Back in London

I'm very sleepy right now. Too sleepy to type a coherent blogpost. The flight was quite tolerable, even though it was BA. Arriving back at Heathrow and then heading to my hotel was a bit of a culture shock, especially since I had a massive headache at the time which made everything seem worse. I've since adjusted and am feeling positive about things. Looking towards the future etc. etc.

Today was my first day back at work. I was worried that I had missed out on a lot and would need time to adjust and get back into things, but there was a lot of stuff to do and I could get going right away. It felt good to be back. To contribute.

On Friday I will meet the people I will be staying at for one month, thanks to airbnb. I'm glad to have found that place. I want to also talk here about the weird experience in my current hotel and how it's all not so bad after all but I am really sleepy. Time to say good night.

Posted in Daily Life , UK | Tagged

Gaman culture

The Japanese word 'gaman' (pronounced gah'mahn) roughly means 'to put up with something', to endure, to persevere. When people are standing in an over-crowded train at 30C tightly packed together like sardines without complaining, they are putting up with it. When someone works at the same company for three years even though his salary is shit, he is forced to work an additional 30 hours overtime each week and he hates his manager, he is putting up with it. When someone is opening a business bank account at a certain British bank even though the banker is treating him poorly and not making him look forward to having the account, he is putting up with it.

The last example, obviously based on myself, reflects how I changed in regard to this since I came to London, because I did not put up with it, and I have no plan of putting up with it in the future. Having been 'raised' in society by the Japanese (all my real interactions with society after uni happened in Japan) I always used to put up with a lot of things. I was never bothered by this because I saw other people in Japan doing the same thing and I just mimicked their behaviour. I also never had to put myself in any situation where I had to really put up with something. In all fairness it was smooth sailing all the way, right up until I left Japan.

When moving to the UK I was pretty much the same, thinking if I put up with things they'll eventually go away or cease to bother me. Then, as I started working in London, having to deal with moving, taxes, bank accounts, estate agents, my patience kept getting shorter and shorter. I ceased to be able to put up with things any more. In some ways, this is a good thing. It means I'll now cut the bullshit banker talk and walk out when I see no good outcome. It also means I'll have more trouble finding a new apartment because my criteria just went through the roof. This, by the way, has to do with my previous post about letting your guard down. You can try and put up with something assuming things will get better or it won't be as bad as it seems. Sometimes you'll get lucky and you'll deal with sincere people who will not take advantage of you and take you at face value. But sometimes (most of the time?)  things are exactly as bad as they seem and you'd better cover your ass before you start doing anything. But that's another story.

The gaman mindset is one of refusing to acknowledge anything you don't like. You refuse to even think the thought of 'not liking' something, instead you'll just think to yourself "I'll put up with it" and focus on something else instead. Personally I think there's only a very few cases where this could be the correct solution, with most of life's serious problems requiring a more pro-active approach, but I do admire the mindset. Because I've seen people practising this and, if done properly, you truly do cleanse your mind of the bad thing that was bothering you just a minute before. It's a form of mastery over your own mind that is commendable. And, as Japan proves, if all of society practices it, the end result is (paradoxically?) not bad.

As I final thought, I can't help but be reminded by the prisoner's dilemma again. The prisoner's dilemma has been on my mind a lot lately and somehow I keep finding real-life situations where it's applicable. This is another one: if everyone gamans then nobody suffers a disadvantage, but as soon as one person starts complaining (to himself) about something and ceases to put up with things, he will end up striving for a better position compared to the gaman people. Going for individual gain rather than societal gain, perhaps? If everyone plays the non-gaman strategy (UK) or the gaman strategy (JP) then society is stable, but a mix of strategies will result in a disadvantage for some.

Posted in Japan , Thoughts , UK

As expected..

My estate agent just called me to let me know that she won't be able to make it today, exactly as I predicted yesterday. She said she had to bring her children to school. On Saturday when she was checking the room I asked her in person THREE FUCKING TIMES if she would be able to make it on Monday, and she said yes. Incompetent.

