In Which I Just Write Stuff / Thursday, January 27, 2005
Well, it's been a while, and I think that this may become a little more sporadic now. I have very little time available right now, I work, come home, sleep, get up, work... I mean that literally as well, no exaggeration. It's not really that much of a problem, it just makes me very tired. 12 hour minimum days tend to do that to you after a while. I don't even have time to check my email! Oh well. At least I can still look forward to the weekend!
The good thing about all this work is it means that Ash and I can start buying things we need. We went out last night and bought a bed. Sears were having a sale all their beds were half price. So we bought a $1500 bed for $750 (give or take a little) I'm hoping that I'll be able to get a good nights sleep and it'll stop me from being so tired. It is arriving on Tuesday.
Ash got me a birthday present. Can you guess what it is? That's right! She got me the widowmaker - otherwise known as a PS2! It's not like I'll have a lot of time to play with it anyhow (somehow I think that was part of the reason for her getting it for me... Alright maybe it's just she realizes how hard I'm working and she thinks I deserve it) I guess we'll have to get another TV sometime soon so Ash can watch her rubbish reality shows while I play with some real fake reality! Woohoo!
What else... Oh, I told you all about the chauffeuring job didn't I? If not, I managed to bluff my way through it, although I did make one mistake. I got my cheque the other day (that's what we used to buy the bed) it was less than it should've been, but more than I would've made in a week of my normal job.
Ash came with me yesterday while I was delivering some stuff around DC. She thinks maybe I should get a GPS thing after all! We got lost, well not really lost. See DC works on this strange system, everything is split into four. So, for example, there's 1st street SW, NW, SE, and NE, so basically it makes it four times more confusing than any other city to get around. We went to Somethingorother place SW and we should have gone to Somethingorother place SE, three blocks away. Marked on the map with a simple "Pl". No other clues. Eventually we worked out that as far as the grid system goes, it doesn't matter if the road stops for ten blocks and comes back for just one block, it's called the same road (apart from SW instead SE). Does that all make sense? No? Well that's me trying to explain it, imagine trying to work it out for yourself!
So anyhow, I'm starting to crack the riddle that is DC. Another twenty years and I might actually know where I'm going! Fortunately it's only the DC area that is so confusing, the rest isn't so bad, and been as I'm usually working in the rest it's alright.
Oh, you know what the greatest thing about here? If you go to a restaurant they give you vinegar to put on your chips! I know that may not seem that amazing to all you English bods, but it is to me. No longer do I have to eat my chips at home to have the luxury of vinegar! Also people don't seem to be amazed by my accent up here. In fact the only people that are are other Brits. Which is good to know anyway! After all I get a little excited if I hear a British accent. Another thing is people actually seem to be interested in sports apart from football, in fact quite a lot of people I've talked to actually like football! It should be a lot easier to watch England play in a bar around here than in BR.
Ash is feeling puppysick at the moment, she misses the poodles. She's been trying to convince me that I need a dog to ride with me in the truck while I'm working. I've put my foot down, no doggies! At least not for a while anyhow!
That's all I can type for now, it's already past my bedtime. Only one more day 'til the weekend, and four more days until we get a proper bed! Woohoo!
/Hopped!
8:58 PM
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In Which It's Me Writing! / Friday, January 21, 2005
Hello! It's me!
How's everyone doing? I'm doing fine! I've had quite an exciting week this week. I've been busy driving VIP's round DC for the inauguration. My first time driving round DC was the night before I started work! Although it's not as confusing as London (which I've never driven round anyway) it's still pretty darn confusing! I learnt today that it was designed by some guy who wanted it to be like Paris, and as far as driving around it goes I think he did a good job!
I managed to bluff my way around though, most of the people I was driving were very nice and uncerstanding. I think the accent helped! The job involved very long hours. Yesterday was my longest day, I started at 8 am and finished at 2 am! It's not as bad as it sounds though. Most of the time is spent waiting around, and I got a $40 tip at the end of the day that day as well. When you're making $20 per hour for taking a nap in your car it's not worth complaining about how long your hours are!
