Soon these wreaths will come down too.

It is considered bad luck in England to keep your Christmas ornaments up past January 6th. [Note: here they are most definitely not considered “holiday” decorations] At work on Monday as we were taking down our seasonal decor, my colleague joked he’s not sure how they manage to the south: Italians don’t even celebrate Christmas until Epiphany! Maybe they get a dispensation, or maybe the superstition just applies locally.

Either way, everyone seems to conform. One by one, all the galleries and shops on the street where I work have pulled out their window displays. Even Harrods has rendered their omnipresent lights more mundane than magical by transforming the whole Experience into a SALE sign…. I have been walking by Harrods frequently since starting work nearby in December. The past month has been such a whirlwind of festivities that I can hardly explain to myself how quickly my every day has shifted.

But it has been a blessing. On Thanksgiving I got a very welcome phone call inviting me to take up the position of gallery assistant. And every day now I am learning and telling history. It is amazing to be using my training -as a historian, designer, urbanist- in my first full-time job!  There is room for growth, even though my orientation has been focused on administration over the past month. It all feels so new to me, and I feel an almost absurd desire to chronicle my discoveries in this amazing place! Perhaps I miss writing, perhaps this is an opportunity.