Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Lazy Sunday Afternoon
Originally uploaded by Anglophile in Essex.

Finally!

I have a job interview on Thursday...wish me luck!

Another weekend, another DVD for a fiver. I'd seen this movie before, probably on TV a few times and for the first time when I recented it from the library. So when I saw it for £5 I had to have it, it's from 1990 and not exactly well known...the type of movie I go for since it's quirky and a bit rough, and when you can find it for sale, as cheap as chips, as they say here. It's a bit of beauty and the beast, a bit of a moral tale about not conning the INS, and a bit of a romantic comedy but without a happy ending, well, kind of. Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars. I think there could have been a bit more character development and closure at the end.

I'm a Frappacino!

You Are a Frappacino

At your best, you are: fun loving, sweet, and modern At your worst, you are: childish and over indulgent You drink coffee when: you're craving something sweet Your caffeine addiction level: low

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Socks in the Grass

Socks in the Grass
Originally uploaded by Anglophile in Essex.

When you're unemployed you find yourself keeping busy doing random things...

Melinda & Melinda

I got this movie on Friday when Pete and I went to Chelmsford for my NI number interview. It was only a fiver, which was why I bought it in the first place. Oh, and it said it was similar to Sliding Doors. Well...as a Woody Allen movie it was as to be expected. I give it 5 stars out of 10. I wish it had more closure, and the acting wasn't wonderful. But Will Farrel was funny in it, so it was kind of worth the money and time I spent to watch it.

My first American Expat Rant

Things that annoy me about England:

1) People asking me why I moved here from Florida, and calling me stupid for doing so. Sorry, but those individual's only (if that) experience of Florida is a holiday in the sun for a fortnight. I lived there for 19 years, so I believe I have the upper ground on my judgement of the state. And, as a relatively intellegent person (university educated and all that) I think I can make my own decision on where I want live.

2) People asking me what I think of England. Every single person thinks they're the first to ask this very original question. After they discover I've been here at least ten times previously, they realize they are less innovated than they thought.

3) Rude shop assistants. I was given the evil eye at WH Smith's last week, I'm still not entirely sure why.

4) "American food." HP, the company that makes brown sauce has an "American sauce" which seems to be a combination of Ketchup and BBQ sauce. I'm not entirely sure what it could be used for, and I'm not curious enough to buy it. I love when things are called "American" when they bear only a slight resemblance to those things actually in America. MIL and I found Lipton Ice Tea at Sainsbury's right? I got it home and it takes like lemon water (apparently its pretty much diet ice tea so maybe thats why).

5) Calling things by their brand names or by color. The usual culprated that everyone knows: a vaccuum is a hoover, tape is sello tape etc. But Ketchup is red sauce...and people use it as a substitute for tomato sauce on spaghetti (WTF?)

6) Colo(u)rs in general: What I call mauve (pronounced MO-ve here) isn't a dark pink, but rather, a light purple. A beige color that I call universally "tan" is "coffee" and tan means brown.

7) Wimpy Burger: Its one of the few actual British fast food chains. Its not very good, and is the first example I found that british food is actually plain.

8) People telling me how I should look for a job. (This is by people who a) don't have jobs usually or b) haven't had to look for a job in 20 years).

Today I was called a housewife...

Today I was called a housewife, at the local doctor's office. Yeah, it was exciting. The doctors was pretty uneventful, it was my check-up to be able to complete registration with the local GP. Gotta love the NHS, it was weird going out of there without signing a bill or paying them anything.
In other news, the job hunt it slow. I wish I had an occupation to put on things other than erm "housewife." That term just makes me think of 1950s. Other than that, I'm adjusting pretty well to life here I think. I wish people called me more, it seems I'm the only one calling anyone to keep in touch. Oh well. Looking forward to the weekend since Pete's off work on Friday...but we have to go to my National Insurance number interview, so not all that exciting really. Guess that's it from me more now. I have yet to complete my emigration story about moving over...maybe I'll get around to that tomorrow ;)

Pete and I saw this movie on Friday afternoon, as part of our first date since we've been married :) We thought it was really funny in parts, but we didn't really like the ending. Though we did seem to be the only ones that were laughing, so maybe its more American humor? Not sure. Anyway I'd give it 7 out of 10 stars :)

One Week

I've been here one week today, and am finally getting over the jet lag I think! Sorry I've been so quiet, I've been trying to write up my traveling experience to post on here but the entry is only a draft for now as I add bits to it day by day. Hopefully around Tuesday it will be ready to post. But since Pete is off work til then it'll have to wait :) We're having our post-wedding party here tomorrow, 80 people are coming, praying it doesn't rain (aren't I becoming British already?!) hehe.

She's Got a Ticket to Ride...

