#friday theme

Sup!

This week aside from walking around London looking for a Vulpix, I have mostly been arranging viewings for my room. I am leaving my favourite city (that I have so far lived in) ! :(

I’m not really that upset by the way, it was my choice. I just wish I could live both here AND somewhere else.

BECAUSE I HAVE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS OF LIFE.

This means I’ve had to venture back onto SpareRoom. It’s a crazy place out there guys. Perhaps not in other cities, but in London, rooms go within the space of hours. It’s savagery.

Thankfully, this time round I am on the good side of the fence. I have the power. That power being an attic passing itself as a bedroom.

Anyway, when talking to someone this week, I can’t remember who, but it was someone from back in the shire who had never houseshared before, I realised that those that haven’t shared have no idea. NO IDEA.

Do you know who I blame? TV.

Show me a realistic share there. I want to see cramped spaces. Mould. The occasional mouse. The fact that just because you live with some people, doesn’t automatically make you besters. The fact that you can either fall into one of two parties, you can either be the housemate that is VERY comfortable with the sound of their own ‘entertaining’ of visitors, or you can be the VERY uncomfortable person hearing that person through the wall.

Where is the daily delivery of 20 letters none of which are addressed to a person that currently lives in the house? The passive agressive notes left in the kitchen, or in modern terms the facebook group chat? The daily mission to not be the one that has to buy loo roll, or pretending to be asleep when the electric goes so that you don’t have to be the one that goes to the shop to top up.

All of these sound like faults you say? Well, yeah. But let me defend the art of a houseshare. Everyone should have to do it at some point in their life (and not just because you have no financial choice). It makes you live with people you may not have otherwise come into contact with. Shows you where they came from and what their world is about. You can watch them unpack their Waitrose bags whilst you eat rice and stock for the 4th night in a row. You learn, you grow. It teaches patience, and that it’s not ALL about you. Unless you are in fact the worst housemate ever.

You may never speak to some of the people ever again, but some may become your best friend, and there would have been no way you would have known them otherwise. If it was in fact the worst share ever, and everyone was terrible, it would still have taught you about yourself, and your ability to deal with terrible people.

Houseshares are an education, a life experience. If you haven’t been in one, you are missing out.

A lesser person.

Joking.

Kinda.

The moral of the story is get out there, find a stranger on Gumtree and move in with them.

Today I’m going to talk about the UK. Yes, I know I titled this Great Britain, but that was just for title purposes and really I mean the UK, because Northern Ireland has also been yanked out of the EU. Whatever. Just go with it.

And yes, I realise everyone is sick of this Brexit shit by now, but unfortunately we are in this for fucking ever. We are married to Brexit even though half of us weren’t convinced. Now we’re at the altar and it’s too awkward to run from the church screaming in horror at the face of our bride.

You may have noticed, I was a remainer. Still am actually. I am remaining a remainer, and you can’t change that. But I’m not here to convince you of one side or the other. That’s all done with now. The veil is lifting and we are going to have to consummate this hellbeast of a decision.

The one thing I’m not remaining, is here, in this place (I’m in the English bit by the way, and actually in London, so I won’t get offended if you say IS THAT NEAR LONDON. London is near London, it’s actually in it).  I have always planned to travel and live abroad, but this whole thing has cemented my decision and accelerated the timeline somewhat.

It’s okay Leavers. I can hear you already. “GET OVER IT WE WON. THIS IS GOOD FOR US. STOP SULKING AND RUNNING AWAY. OUR COUNTRY IS GOING TO GET BETTER NOW.”

I’m not debating your point. Perhaps you are right. I’m not leaving the country because I think the ship is sinking (it might not be sinking, but I definitely think there’s a few more holes than before). The economy may improve, the NHS may become a super efficient machine churning out immortals, we may even pay off our magnificient debt. It may all go fantastically your way leavers. I wish you luck.

I would stay on a sinking ship. I’m not afraid of a little bit of hard work and hard times. However, I won’t stay on a ship where over half of the population are so fundamentally different in their values to me. No. I don’t think you’re all racists (some of you are). No, I don’t think all of you are misguided angry workers (some of you are). But in voting leave, you made a statement about our country being different in value to all of the other EU ones. What makes the UK so awesome that it shouldn’t work with the others?

I don’t have a patriotic bone in my body. I don’t understand believing one country is great and awesome because you were born there. It doesn’t sit well with me. And there has been a lot of it flying around since this whole EU debacle. I’ve been hearing a lot about ‘British Values’. I’m British, and I’m not sure even I know what these values are, let alone hold them.

I’m a reasonable person though, the country has spoken and that is fair. I’m not going to continue shouting at a majority of people about how I think differently to them. The majority have said that this is how they want the country, and I disagree. So I am leaving (after a year in Nottingham).