Aside from my previous entry it’s been quite a while since I’ve posted anything. My life has been pretty chaotic leading up to, and then settling down after the move. With my first day of work at the new job coming up on Tuesday I expect things to settle down a bit as routines have to be established and life progresses.

The most immediate and inconvenient change since moving to JHB has been the lack of Internet connectivity. Being unable to check my email whenever I wish is a bit of an annoyance, particularly considering the need to communicate with my new employer. Putting aside the inconvenience the lack of connectivity is a good thing :). Also it’s given me a chance to start this giant stack of books I have.

It’s cold? Maybe it’s been hot this past week, or I just haven’t noticed it since I only get up at 8. Everyone has been reenforcing the idea that I’m going to freeze in JHB, but I can say in all honesty it was a lot colder in Cape Town. Wind chill? Humidity?

Another obvious change has been the air, it’s thinner and drier. That problem has mostly righted itself now. Ironically my asthma has actually improved, though I haven’t yet exerted myself too much so I guess I’ll find out when I get back in the gym.

Things are closer and yet further. My office is a lot further from where I currently am staying than it was in CPT. Yet, shopping centres and shops are generally closer. There’s even 3 bike shops just around the corner from me, all of which are no more than 5 minutes away. The gym is maybe 2 or 3 minutes away.

I won’t comment on the traffic yet, as I have yet to experience rush hour traffic. One thing I can say though is that the taxi drivers are a lot worse.

Cooking for myself: not too much of a concern, I was mostly doing this at home anyways. Washing my own clothes? I’ve come to the realisation that most people don’t actually do this, this duty often being left to the char. Even checking property rental ads many of them say “char included” or “char X amount extra” (including washing, ironing, etc.).

Shopping for food for myself isn’t too much of a hassle either. I have a pretty strict and limited diet so stocking up from whoever is cheapest is the option I generally go with. There’s also a bulk store no more than 3 minutes away that sells much of what I eat, so that’s a good way to save some money.

Learning all the road names hasn’t been too much trouble, and with everything being so close the need to venture out and get lost hasn’t been very strong. I still can’t fathom how people use the mountain to navigate in CPT… I can’t remember a single occurance where I looked at the mountain and went “oh, I need to go that way” and head off in some direction relative to the mountain.

Otherwise, there’s not too much more that comes to mind right now, so I’ll leave it at that.