where has the time gone?

Well, I'm not sure where to begin. I DO know it's time I had a little word with this blog though... so here I am, in the last moments of 2008 trying to make up for four months of ignorance.

In a nutshell... the big moments of my life for the last four months, would be... in mostly chronological order...

My new job as a video journalist. Love it. Simple as. Not going to say more as don't want to get in trouble for writing about work on a blog... it's been known to happen.

I went to Canada to get a new visa so I can stay here for the awesome job and at the least the next five years. It was easier than they make it out to be (thanks to my grandma being born in Scotland almost a hundred years ago).

I've been living in a new flat since August... but am now on the hunt again, for reasons which I can't get into without being here til next year!

I have a new man in my life. It's still very new so am not going to say much other than he's really sweet, makes me laugh like no one else and puts up with my non-stop whinging! We'll see where 2009 takes it.

I know there were a lot of little things here and there, but really I've just been living life to the most. It doesn't leave much time for writing here. I know that's a bit of a cop out, but really... I haven't even been keeping up with my emails. (sorry guys!)

SO. If I actually still have anyone out there that reads this, I promise to get better with this in the new year... new year, new start all that jazz... and I hope that 2008 was as great for you all as it was for me.

Here's to 2009 being just as fab!

time flies...

I have A LOT of catching up to do... I just can't do it right now. Coming up:

The adventures of Liz in Greece.

The adventures of moving house.

The adventures of acute muscle spasms.

The adventures of Kat n Liz in London.

AND

The adventures of Zoom airlines going belly-up.

These are all things that have affected my life of late... with a lot of other little stuff in between. I promise a full account with photos coming shortly... life has just been nuts over here...

For those of you paying attention enough to write in on your calendars, I will no longer be landing in Montreal on the 19th of September... you'll have to wait until the 22nd now. More details soon. I promise.

Greece and the Big Fat Greek Wedding!

It's been over a week since I got home from Greece and haven't posted because I've been laid up on diazapam for an acute muscle spasm in my back... But, here it is, at long last, the Greek post!

The flight out was long as I landed in Athens at 2:30 am Greek time (12:30 for me) and had to wait until 6:30 for my flight to Mytilene. Good think Ranya met me at the airport around 4:00.

I slept through the entire 45 minute flight to the island and when I woke up Ranya's fiancee Panos was there to meet us. It took us most of the morning to meander our way to Hrussos, our home for the two weeks I was there. His parents have a newly finished house right on the beach. I'd been to Hrussos on my 2004 visit to the island, but the house was nothing but a concrete shell the last time I saw it.

Hrussos in 2004

The same view in 2008

From our house

When we arrived we had seven days before the wedding to get everything organised and ready to go. There had been a lot of planning done, but this was the crunch and we had a lot of work. I still got to spend a few hours a day sunning myself on the beach, but we spent a lot of time driving around doing things like organising food, decorations, cakes etc...

Molyvos, Lesvos, Greece

We went out to Eressos a couple of times and visited Molyvos for a night, but most of our time was spent on Hrussos, one of the last little known beaches on the island.

Finally the day of the wedding came and it seemed like we'd never get everything done, but we did.

The venue

Pretty table

The ceremony was at Panos' uncle's house in Pothara, a few beaches over from Hrussos. The house sits on a cliff overlooking the beach and the sea. They've got it set up perfectly for events like this one as there is a large covered structure outside and a big open area for dancing and drinking. Too bad the pool was still being built! The house itself has six self-contained flats which worked out well for people to stay over. Though there were only a few that had that privilege (myself included).

Milling about before the ceremony.

The happy couple with his parents and the best guys and gals

The actual ceremony was on the edge of the cliff overlooking the sea, was short and sweet and all in Greek. Ranya looked beautiful - just like a blushing bride should!

The vows

The kiss

Signing papers makes it official.

After the official stuff was over with the party started and dinner was served - lamb, chicken, salads, bread, wine, veggies... and of course, cake, which was amazing!

