Birthday

Birthdays are a big deal in the Treloar clan. A lavish meal is prepared (depending on what the birthday person chooses, of course), the cake is carefully selected from the Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book (not just for children), and more often than not, the day itself is taken off from work and spent with family shopping or hanging out or doing something to just make it special. Which generally just meant being with each other.

This birthday is a funny one. I don't have the usual markers to indicate that the day is any different from others because all my days are different. I don't have work to take off. I don't have family to organise my day around. I don't know where my favourite coffee shop is (very important when it's cold lol). I don't have any clear plans on how I would like to spend my day.

When asked if I was getting excited, the answer was always yes - because we had Disneyland booked in for this weekend. Not because of the specific day my birthday fell on. Which isn't a bad thing by any stretch but it is different to what I'm used to.

But then it was Wednesday night (or Thursday morning Adelaide-time) and I started getting video calls. Messages. I opened the two birthday cards Mum & Dad and Brooke had express posted. And I woke up Thursday (this morning) to Facebook messages, posts, emails, and another video call and I was blown away. It feels like my birthday even from halfway across the world. Topping off the day so far was the loveliest surprise - I came out into the dining area and Sarah and Daniel had left a card with a pile of presents.

So this year of things that are different and new is also a year of things that are still a little bit the same. I am still surrounded by amazing and wonderful people, where 'surrounded' doesn't have to mean 5 minutes away. I am stupidly, ridiculously lucky to be where I am. And I am very excited that Cameron has booked us in for dinner at the Ubiquitous Chip before we travel to Edinburgh tonight. Because what a name. Also, I love chips.

**This isn't meant to be a 'oh how sad, I have to go to Disney to celebrate' or a 'how lucky am I' post - it's just an observation on the difference from one birthday to the next. I am fully aware of how lucky I am, both in my family and friends, and in the chance to spend it abroad and at Disneyland. Please don't think for one second that I am not grateful for this. 

This week/end just been

This week has been a pretty quiet one. Excluding the wind as it smashed through the trees and whistled through all the cracks and crannies of our flat (of which there aren't many, to be fair). 

I've kept pretty close to home amidst all the amber warnings that came with the onslaught - snow, hail, sleet.....it didn't really encourage me to step outside too much.Instead, I applied for jobs and reminded myself of the joy of ugg boots while opening a plethora of tabs - I am fast becoming a PRO at researching. From flights to hotels to airbnbs to activities, opening hours to train ticket pricing to destination must-sees, I'm looking at it all. 

It paid off because we finished the weekend by booking a trip to Brighton in early April, and locking in a Harry Potter themed trip to London in November. Disney this weekend, Harry Potter in November (and everything else in between) - I am definitely anticipatious* with all this amazing travel ahead!

In other news, below is what I get to look at every morning - isn't it great?!

*word invented by Nicky, endorsed by me ><

Feeling Like Home?

Cameron asked me yesterday, "Does it feel like home yet?"

I didn't misss a beat. "Not yet."

I think making a place your home is an interesting situation. Without most of our friends and family to help give it (us) that sense of belonging, on the other side of the world, it just takes a little bit more. More time, more patience, more of us.

I think, too, knowing that our boxes of belongings are still in transit, that makes it harder to feel settled.

But today those boxes arrived. Nine tea-chest-sized boxes were delivered and unpacked at 10am, and then I stood amidst all of the things we had deemed worth bringing 16, 358km (give or take a couple of clicks) around the world.

I felt so happy. There were my ugg boots, my Tupperware rice cooker, Cameron's brumate, his computer, a couple of unread books and one well-read one, various pencils and markers and paints, two boardgames (Terra Mystica and Gaia Project, for those who care), countless utensils, and so many clothes and shoes and things that just made me feel like 'yes, now we've moved in'.  I'm not sure if that makes it home, but at least now I don't feel like I'm just short-term visiting.

And you know why else today was amazing?

IT SNOWED.

