So a few weeks ago, I mentioned we had a lot of things coming up that were going to keep us busy? I think now is as good a time as any to explain what I was actually talking about, rather than leaving things all vague-like.

To cut a long story short, we're moving. And to make a short story long... details!

Ever since I arrived here in December 2007, I've lived in the flat Jase arranged while I was still at home - a lovely little one bedroom place near Canary Wharf, in East London. It's been great: a nice big living area, a relatively new kitchen, and in a nice quiet street. We've done well living here, despite my constant moans about the Docklands Light Rail, aka the DLR of Doom, not working. It's getting to the point where we have to plan out our weekends in advance, because the trains are down all the bloody time.

<rant:> Don't even get me started about the massive 48 hour tube strike that's hopefully finished by now. Who would've thought I missed the sweaty germ-box (otherwise known as the Central Line) so much? </rant>

As is to be expected, our flat has had a few things go wrong with it, and unfortunately the real estate that manage the property are about as useful as a screen door on a submarine. The handle of one of our bedroom windows broke off. The ventilation fan in the bathroom stopped working. The cold tap in the kitchen sink fell to pieces. The wiring on the bedroom light blew. We've lived with these problems for over three months, and guess what? They're still not fixed.

Add the evil transport links, the inconsiderate neighbours and the constant vaccuuming of cat hair out of the carpet, and we were pushed over the edge. As soon as we gave our notice, our flat went on the market for an asking rent of 50 pounds less than what we currently pay. Per week. I'll just pause here to let you calculate how much we've been overpaying. Yes...?

So, we started flat hunting about two month agos. Since I work late hours, J had the fun task of setting up appointments and viewings, and saw some real doozies out there. The recession over here has resulted in a lot of places going on the market for a lower rent - but because we've decided to venture out into West London to a more traditional flat, the places were a lot smaller than what we were used to.

After a few weeks of hunting, J found a place that he loved: nearly the same size as our current flat, with wooden floors and a nice balcony close to a tube line. I went to see it a few days later and thought it was ace, so we put the deposit down and have been waiting for our contract ever since.

We got the contract today. It's been a stressful few weeks, not knowing what has been going on, or why it's taken so long - turns out they couldn't hunt the landlord down to get them to approve the tenancy. It should be sorted as of tomorrow, just in time for the weekend.

Our official move-in date is Tuesday next week. Talk about cutting it fine! The big moving day will be next Saturday, when we're both off work. Next step? Operation pack-up-flat. Stay tuned...