Alrighty where to start where to start... When I miss a day blogging it always gets so confusing as to what is relevant and how much detail to put into these things.
Anyhow Friday... What did we do Friday again? Ah yes, Matt has just reminded me. We went shopping in Kilurn to get a few more household items including a white chocolate toblerone!! Yum!! Spell check wants me to tell you I had a white chocolate cobblestone hehe. We also picked up Halloween costumes and then went home to make dinner. After dinner we ended up taking the underground back to Kilburn to attend the Halloween bar party we saw advertised earlier. There was a live band playing and horror movies playing behind the band via projector. No one else showed up in costume except 2 little lion men that weren't wearing their masks. We still had a great time and loved the music!
Saturday we decided to go out and check out all the touristy stuff. We went to get tickets for the Riverboat Cruise and London Eye, but it was horribly crowded and the lines looked like they would take hours. I suggested going to Tienamen Square until things got less crowded and then realized that that was in China and I was actually talking about Trafalgar Square. We instead wandered over to Trafalgar Square and saw all the statues and people and different things going on in the area. Mostly statues. Matt took my picture with a lion. I'll post those on Facebook, but let me tell you, it was not easy to get up there! After Trafalgar, we went back for the cruise and Eye and things were indeed less crowded! They were also very enjoyable and scenic, and the riveboat cruise announcer had a great sense of humour and explained the historical significance of what we passed. The Eye was amazing, we were on a giant Fairiswheel taller than Big Ben!! Afterwards, we went through a haunted house, which was fantastic!! The cashier was even an actor, dressed as a zombie, reaching towards our faces and trying to figure out why we were there and what we wanted. Upon entering, we were guided by a crazy "doctor" in "area 51" who was running around all panicked while telling us not to panic. He asked one of the guys entering the house if he had the key and the guy said no. The doctor freaked out, yelling at the guy for losing the key- after pulling one of his shirts off looking for it. He also freaked out because Matt said everyone was present yet had no idea how many people were there at the start :) The acting was fantastic, the zombies and ghouls that jumped out were sufficiently creepy and had me screaming and running.
Today was slightly lazier. We took our time getting ready, made some waffles, which we realized we accidentally bought waffle fries rather than pancake waffles... Why doesn't England have Eggos or breakfast waffles? Or poptarts? Or... those other ... Toaster Strudels! We've been looking all over the place and can't find the things I love for breakfast. Anyways, where was that thought originally going... Ah yes, we had our breakfast, did some grocery shopping, made some dinner and are back home with pictures organized that I will be posting soon. We will also be watching the rest of Star Trek since I was too tired and was passing out during it yesterday.
I must say, Matt and I have the funniest conversations here. For example:
Matt - "I'm good with conversation... Unless I have to pick a topic on the spot. Owls? Plates?"
Me - "Oh! I can seriously talk about plates!! See there was this book I was reading... (rambling continues on for a while while Matt laughs)
Life is good here. Everything has been fun and there has been so much laughter every day. We are still planning on learning Klingon and I still want to read that book about the toaster and find out why the song London Bridge is Falling Down was written. Must have been some sort of structural damage that was repaired at some point...
Anyways, hope those of you in Windsor and elsewhere are having as much fun! More rambling to come... eventually.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Updates Tuesday- Thursday
Tuesday was another home and sick day. I went to my doctor in the morning and she prescribed medication that treated the symptoms of my illness but not the cause. They did not really work, and one of them tasted dreadful. I tried to make it better by first diluting it in water, then adding teaspoons of sugar to the mixture. It still tasted awful. Matt was determined that I drink the entire thing, so I kept trying, while complaining. The thing that ended up making it tolerable... I said to Matt "This is so awful, I bet if I dropped a ticktack in here it would be eaten away by the substance in seconds". I dropped a ticktack in to test my theory. Ticktack survived, mixture tasted better. The majority of the rest of the day was spent home again, under the weather.
Wed morning I was still sick and decided to try out another clinic. The man there told me to stop taking the medications I had and to take new ones that did the opposite. I wasn't a fan of this idea and decided to just put all the medications in the cabinet (not having purchased the new ones at all). The afternoon was spent at home, mostly in bed but getting a bit of house work done when I could. Evening became a bit better. Matt and I decided to check out the science center. We went through the astronomy section and modern world section, stopping part way through the astronomy to get a small snack. The place was huge and fantastic! So much to read about so many interesting things, for example, the toaster project: A man who decided to make a toaster from scratch, up to and including making all the wires he intended to use. The book looks hilarious from the first couple pages and might be worth investing in. After that was back to the flat for some leftovers and rice before bed.
Today I woke up without any pain or sickness. It was 11:30 and we had both slept from just after midnight. It was awesome, there wasn't even any hammering and drilling going on in the flat above us. We went to the grocery store and then made some lunch. We ended up doing some laundry and house chores and lounging about until around 8 when we decided to make some dinner. We did tacos and rice and it was delicious!! Matt and I are becoming able to cook pretty decently. Afterwards, we decided to go for a ride on the tube for the sole purpose of taking a picture of Big Ben. As it turns out, that was only 20 min away. It was absolutely magnificent!! We went for a walk to the Eye to see if the fairiswheel was still running (excuse the spelling on that one as I have no idea). Turns out it wasn't, but it was next to an arcade which we enjoyed for the next while, testing the machines with the claw, plus Deal or No Deal.
