So last week no less than 5 people asked about my blogging. While this does the past months no justice, it is certainly a main consumer of my thoughts. The other thoughts will have to wait till another day.
So for those not in the know I now live with Matt Lindsey, a work colleague of mine. When he was moving here I conceived a plan to help fix the "no friends in London" thing and proposed that we move in together. Seemed like a pretty good fit and so we agreed on it. The problem is that I am greedy. I didn't just want to live with Matt. The whole time I had my eye on a third. I got Matt to go a long with it and we found a place for three.
There were problems from the beginning. We moved in and things were good, but there was still an emptiness. The problem was that there wasn't any time to fill that void. For the next month and a half we were both hopping around the globe and so we couldn't find that person. We actually had one person stop by who was a friend of a work colleague. He had just moved to the city and was looking for a place. The fit seemed right, but in the end he just didn't feel comfortable joining in with strangers. Understandable to both of us, but hey we are new to this too.
Anyways we eventually got back and the search continued. We wanted to get into the full swing of things so posted a classified in gumtree (UK/AUS version of craigslist). We put up photos did our best to sell our wares, but we got little response. We even dropped the price several times, but only occasionally were contacted.
One of those contacts did make us question things. We got a call from two french girls who were considering moving into the room together. I mean sure Matt and I set out find a third, but what if we found a third and fourth. It would be great to grow our friend group like this, but could it work logistically? I mean that is a lot of extra pressure to be adding to our dynamic and to be honest the room just isn't really setup for it. Our better judgement was being put to the test. We escaped though when the girls flaked, but had they shown up who knows.
Outside of that and a few others grumtree was dry. Eventually we decided to try another site. This requires someone in the transaction to pay. So we could pay and get contacted for free or we could post for free and get contacted for members only. Well we put up the ad, but didn't realize we had to pay to get full exposure so the first week was slow. Matt was kind enough to use my email. Now I get non-stop alerts everytime the vehicle cameras photos someone new moving into the city. Each day's mail brought new hope. Email with subjects like "New to the city Aussie looking for friends" and "Music lover and beer drinker looking to find similar flatmates" would show up, but like all spam they are never what they say they are.
After a couple days I noticed another ad on the site. It was for a speed flat-mating event. Seemed a little out of the ordinary, but I mean if you can't find a third at a bar with some drinks then where can you find one right? So we went and after waiting line we were finally thrown into the landlord-fest. There were so many landlords, like at least three to one. By the time you removed the people not in your range and your neighborhood there was slim pickings. Most in our area were beneath us. I mean we were at least a 160 per week and so sure we would stoop to a 150 per week, even look a 140 up and down, but a 130 is not even in our league. I mean we are better than that.
So we mingled through the crowds and tried make the best impression we could. We told our life stories with only slight embellishment. Sometimes it was hard to remember our real jobs, but we had to. We were looking to make it last for 6 months and that is probably more than enough time to find out that neither Matt or myself were recently appointed as ambassadors for the Obama administration.
Finally we happened upon Upton. He seemed like a great fit, just the right mix of "I have a job" and "I like to have fun". We chatted for a bit and left with plans for meeting up on Friday night. Originally we thought Friday was too big of deal to have someone over, but we decided that for Upton it would be worth it.
The next day we sang the praises of Upton at work. We left work excited to see him that night. but as has happened so many times he said he would call, but he didn't. He toyed with our feelings and ran, no doubt to the comfort of anothers room. Our hopes were dashed. In the end I guess I blame myself. My size is just too intimidating at times. I think it scared him away.
Then there was someone we will call Sue. I will withhold her name much as I would hope that Upton does about us as he blogs mentions those he scourned. She came over to look at what we had to offer and immediately liked it. Matt and myself had more reservations about her. She seemed ok, but maybe a little too cheerleaderish. I have nothing against cheerleaders in general, but it all just seemed like a little more maintenance than Matt and I were looking for in a roommate. Not wanting to turn her down prematurely though we kept in contact. She wanted us to meet her parents who were visiting, but we hadn't set a date yet. Ultimately she forced the issue and asked the question we were not prepared to answer. I had to pull the trigger though and let her down as best I could. I did so with as clear of a conscious as I ever could, but that answer is never an easy one to give.
Tomorrow this Vanessa girl is supposed to stop by. Matt and I don't really remember talking to her. It is becoming a pattern. I have just been giving out my number so much it is hard to keep track of them all. All we can do is open the door and hope something kicks in when we see her.
Until then we sit with an empty room. Beggars can't be choosers I guess, but this is a big step for Matt and myself. We started down this path and it is important that we get it right. Just heed this warning.
Threesomes can cost a lot more than you planned for in the beginning so you better be ready to deal with the consequences before making the commitment.
It only happens to me...
So today, the day after I talked to Sue, I was going to get a salad at one of my standard lunch places. As soon as I walked in I saw her checking out. Awkward. What did I do? I turned around as quickly as possible and high tailed it out of there. I then zigzagged around Leicester Square for about 3 blocks before looking over my should to see if I was followed. I don't think she saw me. She was turning to face me right when I turned around so hopefully I beat the recognition. I still needed to eat though so I checked my crotch to make sure I still had my balls and went to Pizza Hut.
Seriously though how does this shit happen to me? Don't I live in one of the largest cities in the world. Sure she works a couple tube stops away, but aren't there like a billion places to eat in the area. Sure Americans like salad, but the next fucking day at the same fucking time... come on.
Posted by: marques | March 03, 2009 at 06:31 AM