Post #200

At the end of the last post, I tried to reassure whoever was reading that I am happy here in London. I was hoping that wasn't just some defensive statement to convince myself that I actually am happy, so I started to think about what has made me happy recently. Most things revolve around the friends I've made here, and the little things they do that make me feel less alone in a big city:

1. Nick offered to drive me to Ikea out of the blue because he knew I needed to go and he has a car; he also offered to help when my table gets delivered to the Habitat store.
2. Aiden patiently gave me directions on his mobile for a walking route that I should have known (from the office to one of the tube stops) after I got lost, and frustrated, and had already made the group wait for 10 minutes
3. Kylie invited me to her friend's dinner party when I had invited her round to mine (and she obviously already had plans). I ended up meeting a group of fun people, and we both ended up meeting a new friend, Ravi, who we ended up going out with last Friday night and through him, met even more fun people.
4. My flatmate, Leandra, bought tulips for me after work on Monday when she found out I had stayed home from work.
5. Kylie planned out our South of France trip, down to the flights, hotels, rental car and itinerary. I was impressed and relieved to find another friend who can plan so well!

I guess these are the things you expect friends to do, but when you make such a big move like I have, you quickly learn that having friends like this around you to help with the day-to-day aspects of life aren't a given. But after 6 months here, it's nice to feel that I do.

[And extra points goes to my friend, Erik, in New York City who sent me a cheesy e-card after reading my last post. The Sheriff Duck issuing a warrant for me to get better to the tune of some silly music made me laugh out loud here in Costa Coffee].