Category: Uncategorized

The Sky HD service is installed and I already have a favorite station, not the least of which is because I am a classic movie fanatic – as is my flatmate, Andy.  Side note, with the Oscars coming up this Sunday night, he and I were talking about Westerns and got on the subject of the unintentionally lesbian camp film – Johnny Guitar with Joan Crawford, Mercedes McCambridge and Sterling Hayden and a whole host of other rough and tumble men. None of which had the balls of Joan Crawford, but, who did, really?

Anyway, Sky Movies Classics HD had Johnny Guitar on the other night after he and I had the conversation about the movie. I thought it was a bit weird, but, I started to get hooked.  Love with a Proper Stranger with Steve McQueen and Natalie Wood; Bedknobs and Broomsticks with Angela Lansbury, The Sound of Music, the Judy Garland A Star is Born, Rebel Without a Cause and Spartacus.  I think the selection team at this channel must be made up of gay men between the ages of 40 and 50, with a soft spot for musicals, Natalie Wood, Steve McQueen and gay icons.  I half expect Cher or Liza to be hosting one of the shows in between.

In any sense, the movie channel is pure gold, with most of these films in 4:3 format with the original or restored color and quality.  Lately with all of what has been going on, I have not had a lot of time to watch, but, this will be the staple in the background when I work from home or just want to sleep quietly on the sofa.

My first career was in hospitality business, at 17 I was a Crew Chief at McDonald’s and at 18, I managed my peers. Kinda rough a few times, but, it definitely started my love for the restaurant business there.  It was the first degree that I pursued at Michigan State and the restaurant business is still very close to my heart.  Not only because I love to eat, but, there’s also something about the organized chaos or strategic process that fascinates me to this day.  The way that McDonald’s revolutionized the production and standards part of a mostly mom and pop industry still has impacts to this day on how people eat globally. Being a bit OCD, the standardized processes and achievable standards energized me and set my career in motion, opening more and more opportunities for me for process improvement and change management in my career.  But, I digress….

I have a love affair with McDonald’s, having eaten at a McDonalds in every one of the twenty five countries that I have visited. I order the same meal each time: Double Cheeseburger, Large Fries, Large Coke.  For the most part, this meal is exactly the same in every restaurant (except for the plain burgers served in Argentina, but, meh.) In any case, fast food is part of every culture, from street food in NYC or Chicago, to major chains like KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King, all of which can be found here in London. Though, with the rail based, grab and go sort of commuter culture there is much more competition for that quick quid to get something to eat prior to the train. You look around Paddington Station and they’re all there – McDonald’s on Platform 1, Burger King, Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury’s in the main mall part of the station, Upper Crust and Delice de France and Starbucks, right by the main ticket entry hall.  The choices are amazing.  But, one of them stands out above and beyond all the rest.

Pret a Manger (French for Ready to Eat – a play on the term Ready to Wear) is an English chain of quick service restaurants that are different than the others. According to their website, www.pret.com, their founders “made proper sandwiches avoiding the obscure chemicals, additives and preservatives common to so much of the ‘prepared’ and ‘fast’ food on the market today. The two of them had woefully little experience in the world of business. They created the sort of food they craved but couldn’t find anywhere else.” (Caveat – for a while, McDonald’s had a minority venture capital ownership until 2008, similar to Chipotle).

Pret is a sandwich and soup, mostly take away place. All of their ingredients are chemical and preservative free, including Free Range eggs, traditionally made mozzarella, Higher Welfare chicken breast, handmade soups and handmade mayo.  As well as baguettes baked onsite, locally sourced milk and yogurt products and fairtrade coffee.  Prices are also relatively inexpensive for what you get and portion sizes are reasonable, instead of a triple decker sandwich from Subway that is as big as your head.

They are everywhere in London, train stations, tube stops, high streets and even in Selfridge’s main store on Oxford Street. The service is quick and friendly and the restaurants are clean, organized and maximized on space.  It is a concept that will do very well in grab and go cities like New York, Chicago and Washington DC where they currently are doing business.  If they maintain the values of their corporate culture, we could be looking at the next craze in fast food.  I’d be concerned if I were Starbucks, or even my original favorite, McDonalds.

That still doesn’t mean that I won’t grab a Double Cheeseburger for 1 pound 29 pence every once in a while. But, I’ll choose the meatball and sweet chili wrap with a bowl of shepherds pie soup over it every day and twice on Sunday.

One of the things that I have been cursed with since birth has been sinusitis, caused usually by allergies to mold and dustmites.  Both of which are in abundance in my current temporary apartment. Since I moved here a little over a week ago, my national insurance number has not come through, which hampers me a little when it comes to seeing a physician.  Luckily, my employer has an onsite clinic and the physician there could prescribe the triple threat cocktail to get rid of the sinus infection: antibioitic, antihistamine and nasal corticosteroid.  As she hands me the prescriptions, she tells me that since I do not have a NHS number, I will have to pay cash for the prescriptions, just like in the US if there were no insurance.  Immediately in my head, I assume I will have to take a second mortgage out on my condo in Seattle to pay for these drugs.

