waterlilybarb

I'm SO pleased for you Mel!   I know from my friends that it often happens the way you described - winding up choosing a style of dress different than you initially expected.  I'm sure you'll look like the princess the dress makes you feel like. (I know that's bad grammar, but you know what I mean. )

Maybe after the wedding you can do what Meg did and post some photos with the faces edited out so we can see your lovely dress.

meljones_83

Of course, I can't go on about it on here and then not show you all what it looked like!

A lot of people I know have said the same about choosing something different to the picture they had in their head. I think it's because wedding dresses are so different to anything you ever usually wear that you really don't know what will suit you until you've tried some on. I also have to now agree with the terrible cliche that when you put the right one on, you just know!!

cshapiro

I just have to comment on this.  One thing that has always seemed odd to me when I was in the UK.  The people there always think things are far.  British people will pack a lunch, plan a route, pour over maps and agonize for weeks about a trip from London to Oxford.  In Canada restaurants deliver (for free) that distance.  The notion of "far" in the UK  is just ridiculous.  People in Canada commute daily the equivalent distance of the length of Scotland.  It's time you realized, the UK, is a tiny (but lovely) island.

angel-87

i know it not that far compared to other places. it just that it going to take about seven hours  to drive and i have never driven for so long before i i kinda nervous about a certain part of the journey which is a very steep and bendy hill. plus my sister is just annoying to be in a car with lol.

waterlilybarb

An annoying passanger, no matter how much you love them, can definitely make the trip seem even further than it is - I know this from experience.   However, the feeling of accomplishment you'll have after taking this journey for the first time on your own will make up for the anxiety you're feeling now.  I've travelled some steep and bendy hills, and I would have MUCH rather been the driver.  As a passenger I felt more nervous because I didn't have control of the vehical and the driver was my Gran not too long before she finally gave up her driver's license.  THAT was a harrowing experience, though she was a fabulous travelling companion.    I did most of the driving after that day of our trip, which happened to be in Nova Scotia (aka New Scotland).

meljones_83

Lol, we realise that our island is rather small in the grand scheme of things! It's just what you are used to though. I hate driving so any trip longer than an hour or two is torture for me!

angel-87

very true. and after driving all that distance i then have a two hour ferry ride to look forward too. yay. (sense the sarcasm? lol) i hate boats. they make me feel like lol

cshapiro

I don't want to belittle your nervousness over your drive.  Lots of people don't like driving in unfamiliar areas.  I have sympathy for your discomfort.  I'm just having a gentle poke at the UK sense of scale.  I guess we all are used to our own surroundings but in Canada and the US an hour or 2 in the car is an errand or regular commute in the UK it's an outing.

shinny

Lol, but then you guys have super big roads. I've driven in the States & Australia, believe me, it's a different kettle of fish to driving back roads in Ireland or the UK. It's not the length of time as such, it's the going nowhere fast !! I could drive for hours upon hours if I had open roads in front of me. I love to drive, but not in traffic or being stopped at every second Traffic light (!) Although, our bigger roads are getting better, but they just aren't everywhere.

waterlilybarb

The back roads where I live now are pretty dicey.  We moved from a house on a dirt road into the this bustling metropolis of almost 1400 people.   I was over to the old house today and must say they do NOT maintain those roads very well.  I nearly was run off the road by a schoolbus because it needs to be graded so badly there is only one decent lane - in the MIDDLE of the road.    Ah, country living!  Who said it wouldn't be exciting?   

imarielle626

The longest day of my life (well not really, but it felt like that today) is officially over!  I had 2 of my hardest exams today so have been practically living at the library lol  It's nice to be back and now I have shows to catch up on =)

Just to comment on the whole length of driving thing:  Being from South Florida where it is an 11 hour drive just to cross the state boarder, I've always had a different sense of driving distance than most of my friends who live more in the New England area.  I envied the people who could go for a two hour car ride and up in a different state!  Then I lived in Israel where to drive the entire length takes about 10-12 hours and depending on where you are located driving the width of the country takes about 1.5-4 hours.  I could hop on a bus for a few hours (or less) and go from beach to desert to mountains to forest, etc.  Personally I prefer the small country because I'd much rather take a bus than a plane.  The site out the window are just so much nicer on a bus than a plane!  And I'd take the bus over driving far distances because I hate not knowing where I'm going and not being familiar when driving.  I do however love my GPS that tells me exactly when and where to turn

meljones_83

Hope all went well with the exams, Arielle. There's always that lovely relieved feeling you get when exams are over - particularly if you know they are going to be particularly tough ones!

magic4u

THIS IS A REMINDER FROM YOUR MODERATOR
YOU ARE ALL ACTING FAR TOO GIRLY HERE NOW BEHAVE

gypsiegirl66

Ha ha, that's because we are girlie's!!

