Oh, What A Beautiful Morning

I am beginning to wonder if somebody slipped a bit of Felix Felicis into my tea this morning! So far, the day has been spent tackling errands in three major areas. Each had come into trouble before... and each has had the trouble vanish today!

First, there is Peter, our Red Rover. Last week, I brought Peter in its annual MOT. I was nervous about this, and happy to see as he passed test after test... until the end. The final test was Peter's emissions, and he failed in two places. Not even close, really. So this morning, I brought him to a garage in Kidlington for repair. The mechanic was dubious, not sure if he could get to it today or if he would have the right part. Especially since the garage was only open for a half day on Saturday. Left the car and caught the bus back to Oxford. Jump forward a couple of hours, when I returned to the garage: Turns out, a new catalytic converter was needed, they had one in stock, it is now installed, and the emissions are well within acceptable limits. Even better, the part can cost well over a thousand pounds for some models... but just one hundred fifty for my Rover. For under two hundred quid, Peter now has acceptable emissions and, as best I can tell, is in tip-top shape!

Next, there is my quest to maximize productivity on my long commute. As mentioned a few days ago, the plan is to acquire a Blackberry (or equivalent) to provide mobile broadband while I am on the bus. I looked in several shops yesterday, but was stymied. Even the best "unlimited internet" plan that I could find had a cap of 500 MB/month. That's fine if one exclusively uses the Blackberry, which employs powerful compression. Not so great if the plan is to frequently use the phone as a tethered modem. The news was not encouraging. Today, I made one more try and headed to "The 3 Store", as suggested by otterylexa. Turns out, they had a better deal than I had hoped -- for thirty-six pounds a month, I can have a Nokia E71 (with 1 GB/month of internet usage) plus a mobile USB modem for my laptop with 5 GB/month of use. That should fit the bill quite well and make my commute much more productive!

Finally, there is the relocation from Skullcrusher Mountain. Since London is East of Oxford, I have been planning to move from this flat, which is in North Oxford, to a place in East Oxford. Preferably the Headington neighborhood. For my previous job -- and Chesh's -- this flat was at an ideal location. For both of our current jobs, it is not so good. Getting a place in Headington will make her commute one direct bus ride into the Oxford city centre; for me, such a move would allow me to easily catch the Oxford Tube on its way out of the city. No driving to the Park & Ride or wasting time as the bus fights its way through city traffic. About a week ago, I was searching for flats and found a place that is ideally suited for our current job situation: It is right in Headington, just above shops. It is located just next to the bus stop that would take Chesh into the city center and -- on the other side of the street -- the bus stop that would take me to London! I rang the letting agent... only to be informed that the landlord would not allow pets. Over the next few days, I combed the web looking at other flats. None were even close to being as well located at this one. Yesterday, I rang the agent again. I explained that I could understand the landlord not wanting pets in general, but extolled the difference between large dogs and two small cats that stay indoors. I urged her to contact the landlord to see if there was some way that we could change their mind -- perhaps signing a long lease (I was willing to sign for two years), perhaps paying an extra security deposit, perhaps a slightly higher rent. I was not hopeful, but I figured that nothing could be lost by trying. While I was out with the car today, the letting agent phoned. cheshcat took the call. Turns out that the landlord is okay with two indoor cats, and we have an appointment to view the flat on Monday!

I'm not sure what I have done to merit such favourable treatment from the Karma Gods today. However, I am duly grateful and will not complain! My car situation, my housing situation, and my commuting situation all look far better than they did when I woke up this morning!

And it is only lunchtime!

Oh, What A Beautiful Morning

I am beginning to wonder if somebody slipped a bit of Felix Felicis into my tea this morning! So far, the day has been spent tackling errands in three major areas. Each had come into trouble before... and each has had the trouble vanish today!

First, there is Peter, our Red Rover. Last week, I brought Peter in its annual MOT. I was nervous about this, and happy to see as he passed test after test... until the end. The final test was Peter's emissions, and he failed in two places. Not even close, really. So this morning, I brought him to a garage in Kidlington for repair. The mechanic was dubious, not sure if he could get to it today or if he would have the right part. Especially since the garage was only open for a half day on Saturday. Left the car and caught the bus back to Oxford. Jump forward a couple of hours, when I returned to the garage: Turns out, a new catalytic converter was needed, they had one in stock, it is now installed, and the emissions are well within acceptable limits. Even better, the part can cost well over a thousand pounds for some models... but just one hundred fifty for my Rover. For under two hundred quid, Peter now has acceptable emissions and, as best I can tell, is in tip-top shape!

Next, there is my quest to maximize productivity on my long commute. As mentioned a few days ago, the plan is to acquire a Blackberry (or equivalent) to provide mobile broadband while I am on the bus. I looked in several shops yesterday, but was stymied. Even the best "unlimited internet" plan that I could find had a cap of 500 MB/month. That's fine if one exclusively uses the Blackberry, which employs powerful compression. Not so great if the plan is to frequently use the phone as a tethered modem. The news was not encouraging. Today, I made one more try and headed to "The 3 Store", as suggested by otterylexa. Turns out, they had a better deal than I had hoped -- for thirty-six pounds a month, I can have a Nokia E71 (with 1 GB/month of internet usage) plus a mobile USB modem for my laptop with 5 GB/month of use. That should fit the bill quite well and make my commute much more productive!

Finally, there is the relocation from Skullcrusher Mountain. Since London is East of Oxford, I have been planning to move from this flat, which is in North Oxford, to a place in East Oxford. Preferably the Headington neighborhood. For my previous job -- and Chesh's -- this flat was at an ideal location. For both of our current jobs, it is not so good. Getting a place in Headington will make her commute one direct bus ride into the Oxford city centre; for me, such a move would allow me to easily catch the Oxford Tube on its way out of the city. No driving to the Park & Ride or wasting time as the bus fights its way through city traffic. About a week ago, I was searching for flats and found a place that is ideally suited for our current job situation: It is right in Headington, just above shops. It is located just next to the bus stop that would take Chesh into the city center and -- on the other side of the street -- the bus stop that would take me to London! I rang the letting agent... only to be informed that the landlord would not allow pets. Over the next few days, I combed the web looking at other flats. None were even close to being as well located at this one. Yesterday, I rang the agent again. I explained that I could understand the landlord not wanting pets in general, but extolled the difference between large dogs and two small cats that stay indoors. I urged her to contact the landlord to see if there was some way that we could change their mind -- perhaps signing a long lease (I was willing to sign for two years), perhaps paying an extra security deposit, perhaps a slightly higher rent. I was not hopeful, but I figured that nothing could be lost by trying. While I was out with the car today, the letting agent phoned. cheshcat took the call. Turns out that the landlord is okay with two indoor cats, and we have an appointment to view the flat on Monday!

I'm not sure what I have done to merit such favourable treatment from the Karma Gods today. However, I am duly grateful and will not complain! My car situation, my housing situation, and my commuting situation all look far better than they did when I woke up this morning!

And it is only lunchtime!