carolyn explains it all

If I could write you a song, to make you fall in love...

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 04:50:00 +0000

While most college students found out about Mike Posner last school year, I downloaded his first CD for free, when it was on iTunesU and have loved him since then.

I've given up on the "I found them first" argument in most cases, because now music travels so fast sometimes it's just too hard to keep up. One of my favorite things about Mike Posner is the remixes people make of his music. Thanks to the Hype Machine I have so many that are amazing.

Mike Posner vs. Deadmau5
Please Don't Go (DOSVEC Remix)

Rolling In The Deep (Adele Cover) by Mike Posner

Cooler Than Me
Cover by Neon Hitch
Background music "Breathe Me" by Sia

All three of these remixes/covers take his music to another level. I could listen to these all day.

New Obsession: Water Marbling

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 03:57:00 +0000

So after this weekend, I decided to conquer a new frontier in my nail polish obsession.

I had heard of water marbling before, but had no idea how to do it- I just knew I wanted to!

My first attempt (I apologize for the paleness):

I used the following nail polishes:

17 Tropical Island, CND Raspberry Parfait, OPI Jade is the New Black, and Seche Vite Top Coat.

I am really pleased with my first attempt, but now I think I like it so much I might run out of all my nail polish! This uses SO much nail polish, so I wouldn't use colors/brands that you are running low on or your favorite colors.

If you're wondering how I did it, my best advice would be to check out this video, and this step by step picture:

Water marbling is so fun and lets you be really creative! I would recommend it if you have a long time, and lots of patience!

-cb

P.S. Props to Jessie for teaching me! Check out her nail creations:

Long Time, No See

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 20:53:00 +0000

Hello there!

It's been far too long! As much as I would like to create one big fabulous post to cover the past three months, I won't bore you.

Just some things that have happened since November:

-I am a bonafied Belieber.

Not only is he beautiful, he is truly talented. The $30 I've spent on Never Say Never was worth it.

And, his music is perfect for lipsyncing alone on long drives but I've even found a version that non-beliebers can appreciate.

-I went to NYC for NYE and then to Israel for an Alternative Winter Break. Both were awesome. For those of you who are curious, Times Square NYE is cool, but not fun. Do it once. Bucket List item for sure.

-I have started the job search hardcore. At first I was afraid (I was petrified) of putting myself out there, but once I got the ball rolling, I am feeling good. I'm hoping that my hard work pays off and the connections I've made through the years will be there to help me out.

-I went to my last home KU game as a student! Sad but awesome. I know I'll be back but it just made graduating that much more real.

-School and Kansan life is good. Unfortunately I know that as soon as something miraculous happens on the job front, my motivation for school is gone. Loving Kansan life right now! All of our teams are performing so well and I am impressed more and more everyday by our new staff members!

I'll (hopefully) keep up with the blog, spilling my random thoughts and internet finds for all to see.

-cb

I'm Still An Animal...

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Sat, 20 Nov 2010 21:52:00 +0000

For those of you who know me well...you'll know that I have a slight obsession with finding new music. On Sunday Jen and I went to see Sara Bareilles at Liberty Hall and had an amazing time. Through a crazy turn of events we were able to meet her! She was so down to earth and chill. (There's a point to all of this I promise).

Jen and I with Sara!

While we were with Sara, we met her band, including her guitarist. Little did I know, that this same guitarist would be blowing up the blogosphere the next day.

Javier Dunn's (In the AC/DC shirt) cover of Miike Snow's "Animal" was on the homepage of every single music blog I follow. You can listen to it here. It's pretty amazing.

Here is a vid of Sara singing her hit "King of Anything."

On some other notes, I have recently discovered breadpeople. Hilarious. and it's exactly how it sounds.

Since burlesque, I haven't gotten any new nail polish so I felt obliged to grab some of the new Essie Winter 2010 collection. I opted for Smokin' Hot and Luxedo. Perfection.

Until next time...

My Moon My Man...

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 19:40:00 +0000

This week I was set on attempting a nail challenge. I saw this photo in Glamour magazine and knew I had to try it.

I've seen this "moon manicure" or "reverse french manicure" before, especially on one of my favorite sites, All Lacquered Up.

Here's a how to on how to do it, which I vaguely followed. My result?

It's just ok for now, but I want to keep trying at it until it looks perfecto. I used Essie Mademoiselle for the base and OPI Here Today, Aragon Tomorrow for the half moon.

On the new music front...

I'm trying out soundcloud for the first time to share with you a song I cannot stop listening to.

From Rihanna's new album, Loud, "Cheers (Drink to That)" is a stand out to me. I personally love the Avril Lavigne "I'm With You" sample, and it is a song that relaxes me, but gets me pumped up too!

Cheers (Drink to That)-Rihanna by cbatt

enjoy!

Introducing: Trends to Try

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 00:06:00 +0000

I'm gonna start up a new little section here, with trends I am dying to try. My first adventure will be Over the Knee Boots.

This style has been popping up all over campus lately and every time I see a good pair I feel myself getting jealous! Maybe this will have to be my treat soon. The hard part is finding a good pair for less than $400!

On my new music kick...

Check out this amazing mash up of Taylor Swift's "Mean" and Wiz Khalifa's "This Plane"

Listen here.

Oh, hi there

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 08:07:00 +0000

Well it has been FAR too long. I often contemplated finishing out my study abroad posts but then I realized, who would read it... I'm already back!

I also thought long and hard (well maybe not that long) about what to turn this into now that it no longer needs to serve as a diary. So I thought about what I like, what I care about it, and what I'm thinking- and that's what I'll blog about!

1) Halloween
Pretty deec this year, went as Rachel Berry from Glee and then as double rainbow on Saturday. It was fun to not really care if people recognized my costume and just have fun!

Rachel Berry on the show:

Me as Rachel Berry!

2) New tunes

"Love The Way You Lie Pt. 2" Rihanna ft. Eminem.

The follow up track to Eminem's hit song featuring Rihanna, the roles are now reversed, with Rihanna on lead and Eminem providing those rap lyrics we know and love

Although Disney's upcoming movie Tron doesn't reach out to me personally, I am excited for one thing- the music. The entire score to the movie will be written by Daft Punk and they will even have a cameo in the flick.

Check out one of the songs featured in the trailer here.

3) Mid-Term Elections
To be honest, I am just glad those awful commercials are over. But I did enjoy the more ludicrous commercials, but Kansas/Missouri didn't have anything like this

Welp, as I am in the library right now supposedly filling my brain with information about star clusters, black holes, and pulsars (ie; astronomy is awful) I guess I should get back to that!

that's all for now! And for those of you who read this solely during my study abroad time...keep reading!
cb

brrrrr

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:31:00 +0000

Yesterday at work I went from having no plans at all to being busy all night! After dinner, a group of KU girls and I went to Abbey Road! It really is funny when you get there because there are cars and traffic. Because of this, groups of four usually are standing at the famous cross walk waiting to walk across and take their picture and it is very stressful. Eventually the traffic lulled enough for us to get our picture taken! We then walked by Abbey Road Studios where the walls outside are covered with writing. I brought a marker for just this reason.

Us on Abbey Road!

With the Street Sign:

It was really fun to see what other people had written and see how many people do really love The Beatles!

