But When You Worry You Make It Double

That's right... I'm worried. I'd have to say I'm usually a worrier. I like it when life is easy and calm so when there is something to worry about (no matter how small or ridiculous), I worry. But according to Bobby McFerrin, "when you worry you make it double." So... I'm trying not to worry.

What am I worried about you ask? Well here it is plain and simple. I really really really want this job. I am pretty sure the interview went well but then there is the waiting period after the interview before they notify me. Now I'm worried. I guess I might not be as worried if I hadn't been excited before about a job right before Christmas and then the whole thing just fizzled out like a One-Hit-Wonder's career.

I should know today or tomorrow but the suspense is killing me. I just want my phone to ring and know either way.

So I'm sitting here trying to enjoy a lovely sunny day but I'm worried. I guess there is technically no trouble or reason to worry because at this point I have no control over the situation. So I'm going to try not to make this double and be happy.

After all, I am pretty happy for several reasons:
1) It's sunny out.
2) Running club is tonight and there will be drinks afterward.
3) I'm learning new things every day.
4) My natural hair color is coming in and I kind of like the little gray hairs that showed up in the bunch.
5) I am living in a totally new country.
6) I got to sleep in as long as I wanted today (unfortunately I couldn't sleep past 8:40am because I had a good dream that I got the job and missed the call).
7) My dreams are much better and more vivid since I've moved.
8) Leftovers for lunch was homemade pizza.
9) I don't pay rent.
10) I'm wearing the coziest sheepskin slippers right now.
11) It's sunny out!!!!!
12) Eventually, I will learn to drive stick on the wrong side of the car/road. Maybe we can practice this weekend.
13) The sun is shining through the window and our palm tree's shadow is dancing across the darkened television screen.
14) I love our new furniture we got from the auction a few weeks ago. It's so cozy.
15) I'm healthy.

(My sheepskin slippers: They are soooooooo comfy and warm)

Okay so that cheered me up a bit but I'm still a little worried. I'll just keep reminding myself "whatever it is it will pass..." and "don't worry, be happy."

I'm Ooh-ing and Aah-ing

(Ooh-aah Point on South Kaibab Trail, Grand Canyon - Panoramic)
On our hike of the South Kaibab Trail and I stitched it together. That was a great day.

Click on the photo for a better view.

An American POV on NHS from inside the UK

In my recent trip home all I heard about was National Healthcare, what "President Obama wants to do..." and how my parents feel about it all. Boy, was that a fun vacation.

During my two week holiday in the US to see family and friends I was asked several questions about this strange and mysterious land I am now living in. "What is the food like?" "How is the weather?" "What is NHS like? I hear it's terrible..."

Normally my friends and family would just stick to the basics of food, weather and culture. However, with the current topic of healthcare being yelled about on the nightly Fox News channel, my friends wanted to know what NHS is like. This makes sense to me. Coming from a country that doesn't like change but loves to brag that they are innovative, I have come to fear "different" and know what their concerns are.

I'm coming to my point, just wait, it's good for the UK too...

Anyway, there is all this talk about how terrible a National Healthcare will be in the US from conservative parties (my parents). And I'm not an expert on it at all but after my first NHS experience, I am happy to say I am all for National Healthcare and NHS did not suck, infact, I loved my first experience with the system.

I called a few days ago just to schedule a meeting with a Nurse to check up on my meds. The receptionist was very nice and got me in for an appointment two days later. No problem. That was simple but I was expecting a catch, like the horrendous wait once I got there or a huge hassle.

Yesterday, I went to the Mowbray Square Medical Center for said appointment. I know I have a bit of a slanted view since the location is brand new and all of the facilities were sparkling and smelled like they had never been used. I checked in for my appointment and waited about 10 minutes, maybe less. There was a LCD monitor that made a tone and flashed my name and who I was to see on it when they were ready for me. I found the nurse's office and had a nice long and comfortable talk about what I needed.

I am one to dread going to the doctor. I will do anything in my power to stay healthy just so I do not have to sit on that paper table with a paper gown trying to cover my running muscles. But this experience was different. The nurse looked me in the eye, gave me full attention, asked several questions but did not make me feel uncomfortable and explained everything to me very clearly. In the end, although I did not have an issue with my medications that I knew of, she found a very valid concern. Apparently the medicine I was on could be fatal with a person who experiences migraine headaches...I experience migraine headaches! But we got that issue sorted and now I can go on with living in the UK.

Here is the bonus: I am from the US where healthcare costs can bankrupt you and I have been conditioned to that type of treatment. This NHS visit did not cost me anything. Not even for the prescription that I picked up afterwards. Ofcourse I am pessimistically ready for a hefty bill in the post but I'm pretty sure that visit was FREE!!!!