Now we are back home, it is 1:20 in the morning. I have just showered, Matt is finishing up his and we will be getting some sleep again before tomorrows adventures which have yet to be determined.
Wed morning I was still sick and decided to try out another clinic. The man there told me to stop taking the medications I had and to take new ones that did the opposite. I wasn't a fan of this idea and decided to just put all the medications in the cabinet (not having purchased the new ones at all). The afternoon was spent at home, mostly in bed but getting a bit of house work done when I could. Evening became a bit better. Matt and I decided to check out the science center. We went through the astronomy section and modern world section, stopping part way through the astronomy to get a small snack. The place was huge and fantastic! So much to read about so many interesting things, for example, the toaster project: A man who decided to make a toaster from scratch, up to and including making all the wires he intended to use. The book looks hilarious from the first couple pages and might be worth investing in. After that was back to the flat for some leftovers and rice before bed.
Today I woke up without any pain or sickness. It was 11:30 and we had both slept from just after midnight. It was awesome, there wasn't even any hammering and drilling going on in the flat above us. We went to the grocery store and then made some lunch. We ended up doing some laundry and house chores and lounging about until around 8 when we decided to make some dinner. We did tacos and rice and it was delicious!! Matt and I are becoming able to cook pretty decently. Afterwards, we decided to go for a ride on the tube for the sole purpose of taking a picture of Big Ben. As it turns out, that was only 20 min away. It was absolutely magnificent!! We went for a walk to the Eye to see if the fairiswheel was still running (excuse the spelling on that one as I have no idea). Turns out it wasn't, but it was next to an arcade which we enjoyed for the next while, testing the machines with the claw, plus Deal or No Deal.
Now we are back home, it is 1:20 in the morning. I have just showered, Matt is finishing up his and we will be getting some sleep again before tomorrows adventures which have yet to be determined.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Sunday and Monday
Unfortunately, the blog for these 2 days won't be very interesting either. Yesterday I was still sick and unable to really leave the house, eat anything or do anything. Matt was still there with me all day, laying next to me and making me laugh. We watched a movie together in the evening- Across the Universe. It was really good, especially the soundtrack :)
It's a good thing we are both off this week for midterm break because I was up pretty much all night sick and this morning Matt was looking for a clinic in the area covered under my insurance. By the time he had found one and we left to check it out, I wasn't feel quite as horrible as yesterday or during the night. I decided to stick it out another day since it would be very expensive if the coverage didn't work for us (On the phone they said probably, but we would have had to pay out of pocket first and file a claim). We did find a local doctor and I registered with her secretary (although she didn't have any openings for this afternoon). Matt will register as well after some paper work is taken care of. I spent the majority of the afternoon and evening sleeping while Matt took care of paper work for both of us at TimePlan and at the bank. This evening I was able to eat nearly half a Shwarma (YAY!!) and we will be showering and getting more sleep.
It's a good thing we are both off this week for midterm break because I was up pretty much all night sick and this morning Matt was looking for a clinic in the area covered under my insurance. By the time he had found one and we left to check it out, I wasn't feel quite as horrible as yesterday or during the night. I decided to stick it out another day since it would be very expensive if the coverage didn't work for us (On the phone they said probably, but we would have had to pay out of pocket first and file a claim). We did find a local doctor and I registered with her secretary (although she didn't have any openings for this afternoon). Matt will register as well after some paper work is taken care of. I spent the majority of the afternoon and evening sleeping while Matt took care of paper work for both of us at TimePlan and at the bank. This evening I was able to eat nearly half a Shwarma (YAY!!) and we will be showering and getting more sleep.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Friday and Saturday Updates
On Friday, there are not a whole lot of interesting updates. I was sick so I didn't call the office to find out if there was any work for me. Instead, I spent the majority of the day laying down or sleeping. When Matt came home, we went to Kilburn. On our shopping list was a microwave, a safety pin, a phone, a handtowel and a hairdryer. Randomest list EVER. We completed our list minus the handtowel (realizing there was really nowhere to put one) and went out for dinner at this really nice yet inexpensive restaurant. Matt got fish and I got pizza and a glass of wine. The meals were only 5 pounds each, and my pizza was not just a personal pizza - it took up the entire giant plate! It was delicious! After that was home to prepare for sleep.
Yesterday was Saturday and my birthday :) We got up and had the best breakfast ever- Icecream with chocolate, smarties, nutella and peanut butter. It was fantastic! After lazing around a bit, we went to the Freud museum which was actually the house he lived in at the end of his life! We had little radios to listen to the life and meaning behind all of the things in the home. We got to see the famous couch that he treated his patients on! I was so excited!
After the Freud museum, we went back home to decide what to do next. At that point, I was still feeling rather ill from the day before and ended up falling asleep. When I woke up, things were not any better. I had a headache, stomach pains, congestion and could not breathe. It's a good thing I had Matt to take care of me. He literally ran to the pharmacy to get the medications needed to take care of me. He ordered Chinese in for us and prepared my plate for me while I was in bed. I am so lucky :)
After that was back to bed early again for the night.
