It’s been a while since there was an update here.. (time, other things to do, etc…)
Decided to move back to Dublin a few years ago, got myself a new job, London just wasn’t for me.
I prefer Dublin any day. less crowds and nicer people.

This last year ++ have been a bit irritating with all the lockdown and all that stuff, but now the country is starting to open up again. pubs are doing outdoor serving and soon indoor will open up too.
Markets are finally back open too so it’s possible to get good quality produce and the really good market food.

Also opening up a new podcast, Røde have a competition where you can wind a lot of cool equipment, so signed up for that one. got a few short episodes ready to go there. who knows, I might win myself some new microphones, etc…

I’ve been trying to grow some herbs lately, but have run into some environmental issues I think.
planting the seeds was no problem.
(The pink pot and the small to the right are Coriander, the blue is basil, the film is to create the “green house effect” to encourage sprouting).
after they started sprouting (2-3 days for the basil and 4-5 days for the coriander) I removed the cling film.
now, that’s when the odd stuff started happening.
The basil plants grew to about 3cm in 3-4 days, then they stopped growing completely. After a week, they are still the same height.
the coriander is even more strange, it started growing straight up like there was no tomorrow.
Instead of growing more leaves as it gets slowly bigger after sprouting like it’s supposed to it kept the 2 leaves and grew to about 10-15cm in about 3 days before slowing down. 
The stem is very thin, so it’s a bit wobbly, but since the seeds are dug deep and the roots probably goes down a bit, I doubt they will tip over any time soon.
The coriander in the pink pot have just started sprouting, so the cover stays on a little longer.

I’m sitting in Little Venice in London, enjoying the nice warm weather, (cloudy, but nice and warm). watching the house boats pass by on the canal while searching for something to do.
I was hoping it would be easier to get a job in London, but apparently not.
many companies have unrealistic requirements or offer salaries that are so low the position will never be filled. (what graduates have CCNP, MCITP and other high certifications + 5-10 years experience and would accept a salary of £25k? )
one thing is for sure, some companies are extremely optimistic.
another thing that I see is funny is that they want degrees, any degree, no matter what it’s in..
makes me laugh when I see an ad asking for unrealistic requirements in addition to a degree of any sort, paying a salary that is so low that nobody with those requirements would even think about it.

after having lived in London for a few weeks, I have come to like the place, its a nice city.
we live at the collective, old oak now. a nice place, very social and always something happening, (worth checking if you are a young entrepreneur or young professional looking for a place to live that is social and interesting. https://www.thecollective.co.uk/coliving/old-oak
it’s not in the city centre, but still close, the bakerloo line stops 2 minutes walk away, the central line is 10 minutes walk away, there is a village there with loads of stores of various sizes from the little shop on the corner to tesco.

so, getting a UK bank account isnt as easy as you might think..

step 1: get an appointment for an interview.
step 2: make sure you have all the papers they want. (they have some weird requirements..)
step 3: go to the interview and hope they one interviewing you likes you.

so. I went to the bank today with my papers to open my bank account.  I had the papers that made sense: valid ID, proof of my address. (brought my lease and a letter from my landlord proving where I live.)
when they asked what I brought, they gave me the weirdest answer ever.. aparently a housing contract and a letter from the landlord isnt enough to prove where you live..
they want one of the following:
council tax bill
utility bill from the last3 months, and a BANK STATEMENT proving your address..
doesnt take much to see that it’s a bit hard to get a bank statement when you are trying to open a bloody bank account… (a bit of a poorly thought-through catch-22 there…)

think the banks here need to review their requirements to open a bank account..

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