Lack of underground trains – The only part of the network which reaches the South East is the DLR. One solitary line is poor in comparison to North London. Although it is balanced out by the overland trains operated by South Eastern. However the second grievance is:

The inability to use pay-as-you-go Oyster Cards on said trains – The Oyster card is a great boon for Londoners. It allows for cheap and convenient travel on all forms of transport – except for trains in the South East. You either have to queue for a ticket or get a Travelcard (for unlimited use during the day / week / month). This is fine if you made a lot of journeys, but annoying for one-off trips.

The situation is more confusing for visitors and tourists. There are already enough lines, ticket types and zones without the added confusion of not being able to use your Oyster card on certain parts of the network. It an unnecessary hindrance and disincentive to those wanting to visit.

Oyster Redemption

However, on 04 January 2009 the Oyster Card situation was remedied. Pay-as-you-go is now available on South Eastern trains! The people would have rejoiced in the streets – except most had to return to work after Christmas and they would have slipped on the ice anyway.

A New Dilemma

There is a dilemma for those travellers who don’t commute every day. It is the choice between a using a pay-as-you-go Oyster or a Travelcard (£25.70 a week). If you want to save money by not buying a Travelcard, you have to spend less than £3.67 a day. However, there are situations where this may not be the case:

• Unplanned and unexpected journeys – making a few unplanned journeys in a week will wipe out the savings from using pay-as-you-go.
• Forgetting to touch out the Oyster Card – will cost you £4 straight away. You could phone up TfL to get a refund, but they are unsympathetic and assume that you were out to cheat the system.

All Londoners face the dilemma of capping their transport costs but forgoing a potential (but risky) gain. Interestingly, the very same kind of choice has been studied extensively in Economics, look up “risk premium” and “certainty equivalence”. In short, most people are risk adverse and will pay a premium to get rid of risk. In this case, that means getting a Travelcard.

Unintended Consequences

The station I use most for getting into central London is New Cross. It takes just 15 minutes and there are many trains per hour. An entirely un-noteworthy station, but to me it means that I’m not too far from home.

If you arrive late in the evening, you will see one of two men who stand outside the station who offer £1 to buy back your day Travelcard. The trade benefits all parties, except for TfL. However, the introduction of Oyster pay-as-you-go has removed any incentive to buy a one-day Travelcard.

Two men have been deprived of their livelihood. Is there not a moral duty for TfL / the government / society to compensate these men?

Photo of New Cross Station taken by chrisphin

Gone are the greens and pinks of the old site. They were from a different era. The new colour scheme of grey-on-grey reflects the recessionary days that we live in. A lot of the content has been updated:

• Articles – The longer writings
• Photos – I have a new camera, so expect some better photos in the future
• Activities – What I do with my time
• About – Who I am and where my background

What will I write about? I want to tap the under-represented market of London accountants.

Originally, I thought that there would not be enough room in the flat. I was right, there is just a foot of room between my bed and the piano. There’s not even enough room for a music stand, I have to tape the sheet music to the wall. There’s also no room for a stool. I have to sit on the speaker, boasted by a copy of Shakespeare’s complete works, so that I can sit at the correct height.

Space isn’t the biggest issue, what I lack most is time. I’ve talked about the London time-vortex before. It is clichéd but I have met many grade 8 musicians who don’t have the time/inclination/space to play anymore. It’s a shame. Were all the hours of practice wasted? Why do it in the first place? Pushy parents? A better personal statement for university entry?

I’m not being critical of the pushy parents because I’m (secretly) jealous. I’d rather be a retired grade 8 pianist than a struggling grade 2 adult learner.

The real answer is to enjoy the learning experience and not to worry about the end result. Or I could concentrate on an instrument that I can already play – the guitar.

Both Liverpool and Deptford have had a history of deprivation and poverty. Both are trying to shed their bad reputation. Honestly, you won’t get your tyres stolen in Liverpool. Times have changed. Now, your identity, credit cards and wife will be stolen while you are admiring your shinny new tyres. The money will be used to buy Mozart tickets. Capital of Culture 2008.

The news coming out of Deptford is dire (look up “Deptford stabbings”) but I do believe that things can change. The area has been recommended by the New York Times. The East London line extension will be complete soon in June 2010. The most tangible sign of improvement is the opening of a Tesco Metro on Deptford High Street:

Tesco will save us! More importantly, it will save me a 20 minute trek into Lewisham.

I passed. If you don’t believe me, you can search for my name on the ICAEW website.

I celebrated by performing a petty cash count with my flatmate on his box of change. I initially offered him £10 for the box, which he rejected.

The total came to £86.68 – including 454 hand-counted pennies. I’ve included some bottles of beer in the photo to dispel rumours that accountants were unexciting.

For me, relief trumps happiness. It’s a hard road to become a chartered accountant. The next step for me is to ensure the controls around cashing the money at the bank are working correctly.

One working knee
Is all I have. I’ve been told to lay off the training for six weeks. I tried to cycle with one leg and found out it doesn’t really work at all. Struggled.

One year on
From living in London, from stating my job and from joining the church. I see the same faces and get to build relationships. Stable.