Yesterday was Saturday and my birthday :) We got up and had the best breakfast ever- Icecream with chocolate, smarties, nutella and peanut butter. It was fantastic! After lazing around a bit, we went to the Freud museum which was actually the house he lived in at the end of his life! We had little radios to listen to the life and meaning behind all of the things in the home. We got to see the famous couch that he treated his patients on! I was so excited!
After the Freud museum, we went back home to decide what to do next. At that point, I was still feeling rather ill from the day before and ended up falling asleep. When I woke up, things were not any better. I had a headache, stomach pains, congestion and could not breathe. It's a good thing I had Matt to take care of me. He literally ran to the pharmacy to get the medications needed to take care of me. He ordered Chinese in for us and prepared my plate for me while I was in bed. I am so lucky :)
After that was back to bed early again for the night.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Recap of the last few days
I’m going to keep this blog relatively short because I’m quite tired, but here’s a recap of the last few days. I’ve been working with TimePlan, yesterday half a day and today the full day. Yesterdays half day was a bit chaotic due to the organizational structure of the school. I got there an hour early and wasn’t provided with the class I was teaching until 10 minutes before where instead of finding a lesson plan, I found a music note with a sticky note to teach a certain page. The lesson itself was fine but the students were chaotic and loud and I didn’t know the routines or methods of management used in the classroom. The students were trying to show me their reward and punishment system while I was trying to teach which caused even more chaos.
Today was a bit easier because my grade 5 classroom (which was only about half hour away :D ) had 2 teaching assistants there to help me. Between them and the other grade 5 teacher, they were able to help me come up with a lesson and transition the kids from one place to the next (since I had just got there and didn’t know where anything was- ex the computer lab). I’m not sure if it’s really that common here that no one ever has a lesson plan written out.
Aside from work, Matt and I have been trying to fix his phone, grocery shopping, gathering house supplies and attending to banking and moving paper work. We went out tonight for a very nice dinner of pasta and wine, a special going on at the 2nd subway station from us.
All is well, just very busy. I’m going to close this email up in order to get some sleep. Matt has already fallen asleep with his computer on top of him. Hehe. Anyways, night!
Today was a bit easier because my grade 5 classroom (which was only about half hour away :D ) had 2 teaching assistants there to help me. Between them and the other grade 5 teacher, they were able to help me come up with a lesson and transition the kids from one place to the next (since I had just got there and didn’t know where anything was- ex the computer lab). I’m not sure if it’s really that common here that no one ever has a lesson plan written out.
Aside from work, Matt and I have been trying to fix his phone, grocery shopping, gathering house supplies and attending to banking and moving paper work. We went out tonight for a very nice dinner of pasta and wine, a special going on at the 2nd subway station from us.
All is well, just very busy. I’m going to close this email up in order to get some sleep. Matt has already fallen asleep with his computer on top of him. Hehe. Anyways, night!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Just Another Manic Monday
I wished it were Sunday, cause that's my fun day. My I don't have to run day. Alright, I'll stop singing now.
Yesterday was the big day- moving day! We were up shortly after 6 as usual and Matt got ready and headed out to work. The hotel had moved us up to the 2nd floor the night before (3rd floor in Canadian) so it was my jobs to get all of the bags back down the stairs (England seems to have something against elevators- we rarely see them) and put them in the hotels storage until we were ready to move in. Thump thump thump thump thump, bang bang bang bang bank, deep breath, repeat process.
As soon as I got them downstairs and stored, I realized my appointment with the other teaching agency was at 11. It was already 8:30 so I looked up directions on Journey Planner and seen it was 1 hour 50 minutes to get there. I rushed out the door and onto the bus to the subway. Transferred subway lines and arrived at the train station, where I was supposed to jump on the train for 17 minutes and then catch 1 more bus and go for a walk. I couldn't get on the train with my Oyster Pass- It was too far out of our zone. The ticket cost 22.60 and the train ride wasn't 17 minutes- it was 2 hours. Since I never would have made it on time and still needed to go to the office, pay the rest of the deposit, get the keys and move all the luggage into the new place, I decided it was best to call and reschedule. I explained the situation and asked if it was possible. My appointment is now next Tuesday- and my phone is set to remind me 12 hours in advance. The only thing is if I get this other job, I will have to commute I'm guessing around 3 hours to get to work because they operate in South London and we live in the North. There were no doubts about the house because Matt is working full time at least until Christmas and I can always find more recruitment agencies or just stick with TimePlan if the distance is too much.
Anyways, I went back on the subways and busses to our new area, Willesden Green. I went to the office, paid off the rest of the rent and got the keys to the new place. I walked to our new place and the key didn't work, so I walked back to Estate's office again. They told me not to put the key all the way in, to push it up to the right and jiggle it. I went back to the property to try it, and on the way back got stopped by 3 people on the street who wanted to introduce themselves. One wanted my number but I told him I had a boyfriend. Still couldn't get in. I phoned Estate and they said they would come show me. 2 Women came out of the property (it has 2 rooms in the building), jumped on motorcycles and took off. If those are the neighbors, I like them already. 20 Minutes later, no Estate. A man on a motorcycle showed up and asked if I was moving in. I said yes, are you my neighbor? (just in case the motorcycle girls were visitors). He said he was the landlord and offered to help me get inside. As we got to the door, Estate finally showed up. The landlord waved them off since he was there to help. He opened the door just fine. He taught me to get it open, but still not easily. It takes me time.
