One of the things that I'm hoping to cut by at least 20 minutes is my commute. Currently it takes between 38 and 40 minutes (including parking). The part which took the most was actually from Saida to Beirut which took a little more than originally anticipated. In contrast once I was in Beirut the drive to Dora area took no more than 4 minutes or something silly like that.
Truth be told I can live with that kind of commute for a little while. I'm guaranteed a place to sit, don't have to wait for the next train to come along. Don't need to be squeezed getting on and off. No sweating like a bastard because it's 35 degrees down there in the summer. Sure I get the odd asshole who cuts me off, or yells because he thinks the road is his own and can go anywhere he damn well pleases (without indicating), but it's a small price to pay. The commute is about 10 minutes more than it used to be in London.
One of the things I've done is actually started downloading some audiobooks and lectures that I've been meaning to listen to for ages. As I wanted something relatively light, I've started with the first Harry Potter audiobook. After many many years of people TRYING really hard to get me to dip my toe in this universe, I've finally taken the plunge thanks to Stephen Fry's amazing voice and reading abilities. To be honest with you, I wish he'd read all of my audiobooks. The man is amazing at it. I've heard about 3 chapters so far and it's all very predictable so far and really can't see what all the fuss is about.
Let's finish the first book, since at least then I can claim to have given it some of my time before I write it off. Let's just say the concept has never really appealed to me.
It's 5:55 in the morning and I've just woken up to get ready for work after 6 long months away from a regular gig on the basis that I was on sabbatical. You don't change your life all that often, but right now that's exactly what I'm about to embark on.
I'll probably be blogging more often and maybe doing a compare and contrast between life over here and life in the UK. The first difference at the moment is that rather than waking up and getting ready to go to work by walking to the Golders Green tube station, I'm waking up and getting ready for a 28 minute drive to Beirut.
Not sure which is better, which is worse, but what I do know is that it's completely different and there is something of a novelty issue associated with it. Wish me luck everyone.
So I'm sitting in Athens International Airport, on my way to a new life. 6 months ago it would have been soo easy to simply nod my head and continue to stay as if nothing had changed for another year. Another missed opportunity. Instead, I said that I would first try and see what was outside the British borders.
I found the sun, family, food and a great deal more. I found a different way of life, which would allow me to actually start thinking about more than the next couple of years. The strangest feeling is that I'm going back to where I was born, but never lived. For years, it was the language, some customs and the summers that kept me feeling Lebanese in any way. For the most part I'm not Lebanese, but in many other respects I'm 100% Lebanese because oddly enough, like me there are MILLIONS. Well that's not completely true. There are millions of people living outside of Lebanon that can claim in one way or another to call themselves Lebanese, but those that return to start a new chapter in my life? There can't be millions, there can be thousands...maybe?
I do plan on doing a range of things over the next few years and I'll be talking about them in a lot more detail on this website. It's been the one of the few constants in this transitory period of my life and will be playing a very important role in the coming years as well.
To all those I left behind in London, I love you all, I will miss you soo much. 10 days was definitely not enough but we've got a lifetime to catch up.
This will be part of a new series of posts that basically deal with my moving over to Lebanon and exactly what I've been going through. It's important to me to catalogue these things to make sure that I don't forget how things are in a normal country, because it's very easy to assimilate and you eventually think that actually what you're doing is normal....when it's actually not.
So I was meant to fly into Lebanon tomorrow afternoon (which I'm still doing hopefully) and then take a cab from the airport directly to the VW dealership - oh yeah I bought my first ever car. This one here:
It's a Golf. It's shark blue. It's a solid little car and what I need for the time being in Lebanon. I really really really wanted an Alfa Romeo Guillietta, but alas, spare parts in Lebanon are extortionate and getting someone to actually sort it out for you isn't really all that easy. There are a set number of places that can help you out.
Now the place I bought it from is the Kettaneh dealership, which has got several cars under their banner. So my representative, nice guy, but unfortunately not very organised. His sole task was to get my car registered in time for me when I got back to Lebanon. Big Massive Fail (BMF for short). No he only got around to sending it off today. It officially takes 48hrs. So I've had to go and rent a car for 24hours. Not sure how much it's going to cost me, but alas it's a pain in my ass, that could have been prevented if he'd basically registered the car when I transfered the required payment to them 10 days ago.
So file this one under:
In Lebanon, they all lie.