Well, this will be my last blog entry from the States. Tomorrow I'm off to London, TO LIVE. How weird is that?! Very weird. Tomorrow is going to be absolutely manic (because I'm procrastinating tonight of course) so I'm not even going to try to get online much beyond emailing Pete early tomorrow to say I'll see him on Saturday! Wish me luck!

From Tea to Wine and Back

Sara, Tiff, and I were going to go to a tea room in Sanford yesterday, but since we didn't make reservations they couldn't let us in - which is pretty stupid. Anyway we ended up going to the Olive Garden and then to World Market, and then on to Designing Wines, in DeLand. Its this really nice little winery where you can make your own wine and sample all of theirs. We sampled a good amount of wine, and I'm feeling a bit of the effects this morning lol. I did get a bottle of peach chardonnay though, which was very nice. Not too sweet, and not too dry, yum!

Just My Luck

I was originally going to fly to London yesterday, but when booking my ticket I realized 1) it was probably too soon to book that date and 2) STA travel was being a pain and their website wasn't working and 3) I wanted the extra week to pack. I can only imagine what chaos it would have been traveling yesterday, but thankfully I didn't have to. I am, however, traveling a week from today. Actually this time next week I'll be (hopefully) on the plane and bound for London Gatwick (ah once again I'm glad I never fly into Heathrow!) So, because of new regulations I've been repacking my suitcases, well, that and because I have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF. I'm bringing an extra bag (yup paying the excess baggage fee of ::gulp: around $100) and at least one of my other bags are over the 50 lb. limit (thank you airlines for LOWERING the limit in April!) so I'll be paying the "I'm too important to listen to the rules" fee of $35 on each case I'm thinking. This moving stuff is getting expensive.

Making the Transition

Written on July 31st:

So it's the Monday after a busy week last week, and now I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs and avoiding packing. A part of me wishes I booked my flight for earlier in August, because to be honest I'm bored out of my mind here alone. I feel gross, my skin is breaking out, it's hot and humid out, and I just feel unmotivated.

My family is taking the news of my impending departure as well as to be expected. My sister, who's 12 years older than me, was shocked that I was leaving so soon. I explained to her that I was bored out of my mind, she agreed that she could understand that but I don't know. Maybe she can't. My sister and I have always had an odd relationship, with a 12 year age difference and only having the same mom I guess it's to be expected. But as I get older we're becoming more like friends, only sometimes she seems like one of those bossy "I know how you should live your life" kind of friends. My dad is taking it well, he's the one sane person I can always count on. He'll miss me but like he said I have to give it a try, and be with my husband. He also told me how my mom hated it here when they moved to Florida in 1986 and spent all day on the phone with her family in New Jersey, it was only after being down here for two years that they began to re-adjust. That's settling to know that I'm not the only person who's ever done this (and I knew I wasn't before) but knowing my parents went through something similar is comforting.

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I wrote that about a week ago, now I'm starting to get cold feet. I know its not like I'm going to change my mind or anything, but I'm nervous about moving. I know it'll all be ok and I'll adjust to it, but I hate the unknown, even when its semi-known. Pete's parents are throwing us a Post-Wedding BBQ on August 27th, for all the family/friends who couldn't fly over for the wedding...it should be fun :) The Friday before that Pete is taking me out on a date lol we never got to have a final date while being engaged so this is our first proper date as a married couple ;) Should be fun :)

New Layout

Just changed my layout. I'm hoping it looks ok on PC's since I'm on a Mac and Safari (web browser) always makes things look ok when they're really messed up lol. Let me know if anything looks funky ;)

I'm Moving!

After I received the approval email on Thursday July 27, I tracked my package (which consisted of the binder I sent in with most of the relative information still there, my passport (with visa!)) and it was to arrive the following day, Friday. So all Friday morning I was on the Fed Ex site trying to track it and it finally arrived at 12:30pm :) I was surprised how basic the visa looked, not sure what I was expecting but it seemed weird that a glued on piece of paper into my passport could mean so much ;) I actually took a picture of my visa, which if you're a close friend I'll let you see ;)

Before the visa actually arrived at my door, I decided to book my flight to leave. I wanted to leave kind of soon but not too soon, as I still have to pack a fair amount and want to spend time with my family. After a lot of hassle, I finally booked a one way ticket through STA travel on Virgin Atlantic for less than $600 which is by far the best deal I found :) I'll be leaving on August 18th and arriving in London on August 19th :)

Visa Approved!!!

See my expat blog for all the details :)

Still Waiting....

Still waiting, but I did receive an email notificatio from the NY Consulate telling me that my documents arrived there and are being processed, more details here.

A Two Starbucks Day

Starbucks - Up Close
Originally uploaded by princessjuls02.

Today I've had two grande white chocolate mochas from Starbucks (one iced, one hot). It's a long story. But large amounts of expresso and anxiety about waiting for a visa which will change your life, don't mix very well.

Found this widget at Jennie's blog. Then did my own.