I think it's safe to say that I'm terrified about having to deal with my lack of visa and its influence on my future employment. It seems most likely that I will not be getting the required go ahead from the University in time for starting work a week from tomorrow, meaning I have to go to plan B. Plan B involves me writing a very nice and carefully worded letter to the people who will still hopefully be willing to employ me, telling them that while I don't have my nice 12 month visa quite yet, I can work if they give me a 4 month contract and can then get the 12 month contract in January. All this meaning that instead of getting me for only 12 months without having to pay for my visa, they will get me for 16. Or they will laugh at me and tell me that as the visa is part of the requirements for employment I can go take a long walk down a short pier. Whilst perhaps I should have writtent this email on Friday after regaining internet, I was too scared to do so. So tomorrow I will write the email and then go crawl into a hole and rock back and forth in the fetal position.
Email aside, I have somehow managed to book numerous activities for the week. I have two plays, a dinner in Maidenhead, and am meeting a fellow American in town to boot. This is slightly bizarre as I never had anything to do in Southampton. Oh, and I will be spending my days frantically finishing dissertation, of course.
In other work preparation news, I went shopping today and bought a pair of 'trousers' from Zara. Now I have 3 pairs of 'trousers' (but the other two pairs go with suits and might seem odd on their own as they have a bit of an odd flow) and plenty of skirts. I also bought nylons. As I had none yet all the skirts. I hate nylons. I also got a pair of opaque tights. It's a bit of a different flow for myself, but they certainly seem to be the local fashion so I figured I would take the risk. Working up the nerve to wear them is a totally different story.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Internet!
This time blog abandonment was totally not my fault. I made my final move up to London this past Monday only to discover that the phone line had a fault in it that wasn't fixed until this morning. This meant many long, hard days with no internet. Luckily this is London and there was plenty of other distractions to keep me from working on my dissertation.
On Tuesday, after finishing the unpacking process, I went down to the local park, called Bishop's Park, to take a look around. It's a big park that fronts the Thames, and its name is derived from its centrepiece, Fulham Palace, which for hundreds of years was the home of the Bishops of London. It's not much of a palace, but it is a big house. Sort of something you'd see in a Jane Austen movie to represent one of the slightly simpler homes in rich people terms. The park itself has a very nice path around the perimeter, with trees overhanging. If I ever feel like jogging, it will basically be the place to go. After hitting the park, I walked up an alternative route to Parsons Green, then by some other green on my way to Fulham Broadway. See, I had to stay away from the flat as the landlord was varnishing the floors. I finally returned in the evening to lose thousands of brain cells whilst watching television.
Wednesday was a day about town which saw me get and use an Oyster card. I felt like I belonged. Walked around Mayfair a bit then headed down Brompton Road past Harrods to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum yet again. I feel like I go there often. There and the British Musuem.
Yesterday I attempted to do work, but instead I walked around Bishops Park and did some grocery shopping in preparation for dinner guests. I'm a grown up, its seemingly what we do. And today I'm working again. It's not that great. And I am comteplating having a breakfast burrito for lunch. It would lend the day an exciting twist.
I took some pictures but have not uploaded them yet. Expect some new images soon.
On Tuesday, after finishing the unpacking process, I went down to the local park, called Bishop's Park, to take a look around. It's a big park that fronts the Thames, and its name is derived from its centrepiece, Fulham Palace, which for hundreds of years was the home of the Bishops of London. It's not much of a palace, but it is a big house. Sort of something you'd see in a Jane Austen movie to represent one of the slightly simpler homes in rich people terms. The park itself has a very nice path around the perimeter, with trees overhanging. If I ever feel like jogging, it will basically be the place to go. After hitting the park, I walked up an alternative route to Parsons Green, then by some other green on my way to Fulham Broadway. See, I had to stay away from the flat as the landlord was varnishing the floors. I finally returned in the evening to lose thousands of brain cells whilst watching television.
Wednesday was a day about town which saw me get and use an Oyster card. I felt like I belonged. Walked around Mayfair a bit then headed down Brompton Road past Harrods to go to the Victoria and Albert Museum yet again. I feel like I go there often. There and the British Musuem.