The landlord originally wanted us to move in Tuesday, but I had asked if it were possible to get in a day early to avoid the hotel expense. The landlord complied and spent the entire day in our flat setting up a bed and getting a mattress in for us. I got keys copied for the landlord (I had 1 he didn't) and for Matt. Then it was back to the hotel to get the luggage. 2 Huge suitcases on 2 busses was a challenge, but I made it. I went back to the hotel because there were still 2 bags and a backpack. I got back to the hotel at 4 and Matt was supposed to meet me there at 4:30 to help with any bags that were still there (the hotel wanted them out as soon as we could). He got back at 5 and we took the last 2 bags and backpack to the new place.
We went in but couldn't get settled in too well. Since we moved in a day early, the inventory had not yet been done. That was planned for the day after. For the inventory, someone needs to come in to check the condition of the place and take pictures so they know we left the place in the same condition we got it. We unpacked only what we needed, went to the store to pick up a few household items and finally got something to eat, Shwarmas. Then it was back to the hotel to shower and sleep. Tuesday (Today) is the inventory, and someone will eventually call about coming in to clean the oven since our landlord said it would be done and cleaned professionally.
I love our landlord, he's kind and considerate. He let us move in a day early, got us a brand new bed and mattress and set it up himself, guided me through the key thing and let me try many times to make sure I would be able to get in... I'm going to have to give him a call sometime today to ask him how to turn on the heat and how to get the hot water in the sinks working (it works in the shower, just not in the 2 sinks).
Yesterday was the big day- moving day! We were up shortly after 6 as usual and Matt got ready and headed out to work. The hotel had moved us up to the 2nd floor the night before (3rd floor in Canadian) so it was my jobs to get all of the bags back down the stairs (England seems to have something against elevators- we rarely see them) and put them in the hotels storage until we were ready to move in. Thump thump thump thump thump, bang bang bang bang bank, deep breath, repeat process.
As soon as I got them downstairs and stored, I realized my appointment with the other teaching agency was at 11. It was already 8:30 so I looked up directions on Journey Planner and seen it was 1 hour 50 minutes to get there. I rushed out the door and onto the bus to the subway. Transferred subway lines and arrived at the train station, where I was supposed to jump on the train for 17 minutes and then catch 1 more bus and go for a walk. I couldn't get on the train with my Oyster Pass- It was too far out of our zone. The ticket cost 22.60 and the train ride wasn't 17 minutes- it was 2 hours. Since I never would have made it on time and still needed to go to the office, pay the rest of the deposit, get the keys and move all the luggage into the new place, I decided it was best to call and reschedule. I explained the situation and asked if it was possible. My appointment is now next Tuesday- and my phone is set to remind me 12 hours in advance. The only thing is if I get this other job, I will have to commute I'm guessing around 3 hours to get to work because they operate in South London and we live in the North. There were no doubts about the house because Matt is working full time at least until Christmas and I can always find more recruitment agencies or just stick with TimePlan if the distance is too much.
Anyways, I went back on the subways and busses to our new area, Willesden Green. I went to the office, paid off the rest of the rent and got the keys to the new place. I walked to our new place and the key didn't work, so I walked back to Estate's office again. They told me not to put the key all the way in, to push it up to the right and jiggle it. I went back to the property to try it, and on the way back got stopped by 3 people on the street who wanted to introduce themselves. One wanted my number but I told him I had a boyfriend. Still couldn't get in. I phoned Estate and they said they would come show me. 2 Women came out of the property (it has 2 rooms in the building), jumped on motorcycles and took off. If those are the neighbors, I like them already. 20 Minutes later, no Estate. A man on a motorcycle showed up and asked if I was moving in. I said yes, are you my neighbor? (just in case the motorcycle girls were visitors). He said he was the landlord and offered to help me get inside. As we got to the door, Estate finally showed up. The landlord waved them off since he was there to help. He opened the door just fine. He taught me to get it open, but still not easily. It takes me time.
The landlord originally wanted us to move in Tuesday, but I had asked if it were possible to get in a day early to avoid the hotel expense. The landlord complied and spent the entire day in our flat setting up a bed and getting a mattress in for us. I got keys copied for the landlord (I had 1 he didn't) and for Matt. Then it was back to the hotel to get the luggage. 2 Huge suitcases on 2 busses was a challenge, but I made it. I went back to the hotel because there were still 2 bags and a backpack. I got back to the hotel at 4 and Matt was supposed to meet me there at 4:30 to help with any bags that were still there (the hotel wanted them out as soon as we could). He got back at 5 and we took the last 2 bags and backpack to the new place.
We went in but couldn't get settled in too well. Since we moved in a day early, the inventory had not yet been done. That was planned for the day after. For the inventory, someone needs to come in to check the condition of the place and take pictures so they know we left the place in the same condition we got it. We unpacked only what we needed, went to the store to pick up a few household items and finally got something to eat, Shwarmas. Then it was back to the hotel to shower and sleep. Tuesday (Today) is the inventory, and someone will eventually call about coming in to clean the oven since our landlord said it would be done and cleaned professionally.
