Playing Monopoly and Failing

So as my second month at home approaches I find my self treading water to stay a float financially. I am still not really getting enough hours at Michaels and though I have put several other resumes other there I have heard nothing back. I saw a Credit Councilor to see if I could maybe consolidate a few things, but alas living off my credit for so long and then not really working for two months has finally caught up with me.

To make things easier on myself and to be able to actually have money to put aside to get back to England the Councilor said it looked like my only option would be to declare Bankruptcy. I couldn't believe it, I felt like it was a big joke at first. Like maybe we were playing Monopoly and I had lost. But this was a serious matter. Luckily when I did my research going through this process would not effect my immigration to England and it will actually help me clear all my debts in a short amount of time. It will effect my credit of course, but I do not take my credit score with me to another country so for a bit of short term darkness there will be a light at the end of this tunnel. 

In happier news, my friends Amanda and Ivan came to visit me yesterday. They took me out to Kingston for lunch and some window shopping. It was really nice to get out of the house and have a few laughs. We ate at Morrison's Restaurant a little family run place with really nice food. I had a bacon and cheese burger with a side of greek fries. They coat the fries in olive oil and oregano and top it with Feta Cheese. It was actually really good.

After lunch we strolled around downtown Kingston looking in all the neat little shops. My fave was the Army Surplus store. I love seeing all the old uniforms and hats. It is fun to try on the hats too and see what you might have looked like if you were a fighter pilot or a naval officer.  Ivan picked up an awesome leather jacket so the shop benefited from our little excursion.

I love how my friends can take my mind off my worries if only for a short amount of time. We made plans to get together soon and I spent the rest of the night watching tv. My life is still crafting and hockey. I have another Bantam Rep game to watch tonight if it doesn't get called off due to weather. 

Lastly I can not believe it is almost Christmas. Where has the time gone? I am looking forward to spending time with my family during this holiday season. It sucks that I will not be able to be with the Hubby but there will be other Christmases and right now I need to focus on getting the stuff together to make that happen. The next step is getting my passport renewed, so filling out paper work and getting the pictures done will be the next big focus.

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and keep on dreaming.

~Diligentdaydreamer

A Month has Passed

As the title says I have been here for more then a month now. Since Halloween not a lot has really happened. I wish I had tons of stories to share, but for the most part life has fallen into a comfortable routine. 

I find myself loving my new job. Not only does it get me out of the house, but I have fun while I am there. Don't get me wrong, I work hard whether it is on the sales floor or at the cash, but the atmosphere is so much more stress free then the call centre. The only down side is it has been part time hours so far and I really need a lot more hours to try and save up the fees I am going to need.

The good news is my drivers license with my updated address has arrived so I can apply for my passport renewal. This is the next step towards getting back to England. I really need to focus on the steps as it will help me keep my sanity. I do feel really lonely at times, it is hard when The Hubby is so far away and all my friend live far away. I use my brothers' hockey games as a way to get some adult interaction and to get out of the house.

Hockey has become my solace. It can yell and cheer and get rid of some of my tension, while having fun. I have always loved going to the rink with my dad since I was little. It was always about more then just the games. Dad and I talk on the ride in and the ride home. We share our thoughts and advice and laugh over old memories. I love going to all the different rinks, whether it is an old barn in Prescott or a more modern rink like Scotia Bank Place. The smell of the ice, the feel of the cold crisp air, the glare of the bright lights, the sound of fans cheering and the sense of belonging to something, belonging to the team. It all comforts me and right now any comforts help.

The my other hobby is my crafting. I am working on several knitting projects for Christmas. I don't think they will all be done in time, but I m going to try. I love the repetition of patterns, it calms my mind and allows me to focus on just the knitting. Being able to block out some of life's worries for just a little while is a godsend. My crafting time is important to me as it is me time, which I keep telling my mother. Anytime you can get a little time for yourself you must capitalize on it.

As the days fly by I look forward to doing more for myself. I have a great support net with my family, but I need to be able to save money for the move as well as have some spending money for myself. I know The Hubby is working hard across the pond a well and as long as we both work towards our goals it won't take long until we achieve it.

Until then I will keep on dreaming,

~Diligentdaydreamer

Stumbles and Triumphs

So I have been back in Canada for two weeks now and really not a lot has happened. But every event is a story in itself, so I figured I would share the events from the past two weeks. First a minor triumph as I received a call from Michael's while I was still in England to set up a job interview. 

 

Now Michaels is an arts and crafts store that I had been hoping to work at over the holiday season so I was ecstatic that they responded to my resume so quickly. We agreed to do the interview the Friday after I returned and I could hardly wait to see what happened.The interview went really well and they offered me the position. My first training shift would be a week and a half away so I had some time to try and find black and beige clothes for the uniform.

This was a stumbling block to be sure. Black collard shirts and pants were easy to find and in abundance, but being the late fall season trying to find anything beige was a nightmare. I was getting very discouraged, but Winners and Mark's came through and I managed to scrape together two working outfits. My grandma also helped immensely searching the thrift stores for beige shirts for me. So I had my clothes now I just had to wait for the Wed to come around.