Playing guitar in church
I’ve been playing the guitar for about 10 years. I got to play at church last Sunday despite not learning any more chords in the past 5 years. Actually, I have learnt the strange John Mayer chords that require huge hands and ridiculous dexterity to play. However, they are obscure enough to be nameless. Anyway, all you need for church is D. Simple.

It went well. I lost feeling (or blood circulation) to my right hand but carried on playing. 80% of the chords were hit on time, and the ones I missed are inaudible to the human ear anyway.

What could disrupt this current peace and stability? Exam results on Friday. Sadness?

Race day performance depends on two things:

• Not getting injured – unfortunately, my ankle got buggered playing netball. It was actually football, but I refuse to blame her.
• A good night’s sleep – I only managed 4 hours

Actually, the vital factor is the training that you must do beforehand. 12 hours sleep does not substitute hard miles run. I felt like I hadn’t done enough, but my version of preparation would be five dry runs of the actual route a year before the race.

So I set off to the o2 Arena for the start of the race with Johnnie (my running partner). I had a weak ankle and the feeling of workday tiredness. It was a gloriously sunny day. Perfect for a picnic but not ideal for a run. The race was well organised. It was a relief to find that there was somewhere to put my stuff and that I wouldn’t have to carry around my wallet, oyster, keys and phone. It also started on time.

I did a steady 9.5 minute per mile pace for the first few miles. My ankle hurt a bit but Johnnie and I soon hit a rhythm. It was hot and stopping for water was tricky. You had to virtually stop and wait to grab a cup off the table because the stewards were so busy. At the halfway stage, we were looking good and on track for a 2 hour (plus a bit) finish.

There were some killer hills at the 7/8 mile stage. Fortunately, training on "death hill" in Greenwich Park meant that we coped well. We soon hit the familiar training spot of Blackheath and Greenwich park. Alas, Johnnie got tired and graciously told me to go on ahead. Then I developed a horrible pain in my right knee. For the last three miles I pathetically hobbled towards the finish line. My theory that the pain would go away after 20 seconds was completely wrong.

I waddled over the finish line at 2 hours and 13 minutes. I finished 5,627th out of 9,065. The pain was worthwhile and I hope it has done a lot of good for Steven. Now, I’m determined to go back and beat the two hour mark.

I’m now on a post-run recovery regime of beer, pain killers, glucosamine, ice packs and rest.

In short, Steven is a Rwandan pastor who is helping out the victims of the genocide and AIDs. He has adopted 20 orphans and has created employment for 250 widows through his tailoring project. He does need your help and money. Email me on admin(at)jameshuang.co.ukif you wish to donate.

I’m also running to achieve one of those “life goal” things that my life coach keeps going on about. Raising money for Steven is part of my drive for efficiency through multi-tasking. The first 9 miles should be fine. The remaining four miles is unknown territory. I would have trained more, but that was curtailed after a netball/rounders injury at the work’s sports day. I’m walking around the house with an improvised ice-pack strapped to my ankle made from ice cubes and a towel.

The most worrying part is that my running shoes have 12 miles life left in them before their warranty expires. After which Nike is not responsible for loss of limbs.

I’ve had two weekends without needing to study. It’s been great to spend the time reading, playing computer games and cooking proper meals. I spend time in some very esteemed company – five junior doctors shooting zombies at the arcade. This is why no-one makes shows about auditors.

I’m already looking towards the next milestone. I’m relearning the website building skills that I never actually had. Once again, I feel like I have to squeeze every productive second out of the day.

 
I’ve displayed a photo of the Sequoia tree at the Natural History Museum because it is 1500+ yeas old. Our lives are horribly slight in comparison. All that we aim for will not last and probably won’t deserve a place in the Natural History Museum.

However, please forget the trees because each day is important. With every second that passes we loose the chance to practice our audit skills by counting the tree rings.

I’ve been reading a book called “Killing Rommel” by Steven Pressfield. It’s a WWII fiction about the exploits of a crack British unit. There’s a line which says that the most important factor in winning or losing a war is morale. Yes, I am comparing accountancy exams to armed combat. I’m bloody hacked off and I feel like waving the white flag.

So I’m impelled to take a break, regroup and finish writing this long overdue blog post.

Water
All great cities are situated near some natural water feature. Beijing goes against this by being in the middle of a desert, but is still a great city. London has the River Thames and Toronto has Lake Ontario. Both are equally polluted. So the only way to judge which is better is to time how long you would survive a swim. In the River Thames you would be instantly killed by the River Boat. I’d take my chances against the radiation emanating from the nuclear power plant on the shore of Lake Ontario.

London 0 – Toronto 1

Number of Chinese People
For some reason, vast numbers of Chinese have made Toronto their home. The Chinatowns of both cities are pretty dire. However, Toronto wins because they sell cheaper bubble (tapioca) tea. 

London 0 – Toronto 1 – Liverpool 1 (because we have a better Chinatown with a much bigger arch)

Transport
Toronto’s roads are designed in an idiot-proof grid system. London’s roads require a Tom Tom to navigate, or a well trained black taxi driver. All Londoners moan about the tube, but the network is so extensive that two different shades of blue are needed for the map. Toronto has three lines and is crap.

