London - Week 1
Adjusting ... and adjusting ... and adjusting
It has been more difficult adjusting to London than I thought it would be. Maybe it’s because I’m already 30, so my body is resisting the change.
Things I struggled with in the first week
The first thing I struggled with was the SLEEP. I’m a light sleeper so every movement and sound from Mango / outside / James woke me up. We are staying around Old Street, so it is quite modern but there is a big road nearby which means lots of car and honking sounds. See below for a video of our current place:
Thankfully I don’t have trouble sleeping here. The first night I slept by 10pm (James can corroborate this story), but then I found myself waking up at 2am, 4am, 5am and then 6.30am. We then brought Mango out for a walk at 6.30am, which has become her new waking up time (more on that later below), where she proceeded to poop on the pavement. Poor dog, she’s used to just going down a flight of stairs and pooping immediately outside our Singapore home.
The sleep has gotten slightly better over the week. I still sleep between 10 to 11pm but no longer wake up at 2 or 4am. I do still wake up around 5 but I’m sure that will sort itself out over time! Fingers crossed.
The second struggle was the MESS / SPACE / LACK OF NECESSITIES. Our current apartment is relatively small compared to the size of apartments in Singapore - yes, including our small apartment in Tiong Bahru - so you can imagine that 4-6 bags / luggage occupy quite a bit of space. While we are staying in a serviced apartment, they don’t really have the full suite of things that we need on a daily basis. We have had to buy additional toilet paper, tissues, bin liners, etc.
It has also been a little frustrating recreating my kitchen space. All the herbs, spices, oils, etc need to be repurchased. But I guess we’ve agreed not to focus on saving money in our year away, so I’ll just take it as carte blanche to redo my kitchen set up!
The third struggle was MANGO. Who knew dogs are capable of having jet lag?! Mango struggles to keep herself awake in the day, especially coupled with the cold weather, and initially woke me up at 2, 3, 4 am. She also struggled with the new pee/poop schedule.
There are so many more dogs in London as well, which is a double-edged sword. We see more dogs than usual but she’s been relatively alright as long as we keep our distance. She has barked at one or two dogs who have come too near so far, but I think we’re doing well, all things considered! Good job, Mango.
Thanks to all her training of being in her bag in Singapore, she’s been really easy to bring around. She’s really scared of being in the tube though. Bus is easy, as it’s not so different from Singapore.
I am planning to get a trainer for her here though. Seems like a good environment to get her to learn new things and how to interact with other dogs.
Things I have enjoyed so far
This can’t be a completely negative post, so I’ve listed some things that I’ve enjoyed so far!
Cooking more and getting my dream cooker
I have wanted to buy the Ninja Foodi multicooker for a long time but it did not feel like a prudent use of money since James’ dad gave us a Philips one that he had bought a while back. So obviously it was the first thing I really wanted to do when we came to London. It only arrived 2 afternoons ago but already I’ve used it twice - once to make a big batch of pork bone soup, and earlier today when I made some sort of tomato cream pasta with beef.
Don’t judge the fact that I actually used instant noodles - this was not a well thought out meal and I did not have any other types of noodle in my fridge or pantry.
Also, Marks and Spencers Food has been a timesaver! I’m not talking about instant meals, but some of the pre-prepared (raw) food has allowed me to create multiple dishes every meal. Obviously it’s not the cheapest, but it’s still cheaper than going out to restaurants every meal.
The weather and my jet lag
The weather has been very kind to us, and we have seen quite a few days of nice sun in the afternoons. This is definitely not the gloomy London I remember. I’m probably speaking too soon. Fall is just around the corner! Very much looking forward to seeing the Ang family!!!! It would be nice to see some familiar faces. It feels a bit isolating being so far away.
Also because of my jet lag and the cold, I have found it a lot easier to fall asleep. Generally I’ve been able to sleep before 12 every night, with the average being 1045-1130pm.
Dog friendly places and large parks
We have been able to bring Mango to so many places, including on the bus and tube. She can go into some restaurants.
Thank God that Mango is quite good in the bag and I’ve been training her since Singapore to sit (relatively) still at cafes! Everything has paid off and I’m so proud of her and myself (HAHA I really tried super hard to train her).
OK I’ve written this post long enough over a couple of days. Going to sleep now!!
Love,
Nadene