Times Flyin By...

I was hoping to celebrate my six months in the UK with a post about how my life has changed, how my view on England has changed, what's on the horizon, etc.. but time flew by and as of next week I'll have been in the UK 8 months! Can you believe it? I can't!!! Every time I think about it, it just blows me away. Don't worry I'm still going to write about all those things just a bit later than anticipated.

Where did the time go? I think part of the reason time goes so quickly is the nature of my job. Since I launch a new product every six weeks my life calendar ends up revolving around that, so when you split a year into 9 six week launches, a year goes by quickly. The other part of it is, the older I get, the faster life goes by. I think everyone can attest to that. Regardless I've made it this far and not to sound cheesy but I'm proud of myself!

So, what's changed in the last 8 months?? ALOT! Especially from a personal perspective. To start with, I've taken more risks and tried more things than I ever have before. For instance, I'm an expert at taking public transportation and no longer think it's disgusting. I've learned to truly be alone, not only living alone, but also going out alone, which I never had to do before because I had such a great network of friends. My life is just not about work, and I'm ok with not being in the rat race and taking this an opportunity to just learn. There is so much more to life and when you have amazing things at your disposal you have to take advantage of it. Also, being around such a diverse group of people not only at work but outside of work has made me more open-minded. Most importantly, I have realized I am capable of so much more than I ever thought possible. I never saw myself as a strong person, but now that I've moved here and made it this far, I feel like I can do anything.

My view on London has also changed. In the beginning, I would stare outside the window of my train every morning and be in awe of the landscape, the cute colonial houses, just everything around me, it was all so picturesque. Now the backdrop of London has become part of my everyday life. It blends right in and has begun to look normal. It's so weird. Even, the accent is starting to sound normal, and when I hear an American accent it sounds odd. Go figure! I've also adopted a lot of the habits that the Brits have. I constantly talk about the weather; it defines my day. I drink hot liquids constantly, no coffee yet but tea is slowly becoming part of my repertoire. I'm all about pastries, especially croissants. My favorite is the almond croissant. If you haven't had one of those you have not lived! Those of you who know me, know I love my red wine but now I'm all about the white. It's the preferred choice here over red. My favorite is Sauvigoun Blanc of all things, but it has to be from the Marlborough region of New Zealand. I've picked up the slang as thought it's part of my everyday vernacular. I say holiday instead of vacation, cheeky instead of smart ass, something is shit rather than being annoying or bad, chips instead of fries, crisps instead of chips. I've gone mad, I know :) I guess all this is what people call acculturation. It was bound to happen. Oh, one more thing I need to update you guys on. I don't know how could I forgot to tell you guys this. V is moving. Yes it's sad but true. I'm so bummed. His company is moving him to Russia starting next month. We had some good times together and I'm really going to miss him. I guess we weren't meant to be ;)

For the next few months I have a new chapter of my life in London to look forward to. It took practically six months to get settled into this city. My flat is fully decorated and has everything I need, I have my core group of friends, I know my way around the city pretty well and have seen quite a bit of it thanks to all the visitors, and I have my local pub that I go to once a week to grab my local pint. So what's next? EUROPE! I'm finally going to start traveling around this amazing part of the world. First I'm headed to Paris with my friend Sima for Easter weekend. From their, I am going to Belgium with my close friends Meera and Gautam who are coming to visit the first week of April. Then, I meet Sahana and her husband Tej in Barcelona towards the middle of May. And maybe, just maybe if I can fit it in, go to Rome. I'm so inspired by a book I'm currently reading called Eat, Pray, Love. The first part of the book is all about this women's adventures in Rome and she constantly writes about how fabulous the food is. I honestly want to jump on a plane tomorrow and try all the restaurants she talks about in the book. The next couple of months are going to be hectic but also quite the adventure, I'm up for it and so excited.

The other new development occurring in the next month is I'm getting a roomie. My landlord who is a money grubbing troll, J/K! (not really), decided to raise my rent to a ridiculous amount starting in May so she can start making a profit off the place. There was no way I was going to move after spending all this time getting situated so my only option was to find a roommate to cover the increase. So, my friend Sima, the one I"m going to Paris with, is going to move in to the extra room. I apologize to all my visitors in advance who will no longer get to take advantage of the guestroom, but no worries I still have a sofa bed. Sima moved here back in January from California and we were introduced to one another through her cousin Nisha who is a great friend of mine back home. We instantly hit it off and have become great friends. I couldn't have asked for a better roommate. I have no doubt we'll have plenty of adventures together over the next year. Oh, and she's single, which makes it even more fun!

I can't wait to see what the next six months has in store for me and to share my upcoming adventures with all of you. I'm also going to try and blog more regularly. I've kind of fallen off the wagon and lost a lot of good memories because of it.