One year on...

Hello peeps!

Long time no see! How have you been my friends? Have things changed in your life? Did you decide to pack a bag and go on an adventure? So many questions! But I am happy to see you again my lovely peeps :)

Still kicking :)

I thought today would be the perfect opportunity to reconnect with you all, as this is a bit of a special day for me - one year ago I was bidding farewell to Sri Lanka with a last meal from Mister Biryani and a last look around my room to make sure everything was packed and ready for the 4 am taxi taking me to the long flight back to London.

This was the end of trip and I was heading back home. Back to London. The city I had come to call mine when talking to my fellow backpackers and the locals I met over the previous 18 months. The place I was looking forward to embrace like a long lost friend and settle back in for the foreseeable future. MY HOME.

London... in August... yes...

One year on and I am still convinced I made the right choice. I love London, I hate London and I love it back all over again every single day! I will moan about the traffic, the trains being late, how expensive everything is, the bloody weather and the intricacies of the current political landscape but I'll be damned if I let anyone not from here call me out on the same things!
One year on and I have skipped the "reverse culture shock" to meshed right back in. Not back to my old life - no, no, no, that I was happy to leave behind! - but I got back to the things I had come to appreciate about the city while I was away.

So, what I have been up to since I came back?

To start, I got myself a job. Actually, I got myself more than just another job - I set my own business and I am now a freelance project manager, oh yeah baby! I figured out working on my own terms would be killing two birds with one stone:
1. I would cross off one item from my bucket list - setting up my own business
2. I would be able to take time off in between contracts to feed the wanderlust bug I picked up. My aim is to work for 9 months of the year and backpack for the remaining 3. That way I still get to travel to my heart's content without having to come back to an empty bank account.

2hrs10min - not bad for a first sprint triathlon

I have well and truly started on the path that will take me to an Ironman race by the time I am 40 - I did a sprint Triathlon last September and am also a proud member of the Thames Turbo Triathlon club. Go Turbos!

I have been on a few dates. Well yes my lovelies, that is a sexy girl you are looking at :)
Not that anything conclusive has come out of these, but one can still enjoy meeting up new people... I am still looking for my special someone so any pointers as to where special someones are hiding will be very much appreciated - please use comment box below!

I tried hardcore vegetarianism, been full on carnivorous and finally settled for being a flexaterian. I am still avoiding dairy though - not good for me ol' tummy, not good at all!

Garlic and herbs...

I have been experimenting with my baking skills - a lot! Banana chocolate cakes, ginger cakes, bread, the whole lot. I was even toying with the idea of going pro but the working hours are horrendous!





I have now settled down in a pretty little corner of London and I am planning to get my own place within the next 2 years - better start saving now!

All in all, yours truly has been a busy little bee. But I would not be myself if I did not think things could be somehow improved from where they are now...

You see today, I got a bit scared. Looking back on the past 12 months I realised how easy it would be to slip into a routine of work-train-sleep and let time go by. Do not get me wrong, I am proud of everything I have achieved since I came back - but I feel there is room for improvement and I want to make sure that one year from now, I can still wholeheartedly say that YES, coming back to London was the right choice.

Things are still bubbling in that old head of mine and I am close to come to a plan to achieve this goal. Bear with me for another couple of weeks and all will be unveiled. I promise it will be worth the wait ;)

That's it for now. It was lovely seeing you, do come again!

A view I can never get tired of...