Well, I'm back to normal life....Had a great time in Vancouver with Lloyd, Liz, Katie and my boyfriend Bono. Learned the important lesson that Lloyd and general admission don't mix.... Again, starting writing at work, got distracted and forgot where I was going.
Things since I've been back (I can't believe it's been a month!!) have been crazy. I am still homeless and have been hopping between Aimee's, The Jillians and Rebecca's. I was so tired of being unsettled that I have moved into a hostel...More on that later.
Went to Paris two weeks ago and...well....I thought it was a little overrated, but I was tired, stressed and broke when I went so it was probably just my mood. Our first night there we (Jillian, Naima and myself) went to the Eiffel Tower and drank a bottle of champagne at the base which was pretty cool. We did go up and take some pictures and had a good time just being ridiculously us. Afterwards we got a crepe (best part of my trip) filled with nutella and cream. We we walking along the riverbank trying to find the metro and we stopped for a bit because we were tired. I was watching all the illegal souvenir sellers, there was one with all his wares spread on a blanket and he moved to grab the blanket and I said to the girls "I think the cops are coming" all of a sudden we heard a jingling like Santa was coming (the noise from all the cheap Eiffel Towers jangling together) and about 30 souvenir sellers came sprinting up the bridge. It was hilarious to watch, I have never seen people run so fast! Then about 30 seconds later the gendarme came around the corner. Very entertaining! On Saturday we went to Montmarte and saw the Moulin Rouge, then I went back to the hostel because I was really grumpy and didn't want to ruin the girls' day. They ended up going to the sex museum (damn!) but I napped and ate cheese, it was great!
Last night I moved into a hostel in Hammersmith. It's a great location and might stay there until mid-December when I know if I still have a job or not. Last night I checked in, had a shower, got into bed and a few minutes later one of my roommates came in. I didn't catch his name, but I found out that he was from Romania and was really friendly..... REALLY friendly. He told me he was going down to the bar and asked me to join him, I declined. Then he told me that the room gets really cold at night and that when he came back from the bar he would join me in my bed (single upper bunk bed) again, I decline. Then he told me he wasn't leaving the room until I kissed him. I told him it would be a long wait and to have a good night. He finally left and I waited a few minutes. I was worried because he was going down to the hostel bar and reception is in the bar, but after a phone call to Jill and her demanding I get another room I went downstairs (wet hair, pajamas and slippers) to change rooms. All seems to be well in the new room, no randy Romanians.....
I've been to see Wicked in the West End and get to go to the Lion King tonight. After all the work I put into the Corus proposal for the Lion King I am really excited to see the show finally!
This weekend I'm going to Milan. Mama Kat bought me a ticket for my birthday so I'm excited to go and just veg. I'm a little sad about being alone on my 30th, but hopefully the Italian countryside will be worth it!
Hopefully I won't wait so long between updates, so much little stuff happens, but I just don't seem to have the time to write it all down!
09 November, 2009
21 October, 2009
I know, I know, it’s been ages since I’ve written anything. But honestly not as much happens once you start working!! Well, lots still happens, but I just don’t have the time! A lot has happened lately….I am pretty much homeless….Well, I’m also dramatic…I am living with Aimee right now. She was so nice to let me stay with her after the whole Creepy Landlord debacle at the beginning of October. I’m really glad to be out of that place, but looking for a place to live in London is almost as daunting as job hunting! But aside from not having a permanent residence everything is going quite well. Since Mama Kat left me I have been really busy, went to see Phantom of the Opera it was really cool to see it in London, the Phantom was Canadian though…Can’t believe I came here to see a Canadian Phantom… Went on the daytrip with 90 students to see Stonehenge, seriously, I know it’s a must see…..But it’s just rocks. It was really cold and windy the day we went, so I got my picture taken and then hung out in a sheltered area for about 45 minutes waiting for everyone else. I’m an awesome tour guide! We also went to Salisbury that day the cathedral there was beautiful, but I am beginning to become jaded…You’ve seen one 500 year old church, you’ve seen ‘em all.
Last weekend was epic. I took 39 students to Edinburgh and fell head over heels in love! What an amazing city. As soon I stepped off the train I felt relaxed and like I was home. The city was so friendly, the weather was beautiful (which I take credit for....protesting the rain has totally paid off). We arrived on Friday afternoon and checked into the hostel. My friend Jillian and I decided to go for dinner and we walked down the Royal Mile and found ourselves in the Canon’s Gate. A nice pub that was serving taster portions of haggis (the perfect amount) and ice cold Tennet’s (ale). Jill is possibly the pickiest eater alive so I wouldn’t tell her what was in haggis, just that she had to try it. It’s really not too bad, you just have to make sure you don’t think about what’s in it….So haggised up and two pints in we decided to pub crawl our way back to the hostel, where we would be meeting most of the other students to go on a pub crawl….That’s right a pre-pub-crawl-pub-crawl. I think Jillian is my soul mate. We stopped in at 4 pubs and a souvenir shop on our way to the pub crawl…I don’t know if you have ever been drunk souvenir shopping, but I HIGHLY recommend it! The last place we stopped at was a live music bar and we adorned our beer with the most awesome beer cozy EVER! A kilt with Velcro that can wrap around any beverage…..BEST PURCHASE EVER some guy that worked at the bar gave us dirty looks. I’m not sure if it was because we are soooo touristy or because I had a kilt wrapped around my guiness. Whatever. We went back to my room to drop off our purchases, where the epic conversation "I'm really dunk. Me too, let's go on a pub crawl" took place. Went on the pub crawl. Sang O Canada very loudly in the street at the first bar because there were so many freakin' Canadians in the vacinity....The night was possibly one of the best nights I've had. Such a good time.
Saturday I woke up miraculously hangover free (the same could not be said for poor Jillian) and spent the day walking the Royal Mile with Jill, Rebecca and Brady (students). Went on the Scotch Whiskey Experience....I don't like whiskey, I don't know what made me think I would like to experience it but there we were. Saturday night Jill made me go on a ghost tour. She wanted to do the graveyard tour, but I really wanted to see some of the underground vaults and compromised on a ghost, vaults tour. It was really interesting, except for when someone jumped out at the end and scared the entire tour (planned by the tour company) and I grabbed onto the guy in front of me and may or may not have ripped a chunk of skin out of his back. Whatever. At least he was a student. I was so embarassed, but was grateful not to have ripped skin out of a stranger....The student, not so much.
Then as we were finishing in the vaults our tour guide mentioned that we would have time to go on the graveyard tour that starts at 10pm. great. really excited. thanks a lot.
Jillian makes me go on the graveyard tour, then made me go into some haunted mausoleum that had a poltergist. Seriously!? Why do people walk into these places if they KNOW there is a poltergist? I told Jill I wasn't going to eff with some pissed off ghost and she gave me the evils so I had to go in. 30 seconds into the backround story the tour guide was giving my lips started tingling like they were falling asleep. I thought...Don't be such a baby, you're making that happen. Then my lips went numb and my face started tingling.... EFF THIS! I'm out! I stood outside for the rest of the tour and when Jill came out she was pissed I left her for dead...meh, her legs could have taken her out of the scary place too! About an hour later we were on our way back to the hostel and I noticed a mark appearing on Jill's cheek. It looked like she was getting a black eye, it was so strange. The only explanation we can come up with for the mark was that she got bitch slapped by a poltergist! Great trip in all! :)
Last night went to see Robbie Williams at the Roundhouse. It was the same venue that I saw Snow Patrol in a few months ago. Amazing! 2,000 people and me and Robbie. About halfway through I started feeling really ill and had to leave. I missed the last half of the show, but it was really good. I really do love him.
Anyway, I can tell you all my stories in 8 more sleeps when I see you!!!!!
Last weekend was epic. I took 39 students to Edinburgh and fell head over heels in love! What an amazing city. As soon I stepped off the train I felt relaxed and like I was home. The city was so friendly, the weather was beautiful (which I take credit for....protesting the rain has totally paid off). We arrived on Friday afternoon and checked into the hostel. My friend Jillian and I decided to go for dinner and we walked down the Royal Mile and found ourselves in the Canon’s Gate. A nice pub that was serving taster portions of haggis (the perfect amount) and ice cold Tennet’s (ale). Jill is possibly the pickiest eater alive so I wouldn’t tell her what was in haggis, just that she had to try it. It’s really not too bad, you just have to make sure you don’t think about what’s in it….So haggised up and two pints in we decided to pub crawl our way back to the hostel, where we would be meeting most of the other students to go on a pub crawl….That’s right a pre-pub-crawl-pub-crawl. I think Jillian is my soul mate. We stopped in at 4 pubs and a souvenir shop on our way to the pub crawl…I don’t know if you have ever been drunk souvenir shopping, but I HIGHLY recommend it! The last place we stopped at was a live music bar and we adorned our beer with the most awesome beer cozy EVER! A kilt with Velcro that can wrap around any beverage…..BEST PURCHASE EVER some guy that worked at the bar gave us dirty looks. I’m not sure if it was because we are soooo touristy or because I had a kilt wrapped around my guiness. Whatever. We went back to my room to drop off our purchases, where the epic conversation "I'm really dunk. Me too, let's go on a pub crawl" took place. Went on the pub crawl. Sang O Canada very loudly in the street at the first bar because there were so many freakin' Canadians in the vacinity....The night was possibly one of the best nights I've had. Such a good time.