So, as far as the National Healthcare for the US goes, I say "fellow Americans, go for it!!!" My experience with NHS was great. I have been fortunate in my experiences but I know I have fellow Americans who have never experienced anything close to it.

What have I been up to?

That is a good question. I will try to make the answer as quick and painless as possible--like a band aid/plaster being ripped off. I have been avoiding my blog for lack of things to say or maybe I'm just a bit over loaded with things to tell. Either way, I think I am finally ready to write again.

Just to recap, I moved from NYC to Harrogate UK in October and this is what I have been up to since then.

I did cry the first week I moved to the UK.
Really the only reason I was crying was that I just missed towels, got all emotional about it and had a little girly cry in the shower. Milestone 1, Check.

Enjoying the balls
Get your head out of the gutter. I mean fancy dress, ceremonial, freak-out-about-my-hair-type of balls. You already know I moved to Harrogate but what you didn't know what that I get to do really cool things here. Like go to formal events and wear pretty dresses. Yeah, it's girly but hey I have those moments too. What Leo woman doesn't like to look hot in a $500 dress (that I got on e-bay for $30).

(Girls love playing dress up)

A girl can't go to balls every day therefore, part-time work has filled two of my week days and the rest are spent searching for work or even sometimes working from home. Not that there is anything wrong with working from home but it is not for me. The very first day of working from home was pretty blissful. I woke up, got tea, had my cereal and spent the rest of the morning in bed under a down comforter while I worked on my sweet macbook pro. This blissful state only lasted about 4 hours.

By 1:00pm I was going stir crazy, I was pretty grossed out by the fact that I hadn't changed out of my sleep shirt and yoga pants. Then, I took one look in the mirror and lost all self-confidence. Perhaps it was the fact that we only had a tiny 'beauty' mirror at the time and the best view I got of myself was from two feet below my chin. Note to all women: the "under the chin badly lit view" could possibly be the most unflattering view ever. On a side note this made me feel bad for kids. They see us at this angle at all times. No wonder adults are depicted as monsters in kids movies.

(I resorted to taking snapshots with photo booth to capture a cute photo for a mid-afternoon pre-shower self-esteem boost after a look in the under-chin mirror).

Anyway, since then we have gotten a large wall mirror from Ikea and until this weekend I was still jones-ing for a full body/full-length mirror. I won a sweet Teak framed mirror at a local auction on Friday and can't wait to gauge the progress of my Harrogate hill runs in full glory.

Remember Remember November
One of the balls was in November and it was very lovely however it was scheduled at the same exact time as the giant bonfire in the Stray. Guy Fawkes Day is on the 5th of November. To all who are not familiar with Guy Fawkes Day, just imagine the 4th of July with a giant bonfire. From the sounds around our flat that week, I think everyone celebrates Guy Fawkes Day for at least a week prior and even a few days after the 5th of November. I got to go to a very nice ball but I did missed my first UK holiday. In fact, I've missed Christmas here as well.

Because Thanksgiving isn't celebrated in North Yorkshire, or all of England, we moved the date and made our own Thanksgiving on Monday the 23rd. While our friends and families were eating turkey back in the states, we went to Spain. We got this pretty sweet deal for a holiday package to Torremolinos. Upon arrival we realized why it was such a sweet deal. Despite our hopes for a sunny retreat from the UK, Spain was pretty cold.
The first day we proudly wore our tourist sandals and warm weather clothes but only to freeze all day and get gawked at by the locals. I think my skirt was a bit too short not only for the weather but also for the local taste. The second day we learned our lesson and bundled up in as many layers as we could find. We wandered the streets and castles of Malaga and Granada, I had my fortune read by an old Spanish fortune teller, without my permission, and she nearly ran us down when we refused to pay. I don't think someone telling me I'm going to have two dark-haired babies is worth €5.

Day 1

Day 2

Note our change in attire from Day one to day two.

Wisconsin Girl in WI
Eric and I trekked back to Wisconsin for Christmas for two weeks and two days. We both met each others' families and I met some of his Portage friends. We cooked a couple chicken stews with me on cutting duty and Eric as the chef, we consumed copious amounts of sugar. I tested my pro-skills at snowboarding and skiing for the very first time and managed walked away despite several diligent attempts to break my neck. I have to thank Eric, Mike and Claire for waiting on me while I fell and then got up again and then fell again. A special thanks goes out to Claire for teaching me that your first time is "all pizza", that "falling down is the hardest thing to do when skiing" and for her company in the lodge when I was just too sore to attempt another bunny hill.

