I arrived in Manchester today.
Started from the bottom (of England) now we here.
Besides a long journey and a quick mini-tour of Manchester, not much has happened. I’m here visiting Pat, whom you might remember from my Oxford post. He and his parents have very kindly let me stay with them for the week and Pat is showing me around the north of England (which is why the title of this post isn’t “Manchester Day 1”).
Despite having a weekend between my trip to Bournemouth and coming here to Manchester when I had no traveling to do at all, I found myself keeping busy.
On Friday my sister FaceTimed me within minutes of my arriving at my dorm again, and we watched a movie which we synchronized so we could make comments and react at the same time. We also watched a TV show and left FaceTime on in the background while we each did our own thing, kind of like when we’re at home, just co-existing but not really doing anything. It takes a certain level of understanding to be comfortable doing that with people, I’ve found. I’m lucky enough that I can say I have friends I do that with in addition to family.
My brother also spent about an hour showing me all his newest toys. Even though I caught myself zoning out a couple of times, I genuinely love listening to him talk about his interests. That was also how it would have been had I been home with him. It was a very good, six-hour FaceTime chat.
Saturday and Sunday both started with me going off to work in the morning. On Saturday, I went to the gym after work and went grocery shopping after that. On Sunday there was an Arts and Crafts Fair which happens once a month in town, so I went there straight after work and bought a few pieces from the stalls. I’d have gotten more if 1. I could afford the bigger pieces and 2. I could fit them in my suitcase. Still, I’m happy with what I’ve got. On my way to the gym I popped into a charity shop and got four things. Yep. I’d say I’m addicted.
Both days were spent keeping myself busy. I would leave in the morning and be back in the evening. I felt like an adult (albeit, a trainee, or perhaps an intern to the “adulting” profession) and I could understand how people might exist and live after university. It’s easier to see how I might. Of course, a single weekend in between two trips to parts of England is a bit different from an entire lifetime so we’ll have to see how I do when I’m actually an adult without the safety net.
Precarious Writer 