“I like the spirit of this great London which I feel around me.”
― Charlotte Brontë, Villette
Category: London
“Sitting on the porch alone, listening to them fixing supper, he felt again the indignation he had felt before, the sense of loss and the aloneness, the utter defenselessness that was each man’s lot, sealed up in his bee cell from all the others in the world. But the smelling of boiling vegetables and pork reached him from the inside, the aloneness left him for a while. The warm moist smell promised other people lived and were preparing supper.”
– James Jones, From Here to Eternity
I’ve written before about my teenage years living on a Pacific island – admittedly mostly focusing on the typhoons and earthquakes. It seems like sacrilege, or at least the height of ingratitude to admit this, but I didn’t really enjoy my time there. Most of my friends loved it (I mean, obviously, C. it was a tropical island, what was your problem?), but it was simply a hard place to live at the time for me. I left a good school, an amazing magnet program for my writing, Latin as a course option, and a lot of other thriving programs that I missed as a teenager, and even somewhat resented giving up.
Of course in retrospect lots of my island life was good. I’m still in touch with only two teachers from my youth, one of them is from that new high school. I was able to travel throughout Asia and Australia. My worldview, already decently large thanks to my dad’s international career, was blown open even wider. A lot of good came out of living there, but it remains one of my least favorite dwelling places.
But one thing that I will unabashedly gush over about island living (apart from the amazing cultural diversity and outrageously gorgeous and wonderful people) is the food. Until you’ve slaughtered, cleaned, and buried a whole pig in a pit to roast out in the jungle while bundling up tapioca pudding bundles or freshly caught fish in palm leaves to cook in the coals, while your neighbors from at least a dozen different cultures whip up their own delicacies and dishes around you, – you have not lived.
As a result, I’m always brought to a stop when anything remotely Polynesian catches my eye while on the prowl for good eats. I’m used to seeing such joints in California and the west, but you can imagine how surprised I was to stumbled upon a Hawaiian restaurant…in the middle of Soho!
Minions, meet Kua ‘Aina. Kua ‘Aina, minions. Charmed!
Kua ‘Aina operates locations in Hawaii, Japan, and…weirdly London – all modeled on their original North Shore location which opened in the 1970s. President Obama is said to be a fan, he famously orders the half pound avocado burger and has been known to treat his traveling staff to To Go orders, and I can see why. From kitschy decor to a fun atmosphere, it’s simply a fun place to be.
No matter the London weather, the boss and all the servers are decked in (what else?) Hawaiian shirts and greet visitors with a big, “Aloha!” On Guam they say, “Hafa Adai” but the sentiment is the same, and I was surprisingly chipper to hear an island greeting after so long!
Burgers and breakfast are their specialties, both mixed with the delicious cultural cross section of taste that is island cuisine. Teriyaki, pineapple, and seafood all put in appearances. But the real reason I had to share this joint on the blog is for the single, solitary reason that they make the best sweet potato fries I have found to date in this city! As something of a self-proclaimed obsessive about such food stuffs, this is a big deal, kittens.
Kua ‘Aina is located just behind the famous Liberty of London, just off the equally famous Carnaby Street, at:
26 Foubert’s Place
London
W1F 7PP
‘Fess up, have you ever lived in a place you didn’t love? And did anything (like food) mitigate the circumstances for you?
“I like the spirit of this great London which I feel around me. Who but a coward would pass his whole life in hamlets; and for ever abandon his faculties to the eating rust of obscurity?”
-Charlotte Brontë
Alas, my (truly excellent) work experience ends today, but it’s been an incredible run. I’ve been very lucky in that it’s been a hectic week and the writers and editors I worked with gave me a lot of assignments and opportunities to help out. I’ve written lots of different kinds of copy and interviewed some really interesting people on some equally interesting pieces. Plus I asked the editor about pitching pieces for her in the future and she told me to go right ahead and stay in regular contact. I’ve been on a high all week.
Now, how can I turn this into a regular job somewhere? Any British weekly publications (which are fun to work on in a completely different way than monthlies, and I’ve found it slightly addictive) need a plucky junior features writer?
While I scheme along those lines, here’s an extra long list of links for you to enjoy this weekend. As always, minions are encouraged to weigh in in the comments and link to other worthy of notice and note. Have a good weekend, and let me know what you’re getting up to!
Playing this (admittedly charming) game for real.
I unabashedly adored the Little House books as a child, but yikes! I’ve known for years that they walk the blurred, heavily edited line of fiction and nonfiction, but some pretty serious stuff was ruthlessly cut by Wilder’s daughter, who was the driving force in getting the stories written. I confess, I’d love to read the unedited manuscripts and get another POV of pioneer and prairie life.
The science behind clickbait. More interesting than you’d think. (See what I did there?)
Answering the age old question, or at least the one much of the Western press has been asking since Prince George was taken on his first tour and his baby cheeks became a meme.
Worth reading and considering, is irony ruining our culture?
Great and interesting piece on the importance of storytelling and narrative!
