Another exciting jaunt into London, and another new dress courtesy of the charity shops…
Dress: Weirdfish via charity shop; cardigan: Per Una via charity shop; tights: Topshop; shoes: M&S
I’ve come to the conclusion that the new commute wouldn’t actually be too bad if it were not so darned expensive. Although it doesn’t actually take as long to get to the London office as it did to Oxford (largely because of the 15 minute walk at the end of the train journey, rather than a 50 minute bus ride…) it costs more than twice as much – an on-peak day return coming in at £164 rather than £72. It is ludicrous to be charged so much money to stand on an overcrowded train for an hour, but there are no real alternatives. Even if I drove, I couldn’t afford to drive into and around central London, and if there is parking at our offices I’m unaware of it! It really does reek of the train companies taking advantage of commuters yet again. But I suppose we should be used to that by now…
On the subject of our swanky new offices, I think the word “swanky” really does sum it all up. Security guards on reception, swipe-through barriers to get in and out, meeting pods whose lights are movement activated (and therefore switch off the minute you all sit down…) not to mention printers and canteen payment systems that can only be activated by your pass card… It’s a long way from Between Towns Road. If you’re sensing a hint of nostalgia in my words, then you’re right – Between Town Roads may not have been the fanciest of places to work, but it was good. I was looking through my application to work from home last week, and the following paragraph caught my eye:
It is said that a good job is made great by the people, and I feel privileged to work in a role that is so stimulating to begin with, the people really are simply the icing on the cake!
Yes, my lovely former team members, I really am missing y’all. Yet, I’m sure that, given time to settle in, and the social opportunities the winter sales conference and Christmas party provide, things will start to feel normal once again. It’s just a bit different is all – and no-one likes change…
Second Hand Shopper 
Miss you sweet cheeks x
*HUGS* x
Wait, is that commuting costs for ONE DAY? My dearest commuter card which I needed for my previous job cost me about 1800 SEK a month, and that gave me free rides on public transport in two counties (Uppsala and Stockholm) for the whole month. Not that I had time to avail myself of the opportunity to use it outside work hours because commuter = no free time.
Yup – one day’s train fare. It includes the travel ticket that get’s me from Euston to Kings Cross on the Underground, but it actually takes longer to get through the underground system, wait for a train, travel and get out again than it takes to walk straight along the Euston Road to Kings Cross! Madness!
Completely!