The cake

The champagne glasses tied together

After dinner the DJ started pumping out the tunes, the bar opened and the rest, as they say, is history! and rather blurry for me... good thing I took pictures.

The first dance

The Greek dancing (only a few songs)

The day after the wedding was spent nursing hangovers and cleaning the house from the party - which took literally more than a day. I have never seen so many dishes in my life!

After the cleaning we were able to relax and enjoy the beach and the house in Hrussos for another few days before I headed back to the land of tupperware. My tan is/wasn't nearly as nice as the one I got in Thailand but I didn't havea base coat to start with and not nearly as much time in the sun... but it's nice to be browner than the Brits!

And here are some of my better random photos...

At the beach

Fresh grapes

The best mojito in Eressos


Dolphins?
Walking barefoot

lovers

Perfect timing?

Worshiping the moon

service?

Fresh octopus

Last view of Molyvos for a while

I love Greece. Every time I leave I cry. I have post-Greece-come-down for ages. I always wish I had stayed longer and this time was no exception. At least I have a place to go whenever I want to now, which is bound to be every summer for the rest of my life! Unless I find myself a nice Greek husband and can just go live there all the time! Maybe it should be my next destination?!?! hmmm...

Upon coming home I finally moved into my new flat - pictures to come - which I love and is beautiful and clean with three very nice flatmates. Unfortunately four days after moving in my back went into spasm and I have been stoned on diazapam (muscle relaxants) for the last four days. This also means I haven't been to work.

Tomorrow is my birthday and Kat is stopping by in London on her way back to Korea for a third contract. I'm finally starting to feel a better... hopefully it lasts and I don't make it worse again.

In other news, I will finally be in Canada on September 19th as I have my appointment at the British High Commission on the 22nd. I'll be doing something big in Montreal on the 27th... so if you haven't been invited on the facebook event, let me know!!

Hope that's enough for now! More posting about the adventures of Liz and Kat once she's safely on her way back the big K!

knees are important.

I've been to hospital in three countries on three continents. Not something to be really proud about... but I'm what they call a "klutz".

Last Friday I went out to do an interview for work. Upon my return to the office I decided to take the stairs despite the 25 kilos of gear I was carrying. I always take the stairs and it's only one level...

On the first step I took, I slipped and fell forward. My knee cap cracked directly into the edge of the step. It hurt like a bitch. Being the strong person I am, I got up, thinking that not much more than my pride would be hurt, and besides, there were no witnesses. But it really hurt. I got up to my desk and sat down, almost in tears and my boss looked at me and asked if I was ok. "No," I replied, "I just broke my knee!!!"

After sitting for a half hour and being busy with work, I forgot about it, and it didn't really hurt much anymore so chalked it up to another "stupid Liz moment". I went out Friday night, Saturday I packed up for my flat move, Saturday night I went to a house party (where I was standing most of the night) and Sunday I finished packing... I didn't go the gym all weekend, but not because my knee hurt, but because I was being lazy, but it's a good thing I didn't.

I woke up Sunday night/Monday morning at around 4AM and couldn't get back to sleep because of the excruciating pain I was in. I couldn't move my leg, well, my knee. I don't think I've ever felt pain like that in my life, well, maybe when I herniated the disc in my back... (but that's pretty serious...) I thought it was really strange that it hadn't really hurt all weekend and then all of a sudden it was a 15 on 10.

I went to the hobble-in clinic in the morning and the doctor told me I should get x-rays, so I went Monday afternoon (there was work to be done in between). I got the x-rays and was told that (thankfully) nothing was broken and that I'd probably just bruised my knee cap. He told me that I probably should have been resting it over the weekend and that's why it started hurting all of a sudden...

This, in the week I'm moving and going on holiday to the cobblestone capital of the world! It's feeling a little better today but I'm still walking like a gimp and have to carry my ruck sack to work and then the airport tomorrow... I moved yesterday with the help of my lovely L, well, half moved, as it's all gone to her house. I'll be moving to my new flat when I get home from Greece on the 13th.

