Back in the UK
Aug. 30th, 2005 08:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_vultureI've been sorta dreading this post as quite a bit has happened since the last one, but I've been too busy and/or too lazy to post. So I'm just going to ramble for a bit and (maybe) touch on the relevant stuff.
The Friday before I left, Mom made turkey dinner in celebration of my brother's birthday and because she knew without me telling her that it would be highly unlikely that I'd be home for Christmas. 'Twas lovely to have such a dinner out on the patio. The food and company was excellent. I shared a beer with my father and a cigar with my brother. Yeah, I know; I don't like beer and I don't smoke, but it seemed important to do so in this case. Fortune helped off the ground after jokingly sacking me; the shirt I bought for my brother's birthday that I thought may have been way too large actually fit quite nicely after a go in a hot water wash cycle. I gave out other gifts as well, such as my father's birthday present (which was rather poignant) and my folk's anniversary present, as I would not be there for these soon-to-occur events. Even the wasps were entertaining, courtesy o' one of those electric bug rackets that![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
broken_the_bear and kirzen were going on about a short while back (apparently the thing has been known to set a moth on fire).
Souvenir shopping went well (go dollar store key-chains!). Saturday was spent with my brother and then with one of my best friends, D. Saying goodbye to Prince George was easy to do; saying goodbye to family and friends that I won't be seeing for another year, well, that's another story.
However, the trip went smoothly (including leaving PG five minutes early of all things) and the seven hour wait at Vancouver International went by relatively quickly courtesy of a novel, titled Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay, that D. had given me. The same novel kept me well occupied on the flight, as well (thanks D.!). I also think I'm getting better at sleeping on planes (kewl).
I was picked up at the airport by another of my best friends, D., and a great friend, D., who accompanied her in the role of navigator. (Okay, so the perceptive reader may have noticed that I have a multiple of notable friends whose names begin with D; I'll work out a better designation system later.)
Subsequently, I've joyfully discovered that I had much more money in my UK account than I anticipated, sent off my application for extended leave to remain, visited my future school with another future teacher, did a bunch of flat hunting in the Uxbridge area (nice place!), over-nighted in London (in a free room with an ensuite toilet!) to attend an induction day for the new agency I'm working for, checked the spare hard-drives I brought with me and installed one of 'em, installed the graphics card that B. had given me, unpacked (yeah, it took me that long to get around to it), watched more Venture Brothers than is, perhaps, healthy and, yesterday, I went with D. (the UK best friend) and a pair of her friends to visit the annual Notting Hill Carnival (essentially a huge celebration of Caribbean culture that includes parades, multiple music venues, and block upon block of food and souvenir stalls).
Amongst all that, I made the decision to stay in my current location with D., despite the hideous hour and a half commute by train and foot, as it will be cheaper for me, will help her out financially, and we'd miss each other's company otherwise.
Currently, I'm trying to decide how I will be spending the remaining five days of summer holiday before school begins.
The Friday before I left, Mom made turkey dinner in celebration of my brother's birthday and because she knew without me telling her that it would be highly unlikely that I'd be home for Christmas. 'Twas lovely to have such a dinner out on the patio. The food and company was excellent. I shared a beer with my father and a cigar with my brother. Yeah, I know; I don't like beer and I don't smoke, but it seemed important to do so in this case. Fortune helped off the ground after jokingly sacking me; the shirt I bought for my brother's birthday that I thought may have been way too large actually fit quite nicely after a go in a hot water wash cycle. I gave out other gifts as well, such as my father's birthday present (which was rather poignant) and my folk's anniversary present, as I would not be there for these soon-to-occur events. Even the wasps were entertaining, courtesy o' one of those electric bug rackets that
broken_the_bear and kirzen were going on about a short while back (apparently the thing has been known to set a moth on fire). Souvenir shopping went well (go dollar store key-chains!). Saturday was spent with my brother and then with one of my best friends, D. Saying goodbye to Prince George was easy to do; saying goodbye to family and friends that I won't be seeing for another year, well, that's another story.
However, the trip went smoothly (including leaving PG five minutes early of all things) and the seven hour wait at Vancouver International went by relatively quickly courtesy of a novel, titled Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay, that D. had given me. The same novel kept me well occupied on the flight, as well (thanks D.!). I also think I'm getting better at sleeping on planes (kewl).
I was picked up at the airport by another of my best friends, D., and a great friend, D., who accompanied her in the role of navigator. (Okay, so the perceptive reader may have noticed that I have a multiple of notable friends whose names begin with D; I'll work out a better designation system later.)
Subsequently, I've joyfully discovered that I had much more money in my UK account than I anticipated, sent off my application for extended leave to remain, visited my future school with another future teacher, did a bunch of flat hunting in the Uxbridge area (nice place!), over-nighted in London (in a free room with an ensuite toilet!) to attend an induction day for the new agency I'm working for, checked the spare hard-drives I brought with me and installed one of 'em, installed the graphics card that B. had given me, unpacked (yeah, it took me that long to get around to it), watched more Venture Brothers than is, perhaps, healthy and, yesterday, I went with D. (the UK best friend) and a pair of her friends to visit the annual Notting Hill Carnival (essentially a huge celebration of Caribbean culture that includes parades, multiple music venues, and block upon block of food and souvenir stalls).
Amongst all that, I made the decision to stay in my current location with D., despite the hideous hour and a half commute by train and foot, as it will be cheaper for me, will help her out financially, and we'd miss each other's company otherwise.
Currently, I'm trying to decide how I will be spending the remaining five days of summer holiday before school begins.
