Lou-quacious

I got all moved into the new flat on Monday with not too much hassle, and with the aid of some duct tape, redirected my phone line in here. And look, broadband still working so far - yay! Not that I've had much online time, because the movers... well, let's say they didn't exactly place things appropriately. *headdesk* We did, at least manage to get them to set up my bed so that I can sleep in it! Everything else was quite literally left in enormous piles all over the place.

Then of course, car accident --> back still pretty ow --> can't move heavy stuff myself = had to wait for my brother to be free to come and drag furniture around for me. Which he did, and he did way more than I was expecting him to, as well. I just meant to ask him to shift the sofa and telly-dvd-freeview setup, and make a moderately clear space so that I could get this thing up and running as well, but he's actually moved all the furniture to the walls as well. Doing Kuk Sool apparantly builds some serious muscles! Anyway, now I only have boxes in the middle of the living room and it looks loads clearer and bigger again. Plus, I have the computer desk in the probably-right place (unless I decide to move stuff round later) as well as the sofa / telly and the dining table. And for now, it's livable around until (a) my back is better and I can move things myself, and (b) it's after Christmas and people (Mum) are available to help me with the proper unpacking and sorting. Also, I've decided to get rid of my old single bed that I've been using as a sort-of sofa. I'd mainly been hanging on to it for sentimental reasons, but it takes up too much room, and considering how often I have someone to stay... Also, Mum is making noises about how a decent sofabed would be better, and she's right.

But anyway! I'm here! I'm in the process of getting sorted! New upstairs neighbours are also moved in and seem very nice... and aren't noisy or annoying - yes, I can hear them moving about, and the odd bit of background noise, but it's actually kind of nice. I think I've been alone in this huge great building too long, because it's oddly comforting hearing footsteps or faint music / TV noise above me.

Now I should go and wrap Christmas presents. Because time is marching on, omg. Wheeee!

(Because I am nothing if not creative and non-literal in my subject lines.  And matching post icons. Yup.)

So, if yesterday was getting it all off my chest, I've decided that today shall be about the nice shiny things.

• OK!  There might still be some work to be done, but I'm getting to move into a newly refurbished flat that has new kitchen and bathroom suites, new double glazing, new boiler and central heating, new door entry system, new fire / smoke alarms, is newly carpeted and painted, and is generally all pretty damn new.  Other than being in a converted Victorian house, of course! *g*


• Plus, the communal areas (that's the hall & front door, to you and me) are also being refurbished.  Hoorah!


• I spoke to my lovelynice phone company, and yes, no problem, they're going to keep my phone line running to my old flat until 9th Jan so that I can run the extension lead to the new one (as I am doing now, in fact, in this temp flat), thus giving me an uninterrupted phone service.  Well, maybe there will be an hour or two, but you get the point.  I shan't be phone-less!  Broadband isn't quite that simple - I'm not going to go into that because it doesn't fall under the category of 'yay' - but I will have it for a few more days before the changeover period kicks in.  But I'll still have dial-up (this reminds me of my brother staring at the back of my 'puter the other day, looking like nothing so much as an archaeologist who's just unearthed something old, slightly unexpected, but interesting, and saying "you still have a dial-up modem in there??"  Yes, M, and it's for emergencies just like this!) so yay to that!


• Char got us tickets for Wicked! next Thursday for my Christmas pressie.  Wheeeee!!


• And speaking of Christmas pressies:  From the gorgeous desktop wallpaper legoline made me, to the Real Actual Stuff urbanfae sent (my Mum has it to wrap - wheee, surprises!), I'm chuffed beyond words about everything I've received. *beams*  And now the even more fun part (no, I'm not being sarcastic) - the getting of pressies for everyone else.  I have a couple of things for you guys, and I've got most of the rest of my things for the local friends and family.  What I don't have yet, I have planned.  *bounce*


• My hair colour.  I still have plans for it, but a nurse at the hospital on Wednesday actually came in to the room to tell me she loved it, and ask where / how it was done (DIY "LIVE colour", love!) and then on Friday, while I was down town browsing in a Shop of Awesome Tat, a little old lady accidentally stroked my hair because she was going along stroking all the things on the clothing rails that she thought looked pretty.  And, um, mistook me for something that was for sale? O.o  To be fair, I had my back to her, and my hair was loose and therefore covering most of my back.  However, she then went "Oh! Oh, sorry, I didn't realise you were... but isn't it pretty?" And stroked my hair some more.  LOL!


• SGA.  I just have so much love right now, and I'm very very happy in my fannish bubble.  (Can't touch this (breakitdown)).  And other assorted fandoms, of course - Torchwood, Who and LoM, I'm looking at you.  You're cracked in the head (like me), and I love you.


