I take it back - the shower may look ancient, but with the excellent water pressure in the building it does the job very nicely. This makes me very happy.
So, a week with mostly ten-hour days and still feeling like there isn't enough time. Several colleagues are in work today, and they're still recruiting like crazy. Really, really enjoying it.
Stumbled home last night and watched an entire season of anime - I think I may have worried the neighbours by laughing out loud for several hours, but they got me back this morning by playing Euro-pop at high volume.
Saturday 24 January 2009
Tuesday 20 January 2009
Well mixed
Good: got a lot of work done, got a power adapter, the flat has a bath (although there's still no heat in the bathroom and I don't know if I'll be staying here), figured out the bus route, recovered my grammar guide from the office book stack, ate none of the chocolate I brought back as a team present. Treated myself to some sushi in the department store food section I ended up doing my food shop in - two each mackerel, tuna and egg. Yum.
Bad: the phone charger sold to me by the T-Mobile shop is the wrong one for my phone, my brand new top has a hole in it, the shower in the bathroom looks like the one my grandmother used to have, the water tastes absolutely vile. Had lunch at the Chinese takeaway in the supermarket, which I was trying to avoid, but I was starving and wanted something warm. I deliberately didn't go to Lush before I left as I know there's one here, but it's much more expensive and is out of stock of things... which I've never seen in Reading... and doesn't get them in again for two weeks.
But on balance, getting better. Oh, and it's stopped raining. Not sure which category the amount of coffee I drank today goes into.
Bad: the phone charger sold to me by the T-Mobile shop is the wrong one for my phone, my brand new top has a hole in it, the shower in the bathroom looks like the one my grandmother used to have, the water tastes absolutely vile. Had lunch at the Chinese takeaway in the supermarket, which I was trying to avoid, but I was starving and wanted something warm. I deliberately didn't go to Lush before I left as I know there's one here, but it's much more expensive and is out of stock of things... which I've never seen in Reading... and doesn't get them in again for two weeks.
But on balance, getting better. Oh, and it's stopped raining. Not sure which category the amount of coffee I drank today goes into.
Et tu?
I bought a small electric toothbrush on Sunday to bring over - I really noticed the difference when I didn't have one here last time, and they plug into shaver sockets which are universal. Except this flat doesn't have one at all.
And I forgot the phone charger for my German mobile, which is now almost dead.
Oh well - at least I feel like I had a decent night's sleep. The duvet was incredibly thin, especially with the heating still building up, but I found a second one in the cupboard so that worked nicely. The bed is very strange, but didn't stop me sleeping. Apart from the bedroom door, none of the internal doors actually close - they're all hung wrong and scrape on the floor and don't line up with the frames.
So, a bit of shopping at lunchtime, methinks - adaptor plug, toothbrush, phone charger...
And I forgot the phone charger for my German mobile, which is now almost dead.
Oh well - at least I feel like I had a decent night's sleep. The duvet was incredibly thin, especially with the heating still building up, but I found a second one in the cupboard so that worked nicely. The bed is very strange, but didn't stop me sleeping. Apart from the bedroom door, none of the internal doors actually close - they're all hung wrong and scrape on the floor and don't line up with the frames.
So, a bit of shopping at lunchtime, methinks - adaptor plug, toothbrush, phone charger...
Monday 19 January 2009
Auspicious?
Well, that could have gone more smoothly - but no permanent harm involved.
I got about 2 hours of sleep last night between packing until late, being unable to sleep and getting up just a smidgen before 5:00am in order to get a taxi at 5:10 for the coach at 5:30 to check in at 6:30 and fly at 7:10, land at 9:45 German time and be in the office about 11:00am. That all worked out, although I was feeling fairly miserable by the time we landed. Grabbing a Meal Deal in the Boots in Terminal 2 Duty Free was an excellent idea - much as I would have loved to go to Nero, the queue did not allow it.
The adult businessmen on the flight were worse than children - twice the amount of hand luggage they should have, throwing it in under unoccupied seats, stowing luggage in the emergency exit and being told off by the stewardesses, same guy stowing his coat in the emergency exit and being told off by the bursar and when the bursar tried to go back to the front of the plane he caught someone using their iPhone.
The normal passport control desks at Frankfurt were closed for some reason, so everyone from my flight ended up milling around the terminal for a while before we could get out - at least the cases were out when we finally got to them. I took out some cash, and without thinking asked for 500 Euro, forgetting I have a withdrawal limit of £200 on my card. That was refused, but thankfully a quickly done second request for 200 Euro was successful...
No problems getting back to the office and had a nice coffee with friends before being thrown in at the deep end. I'm not doing the project I thought I would be because something more important had come up... but still translation and looking forward to it. The rush involved meant that it was 8:15 by the time I left. Himself also contacted me to let me know the bank had called about a refused transaction on my card. Must sort that out soon.
