happenings

not much is actually happening. just lots of walking, screwing around [watching tv] and wondering what to make for dinner. last night we watched a very pretentious cooking show featuring mexican food. not only did they garnish black beans with chives, they also made a margarita with orange liquor.. and insisted that using lemons interchangeably with limes was just fine. my heart wept. pshhhh

today we went to the ikea in aston under lyne. it was much more pleasant than our first visit to ikea [in chicago], even though it was a saturday. people here doodle less.. and english kids are less annoying. or something. we purchased a tv stand, bathroom organizer, rug and drying rack. it was heavy. i foresee shapely arms in my future. but probably not.

in other news, i have found a new favorite cereal. for only one pound 6o you get a box of jourdan's couty crisp.. with four nuts! sounds strange, but is, by far, the best breakfast cereal i have ever eaten. it is granola with almonds, brazil nuts, hazel nuts and pecans. big, giant nuts, and lots of them. i am impressed.

i'll close with this, taken from www.mymanchesteronline.co.uk

"Close by the centre of Manchester a new 'Green Oasis' is being created. The advertising extols the virtues of life so close to the amenities of our wonderful, modern, Manchester.
But 100 years ago life in 'The Green Quarter' was anything but idyllic.

Bounded by Cheetham Hill Road and Red Bank and lying between Lord Street and the oddly-named 'Scotland' and encompassing Fernie Street, Verdon Street, Adeline Street and several smaller streets and alleys, the area now designated for development was a crowded mixture of tiny back-to-back terraced houses, small 'sweatshop' businesses, a couple of pubs and a number of places of worship all crammed together cheek by jowel and with little daylight penetrating between them."

and this is where we live. sounds glorious.

i've arrived

today marks day two in manchester. it is better than i could have imagined. our apartment is beauteous. you can get french fries, pizza, a kebab or a curry almost anywhere you go and it is not lansing. that is the best part.

my first day in town was spent snuggling my husband, eating a giant plate of curry, purchasing a uk cell phone, stepping in many puddles and falling alseep on the couch with a glass of wine.

today i made an appointment with a recruitment firm, registered for my NHS number, went grocery shopping at iceland [they had "ice lollies" ha], found some unimpressive charity shops and bought lots of goodies at the fruit and veggie market. the rest of the afternoon was spent watching petey do maths and catching up on my blogs.

here are some things i've come to realize in the last 48 hours:
shower curtains are not overrated
petey has very good taste
i don't like airplanes
bell peppers aren't so bad
i am deathly afraid of our balcony
most english people speak to me slowly

we are currently experiencing gale force winds. tomorrow we may see snow.

hooray!

still alive.

still no visa.

223 e. hillsdale

may 2006 - december 2007.
RIP

four more

i have been feeling completely crazy the past few days. i have no idea what to do with myself.. i don't want to pack things too early and i cannot even decide what to pack with what or how to pack them. i mostly fantasize about peter like i used to dream about justin white in the third grade. i almost feel as if we are going to meet for the first time, which is ludacris considering we are married people. see, i am going crazy.

the one person i should not be shopping for - considering i am moving and have next to no space to store my belongings - is myself. that giant, unavoidable fact aside, i have purchases some very adorable things this week. all from sal army, so it is merely recycling.. not really. anyhow, i found a black wool sweater dress and purple 60s dress with crazy puff sleeves that only sounds ugly. i cannot wait to wear them for petey. yay peter is coming home! wooo only four days. i should probably shave my legs and remove the toe nail polish i have had on since rachel's wedding.. sounds gross and is gross.

slow sunday

i left oakland county early in the day in an attempt to beat an imaginary snow storm. since my return i have not done anything worth remembering. it has not been an eventful day.

friday was johanas' birthday and saturday was ad's. we went to a detroit derby girls roller derby match at the masonic temple. the detroit pissed-off's won. it was an awkward but fun crowd that included many drunk men and babies. i served as designated driver and thoroughly enjoyed the show. there was a lot of e&j and canadian mist consumed..

on the way back from southfield early sunday morning i got lost in farmington/west bloomfield. not only was it dark, wet and deer country, but i kept seeing stealthy cops.. i was tempted to pull over and ask one of them for directions, but i eventually managed to find long lake road and made it home after a 50 minutes of nonsense lost driving. i cannot wait to be dependent on public transportation.

i have a sick kitty. she peed ON the tv. i wasn't angry, just impressed. she meant business.

counting down

peter will be home in 11 days. i have six more days of work. in nine days i will be homeless-ish. thank goodness.

i spent the evening packing up the car. i am now left with very little furniture. my pots and pan reside in a box on the kitchen floor. i finally feel like i am making some progress.. but still feeling bah. just want petey to get here. and my visa/passport. and i want alice to stop her peeing. when those things happen i think the bah feeling will subside.

goodnight.