After a quick trip to Berkeley, California to attend a conference on carbonaceous aerosols and visit Landon and Robyn (+ a special visit from Laura), I am finally sleeping in my own bed. The bed in the new flat is not great, but it is mine for the next six months (at least), so it is still special.
Overall I am very pleased with the flat. Its location is fantastic, minutes from both the town centre and my office, not to mention the fantastic Indian restaurant across the street. I've posted some pictures on facebook for those of you interested in checking them out.
The best thing about finalizing the flat lease is having an address. My first load of groceries is being delivered (for free) tonight between 7-8 pm. I'm interested to see how this turns out. I've also signed up for broadband (internet), and subscribed to The Economist, rekindling an old love affair. Water, gas, electricity, and council tax bills are all to follow. Very fun.
Work is going well. My office computer is great, and now has fully functional versions of IGOR and IDL on it, meaning the only limitation to my work is coffee. Also played my first game of after work, 5-a-side football (indoors). It was quite intense, but very fun. I intend to hone up my skills, particularly my ball control and bow staff skills, in order to dominate at some point in the near future.
Showing posts with label flat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flat. Show all posts
Banking on breakfast
Cold status: recovering
Bank status: grrrrrrr
Well, nine days in and I almost have a bank account. After my seventh trip to the bank I am told that they should finally have the information they need to open my account. They currently have my passport information, a letter from the university stating my job contract length and salary, a letter from my bank in the United States, bank statements, a letter from the university giving my temporary/permanent address, and my application. You'd think all they would need was the money, but security laws passed in this country make opening a new account much more difficult than that.
I've made more progress on the apartment search, having made an offer and applied for a rental contract for a 1-bedroom place called Princess house on Princess street. This link may still work, but no promises. I looked at about a half dozen apartments, and decided that this was my best option. It is located right between the university and the city centre, so I should be able to get about anywhere on foot. With any luck, my application for tenancy will go through without a hitch (it would be the first time that's happened since moving here). Anyway, Amy can now rest easy. Unfortunately, i won't be able to move in until after I get back from California on the 18th.
I have been struggling a bit with breakfast. In the absence of having my own kitchen, I've been purchasing muffins and other breakfast foods, such as the 'breakfast sandwiches' seen here:
I am looking forward to being able to make my own breakfasts again once I have a place, as this is getting a little old. Not that they are bad, but a little variety would be nice. I also am struggling to find places that serve drip coffee, rather than Americanos (dilluted espresso). Again, coffee maker may be the first purchase I make.
Some good news related to food: local grocery stores in this country will deliver your food to you at a specified time for a small, but reasonable, fee. This is great for me, because it means I won't have to lug a bunch of groceries halfway across town to stock up my pantry (or larder).
The first week has gone as well as could be hoped, I suppose. I really wanted the bank stuff to be taken care of by this point, as I still have to get all my university payroll work done, but can't until the account is opened. That said, by the time I get back from California that should all be done, the computer ordered for me should have arrived, and with any luck my apartment will be waiting for me to move in. I've been able to get going on my work, mostly stuff carrying over from Colorado, thanks to my laptop. I've installed IGOR, a data analysis program that is favored by the Aerosol Mass Spectrometer community, and so far I really like it. That said, I haven't really tried to do anything with it. We'll see how it goes.
Bank status: grrrrrrr
Well, nine days in and I almost have a bank account. After my seventh trip to the bank I am told that they should finally have the information they need to open my account. They currently have my passport information, a letter from the university stating my job contract length and salary, a letter from my bank in the United States, bank statements, a letter from the university giving my temporary/permanent address, and my application. You'd think all they would need was the money, but security laws passed in this country make opening a new account much more difficult than that.
I've made more progress on the apartment search, having made an offer and applied for a rental contract for a 1-bedroom place called Princess house on Princess street. This link may still work, but no promises. I looked at about a half dozen apartments, and decided that this was my best option. It is located right between the university and the city centre, so I should be able to get about anywhere on foot. With any luck, my application for tenancy will go through without a hitch (it would be the first time that's happened since moving here). Anyway, Amy can now rest easy. Unfortunately, i won't be able to move in until after I get back from California on the 18th.
I have been struggling a bit with breakfast. In the absence of having my own kitchen, I've been purchasing muffins and other breakfast foods, such as the 'breakfast sandwiches' seen here:
I am looking forward to being able to make my own breakfasts again once I have a place, as this is getting a little old. Not that they are bad, but a little variety would be nice. I also am struggling to find places that serve drip coffee, rather than Americanos (dilluted espresso). Again, coffee maker may be the first purchase I make.
Some good news related to food: local grocery stores in this country will deliver your food to you at a specified time for a small, but reasonable, fee. This is great for me, because it means I won't have to lug a bunch of groceries halfway across town to stock up my pantry (or larder).
The first week has gone as well as could be hoped, I suppose. I really wanted the bank stuff to be taken care of by this point, as I still have to get all my university payroll work done, but can't until the account is opened. That said, by the time I get back from California that should all be done, the computer ordered for me should have arrived, and with any luck my apartment will be waiting for me to move in. I've been able to get going on my work, mostly stuff carrying over from Colorado, thanks to my laptop. I've installed IGOR, a data analysis program that is favored by the Aerosol Mass Spectrometer community, and so far I really like it. That said, I haven't really tried to do anything with it. We'll see how it goes.
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