Adventures of the Employed!

So, visa situation permitting, I have a job! I'm very happy, it starts in Chicago in the new year, with the flexibility to hopefully move wherever in a few of months. We shall see! Exciting times ahead..

It's odd, I think I had grand aspirations of being able to move horizontally at least into a handful of professions, but it turns out that even just 6-7 years into a job you are about as pigeonholed as you can be in finance. Ive never realised how specific job descriptions are when you aren't approaching through a contact:
-Bsc in Economics, Masters in finance, 5.25 -6 years of experience, must have worked with Latin American commodities only, first name must be Stavros, must be left handed, and able to read and write Arabic with a PhD in English Literature.

You get the drift, jobs are almost always advertised to target a handful of people, and transferability of skill is pretty much assumed to be zero. So, it seems I'll be an interest rates options market maker forever, or at least till I decide to study (no thanks) or till I'm happy to take a rather large demotion (more likely!).

Anyway, boring stuff aside, on the trip to go do the interviews in Chicago, Sonam and I decided to check out the city. Other than being very cold in comparison to LA, and with it looking more clumped together like a proper city, it definitely seems friendlier, more diverse (not just ethnically, but with people that seem to be living very different types of lives),and just generally feels more like home than in LA. Perhaps it's because its closer to what I recognise as a city, perhaps it's the people not all looking like supermodels or actors, but perhaps it's because it just seems peoples lives and goals seem more aligned to mine. Not everyone is focussed on healthy eating and exercising, or about appearance in some other way. And I'm 100% sure that's not true of LA either. It's just how the place makes me feel. I'm writing this on a flight to LA, and before I got on, I couldn't help but overhear a conversation between two aspiring models/actresses. Nothing they said was bad really, but they started with how random it was they were on the same flight, and before they even hugged, one of them took a selfie, presumably to instagram later. Then, absolutely none of what they said were things I could relate to; photoshoots, headshots, lines on their face (they can't have been older than 21), and various other OMGs I don't think warranted anything stronger than 'cool'.

Anyway, I'm not writing off America as a future permanent home, nor am I writing off the west coast, I'm just thinking LA isn't for me.

After a short trip to Chicago, and irnoning out the details for the new job, Sonam and I got back down to LA life, and if there is one thing that I can say LA does well is that it makes you feel like exercising. It's hot, sunny and it feels rude not to make the most of the outdoors. And my subsequent time in Hamburg and London, both cold and wet, really made me want to eat bad shit and sit somewhere warm.

Hamburg was a fun trip, specifically my Stag do, or bachelor party as they say in the US of A. I was lucky enough to have 11 people turn up, and as far as I can tell/remember, everyone had a great time. I got punished a little, as you'd expect on a stag, 'figure hugging' morph suit and excessive amounts of alcohol being two examples. The city itself has interesting bits to it; from an area that felt like a scene from "the Wire", to a beautiful lake and walkpath of cafes that provided the perfect location to forget about last night's shots, to a bizarrely open sex district that had families and couples wandering around just as much as the big group of guys you'd expect. All in all, almost like a concentrated version of everything that I know of Europe; beautiful, friendly, unembarrassed by boobs, industrial, ghetto and peaceful, all at the same time.

Before heading back from the Stag, I stopped over in London to sort out some work related things, and one thing felt really odd was not having a home there. I felt like a tourist visiting my home, but without the wonder and excitement of visiting somewhere new, but with an equal lack of belonging. I guess I felt a little homeless, which in a way both Sonam and I are right now.

As I head to LA, my own job worries mostly behind me, I feel really excited to be heading back, a) to have some sort of healthy routine again, but more importantly, b) to get on with that bucket list. I'm almost 100% sure I won't do a lot of what I said I would, but I'm sure it'll be fun trying.

I would drive 500miles, and I would drive 500 more... and I'd still be in the same bloody State.

So travelling around California has officially started, and over 1500 miles later, I am back here in our apartment in LA, kind of thankful I don't have to go anywhere for another 36 hours or so.

