Hey all,

i know i haven't updated in a long while, that wont change anytime soon, i need to vent, and i haven't been here in a while so i thought i would do a journal.

i am very stressed with this moving country, its amazingly simple in physical terms, i have been to sweden lots of times. but it seems that everyone wants one last stab at me before i go.

for example(s):

i want a bank account in England where people can transfer money into and i can then take out in sweden without being charged for it. this is useful for example my brother will sell some of my stuff while i am gone, and he can send me some of the money. but every bank wants to charge me money, some as high as £25 for every £100 transfered! except i have found a loop hole, where i can get a credit card, that doesn't charge when used abroad but has to be owned by a uk resident. so i have to apply for the card while i am still here (one week left to do that in) and then set up a standing order to automatically pay that off, and then take the card with me and use it in an ATM in sweden.

another problem is if i drive over there i need breakdown cover for my car, except that everyone will only cover me if i can prove that i am coming back, which i am not, so i cant get breakdown cover for my car. luckily i am taking spare parts so i should be able to sort most problems by the road.

also driving through france, i have about 50 miles at the most through there, but they can stop me and fine me for up to £370 which they demand there and then, for random things like not having a high vis jacket in the car for each person... so for the police to make a bit of spare cash, they just wait by the ferry, and catch any unknowing brit that doesn't realise they need a high vis jacket, then the money can go right into their back pocket because they take it cash in hand.

i finally got the people who serviced my car to agree to look at it again, i wasn't pleased that the belts were still slipping and the brakes were worn, i could do this myself but i have already paid them to do it so i expect them to do it.

because i am leaving the country it is like in an airport, i must check in and go through customs etc, this could mean completly unpacking the car for security, this may happen at every border, and i go through France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, so that is 6 times i will have to fully load and unload the car, which is going to add a lot of time onto my already 19 hour journey.

if i pack too much stuff into the car it could invalidate the insurance and i could be fined.

just to double check, i went to see if i needed glasses for driving as in some countries they can take away your licence on the spot if you fail a sight test, and it turns out i do need glasses, which is more money, more time, and also means i cant legally drive until i have them....

every day for the next week, i have fully booked for meetings with the bank and my phone company and insurance company etc, there is so many stupid little things that need sorting for something that is actually quite simple, i am just moving to a different country, not curing cancer.


anyway, its getting to me a bit, i am trying to pack, thats hard enough, i need to work out everything i want to take for the next few years, everything i forget that is too big to fit on a plane i won't be able to get so i have to make some big decissions on what to take. i have very few people to talk to about this as well, no one i know has done this, except a few who are in other countries where i cant talk to them lol, or at least i don't know anyone who has tried driving which is where most of the problems seem to come from.

i am still really looking forward to it all tho, the packing is making everything hit home, and i am so pleased that i managed to get some of my larger stuff to fit in the trailer, as well as finding the loop hole in transfering money abroad without being charged. i had a lot of fun meeting everyone for the last time, it does make me realise just how much i am going to miss.

one thing that is making this really hard tho is my health, stress, plus heat, plus being too busy to eat properly and drink regualarly is making me feel constantly ill, dizzy and exhausted, i know it will be fine when its all sorted, and i am just forcing myself to get there, its just whether i will survive the stress long enough to get there.


the most important thing i have lernt though all of this tho, is that if you want something bad enough, there is nothing that can stop you. everything is doable, you can be who you want to be. i want to live in Sweden with Iris, and although its not easy, its what i will do or die trying.


i hope everyone here is well and happy, it really has been an awesome summer so far, buying the convertible really paid off, i am so pleased, take care all