Afterwards we had booked our evening at the Absolut Ice Bar!It was surprisingly difficult to find even though it was off of Regent street which is huge. As our time inside began, we each got a huge parka and gloves to wear inside. It really was freezing, at -5 Celsius or 27 Fahrenheit I was glad I wore boots and long sleeves. We claimed our drinks which were in glass cups, and my drink glowed in black light! All of the drinks were really strong as they were made with Absolut Vodka but they were yummy! We spent our remaining 30 minutes or so walking around and taking pictures and shivering in general. It was really funny and cool and I knew I would regret not going while I was in London!

So Cold!

Today during lunch I went on a mini-adventure to go vintage shopping back in Soho. It was a bit of a trek but I was determined. One shop was all really retro stuff but one thing really struck me. In the US I love going to vintage stores to find cool t-shirts and I was looking forward to getting some from the UK. Little did I know, that what is considered a 'cool' vintage shirt are things like Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas, Busch Gardens Florida, Everything's Bigger in Texas, YMCA, etc. All of the shirts were American! I gave up on finding some type of cool shirt from the UK and tried the next place. This place was more like designer clothing and shoes second-hand and I ended up buying a pair of jeans for £2! I hurried back to work and finished up the day.

We had big plans tonight! Molly, Kelsie and I were set to go to The Globe to see Henry IV Pt.1. I didn't know that much about but I assumed what could be better than watching a Shakespeare play where they were meant to be acted. Molly and I met for dinner before and grabbed some yummy tapas near the river, then went inside. We splurged for the upper gallery, as seats are opposite at the Globe- cheap bad seats at the bottom, the higher up the more expensive. The show was so amazing! I feel like now that I've seen Shakespeare performed at The Globe, nowhere else can be as good. Our seats were perfect and the show was better than I could have ever imagined it. Busy week but so glad we're fitting everything in!

View from our Seats!

View of everyone who stood for 3+ hours!

More exciting London things to come this week...

cb

Lasts of London

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 13:12:00 +0000

This week and weekend my roommates and I tried to squeeze in the last bits of what we wanted to do in London!

On Thursday Rachel and I visited Molly's work to have a going away Barbecue! They made traditional hamburgers, although not the same as in the US. Molly and I had made Puppy Chow to surprise everyone with. The Brits went crazy for it! They kept asking how we made it and why it was called Puppy Chow. It was just as good as at home but the ingredients were SO hard to find. No chocolate chips, we got 'icing sugar,' not powdered, and we could only get wheat Chex or 'Shreddies' as the cereal is called here. Peanut butter is also not the same, it's much more grainy and less sweet. We decided to just hangout at our building with some other kids Thursday night to save our energy for the weekend.

Friday began with our lecture, and in the afternoon we took a trip to the Victoria and Albert museum!The museum is huge and beautiful, very overwhelming. We started first with the fashion area, which houses all kinds of beautiful clothing and shoes from world famous designers. We wandered around through sculptures, architecture exhibits, and through the medieval exhibits. I wish we were able to spend more time there because there are just so many things to see. Definitely one of my favorite museums!

Fashion

Hall with Sculptures

Afterwards we headed to high tea at the Mandeville Hotel. This was one of my favorite things we've done yet! The tea was amazing and the food was incredible. The tea had the famous scones, tea sandwiches and sweets of all sorts. We were so full by the end of the meal but we had a great time.

Tea:

From there we went extremely tourist and stopped at the London Eye before going home. We were lucky in that only four other people were in our little 'pod' on the ride up. Although Molly wasn't a fan of heights at the Eiffel Tower, this wasn't too bad. The view was awesome and we were at the top just as the sun began to set. I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting London.

The Eye:

Hey London:

View of Big Ben!

Friday night after much debate we took the tube to Soho with no plans. Almost immediately we were befriended by some very fabulous men who insisted we accompany them to a bar called G-A-Y. We had such a fun time talking with them as we waiting in the ridiculous line but eventually we all gave up on getting in. We parted from our new friends and went into Bar Soho which looked really fun. We grabbed some drinks but the dance floor was really crowded so we went upstairs. Little did we know we had interrupted a 'Stag Do' or as we know it a Bachelor Party. Nothing crazy like you would imagine, just a group of friends drinking and making the bachelor collect ridiculous things while wearing a tutu and a fanny pack. Regardless, they were very entertaining and we had a lot of fun in Soho!

In Soho:

Rachel with the Groom-to-Be (Check out the tutu)

Saturday it was a struggle to wake up so early, but we were determined to make it to Windsor. After a quick train ride, we arrived! The castle grounds are huge! We stopped for lunch at a funny little place- The Crooked House of Windsor, which as you can imagine is crooked. Then it was off to the castle! The tickets came with an audio guide so we were able to learn about everything while walking around. There is so much to see inside between the State Apartments where official business is done to the Drawing Gallery which houses many famous drawings by Da Vinci and other famous works. We waited in quite a long line to see Queen Mary's doll house at the castle which was insane! A full sized person could stand inside the doll house, and it has full plumbing, electricity and even tiny paintings that were completed by famous artists!Further inside, we saw the halls where banquets are held by the Queen and lots of other amazing rooms. Afterwards we walked around in a market in Windsor and I tried a Cornish pastry- delicious.

Me with Guards:

Castle Grounds (No Pics allowed inside!)

The train back made us a bit tired but we had to wake up since we had planned on going to Mahiki! Like Boujis that we went to a few weeks ago, Mahiki is a very famous club in London, apparently frequented by many celebrities. If we saw any however- we didn't know it. All of the bar staff wear Hawaiian shirts and the drinks are as tropical as can be! One of Rachel's drinks even came in a pineapple! At first it was a bit awkward since in order to sit down, you had to have booked and paid for a table. As it got more crowded we headed to the dance floor downstairs. We had so much fun and the DJ played crazy music, from Twist and Shout to Sweet Child of Mine, and then the obvious club music. Although it was rather expensive, it was a blast!

At Mahiki:

Word to the wise; Make friends with those who have bought a table:

Sunday we had another trip planned to Oxford! This train experience wasn't as pleasant but eventually we arrived. One of Rachel's coworkers supplied us with a list of musts in Oxford so we started off at The Vaults, a restaurant inside St. Mary The Virgin Church. Since Oxford University isn't just one school, we didn't know where to start so we picked up a self-guided walking tour map from the Tourist Information center to begin. It was a pound very well spent. The 'tour' took us all around and I proclaimed myself tour guide, reading the info to everyone. All of the colleges have a different background and we were able to walk through a few of them during the tour! We got our typical Oxford University shirts and souvenirs and went on to Christ Church College and Cathedral, the big ticket stop. Many scenes in Harry Potter were filmed here so it was ridiculously busy with other tourists. The school and cathedral are beautiful and huge! Before we left, we went up into the extremely difficult tower of St. Mary the Virgin to catch a view of the city! Our trip to Oxford was so fun and I'm glad we spent our last weekend going on these day trips.

Lincoln College:

Harry Potter Great Hall

Actual Great Hall

Getting a great view of Oxford!

This week will be extremely packed! Tuesday we are seeing a show at The Globe, Thursday is our 'Farewell Party' and then Friday we are going to go out to a final dinner! I'm sure we'll find other little bits to squeeze in to make the most of our last week.

Some Things are just a Mystery...

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 14:09:00 +0000

While we didn't spend this weekend in another country, it was still extremely busy.

Saturday we woke up very early to head off to Canterbury. This time, students from KU, Texas A&M and Chapman were all together. Our tour guide was amazing and we learned so much about London while we were driving through. On our way to Canterbury we even saw the brand new 2012 Olympic stadium! Canterbury is such a cute small town and very historical. The Medieval part of the city is surrounded by cement walls covered in sharp flint rock. We walked along this route into the heart of the city. The biggest tourist point seemed to be the Canterbury Cathedral. It was absolutely huge and had several giant gates surrounding it. We started off here and went through the cathedral, which included several gardens, and a crypt. We had free time for lunch so we grabbed some fish and chips that were better than our first try at the traditional food. During the rest of our free time we shopped and walked around.

