It's an Exciting World

On Monday the usual place for the choir rehearsal was booked already, so we ended up singing in the crypt studio of a church near Trafalgar Square. It was a really neat space, and the acoustics were amazing since it was actually set up as a music studio. We also got to do songs with ffff markings, meaning very very very loud. We wouldn’t have been able to do that in the normal space.

Tuesday I had a great walk along the canal with Marissa and a discussion. We went around the canals in Little Venice, and I really had a great time.

Wednesday morning I went to a GEO meetup that Stacie was organising. I appreciated the content, and we change some strategy based on the comments.

Friday I went to Yonder and had a good working day with some nice climbing.

Saturday I had people from choir over to play board games. Nathan, Zaheer, and Maggie joined. With the four of us we had a great round of spirit island. I got really lucky in the card draw and the layouts. Steph got back from the play she was seeing and we played some codenames. I had a great time and want to host more games nights with the choir people.

Sunday we had a great discussion in Book Club talking about The Library at Mount Char. I really appreciate the book club group sticking with it after my move to London. Candice especially with her writeups on the books has been amazing.

Over the weekend I was able to put together a really nice video for the Kling competition. I’m happy with how it turned out. Steph thought it was a cry for help, and while we do have some issues with too much screen time while sitting next to each other on the couch it is nothing like what is shown in the video.

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I got two great sessions of RS1 choir rehearsal in this week. I feel like I’m really getting a great experience with them, both on the singing and social sides. I coworked with Stacie on Wednesday, and we got to discuss a lot, but she was called away when we decided to finally climb. We’ll be able to climb some other week.

On Thursday morning I left for the Lake District to hike with Lata. I met her at Euston station, and we grabbed our seats on the train heading north. I was in a ‘window’ seat, but it was really a bulkhead seat. I could peek out the windows next to the seats in front of me and the countryside was gorgeous as we went by. So many sheep.

We arrived at Oxenholme and did the quick transfer to the Windermere train. We got to the town of Windermere, which is still about a mile from the lake of Windermere. Lata checked in and we went to the lake. It was a lovely day, although a little chilly. We took a quick tour of the lake in a 45 minutes cruise in a big circle around the major islands. The one private inhabited island looked absurdly posh with a gaudy building right in the middle. We then took the ferry across and went to an observation platform. It was just a ruin, but originally had colored glass to see what the lake looks like in different seasons. I took some pictures through the replica glass, and it kind of worked. It was a gorgeous place, and we got so lucky on all the timings of the ferries and busses.

The next day we met on the bus to the Gasmere. It is a small town near another of the smaller lakes. We hiked up the hill to Alcock Tarn in the morning, which was a gorgeous hike. The hike got a little steep in places, but wasn’t too difficult. The Tarn was a nice little lake high in the hills. We came back to the town, and decided to grab lunch before hike 2 of the day.

The next hike was Helm Crag. This one went a little higher and out the other side of Grasmere. We went high up into the hills almost the to peak of one of the hills. On this hike we saw a ton of sheep close by, and then Lata pointed out that there was a sheep dog herding the sheep down in the valley. It was great to see it herding. I always love to see animals moving in flocks and herds and schools. It reminded me of a game I had made called counting sheep, where you play as a dog trying to get sheep into pens.

After the hikes we got some of the famous Grasmere gingerbread. I was pleasantly surprised when it was actually amazing gingerbread and not just a tourist trap. The gingerbread had a ton of candied ginger, and was delicious. We took the bus to Ambleside and then caught the ferry to Bowness and walked back up to Windermere. I met Lata for a lovely dinner at Francine’s, a cute French bistro style restaurant. The food was delicious. I really enjoyed the time getting to know Lata, although I fear I talked to much and asked too few questions.

On Saturday I headed back to London and met Zaheer for a climb at Castle. It was a good time, and we spent most of the time in the loft. Unsurprisingly the whole place was busy on a Saturday afternoon.

Sunday was all about the chores. This was an amazing week, and one of the examples of why I love being in the UK.

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Mom and Dad were in town this week, so I spent as much time with them as I could. On Monday they came over to our place, then we went to lunch at Walker City. I think they liked our flat, and how good the view is. It also has a much better layout than the previous one with the furniture fitting it better.

Monday evening I went to RS1 choir rehearsal, and had a great time. It is so nice to have a group of people I really get along with. I hope to spend more time with them and do more things with them. The Discord channel they have is highly active with lots of people planning all sorts of events.

Tuesday I met up with Marissa in the morning at the Wellcome Collection in their library room. It is an amazing coworking space as long as you don’t need a charging point. It felt a little awkward talking in there, but the room has a list of uses and talking is explicitly listed. It is also a gorgeous space that is highly conducive to working.