I love our landlord, he's kind and considerate. He let us move in a day early, got us a brand new bed and mattress and set it up himself, guided me through the key thing and let me try many times to make sure I would be able to get in... I'm going to have to give him a call sometime today to ask him how to turn on the heat and how to get the hot water in the sinks working (it works in the shower, just not in the 2 sinks).
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Cloudly Sunday
So today on our itinerary, we had intended to withdraw our money for our flat, pay the rental company, go shopping, do laundry and attend to emails. In the end we weren't able to accomplish much of that list, but we did complete what was crucial to be done today.
We were awoken again at 2am by the fire alarm when there was no fire. When our alarm went off in the actual morning, we heard dripping coming from the bathroom. Our ceiling was leaking right next to the light fixture - a lot. We were freezing cold because there was a draft coming in from the closed Window which was right next to our bed. We got our room switched and had to climb 3 flights of stairs with all of our luggage. The stair system is different here. We were told the 2nd floor, which in Canadian is the 3rd floor. Here they are labelled ground floor, first floor, second floor, etc.
It was an ATM fiasco. I'm not going to go into a crazy amount of detail, but the banks were closed and I needed to be on the phone with the credit card company for an hour and a half in order to get my cards up and running to withdraw some money.
We had subway for dinner back at the hotel, with a cheap cheesecake from the grocery store for desert. Was it ever delicious! We nearly ate the entire thing.
We were able to talk online and contact my mum on Skype and Kate and Jason on MSN. We also talked to the hotel, who arranged for us to leave our luggage in the room behind the back counter after checkout, until we are able to move into flat in the early evening tomorrow (hopefully!).
Now is the end of the evening and we can finally wind down, make our preparations for tomorrow and get some sleep.
~Tracey
We were awoken again at 2am by the fire alarm when there was no fire. When our alarm went off in the actual morning, we heard dripping coming from the bathroom. Our ceiling was leaking right next to the light fixture - a lot. We were freezing cold because there was a draft coming in from the closed Window which was right next to our bed. We got our room switched and had to climb 3 flights of stairs with all of our luggage. The stair system is different here. We were told the 2nd floor, which in Canadian is the 3rd floor. Here they are labelled ground floor, first floor, second floor, etc.
It was an ATM fiasco. I'm not going to go into a crazy amount of detail, but the banks were closed and I needed to be on the phone with the credit card company for an hour and a half in order to get my cards up and running to withdraw some money.
We had subway for dinner back at the hotel, with a cheap cheesecake from the grocery store for desert. Was it ever delicious! We nearly ate the entire thing.
We were able to talk online and contact my mum on Skype and Kate and Jason on MSN. We also talked to the hotel, who arranged for us to leave our luggage in the room behind the back counter after checkout, until we are able to move into flat in the early evening tomorrow (hopefully!).
Now is the end of the evening and we can finally wind down, make our preparations for tomorrow and get some sleep.
~Tracey
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Happy Saturday
Matt and I have this really cool habit of making every single Saturday we spend together amazing. Today was no exception :)
We were up early for breakfast and to get ready to head out to view a property. We had selected a new region beforehand, Willesdon, which was still in a nice location with a good safety rating, towards northern London and not exceptionally far from where Matt is currently working and where I went to work yesterday.
We got there by bus on time and took a look. The place was not so bad, it was a little small and dirty but the person from the rental company promised it would be cleaned and ready for us when we wanted to move in. We wandered out to ponder it, and happen to pass by a few more rental companies. Since we had the spare time, we wandered in.
The 2nd place was much nicer. It was furnished, had a little washing machine right in the room and was a little bit bigger. My only concern looking at it was climbing 2 flights of stairs when we arrived with our luggage, but we would only have to climb them once so we decided that wouldn't be so bad.
Another rental company brought us to our 3rd viewing. The place was absolutely huge, had 2 closets, tons of cupboards and storage spaces and was on the ground floor. The flat was only shared by one more person in the room next door. This place got our attention right away and the agent warned us he had other viewings for this same property on that exact day.
We wandered off to talk about it and stopped at a couple other places. No one else had anything comparable to look at and we didn't want to miss our opportunity, so we decided to take it. As soon as we get money here from Canada (which is a whole different challenge in itself), we will be able to move in.
We came back to review work documents and paper work and made ourselves some instant noodles, which we will now have before figuring out if there is anything else left to do before the end of the night.
~Tracey
We were up early for breakfast and to get ready to head out to view a property. We had selected a new region beforehand, Willesdon, which was still in a nice location with a good safety rating, towards northern London and not exceptionally far from where Matt is currently working and where I went to work yesterday.
We got there by bus on time and took a look. The place was not so bad, it was a little small and dirty but the person from the rental company promised it would be cleaned and ready for us when we wanted to move in. We wandered out to ponder it, and happen to pass by a few more rental companies. Since we had the spare time, we wandered in.
The 2nd place was much nicer. It was furnished, had a little washing machine right in the room and was a little bit bigger. My only concern looking at it was climbing 2 flights of stairs when we arrived with our luggage, but we would only have to climb them once so we decided that wouldn't be so bad.
