The Stressful Bits

As some of you have heard we rented a flat (yay!). It was a very different process than renting in Canada. Most things here, even jobs, go through agencies who act as middle men between renters and landlords, or companies and potential hires. I guess there is a reason for it, but it seems like a cash grab in most cases. Anyways, Justin and I went and looked at a flat in Wimbledon and ended up renting it through the agent who showed it to us. I pretty much pressured Justin into it; He was hesitant because our walk to the flat was through a pretty grim area. But I was told by a friend I met while still in Vancouver that 5 minutes away from the really shite areas in London is usually a good area, so I had faith that on the other side of us would be something good. Turns out there is. Justin says I just got lucky.

The flat is expensive, yes, but we knew it would be. We expected to pay about double what we were paying in Vancouver, and we are paying almost exactly that. The one real killer was that because we don't have jobs or any references here in the UK we had to pay for 6 months upfront to secure the place. It sucks but I get it. There are so many people moving here every day and the landlord needs some sense of security... anyone could pretend to be anyone. So I guess we are staying here for at least 6 months! :)

It's a really big place (by London standards) and has a living room with a futon in it, PERFECT for visitors to sleep comfortably on (HINT HINT). That is actually one of the main reasons we both really like the space- We really hope that you use us as an excuse to come visit London, especially now with a large comfortable space. Here is a link to it online so you can take a look. Keep in mind that the pictures greatly exaggerate the size, especially in the kitchen): Click here to see our flat!

We move in on Friday the 4th, and so now with that sorted we can focus on the next stressful bit - getting jobs.

As our flat was located only 3 tube stops from the cafe I had my interview at, I was really hoping I would get the job. On Thursday night Magda called me and offered me a part time position! Magda and her partner are really sweet and the Cafe opens this Monday. My first day training will be Wednesday. There is a facebook page you can check out if you want to see what it looks like. It's going to be very different for me but I'm looking forward to interacting with the customers and having a little money come in.

I also had a contact through Ben from Citytv ask me to help him out at a IIFF event at a film school in London. I went out and lent a hand on Thursday night and met a very sweet girl named Tamsyn, who is in drama school to be an actress, and an Italian director-hopefull named Fab, who both gave me a ton of advice about the city and were really fun to chat with. I am hoping to meet up with more of the contacts I have been given once we move into our flat.

Justin has started the process of getting his equivalency paperwork and will begin focusing on finding a job soon.

We've been having a lot of fun too.. went out to Windsor castle, had a good few drinks last night and met all sorts of people from different countries, explored some of the tourist areas of London... but that's another post; I just wanted to update you all on the tougher parts of this adventure. We'll tell you more about the fun stuff shortly.

I'll leave you with this - A couple nights ago I woke up and heard an animal in our room rustling in the garbage can. I elbowed Justin to get up and see what it was, so he reluctantly did. When he went to tie up the garbage a mouse jumped out and ran so fast across the room that there wasn't even a moment to try and catch him.

I guess mice are something I'm going to have to get used to. They have been here for centuries; I've only been here 6 days.

Deep breath.

Genevieve