Hi All,
Happy 6 month Anniversary! Amazingly, its been just over 6 months since I left Sydney, and in
all honestly, for me at least it doesn't seem like 6 months ago. It all
still feels really new here, i don't feel like this is my city at all. I
don't feel like I am 'comfortable' with London
at all. I really don't feel like i know the best places to eat, I dont
feel like I know the best places to hang out and I certainly don't have a
routine here like I have in Sydney. This is not a good or a bad thing, its just the way it is at the moment.
In general, I would consider 6 months a LONG time, but maybe its cos I'm getting old but the last 6 months have really gone by in a flash. I still vividly remember landing in London
on that first cold morning, catching my 80 pound cab to canary wharf
and wandering out into the city for the first time. All of sudden, I've
been working 6 months, which means 25% of my secondment is already
over! I know that I have travelled a lot over the last 6 months, and
that i guess what I think about it and count everything off , it seems
like a lot, but it all feels like its happened in a compressed time frame, and my life in Sydney doesn't feel that far away at all!
This means its been at least 6 months since i've seen most you, and
I'm sure that means you all miss me heaps! :P I know most of you have
written back at some point and I really do appreciate you guys writing
back, it makes the time writing these long emails worth while. I hope
you guy aren't bored of these emails yet, and if you want me to stop
bothering you, just let me know and i'm more than happy to take you
off..
So how do I feel, 6 months in? The short anwser is that I'm really enjoying London as a place to live. I thought that one of the biggest things about moving to London
would be adjusting to living on my own, and that I would feel all grown
up and stuff I had to look after myself. You know what, moving out is
massively overated. I don't feel any more mature than I did back in
Sydney. I mean, sure mum doesn't cook me breakfast every moring
anymore, so I just have a glass of juice and get a croissant on the way
to work... So she doesnt wash my clothes for me anymore... so i just
throw it into the washing machine myself... (which reminds me.. i have
to move the clothes to the dryer..... and im back..). I thought this
whole moving out of home thing would make me feel more grown up but
really it justs more annoying..and more expensive. Rent is annoying to
pay.. it was so much better to live at home!
I know that guys who live at home are looked down on as some kind of
incompetent moron, but honestly, its not that hard to move out, and it
doesn't mean that any more of man/adult just cos i can do some chores..
its really not that hard.. I cook some, I clean some, and the stuff u
don't do well the first time, you learn to do better by looking it up on
google and you tube. I've been thinking about this and the biggest
factor in my situation is that i'm fortunate enough in my financial situation that i'm not in
the position where i can't afford essentials or can pay abit to make my
life a bit easier if I need to. E.g. if i'm too lazy to responsible and
buy supermarket food and cook food at home, I can afford to eat out. I
was able to pay a bit more for my apartment so that I could have the
convenience to live near the station and I've been lucky to be able to
travel on the weekend too.
I'm not saving much at the moment but thats mostly due to the travel
i'm doing, so you could argue thats definitely more of question about
lifestyle..
The last few weeks have definitely been more quiet, we've cut back a lot on travel. Danny came to visit so I spent a few days in Amsterdam to chill out, and there actually hasn't been any weekend trips in the last few weeks. We also aren't travelling till mid October! So thats like 6 weekends in London in a row, a new record! The main reason is that Nancy is saving up to go to HK in
Jan and I'm saving up to go to NYC and go nuts during the thanksgiving
sales - Lee/Alex, its time to book me into Per Se and Momofuku!
Other highlights in the last few weeks have
been Deb visiting from Cape Town, (can't believe its been a YEAR since
Africa) and going to Yauatcha, going to my first 2 Michelin star
restaurant @The Square with Danny, having my first Pho Tai tonight in
6 months - actually pretty good, about an average sydney standard - not
as good as cabra or bankstown but definitely hit the spot for my pho
craving, finally having my first good steak @Hawksmoore and the AMAZING
weather we've been having here in London over the last week.
Everyone told me that it would get cold in September, but its just come October and we just had 28C in London,
apparently UNHEARD OF. Its been fantastic, and we've spend the last 2
days doing what all Londoners do when its sunny, we went to park and had
a picnic! Everyone is pretty sure this is the last sun we'll see for 6
months so everyone is enjoying it while they can. Every casual
conversation you have in the street is
commenting about how amazing the weather is. You guys don't understand
how excited Londoners get when its sunny this late in
the year, people can't believe their luck. You know, I haven't had a
winter since July last year - it been 14 months of warm weather for me,
Japan, Africam Australia and Europe, all during the summer.. this next 6
months of darkness/cold is going to really be a shock to the system,
considering i've never lived in a cold weather city during winter in my life EVER.
Anyway, I think i'll let you guys go now. I'm really enjoying London
at the moment, and I hope you guys have also had a great 6 months.
Write back if you guys get a chance, and tell me whats you've noticed
has changed over the last 6 months?
Hope to talk to you guys soon!
Miles
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