Time flies when you're having fun
The past 8 days have just slipped by. I moved into my flat, set up the essentials (sheets, towels, cleaning stuff - I can hear friends snickering - and a printer for my computer) and finally figured out how the heating and hot water work. A boiler sounds Dickensian and quaint and fun - unless you're freezing your @## off at 4pm and wondering why it is so cold in here. Visions of being found dead of hypothermia in the middle of the living room included people shaking their heads and wondering, "Why didn't she just turn on the heat?" to which I would have been unable to answer, "Do you think I didn't try?"
BB in Honolulu previously stated that he was going to try to live a life of minimal material possessions (feel free to correct me - I am sure I misquoted you!) which sounds fine in theory. In practice, when you are looking for a knife so that you can cut a cucumber, you want the knife! Also, I miss my pots and pans. Oh, don't get me wrong - this flat is furnished. It came with two pots, one of them tiny and only one has a lid. I can use the little one to boil water for tea or milk for Milo. The larger one is just big enough to make porridge. Even minimal setup, it turns out, requires a lot of buying stuff. Stuff you don't want to have to go searching for - like, where do you buy a toilet brush? Yes, yes, I know - this is supposed to be a blog about a rambling feast and lots of food. But since it's a sabbatical year, you get it all - the good (found a flat almost immediately) the bad (how does this boiler work?) and the ugly (toilet brushes? Really?).
Also, a refresher of something that all children should be taught - want vs. need. I WANT the cute cushions I saw in the homewares store (and which are not on my shopping list). I do not NEED the cute cushions to be able to survive...I NEED to be able to turn on the heater...
Self induced torture (aka Russian Ballet)
I have found a dance studio here. They say they have over 198 classes a week. I am guessing they may have around 199 - otherwise, why wouldn't you say 200 (or more) classes a week? Anyway, there is an amazing teacher there - she is Russian and she pushes everyone...a couple of the girls left class yesterday, panting from effort. These are girls who are auditioning for schools/professional companies. I hear a lot of "more! point the foot!" which is a bit of a change after the lackadasical attitude in Sydney where we were pretty much there to have fun and exercise a bit. This is actually to try to make it pretty. Think about it - anywhere else you would not be allowed to watch (i.e. professional company class) or you would have to pay to see some of these dancers. Here you pay £10 and you get to participate as well. Cheaper than going to the gym...
In which my lack of shopping knowledge was made abundantly clear
Then last night, I had dinner with NT who is also over from Sydney. We had a bit of a miscommunication because we had one landmark (Top Shop - which is at Oxford Circus) and a different Tube stop (Goodge Street). I didn't think anything of it because I had seen a couple of Top Shops (or thought I did) so I thought there was one at the tube stop. Um, no - thank goodness for cell phones! We eventually found each other and made it to dinner - dim sum at Ping Pong. Ping Pong is this trendy looking chain - we went in because I was wearing sneakers (the better to walk quickly on a cold London night, my dear) and it looked fairly casual.
English style dim sum
So we ordered our dim sum off the card (they don't do carts). Not having been there before, we asked the waitress if we had ordered enough or too much. She looked at the card and said, "I think it's perfect." Well, it may have been perfect if you have a dainty appetite. NT and I do not have dainty appetites, so we ended up ordering a few more dishes after we finished the initial 7. It was a fusion dim sum (think Thai crispy spring rolls with mint, lettuce and dipping sauce), a coconut rice hotpot with chicken and shiitake mushrooms and another one that was a squid ink wrapper with...fish? inside. I was so caught up in the conversation that I forgot what was in what. Maybe NT can help.
Just so you know - I have looked at people's food blogs (reviews, recipes, etc.) and there are a zillion of those out there, some of which are really well written. So it may be that this one is going to be much more of a ramble than it is about the feast - although the feasting will still be there, don't you worry.
English topics/culture
Yesterday afternoon I was reminded that one of the worst crimes that you can commit here is "jumping the queue" aka cutting the line (no, I didn't. It came up in conversation). However, it does explain that afternoon at the bank last week and why the man was so incensed that the other had cut in front of him.
The weather - has been beautiful. With the exception of one day when I had to buy an umbrella for a light drizzle (and which had cleared up a few hours later) it has been mostly sunny with a light (variable) breeze. Temperatures have been in the 11-12C range during the day and around 1-2C at night, which feels a lot colder because of the wind.
Last hurrah before getting down to business
I have booked a ticket to go visit ACP&KP in Doha (Qatar - United Arab Emirates, in case you were going to Google it). I leave tomorrow morning and have used online check-in. Who knew? It was great except someone snaked my seat right before I hit confirm...one second it was available, the next, gone. But the boarding pass with my seat has been printed out and put with my travel documents, all of which have been put somewhere safe. Usually that means I will never find it again, or it will take years, but in this case I have so little clutter that I think I am safe. I am looking forward to being warm for a few days, then returning to London to appreciate the cool spring weather.
Classes officially start on Thursday, 31 March 2011 at 8:30am, where we finally get (among other things) our schedule. Travel plans have been on hold until I know what our holidays are - really hoping to escape London for the hoopla surrounding the Royal wedding. I wish the couple well, really, but since they are providing an occasion for us to have an extra long weekend, why not travel? Manhattan is issuing its siren call in this direction...
Am off to buy vegemite for my hosts in Doha. Personally I can't see the appeal - they have said that it is an acquired taste but almost a lifetime has not yet been sufficient. Ah, packing - always more fun when it is for a vacation, unlike when one is moving house. A hui hou - until next time!
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