(Daisy, Stella and me at my parents house in Wisconsin. There is no better early morning alarm than two little blonde nieces)

The morning after ski/snowboarding, we took an interim trip to Las Vegas and the Grand Canyon for a hike on the Kaibab trail.When we arrived in Vegas we drove almost immediately to Grand Canyon and spent the night in the car. The next morning we arrived so see the sun light up Grand Canyon. It was amazing. I have been there as a teenager with my parents but never as an adult and we never attempted any type of climb with Mom and Dad. When we got there, we were a bit surprised by the amount of snow on the ground... and in the canyon. So doing the smart thing, we asked the rangers what they would suggest for trails and equipment. We rented 4 hiking poles for the day for $8 and I bought my own pair of crampons for $13.99 +tax. It didn't take me more than a few steps with the crampons on to realize that "this was the best $13.99+tax I have ever spent." I am pretty accident prone, my arms and legs don't like to synchronize. They are frequently letting me down, literally. But with tiny metal bits that dig an inch into mud or ice attached to my feet and poles that jab into the ground, it is much harder to fall down. :D Take that, arms and legs.

I got so confidant skiing I thought I'd try it down Grand Canyon ;-)

Since we flew into Las Vegas and had a hotel there, we decided to drive back and spend some time in a comfy hotel room, shower and find a buffet to chow on. Nothing against Vegas or Vegas lovers, and perhaps if I liked spending my money, shopping for things I cannot afford or looking at naked women I would have liked Las Vegas a bit more. It was good to see the city as an adult but I would prefer a walk in the woods over one down the strip any day.

Back in the U.K!
We returned to the UK the day after Boxing Day and I have been jet lagged since. I'm a bit "off" from the flight and the time difference. I haven't been able to pry myself from bed before 10 am this past week. Luckily I didn't have to work. However, this coming week will be another story and I may need some help getting to work on Monday.

Unfortunately I have been self-diagnosed with car sickness
I know this sounds ridiculous. Yep, I'm a grown woman and I get pukey at the first sight of a roundabout. This is probably an aftereffect of living in NYC for 5 years. I got used to trains and forgot what it was like to ride in a car. I am getting better. I'm forcing myself to. The big plan is to do a long trip in a car in Europe in a year or two. So, I had better either get over my pukey-ness or I will not be a happy backpacker.

Seabands are the newest purchase I have made to combat this rare and horrible disease. They seemed to work throughout the United States. However UK roundabouts are the prime obstacle of this illness. I'm just not so sure if tiny plastic beads attached to sweatbands will get me through a long trip. I guess we will find out.


That is all I have for now. I will close with a few new words or phrases I have learnt (or learnt not to use) this year:

1. Pants: In the UK pants mean... ahem... underpants. My nieces in the US think this is simply the funniest thing ever. They even made me a Christmas card that said "you need new pants" and gave me a gift certificate for new undies. How thoughtful.
   
2. Double Fisting: In the US this means to hold two alcoholic beverages at the same time or even two desserts (I saw it recently on a Facebook image in reference to cookies). It does NOT mean the same thing in the UK... just think about it.
   
3. Oven: Even though the switch on the wall may say "cooker" it is still called an oven in my new NY (North Yorkshire). A real British citizen told me this so I will believe him until I am told differently. He said the switches are made in a different country so it is called the oven but they don't know that where they make the switches.
   
4. Buck's Fizz: To my New Yorkers, when you come to visit, mimosas are called Buck's Fizz here. Buck's Fizz is the original concoction created in... anyone? anyone? Yes, the United Kingdom. It was the first name for an orange juice and champagne cocktail. Later the French changed the recipe and renamed it to a mimosa in Paris.

Crunchy Runs: Overseas style

Just a shortie blog today...

It's fall all over the place and that means a few things: warm sweaters, no more short skirts, drinking coffee at the temperature it was created to be drank at, and crunchy runs (i.e. running outdoors on fall leaves). Last week I joined a running group and so far they do not fail to kick my butt every Tuesday and Thursday from 7pm to 8, 8:30, 9pm. I figure the days in between I am allowed to explore and go on fun runs until I find a job that can pay me for my time and ambition.

So after dropping off NHS applications and applying for as many applicable jobs that I could find, I got out of the flat and went to discover unknown lands (well, unknown to me). Towards the end I started to scare myself a little. It was getting dark and I did not really know where I was while meanering through some farmer's fields. Thoughts of making a desperate phone call started to creap up but it turned out I was just down the road from our flat and all was well. But that would have been quite a story. Lost in the UK less than 4 blocks from home, HA. There you have it: I had a wonderful crunchy run alone in Northern UK this afternoon. If you ever get to Harrogate I reccomend doing it.