So just over a week ago, fresh from a mini trip to Santa Barbara (very quiet & chilled town) and a mini hike to nearly getting to the Hollywood sign (kind of got lost, and then it got dark), we went to our first American football game, a college football game between UCLA Bruins (Sonam's adopted university) and ASU Devils (Arizona State, the university of our friend Marissa who lives here). Anyone who went to University outside of the US probably sees university sport pretty much the same way as me - who gives a shit? Seriously, my parents probably wouldn't even turn up if I told them I was playing football or cricket for LSE first team. I imagine their first question would have been "But are you getting job applications sent? Make sure this doesn't impact your studies". No, I'm kidding, they aren't really the stereotypical Indian shoe-waving types. But I imagine me telling them about university sport might not even make it into the highlight of the phone call, never mind be on the highlights reel on TV. Anyway, I had my first experience of 'tailgating', and thankfully it isn't as creepy or predatory as it sounds. Its basically a piss up/pre-game lash, which instead of meeting at the pub, people meet in a garden near the stadium, and park up, open up their barbeques and get drinking for about 4-5 hours before the game, and 4 hours later, drive home (sounds safe). The stadium packs in around 90,000 people, and it certainly looked full to me. The parking area where the tailgating was going on was probably more packed than some Premier League football matches. I was totally blown away by a) how much drink driving must be happening, and b) how much these Alumni of these universities care, driving 6 -7 hours to have a barbeque and watch a game of football. I mean, it's amazing how much they still identify with their school, how proudly they still sing their university songs, and how much of a shit they seem to give about their school. It sort of fits in with the 'USA! USA!' stereotype of Americans, the incessant beaming pride they have when being part of anything. There is a real feeling of belonging to any University you end up going to, and 15 years later, people are still supporting their school, still have the university sticker on their car, and still buying memorabilia for the University for their kids, encouraging them to go there and carry on the tradition. It's so odd, because I personally didn't feel any of that, not even while I was there, but certainly not now. I have zero opinion on what LSE is doing now, perhaps not being a campus uni, and in the centre of the city doesn't help, but I know no one back home harping on about their university, and how it was amazing, and how they really hope the guys do them proud and win the season this year, or whatever else crap the Alumni should care about. It was a means to an end, and that's all it has ever felt like. Sure, some of my best friends were made there, but we bonded over things we had in common, not really through our pride for this amazing establishment that we call University. I imagine University is probably a means to an end in the US, but when you're charging up to $60K a year, you have to sell the 'experience', and that's what they do. Very, very well. And not being that way makes you kind of an outsider, I imagine. In the same way as not being a 'USA! USA!'-chanting-America-is-the-greatest American can raise a few eyebrows, I imagine the same is true for university pride. And that is just marketing genius. Schools have developed a brand, not necessarily with employers, but definitely with Alumni, and that Alumni will consistently validate their experience through chanting, buying merchandise and cheering on their College teams, doing plenty of marketing for them. Ok, ok, that was an incredibly cynically British way to look at American Unis, and the truth is, even if it is all a load of hype and unwarranted enthusiasm, it certainly provides a much more memorable and, I imagine, tale-worthy university experience. Sure, I had a great time at LSE, and have stories to tell, but that Alumni feeling and connection these people still feel towards their university and their ex-classmates is unrivaled in the UK, and is certainly something I'm envious of.

So, back to the football. Now that part, really, who cares? Apparently Arizona won which was a huge shock, blah blah.. We saw about 5 minutes of the game, took some pictures and proceeded to Uber it home.

One funny thing about being at an American college happened during my first tour around UCLA. It was freshers week, or whatever the equivalent is called here, and there is a road of 18-20 year old kids were handing out flyers for Frat/Sorority houses, handing out flyers for other clubs, trying to entice the cool & good-looking crowd into their house. You could see as you walked down the road, people in the group eyeing the other kids up, and then if they see someone who seems to fit their bill, they would approach and hand them a flier. Sadly, I was not approached by any group, and I can only take that to mean one of two things; I did NOT look cool enough to be a part of their group, OR I looked like one of the parents dropping off their kid. Either way, not great.

So, on to talk about our travels, and we have been far and wide over the last few days. From our humble home in LA, we drove to Death Valley, a beautiful landscape of dusty hills and yellow rock, and from there to a little town just outside Mount Whitney. From there we drove to Lake Tahoe, which is a ginormous lake, roughly 190 square miles, and made for a peaceful and relaxing day. After that we went to Mammoth Lake, a little skiing town where we stayed for two nights while we explored the Yosemite National Park. This park, although a little touristy now, was breathtakingly beautiful, and followed the common theme of this road trip; the vastness and scale of nothingness, intertwined with very simple yet elegant parts of nature, make for an extremely picturesque and breathtaking sight. Of course, 1400 miles of driving later, I'm not sure I am ready to take another picture of a rock next to some sand for a while.

