Ahem.

I shall creep into this post slowly after a long long loooong hiatus from blogging, partly due to fear of having personal things leak out onto the web, partly due to nothing super-exciting happening that's postable where I won't A) Offend something B) Call someone out C) Not potentially get in trouble at work and partly because, well, what if it's terrible.

But new year, new (sort of) blog and new determination. This, along with healthy living, not getting fired and having a successful first date are my New Year's Resolution. What're Ya'lls? Oh, and I'm going to attempt to only shop at charity shops, sidewalk markets and discounts - this may result in my not shopping for the next year.

Rather than go through the long and laborious list of 'Things That Have Happened' I'm honoring the tradition of the list (have ya'll noticed a fondness for lists in previous posts?). I also apologise not the next several posts potentially being out of date order. Either something is interesting or not and it might not necessarily have occurred yesterday. So, to channel some late night host that is currently on strike along with every other overpaid writer who whines but is in truth not a lifeblood of our economy (well, they are but might this be a question of society's values rather than a need to have good TV over say, good health care?-I refuse to answer this).
10. Graduated from LSE with Merit (sounds fancy eh) with a MSc in Criminology
9. Took a job at D*~*#** Consulting in London as a UK employee, so it's the ex-pat life for me for a bit
8. Had a few disastrous first dates and encounters that went nowhere
7. Discovered that I in fact have a larger volume of books than clothes
6. Refused to pay my TV license and as such, have no TV (or Internet but that's a monetary issue)
5. Moved to Fulham, near Chelsea, down by the river, in a studio
4. Discovered that my studio is quite small and comes with previous tenants
3. Gained 5 weeks of vacation, free health care (plus dental) and a new laptop for work
2. Have barely traveled (again ££££ issue but this changes) but did have a hair-raising ride through the Highlands with Mama, almost considered buying a bicycle and plan to rent a manual car (which I can't drive) very soon
1. Discovered that as A) an American B) Not enough of a Southerner C) A bit too pudgy for the hot clubs and D) one who took a job from some Brit am not so liked in the UK and beyond. Way to go USA - we're now pariahs/lepers/lichen/fungi/laughingstocks of much of the world. But am determined to change such opinions, but might avoid Pakistan on this year's travel list.

To avoid clutter in the inboxes, inevitable disappointment, and perhaps to remain below the radar, I promise to only send out a link every few months. As much as I'd love to post all day and spend hours combing the Internet for pictures and clips and witty banterings, I sadly still much work and this site is restricted from 8.15-18.30 (so just went there with the 24 hour time).

I further apologise to any men who read this. I'm trying to shoot for an impartial eye of the city but let's be honest, I'm not indulging in group steams or showers at the cricket club and ya'll aren't wearing panty hose to work (ahh, at least I hope not because you're screwed in Britain). Thus take heart that some posts might delight you and merely skip the ones with a booster shot of estrogen.

To add to the list of addendum, apologies and disclaimers, I hereby apologise for a distinct lack of salacious gossip mongering, explicit language (where avoidable) and situations (please don't make me spell this out). My parents and their friends likely read this and while yes, I know, you've seen and done it all (definitely learned that over Xmas break) if you want the full story, give me a shout. Let's let them preserve SOME illusions about kids these days :)

And lastly, spelling/grammatical errors. Look, I went to university. I majored in English. I am a Word Nazi (ask my former flatmate). I also speak British English now. I speak another language. I also work 10 hours a day plus 2 hours of commute in total, gym it up another 2 hours, sleep for 7, thus leaving 3 hours left out of 24. I tried to make every post pristine and lovely and look how many I posted in the past 1.5 years! Henceforth, shout at me when you spot then but other than that, just let it go already! When nominated for a Pulitzer I promise to do more than Spellcheck! Oh, and if you hate (parenthetical inserts), -dashes, (!), (...), (etc.) etc. bite me. Jane Austen has not called for her manuscript back :)

Have I now appropriately made this as un-fun and boring and anti-blog as possible? Good. Let's begin.

Happy 2008 Ya'll from London and beyond!!