I then met up with mom and dad in Camden market. I tried to meet them at the Iris Gallery, but apparently there are two in Camden market, and I went to the wrong one. I found them and got a close up picture of my left eye, which turned out really well. I looks green on the top, blue on the bottom, and with a splash of a rusty brown. We had lunch next to the canal and then I took them to the interesting parts of the market. We took a rest in a pub nearby, and then got the tube back to their hotel, where we had tea. I went home for a bit before meeting them at Decimo for dinner. The view from the restaurant is amazing, and we got a corner table which really gave the best views. The elevator ride is also a great view of St. Pancras.

Wednesday and Thursday were all work, but Friday I had a breakfast with other StartX associated people in London. It was great to meet up with them and chat about what they are doing and how they are seeing the future. I look forward to having another meetup like that.

Saturday I went to Bridge Command again. This was an interesting mission with an inexperienced captain and crew. The captain wasn’t very decisive, but we were able to complete the mission. Zaheer went with me, but I don’t think it was a good introduction to immersive theatre.

on Sunday Ready Singer One performed at the Japan Matsuri festival in Trafalgar Square. It was a ton of fun, and there were easily a thousand people there. Not all of them were paying attention to us, but a few hundred were. We went for drinks and food after, and I got to have great conversations with some of the choir members I hadn’t talked to before.

In the evening we had Sean over. He is a neighbour from Ice Wharf and we played Overcooked and Unrailed together. He did really well, and even beat the final level of Overcooked on his first time playing the game. I look forward to doing some pub quizzes with him and other Ice Wharf people.

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This week we started back to Ready Singer One choir. I went on both Monday and Tuesday. It was difficult this week since it was tube strike week, and the entire Underground and DLR were shut. If it was just that happening then it would have been fine, but when the tube shuts, people use the buses and drive instead. This makes the roads so much worse and the busses unreliable.

Monday and Tuesday I went to choir. I had such a great time, but it isn’t like West End Musical Choir, as each choir is focussing on a different set of songs each week. So it isn’t strictly extra practice on the songs that I need to practice on. It was great to learn more of the songs that I hadn’t learned yet. I’m sure it will be useful.

I still managed on Monday and Tuesday, but Wednesday I tried to walk and it really didn’t work out as it rained pretty hard for about 15 minutes and I got soaked. I made it to the Cursor hackathon and got 4th out of about 60. I had a great time and made a fun little game of party building survivor-like game.

https://dgeisert.itch.io/cursor-party

Thursday was amazing and I went to Liz and Jamie’s place for games. We played two rooms and a boom, and the social deduction part was great. Nathan had such a good play when he made the bomb and president fall in love, but I caught on and separated them at the last second.

Then we played the game where you have to communicate concepts in three rounds, first Taboo style, second with a single word, third with charades.

Saturday Steph and I went to the Bake Off Extra Slice filming and got to be part of the studio audience. It was a fun time, but a long day. We got there around 1pm and it took until 8:30pm.

Sunday morning was the Merkato morning performance. It was so nice to sing with everyone. I brought some of my blueberry scones to share, and I think people liked it.

My parents got into town in the afternoon and we spent most of the afternoon and evening together. I got to hear all about their trip, and they told me about the cities and buildings they got to see on their river cruise.

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I got lot done with work this week, but didn’t get out much. I went climbing twice, once with Punit at Yonder and once with Zaheer at Bethwall Green. I’m really enjoying the climbing.

On Thursday, Steph and I went to King’s Place for a live recording of a podcast episode of Betwixt the Sheets with one of Steph’s favorite historians. It was a great time, both informative and funny.

We got some small bits of furniture delivered, and replaced a few of the bits that weren’t working as well as we’d hoped.

Steph and I are loving the new flat so much. Just being able to look up and see the canal while working or having lunch is a dream.

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Monday there was an amazing opportunity with the Ready Singer One choir to sing at Outernet in Tottenham Court Road station. The launch of the latest Metal Gear Solid game was being advertised there and they asked us to do our choral rendition of Snake Eater. It went surprisingly well, as the acoustics of the space were unexpectedly good. The audio track we used was slower than what most of the pianist typically play, but we managed. It was a lot of fun, and we did it twice just because.

After the impromptu performance, we had a picnic. It was originally supposed to be in Regents Park, but we swapped to Soho Square Gardens since we were already there for the performance. I had a great time, and for a bit I was the only one with a nice picnic blanket. The ground was damp, so sitting and spread space was at a premium. I got to chat with so many of the RS1 group and I really appreciate getting to know them better.

The week was pretty chill, and we are really getting used to the new place. The mornings are so lovely with the canal and sunlight. There is a fox that has started sunning itself just across the canal in a little garden. It is so neat to see it there for a few hours each morning. I think this is the mother from the kit of foxes that were in that garden before.

The kitties are getting used to the space and seem to be really enjoying it. Especially the canal. Both Archer and Lana sit out on this balcony far more than they did at the previous flat.

I also went back to Yonder again this week, just me. It is nice to be able to take a break and just go climb a bit. I’m also able to do a few of the v4 routes, so I’m progressing slowly.

