I feel like I'm falling behind without internet! Starbucks here is hit or miss with their signal but we found that if you sit at the table, next to the window, across from the counter the internet works fairly well.
Tuesday was a day of shopping and running around Chiswick. After a rough Monday we decided it was time to just cheer up and just be thankful for what we do have. I guess we really are trying to get into the Thanksgiving mood.
Sean left for the day to go into Central London for a meeting at one of the hospitals. He dressed up best he could with the clothes he had here. I thought he looked pretty good! Later when he came home he said he was "woefully undressed". Everyone was in suits, cufflinks, ties, nice peacoats, and their leather briefcases. I guess his old timbuktoo bag couldn't stand up to the challenge. Luckily he could use the excuse "I'm still waiting for the rest of my clothes to be shipped so I had to wear whatever was in my suitcase" even though we both know that there's no nice suits coming in his boxes. We have plans to head to the mall and do some shopping either Friday, Black Friday, or this weekend.
So anyways, with Sean gone for the day I decided to head out and see what I could pick up for the apartment. I started at Starbucks. I needed some coffee and internet. I'm addicted to peppermint mochas and I need to stop drinking them. They're just so good. I drank my mochoa and made my list of things I needed to look for. It was quite a lengthy list. Sean and I are making so many lists here. Things we need, things we want, things we REALLY need, emails we need to write when we have internet, grocery lists, etc etc lists etc etc lists!!! I went to the grocery store first to buy things to make soup! I needed some warm spinach, tomato, rice, chicken soup. That's my go to recipe. It took me forever to find the few straight forward ingredients I needed. I circled the store for a 20 minutes just looking for chicken broth. I never found it. I had to settle on those little cubes, which took me another 20 minutes to find. I was delighted to see that instead of cans they use those tetra packs. I didn't have to worry about buying a can opener. I made it out with my ingredients, minus garlic, I had no clue where the garlic was, no clue and I wasn't about to circle the store for another 20 minutes just for garlic. A short walk home from the store, then I unpacked and headed back out to get some kitchen items and house goods.
On my way out the door I ran into our neighbor. YAY! I met the neighbor and he wasn't that creepy or scary. We chit chatted for a bit. His name is Ogue. Or that's how I'm spelling it because the only way I can remember it is if I say, rogue, like rogue wave, then drop the R. Ogue. He lives with his wife, Snowflake. Ogue and Snowflake. Awesome. They just moved from the States about a month ago. Ogue and Snowflake, Americans like us. Ogue, gosh, I keep wanting to call him Ogie, told me that he is from NH, grew up in Texas then lived in Boston for 5 years after college. Snowflake's job brought her here to London, like Sean, and Ogie is along for the ride, like me! It was fun chit chatting with him. I asked how he was liking living here and he said "fine, fine, it's good". Then he asked me if we were trying to get internet and phone. I said "YES!!! yes we are! It's so frustrating!!!!" Then Ogie asked if I wanted to know a hint. Um, will this hint help us get internet??? Yes, Give me a clue Ogie!! He then lead me to the entrance of the alley and squatting down, he pulled four wires out of the ground, four wires with ends all frayed. These are our phone lines. He then pointed up to a box and told me that those wires need to be connected to that box. I freaked out. WHAT????? He said we can't get any internet or phone till those wires are hooked up to that box. Wait, wait, wait, Ogue, you've been here since the beginning of October and you still don't have internet??????? It's true, he didn't, he said he has had to wait for someone to come look at the place. Then they said the phone lines didn't work. Now he is waiting for someone to come fix those wires. But someone first has to come look at the wires. Waiting waiting waiting. impatient impatient impatient. We then talked about how it will help if Sean and I get in on trying to get this internet things figured out too. He asked for my phone number but I told him I honestly had no clue what it was. Ogue said yeah, I don't remember mine either then asked if we were frustrated beyond breaking point with getting everything set up here, phones, banks, etc. I said yes, we were. Apparently we aren't the only ones. It was so nice to meet Ogue and great to hear that Sean and I weren't the only ones having a tough time although I would have like to have heard that he has internet and given me tips on how to get it fast. Sorry Ogue, showing me four frayed wires in the alley is NOT a tip or a hint or anything I want to see. But, I met one of our neighbors and it made me really happy feeling that we were starting to make the slightest connection to our neighborhood.
I ran out to Robert Dyas, the local hardware/homegood store. It reminds me of a mini Bed Bath and Beyond....but mini. I grabbed a few items, as much as I could carry, and was excited to get some silverware, a knife, cutting board, a soup pot, an iron, and a DUST BUSTER!!! The flat still needed some more cleaning and this little vacuum will surely help.
So I got home, got to cleaning and charged up my dust buster. Sean came home and gave me a grand recap of his trip. He seemed excited to go out and go shopping for some nice clothes. Maybe a nice scarf, a nice coat, etc. Yay shopping!!!
Well I can't remember what happened the rest of the day. I shouldn't leave blogging for so long. But I got started on buying things for the apartment, Sean had his first meeting in the UK, we met the neighbor and our dreams of getting internet were shattered.
Ogie Ogelthorpe! Snowflake?!
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