Looking back, I didn't really expect to be here at this point in my life. It's odd to discover that what had made you 'you' was just something that had been comfortably familiar. The people who surrounded you, the clothes you wore, the room you slept in, the car you drove - these I truly believed made me Jocelyn. But when you shed all of these and moved across the ocean with two suitcases and a few ideas - who, then, were you? You had to make new friends from all over the world, with different accents, hair styles, and visions, politics, and ideas. You had to find comfort in a bed that didn't seem like yours and use an umbrella, rather than a car, when it rained.
It's been a year since I moved to London. I imagined I'd be back in Boston now, perhaps getting a job there, or moving on to New York or San Francisco. I flew over on the fifth anniversary of 9/11. Not a date many would want to fly out of Logan airport. Yet, I did it not expecting to return until Christmas. And I'm still here, not expecting to return until Christmas. And then be back in time for New Years.
Home is a place as familiar as anything can be. You know where you lay your bag down at the end of the day. Where you keep the wine opener. How to work the washing machine and that the Brita filter needs to be changed at the end of the month. That your flatmate will either be in a great mood, or maybe tired and cranky. This is home now. It went from two suitcases, to a collection of crap. It went from knowing no one, to knowing many new faces, people, and friends. To having a 'local', to learning to spell in British English, not just American English. It went to getting a first salary paying job - in the pound, not the dollar. Learning how to pay rent on time can be easier than understanding why English men are more difficult than American men.
And being in my mid-twenties in a fabulous city outside of my old comfort zone could have been the greatest decision I ever made. It's funny to look at my old life, and think of how frustrated I would be. Wondering where I was going, and when my big break would be, as my friends grew up around me, got jobs, bought houses, got engaged and settled down. I'm proud of them. But I'm also proud that I didn't just sit back and watch them grow up. I decided to grow up on my own. I'm learning how to take care of myself, what makes me happy, what pisses me off, how to get around, and how much (little) money I can survive on without having to ask for help.
Where will I be next year? Some things haven't changed. I still love surprises. I'll be content waiting until then. Who knows where I'll be, what I'll be doing, and who I'll be surrounded by. But, I'm pretty sure if I know myself yet, I'll be happy. Or, at the very least, comfortable.
Happy Anniversary, Jocelyn. London is more than you were banking on. And that's a good thing.
Monday, 10 September 2007
Friday, 7 September 2007
We are so small
This picture is so amazing. I am currently waiting for a client to get back to me and really don't have much else going on, so I'm exploring 6 Sept's 'Interestingness' photos on Flickr.
This picture was taken in New Brunswick, and I think it's just so gorgeous. It makes me feel really amazed at how beautiful nature can be. It also makes me want to get out of the city for the day. But alas, I'm stuck in the office.
Hope you appreciate this picture as much as I do. Happy Friday!
Tuesday, 21 August 2007
If it's this bad already, I'm not prepared for my quarter-life crisis
When did getting older become a depressing hassle? Last year was a load of fun, from what I remember of it. And I figured having my first birthday abroad would be just as exciting, but in reality, it's looking pretty sad.
I'm expecting six people show up. No, I'm not kidding. You'd think that I have no friends. Well, at least I thought I had friends. But apparently the convenience of having your birthday fall on a Sat AND a bank holiday weekend only makes it inconvenient to everyone else.
So here comes my pity party. No presents to open. No mom around to buy me gifts and dad around to take me to my favorite steak house. No best friend to celebrate both of our birthdays with (Stef's birthday falls four days after mine). No ice cream cake. No beach (and come to think of it, no summer weather, either).
All said and done, 24 is the new 21, as my 21st birthday was pretty much the worst ever. So bring it on, bad birthday. I've learned to steer clear of beer and gin on bad birthdays, as they only seem to make it worse. I'm going to stick to champagne, wine, and I'm not bringing my wallet with me (other than ID for proof that I don't need to purchase anything myself).
And hopefully someone remembers to get me a cake. Because I can't imagine a sadder life than buying your own birthday cake.
So if you're bored Sat night, feel free to stop in at The Borderline near Tottenham Court Road, and look for a hot blonde wearing her birthday best. I'll probably be the drunkest girl at the party.
I'm expecting six people show up. No, I'm not kidding. You'd think that I have no friends. Well, at least I thought I had friends. But apparently the convenience of having your birthday fall on a Sat AND a bank holiday weekend only makes it inconvenient to everyone else.