Anyway, she's going to check the room after I've left it, meaning she'll have every chance to throw weird allegations at me and do evil things to try and keep my money. Therefore I took photos of my apartment last night and posted them online here: https://www.colorfulwolf.com/pics/apt20120723. If you care about my situation please download these photos and leave a comment so that I have some evidence that I actually left the room like this. I realize this is not much in the way of evidence and I have no idea if it will hold up in court, but I need to cover every single base because this woman could seriously screw me over if she was so inclined.

Argh. At least I don't have to see that annoying face of her again.

Posted in Daily Life , UK

The last of the estate agent

It's been an interesting couple of days. I got a call from my estate agent on Wednesday about finishing everything up before I leave. I told her I'd be leaving on Monday morning but would have to leave very early. She said she understood and acknowledged I was a 'special case' (her words, not mine) and to do the room check on Saturday at 10AM. She even confirmed that I would be moving out on Monday and that these were special circumstances. I spent most of the Friday cleaning up the place for the room check and did not have time to work.

Then Saturday arrived, and she called me at 9:30AM, said she couldn't make it and if we could reschedule to 4PM. Not happy about this I told her I already had other plans for my Saturday, but she had no other time slot, so I gave in and stayed at home until 4PM, catching up on the work that I missed the day before.

Then she arrived at 4PM, asked me some silly unrelated questions and then asked me for my keys since I would be moving out right after the check. I told her that no, this was not what we agreed on over the phone, and that I would be moving out on Monday. She then changed her mind completely and said that she couldn't do the room check then. This pissed me off greatly as she had essentially ruined my Saturday for fucking nothing. I told her that I had to leave Monday morning early at 9AM, and that I would not have time to spare if anything will take longer than expected, but she insisted on doing the room check on Monday anyway. I confirmed with her twice that I would absolutely leave at 9AM to catch my flight, and she said she was okay with that.

What I expect to happen: she will make up some silly issue that would have to cause the professional cleaners to come in, which will cost me 100 pounds. I will try to argue the point with her but I will have to leave to catch my flight. She will then deduct 100 pounds from my deposit before returning it, or find another reason to not return my deposit at all. Because she is that kind of woman.

After her visit finished on Saturday I was so angry that I had to walk to the park to cool off. I spent at least an hour there, just sitting, thinking about things, being angry at her. She is by far the most incompetent and malicious person I have ever had dealings with and I regret it greatly that I ever signed a contract with her. The only way I can keep myself to think slightly positive about the situation, is to assume that I've already lost my entire deposit. That way I'll be happy if I see a part of it back. That said, I can fully see this ending in a court case if she decides she can take advantage of me in some other way. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Posted in Daily Life , UK

A bad banking experience

Before writing this post I planned on keeping the name of the bank anonymous, but then I looked through my previous blogposts and found that I had already named Barclays and my unhappiness with them several times. So there's not much point in anonymizing this. Just keep in mind that I may have been unlucky in my dealings with Barclays, and you may get an actual nice person who serves you properly. Personally I think that's a load of crap and they're all told to stick to their silly scripts. Anyway, here's my story.

I'm trying to get a business bank account set up before I go on holiday the next Monday. Last Wednesday I called Barclays up to inquire about a business bank account and they assured me that it would be all ready to go within 5 working days, including internet banking. It sounded great, and the guy I spoke to on the phone actually seemed like a decent guy who was quick and to the point. He set me up with an appointment for today with no hassle. He is the only person in Barclays I ever spoke to who seemed sincerely helpful. Everyone else is just out to get you to sign up for more products.

So I showed up this morning for my 'introductionary' talk. I made it quite clear right from the start that I already have an accountant and he's helping me with the finances, and that I just wanted the account set up quickly. My personal banker then proceeded to do the whole scripted conversation bullshit, asking me about my interests, my history and whatnot. He swivelled his screen to me so I could see what he was typing. And he couldn't spell for shit. Dressed in a suit, looking proper, but not able to spell words like 'maintenance' ('maintainance') or even 'developer' (devloper, spelled consistently wrong several times). That's just crap, and does not inspire confidence.

The bit about my interests and hobbies took a while, so I asked him why they needed this information. The response was that they could give me an improved personalized experience, or some other marketing bullshittiness to that tone. I thought 'whatever' and just ran with it.

