So I'm about 3 weeks into my Leeds adventure now, I've settled into the job really well and I've made a few friends in the office. Home life is still a bit of a struggle but I guess I'm still in the 'adjustment period'...
It's amazing how quickly your brain can fall into a routine and adapt to a change in daily structure whereas your body seems to lag behind. When I was still living at home, an early morning wake up call constituted my puppy Ollie running into my bedroom and diving on my head around 10am for his morning walk.
In Leeds however, I'm having to get used to the delights of the silly o' clock iPhone alarm wake up call.
Depending on how disheveled my hair is looking, the alarm time varies between respectably early, 7.30am and hideously wrong on all levels early, 6.45am.
It doesn't matter that it is technically just "quarter to seven", that little number 6 makes ALL the difference and my body is simply refusing to comply with the abuse.
I CAN'T STOP YAWNING!
I swear, I actually closed my eyes for a minute in the middle of a meeting last week. I hope nobody saw...
Anyways, after making myself appear less like a zombie and wolfing down something nutritional (like a double chocolate frosted sugar loaded poptart) for breakfast, I leave the flat and set off for work.
Now the interesting thing about the location of my flat, is that it's situated in what is known as the 'legal and banking district' of Leeds. So basically, I step out of the front door of my building and am instantly engulfed by penguins.
Not real penguins of course, Leeds doesn't have penguins silly, but hundreds of identically dressed men and women in suits of every shade of black imaginable. All of these penguins seem to be in a massive hurry every morning, and always in the opposite direction to the way I'm walking, so I always end up playing a game of dodge the penguin on the way to work.
I'm typically one of those irritating people who likes to look at their feet while I'm walking because making eye contact with strangers makes me uncomfortable somewhat, but this is very hard to do in a busy city!
Crossing over City Square opposite the train station close to 9am on any morning is pretty much taking your life into your own hands. If you don't become lost in the hustle and bustle of penguins, some numpty on a bike or blind as a bat bus driver is sure to get ya! Despite this, every morning without fail, there is a man cossack dancing around playing a penny whistle next to one of the little decorative statue thingys, hoping to score a few pennies out of the stuck up suited and booted.
I have no idea if he is homeless or simply eccentric, but he is quite possibly one of the strangest dressed people I've ever seen in my life (and I've drank in Newcastle's Bigg Market on a Saturday night!)
Military boots up to his knees, above which is some form of fluorescently coloured and patterned pyjama pants, covered over by a huge khaki green parka coat and on his long grey hair covered head, is perched a rasta hat. The man is awesome.
I don't know whether it's because he has actually started to recognise me as I shuffle past him day after day, or its because he recognises a soft touch when he sees one, but he never lets me pass by without wishing me a good morning. I very rarely have a lot of change to give him, but when I do, I like to give him what I can, simply for his politeness (his musical talents are questionable at best).
The rest of the walk from this point is fairly uneventful. There are a lot of homeless people in Leeds it seems and a lot of them congregate around Park Row where I work. It's sad to see but I can barely afford to feed myself, let alone half the city!
The hours at work fly by and before I know it, I'm walking my route in reverse.
It still doesn't feel like home, but I hope it will get there one day.
L x
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