It could be so easy, and I always imagine it is. But when one moves, there are inevitably hurdles. Procedures that should be straightforward are very complicated, and other potentially difficult issues are resolved in no time.
Such was the case with my apartment. I found it reasonably quickly and with little effort. The three days looking hard don't really count in the grand scheme of things. And take the whole move from France to the UK. Nothing could have gone smoother.
On the other hand, I still have no bank card. I have at last an account – and money in it. But how do I get it back out? I don't have a telephone line either. After calling British Telecom throughout the week, I'm ready to give up. No matter what I do, I always end up on hold. This afternoon, I took advantage of their offer to call me back. This worked, suprisingly, but then the lady asked me for my number. When I said, I didn't have one, that's why I'm calling, I'd like to connect a landline, I was back on hold.
Maybe it wouldn't even be so bad without the landline. My cell phone serves me very well indeed. But how about broadband internet, and how about international calls? How about receiving international calls. All three are disproportionately more expensive with a cell phone. I have to keep pestering them – and wasting my time in the process.
Talking about time, how much of it can one spend at IKEA? I went last night to the one near Wembley, open till midnight on weekdays. After three hours of browsing, I hadn't even come to the end of their showrooms. I haphazardly took a few things I thought I needed but, more importantly, went home with a better impression of what kind of furniture is available, what I could put into my bathroom, living room and kitchen, what colors and shapes exist, and what the dimensions of a few interesting pieces are. I had looked at everything in the catalog before, but seeing it in three dimensions and touching and feeling can't be beat. Now I'll have to go back tomorrow or on Sunday and really splurge. Then I have one week to put everything together and up, and to clean before mom gets here.
What about leisurely weekends, you might ask? Well, at least we had a three-hour lunch in Covent Garden today. That will have to do for the moment.
2 comments:
re broadband internet
I once heard of an internet company doing something they called a "dry loop" where they hooked up the internet with no phone line whatsoever. maybe you don't need a home phone and you can probably talk with international people using some kind of internet phone.
Yeah, in France you would get your internet without a phone line. You'd have to plug your telephone into the modem and then make VoIP calls by default. I don't think that's the same here.
In any case, I finally signed up with British Telecom, but the line isn't active yet. This, or my French home phone doesn't work here.
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