  • "What are your hobbies?"
  •  -Well, I like to cycle.
  • "Ok, that's nice. Please give me something more so we can better personalize your experience. "
  • - Could you explain how this will help me get a business bank account?
  • "<bullshitbullshitbullshitbullshitbullshit>"
  • - I see.
  • "So please give me some more of your hobbies."
  • - Hmm, I like photography
  • "That's kind of generic. What kind of photography do you like?"
  • - fuck this shit
I didn't say the last bit, but at that moment I was convinced that this was not the right bank for me. I just want a goddamn bank account! Knowing that I like landscape photography is not going to help with that. Argh...

The topic changed to my business. My personal banker seemed to have a hard time understanding that I did not want Barclays' help in finding clients. I told him dozens of times already that I just wanted the bank account, and I emphasized that I find my own clients and have no trouble finding clients, but he just couldn't grasp it. I really had to hammer it in before he finally moved on.

And the next topic was the breaking point, really. I had been promised over the phone that my account plus internet banking would be ready to use within 5 business days. Now, I realize that this is quite a demanding wish, especially for a business bank account which would take more time to set up than a personal one. But Barclays had already told me it would be possible within 5 days, so when the guy I spoke to casually mentioned it would take 7 to 10 working days I had just reached my limit. I told him that's too long and told him I would decide after my holiday. He tried to keep me hooked but I ignored his attempts and left. He did not have a happy face on when I walked out the door.

So I went to HSBC. The second I walked in I was treated like a human and not like a data entry point to be taken advantage of. I asked how long it would take to set up a business bank account and they told me it can be done in one day, with internet banking working the next day, and they'll give me everything I need to access internet banking on the spot, unlike Barclays which would have to send stuff by post long after the account is activated. I'm meeting with HSBC on Wednesday. Let's see if they're as good as they promise. And even if they're not, it won't take much effort to be better than Barclays.

Posted in Daily Life , UK

Leaving it all behind

Ugh.

There's so much crap I have to deal with in getting my apartment cancelled, internet cancelled, flights booked/rebooked/changed. I'm really getting tired of everything and just want to leave it all behind.

July 23rd, that's when I'm done with all this bullshit. I can't wait.

Posted in Daily Life , UK

Sometimes the world is just insane

In preparation for my trip to Japan and New York this summer I am in the process of cancelling my apartment. This is a task that has caused me massive amounts of stress and worry, because it hasn't gone at all according to plan. I did succeed, finally, in cancelling my contract, so now I can be a bit more detailed about what happened.

My rental contract very simply states that I have a break clause at six months and at twelve months, and that I can't cancel my apartment at any other time. At the time of signing I was under the impression that I could cancel my contract at any given time after the sixth month, with a reasonable notice period of course. My main reason for believing this is that my estate agent literally told me exactly this. That, of course, is irrelevant if the contract states otherwise, no matter what she has told me verbally.

So last weekend I started my endeavour of somehow terminating my contract early without paying massive amounts of money. I'll be gone for nearly two months so it's definitely worth cancelling early. Now, this is not the first time my estate agent, let's refer to her as A, has lied to me before. In fact, she has lied to me on three separate occassions and tried to embezzle the truth when I confronted her with it. I was already extremely cautious of her so I know it was not going to be an easy task. On Saturday I walked into her office but she was not there. Only her husband was there, who told me that cancelling my contract was no problem at all and that I should come back on Monday cause they were closing for the day and A was not there.

I went back on Tuesday because I was busy with work on Monday, and found A there waiting for me with my contract at the ready. She confronted me with the rule stating that I could only cancel at the 6th month and not in-between. Not much to argue there as I was stupid enough to sign it. Then she said that cancelling my contract would fall under another clause, meaning I would have to pay advertising costs, a percentage of the remaining rent and, if the apartment cannot be rented out during the period of my contract, the full amount of rent for the duration that the apartment does not have a tenant.