Another thing about road trips, other than being really cool to look at, and having that fresh air blowing in your face as you drive, convertibles really aren't all that for long road journeys. Not only can you not really hear your music without blasting it, you can't really hear each other talk even before you start blasting the music, and its either baking your skin from the heat on a long drive, or its too cold to have the roof down anyway. Not to mention the annoyance of accidentally leaving some paper out when you lower the roof. So yeah, not the greatest of long journey accessories. Saying that, it looks like a dream compared to motorbikes. I mean, that just looks like a complete ball ache. Not just literally - you have to get into some sort of space suit to get started, you can't listen to anything on the radio or talk to anyone, not even the pour soul clinging on to you. And if you have headphones, I'm not sure theres an easy way to change the music. If you thought bugs on your windscreen were bad, I imagine they're even worse on your viser/body, and if you drop anything at all, that's pretty much ruined/broken. Plus there's the whole 'death' risk thing. Just sounds rubbish.

Here are some of the pics from out trip, but off to Chicago early on Wednesday morning, hopeful that something job related gets finalised..

It's like, Oh My God, like, soooo totally, amaaazing

Helloooo! I'm not sure anyone reads this regularly enough to care, but I hope it'll be read one day. Even if it's by my future kids when I tell them it's compulsory reading before they are allowed food, or the money to go buy a real book. Well, there probably won't be real books by then, but whatever the equivalent is! Anyway, the reason I haven't been blogging, other than it's way too hot to sit inside and type things, is my laptop broke, so I've been unable to ramble online.

Anyway, it's been an action packed couple of weeks, it's like being in the easy levels of a computer game, checking off some of the easier bits and bobs off my official and unofficial to-do list. So, firstly, we signed up to do more exercise, and started going more regularly to the gym. Yoga seems like the in thing over here, lots of (incredibly attractive) young, trendy people seem to pile themselves into extremely hot and sticky rooms, sweating and stretching in bursts, all while connecting with your 'inner Chi' or whatever. It's fair to say I was sceptical; if you want to go stretch, go stretch, why do we need to pose as various plants and animals in ways that look humanly impossible? It all seems pretentious enough without some 23 year old girl with the blondest LA accent there is giving you advice on how to 'be in the moment' (this means nothing). But as it turns out they give you a free two week membership, and it's across the road, all meaning it was worth a try. And, actually it was pretty great! I mean, not something I feel the need to do every day, but mixed with regular gyming and running, its a great way to stop the muscles aching, and burn a shed load of calories in the process, sweating away in that sauna-like room.

Us after our first yoga sweat out

So anyway, aside from this, I signed up to another studio across the road from me, mainly meant for circuit training. It's called Speed-X, and again, packed with ridiculously fit people, and they make up a load of different exercises and make you do them till you fail. Sadly, it requires a bit more self-motivation, as they let you just stop when you want without chastising you and calling you a sissy girl. Which is kind of what you pay for, especially when you expect to fail at most the exercises you'e being made to do. Unfortunately, I think I'm by far the weakest in the class, so I think I'm like the fat kid at Gym class that people are just glad turned up, so don't want to scare him away by yelling.  Anyway, I'll be back, the aim being I become the second worst person at the class, so they yell and scream at me a little bit more. Hmm. Sounds like an idiotic thing to pay for. Oh, that reminds me, some of the names in LA are so, well, LA. At the Yoga class there were instructors like India and Cassy, and at Speed X we got introduced to the class by a woman coming up to us at 9am and saying, "Hi, I'm Sunshine!" Oh well, let's just say some of the cliches are living up to expectations.

Another one is the accent here. When I said the LA blonde accent, I wish I was being harsh. But so many women here have the "like, totally, amaze-balls, girl I can't believe you did that" accent. I don't think I need to insert an audio clip, I don't think you can say that sentence without saying it 'cliche-barbie-American'. The accent doesn't bother me, but I can't help but judge! I know it's mean, but as soon as someone opens their mouth and that voice comes out, I immediately assume they're dim, and doing this job to try and make it as a model/actress, but is tired of only being offered jobs where she has to take her top off. Obviously, I hope that's not true, but it made me wonder what my ever-increasingly strong British accent evokes in their empty head (sorry, I couldn't help it). But I'm sure they just think I'm some over-privelaged snob who eats crumpets for breakfast before heading out for polo with Ma and Pa before we go drink Tea at Buckingham palace with our friend Lizzy. Man, I want a crumpet now. Well, in reality they see an Indian, and initially think I own a corner shop (or a 7-11 as they're known here - just thought, imagine if one of them wanted to start opening at 9?? Not quite the catchy name is it?). I presume they then hear the accent and think I'm a doctor or an accountant. So, pretty close really.