Another rental company brought us to our 3rd viewing. The place was absolutely huge, had 2 closets, tons of cupboards and storage spaces and was on the ground floor. The flat was only shared by one more person in the room next door. This place got our attention right away and the agent warned us he had other viewings for this same property on that exact day.
We wandered off to talk about it and stopped at a couple other places. No one else had anything comparable to look at and we didn't want to miss our opportunity, so we decided to take it. As soon as we get money here from Canada (which is a whole different challenge in itself), we will be able to move in.
We came back to review work documents and paper work and made ourselves some instant noodles, which we will now have before figuring out if there is anything else left to do before the end of the night.
~Tracey
Friday, October 14, 2011
TGIF
Today was... interesting to say the least. We were in bed early last night to get proper sleep for work in the morning. We woke up to a very loud buzzing noise which at first I attributed to Matt's alarm but soon realized that was not the case, it was a fire alarm. We jumped out of bed, grabbed our money and phone and rushed out the door only to find the beeping had stopped. Interesting. We went back to sleep.
Upon proper morning, we got up and went on with our routines getting ready for Matt to work and me to phone and find out if I had work. Matt took off and I called. No work. I went online for a bit looking for some rental properties, intending to make some more viewing appointments, apply for a credit card, do some banking, check out the rates for the hotel down the street since tonight will be our last night here, etc. I put on my jeans and went down for breakfast. Had about 4 bites of my eggs when my cell phone rang. Adam from TimePlan asking me to leave for work, right that instant. I said no problem, ran into the room to put on dress clothes and ran out the door hoping I understood his instructions for directions. Fortunately, he text them to me as an added reminder. Off to the bus I went.
I got to the school about 10 minutes into the day. My class was at an assembly and I wasn't quite sure which one it was. About 4 teachers, plus the headmaster, pulled me out into the hall and told me they were giving me a year 6 class who happened to be the worst class in the school. Apparently the day before, the class was horrible to the supply teacher. They gave me this class instead of the one I was originally going to be in because I arrived before the other supply teacher and they wanted someone watching this class ASAP. Apparently about 20 minutes before I arrived, one of my students was on the roof of the school. Also, the teacher left me no notes so I had to make sense of the handouts on his desk and figure out how to teach them. Lucky me.
The rest of the day was, as I expected, a little bit rough. It went by somewhat alright although they were a bit noisy and didn't care to listen to their instructions all the way through. The end of the day was the biggest challenge. We were doing guided reading and I couldn't focus on my group because the rest of the class was talking so loudly. The last 20 minutes of the day was "Golden Time" where students had 20 minutes of free time outside, provided they didn't lose all of their minutes throughout the week. The class as a whole lost about 5 and individuals lost up to 8 more. We were late getting outside because I was waiting for quiet from the class, which didn't happen until 10 minutes in. When I asked them to come inside to prepare for the end of the day, they got very upset that they didn't have their full 20 minutes and started yelling and shouting at me and at one another. The Headmaster came in just as the bell rang and students were headed for the door. She apologized for the class and told me she hopes I'll be back sometime in a better classroom.
I went back to the hotel to find Matt who had lost his Oyster Pass (Underground and bus pass). We got that sorted with the store who had credit for losses and went for pizza. We had intended to go to the social near the opposite end of London to have a couple drinks and meet the other TimePlan employees, however we had things to sort regarding visitation of possible places to live tomorrow and headed back to the hotel, which is where I am blogging from now, having concluded the discussion.
By the way, I know people are reading these things, why are there never any comments? :P
~Tracey
Upon proper morning, we got up and went on with our routines getting ready for Matt to work and me to phone and find out if I had work. Matt took off and I called. No work. I went online for a bit looking for some rental properties, intending to make some more viewing appointments, apply for a credit card, do some banking, check out the rates for the hotel down the street since tonight will be our last night here, etc. I put on my jeans and went down for breakfast. Had about 4 bites of my eggs when my cell phone rang. Adam from TimePlan asking me to leave for work, right that instant. I said no problem, ran into the room to put on dress clothes and ran out the door hoping I understood his instructions for directions. Fortunately, he text them to me as an added reminder. Off to the bus I went.
I got to the school about 10 minutes into the day. My class was at an assembly and I wasn't quite sure which one it was. About 4 teachers, plus the headmaster, pulled me out into the hall and told me they were giving me a year 6 class who happened to be the worst class in the school. Apparently the day before, the class was horrible to the supply teacher. They gave me this class instead of the one I was originally going to be in because I arrived before the other supply teacher and they wanted someone watching this class ASAP. Apparently about 20 minutes before I arrived, one of my students was on the roof of the school. Also, the teacher left me no notes so I had to make sense of the handouts on his desk and figure out how to teach them. Lucky me.
The rest of the day was, as I expected, a little bit rough. It went by somewhat alright although they were a bit noisy and didn't care to listen to their instructions all the way through. The end of the day was the biggest challenge. We were doing guided reading and I couldn't focus on my group because the rest of the class was talking so loudly. The last 20 minutes of the day was "Golden Time" where students had 20 minutes of free time outside, provided they didn't lose all of their minutes throughout the week. The class as a whole lost about 5 and individuals lost up to 8 more. We were late getting outside because I was waiting for quiet from the class, which didn't happen until 10 minutes in. When I asked them to come inside to prepare for the end of the day, they got very upset that they didn't have their full 20 minutes and started yelling and shouting at me and at one another. The Headmaster came in just as the bell rang and students were headed for the door. She apologized for the class and told me she hopes I'll be back sometime in a better classroom.