Trying to Find Work

So today's story is about the trials and tribulations of trying to find work. Let's preface this with having updated my resume, applying across countless sites, job ads, and now receiving upwards of 10 emails with job recommendations a day, I managed to book in both an interview and to meet with someone from a recruitment agency.

Let's start with the interview. WHAT A RIGMAROLE. First off, the job interview consisted of myself and two lovely Rwandans - we were going for a 0-hour contract with Royal Mail as a casual mail sorter. Not an ideal position with no guaranteed hours, especially when shifts do become available, they're texted out to a pool of people and it's first in best dressed. Anyway, first step of the interview was actually having our documents checked - there was no point interviewing us if our documents (passport, proof of address, etc) didn't match up.

Every. Single. One. Of. Us. Failed.

That was very dramataic, there was only three of us, but still. HELLS. Turns that neither of the lads had the right admissions letter from their unversity and me? I didn't have a letter stating my National Insurance (NI) number. Turns out that despite it's presence on the back of my Residence Permit (which I collected after landing in the UK, on presentation of my passport and Visa letter), that is not proof enough that the NI number is specific to me. This was not clear on any documentation provided to me prior to the interview. The Document Checker (actually the title of the guy who was talking us through this) said he was happy for me to come back later today with it if I was able to procure it, but after struggling to access it on my phone, I declined the offer.

Good thing too - by the time I got home, had many circular phone calls, and eventually spoke to someone, I was told it would take 7-10 days to be sent out and actually, I shouldn't need it if it was on my Residence Permit. Riiiiiight.

So that was fun.

But then the recruitment agency. I received an email last week from someone saying she'd love to call me, could she have my number, so I obviously sent that through and she called Tuesday just gone. Turns out she was genuinely lovely, a Kiwi to boot, and not only did she book in a time to get me to come in, but she also told me about a social netball comp Monday nights at a school court not five minutes walk away from our flat. Um yes. You are my people.

So went in to today, feeling a little flat after the Royal Mail NI schemozzle, but then she was such a delight. She was bubbly, hella chatty, pretty confident that she could find me something but of course, no guarantees since it's temp stuff, but regardless, it was the lift to my spirits that I needed.

I also got to pat a dog today. That might have helped too >.>

So whilst my job prospects are looking no better than they did at the start of the day, I am definitely a little more aware of what it's going to take to find something.

To finish my update, here's a photo of a building across the road from the recruiting office - because what is a building without a naked lady between two windows?

Hashtags and other things

I decided to set myself a photo a day challenge in the year that we're away. I have no theme, no rhyme or reason to the images I post barring that they're images I like! Or a true reflection of that day....so if I don't leave the flat, you'll know :P

Follow my insta on:  skye_27 although I have recently started sharing them to Facebook as well.
I'm using #istillmissmydogthough and #wanderingskye

On top of the daily photo, I'm also going to post an album every Sunday/Monday to summarise the week, so keep your eyes peeled for that! Obviously the time frame might change depending on whether we're away, but here's the goal I'm aiming for ;)

Some other things I've noticed:
There is a crazy amount of plastic in supermarkets and everything has a use by date which is usually sooooooo incorrect. I bought some snap peas last week, their use-by was 31 Jan, but I didn't open them until the 4th and they were PERFECT. It concerns me so much that the general population buys this food with such misleading dates on them :S

What can and can't be recycled - we had assumed it was the same as back home, so all the magarine tubs, yoghurt buckets, etc, but when I was researching how to dispose of our food scraps (thankfully we have a bin for that in our apaprtment block), I found out that the only plastic their recycling bins can handle is that of plastic bottles. And there's a separate bin for glass bottles, which we hadn't realised so that was a relief, but still. There's just enough differences to make it tricky. And not being able to recycle tubs and whatnot....well that's definitely going to change how I shop. Soft plastics is something all supermarkets recycle, so small blessings there but still...

Listening to the birds in the morning (and during the day, actually, cos it's not like they stop singing) is exactly like in the movies. It's glorious :)

Snowdrops! I flipping love these. And I also noticed violets popping up today! I am so excited for summer.

