Averagely Adventurous

 After Pedro got home from class, he suggested we go pick out a bike for me. We ended up going to the same shop he got his from.  He walked his bike alongside me so that we could ride back together.  The weather was great and the shop was busy, so it was good that we called ahead before walking over 2 miles to the shop.  The owner had picked out a bike for me based on my height and what I wanted.  When we walked in he recognized our American accents right away and showed me the bike for approval. It's pretty basic, but it is perfect for me.  Since they were so busy, he recommended a café for lunch while we wait. So we "popped off" for a bite at the cutest Brazilian coffee house. 

I was constantly moving today.  Pedro keeps telling me to pace myself, but I said, "no, I'm nesting".  I broke down carboard mountain (just in time for the next Amazon delivery), I vacuumed the living room, moved my desk to the other side of the room, and started to arrange and decorate my area.  Now, it's perfect. I fit perfectly in my space, and everything is personalized for me.  Pedro then helped me put together our nightstands.  It felt like Christmas, unboxing everything and putting it together.  But it really feels like our flat is becoming our home now.  Just a few last minute details, and we'll be done!

 I did it all in a day. Pedro warned me that it took him awhile to unpack, but I was determined.  My friends and family were asking to see the flat, so I wanted everything to look nice.  I got everything I could in the right place at least, but I am missing a few storage items to organize it all.  Nothing Amazon can't fix!   We made a few trips to the supermarket, Morrisons, which is a short walk from the flat. I got a new SIM card and now have a very long UK number to memorize, as well as some food I like (Pop-Tarts FTW) There is a mountain of carboard boxes in the living room. This flat was unfurnished, so you can imagine how much furniture and items we've shipped here.  Unfortunately, Pedro has informed me that we are missing our collection bins.  Every flat has their own with their number on it, but we were missing them from the start.  He has had to call the city for a new one, but so far no luck.  Maybe its takes as long as trash c...

Currently in Amsterdam, leaned forward with my head on my backpack so the room will stop swaying. Not sure if it was the long flight, the turbulence, the lack of sleep, or a combination of everything. The flight wasn't too bad; I was expecting the worse from what Pedro told me. We got dinner soon after we were in the air. I noticed some people drinking wine with their food. How fancy. I saw mini bottles of Jack Daniel's next to the mini Cokes and said screw it. I asked how much and the flight attendant just shook her head. I thought she was me telling no, but then she said 'nothing' and popped it in my hand. Why didn't he tell me alcohol was free?? After that I fell asleep. Not for too long though. I woke up to the realization that I was surrounded by babies. One two rows ahead and one behind and to the right. They were not happy, poor things. My noise canceling headphones were no match for their lung capacity. As soon as they'd settle, another scream ...

Its happening! Currently waiting for my longest flight, Atlanta to Amsterdam.  This morning was full of excited nerves, but I blew right through check in and security. Both my checked bags were under 70lbs, no worries there.  My first flight was fully booked. They were calling for people to check their bags for free. I thought about it, but I'm always afraid of getting stuck somewhere without clean underwear, ya know? There was no space in the bin above me. And of course, they were all filled with backpacks that could fit under the seat. C'mon people! We all heard the same announcements, put your small bag under the seat! Well, the gentleman next to me ending up helping me by spotting a space a few rows ahead. Success! I stuck my backpack under me (though only halfway since it's a bit big) and settled in.  I knew from Pedro that Delta had some pretty good movies. Of course I ended up watching Godzilla vs Kong for the 5th time. I was almost falling asleep on my first fligh...

 I feel like I'm polishing myself up for my trip, or for Pedro? I did my nails, I polished my wedding ring, I also dug out some simple jewelry that will still be comfy for the flight.   I have a whole bunch of accessories for a bicycle on Amazon. Did I mention I love shopping on Amazon?? I've got bike lights, a helmet with a sun visor, some mud guards, and a front basket with handles that just lift off for shopping. I'm so excited. You'd think going from having a car to a bike would be slightly depressing, but I'm looking at it through new adventure eyes, so everything seems exciting. I should probably start looking for winter accessories too. And I mean actual winter, not Florida winter. Here, you could only hope for a few days of 40s, if not 50s. It gave us the illusion of winter early in the mornings before the sun came out and beat down on us. In Glasgow, it's pretty much guaranteed we'll see 40s and 30s for months. I'm so excited. 

