Documentarist

time flies?

2010-11-26T15:00:00.002-05:00

I've probably had a post called that before... oh well... so sorry... maybe I should 'close' this blog? Leave it in the past and forget about it? Somehow, I just can't. Even if I don't post often, it's always there in the back of my mind... so here I am.

Since August life has been hectic, and not. Black and white. Up and down.

It's been everything and nothing.

I went to Paris with T for our second anniversary. And as much as I've dreamed of going to Paris for my whole life, it didn't live up to the dream. I'll post on that one day.

For now, I just want to say I haven't forgotten you... I'm still here and I'm still thinking, even if I'm not writing...

summer!

2010-08-17T04:25:00.005-04:00

It's been much too long... and I know I promised a post on my new flat, but thought I'd catch up on the last few months first... since I don't have any good pictures of the house yet... Maybe later this week if it's sunny...

So, in late May I went to Austria. It was only a few days - and I was there for work, but did actually have a little time to wander around Graz a bit.

The city centre is a UNESCO world cultural heritage site. The architecture varies greatly and some of the buildings date back to the 1300's.

This is the 'Mur island' in the middle of the Mur River which runs through the city. Kind of weird how some of the city is so modern and other parts are so ancient.

Since I was there to cover the England v Japan friendly ahead of the World Cup, we had to travel into the mountains to their training camp... It was really beautiful and reminiscent of Switzerland.

From the resort hotel where the team were staying.

The game was pretty rubbish - I don't even remember the score!

In June I got to go to Wembley Stadium for the first time - and to see Chelsea play Portsmmouth in the FA Cup Final... of course, Chelsea won!

Wembley Stadium, before the match.

After we won!

I know people are always saying I have a really cool job, and well, I do. I try to play it down a lot, but seriously, professional football, to awesome music festivals to the Prime Minister's house... We (I) cover it all. And this year, I got to go to the Hard Rock Calling Festival in Hyde Park again... where Pearl Jam were playing! And while I didn't get an interview with them, but at least I got to see them! (sort of)

Yes, that is Eddie Vedder!

There he is!

And then I got to spend some time with my very good friend from university - Maria! We hadn't seen each other in about three or four years and she happened to be in London for a couple of weeks on an NYU exchange program.

Maria and me in Brixton

In July, Tom and I celebrated his birthday by going to Maze Grill, one of Gordon Ramsey's restaurants in London. It was probably the best meal I've ever had in a restaurant!

Happy birthday, my love!

mmm... soft shell crab for a starter.

The best calamari ever!

We both ordered steak... what else would we have gotten?!?

The waiter came around before we ordered and showed us the various cuts of meat and explained the difference and where they all come from. I got the Hereford 21 day grass fed fillet - for a mere £28! and Tom got the same but in rib eye. Then we ordered chips, salad and onion rings for the sides. The meat came with roasted garlic and a sprig of fresh herbs.

So, I've been busy... which is one reason for the lack of posting... Coming up - all about our new home - which is awesome! I promise not to make you wait too long!

Just a quickie!

2010-06-26T16:01:00.004-04:00

I realise it's been ages... and I've been meaning to upload photos from Tenerife (the good part) and my recent work trip to Austria, but my iPhoto is acting up (or my computer is dying, which is more likely at five years old) so have been having trouble with photos.

So, I thought I'd go old fashioned and just write a quick update. We are moving on Friday!!! After what feels like an eternity looking for a new flatshare we've found one that hopefully will be good. It's in a house, which is nice because we'll live on a regular street and not a dodgy apartment block and also great because it has a GARDEN!!! Well, more of a yard, but with a little work it could be really nice. We've got a large double bedroom on the first floor and a huge bay window. There are four other bedrooms (one single) but they haven't been let yet, so we don't know who will be living with us. Hopefully nice, considerate and clean people.

The woman who is renting the rooms is part owner of the house and lives in the loft conversion, so hopefully she'll get decent people in. I'm pretty sure she will anyway. There's also a small living/dining area and obviously a kitchen! One of the double rooms has an en-suite bathroom and there are two other bathrooms so we won't have any problems getting in the shower... oh, there's no bath, which kind of sucks, but I dealt with it in Korea and will just have to do it again.

Anyway, it's also next door to a super huge Tesco (grocery store) and about a 7 minute walk from the tube. On paper it's pretty ideal... we'll see how it works out, and if we're not happy then the search will start again!

Things art work are going ok, aside from the announcement of more lay-offs. Several of my colleagues have left in the last week and two more of us will be going soon... fingers crossed it isn't me! I feel pretty secure, but you never know. Last week I went to the Prime Minister's house on Downing Street and actually went inside for a two crew interview with him (myself being one of them), a highlight of my career so far, I suppose. A lot of people probably think this is pretty cool and crazy, but it's just part of the job really... suppose I'm a little blase about it...

Anyway, not much else in the way of news... just looking forward to the move, really. Coming up photos of the house, Tenerife, and Austria!

The Long Road Home

2010-05-09T09:06:00.012-04:00

So, as you may, or may not know, Tom and I went on our first holiday together in April. We went to Tenerife (another post to follow on that) in the Canary Islands. We had a lovely six days before turning on the news the morning before we were leaving to sea that British Airspace was closed because of a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland. I thought Tom was joking when he said it, but sure enough, there it was all over the telly...

We thought we might be okay since it was still a day and a half until we were flying, but by check out the next morning (Friday April 16th) it was looking like we were stranded. The first thing we did was try to contact our airline... that didn't happen, so we found a cheaper hotel (the one we were staying in was trying to 200 Euros a night).

The Chipeque was a downgrade, but it did the job at 35 Euros a night! By Friday afternoon our flight was officially canceled. We decided to just try and enjoy the next few days until our re-booked flight on Monday, April 19th. We were low on money, so we couldn't live it up - we shopped and cooked and bought some booze at the shop - no more eating out and pubs/clubs/bars for us... But that was ok, we were together.

On Sunday, we met Andy, Denise and Diane - they had been staying at the same resort as us, but decided a downgrade was needed as well. We spent the day drinking and hanging out by the pool. At the end of the evening, we all decided to head to a travel agency in the morning to see about getting to the mainland. Oh, our Monday flight was canceled by then too and the next flight they were offering me was on Tuesday, April 27th - 11 days after we were supposed to leave.

So, Monday morning, the five of us headed to the travel agency - by 10:30 AM we were booked with Iberworld flight at 4:30 to fly from Tenerife to Sevilla, Spain on the mainland. For only 69 Euros too! We had to buy a second suitcase as they wouldn't let us put our weight limit together in one bag, but I managed to find a decent one for cheap.

1 PM Monday April 19th - Leaving from the Chipeque... we knew it was going to be hard... but we were optimistic.
Left to right - Andy, Diane, Tom, Me, Denise.

On the bus... going to the airport, at last! Only three days late!

Woot! Airplane! I don't think I've ever been so happy to be getting on a flight!

So, by 7:30 local time we landed in Sevilla and headed straight to the train station. The plan was to get to Madrid and from there find a coach or train to either Paris or Calais. That's what the news kept telling people to do anyway, so we thought we'd be all right.

My one memory of Sevilla... There was some promotion going on in the train station, so we took a minute to enjoy this!

At 9:45 we pulled out of Sevilla Train Station on our way to Madrid - for 89 Euros each this time - we were quickly running out of money!

Some government building in Madrid... the only picture I really got there.

We arrived in Madrid around 12:30 PM. We were planning on spending the night in the train or coach station, but they kicked us out as soon as we got there. We couldn't find any information on where the coach station was and decided to stay the night in a hotel even if it would only be a few hours. The first hotel we asked at was quoting around 70 Euros for a room for the night - and we needed two. So, we went to eat something and then went back and the price had gone up to 110 Euros! Nice, take advantage of the poor stranded travelers. It was ridiculous. We'd seen another hotel around the corner and when asked, they only want 45 Euros for the night. We checked in at 2:30 AM and planned to meet in the lobby at 5:45 to get to the coach station as soon as it opened.

Our lovely hotel room in Madrid. At least there was a bed and it was clean.

So we got to the coach station at around 6AM only to find out we had to wait until 8 for the ticket office to open... but there was already a queue so, it was good we got there early. We met an American who had just arrived from Barcelona (he was trying to get to Germany). He told us there were no trains going through the south of France because of a rail strike - the first any of us had heard of that!

So we waited. and when we got into the ticket office we were told the next available seats on a coach to Paris was the following Monday (April 26th) - At that rate, we could have stayed in Tenerife and waited for our flight on the 27th! There was a group of 8 students ahead of us and one of them, Sophie, and I decided to see if we could rent our own coach and driver to take us to Calais to get the ferry across the channel.

It turned out that about 30 other people behind us, were into the idea too. So, we started trying to figure out how to rent a bus in Spain. The only problem was that there were no coaches for hire. They were all rented out - everywhere we went and asked there was nothing. Then, John, a man from Scotland who was traveling with his three kids, got a text message from his wife in Glasgow giving him the phone number of a guy who was hiring coaches to ferry people to and from Madrid to Calais.

I called him and he told us that there was a coach already leaving the next day (more than 24 hours later) and we were all welcome to get on it if we wanted to pay 250 Euros each! Well, we all decided that a) we didn't want to wait that long and b) that was too much. The regular coach from Madrid to London (not even Calais which is what he was offering) is only 120 Euros. So I negotiated with him. I asked him if he could get us a coach that day and how much it would be if we filled it. We had to wait an hour and a half for him to call me back. It was tense, but by the time he rang back we had over 50 people who wanted to get on our coach.

It was a beautiful moment when he said he could get us a coach at 6PM and we'd only have to pay 215 Euros (still not great, but better) and he'd take us to Calais - a 20 hour drive. So it was settled. 52 of us. 6PM at Madrid coach station. One bus. Two drivers. We couldn't believe it. Some people had already been traveling for three days by the time we met in the station.

It funny I don't have any pictures from the coach station... We spent so long there. By lunchtime, with the relief of knowing we had a way to Calais, we all had a little party - the rum we'd bought in Tenerife came out; we went to the grocery store and got stuff to make sandwiches; we were all stoked.

At some point the media showed up. Reuters, ITV and the BBC. They interviewed us (two of them interviewed me) and we were on the news back home as the people taking matters into their own hands. (Not sure the links will work outside the UK) We were on more reports, but I can't link to them anymore...

So after waiting all day, we headed out of the station to wait for the coach to actually arrive... at 6:15 PM it did.

Waiting outside for the coach to arrive.

My group of travelers... new friends and "parents"

By 6:45 we were on our way... about 30 hours after we set out from the Chipeque it felt like we were really going home.

Andy and Nise - our new parents!

Going home!!!

So a fitful sleep through Spain and Franc, a quick drop off in Paris (two people were getting out there) and 21 hours later we got to Calais, France.

There were only about 3000 people in line ahead of us. While it was disheartening, it was even worse when we heard that it was going to cost 65 Euros each - the normal price for a foot passenger is around 25. Getting screwed again. We complained to the first British officials we'd seen for the whole trip and they said there was nothing they could do. The problem was that Tom and I were out of money. We could get on the ferry, but wouldn't have anything left to get the train back to London from Dover.

It didn't matter though. We'd be on British soil and what else were we going to do, stay in France Andy and Denise kept telling us not to worry, that they'd get us home. It was really great to have that kind of support with us.

Andy being interviewed for TV in Calais.

Almost inside... to be fair it only took about two hours in the queue.

Finally, at 5:45 PM on Wednesday, April 21st, we were on a ferry and pulling out of the port. It definitely warranted a drink!

Cheers! We're on our way!

Bye bye France and mainland Europe...

HELLO DOVER!!!

My silly boy... he really was happy to be in Britain!

On the ferry Denise shoved £60 in my hand to get us from Dover to London - we'd heard the train was about £30 each. As it turned out it only cost that much for both of us, so we had a little money left to get bread and milk. (The advance on my pay that work was supposed to give me came through the day after we got home!)

So, we got on a train, straight to London Victoria (a two-hour train ride) where we had a short tube ride and then a walk home. We got in the door around 11:30 on Wednesday, April 21st... four days, and 19 hours after we were supposed to. After 58 hours of travel across mainland Europe using just about every mode of transport that exists.

While it was exhausting, it was an adventure that I will never forget. It taught me a lot about my and Tom's relationship too. We can get through anything together. If you'd have asked me beforehand what I thought would have happened it wouldn't have been that we'd get on the whole time and support each other and be strong... to be honest I thought we would have argued at least once. But we didn't. If anything, it's brought us closer. So, good things do come when you least expect them...

Finally home and in my own bed!!!

So, sorry this post is so long... but it really did warrant it this time... and hopefully that will help you understand what has taken me so long to write it. I'm sure there is more I could say. But I will leave you with this as it is. Up next, Tenerife: the holiday - before the ash.

i promise...

2010-04-30T17:57:00.003-04:00

I know I've been promising to write more, and I'm going to continue that promise...

I'm having some issues with my camera and iPhoto... which will make any posts on the average/boring side, so am waiting for a day to be able to deal with it all before giving you the whole account...

But, quickly...

My first real holiday since Thailand (in August 2007) went to hell, thanks to Iceland.

To make a long story short I (and my love Tom) were stranded in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands (google it)... in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Morocco, but 'owned' by Spain..

Our flight on Friday, April 16th (10:30 PM) was canceled. We re-booked for the Monday the 19th, but that was also canceled... So, with no end in sight, we got a flight to Seville, Spain. Then a train to Madrid; from there a coach (bus) to Calais, France (21 hours); then a ferry across the channel and then a train almost all the way home....

There IS A LOT more to it than that... and that will all follow, for now, life is back to 'normal'.

Damn you Iceland.... more to follow, (with photos) soon, I promise!

2010-04-23T17:06:00.001-04:00

It's been an insane week. Thanks to the volcano in Iceland Tom and I were stranded in Tenerife and afte ra 56 hour overland journey did make it home nearly 6 days after we were supposed to. There is a LOOOOONg post coming up on all of it, but for now I just don't have the energy... stay tuned.

changes?

2010-03-19T18:57:00.003-04:00

I probably shouldn't be posting anything on here right now... after an evening out at the pub with (my lovely) work mates... but here goes anyway. (please, excuse any spelling or etc errors since i've had more than my share of pints...)

My running has been severely waylaid (sp?) first because I was working like a mother f$@!er (7 out of 8 days for 10 hours a day for a few weeks...) and now because my back has decided to revert to its old ways and give me constant pain. I was on week 4 of my 10 week training for about three weeks... which was ok, given I was only running once or twice a week and I just didn't feel ready to move on... of course as soon as I thought "oh! next time I'll move to week five", my back went into spasm, where it has remained for a week or so. It's not as bad as it has been in the past. Maybe because I know the signs and what to do, or maybe because it just isn't as bad, I don't know, either way, there is no running for me at the moment :( I'm rather upset about it, because it (the running) makes me feel really good and as much as it hurts, I really have to push myself and it's amazing when I succeed.... the whole point of the exercise (literally and figuratively).

Anyway, I was on my first 'out and about' VJ shift today and it wasn't so much the carrying of the kit as the standing for long periods that really bothered it... but I made it through the day, which I think is a testament to my dedication to my job. Which, by the way, I really do love, even if I moan about it. Mostly I get lazy and don't feel like going out, but I'm always hapy and surprised by the outcome.

I know that I'm really good at what I do, (and not to try and sound conceited) but I think I would be no matter what it was, since I care. You really do have to enjoy what you do, or it's a big waste of time for everyone... especially in journalism.

It seems to me that you can tell when something has been done out of love versus something that has been done out of obligation, whether it be for work, or in general life. But in video journalism, you really can see the difference when someone cares about what they are doing.

For example... a few weeks ago, London Fashion Week (LFW) hit this beautiful city, and while I didn't attend any of the shows, I was specifically scheduled on packaging (editing the raw footage into 'watchable' segments. It wasn't by accident. I LOVE editing. I love being able to get creative with my editing. LFW gives the perfect opportunity to do this. Using effects and motion and letting the "art" (as I consider most catwalk fashion to be art) speak for itself. (I wish I had a copy of something I could post here...) Suffice it to say, that I loved doing it, and it really showed. People at work commented on how good it was and they could see the shine in my eyes when it was done...