It snowed on Wednesday. There was gridlock. It took me three hours to get out of DC (it usually takes about 15 minutes - unless it's rush hour and then it takes about an hour) It was somewhere between one and three inches depending on where you were/who told you. It's going to snow again this weekend. It should be somewhere between 4 and 8 inches deep. I'm only going to leave the house to build a snowman, I'm not driving anywhere! I don't think I'll be making much money next week, I get paid per delivery and I'm not going to be able to go very fast in all the snow, especially in a two wheel drive pick-up. There's no weight on the back see, so it doesn't get any traction. Ash got stuck on hills three times on Wednesday. I'm not really looking forward to it.
It was my birthday last week. That's it. I've hit the big 2-6. My eyesight is fading now, my back always hurts.... etc. Alright not really. I'm just the same. I can't call Ash old anymore though, at least not until her birthday in September!
That'll do for now won't it? I've missed doing this you know. I hope you've all missed reading it too. I'm baaack!
/Hopped!
8:46 PM
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Tired days but Happy Days / Monday, January 10, 2005
Greetings!
We still have no internet at home, or phone line for that matter but perhaps we'll be able to afford that next month. So I'm updating y'all from work, hoping not to be too busy in order to finish this post.
Pete has been working hard as a courier, driving around the DC area, Maryland and Virginia delivering packages. His first payday is Wednesday, so we'll find out then if the job will be worth all that driving, miles, and fuel expenses. He leaves around 6am and comes home around 9pm. Next week he'll be chaufeurring for the inauguration, which should be about a 60 hour week. So he's working hard to help pay our rent, which makes me feel much better as my job has yet to issue me my first paycheck due to so many offices taking Christmas and New Year's vacations.
Just a reminder, Pete's birthday is Friday. I put some things on amazon.com under the wish list for my email
ashleydspencer@hotmail.com of some things that he would like and things he has asked for. I think most of all though, he would appreciate a card, phone call or email from his family and friends just to tell him what he's missing.
We're still enjoying finally being proper Smug Marrieds in our own place with our two cats, but with both of us working long hours all we do is come home, fire up the George Foreman Grill, eat and sleep. We miss everyone, so take care.
Ash
/Hopped!
9:43 AM
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Quick update from the bird / Monday, January 03, 2005
Hiya,
We returned from Baton Rouge on Friday, with the rest of our furniture (almost, a few things wouldn't fit in the truck - we'll get them some other time) and our cats, Charlie and Max. They survived the long trip pretty well, with a little meowing during the first few miles, but nothing after that. We had to stop and check on them just to make sure they were still alive, they were so quiet. Max had a little hissy fit in the hotel room on the way up, but Charlie calmed him down and we were on our way again the next day with no Kitty incidents.
The cats seem to be taking in the apartment well and settling in. At the moment they always need to be attached to us, either to our feet, legs, or sleeping on our bed at night (we might need to invest in a bigger bed just to accomodate them!). It's nice to have them there as it makes the apartment really feel like home. Now we're just two smug marrieds with "children" (the kitties of course).
Pete is a super-unpacker, and we unpacked the last box yesterday! Now we are officially moved in. We got some needed kitchen gadgets and beddings for Christmas, so we updated our Bed, Bath and beyond (www.bedbathandbeyond.com) registry gift list, and also put our new address on that. Thanks to everyone for your gifts, letters, cards and emails. We miss everyone, and just want y'all to know that we're extremely happy right now, finally being able to live like a normal married couple.
We still don't have internet access at home, only at my office, and I will be out of town for the next few days for training at our main campus 5 hours away, and Pete starts his new job delivering parcels tomorrow, so don't despair if you don't hear from us. I will try to update on Friday.
love and hugs,
Ash
/Hopped!
4:33 PM
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