Skip to content
The beaver is a proud and noble animal

The beaver is a proud and noble animal

Notes from a bemused canuck

  • Home
  • About
  • Bookmarks
  • Pictures
  • Resume
  • Wine
  • Random Recipe
  • Toggle search form

What’s new and exciting in the Cote household

Posted on March 8, 2009 By admin 1 Comment on What’s new and exciting in the Cote household

So, a few things have happened since last I blogged. Our personal loan has – finally – been approved so we’ll be able to buy some new furnitire when we move. The house purchase is ticking along. We’ve had a valuation survey and a home-buyer survey done on the house. The HB survey didn’t find any major gremlins, though they do recommend that we have the electrics inspected because they’re a bit dated and might not be up to code. I’ve contacted a certified electrical contractor and they’re going to do a Periodic Maintenance Inspection report some time this coming week.

The solicitors have been informed of our preferred completion date, though I’m less than sure that we’ll be able to make it. Ideally, we’d like to complete on the 1st of April. That way, we could give Bidwells our month’s notice and still have the whole of April to do the necessary DIY in the new house and then move in without having to pay rent and mortgage in the same month. Right now, we’re still in the middle of the searches and our mortgage app is still in progress. We’re keeping our fingerrs crossed. Sadly, there’s still a whole lot of things that could still go wrong.

We’re trying to keep a positive attitude and, in a mad spree of optimism, we’ve started packing stuff this weekend and breaking down the bigger bits of furniture that need it (or won’t fit in the doorways or the stairwell otherwise). We’ve gotten some removals quotes as my folks have kindly offered to finance our movers :)

My citizenship application is with the UK Border Agency and the solicitors tell me that the waiting time has come down from 6-7 months to 2-3, so I could be a bloke come May.

In other news, we have the world’s first Siberian coodle. Tolstoy got so matted in the last few weeks and hated being brushed so his backside turned into one giant mat. We decided that enough was enough and took him to the vet to get sedated and brushed thoroughly. We expected that he’d lose a lot of fur, but not to the extend of having his entire hind quarters shaved. He has, and a kid you not, a poodle fur cut. And those legs! SKINNY! We burst out laughing the first time we saw him. He, on the other hand, seems to feel a lot better and has been more like himself since his make over.

On a final note, we have moved BenBen into his own room at night. We bit the bullet on Friday night and it went rather well. Same again for last night. He falls asleep like a rock and will wake up grumbling a few times during the night but settles himself back down after a while. He tends to wake up and stay awake around 6-ish but is happy to stay in his cotbed until 6:30 or so when we manage to drag ourselves out of bed. And he’s getting big. And vocal. And he giggles a lot. This makes us happy. The ladies at the nursery are amazed at how vocal he is.

uncategorized

Because I know these things…

Posted on March 1, 2009March 8, 2009 By admin 1 Comment on Because I know these things…

I know that the PM lives in Downing Street and that Scottish bank notes can be used anywhere in the UK. I know that you can get a national insurance number at a JobCenter Plus and at a social security office. I know that kids in England must attend school between the ages of 5 and 16, generally work in a supermarket or a newsagent as their first job and that women make on average 20% less than men. I can tell you that about 80% of the total population of the UK lives in England, that its patron saint is St-George and that the UK is one of 5 permanent members of the UN security council. I can enlighten you on the fact that 10% of UK Christians are Roman Catholic and that Indians make up the largest minority group. I know that the reigning monarch can only advise, warn and encourage the PM and that civil servants need to be politically neutral and professional. Did you know that you need to be on the electoral register if you want to vote and that you can use a mediation service to sort out disputes with your neighbours? How about the fact that the NHS will treat every UK resident for free but if multiple people are living in shared accommodations, they each need to buy a TV license? I can tell you that you can be dismissed immediately for serious misconduct and that trade unions aim to improve pay and working conditions for their members. I can also tell you that you need to be 21 to drive an HGV, that you can be arrested if you refuse to have a roadside sobriety test and that a non-EU driving license is valid for 12 months in the UK (but then you need to obtain a UK one).

I can tell you all these things because I passed my life in the UK test last Friday. I can also tell you that it took me longer to write this blog post than it did to actually pass the damn test (which took the whole of 3 minutes).

My citizenship paperwork is now on its way to London where my solicitor will look it over and forward it to the Home Office. In the meantime, we had a bonfire last night and to mark the occasion, I ceremonially burned the study materials that had bored me senseless for the past two weeks. This made me happy.

uncategorized

I think I know why I’m blue these days

Posted on February 26, 2009 By admin 3 Comments on I think I know why I’m blue these days

I don’t regret moving to the UK. It was the right decision to do and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I’m applying for citizenship because I can see myself living here for a while longer. But for all of that, I’ve just come to the realization that one thing I really miss – aside from my family, of course – are the boys.

We used to see each other on a weekly basis. I miss the board game nights. I miss the gossip. I miss the general insanity that came along with having a close-knit group of friends that have known each other for years. This is something that I don’t have here, and I find I’m missing it.

uncategorized

BenBen is a playa :)

Posted on February 26, 2009 By admin

This is even funnier now, given the fact that the cell phone in his pocket has now been put out of commission due to massive amounts of urine. Time to get Katy a new un-birthday present :)

uncategorized

Duckies!

Posted on February 26, 2009 By admin

Campus is full of ducks again. This makes me happy, in a very Tony Soprano-esque sort of way. Natwest seems to delight in jerking us around regarding our loan application – which so far has taken close to two weeks now. They say they are being “responsible lenders”. I say they don’t want to lend out money while the interest rates are so low and they’re stalling as much as they can. If they say no, I’m taking my business elsewhere. As in, closing all my accounts and giving them the big two-finger salute. Most UK banks are sitting on a cubic butt-load of government money which, in theory, they are supposed to give out to try and re-stimulate the economy. They’re like greedy three year-olds. MINE! MINE! MINE!