More than anything now, my calf and thigh muscles along with my hips are killing because of the gimpy way I've been walking. Whatevs, I'm off to Greece tomorrow, and nothing, not even a broken knee would have stopped me!

ghosts

I was a tourist for an evening this week. We have a sort of social group at work, where everyone pays £2 a month and you get discounts on massages, gyms, and free Christmas and summer parties. The summer party was last week, and this week they had organised a London Walk for whoever wanted to come. We only paid £4 instead of £7... the monthly payment has already paid for itself...

Anyway, on Thursday after work a bunch of us headed down to Embankment tube station to meet out guide, Russell, who would be taking us on the 'Apparitions, Alleyways and Ale' ghost walk.

The work group...

Russell, our 'scary' guide

The first stop, home of Samuel Pepys who haunts the office workers in this building.

The sign on the building.

One of the thousands of gas (yes they still use GAS) lamps that light the alleyways in the West End.

The sign outside the Adelphi Theatre where William Terriss was murdered.

The ALE part of the walk. Tom Cribb still lives in his pub... apparently pulling pints for himself in the middle of the night...

The gravestone of a dog whose ghost supposedly caused hundreds of car crashes by running in the street.

It was an interesting fact learning evening walking around the West End theater district. It wasn't too scary, but he did make a disclaimer at the beginning that it would be up to us what we got out of it. I think it would be a better tour later in the year when it's actually dark at 7:30 PM... It only got dark at the very end when we got to St James's Park.

Anyway, I learned a lot about the area and had a nice long walk, so it was £4 well spent. I would recommend these walks anywhere for a fun evening out... I did one in Edinburgh a few years ago that was amazing... next on my list is the 'Jack the Ripper' walk...

***

In other news, I am moving out of this pit that has been home for the last 7 months, on Wednesday. Thursday I am flying to Greece for R's wedding... SO I won't be posting for a few weeks... but promise a BIG FAT GREEK UPDATE when I get home... that's be somewhere around the 15th of August.

Also, for those of you who don't know (and still read this) I'll be home for a week or two in September... I have to present myself at the British High Commission in Ottawa on the 15th... so keep the weekend of the 19th free for me!!!

flat hunting.

I've had enough of this house. I need to move. I've been looking at rooms for the last four days. Hence not posting yesterday out of utter exhaustion. I still haven't found the perfect place, but have seen some decent flats.

Most of the nice ones are a lot more expensive and at the upper levels of my budget, but might be worth the extra money.

A few of the places felt like going back in time 150 years.

One of them had a loo that was covered wall to wall, ceiling to floor in pictures of Jesus. Another had showers in each of the rooms and wallpaper reminiscent of a time when Victoria was in power.

A couple had promise, but the flat mates would be ten years younger than me and I don't need to play mommy to anyone.

Finding a flat in London is tiring and difficult. That's all I can say right now. Hopefully I'll find something soon... More on all of this to come, right now I'm catching up on my Sunday post. Apologies if you came looking and found nothing...

boo-ya!

I have always hated runners. You know, people who run, for fun. You see them on the street, all happy and running. There used to be a Running Room (retail store for runners) down the street from my house and they had a running club that you'd see going down the street with all their gear - special water bottles, the best shoes, and 'running room' t-shirts, ugh.

When I was in high school I would do anything to get out of gym class, ANYTHING. Especially if running was on the menu for that day. We had this giant field with four football fields and a track at one end, it was huge... to me anyway. Once a year we'd have a "fun run" where the whole school would turn out and run around it loads of time. I still don't know if it was to raise money or just for fun, but I hated it.

