On the other side of the world...

Well, I made it! A little later than I'd hoped for but I made it none the less! So my flight was uneventful. I have a nice little temporary flat in Holland Park (think Rittenhouse for the Philly people) and have decided that Leander & Henley are GORGEOUS! But back to the adventure updates...

So on day 1 I was so productive (yes, I am so proud of myself). I successfully opened a bank account and in a few days I should have a bank card. I almost secured a job at Whole Foods in Kensington (nicest store ever!) and that should hopefully be done within a few days- cross your fingers people. London/ the UK is an expensive place and I need money! Just to survive and pay my bills...

I got an oyster card... basically a transit pass and have been using the tube (almost) like the rest of the people who live in this city. I can't seem to get my internet to work though in my flat (I'm sitting in McDonald's right now as I'm writing this because they have free wi-fi...) and I need to unlock my iphone so I can get a british number and stop paying exorbitant charges to access the web, call, text, blah blah blah. We'll see if that works. Ps, I just ate a McFlurry and I feel ill. Fast food = yuck.

Today started with quite the adventure. I got up at 5am to catch the bus to the tube to catch a train to Henley for 7:30 practice. Well I missed my train... and got the next one but I was going to be late. What a nice first impression. I somehow made it a little late but caught everyone and biked back and forth along the GORGEOUS racecourse. The day started off rather crappy but I managed to salvage it and then got some errands in and figured out that I still don't have internet at my flat and I need to jail break my iphone or cough up 450 pounds for a new one (I don't think so...) Craigslist anyone? We'll see how that goes.

Alright, I know that was a lot but, well a lot has happened since my last post and I wanted to share. That's all until tomorrow folks. Remember, adventure is out there !

It's raining

So it's raining and pretty much all my "rain gear" is packed short of one jacket that's hanging up to dry because it's already soaked from chasing my dog around the yard last night at 1 am (don't ask...) and another plastic poncho from Disneyland Paris (Yes, I know it's called Euro Disney now, that's how long ago I was there...) that is a little uh, too poncho-ish for wearing around the Main Line.

T - 36 hours and I'm still not fully packed and I have so much to do that it all prob won't get done. Hello care packages!

Time to think about "the big move"

So I'm getting closer every day!!! My flight is scheduled for 10 pm on Tuesday night and tonight's project is re- packing all of my things to a) clean up my room b) make sure I have everything that I need/ want to have with me from an initial standpoint and c) well because some things just became unpacked over the last week that everything has been sitting around my room. I would love to go to bed early but somehow I feel that I'm going to be up until midnight or some other middle-of-the-night hour. Yes, it's going to be one those evenings.

Stay tuned and I will try to post of photos of just how much of a mess my room has become due to my luggage having seeped out of it's bags and all over my room like a slow moving and destructive lava flow (yes, volcano reference intended) and everything once it's jammed, crammed, and squished back into place.

Volcanos are not good for coxing adventures...

So here we are, almost a week after I was supposed to be in the UK and I'm stuck, stranded here in the US. Despite my daily efforts to find a new flight out since mine was canceled, the earliest flight my airline could offer me is on the 27th!!! (unless I can find a cool $5000 for a new reservation on one of the few seats available) Eeek! That means I'll arrive in the UK a solid week and a half after I was supposed to. Things are not exactly off to a great start. But I'm not giving up- I haven't even gone anywhere yet! This is just turning out to be an exercise in patience. A lot of patience.

Regardless, it just means that this adventure is starting on with well, some adventure. Next will be to see how well I handle wheeling two big duffels around plus a smaller "carry on" and an overstuffed back pack through JFK, Heathrow and then the train to my initial abode. My new title will be luggage wrangler. I'll be sure to take pictures.

So until next time, remember that "adventure is out there!"

Getting started is hard...

So this it. No turning back. That is, if I can even get off the ground. I'm speaking of my "big move" in regards to my coxing/ life adventures. I'm moving to the UK to keep coxing and just experience something different with my life. But I have a problem. There's this volcano in Iceland with a really long and complicated name that has decided to spew ash ALL OVER THE PLACE (i.e. Europe). As a result my 10pm flight tonight has been canceled. I refuse to let that deter me from getting to England. I will just have to be patient and/ or have some perseverance. I'll keep you posted.

On a side note, cramming your "life" (i.e. everything you would need if you moved to a new place) into 3 duffel bags + a backpack is really difficult. Be advised. ; )

More to come so stay posted...