Cathedral Gate:

Inside:

Molly and I:

After meeting back up with our tour guide, he began to take us through and show us different sites. Some of these included where the Magna Carta was signed, Homes of famous writers like Geoffery Chaucer (author of Canterbury Tales) and even a place where Queen Victoria was set up on a royal date! We made our way back to the bus and headed back to London.

Beautiful Canterbury:

I'm glad we were able to go to Canterbury because I don't think I would ever go there for a day trip if I had been on vacation because there are just so many trips to take from London!

Saturday night the four of us met up with our friends from Chapman who live in a different building. Since we had so much fun at Angel a few weeks ago, we decided to try it again. Rachel's friend from elementary school was in town so we all met up at The Bull. The bar was packed but a fun place to start out. After a drink we headed down the road and a small bar playing some serious oldies caught our attention. It was so fun to hear all this music and everyone was dancing. We ended the night at the same bar we had been to several weeks prior, but had never learned the name of. On Saturday nights however, they give you a stamp with the bar's name so you can't forget! Keston Lounge was similarly packed but we remembered why we liked it so much when we all got our amazing cocktails.

Rachel and I:

Molly and Kelsie:

On our way home I discovered a delicious end of the evening meal- mac n' cheese for 2 pounds. amazing.

Sunday we woke up a bit late and were ready to call off our plans when we realized we only had about 4 more days to do fun day trips so we got ready and left for Brighton! It was an hour train ride to the south of England and a very popular tourist spot for the English and basically everywhere! As we walked out of the train station we could see the ocean! Brighton is an adorable town with lots of shops and restaurants. We made a b-line for the beach (which is all pebbles!) and took in the view of the south side of the English channel. Rachel and I were even brave enough to put our feet in the freezing water! The sea was beautiful and although the beach wasn't the most fun to walk barefoot on, it was an interesting change to beaches in the US. Brighton has a huge pier with food, shops, arcades and rides! Feeling a bit famished, the group went to a restaurant down on the beach to share some snacks and drinks. We walked around the town a bit to see the shops and other attractions afterwards.

Brighton!

The Beach

Grabbing drinks

Tim and Kelsie were feeling adventerous so they wanted to try the crazy ride that swings you around over the water! The rest of us attempted the "crazy mouse" roller coaster that was surprisingly scary. After the ride-fest we looked for a good dinner stop. We settled at Bar De La Mer and while they didn't have the selection some of us might have liked, it all worked out. I split scallops with Rachel and had my first steak of the summer! Stuffed, we headed toward the train station but not without stopping to pick up some donuts that we couldn't resist.

Kelsie and Tim!

Bye Brighton

Once we arrived back at home in London, I discovered that I was bright red on my arms, back and chest! A cold shower helped and we all just passed out after an amazing weekend in England!

This week is our second to last week of work, and we are going to try and pack in a lot of activities in the week! During the weekend we are planning on heading to Windsor Castle and Oxford.

cb

Molly Takes a Tumble

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 20:15:00 +0000

This week went by pretty fast at work! I spent my time doing a variety of tasks from buying reviews of completed campaigns to collecting competitor information for a new pitch. I'm still enjoying everything and I'm just hoping I'll be able to really get inside some of my coworkers heads before the end of my time at MEC.

Tuesday night the roomies went to see Eclipse! It was quite hard for me to wait so long to see it as it came out June 30 in the US and July 9th in the UK, but we were in Dublin! We were interested to see if seeing a movie in the UK would be different than the US...and it was a bit. After finding the theatre, we bought our tickets with assigned seats! Movie food was standard but we were surprised to find that the theatre wasn't stadium seating like most theatres nowadays. Regardless, I loved the movie and will probably go see it again back in the US.

Thursday we were prepped and ready to hit up Boujis to try and catch a glimpse of a celeb.We had to call to get on the guestlist that day! This is the kind of place that will turn you down if they don't like the way you're dressed. A group of us from the building headed down to arrive at 10:45 (early for London!) since we needed to make sure we could get in. After checking us off the list, we entered excitedly. The club is downstairs and it really is beautiful. Boujis has a strict no photography rule so we don't have any pictures but we'll survive. After about an hour the club started getting full, and we even saw a group of students doing the EUSA program there. The drinks were fabulous, especially my passionfruit cocktail! After a long evening, we headed towards our favorite stop; Burger King. After that, Molly took a few tumbles in her new and beautiful shoes.

This morning we had our lovely lecture, but the highlight was our lecturer poking fun at us for being right-wing rich kids. We grabbed a quick lunch and started at the Science Museum. If you don't like kids, this is not the place for you. It was cool but the kids everywhere made it hard for me to play at all the exhibits. Rachel, Molly and I checked out Selfridges (recently awarded the Best Department Store) and I'm glad we did. Selfridges is like Harrod's but a bit less crowded and better organized. It also is a tad more reasonable. I got a few things and we went home to rest for a while.

For dinner we went to Nando's down the street, but for my second visit there I ventured onto getting Hot instead of Medium and it was a bit of a mistake. My mouth was on fire the majority of the night.

We are all having a chill night as we have to be ready at 8am for our day trip to Canterbury! I will be getting the most sleep tonight of the whole time in London!

I'll report back Sunday with more weekend details!

cb

Guinness, Gingers, and more Gingers.

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 11:07:00 +0000

This weekend the four roommates + Courtney from KU headed off to Dublin! Friday we checked out the Tate Modern but unfortunately didn't see all that we wanted to. Since I work ten minutes away from it I will probably go another time during lunch or after work.

The five of us headed to Gatwick for our flight on Aer Lingus. We grabbed dinner at the airport, where I had forgotten how much I missed Mac and Cheese. Surprisingly good meal at the airport. We made the flight and couldn't help but laugh when the airplane had shamrocks on the outside. When the short flight was over, we were welcomed to lovely rain. Our hostel was just as we expected; plain but suitable. We had a 6 female room, meaning there might be one random in the room. We soon met our lovely roommate, a young girl from Germany travelling all summer. Because of the rain, we didn't even bother to get ready before we headed out to the Temple Bar area, which our hostel was conveniently in. We started at The Quay's Bar (Quay is pronounced like Key) which had some amazing live music. It was here I tried my first Guinness! We were all scared to try it for the first time and especially didn't want to our embarrass ourselves. Luckily, the bartender gave us a little sample before we paid for a pint. I really enjoyed it so we grabbed our pints and sat down to enjoy the music. Almost every bar in Dublin has live music every night so it makes for a very fun atmosphere. We relaxed and talked to all kinds of people there before going to meet my friend Brooke who is doing the same program as I am, but in Dublin. We met them at Fitzsimmon's which had a younger crowd because of the club downstairs. I think I would have enjoyed it more had I not been wearing rainboots in the bar. Regardless, it was great to see Brooke and meet the other KU students on her program. We went down to the 'club' part for a little but we knew we had a big day ahead of us so we went home relatively early.