So far everything is straightforward. That's the terms of the contract, that's what I signed. I told A that I was worried about if she could not rent out the apartment in time, meaning I would have to pay shitloads of money to her for the rent while I was not even there. A assured me that I did not have to worry about that and that there are plenty of people wanting to rent it, and it would be gone immediately. She then showed me 'proof' in the form of other similar apartments that potential tenants have visited with her, which means absolutely nothing to me. A wanted to get rid of me quickly by getting me to give her written notice of my cancellation, after which she had free reign over what to do with my rent for the remaining months, regardless of whether she would find a new tenant or not.

Naturally I disagreed. I asked her, since it was apparently so easy to find a new tenant, if I could get a written note saying that I wouldn't have to pay the rent for the remaining months if I cancelled. That somehow launched A into another bullshit reassurance talk that lasted ages while I completely zoned out. I re-asked the question and out came yet another bullshit story about how it would be no problem to find a new tenant. I realized that getting emotional with her doesn't get me anything but more bullshit stories so I just told her that I wouldn't be able to cancel my apartment unless she can formally confirm that I don't have to pay rent for the remaining months.

It is at this point that she suddenly starts to mention an upcoming holiday of hers, as it happens just around the time of my cancellation. It makes me wonder if I had just given her the cancellation notice already, she probably would have just charged me for the remaining rent anyway, claiming she was on holiday. Realizing that I didn't budge on that she told me about this and tried to get me to cancel in early June. At this point I was getting really pissed off at her wasting my time, but I remained calm and told her I couldn't move out that early because I have a job here and wouldn't have enough time to move out. Duh.

At this point A's husband, who had been there before, had quietly disappeared somewhere, presumably to give A the excuse that she was about to make, which was that I should come back tomorrow because she needed to talk things over with her husband. The good cop/bad cop approach. I came back the next morning and essentially the exact same thing occurred again, except that I cut her bullshit stories short. I realized that she was not willing to concede anything. I told her that if she could find a tenant to move in in the beginning of June, I would gladly sign the cancellation notice, otherwise no deal. She intentionally tried to twist these words in her favour several times, which I had to patiently correct back to my initial statements. A is not stupid, she is just viciously evil.

Finally, as I was just about to leave, A proposed that I move out two weeks earlier, because that way she would have time to find a new tenant before her holiday. I agreed to this, with the condition that she sign a statement saying that she will not charge me additional rent for the period after my cancellation. She agreed too, and the next morning we signed the document.

There has never been a person in my life who manages to frustrate me so much as this estate agent. The levels we talk at just seem to be entirely different. I need to evaluate every single word she says to make sure there is no evil intent that could backfire on me. Once I started actually parsing the stuff she said I realized that 90% of what she said is complete and utter bullshit that can be immediately forgotten. 9% is random factual statements that have a negative effect to me if I acknowledge them, 1% is actual information that is relevant to my case. About 0.9% of that last 1% is just stuff that I knew already or that she said before.

Given the things she promised in the past and has not come through with, I tend to be extremely pissed off towards her. It started already when I first looked at the apartment. I asked A if there was internet available in the apartment, and she said yes. Since that's perhaps not the usual case, I confirmed with her again by asking "So on the day that I move in, I will be able to use the internet immediately?". She answered yes again. I confirmed this with her several times over the course of signing the contract, so naturally I was enormously pissed at her when on the day of moving in there was no internet. She then took back her words, stating that the apartment "has the possibility of having internet". Well, FUCKING DUH. The whole of London has the fucking possibility of being connected to the internet. Thank you so much for lying to me.

Since I'm venting now anyway, here's some more examples. She said she'd deliver the rental contract to me the day after I signed it. It took several months and countless visits to her office to get her to copy the damn contract. Would have taken her five minutes of her time but she just couldn't be bothered. And that mould never did get removed from the bedroom corner behind the cupboard. Also, great job at giving out misinformation about the nearby parking spaces, which are in fact only free in the weekends and after 4pm. Another little thing she failed to mention when telling me that there were parking spaces available.

So yes, dealing with her tends to get me worked up a bit. I've never in my life been as blatantly lied to as much as I have by this woman. But the only way to get rid of her is not by being emotional: it's by being rational. There's no path to victory here, the only thing I can do is cut my losses and run. Getting angry at her will only increase the amount of time that I have to deal with her. So I stayed calm and talked to her logically and slowly. And I got my cancellation.

