Adding a dose of danger to the daily commute

I’m back living and working in London and that also means a return to the gruelling daily commute! On a side note, I’ve been working on another back to London post, on my house-hunting experience. Call it writer’s block or a reluctance to revisit the traumatising events, but I haven’t been able to finish it yet. Hopefully it will be coming soon.

Back to the topic at hand! When I lived in London before, my commute was a fairly easy one on the Central line, which is quick and reliable. No such thing can be said about the Wimbledon branch of the District line, which is what I have access to now that I live in lovely Putney! It’s possibly the moodiest form of public transport I have come across. Luckily there’s another, quicker option: the overground from Putney to Waterloo (fun rail fact: Waterloo is the busiest train station in the UK).

So for the past couple of weeks since being in my new house, I’ve been getting the train to Waterloo. My office is in Covent Garden, which is only a 15 minute walk from the train station. Most of my co-workers who get into Waterloo prefer to walk but I find it a little testing in the morning (I’m not a morning person). For the first week I got the tube to Leicester Square. However I realised that between the time it took me to get from the platform to the tube, wait for a train and walk from Leicester Square to my office, I was adding time to my commute! Not good practice for an efficiency loving economist. That should have thought me to man up, stop being lazy and walk, but unfortunately it didn’t happen. My second attempt involved making the last leg of my journey by bus. This has definitely been a lot better and quicker than the tube.

However, I knew in my heart that there was a better option. And then the answer came to me: cycle from Waterloo to work on the infamous Boris bikes! They’re now a common sight around Central London and most people who live or have visited the city have probably given them a go. Not me however, and that’s shameful!

So this week (on Wednesday) I got myself to Waterloo a little earlier than usual in the morning, purchased 24-hour access to Barclays Cycle Hire  for one whole pound, and cycled to work. I’m not great on a bike but not a disaster either. Hills are my biggest problem but luckily there’s not many of them on my route from Waterloo.

My bike release ticket!

My decision to attempt cycling to work is partly due to a desire to get in shape but also inspired by all my co-workers who cycle in from places like Wimbledon or Putney. I think it’s a great thing to do and while I know I’m not ready for a full home-to-work cycle commute, this way I can at least start getting ready.

So what was it like? Two words immediately come to mind: scary and exhilarating. As is to be expected, cycling through London rush-hour traffic is not going to be a relaxed experience. From talking to people who regularly cycle, I knew to watch out for buses! But no matter how mentally prepared I was, cycling through the Waterloo roundabout with a double decker less than a meter away did not leave me indifferent. And when the bus makes a stop you’re pretty much stuck behind it, except if you’re one of the experienced cyclists who dare to overtake on the outside – and that’s definitely not me yet.

But once I was past the terrifying stage, I absolutely loved the experience. The best thing about cycling in London is that you’re not alone. There’s a flock of you, all pedalling furiously in defiance of the monopoly that cars used to have on the road. And it’s a great feeling to be part of this kind of early-morning stampede.  In London there are now cycle lanes, designated cycle routes and even cycle traffic lights. While we’re not as advanced as some of our friends on the continent in terms of the bike-friendliness, I definitely think we’re on the right track. You can tell from the sheer number of cycles on the roads that something is changing in people’s mentality.

When I got to work I was paralysed by the fear that I had been forced to block out while I was on the bike. But soon that passed and all that was left was sheer excitement about what I had just experienced. I was jumping around the office like a little kid!

In terms of the actual Barclays bike system, I found it relatively easy to use, despite the bike being quite heavy and hard to get in and out of the dock for a relatively short girl. But I think once I get my technique down that won’t be a problem. Many people say that the bikes are quite heavy to ride and I must agree. Compared to all the other bikes out there on the road they are definitely slower, but again that wasn’t a problem for my as my inexperience definitely means I neat to take it slow and steady. The number of docking stations in Central London is impressive and I was able to get a bike from the station in front of Waterloo during rush-hour which I thought was great.

The bike I used in the evening, back in the docking station at Waterloo.

So what’s next? Well I have resolved to buy myself a year-long membership to the Barclays scheme and a helmet, and cycle to work from Waterloo as many times as I can in the morning, and back again in the evening. Hopefully I’ll be on track to buy my own bike and cycle to work all the way from Putney by next September (that’s of a rough target I’m giving myself). If you’ve been thinking about giving cycling to work a go, even for a short portion of the trip like I am, I think you should just go for it and see what you think.