Enter Boots. Boots is a pharmacy that happens to be everywhere, similar to Walgreens in the US, but with ready to eat lunch combos and no holiday decorations for sale.  It’s not a place that you can find everything, but it sure is a place that when you’re sick, the pharmacist can actually navigate and help you out.  Not that US pharmacists cannot, it’s just a little bit different.  I speak to the pharmacist, expecting to get a quote for these drugs at 100 GBP, as that’s roughly what they would cost in the US. She apologizes profusely saying, “These would be so much more inexpensive if you had your NHS number.” “How much?”, I ask.  “80-90%”, she adds.  She then rings them up and says – “20 pounds please.”

My eyes bug out of my head, not only because this is already 80% less than I was expecting to pay, but it is significantly less expensive for me without insurance in England then it is for people with insurance in the US. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to make this a manifesto about prescription coverage and the US medical insurance system.  But, it is absolutely maddening to know that other mature economic countries can keep medical costs under control.  And before you say, “the NHS is not the answer”, you’re right, hence why supplemental private health insurance exists here. But, in any case, all that does is make your costs even less.

For the expats out there, verify with your employer that private health insurance exists and how much it costs for you to enroll.  In my case, the insurance is included in my benefits and able to be removed if your partner has better private insurance, though you get no reimbursement for the opt out. Otherwise, get the process of registering for your NHS number as soon as you can, as it can take anywhere from 7-21 business days to have it process.  This doesnt mean that you will not be able to get care, as it is illegal to turn anyone away from medical care in the UK.  But, it sure will make it easier and cheaper.

The past five weeks have been a complete blur. Between my previous job responsibilities, the holidays, house hunting, mid year review, pack and move, going away parties and 25,000 miles of air travel, I’m now living in London. For some reason, it still doesn’t feel real. Probably because I’ve only been here for four days and it still feels a bit like vacation. Probably because I’m still in temporary housing (more on that later) and probably because I still haven’t been able to open a UK bank account (there will be a whole separate article once I’m through that debacle).

Things of note since I’ve moved here…

No matter where you go, you cannot be within a block from a place of some sort of historical/architectural/social significance. For example, my temporary flat is an old Victorian in Notting Hill, a block from the Portobello Road. Yes, that Portobello Road from Bedknobs and Broomsticks and the traditional market. My new flat is two blocks from Lancaster Gate and Hyde Park. I commute through Paddington Station, had dinner in Covent Garden and drank in a 200 year old pub in Clapham.

London is expensive, especially if you convert from GBP to USD in your head every time that you make a purchase. However, (shockingly), this economy is not based on the USD. It’s based on the pound, and in a sense, it’s relative. If you can budget your money and live within your means, any place can be affordable. Though, it did kill me to pay £10 for a Bloody Mary today.
Public transportation is a dream here. Granted, I am a little biased having come from one city with deplorable public transport (Detroit) and a second with passable, yet challenged public transport (Seattle). There are so many options, but you are completely dependent on those things. Buses are great and run all night, The Tube is mostly reliable, but, requires a significant level of coordination to work. National Rail is everywhere, but, has the same level of coordination as the Tube to be successful. We will see how it pans out once I start commuting tomorrow. There’s always an expensive taxi, or maybe Flexcar.

The myth about British food all being crap is exactly that. It’s a complete stereotype, based on historic perception of the stodgy dishes of Shepherd’s Pie, Lancaster Hotpot and Fish and Chips. I’ve had some amazing food at most of the restaurants that I’ve visited since I’ve arrived. However, I am still completely overwhelmed by the grocery store as an expat. When you go to the grocery store in your home country, you know some of the staples that you will purchase. Now, I need to make new decisions about which things will become part of my pantry. It’s not as easy as it seems. No more Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, new cheeses, new deli meats, new soups and heat up dinners. It’s a little too much. We’ll see how it goes this week.

Also, British TV is not all Coronation Street, Masterpiece Theatre or Monty Python. For every Absolutely Fabulous, there is a terrible canned sitcom in its place. For every dramatic cinematic triumph, there is an abysmal reality show like Take Me Out, which includes one man and a bunch of desperate women. It makes the infamous Temptation Island look a bit classy. When it’s good, it’s sublime. When it’s bad, it is absolutely frightening.

Last but not least, before you think this temporary apartment in which I am living is some palace, it is painted in white and light yellow, with a black painted fireplace mantle, white cabinets and unfinished wood floors. The kitchen has not really been updated since the early 90’s, so, it has that ceramic tile and white goods combination. The bathroom is worse. The toilet doesn’t flush well and the shower head popped off on the second use of the shower. There are single glazed windows and radiator heat with a boiler that sometimes works, and often doesn’t. Good thing that the bedroom in which I grew up had steam heat and unglazed windows, so, I definitely know how to cope. Thankfully it is only temporary.

More to come later, specifically about my first day of work and the disaster of opening a bank account.