October 2008

Week 3

Another week gone.. not sure where time is going! I’m sitting here typing this at the beginning of week 4 as we’ve been offline while waiting to be reconnected after the move from the temporary house to the (semi-)permanent one. It’s been hard without an internet/TV connection but a good thing also as it means I have no excuse not to unpack & get sorted! It’s really chilly today but not a cloud in the sky so it’s really warm inside & in the car & the sky is sooooo very blue…I don’t mind it cold when it’s sunny & bright too! So what have we been up to this past week?

Nyah was the ‘Shining Star’ of the week in her class which she just loved, basically she got to do a different activity each day all tailored around her, she couldn’t of been happier! Harley is also loving it at school, she has a ‘very grown up’ expanding file that she carries all her work & ‘assignments’ in & is doing really well, they are also giving her a little help with getting to know the US currency & also cursive handwriting (the posh curly stuff) that they have already covered when they were younger here but not in the UK. The school have been great & the staff have been really keen to get to know the girls, help them feel at home & it has really helped things all round having them both so happy. (keep an eye out for the surreal moment of the week to do with school further on!)

On Monday G & I went with our relocation lady to the social security office to get the highly anticipated ‘social security numbers’ referred to as SSN’s… you need one of these over to here to get most things, credit card, cell phone (mobile to you back in blighty!!) internet/TV, lease cars, the list goes on. We’ve been really lucky to get the basics through the relocation company so far. You have to have been in the country 10 days before you can even apply for one. Some things here are so cutting edge & at the total opposite end some things are a bit old fashioned & tied up in red tape it’s unreal!! What makes me really laugh is they have these little signs they put on the doors of shops/restaurants etc that look like the ‘no smoking allowed’ sign but as you get closer you realize it’s a ‘no guns allowed’ sign…makes me smile to myself as I picture a baddie with a gun walking up to the shop or whatever seeing the sign & thinking “oh darn it, no guns allowed, schucks, I’d better go home then”! Anyway what was my point…oh yeah! We’ve been frisked at the door & bag searched & it’s a bit like going through airport security just to get in the office & we wait. The main thing we were waiting on with the SSN’s is the fact that we needed them to get our lease cars released, they had been ordered & G’s was almost ready & mine was at the dealer & those big fat shiny black ford trucks were a-calling our names big time!! We had the rentals & they were very nice but sensible saloons…we wanted monster SUVs’! More on those babies later!!

Back at the office (are you still awake?!) there was a hitch (things have been going oh so very smoothly hadn’t they?) I was in the system (well of course I was it’s me we’re talking about here!) G of course wasn’t! He was going to have to wait…oh I was so going to get my car first! Then they noticed a letter was missing from my surname & we both get sent away while systems/departments/officials sit back & chat & deliberate the lonnnnnnggg awaited verdict of how many weeks it’s going to be before we actually get our bloody numbers (sorry mum!) The verdict? It’s just one of those things they said, happens all the time they said, but we want our trucks we said! We are still waiting for our SSN’s! The nice people gave us a letter saying we’re waiting on the SSN’s so we can still pick up the aforementioned cars (are you bored of the cars yet?! Keep reading!) & off we go again, we’re a chilled kinda couple, pretty laid back, take it as it comes, blah blah blah….then the car man rings to say Ford have pulled out of the leasing market as of NOW & have cancelled ALL 2 year contracts…YES THAT INCLUDES OURS!!!!! Cars? Don’t talk to me about bloody cars (sorry mum)…sick of silly cars!!! For a day we were slightly concerned (that ‘pretty concerned’ on the normal concerned-ness scale for normal people) then our car man sorts things…arranges us a free rental as we only had the one car up until then but we were moving house (again) & needed 2 cars really & he also come up with two new motors….NOT two big monster trucks anymore (sobbing uncontrollably as she types) one suv & one saloon from a very reputable european car manufacturer (yawn…really wanted American ones, I know I know, no sulking! So got 2 VW’s on order now, don’t hold your breath…will let you know when/if they arrive! (**,)

I helped out at school for a little while one morning in Nyah’s class as they were making cards to give to the vets (the Veterans & not the animal vets like we were originally thinking doh!)…I was a bit scared but thought if I didn’t do it sooner rather than later & everything is worse if you put it off isn’t it & we’re here for the whole experience right?! So I just said yes & did it! Also got to experience a special assembly the school was putting on for local Veterans for Veterans Day (like our Remembrance Day but without poppies) which was all very interesting, with hands on hearts & pledging allegiances to the flag etc etc they must have been wondering who the strange looking foreigner was at the back with the open mouth staring at everything & everyone! Not that much different to a school assembly here, just picture it in your head & double everything…even the kids & I’m talking about their height & how grown up they look here in comparison to ours…boobs in Grade 5?…OMG!!!!

So all the furniture arrived intact from its sea/land journey all safe & sound & still snuggly wrapped & the first thing I unwrapped?? Why my ironing board of course, we were very happy to be reunited! Oh & I’ve bought a cool new iron (Oi…no snoozing, I love my iron!!) where the cord gets sucked into the base after you’ve finished…how cool? Well I thought so! We’ve unpacked everything & have tried to spread out our meager few bits in this huge house we keep getting lost in! It’s as beautiful as we remembered & we love it already! Yoji has found the best sunny bits as so many many windows, (11 of them in the front room alone, thank god they left the curtains!) & she’s baking herself in the sun as I type…I worry about her you know, doesn’t she know the sun is ageing & she’s very red already!

Surreal moment of the week has to be standing at the end of the drive of this beautiful house that I can’t quite believe we’re living in, feels like someone is going to come along at any minute & kick us out! Anyway, standing at the end of the drive waiting for the school bus which arrives & then the girls get on without me & the door closes behind them & it drives off leaving me there waving at them….the last time I saw that scene was in the film Nightmare on Elm Street!! If you’ve seen the film you’ll know what I’m talking about & if you haven’t you don’t want to know!!

This week I’m loving the way the kitchen appliances all work faster here (on a domestic roll sorry!).

This week I’m not loving the fact that on the PC keyboard there’s no pound sign only a $ sign & back home we have both which is much fairer I think!!

Think that’s it for now…hope all is good with you & keep in touch!