London is All About Transportation

It's interesting to me how much of my life here has been wrapped around getting from point A to point B.

In California, I'd just jump in the car and go. If I needed to take more people, I'd choose the Suburban. If not, the Beetle. I know where all the roads are, where they go, what time of day one should avoid certain routes, etc. If I needed to be somewhere at a certain time, I'm reasonably certain that I could arrive on time, or even early if I wanted to. And if my normal path was blocked by road work, or an accident, I usually have a number of alternatives that wouldn't take me too far out of the way to get there.

I know what stores I would go to to get the things I need, and about how much they should cost, and what order I would go to those stores to minimize my travel time. And I know how I would get those things back to my house. I've never much thought about how easy that all is in Southern California.

But in London, that's all different. I'm afraid to drive on the left, so I'm using public transportation. It's MUCH cheaper, and in my case, less dangerous. I have to travel on the train's schedule, not mine. So I end up waiting at the stations for much longer than I planned for.

And the trains don't always go to the same place as they did the day before. Sunday schedules are very much more restricted than the Saturday's are. There's a train that goes from Nunhead station to Lewisham station during the week and on Saturdays, which I used to move one of my suitcases to the house yesterday. It only took my half an hour to get between the two. But today, the train didn't stop at Nunhead, so I took the bus. It took almost an hour and a half to get there. Transportation.

It was a nice ride, with a number of families riding with me. Which had two effects on me. One, it made me feel much more comfortible about my family getting around on the bus. But the other effect was that it made me miss them even more. The closer it gets to their arrival, the more I miss them.

After church today, I went to IKEA to get some mattresses for our house. First, I found out that they only had 3 of them in stock, instead of the 6 that I wanted. Then I found that IKEA's delivery service is "next-day" only. But there won't be anyone at my house tomorrow to receive them. So I just bought one and carried it back with me to the house. Tomorrow I'm going to go to try to get the other five and hire a driver to take me home with them. Transportation.

When my family arrives, I'm planning on meeting them at the airport. That means there will be six of us with all the luggage for five, needing to get from the airport, which is west of London, to our house, which is in the southeast. I got on the internet and found a company that has an 8 seater van thing that can take us all home. £80 for the trip. I think that's reasonable, though I think it might take us 2 hours to get there. Transportation.

The tube and buses and the tram all use a system called Oyster. It's card that you can "top-up" with money and just tap it on a reader as you enter and exit a station. It's very convenient and apparently has really turned the whole London transportation system into a profitable enterprise for the city. But of course, the British Rail Services don't use Oyster, so that's a different system that I have to use. I haven't been able to figure out how to get a monthly pass for the British Rail Services, but I need to, since I'll be commuting on it everyday for work. Transportation.

I've found that I can only get about one errand completed on a given weekend day, unless I can complete the task on the internet. It just takes so long to get anywhere, and I don't know enough about how to get around to plan it out any better.

I hope this post doesn't sound like I'm complaining, though I admit it does have a negative tone. I'm just trying to share some of the difficulties of living in a different country. It's still quite an adventure, and I'm having a good time, but sometimes it takes a lot of time to get to where I'm going.

Dave

Homecoming

In six months or so, I'll probably have a post called "Coming Home", which will be the opposite of this one.

I just signed all the papers and paid the money and got the keys to my own house here in London. I am now officially a resident.

After signing all the papers, I went over to the house, unlocked the door and walked around. The light switches all work, the fridge is cold, the stove and oven works. But the company that was supposed to install the washing machine, didn't. They delivered it, but since it's a new kitchen, they didn't have the tools to plumb it and finish the install. So they're supposed to come tomorrow morning and install it then.

The backyard still needs serious attention, but I'm assured that it will be done soon.

Other than that, there's nothing in the place but a phone book.

And as I walked through the bedrooms, I realized that none of them have closets. Hmm... I'm not sure what we'll do about that, but we'll think of something.

Dave

My Cousin Dan

My cousin Dan Barnett got me hooked on this blogger thing, so I thought it would be fitting to include a link to his blog. It's a collection of his book reviews, called Musable. Check it out.

Dave

We have a maid

Kelly took this picture and said,"I've always wanted a maid to clean up after my kids."

So I thought I'd share it with all of you.

Dave

Funny Sayings Update

A German guy came in to talk to Dan who sits next to me. They talked about the work that Dan needed to get done and Dan said,"Ok, I'll have it done by half five." To which the German said,"Uh, so 4:30?" "No, 5:30."

It turns out that "half five" in German means "a half until 5" as in "it's halfway to 5". But the British mean "half past 5".

Isn't that funny?

Dave

Quick Update

I took the plunge and rented a house today. I actually even put money on it this time, so no backing out. We decided to take this place unfurnished because then we could furnish it the way we want (cheap) and kind of camp out for 6 months. IKEA and swap meets will be our decorating theme--we just need that one inspiration piece! ;)

I also got paid today in British Pounds. I was supposed to get paid last Friday, but something happened in the finance dept and it didn't happen until today.

It looks like I'm going to move into our house Friday night, Saturday at the latest. And the family comes over on Tuesday! Just in time, no? That's how God usually arranges these things.

I feel like my life is going to settle into a routine soon. As soon as I am in my own place, I can unpack my suitcases, set up my desk, get a monthly Travelcard to save money on commuting, and get into a rhythm.

A big thanks to everyone who's been praying for us. We're almost back together in the same country.

Dave

Housing, Transportation, and Funny Sayings...

Here's the quick update on the housing front. The agent said that the landlord would be willing to furnish the place, but would be firm on the price. Today, she was out of the office so the manager was handling the negotiations. He said that the landlord DIDN'T want to furnish the place, but would be willing to for £100 more a month in rent. Kelly and I have decided that we like the place enough that we're going to take it unfurnished and furnish it ourselves for (hopefully) less than £600 (which is the increase in the rent over 6 months). It will probably cost more than that, but we would have to get more stuff than what would be provided anyway.

Tonight, in an effort to start figuring out if furnishing the place ourselves would be feasible, I found the IKEA that closest to the house and took the train down there. Once I got there I took the last kind of public transportation, the tram. It's essentially a streetcar/mini tube train, that's overground.

I think after visiting IKEA and talking with the family, we'll be alright furnishing-wise. We'll just need to do something clever with the furniture just before we leave. We'll either donate it, or sell it on eBay, or maybe even sell it back to the landlord if he wants to let the place to someone else for a period of time.

Ok, here are some interesting British phrases:
"Half two" mean 2:30.
"Whilst" is a common word in signs, usually in the context "Please excuse the inconvenience, whilst we do these works," with "works" being any kind of construction or refurbishment.
"Scheme" is not some nefarious endeavor, but is just a "plan"--usually a government instituted one.
"Mind the gap" means watch out that you don't stumble getting on or off the train.

That's all for tonight. I'm waiting for a download, but I think I'll just get some sleep.

Dave