As we're set to enter the month of March, my future here in London is still up in the air. And that's okay. It's pointless to worry about these kind of things, so I've decided to just carry on and enjoy my time here in the Big Smoke. I'm starting my new job with Bleacher Report UK tomorrow, so these past couple of days I've been too busy to worry regardless.
Exciting times, new jobs and all. The British government aren't easy to work with so instead of exploring London I'm spending most of my time looking into papers and studying up on the world of cricket.
A new job is one thing of course, but part of trading countries is meeting new people. And while my old friends are doing Golden Miles (you bastards) I'm currently stuck with a bunch of collegues I talk to on Skype (so far I've met one of them. Callum, he's a Northener. And a twat). And as this is the 21st century, social apps and datingsites are the way to go. I've never been a particularly big fan of datingsites (or technology in general. To quote Hank Moody: "Analog guy in a digital world") and I've always had more fun doing things the old fashioned way.
That said, some of the new apps are gold. Down is just nasty, for instance. I wasn't planning on installing it as it would be pretty pointless regardless (I just moved countries, it makes zero sense) but a friend of mine wanted to test it and she talked me into it (the app, not what it leads to). Girls, please don't be offended. Call it a social experiment and realise we don't even share timezones. And for the love of God, do not install that app...
Tinder is my personal favourite, mainly because it works. I don't know what it's like back at home but here in London the userbase is massive. I got some feedback on which photo's to upload (felt kind of weird) and surprisingly enough, the matches started coming. So far I've come across several enjoyable conversation partners (and one or two girls that really need help) and it's made my experience of London slightly more fun. Somehow I feel like I should be ashamed to admit that, but then I realise the number of foreigners on Tinder is quite high. And quite frankly, what do you do when you're new to a place and don't know anyone? Crash a bar on your own?
London is a great city for reading. When you use the tube you see tons of people with books, in contrast to where I'm from where most people seem to have their heads stuck in their mobile device. Here, I think it's about 50-50, which is absurd when you think about it. People actually still read here. There's bookshops everywhere and some of them are dirt cheap.
For instance, I was in this charity shop yesterday and bought copies of the Complete Works of Edgar Allan Poe, Jane Eyre, the manuscript of Star Wars Episode IV and the hilarious Bored Of The Rings for 3 pounds! Unfortunately, some old geiser had his eyes set on the Complete Works as well and it all resulted in one of the most confusing experiences of my life: he called me "*expletive* Aussie trash."
First of all: I've never been anywhere near Australia. I realise I may have some Australian hidden somehwere in that funny accent of mine, but it usually only comes out when I'm in the company of Aussies or I'm talking surfing. Not in charity shops.
Then there's the weird experience of seeing someone old enough to remember the Battle for Hastings using language like that. I want to applaud the dinosaur for getting with the times (I enjoy the occasional bad language as well) but it still made for a very awkward situation.
Overall, I have to give the old **** credit for coming up with the most creative name I've ever been called. And I guess you're not really a Londoner until someone hates you for no particular reason. Tomorrow I might stand on the left side of the escalator, just because I can.
Life doesn't stop, whether you like it or not. We'll see how all of this plays out. I guess you could say I'm managing here and you wouldn't be too far off. My head still wanders back home quite a bit, so y'all better remember you're right here with me. And I know full well that even if all of this fails (crushing me beyond repair in the process) I'll still have some of you waiting for me back home. And I'll always have a home. That little bit of goodness took me the better part of a decade to realise.
I'm starting to appreciate I was shaped by my town.
This is one of the greatest cities on the planet. It's alive, and I'm going to enjoy being a part of it for as long as I can. But I'll be back. That story isn't finished yet.
Take care guys.
Song of the day: Explosions in the Sky - Your hand in mine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzIK5FaC38w
(This is from the Friday Night Lights OST. If you've never watched that show, start. You have no idea what you're missing. It takes a few episodes to grow on you, but if you fight through that you'll end up watching one of the greatest network drama's ever created. No hyperbole)
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