Expectations

Expectations can be a big burden, the word itself feels heavy like baggage... It's just something big and pretty much frightening. But the heaviest cargo are most of the times, the self imposed ones and that makes them particularly more difficult to deal with.

2016!! We made it this far, But what comes next, we don't know. There really is no way for us to know, however we always try to self impose this idea that our futures are ours to write and things will just go as planned and nothing and no one will be on the way. We make plans write them down, otherwise they are nothing but ideas. We smile and look forward for what is next. We just fail to realize there is this think called life in our "way".

While making plans and dreaming, we start to expect thing to go a certain way, we create those damned expectations and that is when things start to get heavy. We accumulate things is our live baggage. Some of them are bought naturally in the life market, we like them we buy them, simple as that. Others we are not quite sure how and why they're in our bag. Then we have those gifts from our family, the ones we always wanted to have and also that big old sweater, grandma thought was a great gift. They are all there, now we just need to sort them out and make something out of them . Let me tell you that is the hardest part...

Growing up you will inadvertently clean that messy bag of yours, well you really have to. It starts to weight a bit too much and taking a big tool on you. You notice some things no longer fit you, just too baggy are too tight , it really was not made for you.

You clean and you clean, take the old bring on the new! A helping hand is always good, from someone with a good and fresh perspective. If you take that hand be sure it's a familiar positive and really worthwhile help.

The good part is that there is a way out of your expectations .... It's when you conquer then. Whether by letting them go our by achieving that gold it is related to ... and if you're lucky enough meaning you work hard enough you will be able to proudly say "our futures are ours to write" ....

Reestablishing...

Reestablishing...  That's the word of the day, for several reason...
For once, it is something I've been through when I moved back from London, also when I found my first job here and now my second...

It's also Something I need to do, to be able to move on.

After London everything seems different in your now wider eyes, You tend to see, want and do things in a grander way. That might prove itself difficult if you're the only one on that train, cause this new train of yours is just not so quick.

Ironically You'll need to re-learn your old ways... they are still there, cause they are just part of you, but they might be buried somewhere in the oblivion...
People will seem different... too much complaining..too little action... Maybe you're the one that's different know, you've been molded and know can see the reflection of the old you in the others around you.
The surroundings will seem the same.. too little improvement... You will expect to see major changes, more variety, more creativity, more options, more of everything, but reality is that there is not much, and what you now have is still not enough...

That's when you need to reestablish. You will need to adjust your camera lens, a bit more sharpness, not so much brightness, until you're able to see just right, that's when you start to speak your own language again.

BUT be not fooled. It will never be the same. This is were you will find the power of this little prefix "re-". Here it implies a change, another try, a new start, a new commitment. So there you go. Commit yourself to your new surroundings, your new reality, your new house, your new friends, your new job and your "new old Language".

Reestablishing is just one of the challenges of being human, It happens more that we know, and more then we expect, but it will come to us and as chameleons that we are, we will cope and adapt. As one once said "Adaptability is about the powerful difference between adapting to cope and adapting to win"
Max Mckeown

Lets also not forget the words of our dear Einstein" The measure of intelligence is the ability to change" 

Cheers Loves

"Re beginning"

So... Life is full of changes and once again I decide to change!
After almost 2 years in London, it was time to move on. I can now say that I Love London. I love it's red brick building, those great days spent on the park, the Wasabi sushi stores in every corner.. I miss going out on a Monday or a Sunday... And sooo much more.  I do want to fill you on, on the blanks I left here for this last months, so do follow me and this new chapter. Give me the motivation to keep on writing. I quite enjoy it, but a little push can never hurt!!

See you very very soon!!!!

Oh!!! By the way kisses from Lisboa.

London 0.0.2 European young adults...

Here I am again tackling on the crazy people of  London, this enigmatic city I live in.

Previously I shared my thoughts on the old  century immigrants, this time I choose to write about my own generation, the European young adults....

If you ever have wonder about the streets of London, there are four main languages you will hear, English being Not on the top of the list... You'll hear Spanish, Italian, Polish and English. Surely it depends on where exactly you are, but overall they'll be everywhere.

Obviously the world is changing and so is London, the population is much more diverse and young, you can say, than in the previous years and I find it interesting that even in my little desk at work I can witness a bit of that change. In the past few months I've received tones CV's and I can say that 60% of this people were Italian and the other 40% Spanish. All of them had this things in common; they were young, European and were looking for a new beginning or just some hope, looking for that life their parenst told them they would have.

But there is a catch... this is London and every single young human being,  in this continent we call Europe, for some reason, is attracted to this city. Lets just say that London is this yummylicious chocolate bar you left on the fridge... Mum comes and takes a little square, than Dad, the cousin who's visiting and this cheeky guest who decided to open your fridge... by the time you get there, there's not much chocolate left, just the last two rows.... Obviously you change it to a safer place where only you can enjoy it. This is a classic example of first comes, first served. That's exactly what is happening  in London. If you are lucky enough to be the first one, you will always have more choices and opportunities than the last one, whatever you are trying to acchive. Whether it is a job, looking to study or even benefits... that is just the way things go.
Needless to say that is exectly what is happening to this hopeful bunch of good people. It's just too many of them nibbling the same chocolate and only getting crumbs ...

Luckily for you they also have caramel toffees on the same store you got your fisrt chocolate. It is good, sticky and it gets to you. However it's quite difficulty to wash away after you put your hands on it. That's the other side of London... bright, fast paced, captivating, crowded, happy and quite drunk... but funny and enjoyable overall.

In the beginning you might find it weird, lets face it is "no yummy chocolate", but you will learn to appreciate it and when you least expect you'll be all over that sticky caramel toffee.
To be honest I think we/they just get distracted by it and momentarily forget the original  goal until you no longer feel the sweet smooth taste of caramel. Then you ask yourself, Should I chase the chocolate again?

