Spent the Day at a CIA Listening Post, Well Sort Of

Today I am in London and I spent my entire day at a CIA listening post. Well that is partly true. It was depicted as a CIA listening post in a James Bond film but in reality it is just a Thomson Reuters Data Center in London. I am not sure of what movie but several people have confirmed it. I can talk about it only because when I pull the area up on a public map the building is labeled.

I was in a workshop all day, but the views from half the building are of the river overlooking the Millennium Dome. I would have loved to take some pictures but I am pretty sure they frown on that. The workshop was very interesting. I have two more days of it but the next two are a bit different than the first one so we shall see how they go. I was just thankful that we got to the office and back without too much drama. The trip was already planned before we found out about the Tube strike. Thankfully we left early enough this morning to get a cab directly to the office. We were able to take the DLR halfway back to the hotel and then got lucky finding a cab. The down side of the morning cab was I went to bed at 11:30 and got up at 5:30 to be out early. Tonight I am aiming to goto bed a bit earlier to get up tomorrow at the same time.  Thankfully the strike is over tomorrow, but I have to deal with it next week if they keep to their plans to strike again

After work I got drinks and dinner with one of the trainers who is staying at my hotel. I was also able to get a pre-pay SIM card so i am a bit more connected for the long trip. WIFI at the hotel is great. Work is more limiting so having additional freedom is nice. Even after all the suggestions from MC, Cathy (thanks Cathy but I am not spending 50 pounds on a Doctor Who tour) and others I still don’t know what to do this weekend while in the city by myself. On that note I am off to bed. I will try to read some travel guides tomorrow night.

The Big 30

It was Beata’s birthday yesterday. She turned 30. She had a bunch of friends meet up at Mixx for drinks. I had a good time. It was my first time meeting Beata’s friends, but they all seemed cool. After Mixx a bunch of us headed over to the Delancey Lounge. Apparently Beata’s sister worked there and we got in without waiting on the line. I typically don’t goto clubs like that, and I certainly don’t get to avoid the line so it was a nice change of pace. The first floor was super crowded. We were able to head upstairs and it wasn’t as bad. We found some seats in the back and relaxed for a while. I don’t think anyone was drinking by this point.

We called it a night and I got a ride back to the Canal Street subway station.

Drinks & Dinner Was a Bad Idea

Last night I meet up with Danny & Anthony for some drinks and food. I knew I shouldn’t go out since I have felt like I have been coming down with something all week, but I didn’t listen to myself. I had a good time, but I probably should have stayed in. My throat now is not feeling good at all. I also had a horrible night sleep. I am staying in today to try and rest up. I am not horrible yet but not so happy either. I have already taken more Zinc, and some Tylenol. Hopefully I can kill this before it gets worse.