well well well, post #1

sadly, this can't be a terribly long one.

then again, why not? My temp gig here at Benenden Heath Care is woefully devoid of any type of work--so I've basically been surfing the net all day.

Whoever bothers to read this already knows that I've relocated, for the sheer hell of it so it would seem, to York, England. I've been here for two and a half weeks now (in the UK for almost a month), and I'm still getting settled owing to the fact that I was fired from my au pair job (good riddance to bad rubbish, I say) and am now doing temp work. This data entry gig only lasts until Friday...then I'm out "on the street" again.

When I say I'm exhausted, I do mean exhausted. Because the way it seems to have been working is that my days are a nonstop rollercoaster of ups and downs. A really good thing happens, a really bad thing happens, and the pendulum just keeps swinging. And I'm still getting settled.

i was looking at flats, and there are two that I could probably move into tomorrow if I wanted, but last night I had a bit of a breakthrough and am thinking of living in the hostel where I'm currently staying. It's a nice place, NOT like those horrid visions of hostels as homeless shelters that most Americans have. This hostel is really nice, great amenities, always lots of cool people to meet, and two other USA girls over here on BUNAC, same as me. And the hostel is as centrally located as you can get, something I desperately need as a temp. If i get sick of the hostel, i can always find something else...but when I'm ready. Eliminating the flat-search rush is probably the best thing I can do for myself right now, especially when the job situation is up in the air as well.

Other news--York University Choir is going nicely. I wish we rehearsed more than once a week, just because it's such a good outlet for me. Maybe I'll find another one or two to join as well. Im lucky to be getting to sing Mozart's K. 626 (the famed Requiem) twice in 5 years, and in York Minster no less. Of course, it did cost me £45. But everything is so expensive here I'm starting to learn to just roll with those punches. And eat less often.

So, what else is there to say? So far here I've been an au pair and hated it, gotten out of that, signed up with two temp agencies (soon to be more if I don't have work lined up for Monday), been to J.D. Wetherspoon's Grill Night twice, had my first pint of Strongbow, had my first Tom Collins (yes i KNOW it's January) at the Evil Eye Lounge (my favorite hangout so far), had a nasty Frenchman try to snog me, fallen asleep at a rock concert in Durham, experienced the joys of Skype, and lost my blue bra.

...on a less light note, i guess, although not dark by any means, I do find myself missing home a lot sometimes. I miss California's warmth and sunshine, and familiar people and faces. It's awesome to meet and make new friends but sometimes you just want an old one to lean on. Sometimes you also want sushi and Mexican food.

Please keep in touch, everyone--I promise my blogs will be cooler adn more descriptive in the future, I just didn't want to type an encyclopedia here when everything will make itself apparent in time. If there's one thing I learned about myself, it's that things come out best when they flow freely and not out of stress or obligation.