324,000 minutes and counting...

so i had a bit of a revelation today... time in london is flying by, but i still don't feel like this is my new home.  and why is that?  i think it's because i need to let go of somethings that remind me of new york.  it's like that song we used to sing at camp... "make new friends, but keep the old... some are silver, and some are gold."  i think new york will always be the golden child for me, but we need to polish the silver a bit.  and it's not just about friends, or people for that matter.  it's about the experiences that are quintessentially london.  

and so begins a new chapter for me here.  i'm hoping this translates into more postings on the blog, but in the meantime, i've been thinking about a "to-do" list that i can start to work with that will help me get in good with this great city.

at the top of the list is to finish this great book i'm reading called Brick Lane... it's by this very clever author, monica ali, and is all about a pakistani immigrant woman who comes to london under an arranged marriage and begins a new life here.  circumstances beyond her control brought her here, but as she matures and discovers more about the city and herself, she begins to break out of her shell and become her own person.  i originally bought the book for my last trip home to new york, and thought it would be a good read because it references a neighborhood that is close to mine... but as i'm getting into this book, i think there's a lot more in store and see a bit of the main character in me.  can't wait to read more.

in keeping with the intellectual side of me (don't worry, that's about it after this...), i think i want to take a class of some sort... had originally been thinking about resurrecting my italian... am working with a really interesting italian guy at work and the accent is bringing me back to college days where i took the class and loved it.  so maybe it's that.  another work colleague was telling me about a MA in creative writing that she is taking at oxford college.  this woman has a 1-year-old daughter, works a crazy schedule AND has time to do a masters?  yeesh.  but it definitely sounds interesting, and as i hope my few but faithful readers can tell, i love creative writing.

it's not all about smarts though... as tess mcgill so aptly says in working girl, i've got a head for business and a bod for sin.  and so the sin aspect might be a bit much, but i think the sentiment is still there.  i need to get out more.  and meet more guys (cf: grindr comment above).  not all about the deed, but also the dude.  i'm going to start by putting myself on a 30-day action plan.  my target will be to come up with a direct male acquisition strategy that leverages multiple channels.  grindr is a good start, but it is a little silly at the end of the day.  the speed dating thing i did was a bit OTT, but its heart was in the right place, and so a networking angle might be a good avenue to pursue.  i'm also looking forward to the travel schedule winding down a bit after august, so there will be more weekends here in the city for fun (albeit, less sun).  so watch this space.

so as minute 324,001 passes, i'm feeling good.  good about this city and what it's given me so far.  great about what's left to find.