So here comes my pity party. No presents to open. No mom around to buy me gifts and dad around to take me to my favorite steak house. No best friend to celebrate both of our birthdays with (Stef's birthday falls four days after mine). No ice cream cake. No beach (and come to think of it, no summer weather, either).
All said and done, 24 is the new 21, as my 21st birthday was pretty much the worst ever. So bring it on, bad birthday. I've learned to steer clear of beer and gin on bad birthdays, as they only seem to make it worse. I'm going to stick to champagne, wine, and I'm not bringing my wallet with me (other than ID for proof that I don't need to purchase anything myself).
And hopefully someone remembers to get me a cake. Because I can't imagine a sadder life than buying your own birthday cake.
So if you're bored Sat night, feel free to stop in at The Borderline near Tottenham Court Road, and look for a hot blonde wearing her birthday best. I'll probably be the drunkest girl at the party.
Monday, 20 August 2007
We partied like it was 1999
This post is dedicated to the Prince show I saw two days ago at the O2 Centre in London (North Greenwich to be exact). I've been reading reviews of the shows he's been putting on (if you're unaware, he's playing 21 shows in LDN)since starting 1 Aug. This being his ninth show in, you would think he'd be bored of us.
I'm not entirely sure bored would be the word. But he is Prince, and he knows he's a legend. So, he can act like a King. And that he did. He took the stage at 9:25 to a very antsy and excited crowd. Sold-out, of course. Wait, before I go on, the stage was amazing. I'll have to post pictures (which we illegally took) on my .mac website. It was shaped in his Prince symbol, which light up in different colors and prints throughout the performance - so much fun.
To see his complete set-list, I've found Housequake to be the best. I can't say that I was the most fanatical Prince fan upon entering the concert, however after the show I must get copies of as many CDs he's got (what, like 1,000?) ASAP.
Still, I was so excited when the third song in was 1999. Other favorites included: Cream, Purple Rain (I was SO happy to hear it), Raspberry Beret, and a rendition of Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World. Half way through the show he included a synth set of around eight of his songs, which was both a tease and a lot of fun. Of course, he kept telling us we weren't ready for them... Which made the crowd erupt in the loudest screaming I've ever experienced at any concert in my life - and I've been to hundreds. Do I need to remind you, I'm only 23?
His encore was immense - Kiss followed by Let's Go Crazy. He kept joking that he was out of hits and didn't know what else to play. Even though this would have been quite brazen and boasting coming from anyone else, it made him seem more human. Turns out, Prince can be funny. And I really like him. I thought beforehand (especially after Dave Chapelle's hilarious skit as him playing basketball in a purple velvet suit) he was a serious weirdo with a short-man complex. Well, I'm going to revamp my mindset of him. I really, really like him now.
So even though he only played for one hour and 20 minutes, I was sold. One of the best performances I've ever seen. And I don't think I've seen a more involved crowd in my life. They ate it up. With cream on top.
Maybe one of the best £31 I've ever spent. And now I can say, "Yeah, I saw Prince in London, baby."
I'm not entirely sure bored would be the word. But he is Prince, and he knows he's a legend. So, he can act like a King. And that he did. He took the stage at 9:25 to a very antsy and excited crowd. Sold-out, of course. Wait, before I go on, the stage was amazing. I'll have to post pictures (which we illegally took) on my .mac website. It was shaped in his Prince symbol, which light up in different colors and prints throughout the performance - so much fun.
To see his complete set-list, I've found Housequake to be the best. I can't say that I was the most fanatical Prince fan upon entering the concert, however after the show I must get copies of as many CDs he's got (what, like 1,000?) ASAP.
Still, I was so excited when the third song in was 1999. Other favorites included: Cream, Purple Rain (I was SO happy to hear it), Raspberry Beret, and a rendition of Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World. Half way through the show he included a synth set of around eight of his songs, which was both a tease and a lot of fun. Of course, he kept telling us we weren't ready for them... Which made the crowd erupt in the loudest screaming I've ever experienced at any concert in my life - and I've been to hundreds. Do I need to remind you, I'm only 23?
His encore was immense - Kiss followed by Let's Go Crazy. He kept joking that he was out of hits and didn't know what else to play. Even though this would have been quite brazen and boasting coming from anyone else, it made him seem more human. Turns out, Prince can be funny. And I really like him. I thought beforehand (especially after Dave Chapelle's hilarious skit as him playing basketball in a purple velvet suit) he was a serious weirdo with a short-man complex. Well, I'm going to revamp my mindset of him. I really, really like him now.
