2009 photo-retro

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

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!

summer

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!

winter wonderland...

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!

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...

changma

the korean season of changma is upon us. what is that? you might ask... it's the monsoon season. my first. i mean, it rains in the spring in montreal, but there is always some reprieve... but according to the (limited) research i've done, it's pretty much going to rain until i go to thailand in 6 weeks.

it started yesterday. i was told on monday that it would be coming later this week, and sure enough they were right. maybe the meteorologists in korea have some kind of sophisticated equipment that those in canada don't... or maybe it just happens every year at the same time. i'll bet on the latter.

the average annual rainfall in busan in july is around TEN INCHES, or 257 mm. i know, it doesn't really sound like that much when you think about it over a period of a month... but montreal gets about 3 inches in the same period...

i've also read that the relative humidity will reach up to 90% in the next month. thank god for air conditioning at home! it's another story at school #1, where the best we have in any room are fans. the classrooms have four rotating ceiling fans each - none of them reach the front of the class where the teachers stand... good thing i've gotten the kids used to me moving around the room! the teachers office has a bunch of ceiling fans too, but none of them come anywhere near my desk. if you don't hear from me for a while, it'll be because i melted!

(i hate writing about weather... but this [i hope] is different...) ;)

to the doctor we go again...

went to the doctors today since i've been feeling like crap for the past five days. my chest has been tight, my nose running like a race horse, and i was having trouble breathing. turns out that the asian dust has affected me more than thought... at least that's what the doc said. i have mild asthma and allergies to the air - that's why i feel like crap all the time.

so he prescribed me an inhaler and some pills (not sure what those are). i looked up the inhaler online before using it and it seems ok. the same thing i'd get if this were happening back home. so yay! ummm...ya. anyway, the good news is that i'll hopefully be feeling better soon... the bad news is that i really am allergic to korea... just like that very first doctor told me in september! i'll either have to limit the amount of time i spend outside or get one of those face masks like the locals... think i'll feel pretty stupid wearing one, but if it's going to help... then it might just be the only option. i am certainly not going to stop going outside! so, coming soon, pics of me "going native" - i promise!

off to immigration in the morning so keep those fingers crossed there are no problems!

rain, rain, go away...

when i woke this morning i knew it was stormy. the sunlight usually streams in and wakes me up - sometimes a full hour before i have get up... grr.. but today i only woke up four minutes before my alarm, which is set for the latest possible time that i can get up without being late for work.

before leaving i looked out the window. sure enough, it was overcast, but it wasn't really raining. i grabbed my umbrella and headed out. i started thinking how great it was that i have these fancy hiking shoes made with gortex *guaranteed to keep you dry - or so they say. i figured this was the best way to see if it's true... a fifteen minute power walk in the rain. as i was walking the rain started getting heavier until finally there were just massive drops of it. i couldn't believe the size, i've never seen anything like it before. is this a glimpse of what is to come in the "rainy season"?

anyway, there was thunder and lightning and the whole deal along with the fat raindrops... but with my awesome shoes and umbrella i managed to stay relatively dry. the only part of me soaked when i got to school were the bottom half of my jeans. fun. my feet were toasty and dry though... so i guess gortex works!

the clouds cleared away by lunchtime (yay!!!) and i was able to go for my daily walk, which was great... but again, i'm kicking myself for the camera... figured it would rain all day so i didn't bring it again :( oh well... i promise some pictures soon!

smog or fog? (or that pesky yellow sand...)

i wish i knew the answer. there were a lot more koreans wearing face masks today... something you see on a regular basis, but it seemed like almost everyone had one today. here is a 'before' picture from the roof of my building:

and here is what it looks like today:
i like to think that it's fog... but i can't be sure. maybe this is the asian dust finally raining down on us. these definitely aren't storm clouds as there is no rain, and doesn't feel like it will rain. it's actually quite warm out. kind of scary to think about what i'm breathing in...

just had a call from a friend, and she says someone else told her it's the dust. and looking out my window i can see a buildup of it on the window... don't know how i'm going to manage to clean that off... i hope it rains! anyway, here are a couple more pics of my walk through the park today:

the colour seems a little off because of the colour of the sky... but i didn't adjust it so that you could see it... anyway, guess i'll stay indoors for the rest of the day to avoid breathing in the crap as much as possible! maybe i should pick up one of those masks... ;)

a day at the beach

yesterday was - as far as i'm concerned - the first day of summer in korea. yes! summer. technically it's spring, but it felt like the first summer day would if i were in montreal... of course summer in montreal only starts in about two months time... anyway, it was over twenty degrees and the sun was shining as only it can. it kind of made me think "if it's this hot in march, what's it going to feel like in july?!?" but it was a lovely day.

ahh... the sea...

we (Abbey, Kim, Emma, Andy, Kelsey, Nate and I) spent the day at haeundae beach in busan. the water was too cold for swimming, but there was no problem with dipping toes and hangin' out. my nose is a little pink today - no sunscreen or hat :( - i wasn't my "prepare" self... i just wasn't expecting it. anyway, no real harm done... i hope.

our little friend

we made a 'little' friend when we were hanging out by the water. she was adorable, except for when she threw a handful of wet sand in the air and hit kim straight on! (wonder where she got that idea?!?!)

sand flinging with our feet!

typical me...

and more typical me...

all in all it was a really relaxing day that was most necessary. it was just so nice to feel the sun on my skin and the sand on my toes... *sigh... i think we'll end up spending a lot of time at the beach this summer... i hope so anyway! thanks for a great day guys! (and for twisting my rubber arm to get me there.)

