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Hi friends!

I seriously hope you have a blanket, popcorn or some sort of major snackage item nearby because this blog is about to get real interesting.

If you read all the way to the bottom, you get a prize by the way ;) 

Oh how things can change in a matter of 24hrs huh?  I’ve been through the ringer of hell and back.  Glad I’m still around to tell the tale ;)   

Many blog titles came to mind for this particular post, but I decided on asdfghjkl, as it perfectly sums up the range of emotions I have coasted through in the past (what will now be 42-ish hours) – also note, I won’t have internet at my flat for approximately 7 – 10 days?  Instead, I took it upon myself to go into the library and sign up for a library card so as to secure myself with unlimited access to their Internet!  Problem solving at it’s finest.  HA as if that’s the worst of the problem solving you are about to hear from me…

SO, after completing my last blog post, I went to bed shortly thereafter, anxious to wake up, sign the lease and finally hold the keys to my very first flat!  Nevermind hold the keys, I WAS EXCITED TO SEE THE PLACE AGAIN.  I last saw it in July and it was… well… it was quite a mess.  Let’s just say the previous tenants were *unhappily* evicted and that should give you some indication of what condition(s) it was left in.  I had quite a restless sleep if I’m being honest.  The night before any big event I usually wake up often… so let’s all keep in mind that the story I am about to share with you involves a very sleep-deprived, already anxiety-ridden Steph.  Ok?  Ok.  So, I get about 6 hours of sleep. 

This was my happy face, laying in bed shot that I posted to FB before actually hauling myself out of bed...  

I get ready, I call the cab, it’s about a 25 minute drive to the office… so I get there, sign the papers, and everything is honkey-dory.  Well, okay, minus the fact that they handed me this big schlump of keys to deal with:

 They told me the pile included current and past keys, and that I can sort them into relevant piles once I decipher which is which.  Gee, thanks, eh?  LOL.

Overall, they really are a good company (Lettings Solutions) – it is family run and the girls are always super helpful.  The owner actually arranged for her brother and father to come set up my new dining table, chairs and bed frame as she thought I would feel more comfortable with that option as opposed to complete strangers (and truthfully, yes, I was much more at ease!).  So after singing the papers and taking the keys, I head back to the flat.  After playing a good, solid 10 minute guessing game with the lock/keys, I get the door open…. And my heart just smiled.  I was so happy to see the place; it looked exactly how I remembered… but better… because it was clean, yes, but because it was mine.  Pretty sure I danced throughout the flat, seeing it all with new eyes.  Then, in about 10 minutes time, the delivery guys came and dropped off my new furniture pieces.  Weeeeee, I won’t be sleeping on the carpet… or better yet, curled up on my love seat in the living room. LOL.  Big sigh of relief.  OK, next step: head back to my B&B to gather all of my belongings and haul them down the street to my new place. 

I go back to my B&B, and explain to Lisa (the owner) that I need to do it in stages.  Bless her heart, she could tell I was antsy and told me not to panic, to take my time and shout if I needed some help.  I told myself I had to do this alone, as there wouldn’t be anyone to assist me at the flat.  So, remember the photos of my luggage a couple of posts ago?  I hauled each, one by one, down two flights of stairs, down a hill, round the corner, up a second hill, into the building, and up two flights of stairs.  Made that trip three times.  Muscles McGee over here was about ready to collapse at one point, but hey, I survived! 

After the big move, I had a good 2 hours to head out and buy the utmost essentials (at least for my first night, it might be nice to have a pillow and a blanket?)… So, I quickly set out in search of the cheapest (but still relatively well made) necessities.  I also stop for lunch at Costa, surprise, surprise? 

 

I had the goat cheese and beetroot chutney panini… oh my lord, the noms….. :D and an iced cappuccino.    

I ended up purchasing a few cleaning products, a duvet and two pillows.  I didn’t want to rush buying the actual cover/bed set, as I want the full experience of taking time to find the perfect one… this is my first flat guys!  No, I won’t be here permanently and no it won’t be as lush and perfect as I want it to be … but I still don’t want to buy it on a whim because I feel I have to.  I have to be a sensible shopper, and God, can I ever be thrifty.  But thrifty doesn’t have to mean dirt ugly!  You have to know what you are doing.  There is almost a type of knack for being able to put certain pieces/colours together to produce something so beautiful, yet inexpensive.  And that’s what I want J Lord knows if it will happen, but hey a girl can try, right?  Oh, and I bought one fork, one knife and one spoon.  Each were a pound, reasonable enough to tie me over!  I then head back home, scarf down two dinner packages I picked up from M&S (again, so good, I am beginning to wonder if M&S will ever do me wrong!)

 … then greet the expected gentlemen, who proceed to assemble my furniture, and in an hour’s time, everything was falling into place, and I was flying on cloud 9.  Holy crudmoli.  This flat is mine.  I can’t wait to finally settle down and take a breather…  And then... 

in a matter of seconds, the rain came down.  And you know what they say: when it rains, it pours.

