I’ve a couple of decent sized blog posts in my head that I think I’ll write up near the end of this week, once we’ve moved some more into our marital home and I’ve had a chance to set-up my desktop. Whilst I really like my diddy 9″ netbook/hackintosh toy it’s really more for digesting and consuming the digital age rather than contributing to it, if that makes sense?

Dan

Sorry this blog has been oddly quiet, it’s been very busy and I’ll do a proper catch-up in a couple of days but I thought it important to get this post in, to mark the day in cyberspace as well.

What can I say?

I’m ridiculously excited and yet my stomachs doing laps as well. There’s three things I’m dreading and it’s not going to take a genius to guess them. Dreading that I’ll muck them up.

Other than that though I’ve the feeling in me like I’m 7 again and it’s Christmas morning. Hopefully that sentence sums it up, I’m sooo excited, I can’t wait to come out the Church with Mrs Hadland holding my hand.

That’s all I’ve time for really. Time to shower and shave. See you on the other side.

Dan

Whilst the invites have been going along at a snails pace I’m pleased to say that most of the other stuff is getting there and today I got the call saying our rings are ready and would I like to pay for them? So they’ll be with us on Saturday.

I’m sure they’ll look great and having the mental age that I do I’m sure the first thing I’ll say is “Ooh, shiny!”. Having said that there is a pause for some thought.

A pair of jeans lasts perhaps a couple of years, a watch a fair few more but a ring… for the rest of my life, crikey!

I wonder what it will look like when life’s taken all it’s twists and turns and it gets taken off of me. Personally I hope it’s dulled down, scratched here and there and looks well worn. I’ve no desire to wear bright ‘blingy’ jewellery and to me a ring that looks like the one I described sounds to me like a ring that was worn everyday, for a long time, no matter what.

Of course life has many twists and turns, some that you don’t come round but if I do make it to old age, well I know who I want to make it there with.

Dan

The video doesn’t quite do the show justice but still thought I’d share it and remember it.

Dan

Friday evening Ben, Kita, Mum (thanks Mum) and I set about cleaning our old house, working pretty much straight through the evening with all manner of cloth and chemical. Come about 11pm the old house was in a pretty good state. Clean, tidy and ready to be given back.

Saturday morning Ben and I went in the house about 9am and the first thing I said was “Where’s the post?” shortly followed by “Why’s the bed been pulled out?”. From that moment on I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach it wasn’t going to be quite as good a day as the glorious sunshine would suggest it should be.

We’d arranged for the landlady to go through the checking out process at 10am and sure enough she was there promptly on time. The first thing she produced was a letter addressed to the occupier of our Reading place from Thames Water. She thought it was evidence we’d not paid the water bill. In truth it’s a fairly harmless letter, just asking for the new occupier to set-up a new account as I’d cancelled ours. I know, I’d opened it a couple of days ago and left it in the house for the new tenants.

A part of me wishes I’d been a lot less tired and a bit sharper witted. Our landlady had been in our property after we’d left Friday night and picked up the post. That’s a breach of contract, entering the property without our consent whilst we still held the tenancy. If I’d have been more awake and a little quicker I suspect none of what followed would have happened. Alas, it’s a lesson learnt.

She basically complained about the state of cleanliness of the property throughout. In fact I think the only thing she was happy with was the hob which was shining…… as was most of the house. Many hours passed and many comments were made and ultimately Ben and I somewhat gave in on some points which means we’re losing a significant chunk of our deposit. On reflection we could have been a lot tougher, heck based on the previous paragraph we could have been very tough indeed.

In all honesty though my heart wasn’t in it. At the moment there are just too many more important things going on in my life that fighting for some money pails in comparison. Another time and  I suspect I’d have tried a lot harder, or more to the point taken something of a gamble. You see a big part of our problem was our letting agents.

The reason, the only real reason Ben and I negotiated with the landlady direct was because we both felt it would have been a far bigger, messier fight with the agents. Honestly as I type this I’m sure the agents would have gone for more like 85% of our deposit and we’d be fighting tooth and nail over it for the next 6 months. In my final year of uni and getting married in a few months I just didn’t fancy that over my head. If you’re looking to move to Reading drop me a message and I’ll tell you who to avoid!

There were so many silly little details on Saturday that I could write a book on them. It wouldn’t do anyone much good apart from this, my intentions to own the roof over my head have never been stronger.

So Saturday was a write off, I was exhausted mentally and physically and didn’t fancy moving any more boxes into Portsmouth that evening. Sunday though was a success. After a much needed lazy start to the day we went down to our flat in Southsea and moved the final car loads of stuff in and began living there.