Saturday I woke up miraculously hangover free (the same could not be said for poor Jillian) and spent the day walking the Royal Mile with Jill, Rebecca and Brady (students). Went on the Scotch Whiskey Experience....I don't like whiskey, I don't know what made me think I would like to experience it but there we were. Saturday night Jill made me go on a ghost tour. She wanted to do the graveyard tour, but I really wanted to see some of the underground vaults and compromised on a ghost, vaults tour. It was really interesting, except for when someone jumped out at the end and scared the entire tour (planned by the tour company) and I grabbed onto the guy in front of me and may or may not have ripped a chunk of skin out of his back. Whatever. At least he was a student. I was so embarassed, but was grateful not to have ripped skin out of a stranger....The student, not so much.
Then as we were finishing in the vaults our tour guide mentioned that we would have time to go on the graveyard tour that starts at 10pm. great. really excited. thanks a lot.
Jillian makes me go on the graveyard tour, then made me go into some haunted mausoleum that had a poltergist. Seriously!? Why do people walk into these places if they KNOW there is a poltergist? I told Jill I wasn't going to eff with some pissed off ghost and she gave me the evils so I had to go in. 30 seconds into the backround story the tour guide was giving my lips started tingling like they were falling asleep. I thought...Don't be such a baby, you're making that happen. Then my lips went numb and my face started tingling.... EFF THIS! I'm out! I stood outside for the rest of the tour and when Jill came out she was pissed I left her for dead...meh, her legs could have taken her out of the scary place too! About an hour later we were on our way back to the hostel and I noticed a mark appearing on Jill's cheek. It looked like she was getting a black eye, it was so strange. The only explanation we can come up with for the mark was that she got bitch slapped by a poltergist! Great trip in all! :)
Last night went to see Robbie Williams at the Roundhouse. It was the same venue that I saw Snow Patrol in a few months ago. Amazing! 2,000 people and me and Robbie. About halfway through I started feeling really ill and had to leave. I missed the last half of the show, but it was really good. I really do love him.
Anyway, I can tell you all my stories in 8 more sleeps when I see you!!!!!
27 September, 2009
Spending Time with Mama Kat
Well, it's been a crazy busy two weeks! My Mum has been here since the 19th and we've had a great time! Well, I have anyway! We have done so much; Windsor, Buckingham Palace, a bus tour, champagne tea at the Dorchester, a weekend trip to Northern Wales, a trip to Brugge, a trip to the laundromat (long story), I introduced Mom to pear cider and ploughman's lunches. I have really enjoyed spending so much time with Mama Kat and showing her why I love living here so much!
Let's start with Saturday the 19th. Mom flew in at 7am, just as I was taking my first set of students on my first daytrip. Great timing!! I was in Bath as Mama was checking into her hotel. Bath was really beautiful. It was a gorgeous day and one of the RA's (Solvi) came with me to help wrangle in the students. We had a nice time wondering around, having lunch and sightseeing. We spent a lot of time on a giant map of the world that was set up in the square, just wandering around countries we'd been to and where we live. ....At this point in my update my internet crapped out and I haven't been able to blog all week and have completely forgotten how I was going to lay out the update. Dammit!
Today is a blah day. Mum left this morning and I haven't been sleeping very well due to my living arrangements.....More on that at a later date....I am going to look at a new flat tomorrow in Maida Vale, which is really close to work and a pretty nice area. It's more than what I'm paying now, but it will cut down on travel costs and time, which is such a perk!!
Things at work are going really well. I'm going to Stonehenge and Salisbury on a daytrip with the students on Saturday, then in two weeks we go to Edinburgh!! Starting with the Edinburgh trip I figured out that every two weeks I'm in a different country. At the end of October I will be home for a few days, then Paris, then Milan for my 30th with Aimee!! And I also have tickets to see Robbie Williams and U2 in there too!! Should be a great two months!
I know this is a short post, and I haven't said anything about what my Mum and I did, but we had a blast together and I am already missing her! I wasn't homesick until she came out, today I kind of wish I had gone with her. But looking at all the stuff I have planned helps a bit. And I think a lot of it has to do with where I am living.
I have lots of pics up on facebook of mum's trip so check them out!
I promise to write a better blog soon!
Lots of love!
S
15 September, 2009
So, it's been a month...
Whoops! I guess I haven't blogged since the U2 concert....Yikes! Well, what has happened in a month?
The last two weeks of August consisted of me going to work and coming home. Nothing too exciting at all. The first two weeks of September however have been crazy busy and utterly fantastic! I think I'll start with the Bank Holiday weekend that was at the end of August. Pretty sure I didn't leave the house until the Monday, but what a day it was!
Started by going to the Notting Hill Carnival. I didn't want to go, but I knew that it was something that you have to do once in your life. It is the second largest street carnival in the world. It's a carribean festival with parades, steel drum bands, jerk chicken and 1,000,000 people over two days. When we got there we had to walk a bit from the tube station and as we went there were tons of boarded up shops. I learned that the people tend to riot so the shop owners have learned their lesson....It was stupid busy and we couldn't get close enough to the parades to see the costumes very well, but I did get a couple of pics and they are on facebook. Just as we finally were able to get to the very front of the crowd to see a parade we got the crappy section of the parade. It was just a few trucks with steel drum on them, and everyone on the trucks were eating lunch....So we just watched a bunch of people eat jerk chicken on the back of a semi....I'm glad I only have to do Carnival once.
After Notting Hill I went to Aimee's for her birthday BBQ. Such a nice night, just a few friends sitting in the garden eating and laughing. So chill and really relaxing. When I got home I was greeted by Eduardo, the giant spider (again, pics on FB) to this day I am greatful that I saw the web before I walked into it. (this hadn't been the case on the previous Thursday or Friday and spent my whole workday convinced I had spidewebs on me) HUGE spider across my front door and have been fighting with him daily every since. I now take a stick from the hedges and wave it up and down until I get to the end of my walk. The neighbours must think I'm bonkers!
Fast forward to the next Friday. I had my first outing with the students. We took 100 students on the tube (for some it was their first time, so it was.....interesting) to Tower Hill to go on a Jack the Ripper Walk. Over all fairly successful, definately choatic, but I didn't lose anyone....I think. One girl almost passed out (from the combination of gruesomeness, jet lag and dehydration I think) so I missed a lot of the tour as I was going back and forth between our three groups after that to make sure that no one else fainted. Had a night in the college bar afterwards which was a great success. Really busy, and now the bar manager loves me and tells me to bring more students down all the time.
The entire first week of September was crazy busy at work (actually the entire month so far). We had most of the students arrive by Monday and all last week was the Fresher's Fair, so lots of new faces, events and parties! Wednesday night they had a party on campus to welcome all the new students and as I would be encouraging students to go on trips and buy tickets to events I had to be there....Well, I accidentally got drunk (I was only going to stay for an hour, but one of the RA's convinced me to sleep in her dorm room so all restraint went out the window!) and at the end of the night (11 pm) I was talking with my boss about the afterparty at a nightclub. He asked me if I was going and I told him that I didn't think so as the cover charge was £20 (which is something that I defiantely cannot afford) and I had to work at 10am the next morning. He replied, well take the 20 quid out of petty cash and come in at noon. I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!
So two RAs, a German student and I went down to this club, but it was so packed they weren't letting anyone else in, we stood there for an hour then decided to just go home. Actually this is the point that the RA (the lovely Karen - girl from Lebanon) suggested I sleep at hers, so I really did get accidentally drunk.....
Saturday was my first day trip, again with 100 students, to Bath. What a beautiful town! I had a lovely time, but was anxious to get back to London because Mama Kat arrived just as I was departing the college. I did have a wonderful time hanging out with the RA that came along (Solvi - boy from Iceland). But the best part of my day was going to see my Mama!
So now my Mom is here until October 1 and we have lots of great stuff planned. We walked a little bit around central London on Sunday (saw Big Ben, Parliment, the eye and the inside of a pub) then went to Windsor yesterday and had a really great day. Today we are going to Buckingham Palace, taking a bus tour that Liz and I took and then having tea at the Dorchester. So excited for tea!!!
That's pretty much all the exciting bits from the last little while....oh, except for getting violated on the tube twice in one week. The first time some creepy guy was pushing his erection into my thigh during rush hour and then a couple of days later there was a guy that kept pressing against me fully and when I told him to stop it, he called me a bitch. Hooray for public transport.
Sorry it's been so long! I'll try to update a bit more frequently!!
The last two weeks of August consisted of me going to work and coming home. Nothing too exciting at all. The first two weeks of September however have been crazy busy and utterly fantastic! I think I'll start with the Bank Holiday weekend that was at the end of August. Pretty sure I didn't leave the house until the Monday, but what a day it was!
Started by going to the Notting Hill Carnival. I didn't want to go, but I knew that it was something that you have to do once in your life. It is the second largest street carnival in the world. It's a carribean festival with parades, steel drum bands, jerk chicken and 1,000,000 people over two days. When we got there we had to walk a bit from the tube station and as we went there were tons of boarded up shops. I learned that the people tend to riot so the shop owners have learned their lesson....It was stupid busy and we couldn't get close enough to the parades to see the costumes very well, but I did get a couple of pics and they are on facebook. Just as we finally were able to get to the very front of the crowd to see a parade we got the crappy section of the parade. It was just a few trucks with steel drum on them, and everyone on the trucks were eating lunch....So we just watched a bunch of people eat jerk chicken on the back of a semi....I'm glad I only have to do Carnival once.
