The London Blog!
Hi Everyone!!
Well because of my incessant tweeting and facebooking, people in the US and (at last I counted) 23 foreign countries knew I was in London. So it's kind of redundant to tell you that I was there, but in case you were on a digital hiatus,hey GUESS WHAT? I went to London for almost a week. I was all by myself though and I felt chatty, so I just tweeted away!
I went because my husband had a business trip and I tagged along. I also met up with some business contacts for the PR side of my company, so that was another reason, but it was mostly just to get out of the country.
London feels like a second home to me. I love it so much! I used to go all the time when I worked for that big airline in their international division. Back when I was International Shannon. That was fun. That's another blog. (no really, I had to take it down! haha)
So, because London wasn't new to me, I didn't really do ALL the touristy stuff. I was also severely jet lagged, or really lazy, and didn't really get up in the mornings. I mostly ordered room service and went back to sleep. I don't get room service at home though, so instead of spending lots of money shopping I spoiled myself a different way.
During the day, I just walked off all those lazy calories and tweeted pictures. One of the publishers of a fashion magazine is a friend of mine, so I was tweeting her pictures of Street Style and she'd retweet it from the magazine. It was great fun, but the problem was, the big giant camera made me look like a crazy paparazzi so I ditched that immediately. You can't take pictures of people you don't know with a camera like that on the street.
I was having fun though so I came back out with my iPhone which has a great camera. Except then I realized I looked like an even bigger creeper taking pictures with my cell phone. I got some funny looks, and I would say, "OMG I love your outfit!" and I would get looked at like I was completely nuts. I totally understand. So then , I decided I would go inside a restaurant and take pictures through the window. Which worked out fine when the people on the outside who I was taking pictures of didn't catch me but then the people on the INSIDE thought I was insane.
Also, when I saw someone I liked on the street, by the time I got my iphone out and the camera function enabled, I would miss them and I didnt want to chase them down with my phone , because, again, Cuh--razzyy!!
I realized very quickly that London is SO stylish that if I missed one stylish person, there would be another one to replace them within seconds. So, I held my iphone up kind of haphazardly and left it on video function pointing straight ahead and I'd walk a few blocks and then I'd go find an internet hotspot, do screen captures, and then tweet those. That worked better and made me look less stalkery.
I love clothing as an expression of personality, and London is such a great place for classy self expression. I just love people watching. In fact I did that more than anything. I love seeing people in their every day lives. I love it when I can see in people's windows and see their decorating or see someone washing dishes. I swear, I'm not trying to be creepy, I just love to see people who are worlds away living their life as normal as me.
That's another reason why I love working with my musician clients and taping them before and during shows. I love to see the normal in them, the thing that makes us all connected, the way they get so excited about finding a $5 on the pavement, or how something reminds them of a song they want to write the way something makes me think that that would make a funny blog. People are people and we're all connected. I just adore finding that connection.
I also went to the Olympic Village and saw where the Olympics will be held. I closed my eyes and thought WOW!! So many people will have life changing moments on this property, right here where I'm standing, magic will happen.
It's like standing in the streets of the City of London that burnt down long ago, and seeing the beautiful rebuild. Standing in that very spot where it looked like the world was over...look at it now!!
I have stood in the same spot where King Henry VIII knelt on one knee and promised Anne Boleyn that he'd love her for the rest of her life...and knowing that he kept that promise...she just didn't know that her life would end when she fell out of his favor. No one wants to fall out of favor - -I think we all have that in us.
Being in London is just cathartic for me, I had been facing some stresses at home, at work, and also lots of good things too that are just hard to process. I never knew that I would be where I am at now. If you told Shannon just 3 short years ago what her life would be like, I'd never have believed it.
I just get caught up in how wonderful life has been to me when I'm in that magical city. I have definitely experienced the anguish of my inner house burning down. I know what it feels like to feel like a Queen and then fall out of favor suddenly. I also know that it's important to push past the rejection, the bad, that nasty feeling in your gut that tells you to just sleep as long as you can, and then count down the hours til it's time to sleep again. I have felt crazy before. And I have given up, as much as a person can give up, and I have been saved from myself.
There is magic in every little thing, good in everyone, a miracle around every corner, and the bad things that happen are there to make us appreciate that magic even more when it returns.
Breathing in London makes me feel alive, makes me glad I'm alive. I remember looking at the pavement and thinking that when the sun hits it just right, it looks like beautiful glitter..not like tar and glass all smashed up. It's a beautiful mosaic of broken, melted down things turned into something else we all take for granted.
London makes me remember all the things I once took for granted. I hope you all have a place like that to go when things are rough, difficult, or just too much. Even if I can't go back there, I know it's there.
I just really, very much love that city. And I had a really good time. Since you asked. LOL.
Anyway, right before I got on the trip I found out I got named one of Charlotte's 25 Most Stylish (presumably for my shoe collection! ha!) and that was such a nice compliment!! I'm thrilled to start a few east cost tour dates for a very big musician client, and then I'm thrilled for about a thousand other things coming up.
I think that that's what's the most important thing, is looking forward to something!! So maybe if you are having one of those bad days, just always make sure you have something in the near future to look forward to! It works wonders to get you out of the bed in the morning. It's like mental coffee!!
OH!! And I'm also excited because I learned that I love Spanish Tapas and Indian food!! First time for both!!! I also saw Legally Blonde: The Musical and of course you know I used to be blonde, but I also have felt like an Elle Woods a time or two. Have you?? It's such a good show, and sad to see it close in April! YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN ELLES SHOES!!!! And I nearly cried when Bend and Snap came on. I mean, not because it's emotionally moving, but because it got the crowd so excited, and there was so much positive energy in the room, I just felt sparkly, like I had glitter in my bloodstream! (no I wasn't drinking!)
Well, I've babbled enough today. I love you guys all the way to the moon!!
All the best,
Shannon
Labels: I love you, London, Trips
posted by International Shannon @ 11:48 AM
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