I had been told I was going back to my old flat - which was great as a) I know where it is and b) I left a lot of stuff there, like coffee filters and tupperware. However, the office had lost my keys. So I ended up with keys to another flat. I hoped? assumed? that someone would help me get over to the flat, but by the time I'd finished what I was doing they had mostly staggered home after hitting the 10-hour German time limit. So, a not entirely fun evening of dragging luggage around an unfamiliar area - my case really doesn't like the bricks they use for German pavements.
That said, I did find it first time (a miracle for me, I know) - all the credit goes to Google Maps for showing me what the area looked like, I'm much better with that than any kind of directions.
The flat is very nice, quite large and even has a bath! Don't know if I'll be staying or not. But the heating isn't on so that will take a little while to kick in. To top it all off, I have brought the wrong adaptor plug (US/NZ instead of Europe) so have no plug-in power for the laptop. I shall leave it here for tonight...
I got about 2 hours of sleep last night between packing until late, being unable to sleep and getting up just a smidgen before 5:00am in order to get a taxi at 5:10 for the coach at 5:30 to check in at 6:30 and fly at 7:10, land at 9:45 German time and be in the office about 11:00am. That all worked out, although I was feeling fairly miserable by the time we landed. Grabbing a Meal Deal in the Boots in Terminal 2 Duty Free was an excellent idea - much as I would have loved to go to Nero, the queue did not allow it.
The adult businessmen on the flight were worse than children - twice the amount of hand luggage they should have, throwing it in under unoccupied seats, stowing luggage in the emergency exit and being told off by the stewardesses, same guy stowing his coat in the emergency exit and being told off by the bursar and when the bursar tried to go back to the front of the plane he caught someone using their iPhone.
The normal passport control desks at Frankfurt were closed for some reason, so everyone from my flight ended up milling around the terminal for a while before we could get out - at least the cases were out when we finally got to them. I took out some cash, and without thinking asked for 500 Euro, forgetting I have a withdrawal limit of £200 on my card. That was refused, but thankfully a quickly done second request for 200 Euro was successful...
No problems getting back to the office and had a nice coffee with friends before being thrown in at the deep end. I'm not doing the project I thought I would be because something more important had come up... but still translation and looking forward to it. The rush involved meant that it was 8:15 by the time I left. Himself also contacted me to let me know the bank had called about a refused transaction on my card. Must sort that out soon.
I had been told I was going back to my old flat - which was great as a) I know where it is and b) I left a lot of stuff there, like coffee filters and tupperware. However, the office had lost my keys. So I ended up with keys to another flat. I hoped? assumed? that someone would help me get over to the flat, but by the time I'd finished what I was doing they had mostly staggered home after hitting the 10-hour German time limit. So, a not entirely fun evening of dragging luggage around an unfamiliar area - my case really doesn't like the bricks they use for German pavements.
That said, I did find it first time (a miracle for me, I know) - all the credit goes to Google Maps for showing me what the area looked like, I'm much better with that than any kind of directions.
The flat is very nice, quite large and even has a bath! Don't know if I'll be staying or not. But the heating isn't on so that will take a little while to kick in. To top it all off, I have brought the wrong adaptor plug (US/NZ instead of Europe) so have no plug-in power for the laptop. I shall leave it here for tonight...
Monday 12 January 2009
Ouch
An icy week with not much good in the way of news either.
Although the contract is almost sorted, still working on other things which - depending on how they work out - will make things even more complicated.
Got the results back for my last essay. Let's just say they contain the word 'disappointing'. I really went for it on this essay, but it's just not good enough. It didn't feel like an MA essay, just a good BA one, and the tutor isn't going to let that pass. It's one of the things I like about her. Not that it does me much good now. All the more reason to go for the annotated translation, if I tried for the thesis I'd probably just hurt myself.
Not a ray of sunshine recently... was incredibly cranky by the end of last week but had a great time in London on Saturday with friends and brother and spent yesterday in my pajamas doing not much. Must get out and buy milk.
Although the contract is almost sorted, still working on other things which - depending on how they work out - will make things even more complicated.
Got the results back for my last essay. Let's just say they contain the word 'disappointing'. I really went for it on this essay, but it's just not good enough. It didn't feel like an MA essay, just a good BA one, and the tutor isn't going to let that pass. It's one of the things I like about her. Not that it does me much good now. All the more reason to go for the annotated translation, if I tried for the thesis I'd probably just hurt myself.
Not a ray of sunshine recently... was incredibly cranky by the end of last week but had a great time in London on Saturday with friends and brother and spent yesterday in my pajamas doing not much. Must get out and buy milk.
Tuesday 6 January 2009
Resolution
First, some comedy. Sent to me by otouto's other half, the truth about Wii Fit. I absolutely agree. I have sworn more at Wii Fit than anything else, even Zelda bosses. Its cheerfulness is part of what makes it so insulting. You have to be bloody-minded for it.