All this to say, that for the most part I really do love my job. I love the people I work with (mostly) and I love the diversity it provides me (especially). Now, with the prospect of potentially (and I don't want to jinx it, but probably am in writing this) working at the same kind of job for a different company, I just don't know. I suppose, it will all come clear after I talk to them a little more... And again, while not trying to jinx it all, it's really nice to feel like maybe I am really good at what I do after all...

I'm not being wooed, per say, as I have been actively looking elsewhere (if you don't appreciate the talent you have, it will go elsewhere!) but it's just such a scary, uncertain jump to make. God I hope no one from work has happened upon this... And I'm rambling now, so, I apologise... but I have a big week ahead of me, and while I haven't got the new job, it may just come sooner than I think...

Everyone I've spoken to thinks this is a good thing, and it may very well be, but who can tell the future?

As I said this evening to one of my (now former - it was her leaving drinks tonight) colleagues... journalists don't like change... since we deal with it on an almost minute to minute basis, but what we need to realise is that in the grand scheme of things, change can be really good. The thing is, is that as soon as you get used to something it seems the time for change has already come around again...

adendum... Woah. Talk about getting into it, sort of. Not the post I had in mind when I started... but that's the great thing about this... I can just ramble on and talk out loud... thanks for listening... hope I make some kind of sense!

motivation

2010-02-24T05:47:00.003-05:00

I seem to be missing it at the moment.

I haven't been for a run in over a week - but that's mostly because I've been working 10-12 hour days for the last eight out of nine, and I am (understandably) tired after that. But, I'm off today and I just can't seem to find the gung-ho to go running in the rain. Probably because it's actually raining. Anyway, I'll see if I feel like it a little later on, and if not, then will force myself tomorrow. I'm just a little worried about what this has done to my schedule. I'm not sure I can do week four again... I'll try but might be stuck on it for another week. It was hard last time, and now I haven't been in ages, it's going to be even harder!

So, I haven't got much to update, because (as I said) I've been working like a madwoman. Monday to Thursday, Friday off, and then Saturday to Tuesday. I'm finally off today and I don't want to do anything - but I'll have to go to the grocery store later as we're out of just about everything!

Tomorrow I'm making Kimchi fried rice - I picked up some kimchi a couple of weeks ago when I was in Tottenham Court road, and Tom has been bugging me to make it... But I just haven't had time. If you don't marinate the pork for a few hours, it just isn't as good. I've also looked up a few other Korean recipes and am planning on trying my hand at them again in the near future.

I guess that's it for now... just a quick update... until we meet again!

route mapper

2010-02-04T10:02:00.002-05:00

So, I've done week three of my podrunner twice now... It's not easy, but it's getting easier! I decided to try and find out how far I actually go so I found this nifty website called Map My Fitness where you can create a map of your route and it will tell you how far it is, among other things. I thought I'd share it here...

&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyfitness.com/run/united-kingdom/lambeth/341126529568926901"&amp;gt;02/04/2010 Route&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;&amp;lt;br/&amp;gt;&amp;lt;a href="http://www.mapmyfitness.com/find-run/united-kingdom/lambeth"&amp;gt;Find more Runs in Lambeth, United Kingdom&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;
I know it doesn't look very far, but the map assures me it's 2.82 KM. I'll need to step up things if I'm ever going to do a 5k! But let's give it some time, eh!?

The start and finish are at my house and the route takes me to (and through) Vauxhall Park and back again. Sometimes I deviate a little, but not by much. I imaging that once I'm actually running more (as opposed to walking part of the time) I'll have to go further afield, I'll probably end up going to Kennington Park (which you can see on the far right corner of the map). That's also down the road, but I hate going down the main road so for now I'm sticking to side streets.

I'm also thinking of looking into getting some new shoes. The ones I have are still in OK condition (well they look ok anyway) but I know that every pair of shoes has a life to them, and I've had these for a few years now. I actually bought them in Korea when I started exercising, so it probably is time for some new ones.

I'm hoping to go to one of those stores wherethey assess how you run and help you find the right shoe for your foot. Since I'm flat footed, I probably walk (and run) funny... Will let you know when the time comes!

For now, keep on runnin'!

running, running, running

2010-01-30T10:59:00.002-05:00

So, when I lived in Korea I managed to drop (more than) a few dress sizes by getting fit and healthy. I did this by going to the gym 5-6 times a week and following weight watchers online... Well, a year of laziness and bad eating have got me back to almost where I started... so, I'm doing it again. The difference this time is that I won't be going to the gym 5-6 times a week, instead I'm going to run.

I started running last year (before becoming a sloth again) because I got bored with the gym. This posed several problems for me including the fact that I don't (didn't) like running and I didn't know how to run for longer than to catch the bus. So, I downloaded Podrunner by DJ Beatsmith.

Podrunner is music - but the beat and music changes at intervals - so you walk to start, then job when the music changes, and then walk, and then jog... you get the point. It's supposed to help you work your way up to running a full thirty minutes (or 5k) after ten weeks.

I managed to make it about week 5 the first time around - I've just finished week 2. You do each week three times in one week and then move on to the next level. So Monday morning I'll start week three - more running.

So far I'm feeling really good about it. I always get a little high when I finish my workout and it gives me confidence. the other day I actually 'ran' home from work... amazing!

Anyway, hopefully by mid-April I'll be up and running (pun intended!). I'm aiming for July though - just to be kind to myself... That's when I hope to take part in Cancer Research UK's Race for Life. So, watch this space for more on that and my odyssey of learning how to run.

the noughties

2010-01-03T06:53:00.028-05:00

Dig in, cause this is going to be a long one... A retrospective of the last ten years, where I've been and what I've been doing. It's too bad I didn't get into digital photography until later in the decade as I have some quite amazing photos from the first half of the decade... maybe it's time to get a scanner? Anyway, there will be photos when photos are available...

2000
I rung in the millennium with some really great friends on a snowy rooftop in Montreal. I was studying photography at Dawson College and working full-time in a (now gone) photography store downtown. I fell (very hard) in and (even harder) out of love. My grandmother (mum's mum) passed in January. Ranya and I became flatmates. One of my good friends' went crazy. I dropped out of photography school. It was actually a big year. A lot happened to change who I was. I suppose everyone expected big things from the new millennium, and in a way, it totally delivered.

2001
I started working at the bank in January. That changed my life a lot. I met some amazing people, started earning more money and felt more like an adult with a 'real' job. Little did I know that I would be there for almost five years. In September (the 5th to be exact) I boarded an airplane for the first time in my life. I came (oddly enough) where I am right now, to London. It was a dream come true and gave me the travel bug. While in the UK:

I visited Lisa - god we look so young here, but neither of us has even really changed that much!

we went to Brighton,

and Aberdeen to visit the square (that I'm standing in) where my Great great great grandfather was born.

We also spent a few days in Edinburgh, a city that I love even more now. It was the trip of a lifetime and changed my life forever, not only because it made me want to move here even more, but because it helped me understand that I could travel and see the world.

While I was there the world changed as well - on September 11. We all remember where we were that day, I was in a car driving through the English countryside on my way to Feckenham to visit Lisa's parents. It was so surreal for me that I didn't think it was real until we got to their house and saw it on TV.

2002
hmmm... 2002... I guess I technically started university in Autumn 2002. I had wanted to go back to school for some time and thought university was the way to go, but wasn't sure what I wanted to study. Of course, I left it to the last minute and registered on the first day of classes as an independent student. That meant I could take any class that was open to all students - so non program specific. I had a list of courses I was interested in but only two of them had space open so I registered for History of Journalism and Contemporary News Media. They changed my life -

2003
Having aced my two classes, I kept going and enrolled in Literary Journalism for the winter semester. I also applied into the Journalism Department to become a full-time journalism student. The rest, as they say, is history... In September I started at Concordia in the full time Specialization in Journalism program.

In February, I traveled - this time on my first real holiday - to the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean. .

I went with Ranya on a last minute deal to a resort near Sosua in the north of the island

It was heaven, and some much needed sun in February.

I breathed under water in the swimming pool... still need to get properly certified for scuba diving... think I'll make that a goal for this decade!

In May, I got my lip pierced

The year brought many ups and downs, changes and happiness. In December, my best friend and flatmate of three years moved to Greece. Also in December, Cherry moved in and we were flatmates for almost as long... Another friend for life.

2004
The first five months of 2004 were a countdown to my visiting Ranya in Greece! I spent most of May on the island of Lesvos with her. There are so many pictures that I would need (and have thought of doing it) a book to showcase them all... Here are a few of the artsy ones:

Eresos, Blue Lock

I became obsessed with taking pictures of the thousands of locks around the island, I don't know exactly how many I shot, but enough for a coffee table book on the subject - another project for this decade, I suppose!

Eftalou, Swirly Gate

From inside Molyvos Castle

When I got home from Greece I cried for a week. But life goes on and so did mine, but Greece has a permanent spot in my heart because of that trip and I'm certain (even more than before) that it is a place I will return to again and again in my life.

2005

In February, I returned to the DR with Cherry, Trisha, and Maria.

On our day trip to Saona Island

It was a good trip, and again, much needed sun in February. It was also a break from the five classes I was taking at uni. In hindsight, it wasn't that smart taking five classes and working 30 hours a week. I spent June in the midst of a nervous breakdown and didn't leave the house except for essentials. The drugs (anti-depressants) helped and Cherry was a bigger support than I think she knows.

2006

In March, I started this blog.

In June I graduated from university with a Bachelor of Arts Specialization Journalism with distinction.That was one of the biggest days of my life. I had worked so hard to get there and to finish off on such a high note (distinction) was amazing. I almost missed my convocation because of a herniated disc in my lower back. Walking across the stage should have been the easiest part of my education, but it took everything I had to get across and I immediately went home and spent the next six weeks in physiotherapy.

I also got my drivers license.

On August 21 I arrived in Seoul, South Korea to start my year teaching (which you can read all about on the this blog).

2007
My year in Korea. Read all about it elsewhere as I just can't get into it all here...

I made tons of great friends from around the world, some who I've seen and some who I'm likely to never see again, but all in all it was a truly fabulous experience and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Thanks to all of you that made 2007 and life in Korea so special.

In August, I met Ranya in Thailand for the holiday of a life time.

at the end of our lovely Thai holiday

we pet the tigers at the tiger temple

we watched the tide come in and go out on Ko Tao

I drank from a bucket for my birthday

We rode elephants on Ko Samui

We played in the temples

And enjoyed all the sights, sounds and tastes of the Land of Smiles... read all about it here.

After another week in Korea I was on my way home to Canada on the second of September... A few months later I was off on a new adventure when I moved to London in early December...

2007 was a big year for me. It changed who I was in many ways that I probably still don't even realise. It definitely filled me with the kind of confidence I always knew I had but never showed the world.

2008
I got my first job in journalism. Doing exactly what I wanted to do on the day I graduated from university (and I still get to do it everyday!)

Me filming Tony Blair (technically 2009, but still...)

In March I discovered I am a natural at skiing when I went on holiday in Switzerland.

On the border between France (behind me) and Switzerland

In August Ranya married the love of her life in Lesvos, so I got to go back to one of my favourite places on earth.

Molyvos, Levos, Greece

the happy couple

worshipping the moon

and the sea

In October I met my love on a drunken night out with work friends... Life hasn't been the same since...

One of our first pictures together

For 2009 please see below!

It's been a crazy decade... from living a relatively comfortable and boring existence in a flat in Montreal to traveling the world and landing in London doing a job that I love... life has been good to me despite a lot of pitfalls... I hope I make it look easy, but it wasn't... Here's to another ten years of adventure, happiness and love.

2009 photo-retro

2009-12-31T12:52:00.006-05:00

2009 has been a year of ups and downs - as are most years - here's a photo retrospective of my year... something on the decade to come some time in January...

Snow... there was lots of snow this year - starting in January, loads of it in February and then again in December...

February saw flowers arrive at the office for me! First time I've ever had that happen!

February also saw my first professional football match - Liverpool vs Real Madrid - in Madrid, Spain.

While there I managed to take in some of the sights... including this art exhibit in the 'crystal palace'.

...and the cow parade that was all over the city...

In March I went on holiday with my love, Tom, to Edinburgh... this is on the way up to Arthur's Seat.

A view of the city with the castle in the distance...

Tom and I at Edinburgh Castle

Tom and I on the Royal Yacht Britannia

In May I happened upon a fun fair in Hampstead Heath with a few friends after we went there for a picnic

In June I went on a weekend away with my love to Brighton - went to the pier and rode the rides...

We also went on an afternoon fishing trip where a nice man took this fab photo of us!

In August we went to Thorpe Park where we rode the (better than Brighton) rides

We had an amazing day!

In August I celebrated yet another birthday with great friends!

In October I went to Ukraine for my second professional football match - England vs Ukraine World Cup Qualifier - this is St Michael's Cathedral in Kiev - see previous post for more on that...

And finally I celebrated Christmas afternoon with my love and his family in North London.

By evening I had a fever of 102.5F, was told I had swine flu and spent the last week of the year in bed. Now here is New Year's Eve and I'm still not well enough to go to work - or go out :( So it'll be a night in with the telly... Here's to a great year gone and a better one to come!

Happy New Year to you and yours!

'tis the season

2009-12-12T10:44:00.009-05:00

Time for an update! I know I promised to write more, and this is me trying!

The past few weeks have been pretty stressful for numerous reasons, the least of which, Christmas is coming.

I'll start with the worst news first. At the age of 99 11/12, my amazing grandmother passed away. That's right, a month shy of her 100th birthday. Many of you who know me well, know that I was really close to her and it hit me harder than I thought it would. I mean, really at that age I should have been expecting it, and I was, but nothing can really prepare you for it.

The last time I saw her was October 2008 when I was in Canada to renew my visa. I drove to Barrie (about 7 hours) and stayed at my uncles house. The next day I picked her up and we went for lunch at Tim Hortons (her idea) and then for a drive in the country. We stopped at a local farm and bought the last of the seasons strawberries and some apples.

Then we drove north to Midland to visit one of her good friends who had been placed in a care home up there. She didn't get to see much of her as it was about an hour's drive. We sat out on the patio and ate some strawberries and chatted for a while. They were both so happy to have an impromptu visit. The next morning I brought her some Timmy's for breakfast and had to get back to Ottawa to return my rental car.

I knew then, as she likely did, that it was probably the last time we would see each other. And it was. There are so many things that you think of after the fact that you wish you had said or done. I have those regrets, just as anyone does, but I know that I had a great relationship with her and that we both took full advantage of that relationship while we could. I hope wherever she is, she knows how grateful I am for having had the time I did with her, and even more so for the hundreds of letters I got from her in my life. At least I have those to keep her close to me now and always.

I wouldn't be who or where I am without her influence in my life... May she rest in peace.

Winifred Jane Mavor (Briggs) January 7, 1910-December 4, 2009

I feel like I should start a new post for the rest... but here it is...

About six weeks ago we (my department at work) were told that two of the eight people in my position would likely be made redundant before the end of the year (or very soon after). We were told there was going to be a 'consultation period' where we would have the opportunity to try and come up with other ways to save money and to discuss the reasons behind the redundancies in depth. After two weeks of stressing and coming up with ideas, we were told that we were safe for now. Apparently there is a very big new contract that has come up and they feel that if they lose us they may not get it. What happens if we don't get it anyway? I don't know. There is still a feeling in the department that this is little more than a stay of execution. We'll see. There are still a few other people (not doing the same job as me) who will likely be out of a job in January regardless. And one of our editors has already left. We were all very sad to see him go and his presence was missed from the moment he left.

With unemployment at an all time high in the UK, it isn't a good time to be out of a job. I think a lot of us are looking for work elsewhere now just in case.

With Christmas fast approaching money is always tight, and even more so this year for some reason. Maybe because I have so many people to get pressies for... It's like I have two families now, with Tom's side and Lisa's family (who I have traditionally had Christmas with, and old habits die hard). Then there are friends that I feel I have to get something for as well. I hate all this about the holidays... buying shit that people don't want for people who don't care one way or the other. Everyone keeps asking me what I want, but I don't know... There isn't anything that I really need and anything I do actually want is too expensive or hard to get... I kind of just want to say screw the whole season and f*!k off somewhere hot. Oh well, maybe next year.

Well, this hasn't been the most positive post ever, has it? There are some things to be thankful for... my health, my loving wonderful partner in crime Tom, the fact that I still have a job, that my awesome friend Kim is moving to London as I write this, I'm sure there's more, and I promise to try harder to get into the Christmas spirit, I'm just not feeling it this year... maybe it's the lack of snow or (real) cold? (ha! had to get the weather in there somewhere!)

