The Ego Has Landed

I'm already used to looking right first before I cross the street!

I landed at about 1 PM today, took the train to King's Cross - St. Pancr(e)as for only £8.50 (instead of the Gatwick Express for £16 or £18, whatever it was), then headed over to the hostel! It's a pretty happenin' place; I like it for the most part and just hope that my bunkmates won't be too loud when they get in tonight (I haven't seen a'one of them yet).

So I settled in, bought a lock to lock up my stuff here, picked up a SIM card from Carphone Warehouse (the prices for calls/texts within the UK have gone up, but it only costs me 2p per minute to call the US now! REDONKULOUS!), checked some email, and then set out to view two flatshares in Finchley.

The first one was fantastic. The cons: it's a teeny-tiny room (smaller than my old housemate Natalie's room in Brookline, if that's any indication to some of you), and it's a little under a mile's walk from the tube (counterpoint: there's a bus to the tube, too). ("Tube" = Underground, London's subway system, FYI.) Pros: it's absurdly cheap and really a lovely, homey atmosphere. I sat and chatted with two of the three current tenants for an hour, which is a good indication that we'll get along if (likely when) I move there. (Let it be known that the house also had quintessentially "English" decorations, like lacey curtains and rose-patterened sofas, which is kind of charming.)

The second flat was more modern and bright, with a similarly small room (slightly larger, length-wise), nice folks, about a half a mile's walk from the tube, but for £400 a month (loads more than the other flat, believe it or not).

I went back on the tube almost regretting not saying an immediate yes to the first house, though I should sleep on it. It would have been a bit strange to go with the first flat on a snap decision, though I think I'll still feel good about it tomorrow.

Also, people have been remarkably nice here today! Three folks offered to help me get my luggage up the stairs on the train and outside the Underground, and one guy gave me his Oyster card that's good for another two days (since he was just on holiday and didn't use the whole thing). How cool!

I'm a little nervous about the job search, which will commence full-blast tomorrow (though I sent off another application this evening), but I'll stay optimistic for now. The British economy is in shambles right now, too--or heading that way, at least. Today 5,000 people lost their jobs in the banking business, with direct thanks to Lehman Brothers going bankrupt. It's going to be a tricky road for a lot of us (my classmates and I graduated at a terrible economic time), but we'll weather it out in the long run, I hope.

As an aside, I bought my dinner and tomorrow's breakfast at Tesco this evening for only £2.93 altogether. They have very reasonable food prices here if you hit the right chains.

More soon! Time to get some shut-eye, if Piccadilly Circus decides to be quiet for once!