So I went for it ...

[Velvet Bubbles]

I put up an ad for a sub before I lost my nerve. Again.

Oh, since it just occurred to me, that stuff that had me in the hospital back in the Spring seems to be doing ok for the moment. <crosses fingers> My medical doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong or what to do so I went to see a naturalist type. Yeah, you notice I'm feeling better now that I've done that? Why do doctors even go to school when they can't even do anything for you? Geez. Seriously.

I've also been at my current/temp "job" for 2 years now. Still looking for something permanent. This world really needs to get straightened out! ARGH.

Yes, I'm still enjoying living in England. For the most part. Just awfully lonely other than my awesome guy. Haven't had any luck finding any English friends of my own yet. Oddly, English people seem really hard to make friends with. <shrugs>

Umm, what else? My baby brother didn't die from his last accident. Neither did the one who's three years younger than me. Thank God. I wish they'd live safer lives!

We sold our car in the States. Used some of that money to travel back to see the family for the first time since moving over here about 3 years ago. Got to spend 5ish weeks with them. That was amazing. Working trip though as Mom made me do a lot of jewelry stuff for her for our business. The weather was a huge drag, BUT it made the hills green for the first time in my entire life. I cannot begin to describe how beautiful that was.

Will write more later if I think of anything interesting.

<waves hi to everyone>

 

[the captians wench]

*huggles*

Glad to hear you're doing well.

 

[londonsparkles]

I've never found us Brits that hard to befriend... Then again, I'll befriend anything that smiles at me. Glad you got to get home, I've been living with my parents just for the summer and it really makes you appreciate them!

 

[YourCaptor]

I think brits make friends over drunkenness in public.

 

[ImOnIt]

so I went to see a naturalist type. Yeah, you notice I'm feeling better now that I've done that? Why do doctors even go to school when they can't even do anything for you? Geez. Seriously.

I know, right? Next time you have malaria or critical internal bleeding... crush some red crystals, extend your spine segments and, oh fuck, this patient died too.

 

[londonsparkles]

I've never found us Brits that hard to befriend... Then again, I'll befriend anything that smiles at me. Glad you got to get home, I've been living with my parents just for the summer and it really makes you appreciate them!

 

[Velvet Bubbles]

<waves hello to everyone> Wow. Thought there'd be more responses on here!

London - You're atypical from what I've found so far. Even smiling at people you're passing on the street gets me some odd responses. Better from the older generation though, oddly enough.

Red crystals, huh? And what material is that? LOL

CW! <pounces & snuggles back> I've missed you. You're a happy person to be around.

 

[DVS]

My own situation hasn't been that great, in the last 8 or so years but I think I've complained enough in other threads. Murphy and I are best buds. Actually, this past year hasn't been too bad, though I doubt it will last. I've found that who ever is controlling my life, they/he/she have a way of dishing out good and bad news in equal amounts, for the most part. If my life seems crappy, I just need to wait a while, it's bound to get better. Of course, the opposite seems to be true, also.

I don't mean to rain on your parade. I'm happy for you and your present situation. I hope your good fortune continues. Actually, I'm pretty sure it might. I just heard a knock at my door. I think Murphy has come to visit, once again.

As for English personalities, I don't know any Brits that well, and I've never been across the pond. Their humor seems a tad dry, so maybe they are equally dry with their affections. Of course, I could be totally incorrect. It's happened more than a few times, in the past.

I hope everything continues to come up roses in your life. And as for the English...you're on your own. I have trouble understanding the accent.

Actually, maybe it has something to do with British superstitions. Here's a link to some of them. Maybe it's time to brown up on them. Cherio!

 

[Velvet Bubbles]

Wow, I must've tried to sound way too cheery if you think my situation's that great. I don't consider it to be. I'm going absolutely stir batty crazy in this joke of a job I currently have. I've felt suicidal I don't know how many times this year. Finally got the doctor to give me a different medication and we've had to up it and change it to the slow-release kind because of all the dizzy spells I was having from it not being slow-release because it's the kind that leaves your body really quickly and I was having daily withdrawal symptoms. Or were you being facetious?

I agree Brits on the whole seem to have pretty dry humor. So do I. You'd think that'd help. Talked to an Aussie that lives over here today. Her opinion is that they're not used to people like her & I that have opinions and share them! LOL <shrugs> Makes sense to me.

I'll have to go read that link. Sounds rather interesting. Hope things start turning out better for you. Let me know if I can help with anything, ok? ((hugs))

 

[DVS]

Wow, I must've tried to sound way too cheery if you think my situation's that great. I don't consider it to be. I'm going absolutely stir batty crazy in this joke of a job I currently have. I've felt suicidal I don't know how many times this year. Finally got the doctor to give me a different medication and we've had to up it and change it to the slow-release kind because of all the dizzy spells I was having from it not being slow-release because it's the kind that leaves your body really quickly and I was having daily withdrawal symptoms. Or were you being facetious?

I agree Brits on the whole seem to have pretty dry humor. So do I. You'd think that'd help. Talked to an Aussie that lives over here today. Her opinion is that they're not used to people like her & I that have opinions and share them! LOL <shrugs> Makes sense to me.

I'll have to go read that link. Sounds rather interesting. Hope things start turning out better for you. Let me know if I can help with anything, ok? ((hugs))

I just read your first post again. It seemed like several things were on the upswing. Your medication seems to be doing OK and you decided to go to a naturalist. It seems that whatever you heard from him/her made you feel better.

