Moving Forward

I'm seeing a bit too much of IKEA lately... went there again today, to get boxes for the kitchen and a living room lamp. We still need to buy a coffee table and a rug or two, more curtains for the lounge, venetian blinds for the bedroom would be great as well as currently it gets really bright in my room around 5am, despite having black-out curtains. But that'll have to wait until we get paid, as we're both navigating around the limit at the moment. I also want new glasses and have two fillings that need replacement. Oh, and there's Burning Man, too.

I'm slightly broke.

All of this is not made better by the fact that my ex-flatmates still haven't found a new member for their household, which means I'm still waiting to get my 6 weeks deposit back. I should get my bonus this month, tho, so might avoid total money crisis.

In better news, we have a working shower now, I think, haven't tested it yet as they've only fixed it this afternoon (after it was impossible to turn off and scalding hot even on the coldest setting). We're still working on window issues, they seem to be more severely broken than we originally thought. The keys don't turn, the handles are irreversibly stuck, even a large dose of WD40 couldn't unstick the stuckness. Landlord is now talking to property manager.

Tomorrow there will be a huge fry-up for breakfast (Nicki needs to get rid of eggs, which lead to additional hash browns, toast and beans on toast) and I'm cooking dinner (Mushroom Stroganoff). The afternoon will be filled with Burning Man organisational stuff with the neighbour. I'm planning to get back to Bikram Yoga on Monday, which should fill evenings up nicely for the next 10 days (it's only a 10 days for £15 offer, boo). And next week there's a vintage thing going on at South Bank which I want to check out. Oh, and there's plans for getting my hair cut, yeah!

Now I only need to get my motivation back for work (have been slagging a bit, I must admit) & we're fine :)

All Shiny, With A Few Flaws

The move went well, thanks for asking. The van showed up an hour late with one man missing, but despite of that it still only took 2 hours, cost me less than £100 and didn't involve me carrying heavy stuff. I had most of my shit stowed away by the time I had to go to bed to be ready for work the next day. It took about a week for the dust to settle and it'll probably take about a month for the flat to be as great as we'd like it to be.

Because... there's quite a lot of things that need a bit of TLC in here. We didn't notice when we first saw the place, because you don't give the shower a test run and open & close all the windows. Which is where a lot of the problems are located. The power shower, while great in theory (yay, decent water pressure), has been either dangerous (current running through the hose, anyone?) or not working (it's leaking from somewhere & doesn't get properly hot at the moment). We've had the electrician in today & he's said that the plumber needs to come in to fix it. Which obviously our landlord, who's keen to not spent money, won't be pleased to hear.

We've also got one window that doesn't open due to being locked and one window that doesn't close due to being locked. The key to solve these problems is missing. We've also got a window with a broken top hinge, which obviously is the one that's hardest to get to. While our landlord can't really help with the missing key issue (I've been inquiring at the neighbours), we've requested him to fix the window hinge issue. Which will cost him more money, of course. Drama.

Well, actually, he's been quite ok so far. I'm sure we'll get him to get a plumber to fix the shower and the builder is coming in on Monday (after having cancelled on Wednesday) to paint the wall (previous tenants did an excellent job patching up the walls... glossy paint patches on matte walls, srsly), fix various little things, possibly hang up a new bathroom shelf/an additional kitchen shelf, waterproof the bathtub edges (currently leaking down to the neighbours) and hopefully take a look at that window hinge.

We remain positive that the flat will live up to its full awesomeness by the end of the month. Because, well, it's pretty awesome. Our bedrooms are at the back of the building, which means I can leave the window open and get a good night's sleep. I very much approve. My bedroom is big and easily fits my chests of drawers, another chest of drawers, bedside table and the wardrobe. There is still space. Yes, really. The bathroom, once it includes a properly working shower and close-able window, is well proportioned and the bathtub is nice enough to have me contemplating taking a bath. The kitchen is small but light, will have a shelf soon and got additional under-counter storage courtesy of IKEA today. We don't have a fan oven, which I think is a shame, but we have windows (albeit with broken hinges and dirty as f***k, but I'm willing to scrub them into shinyness). The lounge looked rather bleak until today, now has white curtains and a grey rug, which matches the black sleeper sofa and white IKEA shelf. It does have an old, ugly, un-useable gas heater on one wall, a proper eyesore. We're thinking of either boxing it in or covering it with a throw. Putting a flower on top of it seems to have done something to detract from it already.

And now you're probably asking yourself, what's the new flatmate like? She's absolutely lovely. We're obviously still in our honeymoon period, but so far it's going really well. We've got similar taste, have loads to talk about and she's sociable.

For the first time in months I find myself looking forward to coming home in the evening.

All the stuff that needs fixing is stressing me out slightly, but I want to remain optimistic and trust our landlord to get everything done.