I hate banks.

So, in the meantime, I feed the ducks and try not to stress too much.

uncategorized

It seems that it wan’t meant to be.

Posted on February 20, 2009 By admin

I had my stupid Life in the UK exam scheduled for this afternoon. I’ve been stressing about it for the last week and was very much looking forward to getting it done and over with. I’d taken the whole day off so that I could go over my notes in the morning and then take the test.

So, after finally finding out where I had to go and getting there, I am informed that people in the session just before mine are running late. We’re also told that we have incentive to pass the test today because the testing center will not be administering those tests anymore because, to put it bluntly, the money isn’t worth the effort and aggro. They’re the only testing center in Cambridge, and the nearest one after that is either Norwich or Peterborough. They only do one weekly session – Friday afternoons – and they’re booked solid for the last session.

So, we wait. And we wait. 20 minutes later, they finally start registering us for the tests. Just as we’re about to start the test, the power goes bye-bye and all the computers shut down. Turns out that the whole block has suddenly gone dark – they blame the road works. To make a very long and frustrating story short, we waited in a dark office from 2:45 to 3:45 and then they canceled the session. They held off as much as they could, but in the end they had to throw in the towel. The testing system is linked to a central Home Office server and the system locks everybody out at 5pm. We were given 2 choices: get a refund for the test or come back next Friday morning when they’re going to hold a session for those of us who can come back.

So, joy. I’m going to keep going over this shit for another week. This does not make me happy.

uncategorized

Comics, omfg!

Posted on February 19, 2009 By admin

As well as having lots of pictures on my camera, I’ve been hoarding some comics that I’ve been wanting to post for a while now. Enjoy!

Once I get my flying insect phobia and Ben is a bit older, there will be serious business to be done!


Mooo, indeed.

Today’s tag line is now “Respect the poon”. Spread the word!

Phrase No. 51 is often followed by Phrase No. 52: “I’m fine”. This is your sign to beg forgiveness and/or run for the hills.

uncategorized

Peeeectures!

Posted on February 19, 2009February 19, 2009 By admin 3 Comments on Peeeectures!

It’s been a while since I’ve had time to download the pictures that have accumulated on my camera. A lot have been posted online in two albums:

http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/ben
http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/hinxton

Here’s a preview of some of the pics:

Mr. BenBen

Snow brings the UK to a grinding halt …

…followed two weeks later by floods

uncategorized

Life in the UK

Posted on February 18, 2009 By admin

I’ve been studying the material for my life in the UK exam, which is this coming Friday. The stuff I need to know is, to put it mildly, brain numbing. I’m almost done with the first-pass of the chapters I need to study and have most of them condensed in hand-written notes (a carry-over from my university days). I’ll have all of tomorrow and most of Friday to review it. I’m a bit anxious, to be honest. I’ve heard that 1/3 people fail the test. I can take it as many times as I need to, but I don’t want to have to spend more time thinking about it and I have to pay £35 a pop to take the test. I also need to wait a week before a re-test and I don’t want to deal with that shit any longer than I need to. I guess that part of my anxiety is just remnants of my university exam panic attack moments surfacing from the deep. I just want it done and over with.

uncategorized

Decisions, decisions…

Posted on February 12, 2009February 12, 2009 By admin

What to do, what do do indeed.

I’ve just gotten a phone call from our mortgage broker. It would seem that the RBS is willing to give us a mortgage. Thiis is good news. The bad news though is that the interest rate on said mortgage is 7.25% which, considering that the base rate of the bank of England is currently 1.0%, is nothing less than highway robbery.

Thing is though, the banks have us by the short and curlies. A lot of lenders are shying away from 90% mortgages.. Many are asking for at least a 15% deposit now. For us, this would mean finding another 8000 pounds out of thin air. Very few lenders will even consider me because I’m an evil foreigner. Combining these two facts means that the RBS can pretty much dictate any terms they want – they have their bonuses to earn, don’t they? If we want the house – which we do – we are facing a big decision. I knew that we’d get a bum deal for our first mortgage. I didn’t expect it to be this bad though.

We can afford the repayments. It’s the principle of the thing. But what is the price of a principle? In our case, it’s an extra 100 pounds a month for 5 years and a rough mental calculation puts this at an extra 6000  pounds in interest that we throw out the window.

So, decisions. And the realization that banks are teh evil and teh maj0r suckz.

uncategorized

Posts pagination

Previous 1 … 489 490 491 … 703 Next

Power to the beaver!

Show me the beaver!
September 2026
M T W T F S S
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
282930  
« Aug    

Quote of the day

Sham Harga had run a succesful eatery for many years by always smiling, never extending credit, and realizing that most of his customers wanted meals properly balanced between the four food groups: sugar, starch, grease and burnt crunchy bits.
--(Terry Pratchett, Men at Arms)

Random Posts

  • [Recipe] Baked Camembert
  • XKCD on hot dogs
  • Let’s all go awwwww now
  • Roller coaster brain ride
  • [recipe] Carrot cake cinnamon rolls
reading leopard

Tags

bobble the little blue owl boobies brought to you by the fda cats chonk christmas comics computers are evil covid-19 dealing with idiots dilbert dog ducks galleries geek god bless the land of the free holidays house I am Canadian land of cheese and chocolate linked news lolcat london news from the stupid not my dog nsfw pets pictures potd2014 qotd random shit re-member recipes relationship shrill slice of life stress Tao the british way The Peanut things i miss travel video wine work

Archives

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Copyright © 2026 The beaver is a proud and noble animal.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme