May 01, 2008
Daily News
It's election day here in the UK, so the news is covering that pretty heavily. And seeing all that coverage got me thinking about the way I've been getting my news from the election back home.
I watch BBC News, and they have a decent amount of coverage of the US primaries. A lot more than I would expect really, considering it's a foreign country and the real elections aren't until November. But whoever becomes President of the US will be able to seriously affect things all over the world (keep that in mind when deciding who to vote for people!), so people are rightly interested.
But in the end, the BBC is British, so the US elections don't make up a huge portion of their coverage. Domestic issues are always going to be more important to people, and even the international coverage is dependent on the views and interest of the nation. So I get the big stories, but not the little day to day items you'll see in the US.
Yet people keep asking me about the elections, wanting to know details. And I find, somehow, that I often have these details to hand. Things that are a huge deal in US coverage, but haven't really been discussed at all in the UK. And do you know how I have those details?
The Daily Show.
Seriously. I watch the Daily Show now more than I did in the US. Partially because it's on at a more convenient time, and partially because it's the only chance I get to see some of this stuff (other than in online news stories, which yes, I do still read).
I can remember during the last election, people commenting that a lot of young people only got their news from the Daily Show, and Jon Stewart finding that a bit ridiculous. But now I find myself in a similar position. Just like I find most of my knowledge of current US pop culture coming from my Best Week Ever podcasts. The best sources in the world? No, but I take what I can get. And it helps me see how perceptions around the world can vary so greatly just with the amount of information available.
So mused Kerry at 01:05 PM | Comments (5)
February 18, 2008
Spring
So, Paris. Paris was great. The weather was lovely, it was great to see my folks, and I had a much better time than the last time I was in Paris so I don't hate it anymore. Good times.
Coming home from Paris and immediately coming down with some variation of the stomach flu that required me to stay in bed and moan for two days was not great, not lovely, and not good times. But, you take the good with the bad I suppose. And right now, the bad really outweighs the good.
I mean, the days are getting longer, so it is now light when I leave the house in the morning and when I get home in the evening. I found an awesome chicken recipe and an awesome salmon recipe last week. We went out for drinks and dinner in London on Friday night just because we felt like it. I had a great evening on Saturday hanging out with friends, and another good friend arrived in town today from Australia via Canada. And this weekend didn't involve anything moving related for the first time in ages.
It's spring…it's out there. And even if it's still below freezing every night and I have to wear my hat every day on the walk to the train station, it feels like it won't last forever. Like winter will actually end and things will just generally be more pleasant. And that makes everything better.
So mused Kerry at 02:28 PM | Comments (2)
February 08, 2008
To Paris
When I first moved to the UK, I tried to keep track of when I started getting used to things, and when things started feeling familiar. Like the first time I was able to hand over change for a cup of coffee without having to stare at the coins for a few seconds to figure out what they were. Or when I started remembering all of the train times without having to look at a schedule.
Along the way, so much has become familiar that it's hard to separate it in my mind anymore. Like instead of having to convert 24 hour time to 12 hour time before I have any idea what time it is, I'm now thinking in 24 hour time. I don't convert the temperature from C to F anymore, I just have a vague idea of whether it's hot or cold (hint: it's cold). And I can recognize Canadians so clearly simply from their accents that it's scary, whereas before I would have struggled to notice someone wasn't American.
And this evening, I'm catching a train to Paris. I packed a bag for the weekend, I came to work as normal, and after work I'll hop a train to London and then catch EuroStar to Paris. Now don't get me wrong, it isn't like I do this every weekend. Hell, I haven't been to Paris since I was 17. But still, the thought that I can just decide to head off to some city in Europe for the weekend if I feel like it doesn't feel that weird to me anymore.
In a way that's kind of sad, because it means that being here feels less special now. But it feels a lot more like home, which more than makes up for it.
So mused Kerry at 02:32 PM | Comments (2)
January 25, 2008
Look how pretty!
So you know how forever ago I told you that Ian and I had gone to a jewelry designer for a custom engagement ring? And how I'd show you guys a picture of the ring as soon as I have it? Well, I have it!
But, um...do you have any idea how hard it is to take a picture of a ring? Listen, my skin is so pale that I blind people if I'm out in direct sunlight. So any picture of the ring on my hand taken with a flash is just a big white blur. And without flash it's a big dark blur. And with Ian's fancy camera that can take pictures of anything? The ring looks lovely, and my hand looks like it belongs to a 75 year old.
So yeah, I'm working on that.
In the meantime...I CAN give you a picture of my favorite thing about the new flat. More than the big refrigerator, more than the spare bathroom, more than the shower that works (ok, maybe not more than that, but still)...having enough room to purchase this just makes me so happy.
Isn't it pretty? I absolutely love it. Ian...was absolutely tired of sofa shopping and didn't absolutely hate it, plus absolutely loved that it was on sale for half price. He'll get used to it.
But I love it. I love it so much that I made the woman in the store call security to chase off the crazy drunk man who was sitting on it drinking a bottle of whisky out of his coat. Honestly, we went and had lunch and came back and he was still there. And I didn't want him getting too comfortable and deciding to buy my couch!