• The Thing wot I'm doing with Sann.  Oh, we're having fun.  (We are having fun, right? *g*)


• Knitting!  I'm making a little jumper at the moment, and I'm on course to get it all done in time for Christmas, along with a couple of other things.  I really do love physically creating things - I mean, I love designing websites, and writing, and singing and playing instruments and all that other "creative" stuff.  But I'm ending up with a physical object here that I can give to someone and have them know that I put time and effort and thought into it.  Or, you know, I can make something for myself and have that kind of satisfaction.  Also, I can do it while I'm watching TV (or other media).  Double bonus!!

It's been kind of an odd day so far.  First of all I checked my flist and saw the news about both Laz's dad and Trog.  Which, you know.  I can't think of anything to say about that doesn't sound stupid and/or trite.


Then there's ( car accident stuff )

As well as all that, there's ( tedious moving stuff )

Right then.... so far as I know, I'm still on track to move upstairs in the morning.  Phew!  Right now, I'm in the middle of last minute packing - and damnit, I knew this would happen, I think I'm about to run out of the right sized boxes.  I have tons of fruit boxes, but I need at least a couple of wine-box or larger sized ones.  Gah!  Serves me right for leaving these last bits so very late, I spose.  Oh well, I'll work it out somehow.

Anyway, it's entirely possible that I won't have access to teh interbets from the temporary flat.  Or, you know, a landline phone.  If they do get the landline from here extended up there (see my optimism!), I don't yet know how well / if my broadband connection will deign to work.  Though hopefully I should at least be able to get dial up.  That does help with the downloading of things, of course, but I can always go and commandeer my Mum's computer & broadband connection for that.  Point is, I might vanish for the next two (? four? six? who knows?) weeks.  Not that this is anything new for me, recently, but hey, this time I'm giving notification.  That's new and different. ;-)

Having said all that, I could well be back online, broadband and all, this time tomorrow if not sooner.  Which would be nice.


In other news, birthday: yay.  I have shinynew stuff (digital camera, mp3 player, funky lamp, etc), and am looking forward to stuffing my face on Friday.  Oh, if you do want to come along, you'd better text me (I've edited the other post to include my mobile no.) to let me know. Um... what else?  Eh, I'm just procrastinating now.  Back to the last minute packing!

I'm gradually getting the flat in order now.  I have almost all my books on the bookshelves, and the bedroom furniture all definitely in place now (I changed my mind about where a couple of things were going).  xandermog seems to be settling in quite happily, and although he hasn't tried to go outside yet, he's definitely got plenty of excess energy: he's been playing, really playing, pouncing on his toys, swatting them, just like a normal cat!!  Unfortunately, he's mainly been doing that at night, and waking me up frequently, so I can give him a fuss.  *siiigh*  Bless.

I was visited by the lovely ladymoonray yesterday, as well, and we had a wander along the seafront and on the pier, visited Ally's exhibition, and then went for scrummy dinner at Mon Forte, which is a little Italian restaurant on the seafront, which I worked at... eeek, nine years ago!  It was really lovely to see LadyM again, and though I'll miss my friends in Hull, I'm definitely glad I've moved back down here.  I feel at home :-)

Still using my parents' computer. But all going well, I should get to 'move in' to the flat tonight. Hoorah!! My bed is built, and most of the bedroom furniture is where it should be. The living room is half-done.

But! The parents will be coming over again this afternoon, and we'll hopefully get the rest of the furniture in place then. I do have to do some coursework, since my last assignment (which doesn't allow extensions, arghOMG!) is due in about a week. But I'm optimistic that I'll be able to get things mostly-done, and maybe even get the 'puter back together tomorrow or Monday. Fingers crossed...

Also, I HAVE A JOB INTERVIEW ON MONDAY MORNING!!!!!!1!!!!111!!!ELEVENTYSQUILLION!!! Ahem. Wish me luck! :-)

Just arrived in Hastings. It's 3.45am. Been up and busy since 7am. Dead now.

It's moving day. And of course it couldn't go smoothly. The moving men had assumed I was a student and so had no furniture. Er. Whoops? *sigh*

It was all so peaceful & productive til Dad got here. *sigh* Men are disruptive. ;-)

Today, we have:

• Done some more packing in the spare room (just all my sheet music & music books left now).


• Had a visit from Russ, Char and little Lex.... who is the brightest, most adorable not-quite-3-year-old.  They then took my bike back for a friend of Char's who's buying it from me.  Hoorah!


• Visited Hannah and Craig for an hour or so, and took them my strimmer which they've bought from me.  Hoorah again!


• Sorted out all my clothes: thrown out some old stuff, bagged up some less-old stuff to go to the charity shop, and packed the remainder.  Er, except for what I'll need for the rest of the week, obviously.

Which doesn't sound like all that much, but R, C & L were here for a while over lunch, and having sorted my clothes means that my bedroom is more than half done now too - the wardrobe and all the drawers are now emptied.

Tomorrow, we start on the downstairs rooms, which we want to get done before Dad arrives on Tuesday eve.  It's beginning to look do-able.  I think. ;-)