Around the neighborhood

After the first day of real class: Business Stat - I flew home (by bike of course, easily escaping the tube strike that started today) and picked up my dry cleaning (26 pounds for three pieces) and picked out a new orange phone - which they have back order on - I should really just go to another store that has what I want. Orange closes at 6pm. After a quick ramen noodle dinner - with gyoza, organic lettuce and an egg on top (my mouth is becoming parched now) - I walked to argos, which, along with everything else on the swiss cottage high street, closes at 6pm, except for the family owned hardware store, which closes at 7pm. What's left open are relatively cheap HK chinese, thai and indian restaurants for which I've picked up take out menus for - and will probably never use. Taking a loop around the area, I passed by a nice, swanky singaporean place which has a 15 pound minimum for free delivery. It's nestled in between some up market furniture places like ligne roset (which I will forever remember passing everyday I drove home from work in Graz) and bo concept. I kept going and passed a cute little Korean hair salon - Ho hair - 30 pounds a cut and style. I might come here for the sake of supporting local businesses.

Then up a block of row houses and on the corner opposite the waitrose which is under construction are two competing small supermarkets: one korean, open till 9; and one japanese, open till 8; both open on sundays. There are tasty looking eel rice boxes, and individually wrapped nigiri sushi in the fridge. As well as a small selection of medium to high end sake, and a section for green tea and buckwheat soba. Oh, and I finally found that black sesame flavored pocky sticks: 2 pound 58. Maybe I'll save those purchases for a dinner party - when I really want to impress someone with my pan-seared tuna steak and wasabi sauce dish. The fish shop is parallel to St. John's High Street and I haven't checked what time it closes yet.
The internet cafe next to the high end fairfax kitchen store opens and closes, it seems, whenever they feel like it - but they've got a fast connection and it's a five minute walk from home. Only, when I sat down, I realized that I had left my USB stick in the reception room next to the MBA office. Might as well go home and pick up my laptop and go to campus to retrieve it. The ride back and forth is getting easier - I've found a way to go home along regent's park to avoid making a right turn at the weird roundabout at the top of park road.

I like it here when it's quiet and peaceful. It will continue to get busier and busier as the year goes on. At some point, I imagine myself camping here...