Happy Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanza...etc... to you all and a very Merry New Year!

update, Ukraine, update, Ukraine, update....

2009-11-19T12:18:00.015-05:00

I know, I promised to write more... well, this is more! I'm still getting back into the swing of it... and it's not as if I don't mean to write, I just don't find the time... Or rather, I'm going to blame it on that.

So, last time I was excited about going to Ukraine. It was definitely an experience. The following is partially from the document I had to write for the insurance company for work... I've added quite a bit though...

"We landed on flight BD 851 from London Heathrow to Kiev International at about 3:30 PM on Thursday, October 8th. The football match we were covering was on Saturday, on the other side of the country in a city called Dnipropetrovsk.

After passing through passport control (which took ages) we proceeded to the luggage pick up where we found that one of our bags – the oversize one carrying our tripod and monopod – was missing. We had had to bring this bag to a special drop off point at Heathrow. While we were looking for it another passenger told me that she was also missing her oversize luggage from the same flight.

My colleague (let's call him Joe) made the claim at the lost luggage counter as he had checked in the bag. The woman at the counter told us it would be delivered to us in Dnipropetrovsk as that was our final destination. She also told us to call the next morning to find out where the luggage was and when it would arrive.

I proceeded to customs where we had to have our carnet (an official document listing the equipment we would bring in and out of the country- cameras, lights, cables, etc...) signed before entering the country. When the customs agent asked if we had all of the equipment listed I told her about the missing tripod.

Over a period of about three hours it was conveyed that we would not be allowed to enter the country with our equipment if any one piece of it was missing. We tried to reason that it was the airline that lost our luggage and would be delivering it to us, but that was not accepted by them. Even after showing them the proof that we claimed for lost luggage.

After another two and half hours of trying to haggle with them to let us bring our cameras with us, we were forced to leave the rest of our equipment in a locked room in the customs department at the airport.

At this point we had met at Heathrow at 6:30 in the morning, flown to Kiev, stood in the queue for passport control for an hour and a half, and then sat and argued in customs for about five hours... we were tired, no exhausted. Keep in mind, there is no food or water in customs and at no point were we offered any or a way of getting any.

We finally got to our hotel at 10:30 PM (Kiev time, so 8:30 PM London time)...

Joe and I missed our 7 AM train to Dnipropetrovsk as we couldn’t leave Kiev without our camera kits. I was disappointed about this part more than anything. The trains there are like the old fashioned ones, with individual compartments, like the kind in old spy movies... I was looking forward to that. Oh well.

BMI couldn’t tell us where the luggage was when we called in the morning, but we were assured by someone that it would be on that day’s flight from London arriving around 2:30 PM. We called the lost luggage number given to us at 2:30 PM to see if they knew whether it was on that flight or not and they told me to ring back in an hour. I called again at 3:30 PM and was told, again, to call back in an hour. I called back again at 5 PM (giving them an extra 30 minutes) and no one answered. I called again for the next 15 minutes and no one answered, so Joe and I headed to the airport because we knew there had to be someone there and either way we were going to get our equipment.

We had spent the majority of the day in negotiations with the British Embassy and customs trying to figure out a way for us to get our camera kits if the tripod didn't arrive. We had to prvide copies of loads of documents, as well as a letter written, in Ukrainian, to customs. I have to say the Embassy was amazing with all of their help. They translated everything that needed translating and sent it all to the appropriate people.

We arrived at the airport at 7 PM on Friday evening, and after some delay, and without any assistance, managed to get the tripod and monopod (which had arrived on the 2:30 flight) returned to us. We then had to spend another two hours in customs to retrieve the rest of our equipment.

While we were in customs, we were supposed to be at a press conference and England training photo call in Dnipropetrovsk; we missed them because of our missing luggage. So that was more than half of our job that we couldn't do.

The office, back in London, arranged for us to stay in our hotel another night, though we had to change rooms, and booked us on a flight for the next (Saturday) morning's 11 AM flight to Dnipropetrovsk.

The only good that came of the lost luggage was that I actually got to spend about two hours wandering around Kiev.

Independence Square, Kiev

St Michael's Cathedral, Kiev

To buy beer you choose by looking in the window and then order it from the shopkeeper who is behind glass...

A street like any other, Kiev

Life in Kiev

So on Saturday morning we went to the airport, three hours early, only to find out that check-in only started an hour and a half before boarding. (Another 3 hours racked up in Kiev airport!) We got to Dnipro fine, checked into our hotel, ate some lunch, had a nap and headed to the stadium for the match.

Lenin Statue, Lenin Square, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine

Karl Marx Ave, Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine

It was definitely an interesting game. England had already made it to the World Cup, but Ukraine had to win or they wouldn't make it to the next round. Well, they did score, but only because England scored on itself.

Early in the match the Ukrainian fans decided it would be a good idea to throw flares onto the pitch and the English goalie, setting the pitch on fire...

ooh! What's going on over there?

See the firemen?

It was interesting to say the least.

I could write a whole novella about the whole trip, but I'll just say that the food was the same in every (and I mean every) restaurant, the people weren't very friendly, and there wasn't anything particularly interesting to see... It just seemed like the whole country was suffering from a really bad communist hangover.

While I am glad I got to have the experience, and I probably wouldn't change it, but I also wouldn't wish it on anyone...

***
Coming up... the really important stuff about life in london, work, love and, of course, the weather... stay tuned!

oh, heck...

2009-10-03T17:54:00.002-04:00

I've done it again... left this far too long... At least I'm here?!

Not much to update... I sprained my knee two weeks ago. I wouldn't recommend it. It wasn't properly diagnosed at the A&E (Accident and Emergency) and so I guess I didn't take enough care with it... so went to the doctors this week and he told me it's sprained... hrm. It's feeling a million times better than when I did it... woke up to find it the size of a melon... but it still just feels really unstable and when I go up or down stairs I can hear and feel it 'click'... not a good sign, but getting better slowly... wish it would hurry up and get better though... especially since I'm off to Ukraine in four days!

Yes, I'm going to Ukraine! Not somewhere I would normally choose to go of my own volition, but kind of cool that I am... It's a work trip to cover the England vs. Ukraine world cup football match. It was booked before England were a shoe in, (which they are now) so it's more of a friendly than anything, but that's ok... think of all the beautiful footballers' I'll get to goggle at!!! And potentially meet... Becks just to name a biggie... anyway, it should be kind of fun... I will definitely post some pictures and write about it when I get back... that is a PROMISE.

uh, sorry.

2009-09-18T17:08:00.002-04:00

I suppose I should have written something here in the last nine or ten months. Lazy? Bored? Uninterested? All of the above? I guess some and all of those and much more. Hopefully I will start writing again... I just kind of fell out of it, really... I probably don't even have any followers out there anymore, so I'm not sure who I'm writing this for... myself?

Anyway, I'm sorry for falling off the face of the internet.

For now, have been listening to Amy Winehouse Back to Black on repeat... can't get enough of it... Her best song by far.

goodnight and good luck.

Home sweet home?

2009-01-17T07:22:00.003-05:00

It seems I have been searching for a home since I left mine in 2006, a few months before I left for Korea. I had been living in the same apartment for seven years (!) and was so comfortable in my life there that I had to move to the other side of the world to pull myself out of the rut I was in.

Mission accomplished. Right?

I suppose. Since then, I have become a very different person, some new good qualities have emerged and there are probably some new bad qualities that I may not recognise in myself (any help on that one is appreciated), but I think for the most part I am a better person than I was when I 'left home'.

I think my desire (back then) to stay in one place, and not move, came from the fact that I had been moving all my life. Every two years when I was a kid and my parents were together, and then I left my mom's house as soon as I hit 18 and was able to. I guess I never really felt like I had a home. So, throughout most of my twenties, I lived in this wonderful (if a big dingy and old) apartment with some great (and some terrible) people, until I decided I was far too young to be so comfortable in life.

So, here I am, two and a half years later, living in yet another foreign country and I've decided to make this country/city/culture my new home. Not like Korea, which was always going to be short-term, but like that apartment that I found in my twenties, London will be home, for quite some time.

Now I just need to find that physical place, a space all my own, somewhere in this vast city that I can actually call home and not 'my room'.

I've been on the hunt for about a week and a half. I've given notice to my current flatties that I'll be out by the 1st of February. It's not easy here, though, to find somewhere that lives up to (or even comes close) to that feeling of home that I had in my apartment in Montreal. I know it always takes time for these things, I know I didn't feel 100% at home in the first year I lived there, so maybe I just need to give it time? The problem is, I haven't even seen anywhere that has the potential of being "home"...

I'll just keep looking. I know it's got to be out there somewhere. Everything else in London has fallen so perfectly into place and all I'm missing is a good home... so I know I'll find it... I'm just so tired of searching.

where has the time gone?

2008-12-31T12:48:00.003-05:00

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...

2008-08-31T15:30:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-08-22T14:00:00.008-04:00

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.

2008-07-30T13:19:00.002-04:00

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

2008-07-27T13:01:00.005-04:00

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.

2008-07-21T16:28:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-07-13T13:58:00.002-04:00

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

2008-07-06T10:57:00.006-04:00

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?

2008-07-06T07:47:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-07-05T17:03:00.004-04:00

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!

2008-07-02T14:11:00.006-04:00

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 ;)

good timing

2008-06-29T13:35:00.002-04:00

For those of you who don't know, I had a job interview this week. I applied internally at work for a video journalist position that opened up and figured I'd give it a shot. They've been sending me out reporting for a few weeks when there was no one else to go, which has been fantastic!

So, I was eagerly awaiting my interview, which was with the two people my desk is sandwiched in between. The interview started with a picture test, where I had to look at an image of something or someone that has been in the news and name it and why it was important. I only got seven out of ten... bad me. I recognised them all, but you can't retain everything, can you? Anyway, then I had to take seven stories from that day and choose four to make a news bulletin. I had to explain why I chose the order I did and also what video and interviews I would get to make a good story. I also had to explain how I might make them into a 1:30 package.

Then came the actual interview with the people I sit to next to all day, everyday. They asked some of the typical questions... why are you applying? Who is responsible for knowing about the story before you go out? What would I check for in my kit before leaving? What kind of experience do I have? etc...

It went well, probably in part because I sit next to these people so I wasn't really nervous. It was easy to talk to them and I answered the questions to the best of my ability. But I didn't feel great about it when I walked out. I didn't think when I applied that they would give it to me anyway, and after the interview I was certain that they wouldn't choose me. Not to mention that then they'd have to replace me and I'm so good at my job that they'd want to keep me there. This has happened to me in the past.

But, the stars must have been aligned and in my favour, because on Thursday morning, not 24 hours after my interview they offered me the job!!! I am (or will be as soon as they replace me) the newest VIDEO JOURNALIST at my office!

For those of you who don't know me that well, this is something I have dreamed of since university. This is the reason I am in London. Six months after getting here, I have landed my dream job. I still can't believe it... It won't really sink in until I start. I've always wanted to move to England and there has to be a reason for that, I'm starting to realise that I was right all along and apparently I've come at the right time.

images

2008-06-25T13:48:00.004-04:00

Just a couple of photos to get you through... A couple from Thailand that I messed about with on photoshop... click on them to enlarge...

summer

2008-06-22T15:29:00.002-04:00

Summer has supposedly hit London. People were saying this back in May when we had a few weeks of nice weather... but it's been 'tupperware' weather since then. What is tupperware weather? You know, that dull grayness that makes it feel like you're living inside of a tupperware container? It's a new term that L used the other day and I rather think it's a good description of English weather... so I've appropriated it and will use it from now on!

Anyway, as I was saying, summer has officially hit. The solstice was yesterday and tens of thousands of people descended on Stonehenge to celebrate. Sadly, I was not one of them. Instead, I celebrated with a mojito by the canal at an upscale restaurant. We spent the afternoon praying that the tupperware wouldn't get thrown in the dishwasher and thankfully, it didn't! Okay, enough of that analogy...

It was a good mojito and a good afternoon. Then L and I headed out for an evening of drinks and dancing. We woke this morning to bright sun and blue skies! So we did what you have to do when the weather is actually nice, we spent the morning and afternoon in her garden worshiping the sun. I think I got a little colour, which is good since I don't want to be a ghost when I get to Greece in 38 days. Not an easy feat in London. But I'm trying.

Enough about the weather, I know it's boring, but it's news here. It's something that people are always talking about since it dominates our lives. Do I bring my brolly to work today? Should I wear a scarf? Yes, even in the summer, I still wear a scarf in the morning... it's chilly!

Right, I said no more weather. In other news, I have an interview this week for the position of video journalist. It wouldn't be a big move, only a couple of desks over, but I'm hoping and praying that I get it. So Wednesday morning (my time) send <> my way! It would really be a dream come true!

Other than that there isn't much new here... but as I promised to write on Sundays, here I am. I'll be back with more next week... hopefully with something a little more interesting than the weather!

it's sunday

2008-06-15T13:02:00.002-04:00

As promised in my previous update, here I am!

I encourage you to scroll down and read my last entry, as it was rather comprehensive and there are some nice photos. In case, you don't though, I've decided to post on Sunday every week, just so that there's always something fresh here. It's possible that I may post more often, but Sunday's will be the minimum.

Since I last posted on Thursday, I don't have much to write...

But, on Friday I got to go do an interview again, this time it was for "the Big Story", which was about a celebrity wedding... I got to interview a woman from the Daily Express newspaper. I didn't get to edit or package the video afterwards, which is too bad, but it was still nice to get out and about. The only thing wrong with my interview was that in a few of the shots my microphone is showing... :( boo. It was a particularly bright day and the itty bitty screen on my camera and the fact that I couldn't be looking at it throughout the interview meant that I didn't realise until I got back to the office. Oh well... I still got compliments on the aesthetics of the shot... it does look really nice... check it out here. I think it's pretty obvious which part of the pack I shot, but just in case, it's the woman who is talking throughout and not the shots from Italy!

Friday night, after a few pints with a work mate, I went to see Gnarls Barkley with a few friends. I didn't know who they were until Friday and was told that I would only know one of their songs... and I did. It's that song 'Crazy' that plays all the time... maybe you know it too? Probably. Anyway, it was a good gig (as they call shows here) and afterwards we all went for a couple of drinks a little closer to home.

Saturday was a BBQ at L's, sans L. Her flatmate, K, had a barbee for all her kiwi friends, so I met a load of people and saw a bunch I already knew. There was so much food that I can't even remember everything that we had, burgers, sausages, shrimp, salmon, asparagus, salads of all descript, garlic bread, oh and beer. Lots of beer. The weather could have been better, but it only dripped a little rain on us for about five minutes and then we had clear skies.

Today has been a lovely sunny day, but not too warm. I covered all the basics today, cleaning, laundry, gym... and now, blogging. That's it, I'm done with this week and am almost ready for the next one to begin... hopefully it will be just as good as the last.

updates

2008-06-11T16:34:00.005-04:00

I think I need to pick a day of the week to write posts... and stick to it. That way I won't go weeks without posting anything at all. I like to think that's it's because I'm oh-so-busy all the time, and I am, but not so much that I can't take a little time to update you all. I will stop apologising for it though, as I've been told that I say "I'm sorry" too much.

SO, that being said, I think that posting day will from now on be Sunday evenings, my time, which is Greenwich Mean Time (since I live a few miles away).

I've had one of the best weeks in London since I arrived. The weekend was fabulous, with a Korean dinner night with nine friends (seven of which are Kiwis). We went to Myungga, a little Korean restaurant in Soho. The food wasn't as good as the first time I went a few months ago, but it's some of the best Korean I've had since I was there. We had a bit of everything kimchi-jeon, bulgogi, bibimbap, all the sides (including five kinds of kimchi), dwen-jeong jigae (sp?), deok bokki, ummm... what else? soju and beer, and more food too, but the names are escaping me. I'm really tired.

After dinner we went out for drinks in Soho and headed home at the early hour of 12:30. I had to be up at 6:30 to drive to Feckenham (of Christmas with the Cotton's fame), which is south of Birmingham and about a two hour drive.

It was my 'surrogate' mother's birthday a couple of weeks ago, so L and I drove up spend the day. It was lovely to be in the country on a nice sunny day. We went to the market and picked up some fresh veggies and other supplies. Then we headed to a small artists market where there was a glass blowers studio that reminded me of C and L and my other surrogate family in Canada. There was a beautiful garden out back with some gorgeous flowers and a really old rusted tractor-like contraption - I got some great photos... as you can see.

