Things I will miss...or not...

Looking out over the next months, I was thinking of the things I (sometimes we) will miss when we head back to the good ol' US of A. There will be a few "not miss", but I will save one of those for later. Let's start with a "will miss"...tea time. Taking a break around 4 for nice, calming cup of tea and a little snack. A tradition here in England and in these hectic, busy times, one that happily is still part of life here. Planning to keep that one going...for sure!

"So, what's it like?"

The is the most popular question I get asked by my friends and family in the US. Well, I hate to tell that our lives are pretty much the same. Kids go to school, have their various activities, hang out with their friends. My husband works...ALOT, but most of you know, that is nothing new. Me? Grocery shopping, laundry, chauferring the kids to their various social events (way more popular than me!), same old Mommy duties. Yeah, I drive on the other side of the road and have to park the car in ridiculously small parking spaces, and have to wait for the local Starbucks to open at 9am (not kidding), but all in all really similar to my life in the US. Though I have to say, there are some really cool things... I love tea time. To take time out in the afternoon to just sit have a cuppa and relax for a bit. Yeah, I like this little change to the routine...think I'll keep it

WE HAVE INTERNET!!!!!!!

Yes, it is true...today is a momentous day. I can now sit in my jammies, and communicate with the world. Isn't technology a beautiful thing?!?!? Got plenty to blog about in the coming weeks so stay tuned...same bat time, same bat channel!

Still no internet....

Here are I am in my little spot at Starbucks in Whiteley Village Mall. This is where I come to surf the net...away from home. We are 5 days short of our first month here in Warsash. We have some furniture...still waiting for sofas and chairs to be delivered. Phone just got working today. Had a satellite box replaced already, the dishwasher fixed, leak with heating/cooling unit fixed (so much for the new house idea). Still lots to do getting the household all settled...it will happen in time. Everyone we have met so far has been very gracious and welcoming (they love "our" accent). I have loads of observations that I will be publishing soon (sorta tied to the broadband working though...). Ta Ta for now (to quote a very famous english tiger).

CaliMom on serious Internet withdrawal

Wed Sep 1, real time:

I suppose I should be grateful for this opportunity to "cut back" (if you have noticed by now...I like quotation marks) on my minor internet addiction. I mean, if I had internet at home, I would be streaming the latest programs on NPR, checking my FB page, IM'ing with friends...doing a little shopping...usual stuff. I was moving Britain, one of the major European nations, not some 3rd world country. They speak English. They are seriously green (both in landscape and in environmental awareness)...they got satellite dishes and cable, WI-FI networks, the works! I would say they are technologically advanced. So why does it take up 2-4 weeks to intall?!?!?! Ok,ok,ok, deep breaths....I'm good now. For now, I will learn to live within my internet means. FB & check email on my iPhone, and make my way to Starbucks for my double fix (lattes and web access). Remember, setting an example for my kids. Yeah, yeah, that's it....for the children...

Moving – I would rather have pins stuck in my eyes, please.

Editors note: due to an unforeseen delay in connecting Internet to our home...near future blog entries will be on a "post" delay...that is a couple days off.   See below to see why....

Day 6 in England (UK date 27) .  Jet lag starting to wear off.  Negotiating the roundabouts a tad better (more on that later).  Every time we turn on the correct motorway, I consider it a victory.  My standards have dropped significantly. 

However, what has been most maddening, is trying to get our phone, broadband and TV installed.  Let me just say this, we in the US, think our phone/cable/dish companies are just awful when it comes to customer service.  Guess what, dealing with them is like staying at the Ritz Carlton, compared to dealing with the like in the UK.  My English friends can attest to this and get quite tickled with the fact that we Americans assume that the customer is always right, no matter where in the world you are…HA I say to you!  And so my story begins…pull up a chair, pour yourself some coffee…this will take a while.