Gelato run

Since being on holiday here in Rome I’ve been eating A LOT of gelato. I’ve had it most days, except Thursday. However, considering I had it twice yesterday, the one day break doesn’t really count. I’m quite shocked at my apparently insatiable appetite for the frozen treat. I wasn’t into ice-cream at all before coming to Rome but then again I wasn’t used to temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius on a daily basis. However, I think the main difference is in the way ice-cream, or rather gelato, is eaten here. Instead of consuming it as if it’s a dirty little secret, in the privacy of their own home or in the darkness of the cinema, Romans eat ice-cream out in the open, on the street, sociably. On my first night here, my uncle and his wife took me out for pizza. After leaving the pizzeria, we got back in the car but instead of driving home we went to a gelateria, which is an ice-cream shop. We had to wait at least 10 minutes to get served, due to the long queue of people hungry for gelato at 11pm! I asked my uncle if this was normal and he said yes. Everyone goes for gelato late at night!

Last night, after having dinner at home, we got in the car, in the search for gelato yet again. My uncle’s favourite gelateria was closed, probably because yesterday was a public holiday here in Rome. This didn’t discourage us however, and after a half hour drive through Rome’s crazy late night  traffic, we once again found ourselves holding cups of gelato.  While tourists seem to mainly eat gelato during the day, to cool off while sight-seeing, which is something I’ve done myself, Romans mainly have it at night, after dinner. Young or old, weather they are heading back home or out clubbing, most people hit the gelateria between 10pm and 1am.

In addition to the sociable aspect of eating gelato, the diversity of flavours and the amazing taste is light-years ahead of our favorite kind of American-import ice-cream in the UK (you know the one I’m talking about). My new-found love for gelato is one of the many things I love about Rome! Last night after having our gelato we drove to one of the city’s many hills to take in a panoramic view of Rome at night. It was breathtaking and although I’ll be leaving Rome soon, I will definitely be coming back soon, if only to have some gelato.

Which one to choose?

Quote of the day

Exams are now imminent, and as the panic sets in I am trying to keep in mind this quote by Robert Frost:

For some reason I have always been a panicky person when it comes to exams, don’t ask me why. Overcoming the fear is part of the journey. Every time.

5 Songs This Week…

Alex Clare – Too Close

This is very popular at the moment and Radio 1 have been playing it over and over…quite commercial but I like it nevertheless. I’m not sure it will age very well however.

Hooverphonic – Vinegar and Salt

I used to listen to Hooverphonic a lot when I was young and every once in a while I rediscover one of their songs. This one is an all time favourite. It’s very emotional and beautiful.

Fun – We Are Young

Again, this one has been all over the radio but I think it’s a very sweet song and it makes me feel happy and nostalgic at the same time. And sometimes you just need to feel that way. PS: If you haven’t seen the video yet you should check it out it’s pretty…interesting…

Ellie Goulding – Jolene (Cover)

Ellie Goulding’s voice is beautiful and this cover is absolutely stunning. Enough said! PS: I usually enjoy the Radio 1 live lounges. Slow acoustic versions of songs just have a way of getting to me.

Niki & The Dove – The Drummer

The weekly dose of electropop! I actually hated this song when I first heard it but I think it’s one of those they call ‘a grower’. I don’t have anything else to say about it…just listen and see if you like.

Earth Day 2012

It’s that time of the year again! It’s bigger than Christmas, Easter, Hanukkah, Diwali, the 4th of July or even the Queen’s birthday…today is Earth Day! And the reason why it’s bigger is because Earth Day doesn’t limit itself to any one group of people. It’s literally targeted at the whole Earth. The tradition started in 1970 in the United States and it went global in the 1990s, with more than 500 million people in 175 countries observing it today.

This time last year I had only just heard about Earth Day and I wrote a blog post about it exploring a bit of the history and also discussing an article offering some environment related volunteering ideas. I’ll obviously try to do something different this year.

Some people might dismiss things like Earth Day as hippie, naive or foolish. But I think it’s naive and foolish to think that Earth Day isn’t important. Earth Day is not about holding hands and singing folk music together (as lovely as that may be). It’s about stopping and realising that certain habits of our society are self-destructive and unsustainable.

