This is the relatively less glamorous side of travelling to the other side of the world, I'm not travelling to any exotic destinations for the moment or preparing myself to travel to aforementioned exotic destinations. This is the business end of the trip, the how I set myself up so I can live here for a bit side. I'm doing lots of running around to find myself somewhere to live and a job and having to organise all of the bureaucratic things like National Insurance numbers.
And I don't find that fun lets be honest, lining up for things, having to convince people I wont just move into their office, steal their stationary and distract the more productive workers. Convince yet more people that I'm not a crazy serial killing nudist who has gangs of friends over to sleep on the couch and pawn their TV. It makes me frustrated. Essentially I'm impatient, when I want something I want it now. Since I moved out of my place at the beginning of November I haven't really been able to unpack my suitcase and I'm starting to crave it. I don't really remember all of what is in there, my outfits comprise of whatever has floated to the top of the pile because I just cant be bothered taking it all out only to have to put it back in again. I think as well I'm impatient for a base that I can use to orient myself around London, to have the where will I work where will I live questions answered so that I can get to know this town better. Fuck I love London. I realise the swearing is inappropriate but sometimes only an expletive will do. I love its energy. I love wandering around it and stumbling across something that I've only ever seen pictures of before. I love cruising through the tube and managing to get myself from one side of the city to the other without needing to ask for directions. I love the pasties they sell at Victoria and London Bridge Stations made by the West Cornwall Pasty company, they have a picture of a pirate on the bag and are exactly what you want in cold weather.
I love that books are so cheap here and that you can buy bunches of gloves and scarves at Primark for a couple of pound. Before I left, a bunch of people I talked to about my coming over here would leave me haunted by tales of miserable faces on the tube, the grey and unrelenting weather, the cost of everything, a million different tales of the misery that is London. All that might well be true, eventually, it's still all new to me though. I might well get to the point where I hate the weather and the people and the crowds, but I am so not there yet.
People seem to be going crazy about the weather at the moment, today The Sun ran the headline “Arctic London”, snow has hung around a few days and was pretty thick in some places so now everyone is in a tis. On Sunday as I headed back from the city after seeing a couple of share places I stood on Orpington Station waiting for my train back to Katie's, the cold had turned my cheeks to marble in stark contrast to the rest of me which was toasty warm. I paced up and down the platform feeling happy for no good reason listening to Sarah Blasko's version of Don't Dream its Over, as the song reached this harmonic choral break between verses I thought how beautiful this moment would be if it was snowing and then I felt a snowflake kiss me on the cheek and I looked up and saw the snow whirling in lamplight. It reminded me, in the midst of all this running around going to job interviews and NIN interviews and seeing flats I have to remember to find something fun otherwise what's the point of this. That's not just good when I'm in London that's good for all the time. So I've tried to chill myself out a bit, to not be so impatient. To enjoy little things like how the ground glitters when its frosty which I think my neice Livvy would love and the sound of the snow crunching under your feet. Slightly cliched possibly but fuck it, I have fun. Today after my National Insurance Interview, where I had to go in and prove I'm me so they'll give me a number so they can also know I'm me, I went wandering down around London Bridge again but this time up the other end away from the Tate I had a look into Southwark Cathedral where they have a monument to William Shakespeare, the Globe Theatre is around there so they feel as though they have a corner on Bill. As I walked into the cathedral one of the guides came up, very helpful and studious lady, let me know all about the cathedral and that I would have to buy a permit to take pictures inside, I decided no, churches have entirely enough money without my contributing to them. I didn't miss much, you can see it all on the net and I can just remember how things looked in my head ok it was only 2 pounds but that's like $5000 in Australian money. Odd little moment though as she offered me a pamphlet outlining some of the highlights and the history of the cathedral, she said “English, ok” as if she wasn't entirely sure I'd be able to read it, Had we not just been speaking in English? Had I not demonstrated a proficiency in the language, part of me thought I should get all ocker and say “Got any of em in Australian luv?” and maybe winked and then smacked her on the arse but we were in a church and I have entirely divested myself of the catholic guilt and sense of propriety.
So in answer to the questions in my last post, where will I work, hopefully I shall know that by the end of this week. Where will I live, also something to be discovered this week. The call of the wales, I'm going to keep you waiting a little for that one and is there an upside to all this cold weather, why yes there is, and its snow damnit, cute when it falls gently from the heavens and leaves tiny, cold, pin prick kisses on my cheeks. Not so fun when it turns to ice on the foot path but touch wood I still haven't fallen over on it yet. Happy New year xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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