Insomnia Post

Regardless of the fact that I didn't get much more than 4 hours of sleep last night, I'm not feeling particulary tired at 3:30 in the morning so I decided to throw up (hehe) a post giving everyone a general idea of where I'm at.

My search for employment in Southampton has thus far been mostly a fruitless endeavor. There is still a few possibilities, although they hardly seem worth waiting around an additional 2 or so weeks to follow up on. This exchange rate is like a hard knee in the crotch of my already castrated bank account. I need some goddamned employment. Gonna go have one more chat with the assistant manager at the Jazz Club I applied to earlier, and pops has a friend who lives around here that is looking into finding me some sort of sketchy under the table work, but I can't say I'm holding out very much for either. I did get an email from the Barcelona RA job I applied for months ago, and they have an opening now, so I set up a phone interview (which should be occuring tomorrow), although -once again- I'm not so sure I want to sit around on my ass for another 2 weeks waiting on a maybe. They did say they have several people to interview, so I have no idea what my chances are looking like as several could mean 3 or 13. I'd also need to wrangle two letters of recommendation out of former employers, which would not be an easy task considering my last two bosses' respective daily workloads. Still, I'll give it the old college try and see if anything comes of it. I'm just about ready to book my flight home, though, so I can see friends, family, and the Zappa concert (!!!) which I have a ticket being held for me for by Greggy (of Spring Break fame).

I've been in email contact with a handful of friends that have been wondering where the hell I've been, so it's helped to remind me (along with regular email and online coversations with family) that I do in fact have a life back in Massachusetts and it's looking pretty attractive right now after sitting on my ass for two weeks, unemployed. Bill is moved off to NH and will soon be gone to LA, and is throwing a party Wednesday at the Pour House (site of my 21st birthday extravaganza, as well as countless other less-eventful yet more toothful nights), which I would like to be there for. One more reason to be home.

That's not to say I haven't liked being here. Matt's been busy with studying for his exams pretty much constantly since I've arrived, but his willingness to let me stay in his house has been awesome. Plus I've been hanging out with his friends whom have made me feel really welcome and have given me something to do when not job hunting and not sitting on my ass all day. Despite earnest attempts to nourish myself adequetly, the inherent terribility of British food has still seemed to have its sleazy way with my GI tract.

So England has been my sort of buffer zone for cultural transition back to the United States. Along with a very noticeably sharp decrease in the general attractiveness of the overall population, I have also begun to be re-introduced to bits and pieces of "modern Americana" and other rather un-Spanish behaviors that us English speaking folk take so warmly to. Examples include an over abundance of ready-made food (not to mention a ridiculously wide array of junk-food), young people getting bombed out of their minds in bars (as opposed to in the street, or just not getting all that bombed at all), and way too many dick and fart jokes. I already miss the warmth and general goofy emphatic attitude Spaniards have towards absolutely everything. It's all Cold Fish Salad and Get the Hell Out of my Business here in the UK (I know this won't be quite so bad back in the States). Gone are my days of huge lunches, sensible dinners, lenient (if not non-existent) deadlines, and starting the night around midnight, rather than thinking about having to go home not long after it hits. Also I miss eating and drinking on the cheap. Even after considering exchange rates and all that crap, food and alcohol just straight up cost a lot more here than they did in Alicante. In the street markets you could get 2 kilos of oranges for a euro, but here it averages closer to 2.50 pounds for one kilo. We won't bother getting into alcohol, but even after the dizzying number of drink specials everywhere you go, I'm still a lot lighter in the wallet than a typical night out in the 'Cant. Oh well. That's what I get for choosing to study in the number one budget tourist town in Spain. I can't say any of this is really setting in huge culture shock at this point, but it is making me realize how attatched I was becoming to the Mediterranian lifestyle. I'm certainly not looking forward to my arrival back into American culture, but I'm not quite dreading it either at this point.

Aright. It's getting awfully late and even though I'm still not so tired, I really should be getting some sleep since tomorrow will be sufficiently ridiculous. Matt is finished with his final exam at 4:30 and expects me to be waiting for him at the pub. Apparantly it's going to be a huge game of Pub Golf with most of the people in his Physics class. I would explain the activity now as it has been conveyed to me by Matt, but I'm sure after the combination of personal experience and good ol' fasioned head-shaking hindsight, I will be able to do the sport/art much more justice in my next post than is currently possible. Needless to say, I'm expecting an extremely long night ahead of me.

Pray for my liver, folks, these limeys sure know how to put them down.