I think it's always been jealousy of those people that can run. They always looked so healthy and fresh; like they were really having a good time. A couple of months ago I decided (at the gym, which I go to five times a week) to give it a go. I started slowly; a couple of minutes running, a couple walking, a couple running... The first time I ran ten minutes straight I couldn't believe it. Today I ran for TWENTY FIVE minutes!!! without stopping, without losing my breath, without getting a cramp in my side, without any pain anywhere. And when I got off the treadmill I felt higher than a kite!

I'm really proud of myself this week. I've turned my life around in the last five years. I've made a real effort to be a different, better person, and I can see the results of much of that now. I've lost over 50 pounds in the last four years and I don't hate the runners anymore... I just want to be like them! I've pulled myself out of a life ordinary and made it something more.

I just wanted to let you all know that I am really happy and proud to be where I am today and I wish you could all be here with me to celebrate.

**
In other news: I have applied for my Ancestry visa - the one that will allow me to stay in the UK for five years. I have an appointment at the British High Commission in Ottawa on September 15th... so keep your calendar clear, cause I'll be around!

Reverse psychology

I didn't have any plans on Saturday, which was somewhat of a relief after the week I've had. I went out three out of four nights in a row and didn't get more than five or six hours of sleep a night, so having a night off to catch up was nice. I figured I'd putter around the house and get some chores done, then hunker down with a movie and a bottle of wine...

But I got bored by 2 PM and decided to wander down to Soho and check out the Pride events. I haven't been to Pride in years, but there was a time when I went every year, mostly because so many of my friends back home are gay, but also because the atmosphere at Pride is always so welcoming and happy. I knew a couple of people who would be down that way and thought I might meet up with them. I wandered around for about an hour just taking in the festive feeling and snapping photos of the characters that were celebrating. Here's a sample of the best that I got.










It was nice to feel the vibe, but I didn't end up sticking around. I was so tired that I wouldn't have made it much longer. Instead I headed to the Korean shop that was not too far away and loaded up on some deok bokki and other Korean delights like kimchi. Then I came home and had a mini Korean feast! It was good. I watched Sex and the City: the movie and hit the hay at a reasonable hour - for the first time all week!

It's been a hectic week for me, and this, after I told myself I would be good and go home every night and go to the gym and generally be healthy - I only have 25 days before I'm virtually living in a bikini for two weeks - but it seems like by telling myself to be healthy, I played a little reverse psychology on myself. So, this week I'm telling myself that I'm going out every night and not going to the gym at all and I'll eat pizza for dinner every night!

(If you haven't already, scroll down and watch the two videos I've posted... good stuff, especially the Happy Day one!)

WTF?

This ad is currently playing in England. Not sure if it's on in North America, but it must be... it's hilarious... sunburned on the bottom of her feet? Just a little wrong, though I suppose kids won't 'get it' anyway...

Happy Day!

Stole this from a friends blog and thought it was apt seeing as I live in England and all... I don't agree with it, but seriously, take a joke, eh!?!

(and sorry the size is messed up... i've tried changing it, but it doesn't seem to work...)

Canada Day!

July 1st is Canada Day.

There was a BIG party in Trafalgar Square in central London. We went, we drank Moosehead and Sleemans; we ate hot dogs with RELISH and Bicks™ Dill Pickles; we missed out on the "poutine"; we ate bison burgers; we drank Kronenburg (because they ran out of Moosehead and Sleemans); we talked Canadian; we wore RED; we waved flags; we sang Oh Canada; we went to the Maple Leaf but it was closed; we went home.

Waking up this morning wasn't nearly so much fun. At all. I hope wherever you are, you all had as happy a Canada Day as we did.

Canada in Trafalgar Square... that's Canada House in the background.

the lone piper

they would have won the prize for the most made up... if there had been one!

the crowd... not enough red if you ask me.

because we eat BISON ALL THE TIME!?

eh?

not so happy Canada day?

been celebrating with this one for a loooooooong time!

my version of the flag

the Kraft Dinner™ Krew

a little freaky

a new FB profile pic?

all Canadian

the aLLL Canadians

and finally... some knickers... hee hee... how cheeky ;)