I am in my one bedroom stereotypical corporate downtown flat. Everything is black and white with chrome and glass accents. The mirrors are 10x the size of the tv.
It is situated in the west end of SoHo. On Old Compton Street if you know it, a funny place where worlds colide. It's sort of the borderline of many of London's defining neighborhoods. It's the north edge of theatreland. It's the eastern edge of bohemian political students in coffee shops, with bookstores on every corner, plus it's a throughway of the hard core gay clubbing and seedy underbelly of strip clubs and rooms by the hour venues. Plus, across Shaftsbury Avenue lie the paper lanterns of Chinatown.
It's incredibly central, and yet quite tucked away behind a little family italian place that makes fancy wedding type cakes and a posh bar with 10 pound cocktails.
it's nice. but also odd. being away from home for so long, and yet still somehow not so different. If I was here on vacation it's be some urban wonderland, but it's still business meetings and receptions. I finally got an oyster card (a top up card for the tube) and my AtoZ is so dogeared I practically look like a local buying milk and biscuits for when I am so lazy I have meetings at my dining table instead of braving the tottenham court road tube station.
it's a funny thing London, for the first few visits it's terrifying and huge and hollow. And then after a while you realise London doesnt give fuck, and you'll never know everywhere - so you just put your head down and shuffle along like all the other commuters.
23 October 2008
16 October 2008
some stuff I did once
It's been forever. There is really far too much to even attempt to catalogue right now, but I'm going to try just because I use lists like other people do yoga.
- It's fall. It's gray and wet the vast majority of everyday. My bones are cold. My soul is cold and Liam and I came to the realisation we don't want ot live here anymore. We are moving to America. Christmas 2009 we hope.
- My sister got married. Seperate from the wedding, the glitz, the family, the celebrations, it was also a hugely emotional thing. It was a momentous occasion in my life, even if I wasn't the one to say I do, and my brain is still toying with it. The fact that I smiled more than I ever have, belted my guts out more than I thought I could, danced like a loon in front of strangers, took shots traight from the bottle with some columbians (now family) and still hid in the bathroom to cry unexpected Elinor tears during their first dance kind of sums up my day.
- The wedding and the ensuing family reunion was a wonderful blast that was perfect and lovely and an odd combination of not nearly enough of anyone and too much birthday.
- And I so badly want to come home for Christmas and I just don't think I'll have the money. The first time I've really been too poor for something and it's ironic I am now paid the most I will possibly ever make in my entire life.
- Liam and I got a Wii, and my parents bought me a sweet leather jacket while I was home. Although these are not huge life altering moments, they do somehow feel as if they belong in someone elses life. I cruise around in a 50s bomber, and then go home to play video games. It's fucking weird is what it is.
- We are moving house. I still love quaint and cobbled and riding boots and castles - but jesus fucking christ. My knees hurt. I hate having mice. I hate the constant construction to revamp the old, decrepitness of these buildings. So we are mving up and out to a bigger, quieter place. Thank the lords.
- On Monday I am leaving for London. I will not be in my own bed for 13 nights, and see 4 cities in 3 countries in that time.
- 3 days after I get back I am going to Australia. On a 26 hour flight via Dubai where apparantly the meals are 5 course and my personal tv (holding 400 movies) is also a playstation. I have never looked upon travelling so lightly. Even if it will be two days later by the time I get there.
- In between all that I am going to Liam's mom's gay wedding, sorting out next year's fest, supporting liam in quitting his job and starting a new course and figuring out the rest of my life so we can leave this god forsaken island (and planning and saving up for our birthday getaway in grenada - can you believe I can afford a week in spain with flights for like half a plane ticket home? it's disgusting.)
- life is big. not like having a baby big, but pretty close. new house, new life, planning a big move and a new job. also vaguely dicussing the someday wedding and babies, but only in hazy enough terms our heads dont explode. and oh yeah, being an international ambassador for the worlds largest celebration of literature and ideas. it's nothing really.
- It's fall. It's gray and wet the vast majority of everyday. My bones are cold. My soul is cold and Liam and I came to the realisation we don't want ot live here anymore. We are moving to America. Christmas 2009 we hope.
- My sister got married. Seperate from the wedding, the glitz, the family, the celebrations, it was also a hugely emotional thing. It was a momentous occasion in my life, even if I wasn't the one to say I do, and my brain is still toying with it. The fact that I smiled more than I ever have, belted my guts out more than I thought I could, danced like a loon in front of strangers, took shots traight from the bottle with some columbians (now family) and still hid in the bathroom to cry unexpected Elinor tears during their first dance kind of sums up my day.
- The wedding and the ensuing family reunion was a wonderful blast that was perfect and lovely and an odd combination of not nearly enough of anyone and too much birthday.
- And I so badly want to come home for Christmas and I just don't think I'll have the money. The first time I've really been too poor for something and it's ironic I am now paid the most I will possibly ever make in my entire life.
- Liam and I got a Wii, and my parents bought me a sweet leather jacket while I was home. Although these are not huge life altering moments, they do somehow feel as if they belong in someone elses life. I cruise around in a 50s bomber, and then go home to play video games. It's fucking weird is what it is.
- We are moving house. I still love quaint and cobbled and riding boots and castles - but jesus fucking christ. My knees hurt. I hate having mice. I hate the constant construction to revamp the old, decrepitness of these buildings. So we are mving up and out to a bigger, quieter place. Thank the lords.
- On Monday I am leaving for London. I will not be in my own bed for 13 nights, and see 4 cities in 3 countries in that time.
- 3 days after I get back I am going to Australia. On a 26 hour flight via Dubai where apparantly the meals are 5 course and my personal tv (holding 400 movies) is also a playstation. I have never looked upon travelling so lightly. Even if it will be two days later by the time I get there.
- In between all that I am going to Liam's mom's gay wedding, sorting out next year's fest, supporting liam in quitting his job and starting a new course and figuring out the rest of my life so we can leave this god forsaken island (and planning and saving up for our birthday getaway in grenada - can you believe I can afford a week in spain with flights for like half a plane ticket home? it's disgusting.)
- life is big. not like having a baby big, but pretty close. new house, new life, planning a big move and a new job. also vaguely dicussing the someday wedding and babies, but only in hazy enough terms our heads dont explode. and oh yeah, being an international ambassador for the worlds largest celebration of literature and ideas. it's nothing really.
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