A bit of this and that
So, what's been happening lately?
To begin with, I've had a nasty cold all week, but I still forced myself to go to work. In other words, this week has been pure hell. It's not easy trying to keep up with the fast pace of factory work when your nose and throat are itching, you're feeling a bit woozy and your nose is running, but you can't afford to go blow your nose because you can't stop the machines... Definitely the worst week I've had so far and I hope it stays the worst. So, why didn't I take time off work when I was in no condition to be working? Because I wouldn't get paid sick leave and as I've said, I need all the money I can collect. It's rather annoying that you start getting one day of paid sick leave after you've been employed for a month, but I happened to get sick a week before my first month is up, so no paid sick leave. Grr. Well, I'm mostly better now, and I'm hoping to stay healthy for the rest of the summer.
I finally bought my plane tickets, so it's now confirmed that I'll be flying to Seattle on September 18th and continuing from there to my destination, Bellingham. I need to change planes in London, which means that I'll need to wait there for three hours. It's a real shame that I'll only be passing through, because I've always wanted to visit London *sigh*. Well, maybe some other time. The plane tickets ended up costing me more than I had thought. When I booked the tickets, I was a bit annoyed that the price was a bit more than the amount that my home university is giving me, but I didn't dwell on it too much. But then, a day later I get an e-mail from the traveling agency saying that the airline company has randomly decided to raise their security tax so I have to pay 84 euros extra for my tickets. What the heck? Why thank you, British Airways, like I wasn't already tight with money without you charging me extra. Add to that te fact that I already need to pay another 65 euros because I have to change my return date... Thankfully I at least have a well paying summer job.
In other news, it looks like I'm going to have to participate in a work strike on Monday. It's apparently some sort of protest against some other company randomly firing one of their workers or something, and I have to participate because I'm not part of the work union. Okaaaaaaay. The plus side is that I get a day off (and I do have some business to take care of) but the down side is that I'm not getting any pay for that day. I'd rather have gone to work, but apparently they wouldn't let me in if I tried to go. Isn't that something though, my very first strike *suddenly feels like such an adult*. Friday is also free because it's Midsummer Eve. That should be a paid day off, though. It's going to be a short week, for once.
I finally received the documents from my exchange program that I'll need for my visa. Now I can finally apply for a visa. Hah, it's like the one last trial that I need to face before I can be one hundred percent sure that I'm really leaving the country for a year. Maybe the whole thing will finally stop feeling like a dream after that. The thought about the visa interview really scares me, but I know I'll get through it (somehow).
And I finally finished my last piece of school work. (Okay, so I just quickly wrote some crap and sent it off because I really couldn't be bothered...)
I think that's all for now...
To begin with, I've had a nasty cold all week, but I still forced myself to go to work. In other words, this week has been pure hell. It's not easy trying to keep up with the fast pace of factory work when your nose and throat are itching, you're feeling a bit woozy and your nose is running, but you can't afford to go blow your nose because you can't stop the machines... Definitely the worst week I've had so far and I hope it stays the worst. So, why didn't I take time off work when I was in no condition to be working? Because I wouldn't get paid sick leave and as I've said, I need all the money I can collect. It's rather annoying that you start getting one day of paid sick leave after you've been employed for a month, but I happened to get sick a week before my first month is up, so no paid sick leave. Grr. Well, I'm mostly better now, and I'm hoping to stay healthy for the rest of the summer.
I finally bought my plane tickets, so it's now confirmed that I'll be flying to Seattle on September 18th and continuing from there to my destination, Bellingham. I need to change planes in London, which means that I'll need to wait there for three hours. It's a real shame that I'll only be passing through, because I've always wanted to visit London *sigh*. Well, maybe some other time. The plane tickets ended up costing me more than I had thought. When I booked the tickets, I was a bit annoyed that the price was a bit more than the amount that my home university is giving me, but I didn't dwell on it too much. But then, a day later I get an e-mail from the traveling agency saying that the airline company has randomly decided to raise their security tax so I have to pay 84 euros extra for my tickets. What the heck? Why thank you, British Airways, like I wasn't already tight with money without you charging me extra. Add to that te fact that I already need to pay another 65 euros because I have to change my return date... Thankfully I at least have a well paying summer job.
In other news, it looks like I'm going to have to participate in a work strike on Monday. It's apparently some sort of protest against some other company randomly firing one of their workers or something, and I have to participate because I'm not part of the work union. Okaaaaaaay. The plus side is that I get a day off (and I do have some business to take care of) but the down side is that I'm not getting any pay for that day. I'd rather have gone to work, but apparently they wouldn't let me in if I tried to go. Isn't that something though, my very first strike *suddenly feels like such an adult*. Friday is also free because it's Midsummer Eve. That should be a paid day off, though. It's going to be a short week, for once.
I finally received the documents from my exchange program that I'll need for my visa. Now I can finally apply for a visa. Hah, it's like the one last trial that I need to face before I can be one hundred percent sure that I'm really leaving the country for a year. Maybe the whole thing will finally stop feeling like a dream after that. The thought about the visa interview really scares me, but I know I'll get through it (somehow).
And I finally finished my last piece of school work. (Okay, so I just quickly wrote some crap and sent it off because I really couldn't be bothered...)
I think that's all for now...