1 – 2 = backwards

i sorted out the tube issue. you can get an oyster card, some sort of smart card, at any tube station and then put cash on it. you then swipe when you go in and out and it caps your fairs for a 24 hour period to something less than what you would pay for 2 1-way tickets. nice. there’s no reason not to get one if you’re going to use the tube for any amount at all. it also works with the buses, and dlr (docklands light rail). i haven’t rode either of those yet. it’s also interesting that they want you to register your card (you have to if you do it online). they could then effectively track all your trips for at least an 8 week period. at least, that’s the amount they allow you to view yourself. i wonder if this system was added before or after the bombing. i think it’s fairly recent.

anyways, after sorting that out i went and looked at 2 places. sucked. one would have been living this possibly middle eastern guy who owned a oriental/persian carpet type store. he seemed real lonely. that would never workout. i didn’t like the area either. it was zone 2. the other one was a nicer building along regent canal. not really an impressive area either. also too far from the tube stop. i think it might have been zone 2 as well, but on the other side of the city (east). for those who don’t know, the zones are for the tube and start with zone 1 in the middle and go out from there with increasing numbers. back to square one. i may be staying in a hotel a bit longer.

on the plus side, after looking at the last place, i took several tube rides to different areas. mainly piccadilly circus and covent gardens. piccadilly circus is useless. i would think the only reason to go there is if you were going to one of the plays. total tourist area. mostly seemed to be american chain stores. below the big lit up sign is now a burger king. i ate there. no ice by default. apparently, they can’t read the coke labels that specifically mention “best served ice cold”.

the better part was covent garden. it was dead since it was monday night at about 19:00, but still a decent number of people milling around. the majority of the shops in piccadilly had already closed too. covent was more narrow streets, some cobble stone, some blocked off. lots of shops, restaurants and pubs. some theaters too. i guess it’s more what i picture when i think of london. older. piccaddilly and a lot of london i’ve seen could probably be picked up and moved to the u.s. and nobody could tell the difference.

i think i’m just going to explore more areas tomorrow. no sense in setting up apartment viewings in undesirable areas and wasting everyone’s time.

on the plus side, my ear seems to be getting better. i got some hydrogen peroxide and flushed it out. a big chunk of gunk came out of the bad one. it was nasty. i’ll be surprised if it’s not better tomorrow.

i’ve got to find somewhere to watch the champions league games tomorrow and wednesday too. as much as you here about england and football, it’s not in your face much. i guess too much advertising by american corps. i did have the unfortunate situation of waiting to cross the stree, a bus pulls up and there’s freddie ljungberg spread eagle in an underwear add. i could have done without that. maybe you get more football outside of london.

i should have taken some pictures today. maybe tried a video of the guy playing slide guitar in the piccadilly tube station. that might have actually been interesting.