round and round in circles...

[deird_lj]

My attitude to the whole going-to-England thing tends to go in circles.

I’ll start off with
Relaxed Happiness
…in which I am generally content, and confident that I’m going to go, and it’ll all be fine, and I’ll have a great time.
This stage is fun while it lasts, but rapidly moves into
Doubt
…because, of course, there’s a big possibility that I won’t get to go. Especially if I can’t find a job in the next month or so.
Once this stage gets going, I end up in
Depression
…when I am completely and utterly convinced that I will be at least 70 before I get to see England.
This stage, happily, doesn’t generally last very long. It soon becomes
Determination
…to get there no matter what - even if it involves working in a bar, or even not working at all! I’ll sit on the streets and beg for money – as long as those streets are vaguely British!
Unfortunately, I’m not quite as carefree as all that. So this stage quickly turns into
Rationality
…because it would be incredibly dumb for me to travel halfway round the world without having a job beforehand.
So, instead of that, I move on a stage into
Organisation
…at which point I start frantically putting together job applications, and emails to potential employers, and so forth.
This stage could be really useful, but almost immediately turns into
Blind Panic
…about the entire situation. After all, if it works, then I will, two or three months from now, be on the other side of the world. Where I know almost no-one. And everything is strange, and scary, and different. AND I’M DOING THIS STUPID MOVING-ROUND-THE-WORLD THING PURELY SO THAT I CAN BE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD. WHICH IS INSANELY STUPID. I AM ENTIRELY MAD.
Thankfully, I eventually get over this stage, and go back to the Relaxed Happiness.


Right now, I’m stuck in the middle of Depression. I’ve spent the morning convinced that I’m not going to get a job – not ever – and it’s all entirely pointless.
But I think I’m going to see if I can skip a couple of stages, and go straight into the job-hunting bit. That’s much more productive, really.

*rushes off to email railway people*

Comments

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

And everything is strange, and scary, and different.

* We sometimes have this wet stuff falling out of the sky.

* You can go to the toilet without checking that no giant eight-legged monstrosities are lurking under the seat waiting to eat you.

* Paper money is actually made of paper, not plastic.

* We have Marmite instead of Vegemite. It's better.


Reassured, or even more scared now? :-)

[deird1]

Bit of both, really...
:)

Paper money is actually made of paper, not plastic.

See, that's just unnatural.

We have Marmite instead of Vegemite. It's better.

Thankfully, I'm allowed to bring Vegemite into the country with me. Otherwise, I might have reconsidered my plans...

From Laney

[(Anonymous)]

* We sometimes have this wet stuff falling out of the sky.

That's what Melbourne *used* to be like. Ahhh, I rememeber the days...
This is why Mebournians and Poms are the only people in the world who can REALLY discuss the weather. Because it's actually interesting.
Whereas in places like California and Queensland, they must just go, "Yep, it'll be sunny again." Not much conversation. Until they get a big storm, and then there's not much time for casual conversation...


* You can go to the toilet without checking that no giant eight-legged monstrosities are lurking under the seat waiting to eat you.

I don't think I've EVER checked a toilet! That's for those country people...
The cool thing about toilets in England, though, is getting to 'pull the chain', instead of flushing. Ditto lots of pull-on light switches. Or maybe that just shows where I was living. I don't remember any sort of dual-flush system... :)


* Paper money is actually made of paper, not plastic.

I remember paper money! Folded up much more easily to go in your wallet. Also got lots of little tears along the sides as it became progressively more bedraggled (like a little badge of lifespan)...


* We have Marmite instead of Vegemite. It's better.

I think we can get Marmite here, too.
Back when Marmite came out and was a hit, Vegemite briefly got renamed (get this) 'Parwill'. As in,
"If Ma might, then Pa will."
How lame is that?

Here's what I think is cool about England:

when the history around you becomes... normal.
Instead of exciting.

That's an awesome moment.

Re: From Laney

[stormwreath.livejournal.com]

I think pull-chain toilets have been pretty much phased out now, except maybe in scary old institutions. But pull-cords for light switches are standard in bathrooms (keeps wet hands well away from live electricity) and I had one like that in my bedroom too as a child.