 My COVID test came back negative!  Not that I thought I had COVID, but I was more afraid of my test results being inclusive or lost.  I spent the day packing and repacking. I have a lot of Pedro's stuff and I tried to pack even more of the stuff he had to leave behind. I redistributed some of the smaller and heavier items to my carry on to make things fit and come under the weight limit. When his parents came home, we did the weigh in.  We learned from Pedro's flight that we were really aiming for 68, not 70.  It seemed like the airport scale added 1 or 2 pounds.  One of my bags came in a little over 70, the other at 64.  We exchanged a few things from the heavier one to the lighter, and problem solved! They're both around 67, which should be a good enough margin for the airport weigh in. I also made sure I could lift my carry on to place it in the over head bin.  Only thing left is to complete the forms necessary for international flights during...

I just took my PCR required pre-flight COVID test! It's getting real, my emails from Delta reminding me about my upcoming trip are just hyping me up every time.  One thing I still need to do is a dry-run for packing. I have to weigh the checked bags to make sure they're not over 70lbs.  Pedro hates packing, to the point that he avoids it until the day-of, if he can. I find it satisfying. And a way for me to contain my excitement is to obsessively pack and repack my suitcases. 

The loans are here! We have money, woo! I still won't have a bank account for a bit, but I have a good amount of cash, and Pedro's card if I need it. To create a bank account, I know I'll need proof of address and identity.  The address, Pedro is working on.  He called the electric company to add my name, but they said I'd need to be physically there on the phone. As for ID, I am hoping my biometric card is fixed according to my reissued visa. If not, I can still use my passport. 

My visa is here! I instantly checked the work permit, it says 'DEPENDANT restricted work' - Instant panic. But after some googling, I think I'm good. I can't be a minister of religion, or sportsperson, or anything like that. I can work full-time, that's all I needed.  Then I looked for my old visa to see what they did with it, but it was simply crossed out in red pen. I don't know what I expected, a stamp, or it to be removed entirely, but the red pen just seemed so...unceremonious. No matter, I have my passport and visa back. I can fly!  Now to claim my Delta eCredit! I learned from Pedro's experience and looked for flights with ample time between flights in case something delays me. He also said to get the aisle seat, if anything, for the longest flight. So, I found one that goes to Atlanta, Amsterdam, then Glasgow with some good time gaps in-between.  I'll have a 3 hour layover in Atlanta and 2.5 hour layover in Amsterdam, plenty of time!  With aisle ...

I know, big gap in writing, but it was for my own good.  I was feeling really sad about the whole situation, writing only made it feel amplified.    Pedro's mom thought I needed a project to distract me.  Brilliant idea, and it worked. We went to the Dollar Tree craft section and found some yarn. (side note-where has Dollar Tree yarn been all my life??)  I instantly dived into pattern ideas and got to work.  I was so focused, it was all I did for three days. But finally, FINALLY, yesterday morning I woke up to an updated delivery date for my visa. It's coming tomorrow!! MY VISA IS COMING!!!  Needless to say, I called Pedro and was almost in happy tears.  When his parents woke up, I told them and we celebrated too.  His mom started checking in with everyone, finding a shared day off to take me to the airport. We have it all figured out.  My visa is arriving Monday, I will get my COVID test on Wednesday, and I will fly out on Saturday....

Today Pedro spent some time with his Big Vet.  The University assigned senior vet students with incoming freshman for mentorship and advice. Pedro is a Wee Vet. Get it? Wee little vet! So cute. They hung out at a local favorite bar near the Vet school and all got to know each other a bit more.  About 15 students showed up, nice turnout. Our dining table and chairs were delivered today too! That's the last of the Amazon haul, at least the first wave. Pedro will set that up tomorrow.  My wee little vet was tired!

 My mom and Pedro keep joking that they will smuggle me into Scotland. (And if they're successful, this blog is just a hypothetical joke) They sent me a picture of a large plywood crate.  P: Give her a few oxygen tanks and some food. She'll be all good. Let's not. My visa is sitting at day 14. The longer I wait, the closer I am right?

