Living in Londres

Vulgar Fractions - A vulgar fraction is one based on ordinary or everyday arithmetic as opposed to decimal fractions. It refers specifically to one in which two whole numbers (the numerator and denominator) are placed above and below a horizontal line, where neither part can be zero. Americans also know vulgar fractions as common fractions.

Vulgar comes from the Latin adjective vulgaris that derives from vulgus, the common people. This is also the origin of Vulgate, the Latin version of the Bible, which comes from the closely related vulgata, meaning “for the public” (it was so, when it was written, in the fourth century AD).

Vulgar turned up first in English in the fourteenth century and then referred to something that was in common or general use or something customary or done as a matter of everyday practice.

And this is exactly what this blog is.. Common.. With the numerator larger than the denominator, never equal to zero and with a preference of using a horizontal line to using a diagonal line.

I wish I would have started this blog earlier, just like I wish I would have kept writing my diary during my years in Barcelona, or how I wish I would have taken more photographs from my years in Scotland and in Spain. Now all I have to remember those times by are my essays that I wrote and that survived the move, photos taken by other people, and hazy memories of people, places and a few scars that insist on hanging around.

To make the aim of my blog a bit clearer for myself, I have decided to make myself a promise.. But before that I better give some background to this..

I have lived in London since Halloween 2006.. An incredible two years already. The first year was interesting from a work point of view, but tragic from a social point of view. I barely survived the first winter, using up most of my sunshine storage from my years in Barcelona in order to survive, but was hence left with no energy or lust of life at all for the second winter. Never before had I realised how prone to depression I was, and how much my creative side was suffering from living on the "Island of teadrinkers" and "South of the River"..

My life companion at the moment is my hot water bottle. My creative outlet is Facebook. Hmmm..

But this Autumn things changed. I decided to channel my hyperactivity into salsa again (and not store it all in my tummy,bum and hips) and my love for all things Spanish, Latinamerican and above all my love for dancing. It started with a a normal cross body, continued with a double spin, moved on to triple spins, encouraged styling and plantadas... And suddenly a whole new world was starting to open up to me. I was back on the pista, and was starting to find "my people" in London.

Today I am really happy about living in London. Ironically enough, my London is a salsa dancing, Spanish speaking oasis with Latinos, Spaniards, Salseros.. I guess I dont really live in London anymore, but Londres.

Anyways, with my newfound passion for Salsa, I have been spending at least three four nights a week on the pista. Improving my kick-ass moves, learning new things and of course, just Strutting My Stuff in general!

Salsa is my watershed. With every dance I do, or move I learn, I get even more excited about my other interests as well. And about balancing life and work. I am starting to rebalance things, taking time from my excessive work hours and putting it into the dancing.. Into my photography.. Into designing my skateboards.. And in general into looking at my life and what I want to do with it.

Hence my promise to myself and to this blog.. This blog will be a testament to the final part of my stay in Londres, but especially a dedication to my dancing, my photography and my skateboard painting/designing.

Before I leave London I want to:

- Get to know the salsa community properly over here, I want to have found a great teacher and improved my dancing while getting to know lots of new dancers.

- I want to create a portfolio of my photographs, focussing on the following areas: BMX/Skate, Dancing, Urban Landscape, Photoshopping images and with the goal of publishing a photograph in a magazine, a digital magazine or somewhere public.

- I want to do an exhibition of my skateboards in a random small gallery/bar accompanied by my photographs.

So there.. These are my three pillars, or should I say three fractions for this blog and for the next months/year(s?) in Londres.. I will document my struggles and victories here to encourage myself and share the experiences with friends who sadly cannot always be close to me and share the everyday tears and laughs, however common they are. I will aim to every week move closer to one of the abovementioned goals until I can tick them off as accomplished. And just like my favourite mathematical concept, I will try to keep the fraction as vulgar as possible, always common and heavy on the top!