BIG WIDE WORLD

It has been a very long time since I last wrote an entry in this blog and a lot has changed in my life in that period of time - I have finished university, moved cities, been on holiday and started a new job. Exciting times! I now live with my lovely girlfriend in the wonderful city of Brighton. We have an awesome little flat in which we can see the sea from our bedroom window and I get to walk along the seafront everyday to and from work. Perfect. I have always lived in coastal towns/cities and I don't think I could ever live inland. Living by the sea just feels right, it feels like home. I think I could probably live next to any ocean, on any continent and still get that feeling of being at home next to the sea. I will have to test that theory and get back to you.

My girlfriend and I went on a little trip to Berlin recently to see Death Cab for Cutie - my favourite band in the whole wide world. It was my third time seeing them and they get better every time. The gig was in some grimy derelict looking building that was covered in graffiti and full of sweaty Germans - a little different to Shepherd’s Bush Empire where I saw them in 2008. Berlin is a fantastic city, it reminded me a little of Brighton actually – The area we stayed in, Kreuzberg, has a kind of quirky / arty / independent feel to it which I love. There are only three things which would stop me from ever living there permanently – 1, Finding a good cup of tea is almost impossible! 2, Finding a pub / club / bar / restaurant / off licence that sells cider IS impossible! And 3, It isn't a coastal city. Oh and I don't speak German. Okay, that is four reasons, but apart from those four things I am totally there! Maybe I should learn to speak German, then open a seaside-themed cafe that only sells tea and cider?!? That could work, right?!?

My new job isn't all I'd hoped it would be. I won't go into specifics but the hours are very long, and the pay is solely commission based and I am not progressing as fast as I thought I would. However, even if I was doing really well and earning loads of money, the long hours would still be killing me. I just don't get any time to be myself. I spend so long trying to learn these new skills all day, pretending to be nice to people, and pretending to be interested in people that I don't give a shit about, then I come home at night and I'm knackered and all I want to do is sleep. I think I will give the job one more week, then I am out. I'd rather work a shitty job for minimum wage and have time left in the day for me, and to spend time with my girlfriend, and to actually WRITE! I haven't written a single word since I have been in Brighton.

As somebody who wasn't very wise at all and probably stole this line from somebody else once said to me:
 

“I work to live, I don't live to work”.