Moving to Copenhagen, part 1: The (pre move) To Do List

So as you know I'm moving to Copenhagen with my fiancé at the end of October. Up until very recently it was just something that we were going to do eventually; however within the last month I have handed my notice in at work and we've booked our one way ticket on 25th October. It's all VERY real now. 2-and-a-bit months seems like a lot of time but there is a LOT that needs sorting out. So I am making a To Do List. If you've read my very first post, you'll know that I'm aiming to document things related to the move, marriage etc., so I'm sharing my To Do List. Hopefully it'll be a handy reference for people considering to move to Copenhagen in the future. There are loads of websites with what to do in terms of bank accounts, CPR number etc but all the bitty things beforehand I think could quite easily be overlooked in terms of the prep. So here we go.

1. Sort out clothes/towels/bed linen
I have loads of clothes. In a box under the bed, in the wardrobe, in bags at my mum's place ... too many. I need to be ruthless, which will be difficult for a natural hoarder like myself.

2. Find a shipping company
I have no idea what I'm doing in this regard. I'm always wary of anyone I find on Google as I have no idea whether I'll be able to trust them (yes, I'm paranoid). So I need to ask my expat friends scattered around Europe and UAE for their recommendations. I'll of course post who I used, complete with review.

3. Call the 'officials'
By this I mean companies like Inland Revenue, DSS, pension companies, DVLA, my bank etc etc.

4. Sort out DVDs, books, CDs
See clothes

5. Serve notice to my landlord
Sounds like a really obvious point but I have it on my list as it's pretty damn vital.

6. Sell and/or give away furniture
I don't have that much as our flat was furnished but what I do have needs to be out of the flat by 20th October.

Other stuff we've taken care of already - booked the coach tickets to the airport, booked the plane tickets and checked our respective apartment contracts to make sure that we're not breaching agreements.

It's also worth mentioning at this point that there's no point me applying for a bank account or CPR number in Copenhagen right now - it won't save me any time so there's little point worrying about that before I move.

So, yeah, it's all good fun - planning a wedding and a move abroad at the same time is pretty epic ...

Hashtag Olympics

I have to admit that I'm well and truly gripped by Olympic fever. Sports I didn't know existed (canoe slalom?) I suddenly care about. Even watching the ping pong table tennis is fascinating viewing, though neither of the two playing at the moment are as good as Forrest Gump. As Denmark has a contender I am at the same time absorbing new choice phrases in Danish, which have been mumbled and bounced around our living room walls since Denmark took Spain in the handball (HVORFOR-SKAL-HAN-VAERE-SAA-GODE?!) so that's good, it gives me something to shout at when I go to see FCK.

The more I watch the Olympics, the more I love it. The more I hear people naysaying the Olympics, the more I love it. Though since the Olympics has started, the naysaying was killed - maybe it's because I've hidden the miseries on facebook or maybe it's because people got sucked into it as soon as Sir Steve handed the baton to our future athletes. I hope it's the latter because the atmosphere it's given London is undeniably incredible.

Well, I cannot write anymore because Philip has been watching the table tennis ... the German player cried like a Samurai every time he won a point (against Michael Maze of Denmark) and it actually has put me on edge slightly.

I'll leave you with a picture from my living room.

Me, my blog and I.

Ok, so not the most original of post titles. And I don't exactly have the writing style of ... well, I can't think of a good example right now (Austen a bit too prim, Atwood a bit too 'out there') but I do hope that you take some time to read this and, if you wish, leave me some feedback.

I'm Nicola. I work in marketing. I hail from Essex, live in London, and am of both English and Filipino origin (with a dash of Irish and twist of Spanish thrown in for good measure). I'm quite tall for a girl with Filipino blood (5'8"). I've been with my wonderful man for just over two years, who I am marrying in April 2013. 

On a somewhat superficial level, I like cheap regal tat and polka dots. On a not-so-superficial level I like the music of Debussy and Google Analytics, not that the two can be immediately linked. I also have a massive love/hate relationship with the Sunday morning television debates that the BBC inflict on us, or, to put it another way, I inflict on myself. Never has a Sunday morning gone by where I don't want to throw something at a pompous person with an opinion on the telly.

Anyway, the main reason for starting this blog is because 2012 has been the biggest year of my 31 years on earth - I've lost a dear family member, I've just gotten engaged and I'm emigrating - and I guess as so much has gone on and is going on that I want to document this, even if just for my own sake. My goal isn't to become a "famous blogger" or to have a super cool writing style ... ideally I'd love it if someone found my blog useful to them, be it for weddings, emigrating or dealing with every day stuff. Who knows.

And that seems as good a place to sign off as any, so I'll write again soon. Probably tonight.