After Notting Hill I went to Aimee's for her birthday BBQ. Such a nice night, just a few friends sitting in the garden eating and laughing. So chill and really relaxing. When I got home I was greeted by Eduardo, the giant spider (again, pics on FB) to this day I am greatful that I saw the web before I walked into it. (this hadn't been the case on the previous Thursday or Friday and spent my whole workday convinced I had spidewebs on me) HUGE spider across my front door and have been fighting with him daily every since. I now take a stick from the hedges and wave it up and down until I get to the end of my walk. The neighbours must think I'm bonkers!
Fast forward to the next Friday. I had my first outing with the students. We took 100 students on the tube (for some it was their first time, so it was.....interesting) to Tower Hill to go on a Jack the Ripper Walk. Over all fairly successful, definately choatic, but I didn't lose anyone....I think. One girl almost passed out (from the combination of gruesomeness, jet lag and dehydration I think) so I missed a lot of the tour as I was going back and forth between our three groups after that to make sure that no one else fainted. Had a night in the college bar afterwards which was a great success. Really busy, and now the bar manager loves me and tells me to bring more students down all the time.
The entire first week of September was crazy busy at work (actually the entire month so far). We had most of the students arrive by Monday and all last week was the Fresher's Fair, so lots of new faces, events and parties! Wednesday night they had a party on campus to welcome all the new students and as I would be encouraging students to go on trips and buy tickets to events I had to be there....Well, I accidentally got drunk (I was only going to stay for an hour, but one of the RA's convinced me to sleep in her dorm room so all restraint went out the window!) and at the end of the night (11 pm) I was talking with my boss about the afterparty at a nightclub. He asked me if I was going and I told him that I didn't think so as the cover charge was £20 (which is something that I defiantely cannot afford) and I had to work at 10am the next morning. He replied, well take the 20 quid out of petty cash and come in at noon. I LOVE THIS COUNTRY!
So two RAs, a German student and I went down to this club, but it was so packed they weren't letting anyone else in, we stood there for an hour then decided to just go home. Actually this is the point that the RA (the lovely Karen - girl from Lebanon) suggested I sleep at hers, so I really did get accidentally drunk.....
Saturday was my first day trip, again with 100 students, to Bath. What a beautiful town! I had a lovely time, but was anxious to get back to London because Mama Kat arrived just as I was departing the college. I did have a wonderful time hanging out with the RA that came along (Solvi - boy from Iceland). But the best part of my day was going to see my Mama!
So now my Mom is here until October 1 and we have lots of great stuff planned. We walked a little bit around central London on Sunday (saw Big Ben, Parliment, the eye and the inside of a pub) then went to Windsor yesterday and had a really great day. Today we are going to Buckingham Palace, taking a bus tour that Liz and I took and then having tea at the Dorchester. So excited for tea!!!
That's pretty much all the exciting bits from the last little while....oh, except for getting violated on the tube twice in one week. The first time some creepy guy was pushing his erection into my thigh during rush hour and then a couple of days later there was a guy that kept pressing against me fully and when I told him to stop it, he called me a bitch. Hooray for public transport.
Sorry it's been so long! I'll try to update a bit more frequently!!
15 August, 2009
The Love of my Life
Haha, so I re-read my previous blog and you can totally tell that I wrote half of it at work and the other half at home when I was tired....Totally disjointed. This one might be the same because it's 2.36am, I have been home from U2 for an hour and am still on the sweet, sweet high that my love of Bono provides....and I'm waiting to upload my pics to facebook and really just killing time.
So, the concert....It was okay I guess. Or IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I may have given up buying groceries this week to be able to go, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Even though I got punched in the face by some crazy girl (on purpose...It was a very Lloyd moment in my life...) It was great..not the punch, well really more of an aggressive slap...the concert was great!
Wembley is huge, but not what I thought 88,000-ish (they broke a world record that night) people would look like, until I got out after the show. That was unreal. There are pics on facebook. This has totally primed me for Vancouver and I can't wait to take the three U2 virgins to their first show (my 6th!) Too bad Bono doesn't run a frequent buyer club, buy 5 shows get the 6th free. I'll have to talk to him about that.
I feel like I'm talking nonsense...I know, I know, what else is new...So I will finish this in the morning!!
Woke up at 8.15 this morning...after talking to Tasha until 4.30, hate this curse of waking up early, but at least it is Saturday and I can nap. Still having flashbacks from last night. I was saying to Devon earlier this week about how I was feeling like I had to like U2 because everyone knows how I love him. I can't believe that I had such blasphemeous thoughts! I walked into the stadium and felt the rush of love all over again. Was even really please when they played their new stuff....The album has totally grown on me I do like it, it's not even my least favourite album.
I took over 200 hundred pictures and put 175 up on facebook....A little much I know, but it was just so amazing!
Ok, enough gushing....First week of work was great, people are so friendly and the job is a lot of fun. I like to plan things and this job is planning! Everything from Jack the Ripper Walks to weekends in Paris, I plan and get to go to! I tried to plan the weekend in Paris on my birthday...nothing says 30 like a free weekend in France! But it's too close to exams so it's 2 weeks before my birthday. And that started a cunning plan to do something amazing every weekend before my birthday...which let's face it is pretty close to what I'm doing now...I keep getting these amazing,one-in-a-lifetime, over-priced opportunities and keep taking them saying...Now I am broke and can't do anymore, then something else comes up and I eat special K for another week...But my cunning plan starts on October 30, it's the Friday that I will be in Canada, it's the 30th (obviously) and it's 30 days until my 30th birthday so I want to have a birthday party while I'm home...and of course wear my party dress. 30-30-30 Party....There will be no mention of Halloween though. I hate Halloween. So keep that date open!!
I think that's all I have to say...Two blog enteries in one week should keep you vultures at bay...right? : P
So, the concert....It was okay I guess. Or IT WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I may have given up buying groceries this week to be able to go, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Even though I got punched in the face by some crazy girl (on purpose...It was a very Lloyd moment in my life...) It was great..not the punch, well really more of an aggressive slap...the concert was great!
Wembley is huge, but not what I thought 88,000-ish (they broke a world record that night) people would look like, until I got out after the show. That was unreal. There are pics on facebook. This has totally primed me for Vancouver and I can't wait to take the three U2 virgins to their first show (my 6th!) Too bad Bono doesn't run a frequent buyer club, buy 5 shows get the 6th free. I'll have to talk to him about that.
I feel like I'm talking nonsense...I know, I know, what else is new...So I will finish this in the morning!!
Woke up at 8.15 this morning...after talking to Tasha until 4.30, hate this curse of waking up early, but at least it is Saturday and I can nap. Still having flashbacks from last night. I was saying to Devon earlier this week about how I was feeling like I had to like U2 because everyone knows how I love him. I can't believe that I had such blasphemeous thoughts! I walked into the stadium and felt the rush of love all over again. Was even really please when they played their new stuff....The album has totally grown on me I do like it, it's not even my least favourite album.
I took over 200 hundred pictures and put 175 up on facebook....A little much I know, but it was just so amazing!
Ok, enough gushing....First week of work was great, people are so friendly and the job is a lot of fun. I like to plan things and this job is planning! Everything from Jack the Ripper Walks to weekends in Paris, I plan and get to go to! I tried to plan the weekend in Paris on my birthday...nothing says 30 like a free weekend in France! But it's too close to exams so it's 2 weeks before my birthday. And that started a cunning plan to do something amazing every weekend before my birthday...which let's face it is pretty close to what I'm doing now...I keep getting these amazing,one-in-a-lifetime, over-priced opportunities and keep taking them saying...Now I am broke and can't do anymore, then something else comes up and I eat special K for another week...But my cunning plan starts on October 30, it's the Friday that I will be in Canada, it's the 30th (obviously) and it's 30 days until my 30th birthday so I want to have a birthday party while I'm home...and of course wear my party dress. 30-30-30 Party....There will be no mention of Halloween though. I hate Halloween. So keep that date open!!
I think that's all I have to say...Two blog enteries in one week should keep you vultures at bay...right? : P
12 August, 2009
Working Girl
Hello Friends,
I know that I haven't updated the blog for a while, but my position in London wasn't cemented until I had a job so I really didn't have much to write about. Now that I am employed I have more to say!
I started my job yesterday at Regent's College as the student centre coordinator. I have spent the last two days planning day trips to Bath, Stonehenge and Salisbury, Stratford Upon Avon and Warick and Leeds Castle and Canterbury. These are to take place over four consecutive Saturdays starting September 12....The day Mama Kat arrives...Bit tricky there. When Mama arrives I will be in Bath, not ideal. But will find my way around it somehow. I don't think I am required to go on every trip, but I think I am for the first one. Classic. So still not sure how we will get around this one, but will figure something out soon.
I am also planning trips to Paris and Edinburgh where my attendance is required (yay me!!). Gotta love a job that sends you on trips for free!
