"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!! ;)

London 0.0.1

There's been a while that I wanted to write down my London stories , little bizarre things I witness everyday, whether I am at work or just strolling around London streets and alleys on a day off!

Among a all lot of other things London is full of crazy people, them being:

• What is left of Real British People;
• European bunch of lost young adults (me being one of them ... );
• The old century Immigrants, AKA the not so young  (quite old actually..) bunch of Asians, Africans and Europeans that, after a life time in England still don't speak or understand much of the language...

I could go on and on with this list, But it is so complex itself and full of sub categories, that I'll just stop here. This people are part of the magic of this city! They drive you crazy, they make you laugh and sometimes with the tendency of becoming more and more frequent you just want a break from them... Just Lovely Innit!!

I'll start with the third group, which is quite big so for now I'll only focus on the Asians. Let's break it down... As Asian we have the "dark and the light range", don't take it racial, cause trust me you want find anyone as "non racial " as me!! and rumour has it that I might  love some Asian "Brothers"........  Back home when talking of Asians we naturally assume it's Japanese, Chinese, Korean ... we're referring to, but in London the list gets bigger, Cause lets not forget the Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshi.... YES, they are Asian too!! But each side has its own peculiarities.

So this is JUST my opinion. But if you want to go for a slightly iffy Chow Mein or Chop Suey, you just have to find your way to Chinatown, right beside to Piccadilly Circus, in the heart of London. The place it self its nice and perfect for a cheap massage, and some not so common delicatessens. The sushi is also around the corner and if you're lucky you can even find a Korean barbecue.  If you like the posh stuff South Kensington is the place to be. Cause in case I don't know our fellow Asians are quite posh and enjoy the bourgeois life as we all do. You can pop up to educate yourself on the best museums of London and share a tea or Boba tea with all the Asian exchange students. You 'll also find them on the hight streets of every borough, caring big branded bags...  noting too much just the latest LV leather belt....  You will know you are not lost, just by the accents and the cute but broken "Engrish".

And then you have the Curry... with all its yumminess and overpowering chilly and SMELL..... So don't get me wrong or anything, but me being quite sensitive to smells it just drives me crazy. So I used to live in east London, so everyday I would use District Line to get home... District line means White Chapel, Stepney Green, Mile End .. and if you don't know let me tell you it equals Curry, not the mild one, NOOO it means the good stuff, the really strong one that even after one week you will know that person had carry for dinner and lunch... So let me share a little episode of mine ... I work at a restaurant so more than often I fall as sleep on the underground. This time was no exception, as soon as I got in at Embankment station I dozed off. I was seated in one of those single seats right besides the "four seated area", so its a bit more private then the other seats... For my surprise as soon as the train arrived at White Chapel I woke up, you might think it was because or the noise, or even because someone pushed me no ... it was just the smell and even without opening my eyes I knew I was in White Chapel... aka The door to Little India ... -.-...

 It not just the curry, there's also an unidentifiable range of smells, that rush through you nose, one thing is for sure .. grease is one of them .. maybe its also because of the millions houses of Fried Chicken I wonder... hummm... I've never been to a city in Europe where you could have such a diverse censorial experience, but let me add ... not a good one ...

 I'll leave it here for today ... but I'll be back .. ;)

London....

Since I'm bored as He** I decided  to bring my old ways back ... I've decided to write.
I always really liked to wright, to set my mind free, to open a little door to my world.. and today it seemed jut right.

Like you would know ... (if you read my previous post) I'm living in London, for the past months. Being London, this crazy, multiracial and multicultural city there's a lot to... understand, to get used to, to like\hate or just to learn how to deal with.

I've trying to understand the British way of life and after some not so deep thinking I came to a very simple conclusion... There is no such thing as life, here. You just watch your days passing by. You'll find yourself turning the pages of the book of your life until you came to realize that you're just like that secondary character, the writer forgot to name...
But you can also choose to be that character, that is not so charming, but at least has a bit more protagonism on the book. He's that character no one really likes, but he's there for a purpose. He's there to teach you how you can go out and get DRUNK, cause that's all he really can do. How to dress like a mature person, and act like a child. He will teach you, how to put some glitter and cuteness in your life.Simple things like wearing that cute and crazy hat, that actually makes you warm, wearing that Christmas Jumper, you're only supposed to wear on the Xmas night. The really thick, bright and colorful make up and lets not forget the essential touch of sequins on the dress, skirt or jumper... And all that he'll do, just to stand out and not blend with the colorless buildings and cold weather.

Unlike some of you may thing. London is not as busy as it seems... I came thinking I would find a crazy, fun city with lots to do... It may be like that for some people, but for the most, it's just a Big old cow to suck money from....

One needs to learn the big secrets of London; how not to be under the weather, how to color your days and the best way to milk the cow, without getting your hands wet.

Great Expectations!! New beginnings.... Merry Christmas!!

So today I'm writing in English for a very simple reason... I' am in London . I've been here for the last month and a half... I came looking for something better, for a job, so me changes and who knows someone NEW as well. I always wanted to visit the metropolis and so I packed my bags.
I came by my self, but the 1st month was spent at my "aunties" house, she helped me tremendously, but now I'm out to a room I rented with my friend Sara. Nice house, nice flatmates, nothing to complaint.
But our human nature never allow us to be completely happy, to enjoy the good moments we´re given and to just be thankful... We really like to use our brains to thing on the what ifs of life, what could be different and how it would be wonderful to have this or that... There's always something lacking....
Today I lack my family, friends and my Portugal, who I always loved, but didn't knew how much till today...
But is is not only saudades I'm living, there's also those really good British moments, peoples and situations I face. Good moments as passing by that actor you would never be able to meet back home, or watching that concert you always wanted to see!! Meeting very different and nice people from all around the world.
I can say now that I've lived in the BIG CITY!! with all the charms and the not so charming aspects of it!
Good Bye My friends, I hope to see you soon.
Let's not forget the marvelous season  that is approaching. and spread the love we have on our hearts. Just like the song says... "Let them know it's Christmas Time..."

For all off you out there, have a warm, lovely, and joyful Christmas, with the ones you love.