Commuter #Failville

This week I've been working in London, joining the ranks of the commuting masses from Brighton to Canary Wharf. It's taken my three days to get into the groove of blank stares and blissful ignorance via headphones but I'm nearly there.

Having the last year 'off' (and I say that lightly as I've been working flat out on websites and new business ventures) has meant that most of the time I don't have to be anywhere, every day. After 13 years of commuting by car to an office, arriving at the required time and not leaving before I'm supposed to, I didn't adjust to flexibility too well. I couldn't plan my diary as suddenly the boundaries between work and family were blurred. Most people wouldn't moan about that but it took some adjusting, that's all I'm saying.

So these last few days, I've had to adjust back. Which started as a series of fails and valuable lessons for those venturing into the world of commuting to London any time soon.

Fail 1. Left my purse at home on the first day. Which is fine, as I had my ticket. But I did rather want to eat that day, so good old Mum, who was nominated childcare that day, came round in my car to drop it off. Yes I am 38. Yes my Mum still bails me out. Yes.

Fail 2. Purchased the wrong weekly ticket. The ticket attendant let me buy at First Capital Connect weekly ticket without bothering to tell me it wasn't worth the paper it's written on for a commuter to London Bridge. All the fast trains from Brighton to London are mostly operated by Southern now. Yeah, thanks for that.

Fail 3. Rookie mistake. I WORE HEELS.

Fail 4. Forgot my headphones. On my return journey day 2 of commuter hell, I was lucky to share a carriage with an idiot trying to impress girls. He thought 'Illinois' was a city. I rest my case.

Fail 5. No refreshments on sale inside Blackfriars station. No water, no chocolate. Probably a good thing in the case of chocolate, I'm trying to wean myself off the obligatory 4pm energy crash dash for snacks. All I can say, thank goodness for Marks & Sparks' Simply Food at Brighton station. I dashed in there and braved the queue for their 'diet cola', I was that desperate.

I'm on Day 3 and almost 'enjoying it' (and cue jaded commuters closing their browsers, laughing). There's still scope for stress, cancelled trains and unimaginable delays. Knowing I'll done by Friday evening is probably what is keeping me going. 

Follow my random tweets all week  @contentedmummy or #commuterville 

Commuter #Failville