Orientation, Shipping, Solicitors

My job orientation which I was expecting to do today is now scheduled for next Tuesday. Apparently they had a lot of new appointees so they split the induction over two weeks. I don't mind, it gives me a little more free time to do things, and the money isn't important so much as actually having a job, but it would have been nice if they had called me with the news instead of me having to call them to find out.

Our container shipping is due to arrive today at Long Beach in Southern California, just south of Los Angeles. Customs will inspect and X-ray it, then our shipping company will inform us of the customs charges (we're anticipating minimum $130 for the X-rays) which we pay to the shipping company via cashier's check. Once they have our payment they'll load our five pallets onto a big truck, and I anticipate a 2 day drive to get them to our front door. Hopefully then we'll have everything by the end of next week at the latest.

That's a little longer than we initially expected, but there's not much we can do with the contents while we're in our apartment anyway, so it's no big deal. Beth has some clothes packed in there that she wants, but the majority of the boxes and bags will just be stacked around the walls unopened. Our home insurance will be altered to allow for the extra contents value.


Over the weekend we contacted several Solicitors in London via email, to choose one arrange the legal paperwork for our house sale. We're not terribly impressed with our agents Foxtons regarding this, as it would have been easier to start while we were still in London, and no mention of this requirement was made until this weekend. Foxtons did a good job on marketing the house and getting viewings, but they haven't been great on communication and explanation. However we have now engaged a Solicitor, and are awaiting the paperwork.


Our new kitten Ghost continues to grow in confidence, spending longer periods in the apartment playing or exploring, but still likes to go outside frequently, sitting on the doormat and watching the world go by.