Month: June 2011

As previously discussed, I’m a pub guy.  Hand pumped ales, extra cold lagers, ciders and alcoholic ginger beer on ice.  These beverages are the reason I exercise.  Otherwise, I’d be the Pillsbury doughboy.  And while there is a perception that British drinking is purely based on binge drinking and hooliganism, the heart of a neighborhood is still the local pub.  Granted, with my history of working as a bartender and restaurant manager behind me, I am a bit biased. But, I stand behind the pure hospitality and warm, congenial atmosphere created by great pub owners.  A former boss and mentor of mine, John Grzywa, taught me the fundamental tenets of neighborhood pub culture when he gave me my first bar job.  The feeling that Sports Brewpub gave me as both a patron and an employee gave me a sense of family and community that has carried with me throughout my entire career and life. I look for that sense of community in any place I like to frequent.  It makes for an overall better experience.

My local is The Victoria – a stone’s throw from Hyde Park, a Fullers Pub, housed in a Regency building from the 1840’s and located in a small commercial corner off of Hyde Park Gardens, across from one of the best Indian restaurants in West London – (but more on that later).  I’ve been here for a little less than five months but, I’ve found a place where “everybody knows your name”. On my first visit, I spent a Sunday afternoon reading the papers, eating Sunday roast, drinking my weight in Crabbie’s Ginger Beer and getting to know the motley cast of characters who work and attend this lively establishment.  I was hooked by the genuine smiles, the intellectual conversation and the true heart and soul that these folks put into what they do.  Instead of staying for the 30-45 minutes that it would have taken to eat my Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding, I spent four hours there. And, I return often. I’m not a daily regular, but, I’m probably there at least once a week.  In fact, tonight is their pub quiz – which my flatmate, Andy and I hope to win, but, we probably won’t.  It’s really hard.

But, I digress. The local pub is a necessary part of British community culture.  My local pub makes me happy, well fed and nourished in ways that span the food and drink that they serve. These are places that make me feel like I’m less of an outsider, that I don’t have to be isolated and that there is life outside my apartment.  All the reason to go, no?

Hi, folks.

I’m back from my unintentional sabbatical.  The past seven weeks included trips to four cities on two continents, a lot of visiting and alone time, some sport, some play, a LOT of work, a lot of joy and some heartbreak.  All of which will make it into my writing at some time, but, right now a lot of it is best kept internally. There are some serious “What the fuck was I thinking?”moments in there, so, there is a lot of personal growth going on?

So, how is expat life so far at the five month mark?

As I sit here on the 9:00am First Great Western service to Bristol Temple Meads, calling at Reading (where I am disembarking the train for work), things are relatively predictable yet still awkward.  I don’t really feel like I am in a standard routine.  Which for a guy who is borderline OCD, that can be a very dangerous place indeed.  I mean, most of that is my own doing, as I did choose to spend three and a half weeks out of the past seven in Asia and the US.  But, I somehow thought that it would be a little easier getting into the swing of things.

But, as my firepluggy Italian friend Mario would say – “Honey, you’re human.  Give yourself some credit.  You moved 5000 miles away.  You’re single, smart and sexy in one of the world’s greatest cities. Enjoy it, have some fun and go fuck everything that moves. Now, how about some Carbonara?”

Mario always has the best advice.

Anyway, I digress…

Things I’ve learned or relearned while being here in London:

1. I am a pub or wine bar kind of guy, not a major clubber. – Barring the days when I used to go to Sensations or B’zar in East Lansing at the ages of 19-23, I’m just not a dance club sort of fella.  First of all, I think I’m going a little deaf like my father and it becomes absolutely impossible to talk with anyone in a club that plays a bunch of “Nnnn-tch, nnn-tch, nnn-tch, nnn-tch….” type of music.  However, give me a retro ’80’s night or some Motown B-side soul and I’m on it.  Don’t expect the latest review of Fire or Hustlaball here.  I’m just not down for it.

2. Rainy days equal museums for me. – When I was a kid, my mom and her best friend Susan would take my sisters and I and Susan’s kids to the Detroit Institute of Arts.  We’d spend time in the exhibits, but, we’d also climb up and down the secret spiral staircase, run up and down the rainbow tunnel, and have lunch in the enclosed Kresge Courtyard, surrounded by ancient and significant pieces of cultural works.  Granted, this would happen mostly on days where it was raining or ungodly hot; but, at a young age, I became a museophile.  And, frankly on a rainy day, I’d rather walk around inside a cultural icon like the Victoria and Albert Museum then sit at home on the couch watching Jersey Shore or thirtysomething reruns.

3. Doing nothing is hard in a city like London. – There is so. much. to. fucking. do.  As a person who thrives on new experiences and overstimulation, I want to do everything.  And, in some senses, I push myself to try to do just that.  However, there are times where you need to rest and recharge and I find myself skipping those times too much, to the point where it catches up to me big time.

4. England is gorgeous in the spring. – My allergies may not think so, but, this is one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been at this time of year, ranking right up there with Seattle and Buenos Aires. The lush spring greens, the blooming lavender; the sea of ferns and leafy ground cover make this place an absolute pleasure to enjoy.

5. I miss driving, Hot Mama’s pizza, White Castle cheeseburgers, brunch at the 5 Spot, homemade and fresh Pho, affordable sushi, Zingerman’s Oswald’s Mile High sandwich, tumble dryers, the sight of Mount Rainier over Lake Washington, the smell of a freshly resurfaced sheet of ice before a hockey game, Target, sand beaches on fresh lake water, kayaking down the Huron River, BD’s Mongolian BBQ, Downy Fabric Softener, Seattle Quake Rugby and my dog, Zac – may he rest in peace.

More to come later, as there’s so much to publish.