Wednesday, January 06, 2010

January - good so far

The past two weeks have seen me exercising my little (large now) arse off. Now it’s at this point (I think January 15 to be exact) when people drop those New Years resolutions. Now I've been going to the gym fairly regularly.

So seeing as my resolution isn't the usual 'get fit', what am I (not) dropping? I think it’s to be more yes based. What does that mean, well it’s a symptom of a peculiar disease that I have – Fomo.

Fomo? What is FOMO. Fear Of Missing Out. It’s a terrible disease. It means you always feel the need to back up several nights in a row and you're ever curious about what might be happening when you're not there - it's probably fun - lots of fun - you must get there!!!! You have to always be out.

But my resolution is a little different - it's to be more yes based around doing different things. Here I am in arguably the largest and busiest city in the world and I find myself doing the same
things every weekend. Don't get me wrong, I love doing the things I do; but the same pubs, the same clubs and the same entertainment does get tedious after a wee little bit. Granted, due to London's size and population the people (except for your mates) are usually different and experiences too, but sometimes you need to get out of the bubble. And what's the bubble?
Well, my bubble is Clapham. The area that stretches from Clapham North down to Balham, then across to Northcote Road, up through the Junction and into the Old Town - this is my bubble; and many of us never leave.

Why? Because it's our security blanket!

No more though - 2010 will see me leave the bubble.

So I'm going to continue with my Fomo, but do it differently - I'm going to break the bubble and move out in the greater London area. NO more will Notting Hill be a shitty Hugh Grant movie! No more w
ill Wimbledon be about tennis and Mayfair a spot on the Monopoly board. It will bring with it discomfort and being out of my bubble; but march on I must.

But one needs to be ready for the discomfort. Living in a city the size of London, it means that iPod earphones are the new condoms – you don’t go out with out them as you don’t know what’s going to happen. Particularly given the North/South divide (the areas of London separated by the Thames). Chief ‘North’ towns are Camden. Angel and Shoreditch while the South is occupied by Clapham, Putney and Balham. And you shouldn't insult either while in that territory. I'm a South boy. I like my open spaces, greenery, multiculturalism and knife crime.

What other resolutions? Well I think I need to be more accommodating. I came back from Australia more patient and relaxed, but good lord it’s difficult holding on to this. Christmas was a difficult one – not for the season, but the race for the Christmas Number one.

So with the holidays over, it's back to work...or at least it was until 3 days in we were sent home in blizzard like conditions for the phenomenon known as 'Snow Day'. Basically London can't operate when it snows. Everything shuts down - I know, I know strange for a country that sits on the 51st parellel and can't handle cold. Next thing you know Hawaii's struggling when it gets a little muggy.
So everyone has to get home before all the transport shuts down and you're left high and (not) dry. Unfortunately it also means that it feels like a day off, so once you're home the phone's out and your trying to arrange people to meet at the pub - not that good when you're attempting to have a sober January, but rather amusing to see that the people who were the most hell bent on a sober January are those that are the most enthused keep to head out on the snowy Wednesday afternoon!