Errands

I have a giant list of errands.  They are getting a bit out of hand...I thought that if I were to write them all on the blog, I might feel a bit more obliged to actually do them before people start reminding me that I haven't.  So, in no particularly order, I need to:

• Acquire a phone.  I had to mail my phone back in the United States in order to get out of Sprint's contract, so I am entirely without a device.  Though I actually have a cheap phone courtesy of my friend Megan, who studied abroad here last year.  She thinks there might even be some minutes left on it...I haven't actually touched it, other than to carry it around in my purse in case there is an epic emergency.  I think that I might be making the dangerous leap to an iPhone.  I'll be in England for two years, so could easily have the standard two-year contract and then own the phone outright, at which point I will have a device and can simply get a new SIM card when I go to different countries.  There is also an incredibly cheap plan involving SIM cards only, if it turns out it makes sense for me to buy a phone outright (now that the iPhone 5 has come out, iPhone 4s may be relatively cheap).  I'll have to price things out...
• Acquire a bike.  Norwich is beautiful, but I know that I will not go in nearly often enough unless I get a bike.
• Acquire a bus pass.  Ditto, more or less, on the above.  The Marshall very nicely pays for a bus pass for me, so I'll be able to get around happily even when it's pouring.  (Which it actually won't do all that much here...we're in the flattest and driest part of the country.)
• Fill out a room swap form.  I am currently in a very lovely room that has its own shower and toilet.  And while that's lovely, it also costs quite a bit more than I really want to pay.  I will be attempting to find something cheaper, but swaps won't be considered for at least two weeks.
• Register for the National Health Service.  I am covered, since I will be here for quite a while, but I need to sign up and get myself an NHS number.
• Register for the Norwich Library.  I've actually already done this, but I needed to mention.  My library card will be on its way in the mail shortly!
• Find the post room.  Speaking of my library card in the mail...I need to find the post room at UEA and figure out how picking up packages works.  I will be sharing my postal address on the blog, but I am waiting for my final room allocation so I don't change it in two weeks and get everyone confused.
• Look for a job.  I now have access to UEA's Employability system, an online listing of job openings.  I am hoping that I will find something research-based in my department, but we won't know about that for several weeks yet.  It would be interesting to work in a shop in Norwich or something, just to get a greater awareness of the local scene.  We will see!  It is lovely that, given my Marshall stipend, I do not strictly need a job for basic life.  It would be helpful mostly for flights back and forth from the US.  But this one is, in some ways, the least urgent of my to do list.
• Do laundry.  Here's another one I've actually already taken care of.  There is a laundromat on campus, but I have successfully navigated my way through the British tradition of not using a dryer and simply hanging up clothes to dry.  I washed clothes in my shower and had them hanging all around my dorm room.  It looks a bit ridiculous, since I haven't really unpacked or moved in all that much.  There are random articles of clothing on every surface...but it seems to have worked!
• Paperwork.  I still have a great deal of paperwork to read through and complete, both from the Marshall Commission and UEA.  Someday, I will no longer have my life depending on a three-inch stack of information.  Maybe.
• Marshall Class Service Project Write-Up.  Oftentimes, Marshall classes participate in a service project together to give back to the United Kingdom a bit.  I volunteered to write up a few ideas and circulate them to our group.  (Someday, maybe (though probably not), I will learn not to open my mouth in these situations.)
• Class.  Oh, yeah.  There's that thing called study.  At some point, I should probably pay attention to my classes as well.