Your little brother didn't die from his accident, which is a good thing, if you ask me. Nor did your other brother, which I consider another good thing. What are they...some kind of dare devils?

You sold the car and made enough cash to make a trip back to the states to visit family. And you said while the weather was a bit crappy, you really enjoyed the trip.

So, other than the job being so-so, and you having trouble making friends with the British, I took the message as an upbeat one. Even the title seems upbeat. "So, I went for it".

 

[Velvet Bubbles]

Ahh, good points you make! Always good to look at things from a different perspective. Something I'm actually trying to work on when I feel down.

 

[the captians wench]

CW! <pounces & snuggles back> I've missed you. You're a happy person to be around.

*giggles*

I haven't been much lately. But I'm trying to be. *snuggles some more*

 

[minx1]

Hi Sweetie,

First of all IOU a pm. Will try and do it later today, but I wanted to post briefly here. I can't remember where you are living but I seem to recall it around London or the South?
I'm from the North West of England and am pretty friendly if I say so myself lol. I remember when I was moving down South and how I was really not looking forward to it because of Southerners reputation for being standoffish. In the UK there is a bit of a North/South divide for just about everything it seems...money/weather/friendliness. So I felt v uneasy about the move.

I'd visited before and recall when I tried chatting to people on the tube, they looked at me like I'd got two heads *laugh* but it was completely the norm for me to talk to strangers.
Bear in mind London is full of tourists; English and foreign and many probably wouldnt understand or would be too stressed at being able to get off at the right tube stop to want to chat! Or maybe they are late for a meeting...because when you work in London, you invariably are lol and are too wound up in their own stresses to converse.

Anyway what I found was that sure, there was the odd unfriendly person, but that their reputation on the whole wasnt well deserved. Eastenders for example are renowned for their friendliness, warmth and sense of community.

I lived in Enfield for a while, and I absolutely loved it. At the corner of my street was an old fashioned East End style pub and I swear I couldnt walk past it without someone coming outside to take me back in *laugh*
I felt so at home there. Twickenham wasnt quite the same, but i knew my neighbours well.

Give it time and keep chipping away. Soon enough you will come across someone as open as you. There are lots of us out there, I promise!

As for sense of humour, the stereotype of us all having a dry sense of humour is just that. I can have a dry sense of humour and can be witty, but equally I can fall about laughing at a ridiculous joke or something slapstick. I can be really silly sometimes lol

We are all different yanno, which is a good thing...because it means that it's only a matter of time before you meet people you really connect with. Keep at it hon, you are doing something really difficult (I know!), but it will pay off and you will find your network of buddies expanding.

I would suggest joining something too....anything lol, from an exercise class, weight loss group to well....anything where you might find potential mates.

 

[roomfor1more]

Brits, I feel, are a lot more outgoing and social than Americans. However, you do have to work at integrating yourself. Normally this means tempering some of your American mannerism, especially if you are impatient and / or outspoken. If you have not noticed yet, Brits like to queue and they will form a queue as though it is genetically programmed. Try forming a queue by standing by a door or a counter then see how many will line up behind you. You might be surprised. This means being impatient or trying to rush things do not work. Instead you have to learn to be patient and accept that things are not going to move as fast as they did in the US.

While your employer may like your ability to be outspoken and direct, not all Brits care for directness. Brits if you have not discovered yet, like to "take it on the chin" and then talk about you behind your back. Plus they can find being direct / outspoken as being aggressive when it is not.

In addition, work culture is very different than the US with shorter hours, more vacation time, more employees, and I feel the quality of managers in the UK is poor when compared to the US. Plus the language is different. Granted it is still English. However the spelling is different, slang is different, grammar is different, and many Brits cannot write.

Until you receive your ILR status, Indefinite Leave to Remain (permanent resident), in the UK then most likely you will find that temporary work is all you are able to get. This is primary due to British employers being a bit reserved about taking a risk of permanently hiring someone and then them leaving due to immigration or their own choosing. In addition with 2.49 million unemployed, over 7% unemployed, in the UK finding a permanent job is quite competitive. This means finding a permanent job is going to take sometime and will not improve until the unemployment rate drops.

Other differences include British television sucks. Holyoaks, East Enders, and the slew of British programming is bad. Luckily Sky Satellite carries a lot of American channels and shows. In addition, the UK , I feel, leans more to the political left than the US. Adapting to the UK can be difficult for someone who is a staunch social conservative or someone who comes from the religious right in the US.

Since the UK is an island with ocean and the small country of Ireland between it and the US, it rains a lot. From September until the beginning of spring it will be windy, raining, and it gets colder with very little snow. If you are from the mid-west or east coast you will find that the snow is a lot less. Plus you will find for most of the winter, depending where you are in the UK, it stay above freezing and it gets darker a lot earlier. However, spring and summer it does not get as hot as the US and temperature wise over the year, the temperatures stays in a very tight band of 40 - 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

Finally adjusting to life in the UK takes a while and from my experience, not all Americans are able to make the transition. From my experience Americans who come to the UK either love it or hate it without much gray area. The best thing to do is take some time, if you can, and travel. Travel through the UK and if you can travel through northern Europe. It is a great learning experience and it might help. Lastly Sweetie if you want to PM me please feel free to do so.