Next, just how sweet Okami is - feeding rabbits. After you've fed a group of animals, they permanently emit hearts whenever you're near, even when they're asleep. かわいい！
Just done 12 minutes of 'jogging' on Wii Fit, as a pathetic attempt to make up for being sat on my rear end all day. I was bouncing That Contract back and forth between the agency and a HR-savvy friend, and on chat to someone else in the same situation trying to find anyone who can advise us on German tax liability - while trying to get through an explosion of activity on the twinned school talkboards. Net result was barely moving until about 4:00pm. I'm going to try to go for another round before dinner.
Learned a new word yesterday - venepuncturist. The nice people at NHS Blood Service who put the needle in. One of them kindly came over to check on me when the smart scales complained that it the flow had gone a bit slow... and adjusted the needle. Now, I can only really do blood donation if I don't look and don't think about it too much, but I instinctively looked down and the sight - and sensation - will be with me for a while. The guy doing the questionnaires had a ball with the list of countries I've been in for over 6 months in my entire life. Must remember to book an appointment next time though - it took nearly 2 hours without one.
I'm sure I had more witty things to say, but they've slipped my mind. Shall try to get out more and have more to comment on!
Next, just how sweet Okami is - feeding rabbits. After you've fed a group of animals, they permanently emit hearts whenever you're near, even when they're asleep. かわいい！
Just done 12 minutes of 'jogging' on Wii Fit, as a pathetic attempt to make up for being sat on my rear end all day. I was bouncing That Contract back and forth between the agency and a HR-savvy friend, and on chat to someone else in the same situation trying to find anyone who can advise us on German tax liability - while trying to get through an explosion of activity on the twinned school talkboards. Net result was barely moving until about 4:00pm. I'm going to try to go for another round before dinner.
Learned a new word yesterday - venepuncturist. The nice people at NHS Blood Service who put the needle in. One of them kindly came over to check on me when the smart scales complained that it the flow had gone a bit slow... and adjusted the needle. Now, I can only really do blood donation if I don't look and don't think about it too much, but I instinctively looked down and the sight - and sensation - will be with me for a while. The guy doing the questionnaires had a ball with the list of countries I've been in for over 6 months in my entire life. Must remember to book an appointment next time though - it took nearly 2 hours without one.
I'm sure I had more witty things to say, but they've slipped my mind. Shall try to get out more and have more to comment on!
Monday 5 January 2009
Check one
One New Year's resolution at least partially kept - went and donated blood today. Feel the usual happy but slightly light and stupefied. Working my way slowly through the To-Do List left over from 2008. Some are easy (send thank-you letters and emails) and some are a bit more involved (sort out pension).
I still don't know if I'm going to Germany or not. There was a great deal of progress on the contract today, but still some sore points and now deep thinking - in the absence of much concrete information - about what German tax liability is like. I still have some time, but it would be nice to know as so much else hinges upon it.
Need to get back to my MA work soon, specifically deciding on a thesis or a translation - I'm interested in nationalism and propaganda and the way in which the people were influenced by them between WWI and WWII, but it's a very big topic. Or an annotated translation, but my reading is still not strong enough and just understanding enough of a text to know if it's suitable or not takes an obscene amount of time.
Himself picked up Okami for the Wii on sale on New Year's Eve, and it's wonderful. I've mainly been watching him play it, but I could definitely play it myself. If only for the unutterably sweet cut-scenes when you feed the animals. And there's the pseudo-Japaneseness of it all which I enjoy.
New Year's was great - Wales was freezing, literally - the pond in our friends' back garden was solid and himself was able to walk around the edge of a reservoir on one of the two walks we went on. It was too cold to be out for long, but really enjoyable. Our friends' neighbours' dog had puppies, so we spent a while cooing over nine adorable baby labradors as well.
Oh, and it snowed! Today, while I was walking around. Hope it's also dumping it down in the mountains in Europe, as himself is going snowboarding from this weekend.
I still don't know if I'm going to Germany or not. There was a great deal of progress on the contract today, but still some sore points and now deep thinking - in the absence of much concrete information - about what German tax liability is like. I still have some time, but it would be nice to know as so much else hinges upon it.
Need to get back to my MA work soon, specifically deciding on a thesis or a translation - I'm interested in nationalism and propaganda and the way in which the people were influenced by them between WWI and WWII, but it's a very big topic. Or an annotated translation, but my reading is still not strong enough and just understanding enough of a text to know if it's suitable or not takes an obscene amount of time.
Himself picked up Okami for the Wii on sale on New Year's Eve, and it's wonderful. I've mainly been watching him play it, but I could definitely play it myself. If only for the unutterably sweet cut-scenes when you feed the animals. And there's the pseudo-Japaneseness of it all which I enjoy.
New Year's was great - Wales was freezing, literally - the pond in our friends' back garden was solid and himself was able to walk around the edge of a reservoir on one of the two walks we went on. It was too cold to be out for long, but really enjoyable. Our friends' neighbours' dog had puppies, so we spent a while cooing over nine adorable baby labradors as well.
Oh, and it snowed! Today, while I was walking around. Hope it's also dumping it down in the mountains in Europe, as himself is going snowboarding from this weekend.
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