Thoughts for the Bus

Which way to my London?

2011-03-28T14:00:00.000-07:00

So the last I let you into my world, I had just moved to London! Well how time flies huh! It's 7 months later and London is still kicking out amazing surprises!

It turns that there is about 100 different London's all in one London! Now this is either going to make perfect sense to you...or you will think im a bit of an East London tw*t! But basically you can walk down the same street every day and never see anything. Then all of a sudden. for no reason. You're on the same street on a Saturday at 7:30 am...and it's turned into a heaven of shinny things!

There are a million examples of this, but one of my closest ones is Brick Lane! One night in the week, you head down there to haggle with a man over a very good curry. Friday comes around and you head out for a drink. One drink turns into a couple. A bar with a DJ turns into an accidental dirty warehouse rave type situation!

Now I'm not suggesting you would. But if you went down there just a few hours later, there would already be a bazaar of cool stalls opening up selling everything from broken Sony Walkman (Because they're cool) to a necklace made out of a broken Sony Walkman (because they're cool)!

Anyway, long story short, you have to explore the London you're in! I mean, you wouldn't want to live in a really cool part of town for two years and not realise brick lane had a cool market in the day no would you!!

London Life

2010-11-03T17:07:00.000-07:00

Well I think that I have finally settled in! My flat mate and I have been here almost 2 months and we are finally down to the correct number of people living in the flat (we have so far fluctuated between 5 and 3)...2!

London is a bit of a crazy place to get used to though. But now I have lived here I don't think I will ever be able to live without it!

I have been trying to break down the stereotypes that I had so wrongly assumed of living in a big city. I discovered that although I live in Zone 1 I have a driving range within walking distance, which is amazing. It is not always noisy at night (in fact my room is silent as we speak). And although the tube is great and all, walking is definitely the best way to get from A to B, provided you know how to use Google maps!

Time to calm down!

2010-04-02T08:45:00.000-07:00

Ok, so the whole dissertation issue is getting everyone a little stressed and (i'm fine btw) it seems we're all falling apart in one way or another!

Anyway I saw this quote - If you compare yourself with others, you may become bitter or vain, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. and just thought that it could be nicely adapted in this time of need!

So stop stressing and chill out people and if life gets too much always remember - If you compare your dissertation with other peoples dissertations, you may become bitter, vain or panicked, for always it would seem there will be a greater and lesser dissertation than your own! Sam Brookes 2010

Drivers in Italy

2009-08-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

So I was in Italy last month and I have to say I love it! It’s hot! The food is so good! And most importantly they drive like absolute freakin loons! There are definitely no shades of grey with Italian drivers. They come in two clearly labeled forms. They either drive like my Auntie Lorain (Well respected in our family as the fastest female driver on the planet) with somewhere to be, or they drive like a aged blind woman that hasn’t driven since 1987!

Driving to our quiet and peaceful house situated just north of the middle of nowhere in southern Italy. There was a small white car, aged and bruised by the Italian parking system (‘if there is not enough room, make room’) that couldn’t quite decide if it wanted to be on the road or not. It was gently swaying from the inside lane of the dual carriage way, to the hard shoulder and back. Traveling slightly quicker than an overweight middle aged man trying to finish his first marathon, it was to say the least livening up a few other road users! This car represented the ‘slow’ category beautifully, all the boxes were ticked and many years of practice were obviously paying off.

However, on the way back from our quiet and peaceful house situated just north of the middle of nowhere in southern Italy. There was a perfect example of the ‘fast’ category. He caught my attention as he swiftly and calmly squeezed his way between two cars on the duel carriage way. Personally when I had first seen the hard shoulder inside lane driver, my thought was to try and find a way to pass slow and wide. But no, not this guy. As he undertook us he moved back to the outside lane just long enough to decide that the car ahead could also go nowhere. He moved back to the inside lane and just as the ‘slow’ driver swayed towards the hard shoulder he grabbed his chance! He successfully created a third lane on a dual carriageway and continued his speedy journey towards the pearly white gates!