Hostel

The Quay's Bar

Kansan Reunion

Saturday morning we had scheduled a day trip to Cork. We barely made our train at 7am but our tour guide was nice about it. We took a two hour train through Ireland to Cork which was beautiful. Ireland really is very very green. Since it wasn't raining in Dublin, I opted not to wear my rainboots so I was in for an unfortunate surprise when it was pouring in Cork. We arrived at Blarney Castle and we were relieved to find shelter from the rain. We walked through the castle built in the 1400s and began our climb to the top on the steepest spiral staircase I've ever been on. It's so steep that there is a rope to hold onto on the way up. All this just to kiss the most unhygienic tourist site, The Blarney Stone. The view from the top of the castle was beautiful and we enjoyed it as we waited to kiss the stone. In order to kiss it, you have to lay on your back and someone holds your legs, and drops you upside down. Sounds pretty bad, and it was scary but so fun at the same town. Kissing the Blarney Stone is said to give you 'The Gift of Gab.' We had lunch at a pub in Blarney that was amazing. I had traditional Irish Stew and a variety of potatoes as it is only fitting. We finished the meal with delicious Irish coffee (coffee + Bailey's).

Blarney Castle

Kissing the Stone

Yum

From here, our day trip took us to Cobh (aka Cove, or Queenstown). First we stopped at a historic cathedral, St. Coleman's on the coast. The steeple is so high it was once used by the Irish Navy because you can see it from so far away on the sea. The tour also drove by a mass grave for the Lusitania which was torpedoed by Germany, killing more than 1,000 Irish, and bringing the U.S. into the first World War. Our last stop was a museum about the city, which was the last port of call for the Titanic before it sunk. The museum had a lot of artifacts and exhibits about the famine in Ireland and about the vast emigration away from Ireland. It's hard to imagine that in just three years, the population of Ireland went from eight million to less than four million.

View of St. Coleman's

Titanic:

Molly had an especially fun time finding her 'clan' postcards, plaques, keychains etc. Someone even asked her later that day if she was Irish before she had ever met them!

The tour was so much fun and I'm glad we got to do it. We had planned on doing the Backpacker's Bar Crawl but we got back a bit too late. Luckily, our friends from London were on the crawl and so we were able to meet up with them at the second stop. The bar crawl guide was very nice and just told us to tag along. The crawl offers free shots at every bar, drink specials, and of course the fact that a guide is taking you around and knows everything about Dublin! We started off at Four Dame Lane, then to three bars I never got the name of, and ended at The Purty Kitchen. The bars were all very different, the first being trendy and cool, the second had a Bob Marley vibe, the third with a very traditional Irish live music and beer pong downstairs. The fourth bar was packed and with a rocker kind of vibe (posters for The Rolling Stones, The Doors etc.) and the final bar was a three story night club. Somehow it ended up that everyone I knew in Dublin (friends from London and friends from KU in Dublin) were on the bar crawl! It was such a fun night and I can't imagine a better night in Dublin.

On the bar crawl, London Kids

I spy someone with red hair...

Sunday morning we checked out of the hostel and enjoyed a mediocre free breakfast. Since we really hadn't seen much of Dublin in daylight, we figured doing the most touristy things possible would be a good way to spend the day. We got on a hop on hop off bus tour that picked up near our hostel and went to all the sights. It was actually sunny on Sunday which was a pleasant change from Saturday. Our first stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral. The most famous saint in Ireland, this cathedral is a huge tourist attraction but with good reason. It was very beautiful and historic. We got back on the bus and saw a bit more of the city before hopping off at the Guinness Storehouse. No trip to Dublin would be complete without a stop here. Inside is a 7 story museum that takes you through the brewing process, the history, advertising, and at the top there is a 360 degree Gravity Bar where you can get your complimentary pint of Guinness. We spent several hours at the storehouse checking everything out, and grabbing lunch and souvenirs. We hopped on our bus and got off again at Kilmainham Gaol, a world famous jail. The jail held many famous politicians in Ireland, and several prisoners who were revolutionaries against the British. Every single Irish rebel fighting for Irish freedom there was executed either by public hanging or firing squad. The jail has been out of use for many years, but it has appeared in many famous movies such as The Italian Job (the original), episodes of The Tudors, a U2 music video, and more. We really enjoyed it and afterwards we were exhausted.

Inside St. Patrick's

Guinness

Kilmainham Gaol

Our trip to Dublin was sadly over but I really think we did everything we wanted to do and had an amazing time! I would definitely go back to Ireland for a vacation if I could.

Bye Dublin!

Fun Facts about Dublin and Ireland:
-40% of Dublin is under 26
-Ireland gives more money to food and hunger charities than any other country because of the Potato Famine
-Everyone is nice...really nice
-Everyone goes out at night, from 18-60
-Jokes about gingers aside, so much red hair it's unbelievable.

This week the roomies and I are going to see Eclipse :), attempt to get into a very 'posh' nightclub that is Prince Harry's fave in our neighborhood, and Saturday is Canterbury day trip! It's our second to last weekend so I'm sure we'll pack in lots of fun activities.

cb

Do You Hear the Jonas Sing?

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:48:00 +0000

This week went by really fast after coming home from Paris. Monday and Tuesday night I passed out as soon as I hit the pillow I was so tired!

Tuesday night we were all so excited to go see Les Mis! After work we all met and went to the Theatre. The show was completely sold out and we saw several people try and buy tickets and get turned down. We walked up to our seats and were so excited.

Les Mis has been my favorite musical since I first saw it when I was younger. Tuesday was the first time I had seen it when I could really really understood the story. The show was amazing and seeing it made me fall in love with it all over again.

It was obvious that a lot of girls were there just for Nick Jonas, but also a good amount of people had never heard of Nick. He was really cute in the show and every time he sang the four of us couldn't help but smile. After the show we went to the stage door to attempt to see him, along with a hundred or so other people. We got some good looks and he actually looked at me in the eyes when I told him I'd seen him before in Dallas! I felt really lame but I was also really excited to be so close! We were also able to see the actors who played Javert, Eponine, and Cosette up close.

The rest of the week flew by at work. I had a lot to do most of the time which was good but this week I also moved to my real desk, which is far away from the other girls in my department. But I am close to the other interns so that works out. I'm still really liking everything and getting better at talking on the phone to British people.

We leave for Dublin tomorrow and I'm so excited! It will be nice to hear English again and be in a more relaxed atmosphere than Paris!

cb

OK, I've got three choices for you...

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 10:51:00 +0000

This weekend was the roommates' first real trip. We packed our bags, printed our tickets and were ready to go Friday morning.

After arriving at the train station, we took a detour to platform 9 and 3/4 for all the Harry Potter fans.

Picture-taking proved entertaining, but we were ready to get on the train! As soon as we crossed into the Eurostar area, everyone was speaking French and the station was very very nice. The train ride was a breeze, and it's actually only under the channel for about 20 minutes. When we came out of the tunnel, we didn't even realize we were in France! Since the sun sets so late here, we were able to see some beautiful French countryside on the way to Paris. When we got off the train, we were immediately overwhelmed. The station was very hot and crowded and our goal was to simply get metro tickets and get to the hotel. This proved very difficult though, because all of the ticket offices and shops were closed at 8:30 on a Friday so our chances of finding someone who spoke English went down very quickly. We attempted to buy metro tickets through a kiosk but they only take Euro coins or a European credit card. At this point we seriously contemplated taking a cab for about 40 minutes, but finally we found an extremely nice man to help us at a change bureau who exchanged our Euro cash for coins. The metro experience is quite different than the London underground. The stations are confusing, very hot and covered with trash, graffiti, and homeless people. We got on our train but since we didn't understand the announcement in French, it went the opposite direction! We realized this and got off and took a cab from a few stations away to our hotel.

