2 by 2.5

It's incredible that after all the shopping, gifts, exchanges and accumulation of things whose origins you have forgotten; your whole life can fit into a suitcase.

I am a hoarder. The postcard my Grandad wrote to me on a flight from Bombay to London. The T-shirt my sister gave me that may or may not have several holes in it but feels like a warm hug. The little pin of Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh that has survived four wallets and my penchant for losing small things.

I have all these and I've refused to let go.

But other possessions that I felt emotionally invested in have not been so fortunate. As I've once again upped and moved, I had to be ruthless with the packing. Just the bare essentials, weighed with the practicality of what a girl 5 feet and 3.5 inches tall can lug around.

Not much made the cut into the big black bag.

Which leads me to think, new resolutions are in order. Less hoarding, more recycling and just a little bit more common sense (did I honestly think that the laundry basket was going to move with me?!).

In the meanwhile, there's are still a few summer sales on.

You know, presents for other people of course!

Just Block

You'd think that with the multicultural population of London, it would've occurred to the major chemist outlets in the city to stock what in the rest of the world is known as simply 'Sunblock'.

But no. In spite of the vast number of brown people that live in this city, it seems that none of them want to protect their skin from UV rays during the summertime. That's the only explanation I can fathom for the fact that there is no pure sunblock to be bought in this city.

Geared at the pale folks, there is suntan lotion with protection from UV rays, tanning sprays with 'mild protection', mild tanning with 'strong protection' and even (this is my favourite) 'bronzing sunblock'.

Now, seeing as I am quite happy with the shade of bronze I already am, I just want to find something that will leave my skin the colour it is, while still protecting me from skin cancer. Is that really so hard to do?

In London, apparently so.

Familiarity Breeds Contempt

And that's why we all look forward to the Christmas Holidays.

(TBN: This sprouted from a combined effort of thought. Thanks T)

Clean Slate

The thing about new places; you can reinvent yourself.

You can go from quiet, shy, back of the class variety to being the gregarious, self -confident person that everyone wants to be friends with.

You can keep all your secrets, because honestly, who would know?

And can gloss over your past painful memories, by making new ones that you're happier to keep.

But here's the other thing about new places; everyone gets a shot at reinvention, even the assholes.