Greetings and Salutations!...Sherlock Holmes is cool.....

You will find that over the course of the next 2 months this will be my tool of procrastination. I have entered the stage of the Dissertation, the last and final stretch of the MBA. While I'll be using information from the internship, there's this silly, little thing called Literature Review which is a complete snooze fest.

Of course my initial approach was all wrong, cutting quotes here and there from various sources of academia to only realize later that I was supposed to be synthesizing all of it. Reading Comprehension 101...I never really liked that subject.

So I'm off and running. I'm working 2 day/week at the consulting firm (AAAAHHHH!) and the rest is writing. The goal is to be finished by Thanksgiving. I know, really random deadline considering it bears no relevance on this side of the world. It's not like I'll be prepping some amazing feast. I guess I'd like to enjoy a little of the Christmas season on this side as last year I was plagued with finals and complete freak outs.

The weather is turning, the clocks are set back, it's dark by 4:30 and I'm starting to wonder if I'll freeze in this flat just the same as in Edinburgh. I thought I was off to a good start, but as I sit here bundled head to toe and with the curtains drawn, I'm anticipating frost on the windows shortly.

I'll be posting the haps of the past few weekends soon. I've been way solo and entertaining myself. Anth and I got up to a pub crawl in Camden, and last night I met my MBA friend, Marieke in Covent Garden. Marieke is officially my new girlfriend in town after the other jumped off the school bus and started walking to school.

All in all, the time home was great.


I got to hang with my Mom a bit as she's a little gimpy due to her recent foot reconstruct. After the 25th time that I left the house my mom continued to tell me to "Be Safe!" When I finally asked whether she truly felt that if these parting words were forgotten that it would result in me meeting my fate? Get this folks, she responded that she only said it so if something did happen to me, she'd tell the local news that the last words she said were and I quote, "I told her I loved her and to be safe!" Unbelievable! Simply a ploy to be nice on the news.


Many of you asked whether I've secured my position as the favorite aunt! Hello? Of course. While I didn't accomplish teaching her to crawl, I've been working on the next generation of the Toner Trifecta, that includes an abridged name to follow suit....(Lo, Chickie So, Mo and now Hannah Ro), sounds effects of the Ya-Woo and associated arm movements. Right now, she just knows that I'll say something if she raises her hands above her head. Christmas time will be here before I know it for a little more one-on-one time.



I enjoyed time with my siblings too. Hung out for the weekend in Ventura with Sarah and Matt. We cruised the old town, enjoyed a pint, baked cookies and walked the marina. Good times.

I'm back at Christmas and looking forward to it.

Wedding Bells Don't Sound Like That!?!

So which version of the wedding do you want????

Remember this....everything and everyone is fine! Don't forget this.

Version 1. RJ and Rachel arrive on time, the organist plays the music, the cantor's sing, readings flow swimmingly, a smooth exchange of vows (with I'll have you note a clear omission of "For Richer or Poorer"... very interesting) moving on, I Do-I Do, Kiss Kiss, Mr. and Mrs RJ Cruz, and the pomp and circumstance, party time.

Version 2. My father, the organist, feels like he's having a heart attack half way through the ceremony and is rushed to the hospital just as the bride and groom are leaving the church. Not good folks, not good. 2 fire trucks and 2 paramedics and a trip to HOAG hospital later, we found that Dad passed out due to the onset of the flu. Sounds shady, a true weak sauce!

As I make light of it now, it really wasn't the best thing. Due to the amount of Servite alumni/families at the wedding, by the end of the day the streets were buzzing with talk of strokes, heart attacks and near death as the rumours. Holy Moses! He was released later that day; he's doing fine and has a few doctor's appointments in the near future.

The way I see it, Rachel had asked my dad to play the organ at her wedding and in turn, she promised never to hug him again. He's not exactly one for female, tactile affection; with men however, Ha! (I just realised how that sounded.) Moving on, half way through the ceremony he realised what he was truly giving up! (I can say these things b/c my dad doesn't read this blog)

Did I make it to the reception? Of course, I needed a freakin drink! There really should be bars in hospitals. Entrepreneur idea or process innovation?

As we left the hospital, my brother's remarks for the day were, "uh, Laura, isn't this wedding the only reason why you came home?"...Oh really Ted, thanks for reminding me! My Dad's kicking it and Rach and RJ are married. All is good.