I managed to pass the time though between working on my Christmas craft presents, watching my brothers play hockey and the oldest boy play football, instant messaging and talking to the hubby on the phone and Playing Wii and Playstion. Before I knew it Halloween and my frst shift had arrived. The night before was another stumble though as I was trying to carry my silly old dof down the dark basement steps to my temporary room and I tripped on the last two steps. I flung poor Lister out of harms way, but crashed into the concrete wall and floor. I ended up with a skinned elbow,  knee and ankle on my left side and a bruised calf muscle on my right.

So needless to say I was sore for my first shift. Luckily for me it was mainly paper work. There were a coupled of online slides to read and a WHMIS test of course, but the four hours flew by. I met some nice new co-workers who can actually laugh, sing, dance and have fun while they are working. This is an odd concept for me as call centre working environments are much stricter, but I know I am going to love it there. Sadly my first shift on the floor is not until Nov. 10th so I am going to have to come up with more ways to fill my time.

I have started my paper work by applying for an address change on my driver's license and health card. This way they will be able to send the updated passport to me. The Hubby has been working away at his new job, but they only get paid once a month on the 24th there. So I will be patiently waiting for him to send me some funds to start this whole process.

I have to admit that I have been a bit weepy here and there. It is hard being away from the Hubby and the time difference makes it difficult to talk some times. I try to take it in stride though and keep myself busy doing things like visiting my grandma and walking around Brockville.

 

I have to say I love going to all the hockey games as well. But the best thing so far was taking my youngest brother out for trick or treating. We had a lot of fun as he went from house to house and I stayed back in the shadows all dressed up to wait for him. The costume mom put together for him even won best costume in the 10-12 category at the local mall.

The only other bad thing is the poor dog had a major grand mal seizure last night. He has had these issues since he was a puppy, but it breaks my heart every time he has to go through one. He seems to be ok today though. I just keep counting up the triumphs through out the weeks and I know the good out weighs the bad. I hope you all had a fangtastic and spooky  Halloween and remember never stop dreaming.

~Dilligentdaydreamer

Maidstone and The Journey Home

Sorry I haven't written last week. With packing and getting ready to head back to Canada things were fairly hectic. I have been back at my parents place for 5 days now and although I miss The Hubby dreadfully focusing on the next steps in the immigration and visa process helps keep me busy and allow time to fly by faster. Allow me to fill you in on my last week in England and all the interesting things that happened on the journey back to Canada.

For the last week in England The Hubby and I both had interviews with the National Insurance Number department in Maidstone, Kent. These were to issue us numbers like our SIN cards in Canada. We had separate interviews and they asked us basic questions about our plans on staying in the country ect. Boring red tape stuff, but it did allow me to take the bus there and back on two different days and explore the town of Maidstone.

The Hubby, Geoffrey and I all waited at the bus stop at the Royal Tundbridge Wells train station patiently and I kept my fingers crossed that it would be a double-decker bus. I have ridden one before in Ottawa, but I wanted to ride the iconic buses that one usually thinks of when they think of England. I was in luck the Arriva #7 was a double-decker and we got to ride on the top right at the front. It was exhilarating as your sense of space is very different up there so at times you are worried about hitting a bridge or a parked car...lots of fun. The ride took us through the country side past horses, cows, sheep and goats. Then we finally arrived at Checker's Mall and got ready to walk up to the Job Centre which was 15 minutes on foot.

The walk itself was awesome as the main road we needed to take Weeks was a pedestrian road, sort of like Spark Street back home. They have one in Tundbridge Wells as well, seems to be a British thing. As we walked past all of the shops it was nice to see other people milling about and getting ready for their day as well. We had a bit of time to kill so we stopped at the Poundland to check things out. The Hubby and I watch a guy on youtube called Ashens who review things from Poundland from time to time and he is hilarious so we could not pass up checking out this store. It was like our dollar stores back in Canada, but they had a broader selection. It was fun to see the subtle differences in stocked items.

Because we could not go to each other's interview we spent our time wiating for each other at the In Victa House. This is where County Council meets and it has a gorgeous front court yard with benches and trees so you can wait for people. After we were done we met up for lunch in a lovely park behind a local church. We tried their KFC the chicken was awesome, seems like they still have their transfat as it was just the KFC I remember having as a kid.

We ended up finding an awesome comic store  in Maidstone called the Grinning Demon. The owner was really helpful and friendly and you can look them up on facebook. I highly recommend this store to comic collectors in the area. At the Mall Geoffrey took a ride with Rupert Bear and we perused the toy store and the hobby store. It was a nice outing two days in a row and the pictures I got from the buses were awesome.