I went back to the hotel to find Matt who had lost his Oyster Pass (Underground and bus pass). We got that sorted with the store who had credit for losses and went for pizza. We had intended to go to the social near the opposite end of London to have a couple drinks and meet the other TimePlan employees, however we had things to sort regarding visitation of possible places to live tomorrow and headed back to the hotel, which is where I am blogging from now, having concluded the discussion.
By the way, I know people are reading these things, why are there never any comments? :P
~Tracey
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Thursday the 13th
Today was Matt's first day of the job, which he will blog about at a later time. We were up for 6:20 getting ready. I wanted to be dressed and ready too just in case TimePlan gave me a call. Result: not today.
While he was out, I went down for breakfast and then back to the room to start making some phonecalls for property viewings. The first number I tried to call, the phone told me I had no credit. I was supposed to have 300 so I went to the phone company who sent me to the place I bought a phone who told me the phone was fine- there was no credit because the credit had been converted into minutes and I did not have credit for additional charges required by some of the agents. This adventure took a little bit, but I navigated the subway and bus systems on my own for the first time and am now more confident to do it when I get called into work.
After that was back to the hotel to make more phonecalls. unfortunately, the majority of people didn't answer the phone or had already sold the property. I wandered the streets, stopping at every property rental place (there were about 6) and they all told me they had nothing in the area within budget. I got a paper and started looking through the ads and other areas did have properties, even under budget. Now we have some considerations...
Matt came back and we went out for Pizza and decided to check out what sort of thing was on TV. This is where we will spend the majority of the evening because we need to go to bed early for Matt's work and my potential work in the morning.
~Tracey
While he was out, I went down for breakfast and then back to the room to start making some phonecalls for property viewings. The first number I tried to call, the phone told me I had no credit. I was supposed to have 300 so I went to the phone company who sent me to the place I bought a phone who told me the phone was fine- there was no credit because the credit had been converted into minutes and I did not have credit for additional charges required by some of the agents. This adventure took a little bit, but I navigated the subway and bus systems on my own for the first time and am now more confident to do it when I get called into work.
After that was back to the hotel to make more phonecalls. unfortunately, the majority of people didn't answer the phone or had already sold the property. I wandered the streets, stopping at every property rental place (there were about 6) and they all told me they had nothing in the area within budget. I got a paper and started looking through the ads and other areas did have properties, even under budget. Now we have some considerations...
Matt came back and we went out for Pizza and decided to check out what sort of thing was on TV. This is where we will spend the majority of the evening because we need to go to bed early for Matt's work and my potential work in the morning.
~Tracey
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
October 12th being the 12th day of October
Greetings comrades in North America and abroad! Today's goal was to obtain a cell phone for Tracey and a bank account for the two of us. Not having a permanent address as mentioned before was a hurdle to overcome for both of these objectives. Solution; get a pay as you go cell or sim card and bank at Barclays Bank which requires only a Canadian Passport to get started.
On the cell front Tracey scored a pretty damn good android phone known as the Samsung Galaxy Europa. This phone was locked to the Three network so after a quick stop at a shop known as Phone City the phone was unlocked for use on other networks. That being said the phone came with 15 GBP credit on the SIM which permits a 30 day allowance of 300 minutes, 3000 texts and 500 GB of data! I am jealous as I will be unlocking my own phone but I had already gone online and paid for an unlock code but made the foolish mistake of paying via Paypal echeck with will take another two days I expect to clear. Blarg!
Not much to say on the bank front other than Barclays staff are quite helpful and opening an account was relatively painless.
Now on another front both Tracey and I were expecting to pursue work assignments after arranging housing. Instead I received an email about the possibility of beginning a long term work assignment at Hatch End High School in Harrow just a little NW of where we're intending to stay. After contacting the office via Tracey's new shiny phone I agreed to attend a trial session tomorrow at the school and we'll see how I fare and what the work environment is like. It is unfortunately just outside the transit zones we have currently paid for so we will not upgrade our transit passes until my impressions of the assignment tomorrow. That being said the potential of a long term assignment is extremely welcome and surprising considering our files were just completed yesterday. London apparently wastes no time.
Matt
On the cell front Tracey scored a pretty damn good android phone known as the Samsung Galaxy Europa. This phone was locked to the Three network so after a quick stop at a shop known as Phone City the phone was unlocked for use on other networks. That being said the phone came with 15 GBP credit on the SIM which permits a 30 day allowance of 300 minutes, 3000 texts and 500 GB of data! I am jealous as I will be unlocking my own phone but I had already gone online and paid for an unlock code but made the foolish mistake of paying via Paypal echeck with will take another two days I expect to clear. Blarg!
Not much to say on the bank front other than Barclays staff are quite helpful and opening an account was relatively painless.