(No offense NYC but I'll take this body of water over the East River or the Jackie O. resivoir anyday.)

(This was actually at the beginning of my run and out of chronological order. I put it in because I am trying to figure out what the bird on the left is doing. A back flip? Possibly a mid-air back-stroke?)

Learning English

(Finding my way through Harrogate this week)

After talking to Mom about my family history, I have learned that my ancestors are serial-movers. According to Mom, her side of the family got to America from Germany because they were running away. Now that is what I call running away!

I figure I should follow in the footsteps of my great great grandparents and have moved to a country that is foreign to me. Although my outward appearance blends in seamlessly, the second I open my mouth the librarian, the bank manager, the O2 and McDonanlds’ clerks, and the new running group recognize “this girl is NOT from around here.” That is right, I am the one with an accent now and I have a HUGE American accent.

(The view from my McDonalds "box suite")

Eric (my American bf/roomie) and I had a talk about this. He is not surrounded by the native accent as much but I will probably be and to be honest, I love it. I am really enjoying listening to people talk but then I open my own mouth and sound so different. Weird! I don’t know if I will acquire any sort of accent but I do know that I am already picking up on some great new vocabulary terms.

“Red Boy” “Rent Boy” being the newest one I learned the other day as I was sitting in McDonands taking advantage of FREE internet with the purchase of water and side salad. A group of teenage girls were eating lunch and discussing the term. One of the girls did not know what it meant therefore I was fortunate to not only hear the term but I got a definition as well.

Rent Boy=Male prostitute.
I had originally thought the word was “Red Boy.” It totally made sense to this Wisconsin girl--red light=red boy--makes sense right? I was wrong. Luckily, before I posted this, I had the good fortune to mention it to some Harrogate residents who corrected my error and got a laugh out of my my American translation. Thank you, sooooo much Kariba Creative team!

There are others that I am sure I will be learning. I don’t know exactly what the crag is yet. The women at the running club kept talking about a wedding run where they ran out to the “crag” and had cakes. Sounds amazing and I know for a fact that the cakes were very yummy. I got to have some after my first group run. However, I don’t really know what a crag is. I am imagining it is some sort of land formation. Maybe rocks or a valley? According to my “researcher” roomie: The UK was an area where the glaciers stopped in the last ice age. Being from a region of Wisconsin which benefited from the glacial stopping, I know what glacial rocks look like and it is very pretty.

Here are a couple more terms, which are new and very important for me to know. I will put the English term first then the American Definition and why it is important for me to know.

Boot = Trunk of your car
I suppose if someone tells me to put something in the boot and I didn’t know this I might be very confused. Luckily, Eric pointed out a “boot sale” when arriving in Harrogate. No, no my NY friends. Do not get too excited. There are no Prada, LV, or even Areosoles at this sale. Rather, it is a sale that takes place from the back or “boot” of your automobile.

Coriander Leaves= Cilantro
This is probably not a UK/US thing but it is something I needed to learn. In NYC we called the leaves of the coriander plant cilantro. Just like it says in my Microsoft Word Encarta World English Dictionary. However, I was not informed that they were two in the same before I went to Asda to get fixings for guacamole. Normally, I would just smell the stuff since it looked like what I knew to be cilantro but they had it completely sealed and I could not smell it. I was going to take a leap of faith but then spotted a whole coriander plant for sale on an adjacent rack. When no one was looking, I took a tiny leaf to sample and sure enough… I learned in Harrogate’s Asda that coriander leaves are cilantro.

Plasters= “Bandaid” or plastic bandage.
I found this out while in Boots drugstore (again, this has nothing to do with footwear). I was looking for bandages for my sore knees that I fell on a week ago in NY. Anyone who knows me, knows that this is a very critical piece of information. As an American child, I was known as the “band-aid kid” because of all of my injuries. I suppose if I were a UK kid I would have been known as the “plasters-kid.” Hahahahaha, that cracks me up a bit.

Chips=Fries
Yes, I know this is one of the most popular terms and I know it pretty well, I’m not confused by it. The reason it is important to me here is that I do not have the internet yet. ((Hold on, I’m piecing this one together.)) Since I do not have the internet at my flat, I need to go to McDonalds to get it for free. This means I spend a few hours a day at McDonalds. Eric is teasing that I will soon refuse to get out of bed without the promise of a Big Mac and shake. So, with all the time I spend at Micky D’s, it really tickles me to see a tiny blonde British child say “Chips! Chips! Do I get Chips?!” I have to reform my preconceived notion of the McDonald’s “fry smell” to mean “chips.” It is not solely the idea of fries, it is the fry smell that is McDonalds. I have to learn that that smell is chips not fries. Oh dear, now I am confused.