This powerful video from artist Chris Jordan shows us his unique photographic take on what Western culture looks like today and he manages to translate some meaning from shocking statistics. His pictures and words are deeply moving. I won’t say any more but I encourage everyone, believers and non-believers, to watch this video:

A Handy Tip for the Easily Distracted

Not quite sure what is going on today but I am easily distracted. This might not help but it’s funky.

Quote of the day

Concentration beats procrastination

At the moment I’m in the middle of writing my dissertation (with a week to go before my first draft is due and a month before the final  deadline), as well as working on two other assignments and preparing for a job interview. Needless to say, I have been stressing out about everything and I even made myself a day to day schedule of the ‘targets’ I need to hit from now until my last deadline. Pretty crazy!

Having manned up and moved on from the “why have you left everything until the last moment” lamentation, I resolutely set out to work all day every day without interruptions and be as productive as possible! Needless to say, it didn’t work. Despite having the whole house to myself, provisions of healthy and unhealthy snacks, and determination on my side, the old enemy, PROCRASTINATION, reared it’s ugly head. If you’re a student yourself, you will be very familiar with the irresistible itch of having to check your email, facebook, or any other number of social networking websites every few minutes. Coupled with my irrational urge to google anything that goes through my mind while I’m trying to do work, clean my room or do any other household chores, by the end of the second day, I had not gotten very far with my schedule and was once again in panic mode.

Luckily, feeling like procrastination was winning over concentration, I accepted an invitation from a friend to go over for some drinks. We spent the evening talking and of course our common enemy, work, worked its way into the conversation. Complaining that I couldn’t seem to concentrate on my work for any significant period of time, my friend proposed to me the most simple, obvious and frankly genius solution: a work method where you concentrate for two hours and then take a one hour break.

Thinking about it, I realised that of course trying to work throughout the whole day without any real breaks didn’t have any chance of success because the human concentration powers are not that great. However, by imposing myself a finite and relatively short two-hour work period, with the promise of a real break at the other end, I was able to truly concentrate and get a lot of work done. Today I managed to do four two hour blocks and then another hour before taking the evening off! That’s nine hours of actual work, something that I think has never happened before in my life. And the best part is that I didn’t feel stressed during the day, because I was taking regular breaks.

Today was the second day of my experiment with the ‘two hours on – one hour off’ work method and so far I’m loving it. I would recommend it to everyone, not just students. The best part is that it’s not some kind of fantastic innovation, just a smarter way to work. I think frankly people have unfair expectations of themselves and their ability to do work. I think it’s ludicrous to expect to be able to work straight from sunrise to sunset, even when you’re feeling the crushing pressure of deadlines. So if you’re in a situation similar to mine, do yourself a favour and try this method for at least one day. You might find that concentration can sometimes conquer procrastination!

I don't usually like these pictures but in this case it illustrates my point very well!

Travelling: a view from Stockholm

Last week I went on a short city-break to Stockholm, Sweden. I’d never been to a Scandinavian country before and despite the freezing temperatures, I enjoyed my time there very much. I don’t want to write a long-winded travel article type of thing, just highlight a few things I was particularly impressed with and what I think is worth doing, as well as some travelling tips:

1. Local knowledge - this applies to any holiday, especially if you’re trying to get as much out of your limited time as possible – it’s good to research the place you’re going to and seek out the main attractions and things to do, but nothing beats local knowledge! The main reason I had such a good time was because by asking locals about the best museums and areas to visit and the best places to eat, we were able to see a lot more of the city than we expected, have some great meals out (for decent prices) and get a real flavour of the place.

2. Stockholm transport – the Metro system in Stockholm is very easy to use. It has only three lines, trains come often and, shock and awe, it runs throughout the night! After having experienced the capricious London Underground, this was a breath of fresh air. Don’t waste your money on pay as you go if you’re planning on using the metro at least a couple of times a day. You can get one day, three day or weekly travel cards which make it quite affordable.

3. The archipelago - Stockholm is very different to other cities I’ve visited before in that it’s build on a series of islands. For example, the old city Gamla Stan is on a self contained island. There is a whole island dedicated to museums, an amusement park and a natural reserve. And so on. What is interesting is that when you go from island to island, the differences in architecture are quite pronounced and often you feel like you’re visiting a series of small cities. I found this very interesting and it definitely kept things fresh.