Now on another front both Tracey and I were expecting to pursue work assignments after arranging housing. Instead I received an email about the possibility of beginning a long term work assignment at Hatch End High School in Harrow just a little NW of where we're intending to stay. After contacting the office via Tracey's new shiny phone I agreed to attend a trial session tomorrow at the school and we'll see how I fare and what the work environment is like. It is unfortunately just outside the transit zones we have currently paid for so we will not upgrade our transit passes until my impressions of the assignment tomorrow. That being said the potential of a long term assignment is extremely welcome and surprising considering our files were just completed yesterday. London apparently wastes no time.
Matt
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
October 11
Today was our first full day in London and it was definitely used very efficiently. We were up at 8:30 for breakfast and getting ready to visit TimePlan, our teaching company, for a meet-and-greet. We were up and ready on time and got ourselves a monthly pass for the subway and busses in nearby places. We headed to the underground and hopped onto the tube. A transfer and another ride later, we made our way to the office using a map that I drew off the computer. Before this concerns anyone, this actually worked and the map was not all backwards.
Our time at the office went well. We filled out the majority of the paper work and the rest we will complete once we have an address. They are looking over documentation and within a couple days, they will be ready for us to work. We can work once we have a phone and can receive their calls...
To get a phone, we need a bank account so they can run a credit check. To get a bank account, we need a permanent UK address. To get an address, we need a phone to call places to view property. We are stuck in a loop. Tomorrow we will break the loop by going to the 1 bank that will let us set up an account without an address and get a pay-as-you go phone that won't require an address.
We have become very good at London transportation. Not only have we been taking the subway everywhere, we jumped on a double decker bus after visiting the mall. It is 1 day into our journey and we have jobs, we decided where to bank, we know what phone company, phone and plan we will be using, we know which grocery store is best priced and we know how to use the subway and bus systems. Tomorrow we will set up the phone and bank accounts and arrange some property viewings. Couldn't ask for anything more!!
Our time at the office went well. We filled out the majority of the paper work and the rest we will complete once we have an address. They are looking over documentation and within a couple days, they will be ready for us to work. We can work once we have a phone and can receive their calls...
To get a phone, we need a bank account so they can run a credit check. To get a bank account, we need a permanent UK address. To get an address, we need a phone to call places to view property. We are stuck in a loop. Tomorrow we will break the loop by going to the 1 bank that will let us set up an account without an address and get a pay-as-you go phone that won't require an address.
We have become very good at London transportation. Not only have we been taking the subway everywhere, we jumped on a double decker bus after visiting the mall. It is 1 day into our journey and we have jobs, we decided where to bank, we know what phone company, phone and plan we will be using, we know which grocery store is best priced and we know how to use the subway and bus systems. Tomorrow we will set up the phone and bank accounts and arrange some property viewings. Couldn't ask for anything more!!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Day 1
Today was our arrival date in England. We left the house around 10:30 am, arrived at the airport by 2:30 and were on the plane last night by about 10pm and flew overnight via Iceland Air. The plane was relatively nice and very smooth riding with many movies to choose from. (I selected Ice age 3 and some alien movie).We got off the plane for a connection in Iceland. That was amazing because the sunset we got to see in Iceland on the plane and in the airport was absolutely fantastic. We jumped back on board for a few hours to get the rest of the way to London. Matt and I both spent a lot of that flight sleeping.
Finally we arrived at the London airport. When we arrived at luggage claim, we noted that both of my bags were very damaged. On one of them, the handle was completely ripped off and on the other it was ripped at the seams around the handle. Matt and I went to luggage services and explained the situation. They ended up giving me 2 new bags on the spot with minimal paper work. Much nicer bags than I left with.
We hopped onto the subway (because the train didn't go where we wanted it to go and the cab was expensive) and made our way to Golders Green area. This took 1 connection and a lot of stairs, which was very difficult with 2 50 pound bags and 1 carry-on each!! On the way to the hotel, we took a wrong turn and went a little out of our way. We eventually found it though, with sore hands and extreme tiredness.
We spent the remainder of the day exploring the streets of the area and grabbing something for dinner. We ended up at a Chinese and Thai buffet. It was not so bad but we both wished we would have picked Subway instead. Now we are back in the room. It is only 8:10 but we are both fairly tired and preparing what we need to meet with the teaching company tomorrow afternoon.
Finally we arrived at the London airport. When we arrived at luggage claim, we noted that both of my bags were very damaged. On one of them, the handle was completely ripped off and on the other it was ripped at the seams around the handle. Matt and I went to luggage services and explained the situation. They ended up giving me 2 new bags on the spot with minimal paper work. Much nicer bags than I left with.
We hopped onto the subway (because the train didn't go where we wanted it to go and the cab was expensive) and made our way to Golders Green area. This took 1 connection and a lot of stairs, which was very difficult with 2 50 pound bags and 1 carry-on each!! On the way to the hotel, we took a wrong turn and went a little out of our way. We eventually found it though, with sore hands and extreme tiredness.
We spent the remainder of the day exploring the streets of the area and grabbing something for dinner. We ended up at a Chinese and Thai buffet. It was not so bad but we both wished we would have picked Subway instead. Now we are back in the room. It is only 8:10 but we are both fairly tired and preparing what we need to meet with the teaching company tomorrow afternoon.
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