Better become a Norwegian really quickly

Hmm, they must love ice cream here in Manchester, because the ice cream truck is driving by each day. In Norway it was once a week or something like that. Well, not for me… I’ve started a new and moderately healthy lifestyle. I’ve reduced my 1 liter of diet coke a day to a small glass during lunch (it is free so it would be rude to pass that up). Only 1 small cup of coffee every day and tea without sugar. I’ve replaced my diet coke at home with orange juice. I might even think about starting to exercise.

The Norwegians sure are fast eaters. I noticed it everywhere I go. In Norway, Dublin and now the UK. They just eat like crazy. I really struggle with that because I’ve always eaten quite slowly. When I was in China, people told me I ate fast. They have noticed that the Norwegians eat fast here, because we only get 30 minutes lunch, while the Dutch get 45 minutes for example. So this means I have to pick up the pace and become a Norwegian or I will go hungry. Mind you, they have free tomato soup in the vending machines, but that is for emergencies only.

I’ve noticed how similar Manchester is to Dublin. I’m not talking city centre because I haven’t been there yet, but the area where I live. It’s strikingly similar to where I lived in Ireland. They even have a “main street” here like I did in Swords with all kinds of stores. I’m surprised that the number of pubs aren’t that many though. In Ireland there were full of pubs everywhere, but here they are sparse.

I’m really tired now. I think it has to do with all the traveling I’ve done in recent month. I don’t know what day it is really. It will take a couple of weeks to get used to it. These last 2 nights, I’ve been waking up in the middle of the night. I have some trouble sleeping, partly because it’s a new place, but mostly because I miss Kei. It’s hard to concentrate at work, but I can do both, thinking about her and do the job required. Luckily the training is quite easy for me coming from a call center/IT background, so not much concentrating is needed.

Kei called me again today. She has a great time in Thailand, but she also has trouble sleeping. It’s hard being so far apart. I called her hotel in Thailand later on just to say hi. It became a longer talk than expected. My phone bill will be a bit larger than usual, but it’s worth it just to hear her voice and laughter. She bought us matching watches, one black and one yellow. Can’t wait to see it :D. She has taken over 100 pictures so far, so I have much to look forward too.

Day one…

Yep, the pic is of the house I currently live in. Typical British I would say.

I got to bed at 9pm last night and got up at 5am, ready and excited about my first day at work. I ended up talking to my very good friend Rina, so I managed only to get a shower. Didn’t eat at all, but it was ok. I didn’t know when the bus came by so I stood out in the rain for about 20 minutes. I had an umbrella though, which I need to replace soon, because it’s barely keeping me dry at the moment (The weather was better during the day). The bus came and it cost me £2.50 to get to Wythenshawe bus station which is about 3 minutes away from work in walking distance. £5 per day is a bit expensive, so I bought a weekpass for £9. I can use it on any Arriva bus whenever I want for a whole week so I think it’s a good deal. The bus took about 20 minutes which is ok, but I would like something closer.

Speaking of closer, a Norwegian girl who also is new owns a house 2.2 km away from work. She lives there, but rents out the rooms. She has a couple of rooms available so during the week I will go check it out. If I like it, I might move next week. The rent there is the same as here, 80 GBP a week.

Let me tell you about the job! Well since this was my first day, I can’t really have a clear picture yet, but there are signs… and the signs are really good. Of course I compared this company to my last tech support job and the difference is huge. In my previous company they had absolutely no control, constant PC problems, and no follow-ups. This company has that and more. It feels like a real company. In both my previous jobs, it hasn’t been very inspiring, things didn’t work at all. That is the impression I got from the company.

What also impressed me was how happy everyone who worked there was. Not a sad face around. I thought it was weird. No one is that happy! So I checked around and it turns out that the majority of people there had worked there for 4, 6 or 8 years which is unheard of in a call center environment. There must be something wrong here, maybe they secretly drug the employees?

Just as I was determined to find out something bad about the place, I found it :P. Apparently Wythenshawe is a notorious crime area, the worst in Manchester according to people I spoke to. Don’t go there in the dark they warned me. Well, I guess there had to be something, yet the people there love to work there and since they have stayed so long, I guess nothing bad has ever happened to them.

And then, I’ve saved the best for last. It’s a free-for-all-party at work! Free lunch (which by the way is excellent, 3 warm dishes to choose from, lots of extras, take what you want… free soda. Oh, and the vending machines at work is free, so free tea, free hot chocolate, whatever you want. Crazy people!

Well that’s it for day 1. It can only get worse :P.

Oh, another negative thing about the job. I come home so late, so Kei had just gone offline when I came home. Time zones is an awful thing (sounds familiar). Also she gets my text messages, but I don’t get hers. Well I suppose that’s something :-).

My new place

Yeay, I have internet in my new place!

I arrived in Manchester today at 10.30 UK time, took a taxi from the airport to my new place. It’s a nice old English house. Doesn’t look like much from the outside, but inside is where the action is. I would take a pic from outside the house if it wasn’t raining so much, that’s right, raining. Now I was told by reliable sources that it “never” rains in Manchester. Pfff.

Anyway can’t let that get me down. Pretty excited about tomorrow, my new workday. Who will I meet, what will I do, Will I make it there in time? All will be revealed!

Kei called me from Thailand yesterday. I didn’t expect that at all. She never stops surprising me! Unfortunately the text messaging system doesn’t work, so we can’t send messages to each other with really sucks.