4. Museums - as is most often the case on a city break, museums are at the top of the list of things to do! Stockholm is not lacking in them: according to one of the brochures I brought home, there are over 84 museums in the city. Pretty impressive but with such a large number, it’s hard to narrow it down. I would definitely recommend the Skansen museum, which is part zoo, part heritage museum. It’s set in an extensive natural reserve and the zoo, which consists of spacious enclosures, gives you the opportunity to see some of the most iconic Nordic animals, such as wolves or reindeer. The heritage part consists of various buildings from different periods, including farm houses, workshops and mills which provide a capsule history of life in Sweden throughout the ages. Visiting Skansen can take up as much as half a day. In terms of choosing other museums, I think the best idea is to ask locals what they enjoy the most. We also visited the Fotografiska museum which is a modern photography museum at the recommendation of our local hosts. This was one of the best museums I have ever been to. The exhibitions were fascinating and they were cleverly combined with multimedia elements such as films. The view from the museum cafe over Stockholm is also unbeatable!

5. Budget – for anyone thinking of going to Sweden and Scandinavia in general, the prices will shock you even if you’re coming from somewhere like London. I would say on average things were at least twice as expensive as in London. The most pronounced differences were in meals out and drinks. Also, museums charge quite high entrance fees in Stockholm (around 100 KR or about £10). However, with a little bit of local knowledge you will be able to get the most out of your money. On a recommendation, we went to a wonderful Lebanese restaurant which was delicious, had great atmosphere and was decently priced. The main lesson is that you shouldn’t panic, try to assess which places are clearly geared at the gullible tourist and avoid them.

I think that’s about it for now. In conclusion I had a really enjoyable trip, got to experience a new culture and see beautiful architecture, and last but not least had some great meals. If you have any specific questions please feel free to comment and I will answer based on what I experienced. I’ll leave you with a few pictures of Stockholm!

Gamla Stan (The Old City) with it's narrow, pebbled streets

Fotografiska museum

Panoramic view of Stockholm

The word on the street is Collaborative Consumption

Today I was reading an article about clothes swaps as a way of being more environmentally friendly. According to a source, UK shoppers purchase 2 million tonnes of clothes and throw 1 million tonnes away every year! In an attempt to turn this into a more sustainable system, clothes swaps are gaining popularity. I’ve heard of clothes swaps before and even of ones happening close to where I live. However, the article went on to mention the term collaborative consumption, something I hadn’t heard of before.

So I decided to research this a bit and ended up on this web page: http://www.collaborativeconsumption.com, a website dedicated to explaining the movement and offering a really good range of examples of collaborative consumption practices. Collaborative consumption basically describes a movement which has been gaining popularity in the past few years, involving people engaged in the sharing, trading, bartering, swapping, renting and gifting of goods and services. These practices have been around for a long time, but collaborative consumption involves engaging a vast number of people – a critical mass – in them, through the use of technology, in particular new media and social networks.

For people who are reading this and thinking they’d like to get involved, chances are you already have! If you’ve ever bought something from someone on Ebay for example, you’ve participated in collaborative consumption!

Car sharing services are one of the areas where collaborative consumption has had its biggest successes. When living in big, congested cities like London or New York, having your own car isn’t very practical because public transportation is good and driving is a nightmare. That doesn’t mean that at times you won’t need a car to move something or do a big shop. Instead of having to invest in a car that you use once in a blue moon, car sharing services allow you to use and pay for a car for only as long as you need it. These kinds of practices are trying to fundamentally change the way people consume. Just because it’s ‘normal’ for people to own a car, as part of a consumer economy, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t alternatives. Indeed, when I lived in the US I was shocked that people considered it normal to change their car for a new model every couple of years, or even yearly, while hundreds of cars sit unwanted in second hand lots.

The car sharing example is a good one but tourism has also embraced collaborative consumption. Websites like Couch Surfing and Airbnb offer people the opportunity to put their spare rooms up for potential visitors (the first for free and the second for a charge) but are also social networks, where people can share their travelling experiences. In the long run, these offer a more authentic and life-changing travelling experience, an alternative to the package holidays which are often unimpressive and make you feel like you haven’t even left home.

From my reading, the areas where collaborative consumption is becoming a viable and established alternative to the mainstream are numerous. From solar power to textbook swaps to neighbourhood support services, the possibilities are endless. You can check out some of the examples and even discover something that you didn’t even know you were looking for by taking a look at this page!