Laziness, London & Life

Oh lawdy lawd. As much as I talked and inner monologued myself into regulating the blog posting...it's just so damn hard! >insert weeping emoji face from whatsapp here< Don't knock me though because I'm still hanging on by the hairs, barely. Usually, I'd drop a few more lines about why I haven't been posting, but - and others who've kept/keep blogs know of this - brainstorming posts and finding the time to write them are two completely different things. I can come up with a prompt on the tube, easy as! But then finding the time to write it? Not so much. And between full-time work, keeping up the touristy tendencies while living in a different country and all the other fun things in between, well, the struggle is real, people!

 Anyway, so after exactly a month and 15 days of being in London, I am happy to report that Steve and I are more or less nicely settled. Our original game plan was to book our first 10 days at an airbnb place and to split our time between being tourists, job hunting and place-hunting during those first 10 days. Some of you may say that it was a pretty risky thing to do, but if you don't risk then there would be no reward right? (I'm marrying a maths/finance brain, something's bound to stick some time). During those first 10 days I'd say our stress levels were hovering at around the 2 to 6 out of 10 mark. That, along with the battle against jet lag and a room that was right next to a laundry room with a washing machine that hardly ever shut up? Well, I'll let you fill in the blanks. Don't get me wrong though, our airbnb hosts were the loveliest people! And they had the cutest dog as well! (I don't have the best photo but you get the idea). We had our own space (as small as it was, with 4.5 suitcases), the room was warm, clean and tidy, and the best thing yet, we didn't have to share a bathroom! Yay!

Finding a place was probably the number 1 worry on Steve's list but I'd say we were pretty lucky in this department. Or, dare I say even blessed. After combing the websites without much knowledge of the area besides a feel for zones 1 through 3 and an open image of the tube map, we managed to suss out a few potentials. Maybe it was the Westfields nearby, all welcoming and familiar after 10 days in an area with no shopping centre or identifiable brands of food/eateries, or maybe it was the comforting sounds of Tagalog (and other languages) from people in passing. Residents or tourists, I will never know. Or maybe it was even the ginormous burger and fries meal I inhaled at Burger King after 10 days of random cafe/corner store food. Whatever it was, the vibe of White City/Wood Lane and its comforting "westy" feels drew Steve and I in without us even knowing it. I guess you really can't take all of the West out of a Westy? haha. So, we are now settled into a ...I'm not sure what to call all the different types of houses in London, so I'll stick to...Unit? Which is probably the closest I can think to what our place is like. I won't bore you with the details of having a room on the top floor of a 3 story townhouse? But it's not old and decrepit, the shower is amazing and we've been super blessed with awesome roommates. Thank the lawd! And the fact that we get sunshine in the morning is pretty awesome too. Combine that with old-school windows and...!

After moving in, aside from being tourists every few days or so, the rest of our time was spent filling out job applications and attending interviews with recruiters. We had enough cash saved up to not panic about money yet, but seriously, if neither of us had jobs by this time, I'd be stressing.

But again, as luck would have it (because I sincerely believe that half of this is what it is), Steve and I managed to land ourselves some contracts. One sucky thing here though is that almost everywhere pays in monthly installments! Maybe I'm just used to fortnightly paydays, but our budgeting skills will have to undergo a makeover of some sort very soon. Other than that, I'm happy to actually be working in the field that I studied in and I'm sure (as relaxed as he is), Steve's new job is being good to him too.

So after all that, our hours are now pretty limited but I can't say we haven't been behaving like tourists. Between landing in London and now, we've managed to troll through Oxford and Piccadilly Circus. Do some shopping and sightseeing. Check out Buckingham Palace and the Natural History Museum. The Science Museum, The Tower of London and Tower Bridge. St Paul's Cathedral. Notting Hill and Portobello Road Market. The British Museum (which I LOVE!). Harrods, The Gherkin, The Cheese Grater, Soho! And just last weekend, Steve and I were in Holland! But I'll save that for another blog post.

And through it all, aside from Steve, I've had the best thing a girl could want as an extra companion...

...Mmmm, coffeeeee!

That's all for now! More posts up soon hopefully! <3

xoxo