I was looking for a different apartment and came up with a lot of wasted time and money spent on travel so I am still in the boonies of London (damn). It only takes 1 hour 40 minutes to get to work.....Gotta love commuting. (I wrote the last bit at work....it took me 2.5 hours to get home...Eff the commute!)
Everyone at the college is really friendly, it's pretty quiet right now because the students don't arrive until the beginning of September. But that's nice because I can familiarize myself with everything before they get here. Yesterday I wanted to order some wipe calendars and waited for my boss to get out of meetings so I could clear the purchase and he told me "Order whatever will make your job easier" Sigh, I love this job.
As I was walking home in the rain ( I refuse to give into the umbrella industry's evil plot and will NOT buy one) I passed a dodgy ticket booth that had a hand written sign advertising U2 tickets. I popped in and he said they were £60. I couldn't decide if it would be worth it so I left to think about it and if the tickets were there when I went back to work it was meant to be. Talked to Aimee and she couldn't really buy a ticket either, so that kind of cemented the deal, but then I talked to my friend Steve and he said he would go....Changes everything...
This morning I woke up, went onto the ticketmaster site to see if they had released anymore tickets and got 2 general admission floor seats.....**Caution curse word coming*** Holy Fuck! I'm going to see U2 at WEMBLEY...I just peed. Seriously, re-reading that made me so happy...So tomorrow night I will be hanging out with my boyfriend while he sings to 65,000 or something ridiculous people. I have no notions that I will get close enough to touch him (Like I will in Vancouver in 75 sleeps) but I will be there for him to sing to me.
Well, I should go. I have to go get ready for my massive commute, but will be listening to Bono all day so it will be with a huge smile on my face!
I also wanted to point out that you guys can leave comments on here too, not just send me harrassing emails and facebook messages! : P (I love it. I'm glad you guys like the blog as much as I like writing it!!!) Next one will be FULL of U2!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!
I know that I haven't updated the blog for a while, but my position in London wasn't cemented until I had a job so I really didn't have much to write about. Now that I am employed I have more to say!
I started my job yesterday at Regent's College as the student centre coordinator. I have spent the last two days planning day trips to Bath, Stonehenge and Salisbury, Stratford Upon Avon and Warick and Leeds Castle and Canterbury. These are to take place over four consecutive Saturdays starting September 12....The day Mama Kat arrives...Bit tricky there. When Mama arrives I will be in Bath, not ideal. But will find my way around it somehow. I don't think I am required to go on every trip, but I think I am for the first one. Classic. So still not sure how we will get around this one, but will figure something out soon.
I am also planning trips to Paris and Edinburgh where my attendance is required (yay me!!). Gotta love a job that sends you on trips for free!
I was looking for a different apartment and came up with a lot of wasted time and money spent on travel so I am still in the boonies of London (damn). It only takes 1 hour 40 minutes to get to work.....Gotta love commuting. (I wrote the last bit at work....it took me 2.5 hours to get home...Eff the commute!)
Everyone at the college is really friendly, it's pretty quiet right now because the students don't arrive until the beginning of September. But that's nice because I can familiarize myself with everything before they get here. Yesterday I wanted to order some wipe calendars and waited for my boss to get out of meetings so I could clear the purchase and he told me "Order whatever will make your job easier" Sigh, I love this job.
As I was walking home in the rain ( I refuse to give into the umbrella industry's evil plot and will NOT buy one) I passed a dodgy ticket booth that had a hand written sign advertising U2 tickets. I popped in and he said they were £60. I couldn't decide if it would be worth it so I left to think about it and if the tickets were there when I went back to work it was meant to be. Talked to Aimee and she couldn't really buy a ticket either, so that kind of cemented the deal, but then I talked to my friend Steve and he said he would go....Changes everything...
This morning I woke up, went onto the ticketmaster site to see if they had released anymore tickets and got 2 general admission floor seats.....**Caution curse word coming*** Holy Fuck! I'm going to see U2 at WEMBLEY...I just peed. Seriously, re-reading that made me so happy...So tomorrow night I will be hanging out with my boyfriend while he sings to 65,000 or something ridiculous people. I have no notions that I will get close enough to touch him (Like I will in Vancouver in 75 sleeps) but I will be there for him to sing to me.
Well, I should go. I have to go get ready for my massive commute, but will be listening to Bono all day so it will be with a huge smile on my face!
I also wanted to point out that you guys can leave comments on here too, not just send me harrassing emails and facebook messages! : P (I love it. I'm glad you guys like the blog as much as I like writing it!!!) Next one will be FULL of U2!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!
24 July, 2009
The cold, hard slap of reality
I haven't written in a while because I've been feeling kind of shitty. This whole no job thing sucks and blows! It's hard to enjoy a city as wonderful as London with no income! But I do make a pretty good go of it!
Even though these last few days have been hard last weekend was fantastic! First, Nathan and Kathy from home were here visiting some friends just outside of London in a town called Aylesbury (They lived there for a year a few years ago). I was invited out there for a BBQ on Friday night. When I got there Nathan met me a the train station and we pub crawled back to Scott and Lizzie's...It started to POUR just when the pubs were getting few and far between so I was soaked, but it was great! We had dinner (no BBQ, but lots of wine....maybe too much wine), I was having such a nice time I missed my train, but another couple that was there offered to drop me off at the tube station as they were going back to London. Fantastic!! Except I missed the last tube by 2 minutes and had to take the night bus home. That was a London experience in itself! It was like being on a pub crawl bus, the only sober person was the driver...I hope! About two hours into my night bus ride some kid behind me that I could see in the reflection of the window wasn't looking too hot...Sure enough he puked, no one ever batted an eye!!! He puked SIX TIMES!! It was pretty gross, I was glad I only had another hour to go...I hate transit. There was also puke running down the side of the bus from the upper deck. Gotta love night buses. But I made it home safely even while drunk texting Natasha.
Saturday I was going to lay low, but Kathy called to see if I wanted to come with them to a show. I didn't want to miss that opportunity so I went with them to see "We Will Rock You" the musical co-written by Brian May of Queen. It was.....interesting. The first 20 minutes were stupid strange, but it got better. Then the Queen propaganda scene kind of put me off again, but all in all I enjoyed it. The female lead was amazing and she made it totally worth it.
Sunday was another great day. I met Julia (my friend from Germany that I haven't seen since June 2000) and her boyfriend Andreas and we went for Dim Sum in Chinatown. Who would have guessed that Dim Sum would have been the first food that tasted like home! Then we went for frozen yogurt at a place in Soho called Snog. It was so good! but Julia didn't know what a snog was and when I tried to explain it I made all the staff laugh with my phrasing....It was so nice to see her and it was so strange that even after nine years neither of us had changed!
Monday and Tuesday I spent with Liz Hobday!!! We met up and wet to the Tate Modern on Monday afternoon....I am not cool enough for modern art. A rope on the floor and a mirror on the wall are hardly awe inspiring.....When we went for lunch we had to take a second for the fact that we were sitting on a patio on the Thames for lunch instead of at home...It was totally surreal. We walked around the embankment and over to Leicester Square (where I took Liz for her first Snog...take that however you want) and then Liz went to a show with her friend Aime. The next day we went on a London Bus Tour. I have to say that the 20 quid pricetag made me a little nauseous, but it was 100% worth it. We went all over central London and had a great time just hanging out together. At the end of the day when we parted ways I just gave a quick goodbye like I would at home, then when I sat on the tube it dawned on me that I wouldn't be seeing her until October and felt quite sad that I didn't give a proper goodbye. Living here really has become surreal.
Wednesday I went with a friend to the Natural History Museum, but found that it hadn't changed in the 12 years since I was last there so we left right away. I figured that there was so much in London that I hadn't seen I didn't quite need to do repeats just yet. So we went over the road to the Vicotria and Albert Museum and it was quite interesting, but having just done a museum with Liz I got bored pretty quickly and we left after about an hour. I bought a monkey in the gift shop for a few pounds...That was the highlight of the musuem...I love monkeys. Then we went to see Bruno. Hilarious! Then we stopped in the pub for a drink and left 5 drinks later, good day all in all.
Yesterday my brokeness sunk in and so I've stayed home the last two days to conserve money, hopefully a job will magically appear next week and all this stress will melt into another form. It was kind of funny today that when I was talking to my Mom on skype today that I was crying because I didn't want to come home. I don't think any of us had our money on that one!!
I know that things will get better, but I'm too impatient for that. I want things sorted out NOW!!! Oh well, hopefully the next blog will be details on my amazing new flatmates and fun, fabulous job..
..Not my plane arrival times.....
Even though these last few days have been hard last weekend was fantastic! First, Nathan and Kathy from home were here visiting some friends just outside of London in a town called Aylesbury (They lived there for a year a few years ago). I was invited out there for a BBQ on Friday night. When I got there Nathan met me a the train station and we pub crawled back to Scott and Lizzie's...It started to POUR just when the pubs were getting few and far between so I was soaked, but it was great! We had dinner (no BBQ, but lots of wine....maybe too much wine), I was having such a nice time I missed my train, but another couple that was there offered to drop me off at the tube station as they were going back to London. Fantastic!! Except I missed the last tube by 2 minutes and had to take the night bus home. That was a London experience in itself! It was like being on a pub crawl bus, the only sober person was the driver...I hope! About two hours into my night bus ride some kid behind me that I could see in the reflection of the window wasn't looking too hot...Sure enough he puked, no one ever batted an eye!!! He puked SIX TIMES!! It was pretty gross, I was glad I only had another hour to go...I hate transit. There was also puke running down the side of the bus from the upper deck. Gotta love night buses. But I made it home safely even while drunk texting Natasha.