London 1 – Toronto 1 – Liverpool -1 (I’ve just remembered how bad Merseyrail is)

Culture
Seriously? London hands down.

London 2 – Toronto 1 – Liverpool 0 (European Capital of Culture 2008 remember)

Global Warming Prospects
How would each city fare if the crackpot prophecies came true and the ice caps started to melt?

• Liverpool – floods
• Toronto – Also floods, and you will be attacked by radioactive moose
• London – Floods, unless you keep working in the office on the 17th floor while civilisation collapses around you. At least there won’t be a cooling problem on the Underground
• Beijing – is safe! Those ancient Chinese City planners were actually geniuses.

Final score

London 1 – Toronto 0 – Liverpool -1

And a million Scousers demand a recount.

Still better than the endless hours of taxation revision that I have to do. Why do people still asking me for advice?

Posted by Wordmobi

Nottingham
My sister graduated, which coincided with a return trip to Nottingham. It was surreal walking past students house that friends used to live in. Now there are faded stories about the time we lit a bonfire in the garden and burnt things. (OK, that was just the once on the corner of Faraday Road / Derby Road).

Liverpool
Always good to see the guys, despite our increasingly busy schedules. It’s the last summer before everyone starts their adult jobs. Yes, the six-year medical degrees have ended, but not before the drunken press up with a 75kg Indian standing on your back contest. Sam beat Graham 4-0.

Luton
Where I audit and fix printers.

Angel (North London)
Most sane people are finished with exams after university. I even had a sadistic enjoyment from setting my English students tests. But I decided that I needed three years of professional exams in my life. It’s a constant and unyielding pressure. I’ve spent three weeks at college in Angel. I just found out that I passed the mock exams from last week. I don’t feel any satisfaction – it’s just relief.

Why do I do it? Obscenely ridiculous post-qualification salary.

Karaoke
Actually, the my real motivation for work is the chance to sing karaoke on a regular basis. I’ve sung Take That’s “Back for Good” three times in July. Happy times.

Now I’m off to Canada for two weeks holiday. They say that Karaoke is banned there. Unhappy times.

The weekend was beautifully hot, which was perfect for receiving two friends from my ex-life in Tianjin. So, instead of entertaining them, I reflected upon my time in Tianjin.

Life is a lot different now, but I still try to squeeze in too many activities in my free time. I used to teach English, learn Chinese, work on the website and try to get to church on time. Now, I’m run around Greenwich park, play badminton, update this website, overuse my Oyster Card and write long rambling emails. I occasionally go to work and I’m always late for church.

Do I miss anything about my life in China?:

• The strong exchange rate – used to be 14 to 1 but that’s now gone
• Friends – mostly gone. But most of them turn up in London to see me.
• Teaching English – Audit is my true calling. That last sentence seemed strangely unsettling…
• Learning Chinese – I do miss learning Chinese a lot. It’s the statisfying pen strokes of a Chinese character. Or it’s the repressed childhood guilt of not knowing enough Chinese. Either way.
• Chinese food – I can cook this myself. I just have to live with the horrible taste

What I miss can never be re-lived, which seems like a sign that I should move on and live a life of audit.

On a completely unrelated topic, a big white ship came to my office near Canary Wharf carrying cheap Christian literature and pirates.

Logos Hope

I told you it was unrelated.

Posted by Wordmobi

These were the tactics that I used to beat Graham:

• Brutal consistency – wherever I was, whatever the time, and no matter how much audit work I had done, I ran. However, I did discover that I develop a rain allergy while I ran. Brutal consistency became a quiet cowardice.
• Nike New Balance Trainers – I like the big “N”.
• Graham’s two knee injuries – perhaps the most successful tactic. I claim full credit.
• Counting - the mad rush to catch the bus/train/DLR/audit work papers was counted as a mile run. This made up 99% of the distance covered.

The highlight
Running through Bath on a cool spring evening after a hard day of audit. Admiring how the historic houses looked so much better than my purple apartment. Eating the room service that awaited at the hotel.

The lows
Running up the hill in Greenwich park. I stopped 4 times on my first attempt. 4 minutes of hell that only ended when I reached the canine waste bin. My fastest time was when it rained really hard. Apparently, Lord Sebastian Coe used to use the same hill for training. It was no consolation.

But the running challenge was a pyrrhic victory as the graphs were produced using Graham’s superior Excel skills. I tried to recreate the graphs myself and gave up after two hours. I missed a planned session because of it. This morning, I came up with the genius idea of using Graham’s perfectly good graph and just apply the cosmetic changes myself, which was to change the cell colours from white to transparent.

And what of the £50 prize money? I decided it was unfair to accept this after (causing) Graham’s knee injuries.

The train is jam packed. Nothing unusual but I’m the lucky one this time, at least I’m on a train. I even have the luxury of getting off a stop early at Bank Station. I just wanted to escape the sweat. I get off and find that everything is getting shut down. People are desperate to get home but the gates are shut. The air is hot with distress and anger.

The misery is not being able to get home. I’m grateful for that today.