MY FIRST BIT OF TOURISM IN MILANO

so i arrived on 01DEC08 in Milano, went straight to my apartment and fell in love...

i knew i was home when i landed, it was confirmed during the taxi ride from linate to via aurelio saffi and even more so when walked into my new home. tuesday i was busy running around, buying necessities for the flat, getting a pay-as-you-go phone, opening a bank account, unpacking, etc... talking of unpacking, it was such a strange sensation finding all my worldly possessions after so long - first thought that comes to mind "why the hell did i keep this for the past 11yrs?!". actually, there was more than thoughts, there were spoken words too - very sad how one speaks to oneself when packing or unpacking: "mmm... ok, so that goes there... no it doesn't, what about here... PERFECT". wednesday was all about getting to work: 15mins walk, pure bliss after my more than 1hr london commute which included 2 tubes + 1 bus... love at 1st sight with my office, my colleagues, my darlings Andrea + Fabrizio.

the weekend, tourism on the saturday and sleep on the sunday. every night during my first few weeks (and still sometimes nowadays) i sat in my flat, or when walking through the streets and even while at work, and would repeat to myself "thank you, thank you, thank you!" i couldn't believe my luck. it was almost a bit freaky how everything fell into place... i wanted to move to italy, it happened; i wanted a home, it happened (i have family in Milano, they had an empty flat which just happened to be 15mins walking from work...); i wanted my independence, it happened; i wanted a promotion, it happened. i am not gloating - this kind of luck has never been one i have the opportunity of experiencing before. actually, i am not sure it is luck, i have an ulterior theory. of course i do, i wouldn't be me if i didn't now would i!! i believe that when you take one decision, however big, it has a ripple-effect on your life which results in loads of further changes in your life. it's about smashing that deceivingly comfortable status quo we all so often hold onto. we need to take decisions, battle with our fears and insecurities, take steps towards achieving what we want - do not worry yourself about failure as chances are, halfway down the path of achieving said goal, you will do a 180 and go a completely different direction. if you hadn't taken that voyage, you most probably would have never found that road that leads you to that 'different direction'. that is what i tell myself everyday.