As soon as we walked in, looking exhausted, sweaty and American, the hotel manager immediately said "Corrigan!" to which we all began laughing of course. Great English, and so helpful we were relieved. The rooms were perfect-quaint but comfortable with great AC and beds and it was just 10 minutes from the Eiffel Tower. No complaints. Molly and I had set an itinerary so we could do everything possible so we ventured right into it. We got the cheapest wine we could at a shop across the street, and when he heard we were from Texas he declared "Cowboys!" In some shops in Paris, wine is literally cheaper than bottled water.

We headed down to the Eiffel Tower which was beautiful. It was very surreal to be somewhere that Americans are so familiar with and have seen so many photos of. We got some popcorn and relaxed with our wine on the lawn of the Eiffel Tower and stared at its' sparkly glory. Every hour, there is a light show too so that was gorgeous. We met some interesting people on the lawn, including a group of boys backpacking from Mexico who were in love with Two and a half Men and couldn't understand why it wasn't our favorite show! After a long evening of travelling, we walked back to hotel.

Saturday morning we woke up to pouring rain. I was so glad I brought my rain boots and jacket! We grabbed a long breakfast to try and wait out the rain. Our first taste of French food was delicious. Croissants, fresh bread, and some of the best coffee I'd ever had! We braved the rain and headed back to the tower to grab a river cruise on the Seine. Of course, we were four of the total of 10 people on this cruise due to the rain but I'm so glad we did it. The cruise travels along the river and a tour guide recording tells you everything about what you see.

Thanks to the cruise, we knew about everything we saw that weekend and had better bearings of the city. As the cruise pulled back in, the sun started to come out! We grabbed a quick lunch and headed off to the Louvre!

We were a bit nervous to see the size of the line but it was bearable. It took about half an hour to go through the different lines and get our tickets. I can definitely say that the Louvre is one of the most overwhelming places I've ever been to. There is no way to prepare enough even with a map of every famous piece of art. And there is no way to prepare your feet for the amount of walking it takes to see everything. On our river cruise we learned that if you went to the Louvre and spent one minute in front of each piece of art, it would take you four months to see everything!

We saw all the "biggies" including Mona Lisa, Venus De Milo, Winged Victory of Samothrace, Psyche and Cupid, Raft of Medusa and more. My memories of the Art History and Greek and Roman Mythology classes I took were definitely coming back! I definitely would want to come back whenever I am in Paris next.

We walked to Notre Dame which is on a small island from there and couldn't believe that the line was longer for that than the Louvre! The inside of the church was amazing and the epitome of Gothic architecture. We were all a little put off because the church itself is free, but if you wanted to pray there, they wanted you to pay 2-5 Euros to get a candle. They also had a long line for the confessional. We opted not to head into the famous towers because we knew the view from the Eiffel Tower would be better, and the line was again extremely long!

One of Molly and Rachel's friends had given us directions to a restaurant for dinner in the Latin Quarter so we decided to go ahead and try and find it. The area is very cool with lots of shops and restaurants, it's easy to see why it is the most popular area for students. Although we followed the directions to the best of our ability, we're not even sure if we ate at the correct restaurant. Nonetheless, our dinner was delicious! I tried Escargot for my first dish, Duck for my second, and for dessert I had cheese, because I hadn't had any yet in Paris!It was all really good however I don't think I would eat the snails again...something just weirds me out about thinking about snails in the woods etc.

After getting ready back at the hotel, the four of us met up with Molly's Boss from her internship and her friend at Bound Bar on the Champs-Elysses. The bar itself was beautiful and trendy. Although the drinks were very expensive, they were the best cocktails I think I have ever had! We stayed there at our table for a few hours, then ventured out for somewhere to dance. Eventually we ended up at L'Aventure which seemed like a fun place. Somehow, this club's drinks were more expensive than Bound, but the place was packed so we figured we were lucky to get in. The crowd was very young and we were definitely the only Americans there. I think the best part was that at some point a sax player came out and started playing with the DJ. He was so amazing and it was hilarious at the same time. Worn out by this time, we attempted to get McDonalds to celebrate the 4th of July, but we were unsuccessful.

Bound:

L'Aventure:

With only a few hours sleep, we woke up to begin our last day in Paris. We again went to the tower, only now to climb it. I had an amazing chocolate croissant for breakfast as we waited in line forever. It was much scarier than I imagined going up the lift to the top, but the view was worth the money, the height, and the fear. We took our pictures then just enjoyed looking at Paris from above. I walked to the other side to see more views, and suddenly I was watching someone propose! I backed away and watched, it was so sweet to see her be so surprised and happy. I offered to take some pictures of the couple afterwards.

We continued our day by heading towards the Musee d'Orsay, the home to the world's most famous impressionist art. We grabbed lunch at an amazing restaurant where the weather was so beautiful we had to sit outside! While eating we saw a huge 4th of July motorcycle parade go by and we cheered for America. I had a sandwich with the most amazing bread and had some of Molly's quiche, which is big for me if you know my former disgust with eggs. Luckily for us, on the first Sunday of each month the museums are free! The museum used to be a train station so it is very open and you can even tell where the train platforms used to be. There were so many beautiful things to see between the Monets, Manets, Van Goghs, and Degas' it was a lot to take in. The Orsay was not as overwhelming as the Louvre thankfully and it was so much fun to see everything that I'd studied in class.

From there, we went back towards to the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs to shop and see them in the daylight. By now, it was so hot outside I had a sunburn! We walked along the Champs and were shocked how crowded the street was. We stopped at Laduree, famous for their brightly colored macaroons. We each got some and they were amazing! After shopping for a while, we headed back to the hotel and grab our bags and leave!

On the train back, we forgot that we had booked Leisure class tickets so we were happily surprised when we were given free drinks and a dinner menu when boarding. They had been the only seats left so it was a fun treat after a busy weekend.

The weekend was amazing but I don't think I would ever live or stay in Paris besides a vacation. The tourist attractions are famous for a reason, but not knowing French proved very difficult and we experienced a lot of Anti-Americanism, maybe because we were just four girls but we felt it in lots of places. I enjoyed the weekend so much and now I am exhausted! This week will be our 4th week of internships and tomorrow we're going to see Les Mis!

Summer halfway over?!

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 11:25:00 +0000

As I finish my 3rd week of work, it really is hard to believe that my trip to London is halfway over! My roommates and I realized how short the summer really is last week when we took a look at a calendar and compared it with everything we want to do. I feel like so far we have been making the most of our trip, and I hope we continue to do so!

This week at work I did a variety of things. One of my favorites was attending a Marketing Induction meeting for new employees. We learned that although we spend the majority of time at MEC focusing on our clients' brands, MEC has its own brand that we need to recognise (UK spelling) and have a true knowledge of. We also watched several case study videos that you can see on MEC's website here.

I continued working on a presentation for Sony Ericsson, but have moved on to a newer product, the Experia 10 Mini, targeted mostly towards girls. I also worked on checking Chanel bookings and a new pitch for Danone (Activia). This week we got a new intern and I was actually able to give her some advice which was a strange feeling for me as I have been here only 3 weeks. I'm really enjoying my time here and learning so much about Media Buying and everything that comes with it.