I’ve worked on a crowd funding campaign for a freelance client that was a really great and interesting project with a lot of future work planned, but it’s opened my eyes a lot to what that sort of funding can do. This fashion line, for instance, is making some waves and I think it might be an interesting way to open it and other traditionally closed and hard to break into industries in new ways.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that I know a lot of amazingly talented writers. I first met Ellie when our plays were being produced by Theatre Virginia as teenagers, she now works for Marvel comics and just released her second novel via ebook. Go check it out!
Leila, yet another awesome writer friend (of the sci-fi/fantasy variety) posted this useful guide the vernacularly fraught world of “yeah” and associates.
3D printing is a mesmerizing, weird, cool, intimidating (hi, guy who printed a gun), and totally innovative technology, but I think this 3D printing pen might be the most interesting design tool I’ve seen all month.
I’ve decided that being like Baroness Trumpington in my old age would be a worthy goal. I also want to read her new memoir.
The recent lawsuit surrounding AirBnB is sort of strange to me. Thoughts? Everybody I know sings its praises. Thoughts?
I found this art project interesting (and the link the rest of the artist’s work is well worth following).
Though I thought the now-famed Atlantic Piece, The Confidence Gap addressed some good points, I think this response, filled with suggestions, is pretty much spot on.
Emma Stone is my girlcrush of the week for this performance alone. (Confession, she is frequently my girlcrush for lots of reasons, not the least of which because she seems down right hilarious.)
Oh, Idaho. Having lived nearby I can totally see this happening.
Speaking of crushes, I’m personally and politically loving this initiative and PSA against sexual assault. Victim blaming, check. Speaking up when you see something wrong, check. Consent, check.
“You are now In London, that great sea, whose ebb and flow
At once is deaf and loud, and on the shore
Vomits its wrecks, and still howls on for more
Yet in its depth what treasures!”
– P.B. Shelley
My ducklings, my precious, precious kittens! Something kind of incredible happened!
As part of the long, lovely weekend when Caitlin came into town from Paris, we ran away to Spitalfields on a Saturday to wander and eat food – two of my favorite things. I wanted to show her my favorite dilapidated old house and press my face against its dirty windows again, but when I rounded the corner to Princelet Street, I stopped short.
The door was wide open.
“Is something going on?” Caitlin asked.
“No idea, let’s find out,” I exclaimed and practically dragged her in the front door.
We were met by a couple of members of a film crew who seemed perplexed to have two insistent Yankee girls descend on them but I quickly exclaimed my love for the house and asked if we could just look around it for a few minutes. Which is how Caitlin and I were taken around the house by a VP and Series Producer of 3DD Productions and given a sneak peak into their work on upcoming series, Raiders of the Lost Art, which explores how many of the world’s great art treasures have simply vanished.
I worried perhaps that the inside would disappoint compared to the gorgeous decay of the outside…it didn’t! The basement was too dark for my phone (when will I learn to sling my camera on my shoulder before leaving the house?!) and of course I’m not going give you any sneak peeks of the Raiders set. You’ll have to wait to see them on TV.
Light switches from the early days of electricity, old toilets with chain pull flushes, creaky floors and stairs, textiles that have shredded or sagged with age, and dust covering everything with a light veil of mystery. It’s a perfect set for film (I’ve actually identified a few scenes from recent TV programs as having been shot there, including A Very British Murder with my professional girl crush, Dr. Lucy Worsley). We could have been in Miss Havisham’s cozier, less bridal casual rooms.
“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”
― Stephen King
As you might have read or heard , I’m doing another magazine work experience this week. I scribble this to you, well beloved minions, from the offices of LOOK magazine (nestled in between Women and Home, and InStyle). I’m conducting an interview for a potential feature later today and have the the Shard for a view directly to my left.
By damn kittens, there are days I feel like I’m going to make it.
(Followed, inevitably by a long dark night of the soul and a crushing fear of failure, but golly the highs make it all worth it!)
“Style, friend, style.”
– Douglas Adams
No biggie. Just Deborah Mitford, Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, feeding her chickens. (C. wrote, wearing baggy jeans and a well loved but slightly ratty t-shirt.)
“All the world’s a stage.”
― William Shakespeare, As You Like It
The other weekend, after I emerged from a project based fog and Jeff finished up a major bout of studying, we were in need of a treat. We counted the coins in our spare change jar and to our delight it added up to two concretes from Shake Shake so off we went to Covent Garden. When we got there we noticed it was unusually crowded, even for a weekend, but it turns out that they were filming live events for the Olivier Awards and several West End actors and and troupes were putting on live performances which were being broadcast to the main stage and events elsewhere.
Not just any performances, mind you. Whole numbers and sections of shows you otherwise have to pay a decent amount of money to see. It was a wonderfully unexpected way to enjoy the evening!
The live stage was sent up in front of the famous St. Paul’s church, where Eliza Doolittle met professor Higgins in My Fair Lady and today is known as the Actor’s Church for its long history connected to the theatre world and community of the West End
Performers, puppet and human from the award winning Avenue Q.
No biggie, just Javert communing with the cosmos and swearing his unique brand of justice upon parole-breakers.
Do you hear the people sing? As it happens, yes!
“Friendship,” said Christopher Robin, “is a very comforting thing to have.”
