Stuff

Happy impending birthday to my favorite daddio!

Tisobel have asked that I update my blog, and write about them. They like to read about themselves. But when I leave this long between posts, it becomes a chore because I have so much to catch up on! I'll try to make it quick.

1. Izzi and Tim have had me over for dinner three times since they got married in September (did I post pics?) I love their new home! It's so cozy and bright and homey. It's wonderful in every way. Also, they make me yummy yummy food. I heart them. I told them that Ross and Sandra were adopting a grown-up woman, and they decided they want to adopt me. I didn't think my bio 'rents would appreciate it much, though, so maybe I will just move into the flat two doors down from them and be their neighbor instead of their daughter.

2. A month ago, I moved to Leytonstone, which is miiiiiiiiiiiles out of central London. It's in zone 3, east London. I work in zone 2, west London. I hate hate hate having to wake up at 6:30 in the morning to get to work on time and I haven't been getting home until late, but I'm actually kind of enjoying being out in the suburbs. I've been feeling lately like it might be time for me to leave London, like I'm over it. But moving out to the suburbs has actually fixed that feeling a bit. It's not even a nice suburb, either! It's dingy and grimy and a bit on the sketchy side, but I kind of love it! Also, one night as I was walking home, I noticed a green light shining across the sky. At first, I thought it was a skylight, but it was stationary. It took me a minute to realize that it's the laser beamed from Greenwich, delineating the prime meridian. How cool is that? I cross the prime meridian every day on my way to work, and again on my way home. Fun!

3. I want to come home for Thanksgiving. I asked for time off from work (they wouldn't give me time off for Christmas and I kinda wanted to spend Christmas here again, though I have no plan for who to spend it with.) Ticket prices are high, but I'm feeling a feeling which might be called "homesick" so I don't care. I actually got homesick standing in Starbucks the other day! Can you believe it? They sell something called the "Seattle Latte" which comes in a little plastic cup out of the refrigerated section. They were also selling mugs with the old-school mermaid logo, and it was all too much for me. Thoughts of home came flooding over me and suddenly, my plan of coming home for one week didn't feel like enough. The only problem is, I don't actually have the money. My old flatmate still hasn't given me back my deposit, even though it's been three and a half weeks (GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!) and I was gonna use that to buy the ticket. At any rate, tomorrow is payday so I can buy the ticket then. I wish I could have bought it two weeks ago, but whatever! Life goes on, I suppose. Anyway, I expect to see ALL of your lovely faces in the whirlwind one-week tour I'll be making of the Greater Seattle and Portland areas.

4. So I was working two retail jobs, working seven days a week, right? This was not making me a happy girl, and I didn't really click at the second job, so I gave my notice. Friday is my last day and I am RELIEVED! It's a stressful job. Customer service over the phone is way harder and more stressful than face-to-face (especially when your company has just launched a new website and it has many, many flaws). Anyway, I asked the Big A if I could go full time, and they said yes, and also,

5. They are promoting me! Sort of. I'm kind of happy, but mostly annoyed and suspicious. They mentioned a few weeks ago that they wanted me to be sort of the till manager, so I asked my boss if this would involve a pay raise. The flat-out response was "no," mixed in with some mild jabs at my job performance (she's kind of a two-faced, untrustworthy type who makes up stupid excuses not to do stuff for you). So...yeah. Today, they told me I'm being promoted to Senior Customer Associate, and I'll be expected to be manager-on-duty at times. I'm not sure what to tell them. I want them to trust me and give me more responsibility, but I will not take on stressful management roles without a pay raise. I earn the same hourly wage that I earned when I started for them. The same hourly wage all my non-Senior Customer Associate coworkers also earn! I mean, hell no, right? And yet, it might be that or walk. I don't know. I know they are just taking advantage and I need to put my foot down and say, "Kusems L. Poppington will stand for this no longer!" Maybe.

6. The PhD guy changed his mind, and wants me to help him again! YAY!!! But I'm feeling bad cuz I'm still going really slowly (what with two jobs, moving, having no internet access at home until this week, and having a surprisingly active social life). :-S I am using my long commutes to sift through articles, though, so that's good. But I'm worried he's gonna get frustrated with how long this is taking. Must stop blogging and get back to work!

7. Sleepover with coworkers tomorrow (how funny is that?), the old gang over for dinner on Friday, and Halloween Saturday! Yippee! Oh, and daylight savings on Sunday, so the time difference between London and Seattle will be 7 hours for a couple weeks, I think. Just so's you know.