Pedro's adventure today taught him a lot. He got to see a lot of the city and his fellow classmates. His tour ended up in the Old Schoolhouse bar. It really was an old schoolhouse that was converted. They were seated outside under what looked like greenhouses, completed lit up by strings of lights on the ceiling. Cool enough, but their guide told then about an even better converted bar, a cathedral. I had wondered about all these cathedrals left in Scotland. I know it was once a strong Catholic region, but today it's mostly Christian. Yet, when you think Scotland, I imagine you think of highlands, castles, and cathedrals. That is mostly still true, but technically, those under the Church of Scotland are not cathedrals since they are not governed by bishops. So my next question was, what did they do with all of them? I'm sure some were just converted into churches for a different faith, but all of them? Some were converted to hotels, museums, but I think Òran Mór tak...

  The bug nets are installed! Our desks and chairs are almost complete too. There's not much else until the other shipments come in on Monday.

Last night I decided to create a new email chain to the UK Visa & Immigration, asking about my visa progress.  My google searches have not been productive since my situation seems unique. I don't know which standard processing time I fall into, if any.  So I wrote an email, explained the whole situation, ultimately asking if my visa is still processing and if there are any delays. I copied this email to R, asking her thoughts.  I was going for a respectful yet urgent in expressing my concern. We agreed it was clear. The reply I got was not. "Your visa is being processed and we have escalated it to the UK and VFS." Not helpful at all. I have another weekend ahead with no movement. 

We found out the real reason the bed did not get installed yesterday. The delivery guy wasn't their regular, just a contracted fill-in. When the regular arrived, he and Pedro discovered the other guy really mishandled things, and our headboard was ripped on one side. Pedro said this guy was much nicer, took pictures of the rip and will talk to the store about replacing it, apologizing for the other guy’s behavior. Other than that, the bed is up and useful. I've always wanted bed frame drawers! Then we talked about pillows. As in, decorative pillows. Pedro and I already have our favorite pillows vacuum sealed in our luggage. I hate the concept decorative pillows. They take up space both on and off the furniture because they are not being used! But to my surprise, Pedro wants them. P: I need to go buy pillows for the duvet covers. S: You can't use your pillow? Why buy a pillow just for the looks if we're not gonna use it? Stuff it with a blanket or something! P: We...

Double digits...day 10, ugh again. I told my best friend R that I am so ready to join Pedro. We've been apart before. Even longer than this, but not this far away. I want to be there, to help him and make decisions with him and just be his wife again. I've had my airport/seeing-him-again outfit picked out for days. R says it's just a rough chapter in our life. It's true, and I'll join him eventually, but it still sucks... Enough with the pity party, to Pedro! I woke up at 6:30 to my international phone app buzzing. The app is a bit finicky when someone is calling. The app shows in the notification bar, but shows no way to answer it, so I just kept pushing buttons while Pedro kept calling until I finally connected with him. He said he was able to find both a bed, a bed frame with drawers (yay storage), and a bike with all the accessories. He took the bike home and waited on the delivery guys for the bed. Unfortunately, the delivery guy showed up with the bed...

Ugh, Day 9? That sounds so sad. Still no visa. I am trying to finish my homework as soon as possible in case my visa looks like it's going to arrive. We'll see. As for Pedro, he's officially moving in! Pedro was able to get a partial refund for the hotel; all in all, he lost about $100. Sucks, but it is better than nothing. And now he has a bank account! This is great because cash is kind of useless. I've always liked it for traveling and shopping because it's easier to spend less when you can actually see it disappearing from your wallet. You can't, however, pay your bills with it. Electric, water, internet, *loan disbursement*, all requires a bank account to enable online transactions. So, after a few calls to set everything up, Pedro can at least use cash at the grocery store. Our apartment came unfurnished with a few things, but he still needs to get the essentials. Toilet paper, soaps, food. While the apartment is perfectly placed for his school, ...

