A collection of thoughts one week in.

Weather

Wednesday through Sunday were fantastically sunny. Well kind of. Sunday was a little grey at times. Monday was very grey, and today had some spots of rain.

Cellphone

I’m with t-mobile because they’re the cheapest pay-as-you-go, and getting a contract means having a local bank account, and I couldn’t wait. Reception kind of sucks at work, but who really calls me anyway?

Bank account

Much harder than I expected. In Canada I just walked in (to an arranged appointment) and walked out with an interac (eftpos) card. Here I walked in, fortunately with an addressed bank statement from NZ, and walked out knowing I’d have to wait a few days just to get an account number. Have yet to receive a switch/solo/maestro (eftpos?) card. Soon hopefully.

Public transport

The oyster card system makes travelling on busses and the tube super easy. Busses are capped at £3/day (£1 flat per bus ride), including the tube takes that to a max of about £5/day. Unfortunately I go to Windsor (to work) each day, which is outside the oyster realm, so I have to have a monthly train pass (oh my god expensive). Annoyingly this has to go through the ticket machine, which means taking it out of the pouch and then putting back in. Why can’t they just extend the oyster system, or have a similar contactless card, or something. Bah.

Work

Is in Windsor. Nice enough office (though it’s a managed office, so some things - networking, for example - are harder than they would otherwise be), and the commute isn’t actually as bad as I thought. The busses kind of suck, but the train is 50 minutes of pure relaxation. Especially if you find yourself in first class.

Windsor is a rather touristy area, but it is awfully nice, especially when the sun is out. Shall have to get the camera out soon.

London Marathon

This was on Sunday, and I have photographs, but it takes time and so far I’ve not had any. Soon.