My thought for the bus is this: Why do people in Europe drive so differently to us Brits?? We are not that far away and we all drive fairly similar cars. We have our fair share of bad drivers, but no one with the minerals of those on the main land! Is it because they drive on the other side of the road?

So it's been a while

2009-07-05T08:36:00.000-07:00

Ok so i haven't actually written anything for nearly 2 years, but that doesn't mean that i have not been doing anything! i have in actual fact been a very busy boy i will have you know!

Anyway there are many reasons for my absense, but lets forget about that! lets get back to business with a thought for the bus......

Why do so many companys fall down on customer service when it would not actually cost them any more to improve?

I am currently melting on a train from Leeds to London and the train staff have just walked down the train giving out free water. Now in this action they had a chance to be the good guys! They could have strolled along the carrige saying things like "just a little something from us to cool you down" or even "free water for all, sorry we can't do anything about the sunshine"! But instead the very grumpy and probably hot staff walked along the train, slamming water down not only looking like they didn't want to be doing it, but looking like i was inconvinencing them for doing it!

man they could have made me feel special. But instead they have taken national expresses CS down a peg in my eyes! Opportunity missed i feel!

Happy North and Grumpy South

2007-11-15T14:07:00.000-08:00

I normal spend my time in the friendly northern city of Leeds! However for the past two days i wandered down i our fair capital! I have to say, and I'm not normally one for making sweeping but everyone in London seems to be very anti social and unfriendly! Everyone is either listening to an ipod, or reading a paper so they don't have to look at you! This was not even at rush hour! i don't think that i smell so i am fairly sure that it was not just me the capital was trying to avoid!

Blogging for the sake of it!

2007-10-24T11:13:00.001-07:00

As you faithfull thoughts for the bus followers will have noticed i dont put up new entries every day! I dont believe in just blogging for the sake of it! As you all know i only ever update this fine blog when i have interesting of nessecary items to talk about! Basically i want to tell you to stand firm against the new culture of blogging for the sake of it with nothing to say!

Small Balls in the wind

2007-09-16T09:20:00.000-07:00

How can something so small be affected so much but the wind! what i am course talking about is golf! Played a round today and just couldn't believe that the wind has so much affect on the ball! It so so tiny!

'Save our TV's'

2007-04-24T06:50:00.000-07:00

News today is that TV should be banned for children under 3 years old. This worries me! It worries me that one day after mo studying science might suggest that we all get rid of our TVs. Now personally I'm not one of those people that sits in front of the TV for hours on end! But imagine life without TV!

I cant even begin to think what might have happened had i never watched an episode of M*A*S*H! or how i could have turned out if i had never chuckled along to open all hours on a cold and dark winter Sunday evening! I know there must be bad things to come from TV, but i you actually think about it you learn so much from watching TV! Even the odd Soap I'm sure helps somebody somewhere! Doesn't it?

Ten minutes of Fame

2007-04-17T16:15:00.000-07:00

Why is it that people 10 minutes of fame seems to be getting longer? Is it my imagination or do some so called 'Celebrities' linger in our lives longer?? Why is it that reality TV contestants seem to make a living from a one off TV appearance? Is it the fault of the media for prolonging their time in the spot light or are we just running out of interesting people to look at???

Sunshine Happy!

2007-03-27T15:47:00.000-07:00

Why does sunshine makes every one so happy? I mean, I'm sure there is a scientific reason for it all! But it really does seem to make all the difference! Two days of sunshine and suddenly everyone is happy, smiley and talking and laughing with complete strangers as if they were old friends!

So what i wont to know is why we don't just make a summers longer? Surely we have the technology to just pull are little isle slightly further south? I know this would mean that the old people of Brittan would no longer have to emigrate in such droves! This i guess could be seen as both a positive and negative affect! But i really do think its something that we should look into more seriously!!!

Carrots and Reindeer?

2007-03-09T13:20:00.000-08:00

Every year, as children, we left out a mince pie for Santa, and a carrot for Rudolph!

The question is are we being conned or do real reindeer like to eat carrots?