Now all I need is to get my social life back, which has really suffered in the past 4 weeks. Sorry for that.

Counting The Days

Not long now... I've booked the men with the van for Monday, I'm meeting my new flatmate in our new flat on Sunday. I haven't packed a single thing yet and am feeling a bit uneasy about it. On the other hand, I haven't got that much to pack and most things still need to be accessible (like clothes). I did buy 3 removal boxes after work today, which hopefully fit all stuff that can't go in those handy woven plastic bags. I've got Friday afternoon and Monday off work, so in theory all should be totally fine.

The interviews on Monday were interesting. The first one was at a major broadcaster that I've so far failed to impress twice. This time, well, I don't think they were too impressed by me again, but I wasn't particularly impressed by them either. They're just as miserable and depressing as I remember them. Maybe I should just give up on that company once and for all, but my recruitment agent had tricked me into thinking I'd want that job. I now can confirm that I don't. The second interview was 2 hours later a pleasant stroll away in the City. I had some lunch and then hid in an air-conditioned Starbucks (well done me for choosing the hottest day of the year so far to do interviews) until it was time to present myself. I've got the feeling that the second interview went slightly better, although my interviewer was very hard to read. It was pleasant enough, anyway, and the job sounds more interesting than the one I interviewed for in the morning. Overall, though, I'm not sure if any of them is worth leaving my current job for. I'm still learning things, the team is nice and, errr, the team is nice.

After leaving some impressions at potential employers I decided to go into town and check out the sales. The day had changed from being ridiculously hot and sunny to being rather muggy and overcast, what better thing to do than go shopping? I actually found two items at Esprit, a tie-dye summer dress and a long-sleeved kaftan. Encouraged by success in the first shop I'd gone into I wandered on to H&M. There I unearthed about 10 items of clothing that looked potentially nice and hit the fitting rooms. The first 2 things had looked great on the mannequins, but I couldn't even figure out how to get into them. Too many layers, no instructions, very tricky, that. Another 2 suffered from size schizophrenia, as in, they were my size (in theory) but pretended to be a much, much smaller size. Another item had the problem the other way around. The rest of the stuff simply looked a bit shite on me. I continued through the shops (hey, I don't give up that easy), but didn't find any more hidden gems.

Finally got home too late for yoga, was exhausted anyway, so I just lounged about and contemplated all the stuff in my room that needed sorting out. I did go to yoga last night, I still have one class left on my 10 class pass which I'm doing tomorrow. There's a Bikram Yoga in Wimbledon, so I'm definitely going to keep it up - I've started to see small results that I don't want to jeopardize.

So, yeah, I'm keeping busy and trying not to panic.

P.S.: I've just seen that I can check the stats on this blog and I actually seem to have more readers (not huge amounts, but still) than I thought. I assume that most of them land here by accident, but anyway: Hi, whoever you are!

Summer's Here

We seem to have achieved Summer! And almost in time for the summer solstice. It's been warm and sunny for two days now, which has resulted in loads of complaints of people around me already that it's too hot... I'm enjoying not having to wear at least 2 layers and filling up my vitamin D storage.

I'm still reluctant to admit it, but to be honest, I'm actually quite happy and pretty excited at the moment. If I could I'd pack my bags right now and get everything shipped over to Wimbledon, but I'll have to wait another week. We're picking up the keys on Saturday, which is when Nix is moving in. I've decided to take full advantage of my moving day at work and am planning to schedule the men (I probably need 2 coz I can't carry my furniture) with their van for Monday, which hopefully makes it a bit cheaper than getting them on the weekend.

Getting rid of my current room is proving harder than I thought, which I blatantly blame on my flatmates. Most people who are looking for a flatmate want to socialise with the people they're living with, but we're looking for someone who is absolutely happy to not talk to their fellow housemates for days. They also seem to be somewhat clueless as to where to recruit said person, but that's something they have to sort out, really.

In terms of money/work, I've got 2 interviews lined up for tomorrow, handily scheduled around lunch. I'm slightly nervous, but seeing that I've got a job which is not in immediate danger of falling apart I'm also looking forward to find out what they'd have to offer to me. I won't leave my safe position for something that doesn't hold the promise of being better (paid).

I've also seem to have achieved inspiration again. I've found a new blog that I like very much, I've been to Camden yesterday which made me happy, even though I didn't buy anything. Today I've wandered down Chiswick High Road to check out the sales and enjoy the sunshine, again didn't buy anything but found myself thinking how awesome it will be to explore Wimbledon and surroundings. There's the village, a farmers market, the common... yay!

Not sure how I'm doing in regards to weight and the loss of it, I definitely haven't gained any more but probably haven't lost much, either. I'm still holding on to the dream of looking awesome in my skimpy dresses...

There's been somewhat of a (wool) dread situation as Pinky can't make the weekend I'd like to have them installed before going to Burning Man. I'm now trying other sources but might have to resort to getting a stranger to do it. I definitely want cool hair for the Playa.

