...
Uhh... I just got a bill from British Gas, for electricity from 19 May 2005 - 21 Sep 2006...
For £1326.40...
Uhhhhhhh. Wtf?
Edit 12:05: They fixed this. Thank GOD!
The Bandit King
NG London/Collection: Transcriptions: LFS Shorts/The Bandit King
Gareth's film is online at the National Gallery! I even have a credit - continuity girl! It's pretty amusing and was tons of fun to make -check it out. :)
Six months on
This morning as I was getting ready for work, I realized that Monday marked our six-month anniversary of living in New York. I couldn't really believe it. This time last year, James had already had a month of gardening leave. In a few days, we would leave for Australia. When we came home, the waiting for the visa would begin.
So what has happened in six months?
- We got the visa
- We flew to NYC
- We moved into the Marriott ExecuStay in Chelsea
- James started working
- My brother got married
- We found our flat here in Battery Park City
- We moved into said flat
- I got my first real job in a very long time
- James has taken four trips to India: October, November, January, March
- Somewhere along the way, I picked up about ten pounds of comfort weight :)
It's been... eventful. Stressful. Crazy stressful. Our lives were put on hold for six months while we waited, then within a period of three weeks, we prepared to move, packed up, got all sorts of grief about the move, then finally did it. It was insane, as you all know, because I bored you to tears with it for months.
We're only finally coming down from all of that. Things are only finally normalizing. We're getting into our routines, getting into the swing of this city. Yesterday, for the first time since we moved, I came out of a shop and was disoriented about which way I was supposed to be walking. A testimony to how easy New York is to navigate.
People keep saying to me: Oh it must be so good to finally be home. It always strikes me as a funny thing to say. I'm not home. I'm in a new city I've never lived in, thousands of miles from home. London was the only place I had ever lived as an adult. People will say: How does London compare to Chicago? I have no idea.
That doesn't mean there aren't things about the States I'm loving, though. To name a few:
- Delivery food
- Cheap cabs
- A healthcare system that works (if you have insurance)
- Our gorgeous amazing beautiful apartment
- Living on the river
- Having family close
- A proper office job
- A husband that I actually see in the evenings... more than before, at least
And things I'm missing about the UK:
- The Eagle
- Knowledgeable cabbies
- Hoxton
- All of my awesome friends
- Having a routine
- Oodles of free time
- My niece
- Everything
Okay maybe not everything, but sometimes it feels that way. Even after six months. I don't really have any profound conclusion to this rambling. I just wanted to sort of take a moment to mark this little anniversary. I guess, to sum it all up:
Do I love it here? No.
Will I love it here? Yes, I can see that I almost certainly will.
These things just take time, y'know?
Menus
One of these has sat on my desk for months. The other is from New Year's. Since I have them on-hand, though, here are the menus of my two most recent fine-dining experiences.
The first deserves a little explanation. It's from Fat Duck. Fat Duck is a restaurant outside of London. It has three Michelin stars. It has been voted the World's Best Restaurant. When James and I decided to move to the United States from London, I immediately piped up. "I want to go to Fat Duck before we go," I said. James wasn't so keen. The restaurant's chef, Heston Blumenthal, has been described as a culinary alchemist. James is very much a steak and potatoes man. He wasn't interested.
He suggested I bring Gareth.
Gareth is my gay best friend in London... who actually isn't gay. At all. But he cooks and he's a total foodie and he and I spent all sorts of time around London going to Borough Market and Ikea and stuff like that. But, yeah, not gay.
So I called Gareth and he said OF COURSE he would come as James's body double. And together we had probably the most innovative meal I've had in my life.
The second menu is from Tru, at which I spent New Year's Eve with my good friends Erin and Wil and some mutual friends, Rob and Jen, and Kristen. This time, James couldn't make it because he was ill. He was there in spirit, though. We had the kitchen table. It was awesome.
The menus are going to be in the extended entry so as not to spam you. The Fat Duck menu, at least, is interesting enough that you might want to check it out. It was a wild experience.
Continue reading Menus.
Homesick :(
Today, for some inexplicable reason, I am homesick.
It started last night, when I our spring Australia trip hit me all over again and I realized how fantastic it was. It made me want to go back to Sydney, to the sun, to the water, to the diving. I suggested to Jamie that we go this winter. Obviously that was mostly a joke. :)
But then this morning, I realized I was really wanting to go back to London. I was getting dressed and realized that my outfit was from Jigsaw (a London store) and I really like that store and need to go shopping anyway. Also, I can't find the style of jeans I like here, but I can find them in London. ALSO, Oxford Street. With Esther. And Regent Street. With Esther. And Islington. With Esther. And Borough Market with Gareth and and and.