January Round Up

Making: my bullet journal set up for February

Cooking: a chicken pasta bake

Drinking: a cup of English Breakfast tea

Reading: Brandon Sanderson's 'Starsight' 

Wanting: the cadbury creme egg we bought yesterday

Looking: at the beach painting in our lounge

Playing: Candy Crush >.>

Deciding: where to travel to next!

Wishing: that karma would come to the right people

Enjoying: company

Waiting: for Cameron and Sarah to come back from the gym so we can eat dinner

Liking: walking the streets of this city

Wondering: when we will receive our boxes of things

Loving: that I'm going to Disneyland next month

Pondering: what else we need from Ikea

Considering: having a cherry liquer chocolate

Buying: puzzles!

Watching: Youtubers - Drawing Wiff Waffles, Cheyenne Barton, Minnie Small, Lydia Millen-Gordon, Amanda Rach Lee, Zoe Sugg, Niomi Smart, Chloe Rose Art, 

Hoping: I find a job soon

Marvelling: that we booked a trip to Iceland after talking and researching it for only 24 hours

Cringing: at having to make a phone call

Needing: more fruit

Questioning: what sort of work I actually want to do here

Smelling: the Partylite candle I have beside my bed, Ambience

Wearing: Bonds trakkies and bed socks

Following: possibly too many Instagram accounts

Noticing: that my elephant mug was designed for right-handers

Knowing: that I need to give myself things to do each day

Thinking: about what to do with my day tomorrow

Admiring: the lives of Youtubers, even though I know it's likely not what it looks like

Sorting: nothing. I've done enough sorting recently in packing up our house.

Getting: frustrated with my lack of motivation when I'm home alone

Bookmarking: non-alcoholic pomegranate mojitos and raspberry shrubs

Coveting: a Fjallraven Kanken backpack

Disliking: that my elephant mug was designed for right-handers

Opening: a packet of pasta for the pasta bake

Giggling: at Barbara's emails about Bard

Feeling: sleepy and a little bit lonely

Snacking: a piece of raw fusilli (pasta)

Helping: eat the contents of our fridge

Hearing: the pot of pasta bubbling and the exhaust fan

One Week In (okay it's nearly two now)

After a week in Glasgow, I know a few more things. The cold isn’t as bad as I expected but boots and puffy jackets are life. From pull ons, to zip ups, to lace combats and Uggs, wellies through to ankle boots. Hooded and duck down, quilted to fluffy-collared, we've seen them all and I am jumping on the bandwagon. 

There are so many supermarkets and shops – none specialise in anything but generalise in everything. There's Lidls, Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose, Sainsbury, Marks & Spencer, Costco, Iceland, Aldi and I'm sure I've forgotten more.

I can't find a Jatz equivalent o.O I managed to find a Sao equivalent but dry biscuits don't seem to be as much of a thing over here. Or maybe it's the supermarkets we're going to?

It's so cool seeing all these places and shops and brands that I've been exposed to through all the Youtubers and Instagrammers I follow, and now seeing them for myself.....it's this strange sort of familiarity.

Radiators are in every room of the house - this is something I didn't really get until living here. They're linked to the boiler which can be set on a timer and ours operate from 5-8am and 4-10pm every weekday. The times can be changed but they're what suits our lifestyle the most right now. We also have a gas flame heater in the lounge that can be turned on any time - perfect for me at home while I'm looking for work becaue it means I don't freeze waiting for radiators to come on, or have to bother with changing the timers. There is one radiator that is always on no matter what - for us it's the one by the front door. I'm not sure if that's a standard but there you go.

I love the magpies over here! They look and sound a little different to our Aussie ones but they're beautiful to watch, especially with the blue on their feathers.

Amazon Prime is a way of life. Everything can be bought there and it makes finding/researching items hella easy. Like finding puzzles...

 It also means we don't need to guess at where we might find certain things and waste time going in and out of shops. Which is sad since I don't usually like to internet shop *that* much but we have such a limited time here, I'd rather not waste my time ducking in and out of places in a potentially fruitless hunt.