Amazing day in London. Partly it's the contrast with Uganda, I suppose, but gosh, there are shops and restaurants everywhere! And where there aren't, it's because there's a cool historic site. I love everything here but the cost! Catalog of some of the cool: took a train to near the hotel, which felt all British and stuff. Then a taxi to the hotel from the train station. Again, all British-like taxi and all. Why don't we have awesome taxis like that?? Learned that it's not just because he's James May that he gets lost in London all the time. Heard both St Paul's and Big Ben chime at various points in the day. Feel that DC should take a page from London and stick with smaller statues, rather than monuments, in order to honor more people. Had a pub dinner with (ginger) ale. Even tried the co-worker's bangers and mash. Feel completely ... well, American, I'll be honest, but so happy to be here.
I keep saying things like "Oh, maybe we could go shopping at Selfridges," then checking myself, because I am not actually sure if it's a store or if I just have a mistaken impression on things. (So far, I've been spot on, which makes me happy and a tad embarrassed.)
I confess that my time in Uganda hasn't made it my favorite trip. The hotel isn't conveniently located, I've had the fun experience of blowing my nose and having the gunk come out black, and the food at the hotel as been pretty dreadful. (Firstworldproblemsmuch?)
However, I had an amazing spiritual experience today. I'd been talking to my co-worker about my religious beliefs over lunch. After lunch, we went to the zoo. On the way there, we passed the LDS chapel. I was super-excited. We stopped and pulled in. There were a couple of guys there, and I talked to one for a few minutes. He said that they're the Entebbe ward, having over 100 members, and they're looking to get a branch going in a nearby town, as well. I'd mentioned to my co-worker that I had ancestors who were in the early days of the church. She told the guy (Lawrence) this, and he was really impressed. He said he'd been in the church only like 10 years. I had such a strong impression that I couldn't speak and started tearing up. I shared my email address with him, and finally managed to choke out that, some day, his descendants would regard him with as much reverence as I do my pioneer ancestors. I do not have words to express how strongly this feeling filled me, even now relating it. It was such a brief but beautiful experience that has completely changed my point of view on this trip and this country and, well, possibly my life. I am so humbled to have been a part of such an experience.
It's interesting, because before I went on this trip, my mom mentioned to me that my grandfather's patriarchal blessing had said that he would share the gospel around the world, but that he never really had the chance to do so in this life, but that his children and grand-children are doing it for him. I'd not known about that, but had hoped to find a way to better share my beliefs this trip, so I was looking out for experiences more than I might have been otherwise. So glad I was, because ... such a blessing.
Expense authorization almost ready for going to Uganda, with a two-day stop in London on the way home. I am most certainly not squeeing, just in case it gets canceled. (With the way my life works, this is a good possibility.)
Been a very busy/stressfully month. The landlord decided to sell and/or renovate the house so someone in his family can move in, so we have to be out by July 1. I've got two very amazing roommates, so we've been trying to find a place together. Apparently, this is the wrong time of the year to try to find a three-bedroom anything. What we find, we don't like. What we like is gone before we can apply. So frustrating. However, the end is near (I hopehopehope). We put in an application on this townhome over a week ago and expected to hear back quickly, but so far as I can tell, the lady has been really slow at processing the application. (We basically had to tell our bosses and landlord to call in and verify employment/tenanture*, since she hadn't gotten around to calling them.) However, we should hear Monday when we can come in and sign the lease and pick up the keys. Which is good, 'cause Friday, I hit the wall. I was totally out of cope and had decided that, if we didn't have this place (or any other) by Tuesday, I was going to get my own place. (Or at least split up the trio and take Becca with me.)
So, I spent a good chunk of Saturday packing, and will probably spend most of my evenings this week doing the same, in addition to attempting to acquire moving help from church, potentially getting a new desk (one with drawers!), entertainment stand, and/or kitchen table, and doing all the other preparation work I can think of. Also, I need to book my car and hotels for my trip to Utah. Eeep! So much to do! *panic*
So, in my job hunt, I've poked at some UK jobs. Probably unlikely to get them, since I'm a USian, but there's a couple I think I'd be a quite viable candidate for if you ignore that bit. Anyway, if I wanted to compare salary, cost of living, etc, any advice on where to look? Based on a few other job postings, it looks like these jobs are in a decent range for the area, but whether that's livable and what "livable" means, I have no idea. :)
Had a really nice birthday. Cake at work, TexMex with the roommates, and no crazy people at work. Came to a realization that I'm done with the current job, and that it's okay to find a new one. Then came home to a message from the landlord that they might be selling the house and will let us know soon-ish. Hrm. We'll see what happens from here on out, but I have a feeling the next few months are going to be ... special. Interesting start to the year! :)
For some reason, I can't find my blog-updating addon for Firefox. Woe. It was much more convenient. Alas.
So, in conclusion, I didn't get into any grad schools. Considering how strongly I felt that I was supposed to go, I had some pretty serious confusion there. I don't know that I'm going to apply again, at least not to the regular programs. At some point, I might consider one of the low-residency programs, though they're a lot more expensive and not so good with the helping you find ways to cover it. I don't know if I'll get enough out of it to justify it, but I suppose it's worth a shot and I can always quit if it doesn't work. (Assuming I can get in to one of THOSE programs!)
Alternately, I am semi-seriously considering relocating to a different area. I found a similar-enough job in Kentucky where I'd make $10k less but have $14k more in expendable income because of the difference in the cost of living. I wasn't quite ready to apply for it when it came up, though. Not sure if that's where I'll end up, but ... I'll keep looking.
I may still not move, though. I'm having a blast and a ton with the gaming group, and the thought of leaving that behind is not so happiness.
Okay, the migraine is returning, so I'm going to go lay down. Stupid migraines.
2/5 grad schools have rejected me, including the one I really wanted and thought I had the best chance for. Maybe I was wrong, or maybe I won't get into any of them. It might be worth coming up with a plan for that eventuality, but I got nothing.
We've been putting together a massive proposal for the client. I've been freaking out about it, as we've had a month to do it, and it's gone a lot slower than I'd have liked. However, we nearly finished it up today. We have a few pieces to review, some things to add tomorrow, and tables of contents to make. One of our finance people will review it to make sure we're not completely failing at the math. Then, we'll put it all together and mail it off. If we get it off tomorrow, it'll be a day early!
I cannot express how happy this makes me! There's been a lot of people working on this, including many outside my team. My boss has done amazingly well at putting it all together. Well, not amazingly, considering he's my boss and should be able to do stuff like this. Anyway, I know if it'd been left to me, we'd have been in real trouble, especially with me having been sick these last few days. It's really come together amazingly well. Now to just hope that the client likes at least a few of the ideas. They can't go for all of them without breaking the bank. We might have gone a little overboard, I suppose, but this is the first time we've really had a chance to give them our views on what we should be doing for them and know that they'll give it fair consideration. I'm really proud of what we've been able to accomplish in bringing together people from outside our department, too. We've been trying to do that for years, and it's been painful, but finally it's bearing fruit!
Add to that that I'm on the mend from another round of sickness, have a plan with the primary president to deal with the cold/flu season without having to give up teaching the kids entirely, and that Doc Martin season 4 ended on a really good note, and life is looking good! Also, I've been better at taking my happy pills. Better living through chemistry! I might even get around to cleaning my bedroom, at least a bit. (Though let's not set our sights toooo high.) ;)
excited