Stupid things people do and say!!

Working at a restaurant allows you to meet a lot of people, some more remarkable than others, but they always find a way to be remembered! Most times you will actually only remember the things they say or the atrocities they throw at you, nonetheless it is still worth to share! In order for you guys to understand my surroundings I must tell you that I work as a hostess, so every single costumer that enters through that door should pass by me before going to the floor, needless to say it is not always the case.

There are several types of costumers:

1. The Blind and deaf ones;
2. The Posh and full of themselves:
3. The Tourists; 
4. The ones who are just not used to the hosting concept...

The main door of the restaurant is made of glass, so one can easily through it, But is our place that is actually asking too much. They would not only not see you but also not hear you... even if your hello is some decibels a bit too high. I mean I AM quite easy to see... :) ... They just barge in the main floor like they own the place, but then again they are blind after all ...

The posh one actually suffer from momentary deafness and blindness. It only strikes when they have no interest in stopping at the reception, mainly because they "know" they have a booking...  Everything would be fine if they actually had a booking , which is not always the case, If they were on time, if they knew in which table/floor they friends are sat at and if they had the power to sit wherever they wanted ... They don't.... This will just cause more walking for them and me. For them, because after walking through the restaurant and just passing their friends, who happens to be waiving like lunatics, they will come back to the reception to ask about this or that. For me cause I will have to chase them into the floor just to comeback to the reception when they know noting about their booking, not even their friends name .... that is what I call a true friendship. Indeed.

The tourists are just lost, most of them don't even speak the language so it can be quite tricky to communicate with them. Most of the time they enter the restaurants look at me with this blank face and say  "I want to eat"...well you just won the lottery cause this IS a restaurant...
 At least do your homework, if you are going on holidays try... just try to learn a bit of the language first. It's not anti-patriotic to speak more than one language...

I understand that this hosting thing might be new to some people, but if someone approaches you at a restaurant door smiling and asking you how to help, you should be kind enough to smile back or at least just show some teeth, it's really not asking too much ... And please, PLEASE don't poke our eyes with the V sign, use your mouth to speak. Don't just say "two", there are millions, trillions of words in the dictionary, that might be quite sad knowing you are not making use of them... make Shakespeare proud...

In some other notes, for you that are reading this, try to NOT be this kind of costumer...
Don't go to a restaurants expecting the Hostess to know your family or your friends, believe we try to help , but if you just say "I'm joining my wife/brother/stepfather/cousin/horse/cat...." we might not know who they are. If you said you were joining the Queen it was a different story though. Give us names, we are not psychic. Don't assume that the toilets are downstairs. Don't wait until we sat you, to ask to change the table, actually just don't ask. Don't be snappy, tip your waiters, don't use your table as a landfill, keep your kids quite, this is a restaurant not a Kindergarten. Don't steal, every little thing in the restaurant cost money... and  tip your hostess as well ;)

 Enjoy your meal and come back!

Underground Strike... Survival of the fittest

London is a huge city, the biggest on United Kingdom and the second biggest in E.U.. It has more than 8.3 million people living on it and the Underground itself, runs in 250 miles of land ... it's no small stuff.
Now imagine all of those people trying to move around the city without the underground... Its not a nice thing to see. This is when human nature reveals itself, for the good and for the worst. You can see how resilient we really are and how much of the animal we have inside...

Get ready to leave home at least 3 hours before, I've tried 2 hours and its not enough. Don't forget to maximise you patience, fill your wallet and wish it won't be as bad a day, as you expect it to be.
The bus lines are a sight, but you should not get demoralised by it cause you need to save it for the bus that will NOT stop, and the next following 10 ... Don't get too excited if it stops, cause it just for unloading...

Suddenly you find yourself in the wild Savannah, you are just another feline, longing to get that coveted pray AKA that small and really tight place on the bus, that will allow you to feel the breath of your fellow commuters, and guess what they had for breakfast/lunch/dinner... Just lovely. Don't think you'll get that spot easily, you'll have to be strong and stand all the pushing and biting, they won't mind if you are a small kitty or an expecting lioness.. this is the Savannah, the survival of the fittest.

You have two other options other than the bus, walking or taking a cab. The first will take some strength and resilience, cause it will be a long journey. As for the second it might take some lucky, cause there is this possibility that someone else might have taught of the cab before you did  and so you have to once again wait for the next available. As I told you before, you need to fill your wallet cause it won't be cheap...

And you ask me how I know all of this things ... I've been through them....

Quite Peculiar

Well, well, well.... London is quite a peculiar city!!I have to admite that it is growing on me with the time, but there are some things that I just can't seem to figure it out.. It MUST be the English way of thinking ... it just doesn't make sence to me...

Let me share some of those things:

• No bins..... No wonder people thrown garbage everywhere, that includes buses, underground and even restaurants floors .. they're just used to it ... its so easy.
• The taps... You would assume that in one of the most famous and enigmatic cities of the World they would be smart enough to use one tap where you could mix cold and hot water... no there's no such thing .. you either burn yourself or froze to death ... just try washing you hands on the burning temparatures of -3C. I guess it's just too high tec...
• The buses... Don't expect the bus to stop where the bus stop is at ... It's more like catch me if you can...
• "Lets close all the stores and public services before 5Pm.. Imagine all those lovely people, who just finished work, passing by... too much trouble..."  
• "Oooh, it's only -2C, let me wear my warmest ballerinas..."

I could go on and on , but honestly I just don't remember more for now... These little things striked me when I first arrived at London and I just found them so ridiculous I had to share. But In London you are a self entitled Londonor, so you just get used to it. and maybe you'll find yourself emersed by them...

Time to "make a move" so....  Cheers mates!! ;)