 Pedro has the keys to our new home! So happy!  Is it crazy that I was slightly disappointed that the giant old-fashioned key wasn't our house key? We have an outdoor shed in the backyard, that's the small key.  Our front door is the middle one, and the largest one is for an outdoor cubby beside our front door.  Now that Pedro has an address, he is going to spend the rest of the day setting up accounts.  It's a lot to do, but at least we can finally do it! As for me, tomorrow is another business day, and I will be watching my visa tracking like a hawk!

 WE HAVE A HOME!  Pedro did it! It all happened so fast today, and it worked in our favor.   Every morning, he has gone to the same café to eat breakfast.   He has chatted with the owner and the same group of people every morning.  Today, Pedro told them he was still struggling with our apartment hunt.  The owner offered to sit with him later on and check out the local websites for places to live. So kind!  Pedro and I never heard of this site, so he finished chatting and went back to the hotel to explore it. He found an unfurnished 1 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment in Anniesland, for £300 less than others we were looking at away in the city.  It has a big kitchen, which is a rare find, as well as a washing machine, a dryer, and a full shower and tub. Did I mention that Anniesland is THE place to be for vet students?? It's right next to school, no car, subway, bus, or train necessary.  A 5 minute walk for Pedro.  This property was...

There's nothing on the agenda today. It's Saturday, and Scotland is a stickler for no work on the weekends.  There's no "open 24/7" like in America, so Pedro can't do much today.  So I told him to go explore, relax, try to get away from the stress a bit.  And take pictures! For me, the tracking on my visa hasn't moved. Which means I will be here for another week. It's the weekend and Monday is Labor Day, so the visa people won't set foot in the office until Tuesday.  If by chance, they finish on Tuesday and send it out on time, I won't get it until Wednesday.  And then I still need to schedule my COVID test and schedule a flight far enough out to get the results before I fly, which means the earliest is Friday.  The travel time is anywhere from 14 to 20 hours, so I still wouldn't be in Scotland until Saturday.  And again, all of this is counting on them completing my visa on Tuesday. Ugh.

Seems like there was good news and bad news today.  We're choosing to focus on the good since we really want to find the light at the end of the tunnel.   This morning Pedro went down to the lobby to see if he could extend his stay.  No problem, but it costs over twice as much than his first week.  Apparently next weekend is the TRSMT festival, which just so happens to be Scotland's largest music festival.  All the hotels in the area are booked and their prices raised.  His hotel was still the cheapest since he's just on the outskirts of the city center, near the school.  He had to put £674 on his credit card, which is about $933.  It sucks, but he has to conserve his cash, and to stay at his current hotel is really the best option. Anyway, he walked all the way to his first ever apartment viewing.  It was a nice place, but it's the farthest out we've seen (4 miles from his school), and it's a bit pricey, but it's available now. We also ...

Pedro being on his own is really stressful.  The hunt for a place to live is still a very turbulent journey.  Properties are either fully booked for viewings, don't allow students, want too much upfront, require a high income, or aren't available until October.  The few viewings he was able to book fall on the same day. This is also the day he has to go to the University to pick up his national ID card.  Also, the day he is supposed to check out of the hotel. He has no car and all his luggage. Crap. I told him to go straight to the lobby in the morning to ask to extend his stay.  Even if he has to change rooms, it's better and safer than lugging his bags everywhere.  On my end, my visa is still not in my hands.  The New York office will not respond to me.  They have no number listed.  Their email contact says they cannot advise individual circumstances.  It's been a week since the UK office reissued my visa and told me to await direction...

Pedro slept for 11 hours.  I got a message at 2am my time, "48 degrees outside with a high of 72.  Let's do it!" So. Jealous.  When I woke up at 8am, it was already 88 with a real feel of 97.  Weather aside, Day 3 has been rough.  We started a zoom call because it seemed to work the best with a video.  He told me about the 30+ calls he's made today for apartments, with not one of them being successful. We looked online together with our screens shared, him calling the letting agency for anything we found. Here's an example of the conversation. P: Hi I am calling to see if the property at [blank] posted today was still available? Letting Agent: You'll have send us an email through the property site and we will get back to you. P: Ok, I will, though I am not sure my emails are getting through.  Letting Agent: Ah, yeah sorry we are receiving emails, but we've been getting so many emails we can't get back to everyone. We've had 42 inquiries on that pro...