My college at Uni was built in the early 16th century... that bit sounds cool; what's less cool is having to walk past a crowd of tourists with cameras standing outside your window every morning. :-)

[feralxheart.livejournal.com]

AND I’M DOING THIS STUPID MOVING-ROUND-THE-WORLD THING PURELY SO THAT I CAN BE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WORLD. WHICH IS INSANELY STUPID. I AM ENTIRELY MAD.

This probably doesn't help, but I'm going to tell you a story anyway.

A friend of mine decided she wanted to go live in Japan. She doesn't speak Japanese, and couldn't figure out why the hell she thought it was such a good idea. But, she landed a job and went there to teach English to Japanese people anyway.

It was really scary, a lot of it sucked, she misses people all the time.. but now that her visa is up, she desperately does NOT want to leave Japan.

So..maybe if you have this idea that you want to go, and need to go, and that it will be the best thing ever..maybe you're right. And you should do everything you can to go, and nip the blind panic in the butt - cause if you think you'll love it, you probably will.

...plus on a totally selfish note, I wanna go to England, and it would be a hoot to run into you there.

[deird1]

And you should do everything you can to go, and nip the blind panic in the butt - cause if you think you'll love it, you probably will.

*hugs* Thanks for the lovely reassurance. And you're right - I really should.

...plus on a totally selfish note, I wanna go to England, and it would be a hoot to run into you there.

That would be so much fun! Do that!

[immer-am-lesen.livejournal.com]

You can go to the toilet without checking that no giant eight-legged monstrosities are lurking under the seat waiting to eat you.
You don't have spiders? At all? Not even daddy longlegs? I'm liking the sound of this....
Although, they do catch all the annoying little moths by the kitchen window at night, so not all bad...

Paper money is actually made of paper, not plastic.
Oh, I'm so glad we evolved past that...the number of times money was found as a little squished-up ball of mush in pockets after the wash...
That, and it got so grubby, and torn, and icky...
And, our plastic money is so pretty and colourful now! :-)

[deird1]

I love our coloured money...

[kirby1024.livejournal.com]

I like having money with little windows that you can see through. Worth the change alone! :)

[immer-am-lesen.livejournal.com]

btw- I'll be very impressed with you if you do get to go. It's a level of bravery I'll never achieve :-)

[deird1]

Thanks. *freaks out some more*

[immer-am-lesen.livejournal.com]

Ah, no need to freak out...if it doesn't happen this year, maybe sometime after.
Or you could just go on a nice long holiday instead, no pressure to find work...
"Work now, freak later", as Crichton would say....

[ikona-rakasha.livejournal.com]

i know how you feel, but reversed. will i stay herea nother year
do i want to live in japan or move onwards?

i go from sedate to irrational to depressed to angry then elated *hugs*

[deird1]

*hugs back*

[shapinglight]

Wow! I didn't know you had plastic money in Australia until I read this thread.

[deird1]

Yep. Our money is plastic - and extremely pretty.

We have different coloured notes for each number: $5 is purple, $10 is blue, $20 is red, and so on. Makes it very easy to pick them without having to think about it very much...

[klme.livejournal.com]

it is so much better than 'greenbacks' or whatever the heck they call them in the US. They all look exactly the same, you actually have to pull them all out to work out which one is the right one. I got so confused shopping over there - also because when they charge you $4.78 they actually mean $4.78 rather than the convenience of rounding up/down that we do. And their wretched money with its quarters and dimes and oh my whatever else. And tax! What the?!
I realise this is a predominantly British thread, but I just had to have a rant.
Thank you.

[deird1]

I have to say, the quarters-and-dimes thing would confuse me.

After years of adding up 20s, 10s, and 5s, the idea of having to put a quarter, a dime, and a nickel together to make 40 cents is just brain bending...

[silveronthetree.livejournal.com]

Good luck with the job hunting. Don't worry too much, it may be a bit different but we are all very nice over here and shouldn't be too scary. .

[deird1]

Thanks!

Job hunting is really tricky...

[taiba.livejournal.com]

I have similar feelings about similar things, but less intense because my travel plans are a bit further away.

[deird1]

*hugs* Yay! Someone else who understands!