At this point, I had been through a rollercoaster of ups and downs… I was tired, excited, stressed, happy, nervous… a whole whack of feelings and emotions at once.  I told myself I was going to head over to Costa, grab a coffee and use their internet for an hour, just to tell everyone about my day, how happy I was, etc. 

I grab my purse, throw it over my shoulder, head out the door, and slam.  The door locks automatically behind you, and guess which idiot left her keys on the counter?  THIS ONE.  

The thought was instantaneous, and I’m sure the words running through my head were WAY too profane for the likes of this friendly blog.  I literally drop to the floor, dump my purse in distress, only to discover what I already knew: my keys were inside.  I was outside.  Well, crap.  Remember my last blog post, how I was going on about the need to be adaptable?  Ha. Ha. Ha.  Oh the irony. 

I also think it’s ironic that I purchased this mug mere hours before I locked myself out:

I saw it and thought it was a cute reminder to find “happiness” even in the crappiest of situations.  Yeah, well, the mug was inside and I was not.  LOL THERE WASN’T MUCH HAPPINESS TO BE FOUND IN ME.

Surprisingly, in the actual moment, I freaked out, but not as intensely as some of you might image.  My first thought was, okay well I locked myself out and am in a foreign country where I literally know one person.  (Lisa, the owner of the B&B I just left).  So I left the building and walked over to chat with her and figure out my best course of action.  Lo and behold, she isn’t in, and what’s better: both rooms at the B&B had already been booked so there was no room for me.  It was too late for a locksmith – remember everything closes around here at god-awful early hours – so I set out in search of another hotel/accommodation.  I suppose this would have been much easier, had I known the neighbours… I could have asked them for help… BF told me he would have done that first, but hey, ya live and ya learn, right?  The first hotel wanted 155 for a twin bed (multiply that, or anything really, by 1.86 to convert to CND dollars).  Ahhhh, no.  The next hotel didn’t have anything available, and the final hotel had a double for 45, which I gladly took.  After that rush of adrenaline died, I went into my room, locked myself in the bathroom, and proceeded to break down on the phone with BF (I called him on FB chat via the hotel’s Wi-Fi)… After 30 minutes of crying, and his comforting charisma, I pulled myself together.  I made a cup of coffee, curled up in bed with my complementary digestive cookies and watched Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade (little confession: I am utterly obsessed and in love with the IJ series… “If you are a Scottish Lord, then I am Mickey Mouse” LMAO that line always gets to me and I’m so glad it was on to cheer me up!)…

In a nutshell then, the day I get my flat, I spend the night in a hotel.  It was just me, the clothes I was wearing, my purse (which contained my wallet, passport, iPod, UK cell and home cell) … I must say, carrying all that in my purse, it was almost like I set myself up!  Hahaha, I had to sleep in my clothes, I wasn’t able to wash my face, or do anything I would normally do… as literally my entire life was locked up in the flat I no longer had access to…

I wake up at 8:30, splash my face with water (LMAO the only thing I can do at this point), and call my letting company to explain what happened.  They tell me they don’t have a spare key, and suggest I try calling the locksmith.  I get them to look up the number for me.  I call the locksmith and set up that appointment.  I check out of the hotel, and meet the locksmith at my building.  108 later … and I am able to access my flat once again.  Are you kidding me… 108 for 5 minutes?  I am gluing this key to my forehead!!!!  GEESH.  That was an expense I definitely did not intend on putting out.  Expect the unexpected eh?  Now I have to do a wire transfer between Canada and the UK to get some more money… LE SIGH.

So many good and bad things interwoven throughout this story… seemingly more bad at the moment then good… but I am holding in there.  I just have to adjust my plan of action as it stands.  I cannot purchase everything I want/need for my flat until I have more funds available.

I did set up Internet for my flat, so the box should arrive in 7-10 days (yay).  And like I said, until then, I will be setting up camp in the library to do my work (i.e. prep lessons)…

I also did my first grocery haul today at Sainsbury’s!

Not a lot, I know, but Steph can’t really cook at the moment as I have yet to purchase pots, pans… the works.  So for now it will be a lot of oatmeal (which, if you know me, I can’t live without anyways), fresh fruits, yogurt, soups… and any fast/cheap takeaway sandwiches/salads. 

This yogurt is soooo good, I ripped 'er out of the package after storing everything away as I fancied a little snack... Mmmm...

 As it stands, I have purchased:

·      a kettle;

·      2 mugs;

·      1 fork, 1 knife, 1 spoon;

·      2 garbage bins (one for the kitchen, one for the bathroom)

·      garbage bags;

·      hand soap for the bathroom;

·      toilet paper;

·      dish soap;

·      paper towels;

·      floor wipes & a magic mop;

·      a single bath towel (so I can at least shower!);

·      antibacterial surface cleaner;

·      a cleaning sponge;

·      a duvet

·      2 pillows

     

There are many more items left to purchase, I have a running list on my cell phone! The art of doing without is a practice I will definitely learn, owning my first flat now...