So, yes, all in all I'm doing well.

As you were.

Looking To The Future

While I'm a bit reluctant to admit it, I think things are looking up. I've slowly started to declutter my room, which involved putting a few shoes & clothes up on ebay (things that I'd want to get money for as they're new/almost new) and stuffing the rest into a bin bag to be taken to the clothes recycling box at Sainsbury's. I've still got alarming amounts of clothes and other stuff, but right now just can't bring myself to give away more. We'll see how I got once I start packing.

Job-wise, there seems to be movement, too. Unfortunately not at my current company, where the situation has come to a stand-still - I think I could stay there for another year or so without the risk of being made redundant and the work I do at the moment is pleasant enough. The developments are occurring somewhere else, I might have interview lined up in the near future. I'm not sure if I'm interested, but it would be pretty unwise to not follow up on the leads I've got. There won't be a promotion or a raise where I'm at now, so it's probably best to look for more money elsewhere.

In terms of love, well, I don't have any suitors waiting at my door but I've met one or two guys recently that I would actually be interested in, which is a definite improvement.

I've discovered yesterday that the weight I thought I'd lost has crept back up again, which I blame on stress all around. My back is acting weird at the moment, too, which makes yoga quite hard and painful. I don't want to make things worse by going, but I also don't want to quit because the rest of my body actually likes the exercise.

I'm hoping that once the move is over things fall into place. I'm not expecting miracles and if I want the body I had the last time I went to Burning Man I should get going with a diet and exercise really soon, but if I'm happier where I'm at then other stuff gets easier as well.

The advertisement for my room is written and will go up on various websites today, I think I'm going to stick around next weekend to see if my flatmates are actually making any effort to find someone new, just in case.

I probably should start making a list of all the places I have to inform of my new address...

We're Moving

We have signed the lease to the flat in Wimbledon last night. I've been squeeing quite a lot since then. I absolutely can't wait to leave my current abode behind and am excited like a puppy to be living next doors to some wonderful friends of mine and share the flat with a lovely person I've just met. There is this small part in me which is worried that the new flat will turn out just a bad as the old flat, but that part gets usually shouted down by the parts that are having a party because it's going to be awesome.

I'm planning to move in 2 1/2 weeks, which means I now have to start thinking about how I get all my shit moved from West London to South West London (SW19, to be precise). And, of course, there's the dreaded packing.

There also is the small issue that I need to find someone to replace me on the lease of my current flat. I won't ask around in my circle of friends because honestly, I can't do this to anyone I know. I don't even know how to advertise my room - "morning person who's never around and prefers to keep to themselves when in the flat, will never leave the light on and doesn't feel cold" doesn't really work, does it? My flatmates will have to agree to the new person as well, which basically means they have to recruit someone. This would be great if the ladies weren't too tired after work to interview people and they're away on the weekend. We've now agreed to get people in on the weekend next week. I really hope they find someone straight away. Legally I have to pay the rent until the new person is approved by the agency and I don't fancy paying double rent for long.

But anyway, I'll be out of here soon *squeeeeeee*

And guess what the universe had to say on the day we signed the lease:

WOW! Just checked in on your new flat, Ursula! Love all the "bells and whistles" you dreamed up! Smokin' hot!


Apparently, however, there's some confusion over where the bouncy seat is supposed to go. So I just told them to put it in your world headquarters executive office, in front of the aquarium... beside the hammock... behind the popcorn maker.


OK?


You're so cute,
    The Universe

Cautiously Optimistic

Sorry if my last post worried anyone. Things have improved slightly since then, but they're still far from hunky-dory.

Nicci & I seem to have found a flat. It's right next door to Frani's pad, which means it's not where we wanted to be but it could be quite cool to live so close to friends. We've had a look at it last week Wednesday, paid the holding deposit on Thursday & are now waiting for the (private) landlord to get the contract ready. As it stands we haven't signed anything, which means I'm pulling my hair because I hate uncertainty & my trust in landlords only goes so far. The flat's decent, not particularly big but well-formed. It's only me & Nicci sharing, which will hopefully limit the amount of madness going on.

I've told my flatmates on Saturday, because I'm nice & don't want to cause any problems. All was fine until they realized that I'm the only one who can actually do standing orders from their account & that finding someone new might be work. Things have turned a bit, erm, cool. If the flat falls through it's not going to be pleasant.

Work is ambling along. I'm trying to do as little as possible while trying to not appear to do as little as possible. I am learning new skills, which is good, and it's skills I'll need for other jobs. Unfortunately I'm not particularly interested in the stuff I'm doing, but that might change once I'm getting better at it. I'm still far from convinced that all will turn out well in the end, though.

Anyway, only 2 1/2 months to go till Burning Man.