Update

It's been a wee while since my last post and part of the reason is that I've been inbetween places, without internet connection, all sorts of things. BUT...

I now have a job! It's just a temp job in payroll for a recruitment agency, but it is money coming in and will definitely keep the wheels oiled while I hunt for a higher-paying job in finance...

AND...

I have a flat! I took the odd step of leaving the 'comfort' of dossing to commit to rent, but it seems that when you become decisive about things, other things start happening for you. About three days after moving into the new flat, I got offered this temp job and I imagine I will be able to keep it until I get a finance job (the importance of being earnest...).

So the flat itself is in Acton 'Action' Town, a stone's throw away from the Tube, under the northern Heathrow flight paths, has a backyard, an apple tree and double-glazed windows. It also has a powered gas shower, locks on external doors and carpet! So it passes the basic 'adventure' test.

My room is upstairs, looking back into garden, arguably the best room in the house as it attracts afternoon sunshine and none of the noise from the Tube or the main road. Being upstairs of course is always important (no leaks from the room upstairs, no carnage if sewage spills etc etc, not that I'm expecting any of those things to happen) and the air is bracing and brisk, as if it had just blown in from Brighton.

The room is actually pretty sweet. It is pretty bare at the moment so I need to do some interior decorating and colour matching (I have bought myself a blue duvet and sheets/pillowcases) and some rugs are definitely in order. The carpet is a kind of sickly tan and needs to be covered up quick smart. If I'm feeling brave I'll get some photos up and solicit decorating tips...

The only shortcomings of the flat are that there is no broadband connection available to the house (for some insane reason that I haven't been able to find out yet) and so I have resorted to leaching off an ignorant neighbour's wireless connection. The connection itself seems pretty quick, but hey you don't want to kill the proverbial golden goose huh? So downloading the latest cinematic crapulence (like 'Snakes on a Plane') is off-limits at the moment. Shortcoming being that I can leach only if I stand in the kitchen at virtual military attention, at a certain angle to the window facing next door, laptop at chest height.

I have discovered today that I can in fact connect and then place the laptop on a bench and work from a chair, which is mucho gracias then standing up and buggering my wrist and typing with one hand. I have also discovered the joy of offline email writing (thanks Notepad!).

The flat also has no lounge, which I am a little concerned about come winter, as it seems the garden (as appropriate as it is) was the main area for relaxing and hanging out with the other flatmates during summer. I suspect the sleet, snow and general malaise which I am told forms the quintessential London winter will kill a pleasant chilled out beer in the garden.

Onto the flatmates! There are 3 Hungarians (a sister, brother and his girlfriend), a Czech girl, a German girl and me, antipodean extraodinaire. They have, thankfully, heard of New Zilland, 'kind of' know the difference between us and Aussies, and have been to The Redback, which is an antipodean-style pub similar to the Walkabout chain ('Walkie' or 'Wookie'), which (the Redback) is about 5 minutes away... My first drinking session there with some of them will be next weekend. The Hungarian siblings, having lived in Munich while growing up, speak German, which is great news for me! I am yet to meet the German girl as she works shifts - although I think it must have been her I bumped into as I exited the bathroom one morning wearing nothing but a towel (I grunted 'gidday' and I can't remember exactly but I think she laughed in response...)

It has been a dark week for Aussies, with the Crocodile Hunter and now racing legend Peter Brock exiting the world doing the things they loved. My thoughts go out to our cousins - I can appreciate only too well the distress people go through in situations like these, exactly like the murder of Peter Blake, one of our nation's favourite sons. Upwards and onwards...