Well as my first day in London draws to a close, I'm pleased to say that I am still standing. Barely. I am being overcome by jet lag. No...correction - I am being overcome by the 4 hours of sleep I've had in the past 60-odd hours. I am fighting desperately to make it past 5pm GMT!
So...I am pleased to say that while flying into London on this attempt at UK-living, I did not experience the sheer regret that I did previously. I did not have that "wtf I am doing-moment" - mainly because I was having a get-this-f*cking-plane-on-the-ground-before-we-all-die-moment. I'm not saying that the few bouts of turburlance were terrible...I'm just saying that I'm not usually inspired to throw-up during turbalance (and last night I definitely fought such desire!). Possibly my nauseated stomach could have been related to our preboarding call
"Ladies and gentlemen we are sorry for the delay. The maintenance crew is on the aircraft fixing it. We don't know what is broken, we just know that they are there. So the plane is being fixed and we will be boarding as soon as it is. Again we are sorry for the delay."
Leanne didn't need to know that the plane was broken just prior to her getting on it. I can handle broken toys, broken plates, etc...I even handled a Guatemalan chicken bus ride during which the floor beneath my seat was apparently missing....but the machine that is carrying me 30,000 feet above a black abyss is not supposed to be broken. That's all I'm saying.
So that crisis everted, I then spent the next 8 hours stressing over the possibility of deportation at immigration . Immigration wasn't too bad...except for that little issue that my passport photo-Leanne and real-life Leanne don't really resemble each other anymore. Immigration did catch that. I have two options - either put all the weight back on...or go to the Canadian embassy for some consultation. (eating does sound like fun though!).
Immigration cleared...next crisis...money. If you will remember from Banbury, the UK has been a stronghold of chip & pin technology. Fortunately in April, they still understood my archaic American credit cards. Fast forward 6 months - my credit cards are no longer archaic - they are completely null and void. This has left me scrambling to figure out how I'm going to live until I start getting paid. That crisis has not been averted. Oh ya...and throw in the fact that I have misplaced my debit card password for my UK bank account - I would say that the financial aspects of my day have not gone so well. (that could be the sleep deprived jet lag talking).
My success on the day? I got a mobile phone. I don't know how to use it. I don't know how to call anyone - but I do have a lifeline to the outside (its a small glimmer of hope). Unfortunately my laptop is now rejecting my internet connection....one step forward, 2 steps back...and so it goes :)
Oh ya...and its raining. Welcome to London :)) Luckily the men who run the hotel that I am staying in seem to think I'm an idiot and are more than willing to help me. Not necessarily as a coincidence they have also put me in the room closest to the office...lol...you know what I'm saying (this room is actually bigger than the one I requested - which is somewhat scary cuz I'm staying in a closet.)
Ok so that's my story for today. Oh yes..and in reference to the title - my bags really have battered me - heavy luggage + shoulder straps = terrible bruising and injury across my collar bones, shoulders and arm. its tempting just to move into the hotel to avoid moving again (and keep in mind...I actually have about 60 pounds LESS luggage than I did when I went to Banbury).
Cheers!
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