Highs & Lows

That seems to be the theme for me the last couple days, epitomized today by my excitement over getting two 18 packs of Stella tall cans for only 20 quid at Sainsbury's(!) to the absolute frustration of having one case rip open and spew cans of beer all throughout the bus. Please pause and imagine that situation. That was the first time I really truly missed my truck, getting stuff home on the bus sucks.

Earlier it was the relief of finding a job being followed by actually working that job. I'm happy to be working, but without getting too far into details, it's the kind of situation I would walk away from in a heartbeat back home. The company and the guy in charge are pretty vague, and whether or not anyone has any idea what they are doing is unclear. Also, the expectations of me are higher than I've ever had with the lowest wage I've ever made. Definitely a weird situation. I am learning a lot quickly, and there has been another electrician with me a couple of days who has been great to work with, so it's not a waste of time... yet. I was hoping I could avoid getting certified here, as it costs 500 pounds, but I will be doing that asap to get more money out of this job, as well as open myself up to moving on. At least I've got something to get me through til the new year.

I've been out skating a few times now, finally. Met a friend of Kieth and Helen's, Danny, last weekend and he took me around the financial district with a couple of his mates. It was great to get out and explore, and skate with other people. One of his buddies was a filmer too, might be hope for some rudy 4 London clips. Looking forward to going out with them again.

Yesterday I went on a mission by myself to an area called Canary Wharf, which is the newest part of London, where they are building basically a new city in the East Docklands. The high was cruising the empty Sunday streets of this area of London so different it may as well be another city, skyscrapers, smooth streets and tons of plazas and courtyards. Skated one spot that was more fun than anything I skated in Barcelona even. The low was getting kicked out of that spot, of course. The cop was nice enough, but did make mention of criminal vandalism to the ledges, just to sound serious. I got 20 minutes in, but after mentioning the spot to Danny he said that was lucky. It wasn't the only spot around though, and it was too good not to go back. Definitely nice to see a side of the city that was more modern.

Now that we're settled it's hard not to compare the bad things to what was better at home, such as our jobs/income, and less importantly, that there are tons of skate parks in BC... and of course our friends and family. On the other hand however, we are still able to do something new every single day, and that has been pretty exciting. We recently went to Foster the People at an amazing venue in Shepherd's Bush, and the following night went to a little comedy club in Putney to enjoy some British humour, and some moderate ridicule for being Canadian. Meeting new people and exploring new parts of the city isn't going to get old any time soon.

-Justin