Yesterday I attempted to do work, but instead I walked around Bishops Park and did some grocery shopping in preparation for dinner guests. I'm a grown up, its seemingly what we do. And today I'm working again. It's not that great. And I am comteplating having a breakfast burrito for lunch. It would lend the day an exciting twist.
I took some pictures but have not uploaded them yet. Expect some new images soon.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Last day on campus
So today is essentially my last day on campus in Southampton. Ah yes, lifetimes spent in around Hartley library have culminated in a day of me doing no work and not getting the scanner to work. The highlights included my sandwich and going to the student services center to hand in a form. Indeed, it is quite the mind-blowing day.
Will I miss being in the library all day everyday? Signs point to no. Altough I will surely be longing for the freedom to make my own hours once I start working. Assuming I get all the necessary stuff taken care of for that! There's still a chance I'll be deported soon enough. Although it most likely won't happen.
In the broader sense, I am not sad to see Southampton go either. While it is a nice enough city in many respects, it's been sort of done and it's certainly no London. Quite frankly I'm not really sure what else to say about the place. I like the Bargate. And the old town walls.
Mind you, I say all this now. I may be back again on Monday...
Will I miss being in the library all day everyday? Signs point to no. Altough I will surely be longing for the freedom to make my own hours once I start working. Assuming I get all the necessary stuff taken care of for that! There's still a chance I'll be deported soon enough. Although it most likely won't happen.
In the broader sense, I am not sad to see Southampton go either. While it is a nice enough city in many respects, it's been sort of done and it's certainly no London. Quite frankly I'm not really sure what else to say about the place. I like the Bargate. And the old town walls.
Mind you, I say all this now. I may be back again on Monday...
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Elton
Last night I attended the European premiere performance of Elton John's Las Vegas show, the Red Piano, at the O2 Arena in east London. It was very good.
The O2 Arena is located east of Canary Wharf, and it takes about an hour to get there on the tube from Parsons Green. So its a fair trek. Aside from an area probably a little larger than the Rose Garden, it holds a movie theater that contains Europe's largest screen, and a number of restaurants, all with really long lines. And it basically has its own tube stop. Anyways, so after realizing it would take ages to get food at any of these restaurants and with not knowing what time the show actually started, we ended up just getting food inside the arena. This means it was not that great, greasy, and slightly overpriced. If I had walked 50 feet further I could have gotten a ciabbatta cheeseburger, but alas, not that clever. The opener was some singer women who played cheesy songs that I'd never heard. We'll brush over her and get to Elton.
The word show is almost a bit of a stretch. It was really just an elaborate concert, with fancy videos for each song and inflatable stage items, and a red piano on a star that lit-up on which Elton perched. Elton played what can only be described as a string of classics, and he did them all amazingly well. He has a beautiful live voice, and had a few amusing stories to toss in between songs. It started on an up-beat vibe with a bit of Benny and the Jets and Philadelphia Freedom, tossed in a about 6000 more classics, including well, all of Elton John's classics (Believe, Tiny Dancer, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Someone Saved my Life Tonight, Daniel, Rocketman, the Bitch is Back, etc.). I didn't quite understand all of the inflatable stage items, like the upside down ice cream cone holding a cigarette, but some of them were nice. Couldn't really see all of the video stuff from where we were sitting, but some seemed a bit distracting. When Elton is about, you don't really need all that stuff. He saved Your Song for the encore, and it was really the only song where you could hear everyone in the audience singing along. It was very touching.
Apparently he was going to take the Red Piano show over to mainland Europe but all the shows got cancelled. No clue what went on there, but if he does the show again in Vegas whilst anyone is there, I would give it my endorsement.
Things were a bit crazy trying to get back to the tube, but it wasn't as bad as one would assume and we made it back to Waterloo in time for the 11:39 train. Some of us slept on the train. Back in Southampton for a couple more days, making the final move up to London on Sunday now. I think. Hopefully.