So, there's that. And if you take a trip over to my Flickr page (using the lovely little link thing on the left that I have never updated and is STILL showing the pictures from my Texas going away party...I'm lazy...) I plan on putting my holiday photos up there tonight as well.
So mused Kerry at 07:16 PM | Comments (6)
January 22, 2008
How'd that happen, eh?
When I moved over here, I wondered if I would develop a British accent. After living here for over a year, I can safely say that the answer is no...I'll never sound British. I was, however, asked today whether or not I was Canadian.
By a Canadian.
Soon I won't sound like I belong here and I won't sound like I belong at home, and I'll have to go to a country that I've only actually spent about an hour in to sound like a local. What's that aboot?
So mused Kerry at 01:13 PM | Comments (2)
January 18, 2008
How Things Are
So, obviously the last month has been quite busy. Between the holidays and getting moved and all of the other things that go along with everyday life, I've gotten pretty run down. And this is when the real problems start.
I have this issue about friends. In that I think I don't have any. Or that the ones I do have don't really consider me that good a friend and are willing to completely ditch me if things get slightly difficult (I'm glaring at you here Nick). And also that I'm completely incapable of making new friends. You know...because I'm so annoying and hard to deal with and generally unlikeable.
I'm not saying this to be modest...this is genuinely how I see myself.
Now this is something I've dealt with for years, both on my own and in therapy, and I know how to keep it vaguely under control. Mostly by keeping lists and writing down my feelings and setting realistic expectations. But the thing about getting really busy is that you don't have time for that crap. And the thing about getting really run down is that your emotions are raw to begin with. And so basically, for the last month I've been a complete mess. To the point where I couldn't bring myself to get in touch with people when I was home in DC, because I was convinced they would have a horrible time with me and decide not to be my friends anymore (Karen, Christina...so sorry I didn't call).
We moved because Ian's job moved to London. The plus side about this is that now I live really close to work, in a town where a lot of my co-workers live. This should be a good thing. And yet, it's not working out that way. I'm getting upset that I'm not included in things, I'm feeling like everyone hates me, I'm convinced that my life is just horrible.
Seriously, one of the things that upset me today? Two girls I know are having dinner at another girls house tonight. It's possibly a larger group than that. And I wasn't invited. In my head, this is obviously because they hate me. It's not because I don't actually know the girls who is hosting the dinner...it's because I'm a bad person. And even if it is because I don't know the girl, well, the fact that other people who work here know her and I don't just proves that I'm not capable of making friends...and thus I am a bad person.
Then there's the party tomorrow that I wasn't invited to, even though everyone else in the office was invited. The fact that the same guy has invited me to lunch today and drinks this afternoon would indicate to a sane person that he just forgot to include me on the mass email invite for the party. But I'm probably not going to go to the party, because I'm too worried that he actually doesn't want me there, and that my presence will just make everyone hate me more.
Honestly, it can be exhausting feeling this bad about yourself all the time. And I'm exhausted, and it's just making it worse.
So, there's that. I know that I just need to calm down, realize that having lived here for only 2 weeks it's only normal to not be as involved in things as people that have lived here for years, quit worrying about being friends with everyone and just try to be friends with the people I actually like (shocking concept), and let things evolve naturally.
It's just so hard to do that when my head is screaming at me that I'm a horrible person because no one wants to invite me around for a girls night, or because I can't think of anyone that I'd be comfortable having over for dinner without a big crowd of people, or because I hardly keep in touch with any friends from high school, or because I don't even have contact info for my best friend from college anymore.
Logically, I know I'm not a horrible person. It just really doesn't feel that way at the moment. And I really just need a break from it all. Too bad I actually have to work for a living.
So mused Kerry at 11:03 AM | Comments (9)
January 11, 2008
Installation Fee
So you know when you set up a new utility like phone or cable and they charge you some crazy installation fee of $100 when all they have to do is flip a switch? That used to really annoy me.
Then, when I was in college, I lived in this house. It was a 10 bedroom house that had recently been moved about 100 yards to get it out of the way of a new highway bypass. When I went to sign the house up for cable, I learned that their were cable outlets in the house, but the actual cable to...well, anything outside of the house...had not been installed. So our $100 installation fee paid for the cable company to send over 4 guys and a huge piece of digging equipment. They then spent two days digging a trench and burying a cable which was then hooked up to the house.
It's people like me that keep your installation charges so high. I'm so sorry.
This is my long winded way of saying that the place I moved into? Didn't have a phone line. At all. Because apparently, that's just the way things work here with new builds. And the builder? Apparently he wired the place completely wrong. So getting a phone hooked up involved two guys who replaced wires and phone jacks, before finally realizing they had to deal with the problem at the main connection which is UNDERNEATH OUR PARKING LOT and thus involved some heavy equipment. But eventually, they prevailed.
All of this sums up to why I haven't updated my blog in about a million years. Because I haven't had internet access, and delicious doesn't work at my office, and I couldn't remember the damn url for the update page, and I'm a big slacker. But hey, now I'm a big slacker in a huge 2 bedroom flat with internet! And a 20 minute commute! 10 of which is walking to the train station! And a 30 minute train ride into London...you know, in case I get bored.
So, I'm back. Hope you didn't miss me too much. Stories and pictures are forthcoming. Just don't hold your breath.
So mused Kerry at 06:23 PM | Comments (8)