Anyway, I am also learning a lot about a culture. At first glance, it is seemingly identical to the one I grew up in but at second glance… I am found a bit lost. I am also learning the English way of living. Apparently, you do NOT have tea at teatime. That was a lesson I learned from my designer replacement Victoria before I landed in this sunny isle. Vic is from Oxford and lives in NYC. She filled me in on UK living while I filled her in on marathon running. It was a fair trade off methinks but I wish I had a pocket Vic right about now. I would get so much more use out of her here.

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(The Stray((I think that's what it's called)), and yes, it is sunny!)

Side Note: I bet you caught me say “this sunny isle” and maybe you thought I was being a bit facetious but I am not. It has rained one day since I landed but other than that, it is very very sunny here in Harrogate. I could possibly get a tan if the temperature rose a few degrees. ☺

Island Hopping: No longer Wisco Girl in NY

(A going away gift Cathy got me. It's a Wisconsin Girl in NY key chain. How appropriate)

I really should have thought about naming this blog a little more when I did it. It is the morning of the day I leave NYC and the United States to learn a new accent and explore another island culture. I am pretty excited. I got to wake up super happy--which I have been doing a lot of lately--and now I'm listening to one of my favorite morning bands--Polyphonic Spree.

This week was a lot of goodbyes, parties, and getting my fill of NYC things. It was a great week. Eric said "How you leave a place really affects your overall memory of your time there." I know that I've been very down about NYC for a while now but this past week reminded me of the reasons I stayed here for 5 years. Oh crap now I'm crying a little.

I ♥ NY people
Like I said in a few blogs, NY is people. What makes NY amazing for me is the MILLIONS of people. Luckily out of those millions I was able to find some really great friends. These are the people who have been there for me in many ways. I am alone in NY but I really am not. If I go into it too much I'll have tears all over my keyboard and then be pissed when I can't watch a movie on the flight tonight. So I'm stopping there. I ♥ NY people.

I ♥ NY's Coney Island
In my last post I mentioned wanting to get to Coney Island and I did. It's not fun or exciting but totally solemn. Basically it is a broken down amusement park and there is something I love in that. I broke my attraction to the least attractive amusement park down to three reasons when I was there:

1) Nathan's Hotdogs. It's totally fine to have a completely unhealthy lunch, drink a beer at noon. That was my one meat splurge when I was totally vegetarian. I would sneak out to Coney Island, have a hotdog, then tell all my friends how I cheated on my vegetarianism. I know whatever is in hotdogs should make me run in another direction but you just can't imitate them at all with fake meat.
2) I always witness some bizarre activity going on while I'm there. Last time it was a group of Polar Bear swimmers in March or April and then this time some Jewish guy was reading his giant prayer book while throwing food at seagulls. The gulls went absolutely nuts and it was actually really pretty (I have photos).

3) Lastly, Coney Island is a place where you can be alone but not. It's desolate and everything is run down/broken. It reminds me of the amusement park at the end of Big and for some reason I really love it. Maybe I secretly think the magical fortune telling machine will be out there someday. That would be so cool.

(The guy feeding gulls and reading his prayer book at Coney Island, so pretty!)

I ♥ NY food
Specifically I love being able to eat different types of food at any time. At any hour in NY you can get Tapas, Southern, Peruvian, Mexican, Indian, Ethopian, Thai, Diner food, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Italian, Pizza (it's NY it HAS it's own category here) and more. Food brings people together, nourishes them, and can be an adventure to try new things. Also, on top of missing the food I will miss the dinners with my friends, co-workers, and colleagues. It's not the Pecan Pie Sunday or Fried Goat Cheese with Honey and Carmelized Onions that I miss. It's the sounds that come out of our mouths while eating them. It's the act of never being the one to eat the last bite because you are with your best friends and want them to have it. That is what I will miss.

My new "HOTLIST" of NY eats:
Buttermilk Channel
Shanghai Kitchen (formerly known as Moonhouse)
Seoul Garden
Sala 19
Johns Pizza
Clinton Street Baking Co.

I ♥ NY
So yes, I still ♥ NY. I'm just not suited to live here anymore. I really do miss greenspace. So, I am about to hop a plane to a very green place where there is a yard, a palm tree, washer, dryer, a red fence, a bike/running path, some roudy children that need a talking to, and a lot of adventure to be had.

So.... as My friend Shannon would say "Peace out NY"