overwhelmed

today was my first day in the office across the pond! i was excited to be back on a schedule, so much so that i actually cleaned up a bit of my stuff here in the flat and made a laundry pile. the walk to work is only two minutes, which is good because i was running late (shocking). there was a nice bouquet of flowers waiting in my new cube as well as a detailed itinerary for my day.

everyone was super nice and i've unfortunately forgotten the names of most of the people i met...i'm SO bad at this. i literally forget people's names while i'm still shaking their hands. the job itself is a little intimidating, and when my co-workers heard what account i would be working on, a few of them sighed sympathetically. one actually said "mmm. challenging." oh lord. what have i got myself into...! :-) the good news is that i might get to go to geneva soon. never been to switzerland before, beats my cincinnati travels by a long shot...buffalo in january (although i will always have a special place in my heart for that city).

i got out around 5:40 and had just enough time to eat a veggie burger and an apple before Christine and i went out to view another flat. we got lost pretty much right after we left the Tube station, but i got smart and called for directions after just two short minutes of "where are we?"

this one was in hampstead, which was not a bad commute from the angel station and the neighborhood was super cute. the flat was nice and clean, not bad storage space either. however, it is a sublet until march, at which point i'd have to find another roommate. oh, and i would have to pay the rent to the original tenant, unless i wanted to pay £150 more per month to do things legally, but either way, i'd have to pay the additional monthly amount come march. as my friend Maren would say, "negative, ghostrider."

i came home and emailed six more places, so we'll see what happens. i still really like the clapham house, although i might need to adjust my schedule as the northern line in the AM is apparently insane. and anyway, i guess the housemates had a few other showings and still have to make a decision. i feel like i'm on backwards survivor, trying to get voted ONTO the island.

i apparently have a bank account now but no time to call the feller back to get the details on it. grar. still no cell phone, and i've been told that the easiest way for me to call the states is through a calling card. i guess i'll get a phone with a straight-up UK plan - the calling card is a separate purchase from a newsstand. i'll just take care of this in my copious spare time, in between getting a National Insurance number and pulling six-months work of payslips together for my HR file.

yes, thank you, i WOULD like some cheese with my whine :-)