what the eff am i doing?

flat hunting sucks ass….

imagine trying to find a place to live in two weeks?.

1st flat i seen - nice!.. really nice.. newly refurbished. new owner..but the owner hasn’t really decided who he was to room with. this was cross the road from my current one… something you would see back home… modern….
2nd flat. - another decent one. 15min away…. would have been rooming with 2 spanish girls and and italian guy… but all of sudden the room is not available
3rd flat.. - 10min away… a shit hole…. a true shit hole… all i have to say….. smelled like garbage….
4th flat - in the trendy part of london. a true warehouse conversion.. very small rooms but HUGE living room. this one had the most character. all i have to say….. library card catalogue, map drawers, a slot machine and a buck’s head……… i should have taken a picture…..

better luck next time
i’m screwed in a week!

theme song- crystal waters, “She’s homeless”

In 6 weeks I have moved away, made some friends, found a job and everything you would want to try to do when starting a new…. you want to try to get back to ‘normal’ life as quickly and easily as possible.

The thing is, when you are out on your own you have no support system!!!! You basically have to rely on yourself and use your resources as much as possible.

When life throws you a curve ball you have to quickly adapt!….., again its hard to adapt to your environment when everything revolves around MONEY!….

Lets go back more than 3 weeks ago…… I needed to find a flat that was close to the ‘city’. My previous accomodation was with an elderly couple. A muslim/indian lady married to a brit. Nice couple but when living there i felt I was 14 years old…. also to the fact the place was in Zone 4.

This newer flat I have found on gumtree.com. Zone 2 in Kensal rise for 500quid/pcm which included all the utilities. I would be sharing it with 2 aussies in the their 30s. One of them who is a designer and one of them who is a flight attendent.

So this morning, I find out that the flight attendant has found a replacement flatmate starting May 1.

also, i haven’t been getting paid that frequent yet so I have literally am broke!…..

stress, panic, distress……

what would you do?

Did you know….

my flat in Kensal Rise, Brent is a 30min run to Hyde park. Hyde park is THE park in London.. its huge. People are just doing nothing. Sitting, reading, talking, playing ‘football’, and even rollerblades.

also…
many europeans think canada is a ‘clean’ country… but us ‘Torona-ites’ probally differ!…. it could be worse though..

There is a whole multitude of people here who knows MULTIPLE languages. Back home, people may know 2 languages at most. Here there are people who knows at least 3 languages. I’m in awe when people can carry conversations in multiple languages. I ended up going to dinner with some coworkers at my current work placement….. at the table, there was spanish, italian, french, nigerian, austrian and myself the lonely ol’ canadian who doesn’t know francais. You’ll find everybody carry convos in all languages at the table…. it was almost a UN marketing dinner…. hah!….

how would answer this question?
What is the difference between Canadian and American?

Theme musicThe Pixies, Where is my mind?

Hey kids,

Its just been past over one month since i’ve landed here, right before I left I had a couple of things that I had to accomplish right when i got here.

Find work…

Working was a main priority. If I am not able to find work I won’t be able to pay the bills. There is no back up plan. Nobody here will be able to bail you out. No moolah = no food = no travel = no FUN!!!!

5 Things I have learned.

1. Don’t know anybody? Your next best network are your friends network. You will always know somebody who knows somebody. The best contacts are your friends’ contacts.
2. Some of your best friends are complete strangers. There are always people who try to help you out, encourage you and do their darndest to help you out in need. Example.. my homestay mother, my recruiting agents, and my new flatmates. They will help in go in the right direction.
3. Always bring a map!
4. Your best contacts are always your own contacts. Thanks to Facebook i’ve been able to get in contact with people i havent seen since highschool….. with that said some of them have also moved on to other places around the world and have invited me to join them during the summer. Its always a pleasure to find a familiar, recognizable face.
5. Be patient. I know its hard being patient when money runs out quickly. The stress of finding a job itself is difficult but finding one in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar rules and guidelines is even tougher. Finding the right papers and tax forms are only half the battle to get paid. Your network of friends slowly grows too. Gone are the friends you grew up, now making complete strangers into friends is another challenge.

So what’s next on the agenda?
Maintain a steady cash flow?… perhaps….

lets make friends everybody…

D.

Warning! do not throw up a “peace out” sign with your hands over here…….cuz it means fuck off over here in the UK. I knew that from before, but from force of habit I always throw it up when im lazy to open my mouth or lazy to say bye bye!….. I know one of these days, i’m gonna get bit ….

I did it today at the local pub for work…..

Theme Song- Warning, Biggie Smalls