The O2 Arena is located east of Canary Wharf, and it takes about an hour to get there on the tube from Parsons Green. So its a fair trek. Aside from an area probably a little larger than the Rose Garden, it holds a movie theater that contains Europe's largest screen, and a number of restaurants, all with really long lines. And it basically has its own tube stop. Anyways, so after realizing it would take ages to get food at any of these restaurants and with not knowing what time the show actually started, we ended up just getting food inside the arena. This means it was not that great, greasy, and slightly overpriced. If I had walked 50 feet further I could have gotten a ciabbatta cheeseburger, but alas, not that clever. The opener was some singer women who played cheesy songs that I'd never heard. We'll brush over her and get to Elton.
The word show is almost a bit of a stretch. It was really just an elaborate concert, with fancy videos for each song and inflatable stage items, and a red piano on a star that lit-up on which Elton perched. Elton played what can only be described as a string of classics, and he did them all amazingly well. He has a beautiful live voice, and had a few amusing stories to toss in between songs. It started on an up-beat vibe with a bit of Benny and the Jets and Philadelphia Freedom, tossed in a about 6000 more classics, including well, all of Elton John's classics (Believe, Tiny Dancer, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Someone Saved my Life Tonight, Daniel, Rocketman, the Bitch is Back, etc.). I didn't quite understand all of the inflatable stage items, like the upside down ice cream cone holding a cigarette, but some of them were nice. Couldn't really see all of the video stuff from where we were sitting, but some seemed a bit distracting. When Elton is about, you don't really need all that stuff. He saved Your Song for the encore, and it was really the only song where you could hear everyone in the audience singing along. It was very touching.
Apparently he was going to take the Red Piano show over to mainland Europe but all the shows got cancelled. No clue what went on there, but if he does the show again in Vegas whilst anyone is there, I would give it my endorsement.
Things were a bit crazy trying to get back to the tube, but it wasn't as bad as one would assume and we made it back to Waterloo in time for the 11:39 train. Some of us slept on the train. Back in Southampton for a couple more days, making the final move up to London on Sunday now. I think. Hopefully.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
The NHS
First off, my apologizes again for forgetting to update blog for a bit too long.
So the UK has national health care. And I've gathered enough individual experiences to form some sort of bases about the whole thing. So, when I first got to Southampton I had to register with a doctor. This is done at a doctor's 'surgery' which does not mean they operate on you, it's just what the normal offices are called. There is a certain catchment area for each office so you really just go to one that you live near, and for myself that meant one of the two connected to the University.
Once you have a doctor, you can simply call them up or drop in if you need an appointment and they'll accomodate you. If you go in for whatever reason, sore joint/sickness/bleeding wound, the appointment is free. You don't fill out any paperwork at any point in time and you are free to deal with the general practioner. If you have a 'real' problem, you may then get forwarded on to a second party, such as a physical therapist or a podiatrist. Again, no matter where the office of these other parties may be, it's free and appointments don't require any paperwork. If you need an operation, again its free, you just may end up having to get sliced open on your birthday.
Of course, it's not all a total free-for-all. As alluded to, you can't really afford to be picky when it comes to services outside the GP's office. If you miss appointments, you may not get any more. And any request for rescheduling could possibly result in long delays as backlogs are being dealt with. In all of this, there's no way for me to compare the standards of care, having truly limited experiences with both systems. Also of potential interest is that the Emergency room is simply referred to as 'A&E' here. For the life of me I can't recall what it actually stands for but I think of the tv channel everytime I hear it!
So the UK has national health care. And I've gathered enough individual experiences to form some sort of bases about the whole thing. So, when I first got to Southampton I had to register with a doctor. This is done at a doctor's 'surgery' which does not mean they operate on you, it's just what the normal offices are called. There is a certain catchment area for each office so you really just go to one that you live near, and for myself that meant one of the two connected to the University.
Once you have a doctor, you can simply call them up or drop in if you need an appointment and they'll accomodate you. If you go in for whatever reason, sore joint/sickness/bleeding wound, the appointment is free. You don't fill out any paperwork at any point in time and you are free to deal with the general practioner. If you have a 'real' problem, you may then get forwarded on to a second party, such as a physical therapist or a podiatrist. Again, no matter where the office of these other parties may be, it's free and appointments don't require any paperwork. If you need an operation, again its free, you just may end up having to get sliced open on your birthday.
