All Change

This week has been pretty busy. First there was Belgium. Belgium was fun overall if only slightly marred by S and F having a marital dispute Saturday night at her sister's house during her sister's birthday dinner. That was particularly uncomfortable. It was interesting however, to watch how a different family handles such situations. In my family, such an outburst would immediately be everyone's business. There is no way such a thing could occur without every person in the room wanting to know what happened and who said what. This was not at all the case here. In fact, it was hard for me to tell if anyone even noticed that S had jumped up from the table and gone storming out into the evening, but then, how could they have missed it?

So that was a glitch. But the rest of the long weekend was really a lot of fun doing what is probably one of my favorite things- having the local living experience when traveling. I really appreciate being able to stay in people's homes and see how they live and eat the food that they eat and shop at the shops that they shop at. I mean, I like tourist things too, but I'm always struck at the minor diversities that separate culture and I think they are fascinating. Sometimes I think I should have been a sociologist. But nevermind.

So Belgium was a trip full of chocolate and waffles and cherry beer and frites and fish and cheese. Though not all together of course. I got back late Monday night and Tuesday morning I started what may be a new job.

I say 'may be a new job' because it's a bit odd. Basically, my friend S who I moved here with originally who was always ambitious took a different path than me and a couple of years ago started his own company with a guy from his previous employment. Although he and I both do 'urban design', the truth is that it is a category that covers a wide range of projects and involvement and that we went in slightly different directions. I dealt with more localized and built-based applications of the topic and he gravitated towards more city-wide and policy making applications of the topic. Neither is any better than the other, they're just different. And the experience you end up with is slightly different.

So ever since I was made redundant, S has been saying that maybe they could get me some work, but his two business partners were a bit wary of my experience and how it fits with their firm. I think because the work I had been doing was very different. So at the end of last week S called saying he'd talked to his partners and they wanted to know if I'd be interested in 2-3 days a week maybe on a contract basis doing work for them. Of course I was interested- though the job position and duration was not particularly clear. And the pay is not great in that it's less than what I was making when employed, and then I'm not working a full week. But I've worked it out that if I can work three days a week, I can be just over breaking even per month and if I work two days a week I'm just under breaking even but it's so close to the critical mark, that it's probably okay to be honest.

Which leaves me with some time to pursue other interests and other possible work. Which would make all the difference in my income and makes it all work out really. And in the best possible world, I'll get this PhD I'm applying for and be able to work for them two days a week and do the PhD and all will be set with my world. Speaking of which, my application is coming along. All I have left now is to write two different essays- a single page on why I want to do the program, and 2000 words on my thoughts on the topic. I was supposed to work on those today however. But after getting back from Belgium, working Tuesday and yesterday and then working tomorrow, I've just been enjoying a day off today. But Saturday should be good to get first drafts of both going so I can send them to friends for editing and comments.

Saturday night I'm going to see Heathrow at M's house. They are meeting up to discuss a rope workshop that M is organizing and M has agreed to cook dinner. Because this is all out west, I will go and have dinner and listen in on their chatter and possibly be a rope bunny, if things turn that way, then I'll go back with Heathrow to his studio and van and he'll drop me off on Sunday back home. I'm looking forward to seeing Heathrow as of course it's been two weeks. I still have this plastic tie strap thing on my wrist which I'll be curious to see his reaction to, seeing as he put it there. It is starting to be a slow build of sadness that we are only seeing each other every two weeks. I want hugs and cuddles and bondage and sex and time together much more frequently than that. Or maybe I'm feeling it particularly keenly since this is towards the end of the cycle. Well, we'll see what happens. The future is the future, and the now means I'm looking forward to Saturday night and Sunday!!

Oh, the one fantastic thing about my new job? Right by Piccadilly Circus which means right by the Japan Centre which means sushi sushi sushi!!! Though given the tight nature of the budget, what I really need to do is just pick up supplies to make my own bentos, but that's okay. I like that too.