One door closes, another one opens

Whether it be through cheesey pop music, or the wise adages of ancient soothsayers, life is often described as a rollercoaster. There are ups and downs, twists and turns, and sometimes even full loops and swirls.

Personally I think this might be a bit of a relaxed description in today's frantic society. I believe that life is far more like a yo-yo in the hands of a champion yo-yo master. Does that sound childish?

Have you ever seen a champion yo-yo master before?

Think of a rollercoaster tied on a piece of string travelling three times as fast and not limited by the direction of the track in front of it. Unlike with a rollercoaster there is no end of the road. There is no potential foresight of where you might be taken to next. There is only the hand of the master, who alone has the power to decide which direction the yo-yo will be flung in next, or when the perpetual motion will finally cease.

After hunting for a room to stay in for over 4 weeks, I thought I had finally found somewhere. A room in Bruntsfield, the area where I was hoping to live, with reasonable rent, fantastic flatmates and a beautiful room with all I could need. As I was greeted by two smiling faces at the open door, I knew that this was a place I could live.

Everything went well. And apparently I wasn't the only one who thought so - I was humbled by an acceptance the next day from the two current tennants. They would love to have me! We would meet again on Thursday night to discuss the finer points of my moving in and, I hoped, to find out a little more about each other.

But come Thursday afternoon I was surprised by an email - my blog had been found after a quick search of my name. I was initially flattered. Someone had been reading my blog, someone I didn't even know!

But then came the crushing news. My blog revealed an airiness in my plans, and caused some hesitation on behalf of my soon-to-be roommates. They needed committment. They were afraid that I couldn't offer that.

I won't pretend I wasn't surprised. Of all the things in my life, I never thought that this blog, this very blog that you are reading, would get me in any amount of strife. In fact, I hoped it would do the opposite (although they did mention that they enjoyed reading it, and for that I thank you).

But as the door closed on my vision of a beautiful Bruntsfield flat with fabulous flatmates, I completely understood their concerns. This was nothing personal, we were all just victims of unbelievable chance. Put in the same position myself, I would definitely need some convincing to take a different course of action.

The very next morning, feeling a little down at the bottom end of the yo-yo string, I opened the front door of my temporary accommodation to find a smiling neighbour.

"Hi, are you one of the new tennants in this flat?"

"Oh, um, not really. I'm just staying while I search for a room of my own. I'm just heading out to work."

"That's ok, I was just dropping by to say hi, welcome to the building... but you say you're looking for a room?"

"Yeah, hopefully somewhere closeby, I really like the area."

"I have a room."

"You have a room?"

"I have a room... Come, take a look. I'm looking for someone for about two or three months just to help cover a bit of the rental cost. Its a beautiful room."

As she pushed open the door to an enormous double room with a gorgeous bay window, elegant old furniture and a wonderful, positive vibe I knew that as quickly as one door had closed another one had opened literally just downstairs.

I move in this weekend.

I wonder... in which direction will I be thrown next?