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Home at Last

Tuesday, September 27th, 2005

After weeks of living out of my suitcase, I’ve finally unpacked all of my stuff into my very own room. I can’t begin to tell you what an exhilarating feeling that was for me. On Saturday we received a call from the landlord’s intermediary (programmed in Kelly’s phone as “The Devil”) saying that we could move in Sunday. Fantastic. Happy faces. Sunday morning we get a call saying we can’t move in after all–no checks allowed, cash only. Just great. Curse intermediary devil woman. Sunday evening we get a call saying we can move in–check is okay. We pack our bags and get over there before The Devil can call us back and change her mind.

[read on]

Bye bye Jimbo

Saturday, September 24th, 2005

Everyone needs friends in their lives, but sometimes you need friends in your lives. I just can’t say what I would have done if I hadn’t had my friend, Jim, here in London to help me out over the past few weeks. He offered to let me stay with him and his family when I first came until Kelly came over, which was amazing and I appreciated it so much. Then it was off to the hostel with Kelly, sharing one bathroom with the entire building-full of girls, having to endure watching East Enders while some Australian couple slobbered all over each other in a corner, and being kept up at night because of the stench wafting upwards from the piss-drunk old man who staggered in from the pub at 3 in the morning. However bad it may have been, it was our home. And then we were told there were no beds for us and we had to vacate because a bus-load of Dutch school kids were moving into the place. No jobs, no house, no hostel vacancies for less than 25 pounds a night each…we were up the creek. Then, lo and behold, Jim sends word that we can come back to his. So back to Wimbledon I went, and oh so glad was I for that.

[read on]

From my desk looking out onto the Thames

Thursday, September 22nd, 2005
Okay, so the desk isn't mine and I'm only here for half a day, but the view is pretty darn amazing anyway. Another day, another job. Today finds me working for a charity called Wateraid, a group that works to ... [Continue reading this entry]

Homeless, but not quite jobless

Monday, September 19th, 2005
Well, things are looking up. Kind of. I've now been in London about a week and a half and I am earning money, if only for a few days. After hours and days of searching and sending out my CV ... [Continue reading this entry]

Pip pip, and all that

Monday, September 12th, 2005
While the longest schlep has come to an end, a new era of mini-schleps has begun. The location has changed, but the schlepping remains the same. I'm once again back in the UK. This time I'm not studying, I'm not visiting, ... [Continue reading this entry]