Left or right?

Left or right?  Which is it?  I'm not talking about politics.  I wouldn't dare go down that path in England.  My knowledge of their political system is limited at best.  They don't talk about it here as much as we do in the States.  I know that everyone wants to party with Harry, Kate has been seen shopping for maternity jeggings at the Gap (headline on Yahoo!) and the baby's due date is mid-July (by which point I will be gone so I don't have to deal with that hoopla).  And that's not even real politics.  Interesting little fact, the UK doesn't have the death penalty.  The only thing you can be put to death for is treason (e.g. threatening the monarchy).  Don't worry, I don't just randomly bring up the death penalty with people.  It came up because there is a British woman that was arrested in Indonesia for smuggling drugs and she was sentenced to death.  It was all over the news here.

Anyway, I digress.  Left or right?  I'm not talking about what hand to eat with, although it seems that everyone here eats with their left.  My parents taught me manners and it is not like I eat with my hands or anything, but I can't master eating with my left hand.  I can control the fork pretty well, but I feel awkward doing it and it takes me twice as long to eat.  It's one way to limit my food intake, I guess.

Left or right?  I'm certainly not talking about driving.  I am fully aware that they drive on the left-side of the road.  And to those that are worried, no, I'm not driving.  I wouldn't dare try it.  It isn't so much the driving on the "wrong" side of the road that scares me (been there, done that).  It's the bikers.  I don't mean Harleys.  I mean bicyclists.  They are everywhere and, like Chicago, some obey the street signs and some don't.  Plus, the traffic lights are weird.  They have a yellow light that goes on right before the green light goes on. It's like a "gentlemen, start your engines!" kind of notification.  Weird.

Left or right?  What could I be talking about?  What could be causing me so much angst that I would write a blog post about it?   The most vexing thing for me right now is walking.  That's right...walking.  I can not figure out what side of the sidewalk I'm supposed to be on.  Some people are on the right, some are on the left.  Some just walk down the center.  There is no rhyme or reason.  As many people can attest, I'm a bit of a fast walker and it is driving me crazy because I can't figure out which side I'm supposed to pass on.  Added to it is the fact that the sidewalks here are individual stones and not all of them are cemented in place.  So, inevitably, I will step on the edge of a stone and it will buckle which leads to me either tripping or having the stone plop down into a big puddle thereby splattering my pants or tights.  I've tried stepping only in the center of the stones so that my weight is equally distributed across the stone, but then I look like I am goose-stepping to work.  I walk to and from work every day and I try to walk everywhere else, so this plagues me on a daily basis.  I just wish someone would tell me.  Come on people, left or right?  

Greetings from across the pond!

So it has been a full two weeks since I picked up and moved from the comfort of everything I know to the unknown of the UK.  I'm slowly getting acclimated to life in London and decided that it might be a good time to start a blog.  Everyone is doing it, why not me?  Actually, I thought a blog would be a good way to detail my experiences, post pictures and keep in touch.  Those that would rather "wait for the movie" (Shark) can just ignore me. :)

I've been keeping a running log of things that I want to write about, but don't worry --- I won't write about them all at once.  I'm not feeling especially witty today because I'm tired, so I'm going to stick to some basics today.

First, the details of where I live...
I'm living in the Borough of Islington.  I'm very close to the Farringdon tube station, but thankfully I can't hear any train noise.  It is a pretty business focused area, so after 6pm and on weekends, it is pretty dead.  I imagine it's a bit like living in the financial district of the Loop.  It doesn't bother me at all, though.  I'm really close to a lot of different things, so everything is pretty accessible.  I'm close to the Thames, the Tower of London and the London Bridge, the artsy fartsy stuff in Soho, etc.  So, depending on what I feel like doing, I can meander wherever.  I have been doing a lot of meandering.  I have been trying not to use public transportation (although I did buy an Oyster card).  I've found that walking around tends to help me get my bearings a lot better.  I've also been stubborn and haven't been using my iPhone or my map.  I feel like I have a pretty good sense of direction.  Unfortunately, my stubbornness and London's complete lack of a grid system resulted in me getting lost on my way home from the grocery store the first week I was here.  So much for my sense of direction.  Not only did I feel stupid, but the streets look like Jack the Ripper could jump out at any time, so I had my head on constant swivel. (Don't worry Mom, it's very safe.)

Attached are a few pictures of my place.  It's a nice little one bedroom with a reasonable sized living room. 

For those that are going to come stay with me, the little living room is where the air mattress will be set up.  Doesn't look like much, but there is plenty of room.

I'm still getting used to the electric stove and oven and I don't have a microwave (my cooking tool of choice).  I'm dealing better with those than I am with the washer/dryer.  It's one of those combo units (not stackable ---combo).  Something about that seems weird.  One machine should not both clean and dry.  And the darn thing takes approximately 2 hours to do a load.  I'm not even exaggerating.  It's very weird...and annoying.

It's a little hard for me to believe that I'm actually living here.  I don't see the London tourist sites every day, so it hasn't really sunk in yet.  I'm sure it will start to sink in right around the time that I'm going home.  

Cheerio and all that jazz!