Saturday I was going to lay low, but Kathy called to see if I wanted to come with them to a show. I didn't want to miss that opportunity so I went with them to see "We Will Rock You" the musical co-written by Brian May of Queen. It was.....interesting. The first 20 minutes were stupid strange, but it got better. Then the Queen propaganda scene kind of put me off again, but all in all I enjoyed it. The female lead was amazing and she made it totally worth it.
Sunday was another great day. I met Julia (my friend from Germany that I haven't seen since June 2000) and her boyfriend Andreas and we went for Dim Sum in Chinatown. Who would have guessed that Dim Sum would have been the first food that tasted like home! Then we went for frozen yogurt at a place in Soho called Snog. It was so good! but Julia didn't know what a snog was and when I tried to explain it I made all the staff laugh with my phrasing....It was so nice to see her and it was so strange that even after nine years neither of us had changed!
Monday and Tuesday I spent with Liz Hobday!!! We met up and wet to the Tate Modern on Monday afternoon....I am not cool enough for modern art. A rope on the floor and a mirror on the wall are hardly awe inspiring.....When we went for lunch we had to take a second for the fact that we were sitting on a patio on the Thames for lunch instead of at home...It was totally surreal. We walked around the embankment and over to Leicester Square (where I took Liz for her first Snog...take that however you want) and then Liz went to a show with her friend Aime. The next day we went on a London Bus Tour. I have to say that the 20 quid pricetag made me a little nauseous, but it was 100% worth it. We went all over central London and had a great time just hanging out together. At the end of the day when we parted ways I just gave a quick goodbye like I would at home, then when I sat on the tube it dawned on me that I wouldn't be seeing her until October and felt quite sad that I didn't give a proper goodbye. Living here really has become surreal.
Wednesday I went with a friend to the Natural History Museum, but found that it hadn't changed in the 12 years since I was last there so we left right away. I figured that there was so much in London that I hadn't seen I didn't quite need to do repeats just yet. So we went over the road to the Vicotria and Albert Museum and it was quite interesting, but having just done a museum with Liz I got bored pretty quickly and we left after about an hour. I bought a monkey in the gift shop for a few pounds...That was the highlight of the musuem...I love monkeys. Then we went to see Bruno. Hilarious! Then we stopped in the pub for a drink and left 5 drinks later, good day all in all.
Yesterday my brokeness sunk in and so I've stayed home the last two days to conserve money, hopefully a job will magically appear next week and all this stress will melt into another form. It was kind of funny today that when I was talking to my Mom on skype today that I was crying because I didn't want to come home. I don't think any of us had our money on that one!!
I know that things will get better, but I'm too impatient for that. I want things sorted out NOW!!! Oh well, hopefully the next blog will be details on my amazing new flatmates and fun, fabulous job..
..Not my plane arrival times.....
13 July, 2009
Sigh....Job Hunting
Well, not too much has been going on. My job hunt is sucking the life out of me. I have been applying for tons and getting very little back. I figured out that I have spent over £160 on travel costs alone for these damn interviews....But something will come. Man, being positive is just not in my nature ; )
Things aren't too bad. I went out to Somerset on Thursday night to see the Hannigans. Michael and the children were staying with his sister (Zaf's mum). They were supposed to leave on Sunday, but I found out when I got there that their flight had been changed to Friday morning, so I only got a few hours with them, but it was great. Zafar cheated a win at Risk and crushed three small children in the game....It was so nice to be around people that know me so well. I didn't realise how much I missed that until then. It was nice to have a cuddle with Livs and Euan...Not Conor, he is now taller than me and much too cool for a hug.
Saturday I went out to Oxfordshire (about an hour away by train) for an interview to be a nanny. It was out in the country which has it's pros and cons and it's not sole care, the mother is home...Which also has it's pros and cons....
Decided to come to the BUNAC office to see if they had any different jobs and they have one that I'd be perfect for. It's as a student coordinator for a local college (maybe an ESL college? I'mnot sure...I should check that out)...So pretty much just planning events and pub nights for students. I'm custom made for that. There was also a job for the BBC which would be heaven! It's for Radio1 and 1Xtra (the two 'young' stations) being a station sound manager, so basically making sure that the image of the stations are preserved and some promo. Very similar to what I did at Corus but soooo much cooler.
I'm really getting antsy about finding a job, so I hope one comes this week....
Nathan and Cathy are coming today (friends from home) so I'm hoping to meet up with them for a drink this week, also Julia (from Germany) is coming to visit her boyfirend who just moved here and we are supposed to get together too. I haven't seen her since she left Canada in June of 2000! I'm really excited to see her. She's a doctor now!
This is a relatively short post as I haven't been doing much but moaning about job hunting. Hopefully the next one will be much more entertaining!!!
Love to all!
Things aren't too bad. I went out to Somerset on Thursday night to see the Hannigans. Michael and the children were staying with his sister (Zaf's mum). They were supposed to leave on Sunday, but I found out when I got there that their flight had been changed to Friday morning, so I only got a few hours with them, but it was great. Zafar cheated a win at Risk and crushed three small children in the game....It was so nice to be around people that know me so well. I didn't realise how much I missed that until then. It was nice to have a cuddle with Livs and Euan...Not Conor, he is now taller than me and much too cool for a hug.
Saturday I went out to Oxfordshire (about an hour away by train) for an interview to be a nanny. It was out in the country which has it's pros and cons and it's not sole care, the mother is home...Which also has it's pros and cons....
Decided to come to the BUNAC office to see if they had any different jobs and they have one that I'd be perfect for. It's as a student coordinator for a local college (maybe an ESL college? I'mnot sure...I should check that out)...So pretty much just planning events and pub nights for students. I'm custom made for that. There was also a job for the BBC which would be heaven! It's for Radio1 and 1Xtra (the two 'young' stations) being a station sound manager, so basically making sure that the image of the stations are preserved and some promo. Very similar to what I did at Corus but soooo much cooler.
I'm really getting antsy about finding a job, so I hope one comes this week....
Nathan and Cathy are coming today (friends from home) so I'm hoping to meet up with them for a drink this week, also Julia (from Germany) is coming to visit her boyfirend who just moved here and we are supposed to get together too. I haven't seen her since she left Canada in June of 2000! I'm really excited to see her. She's a doctor now!
This is a relatively short post as I haven't been doing much but moaning about job hunting. Hopefully the next one will be much more entertaining!!!
Love to all!
04 July, 2009
And by tomorrow, I meant next week
I'm so tired and there is so much to talk about this week that this will be a long, rambley entry....So I stopped writing, then caught hell from Devon, so fresh page.
Sunday, July 5:
Wimbledon was amazing. Aimee and I had a hell of a time getting to Southfields due to underground maintenence. We left at 4:45am and didn't get there until 7-ish. We got into the queue and as it was Saturday and the Brit's own Andy Murray was playing it was crazy busy. We got numbers 8598 and 8599 and we were pretty dissapointed, but then one of the stewards said that we would be getting in for sure. We hung out and waited, and a few hours later Aimee asked another steward how many they were letting in and they said between 9,000 and 9,500!! So we were definately going! It was so cool to see the schedule (pics on facebook) with Venus Williams, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray playing. We sat on a huge hill outside of court #1 called Murray Mound (or Murray Mount according to some papers, maybe it is...I can't tell with the accent) with 8,000 other people and watched tennis on a big screen TV with jugs of pimms. It was fantastic!! Definately an amazing experience! I went a little crazy in the gift shop and bought a few things but my favourite by far is the notepad that says "Does love mean nothing in tennis?" I love the impulse items!!!
I stayed in Sunday - Tuesday trying to conserve money. Wednesday was Canada Day and I met Zafar in trafalgar square for the party that "Canada" puts on. Ran into Craig Ridley from high school. Small world. I saw a sign a week or so before saying that there would be Canadian beer so I was excited for a Kokanee or Molson product. Hell, I would have settled for Labatt's Blue...But no, they had Sleemans....Zafar and I had one and it was disgusting as ever. I can't believe this is the beer they choose to represent Canada to London....Brutal. Thank goodness there was a Tesco over the road and the security guards were charmed by my friendly Canadian-ness (I like to think that, but in reality they just didn't care....But I am very charming) and let us buy booze across the street then bring it into the square. Six cans of Pimms later Aimee showed up and I didn't really think it then, but I was pretty tipsy as things are a bit blurry, I know over priced fish and chips were involved....
Friday I went for another interview and really liked the family. Really cute kids and pretty laid back so fingers crossed for that one....Went to a movie on Friday night it was interesting. The concession boy took a liking to me and kept giving me scratch tickets to win a free small pop...weird...It's so strange here. You pick your seat when you buy your ticket and they have ushers. The theatre probably fit about 50 people and the screen was about the size of our...okay, Mama Kat's... free 52" TV, but there was an usher. They also have premium seating. You pay £2 extra and you can have a cup holder....The British LOVE the class system!!! Damn me and my second class citizen-ness.
