I live in a world of my own..
Evidently.. As I used to reside in a wonderful area of London named Whitechapel. Hurrah for the druggies and murderers.

Case one. I was sleeping quite happily in my 'safe' little flat (namely safe because of the Bolton madman I used to life with.. I wouldn't want to break into his place, he'd kill me with a fork!) and a rather loud noise happens at about 5am. I grunt it off and go back to sleep for I am at the epitome of my student sleeping through things days. In the morning I get up, wander slowly through the courtyard and off to work, returning seven or so hours later. At which point I find Dee (my other housemate, from Frinton on Sea, incredibly sheltered and very delicate young thing, she was great :) ) shivering quietly in the living room with a look of horror mixed with fear on her face. Being the caring soul that I am I drop everything and rush over, 'Oh my god Dee are you ok??' She answers me by dragging me to the door and pointing down at the large and loud bustle of a police team in our courtyard busy cleaning up blood and mess and interviewing some of the tenants of the lower floors. Must I add that I had rather calmly walked through/around this police action earlier that day?

Anyway, turns out that the loud noise was no car backfiring, neither was it retarded Whitechapel kids setting off fireworks into somebody's face. No, no. A gang shooting had occured in my courtyard and I had effectively just stepped over the body on my way to work.


Case two. By which point Dee is convinced that I am the most stone faced, cold hearted bitch on the face of the earth by my lack of acknowledging dreadful things.

Dee and I are walking along Whitechapel, again, on our way home. Happy days, that sunny bliss. We're just walking away chatting and contemplating getting chinese from that okay takeaway when Dee grabs my arm, stops me and says 'Seriously, how can you just walk BY something like that and not even react??' huh? Says I. She turns me around and sure enough, there in the pavement lies a 'youth' with a nice little stab wound in his arm and another stupid little kid running off into the distance, hotly persued by various people. And I just didn't notice this stabbing, which I had, yes indeed I did, stepped to the side to avoid and kept walking.

I have no idea why my brain blocks out these things. Maybe I am most sheltered by my brain! Who knows. Either way, it's a little disturbing.. But at least I noticed that bomb that went off when I was standing on Aldgate East! I'm not completely out of it..
(darras jeg har en grevling i hodet. Grevling, grevlang, Fri 15 Feb 2008, 8:11, Reply)