View from 5'2"

Alrighty, Blighty...


There's loads that I should probably be out doing on this sunny-for-now London Saturday, but I'm taking a lot of time for myself, just feeling comfortable in my lovely little flat (on the 6th floor, its a perfect "Get Off Of My Cloud" song cue. Where's Mick when you need him?).

I didn't realize how much I needed this time away from my whole life in New York, but it's come in quite handy. For as unsettling as it was, on the one hand, to be on a plane bound for London 36 hours after my last day at the job I've been at for four years, now that I'm here, there's something awfully right about it. And it's not necessarily London, either... I've really gotten past the whole "Yippee! I'm in London, Land of Happy Memories!" thing. Now, it's another "home," of sorts, where I feel both comfortably assimilated and appropriately distanced - not much unlike how New York is to me.




75% of the time, I actually look the correct way before crossing the street, and 50% of that 75'%, i can do it without looking at the "LOOK LEFT" / "LOOK RIGHT" signs on the street, which is more than I can say for when I lived here for 6 months.


I love this city, and I know I'll always be able to make a home here, whether its for one night, one week, or one year. I don't know if its the right place for me right now, but its an enormous comfort to know that option is there. Being here is helping me to feel like a more fully-realized adult, which, at 26 years old, may or may not be a good thing. but it's there, and I'm trying to enjoy it the best I can.


I was feeling badly about spending so much time in my flat, but I know that I need(ed) it. Some people go to the country, some go off to Tuscany, or India, or some exotic, tropical locale to get away. I came to London. And to sit and stare out off onto the rooftops of London (I can also see the London Eye and St. Paul's from my view) and let my mind wander feels healthy. Of course, now that I've been here 5 days, it's probably time to venture outside of the flat prior to mid-afternoon... but it just so happens that all those meetings I talked of setting up have landed on Monday and Tuesday, and the weekends, of course, are Market time! I have an itinerary for today - I just need to motivate myself to get showered, dressed, and out of here...

I leave you with a few of the sunsets and sunrises that I've enjoyed from my window, and a few other goodies from the week so far...
love from london,
mandy

























You can see more photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/viewfrom52/sets/72157594370269567/

posted by view from 5'2" @ 7:43 AM