When Life Is Unexpected

Above: home long enough to walk Sybil a few times before leaving again… Facing off with a sheep!

‘I’m not a very fast-paced person.’ – Patrick Fugit.

Or, at least, I thought I wasn’t!!

When I got home from our Long Journey Home on the 17th June, I kind of thought I’d have a month or so to catch my breath before plunging into the next bit of whatever life threw my way. Despite being stone broke, the comfort of home, of being with my parents, the peace, the same bed every night, food on tap… It was so welcome (if occasionally a little dull sounding) after three months of non-stop movement and travel.

Don’t get me wrong. I LOVE travel and already can’t wait for my next trip. But there’s nothing like sleeping in your own bed. But I digress.

I had expectations for that quiet month at home. I’d write every day, working on posts for this blog so that when I did eventually get a job, I’d be able to just come home, exhausted, and upload a post without any hassle. It’d mean I didn’t have to worry about content for a bit, and you guys would still have stories to read.

I also wanted to edit a lot of photos. Whilst I love the end result editing gives, I am not a huge fan of the process. It’s fiddly and I’m still learning, so I have to concentrate and focus on my gut instinct and what it’s telling me about a photo. But the photos after editing are always worth it, and I love sharing them.

Above: home long enough to take some pretty pictures of flowers…

I was going to look for a job in London. I was going to spend some time helping out my parents with some jobs around the house. I wanted to do some cooking, maybe bake some cheese scones. You know, homely, comforting things. I didn’t want to party hard or go out or spend money that I didn’t have. I just wanted a bit of time to decompress.

Life had other plans though. I applied to ten recruitment agencies and two got back to me almost instantly. Within hours, I had two interviews set up for the following Tuesday. That’s just one and a half weeks after I stepped off the Eurostar in London and set foot back on British soil. It was a lot quicker than I anticipated, but off I went, back to London for the interviews.

By the end of that day, I had a job. A month long contract starting the following Monday. So, less than three weeks after coming home, I’d be starting a new job. It certainly wasn’t what I’d been expecting. It was a whirlwind!

Above: the London skyline at sunset. It has a certain beauty!

So the blog posts I’d planned to so carefully line up to post once I got a job are not written. The photos I wanted to edit are still in their original format. I managed to do some jobs for my parents, but hardly any. I fitted a bit of cooking in (check out that cheesecake that I made!) but not as much as I’d hoped. The only thing I really managed to do successfully was actually get a job! Turns out I’m okay on that front…

So, what now?

Well, I’m here, in London. I have just spent my first week at my new job and it has been good. It’s busy and the commute is a bit of a bitch (mainly because it takes like, an hour each way, stupid trains) and I don’t usually get home before 7pm each evening, but it’s great apart from that. I like London, I’m really enjoying catching up with friends and I’m lucky that two of my closest friends, T, and her husband O, have put me up in their lovely home in Honor Oak Park for the time being. It’s lovely to feel welcomed and see a new area of London that I’ve not experienced before.

Above: the Switch House at the Tate Modern – right next door to where I work (my building was directly behind me when I took this photo).

And for the future? London will be my home for the foreseeable future. I like the buzz and the drama of life here. I like that London is located so conveniently that I can hop on a train over to the continent, or grab a cheap flight somewhere, or simply step out my front door and go explore. It’s such an international city I could eat Thai food one night, Lebanese the next and pizza the next, travelling from continent to country without ever leaving the UK. I can hear different languages spoken to the street every day. I can go to exhibitions and learn about other cultures without ever leaving the capital. How convenient!

And for this blog? Well, I still need to find time (when?!) to switch this blog and its contents over to a WordPress platform. I have no idea when that’ll be, but I promised changes this year and I want to keep that promise, for myself if for no-one else. Posting wise, you’ll see plenty more stories from our Long Journey Home, never fear. I have a list as long as my arm of posts I want to write about our trip. They may come later than I anticipated, but they will come. And now, you’ll get posts about my life in London too! And about any trips I may take in and around Europe and the UK (I definitely intend on getting out of the country at least a couple more times before the year is out!).

Above: night time phone picture means it isn’t the best quality – but I could definitely get used to views like this!!

There’s plenty to come, but please bear with me whilst I get to grips with my new job and life in London. I am actually exhausted after my first week, and if it’s anything to go by, I expect I will be for a while yet until I get used to it! The posts I had intended to put up so soon may be delayed but rest assured they will come. Eventually!!

NB: Unfortunately, due to the fact I found this job so quickly, I am now unable to attend the TBEX Conference in Stockholm next week. I am beyond gutted, since I really was looking forward to it and I couldn’t wait to explore Sweden’s capital either, it looks amazing! Luckily, my ticket is transferrable to the conference in Europe next year and I am 100% committed to making 2017 my year to attend the conference. It may actually be for the best – I’m hoping that my blog will be in a better shape and I’ll have more of an idea about what I want from it too, meaning that the conference will be more useful to me! I’m already excited to find out where the conference is being held next year, so watch this space!

Above: could get used to views like this too!