The journey home started off pleasant and emotional at the same time. The Hubby walked me to the front gate of the flat complex and I got the my first car for hire in Brittan. The driver was nice and made light conversation at the start of the drive, but once we hit the M25 I started to drift in and out. A nap was definitely in order after the tear filled night I had. I awoke when we were close to Heathrow and I was mentally preparing myself to deal with lines, ticket counters security ect. Heathrow was boring compared to the other airports. They had lots of shops, but nothing in the way of artwork or interesting items to take pictures of.

Security was interesting they decided after scanning my carry on that extra measures needed to be taken. I had to go to a separate counter and open the bag for them. From there they took out my e-book reader, camera and my journal and asked my permission to swab those items plus my entire bag. I had been watching Nothing to Declare a show about the Austrailian and New Zeland boarder control teams, so I knew they were looking for drugs. It made me laugh, but I was compliant and it went fairly quickly once they analyzed the swabs. I did have to wait for two hours in a main waiting area before they announced the gate my Iceland Air flight was boarding at. 

The first flight to Iceland went very smoothly. This time around my layover was only two hours, but we did not have to go through security for the connecting flight so I had sometime to read and try to clear my head of sad thoughts of being on my own. I really wished The Hubby was with me, I was missing him like crazy. However, I knew if I looked towards our goal of getting my visa and getting back to the UK it would make this time apart more bearable. You can see how tired I am in the photo below.

We arrived smoothly at Pearson in Toronto. Customs was a breeze and I was so happy to see my Parents and my youngest brother waiting for me at the arrivals section. It was a long day and we still had a four hour drive ahead of us, but I did manage to get a poutine at a rest station...I soo missed poutine. When we got home my second brother had taken my puppy downstairs to sleep with him so I didn't get to be reunited with Mr. Lister until the morning. It was a happy reunion though and the puppy has been sticking with me ever since.

So now it is time to start all the paperwork and work towards the goal of joining The Hubby again. If I take things one day at a time it will be done before I know it and I have a great support net of family and friends to see me though.

Until next time, keep on dreaming.

~Diligentdaydreamer

Tourist Sites Galore!

The third week in England I tried to fit in a few more tourist locations. I wanted to experience a bit of the British culture and since The Hubby had job searching and interviews to do it gave me a chance to go out on my own and get to know the streets better. The local museum had drawn my attention earlier last week and I decided that since it was free it would be a good place for me to start my cultural experience.

After the short walk through The Commons I find myself out side the museum and art gallery. Looking at the war memorial outside I had to stop and take a moment to think about the war from this side of the Ocean and how different the world wars must have been. With November coming fast it is not hard to reflect on the many men and women who have fought for the freedoms I enjoy. After my brief pause I was ready to see all the wonderful sights the museum had in store for me. 

The museum was amazing, the art gallery section was dedicated to water colours from artists who lived in Tunbridge Wells and capture the town in their paints. It was very tranquil and a lovely start to my time there. The object of the month at the museum was Queen Victoria's knickers. I have to admit seeing some one's undergarments was a bit of a funny shock. There were so many different items to enjoy though from games and dolls to a full butterfly collection. I have to say the room I liked the best was Tunbridge wears. In there they had a huge collection of ornate wooden boxes. The most elaborate one was a display case which was made for a family's beloved Lu Lu Terrier. This is a rare Chinese Terrier and the one in question was named Minnie. Minnie is still on display in the case and she captures the love her family must have had for her to spend so much on such a case.

My second touristy outing was to Tonbridge to see the Tonbridge Castle. The Hubby had an interview so I met up with him afterwards and we journeyed to the Castle together. It was an enchanting site standing out atop the hill side over looking the shops from the modern world. We walked past the gatehouse, moat, courtyard and the curtain wall. It was fun sitting imaging what the place might have looked like why it was in its prime. 

Behind the castle there was a creek and on the other side we saw some ducks and swans. The pigeons thought we were feeding them so we were suddenly surrounded by birds. It was quite a sight. I loved it when they took flight again as well.  It wasn't Trafalgar square, but it made me feel like I was there.

Saturday we went for our regular walk about and the in-laws took us out to High Rocks, which is a very rural area full of classic farms and quaint cottages. We walked past the Spa Valley Rail lines and saw a black train done up like Thomas the Tank Engine. It filled my inner child with gladness to see something from my childhood still going strong and in its original form. We stopped at the High Rocks pub for something to drink and a bag of crisps and then walked back to the flat. That night when we went to get groceries we ended up at the Sainsbury's beside the Spa Valley Rail Station and there was a proper Thomas, Diesel and the troublesome trucks. It made my day complete.

So as the sun sets on another week and I prepare to head back to Canada in 9 days. I want to wish all my Canadian friends and family and happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful to have had my dream of seeing England come true and I hope the the next 9 days are just as fun and fascinating.  I always wish the Hubby will get his national insurance number soon so he can get his job and that I find a job quick when I return so we can save up all the immigration costs and get me back to this wonderful country as soon as possible.

Until then you will get one more week of English tales and then it will be back to Canada for Halloween fun and hopefully happy tales of how I get all the paper work done. Keep dreaming

~Diligentdaydreamer