Week 8 Highgate
June 19 – 27
SATURDAY, we had to move out. I decided to stay up late to pack while Emily decided to get up early. It worked out and we left the flat at noon. We took the bus to get to the tube station, transferred to a few other tubes, then onto another bus to get to the hostel. It was miserable. Everyone could see that, so several people stopped to help us. One man, who waited at the bus stop with us, was especially helpful. He told us about the town and the little fair that was on for the day. He also talked about the several roads named some variation of Park on one of which was our hostel while he lived on another (just a few houses down from West End actor Jonathan Price). Evidently a lot of actors live in this area. Anyway, we checked in and vowed to get rid of a few things so that the next move would be better. This became more necessary for me when I realized that a wheel on my smaller bag had snapped off. Now the plan is to send a few things home and donate a few more. I must get everything down to one bag. We walked the town and found a large wooded area to get lost in for a while. We then ate and came home to crash.
SUNDAY was church then Emily and I found an internet café that charges 1 pound an hour, so we shared the hour and sent out a little.
MONDAY was another long day. We started off by going to BUNAC to check for job listings. We found a few nice temp agencies to call and headed to an interview for Emily. She is staying until late August, so her opportunities will be greater than mine, though not much greater since most places here expect at least 4 months of work. While Emily was at interview/training session, I called the temp agencies and ran errands. When I got back to meet her, she called the mobile to explain that the session had been cancelled and she had gone on to do other errands. After we met up, we had a little lunch and finished our joint errands including making a dry-run to her new hostel. She is staying at one that is closer to central London than this one and gives her two decent meals a day. I decided to stay here since there weren’t more openings and they need people to stay for at least 14 days which I may not have by the time a new opening becomes available. At this hostel, I have a kitchen, so I can cook for myself, which we both agree is preferable.
TUESDAY, I attended an appointment with NatWest to open a UK bank account for employers to direct deposit into. Then, we headed home to move Emily out. As we embarked, a temp agency called with a job. Emily had a training session, so she couldn’t take it. I accepted a receptionist assignment that I had an hour to get to. I rushed a few blocks home to change, booked it to the tube, transferred to anther line, and booked it from the station to the job.
I worked a switchboard for the head office of local casinos. I felt a little connection to home because they had both London and Las Vegas time in the office. I worked from 12:30 to 6:30. It was easy enough, and I had a chance to get through one-third of a novel called Lovely Bones about a girl in heaven who was too attached to the affairs of Earth to move on because she needed to help them heal from her vicious murder. I know that sounds like crap, but it’s a real page turner. After work, I met up with Emily and crashed on her bed. After grabbing dinner, I made the 40 minute trip home and am now writing this travelogue. It’s a lot easier to write when I keep up with it at least every three days instead of three weeks.
WEDNESDAY, I slept in before heading out to hunt down wireless internet. I figured hotels would have access, and in the states, you can just walk in and sign on. Not so here. You have to sign onto a pay-by-the-minute system. I assume paying customers get some kind of code to get free access, but alas, I will have to continue paying one pound an hour at the internet café. I made it back to town and went to volunteer at the Cancer Research Charity shop. I sort the books by genre, pick out the rare ones to have a dealer look at or pick out the ones that won’t sell to toss. Once I have gotten through the few hundred backlogged in the basement, I will price them for sale. I stayed for three hours and will continue to volunteer every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for three hours until I go up to Northampton. I eventually met up with Emily to see her new place. It will get the job done. Her roommate is nice and she will have her Utah roommate in the same building tomorrow and for the rest of the summer. It will work out.
THURSDAY, I met Emily and Kristin, her roommate, at BUNAC where Kristin was doing her orientation. We went to Leather Lane to look at the clothes, then had vegetarian take-away. I then headed home for a nap and time to myself. I really like staying alone. It’s nice to have friends to be with if I want, but I no longer have to stay with them. Emily has the mobile, so I do have either hang with her in case a temp job calls in or stay close to my hostel so she can leave a message for me. About 8pm we met to use the internet and do laundry. The laundry facility here is great. It’s the cheapest around and highly efficient. The only thing is that something in my wash has still dyed other things pink. Once I figure out what it is, I’ll chuck it.
FRIDAY, it took almost an hour to finally get a package sent off to my parents. I had to get to the post office and go through several waitings in line to get it out. I had to buy packing tape and labels (neither of which I plan to use again) and stuff the box with the free newspaper from the tube station. I then had to withdraw money from the ATM nearby because the machine didn’t like my card for the transaction (which the teller said was common). I had to rush to eat lunch before heading to the charity shop. While there, I finished going though the massive hill of books in the basement. I will now go through them again to sort them for future sale. It was such a mess. It’s nice to have a project that has a clear progression. I am now pricing the books that have already been sorted and tossing the books that are over two weeks old. I will go back on Monday.
