Hola!
Well it’s been a few weeks since our last update, but let me assure you we have been keeping very busy in London-town with job interviews, catching up with friends and plenty of good times – perhaps too much fun if anything!
Since arriving back from Basel a fortnight ago we’ve been on the go each and every day, living and enjoying every second of London life – although now things will be settling down a bit, as I’m back in the working game. Yes that’s right – today was my first day and while it was great and I really enjoyed it, a part of me is sad to say goodbye to my life of travel and doing exactly as I please, whenever I please. Of course, there comes a time when we all have to face reality and for me it has now smacked me in the face. This morning when my alarm went off my first thought was “oh dear – I don’t remember it being this difficult!” Not to worry as I’m sure after a week or so I’ll be back into the routine and my days of lying in the sun will be a distant memory...
Brad’s job hunting is still going strong and he’s had a few offers, although nothing that has really taken his fancy. He has a few options on the horizon so I’m sure it won’t be long before he’s racing the rats with me – god knows it will make it easier for me. It’s hard leaving for work, when one of you is tucked up in bed, brainstorming the countless things they are going to do that day!
Before I get too stuck into the routine of daily life, let me get you up to speed on what we’ve been up to for the past few weeks.
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Daniel came over from Sydney and we spent four days exploring London – mostly the shopping district, as suffice to say, Daniel doesn’t care much for sight-seeing! This suited me fine though as I’d just found out I had a job and needed to pick up a new work wardrobe.
We’ve also been spending as much time as possible with Shady and Emily, who, in a week’s time, will be embarking on a three month tour of Europe before heading back to New Zealand. While we’ll definitely be catching up with them in all sorts of exotic locations on random weekends, we’ll miss them terribly, and have become more than a little attached to the wee beggars! In fact, we have barely thought about them leaving as we just don’t want to, but sadly the time has come (almost) for us to say goodbye. Yuck!
As I knew I was starting work, I’ve also spent as much time as possible with my fellow unemployed friends, which has been lovely. My good friend Julia arrived from New Zealand last week and spent a few nights on our couch. I’m so lucky in the fact that I have a lot of my friends over here, so there’s always plenty of people to share the excitement of London with. Despite not knowing many people, Brad is making friends at a rapid rate and is having a whale of a time. On Sunday morning (more about that later), he didn’t get home until 11am as he was having that much fun with his new friends!
My last weekend of freedom was absolutely brilliant. It was Donna’s (Shady and Emily’s flatmate) birthday, so she had organised a day trip to Brighton, followed by a round of pub golf. It proved to be one of those days that, despite the build-up and hype, absolutely lived up to, if not exceeded, expectation. We set off for Brighton at 9.30am with a group of about 12 and spent the day exploring the town, playing games and making use of the rides on the pier, followed by a hearty pub lunch of course.
Brighton is beautiful and was exactly what I expected – stony beach, grey ocean, bustling pier – brilliant! Shady and Brad set their sights on winning us girls a soft toy or two, but sadly Brad’s game wasn’t quite as he expected. Needless to say, Shady ended up winning a prize for both Emily and I – much to our amusement! Brad came through in the end though, winning the birthday girl a nice stuffed whale. The whole episode brought back bitter memories for poor Brad, as he hasn’t had the best luck with these sort of games in the past. In fact, I recall one occasion where I actually one Brad a prize, which he moodily refused to accept!
The day was nicely topped off with a game of pub golf, which, as the name suggests, involves visiting nine different pubs dressed in golfing attire, with the aim of drinking each drink within the required amount of sips – for example, a glass of wine is a par four. A couple of my girlfriends came along, as well as our flatmate Ryan, and by the sounds of it everyone had a great time, and there were plenty of funny stories to be told the next day. A highlight of the night was running into a group who were out on a round of ‘pub tennis’ – something that Emily and I particularly appreciated, given everyone kept accusing us of getting the theme wrong on account of us looking like tennis players!
Another highlight was meeting so many new people - more 'friend' notches to add to our belts. Might sound a little creepy, but when you're setting up shop in a new country you need all the help you can get!
Needless to say Sunday was a bit more low key and was mainly spent retelling tales from the night before, over countless slices of pizza and bars of chocolate!
Well I must be off – working in London is an entirely different kettle of fish to working in New Zealand. They start later and finish later, so even though I’ve only been home two hours, I now need to head off to bed. I’m going to get up early tomorrow morning and go for a run as there’s no way I’ll be able to manage running after a long day’s work and commute home. As I’m an early riser, I’d much prefer to get into work earlier, but it’s unheard of here – in fact, I was told to not even think of getting in before 9am (and even then the office is deserted)!
Love to all and apologies for the slackness on the email front. This weekend I’m going to sit down and power through the emails so expect a reply from me quick smart!
xxx
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