My going home was a surprise to everyone. You should have seen their faces when I showed up at mom's place. Pretty great. (Thanks for helping with the surprise Chris and Carol!)
Toby's turn (with small bits by Tom).
| Well, it's true. I did go Boston last weekend, but just for a quick trip to see my nieces who were up in Boston for spring break. They are 2 ½ (Emily) and 6 ½ (Carla) and if I didn't go, the likelihood is that I wouldn't get to see them until Thanksgiving, if then. Since the last time I saw them was at my wedding (November 25th!), that would be a whole year. Didn't wanna do that, so I went. As the expression goes, they're only young once. Here's a picture of them in one of their more friendly-to-each-other moments. Cute, huh?
My going home was a surprise to everyone. You should have seen their faces when I showed up at mom's place. Pretty great. (Thanks for helping with the surprise Chris and Carol!) |
|
Molly wasn't as happy to see me. She was tolerant, but wouldn't give me so much as a little purr. I did get a little hiss though when I picked her up. Guess she's still mad at me for leaving. Sigh.
The girls, and my sister, all had the flu that week so they were somewhat tired and cranky, but lovable all the same. We had a nice time getting Carla's hair cut, going to the aquarium (it was Myrtle the turtle's birthday celebration) and watching the Tigger Movie.
If you are reading this and I didn't get to see or talk to you while I was in Boston, I'm sorry. It was a quick trip and I wanted to spend as much time with the girls as possible. Plus I was jet lagged - could have gone to sleep at about 7pm every night.
Other than the fact that one of my bags got sent to Florida without me the trip back was (thankfully) uneventful. Tom surprised me at the airport which was really nice after my disappointment at the baggage carousel. It was good to see the family, but I gotta say that as I passed the Oxford sign on my way back, I really felt like I was almost home. Kinda cool.
On Tuesday we had dinner with Rich and Kathy - the folks who were here before us - and their friends Jacqui and Stefan, whom we had already met (Jacqui is a real estate agent a couple of miles from here). Rich and Kathy were on their way back to Texas after a 3 month trip around South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. If was fun to meet them and to talk about their experiences and ours. Sorry we didn't get a picture. I'm working on Tom for a long trip before we come back too - it sounded great.
On Wednesday, Tom had his first overnight trip for work - down to Portsmouth. It was my first night here alone and I missed Tom. Thankfully, he won't be traveling as much as he did in the States.
My third week at work was good. I am settling in a bit more and starting to figure it all out. We started interviewing this week for a junior credit control person. It was nice to be on the other side of the process for a change. My boss noted that since we have next Friday off (Good Friday) and the following Monday (Easter Monday), that I will not have worked a full week for my first 5 weeks of employment. Not bad, huh?
The funniest thing that happened at work this week was that a female co-worker asked me (in a British accent) if I had any Tipp-Ex (which I now know is White Out). I said I did and pulled one out of my purse. Not quite what she was looking for. (Gentlemen, if you don't understand, ask a woman.) We had a good laugh. Still working on the language thing.
I also had my first call where I didn't understand a word the guy said - literally. I had to ask him to repeat himself before I heard the word "Ford" and knew who to transfer him to. I asked him to repeat his name a 3rd time before transferring the call and I still don't know what it was. All in due course, I guess. Glad I'm not a receptionist!
There's a gym which I will join soon in the office park. Since you have to give them a one year commitment, Tom suggested I wait a couple of weeks to make sure they didn't sack me at work before joining. Nice to have your husband's confidence;-) (He'll tell you that what he meant was, give it a couple of weeks to make sure I am happy there and want to stay. But don't listen.) I did get my first paycheck this week - that was good.
On Thursday night, Tom and I went grocery shopping and when we came back we found group of kids in the close smoking and roller blading. When we passed them to get into our flat, they asked us where all the grannies were who used to have them kicked out. We learned tonight that they are allowed on the driveway, but not anywhere else on our property. There are ladies here who watch. Glad we don't have to be the heavies.
Today Tom and I took an open top bus tour of Oxford. It was good to drive around and have all the colleges and other sites pointed out to us. There are some really beautiful buildings here that you don't always notice when you are just walking down the street. And lots of history too. Here are some of the things we saw today. If you come visit, we'll show you more. (We have linen for the guest room now, thanks to a stop at TJ Maxx.)
| A few pictures from our tour - click on an image to see a larger version. |
) Christ Church College |
) The Queen's College |
')) Another college |
) Blackwell's Bookstore |
|---|---|---|---|
) Broad St. |
) Sheldonian Theatre |
) Statues at theatre |
) Bikes at Railway Stn. |
And this evening we spent a lovely hour and a half with our downstairs neighbor Valerie, who was nice enough to invite some other neighbors over so we could meet them. Everyone is very friendly, which is nice.
Tomorrow I am going to the laundrette (a.k.a.. laundromat). I can't stand this washer/dryer thing. What a pain in the ass. Tom's ok with it, but I don't think it is good for clothes to spend so long in the dryer, even on gentle spin. Tom also doesn't mind radiator-drying his clothes. Maybe when the repairman comes back with the part it'll get better. We'll see.
Coming up this week is Passover with the Mosses and Easter weekend in Wales. Details to follow.
What else? Well, Tom and I are each in 2 NCAA pools. In the one we are in together, we are in the top 3 spots (I entered twice). In the other pools we did separately, we are both near the bottom. Guess it all depends on the competition and the scoring system then, doesn't it? Keep you fingers crossed for us. Big money at stake -- $40 in one pool, $50 in another, and $740 in another (which we have zero chance of winning).
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