So even though he only played for one hour and 20 minutes, I was sold. One of the best performances I've ever seen. And I don't think I've seen a more involved crowd in my life. They ate it up. With cream on top.
Maybe one of the best £31 I've ever spent. And now I can say, "Yeah, I saw Prince in London, baby."
Wednesday, 1 August 2007
Amazingly bored
I've officially found the bottom of boredom. It hit me today. August the first. I could potentially scratch my eyeballs out, just for fun. Classes ended 5 April, and since then, I've had nothing to do, outside of finding stuff to do, on a daily basis. And in a week, all of that is going to change drastically.
I start work 1 week from today. Am I nervous? A bit. Am i sad my four month long vacation is going to end? Not at all. Not in the least. There is only so much you can do without making an income in this city. I've seen it all (not really). I'm so ready to join the daily office 'grind' and made new friends, and do things that don't involve eating breakfast at noon and commencing on the couch for a few hours staring at my computer screen. So excited.
As for today, I went to the park. It was a 'heat wave'. The quotes are for the fact there's a real heat wave in my hometown of Boston, where it's a gorgeous 90F/32C. Here, it was 75F/24C. That's not even real summer weather to me. It needs to at least be 80F/27C for it be summer. Anyways, I reveled in the fact it was a 'heat wave' and laid out at my local park. I may have even helped my fading tan a bit. No need to worry about my skin, though, I was protected with 30SPF. I fear skin cancer like the plague.
Bonus points for me, I finished No God But God by Reza Aslan. It took me a while to get through (started it in June, then left for Boston for 3 weeks, came back and wrote my final, so there's been a month gap). For someone who knew nothing about Islam beforehand, I have a much broader knowledge of it now. It makes me sad, after reading about it, how terrible of a view Christians and Jews have of Islam post-9/11. And a little tid-bit from the book, the Regan administration funded Osama bin Laden and the Taliban to help topple Communism. Not that I'm surprised, or anything.
Next up, I'm reading Watching the British by Kate Fox. And after that I'm going to buy The Glass Castle. I enjoy being literate and reading something other than the free tabloids on the tube.
I start work 1 week from today. Am I nervous? A bit. Am i sad my four month long vacation is going to end? Not at all. Not in the least. There is only so much you can do without making an income in this city. I've seen it all (not really). I'm so ready to join the daily office 'grind' and made new friends, and do things that don't involve eating breakfast at noon and commencing on the couch for a few hours staring at my computer screen. So excited.
As for today, I went to the park. It was a 'heat wave'. The quotes are for the fact there's a real heat wave in my hometown of Boston, where it's a gorgeous 90F/32C. Here, it was 75F/24C. That's not even real summer weather to me. It needs to at least be 80F/27C for it be summer. Anyways, I reveled in the fact it was a 'heat wave' and laid out at my local park. I may have even helped my fading tan a bit. No need to worry about my skin, though, I was protected with 30SPF. I fear skin cancer like the plague.
Bonus points for me, I finished No God But God by Reza Aslan. It took me a while to get through (started it in June, then left for Boston for 3 weeks, came back and wrote my final, so there's been a month gap). For someone who knew nothing about Islam beforehand, I have a much broader knowledge of it now. It makes me sad, after reading about it, how terrible of a view Christians and Jews have of Islam post-9/11. And a little tid-bit from the book, the Regan administration funded Osama bin Laden and the Taliban to help topple Communism. Not that I'm surprised, or anything.
Next up, I'm reading Watching the British by Kate Fox. And after that I'm going to buy The Glass Castle. I enjoy being literate and reading something other than the free tabloids on the tube.
Tuesday, 31 July 2007
Wino
I find it funny that when I used this picture in Your Heritage - the which celebrity do you look like website - the top three people of the eight celebrities were of Asian descent. This probably because my eyes nearly close when I smile.
Ahh well. This picture was taken at Imbibe, and I cut out some people in the photo to use it as my Facebook profile picture. I think I look tan.. for me, anyways.
Wednesday, 25 July 2007
I'm not lazy, I'm just connecting
This blog is actually an opinion article I wrote for my final. I was happy with it (you may make your own opinion) but I felt like posting it.