I then headed to Sainsbury’s on the bus, which is a twenty minute trek. While on my way, I saw a sign for a clothing showcase. I decided to go there before getting my groceries. Not only was it terribly far away, but the shops were already closed. I don’t think I’ll go back there. The clothes are not my style and the locals are a little too friendly, if you know what I mean.
Once home, I made dinner. The serving sizes out here are a little quirky, and I made too much. I decided to ask the front desk clerk if he’d had dinner, yet. He is the only person I’ve actually gotten to know here because we chatted while I checked in and later when we did laundry. He explained that he hadn’t, but his girlfriend was making him dinner. I promptly made sure he knew I had had asked him because he was the only person I’d met. He obviously understood that I wasn’t making a move because he showed up later with a bowl of ice cream for desert because I had been so kind as to offer dinner. Of course, that was funny too because I was just finishing off a heaping bowl of chocolate ice cream. We decided that there could never be too much ice cream and I accepted the fresh bowl of strawberry ice cream. I love silly moments like these.
SATURDAY, In the afternoon, I met with Emily and Kristin. A chipper Australian named Richard had joined them. He lives in the same hostel they do and since the met at dinner a few nights ago they have been hanging out. We met at Camden Town then walked to Regent’s Park. The roses are not as in bloom as they were the last time we were there. I was glad to have taken so many pictures last time. We headed back to their hostel and listened to some music while we waited for Richard’s friend to pick him up and for Lauren to call me. She did and I found my way to her dorm. It turns out she only lives down the street from me. We took the bus up the street to my house and on the way I lost my tube pass. One minute it was in my hand and the next it was gone. So, the night was cut short.
SUNDAY, I reported my tube pass lost and they instructed me how to replace it and get a voucher for the unused money on it. I made it to church just as it started. Afterwards, we walked to the Prime Meridian which is just across the Heath from our church. I now have stood in two places at once. We celebrated Kristin’s recent birthday at Wagamamas and rented In America. We didn’t get to finish the movie since the girls had to get back home before it got too late. I decided to finish it and loved it. It was one of those movies you just have to sit afterwards and take it all in.
SATURDAY, we had to move out. I decided to stay up late to pack while Emily decided to get up early. It worked out and we left the flat at noon. We took the bus to get to the tube station, transferred to a few other tubes, then onto another bus to get to the hostel. It was miserable. Everyone could see that, so several people stopped to help us. One man, who waited at the bus stop with us, was especially helpful. He told us about the town and the little fair that was on for the day. He also talked about the several roads named some variation of Park on one of which was our hostel while he lived on another (just a few houses down from West End actor Jonathan Price). Evidently a lot of actors live in this area. Anyway, we checked in and vowed to get rid of a few things so that the next move would be better. This became more necessary for me when I realized that a wheel on my smaller bag had snapped off. Now the plan is to send a few things home and donate a few more. I must get everything down to one bag. We walked the town and found a large wooded area to get lost in for a while. We then ate and came home to crash.
SUNDAY was church then Emily and I found an internet café that charges 1 pound an hour, so we shared the hour and sent out a little.
MONDAY was another long day. We started off by going to BUNAC to check for job listings. We found a few nice temp agencies to call and headed to an interview for Emily. She is staying until late August, so her opportunities will be greater than mine, though not much greater since most places here expect at least 4 months of work. While Emily was at interview/training session, I called the temp agencies and ran errands. When I got back to meet her, she called the mobile to explain that the session had been cancelled and she had gone on to do other errands. After we met up, we had a little lunch and finished our joint errands including making a dry-run to her new hostel. She is staying at one that is closer to central London than this one and gives her two decent meals a day. I decided to stay here since there weren’t more openings and they need people to stay for at least 14 days which I may not have by the time a new opening becomes available. At this hostel, I have a kitchen, so I can cook for myself, which we both agree is preferable.
TUESDAY, I attended an appointment with NatWest to open a UK bank account for employers to direct deposit into. Then, we headed home to move Emily out. As we embarked, a temp agency called with a job. Emily had a training session, so she couldn’t take it. I accepted a receptionist assignment that I had an hour to get to. I rushed a few blocks home to change, booked it to the tube, transferred to anther line, and booked it from the station to the job.
