manchester, married, musings

So there's going to be a wedding, umm, my wedding, in October. And after that, as I've mentioned many a time, I'm going to move to Manchester (in England...). After that, I've been strenuously not thinking about what will happen next. Part of this is because I nearly imploded from the stress/anxiety/sheer hard work of packing up most of my house before heading to the UK for a short holiday, and part of that is because well, I'll be married.
And who knows what that will be like?

I've decided not to try and find somewhere to work right away. This is partially because I won't be showing up in the UK until sometime in November (and I don't really like the idea of trying to find a place several months into the year), partially because I have no idea what the system is like here and which schools are what, and partially because I would like to try figuring out a new place, new culture, (new way of driving! eeek!), and new everything before I add the stress of an admittedly stressful position.
Unfortunately, I am also sure it's partially because I am a bit nervous of new situations and have the opportunity to indulge these nerves because I don't have to start work right away. In order to still feel independent, I'm going to try and find some sort of small job somewhere, but I'd love to be able to go with Pete as he goes to conferences (especially if they are in sunny places!), and I want to be able to be home with him whenever I can (we have, in the past, missed each other a lot because of my early-to-work and his-late-home schedules).
I've also been working since I was roughly 14 (ten if you count early forays into babysitting as well--which included weekly scheduled nights and etc). I've never been able to spend my time as I wished, or really learn how to cook, or read as much as I want. And, I'd like to try those things. But, I'm also going to try to make sure that I get out of the house each day and wander about my new city. Right now, I really only know two sections (where we live and the University area)--it would be nice to know my way around. Especially before I torment myself by trying to learn how to drive here.
This will last at most a year, though. I would really like to get into the PhD program here and do some research into reading, education, and curriculum development--and I'm sure I will get restless before too long.
Whatever else, it will be new.