First of all, happy 2014! I bet your New Years memories are fast becoming distant, and given that most of them would have been fuzzy and unclear to begin with, it is safe to assume you are all probably looking ahead instead of behind.
Well aware that it is now mid-February and this is my first blog for the year, perhaps some explanation is in order.
While most of you would have welcomed the new year with a fresh slate and a sore head, I still had quite a few life altering decisions hanging in the balance. I had yet to find a new place to live, given that the Clapham flat would be no more come 26 January. I was desperate to get out of a job that was now making me miserable beyond words, yet finding alternative job options was proving difficult with doors being slammed in my face as soon as employers found out that I would be kicked out of the UK in April 2015. I had well and truly made a muddle of my romantic life (again), I no longer had the wonderful Megan to lean on in London and being away from home over Christmas had left me feeling horrendously home sick, so much so that I couldn't get through a Skype call back home without bursting into tears. Who on earth would have wanted to read a blog written by a girl in the depths of despair, as Anne Shirley dramatically phrased it in Anne of Green Gables?
Stay with me readers, things will only get happier. I promise.
First thing was first - finding a new place to live. Groan. Back on the old Spare Room website I went, booking in viewings left right and centre. For some reason it seemed so much more competitive than the last time I had to find a place, with more people holding open-view type scenarios whereby you had to compete with 10 other people at the one time, all wanting the same room. Just a nightmare for one who needs more than a split second to make a good impression! Another room was lost when a decision came down to a coin toss by the current occupiers of the house. I found this even harder to swallow, losing out by chance. Finally, finally, early one Saturday morning, my new refuge at Tooting was found when I met Tegan and bonded over exhaustion. On a side note, Graeme has moved in with the lovely Sarah and Dan will soon be a London home owner. So grown up! These boys will forever be the brothers I never had.
My move to Tooting wasn't to be the cleanest transition though, with the new move in a week out from our departure at Clapham. This meant hauling all of my belongings (which disturbingly have DOUBLED in size since moving over to London 9 months ago!) to be stored at work for a week while I was fortunate enough to couch surf with the lovely girls of Finsbury Park.
This just so happened to coincide with starting a new job. When it rains it pours, hey? After much deliberation and many Skype calls for advice from the parents back home, I have decided to alter my career path slightly and give recruitment a whirl. I am now working for a company that specialises in recruiting for the property industry, which fortunately links in with the knowledge I have gained by working in an estate agency since moving over here. Three weeks in, it has been a roller coaster ride of learning, adapting, applying, surviving but so far so good...
So fast forward to 15 February 2014 and I blog to you sitting on the couch in my new house (still upright following crazy weather that has left the rest of the country in flooding and disarray), which has JUST been reconnected to the Internet, having finished my last day helping out the estate agency in Southfields, being one week out from finishing my initial training academy at a new job and beginning to feel in control once again. I have worked the gym back into my routine and have even successfully mastered how to roast a chicken, though I did stare at the naked bird for quite a few minutes before plucking up the courage to stuff its insides with herbs.
The South London crew have all decided we are going to make the most of the city this year, and we already have local gigs in the pipeline. So indayyy. A dance studio has been discovered in Covent Garden as well and this week will bring our first Burlesque class... definitely stay tuned for that blog post. Good grief. Still, despite the rocky start, it really is shaping up to be a great year with many social events, an interesting job and a great group of friends to boot. NOT to mention visits from Kirby, Charlie, Bri, Joss, Matty and Selby just to name a few! Words cannot describe my excitement for your visits, and best of all will be a trip to the US to catch up with Scott and Jill in May. They have been warned that I will be likely to clutch on to their limbs for the whole duration of the week and expect hugs on demand, but I am sure it can all be accommodated.
A massive thank you to all those who have been a constant source of support over the past two months. I generally find it quite difficult to admit any struggles and ask for help, but your kindness and generosity to help when I did just blew me away. Rest be assured that the funny tales will be regular and constant from here on in, with a few already in the pipeline! I hope 2014 is treating you all well so far, sending my love far and wide to you all.
Love, Em xxx
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