Aside from exercising and judging people, Sonam and I got our first american apartment, subletting from a suave Iranian guy who wanted to go away for a couple of months too. He seems nice and easy going, aside from remembering to empty the whole flat including the TV, but still leaving lots of lovey-dovey pictures of him and his girlfriend hanging on the wall, sort of like a creepy judging wall of pictures that say "we lurrrrve each other, and oh, don't ruin our stuff". But yes, its a 12th floor LA apartment (never stayed that high before!), and its really nice to be finally settling in. It was great staying with our friends Simon and Marissa, but I'm sure they don't need two fully grown bums cramping their style. And, next on the list after that was the car! I was super excited about this part, and after much deliberation and searching, I decided it was too hard to find a classic car to rent, and even harder to find an affordable one to buy that works, so we ended up getting a newer american car on rent.. We got this little beast below. So far, sooo much fun! I know it couldn't be more cliche as English people coming over and driving a Mustang convertible, but if there is one place in the world where you can make use of the convertible, this place is definitely it! I don't think I've seen a cloud most days in our time here. In fact, the only day there as some cloud was the day with the supermoon/eclipse, ruining our view of it from a rooftop bar on Venice beach. Still, that sentence hardly makes for complaining!

So, car rented, the next thing to do was to head to some fun new places, and stop 1 was newport beach, a beautiful little town, the setting of the famous show Arrested development. It feels like you have gone back in time into the town where 'To Kill a Mockingbird" should have been filmed, but with no racism, and slightly more crammed housing. But, it was beautiful and peaceful, the perfect way to watch the sun come down while we eat our frozen banana (no, not an innuendo, that's a speciality of the island, as those who've seen Arrested Development will know).

After that lovely trip, we headed to an Indian Classical music concert in Tustin. My childhood days have been filled with Indian classical music, and one of the artists I've grown to love was playing an intimate gig an hour from LA, so we managed to nab some tickets, and I forced Sonam to sit next to me while I reminisced around people twice our age. Yes, it was niche, and yes, it wasn't the coolest of LA adventures we will have, but it hit the spot with nostalgia, and it topped off a great day on the road. One thing to add about driving here is how bloody massive the roads are. There are upto 8 lanes of traffic in each direction, and that combined with the fact that undertaking over here isn't frowned upon at all, makes for a very interesting driving experience that takes a bit of getting used to. The thing I do like though, is the right turns when the light is red, definitely something that we could learn from. Saying that, we'd probably ruin it and it'd turn into a complete free-for-all, where neither pedestrians or drivers could ever really get anywhere quickly. Come to think of it, I think we tried this before, I think it's called India!

Another thing that we experienced en-route to Newport beach was an infamous Hooters restaurant. Now, I can't complain about the food, I understand it's all gotta be barbecued or fried meat so I didn't get to eat much more than a Garden Salad, but the one thing I had in my head was that this visit was going to be a little bit about the sexy waitresses, or at least feel like some sort of risqué experience. But as we walked in greeted by a  skimpily dressed waitress, it was hard to be excited by that when you see the place equally open to families of all shapes and sizes. Kids, dammit, kids! This is definitely not what I had in mind. In reality, it's just another restaurant, but girls wear skimpy clothes, and what of that I felt would be exciting, just felt kind of like a cheap attempt to make you feel all manly. Especially when they ask you what size you want your beer; "Man-size, or hooter-girl-size". Overall, bit of a let down!

Other things that made me chuckle while over here:

Just seems like an unnecessary confusion having Diesel in Green, and 'unleaded' or 'regular' in yellow. Just another way I'm bound to screw up in th coming weeks..

Seems so weird to me, but urinals are ridiculously low here. Like they built them purely for children, and men are supposed to go in the cubicle and sit down. Very odd, and results in a not-so-fun game involving way too much thought into something like 'not splashing pee on your ankles'. 

Anyway, I'm off to do more bucket list things; bit of golf at the below course (it's so cheap to play here!) and then off to watch my first American Football match! Cmon you Br... Ah who cares...