding context, situation, or surroundings. 


This can be used in any case, including:
1. I'm wrong and you simply want me to shut up. 
2. I'm right and you simply want me to shut up. 


I made 12 of them - one for each month out of the year. I think she's saving them for when we have an audience.

She told me that she'd never make something like that for me, grinning.

Yea, that's a Coke-Cola glass acting as a vase. 

I'm sure to regret these. 

However, since I hadn't booked a reservation at some posh place in the center of the city, we wound up going to a Pizza Express. It's a franchise here in London - nothing too swanky, but we both love pizza so it was a success. 

"I didn't know the beer was going to be this big..."

Heart shaped dough balls with pesto, butter, and goat cheese! 

The play was entertaining. We enjoyed the dancing, but the plot, singing, and acting were not quite as exceptional as what we've been used to here in the West End. But we knew it wasn't going to be the same before we even went in. The play isn't really known for its plausibility. Kenz enjoyed the slapstick. 

We walked most of the way home, still reeling at the fact that we live here and there's still so much to do in this city. It was a fantastic day.

The previous Saturday, I got out with the regular disc golf group. It had snowed in London on Thursday, but by Friday afternoon it was all gone. However, much to my surprise, there was still lots of snow in Croydon.

The crew watching discs fly. 

Someone had made the largest snowball I've ever seen out of about 2 acres of snow. 

This = cold hands.

Lloyd Park

I love eating snow, but these days it gets 'caught' in the beard.

We got to talk to Kara this week. We always catch her when she's in her robe.

Nobody makes better faces. 

Kenz has made a habit of playing some video games when she gets home at night. We got these headphones so that the sound doesn't play through the TV. That way, whoever isn't playing video games can read or type or sleep without being disturbed. However, there really is no way to look "cool" while wearing them...

"I got him. I got the dragon."

 Camberwell building moment: The old bathhouse that's now a boxing club.

The day after Valentine's day, I took the trash out and saw this. I imagined someone's Valentine's wish was that their partner would take that damn Christmas tree out.

"What do I want for Valentine's Day? Take out that fucking tree!"

Tom: If it's a plant, eat it. If it's made in a plant, stay away. 

The Valentine's tulips are finally starting to open up:

The flat is starting to feel like home - nothing like having to clean the place to really make it feel like "this is where we live now."

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods! Thanks for reading! Have a good weekend! Another exclamation point!

Pack, Move, Unpack

Nobody likes to move. 

I mean, we like the idea of having a new place, the excitement that comes with that, and getting to play with all the new gadgets and toys the new place offers. But - at the end of the day, moving isn't easy stuff. Packing, packing, packing, discarding things not needed, more packing, moving boxes, saying "this time I'm going to get organized," cleaning, moving more boxes, doing the last few loads of laundry, finding socks you've been missing for months, and more packing. It's not a particularly pleasant experience. 

Kenz had a few choice words for me during this process. As the moving day moved closer and closer, she would grow more agitated with me - as if it was entirely my idea to move. She couldn't help it - her selective memory is one of her endearing traits. It makes me laugh. She'd get mad at having to pack and look at me like this:

But she's an awesome packer. The two nights before we moved, she came home from school and totally owned packing the kitchen. We make a pretty good packing team: she packs most of the boxes and I move most of them. 

Packing dishes

In fact, Kenz conveniently had school on moving day...

She's mildly sad to leave the old place

Playing hookie (from packing) by going to school. 

However, the night before the big move, I had a disc golf buddy gimme a call - he had an extra ticket to the Fulham FC game. Fulham is a part of the Premiere League, which is the top tier within the UK. These guys are much better than the Charleton team I went to see back in November. This team was founded in 1879. Parts of their stadium are just as old. My buddy, Rich, teased me about the fact that the team is roughly half as old as my country of origin. An American named Clint Dempsey plays for the team. He scored a goal in the 1-1 tie vs. West Brom. 

The fans surrounding me made the Charleton fans sound like nuns. 

Richard has had these awesome season tix for 15 years

The owner of the team loves Michael Jackson. MJ came to the field one time, but no one believed it was actually him. 

Our new place is a renovated school. The school was built in 1877. The sides of the building (the left part is where our place is, but we're on the back side) were added in 1904. It's a really cool place - there's a girl's and a boy's entrance. 

 We're on the second floor - there's 3 other flats on our side of the building on the same floor (you can't get to the main part of the building if you go in through the girl's entrance).

The place came fully furnished. Our last place came "fully furnished." However, this one actually came furnished (with more than 2 couches and a kitchen table). I'm really happy to have furniture. Most of it is Ikea stuff that looks nice but is always on the verge of falling apart. Kenz broke her dresser the first night and was cussing it.

Inside the front door. Bookshelf. I keep my shoes and some clothes in the cabinets below, much to Kenz's consternation. 

HOW AWESOME IS A COAT RACK?

This window runs to the ceiling. It's awesome, but super drafty - we've been keeping the curtains closed since it's so cold outside.

I'm currently standing in front of that computer typing this.

The kitchen has much nicer appliances but is a bit smaller storage-wise.

Guest "bedroom" upstairs

We brought the whiteboard! And hung some pictures! These are the stairs to the right of the front door. 

Guest bedroom. Hobbit bathroom. The door is five and a half feet tall. 

It's even got a second shower!

To our bedroom. Notice the lack of doors up here.

I'm happy to finally have a bedside table. First time in about 3 years. 

You have to hold the shower head. Kenz refuses to use this shower. 

Massive storage downstairs.

We're still getting used to the place. The sound travels throughout the entire house. If I'm eating an apple downstairs, Kenz can hear it upstairs. And the fact that there are no doors upstairs means that when we have guests, we'll all be able to have pillow talk chit-chat with the guest even though we'll be in different rooms. Like - Kenz and I can talk to the guest in the other room without any problem. So think about that when you come visit. I'm sure it's a double edged sword. Farts included.

It'll take a while before it really gets to be 'home', but both of us really, really like it. It's a much nicer place than we expected to be in while we were here, but that's part of the good thing about our location. Ain't nobody trying to live in Southeast London, so we got a killer deal.

And it snowed!

Kenz has fun lurking around this window. She's brushing her teeth in this one. 

And this past weekend, I got to go help Owen shoot a music video with his band. It was mildly entertaining.

The Great Malarkey

 Their previous video. 

This is how cold it is here. 

All in all, it's good to be here. And out of that old place. We'll be getting a sleeper sofa before March - a friend of mine will be here March 3-11, then Whitney (Kenz's sister) will be here most of the rest of March and maybe even into April.

The saga of Hotel GibsonEthier continues. Feel free to book your room via email.


Much love, thanks for reading!