We have a couple of choices here in the UK, and after some deliberation, my husband choose Sky.  I state this is not to blame him, he was looking at the best option for what are family needs in these terms, but we have very limited options in the area we choose to live.  Again, my English friends are laughing hardily right now…they know what is coming.

We had our TV installation scheduled for Tuesday morning, from 8 to 1pm.  The installation engineer was right on time (good sign, right?).  He looked around the house to see where we would install the satellite.  Oh but wait a minute, he can’t install the dish, because we don’t have a phone line, put me on his mobile for his supervisor to confirm. “ Sorry!  Welcome to the UK”, he says as he packs up.  Got to call Sky and get this straighten out.  OK…dial…rings…long menu of items that are not at all related to what I am calling about…pick a number…just to get a person on the line.  I get “Andre”, who tells me “wrong department” (who would have guessed)…transfers me…oops, disconnected.  Try again…oops…turned my head, mobile drops call.  3^rd time a charm right?  After about 4 people, I get to speak with Ian … (only about 1hr into the call…fun to know that your cell phone can show how long you are on a call). Yes, Ian had a rather charming Irish accent…though, creeping towards 2 hours on the phone, the charm starts to wear off.  He tells me “Unfortunately, because your postal code was entered into the system wrong, we have to close the account, refund the 6 months of fees and charges for the TV, phone and Broadband packages and start over.  That will put you back into the system, you will get a letter in the mail (in about 3-5 days), which will have a date on it, and 11-14 days from that date, someone will come out and install the dish, after that we can schedule the phone.”  WHAT?!?!?!?  Those of you, who know me well, know that this is not something I will take lightly.   I keep going to the top if I have to get what I need.  Well in the US that is…that works, most of the time.  In the UK…not so much.  No, they won’t let you talk to a manager or supervisor, because he/she can’t do anything.  “The “system” won’t allow any other way”.  I don’t think so Ian…this needs to get fixed NOW.  I explained to dear Ian, his company is in the possession of our money, with a significantly large order for a typical British household in their hands, which I would be happy to cancel altogether and let them know why.  Didn’t go quite as smooth as that, but I managed to get some headway. So what was my compensation, you ask?  Well got a new installation time for Saturday (today)…ok…I can live with that.  So, now we just have to wait for the phone/broadband installer to come out, that date will be in our new letter to be delivered.  I smile to myself... “I did OK for my first encounter with a British utility”.  Or so I thought.  Got my letter on Friday confirming my TV installation…oh and by the way, if we want our phone and broadband too, they can offer that too. HUH?!?!?!  They cancelled our phone & broadband!!!! OMG…you have got to be kidding me.  When I call Sky, once again the extensive menu comes up…I pick my number…I get told that the queue is only 4 mins and, as I wait on hold, I am told if I wanted quicker service…I could use the remote on the Sky TV box or better yet, go online.  Seriously.  I pour myself a glass of wine…I am going to be on the phone for a while…

Leaving tomorrow to England...finally

So tomorrow we leave for London to end up in Warshash.  Been spending time with both sides of the family.  Hasn't gone so smoothly.  I mean the kids and I got to see my hubby(their dad) for couple of days, which was very nice (we miss him lots!).  And seeing the in-laws was fun...they are a wonderful group...lots of laughs and joking and great conversations on a variety of subjects.  But travel wise...we are leaving a trail!  My son left part of his toy, my daughter left one of the DVDs, I left a diamond earring...all at my in-laws.  We are usually don't forget....I go through the place with a fine tooth-comb, wherever we stay.  But this time...not at the top of my game.  I never lose this much stuff?!?!?!?!?  I think the travel and the heat (over 100, plus humidity, yech) is getting to me.  Hoping, I can recover and do a thorough "pick up" job at my Mom's.  I should be an expert by now, having packed, repacked, repacked, repacked (yes, that many times!) 3 pieces of luggage, a couple of backpacks, a tote bag and my purse.  Love my family, but so ready to be home...