We unboxed a bit, got the TV kind of working and made the bed. Thankfully though we both felt like a walk and so we strolled along the beach, laughing and enjoying one another’s company like we haven’t in quite a long time. It was a really great walk, probably the most romantic thing we’ve done since Sorrento last summer.

That would have been a good way to finish the weekend but it got better. As we were aimlessly wondering around we came across quite a crowd. Not really knowing what was going on (apart from a big boat on the grass) we stuck around and to our delight a fantastic firework show took place marking the end of Portsmouth’s Festivities, celebrating 500 years since the ascension of Henry VIII.

So a great way to end a very stressful weekend.

Dan

The flat’s pretty much as we’d been promised (just waiting on a shower to be fitted at the moment) and everything seems to have gone smoothly. I’ll be honest I was expecting something to go wrong or to cost us more than I’d originally thought.

Now it’s just a case of moving out of Reading and cleaning Centurion Close. I’ve boxed a fair bit of the house already and so this evening I’ll be loading the first van full. All being well the majority of our stuff will be in our new flat by the end of the weekend.

Dan

• I’ll be enjoying work again
• We’ll hopefully be all settled in Portsmouth
• More of the wedding should be finalised and in place

Let me ellaborate. Work at the moment feels stagnant and slow. Unfortunately I’ve got to the time where I’m just ‘finishing things off’ and ‘tyeing up the loose ends’. That would be fine if the loose ends were the final strands of exciting and interesting work but alas they’re not and nor has there really been much work in those categories.

Come August I’ll be back in a busy, growing, dynamic department. Work flat out from 8 ’til 6 and I can’t wait. Something I’ve learnt this year in a big way is that I’m something of a workaholic. At the moment I miss coming home from work and being tired because you’ve given a hundred and ten percent. At the moment I come home tired because my brain hasn’t really been turned on during the day.

Of course come the middle of August and I’ll no doubt be bitching I’m tired and when I do please redirect me here

Thanks,

Dan

It’s still a two bed but this place has a larger lounge, a kind of odd walk in larder cupboard and its still pretty close to the beach. The whole flat complex is being renovated and the flat we’ve got has had a really nice refurb job, new carpets, new lino etc. When we viewed it last Friday it was still having the final touches painted!

Of course I’m/we’re still a little wary after how badly handled the last flat was (a blog post that should have happened) but so far, fingers crossed, things seem to be going well.

The plan is still the same, ‘move in’ on the 15th or possibly the 17th June then the weekend of the 20th/21st move everything out of Reading. Sadly Kita can’t get that weekend off work at all so any hands to help are greatly appreciated!

Dan

I am blessed though, truly blessed with a wonderful fiancée who has given me the space I need to think things through and hold me when I need holding. Blessed with wonderful friends and family who are there for me and help as best as they can in these circumstances.

I’m also thankful for being able to take time out for the first time in 4 years. No exams to worry about or coursework to finish and so I can be still and reflect.

Having said that there are worries and concerns. Our flat in Southsea has fallen through and so we’re off down to Portsmouth tomorrow. Whilst I like the city and its nice to be there doesn’t exactly tie in with how I saw this long weekend break going when I first booked the time off.

Oh well, one year just maybe I’ll be able to be quiet and still but then perhaps its a blessing in disguise that at the moment I can’t be.

4 years on and yeah, these words aren’t the right ones either.

Dan

Yesterday Kita put down the holding deposit on our flat in Southsea and as I’m sure you’ve read her job has all been sorted as well The flat we’ve got is the one we wanted, mercifully no one else went for it whilst we were waiting to hear about Kita’s job.

It’s a little bit quirky as a place but it is a good size, has a second bedroom which will make an ideal study and a terrace garden. I say qwerky but that’s not the right word, perfect? Well it’s pretty close. The kitchen is a little small for my liking but meh, it’s a tiny thing not even a niggle and for the rent we’ll be paying, honestly I don’t think we could have dreamed for anything better.

I’m looking forward to having a study for the first time and a decent sized desk in a fairly long while as well. I’m looking forward to having separate places to sleep, relax and work. Since going to Uni, that being the first time I’ve done much work away from school it’s always felt a little odd sleeping in the same room as all my computer bits and pieces. Of course in my first year of Uni it was worse then that as you try and cram in all your entertainment into the same room as well. Now though I’m looking forward to having room to spread out somewhat, to having those separate rooms for work and play. There’s something almost feng shui about it!

We’re also going to have a two week overlap renting wise between Southsea and Reading to make life a little easier, so no need to put stuff in storage etc.  We get the keys (references pending) on the 15th June and then the plan is to pretty much move in over the weekend of the 20th/21st. Friends on the Isle of Wight, free?

Between now and then I guess it’s a case of starting to box things up again and deep cleaning the house in Reading.

Man does it feel good that things have fallen into place.

Dan