Decorating the Bride and Groom's Room.... we decorated twice, this was the Suite that they weren't staying in. Fun facts.

California Dreamin, L

Hung with G-Ma and G-Pa...

I was thrilled to visit with my grandparents. However, I was not thrilled to gather for the geriatric sing-along at Seizure World. While my grandparents stole the show with each a solo and then duet, I'm afraid the rest was subpar.

There was a wacky lady who not only played the harmonica, but the piano simultaneously. See pic below! When there's a toss-up between Moon River and some song about Dixie, we're in trouble. My grandparents are cool, hip and chillin at 80. My grandpa recently asked me if I had a webcam as he did so he could see me when we talked. No webcam, g-pa!

What's a sing-along? Hell with a 60 page music book. And if I recall, we sang Kumbayah at the end, holding hands and swaying. Just a quick note, that was after the second Dixie song.

Patrick, I will have you know that there were no oxygen tanks! Torrance Hof's Hut, eat your heart out.

Leisure World would be cool if it was for 25-45 year olds with no married couples or kids....ya, ya, ya, get over it!

L

Aleece and Leslie at Hennessey's
Hung out at Aleece's house in Redondo Beach to reminisce about the good ole days of living at the beach and for that fact California, the USofA??? Let's see, we went to Bath and Body Works to stock up on the body washes, sprays and much needed scented, hand sanitizer. Have you seen the people who ride the tube. Apparently, the hand sanitizer is quite the American thing. I remember when in Shanghai my friend leaned over and asked to borrow some. "How'd ya know I had it?" and she replied, "all Americans carry hand sanitizer." Too right!

Other highlights included, a trip to Target... Isaac Mizrahi has definitely missed me, the movies, checking out the new "lifestyle" wing at Del Amo, and Mexican food at Riviera. Unfortunately I ordered my favorite meal, spinach and chicken enchiladas. Spinach! Spinach! Spinach! I wanted the spinach. Unfortunately those plans were shattered, but it wasn't too serious. But can I just say that I've enjoyed getting back to eating the lovely lettuce, spinach, etc....

Hanging with the Torrance Crew....Week of Sept. 24
Stop #2..Hennessey's in Redondo Beach, the old stomping grounds. I got together with the crew from the COT and threw back a few cocktails. I was definitely happy to see that Jeff Gibson was allowed to come out and play. (Sorry, I needed to get one more jab in there....Friendly note to others that may be in the dark, "Don't Come to London and Not Call Me. At the Very LEAST Say Hello! Ok, I'm really done ranting.)

Good people, good times! It was truly great to see everyone, first at Chief Herren's retirement and then again at Hennesseys. Thanks everyone for coming out, and thanks to Gesuina for the party planning.

Cheers, L

Sept 21-24
Home for the Wedding....

Headed home for Rachel and RJ's wedding. The first weekend was the bachelorette party in Palm Desert at the Marriott P.D Resort. Whoa! A surreal feeling overwhelmed me from hanging out with 22 of Rachel's dearest friends. A bunch of crazy girls (SPEAKING ENGLISH) gathered to celebrate the pending marriage. It was a great weekend and fun way to kick off the trip home.

Yes, we played girlie games, and Rachel really didn't know who these came from...Who else would have brought a pair squirrels with the London Underground Tube Map????

It was a last minute purchase in the Airport...who knew? Entrepreneur opportunity come and gone, once again.

A Moon for the Misbegotten...Eugene O'Neill

One of the highlights before heading home was seeing Kevin Spacey in the aforementioned play. Big fan. There were actions reminiscent of Verbil Kent from the Usual Suspects so I was thoroughly excited. Great play, good cast and good company with Ian.

I stood outside the stage door briefly, but he was no where to be found. Over the past few months, I've spotted Juliette Lewis (Fools For Love) and Patrick Swayze's huge head (No I never watched him in Guys and Dolls, please. Nobody puts Swayze in a corner!)

The last weekend was crazy fun before heading home to Cali.

Last week of August......

Giorgos and I at Avenue Q, an off-Broadway play that made it to the West End. Let's just say it's Sesame Street meets South Park. An actor playing Gary Coleman lives among furry friends and humans singing songs such as "Everyone's a little bit racist and so are you!" and "It's okay to be gay," helping the Bert and Ernie characters out of the closet.