I worked a switchboard for the head office of local casinos. I felt a little connection to home because they had both London and Las Vegas time in the office. I worked from 12:30 to 6:30. It was easy enough, and I had a chance to get through one-third of a novel called Lovely Bones about a girl in heaven who was too attached to the affairs of Earth to move on because she needed to help them heal from her vicious murder. I know that sounds like crap, but it’s a real page turner. After work, I met up with Emily and crashed on her bed. After grabbing dinner, I made the 40 minute trip home and am now writing this travelogue. It’s a lot easier to write when I keep up with it at least every three days instead of three weeks.
WEDNESDAY, I slept in before heading out to hunt down wireless internet. I figured hotels would have access, and in the states, you can just walk in and sign on. Not so here. You have to sign onto a pay-by-the-minute system. I assume paying customers get some kind of code to get free access, but alas, I will have to continue paying one pound an hour at the internet café. I made it back to town and went to volunteer at the Cancer Research Charity shop. I sort the books by genre, pick out the rare ones to have a dealer look at or pick out the ones that won’t sell to toss. Once I have gotten through the few hundred backlogged in the basement, I will price them for sale. I stayed for three hours and will continue to volunteer every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for three hours until I go up to Northampton. I eventually met up with Emily to see her new place. It will get the job done. Her roommate is nice and she will have her Utah roommate in the same building tomorrow and for the rest of the summer. It will work out.
THURSDAY, I met Emily and Kristin, her roommate, at BUNAC where Kristin was doing her orientation. We went to Leather Lane to look at the clothes, then had vegetarian take-away. I then headed home for a nap and time to myself. I really like staying alone. It’s nice to have friends to be with if I want, but I no longer have to stay with them. Emily has the mobile, so I do have either hang with her in case a temp job calls in or stay close to my hostel so she can leave a message for me. About 8pm we met to use the internet and do laundry. The laundry facility here is great. It’s the cheapest around and highly efficient. The only thing is that something in my wash has still dyed other things pink. Once I figure out what it is, I’ll chuck it.
FRIDAY, it took almost an hour to finally get a package sent off to my parents. I had to get to the post office and go through several waitings in line to get it out. I had to buy packing tape and labels (neither of which I plan to use again) and stuff the box with the free newspaper from the tube station. I then had to withdraw money from the ATM nearby because the machine didn’t like my card for the transaction (which the teller said was common). I had to rush to eat lunch before heading to the charity shop. While there, I finished going though the massive hill of books in the basement. I will now go through them again to sort them for future sale. It was such a mess. It’s nice to have a project that has a clear progression. I am now pricing the books that have already been sorted and tossing the books that are over two weeks old. I will go back on Monday.
I then headed to Sainsbury’s on the bus, which is a twenty minute trek. While on my way, I saw a sign for a clothing showcase. I decided to go there before getting my groceries. Not only was it terribly far away, but the shops were already closed. I don’t think I’ll go back there. The clothes are not my style and the locals are a little too friendly, if you know what I mean.
Once home, I made dinner. The serving sizes out here are a little quirky, and I made too much. I decided to ask the front desk clerk if he’d had dinner, yet. He is the only person I’ve actually gotten to know here because we chatted while I checked in and later when we did laundry. He explained that he hadn’t, but his girlfriend was making him dinner. I promptly made sure he knew I had had asked him because he was the only person I’d met. He obviously understood that I wasn’t making a move because he showed up later with a bowl of ice cream for desert because I had been so kind as to offer dinner. Of course, that was funny too because I was just finishing off a heaping bowl of chocolate ice cream. We decided that there could never be too much ice cream and I accepted the fresh bowl of strawberry ice cream. I love silly moments like these.
SATURDAY, In the afternoon, I met with Emily and Kristin. A chipper Australian named Richard had joined them. He lives in the same hostel they do and since the met at dinner a few nights ago they have been hanging out. We met at Camden Town then walked to Regent’s Park. The roses are not as in bloom as they were the last time we were there. I was glad to have taken so many pictures last time. We headed back to their hostel and listened to some music while we waited for Richard’s friend to pick him up and for Lauren to call me. She did and I found my way to her dorm. It turns out she only lives down the street from me. We took the bus up the street to my house and on the way I lost my tube pass. One minute it was in my hand and the next it was gone. So, the night was cut short.
SUNDAY, I reported my tube pass lost and they instructed me how to replace it and get a voucher for the unused money on it. I made it to church just as it started. Afterwards, we walked to the Prime Meridian which is just across the Heath from our church. I now have stood in two places at once. We celebrated Kristin’s recent birthday at Wagamamas and rented In America. We didn’t get to finish the movie since the girls had to get back home before it got too late. I decided to finish it and loved it. It was one of those movies you just have to sit afterwards and take it all in.
posted by Sylvia at 4:08 PM
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