I have to pay extra money to her because the contract states so, and I have to move out two weeks early and find temporary accommodation in London. But all that is a small price to pay, for I no longer have to deal with that lying deceitful woman ever again.

Posted in Thoughts , UK

About that helmet..

I just came back from the third round trip to work this week. It wasn't pleasant. The only rule about cycling in London you should know about: there are no rules. Ignore the red lights, take the sidewalk whenever you want, drive on the left, right or center, it doesn't matter. Take up a whole lane when it's convenient or squeeze yourself in the tightest spot when you have to. I am not exaggerating when I say that, as a cyclist in London, anything goes. Back in Japan I used to think my cycling behaviour was a bit on the aggressive and rule-ignoring side. Now that I'm cycling in London I can safely say that I am a very timid cyclist.

I was stuck in traffic for most of the time today. Two lanes full of cars and buses crawling along at a shit pace, and hardly any space left, right or center to pass. It was mostly zigzagging from lane to lane, sometimes crossing over on the oncoming traffic lane because it was simply too fucking crowded to move anywhere. This is NOT what cycling is about. Why anyone would tolerate this is a mystery to me. Cycling is about long-distance travelling in the countryside, not getting stuck behind buses and dump trucks in a dirty city. I've thought this before, and not just in the cycling context: Why do people choose to live in London when there are so many better places than this?

Anyway, let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's talk about  helmets. People who know me know that I am the most unorthodox cyclist you can imagine. My bike is shoddy and old and makes creaking noises when you press the pedals too hard, I have hardly any pro cycling clothes (and I would never wear that tight spandex stuff) and I most certainly would never even consider the thought of wearing a helmet. Coming from Holland where everybody cycles and nobody wears a helmet I find the concept ridiculous. I've cycled half of Japan without a helmet and never for a single moment felt that I was in any danger. Simply put: before this week, the word 'helmet' did not exist in my vocabulary.

Obviously that changed. The very first time I drove in central London this week I was amazed by the chaos, and perhaps slightly overwhelmed by how it all seems to work without any accidents. The second time I got used to the traffic flow, knew where the dangerous points were and was able to prepare for them accordingly. The third time I nearly got hit by a fucking bus.

It was indeed no fault of my own. It's happened many times this week that a car, taxi or bus came a bit too close for comfort and I had to prepare to take evasive action. But today I really nearly died. The bus driver really did not see me at all and just cut me off so sharply that if I didn't come to an immediate halt, I would've been crushed. I've had only one closer near-death encounter in my life, and that was when in Japan when I switched lanes from sidewalk to car road, and that was entirely my fault. This one was entirely not my fault, and it made me realize that this thing can happen very easily. Given the complete and utter lack of skill drivers in London have it is not an exaggeration to say that there are at least 10 times per trip where the chance of sustaining serious injuries is just too high. If I am to continue cycling in London, I need a helmet.

But, given that I now convinced myself that I need a helmet to cycle here, perhaps this is just not the place for me.

Posted in Cycling , UK

Cycling in Central London

tl;dr: don't do it!

The weather was near-perfect today, so I decided to cycle to work rather than take the horrible tube. I grabbed my stuff and set off, intending to drive leisurely and find my way to work when reaching central London. The road is pretty much straight up until the very last bit so navigation wasn't too difficult. My route takes from Ealing to the Victoria, either via Shepherd's Bush or Hammersmith. Either route is about 14km. I tried both today.

Finding the right way in London is not very difficult. Actually getting on the right way is fucking impossible. Some of the square roundabouts have such a weird get-in-lane system that its flat-out dangerous to even try and get in the right lane on a bicycle. Hesitate for a split second and you lose your spot and you're surrounded by cars that are actively trying to kill you. I exaggerate a bit, and my exaggeration wrongfully makes the alternative seem like a viable option. Instead of driving on the road for these crossings, you could theoretically take the sidewalk instead. The problem is time: staying on the road takes 5 seconds to cross, driving up and down stupid pedestrian tunnels takes 5 minutes.

