Productivity

Well it's been a laid back week where I haven't accomplished very much. I've finished several pages of my colouring book (a well-invested pound), watched Firefly (love it 100%), had a long overdue Skype date with the beautiful Sarah, had dinner with some friends from church, had lunch with a friend from church, knocked over some Monopoly places (Fleet Street, The Strand, etc), rediscovered some old classics on Spotify, and in a couple of hours hopefully my tooth will be fixed! They hadn't actually booked me in on Wednesday (grr) so they made an appointment for this morning. Kind of a bummer, because I was planning to go to Oxford for the day. Ah well. I'll do some cleaning and stuff. Maybe rent Serenity...

Am I wasting this time? See for me, a holiday is about relaxing. Am I missing out if I don't travel because I'd be forcing myself to? I like wandering around London but after a couple of hours I just get tired and want to go home. Of course I want to explore the countryside but I've never done anything like that before - not on my own - and it's hard to know where to start. And would I be doing it because people think I should? Because they'd think I was lazy if I didn't? Isn't it OK to just live life boringly sometimes? I'm an introvert. I like having time to myself. I like sitting in my room sharpening pencils listening to 90s pop not worrying about where I have to be or what I'll eat. I don't mind missing out on another bunch of nice old buildings and a big castle if it means I can get to know my new church family just a little bit better. So rolling hillsides can wait until next week.

Pong

This post is a top up on gooey feely and boring life stuff. The weather is just lovely - it's been 26, though locals say "Oh my gosh it's 30 degrees outside. Sooo hot. Ugh, the heat!" I've burnt myself in the kitchen five times since moving here: twice today being hot oil on my foot and an oven tray on my wrist. Last week was an oven tray to the forearm. Maybe it's because I'm spending more time properly cooking than I ever have... surely that's not true? Anyway I've finished Drop Dead Diva and moved onto Torchwood. Geez it's graphic sometimes. Much rougher than Doctor Who. I know that I'm using TV as a wind down, but I don't think that's such a bad thing. Apart from the two hours off in the morning while Little Miss is at nursery it's a long day. I think I'll be joining an evening bible study this week. Today was good, mostly. I skyped my family. Man I miss you guys. Sometimes (and I've probably written this before) I wonder why I left behind the best five people in the world, as well as a great town with a great church full of really great people who are dear friends, a good job, a good car, a slightly less than OK university (hmm anyway) to come here where I don't know anybody. I didn't even know that the plural of pennies is pence and that there are one hundred in a pound when I arrived. I think half of my feeling-alien-ness comes from growing up in the country and now living in a wealthy part of London. But it's beautiful, and I really like my new church. On Thursday I'll have been here for two months - WOW! That second month whizzed by like a four year old girl on a scooter (you'd be surprised! It's a good thing I can run in my new flip flops!).

And here endeth the reel. I have the windows open because it's hot and I'm on the third floor, but something outside reeks so it's time I put my face in the pillow. In, not on.

Little world

Well yesterday I topped up on things that I should have bought when first I arrived - nail clippers, cotton tips, extra writing paper and more toothpaste - that sort of thing. The nearby shopping centre is in the same place as my new church, only 3 pounds away. Poundland - oh wow. Three crunchie bars for the equivalent of $1.50. It's awkward that my keyboard has a dollar sign but not a pound sign. And that I still have Australian chargers so I have to use my power point adaptor.

I had a rotten sleep - it was 3am this morning and at 5am I gave up and ate a crunchie (terrible, I know). I think I went to sleep for a bit around 6 but it was that rotten sleep that makes you feel like your head and limbs are stuffed with really heavy chicken fat. How is that a feeling? I don't know but I really should be trying to sleep now.
Anyway after church - which was lovely and they sang familiar songs and the sermon was really, really good - I went back for Little Man's birthday barbecue! It was great fun, a terrific afternoon. Lots of ten year olds being fun and loud, and I had a good chat to a few of them and some of the parents. The cake said "Keep calm and eat cake" in that propaganda poster style. Cute. Then I watched more IT Crowd and my host mum recommended Drop Dead Diva. Oh yes, Legally Blonde as a TV series but the girl, her soul has been put into the body of a less-than-skinny brunette... I don't really like court room dramas, or rom coms, or American TV shows, but for some reason I want to stay up for many more hours watching it. Perhaps it's the guardian angel character... Oh gee I really am tired.

Oh man, I'm so tired I'm not even going to brush my teeth. Don't worry grandparents! I am a responsible and hygienic adult and I "hoovered" my room yesterday and changed my sheets too but I just have to sleep.

But about bigger things: I've got holidays in July and am wanting to travel around the UK and maybe some of Europe... where do I even begin??

As I reach for the remote..

Today was a pretty good day. Twelve hours on is a long time... but mostly alright considering I only left the house once to chuck some old spinach on a pot plant. The kids and I are getting to know each other - it's so much more than trivia, knowing somebody. Once you begin to grasp how somebody ticks and what matters to them, and how they react to certain things, you know how to act. You know what to say. We're commencing that part of our friendship, and deep trust will be on the way soon. Lots of fun has to happen first though, and there's been a lot already. The weather's looking a little better for the rest of the week, so hopefully there are some adventurous days ahead.

Oh dear, I'm sounding so cheesy. To be honest, we all watched waaaay too much nickelodeon (that was in my spell check?!?) today. American teen sit coms seem so clean and whatever, but are deceptively and trashily (also in spell check apparently) addictive. They put those slightly sophisticated jokes in and everyone is just so glossy...

Well would you prefer I write that I'm just about to sit back to some moderately-less-rubbishy medieval-adventure-drama? I wrote in an email the other day that since I have no friends, I think I have replaced them with TV. (!$%#$%!) But that's fine, I'm trying out a nearby church this Sunday night and from what I see it's a DIVERSE congregation. We'll see.

Helloooo 1192...