This is all very shopping-motivated, I know. But eugh I just want to go back.
The amusing thing is that the London I'm envisioning is sunny and bright and warm. Like this summer when I was in jewelry class with Sara (who I MUST email).
London = Home to me, still. :(
Last Stretch
Our flat is more than half empty. Somehow, we managed to finish sorting stuff out last night and the movers came this morning to finish up the job. They're disassembling the big stuff now. The little stuff is already in the container, ready to be shipped.
We left pretty early, to get out of their way and also to use the internet at our local Starbucks. We were there for a few hours, then came back to see how the movers were doing (wow - they'd already started loading the container, by then).
After that, we went to The Shepherdess for lunch. It's a cute little cafe on the corner, run by a South African woman who's been here long enough that you can now hear the Hackney in her accent. She was very friendly (as always), and surprised we were moving away. She shook our hands and told us it was nice knowing us. And it reminded me of how much I'll miss our neighborhood.
It's a completely wretched day. Gloomy and rainy and very dark. Quite Londony, when you get right down to it. The last couple days have been punctuated by visits from friends. Some last visits, some meant to be last visits, but not actually turning out to be. I'm so sad to leave everybody, more than anything else, and it makes me feel very loved that my friends are sad to see us leave, as well.
We've finished the most tedious part of the move: the customs and insurance paperwork. We had to fill out two forms: one for air freight, one for sea freight, and list out everything we owned and how much it was all worth, should we have to replace it. The figure was surprising. It's mostly electronics. Our projector TV. The computers.
The movers think they'll be finished around 3:00. We need to check into our hotel at some point, and I should continue calling utilities and such and canceling things.
Then, tomorrow, we go.
We have liftoff
The embassy has finally gotten back to us: we have a visa. They have asked for James's passport, no additional documentation or evidence required. This is them unofficially admitting fallibility. The best possible outcome. We win.
Tomorrow, James's passport gets couriered to the embassy. The conservative estimate of when we should get it back is Monday.
I was enraged this morning. At the situation. At the attorneys. At being jerked around. Now I'm just trying to come down. It's exhausting, utterly. I feel like I've been beat up.
Tonight, though, I get to go to the National Gallery with Gareth and see his film, The Bandit King, as it gets its first public showing as winner of a recent contest they had. It's the film I worked continuity on.
I can't wait.
Wine...
If you brought a bottle of wine to the party, and we didn't get a chance to drink it, you are invited to stop by at some point to help us drink it before we go. :)
Productivity and Partying
We just gave our landlord our one month's notice. We figure even if we don't move when we want to, if we're not moved in a month, we'll probably have committed ritual suicide.
Other things to do today:
Go see the attorneys - 5:00PMThis lasted until NINE O'CLOCK! GAH!!!Mail various key bits of mailGet my bridesmaid's dress fittedFind some time to go to Liberty and spend the £20 of vouches I have that expire todaySort the movers out... preferably after the attorney visit- Friday this week and Monday next, they're packing and moving usFinish washing up all the glassware form the partyVacuum and wash the floor from the party
Oh yeah, we had a party. It was our going away party. It ended up being us and 15 of our good friends and many many bottles of various substances and even some cosmo flavored jello shots that didn't set in time (I blame Gareth who was, incidentally, an amazing bar tender).
It started at 5:00 and ended at about 1:00 and the sticky kitchen AND living room floors are testament to how good a time was had. We forgot to invite some of the neighbors (oops) but we were overall pretty happy with the turnout. If you couldn't make it, we missed you - it was a great time but it would've been better if everyone had been able to come. If you did turn up, thanks for making it such a great time. :)
At. Last.
I am very pleased to confirm that we have been successful in obtaining an immigrant visa interview at the US Embassy in London for James Ballingall. The Embassy have confirmed with me that an appointment has been made for *8 September at 9am*. The extensive liaison with the Embassy to ensure the quickest possible turnaround of the application and earliest interview date has paid off. The Embassy is under extreme pressure at the moment due to the volume of applications submitted daily. Therefore we are very pleased with the quick processing of the application.
The 8th of September. Upon realising that fell on a Friday, I balked. Two and a half weeks!!!
Except it isn't two and a half weeks.
It's like 10 days.
Two business days after the interview, James will get his passport back. Then we will be able to get on a plane to the USA. This may get pushed back a few days because James has to go to India that week. But...
... it is very likely that in three weeks, I will no longer be a Londoner.
I am stunned. I am speechless. I am both excited and devastated. And yet, this is what we've been waiting for. Our lives can move on.
At long last.
Edit: Londoners, save the 9th of September. I think we're having a partay, and you'd all better be there.