On Tuesday, Molly, Kelsie, and I ventured to Wimbledon after work! It was suprisingly far away from where we live, so it was a little bit of trek on the tube, but we made it ok. After 5pm the tickets to the grounds go down in price, and the tickets for matches that were previously sold go up for resale for only £5! We bought tickets for a match in court one, a men's doubles game but due to the strict tennis restrictions (no hot or smelly food, lids required on drinks including beer, and no entering during a set) we couldn't go into the game right away. We decided to wander around and get the famous strawberries and cream and check out the shop. By the time we got back to the match, it was over. A bit frustrating, but we saw about 2 minutes of tennis! I was just happy to be there. The grounds are so beautiful and I'd love to go again some other time and see a full match! Afterwards we grabbed some beers at our local pub and headed home after a very long day.

Yesterday I finally managed to get comfortable shoes, because somehow every pair of shoes I brought hurts my feet. I figured since we will be walking nonstop in Paris, it would be worth it. I also finally got my International Student card which helps out when stores/museums have student discounts, and employees have no idea what Kansas is.

Tonight is the Eclipse premiere here in London and I'm still unsure if I want to have a go at it. The red carpet walk begins at 6pm so I would make it, but I've read that people were lined up since last night for a spot to see the stars! Either way, I hope to see the movie soon, as it comes out July 9th here.

This weekend we are taking our first big trip to Paris! I'm so excited and am sure I'll have so much to blog about afterwards. We are taking the Eurostar which goes through the chunnel. We have our whole weekend mapped out so hopefully we can avoid the rainy weather and enjoy the weekend!

Au Revoir!

English vs. British English

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:21:00 +0000

In the three weeks I've been in London, I have caught on to much of the language so far from English known as British English.

Spelling differences:
Rumour, Labour, Colour...etc.
Organise, Organisation etc...
Jewellery
Ageing

**Update: Paedophile. Makes the word even more gross

Dates:
5/6/2010 is June 5th 2010, not May 6th. Confusing when typing dates into Excel or other programs.

British Terminology I've Learned:
Dodgy = sketchy, bad
WAGs = Wives and Girlfriends...Victoria Beckham is the 'Queen of the WAGs.'
Rubbish or Litter = trash
Top Up = Reload, or refill, or just simply get more. Best used for referring to phones or your pass for the tube.
Uni = University/College
Fit = Good looking, hot
Give Way = Yield. Commonly seen on street signs
Hayfever = Allergies. Apparently also used in America but I was unaware of that.

Phone Calls:
Instead of How are you? as a common greeting, you usually hear 'Are you Alright?' This is a little weird because at first it makes you feel like you look sick or bad.

To end a phone call, everyone raises the pitch of their voice and says Cheers, Bye! Very excitedly.

The company I work for, Media Edge, is usually pronounced 'Medieredge' which always sounds a bit like Meteor to me.

Need to go the bathroom? It is quite difficult to ask. Not very many people actually say Loo, so the easiest thing to say is Toilet, however crude that may be.

That's all for now, I'll probably add more when I remember them.

Consider Yourself...

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 12:47:00 +0000

hey there! As always our weekends are packed full of activities so here's a run down of how we fared this time!

Thursday night we ventured out to O'Neill's again, and to meet up with Molly and some of her coworkers. After getting slightly lost, we found our mostly American fave bar. This time the third floor was open and we saw some really great live music! Molly and I left fairly early (2am...) and had a cab drop us off 2 blocks away from home, because that's where Burger King is.

Molly and I

Friday morning we started with our wonderful seminars from EUSA, this time the subject was culture, or as they would say it in a British accent- cultcha! After the session we headed over to Barbican to the Museum of London. We also peeked in Molly's internship to say hi since it was so close. The Museum of London was not my favorite, but they had a lot of really interesting artifacts and exhibits. I think my favorites were the sections about the plague and the great fire of London.

All day we couldn't contain our excitement for seeing Oliver that night! We decided to go to Chinatown for dinner, since it is near most of the big theatres. It was really hard to pick a restaurant because they all look good, and we had no recommendations to go off of. Finally we chose one and it was delicious! Afterwards we got ice cream (My 2nd ice cream of the day) and headed to the theatre. It's obvious how much the British love Oliver seeing the amount of people and especially children at the Theatre. Although our seats recommended "must lean forward" we could see easily and we didn't have too many nosebleeds. The show was amazing, and all the kids in the show were adorable. We were lucky to see two broadway vets, Russ Abbot and Kerry Ellis in the show as well! The four of us sang our way back home and hung out with some friends in our building for a while before heading to bed.

Chinatown

Oliver Stage

Unfortunately we had to wake up very early Saturday for KU's day trip to Stonehenge and Bath...but it was worth it. After a two hour bus ride we arrived in Bath, an amazingly beautiful city. We began the day with the tour of The Roman Baths which was incredible. I loved seeing the history behind these baths, and imagining who would have been there so many years ago. We spent the afternoon strolling around and eating lunch.

In Bath

We hopped back on the bus and headed towards Stonehenge, about an hour away. It is literally in the middle of nowhere but you can't miss it, especially with hundreds of cars and buses around the area. Immediately we all joked that there is no way humans made it, because it is just so big and the wheel wasn't even invented yet! It was really cool to see a sight that is so popular worldwide. Although we felt extremely touristy, it was fun to see and I'm glad we got to see it.

Stonehenge!

After arriving back home, Rachel, Kelsie, and I met up with some other EUSA students from Chapman near their housing, and watched the US match at the Big Chill House. However disappointing, we had fun watching it there. Exhausted from Stonehenge, we went back home and relaxed.

Sunday was so much fun, because Kelsie and I went to the Hard Rock Calling music festival in Hyde Park! Thanks to a certain family member, I got two free tickets and guest passes to the festival. Kelsie and I checked out the festival grounds and squeezed our way to the front for the first acts. First up was More Than Me, a group from NY that we hadn't heard of but really enjoyed.

Second was Josh! Although I've seen him many times in the States, it was really fun to see him again and in London.

We stayed up in front for some of Elvis Costello's set as well.

After that, we wanted to check out more of the festival so we wandered around, checked out shops and the food venues. We went back into the Guest Area where there was a flat screen and watched some of the England Match. Coincidentally, Josh was there too so we were able to talk and take some pictures together.

Kelsie and I chilled out in the Guest Area for a while and laid out in the sun during Crowded House's set. We grabbed some burgers and set up camp for Paul McCartney. We decided to sit further out, rather than try and squeeze our way through the die hard fans. We caught the end of Crosby, Stills and Nash which was awesome too. Finally Paul McCartney came on and it was amazing! Although I wasn't familiar with some of his music, he played a ton of Beatles faves (All My Lovin, Ob La Di Ob La Da, Let it Be, Something, Live and Let Die, Blackbird, Back in the USSR, A Day in the Life, Eleanor Rigby, Day Tripper, Lady Madonna and More!). He also dedicated some songs to George, John, Linda and his family.

He Ended with Hey Jude which was amazing and the crowd loved it! Kelsie and I returned home absolutely covered in dirt and just general nastiness considering it was the hottest day yet in 2010 in London.

This week I'll continue work and hopefully do some fun stuff during the week like check out Wimbeldon or other London hot spots. This weekend is our first real trip, to Paris!

cb

"F!%#*G Yanks" -And other phrases heard at work..

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 18:25:00 +0000

Just a quick update on my second week of work!

It's been really great as I get more used to the different programs and clients and I'm really enjoying it. This week I did a variety of things but mostly with Chanel and Sony Ericsson. My favorite thing this week was today actually when I went to a presentation where anyone from the company could present something they had done that month. Some members of my team presented a campaign for Sony Ericsson where augmented reality was the main form of sponsored advertising. It was cool to learn how they put it together and the amazing results they got. We also heard about a new Google technology that MEC used before any other agency, and last about how packaging your pitch and campaign can make all the difference.