I felt a bit sad once I got here realizing I had no friends here, but then something happened. Katy, my Facebook friend sent me a text message to wish me welcome. She will call me today or tomorrow and we will figure out something to do.

So that’s my first day here. I’m extremely tired so I will go to sleep early tonight. My workday starts at 7.30 so I have to take the bus 6.30 or 7.00.

My last day in Norway

So this is it, goodbye snow, goodbye brown cheese, goodbye ridiculously expensive food and stuff, goodbye lutefisk (will definitively not miss you), goodbye king and queen. The weather is nice today so I took a picture showing the Norwegian scenery in the background. Beautiful is it. Will miss that.

Ah, but I am not sad, rather excited. When I woke up today I was worried, but a few words with my good friend Rina fixed me up. If she was my therapist, she would be a rich woman for sure. Also I feel a bit sick, some would say lovesick. Miss Kei a lot and I know I can’t chat with her for about a week. I missed her voice so I called her last night. Her laugh is so wonderful, the best sound in the world.

At this time tomorrow I will be in my new place in Manchester. I wish I knew how the internet situation is, not that I am addicted or anything (yeah right…). Why do I never bother to check these end-of-the-world-important things? Just lazy I guess. So the same deal applies as when I went to China. I don’t know when I will be online again and I hope it will be sooner than later. Have to keep writing and have to keep taking pictures. Mind you, I don’t need internet for that but still.

Yes, Monday will be exciting, my first day at my new job. I’ve been told the dress code is casual but smart at Shell, which is good, because that’s how I usually dress. What it really means is no sweat pants, baggy pants or clothes with holes in them. The first two weeks will be mainly training, and that’s cool. It’s great that they take time to train their employees. I mean I know how to do the job, the technical side, but I need to learn their routines and regulations.

So see you when I see you!

Committed

I really don’t know what to write about today. I’m sure I will think of something to tell while I write this. I spoke to my buddy Knut today. He’s currently in Xi’an in China teaching English. Me and him used to work together in Ireland, but we haven’t had much time to talk recently. I’ve noticed that I haven’t been able to keep close contact with my real-life friends for more than maybe a year or so. Of course, maybe if I hadn’t moved around so much in recent years, then maybe I would have kept them closer. I wonder if my online friends will outlast my real life friends? Some of my real-life friends have now become my online friends. It’s kind of funny how much closer I am to my online friends than real-life friends; maybe it’s just a phase.

Tomorrow Kei will leave for Thailand for a vacation and I will leave for England to work on Sunday. Our picture project will continue in our respective countries though. It will just be new places, but we’ll stay the same, committed to each other. Just hope the cell phones work in these countries so we can text each other. I don’t know what my internet situation will be when I get to England, but I hope it’s immediately available. I wish to keep on blogging on a daily basis.

I have nothing more to write, really.

“You make me want to be a better man.”

Today I got another phone call from Manchester. This time from the umbrella company I chose. I do still not understand this 100%, but I guess I will in time. Also, Rolf, the house owner contacted me and I can rent a room in his house. 70 pounds a week for the small room and 80 pounds a week for the big room, ell expenses included. There lives a Brazilian in the house at the moment. Rolf will sell the house in a couple of months, so I have to find something else.

What he said about the company is amazing. They really take care of you there. The training is really excellent with great tools, and they sometimes send you to courses worldwide. He was sent to Russia, Iceland, Japan and Norway among others. He said that there is a lot to learn and it’s extremely challenging. How well I do is completely up to myself as they are very result based. That suits me fine, since it was the same deal in Ireland. He told me that maybe after a year you will get the hang of things, so it is really a challenge. I love it!

In the meantime I spend the days talking to Kei a lot. She will be leaving for Thailand at the time I will be leaving for England. I just hope our phones work in these countries. I have never met someone like her. It’s like in that movie “As Good As It Gets”. There is a scene there with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt where he says: “You make me want to be a better man.” I feel a little like that, not that I am anything like the character Jack played. I am a good person, I know that, but I want to be even better.

PS! About the pic. I took it this morning as part of me and Kei’s project (Read previous blog). I look so tired here, haha.

Umbrella?

Today I got a phone call from Manchester. It turns out, there is a lot more I have to do before I go there. The nice woman at the other end explained to me that I won’t be paid by Shell directly… Apparently Shell pays her company, and they pay another company which in turn pays me. So am I now working for 3 companies? Time will tell. She told me that I had to choose an umbrella company to pay my wages and she gave me a list. “Pick the one who pays the most” she said. Fair enough, so tonight I will go over the companies and see who pays the most.

I still haven’t gotten hold of the guy who has my apartment in Manchester which worried me a bit. Because of that I haven’t ordered a ticket yet, but I think I better do it anyway because I am leaving on Sunday. I’m supposed to start Monday at 7.30am so I better get things sorted out before then. Oh I just found a great thing; my pay will increase every 6 months. I didn’t know that. I thought my wage would increase after 6 months and then on a yearly basis. Needless to say, this is much better!

Kei, my better half, came up with a wonderful idea. Every day we will take a picture of ourselves and send each other. That way it’ like we get to see each other every day. I just loved that idea! Thanks Kei! For long distance relationships, that idea is golden! Things are going really well for me these days. Just need to stay grounded so I don’t fly away.