Being a student in the year 2007 is exciting with Web 2.0. There is so much information at my fingertips. I really wanted to watch the YouTube Democratic debate, however without a television and not being in the US, this would have been close to impossible. But with the invention of video-sharing websites, I was able to go onto YouTube the next day and watch the entire debate – with no commercials!
With Wikipedia, Google, and Factiva, the library seems like a foreign concept. Many of my peers would be hard-pressed to visit one of those anytime soon. Are we getting lazy? Do we have too much information being thrown at us from unlimited sources all on one screen?
If the 90s were the age of excess, then the 00s must be the age of the Internet. Web 2.0 has given us knowledge and connected users from around the globe. It’s evolutionised the way we conduct our day-to-day dealings and with each other. From instant messaging, social networking sites, blogs, Flickr, and YouTube, I can stay connected with my friends and family thousands of miles away – without having to worry about a large phone bill.
Does this make us lazy? It certainly doesn’t make me lazy. With the more information I stumble across, the more I want. It’s like a drug. Once I read a blog that recommends a book, a movie, or a place to go, I want to do it all. I want to form my own opinion. Sure, there are people who are content with sitting in front of the computer screen, but they’re no different to those who were content sitting in front of the television.
Andrew Keen has recently put out a book, The Cult of the Amateur. In it, he discusses the end of our society and the end of old media. Blogs are “collectively corrupting and confusing popular opinion about everything from politics, to commerce, to arts and culture”. He should only be so happy, as I learnt about his book on a blog. And I probably will go out and buy his book, just to see his point of view, and then I’ll blog about it.
Everyone has the ability to have his or her voices and songs heard, words read, and videos seen. Does this make us lazy? People need to look at the big picture. The dot-com bubble burst around the same time terrorists attacked the Twin Towers in the ‘impenetrable’ US. Shit hit the fan. Things haven’t been the same since. Maybe we want to connect with each other, since no one seems to be gelling in the real world?
Perhaps Second Life isn’t such a bad idea, if I can avoid a war I never believed in. A blog I can rant and rave in because no one else is listening. Upload videos of people that matter to me. This doesn’t make me lazy. I’m just connecting, in a world where no one else is.
Being a student in the year 2007 is exciting with Web 2.0. There is so much information at my fingertips. I really wanted to watch the YouTube Democratic debate, however without a television and not being in the US, this would have been close to impossible. But with the invention of video-sharing websites, I was able to go onto YouTube the next day and watch the entire debate – with no commercials!
With Wikipedia, Google, and Factiva, the library seems like a foreign concept. Many of my peers would be hard-pressed to visit one of those anytime soon. Are we getting lazy? Do we have too much information being thrown at us from unlimited sources all on one screen?
If the 90s were the age of excess, then the 00s must be the age of the Internet. Web 2.0 has given us knowledge and connected users from around the globe. It’s evolutionised the way we conduct our day-to-day dealings and with each other. From instant messaging, social networking sites, blogs, Flickr, and YouTube, I can stay connected with my friends and family thousands of miles away – without having to worry about a large phone bill.
Does this make us lazy? It certainly doesn’t make me lazy. With the more information I stumble across, the more I want. It’s like a drug. Once I read a blog that recommends a book, a movie, or a place to go, I want to do it all. I want to form my own opinion. Sure, there are people who are content with sitting in front of the computer screen, but they’re no different to those who were content sitting in front of the television.
Andrew Keen has recently put out a book, The Cult of the Amateur. In it, he discusses the end of our society and the end of old media. Blogs are “collectively corrupting and confusing popular opinion about everything from politics, to commerce, to arts and culture”. He should only be so happy, as I learnt about his book on a blog. And I probably will go out and buy his book, just to see his point of view, and then I’ll blog about it.
Everyone has the ability to have his or her voices and songs heard, words read, and videos seen. Does this make us lazy? People need to look at the big picture. The dot-com bubble burst around the same time terrorists attacked the Twin Towers in the ‘impenetrable’ US. Shit hit the fan. Things haven’t been the same since. Maybe we want to connect with each other, since no one seems to be gelling in the real world?
Perhaps Second Life isn’t such a bad idea, if I can avoid a war I never believed in. A blog I can rant and rave in because no one else is listening. Upload videos of people that matter to me. This doesn’t make me lazy. I’m just connecting, in a world where no one else is.
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