Mersa Matrouh (Yes, that's me swimming...)

Richard Madeley

Salaams,

Well my first "week" at work is over an it went pretty well. No real work really took place - it won't for another good 6 weeks as this period has been dedicated to training. Thursday and today was mainly spent in the auditorium whilst talks such as "diversity in the workplace" and "how to deal with change" were given...

Although the talks sound pretty boring, I actually found them useful. Thursday was a big day for me as it officially signaled the end of my freedom and student life and the beginning of work. Also the fact that I now officially live in London rather than Burnley is a big thing for me too. Plus moving away from family/friends for the foreseeable future...All this has proved to be a big change and a lot of the things mentioned in this talk helped. The analysis she used for dealing with change was what is used for dealing with any other grievance - first going through the denial phase, then resistance, then acceptance and finally commitment, and regarding my change, I think it's true...

Anyway today is my birthday (yay...!). I kind of knew it would happen (they always find out...) but at the beginning of the day the trainer randomly asked who's birthday was coming up and then who's birthday it was and when I reluctantly put my hand up, everyone proceeded to sing "Happy Birthday" to me...It was OK though as it saved me the bother of introducing myself to the 106 other new starters...(I hate the networking events they hold where it's like freshers week as you go round asking people the same questions (name/division etc) and then forget this 5 secs later...). So yes, there's 107 people starting with me in the Capital Markets division coming from 20+ countries. That's one thing I like working in this industry; the diverse nature of the people you get to meet. There's a few Muslims too (2 Lebanese guys, 1 Syrian, 1 Tunisian, 1 Lebanese/French girl and 1 Moroccan girl) but the job now is to get them to act like Muslims...

Although the next few weeks is only 9am-5pm, it's gonna be pretty tough as every Monday we'll have an exam on what we got taught the previous week. After a month of this we have one week of lectures for our FSA (Financial Services Authority) exam which is supposed to be pretty hardcore...so there was me thinking I had done my last exam...

In other news I forgot to mention, on my first day in London when I went to the Leicester Square cinema there was a movie premier going on at the same time (The red carpet and lots of people screaming and taking photos gave it away...I think the film was StormBreakers or something). Anyway I got to see Ewan McGregor, Alicia Silverstone and The One, The Only of Richard Madeley "Richard and Judy" fame...aren't I lucky...?

Hope everyone is well,

Salaams.

Southwark or Suthark...?

Salaams,

It feels like yesterday i was setting out on my travels and cursing the fact I will start work in 6 months time...and now I face the prospect of starting work tomorrow...

Time flies. It really does, and at times like this you feel the brunt of it. To be honest I'm still not looking forward to work, but I suppose it's just something you have to face. I've worked in the company for the last two summers and it's actually OK so I'm sure after a few days I'll be back in the swing of things.

Since I start work tomorrow, I'm sure you'll have guessed that I'm now in London. I don't like London. It's so busy, smelly, dirty, loud, polluted...all the things about a city that puts you off basically. And the last few days have been BOILING with temperatures above 35c...and it feels a hell of a lot hotter in the tube and on the buses.

Anyway I got to London on Sunday night and have settled in my temporary accommodation in Southwark. How did you pronounce this...? South-Waark or Suthark...??? Well, to my loss I found out its Suthark. On Sunday night I went to eat with Fugly on Edgeware Rd and got back too late and so the tube had stopped running. I told the guy I needed to get to Southwark to which he said to take the bus to Paddington and then take the train. So I did this. At Paddington I asked the guy for the train to Southwark and he told me platform 9. At platform 9 I asked the guy if this train went to Southwark, he said yes, so I boarded it.

After a few minutes on the train though I thought it all looked a bit dodge, so I started asking the passengers about Southwark to which many replied they had never heard of it. So at the first stop I got off and asked the driver; he said he'd never heard of Southwark and to decide ASAP if wanted to get on the train or not. I decided no. So then I explained my situation to the guy at that station who explained it all to me; all the people I had asked thought I had said southHALL and South-Waark is pronounced Suthark....!! ARGRGRGRGRHHHH!!! My northern accent...!!

So it was 1am, my first night in London and I was stuck in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't as bad as it could have been though as I had to wait only 15 mins to get the train back to Paddington and then get two buses to Suthark and eventually got back home at 2:15am...

The area I'm living in at the moment is quite nice though. It's in the arty area of London and is located just behind the London Eye (I have a fab view of this from my room), and there are lots of other art galleries/museums etc in the area. This is only for 3 weeks though (inshaAllah...) before I move in with some friends from Cam.

Anyway please do dua my job goes OK from tomorrow...

Salaam,
Ps, also do dua for Fugly and his exams...it looks like groundhog day unfortunately...

What next...??

Salaam,

Sick;Dutch court lets paedophile party contest country's general election

Imam Ghazaali said that it is better to follow a dog than to follow no one, since if you're following a dog at least you have a guide and you know where you're going - wherever the dog goes, you go. But with no guide whatsoever you end up completely lost and start doing sicko things like the above...

Salaam

Hello Hello...

Salaams,

Yes, i'm still alive...

Doesn't time fly when you're...no, i can't really say that...

You would have thought that since i'm pretty free these days i would be saying more on here, but the opposite has in fact happened..

So since the last time i said anything; not been doing much really. Just been in Burnley, watching the football (and now Wimbledon), reluctantly spending 2 hours per day on my online course i need to do...(not happy about this), trying to do a bit of Arabic per day...oh yeah, i've also started taking driving lessons. I've been meaning to take them for aaages but never really had the time or the need, but now i'm thinking i'll have Very little time when i start work so i should do as much as i can and so i'm doing 2 hours per day for the next fortnight...

Wait a minute, i'm doing quite a lot aren't i...? 2hours driving, 2 hours course, 1 hour Arabic, 2hours ish football/wimbledon = 7 hours...Wow, i Have been pretty busy, haven't i?

That's one thing with me; i hate wasting time. Now for those of you who know me, this might seem suprising at first (Fugly, i'll hear nothing off you). But i don't mind wasting time when i planned ahead to waste time, but i don't like wasting time when it creeps up on you and then you regret it later on and wished you did something. I think there's a subtle difference there. So that's why sometime when i at first thinnk i'm not doing much, i actually find that i am, but it's just that i' not really aware of it..


Anyway that's enough blubbering on for now. I will inshaAllah write something soon re the trip, what i learnt etc. I promise.

Salaam