Hey Everyone!

This week sure has been a crazy one. First off: if you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed my internship placement has changed. I was originally assigned to Waltham Forest Community Credit Union. WFCCU was wonderful; I was hired to help do the PR and marketing surrounding their June move. Unfortunately, due to politics, WFCCU is not going to be able to move until January. So my job has become (as they say) redundant. I was able to give them a plan to follow and 3 excellent choices for a graphic designer. I wish them all well!

Now I’m working in an entirely different environment. I work for Glu Mobile Ltd… and I totally love it! Glu is a mobile gaming company based in San Mateo, Cali, but they have offices worldwide. I’m working with their marketing department in London! Since it’s just been announced, I can tell you that we’re working on mobile games like Guitar Hero V, Blur, Ghostbusters, and a whole bunch more that utterly rock! I’ve been getting flashbacks to Marketing 311 – writing SWOTs and doing competitive analyses and perceptual maps, but my first 3 days have been awesome.

Glu Mobile is the third largest mobile game developer in the world!

But even before my first day at Glu…I went to Stonehenge for the Solstice Celebration. Now THAT was an experience. Thousands of people (most of them current and ex-hippies) showed up to the giant stones. It was lively and exciting before sunset. People were chatting and eating and taking pictures. There were tiny bands playing acoustic guitars and bongo drums. There was even a man playing bagpipes. There were Druids (who look an awful lot like wizards to me), musicians, jugglers, a whole lot of hippies, and a slew of out-of-place travelers (like me) all gathered together in a giant field. It was madness.

A long walk through giant rolling fields begins our adventure

The sun us setting behind Stonehenge

This Druid man was attending an annual ritual of his religion

The warm Stonehenge center... looks kinda smokey...

After sunset was when it started going downhill. When the sun left, so did all the heat. We were left with 2 measly space heaters combat the biting wind… and of course they were too crowded to even get close to. There were three options left to those shivering in the cold. One: brave the crowd inside the stones… if you don’t mind being stepped on, pushed over, and yelled at in a giant swarm of people above which hangs a mysterious cloud of smoke. Two: eat as much vegan food as humanly possible while jogging in place. Three: huddle together with a group of people. Many of us chose option #3. At least 7 of us were lying in spoon formation on the damp ground trying to keep warm. We were so cold we didn’t even care when a few passersby snapped pictures of us.

Miraculously, the Earth kept spinning and we made it to morning… but we high-tailed it out of there at first light. The sun was completely obscured by thick sodden clouds and the intended effect was lost.

The sun is rising but the clouds refuse to let it shine.

Upon arriving in Salisbury, the only place open was McDonalds. People who had been freezing all night flocked to its warm cushy chairs and hot coffee. Unfortunately, those warm cushy chairs were a bit too comfortable and half of the McDonalds patrons were passed out in the dining room.

There are 7 people sleeping in this picture... can you find them all?

This was definitely a week I’m not easily going to forget.Until next time… cheers!!