Hey Friend,

As you know from Instagram... I'm finally in London!! I live here now!!

Cannot tell you exciting it feels to know I don't have to carry three suitcases (and a backpack and a purse) up and down any more train platforms in the foreseeable future. I move into my new flat on Saturday and then we're really back in business.

But speaking of back in business....

Morning friend,

I'm now hanging out in my third UK city in two weeks: Manchester.

Two hours northwest of London, this swaggy city is Britain's second largest tech hub and--as such--obviously deserves my attention. It's also where Oasis is from.

I'm here for about a week and a half, and I don't really know anybody in the city. But y'all know me -- I'm nosy AF and will happily invite myself over -- so I set out a mission of exploring the Manchester tech scene and getting connected. 

Morning friend,

Over the weekend, somebody asked me if I'd lived in London before.

I said, "Well... I actually guess I only studied abroad here for a semester, and that was 7 years ago. But I know the city pretty well."

Right, she said. That's my point. How do you know all these people and companies you've been meeting with?

I paused. Reflected. Shrugged. "I guess that's just how I do things," I replied.

Morning love,

You know, jetlag gets a bad rap--but today I've got to give Old Man J some credit. It's not yet 8AM and I'm already writing this email, eating greek yogurt in a café window seat as I watch the sun come up over West London.

Hello, beautiful commuters walking to the train. Don't look so glum. It's not raining yet, and IIIIIIII live in England now.

*waves pretentiously*

Hey Friend,

I was all set to do a recap of all the things I learned this year in a very sentimental, serious, thoughtful manner. 

And then, as I went to pull up photos on Insta to design this email around, I decided to do something much more fun. Because let's get real, entertaining myself is a top priority around here.

So, allow me to present... Alexa's "10 Things That Happened in 2016 According To What I Posted On Instagram."

Let's get started.