Moved

I'm all done moving. Cleaned the old place this evening, and got the deposit back from my landlord. Just need to go deposit the cheque, and everything is all done. It sure feels good.

5 digits

I have a 5 digit positive account balance. Wow. I think this is a first. Today was payday, so I logged into my online banking to check, and was absolutely shocked to see that it started with £10, followed by three more digits. It's not much over 5 digits, so it'll definitely drop below it again before the next payday, even if I don't buy a new laptop.
It just feels like such a momentous thing, even though it's just a number.
In other news, I got the keys to my new flat last night, and I'll be moving on Saturday. I can't wait.

Gatwick

It's 8:35 am, and I'm sitting in the Gatwick South terminal departures lounge waiting for my flight to begin boarding. Security was time consuming, as usual. I'm getting quite used to having my bag picked off the x-ray machine to be hand inspected. I simply travel with too many electronic devices in my hand baggage, it makes for a confusing picture on the x-ray machine, what with my netbook, camera, and all the assorted infrastructure of batteries, chargers, adapters, etc. Other than that, the day has been fairly uneventful. I arrived at Victoria station earlier than expected, and a Gatwick Express was just about to leave. I maanaged to run down the platform and hop on, then had to walk down the train through all the first class carriages before I could get to plebe class. There wasn't any seats free, so I ended up standing, but it's only a half hour trip, so it wasn't too bad. When I got to the airport, earlier than I'd expected, I went hunting for a coffee shop, and the first one I found was actually in the arrivals lounge. After a brief moment of deja-vu, I realized I was standing exactly where I was when Richard and Elizabeth met me on my arrival, just over a year ago. Richard got me a coffee from the same Costa I had my coffee at this morning.

I just popped into the WH Smith here in duty free to pick up a novel for my trip. I have a fairly long one on my iPhone that I've been reading, but I don't know how much time I'll spend sitting in the sun reading, so I figured I better get some backup. It's almost become a bit of a tradition for me now too, buying a novel in the duty free. I've been trying not to buy books, because it's just one more thing I'll have to deal with selling/shipping/donating when I move back to Vancouver, but I can't seem to help it. At least I've avoided used book stores, and my aversion to paying full price for books helps keep it to a minimum.

They should be announcing my gate for boarding shortly, so I'm going to post this and save the battery for watching some Battlestar Galactica on the flight.

Spain

This time tomorrow, I should be working my way through the lines at the airport in Madrid. I can't wait!

New Flat

Some of you may have heard, some of you won't have. I'm moving. I'm still staying in London, but I decided it's time to sample another neighbourhood, and try to find a more sociable flat in the process. I found one I liked last weekend, and they selected me from all the people they'd seen, which absolutely made my day. Heck, made my month. I looked at another one I liked a few weeks ago, but they picked someone else, so I was feeling a bit frustrated until this one came along. It's not in exactly the neighbourhood I was hoping for, but after having spent a few hours wandering around the neighbourhood, I'm liking it more and more. I've lost track of all the restaurants, coffee shops, stores, and such that I've encountered, but pretty much everything I need is within 5 minutes walk of the flat. Even Hyde park is only 5 minutes away. I can walk to the office in about half an hour, and it's the same distance to the climbing gym. If I'm lazy (or hungover, or it's raining) and take the tube, work is probably 15-20 minutes away.
The flat itself is interesting too. Starting with the ad and photos, it reminded me of the Burnaby house. When I got there and started meeting everyone, and getting a feel for the atmosphere and character of the place, it reminded me of it even more. I've since given deposit, and filled out all the paperwork, which I'll be giving to them this evening. I'll be starting to move on April 23rd, and I've given myself two weekends and the week between as overlap, so I can try to not stress out too much about actually getting all my stuff moved over. I've got a heck of a lot more than the suitcase full of clothes and computer parts that I arrived with.

One Year

It's hard to believe that I've been here a year, as of today. It's gone so quickly, and lasted so long. It's too early in the morning for me to think enough to write anything more right now.