After the market we headed home, walked the dog and had a tasty barbecue in the garden. Then we had to head back to London... We arrived pretty late so didn't do anything. Sunday was devoted to cleaning, laundry, gym etc... it was one of the first really nice days here in a few weeks, so I spent an hour outside working on my pallid skin, but I think I'll have to wait until I go to Greece in August to get some real colour.

Probably the best bit of the last week has been going "out" on the job at work. I've gone out to film and interview for the last three days in a row! I interviewed Jerry Hall on Monday, then a cabinet minister on Tuesday, and today I got to go to the National Portrait Gallery and shoot the BP National Portrait Awards. It was fantastic... now if only I could be doing it all day everyday.... That should be enough said about that. I don't want to Dooce myself.

Now that we're up to date, expect regular posts on Sundays... maybe more if I'm feeling the urge.

two weeks

2008-05-20T15:44:00.002-04:00

is too long without an update.

I seem to have lost the art of writing about daily life. I feel most of the time like I'm just living... not that interesting... though on second thought, it might be to you, dear reader.

I've been at my new job for a little over three weeks now and things are going well. I'm itching to get my hands on a camera and be a VJ... but I know it will come in time.

Other than work, I've been going out like crazy on the weekends, wearing shoes that are too tall, dresses that are too short and make up that makes me feel like I'm 20 again! My confidence has been at an all time high, which might explain the few dates I've been on... though they haven't developed into anything, they've been learning experiences.

London is a strange place when it comes to meeting people... especially romantically and I've been learning a lot. I've actually had text message relationships that didn't go beyond a night out because of them. Weird. Nobody CALLS anyone here, they message. This means that your vocal intonations are irrelevant... people here don't "get" my Canadian-ness. Though I've heard we're a bit of a novelty, it seems to end at that. Anyway, I'm out there socialising and having a good time, and that's the important part!

In other news, I've booked my flight to Greece for the big wedding in August. I'm looking into the visa issues that I need to and will be home to Canada before the year is out to sort it all out... I can't leave... not yet anyway... not with the rest of the UK and Europe to discover!

PS... if anyone wants to send me a few small things that I'd like from Canada, then PLEASE email...while there is much more selection here than in Korea, some things are sorely lacking from my life... like microwave popcorn...

Cans Festival

2008-05-06T15:09:00.010-04:00

On Sunday I headed down the Cans Festival with a couple of girlfriends. It's a graffiti festival that was set up on Leake Street, in a disused tunnel, near Waterloo station.

It was well advertised and in the media because Banksy was a part of it. There were tons of other world famous graffiti artists who spent days setting up the exhibit, as well as lots of lesser known artists. You could even sign up to paint once you arrived and there were quite a few artists jumping on the bandwagon. Good for them to be able to have their work next to that of the big names.

Instead of going on about it, though, here are some of my favourites in no particular order... sorry there are so many, I just couldn't cut it down any more!

It was, as you can see, an amazing exhibit. If you can believe it, I have another 120 or so photos from it.... So there are more!

I've heard that for some silly reason, the art will all be painted over eventually, at a cost of about £300,000! What's the point?? Leave it there for the generations to come! This was an example of art, not 'vandalism' as graffiti is often mistaken for. These were real artists, not silly taggers writing their name on the wall. It is real art. I hope you enjoyed it.

new beginnings

2008-04-29T15:22:00.003-04:00

It's official. I am a career woman! I started my new job yesterday and I have to say that being happy about going to work makes a world of difference.

I was nervous at the beginning of the day, but slipped right into it. I was teamed up with a colleague who use to do my job and he showed me a lot. By the end of the day I was uploading to the wire all by myself!

The programs that I've learned so far are relatively easy to use. The real challenge will come tomorrow when I have my Avid training. My confidence is way up though and I know that I can do this job and anything they ask me to.

It's a different world for me now. I like going to work and it doesn't even really feel like work. The day flies by and before I know it, it's time to go home!

I'm still, of course, in the honeymoon stage here, and who knows what the future will bring... but for now, I'm loving it. From now on there are no more annoying people calling me and no more dealing with the public, which is a first for me!

Anyway, just wanted to drop a quickie to let you all know that things are going really well. I feel like it's the beginning of the rest of my life!

a new job

2008-04-20T15:13:00.004-04:00

I've been seriously ignoring this blog since I left Korea last year. It's disappointing since I was so stubborn about it while I was there. I imagined it would be similar here in England, but I have let myself, and you dear reader, down. So, I will apologise again, I'm sorry.

I guess I just haven't felt like I've been doing anything terribly interesting. Of course, I do things, but it's more like living life than anything to write home about.

I do have some big news though.

I applied and interviewed for a job way back in January but was only number two after the interviews were done. When they called me to tell me I didn't get it, (weird I didn't just get an email) I could hear the disappointment in the interviewers voice. He told me they were going with someone who had more "experience" - to me this meant that the other person knew how to edit with Avid where I only know Final Cut (thanks a lot ConU)... Anyway, he asked me if it would be okay to keep my details on file and to ring me if anything came up. Of course I said yes, but thought that was just something that employers say.

About a week after the interview I rang him back and asked him how I could get in to do some work experience (unpaid internship type work). He told me that was a brilliant idea and that he'd be in touch. A week or so passed and he called me back just to tell me that he was still checking it all out but that the guy he needed to talk to had been and was still on holiday. A few more weeks passed and I emailed him, he replied with "do you know how to use a video camera?" So I told him that I'd used a Sony PD 150/170 at school and was comfortable with a camera (still or video) in my hands. I didn't hear back from him for another week - in this biz people are busy, so I didn't push too much.

Finally about a month ago he emailed me to see when I'd be able to come in on a trial shift as a video journalist. We arranged that April 16th would be the day. Then he rang me the day I was leaving for Switzerland to ask me to go in on the weekend, but, of course, I would be away. He was okay with it and told me that we'd talk more before the trial shift.

I had a message on my mobile from him about a week and a half ago and thought that he wanted to arrange another shift or something. When I called him back he said, "the job you applied for is available". I replied "what do I need to do?" and he said, "say yes or no".

I was blown away! It was not what I was expecting AT ALL. Anyway, all that to say that starting in a week I am the new media co-ordinator at the Press Association.

I don't have an actual job description for you, but basically I'll be logging, archiving, and editing video. The video journalists (VJ) come in with their tape and I have to get it out to buyers - TV stations mostly, I think. The company is the UK's version of CP or Reuters, so it's a pretty big deal in the media world and the perfect first step in my career. There will be opportunity for me to get experience as a VJ, as well as learning other aspects of the business. There might be some writing that I can get involved in too. Anyway, it's perfect and of all the jobs that I've applied to in the UK, I wanted this one the most, so WOOHOO!!!

That's the big news of late... there are little things here and there, and again, I promise to write more often... please don't forget about me, dear reader, I haven't forgotten about you. :)

La Suisse!

2008-04-08T14:35:00.005-04:00

We left London on Friday evening. The ferry from Dover landed in Calais at around midnight. After a night of driving clear across the north of France we finally arrived in Champery, Switzerland at around noon.

Being Canadian, it might surprise some of you to know that a) I have never seen the Rocky Mountains and b) I had never skied before. So, you can imagine (if you've seen them) the awe that came over me when I spied the Alps for the first time.

We came around a bend and there they were, looming above everything else, with Lac Leman sitting serenely below - if only pictures out car windows were any good... oh well, next time!

We climbed up, and up, and up, until we (had there been any at the time) were in the clouds. Luckily, the weather was brilliant. Having driven through the night we sat on the balcony of our 100-year-old farmhouse and cracked open the beers. It was such a beautiful day that we could have been tanning in our bikinis.

Our farmhouse.

The view from our balcony.

At dusk.

The view to the south of our chalet (called the Gallerie).

At dusk.

The next day the weather was great again, which was good, since it was the first time I was going to ski. I booked a lesson the night before with the Swiss Ski School... it was set for 10:30, but we got there 15 minutes early - or so we thought! We were meant to change the clocks forward one hour for daylight savings that morning! So we were actually 45 minutes late! oops!

It was fine though and the instructor brought me and my bud A down to what he called "the nursery". It didn't look like a nursery at first but after an hour of learning how to snow plow I was zooming down the itty bitty hill. The only problem I had was with the mini lift, which kept grabbing my leg and dragging me (on my ass) halfway up the hill! If only there had been video cameras!

By the end off the two hour lesson I was deemed a natural and felt like one too.

The Telepherique up the hills...

and we thought we were already in the clouds!

The rest of the skiing throughout the week (another four days of it) went pretty well. I think I pushed myself and there were some points where I really wasn't comfortable, but I made it down the hill anyway. I only walked down one bit and that was on my first day... I just got into a place I couldn't get myself out of!

Zooming down the hill!

On Friday, the real challenge came when we skied to France for lunch in Avoriaz. Yes! That's right, I SKIED TO FRANCE!!! I had a spot of trouble when we were over there... got on a lift that brought us up and up and up and up and I got freaked out by out... getting down again wasn't easy on me (and I did something to my groin ;) but I did it!

Setting off for France...

Ski bunny Liz on the border of Switzerland and France (in the background).

I was knackered at the end of the day, but a long shower and getting in bed at 9 helped. the next day we got in the car at 6 AM and hit the road to get back to London in time for dinner.

What I saw of Switzerland was beautiful. The mountains, the sky, the snow, the people, everything was fantastic. And I've discovered a love and a talent for a new sport, which is the best part. Champery, watch out, I'll be back!

the Cure

2008-03-20T20:43:00.005-04:00

So, everyone knows that my favourite band of all time is the Cure. I saw them live on the Wish Tour in 1995 in Montreal at the Molson Center (when it was still called that) and have been waiting for them to return to Montreal since then... they haven't. Last summer I heard that they were going on a world tour and they were actually going to come back to us in September. Being in South Korea at the time didn't make getting tickets easy, but I did (thanks S). And they were good seats too...

But then in August, they announced they were postponing our show until May. I held onto my tickets, but then I decided to move over here, and well, my dream of seeing the Cure again disappeared with the return of my tickets.

I knew they were playing London, but the gig was sold out. My friend had tickets, but they were all accounted for already (since they'd bought them months in advance). I had resigned myself to the fact that I wouldn't see them this time. Unless, of course, I wanted to be gouged by a scalper - which there was no way I could afford.

BUT, thanks to a great friend, I was alerted to an ethical ticket exchange site where there were a couple of tickets for sale at face value. I sorted out my ticket (I only needed one) and was set to meet this guy at a pub before the show. It kind of sucked to be going on my own, but it was the CURE! A few minutes later my friend called me back and told me that one of her tickets actually opened up! It was fate telling me I had made the right decision. I canceled on the guy and took hers, so I could at least appreciate it with someone.

In '95 the set was great, Wish was new, so they played a lot of songs from it, which up to that point was not their best album. But they played for three hours and still played many of my favourite old-school songs. Last night, they upped the ante and played the most incredible set-list a true Cure fan could ever want to hear! In it's glory (except for the new ones I don't know) here it is... don't drool, don't be too jealous, just enjoy it, put it together on a playlist on your computer and pretend you were there.

Plainsong
Prayers for rain
Strange day
New *
A night like this
New *
Lovesong
To wish impossible things
Pictures of you
Lullaby
From the edge of the deep green sea
Hot hot hot
New *
The walk
Push
Friday I’m in love
Inbetween days
Just like heaven
Primary
New *
Shake dog shake
Never enough
Wrong number
100 years
Disintegration

Encore 1
At night
M
Play for today
A forest

Encore 2
Lovecats
Let’s go to bed
New*
Close to me
Why can’t I be you

Encore 3
Three imaginary boys
Fire in cairo
Boys don’t cry
Jumping someone else’s train
Grinding halt
10:15 on a Saturday night
Killing an arab

I couldn't believe they started with Plainsong. I went through a faze in my life where I couldn't sleep at night without listening to this song... amazing to see it live... They played almost all the songs that I would have wanted to hear, including Three Imaginary Boys, M, Disintegration, Primary, Push... anyway, you can read the list but those are some of my favourite songs of all time... it was truly amazing.

The only thing that could have made it any better would be to have the kind of seats that I had in Montreal... We were in the nosebleeds last night, but that was fine by me, because at least I was there. And it's probably a good thing that I was... who knows if/when they'll ever tour again... and with a set-list like that I can only think they've done it to appease all the old fans because they'll never do it again.

It was exactly what I needed to Cure ;) my winter blues...

change

2008-03-16T07:14:00.004-04:00

is good, right?

I thought it was time for a little change on this little bit of the world wide web that I call home... I made a new header - you like? Thanks to elmobong for making me think about it and inspiring me to finally do it. It's more what I wanted the first time around, but I didn't have the picture at the time...

This is one that I took in Chambly, Quebec last fall on my bike trip there... read about it here... you can even see the image in its original form...

Anyway, I'll be working out the kinks over the next little while, but I just don't feel like dealing with all the little things right now... so this will have to do. I'm hoping for a complete overhaul, but blogger doesn't make it easy... if I completely change my template I'll lose all of my link and stuff in the sidebars... and who wants to re-type all of that?!? So, I'll see what I can sort out.

In the meantime, enjoy, at the least, the new masthead... I think it's pretty cool... what do you think?

The English language

2008-03-14T16:23:00.004-04:00

When I moved to Korea I knew that I would have a whole new language to contend with. So, in preparation, I learned Hangul (the alphabet, or written Korean) and a few handy phrases. I learned a lot more when I was there.

I am discovering that anywhere you go language will be different, even among countries that speak the same language. I already knew that British and Canadian English had differences, as does American, Australian and South African, but I have been surprised at the number of different and new words I have learned.

These are words that I would never (or very rarely) use in Canada that have become a regular part of my vocabulary. I've been compiling this list for a few weeks with the help of a friend at work... He loves it - it makes him feel like he's teaching me English!!!

1. queue - we all know this means 'to line up', I just never used it before.

2. trousers - as opposed to 'pants', which in England means 'underwear'.

3. post - as in 'the mail'

4. handbag - no, it's not a 'purse', that's where you keep your money, not in a 'wallet'.

5. yob - the closest translation is 'thug', but they're much worse than that, google it.

6. loo - or sometimes lavatory, but not the 'bathroom'.

7. lorry - a 'truck'. ;)

8. hoover - not a 'vacuum'.

9. lift - as opposed to 'elevator'

10. crisps - mmm... my favourite 'chips', but not the french fried kind...

11. chav - closest translation 'white trash', google it.

12. whinge - kind of like 'whining' but more serious.

I have a few more, but they're kind of obvious... packet, corner shop, tube, football, courgette, mobile... I will share more as they come. In the meantime, you can google some of them and see what comes up... 'chav' is kind of fun, where 'yob' is kind of scary...enjoy!

**
On an aside, I still haven't sorted out what I will do about the visa situation. I am working on getting all the documents together so that if I want to get the other one I have the option. I'm starting to think about doing other things though... more on it when/if I sort it all out. Think Asia though... I'm not through with it yet...

visas

2008-03-09T08:11:00.003-04:00

I've been having trouble of late. Nothing serious, maybe just a case of the winter blues, maybe a case of homesickness, and maybe it's some kind of mid (quarter) life crisis, though I thought I was done with those... I think it really comes down to me sorting out what I'm doing.

I have dreamed of living in England for as long as I can remember. I don't know why, I can't explain it, even to myself, so I won't try to explain it to you. But here I am, realizing a dream that has been simmering inside of me for half my life, and it just isn't satisfying that itch.

I came here, at this point in time, because the opportunity arose. I had some money, nothing going on back home and no idea what to do with myself... so I figured why the hell not? But now I'm starting to ask why?

I thought that I would have some great opportunities here to hone my craft and possibly (hopefully) get a job in journalism. To get some experience that I could take home (or wherever) with me when it was time. But I have discovered there is a huge wall between me and these dreams - my working holiday visa.

This is the easiest visa for a Common Wealth citizen to obtain. It only took me 36 hours to get it... and I got it because I was under the impression it was the only one I could get. Thing is, it's only good for two years and I'm only meant to be working for 12 months in those two years. Employers know this and they don't like it. Why employ someone who will have to leave the country in such a short time? Why take the chance on someone that we may have to do extra work and pay a lot of money to sponsor in the end?

