One week down... three to go!

Well here we are at blog number three and one week closer to the big change. It’s been a week of job hunting, sorting my stuff, eBay selling, catching up with friends and trying to fit the day job in. I have now decided that moving and job hunting are two activities that should not be attempted simultaneously. I’m constantly stifling a yawn, and am looking forward to the day I can go to bed for a whole weekend to catch up on much needed sleep.

However before I do that, my first week of unemployment (technically my only week, as I will be working with my sister as a ‘freelance design consultant’ after that) will be spent in New York. A very happy coincidence that a holiday booked almost a year ago is now coming at exactly the right time. Plus a very clever Lady B suggested we start changing money early, so we beat the fall in exchange rates! I just hope the buzz of the big apple will see me through one more week of sleep depravation!!!

Whilst in New York I think I will have to invest in a nice thick winter coat. As a friend pointed out, I have made the decision to head back to Northern England just in time for the freezing cold winter. No time to acclimatise to the drop in temperature. Three years in London has got me used to fairly mild winters, especially as the air pollution keeps it a couple of degrees warmer than everywhere else.

Aside from the dreaded cold, I do get more excited as time goes on about returning to the north. Whilst my parents were down the other weekend they showed me a DVD of the giant spider in Liverpool a few weeks ago (I’ve gone all technical and included a picture!) Seeing the honesty and humour of crazy northern people made me realise how much I miss that part of the country, and how proud I am to come from it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved my time in London, and know so many crazy and lovely southerners. But there is something special about the north that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy (and apparently turns me into a big pile of slush!)



I have also been minding my ego. Having finally spread the news at work officially, I have been getting many lovely messages from all the people I’ve worked with (seven jobs in three years means there’s been a fair few). It is great to feel so loved, and also sad that there are some people I will probably never see or speak to again.

The other people I’ll be leaving behind, but definitely will see again, are all my London friends. I have been doing the rounds, and trying to see everyone before I go. Some of my closest friends have never been more than a few minutes away since starting university. Even if we don’t see each other as often now, it’s strange to think that they won’t be a short tube ride away. I will have to be less spontaneous and more organised!

A mixture of emotions in a busy time! I am still very positive and know it’s the right decision for me at this time in my life. And once I am settled I will start on persuading a few southerners to go past the Watford Gap and up to the fabled north to come and say hello to me!

A New Start

After many previous attempts I have decided that it is about time I start a blog and actually keep it up for more than two weeks. There are a number of reasons behind this decision.

1. This week I handed my notice in at work. No I don’t have a fabulous new job. Yet. As of the 7th November I will be unemployed. A decision I have thought about long and hard. I have decided that I want to do something I feel passionate about. Something that will make me want to leap out of bed every morning (apart from Mondays – I’m not looking for the impossible!) I admit my timing could have been better. The looming global recession would put most off leaving a well-paid job with good benefits. But my intuition is telling me to take a leap into the unknown. I would like a record of this leap and all the excitement, just incase I need to keep reminding myself why I did it in the first place. Especially when I find all I have left in my purse is a £10 bet with Suzi that my first-born will be female (it may be the only way to make money by then!)

2. Not only am I leaving my job, I am also leaving London. I have chosen to become unemployed AND homeless. You may be justified in questioning my sanity right now, but lets face it over the next few months there will quite possibly be many more people in my position. At least I will be able to say it was my choice (followed shortly by an eruption of laughter from those listening). Anyway back to the point of number ‘2’. I will be leaving London to temporarily go and live back with my parents. I have a lot of friends down here and I will miss them dearly. This is a way of keeping in touch with everyone in between the emails, calls and visits.

3. By encouraging the people I have left behind in London to read this regularly it will spur me on to try and carve out a fulfilling career fairly quickly, so that I do not appear to have failed in my mission to improve my general levels of happiness. On the other hand if the successful career path fails, this blog will give me the opportunity to work on some fiction!

4. I also have friends in various continents. I am hopeless at keeping in touch, even though I miss them lots. In the moments between their many adventures they can read my blog. Comparing and contrasting their exciting lives with one of unemployment, northern weather and living with the folks, will make them smile. I love making other people happy.

5. Five is my lucky number (not that I have any specifically lucky experiences with it, I just like it). The fifth reason is that I would one day quite like it (read: over the moon and jumping up and down like a loony) if someone paid me some money for some writing I have done or could do in the future. In order to get someone to pay me to write, I have to prove that I can write. Practice makes perfect. So this blog is just that. Practice… not perfect!

Please feel free to discuss, critique and comment on anything I write. If you find yourself compelled to read regularly, thank you. And if you are a close friend who cares about my potential writing career, nagging is good if I appear to have stopped blogging!!!