Things I've learned at work so far:
1) Keyboard are very different. And some keyboards that are labeled British are actually American!
2) Tea all day every day. 5 cups or more
3) All kinds of foul language are work appropriate. All the 'bad' words you can think of, I heard at work this week.
4) World Cup rules all. I got off work 5 hours early when England had a game during the day
5) Media Buying is fun. I really love learning about it and I can tell everyone at MEC loves their job and is really committed to their clients.

This weekend we will be busy with the Museum of London, Seeing Oliver, maybe Chinatown for dinner, Stonehenge/Bath, lots of pub crawling etc I'm sure, and Sunday Kelsie and I are going to the Hard Rock Calling Music Festival!

Can't wait for this weekend!

cb

21 at last!

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:51:00 +0000

Well what a weekend! Friday, we got to skip our weekly seminar for an "at-home" version. I got my first birthday gifts from David and from my parents (thank you!). We went for froyo for lunch, delicious and so worth the calories. The museum of the day was the Imperial War Museum. It was really interesting, we definitely could go back and spend more time there. We checked out the main floor with the huge tanks, planes, bombs etc. We wanted to get away from the million school children there, so we went into the Children of the War exhibition. This was especially cool because in America, we learn what happened in England during WWII, but not in very much detail. I really enjoyed seeing this side of things. Last, we went through the brand new Holocaust Exhibit which was kind of a downer start to the birthday weekend.

Inside the Museum

Afterwards, we headed back to The Gloucester Arms for the US World Cup game and then the England Game. We met a ton of Americans there...first a group from the University of Arizona then another group who had just graduated from school in California. After the disappointing games, we decided to check out the Ministry of Sound with our new friends.

Watching the Games

New American Friends!

The Ministry of Sound was so crazy and fun. There are tons of rooms and different areas and lots of DJs. The main room, The Box even has a warning that said "Caution Excessive Sound Levels." We had so much fun and even though we were out late, it was worth it. We even attempted to take the Night Bus home, which was a disaster. After getting home in the wee hours, we slept almost all day.

Caution!

Great Night...

After waking up at 2pm, we wanted to do SOMETHING fulfilling on Saturday. We ventured out to the Tower of London with our friends from Bryant. Also, while we were there, the Tower Bridge went up! It was really cool to see. Here are some pics!

With the Guards

Video of the Bridge

Feeling adventurous, we went to Brick Lane for dinner, for world famous Indian Food. Immediately we were harrassed by different restaurant owners trying to get us to come to their place. We settled on City Spice, which turned out to be delicious. One catch- I ate a forkful of veggies without looking, and downed a fresh green chili pepper. I honestly thought I was going to throw up on the table. I survived, and we had a relaxing Saturday night to recover from Friday and prepare for the birthday festivities!

Delish...

Now for the birthday! I woke up to a wonderful brunch from my lovely roomies! It was complete with nutella stuffed french toast, fruit salad, and mimosas!

Yum!

We headed off to the Church! for a lovely Sunday bday! This was a crazy place! Only open Sundays noon to four...and there is a "show" each week. We were lucky enough to see the end which involved a lovely female dancer and some hilarious drinking games onstage. The last part of the show was a girl's dance and all the girls get up on stage, including Rachel and I!

On stage

The View from the stage

It was so much fun and I got lots of free drinks being the birthday girl! My roomies helped me out getting me water and finding poor bar-goers to buy me drinks. I ended the afternoon covered in sharpie and paint on my face that said 21! I scrubbed it all off later!

This week we'll continue working and this weekend is Stonehenge, Bath, perhaps seeing a musical, and going to the Hard Rock Calling Music Festival!

cb

That's Brill!

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 21:25:00 +0000

Just a quick summary of my first week of work! So far it's been really great. The atmosphere is way more casual than I expected, which is nice but bad for my wardrobe because I brought all professional clothes! I've been bringing my lunch to save money which works out because I can eat with Courtney in the cafe.

Also in the cafe, my favorite part, is the toaster(conveyor belt style) and nutella everyday! I haven't been eating breakfast at home because I want to eat my toast with the nutella they have at work! Also there is fruit every morning.

I've been doing all sorts of different things, which is what I think the whole summer will be like. So far I've worked on several of MEC's big clients; Chanel, Sony Ericsson and Danone (Which in America is Danon). The resources and programs they have are so helpful for researching and gathering information and makes me job really easy. Some of the tasks I've worked on include making powerpoints and excel charts comparing competitors to these brands and also gathering information for presentations that will be given to clients. One of my favorite things this week was sitting in on a meeting with someone from Chanel learning about exactly what MEC does for Chanel. It was really my first introduction to the beginning to end media buying process. It was so interesting and it helped me see what my role my jobs will play in the big scheme of things.

By now I have met everyone in the press team but I'm looking forward to meet more people and learn more about the industry in general. I can't wait for the rest of the summer!

This weekend we are going to the Imperial war museum, watching both the US and England World Cup games and then going out for my 21st birthday on Sunday! I'm sure it will be a blast!

cb

Workin 9 to 5

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:02:00 +0000

Today was the first day of my internship with MediaEdge:CIA, or as they call it, MEC. Luckily, another girl from KU, Courtney, is interning there with me but in a different department! After my interview last week, I felt like I had a good understanding of what I would be doing but it was nice to start.

I set up my email, computer, and security pass then started on my first little project. On the press team, the main two clients are Chanel and Sony Ericsson. Today I worked on the Chanel account planning for a proposal that is due this Friday. I used a huge database of advertisement information using Nielsen research to check out Chanel's competition. I looked at different cologne advertisements and where they place ads. I spent most of the morning looking at Dior, which wasn't too bad considering all of their ads have a huge picture of Jude Law. I compiled excel sheets and powerpoints to be shown to the client later this week. I continued this for other colognes from Lacoste, Hugo Boss, and Armani. Overall it was really great and I like feeling that I am playing in a part in such a big scheme.

Some things I learned on my first day:

1) Advertising terms are NOT universal. Strapline=tagline or slogan, Creative=artwork...and many more.
2) Even though the British speak English, the keyboard is not the same! The worst was the @ symbol being in a different place!
3) Almost of the women on the tube in the morning wear tennis shoes with their suits and then change!
4) No need to eat breakfast at home, just eat at your desk first thing!
5) Office etiquette is very different. Starting at 9:30am I heard the radio all day. I heard Justin Bieber probably 20 times
6) Lunch is from 1-2, so bring a snack.

Great day and I am looking forward to an amazing summer!

My office!

King of the Castle

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 21:45:00 +0000

After our restful Friday night, we have had quite the weekend! Saturday we woke up early to go the Trooping the Color and to be tourists! Trooping the Color is the city's celebration of the Queen's 'official birthday' and there is a huge parade out of Buckingham Palace into a private venue. We were lucky enough to get really good spots over a group of young kids so we could see! First, around 400+ soldiers marched by, some with guns, some on horses, some playing instruments and even some playing instruments while on horses! It was quite the spectacle, especially with the soldiers in their full red coat and tall back hat outfits. Finally after much waiting we saw the royal family! My favorites of course were Prince William and The Queen! We were literally no more than 20 feet from them, it was so amazing. They love the queen so much here, I think it is kind of cute because in America no one has that kind of affinity for our government officials, but everyone here was waving flags and cheering "God Save the Queen!"

The guards

Her majesty...

We were all so stressed about where to go for the world cup, but luckily Molly's friend recommended a good pub that was walking distance from where we live! So we went to The Gloucester Arms, apparently a pub that Robert Pattinson himself frequents...

