Looking for a new houseIt’s been a long haul, but I’m now established in another home office, complete with broadband – yay! When I think about moving house ( which I hope I won’t have to do for a while now) I always think about packing up all our stuff and moving the furniture. If only that was the extent of it. As my Twitter friend @HeatherBestel has pointed out, it’s getting all the systems sorted out that takes up so much time and energy.

A dealt with the broadband provision, as an ex-BT man who speaks the lingo. In the end we got connected a day before their estimate, but by that time he felt like he’d crawled up the road dragging the cable himself.

A smooth-talking individual at Southern Electric persuaded me they would organise a flawless transfer of services at the new property. In fact they have messed up everything they were supposed to do and now are ignoring my repeated requests to call me back with a courtesy update. I might as well stand and shout into a big pit until I’m hoarse for all the impact my many phone calls have had.

And you have to learn about so many new things – which keys fit which doors, where to put everything, how to set the timer for the boiler when there’s no manual (and you’re not yet online). Have you noticed your body has a memory? In a familiar house you sleepwalk downstairs in the morning and your body automatically carries out the regular breakfast-making tasks, reaching for the bowls, cereal, coffee and spoons. In a new house it wants to continue the same actions, but everything’s in a different place, so it lurches around and jolts me into grumpiness, never a good start.

But the good news is that now we’re into our second week here and so the newness is wearing off and I’m starting to pick up the threads of working life and make contact with people again, via email and on Twitter. And it’s people who make all the difference, regardless of how well your household systems are working.