Some colleagues of mine who enjoy cycling have told me they quite like driving in central London, or that "it's not so bad". It is. London is just not meant for bicycles. I've been around central London by car (as a passenger) many times. I've observed other drivers' behaviour. It's far from perfect and sometimes downright dodgy, when in a car. On a bicycle those cars turn into kamikaze pilots trying their very best to get you off the road. I can't tell how many times I've been cut off at roundabouts or even just on a straight road. London cars don't know how to deal with bicycles.

I have to mention the road quality. Because it's not very good. There's bumps and holes everywhere. When you're at speed and see a hole coming up you can sometimes swerve, but usually you have to brake massively because the driver behind you is making it clear that  he won't tolerate you taking up another centimeter of road. Also, there's glass everywhere.

Then there's the buses that pass you and then stop 5 meters in front of you to let passengers out. Passing the bus on a bicycle is yet another lifethreatening experience because the drivers behind you won't look ahead to see you changing lane. If you do manage to survive then the entire process repeats itself 1 minute later.

I could live with any one of these nuisances (except perhaps the many-many-bus problem), but all put together it's just right there at the border of being enjoyable/unenjoyable. And I mean right at the border. At some stretches it's really great to make progress at speed, but then junctions and buses and traffic jams (that leave no space for bicycles to pass) happen just a little but too often for comfort.

Consider the alternative: taking the tube. It takes about 2/3rds of the time, could be boiling hot and packed full of people, and costs money. I am a lazy person by nature. That is why I know that I can't allocate a lot of my free time to exercise, because I simply won't do it. But replacing an already annoying commute by something almost equally as annoying, yet providing exercise, that might be something to consider.

If only it didn't always rain in London...

 

Posted in Cycling , UK

Taxes in medieval UK

It's pretty horrifying to file taxes in the UK. I am wasting a fairly substantial amount of time trying to get this done. I'm sure it was worse in the past but there are just so many ways that this can be done better. Here's my experiences as a self-employed person who just wants to pay his taxes online and be done with it.

So, if you need/want to pay taxes in the UK, the first thing you'll need is a national insurance number. I have no idea to get this if you're self employed because I got mine last year through regular employment. One hurdle crossed. Next obstacle: getting a unique taxpayer reference, which you'll need to do your taxes online. I called with HM revenue & customs to get my unique taxpayer reference. Unfortunately I said something wrong during the phone call which made them suspect my identity. This was either my full name (I usually use my nickname instead of my official name) or my address which might not have been updated. In any case, the person on the phone flat-out refused to speak to me until I had sent them a written letter confirming my personal details and a copy of my passport.

The letter was sent off and it took over a month until I heard from them again. The letter I received stated that my personal details had been updated and that my written request to get my unique taxpayer reference was acknowledged, and I would receive another letter soon containing my unique taxpayer reference. This was at the end of December so I was already doubtful that I would make the end-of-January cutoff for submitting my taxes on time (especially considering I was on holiday during that time). And indeed I still hadn't heard from them in mid-February, so I decided to call again. Finally I had a productive conversation that lasted all of 5 minutes, and lat week my unqiue taxpayer reference finally arrived.

Ready to start doing my taxes today I went on to hmrc.gov.uk to do my self-assessment only to find out that I have to register for it first, and that they'll send me an activation code via snailmail. Something that will undoubtedly take ages yet again.

This is not optimal. In fact, this is shit. In the Netherlands all citizens have something called a DigiD, a digital ID, which lets you do a ton of things online without too much effort. This would be perfect for people already living in the UK. But for people like me who come here to work, what I had much preferred is to just walk into an HMRC office with my passport, work contract and rental contract and have them sign me up for everything I need on the spot. Then there would be no need to jump through all these hoops to confirm all this bullshit. I've looked on the HMRC website to see if this is possible but I could find no such thing, they seem to prefer handling everyone by telephone (requiring all the stupid identification and verification steps). Perhaps it is actually possible and I should've looked better, I don't know. All I know is that I'm stuck sending and receiving messages through ancient modes of transportation. Ridiculous. Grow up, Britain.

 

Posted in UK | Tagged