Of course, it's not all a total free-for-all. As alluded to, you can't really afford to be picky when it comes to services outside the GP's office. If you miss appointments, you may not get any more. And any request for rescheduling could possibly result in long delays as backlogs are being dealt with. In all of this, there's no way for me to compare the standards of care, having truly limited experiences with both systems. Also of potential interest is that the Emergency room is simply referred to as 'A&E' here. For the life of me I can't recall what it actually stands for but I think of the tv channel everytime I hear it!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Goodbye, Kenwyne
I wasn't going to do a blog entry today, but special circumstances made it necessary. Big news broke last night: Kenwyne Jones has been sold to Sunderland for 6 million pounds and another player. Sunderland is apparently in the Premiere League, so our little Kenwyne will be facing off against the big boys soon! Whilst it sounds like kind of a made up name, apparently Sunderland is way, way up north near Newcastle. The Range Rover was still in the driveway as of this morning. Not sure when exactly he'll be taking off, and if he'll be doing so in the Range Rover. Not really sure how these things work, but I imagine no time will be wasted in him getting started with the new squad.
In totally unrelated news, if anyone is interesting in a living in a terraced house in Southampton formerly inhabited by a footballer, I might know a place.
In totally unrelated news, if anyone is interesting in a living in a terraced house in Southampton formerly inhabited by a footballer, I might know a place.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
The Home Store
In this, my time of moving, I have found some painful shortages in terms of home shopping. In my opinion, the UK is severely lacking and in need of the following stores:
Michaels
Aaron Brothers
Pier 1
Cost Plus
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Pottery Barn
Crate & Barrel
Target
It seems like when I move, I would generally end up visiting the majority of these stores for various necessities. Here I don't know where to turn for my shower curtain/framing/wall art/garbage can/fake flower decor needs. There are a few department stores with home sections, but I find these lacking in both selection and variety for many things. John Lewis has a good kitchen section, but most of it is overly expensive. Marks and Spencer also has a small home section, as does Debenhams. But again, these are all department stores. They do not specialize in the home. There is a specific Tesco Home Store down behind West Quay but it has clothing and a lot of electronics instead of simply emphasizing the other home needs. It seems like Ikea picks up the slack for a lot of this, but it does not have the best variety of many items and you end up with all the same stuff as everyone else (although at impossible to beat prices). I really just want to get some picture frames but nowhere has has had the selection I seemingly require.
How can there be such a gaping whole in the UK chain store ways? I think the locals must just not realize what they are missing. A 'what you don't know can't hurt you' sort of situation. But I know, and so this doesn't work for me. Shame, too.
In totally unrelated news, I am a bit stuck on dissertation. I sort of fear that I have gotten a bit off track and/or am just doing completely the wrong thing. I've arranged a meeting with scary supervisor on Friday. Now it seems I'm just sort of killing time trying to think of things. This means I look at facebook. Sad, I know.
Michaels
Aaron Brothers
Pier 1
Cost Plus
Bed, Bath & Beyond
Pottery Barn
Crate & Barrel
Target
It seems like when I move, I would generally end up visiting the majority of these stores for various necessities. Here I don't know where to turn for my shower curtain/framing/wall art/garbage can/fake flower decor needs. There are a few department stores with home sections, but I find these lacking in both selection and variety for many things. John Lewis has a good kitchen section, but most of it is overly expensive. Marks and Spencer also has a small home section, as does Debenhams. But again, these are all department stores. They do not specialize in the home. There is a specific Tesco Home Store down behind West Quay but it has clothing and a lot of electronics instead of simply emphasizing the other home needs. It seems like Ikea picks up the slack for a lot of this, but it does not have the best variety of many items and you end up with all the same stuff as everyone else (although at impossible to beat prices). I really just want to get some picture frames but nowhere has has had the selection I seemingly require.
How can there be such a gaping whole in the UK chain store ways? I think the locals must just not realize what they are missing. A 'what you don't know can't hurt you' sort of situation. But I know, and so this doesn't work for me. Shame, too.
In totally unrelated news, I am a bit stuck on dissertation. I sort of fear that I have gotten a bit off track and/or am just doing completely the wrong thing. I've arranged a meeting with scary supervisor on Friday. Now it seems I'm just sort of killing time trying to think of things. This means I look at facebook. Sad, I know.
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