Then, while I was waiting for the bus home I witnessed a woman get barred from a pub with her four year old son running around like a maniac outside, then she got on her phone and cursed the pub up and down while completely ignoring her son. Classy. Women like her are why I couldn't be a social worker. I'd just want to save them all from trashy mothers.
Saturday I had two interviews the first one was good, cute boys, decent location but not as good as the day before. The second was absolutely ridiculous. On the phone and in the email the woman told me she was right by the overground station. Great, so I took the overground to the end and couldn't find her station, then had to take a train, then a bus and walk for 25 mintues. When I get there they tell me this big long schpiel about how they talked to agencies and are paying the going rate for a live in au pair....£60/week. BULLSHIT! I was so surprised I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped. I just traveled to the edge of London, seriously! I saw farmland!! I told them that there is no way I could live on that. The travelcard alone would cost more and they were pretty defensive and had arguments ready like "We interviewed two other girls from the UK and they had no problems with the salary." I laughed and told them that I had 19 years experience and there was no way I was working for £2/hour. They said, yes but all your food and bills are included and I said that yes, that is expected of a live in postition....
Then he told me that I wasn't going to find another job that paid better (this was all very ammicable, not snotty or anything...my side was more bewildered amused than outraged, nice change for me I think) And I told him that I wasn't interviewing for jobs that paid less that £150/week and they told me that I should take those jobs. To which I replied...Yes, I know. (ok, maybe that was a little cheeky). Then they offered me their sitting room to relax in because I came so far...I really wanted to reply, no thanks, but can I have the last 3.5 hours and £8 that I wasted getting here? SO ANNOYED!!!
Got home and hung out for a bit, then got an email from iTunes saying that I had won tickets to see Snow Patrol for tonight!!! I had seen the advertisment on facebook for the last few days talking about iTunes Festival it's something like 62 bands over 31 days it's been going for a couple of years, but since facebook adverts sell miracle weightloss and things I didn't pay much attention. Then I went into the iTunes store online because I wanted to change my country from Canada to the UK so I could get some of the music that doesn't come out in Canada and I saw it advertised there....Win tickets yada yada yada. So I had to sign up as a fan of the iTunes Festival, which I am also wary about, but it was worth a shot. They have bands like Oasis, Bloc Party, Kasabian and of course Snow Patrol...Lots of others, but I only entered the ones that I really wanted to see and got an email saying I won for Snow Patrol! So Aimee and I are going tonight. It actually works out quite well because I have an interview not too far from there at 3pm so I'll just hang out until I meet Aimee!! I really hope it's not something dodgy, I'm really excited for it!
This week there isn't too much going on. Hannigans are in Somerset visiting Michael's mom and sister and I am going there on Thursday night and all day Friday to hang out, so excited to see them!
There Devon....Are you happy!? Slave driver!
Sunday, July 5:
Wimbledon was amazing. Aimee and I had a hell of a time getting to Southfields due to underground maintenence. We left at 4:45am and didn't get there until 7-ish. We got into the queue and as it was Saturday and the Brit's own Andy Murray was playing it was crazy busy. We got numbers 8598 and 8599 and we were pretty dissapointed, but then one of the stewards said that we would be getting in for sure. We hung out and waited, and a few hours later Aimee asked another steward how many they were letting in and they said between 9,000 and 9,500!! So we were definately going! It was so cool to see the schedule (pics on facebook) with Venus Williams, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray playing. We sat on a huge hill outside of court #1 called Murray Mound (or Murray Mount according to some papers, maybe it is...I can't tell with the accent) with 8,000 other people and watched tennis on a big screen TV with jugs of pimms. It was fantastic!! Definately an amazing experience! I went a little crazy in the gift shop and bought a few things but my favourite by far is the notepad that says "Does love mean nothing in tennis?" I love the impulse items!!!
I stayed in Sunday - Tuesday trying to conserve money. Wednesday was Canada Day and I met Zafar in trafalgar square for the party that "Canada" puts on. Ran into Craig Ridley from high school. Small world. I saw a sign a week or so before saying that there would be Canadian beer so I was excited for a Kokanee or Molson product. Hell, I would have settled for Labatt's Blue...But no, they had Sleemans....Zafar and I had one and it was disgusting as ever. I can't believe this is the beer they choose to represent Canada to London....Brutal. Thank goodness there was a Tesco over the road and the security guards were charmed by my friendly Canadian-ness (I like to think that, but in reality they just didn't care....But I am very charming) and let us buy booze across the street then bring it into the square. Six cans of Pimms later Aimee showed up and I didn't really think it then, but I was pretty tipsy as things are a bit blurry, I know over priced fish and chips were involved....
Friday I went for another interview and really liked the family. Really cute kids and pretty laid back so fingers crossed for that one....Went to a movie on Friday night it was interesting. The concession boy took a liking to me and kept giving me scratch tickets to win a free small pop...weird...It's so strange here. You pick your seat when you buy your ticket and they have ushers. The theatre probably fit about 50 people and the screen was about the size of our...okay, Mama Kat's... free 52" TV, but there was an usher. They also have premium seating. You pay £2 extra and you can have a cup holder....The British LOVE the class system!!! Damn me and my second class citizen-ness.
Then, while I was waiting for the bus home I witnessed a woman get barred from a pub with her four year old son running around like a maniac outside, then she got on her phone and cursed the pub up and down while completely ignoring her son. Classy. Women like her are why I couldn't be a social worker. I'd just want to save them all from trashy mothers.
Saturday I had two interviews the first one was good, cute boys, decent location but not as good as the day before. The second was absolutely ridiculous. On the phone and in the email the woman told me she was right by the overground station. Great, so I took the overground to the end and couldn't find her station, then had to take a train, then a bus and walk for 25 mintues. When I get there they tell me this big long schpiel about how they talked to agencies and are paying the going rate for a live in au pair....£60/week. BULLSHIT! I was so surprised I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped. I just traveled to the edge of London, seriously! I saw farmland!! I told them that there is no way I could live on that. The travelcard alone would cost more and they were pretty defensive and had arguments ready like "We interviewed two other girls from the UK and they had no problems with the salary." I laughed and told them that I had 19 years experience and there was no way I was working for £2/hour. They said, yes but all your food and bills are included and I said that yes, that is expected of a live in postition....
Then he told me that I wasn't going to find another job that paid better (this was all very ammicable, not snotty or anything...my side was more bewildered amused than outraged, nice change for me I think) And I told him that I wasn't interviewing for jobs that paid less that £150/week and they told me that I should take those jobs. To which I replied...Yes, I know. (ok, maybe that was a little cheeky). Then they offered me their sitting room to relax in because I came so far...I really wanted to reply, no thanks, but can I have the last 3.5 hours and £8 that I wasted getting here? SO ANNOYED!!!
Got home and hung out for a bit, then got an email from iTunes saying that I had won tickets to see Snow Patrol for tonight!!! I had seen the advertisment on facebook for the last few days talking about iTunes Festival it's something like 62 bands over 31 days it's been going for a couple of years, but since facebook adverts sell miracle weightloss and things I didn't pay much attention. Then I went into the iTunes store online because I wanted to change my country from Canada to the UK so I could get some of the music that doesn't come out in Canada and I saw it advertised there....Win tickets yada yada yada. So I had to sign up as a fan of the iTunes Festival, which I am also wary about, but it was worth a shot. They have bands like Oasis, Bloc Party, Kasabian and of course Snow Patrol...Lots of others, but I only entered the ones that I really wanted to see and got an email saying I won for Snow Patrol! So Aimee and I are going tonight. It actually works out quite well because I have an interview not too far from there at 3pm so I'll just hang out until I meet Aimee!! I really hope it's not something dodgy, I'm really excited for it!
This week there isn't too much going on. Hannigans are in Somerset visiting Michael's mom and sister and I am going there on Thursday night and all day Friday to hang out, so excited to see them!
There Devon....Are you happy!? Slave driver!
27 June, 2009
Wow, what a week!
Tuesday I went and met Matilda for the interview that I had set up before I went home. Things went really well, got on quite well with mum and baby. I was feeling quite good about the situation.
After the interview I met Michael Hannigan's nephew, Zafar, for lunch and we had a great time, go a pitcher of pimms and a sunburn....Good afternoon really.
Wednesday I went to Wimbledon, but I woke up too late and didn't get there until 11am or so. When I walked out of the station the air was literally buzzing with the excitement and all the people. I thought I'd go down to the grounds and see what it was about, but then I saw the queue for the buses to the tournament, and there must have been 1,000 people there. It was crazy!! So I just wandered around the shops and walked around the neighbourhood a bit.
Thursday was the worst day EVER! Went to bed early so I could get up to go to Wimbledon (they have 6,000 rush seats per day for £20, but you have to get there really early). I left the house around 5am and got to Wimbledon tube station, waited for the bus to the stadium and specifically asked the driver "Does this bus go to the stadium?" he said, "Yes, I'll tell you where to get off". Great, perfect. I get off at "my stop" and see a sign that points to Wimbledon Stadium, so I follow the sign....To basically the equivalent of the SE industrial park. Imagine walking around there, trying to catch a glimse of the Saddledome, so you know you're going in the right direction....but you can't see a stadium anywhere....oh, and it's 6am. Brutal. Finally found someone to ask directions and he said, "Oh no....You want southfields, just go back to the main road and follow it up...You'll see it." Great, perfect. But to get back on the main road you have to follow an "S" shaped road back to where you started....And don't think just because you can see the road that you can get to it....The Brits are waaaay too clever for that. I also have a strong suspicion that they were too lazy/forgot where all the street signs were supposed to go after the war, because they are few and far between...