We had Zaheer and Zaheera over for dinner on Friday. I really enjoyed the time with them. Zaheer is in RS1 with me and his wife Zaheera has a lot in common with us as well. I hope we can do more together, and get into things that they like more as well.

We finally moved out of the previous flat. I took the garden furniture back to the balcony there, and we got the last bits out and cleaned it. We still need to hand over the keys, but that can happen whenever. It feels good to have that out of the way now.

Nancy and Punit had a going away party on Saturday. There was a mix up in communication so we showed up several hours late. The blueberry scones were a hit as always. We didn’t stay long as most of the party was around the children, and the space they have to host in has a strong echo making it hard to have a conversation. I’ve been worried about that with our space as well, so we are going to be getting sound absorbing ceiling tiles.

Steph and I had a great time on Sunday going to Bridge Command again. Steph was the captain and I was helm. She did a great job guiding use through the scenario, and we were able to take out some pirates without any real damage to the ship. It was a lot of fun and we are having a blast with the Bridge Command experience.

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Over these ten days I did some very British things, like fancy afternoon tea, visiting the Tower of London, and going to the BBC Proms.

Lynne invited me to go to the BBC Proms performance in Royal Albert Hall. It is a gorgeous building, but clearly not built well for the kind of performance we saw there. I’m not sure what kind of performance would actually work correctly in that space. The space itself was amazing, with a big ring of balconies around a central arena like space. The first two pieces were strange and new. I didn’t care for them, but could appreciate the skill it takes to play something so anti-melodic. The timings and pitches are so much harder when they don’t flow the way one would expect. We grabbed drinks at the half and the second half was much more typical of a symphony, and more to my liking.

Saturday Steph and I did another round of Bridge command. It was with a smaller group, only 5 people, and we had a few new people. I think it went really well. We were a little slow at points, but the crew came together well, and as far as I could tell we did really well overall on the mission. It is interesting play acting the diplomacy when I don’t know the lore all that well, but I still had a great time of it.

After that I met with Zaheer and Zaheera in Green Park for a picnic. I really enjoyed the picnic, and talking with the two of them.

I got home and prepared for the neighbours coming over for our third and final housewarming. It was really nice, and I think they all enjoyed the codenames game. I had a great time hearing all the gossip of the complex and learning all of their thoughts around the UK and King’s Cross area.

Sunday I did anther performance at Merkato Mayfair. It was a great time as always. I love singing there as the pressure is really low, but the challenge and friendliness of the group is amazing. I had such a great time, and really look forward to these performances.

Then we met Nancy and Punit for a late afternoon tea at Sketch. They had a gorgeous room and the bathroom was the most unique I’ve ever been in. The food was good, but nothing too special, and I really enjoyed getting to hang out with Nancy and Punit without Atlas there.

Monday was our 7th anniversary and we went to Fallow, which is one of the restaurants Steph likes to watch Youtube videos on. It is also one of the best in London, and we had a great time watching them cook from the Chef’s counter.

Tuesday I took most of the day off and met Jose at the Tower of London. We went all around the tower, and did almost every exhibit. The only one we missed was one I didn’t really care about. The crown jewels were amazingly sparkly with so many large stones. I was most impressed by the armour collection, especially the ones that actually belonged to kings. Jose and I had a lot of great conversation while there and I look forward to spending a few more weekdays with him when he is off.

Wednesday I finally made it to the new pub for dive club. It is a nice meeting room on the third floor of a pub. The karaoke room is just above, so some day I might stick around or show up early and do some karaoke.

Thursday I met Xiaomeng at Meta for lunch. It was great to see him, and I got to randomly see some of the other people I worked with as well. It was really nice. The fire alarm went off, so we headed back to my place and I showed him the new flat.

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Monday evening I had some of the choir people over for games. It was a ton of fun, and I hope to do it more often. We played Codenames, Drawful, Murder Trivia, and Quiplash.

I made it up to Yonder on Tuesday and Friday, but most the rest of the week I was working on the flat or moving things over. We moved the kitties on Tuesday evening, and they were expectedly unhappy about being moved. Lana was hiding behind our clothes for the longest time.

Friday we also hosted a housewarming of people from Dive Club and other social acquaintance. I really enjoyed having people over, but I want to do something about the noise in the flat. It can get really loud since we’ve streamlined so much of the curtains and lighting, so there isn’t much around to absorb the sound. The housewarming gifts were also really nice, and greatly appreciated.

Saturday we had Nancy, Punit, and Atlas over to watch the end of the series we were drafting together. We ended up both losing when the team neither of us picked won the whole show.

Sunday, Steph and I went to Chess Valley to hike. It is an amazing area for hiking, and has sooooo many blackberries everywhere. I gorged on blackberries and the hike was also great. We really lucked out on the weather.

The flat is almost together. We have a few deliveries next week and that should be it for all the large furniture.

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