Friday 13 June 2008

Friday Dribble

Dude where’s my summer!


Yesterday I was going to write a scathing sermon on why it is wrong to wear Ugg boots in June, and then I realized this morning I was still wearing my flannel pyjamas so I really did not have leg Ugg boot clad or otherwise to stand on. There is something so wrong with the fact that you can wear flannel pyjamas in June. I grew up in the Midwest and depending on the kind of year we were having you could not wear your flannels past April. When I moved to Virginia I found that you might be able to wear them into the middle of May but that was usually stretching it. I am not sure that I like this whole English summer. We had two lovely weeks in May when shorts and tank tops were pulled out and it was agreed that summer had finally begun to make its appearance. This was quickly over and the cold wet weather returned. On Monday and Tuesday of this week we had a “heat wave” with temperatures as high as 80F. From Wednesday however the polar winds moved in and yet again we are plunged into cold weather. It looks like there might be hope next weekend of the flannels being put away as they are predicting a whopping 70F. It is actually not that cold it just get quite cool in the evening and after seeing our heating bill for the winter and that fact that I am morally opposed to having my heating on in June if I am living in the Northern Hemisphere I will just continue to wear the flannels.

While walking into work today I stopped outside an estate agent’s to pull out my scarf as I was cold and decided since I had time to take a look in the window at the different flats and how much they were going for. This is one of my favourite pastimes as I did not really have a base for housing prices in the UK when I first moved over here. You will all be glad to know that for a mere £395,000 I can have a two double bedroom (The rooms over hear are measured in the size of bed you can fit in them. This can be deceiving as you can usually shove a double mattress into a very small room and that is all it takes to be classified as a double bedroom. I have had non walk in closets that are larger than some double bedrooms in the UK) ground floor apartment close to Regents park (this is in Zone 1). Now Regents Park is not the best of areas in Zone 1 but certainly not dangerous so that makes it quite a steal. For those of you wondering how much a month the mortgage payments would be I plug it into a mortgage calculator with a 10% deposit and it spit out £2384.01. Yup I will be speaking to a mortgage adviser as soon as I can to snap that one up.


Pros and Cons of working in Corporate

As the third week of my new job draws to a close I must say that I am still very happy that I have moved on from the hotel industry into the corporate. I was however reflecting on the benefits I have given up.

Staff meals. While they were usually crap at least I did not have to think about it. The cost I am now incurring is actually quite small it is just the nuisance of actually having to think about it. I have gotten into a nice routine though and allow myself to eat out on a Friday. Even though it is a hassle I have found that on a whole I am eating much better and find that having a somewhat regular schedule and the time to have a morning snack has meant I am not as ravenous by lunch.
Laundered uniforms. I do have a uniform but the laundering is left to me. I have found that it really does not cause me anymore loads of laundry a week but it does mean that I have to iron my shirts when I am at a site that requires a button down shirt instead of a cotton blouse. I actually love to iron once I get going; it is just the getting going that is hard.
Planning appointments. Since I work M-F either 8-5 or 10-6 or some variation making doctors appointment (see previous post), hair appointments, going to the post office and such has become harder.
Train Journeys. Since I work common hours now I am guaranteed to enjoy jam packed train journeys. This was fun for about a week and a half since I am a people watcher and enjoyed seeing how people interacted on the train. How they chose their seat, gave it up for those who needed it more, how they sat, if they held their bags on their lap or put them in the overhead compartment. I am now just tired of irksome ring tones, the guy who talks too loud on his mobile, and the lady wearing too much perfume. I am however glad I don’t have to take trains in India it make the trains over here look empty.


All in all the pros outweigh any of these cons so I will continue to pack my lunch, not go to the doctor, and give the guy reading his newspaper while doing the chicken dance with his elbows the evil eye.


Friday Funnies


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1oPVbw5g4t4I-hdWlfnsH8D2mVJLS9WnXAVJYWa8NSH-4565loiWmBCTruCE6lYHJ-Kuq4k63OuebH9RHx98FAYZ9QzhUcSEmIe89jO3EcBj4GGz0qx-r4o1dMioFl7AjJmjt77GRVNg/s1600-h/Slide9-794367.jpg


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsQsyjzRrRntAlqIm9fQjIrjdQhT8WPfMzyAXTxvk7WJDwQNH5ncx7N9_m55iLlyNkXvXvWWLMdmc3TgkaBdy01cuMwQv3kYiUwtq-TJ3A_rnvbFeOAnJowUMxfhPmAqZWWTE7MoSFvrc/s1600-h/Slide21-791563.jpg


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn7UIjWxVUqBjEMlxFeC3KQOvMOS3JVEeo3O_KXPbNKCzsHMkATX2QOM00Dr5rmmn8k4l-9MJJJvFHt-NTWAesoieDudRcq17gd0Qi2oSgYVn2LxKzftaAb9CepTao03EHbQg46kVLHrA/s1600-h/Slide26-795137.jpg



https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIsKDXaCHLYB3ZybYEMSKEtFkPozQ9CsP2wUDjVwY-1RE02qaU-jUU7HjrJiIR3etStwG0r096wtm4ej_ZYwOWhxMnYKpHt3rlie3xWT36-oqcaQhhRY_sqDAOYM4RgsqBH1nsFyR0Nj8/s1600-h/Slide17-792387.jpg



I hope you all have a great weekend!

2 comments:

Michael5000 said...

Yeah, Britain doesn't exactly sizzle in the summer months. I was there on my birthday -- mid-August -- a few years back, ducking out of cold drizzle that would last four days before the sun peaked out.

I hate to get all geographical on you (old habits die hard) but at London's latitude in North America you could go swimming in Hudson Bay, and you would be north of Vancouver Island. Outside of beautiful Saskatoon, you would be pretty much north of civilization. Whereas, at the latitude you went to college, you would be in Sicily or Portugal, and could safely pack the flannel away.

Yankee in England said...

Yeah well to get all geographical back on you the first thing I thougt when moving to England was oh crap it has a maritime climate I remember about that from Honors Geography.