Today we said so long, farewell, come back soon to James who now has me crying and laughing simultaneously at this blog. James, take it away.
JAMES WILLS
Warmth. Sillyness. Occasional exercise. NPLAX.
If you haven’t met me, I’m the British one that spends too much time with the dogs, enjoys giving Kaitlin irritating sweaty hugs and usually has smokin’ hot glasses.
Things I love: McDonald’s McFlurries, Button Eden-Dukes, cheesecakes, not talking about Brexit.
Things I hate: the traffic light at the top of Vermont (if you know, you know…), MMDDYY dates, cheese in a can.
I accepted a job offer to come to LA back in 2016, knowing nothing about California, or even this side of the world. My head was filled with images of La La Land and Yes Man – although I knew they were fictional, this was the only impression that I had. Yes Man (which is a mildly awful film), features a man who has to say yes to everything (duh), and ends up joining this crazy running group that runs, takes photos, and meets at Griffith Observatory at sunrise (see the clip below).
I guess Hollywood isn’t always totally inaccurate…?
I can still remember my first workout. It was a partner-exercise workout with about 4 exercises with a hill repeat. I remember finishing the four exercises and repeats and feeling pure relief, which soon turned to horror as I realised that the workout was not over, but instead we’d be stuck in purgatory until we vomited… Luckily, Amanda cornered me and decided to claim me as her own friend, and it was probably this unnecessarily kind human connection that brought me back. Be kind to your foreigners, y’all!
Why is NP so great? Los Angeles is a strange city. Rome had its walls, Paris its boulevards, and LA its freeways. Each contribute as the veins of civilisation and help define the city and its ambience. In our case, this seems to lead to a strange sense of disconnect and isolation in a huge city, where people would rather live in the sky and commute in a box than have to talk to other people on their morning travels. I’m a lawyer that commutes into downtown, and could very easily stay in the skyscraper all day, and commute back home without ever touching base with reality. Instead, there’s NP.
NP is a community of individually brilliant and odd people, all full of hidden talents. As most of you are horrified to learn, I’m the baby of the culttribe at a meagre 23. And yet despite this, NP has kicked my butt. I may have been a rower and a cyclist and a squash player, but I’ve certainly never been a team player. I remember running the firecracker 10k with Brad and Joel, which was my first official running race. They 100% should take credit for pushing me through that race, which was my first ever official running event. It was a wake up call of how far I’ve come, and also how far I’ve got to go. It’s also a place of fun and joy, that is ever-changing as people come and go (or even bring their parents who buy me cheesecake @Cara). My achievements at NP include running Baxter without vomiting, cuddling five separate dogs at one workout, saying “great” in a non-sarcastic manner and non-ironically using the word “buddy”. I expect I’ll be stopped at the UK border.
I feel in exchange, I’ve offered many cultural experiences. I’ve introduced various members of NP to the phenomenon of “British binge-drinking”, and exposed a lucky few of them to a British 800 year old rowing rivalry that is so important it is completely unimportant, as well as patronisingly corrected everyone’s pronunciation and spelling.
NP even restarted my love for learning, which was inevitably stifled after 4 years of constant exams. The interesting discussions, and love of various podcasts by people in the tribe pushed me back towards learning for the sake of learning, whether that be true crime, geopolitics, or Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. This has been a year of reset, and a year to celebrate my ignorance and learn from it.
Looking back on this year, I’ve avoided a fire that almost burnt down my flat and all my worldly possessions, accidentally broken into NBC Universal, did not get married in Vegas (try harder next time Cara), and almost ran over Julia Roberts’ kids in an armoured car – and yet the thing that stands out for me is love and warmth of NP. People have been unnecessarily kind to a slightly lost foreign-sounding kid. I don’t even need to give examples, as it’s clearly the common theme of the group.
Anyway, my flight is booked and visa is ticking so I should probably bring this to a close. It’s certainly a farewell, not a goodbye. In true Peter Jackson style, I’m giving this post five different endings with very little joinder (this is the extent of my acquired movie knowledge from my year out here).
I’m moving back to the UK after a few years away to pursue a job I’ve always wanted to do. Please do forgive my leaving, and ensure that you all cheer for Oxford in the boat race. If you guys do want to visit Hogwarts or find Mary Poppins, remember I’m just a bell away! If you choose to remain in the states, make sure you party like it’s May 1814, knowing that in 3 months the Brits are coming back to take over and burn down the White House. You’re welcome.
Thank you all for being my family, 5300 miles away from home. So long America, so long LA, so long NP – I’m grateful that you brought out the best, the beautiful and the weird in us all, and for letting me be a part of it.
Thanks Kait. Thanks Jesse. Thank you all.
P.S. @JonathanLondon, I can confirm that the whole British accent was a ruse to pick up girls, and I too was born in a place called “New Jersey”.
P.P.S.@couplesofNP if you’re looking for baby names, just remember James is a much more royal name than Archie…
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Friday 5/24 – Old Zoo (Tracker HERE) GAME OF THRONES THEMED! Guaranteed to end better than the show did (apparently…I don’t watch it so you’re just going to have to trust me on this).
Wednesday 6/5 – Global Running Day + Pride Tagging Day. We’ll be tagging LIGHT COLORED SHIRTS ONLY (white allows the paint to show best) for Pride. Before you show up and request a rainbow tag, please read these two blogs about what it means to wear this shirt. (Blog 1 by NP Baltimore + Blog 2 by Sam Lee NPSD)
Sunday 6/9 – November Pride Scavenger Hunt 2:30 arrival >> more details to be shared but get pumped!!
Fun Fact(s): Thought you know all about England? Well, there are more chickens than people in England and it’s a criminal offense to stick a postage stamp to an envelope upside down. So there you go. Cheerio!
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