Sweet Little Thursday

[commonpeople1]

The first proper day of spring. Up with the birds at 5 a.m. Leftover banana cake and tea. What am I gonna do with my life?

Sunshine pushes mitts and scarf back into the man purse. A father and his two young sons climb the bus and sit behind me. He speaks with a heavy Nigerian accent; his youngest son is a proper Londoner. They read together, aloud, from a book on caterpillars and butterflies.

A young, and blind, man walks in front of me on Holloway road with the help of his cane. I think at first he's looking for a phone when he takes hold of a phone box (the kind plastered from head to toe with escort ads); but then he keeps going, feeling his way down the adjacent cafe's windows until he has walked in, after me, and is helped to a seat by one of the waitresses. He exchanges banter with the owner in playful italian, to the sound of Diana Ross' "Chain Reaction" on the stereo.

Further up Holloway Road, an elderly homeless man sits outside a Buddhist centre, holding on to his belongings in a shopping cart, ranting at some imaginary foe.

Comments

[needler.livejournal.com]

You write in such a visual way, it is very pleasing to my minds eye :)

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

You've made my day better. Thank you. :-)

[needler.livejournal.com]

It was such a pleasure to read you brightened my day too :)
I wouldn't worry too much about what you are going to do with your life you know, it will take you where you need to be going!
As long as you keep writing it down then it will have my approval :)

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I'm tired of being poor though... of just going with the flow. I want to be excited about my job at least. Your set up - working from home on what you love - sounds ideal to me... but I have to find that passion for myself (which has been a little tough).

But I do take confort that you guys enjoy my writing. That really does keep me going. :-)

[steer.livejournal.com]

So what *are* you going to do with your life?

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I don't know... I'm lost.

[steer.livejournal.com]

Would the TfL site or multimaps help?

Actually, it would be great to have some kind of TfL/multimaps site for your life. You could see where you were then kind of zoom out and see how difficult it would be to get to the somewhere where you were a world famous mountaineer or a mad old women living on her own except for seventy cats or a guy who seems happy but drinks extra strength lager at 9am and shouts at cars. Bet there's no convenient bus going to any of those destinations though.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

The only buses going by my stop are full - and, in any case, they are not stopping.

[steer.livejournal.com]

Frankly, did you really want to go to "Old lady with cats" anyway. :-)

Hey, I haven't seen you in AGES!

We must meet up when I get back from holidays.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Can I go on holidays with you instead? I always fancied myself as a man of leisure in Fiji. :-)

Also, I've been thinking of a mathematical equation for friends on LJ and I need your help to bring it to fruition. We can talk about it when you get back.

[steer.livejournal.com]

*grin* I can help you with equations I'm sure. Look after yourself and I will (I hope) catch up with you in May.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

We should plan a theatre trip. Can you believe I haven't seen a single play yet in 2008? :-)

[steer.livejournal.com]

But you're "Mr Theatre". OK, we should definitely get to a play! I haven't been to many this year.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

We could see one of the NT's £10 season's ones. Mr Theatre used to see them a lot in the past, when they came to him for free...

[steer.livejournal.com]

We could see one of the NT's £10 season's ones.

It's a date! Well, it's not a date until we have a date. But when we have a date it will be a date!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

In the meantime, don't get eaten up by sharks in Fiji. I'd hate to have our date cancelled.

[moral-vacuum.livejournal.com]

Brown, shrivelled and slightly sticky?

[steer.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a headline describing the dwindling popularity of the PM.

[rojagato.livejournal.com]

Thank you for taking me on your walk!

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

You are very welcome.

[evil-onna-stick.livejournal.com]

I thought spring had arrived yesterday with the songbirds at my window, but today, alas, a snowstorm.

sigh.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

I'd actually really enjoy a snowstorm if it came to London. First of all, it would disrupt the whole city and make it impossible for me to go to work; but I'd also like to see it cover the city in white from my 11th floor apartment. :-)

[evil-onna-stick.livejournal.com]

It's funny how surprise spring snow disrupts in a way that winter snow doesn't. We're used to pretty bad storms, but come March 3" keeps everyone at home...

Good luck figuring out what to do with your life. I keep pondering it, but I get to put it off until the kids are older :) I think I'm gonna go back to school and take a whole new career path. I loved publishing, but after working in NYC how can the midwest compare???

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

What kind of work did you do in the publishing world? Is it something you could do from home (editing, eg?) At least you have that time to figure things out (while the kids are growing); I'm stuck trying to figure out how to pay for my bacon and not go insane!

[evil-onna-stick.livejournal.com]

If I was the luckiest person in the whole world I could get a field sales position and work for my old company from home, although it would require a lot of travel. There are a few small publishers in Chicago but I'm not sure I could translate my old job into a new setting (it was a weird crossover position). But I may go into teaching or something... Like you said, I'm lucky that I have time. Have you thought about going to school or getting some training in a new field?

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've been looking into schools and courses, but nothing has grabbed my attention, or is affordable at the moment. I'm just trying to keep my hopes up for the moment that the tide will turn.

[(Anonymous)]

an elderly homeless man sits outside a Buddhist centre, holding on to his belongings in a shopping cart, ranting at some imaginary foe.

would the imaginary foe be Brocolli Spears?
miss you Ollie! :-)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_medium_/]

xo

I love the way you appreciate [couldn't find another word] what the day,week & so on . . . gives you. :}

[idioticpoet.livejournal.com]

It's kinda weird, that it wasn't until after I'd posted to LJ that I saw you nudge (which has yet to appear in my lj inbox). Funny, eh?

Is it un-pc of me to interpret the homeless guy outside of the buddhist center as kinda sorta zen?

[yearning.livejournal.com]

I, too, love reading your posts -- and the comments that go with them!

I've got no clue what to do with my life beyond eating a lot of French pastries, watching films and loving my friends.

[commonpeople.livejournal.com]

Your life plans sounds ideal... I might take a leaf from your book. :-)

Someone else also said they loved reading the comments. I think I have a good combination of chatty friends that makes life on LJ really worthwhile.