They are right. If I were an employer I wouldn't want the hassle either. So, after being told by numerous companies that this was a problem for them, I started to dig, see if there wasn't something else I could do... maybe get a different visa. My grandmother, after all, was born in Scotland.

The only other visa that I knew of that I could potentially be eligible for is the ancestry visa. It gives you the right to live and work for 5 years with the option of applying for residency if you spend the (almost) whole time in the UK. Sounds like the perfect "in", doesn't it? I looked into it a few years ago and was told that I had to have my grandmothers original birth certificate in order to be accepted, so I never thought about it again. Since her birth certificate (which would be almost 100 years old) had long since been lost.

I found out this week that the document I have from the Office of the Registrar of Scotland is now accepted. What this means is that I can apply for an ancestry visa, which would make me the closest thing to being a resident, without actually being one.

Great, isn't it? There are, however, a few small problems with this that I'm not sure what to do about. The first being all the other documents I have to get to prove my lineage - marriage certificates for my parents and grandparents and my mother's birth certificate. Then there's the 200£ fee. And finally the problem of leaving the country for six weeks to go home and take care of it all. (I can't apply for it from here, I have to be in Canada.)

While all of this is do-able, if not an expensive and long process, do I really want to? After three months here, can I really say that I'll want to be here for the next year, or three, or ten? I don't know. I know that I'm not ready to go home and I'm not ready to leave either, but I just don't know more than that. I suppose that I should just go to the trouble so that I can give England the chance that it deserves... to give employers the chance to see what I can do...

It seems like a lot of hassle though... it will be like starting all over again when I come back. It will be expensive to live for however long it takes which could be as little as 3 days but as long as six weeks. And what if, after all of it, they say no? It's a big risk...

Right now I'm going to sit on it. Let it simmer in my head. Find out how hard it will be to get all the documents. See how expensive it will really be. But if anyone out there has any ideas, let me know, cause I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with it all.

I promise a more upbeat post next... I'm working on one all about the English language here... it should be pretty fun...

Leap Day

2008-02-29T14:58:00.002-05:00

I figured since this day only rolls around once every four years that I should probably post something to mark the occasion.

So, for those of you who don't know, this will be a little lesson in what leap days are all about. *on an aside, I taught some of my kiddies in SK about leap days though I think the only thing they came away with in the lesson was the word "leap".

As we all know one solar (calendar) year is 365 days long. This calendar is based on the fact that the Earth revolves around the sun. It actually takes the Earth 365. 2422 days to complete its revolution, but that would screw with time pretty badly since we have 24 hours in a day. Imagine a clock that had 12.2 hours on it? Basically, we have an extra six hours in the year that we need to deal with.

So, way back, Julius Casar (famous for the salads?) decided that any year divisible by four would be a "leap year", thus creating the leap day.

Now, it's all a little more complicated than this, (and believe me, my lesson to the kiddies really was much more exciting with pictures, and calculations and things) but this is really all I can be bothered to write on the subject... if you really want to know more click here.

I just wanted to mark the occasion in my own little way. I never think too much about the leap year, but it was stuck in my brain today. I have a friend who has a family day every leap day - it's okay to miss birthdays, holidays, and other events, but the whole crew has to be there on 'V' day as they refer to it (actually they use their last name, but I don't want to write it without permission). I think that's a really great idea... I hope you're having a fab 'V' day.

Another suggestion would that the day is always is a holiday... I mean, come on, once every four years? The government ought to look into it. Everyone is always complaining about how there's no holiday in February, so if the government really doesn't want to give in and make one, then they could just make leap day a holiday and be done with it.

Anyway... happy leap day everyone... at least we'll all get paid for an extra days' work this year...

Flat Stanley

2008-02-27T14:01:00.006-05:00

Flat Stanley is a children's story by Jeff Brown. It's about a boy who gets flattened by a bulletin board. Although it sucks to be flattened, he makes the most of it and mails himself really cool places.

My good friend Kat (of the adventures of liz and kat in korea fame) has started her own flat Stanley project with her students (she actually still lives in SK). I got an email from her a week ago asking for help. Attached in the email were two flat Stanley's and a letter from a group of Korean students. I was instructed to take my Stanleys out on the town and show them around London. So I did, despite being thought insane by half the population of the city!

This is the "letter" that I'll be sending back to the kids who sent me their Stanley's... I hope you enjoy it and that they eventually do too!

Dear students:

Thank you for sending me your Stanley's. I live in London, England, but my home is Canada. I was very excited to show your two Stanley's some things in London that are different than Korea. I used to be a teacher in Korea, just like Katrina. I hope you like the pictures and that this will make you learn more about England.

The first thing I wanted to show you was the difference between a Korean and an English post (mail) box.

Then we headed to the bus stop to catch a double-decker bus to the Tube (subway) station. Though I couldn't get a picture of them outside the bus without missing it sorry. We went straight to the second floor and the big window in front.

What a view! We got to the Tube station and waited for the train.

They were amazed that we didn't have to wait for more than a few minutes and we all got our own seats.

We were lucky that the Jubilee (subway) line took us right into the heart of the city. Where we got to see all kinds of sights. Starting with the London Eye:

And what would a visit to London be without seeing Big Ben?

My two little friends were lucky they weren't blown away into the Thames river while we looked at the Parliament buildings... I managed to catch them before they flew away!

Then on our way to St James Park (Buckingham Palace - where the Queen lives - is) we stopped to investigate a telephone booth:

We finally made it to Buckingham Palace right before the batteries in my camera died... so we were lucky to get one picture there:

All in all, it was a fun day of walking in the city. We saw lots of interesting people and places. I hope they had as good of a time as I did. And I hope that you enjoyed the pictures and this project.

If you want to know more about London, you can write to me again!

Sincerely,

Liz

**

For the rest of you out there, click the links if you want to know more about Flat Stanley, or the official Flat Stanley project.

**
And as an aside, my back is feeling much better, but I'm still taking it easy...

my worst nightmare

2008-02-23T07:41:00.002-05:00

Anyone who has known me for any length of time (or has been reading this blog from the beginning) will know that I have a herniated disc in my back. My L4 vertebrae to be precise.

It went undiagnosed for many years, with doctors saying I was having severe muscle spasms every time it flared up. About a year and a half ago, my (amazing) doctor at Concordia finally sent me for a CT scan which confirmed her suspicions of the herniation. I won't go into details, since there are already lots on this blog (check here to find out more on herniated discs and what they are), but, needless to say, it is a constant worry in the back of my mind. As any medical problem should/would be.

After the diagnosis, where I spent about 4 weeks in bed, and another 4 recuperating - going to physiotherapy twice a week and doing small exercises hourly. I decided that I never wanted to have to go through that agony again - It is like having a large, sharp knife dug deep into your spine with someone twisting it around and around.

I was crazy about doing the exercises given to me by my physiotherapist and decided that the best way to avoid having to go through that pain ever again would be to lose weight and get fit. I haven't had another inflammation since then. I knew I was jinxing myself last month when I thought to myself that it had been SO long since my back had gone out... on thursday, the pain started. By 4 PM, I couldn't sit in my chair at work anymore.

I came home, took some muscle relaxants that were left over from the last time (and which I have trekked around the world with me) and lay down. By friday morning, I wasn't feeling any better, so I went to the hospital.

In the UK, everyone has to have a GP, but since I'm new here, and haven't gotten around to getting one (I have a registration appointment in two weeks) I had to go to the A&E (accident and emergency).

I first tried the closest "walk in centre" but they told me there wouldn't be a doctor until the afternoon and I'd be better off going to an emergency room at the hospital. So, armed with my CT scan and x-ray results, i made the trek to the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead.

I had to wait about an hour before being called in to see the doctor (who, I think was younger than me). I gave him a run-down of my history and my symptoms and told him I should probably be seeing my GP but that since I don't have one, I had no choice but to come to A&E.

He prescribed me diazepam (that's what they use here for muscle spasms, in Canada I always got flexeril) and a codeine based pain killer. Then he told me to follow up with a GP, get to a physiotherapist ASAP and sent me on my way.

All in all, my first medical experience in the UK was all right. It was better than the time I went to hospital in Korea (see here) and faster than any visit I've ever had to ER in Canada. It only cost me 9£ for the prescription too, which is WAY less than Canada and certainly less than it cost me to get stitches in Korea.

A day later and about 18 hours of sleep and I'm actually feeling quite a bit better. This episode has brought home (again) that my worst nightmare (my back going out like it did in 2006) is an ever-present reality and that scares me.

the hunt

2008-02-19T15:06:00.003-05:00

I have been applying for jobs constantly since I arrived in London. It took me about a week to get an "on-going" temp job. Basically, you find a temp agency (which is easier said than done, despite what you hear) and they find you a job.

Often these jobs are on a short-term basis, a day, a week, a month, but the on-going is the best for several reasons. First, you are guaranteed a pay check every week (the most important). Second, you don't have to get used to a new boss every other day. And third, it gives you the opportunity to make ends meet while you look for something you really want to do. Which is what I have been doing for the past month and a half.

At first, it seemed to me that journalism jobs were abundant in the UK - but that was before I got here at the height of the holiday season. When I first arrived, the pickings were slim. As it turns out, tons of people get new jobs in january - time for a change, I suppose. (Apparently the rate of divorce is higher in january too.)

So, lucky me. Everyone is moving around and getting new jobs, which means plenty of openings for me, right? I hope so. There have been a lot more advertised positions in the last month than there were in december, which is a good sign for me. I've been applying to all of them. Assistant editors, trainee journalists, journalists, assistant this and assistant that.

I've had two serious interviews in the past week. The first was for a trade journal. Investment banking. I had to take time out of my already short weekend to write a 300-400 word article on the Societe Generale and the systematic failures that led to their losing billions of pounds (the currency, not the weight). It wasn't something I knew much about, but the article was okay, so I thought.

In fact, it was "the best of the bunch". But I still didn't get the job. The question that lost it for me was, "Are you passionate about investment banking?" Who is truly passionate about it, other than investment bankers? I believe in honesty, but lesson learned. Next time, I eat, dream and sweat investment banking!

The other was at a pretty large news agency that would have been my perfect foot in the door. It's a job I wanted MORE than any job I've ever applied for. It was working with videographers, editing, archiving and sending off video to people who want to buy it.

I rocked the interview. Rocked it harder than any interview I've ever had. I know, because they told me. I was wearing, what I refer to as my "power suit", and was feeling good until I got into the building and had to wait to be taken upstairs. I started to get really nervous (which I usually am not, especially in interviews), my breathing was erratic, my heart was pumping, I felt sick. But I managed to pull it together and put it all out of my mind. Obviously, I must have had something they wanted or I wouldn't have been there.

Anyway, the interview, as I said, was amazing. I was sure, certain, positive, that the job was mine. When the interviewer called me on Monday morning (after a weekend of butterflies in my tummy) he told me he was "really, really sorry, but I was unsuccessful".

He went on to say that I was fantastic in the interview and I had really impressed them, but they were going with someone who had more "practical experience". I think that means the other person knows Avid, (the software they use) and I don't. "But," he went on, "if it's all right with you, I'd like to keep your information on file and call you if we have any freelance work or if anything else comes up." (I know they always say that, but for numerous reasons I won't list, I actually believe him.)

When I started breathing again, I told him that would be great, thanks for the chance and I'm looking forward to hearing from him. I hung up the phone and almost started to cry. I'm over it now, everything happens for a reason, so there must be a reason I didn't get the job. I still see it as a toe in the door, even if it's not the whole foot. Next week I'm going to ring him and see if I can get some work experience so that next time I have all the skills they want.

I've got loads of other applications out there. And while I'm waiting, I can hone my interview skills and learn from these experiences. They both gave me valuable feed back and I'm not going to forget it. So, while the hunt continues, I work six days a week at my temp job and hunt for something better, which I know will come along when the time is right.

life

2008-02-13T15:33:00.003-05:00

It seems that lately I am constantly apologizing for this blog... So here it is again, sorry I haven't updated in so long again... I'm really not keeping my word on this one. I don't know what it is, but the only thing I can say is that life is busy in London (not that it isn't everywhere else).

When you're not at work (which is all the time), you're at the gym, if you're not at the gym, you're doing chores, and failing that, you're so tired from the above that all you want to do is go for drinks at the pub or veg in front of the TV.

I know it's no excuse, but I promise to make a concerted effort to write here more. I just haven't been feeling "it".

What is "it"? That desire to share all of the wonderful amazing things that I've been discovering about London, because honestly, I haven't really been discovering much. My life is exactly what I described above, work, gym, home. I go out, obviously, but it's not really anything to write home about.

I, sadly, missed the opportunity of writing here in my first two months, which is always the most exciting time in a new country, so I feel I've lost my groove. I just need a little time to find it.

I think I've written here before that 'life is life wherever you're living it' - I just need to re-iterate that. The fun stuff is sure to come, but I don't have the fab friends that I did in Korea and I don't have the interesting kids to write about, and, well, I'm just missing that "it" bit of my life right now.

I don't want to complain on here about work, like I often did in Korea, believe me, I could complain, but I won't subject you to that, dear reader. But, that being said, I am left with little else, since the majority of my time is spent in the office. Maybe I should start wingeing (ooh, Brit speak!) about it? Let me know what you think...

I have some good ideas for posts, but I just don't have the energy to do the research and take the time necessary... but it will come... I promise, that is, if you still believe me... and if life doesn't get in the way.

a serious update... or january in a nutshell... or it's a really long one...

2008-02-04T14:01:00.001-05:00

I can truly say that I brought in the new year with grace and style this year. I think I did anyway. The evening started out that way, kind of. Ok, maybe I'm wrong and it was actually a night of total and complete debauchery... it was so long ago now that the details are fuzzy, though that could also be blamed on the champagne.

Lisa and her most wonderful flat-mate hosted a party - and since I was still living with them at the time, I sort of did too, even though I didn't know very many people there. Lisa and I started cooking the day before - sausage rolls (from her dad's famous recipe), vol-au-vent, dips of all sorts (two Canadian imports - my world-renowned spinach dip and an onion dip). there were meatballs, and plates of veggies - and that's just what we made. There was also a cheese porcupine (you know when the cheese is stuck to toothpicks and they are stuck into a melon to make it look like a porcupine!) sandwiches, crackers, breads, and on and on, like I said, my memory is a little hazy...

The spread at the start of the evening... see the porcupine!?

The bathtub was filled with ice and cold water and the drinks were dumped in. Somewhere in the range of 30 bottles of champagne, as well as unknown amounts of wine, beer, and liquor. (I vaguely remember shots of jack daniels at around 5 am.)

The bathtub at the beginning... should have taken before and after shots...

All we needed were the guests, and like in that famous movie, if you build it they will come... the rest, as they say...

Someone brought these awesome noise making balloons and we all went nuts with them!

It was a truly brilliant night. Sorry there are no photos of me, that's what happens when you're the official photog and no-one knows how a real camera works! Oh well... I think there might be a few shots of me floating around somewhere, but I will likely never see them... and so, neither will you!

At midnight.

The last guests left the party at 7:30 am. If that isn't a night of debauchery then I don't know what is! It reminded of my late twenties when I'd go out clubbing on St. Laurent with the girls *wink wink. Not something I like to do often, but amazing when it happens.

The next day I 'moved' to a different flat a twenty minute walk from Lisa's to (of all things considering my allergies) cat sit. I spent a week there and moved into my own place when my duty was up.

This is when life in London really began for me. No more hanging with people I knew all the time... having my own space... finding my way to work from my new home... getting all the shopping done... and all the other stuff that comes with life.

My room is in a house with seven other people. A Kiwi couple in one room, a (I think) Polish guy, a Columbian exchange student, and three Algerian guys. There is no common room, just the kitchen and two bathrooms, but that's ok. My room is what is referred to as a "double" because it's big - almost, in fact, as big as my apartment in Korea was. (There will be pictures when I tidy up...) It came furnished, almost, but it has everything I need now.

My house. My room is the bottom window.

It's on the first floor and I have huge bay windows that look out on the street. This can sometimes be annoying as I can't leave my windows open, but I don't think I would in London even if I were on the fifth floor! (More on crime in London in another post.) I DO get lots of light though when I want/need it (or when the weather chooses to co-operate!)

