It took about four days for John’s body to recover from his Karate class. He was moving very slowly, barely able to walk up our stairs (entertaining for me). His mind was occupied with work and the frustrations of dealing with British Telecom in order to get our internet set up (he managed it by Sunday night, four days later than expected).
For my last week of freedom (albeit sans paycheck) I got up at a decent hour every morning and enjoyed my coffee and breakfast with John, ran errands, did yoga and went for several very long walks.
I keep finding cute little pubs to sample and on Friday I discovered the graveyardiest graveyard I have ever seen (pictures to be posted). It was full of different kinds of trees, some with leaves turning and falling, and the light shone through the branches creating random shadows. All the graves were around 100 years old with weathered, touchingly inscribed headstones that had all been moved and shifted over the years. A beautiful spot and a perfect place to get in the mood for Halloween.
On Wednesday I went to my new office to meet everyone and get a run down of things. (See more below from my first few days at work.)
Thursday, I met up with my old friend, Barb Crawford, from Calgary. London was Barb’s base for a month from which she traveled to Slovenia, Kenya for a safari and Florence and the Cinque Terre in Italy. She stayed in London with another old friend from Calgary, Avril Johnson.
After accompanying her to do some shoe shopping (oh how London keeps trying to make me a shopper…) we made up our own walking tour of London. Westminster Abbey, the Parliament buildings, Downing Street, along the Thames, to Temple Church (of Da Vinci Code fame) and to St. Paul’s Cathedral.
She joined John and I for a cheap dinner in Ealing that night.
Friday night we ate at a Wagamama Japanese restaurant, right on the Thames at the base on the London Eye. What a sight the Thames and all its bridges are at night!
On Saturday, John and I had our first Ultimate Frisbee game with our new team, the Fugazees (don’t ask me about the name, I have no idea). We both bought some cheap cleats to manage in the mud, and helped lead the team to victory.
Sunday was a classic London day of hard rain for five minutes, clouds for ten minutes, sun for ten minutes, repeat. We hit London’s main tourist attraction, the Tower of London; learned about royal beheadings and imprisonments, explored the castle, and viewed the crown jewels.
Afterwards, John met up with some Ultimate folk for beer and I headed home after to get ready for my first day back at work – ironing, making my lunch, going to bed early – back into the routine.
The variation to the old routine is that now we are also trip planning. Our first one is coming up in two weeks to Carcassonne, France. We’re investigating the next one to possibly Salzburg, the Rhine River in Germany, or Prague. I’ll keep you posted where we decided (likely all three).
We are also planning a trip to South Africa at the end of February. John is going to speak at a conference in Johannesburg, so with his trip paid for I might as well tag along. We thought we would do a quick safari and check out Cape Town.
John is booking tickets to an Xavier Rudd concert on October 17th as I write this and I’m hoping to get some to the Killers concert.
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
I just got home from my second day of work and was greeted by the wonderful smell of dinner cooking, and the beautiful sight of washed dishes and laundry in progress. I could easily get used to having my hubby working from home. I’ll have to teach him how to clean J That’s probably wishing for too much.
Work is going well so far. I’m still awaiting my official contract and an employee number so I can then order my phone, lap top and car, and access the system. I’m trying to learn what I can in the mean time before I take on my new customers.
I have been traveling to work by bus, which was quick the first day, but today I encountered some standard London traffic – I’m going to have to bring some Sudokus with me on the bus to keep me occupied and start mentally preparing now for when I begin driving as getting anywhere will likely take an eternity.
The Commercial Centre where I am working has a great dynamic; not too dissimilar to my old branch in Vancouver.
The Christmas party and our first pub night are booked in my calendar already.
Tomorrow I’m going to a dinner/speaker thing at the head office on Canary Wharf.
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