We were told to get there at 6:30 (the match showing at 7:30) but we did one more and got there at 5:30! And I'm glad we did because we barely got a table! By 7:30 a group of 7 or so students in the EUSA program met up with us and the pub was packed! There was hardly any room to breathe. It was especially fun to belt out the Star Spangled Banner and have everyone boo us! I'm not used to watching football, or soccer, games so the game seemed long and even longer because I didn't really know who I wanted to win! The odds for the US were 40 to 1, so I didn't have much hope- but I knew either way I would have a fun night. Turns out, we tied and I had a fun night anyways! We made some other friends from America at the pub and had lots of different beers and drinks! The group of us drank beers like Foster's, Beck's, Stella, and Strongbow. It is hard to keep track because they serve beer in pints here, so one "drink" is really like one and a half drinks!

Gloucester Arms

Molly and I

After the game we came back to our flat with everyone and planned Sunday! We decided to take a long day trip to Hever Castle. We took our first train about 45 minutes outside of the city. We knew we were in for an adventure when the only Taxi stand in the small town of Hever was closed. We finally realized the castle was 4 miles from the train station. After much searching we rounded up a taxi and a group of 8 of us made it to the castle! The castle stands on 600 acres and although the castle is small, the area is huge and it is so beautiful. Anne Boleyn and King Henry lived in this castle for some amount of time. We toured the castle and the rose garden, labyrinth (Harry Potter style) and the beautiful lake. I'm glad we got up and did something today because I have a feeling this summer is going to go by so fast!

The Train Station

Castle Grounds

so pretty...

I start work tomorrow, I'm nervous but also so so excited!

cb

Are you Ready?

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 22:08:00 +0000

Well hello! After my interview Wednesday I had some down time so I watched Glee after much trouble with the internet, and the fact that hulu doesn't work outside of America. Molly and Rachel cooked a lovely Mexican dinner for Kelsie and I. Our floor mates were definitely jealous. We decided to go for our first night out! Almost everyone in our building hung out together for a while and then we all headed off to O'Neill's. Rachel, Molly, Kelsie and I stuck with some girls from Bryant College in Rhode Island who seem to know their way around since they have been here for a few weeks. The place was so packed by the time we got there, but that made it more fun! The bar was three floors and more on the 'pub' side. A live band played mostly American songs which made it even more fun! We tried a few kinds of beers, including Bulmers- a cider beer. Delicious, but I am terrified to look up the calories. We have now successfully met students on our program from USC, Bryant, Chapman University in California, Boston College, Texas A&M and Villanova. Many of these kids were with us at O'Neill's. When we had had enough we took our first black cab! It was a perfect and easy way to get home and not too expensive.

Mexican Fiesta Chefs

KU Girls at O'Neill's

Thursday we MEANT to wake up early and shop, run errands and get phones finally. When we woke up at 11:00am, we knew that was not going to happen. We did get our phones and somehow it is cheaper to call America than to call any phone in the UK! We were able to get on a family plan so it is free for us to call each other.

That night we had a party hosted by EUSA at a restaurant/bar called Smollensky's. There was delicious finger foods and everyone good two free drinks- so all in all pretty good. From there, the four of us left with some kids from Chapman to another pub to hang out. Eventually we made it to Zoo Bar, where it seemed like everyone from the 'welcome party' was! It was really fun, and reminded me of the boom boom room in Lawrence-except people are from every country, speaking different languages! I failed at picture-taking Thursday...

This morning we had our first professional seminar...on Business Coms. Pretty common sense but I think it is the only way we will meet up with kids from other schools once we all start work. I did get the BEST brie cheese on my sandwich for lunch from a little french shop. Every Friday we have a different seminar and a visit to a different museum-today was the National Portrait Gallery. Fairly enjoyable, but I have got to find better walking shoes! After the museum we headed over to Knightsbridge, where all of the good shopping is! It was only two stops from where we live but we hadn't been yet. We're saving Harrod's for a day of its own so we checked out Topshop and some other different stores.

Harrod's

We just relaxed tonight since we know tomorrow is going to be RIDICULOUS. First is the Queen's "official" birthday! Her real birthday is in April, but since the weather is usually bad then, the country has a second birthday for her so there can be a proper parade! This is one of the few times she comes out of the palace and can be seen in her carriage, so hopefully we can catch a glimpse of her or the lovely Harry and William! The USA vs. England World Cup game is tomorrow night and I can't wait! We have been stressing so much about where to go, who to root for, what to wear etc. A few people even told us we would get beat up in the streets if America wins! I'm thinking we'll just go to a pub with open seats if we can find one and try not to speak to reveal that we are American!

until next time!

cb

Being a Tourist...

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 12:53:00 +0000

The past few days have been hectic and busy but so great! On our second day, we started off with a orientation for the summer. We learned about the internships and life in London in general. After a break for lunch, we headed off on a three hour walking tour! Our tour guide took us on the tube over to Buckingham Palace and then we walked all around. We saw Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus and most of the popular tourist places. We were able to take some good pictures but we didn't spend too much time in one place. One of my favorite things was seeing all of the elephants around London. The elephants are everywhere! They have all been painted by famous artists and will be auctioned off in the next few weeks and are rumored to go for hundreds of thousands of pounds! The money will all go to helping with the near-extinction of the Asian Elephant. We were exhausted afterwards but we had made plans already for the night! We grabbed a quick dinner at a Lebanese restaurant which was delicious- however we experienced some intense anti-Americanism there. We hopped on the tube and went to the Jack the Ripper tour! Apparently, it is a very popular tour- so much so that there are bunches of them and we almost got scammed out of going on the 'acclaimed' tour we saw in our tour books. The tour was so interesting and disturbing. It's amazing how historic London is, and that so many of these buildings have been around for so long and every area has its own story!Today most of the students had confirmation interviews for the internships. Another student from KU, Courtney is also working at MediaEdge so we were able to travel together this morning! The interview was so informal which let me breathe a sigh of relief. I met my supervisor, Susie, and we just sat in the cafe at the office and talked about the job! The company seems amazing and I can't wait to get started!

Below are some pictures of my apartment and from the walking tour!

My Bed...

Buckingham Palace

Big Ben and House of Lords and Commons

Tower of London

Welcome to London!

noreply@blogger.com (cbatt) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 08:04:00 +0000

Hello!

I have just arrived in London for the summer, and it has already been quite busy! Kelsie and I arrived yesterday morning at about 8:00 AM and were brave enough to take the tube to our apartment with our huge huge bags (or should I say MY huge bags).It was a

ctually a beautiful day, sunny and cool. We met up with Molly and Rachel at the apt, unpacked and headed out to eat. It was hard to stay awake but we tried to fight

through it. We at

e at a very American little bistro near our apartment, which was cheap and good but not very British. We walked around to see the area where we will be staying which has almost everything we could need- pubs, restaurant, grocery stores etc. Our apartment is huge! Way better than I could have expected, with tons of space and looks like it has just recently been redone. At 3pm we had a group orientation and a short walking tour of the area, and we saw where we would be going today (Tuesday). After showering and resting we ventured to dinner, and settled at a local pub that had been recommended to us. The Stanhope Arms was amazing. We had our first fish and chips and tried some different beers and drinks. This would definitely be a great place to watch the World Cup game Friday! After the long plane ride and jet lag we were all exhausted so we just relaxed in our room. Today is a longer orientation and a three hour walking tour! Below are some pictures from yesterday!