In early/mid January, I had a couple of visits with D & A of Korea fame. They finally made their way here after seeing most of Asia, Australasia, Russia and much of Eastern/Northern Europe (I think anyway - check her blog for greater detail - coulda woulda shoulda (doesn't open in a new window, so wait til you finish here!!)) It was kind of surreal to see them here, but it was amazing to have the opportunity. hint hint... anyone coming to london... ?!?!?!

The rest of the month has been mostly work and more work. I work at a regulating body - I'm a spoke in the wheel of bureaucracy... how ironic. It's boring, but it pays for the extraordinarily high rent and cost of living... I just get by really. Sometimes I work overtime on Saturdays.

Sometimes I go into work with Lisa on Sundays - which is incredible. I don't want to name names, but many of you must know where she works, and for me, it is the most amazing place to be learning. If you want more on that you'll have to email me directly, as I need to be more discreet here than in Korea... people... speak... English!

To get to the Tate Modern... follow the orange posts...

I've walked around nice places like Green Park and St James Park (they're both next door to the Queen's house, otherwise known as Buckingham Palace). I went to the Tate Modern a couple of weeks ago, which was one of the nicest museums I've been to... oh the Miro's and Picasso's and Pollacks. I even bumped into an old J-school friend while I was there. Weird.

St James Park

Also St James Park... looks out of a fairy tale...

I will leave you with some pictures and put January out of my mind (and this blog) now... though, if I think of anything, I will let you know.

A black swan at St James Park.

One last thing for January, I hate Haggis for the first time on Robbie Burns Day. It was good, but I preferred the vegetarian version. We even read aloud the ode to haggis... good times.

The Haggi' fresh out of the pot. Veggie on the right.

The meat one being chopped up.

On my plate and ready to go.

we have internet!!!!

2008-02-02T12:10:00.000-05:00

of course, the day after i write about it, i get it!! WOOHOO!!! i don't have time at the moment to really write anything that i've promised, but i just wanted to let you all know it's here! i'll have my skype open whenever i'm home... call me, email me... love me over the net! i'm back!

apologies

2008-02-01T03:15:00.000-05:00

i am SO sorry. i've been putting off posting until i got the internet at home and could take my time to realy write somthign interesting. sadly, this will have to do for now as it seems impossible to get the internet in london - even though there are ads for it on every bus, tube, and billboard. i'm waiting for the package with, i suppose, the router and whatnot to arrive... the guy in my house who is doing all this keeps telling me "tomorrow"... so far tomorrow has never come...

bear with me in this time of non-activity... i have LOTS to write about jolly-old... so, coming up, all about my 'hood, the Tate Modern, Green Park, the Queen's house, working and living in london, all about the tube and much, much more. i know promises, promises, but really... believe in me...

my house... is a very very very small house...

2008-01-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

I live in a rooming house. I know how that sounds (or do I?). There are seven bedrooms in the house, a bathroom with a bath, a shower/toilet room, and a kitchen. I think there are eight people living here (but I have yet to meet them all and so really can’t be sure)and because of the uncertainty of sharing a house with so many there are some inevitable shocks.

Shock 1 – no paper in the toilet. I guess that everyone just brings it with them when they go. I’ve left a roll in the toilet for myself, and I hope that no one minds… but it doesn’t seem that any do.

Shock 2 – everyone has their own kitchen equipment. Obviously we all share the oven, stove top, fridge (one upstairs and two down), toaster, microwave, sink…etc… but they all have their own plates, utensils, pans, pots etc…

This was a huge shock to me today when I got home with a work friend (after shopping for other household goods – pillows, sheets…) with a load of food to cook some thai green curry and discovered that I was meant to have my own pots, pans, plates etc… Thankfully one of the guys that lives upstairs told me I could use his in the meantime, but it was just so foreign to me.

Is this my first foreign experience in England? Yes and no. In most flats people share things and live together, but because this “home” I’ve found is more like a rooming house, it seems like this could just be normal. I have yet to verify this with a ‘native’. Regardless, it was a shock to me. I really didn’t expect that I’d have to buy all those things that you have to get when moving into a new place.

There are a few things, as mentioned above, pillows, duvet, sheets that I expected the expenxe for, but I seriously believed that my flat would come “all-in”. I had a nice chat with my landlord this evening about it all. We’ve come to an amiable agreement – he will pay for it all, within reason. He’s really very nice for a landlord, and I really like my room. I feel comfortable here.

Of course, my room came with almost everything I need – bed, dresser wardrobe… I just need to get a few necessities and a couple of extravagancies, and it will truly be all mine. But I guess what I’ve learned is not to take anything for granted and not to assume (ass out of U and me) anything, which I really should have learned in Korea, but sometimes in life we need to make the same mistake more than once for it to really stick.

I’m okay with the situation. Maybe I’ve rationalized it in my head… but I’ve told my landlord that I’ll sign for six months and if I really don’t like it (even before) that we’ll figure something out. For now, I’m happy to have my own room and an underwear drawer, even if I have to go shopping for some pots and pans… at least I’m not paying for them.

**nb... it's been a few days since I wrote this post and haven't had time to post... sorry... but I have found out from my 'native' Londoner, that it really isn't normal that everything isn't included.

a home

2008-01-07T10:51:00.000-05:00

It’s official. I’m a Londoner! I have my very own room, in a flat, in Cricklewood. I don’t really know much about my neighbourhood yet, but as in Korea, you’ll learn about it as I do.

My room is nice. It’s big. That’s the important part, right? It’s actually about the same size as my apartment in Korea was… minus the kitchen and bathroom. I have a double bed (that will require some kind of mattress cushion, or something to make it more comfortable), two dressers, a wardrobe, a “comfy” chair, a coffee table, a side table, and a plastic patio chair (which might actually belong outside…). It also came with a free webcam and headset, and space heater, which I can only assume were left by the previous tenant. Did I mention the (non-working) fireplace?

The carpet and curtains a little ugly, but things can be done about that… Someone is coming in next week to super wash the carpet, and I can always hang other things over the curtains.

I’ve just unpacked my bags and slightly organized things – it could change. I’m still not sure I like the positioning of the furniture, so I’ll have to wait and see. I’ll need to get something to hang on the walls since they’re bare, and a room only ever really starts to feel like home once there’s something on the walls. I’m thinking of getting some of my photos done at the snappy snaps photo store that I work at on Saturdays.

What? Yeah. I work five hours a week at a little photo shop. There’s so much catching up to be done on here, I apologize for the lack of posting of late, it’s something I can only really do when I have my own space to sit and think, and now I do.

The flat doesn’t (as far as I know so far) have Internet, so I’ll be posting this from work tomorrow. So again, I apologize for the shortness of this and the lack of real information, there will be LOTS more very soon, with pictures and all, until then, be well, happy new year, and stay tuned for more of my adventures in London… there is just SO much to catch up on…

Christmas in the country

2007-12-30T12:05:00.000-05:00

I spent Christmas with my surrogate family this year, it's not the first I've had with them and it likely won't be the last. They live in a small village (population 300) called Feckenham in Worcestershire (yes, the place the sauce comes from!).

It's a really lovely little place with a great community of people that all know each other. On Christmas eve "the kids" spent the afternoon at the pub getting sauced. Then we went to the village square to sing carold around the tree and drink mulled wine. There was quite a turn out for that sort of thing, but Feckenham is just that kind of place.

Singing in the square!

Prezzies under the tree!

Christmas morning we all woke up to see what Santa brought us. He was generous and kind to everyone. There were SO many presents. The dog, Tess, got overexcited in all the wrapping paper covering the floor and was a little sick for all the excitement.

Tess and her antlers in the paper.

At lunch time we all headed over to the local pub "The Rose and Crown" for a free pint or glass of whatever you wanted. It's a tradition every year - the owner of the pub just wants to give everyone a little thank you for their patronage. We had a HUGE turkey dinner with all the trimmings and promptly all fell asleep on the couch watching telly. It was a great day!

On boxing day half the village came out for the 33rd Annual Boxing Day Walk, where everyone gets their boots on and treks through farmers' fields' and along paths through the countryside. It was really beautiful and good little trek that took about two and a half hours.

Start of the walk.

A real country shot.

More in the country.

I had a great Christmas, family bickering included. I hope you all did too!

On the news front, I am in the process of getting a room in a house... I'm very excited and should (if all goes well) be moving in next Saturday. More to come in the new year... in the meantime, party like it's 1999!!!

quick update

2007-12-22T04:53:00.000-05:00

Hi all. Sorry for not posting for a while, I've been super busy here in London... and while that's no excuse, I'm sticking to it!

I just want to wish you all a very merry Christmas since I won't have time for a real post until after that (and probably a while at that!).

I DO have lots of great wonderful things to write about, so stay tuned... Check back in about a week for something interesting! Coming up: the London Eye, my work Christmas "do", Christmas in Feckenham, Worcestershire, my new job, work experience at The Times, and looking for a flat.

So, see? Lots of news, but no time to write about it all....

Cambridge

2007-12-16T13:11:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine is studying for her PhD at Cambridge, so I headed up for the weekend. I took the train on Friday from King's Cross station in London and arrived around 5 pm. It was already dark out so there are no pictures from the first night, but there will be lots of pictures in this post, so bear with me...

The house.

We got to her house and made dinner - leek, tomato, cheese, and bacon quiche, with salad - then headed out to the pub. We started at the Pickerel, a pub near her house but moved on to her college pub and then to the Maypole before heading home for the party. The party was a small affair but it was okay. We went for a walk around midnight and then to bed at around one.

We (I) woke up late on Saturday, but we got moving as fast as we could so I could see some sights before it got dark (around 3:30/4). While Anna was getting ready I went for a quick stroll around her 'hood, which is right next to the Cam River. It's a beautiful area... but so is all of Cambridge.

On the Cam... people LIVE in these boats...

Beautiful trees on the Cam.

We started at a small round church on the main road (whose name I can't remember). It's really old and inside you can read a history of Cambridge (I'll have to do that another time... next time I go there I'll give you all a nice history!).

The round church.

Inside the round church.

We moved on to St John's College (Anna's college), which is one of something around 38 colleges at Cambridge. St John's is apparently one of the better colleges to be in. It was founded in 1511 by Lady Margaret Beaufort, who was the mother of King Henry VII. It is the second largest college in the University and has had about 12,000 students in all of it's history.

The entrance to St John's college.

Me inside... don't walk on the grass!!!

Harry Potter-like walkway...

Inside the St John's Chapel.

We walked through the Arts and Crafts Market on our way to the regular market and stopped for a Cornish Pasty - my first ever - for lunch. Then we headed to King's College Chapel, which is incredible.

King's College was founded by King Henry VI in 1441 on the premise that only 70 students would be enrolled and they would come from a poor background (he also founded Eton on the same principle... my how times change...). The Chapel is the only part of the original planned college that was ever completed and took over 100 years to build.

King's College Chapel.

Inside the chapel - the stained glass is gorgeous all over Cambridge.

more inside... in the middle is the pipe organ.

the ceiling. wow.

The end of the chapel... more stained glass.

After King's College, we decided to stop in at the Eagle Pub, which is really old and rather special, but we'll have to get to that another time as this post is already WAY too long... so stay tuned for more on Cambridge and to learn all about my new job, starting tomorrow! Cheerio!

stuff

2007-12-13T15:09:00.000-05:00

It's been more than a few days, I'm sorry. I haven't felt like posting much and oddly, I still don't, but I am anyway.

I've been searching for a job all week. On the internet. With agencies. On the street. It looks like things may be looking up now, though I was pretty discouraged earlier in the week.

On Monday I met with my first agency. I had to take a bunch of tests. Word. Excel. Typing. I scored intermediate on all of them. What did I learn from that? I thought I was better at all of them than I actually am. The agency told me it was okay and that I'm employable, but that didn't mean they had anything for me.

I think I've applied to about 25 or 30 jobs online as well. Some of them I've heard from and some not. I got really discouraged when one guy told me to never mind when I told him that I was on a working holiday maker visa. That means that I can only work for 12 months, so who is he that he thinks he's so important that I'll still want to be working there a year from now?!

Anyway, I hit the streets in the area yesterday applying at all the pubs, restaurants, and cafe's that I could find. I also applied at a small photography store that was looking for someone. My job at York International wasn't on my CV since it was quite some time ago, but I worked in a retail photo store for about three and a half years. I was also sent on a Fuji Film Canada lab technician training. Oh, and did I mention that I studied photography for a number of years and worked as a photographer for a summer? They called me today. I'm going in tomorrow to see what it's all about and so they can meet with me and see if they like me.

I also got another call from a temp agency today and met with them this afternoon. They said that I have highly transferable skills and am highly employable - much nicer than the first agency. They might have something for me starting as early as next week, which would be nice.

After meeting with them I went to Paddington Station (wish I'd had my camera!!!) to get my tickets to Cambridge to visit Anna for the weekend. I'm really excited about it since I haven't seen her in a couple of years and I've known her for more than half my life! She's studying for her PhD there. Very cool. So, after the weekend I should have some nice updates about partying in the Uni town of Cambridge for you! See you then!

In the meantime here are two pictures of fuzz that grows all over the place here... everything is covered in green moss...

The British Museum

2007-12-09T11:55:00.000-05:00

I woke up late this morning. I just didn't want to get up. I felt congested and flu-ish. Not a great way to start my life in London. After lazing about for an hour or so I finally got dressed and figured out how to make my way to the British Museum.

It's really quite easy to use the public transit system once you know how it works. I used the website to plan my journey and then wrote it down even though it wasn't complicated. It took me about an hour to get to the museum.

The main entrance - Montagu House on Great Russell road

Founded in 1753 it has always been and remains free to the public. That was the point in the first place. Sir Hans Sloane, physician, naturalist, and collector, left his 71,000 objects to King George II in his will, on the condition that the King pay 20,000 pounds to Sloanes' heirs. The King wasn't terribly interested, but parliament was, and so, the British Museum was created.

One side of the Great Court - the middle building is the Kings' Reading Room

It's all rather interesting, but if you wanted to read about every object it would probably take a hundred years. It is HUGE. The many galleries display the history of humankind for the past two million years. The exhibits include: North America, Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East. They also have exhibits that you have to pay for that change from time to time, right now it's the Terracotta Army from China... which I will have to get to before it marches off in April.

Pieces of the Lewis Chessmen - from the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. They are made of Walrus Ivory.

It seemed to me that a lot of the artifacts should actually be in their countries of origin. I know there has been a lot of debate over this fact in the last couple of years but I'm not too familiar with the whole thing. Many of the objects are ancient relics that I'm sure would be much appreciated by their respective cultures.

Basalt Statue known as Hoa Hakananai'a from Easter Island.

All around though it was a good day. I still haven't seen the whole museum, so I will be heading back at some point to see the rest... it is that big... anyway, coming up, the hunt for a job and whatever else comes up.

fun in london

2007-12-07T11:44:00.001-05:00

On Wednesday (the day I arrived) Lisa had over a couple of her closest friends - A and K - and we had a vegetarian green thai curry and way too much wine. It was a lovely evening and I was able to meet a couple of really great women. A is an aussie but has been here for years and K is from Kent, I think. Anyway it was really a great night, though my stomach didn't appreciate it the next day!

Yesterday Lisa and I went shopping. We hit Oxford street and went to some of the big department stores -the names all escape me at the moment- and then went to Tottenham Court road to continue the search for one of her Christmas gifts. We ended up finally buying most things online as it's cheaper, and as it turned out, easier.

In the evening we were invited to the Of Montreal concert (or gig as they say here) - which was hilarious for me, since I'm from there and only just left there. The band, however, is not from Montreal... They're American from the States somewhere. They were pretty good and I'm sure there are people I know who are big fans of this band and might be a little jealous that I just happened onto their concert... sorry!

Before the show Lisa and I headed to the local for a pint. My first real pint here, actually. It was nice to sit and chat, we hadn't really had time for it before. I kept thinking to myself how "normal" (whatever that means...) it feels for me to be here. That could change, I know, but for now, there isn't any real culture shock, no homesickness, no wondering what the hell I'm doing... it's all very different from Korea in that sense.

Today I started to seriously look for and apply to jobs. Now I'm waiting to hear anything. I'm going to continue over the weekend to look for something. On Monday I have an appointment at one of the recruiting agencies that I've signed up with. They'll want my banking information - but I don't have any yet. I was going to go get an account today, but the lines were all so long at ALL of the banks that I would have been in line until next week anyway! So, I'll go on Monday afternoon. I still haven't decided on a bank, but Lloyd's is looking like the best right now... we'll see how difficult it proves to get an account here.

