Some people have asked me why Mona couldn't travel with me. The UK does not allow any animals to enter either in the passenger cabin or as checked baggage. They only allow animals in as cargo. Also, due to a change in FAA regulations about crew rest during long-haul flights, Delta converted the pet cargo space on all of their UK equipment to crew lounges. So it's impossible to get any pets to the UK on a Delta flight. I didn't know that when I booked my ATL-MAN flight. Therefore, Mona had to fly British Airways with a connection through Heathrow. She had to clear animal control at Heathrow, and BA requires a minimum 6 hour layover to make that happen, hence the extra day. By the time she was cleared for entry, she had missed the last available cargo flight up to Manchester. All very complicated, but she made it okay, and that's all that matters.
No sooner had I gotten Mona settled in then I had to take off for work. She was pissed off when I left, but I didn't have a choice. I made a quick stop back at the hotel to change into work clothes, since I was covered in cat hair at that point. My first day at the plant was uneventful. I got a desk. I got a new work mobile phone. I met some people. The usual. I worked late finishing up some things for my old job and had a chance to have a nice chat with the cleaning lady. Her accent was difficult to understand at first, but I think I picked it up fairly well. There was one funny moment when I thought she said she was going to duck-sit for her daughter. I was wondering if her daughter had a pet duck, but then I realized she was saying 'dug' for dog.
I was pretty brain dead when I left work, so brain dead in fact, that I turned right out of the parking lot, into the right hand lane. Fortunately, I realized my mistake quickly and backed up. I looked up to see the security guard looking at me from across the street. Embarrassing. My other mishap on the way home was turning right in front of oncoming traffic, forgetting that they had the right-of-way. I don't know how I escaped that one without an accident. After visiting & feeding Mona, I went to eat dinner at a Thai restaurant called Phanthong. It was absolutely wonderful - definitely some of the best Thai food I've ever had. I started with Tod Man Kow Pord (sweet corn fritter served with cucumber, crushed peanut and sweet chili sauce), which was one of the best things I have ever eaten, seriously. There were four fritters in the serving, so it was probably meant to be shared, but I ate every single one, and all of the sweet chili sauce, too.
My "WTF?" moment from Thursday came in the form of the bathroom toilet paper holder that was not a toilet paper holder. Here is the fixture mounted next to the toilet in the WC on the ground floor. Looks like it should somehow hold a roll of paper, right?
Wrong. In fact, it is screwed in place firmly. I haven't the foggiest idea what this fixture actually is supposed to be. If it's a hand towel holder, mounting it next to the toilet is very strange. So if anyone KNOWS what it's for or has any suggestions, please let me know. I cannot figure it out. It's too big to rest a roll of paper on top of it.
Friday morning, the jet lag hit me pretty hard, but I had to go to work, so I dragged myself out of bed reluctantly. I swung by the house to feed Mona and then drove out to Runcorn. Now, my GPS always routes me along the Daresbury Expressway (A558), which has been under construction and down to one reversing lane along one stretch since I was here in November. This was my second time hitting the construction at a peak rush hour, and I sat for 15 minutes. I determined that I *must* find an alternate route to avoid the construction.
(as an aside, the Daresbury Expressway is named for the adjacent village of Daresbury, the birthplace of Alice in Wonderland author Lewis Carroll. There's a visitors' centre there that I should visit sometime.)
The security guard teased me about almost driving the wrong way the night before. Thanks for rubbing it in, dude. Work was very busy with a working lunch. I barely had time to run up to the Canteen to grab something. They always serve some foul smelling fish on Fridays, but they also had beef pasties, so I got a pasty covered in gravy. Not at all healthy, but quite yummy. You really can't screw up beef, potato and veg in a pastry crust. All of the afternoon was spent conducting phone interviews for my replacement. There were some great candidates, so hopefully my old position will get back-filled soon.
I used Google maps to try to find an alternate route to get me south to the M56 without having to get on the Daresbury Expressway. At first, my GPS didn't like me, but after a while, it stopped telling me to make a u-turn and re-routed me the way I wanted to go. I had to go a little bit west to hit the Central Expressway (A533), so it added mileage, but there was zero construction, so it saved me 10-15 minutes. Feeling very pleased with myself, I was able to zoom home on the M56. The south Manchester traffic really seems to back up and get bad just after the J7 exit. Fortunately, that's the Altrincham exit, so I got off the freeway just behind all of the brake lights of the traffic queues. :-)
My first stop was the house to check in on and to feed Mona. She continues to do just fine, but she's definitely lonely staying all by herself these past few days. I feel really guilty, but then I remember that the only other option was to board her at a cattery for 3 nights, and I have to think she's better off at the house.
I tried to get Mona to take a selfie, but she's as bad as taking selfies as I am.
Friday night I decided to venture over to the Altrincham Market. They are doing "twilight" markets on Thursdays and Fridays during the Christmas season. They also have the old Market House which was renovated into a kind of food court. Here's a nice write-up of the scene: Altrincham Market: Market House Reborn.
The place was packed! I bought a mulled wine and browsed the stalls selling different arts & crafts. There was an interesting selection of very unique products, many of them handmade. There was a small stage where local musicians could get up and busk for tips, so we had live music to accompany the shopping. Next, I squeezed into the Market House, which was absolutely mobbed. I figured it had to work kind of like the Oktoberfest where you share tables, so I was able to find an open seat to get some dinner. I ordered a pan-seared salmon with puy lentils and baby spinach from The Wolfhouse Kitchen. It was PERFECT. The salmon was absolutely luscious. I paired a glass of French Sauvignon Blanc with it that I picked up from the Reserve market booth. The wine was so good that I went back and bought a bottle to take home (Domaine de Bellevue Touraine Sauvignon Blanc 2013, Loire Valley).
The people I sat with were a very nice couple who had actually driven in from 20 miles away to come to the Altrincham Market on their date night. The lady, Natalie, told me there was an adult women's social meetup group for the Altrincham/Hale area that I should join. Her husband, Richard, told me that he thought I was brave to come over by myself.
I've had a couple of people tell me they think I'm brave, and although I appreciate the kind sentiment, I have to say I don't think I'm brave at all. Bravery to me is when you don't want to do something, and you're scared to do something, but you do it anyway, either because duty compels to you or because it's the right thing to do. Firefighters running into a burning building to try to save lives are brave. Soldiers going into battle are brave. Tugce Albayrak was brave. I don't think I deserve that label for doing something I wanted to do. Stress, anxiety, fear and any hiccups or issues along the way, I've always wanted to have an international job, and I'm lucky that I finally have the chance to do it.
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