I plan on cleaning as much of the flat as I can before unpacking (are you proud mom J) LOL… I know it was cleaned prior to my move in… but it’s much more comforting to do things yourself.  Plus, bits and pieces of cardboard and styrafoam are floating around now, as well.  Personally, I feel it needs to be done.  So, once I am done writing this post, I will blast the tunes (ok, not actually, as I live in a building now LOL) and clean!  I wiped down the fridge before packing it with my new groceries, as well as the cupboard I stored the other items in.  Once that is done, I can start to unpack and give my things a proper home in the flat J… my bedroom is the only carpeted area in the flat, and I’m thinking I may just buy one of those push vacuums (you know, they don’t plug in, you literally roll them across the carpet to pick up any bits and pieces?  Not the best, I know, buttt vacuums can be pretty pricey). 

SO THAT’S BEEN MY PAST 24 HOURS.  Glad that is over.  Tonight (Thursday, August 21^st) I will finally sleep in my flat for the first time!  Not too sure when this will be posted… I am writing it in a word document at the present time, and then once I access Internet at the library, will transfer it over to Blogger (along with any accompanying pictures, etc.).

Closing thoughts for today

This has slowly become a new mantra of mine: 

May I remember this invaluable lesson moving forward... I am still alive, I have my health, my friends, my family... my job... I didn't have to sleep on the street (LOL)...   

My father, too, taught me many invaluable lessons, one of which was the following.

In any crappy situation I happened to find myself in, he told me this: "There are two things you can do about it, Steph, you can either laugh about it or you can cry about it."  I still hear his voice saying those exact words to me...   

Well.  Seeing as I already cried about it… maybe I can laugh now?

In other news, I received an email two nights ago telling me that I am *finally* certified to teach in Canada (YAY for Ontario Teaching License!) … Maybe that is a sign that I should just come home now… LOL (jk). 

Musings from Thursday Evening

If I didn’t already love the place, hardcore cleaning makes it 10x better!  I just spent the last 1.5 hours in the kitchen, sprucing ‘er up from ceiling to floor!  I wiped down all the cupboards (inside and out), wiped the walls (well, at least my ceramic walling), the stove, the fan, and I mopped the floor (twice! Haha).  I still have to wipe down/dust the windowsill and I should be set in there… I’m so excited to add my own touches.  I have two shelves above my counter that would look so adorable with some decorative vases, or some sort of kitchen décor, I haven’t decided just yet (As if I don’t waste enough time on it: Pintrest, HERE I COME).  I’m also thinking about some sort of décor to spice up the windowsill … it’s rather wide and deep… will look rather boring without something pretty J so many ideas running through my head… can I win the lottery yet? Haha.  Gotta love DIY’s. 

Even if I spent tonight cleaning, and have absolutely no contact with the outside world - miss you guys! – tonight most definitely tops last night’s crazy adventure(s) LOL. 

Also, this is as classy as it gets: sleeping with 2 pillows sans pillow cases, a duvet sans cover, no bed sheets, just me on the mattress LOL… like I said, they all have to be just right! 

P.s.s. My bathroom and bedroom have heated floors!  I do need to sort out how to turn those on and off… as that would rack up my hydro bill.  I only just remembered because I walked into my bathroom without shoes on for the first time earlier this evening and was like “WOAH, OH YA” it felt so nice… I don’t know how to turn the heaters on… apparently you need a key?  Say what?  And I still need to figure out the hot water business and how you set the heater to only turn on at certain times versus making the water hot all day = racks up water bill… so many things to remember and discover over here…

Another 3 hrs to finalize the video (which by the time you read this will have been posted above)… It’s 10:32pm… me thinks I will watch an already downloaded ep. of PLL and then call it a night…

Chat soon,

Steph – who is now happily sleeping in her own flat… without sheets yes, but her flat nonetheless.

xxoo

Friday Morning 

I figured I would just tail-end this onto the post... I SURVIVED MY FIRST NIGHT :) 

May have frozen my butt off... but that's ok.

I called the Letting Company enquiring about the heat... 

TIP: In the UK (at least what I have observed), wall outlets have "on" and "off" switches... so even if something is plugged into the outlet, say your phone charger for instance, it won't work unless you turn the switch on.  The switch is located right beside it, so it's easy enough.  I just always seem to forget as we don't have this at home! Haha.  Having said that, I couldn't get any of my heaters to work, as the "switch" wasn't on... DERP. 

*I will post a picture of what I mean when I remember to take one!* 

Here I am, in all my glory, drinking my first mug of morning coffee in my new flat :) alive and well! .... remembering to find happiness even in the hard times :) 

I also need a mail key, would you believe in that pile I didn't have one?!  The girls told me that flats 4&5 seem to have one another's key(s)... so maybe mine is with one of them?  At any rate, the mailman seems to just plonk a huge pile of mail either on the floor, or on top of the mailboxes... so maybe I won't be needing one? 

The shower is an interesting contraption to get in and out of... yeah, let's just say that LOL. 

Hmmm, what else can I say.  Neck tattoos are VERY popular here on guys!  And, to my surprise, public toilets are actually nice!  I'm not lying guys, they are maintained (so yay!) ... 

Prize for making it this far: 

1080p is taking it's sweet ol time loading, and girl ain't got all day when she is doing this all in the library sooo 480p will have to do for now... :)