So, stay tuned for more on London and the adventures of getting a bank account! Not sure what's on for the weekend yet, but I'm sure it'll be fun no matter what it is, just because I'm in London!!! Also, more pictures to come soon.

in London at last!

2007-12-05T16:56:00.000-05:00

My flight arrived about an hour late this morning. We were stuck flying around the airport for ages before we could land. Then we had to wait for our gate... nothing more annoying when you're on a flight than to sit for forty minutes staring at the airport out the window!! Oh well. I got in a cab (yes the fancy black ones, though mine was blue) and a half hour into the journey I realized that I should have tried to navigate the train with my luggage... another "oh well."

I wasn't too keen on taking a cab into the city, but there was a time constraint with Lisa having to get to work and we just thought it would be faster and easier. It wasn't. That's all I have to say about that.

Lisa's house

I arrived after Lisa left for work, but her flatmate Kate was here to greet me with a coffee. I wandered around the house in a daze for a while then decided to take a nap. I couldn't sleep, so I managed to log on to the wireless internet (!) here and check my mail and facecrack. Then I did take a nap - for about two and a half hours, which will hopefully get me through until it's bedtime.

Warning!

After I woke I went for a walk in the area. It's a very pretty neighbourhood just west of the city center... I believe it's called Kilburn, anyway, the nearest Tube station is Queen's Park, which is on the Bakerloo Line.

Around the neighbourhood... old trees have all been chopped like this

A neat entryway...

No drinking!!!

My walk took me to Queen's Park, which was part of the 1879 Royal Kilburn Agricultural Show, attended by none other than Queen Victoria. After the show the 30 acre site was given up for "free use and enjoyment by the public", and so, in 1886, the City of London acquired the land. The park was originally named Kilburn Recreation Ground, until the Queen gave her permission to rename it in honour of her Golden Jubilee. Queen's Park was officially opened on November 5th 1887 - exactly 120 years and one month ago.

In the park

So here I sit in Lisa's lovely living room. I'm going to take a shower and get ready for a couple of Lisa's friends who are coming round for dinner - Thai green curry!!! mmmmm... So, until we meet again, which should be soon... coming up: looking for a job and a flat.

it's only life after all

2007-12-04T13:24:00.000-05:00

I'm leaving for the airport in about two and a half hours. So this will be my last post from Canada for a while. People keep asking me how long I'm going to the UK for, what I'll be doing there, and why I'm going. So as a last post, I thought I'd clear up the confusion.

When I was a teenager I dreamed of going to the UK. I couldn't have told you then, exactly why, and I still can't today, it's just something that I've always felt I needed to do. I hope to find whatever it is that deep down I'm looking for, maybe I won't, but at least I'll be able to say that I tried.

I think that one of the most important things in life is to live it - and I know from experience that it is often a lot easier said than done. If you would have told me five years ago that I'd have graduated from university, lived in Korea for a year, and was about to get on a plane (again) to head into the unknown, I probably would have laughed in your face. Yet, here I am.

Something inside of me changed. I don't want to just get through life like I used to (and so many do). I don't want to live a regular nine to five existence. I don't want to lose any opportunity that comes my way. These are a few of the things that I don't want, if only i could figure out what I DO want, then I'd be home free. Regardless, this is a start.

I want to explore the beautiful city that is London. I want to visit the English and Scottish countrysides. I want to go to Paris, Amsterdam, Spain, Portugal, Prague, and Morocco, but those are only a few of the places on "my list". It's time to "do" Europe, so I'm doing it. I'm not going to be unrealistic, I will be living in one of the most expensive cities in the world, making probably not that much money, but I'll get done what I can.

I don't know how long I'll be gone. I'm only allowed to work for twelve months in a two year period, but who knows what will happen in those twelve months. I'll be looking for a job in the media somewhere - either as a journalist, editor, copywriter/editor, photographer... you name it, I can do it!!! It's time to put that degree to use and what better place to start than in London? I'll never be bored that's for sure.

So, to those of you who think I'm crazy - if you're in Montreal look out the window and tell me that five feet of snow is better than a little rain, and to the rest of you, what are you so worried about? It's only life after all... and life is for living, n'est pas?

winter wonderland...

2007-11-23T09:48:00.000-05:00

Uh, ya. Wonderland. Mother Nature is playing catch up. I wasn't here last year, but I know/heard there was no snow, and winter didn't really start until January. That was just because mother nature knew that winter would start early this year and she was giving everyone a break.

In the backyard. This is the same shot (almost) as the leaves one in a previous post.

I hate writing about the weather, since it's the kind of thing that you talk about when there's nothing else on the menu... but seriously. This week we've seen every kind of nasty winter weather possible. Sleet. Snow. Rain. Freezing rain. High winds. You name it.

I didn't measure, but it looks like about two inches on the railing...

It's not fun. I know that I wrote a little about it earlier in the week. I know that I said I thought it was kind of fun, and that I didn't mind it so much, but I also asked that there was no more until I left. I guess mother nature doesn't read this blog.

Out back.

Anyway, I must admit it is rather pretty when everything is blanketed in white. But now the white has turned to black slush. Every street corner has a puddle that even and Olympic long jumper couldn't cross without getting wet, and I don't have any boots.

The snow and ice is so heavy the trees are drooping to the ground.

This just makes me even more excited to get out of here. I know it rains like crazy in London. I know that they have winter too, but I also know it's nothing like here. I'm looking forward to minimal snow again this year. I've had my fill for a while in just the past couple of days... so please, can someone forward to mother nature and let her know that she can hold off for a couple of weeks to bring on more winter.

SNOW!

2007-11-20T18:41:00.000-05:00

I had forgotten about snow. Well, not really, but in the way that you forget what sand between your toes feels like, or the taste of salt water on your lips after you get out of the ocean. I was rather rudely reminded of snow this morning and also completely unprepared for it.

I first noticed it when I looked out the back door. I was bending over to pick up my shoes to bring them to the front of the house, and there is was, covering the balcony in all of its glowing brilliance. I didn't notice that it was still snowing until I opened the front door to walk to the bus stop.

It was kind of magical at first. I haven't seen snow in a while now... well, let's say a year and a half, but I grew up here in Canada and last year was my first snow-less winter. While I did miss it when I didn't have it, I don't miss it anymore. It's one more reason for me to leave Canada. I joke a lot with friends by saying "I think I'm going to spend the rest of my life avoiding winter". While I do despise the white stuff, it was kind of pretty this morning, despite it's freezing wetness blowing in my face while waiting for the bus.

I purposely took a moment to try and enjoy it. It didn't work. There was snow in my coffee, snow in my hood, snow in the cuffs of my pants, snow in my shoes, and snow in my purse. It was blowing hard. And wet. And cold. Did I mention wet?

As I was waiting for the train (I take a bus to the train station) I noticed that it was the perfect texture for a snowball fight. I wonder what all of the other commuters would have thought if I'd actually picked some up and thrown it... I think snow is only fun when you're a kid and you can have snowball fights, or build snowmen. When you grow up the magic disappears and it just becomes a hassle. It creates more traffic, making it harder to get to work in the morning. It creates slippery sidewalks, which makes it hard for some people to be able to leave their houses. It's just a nuisance really. So I'll thank whoever that I got to have a little bit of 'Canadian Winter' today, but please, hold off the rest until I'm out of here...

Fall in Montreal

2007-11-13T19:40:00.000-05:00

So here I am, stuck for another three weeks (no! I'm not counting!)... I've been staying with a friend at her mother's house in Otterburn Park (see previous posts on that), the thing is, this is a HOUSE, which means lots of cleaning and tons of yard work.

I've been enjoying it mostly, but that 's probably because I don't feel entirely obliged to do it. I'm sure I'd be way less gung-ho if it was my OWN yard. Anyway, last weekend the three of us headed outside (thankfully the weather was nice) to rake the leaves.

a BIG pile of leaves

with the bag to give it a little perspective...

I'd already done 17 bags at hallowe'en and this past weekend the three of us managed to bag another 35!!! And we still have half the yard to do! We're hoping for good weather this weekend to get it all done. Anyway, I took a few pictures. Now I'm wishing I'd thought of shooting the 35 bags lined up on the road for collection, but oh well... Maybe we'll have just as many this weekend and I can show you that.

some pretty leaves (still on the tree)

some more pretty leaves... maybe these will be in the bag this weekend!

There's something about being out in the country that makes me want to take lots of pictures. I wish I had a macro lens though to get really close up. I can dream...

In other news... in exactly three weeks my flight to London will be in the air, or just taking off... I'm really excited but also kind of scared, but in the same way I was before going to Korea... so it's ok. If I don't like it I can always come home OR go back to Korea, right? Right.

More to come, as soon as I have anything... maybe I'll tell you all about the glamourous life of a telephone market researcher... on second thought, maybe not...

A little peice of Korea

2007-11-11T19:10:00.000-05:00

This weekend brought me my first "Canadian-Korean" experience. When I moved to Korea last year I had never even tried Korean food here. This weekend, I did.

I met up with a friend who had lived in Korea for three years, but that I hadn't seen in about ten. We both brought along a bunch of friends and headed to a Korean restaurant in the west end of Montreal.

The restaurant wouldn't seat us because we were too many. hmph. I told my friends "welcome to Korea!" We found an alternative nearby, a restaurant called Hwang. It was pretty good.

Since a lot of the people eating had never had Korean before, my friend and I decided what to order and we all just shared everything. We ordered so much we might as well have said "one of everything, please!"

We had galbi, bulgogi, deok galbi, dwen jang jigae, pa-jeon, jap-chae, kimchi (a bunch of kinds), pork bone soup, and, of course, rice. I ordered a bottle of soju which came in a little tea pot and they served us warm tea with our food. It was all pretty good except for the jigae which was lacking in flavour a little.

The deok galbi made me really happy, since it's my favourite and I hadn't had it in so long, though the little restaurant near kat's house in Ulsan does it a thousand times better... I'll have to wait til I'm back in Korea to get some really authentic food... oh well.

Then it was on to the noraebang! YES! There is noraebang in Montreal! It's WAY too expensive, but I think if it caught on the price might go down... but at 30$ an hour, we opted for only the one... which is not enough time. It was fund anyway though. I felt like I was in Korea again and it felt good to be there. I think my love affair with the land of the morning calm is not yet over... for now, though, I'll have to make do with what little I can get around here. I wonder if they have noraebang in London... and if anyone would come with me.

i'm so....

2007-11-01T19:32:00.000-04:00

EXCITED!!!

It just hit me that I'm leaving for England in 33 days. Maybe it's the half bottle of wine I had with dinner (actually there's no maybe in it) but I'm all of a sudden looking forward to, and getting excited about leaving.

I've also booked a rental car for a few days at the end of November so that I can easily get done any last minute shopping and so that I can drive to Ottawa to see my dad and a couple of friends... this is quickly becoming more real to me... more soon.

Happy Hallowe'en

2007-10-31T14:24:00.000-04:00

It's fright night!!! oooh.... scary.

This year I'm having the most different hallowe'en experience that I can remember. Instead of dressing up and going out (or trick-or-treating as I did many moons ago) I'm staying in. I'm the designated candy passer-outer this year.

I volunteered for the job actually. I did this a few years ago with a friend in the city and it was fun to see all the kiddies dressed up and begging for a sugar high. So, to make sure that the little 'uns come to the house, I organized myself and decorated outside. It's not the graveyard-haunted house-scary amazing kind of look that I would want, but I think it's a good job, given my short notice... and limited funds.

the front of the house

As you can see there are big orange bags - I filled them all with leaves yesterday... what a workout!!! - and there are faces drawn on all of them. I did most of them but Bilal did a couple and so did Alexia. Here's a close-up:

My homage to Kiss! (not really...just came out that way!)

The other day I made a bunch of ghosts with Bilal - they're hanging on the front porch. I also got some of that fake spider web stuff and put it up, rather haphazardly I must admit...

the ghosts and spider webs...

I also carved the jack-o-lantern... it was fun, but not as fun as I remember it being when I was a kid. The best part, I think, is toasting and eating the seeds after.

"before"

his guts... poor guy...

"after"

The seeds turned out okay, but there weren't very many for suck a large pumpkin... This could very well be my last Hallowe'en in Canada... maybe... so I think it's good that I'm staying home this year... who knows when I'll ever have the little munchkins come 'round to my house again? I'll take pictures of them (with parental permission) and post them if I can...

Happy Hallowe'en Everyone!!

Back and Forth

2007-10-29T16:13:00.000-04:00

This seems to be a theme in my life right now. I'm back in Otterburn - the cats at my (wonderful) friends' house were just too much for my immune system - and I'll be here until I leave in 36 days.

Which brings me to the other "back and forth" part of my life - moving to London. I keep thinking how things would be so much easier if I just stayed here and then I think that I would regret not going (possibly for the rest of my life)... What's a girl to do? No one can make the decision for me, but sometimes I wish there were someone to just tell me what to do. Not that I'd likely listen to them if there was!

So here is a pros and cons list to staying and leaving.

Pros to staying:

I could set myself up in a nice apartment for WAY less.
I would be close to my friends and family.

Cons to staying:

I would always wonder "what if..."
Finding a job in my field is more difficult here.
I could get "comfortable" and forget about my dreams of seeing the world.

Pros to leaving:

I'd get to live in one of the biggest most exciting cities in the world.
I would never wonder "what if..."
I can always just come back and settle if I want.
My visa and flight cost me about $1000.
I'd be fulfilling a life-long dream.

Cons to leaving:

My money will be gone the instant I land.
I will be in a foreign country (again) with no (real) support network.

I guess that I should go... I know that I will, it's just that when you have to wait so long to something so "crazy" you tend to start to wonder why you thought of doing it in the first place. I felt the same way for a few weeks (and especially days) before leaving for Korea, so I know this is part of the process... I just can't help thinking about it.

In other news...
My "cold" developed into something more fierce, but being away from the cats for a couple of days is helping. I hope to be 100% better in a few days.

My new "job" had no hours for me this week. Ya, that's right. I had to log in to a website today to choose my hours for next week and am now waiting on approval. I hope that I get something next week... if not I'm not sure what I'll do for money... though I am awaiting my tax returns...

new digs... again.

2007-10-23T19:43:00.000-04:00

I've moved into the city. There are a number of reasons for this, but I won't list them. There is something sad about leaving Otterburn, but it's also a good thing for me. I'm stuck here until the 4th of December, so I might as well make some money in that time, right?

Today I got a job at a market research firm where I will be calling people and asking them questions. Fun. I had some friends way back who did this while they were going to school. I'm just doing it to be able to survive for the next six weeks without spending any of the money currently in my bank account. Hopefully I can stand it enough... if not, maybe I'll head back to the country...

I found a great deal at redtag.ca for my flight to London. $480 one way on British Airways... the same flight is listed at just over $1000 on their site, so I'm looking at it like a 50% off sale! Plus BA lets you bring more luggage than the (only) cheaper flight that I found. Anyway, I've got two days until I start my new job, hopefully the cold that has been lingering in my sinuses for the last five days will be gone by then.

BTW, I was thinking of trying to go to the Gazette or CJAD and ask them if I could be their "bitch" for a day or two a week... just not sure how I should go about it... any ideas are welcome.

a girl and a bike

2007-10-17T17:28:00.000-04:00

The other day, feeling like I haven't been exercising enough of late, decided to go for a bike ride/photo expedition out in the country. I opened google earth to map out where I wanted to go, packed some snacks, and took off into the glorious sunshine.

My route

My goal was to get to Chambly. It's a couple of town over and up the river from here. I approximated the ride to be about 30 KM's. I had all afternoon, so I didn't really care how long it took me.

Mont St. Bruno

A barn

It was incredible to be out in the middle of nowhere with no other people in sight (especially since I must have looked a little goofy all decked up in my winter jacket with a camera hanging around my neck!). The sun was shining; there were big puffy white clouds in the sky; the trees were all changing into their autumn glory; the air was crisp, but not cold, it was a perfect day really.

Trees in their fall colours

Down by the river

I stopped a few times to take pictures. I biked through a field to get to a copse of trees. I stopped along a deserted highway to photograph the freshly plowed fields. I stopped by the river and got stuck in the mud. I climbed down to the rivers edge to photograph the water gurgling over the rocks. Then I came home. I stopped stopping and just took pictures while riding the bike. (Those ones didn't turn out very well...)

More trees by the river

Near the rapids... I think I went swimming here once...