Anyway, finally get on the main road and SIX MILES later (and a large number of buses that matched the number that I got off of had passed me) I finally get to the queue for the ticket lines! And I was 3892!! Amazing! I'm going to Wimbledon!
By now it's 7.15am and the turnstiles don't open until 10am so I sat and read my book, hung out basically. Then at 9am I got a phone call from Matilda saying that they didn't think they wanted a live in nanny and so she was sorry, but she thinks she just wants someone who will come and stay a few nights. It is my opinion that she isn't ready to go back to work, and isn't sure what kind of childcare would fit her....
So me being me, hung up the phone and immediately started to cry (I am like a four year old and when I'm tired I cry). Had the whole WTF am I going to do now thing going on and was basically a mess.....Oh, did I mention I was in a large field with 6,000 people? Great, crying alone....Classy. So I decided that since I was going to go to Wimbledon in a few days with Aimee, I should save my money and go home...Holy crap this is a long story.....Hopped on a bus down the hill....I'm not walking that shit again...Oh, I forgot to mention the 4" blister I had on the bottom of my foot had ripped open and I was in agony.....Right, caught the bus to the tube station where I almost got a concussion because the bus driver slammed on the brakes TO STOP FOR THE FREE RIBENA JUICE BOXES. Then got yelled at by the same bus driver because I hit the bell to for a stop that was closed.....I may have had a particular four letter word for him as I got off the bus. Really annoyed with myself that I didn't have a snarky comment about the Ribena stop not being closed.....A-hole.
Spent the rest of Thursday pretty much feeling sorry for myself. But did get a message for another job interview....That helped a lot ; )
Friday went and met Sarah about a nannying job 5 minutes from a tube station. Right now it takes me over an hour to get to the tube. So that alone makes the job dreamy. And again, things went really well. I'm hoping to hear back from her on Monday.
Today, went to Wimbledon with Aimee.....But will finish this tomorrow. I'm so tired and need to sleep.
Hope this wasn't just rambling and you were able to piece together some sort of story!!!
After the interview I met Michael Hannigan's nephew, Zafar, for lunch and we had a great time, go a pitcher of pimms and a sunburn....Good afternoon really.
Wednesday I went to Wimbledon, but I woke up too late and didn't get there until 11am or so. When I walked out of the station the air was literally buzzing with the excitement and all the people. I thought I'd go down to the grounds and see what it was about, but then I saw the queue for the buses to the tournament, and there must have been 1,000 people there. It was crazy!! So I just wandered around the shops and walked around the neighbourhood a bit.
Thursday was the worst day EVER! Went to bed early so I could get up to go to Wimbledon (they have 6,000 rush seats per day for £20, but you have to get there really early). I left the house around 5am and got to Wimbledon tube station, waited for the bus to the stadium and specifically asked the driver "Does this bus go to the stadium?" he said, "Yes, I'll tell you where to get off". Great, perfect. I get off at "my stop" and see a sign that points to Wimbledon Stadium, so I follow the sign....To basically the equivalent of the SE industrial park. Imagine walking around there, trying to catch a glimse of the Saddledome, so you know you're going in the right direction....but you can't see a stadium anywhere....oh, and it's 6am. Brutal. Finally found someone to ask directions and he said, "Oh no....You want southfields, just go back to the main road and follow it up...You'll see it." Great, perfect. But to get back on the main road you have to follow an "S" shaped road back to where you started....And don't think just because you can see the road that you can get to it....The Brits are waaaay too clever for that. I also have a strong suspicion that they were too lazy/forgot where all the street signs were supposed to go after the war, because they are few and far between...
Anyway, finally get on the main road and SIX MILES later (and a large number of buses that matched the number that I got off of had passed me) I finally get to the queue for the ticket lines! And I was 3892!! Amazing! I'm going to Wimbledon!
By now it's 7.15am and the turnstiles don't open until 10am so I sat and read my book, hung out basically. Then at 9am I got a phone call from Matilda saying that they didn't think they wanted a live in nanny and so she was sorry, but she thinks she just wants someone who will come and stay a few nights. It is my opinion that she isn't ready to go back to work, and isn't sure what kind of childcare would fit her....
So me being me, hung up the phone and immediately started to cry (I am like a four year old and when I'm tired I cry). Had the whole WTF am I going to do now thing going on and was basically a mess.....Oh, did I mention I was in a large field with 6,000 people? Great, crying alone....Classy. So I decided that since I was going to go to Wimbledon in a few days with Aimee, I should save my money and go home...Holy crap this is a long story.....Hopped on a bus down the hill....I'm not walking that shit again...Oh, I forgot to mention the 4" blister I had on the bottom of my foot had ripped open and I was in agony.....Right, caught the bus to the tube station where I almost got a concussion because the bus driver slammed on the brakes TO STOP FOR THE FREE RIBENA JUICE BOXES. Then got yelled at by the same bus driver because I hit the bell to for a stop that was closed.....I may have had a particular four letter word for him as I got off the bus. Really annoyed with myself that I didn't have a snarky comment about the Ribena stop not being closed.....A-hole.
Spent the rest of Thursday pretty much feeling sorry for myself. But did get a message for another job interview....That helped a lot ; )
Friday went and met Sarah about a nannying job 5 minutes from a tube station. Right now it takes me over an hour to get to the tube. So that alone makes the job dreamy. And again, things went really well. I'm hoping to hear back from her on Monday.
Today, went to Wimbledon with Aimee.....But will finish this tomorrow. I'm so tired and need to sleep.
Hope this wasn't just rambling and you were able to piece together some sort of story!!!
22 June, 2009
Settling In
Moved into my new place on Saturday. Nothing too eventful, just made the bed and checked out the lay of the land.
Went into central London at around 6.30p to meet Aimee. When I told her that I would be 45 minutes I forgot that I live in the effin boonies and made the poor girl wait for 2 hours for me....She got me back though......We went walking around all the touristy stuff, Big Ben, Picadilly, Trafalgar, Parlament, then after much whining from me went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. Walked around more after dinner, got lost looking for a park to drink my champagne in, saw some wierd, wierd shit in some shop windows (check my facebook pictures) and finally decided to sit and drink the bottle on a bench directly across the river from the London eye**. Perfect way to spend my first Saturday night in London!!
Just as we sat on the bench Big Ben starting chiming midnight so I started opening the champers, but Aimee was calling Devon so I waited until she was off the phone...But the champagne pre-maturely popped and took out a tree and scared the crap out of a group of tourists standing almost right in the line of fire! We were laughing hysterically wondering where the cork went and then a leaf floated down like a dead bird, about 3 seconds after that the cork finally came down....We were laughing like maniacs. Mental note....Don't walk around London for 3 hours with a bottle of Champagne in your bag.
**I was in a pub a few days before and overheard the landlord ask a police officer what the policy on drinking in the street was and apparently there isn't one. So in our lost wandering we saw a police station with 3 policemen outside and I wanted to open the champagne there, but Aimee didn't think it was a good idea....What a spoil sport : P
Aimee graciously let me stay at her house so that I wasn't stuck on a bus by myself for two hours and we hopped a bus to hers the whole time doing a pee dance. Almost peed in a park, but sod's law, the bus came just as the top buttons were undone. Slept like the dead and woke up and went to the cafe for breakfast, so yummy! Didn't do much else on Sunday, just hung out at home and enjoyed the simple pleasure of wi-fi.
Today I woke up and went to ASDA (Wal-mart) to get some things to girl up my room and bathroom a bit. As I was waiting for the bus some guy that was a head shorter than me with gold teeth and a rottweiler and told me he liked my style (or at least that what I thought he said, which is strange because I was wearing a flow-ey summer shirt with black jeans and trainers, nothing too exciting) then he muttered something else and asked me if I had a boyfriend. Immediate answer was yes, then I realised that he said he liked my size....Terrible lead, anyway, he said something else after I told him that I wasn't single and I just smiled an said "No, thanks I'm alright" and he said something about me being sweet and told me that if I changed my mind he was available....What a strange way to start the day....Something else like that happened when I was walking but I can't remember it now.....
Got all my girly stuff for the bathroom and finally unpacked and hung up clothes so I feel a bit more settled. Tried to take the bus home but the bus driver didn't speak english so he didn't know if he stopped at my stop.....Got off and tried to figure out the transit system (I left my A - Z in the cafe on Sunday so it was pretty difficult), gave up as I had 4 huge bags of groceries and housewares and got a taxi. Sigh....Then the taxi caught up with the bus I had gotten off all the way to the end of my road, Grrrrrrrr.
Still searching for a job because not working=spending and would feel a lot better if I had something coming in. Not to mention it would alieviate the boredom. But things are good, still think this is the best decision I've ever made and will probably need reminding of that in 3 weeks time, but am really enjoying myself!!!
Meeting Matilda about the nanny job tomorrow. Then lunch with Zafar (Michael Hannigan's nephew) and maybe a show in the west end with Aimee and Andrea! Busy day!
