Examples:
Joy: We received a letter telling me to report to Luzern before June 17 so that I can get my immigration papers sorted out. Looks like I'll be getting my residency soon!
Confusion: Wait...will I receive a visa? I thought only consulates issue visas...why am I being asked to report to the local Luzern immigration office? When will I get my work permit? Eek.
Exhilaration: Me waking up in Yeovil at Hodge's sister's house, and hearing from the bed the cute little voices of my nieces chatting downstairs at the breakfast table with their adorable British accents. My heart was melting. I hadn't met them the night before, because by the time we arrived they were already asleep.
Desperation: I had an utter disaster at the movie theatre with my large diet coke. As my friend placed her drink on a countertop in front of us to get the tickets out of her bag, I followed suit and placed my drink on what I thought was a similarly nice and hospitable surface right next to her's. WRONG. I essentially dropped my huge drink into a cooler full of bottled water. It spilled into the cooler and filled up the entire bottom of it with a mess of diet coke and ice. Everyone was watching, including the poor guy who worked there and was clearly going to be the one to clean it up. Horrible. Or as they say here, bloody hell. Also, the sun didn't really come out for an entire month. That involved desperation too.
Happiness: The moment in each day when I wake up and remember that Hodge is my husband. :-D
I don't come from a huge family, or at the very least, I think it is fair to say that the Harrisons are not reproducing very frequently these days. Only one baby has been born in the last decade, and that is counting both my mother's side of the family as well as my father's. For this reason, I feel tremendously lucky to be part of Hodge's family. Hodge sister's is pregnant with her third baby. She and her husband have two girls, 3 and 5. They are very special little girls...polite, sincere, cuddly, and they like to be read bedtime stories. I am very lucky indeed. :-)
On another note, I don't know if I've properly mentioned the fact that Hodge and I live with 3 other people in our London house. They are all South African, and all very kind, genuine, and funny people. There is one couple, and then there is a Royal Marine who is specifically stationed in London for the Olympics. I get along with all of them very well, (for many reasons), but one important commonality that we all share is that I have found them to be as anal as I am about being neat and tidy...which really says something for anyone who knows my attitude about these things. The other day, I commented to Mark, (the most long-term tenant and the official manager of the house), on how clean//tidy/organized everyone seems to be. He looked at me without blinking and said very seriously, "Everything has its special place. If something isn't in its special place, it can fuck off." Well said.
I went to a very unusual part of London last weekend. It's called Brixton and it's South of the river. I went with a friend to see the weekend markets. It is an absolutely vibrant part of the city, full of people of all skin colors and accents. You walk around and there is reggie music on almost every corner. There is a vegan cupcake shop. Depending on your mood, you can enjoy a meal of Caribbean, Thai, or North African cuisine. There are plentiful fresh meat and fish markets. As you walk down the roads and through the various stalls, the sounds and smells make you feel unbelievably alive and aware. Brixton is a like a whole different city unto itself. I know that immigration is a very difficult issue in England, as it is in my country. On this particular sunny Saturday afternoon, however, I looked around myself in Brixton and couldn't help but feel that London is very lucky to have this area. What would London be without this exquisite, fresh splash of humanity? Little girls racing on their razor scooters with their beautifully beaded and braided hair. Live steel drum bands on the street, with people young and old dancing together. Change is frightening to some, but this is London now. And it's beautiful.
London has challenged me to think about my life and my career in a different way. The city is so full of culture...art, music, theatre, you name it. I would never say I regret becoming a lawyer. I don't. Being a lawyer allows me to be powerful in a way I would never otherwise be. It allows me to help people and stand up for people's rights in ways that I wouldn't otherwise be able. For that reason, my law degree will always be a precious part of who I am. I have to admit, however, that being in London has inspired me to want to be more creative in my career. Being a good lawyer often means being deeply creative, and I truly believe that I can and WILL find that opportunity. It is just a bit alarming for me at times to realize that I don't know how I will make this materialize yet. Where will I work? What will I do? How will the work I do improve life for someone in some way? While I have horrible debt to pay off, I can't imagine being happy working a job that doesn't allow me to connect to people and do some good for the world. It's a frightening reality for me, because the work I most love probably won't pay anything. How do I do work that pays AND fulfills the inner Daisy? When Hodge and I married each other, we promised in our vows to be ever-evolving, creative, authentic, and free people. While that is a mutual promise to each other, it is also a promise to ourselves as individuals in a way. I owe it to myself to do what I love. What exactly will that be though? We shall see.
Enough heavy philosophizing. Here's a happy thought: THE SUN FINALLY CAME OUT!!!!!! (see below) I think I am now officially a sun-worshipper.
More to come soon. :-)
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