Unpacking Continues

Well, I had quite a little spurt of activity the first night of unpacking, made it through about 25 boxes. All that's left are boxes (and boxes) of clothes. But I don't have the energy to deal with those just yet.

So, here's my living room, completely full of boxes.



And the bedroom...



And here's what I mean by "most of the boxes were damaged in some way"





So here are a few pictures of the casualties. So far I've only found 4 broken items: a mug, a plate, the glass on a framed poster, and a lamp.






And finally... I'd like to make a bold statement. The only thing that should ever be consumed from my series of etched pint glasses is cold, delicious Guinness. I mean seriously, how good does that look right now?

Boxes Boxes Everywhere

I am absolutely amazed, slack-jawed if you will, at how successful my move was. I was pretty sure that not hiring professional packers for most of it was going to come back and bite me in the ass. And then, when the van showed up on Wednesday morning with my boxes, all my fears were realized as I stared in horror at the scene that unfolded.

I'd say most of the boxes were damaged in some way. Some boxes completely crushed in on the sides/corners. Others more or less ripped open on the sides. And the idea that "This End Up" could mean anything was thrown right out the window.

So, I decided that it wasn't worth the extra money to pay somebody to move my stuff from the van up two flights of stairs into the flat, since the shipping company wasn't going to. I got a quote for two guys to come and move my 37 boxes, for £180. Really? Nearly $400 for no more than 20 minutes of work. I decided I could do it myself (and worried that I wouldn't be able to).

Essentially I've got three strikes against me now: I didn't hire professionals to pack it, the boxes were nearly destroyed upon delivery, and I decided I could move it in myself.

And yet, a light at the end of a very dark tunnel. I actually managed to get it all upstairs by myself (the driver helped with the heaviest box thankfully) in about 45 mintues. Nobody stole any boxes while they were there on the street, and it didn't rain until after I moved them all inside.

Still, I was pretty sure that I would have to buy an entirely new kitchen. I opened the first box, all wine glasses and extremely breakable stemware. Nothing broken! I couldn't believe it. Every glass I took out, I was holding gingerly in order to catch the broken pieces. But they came out just fine.

I had to get into work, but before i did that, I just had to find out about the rest of the kitchen. So I opened 3 more boxes. Two with glasses/mugs, and one box of dishes. Out of the first 4 boxes, which encompassed essentially 90% of the dishes and glasses we own, I had only 1 broken mug.

I'll have some pictures, and more details of the unpacking tomorrow.

New Flat

Hooray, I moved into my new flat!

My mailing address is now:
Flat 173, Corfield St
London, E2 0DN, UK

(But before you send me anything, send Laura some food, she needs it more than I do.)

I'm about a thousand times happier than I was with the first place. The landlord is great, and its fantastic dealing with just one person. We met Monday night to exchange keys and he bought me a pint at the local pub. Then he and his wife ran down the list of local pubs and the best places to go for dinner, for breakfast, local parks, etc.

And with that... here are my new keys

No seriously, the bottom key is strait out of 1926 or something. I can actually look through the keyhole.



Here's a rundown of my super spacious (aka, about 34 square feet) flat.

Living Room (actually a pretty good size, and with a fold-out couch for all of my visitors)



Kitchen (washer/dryer, dishwasher, and full size fridge). The fridge is actually a big deal around here, since most flats just have a mini-fridge. How could I stock that full of beer though, and have room left for ice cream and popsicles? Crazy British.



If you want to see any more, you'll just have to come visit me.

Tour de France - Prologue

That was awesome!

So I didn't get to see all of the race, but the prologue was so much fun. I've put a bunch of the pictures up online here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/harwig/TdFPrologue
I think that my favorite photo is this one:



Also, I officially love this camera. I took 300 pictures before the race even started. And another 200 after that.

Tour de France - Kickoff

What an exciting Friday. I took about 200 pictures, so to make it easier on myself, I'm just going to send you a link to where they all are, and then talk about them here.

http://picasaweb.google.com/harwig (and yes, I know that I love Google way too much)

First off, and most important, is the greatest pub ever created.



Can it get any better than "Ye Olde Cock Tavern"? I think not. I have a few more pictures of some pubs at that link above.

I found that the other day, and then took a picture while I walked from my office to Trafalgar Square for the kickoff of the Tour de France.

I was a little late for the kickoff, so there was no chance I could get close, but that's alright. They were parading each team up on stage and interviewing the top riders. I missed out on seeing Discovery, but I caught the last few teams that went up.

I had no idea how many people were going to be there, the crowds were crazy.

I'm headed out today to check out the Prologue, and then tomorrow for Stage 1 (which goes right in front of my office!). Hopefully I'll have some great pictures of the events.

Independence Day

Well, I don't think there will be any fireworks tonight, and I definitely don't get the day off work. I'd imagine this is a holiday that the British would just as soon forget ever happened. I'll just have to celebrate in my own special way (i.e. beer).

So it's been an exciting week over here, in so many ways. Obviously the terror threats have put the whole place on high alert. I can spot almost a dozen police officers on my walk through Liverpool Street Station. But people seem to be going about their business as usual, just with a few more delays.

The Tour fever is gearing up (man I love puns), and I'm super excited to watch the race this weekend. I haven't quite figured out my game plan for where I'm going to be, but look for a tall, blonde guy wearing some sort of orange and maroon on the TV (orange t-shirt if it's nice, maroon crew jacket if it's rainy). I'll bring my camera and put up any cool pictures.

I went for a ride around town on Sunday after finally getting my bike tuned up. I tried to stay away from the nasty city traffic and took a more leisurely route along the southern bank of the Thames. It was a short ride, but good to get back on the road. I probably won't have an opportunity to get back out there until the weekend or next week.

Good news on my living accommodations. I talked with the rental agency yesterday and they agreed to refund all of my money! Take that! Also, on Friday I signed my rental agreement for the flat at 173 Corfield Street in Bethnal Green. I move in on the 9th of July, so plan your visits around that date.

And finally, I've moved on from my adventure in the tiny hotel room and upgraded to the Holiday Inn Express in the Docklands. I've been eagerly anticipating a chance to say "... No, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night" but so far nothing has come up.

More updates after the Tour rides through town.