You ever just want to go home?? Not to go back and live...but just a visit... your momma and your friends...your favourite restaurants and pubs...your memories... home. We had been planning on coming home in November for Thanksgiving and general shenanigans. But we have come to the harsh realization that it's just not going to happen this Thanksgiving. I hadn't had it in my head that home is a very expensive plane ticket and 5300 miles away...and that's just to get there it's always been just home the place that is easy to get to. Don't go getting me wrong... I absolutely love it here, and honestly have never been happier. But I want to go home. Just for a little holiday...but then there it is again...it's an international trip... a totally different time zone...a totally different country..a totally different continent.
I've been here for 6 months and wow has it flown. I have grown so much it's silly. I've got a great job, slowly yet surely making new friends and becoming more comfortable with everything that has changed. More and more it is becoming home... my super cute hubby has been amazing through this part of having my off days where all I want is to jump on a plane and see the sun and have my favourite meal...but then turning around and loving everything about Britain....he must be a patient man.
. . . .Just Across the Pond. . . .
All-American girl falling for an Englishman...getting married...moving....and livin' life to the fullest...
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
The wheels on the bus go round and round...oh crap was I supposed to hit the button thing to make it stop???
I was very fortunate growing up in that I never really had to ride the public bus....big happy yellow buses yes...
But the public ones, I only had very little history with. And even if I had had more time with them I dont think I would have been prepared for the totally different animal that is the British bus system and the crazies that ride them.
(Bare in mind we dont have a car because I still cannot wrap my mind around this driving on the wrong side of the street thing)
Now to get to my tiny town that I work at I take a bus... the bus drivers ( I will call them
Pirate talkers as they all sound like what I would imagine a pirate would talk like)
dont understand me. This creates a small problem. Oh and they are grumpy. To start with there are like a million different buses and with those buses about half of them have the same number but of course one of them will take 2 hours to get there and the other 30 min. (there has got to be an easy way to tell the difference other than hoping the bus driver is a decent person and tell me to wait another minute...did I mention they are grumpy? Maybe I will google it) So with the pirate talkers and my very very small knowledge of anything outside of Stortford and my route to the store the morning begins.
Once youre on the bus picking a seat is actually kind of tough there is enough room usually to get my own row but do I sit in front of someone in back of someone leave a space between do I chance that the bus driver is going to let me sit before he drives off and go up to the coveted upstairs bit?? Gah soo many questions before it's even 8 o'clock... Then do I adopt the tube riding mentality and just look down and put your headphones in your ears even if you know your ipod is dead but just so no one talks to you?? Or do you look up and smile cause hey...everyone is going to work...mainly... and look out the window and take in the English country side...oooor a combo of both (for those wondering I pick a combo of both but mainly looking at my phone). But whatever you do adopt make sure you know where your stop is because they are certainly not going to stop at all the stops... even if you just asked them to go there when you got on... unless you push the little red button.
Now the end of the day is totally different. The pirate talkers are grumpy and tired your grumpy and tired and the crazy people have been awake for a bit and their morning meds have so clearly worn off.
To catch the bus you almost have to stand in the street in front of it...it's a bit more crowded and everyone smells a bit after a long day... and the crazies feel like getting to know you a bit...or ripping your headphones out of your ears and yelling at you about something. You count down the minutes at this point to when you can press that coveted red button to make the stupid little beep sound to the grumpy pirate talked to let you off...and hope the crazies dont follow you.
I do have admit the grumpy pirate talkers do know how to squeeze and maneuver that massive bus to an almost terrifying extent. I still cant imagine driving a little tiny car on the road much less a massive bus.
couple of randoms:
-I love my job. It fits me and I cannot wait to own HSBC someday.
-We're coming to America (queue Neil Diamond) in November for Thanksgiving and cannot wait for a holiday!
-I desperately need to dance....like badly
-I have almost gotten over my "must kill every bug that even thinks about coming in" now its more of a "if you come in I will slaughter you" thing
- I still day dollar instead of pound sometimes...and working in a bank it's not ok...
-Sedge has played a video game for 13 hours today....I cannot wait until he beats it....
But the public ones, I only had very little history with. And even if I had had more time with them I dont think I would have been prepared for the totally different animal that is the British bus system and the crazies that ride them.
(Bare in mind we dont have a car because I still cannot wrap my mind around this driving on the wrong side of the street thing)
Now to get to my tiny town that I work at I take a bus... the bus drivers ( I will call them
Pirate talkers as they all sound like what I would imagine a pirate would talk like)
dont understand me. This creates a small problem. Oh and they are grumpy. To start with there are like a million different buses and with those buses about half of them have the same number but of course one of them will take 2 hours to get there and the other 30 min. (there has got to be an easy way to tell the difference other than hoping the bus driver is a decent person and tell me to wait another minute...did I mention they are grumpy? Maybe I will google it) So with the pirate talkers and my very very small knowledge of anything outside of Stortford and my route to the store the morning begins.
Once youre on the bus picking a seat is actually kind of tough there is enough room usually to get my own row but do I sit in front of someone in back of someone leave a space between do I chance that the bus driver is going to let me sit before he drives off and go up to the coveted upstairs bit?? Gah soo many questions before it's even 8 o'clock... Then do I adopt the tube riding mentality and just look down and put your headphones in your ears even if you know your ipod is dead but just so no one talks to you?? Or do you look up and smile cause hey...everyone is going to work...mainly... and look out the window and take in the English country side...oooor a combo of both (for those wondering I pick a combo of both but mainly looking at my phone). But whatever you do adopt make sure you know where your stop is because they are certainly not going to stop at all the stops... even if you just asked them to go there when you got on... unless you push the little red button.
Now the end of the day is totally different. The pirate talkers are grumpy and tired your grumpy and tired and the crazy people have been awake for a bit and their morning meds have so clearly worn off.
To catch the bus you almost have to stand in the street in front of it...it's a bit more crowded and everyone smells a bit after a long day... and the crazies feel like getting to know you a bit...or ripping your headphones out of your ears and yelling at you about something. You count down the minutes at this point to when you can press that coveted red button to make the stupid little beep sound to the grumpy pirate talked to let you off...and hope the crazies dont follow you.
I do have admit the grumpy pirate talkers do know how to squeeze and maneuver that massive bus to an almost terrifying extent. I still cant imagine driving a little tiny car on the road much less a massive bus.
couple of randoms:
-I love my job. It fits me and I cannot wait to own HSBC someday.
-We're coming to America (queue Neil Diamond) in November for Thanksgiving and cannot wait for a holiday!
-I desperately need to dance....like badly
-I have almost gotten over my "must kill every bug that even thinks about coming in" now its more of a "if you come in I will slaughter you" thing
- I still day dollar instead of pound sometimes...and working in a bank it's not ok...
-Sedge has played a video game for 13 hours today....I cannot wait until he beats it....
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