In My Ear

There's a lot of English in my ear. In fact, everything I listen to these days is either English or newly discovered after I arrived in London. Check it out:


1. Two Door Cinema Club

a. This is the Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ed8NBPmits
b. Something Good Can Work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PorW3y5n1w 

2. Florence and the Machine - Dog Days Are Over
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWOyfLBYtuU

3. Major Lazer - Pon De Floor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTI8Ec77RB

4. Warpaint - Undertow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMkqbY0oGKQ

5. The XX - Basic Space
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHZVGqqf3gg

Refer-A-Friend

To friends, an opinion is never an issue. However, gaining friends can be very difficult anywhere, but especially in London (ie. the land of the reserved, stiff upper lip, etc.).

The people in our lives range in importance and influence. 

Co-workers | Cab drivers

Friends | Family

Lovers | Loathers

Heart-robbers | Heart-throbbers

Acquaintances | Allies

In three months, I've somehow experienced all of the above. Was it my social prowess that elevated me to such a privileged position? Not likely. Instead, my encounters are numerous and constant thanks to some very cool Vancouverites. So many have gone out of their way to put me in contact with old friends, family members, travel buddies and even colleagues that are working in London. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

As I observe, adopt, judge, accept and reject, I have mostly others to thank for the luxury of company.

BITCHES GET STITCHES

While living abroad, I've become acutely aware of the obnoxious North American stereotype. I try my best to be as accommodating as possible in this foreign land, but feel somewhat hardened by my surroundings. Here are a few areas where my level of tolerance is now particularly low...

1. Que Jumping - Cut in front of me in a line and I'll scalp your first born

2. Friends - Being away from home has helped me to recognize and appreciate the people in my life that matter, but it's also exposed the few that really don't belong

3. Family - Not a guaranteed support network as I once thought (my mom's siblings pretend they don't have a mother - sick, sad and selfish)

4. Customer Service - It's not good. It doesn't make sense. And it never will.

5. Aggressive Women - There's a stereotype that Asian (ie. Indian) women are timid, shy and submissive, which prompts drunken English women to feel as though they can push us around. For example, an English woman once demanded money from an Asian friend simply because she saw her put money into her pocket.

I'm a pacifist, so I don't push back.

I do, however, get far more vocal when a bitch tries to test my patience.

Honestly...

Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened.

-Winston Churchill

Housewarming Party!

Last night I threw my first party in London - woohoo! It was a rip-roaring good time!!! Unfortunately, I didn't take many pictures (I was having too much fun!), but here's one:

Funny thing about guest lists... Who do you invite? If you invite 1 co-worker, must you invite them all? If you invite a few people from your volleyball team and allow them to bring a friend, is it odd for them to bring a friend from that same volleyball team???? There were a lot of politics, but I invited only those I wanted and suffered through the repercussions accordingly.

To ensure that I didn't have any neighbors on my ass about noise, I invited them all! Hey, if they're causing it, they can't really complain about it! One neighbor brought along a friend... Not just anyone, but a 77 year old man-friend. When he asked me for a beer, I hesitated because I assumed that he'd be on meds.

Ugh, I wish I had more pics. Don't judge based on the slightly senior crowd! It was a good time, really, it was!

Flat

My new flat is a rustic, period building with a whole lot of cracks and creaks, but I love it.

No television.

No microwave.

No internet.

And currently, no washing machine!

I can live without a lot of things, but spending a month without internet was torture! In fact, I'm even getting used to not having a washing machine because the landlord is paying for my laundry service while it's broken. Which means that my dirty cloths are washed, pressed and delivered each week. I hope this problem is never fixed.