Going Underground
Hello,
Here's your longer letter and it is indeed later...
Have I told you about my current living arrangements? They're somewhat "underground" (not literally). I'm living with my dad in his rented 1 bedroom flat, sleeping on a bed settee in the lounge. My clothes are kept in the 2nd wardrobe in his bedroom (along with my mom's weekend clothes), my coats and shoes in the closet in the hall, my bathroom stuff in my toiletries bag in a cupboard in the bathroom and all the rest of my belongings are kept in a small drawer in the TV cabinet in the lounge. What does this all mean? It means that to the casual eye my existence within the flat can be wiped out (well, hidden at least).
On Tuesday we had the quarterly inspection by the landlady's letting agent. Tuesday morning I transformed my bed back into a settee, stashed the sheets etc away and the flat's 2nd resident vanished. The inspector-lady was one-the-wiser. It's not that me living there (temporarily, as a short-term guest) is not allowed - it's a "double" flat after all, but perhaps it would be frowned upon. Also there's the issue of Council Tax, which my dad only pays single-person rates for. This could be seen as ironic, perhaps even hypocritical as my dad's last job at the council was heading up the "Overpayments" department for benefits, which included overpayments of Council Tax if, say, a forgetful tenant neglected to put on their benefit application form that someone in their household was earning and should be contributing council tax.
As I faded myself into the sofa I thought of other people who've lived similar(ish) hidden lives. Anne Frank, for example, hidden (with her whole family) behind a bookshelf in an office; the character in 1984 who has to rent a room in a prole area to do "un-good" things with his lov_r. Not quite the same as me dodging landladies and council tax, but still.
Do you want to know something else about me, in a similar vein to my official invisibility? I ALWAYS buy my books (aside from textbooks) with cash. Never plastic. I guess its my paranoid self not wanting "people" to know what I read (just in case they ever want to, or if I buy a book that raises a flag in some top-secret gov system that watches out for certain ISBNs - you never know!). Although I put the latest books I read on my blog for everyone (all 50 visitors so far) to see. It started when I was in Cambridge and I didn't want my identity to be stolen so I tried buying everything with cash. Very impractical so that didn't last long. My book buying has remained in cash though.
Now, to reply to your email properly...
You remind me of an old person will all this stumbling on stairs. If you were 50 years older you'd be be put in a home!
What was the "American Boy" book about? I think you told me but cant remember: some sort of auto-bio? Did you finish the Time Traveller's Wife?
I'm OK, mostly enjoying my "great job", been a bit dull lately what I've been doing, but almost finished that bit. The projects slipping a fair bit, although apparently still "salvageable". There was a big meeting up in Nottingham about it today actually. Hope it went well. N. left yesterday. She'd been here a year a and a week but wasn't enjoying it. Maybe that'll be me next year! I think I'll stick here for a bit, give the London life a go (when i eventually get a place in London that is!) and I quite like the people I work with - much better being surrounded by geeks!
You get scared of the strangest things!
Might see K. (girl in the hat in that pic) on Saturday cos it's P's birthday and he said she might come. Hope so, maybe I can try out this "more confidence" you talk of. Or not.
Other news: I've joined a gym buy the train station in London. Went swimming this morning before work. Swam in the "medium" lane but probably should have been in the "slow" one. Interesting huh?
Anyway, best be off home,
Here's your longer letter and it is indeed later...
Have I told you about my current living arrangements? They're somewhat "underground" (not literally). I'm living with my dad in his rented 1 bedroom flat, sleeping on a bed settee in the lounge. My clothes are kept in the 2nd wardrobe in his bedroom (along with my mom's weekend clothes), my coats and shoes in the closet in the hall, my bathroom stuff in my toiletries bag in a cupboard in the bathroom and all the rest of my belongings are kept in a small drawer in the TV cabinet in the lounge. What does this all mean? It means that to the casual eye my existence within the flat can be wiped out (well, hidden at least).
On Tuesday we had the quarterly inspection by the landlady's letting agent. Tuesday morning I transformed my bed back into a settee, stashed the sheets etc away and the flat's 2nd resident vanished. The inspector-lady was one-the-wiser. It's not that me living there (temporarily, as a short-term guest) is not allowed - it's a "double" flat after all, but perhaps it would be frowned upon. Also there's the issue of Council Tax, which my dad only pays single-person rates for. This could be seen as ironic, perhaps even hypocritical as my dad's last job at the council was heading up the "Overpayments" department for benefits, which included overpayments of Council Tax if, say, a forgetful tenant neglected to put on their benefit application form that someone in their household was earning and should be contributing council tax.
As I faded myself into the sofa I thought of other people who've lived similar(ish) hidden lives. Anne Frank, for example, hidden (with her whole family) behind a bookshelf in an office; the character in 1984 who has to rent a room in a prole area to do "un-good" things with his lov_r. Not quite the same as me dodging landladies and council tax, but still.
Do you want to know something else about me, in a similar vein to my official invisibility? I ALWAYS buy my books (aside from textbooks) with cash. Never plastic. I guess its my paranoid self not wanting "people" to know what I read (just in case they ever want to, or if I buy a book that raises a flag in some top-secret gov system that watches out for certain ISBNs - you never know!). Although I put the latest books I read on my blog for everyone (all 50 visitors so far) to see. It started when I was in Cambridge and I didn't want my identity to be stolen so I tried buying everything with cash. Very impractical so that didn't last long. My book buying has remained in cash though.
Now, to reply to your email properly...
You remind me of an old person will all this stumbling on stairs. If you were 50 years older you'd be be put in a home!
What was the "American Boy" book about? I think you told me but cant remember: some sort of auto-bio? Did you finish the Time Traveller's Wife?
I'm OK, mostly enjoying my "great job", been a bit dull lately what I've been doing, but almost finished that bit. The projects slipping a fair bit, although apparently still "salvageable". There was a big meeting up in Nottingham about it today actually. Hope it went well. N. left yesterday. She'd been here a year a and a week but wasn't enjoying it. Maybe that'll be me next year! I think I'll stick here for a bit, give the London life a go (when i eventually get a place in London that is!) and I quite like the people I work with - much better being surrounded by geeks!
You get scared of the strangest things!
Might see K. (girl in the hat in that pic) on Saturday cos it's P's birthday and he said she might come. Hope so, maybe I can try out this "more confidence" you talk of. Or not.
Other news: I've joined a gym buy the train station in London. Went swimming this morning before work. Swam in the "medium" lane but probably should have been in the "slow" one. Interesting huh?
Anyway, best be off home,
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