Will write next time something interesting happens!!
Went into central London at around 6.30p to meet Aimee. When I told her that I would be 45 minutes I forgot that I live in the effin boonies and made the poor girl wait for 2 hours for me....She got me back though......We went walking around all the touristy stuff, Big Ben, Picadilly, Trafalgar, Parlament, then after much whining from me went to an Italian restaurant for dinner. Walked around more after dinner, got lost looking for a park to drink my champagne in, saw some wierd, wierd shit in some shop windows (check my facebook pictures) and finally decided to sit and drink the bottle on a bench directly across the river from the London eye**. Perfect way to spend my first Saturday night in London!!
Just as we sat on the bench Big Ben starting chiming midnight so I started opening the champers, but Aimee was calling Devon so I waited until she was off the phone...But the champagne pre-maturely popped and took out a tree and scared the crap out of a group of tourists standing almost right in the line of fire! We were laughing hysterically wondering where the cork went and then a leaf floated down like a dead bird, about 3 seconds after that the cork finally came down....We were laughing like maniacs. Mental note....Don't walk around London for 3 hours with a bottle of Champagne in your bag.
**I was in a pub a few days before and overheard the landlord ask a police officer what the policy on drinking in the street was and apparently there isn't one. So in our lost wandering we saw a police station with 3 policemen outside and I wanted to open the champagne there, but Aimee didn't think it was a good idea....What a spoil sport : P
Aimee graciously let me stay at her house so that I wasn't stuck on a bus by myself for two hours and we hopped a bus to hers the whole time doing a pee dance. Almost peed in a park, but sod's law, the bus came just as the top buttons were undone. Slept like the dead and woke up and went to the cafe for breakfast, so yummy! Didn't do much else on Sunday, just hung out at home and enjoyed the simple pleasure of wi-fi.
Today I woke up and went to ASDA (Wal-mart) to get some things to girl up my room and bathroom a bit. As I was waiting for the bus some guy that was a head shorter than me with gold teeth and a rottweiler and told me he liked my style (or at least that what I thought he said, which is strange because I was wearing a flow-ey summer shirt with black jeans and trainers, nothing too exciting) then he muttered something else and asked me if I had a boyfriend. Immediate answer was yes, then I realised that he said he liked my size....Terrible lead, anyway, he said something else after I told him that I wasn't single and I just smiled an said "No, thanks I'm alright" and he said something about me being sweet and told me that if I changed my mind he was available....What a strange way to start the day....Something else like that happened when I was walking but I can't remember it now.....
Got all my girly stuff for the bathroom and finally unpacked and hung up clothes so I feel a bit more settled. Tried to take the bus home but the bus driver didn't speak english so he didn't know if he stopped at my stop.....Got off and tried to figure out the transit system (I left my A - Z in the cafe on Sunday so it was pretty difficult), gave up as I had 4 huge bags of groceries and housewares and got a taxi. Sigh....Then the taxi caught up with the bus I had gotten off all the way to the end of my road, Grrrrrrrr.
Still searching for a job because not working=spending and would feel a lot better if I had something coming in. Not to mention it would alieviate the boredom. But things are good, still think this is the best decision I've ever made and will probably need reminding of that in 3 weeks time, but am really enjoying myself!!!
Meeting Matilda about the nanny job tomorrow. Then lunch with Zafar (Michael Hannigan's nephew) and maybe a show in the west end with Aimee and Andrea! Busy day!
Will write next time something interesting happens!!
19 June, 2009
Friday
I read the little black box attached to my computer cord and it is compatible with the UK, so my computer is fully charged!!
It's 12.30 on Friday afternoon and I really want to go some touristy stuff, but I have two massive blood blisters on the balls of my feet and walking around London is not too appealing today : (
Went into Sainsbury's yesterday (supermarket) for some lunch and twix and the very first thing that I saw was a big sign that said 1/2 off....And it was for champagne, not sparkling wine, but real french champagne for £13!! Don't do the conversion and it's a great deal! Went back to my room and almost drank the bottle because it was cold and I don't have a fridge....I texted my friend Zafar to see if drinking a bottle of champagne, by yourself, in a hotel room at 2pm is acceptable and he told me that as long as I had a glass to drink out of it was ok. Right out of the bottle is just not classy. This is why we get on so well. I didn't open it, but will this weekend sometime.
Went out for dinner with Devon's friend Aimee last night and had a great time! Met her in Oxford Circus and when I came out of the tube station it was the first time I truly felt I was in London, it was great!
Aimee and I went to a little creperie and had dinner on a terrace with a bottle of wine, fantastic! Then she showed me the BBC studios, where I took a picture like the radio dork that I am.
My way home on the tube was very entertaining, so many drunk Brits. One guy was loser pissed and tripped getting onto the tube so me and my saucyness to him to mind the gap, damn I'm funny. He sat down with his friends and pointed at me from across the train and said "That girl told me to mind the gap....because I didn't" and then we were best friends. I also made fun of some guy that got on the wrong train and was moaning about how being drunk on the tube only leads to catastrophie, I told him that that was true, but it was very entertaining for everyone else...And then we were best friends. I love the Brits, nothing offends. Found out he worked in radio and he told me to add him on facebook, but I don't think I will....Too strange, but very entertaining!!
Got off the tube and after careful pre-planning went to find the bus that would take me to within 4 minutes of my hotel and couldn't find the stop for it anywhere. Found the one that took me back towards the circus, but couldn't find one for the other way, so ended up getting a cab...£20 later...But I look at it as a tourist thing, I had to ride in one eventually....
Hope you're all doing well!!! Lots of love!
18 June, 2009
Somewhere to live!
I had my phoneinterview this morning for the part-time nanny job that would be heaven, and I found out that it wouldn't start until August. I only have my hotel until Saturday, and that is not August. Holy crap! Survival mode!! I went to 5 estate agents and had everyone tell me that they don't do short term leases and to try getting a room at the Queen's Hotel (the clean, but not ideal hotel I'm already in). Walked into estate agent #6 and the lovely Jane thought she might no of someone who needed a lodger. Took the 10 minute bus ride to meet Roger and I now have a room to sleep in for the next 6 weeks! I have the top floor of a nice house on a quiet street about 15 minutes from where I'm staying now. Seems like it will be perfect.
I'm meeting Matilda (nanny job) on Tuesday for a face to face interview and hopefully will secure a job and then will be able to relax and really enjoy London, instead of being stressed out with what I am doing next.
Plugged in my iPod speakers last night and the cord started to smoke.....Won't be able to charge my computer until I find a converter or new cord, so will be internet cafe-ing it for a bit...good thing I bought a mini computer to save money in the cafes....
Gotta run, computer is really going to die now
Love to all!!
S
I'm meeting Matilda (nanny job) on Tuesday for a face to face interview and hopefully will secure a job and then will be able to relax and really enjoy London, instead of being stressed out with what I am doing next.
Plugged in my iPod speakers last night and the cord started to smoke.....Won't be able to charge my computer until I find a converter or new cord, so will be internet cafe-ing it for a bit...good thing I bought a mini computer to save money in the cafes....
Gotta run, computer is really going to die now
Love to all!!
S
17 June, 2009
The first full day
Well, I have just completed my first full 24 hours in London. In this time I have spent 5+ hours on the transit system, dragged a 50 lbs suitcase up and down (mostly up, only 2 down I think)15+ flights of stairs, lost all muscle use in my right arm from dragging a 50 lbs suitcase up and down said stairs, cryed when someone asked if they could help (I blame this on the lack of sleep from the plane ride) and found my hotel with little difficulty (yay!!).
Woke up at 6 am GMT this morning and went to my BUNAC orientation, got a cell phone ( +44 020 07 55293 4748...I'm not sure if that's how you dial it from Canada, but that is basically the number) so cheap!! £15, but it came with a £10 credit and got a bank account.
I am sitting in a pub somewhere close to my hotel with free wi-fi. I like it here, the menus are glued into record sleeves and they've played 3 Bonnie Tyler songs in the last 30 minutes!
I plugged my alarm clock in last night and it kind-of-sort-of blew up so I'm afraid to plug in anything else, I may have to play outlet roulette with my iPod speakers and if they blow up I will have to start going to internet cafes. I can afford to replace speakers, but not a laptop!!
My hotel room doesn't have wi-fi or a phone that dials out so I'm pretty cut off!
I have to run before my battery runs out!
Update you soon!!
Woke up at 6 am GMT this morning and went to my BUNAC orientation, got a cell phone ( +44 020 07 55293 4748...I'm not sure if that's how you dial it from Canada, but that is basically the number) so cheap!! £15, but it came with a £10 credit and got a bank account.
I am sitting in a pub somewhere close to my hotel with free wi-fi. I like it here, the menus are glued into record sleeves and they've played 3 Bonnie Tyler songs in the last 30 minutes!
I plugged my alarm clock in last night and it kind-of-sort-of blew up so I'm afraid to plug in anything else, I may have to play outlet roulette with my iPod speakers and if they blow up I will have to start going to internet cafes. I can afford to replace speakers, but not a laptop!!
My hotel room doesn't have wi-fi or a phone that dials out so I'm pretty cut off!
I have to run before my battery runs out!
Update you soon!!
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