Part of the hydro-electric dam

It was a lovely day and hopefully it will be again soon so that I can do the same thing in the opposite direction!

it's about time

2007-10-06T10:39:00.000-04:00

I haven't been posting. I'm sorry. I guess I needed a break, or maybe I just thought there was nothing terribly interesting to write about. Here's what I've been up to for the last month...

I landed in Montreal, sans luggage, on September 2nd. My luggage spent the night in Chicago and joined me at Trisha's apartment on the third. I spent the next week at her place in a daze of delicious and naughty food, and sleepless nights. I was waking at 3 or 4 AM every morning no matter what time I went to bed.

It's further than it looks!

A week after getting back I "moved" out to Otterburn Park, my childhood town, to stay with Alexia and Bilal at Alexia's mom's house. It's been nice playing "auntie Liz" to Bilal the cutest six-year-old I know.

"Monkey B"

We walk to school in the morning and home in the afternoon. We play and watch movies. We argue and we hug and make up. I missed him a lot while I was in Korea and actually wrote to him more than anyone else! I don't want him to forget me...

Alexia and I in our Korean "peace sign" picture.

Alexia and I have been puttering around, going to the mall, walking in the forest behind her house, doing garden work, and lazing about. This has truly been like a vacation for me. Now, it's about to all change. I've been accepted for my working holiday maker visa for the UK and I will hopefully be out of Montreal on the 23rd of October. I neeed to verify something with the Embassy and then I'll know for sure. I'm excited and scared. It's not the same feelings I had when I left for Korea, since I at least have a friend across the pond, but it's still scary to think that I'll be away for at least another year and maybe more. At least it isn't the first time!!!

Here are some pictures that I've taken recently. I've been loving the nature photography of late since I'm surrounded by it.

The field behind the house.

In the forest.

Leaf

pretty...

Shrooms, anyone?

I suppose that's it for now. I'm on my way into town today... feels like a big deal, but I go at least once a week, but today is for socializing and not business... woohoo... So until I have more news, I hope this post is enough... I'll let you all know as soon as I have more info...

a month is too long...

2007-10-02T10:27:00.000-04:00

So sorry it's been so long since my last post... I guess I just haven't felt like there has been anything interesting to put here. I've been back in the Montreal region for a month now and I will hopefully be getting out of here in the next month! Destination: England.

I'm working on getting my visa right now and then I just have to wait. They've told me the turn around is about 10 days... not sure if that's working days or not, but it probably is.

So that's the plan.

Other than that, I've been playing house with Alexia out in Otterburn Park, about an hour outside of Montreal. It's nice sometimes, but I miss the city and all the conveniences that come with it. I feel very isolated out here.

Being home is strange. It isn't really "home" anymore. It just a place that I know really well, and I'm ready to experience new things, not the same old, same old. Keep your fingers crossed for me and I promise lots of exciting tales from the UK and Europe...

I promise to write again soon... I still have to finish the Tales of Thailand... I have one more post on that and I haven't yet written about my travels from Korea to Canada... but maybe that's a story better left untold, we'll see.

Coming up...

2007-09-08T15:57:00.000-04:00

Well, it's been about a week since I posted, but only because I didn't have any internet access until today. I have SO much to write about, but very little time at the moment. So, I hope this little note will suffice for now. I still have to finish writing about Thailand - the last leg of our trip in Bangkok and I also have to write about my amazing and wonderful birthday in Korea and then I have to write about my 28 hour trip home to Canada...

So, stay tuned, I think I will have more time in the next week to write often as I will be staying with a friend about an hour outside of Montreal (where there is nothing else to do but blog!!!)

If anyone out there knows of a room I can rent (possibly short-term) please let me know!

the last

2007-09-01T08:06:00.000-04:00

I did it. 375 days ago I landed at Seoul Incheon International Airport and tomorrow I will be leaving from it. I have mixed feelings. I know I wrote a pretty nasty post a couple of days ago about my experience here, but I was angry. That anger has subsided since my severance pay has been transferred to my Canadian bank account, and the pension office has my payment in the works.

It’s not all about the money though. In the last few days I’ve realized a lot of things about a lot of the people that I’ve known here – most of them Korean. The principal and vice-principal, along with the head teachers, took me out for a really nice lunch on my last day. At the end of the school day I had to say a few words to the teachers in the office and then they presented me with two wonderful gifts – a pair of traditional Korean dancing shoes and a hand-made Korean fan. They are both beautiful and expensive, in fact, some of the teachers were shocked by how expensive they were and commented that they could never afford such nice things… neither could I, and so they are greatly appreciated.

Apart from that, people have just been telling me that they are sad I am leaving and that they will miss me. One of my teachers thanked me for helping her to learn how to be more creative and use her imagination. Some of my students told me that I have inspired them to work hard to learn English so they can travel abroad. Some have told me they want to be English teachers because of me.

It’s hard while you’re here to realize if you’re making any difference at all. You don’t often see any real (or serious) improvement in the kids’ English. No one gives you any kind of feedback on how you are doing. Most of the time you are in the dark about everything – even regular test scores. But in the last week I’ve had student come and actually speak to me in English without any help. It feels good to be leaving knowing that I’ve made a difference, however small or big in at least a couple of kids’ lives. It’s one of the reasons I came in the first place – to try to help them learn about the world, about English, and about themselves. I guess it worked.

As much as I’ve had more than my share of difficulties in Korea, I will miss a lot of things; kids bowing to me (in school, on the street, bus, store…), being called “teacher” (it’s so cute when they do it – “but teacher! That’s not right!”), air conditioning on city buses, cheap taxis, living in my own apartment, not paying rent, cheap delicious food, walking to work, the mountains out my window, shiny sparkly things everywhere, and of course it should go without saying, all of the great friends that I’ve made.

I could write a list of things that I won’t miss, but that would be redundant as they’ve all been written on this blog over the past year, and I’d like to end the Korea posts on a positive note… how unlike me! In about 30 hours I will be home in Montreal trying to sort out the rest of my life, but for now I won’t worry about any of that. I think I’ll dwell for a while longer on all the good things that Korea has done for me.

Stay tuned for the rest of Thailand... I'll get to them as soon as I can.

Thailand - The Land of Smiles

2007-08-30T03:22:00.000-04:00

Ko Tao

After five glorious days in Ko Samui, we left our little home and headed for the ferry to Ko Tao. It is the smallest of the three islands in the Gulf of Thailand.

uh, ko tao... on the map...

It is a mere 21 KM squared (sorry can't find the little sign...) and is about 70 KM off the mainland, but could be in the middle of the ocean for how "undeveloped" it is. Koh Tao means Turtle Island, so named for all the turtles that used to breed there. It became famous in 1899 when King Rama V visited and engraved his monogram on a rock at Jor Por Ror Bay near Sairee beach.

King Rama V rock.

From 1944 to 1947 the island was used as a political prison. The prisoners were all pardoned and the island was abandoned. A few years later a couple of brothers settled their families on the island and became the first real residents.

Ko Tao has only become a tourist destination in the last 10-15 years, which makes it much less developed than its neighbours, Ko Phangan and Ko Samui. Most people go to Tao for its dive resorts, but there is plenty for the non-diver as well.

High-speed catamaran

We arrived mid-day. We took the high-speed catamaran ferry directly from Samui. The trip took about and hour and a half, and we were lucky enough to make some friends on the ride over. Soren and Simon were on a dive holiday from Denmark and we spent the next three days hanging out with them.

Our new friends Soren (L) and Simon.

Arriving in Ko Tao.

After arriving we headed to Sairee Beach up the coast from the main harbour Mae Haad. Sairee Beach is about 1.7 KM long and has the best night-life on the island. There are tons of restorts to stay at, restaurants to eat at, and bars to drink at. We stayed at the Lotus Resort whichs was a step up in quality and price from Amity on Samui. We paid 600 baht a night for our fan/cold shower bungalow which was a short walk from the beach. It was twice the price, but also twice the size and better located.

Sairee Beach

Our days on tao were spent mostly lazing on the beach. We did visit the beach at Mae Haad, but were rather disappointed by it. The water is very shallow on both of the beaches, which made for poor swimming. We really only sat in the water to cool off, thought the water was so warm that it was almost like taking a bath.

The beach as night fell.

We did take a day trip to Nangyuan Island, which is a kilometer off the north end of the island. We took a boat taxi there for about 100 baht each (including pick up at the end of the day). That was the best part of the Tao experience.

On the taxi-boat... it was very wavy.

One of the sandbars on Nangyuan.

Another sandbar (and me)

We rented snorkel masks and I bought an underwater camera. It is actually a resort that is privately owned and you have to pay 100 baht to get on the island, which is actually three small island joined together by sandbars. It was beautiful. The snorkeling was amazing, the sun was shining and it was probably our best day at the beach.

Hello!

It's "super underwater Ranya"!

These fish positively glowed!!! They were NEON.

The cool purple anomaly under the sea.

Killer fish!

While I was snorkeling these striped fish kept biting me. I had a cut on my leg that was healing and they kept attacking it! They were the coolest fish because they swarmed around me and kept coming up close to my mask to stare at me. Still can't figure out why they would try to eat my cut though, maybe they are that kind of fish that eats dead flesh...

Evening were spent hanging with our Dutch friends. Our first night there was actually my "birthday" - since we weren't going to be together for the real day, I chose that day to be it. We went out for dinner with Soren (Simon stayed at the bar) and then we hit the beach bars. We ended up at Dry Bar, which was possibly the coolest bar I've ever been to.

Dry Bar - sorry it's night, but I never got there in the day...

The bar itself is built into a tree and surrounding it are platforms with cushions to sit on. Some of the platform are over the water when the tide is in, so you feel like you are almost a part of the sea. I shared a "bucket" of "crapple" with the boys (it was literally a bucket of cranberry, apple, and vodka *see picture). We hung out until the wee hours of the morning - it was a great birthday. Ranya gave me the second part of my birhtday present - a "Greek" bracelet to replace the one I lost. The first part was a very pretty green dress.

Me and the bucket of "Crapple".

We also spent quite a bit of time at the Lotus Bar. They had a very nice area on the sand as well as a platform over the water. They had a nightly "sunset happy hour" and the best part - fire jugglers! I took tons of photos of them, but will only share a couple of the best with you here.

The Lotus Bar at sunset

Juggler 1.

Juggler 2.

Ko Tao was little piece of heaven on earth. We did notice that the service wasn't up to the same "touristy" standards as Samui. I can only figure that the tourism industry is still new there and perhaps many locals feel resentful to the "rich" tourists invading their home. Really, though, it was one of the best legs of the whole trip.

We headed back to Ko Samui the day before our flight back to Bangkok, but that is a story for another time... so stay tuned!

a break from the tales of thailand

2007-08-29T05:21:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry, dear reader, but I must take a break from Thailand and come back to reality here in Korea for a moment. I apologize in advance for the negative tone this post is bound to assume, but this blog has been so much about my life in Korea, and that hasn't ended yet.

Another payday came and went with no transfer into my account. It was four days late again. The reason I was given was that there was extra paperwork to be done since it was my last pay. This led me to believe that the extra paperwork was due to my severance - makes sense, doesn't it? Well, I have now been informed that I will only be getting my severance in late September or early October, which makes it pretty useless as it's meant to help me get by until I find another job.

I can't wait to say good riddance to all of the bullshit that the Korean education system has dealt me, but I suppose that will have to wait yet another month. That is, of course, if I get the money. They didn't even ask me for my account number in Canada, so how were they planning on paying it to me? I can only assume that they would have deposited it (or tried to) into my Korean account, which, as of tomorrow will be closed.

I have finally received my pay for the after school program that I worked at last semester - the semester that finished six weeks ago. At least I've been told that it's in my account, I'll know for sure tomorrow when I go to close it.

I should have known that I wouldn't get out of here without any more problems, and I suppose I was stupid and naive to think that I would... but this place has become the height of ridicule for me. I really don't want to be mean, but the work ethic here is terrible, nothing gets done on time, people are lazy and stupid, sexist and racist, and discriminatory against foreigners.

I will be relieved and happy to be back in a country where women are respected, where contracts are adhered to (and if they're not, there is recourse), where I am not treated as a lesser being, and where you can usually count on getting what's due, on time. Good riddance Korea. I thought I might be a little sad to see you go, and I thought I might get a little nostalgic, but the Gimhae Office of Education has tainted and destroyed any good feelings I had. Canada, home of my heart, get ready, cause here I come!

Thailand - The Land of Smiles

2007-08-27T06:29:00.000-04:00

Elephants and a Waterfall

Our third day on Koh Samui we took a half day trip to go visit Namuang Waterfall (the second biggest on the island) and go for an elephant trek in the jungle.

We had organized the trip through a local travel agent and so, we were picked up at our hotel at around 9:30 AM. It took about half an hour to drive to the elephant trekking. There was a baby elephant - Tongkul - right at the entrance - he's so cute! We proceeded to the elephant station, which is an elevated platform where you climb onto the elephant.

The first thing that surprised me was that I actually had to step on it's back to get into the seat. Now, I should have expected that, I mean, how else do you get on an elephant? But it immediately made me ask the question I hadn't thought of before - is this humane? I still don't have an answer.

So we sat in our seat on top of this massive 45 year-old male elephant named Sankom, and his trainer sat on his shoulders. We were off. I hope that doesn't sound like we went running through the jungle, because it was quite the opposite. I think our elephant was tired as he was going pretty slow the whole way.

Atop the gassy Sankom.

About two minutes into the jungle he started farting! Which was hilarious - it sounded a bit like a machine gun firing! A couple of minutes later he stopped to relieve himself - number one thankfully! But that was also strange as his entire body sort of vibrated from it. Soon, we were off again, but he wasn't happy and kept trying to wander off the track. Eventually we got to an area where the trainer jumped off and took our picture for us.

Watch you don't fall off!

Ranya was brave enough to get onto Sankom's shoulders and ride him like that the rest of the way. I was too scared of falling off, and I think she soon regretted the idea as well. We stopped a little while later and switched places so I could get my photo taken while sitting on his shoulders.

Ranya on his shoulders.

A little scary, but I did all right!

Then it was over - thirty minutes is all you get.

We had about an hour to explore the area around the trekking, which is where Namuang Waterfall 1 is. You can hike for about a half hour to get to Namuang 2, but we didn't have time... so we made do.

Me at Namuang 1 Waterfall...

It was pretty cool to swim in the pool under the waterfall, but not as amazing as I thought it would be. I liked taking pictures better.

Here's what the sign at the falls says:

"Na Muang 1 Waterfall, Ko Samui District, Surat Thani is a famous falls of Ko Samui. It originates from the mountain in the heart of the island and falls from the cliff 30 - 40 meters high, 20 meters wide. Presently the Royal Forest Department has classified it to be reserved forest park with an area of 10 rai. King Rama V and His Majesty Kimg Bhumibhol Adulyadej used to visit the waterfall. One can enjoy swimming in the big water basin but with care about the rocks under the water since they may cause accidents."

Anyway, here are some pictures. It was nice, but I'm sure NaMuang 2 is much more impressive as it's about twice the height... oh well, something to do next time!

A close(r) up shot of the top of the Falls.

The "perfect" shot - I had to wait for everyone to get out of the way.

After the falls we returned to the parking area which is adjacent to where the elephants hang out when they're not trekking. It's also where the baby elephant gets fed lychee's by every tourist that walks by. For 20 baht you can buy a big bushel of them to feed the elephants.
If you raised your hand in the air, the baby elephant would lift his trunk and open his mouth so you could throw the fruit directly into his mouth! I got a hole in one once. Feeding them was the most fun of the whole experience.

Tongkul - the four-year-old baby elephant... what a cutie!

Ranya feeding Tongkul - he was a hungry/greedy little/big guy!

One of the older elephants eating palm fronds.

One guy was even feeding him water, which was awesome to see. He poured it down the elephants trunk and then the elephant would spray himself a bit and drink the rest. It was awesome. We fed the baby and then realized that the other elephants probably never got anything, so we started throwing lychee's to them too.

Tongkul spraying water.

Then it was back into the mini van and back to our beach for a day of relaxing in the sun. Coming up: Koh Tao and then back to Bangkok... so keep reading!

**

On another note, I have only 5 days left in Korea. I'm so excited I could IMPLODE! I have a ton of stuff to do this week, so I'm just trying not to stress about it all. I had a GREAT birthday/leaving party in Busan over the weekend and will write about that very soon.