WHAT LIFE IS ABOUT?...

FOOD
Some cultural conflicts are always expected when adapting to a new culture. Surprisingly in the culinary fields.

I always make a salad for my lunch breaks. Well apparently berries and vegetables don't belong together. Or the meat and cheese. Put some nuts and balsamico/olive oil mixture and vola!  This has been one of the juicy gossips at my work place: "...Always eating so healthily.. And can you believe... she put some berries in it!..."

If you mostly eat salads for lunch in London it means that you're on a diet. Even thought you can buy fruits and veggies from any corner with only a few pounds markets still burst with produced and junk foods. Best part is that it's normal to have some chips with bloody hell everything! Like healthy wraps. you eat them with chips! Pizza? WITH CHIPS! Like there're no calories and trans fats all ready...

With the food allergies and special diets the situation has come a bit better in the last few years. You can actually have all you need from your local market. Gluten- and wheat free products are a must! I can finally find some bread etc. from everywhere! The problems is in snack foods. Only fruit salads and yoghurts, nuts, dried fruits and some muffins etc. (which really aren't a nice snack to have everyday)  ... shushis, most of the salads, all of the sandwiches/wraps/pies etc. include gluten! Most of the produced foods: Same thing!  How people can survive without the wheat?  And people tell me: "Only a little amounts of wheat...OF course you can eat one sausage (in here they include wheat flour)  take a cupcake! One can't hurt you!"  Just for your information: It can! Stomach cramps, upset stomach, a rash on my forearms, I'll look like I'm pregnant, all that swelling, pain in my joints and I''m still trying to recover from the accidental gluten including cereal eating in Belgium! Nor funny! In long term it makes me chronically ill: Asthma, sinusitis every month... That's what happens when the biggest protection (your stomach) stops functioning. Do I have any choices? Not really..

That's why it sometimes pisses me off to explain myself over and over again to people that I really don't have a choise. I have to cook everything from a scratch myself so I can be sure there's no gluten in my food.  I really love food and cooking! There fore London food market are one of my wet dreams... MmmMMMMmmm... Avocados, cheese, berries, wines, fresh coffee, veggies, meat. What ever you can desire!

PEOPLE
I really don't mind and it seems that my colleagues are getting used to my weird finnish habits. Actually I feel more like I blend in to the team. People are now more aware what I'm capable of doing and I already got a change to help our contact lens optom. and teach first time users. I love my job as an optical assistant as much as I love osteopathy. (Or maybe I love osteopathy slightly more..)

When you really open your eyes there's so much to see.

Customer service, complicated cases, how people react... over here it's all more colorful! For some reason in London it's allowed to make a scene. With that I really mean a SCENE!  Adults people behaving like little toddlers in a negative age!  All I can think is that it's really rude to other people for someone to behave like that. But maybe that's the direction where our culture is going. Some elderly people in the bus stop first looked me with a slight suspicion in their gaze but when I let them get in the bus first they smiled me like I gave them the heaven! WTF?! That's just a part of the polite manners I've learned as a child!

On my way to work I always tend to see this old man working in northern line side in Waterloo station. He's attitude is something to look up on. He whistles like no-one other and has really relaxed attitude towards his work. Calm, relaxed, clear...  Seeing him working with that attitude makes my day much more better right from the beginning. If he could give a fracture of that attitude to everyone in this planet I guarantee that the world would be much nicer place to live.

At my work my supervisor has the best jokes: Just like today he suggested to one of the managers that the manager should change outfits with me to get some more customers. A black pencil skirt on a bigger guy? Grrrnnau! Or some one should open the zipper behind my skirt a bit more open ( I have a black skirt with golden zipper going all the way down)... just to attract more customers! His a person with a sense of humor but the with the most calm and polite customer service skills.

And on my way back home this lady with a pencil in her hair sits quite often in front of me gossiping on the phone. She's a fun character to follow. I have become so regular customer to the fruit seller outside the Finchley Road tube station that he calls me darling with some warmth in his voice and taps me on my shoulder.



MOMENTS
One day at work I was serving a customer when my manager came to me with a serious face. "There has bee a complain about you!" The blood froze in my veins and I felt a lump in my throat. He showed me a printed paper which I red with shaking and sweaty hands. ... then my manager started laughing and shacked my hand congratulating me. One customer had sent a email to head office praising my service and knowledge which had helped him enormously.  You always hear about the complaints and the all the shit you've done... Never any good feedback. That guy made my day. At that moment I just kept thanking him over and over again and I still do 'cos after that moment my colleagues have started to believe and see that I have a strong background in the optical field. Just like some one just gave me a lift ride a few floors upwards to ease my work load.

Today I almost lost my focus for a moment when this man walked in the shop. His features were somehow so familiar ...and so was my reaction to his presence. Fit, relaxed outfit, amazing blue eyes, stubble, the voice... my men type in flesh and blood...right in front of me! OMG! (And in that moment I suddenly paid attention to my Tina Turner hairdo due to the rain and humidity in the air, all smudgy make up and a few giant pimples on my chin. Great! Thank you for visiting here today when I'm definitely not looking my best at all!) All I could do was to keep a poker face with a slightly bigger smile. And his sense of style! Looking for frames that looked like frames and suited him well! Even the RayBan sunglasses a bit roundish retro ones that don't suite many men were fantastic on him!

I left work today with a big smile on face and headed to Waitrose to buy my friday treats. Some light cola, chocolate cake, crisps.. (Susanna you were right. British natural crisps with a bit seasalt are really good. Better then Pringles. I admit! Not all of the english crisps are total schaiba!) The cashier apparently noticed my lonely treat-myself-friday night plans 'cos with a big knowing smile she wished me a splendid weekend!