It's so good to be online, when I arrived abck in CR on the 16th my laptop key board didn't work,   well q, w, a, & s, worked. There aren't too many words you can type with those letter (as, was, saw...). I'm borrowing my friends laptop for tonight and tomorrow, with the season premier of ER I had to be here.

I know what you all mean about driving, I think it's much better to be in a smaller country also. My condo in CR is in the mountains, but I can drive to the Pacific in 1hr and to the Atlantic in two. I usually just hire a taxi, it's really cheap down here. I can go anywhere on the island for less than $70. In S. Florida, I could be stuck in traffic going 20 miles, for over an hour (depending on time and season). I also love New England driving, especially Maine. It's so open and beautiful, you can't help but love it.

silver1978

One of the first things we had to do when moving to the UK was adjust to the driving. First, it's the whole other side of the road thing. This is harder then I thought it would be- it requires readjustment of a lot of ingrained habits, like which way to look before pulling out.

And secondly, distance here does not equal time. If, in the states, I say I have 60 miles to go- we can pretty much assume that's an hour. Here, due to the roads and traffic, it might take me 2 hours to go 60 miles. We are 212 miles from London. It usually takes us about 4.5 hours to get there.  53 miles from Manchester, 1.5-2 hour drive.

I have learned a love of trains here! It is so much nicer when I have to fly out of London or whatnot to take the train and the underground rather than driving through all that mess. It only takes 3.5 hours by train. I haven't embraced the bus system yet, but thats mainly because there are no bus stops near where I live.

Hubby and I have done a lot of driving in the past. I used to drive regularly from Virginia Beach, VA to Bloomington, IN before we were married (when he got orders to IN and I was still in VA). I really don't like to drive- behind the wheel or the passenger seat. It's really really boring to me at this point! Plus, I have been in 8 car accidents (none while I was driving, knock on wood) so it makes me very very wary.

Oh barb, I really don't like driving in New England anymore- maybe because I grew up there. The scenery becomes really monotonous really fast

[ Last edited by silver1978 at 9-26-2008 10:27 ]

shinny

Yeh I think that's exactly my point. TRAFFIC !! Dublin City is a awful to drive into as London. I live about 50km (30 miles) from Dublin. One morning it took me 3 hours to get to work because we'd had really bad weather & the traffic was going nowhere fast. On average though, it took me 1.5 hrs there & 1.5 hrs back. So, 3 hrs to do a 100km (60 miles) round trip!

Luckily I work from home these days, but I did that drive for over 10 years. When I have to travel in now for the occasional day in the office I think to myself how did I do this every day, 5 days a week !!!

I really do love to drive, but on open roads with no traffic

angel-87

i finally got on the internet again after my move and drive. i was exhausted driving north. took forever. lol

meljones_83

Glad it all went well - now you can relax and enjoy the new home!

Reply  2396#2396 shinny's post

Talking of traffic, I had a bad experience just this evening. I went to pick up the keys to our new flat today, it took me about 15 minutes to get there and I got the keys, great no problem then went home for dinner.
Went back this evening with my parents and fiance and it took us an hour to do the same trip. It's only 4 miles!

silver1978

We lived in North Carolina, just south of the Virginia border. My husband commuted up to Norfolk, about a 50 mile drive, and it took him maybe an hour each way- he was able to use less traveled roads to get there. To contrast, when I was still in the Navy, I lived 10 miles from the base and it regularly took over an hour to get to base because of the horrible amount of traffic from Virginia Beach to Norfolk. So I feel you with the traffic, it can be horrendous.

waterlilybarb

Glad you made it the trip safely Angel.   It's nice to have you back, and I hope you're soon settled into your new place.

Reply 2398#2398 meljones_83's post

When do you move in to your new flat Mel?  Are you moving in before the wedding (one or both of you) or waiting until after?  It will be fun getting it set up the way you both like, and making it homey.  That's my favourite part of moving because it's the most fun part - seeing a place once filled with someone else's things turn into home.  I hope you guys make many happy memories there.