― A.A. Milne
In a typical work environment you’re thrown in together and meeting new people all the time. You’re making friends (or not making friends, as it happens) with all sorts, tackling projects, exchanging information and swapping ideas. When you work from home, that rapport simply doesn’t work the same way and if that sort of connection is important to you, it’s largely up to you to find ways of creating it.
Freelancing for me, based on the nature of the majority of the sort of tasks I do, is largely a one-person show. I don’t mind this exactly, I’m a nice mix of introvert and extrovert who is perfectly capable of amusing and entertaining herself, or going out and enjoying the crowds. But I’ve found that long term, the solitary nature of my work affects me in interesting ways that I have to be proactive about noticing and correcting.
One of the reasons I decided to seek some volunteer work, apart from experience in a field I love and hope to support in some capacity in one way or another for the rest of my life, was that I was realized I was becoming emotionally and verbally out of touch. Six months into living in London, I was working from home six days a week and doing the bulk of my communicating via email. 99% of my conversations were happening with my husband – who is a great person to talk to, I stress lest you think otherwise – and I was noticing that in a very real way, I was losing the skill of being able to meet and connect with new people. In short I was becoming awkward. Not awkward in they shy and retiring way, awkward in, “Oh hi, so nice to meet you, let’s be friends immediately!” hyper way that instantly throws many off. With some people, such enthusiasm can be cute. I am not one of them…
Luckily, working at the museum is staggeringly fun. Not only am I feeling re-socialized, I’ve also been introduced to a number of publications I’m considering pitching. Most importantly, I’ve made some lovely new friends (like Georgina – another up and coming novelist and all around whip smart girl who I genuinely adore. We bonded over classics and Roman history, which is always a stable foundation for buddy-hood). Having friends, whom I not married to an interact with in places other than my flat, has been tremendously important in keeping my life happy and balanced.
Speaking of, another thing that’s been interesting to recognize is how much inspiration comes from other people. “Duh, C., you idiot,” I hear you say. But I’m not just talking about big ideas and big inspiration, I’m talking about the often small things that jumpstart you and keep you motivated as a person.
I met Alanna at a networking event a couple of months ago and I instantly thought she was one of the neatest people I’ve come across in a long time. She runs a consulting service that specifically works with social innovation, women’s development, and international development. We’ve started co-working together about once a month, and I always look forward to it because it’s easily one of my most productive days in that week. Just being around another person engaged in solid, innovative work is inspiring in and of itself and having another person in the room helps keep me accountable and not goofing off. Not only that, we’re able to swap ideas. Last time we worked together I helped her develop possible pitches to different publications about one of her upcoming projects and she introduced me to a number of sites and online tools that have made her life as a freelancer easier and more productive. Oh, and that swanky new blog logo I’m enjoying? She whipped that up in five minutes just for fun, without my even asking, just because she said she needed something creative to do as a break!
Simply being around people who succeed at freelancing, entrepreneurship, writing, blogging, design work, or just learning new skills personally gives me a tremendous boost of confidence. Seeing others succeed encourages me to think that I can too, in a way that I don’t always feel slumped over my desk grudgingly at one in the morning.
Another example. The other week Andrea and I finally got the chance to meet up (she’s been in Morocco, I’ve been in Paris – I know, our lives are such a trial, right?) for a long overdue hangout. We took in a free photographer’s gallery and then spent a couple of hours sipping tea and swapping stories and our experiences with freelancing and expat life. It’s amazingly relieving to hear that, even though your work might be solitary, your personal problems definitely aren’t unique! Not only that, about every ten minutes one of us said to the other, “That’s a really interesting story, you should pitch that.” Just by chatting and enjoying one others company we were coming up with really great ideas left and right, I came home and scribbled down half a dozen. I can’t wait to go on another girl date with her, not just because she is everything hilarious, delightful and interesting, but seeing her work ethic really gave a boost to my own.
I always believed that people are important to me, personally and professionally. I just never realized how much until this first year of freelancing.
Sharing time! Who are your people, and how do they inspire you? Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Have you had to get proactive to change unforeseen emotional adjustments due to self-employment? I’m nosy and want to know!
“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.”
― Oscar Wilde, A Woman of No Importance
On Friday after work, Jeff met me halfway home from the museum at Waterloo Bridge to grab some quick food before I dashed home and threw myself onto a pile of unexploded projects. The London Street Food Festival was on, meaning we could find some of the best food trucks in the city corralled into one area and offering up their wares for cheap. Also, that we could avoid cooking.
To hear is to obey.
The trucks and stalls were a wonderful hodgepodge of clever and creative, and boring but practical, but they all were hawking delicious wares. We combed through the offerings like the street food pros we are in record time.
Jeff plumped for a Meatball and Chips from Cheeky Italian, which he inhaled as I dragged him back to the tube station so I could go home and get to work. He was a good sport about it, though, partly because we’d also snagged some truly impressive eats.
I took home this pulled pork flirt from Dixie Union Soul Food. And it was magnificent.
“The rising of birds in their flight is the sign of an ambuscade. Startled beasts indicate that a sudden attack is coming.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War
More from the heron posse in Regent’s Park.
Small Dog Syndrome 