Anyway, yesterday there was beer, and conveyor-belt sushi, and avoiding football (soccer) fans  at every turn (did you know the local Brighton team is called the Seagulls? Because they are. Ca-caw!) And there was a reunion with an expat lady friend who I haven’t seen since we took international studies and/or french classes back at Ohio State! She beat me to the immigrating lifestyle and has been making herself a home in London now for the past three years, complete with tall English boyfriend and fabulous social media career. It was so nice seeing a familiar face and discussing all the minutia of moving from midwest America and sweet sweet Ohio to the oh-so-different England, where you can’t buy cornmeal at a regular grocery store. 

Conveyor belt sushi is the best and worst, in that it is so hard to stop grabbing plates, and that shit adds up in bill form. Thanks Yo Sushi. 

Ariel! Come back to Brighton anytime (maybe in the spring or summer would be a good choice-we can sit on rocky beaches and laugh at English people!)

Trains. 

And the Lanes. Tiny, narrow walkways through Brighton filled with shops. Easy to transport yourself to a time when all the streets in England looked like this. (I mean, in my mind they did). So many old, shiny things to catch the eye. Jon found my engagement/wedding ring in one of these shops.

Always so much to see…isn’t this shop creepy? It reminds me of something that would have been on “Are you afraid of the dark?” when I was a kid. I’d bet money that terrible/creepy things are in there. Yep.

Oh, and I came across this wall and couldn’t resist. Camouflage!

I hope everyone’s week is off to a good start. Mine will be the same ol’ same ol, so I hope it goes quickly.

-Driving around to universities to sell textbooks (or something like that, I can’t drive so I didn’t take it)

-A teaching job in Abu Dhabi

-Another teaching job in Abu Dhabi

-A job writing essays and papers for rich kids in India (amoral, and also offered like, $30 for 2500 word essays to which I replied with a big ol’ professional middle finger)

Jobs I have applied for:

-countless

Needless to say, I am still unemployed. I did, however, lock down a job doing volunteer work with a seemingly interesting charity in the area, which is nice and will at the very least keep my mind off my unemployed-ness and perhaps fill me up slightly with a sense of purpose. And/or turn into a full time position (fingers crossed).

Tomorrow we are looking at FIVE -count ‘em, five-flats. It will be a busy, crazy day, but hopefully after this we can really narrow it down and start making things happen. While I don’t love the idea of buying a house, I know that in the long-term having this house (which will actually be Jon’s parents’ house) will help us when we eventually want to have a family home. It’s strange though, very very strange. We will be landlords at some point, which creeps me out. These life things are things that I never thought of.  I mean, I didn’t grow up in a house owned by my parents, and the idea of being a young couple and owning our own place is a bit overwhelming-and that’s when all the bougie logic chimes in that tells me that financially, this is all a good idea for us, and far better than renting. I seem to be the only one out of Jon and his family that is not gung ho. But ah well-maybe I should take the hint and jump on board and be thankful to have become part of a family that does these kinds of thing. Or…well…I guess I already am on board. And that’s where five flat viewings tomorrow comes in!

I am making pancakes in the morning. Last night I made my mom’s recipe for chicken and dumplings (with some of my own tweaks, like chives in the dumplings and leeks in the stew), last week I made spinach wraps one day, kimchi jijae another, and it was all very delicious. Cooking seems to be my respite these days. Hours of applying for jobs is easily forgotten when I make the family a meal once a week, or cook up something for Jon and I when he gets home. I think that’s what I will like the most when it’s just the two of us, whether or not I ever find a job. (God willing I find one).