Welcome Tea etc.

Last night we discovered a little place called "The Wine Rack" that's directly across the street from our flat so we invited Unique over for a spend-over. We all passed out a little after the last episode of "Porn: A Family Business" and then ate Honey Nut Cheerios for breakfast before taking the underground to the GIL Welcome Tea. The tea was decent but I stole a muffin off someone's plate that was delicious. I was a little late to the tea because my credit card arrived in the mail today and I just had to activate it before making any public appearances.

The woman at the customer service center was reluctant to activate my card because I couldn't answer the security question of "What is the primary card holder's mother's maiden name?" I answered Curtis (re: I screamed "CURTIS...IT'S CURTIS...HER NAME IS BARBARA ANN CURTIS...THAT IS MY GRANDMOTHER!!!!!!") but apparently my dad answered the security question with another mother's maiden name in mind (lame). The lady was so frustrated with me that she transfered me to someone really dopey who eventually activated my card. Thank you, Jesus.

We also went grocery shopping last night but because we were so tired from walking to Buckingham Palace (freak out!) we bought mostly grains like rice, chips, pasta, rolls, cereal, and toilet paper. Ryan made us spaghetti for dinner which tasted delicious and we ate on paper plates in our own flat watching the Olympics and drinking celebratory Fosters.

About Buckingham Palace: it was pretty big and cool but it didn't take my breath away. It was certainly impressive and we all agreed that the British Monarchy should remain (semi)active forever, but it was also just a big concrete building with some columns. The best part was holding onto the gate and watching the guards (the ones in red who have the tall, puffy black hats and who never, ever move) and then watching a real guard walk by in a police uniform with a huge automatic assault riffle. We immediately let go of the gate and then felt bad for the more traditional guards who have been rendered obsolete with the advancement of arms technology.

Speaking of police officers, Jon decided to walk to Westminster Abbey alone this morning before the Welcome Tea. Apparently, he stopped to draw a picture of Big Ben on his way to the underground and was accosted by a police officer who asked him for I.D. and radioed central command to see if his name was on file. Another officer showed up and a crowd formed and Jon was accused of documenting the location of CCTV monitoring devices (they're located all over the city and by 2012, the entire city will be under 24 hour surveillance) and of being a terrorist. But they let him go. This time.

The Welcome Tea was pretty hilarious because everyone was required to introduce themselves to one person and then introduce that person the entire group. Some highlights include a girl suggesting her partner was majoring in "Theater and Genocide" and another million people declaring their partner was deathly afraid of being eaten by a shark. Suffices to say I still know nothing about any of these people (except the ones I know from school).

We're going to IKEA for rugs and a garbage can!