baby, it's cold outside...

so, it's getting pretty cold here in south korea... and no this is not a post merely about the weather (how pathetic would that be?!?)... i'm only saying it's getting cold, and so i have now discovered the wonders of the korean heating system. they are twofold.

one. in my apartment (all of them, really) the heat system is in the floor. when i turn on the heat, the water heater heats up the water and pumps it through pipes which are located under my hardwood floors. this is awesome. the floor gets all toasty - so your feet are always warm - then the heat rises and warms up the room. pretty neat if you ask me - much better than blowing hot air through the room.

two. this is the weird part. at school there are no heated floors - the classrooms have a central air fixture in the ceiling - in summer it's air conditioning and in winter it's heat. the problem? the teachers office (which is the size of three classrooms together) doesn't have this system... not fun in summer (when temps can reach 30-35 degrees C) or winter when it's cold outside.

it's been going down below zero at night for the last week or so, but the days have been relativelly warm and getting up to around ten degrees. not bad, but if there's no heat, you're screwed. so the school has installed two of these:
yes. this is our heater - good thing it's right behind my desk. it warms the room nicely, but take a closer look:
don't know if you can actually see it or not, (click on the picture and it should open in a bigger size) but there is an actual flame there. the "red hot" look is actually because there is a fire. it's like a portable fireplace...that runs on... wait, get this... GAS. so it's nice the room is toasty, but the fumes hit you when you come in... which isn't so nice.

another discovery that arrived around the same time as the heater/tea kettle, was a new kind of tea. at first i thought that it was there because they were boiling water on top of the heater -notice the kettle on top of the first picture? i saw the vice-principle pour the water out onto the top of the box today. i'm not sure why, it just evaporated in seconds, but it was really strange... will i ever understand anything in this country?

but the tea is just because it's that "time of year" - the cold and flu season. which, i have already been a party to for the last month, but now apparently is the season.

it's called citron tea. when i was first told what it was, i was like "oh, you mean lemon?" i was told "no, citron."

"oh, well, citron is french for lemon, so you must be mistaken." but she wasn't. check out the wikipedia article on citron.
it's like lemon tea with honey, but it's sweet rather than sour like lemon. so it's this big jar of sliced up citron and honey - you scoop it out with a spoon and add hot water... and it's delicious! i even bought some for home.
this is what it looks like in your cup. the "bits" are usually in the bottom of the cup, but i held them up for you to see... i'm still not sure if you're supposed to eat it or not, i've just been throwing out the chunks left at the end. anyway, it's really yummy and if you can find it where you live, try it. it's supposed to help ward off colds, though i think that's the same as the vitamin C myth - if you have enough of it, you won't get sick... what a load... colds and flus come from germs not from not getting enough vitamin C.

anyway, i'm off to have a cuppa...

Shanshan - my first typhoon

unless you count the one on Monkland in Montreal... but that's a bar and this is a tropical cyclone. that's right, a real typhoon is heading almost straight for South Korea, it's just south of us now and should hit full on tonight. the wind outside is shaking my window covered balcony and the noise of the rattling is quite astonishing... i keep thinking that the windows are just going to blow in... but of course, this isn't THEIR first typhoon, and it's not like i'm right on the coast... just close to it.

so, what is a typhoon? according to discovery.com it's "a term for a hurricane occurring in the North Pacific or the China Sea." that's right, a hurricane... at least i live on the third floor of a building on a mountain - no flooding - but the winds are still a little scary. i hope my mom doesn't hear about it - she'll be flipping out. the image to the left is a satelite of the typhoon as of early this morning, it's a lot closer to Korea now... i hope you all can find Korea on that map (it's due north of the center of the storm). my city - gimhae - is just north of Busan which is on the southeastern most edge of the country, we're going to be hit hardest - well, second only to the island of jeju, but that's because it's an island. i just hope that the power doesn't go out - i'll die of boredom if that happens.

Korea is used to getting typhoons, this is the 13th this year. the next image is the typhoons' forecasted path - as you can see it has changed and is headed pretty much for japan (where people have already died from it - three of them, i think) but it gives you an idea of the speed of the wind - red circles = 50 knots (~92km) or more, the yellow circle = 30 knots of more - don't know if that's per minute/second or what... but i can assure you the wind is CRAZY. so pray for me while i sit in my apartment and listen to the winds, i know it seems kind of silly, it's just another storm... but i've never heard anything like this before... if you want to read a little more about my typhoon check out this article.

Cheongju

today is our first day of orientation and we have a few "free" hours before that starts... so i thought i'd write a little about Cheongju - the city nearest to us - where we went on an excursion yesterday. christina, a girl from the states organized the whole thing for us - got us on the bus and into town - where we looked around, did a little shopping and started to acclimatize ourselves to being in a completely foreign place.

so we got on the number 514 bus. There are two kinds of buses here - standing and sitting - and they have different prices, but we took the sitting bus for our 30-40 minute ride into town. we filled the bus almost to capacity - there were only two seats left. even just being on the bus and looking out the window i was amazed at how diifferent Korea is. they seem to plant things wherever they can - on the side of the road, inbetween buildings, between the sidewalk and the buildings, in pots all over - there are plants and vegetables growing all over the place. i'll take some pics of it asap and get them up here.

finally we arrived in downtown Cheongju - and who'd have thought i'd have to come all the way to Korea to go to the "Carrefour"?? that's where we went - a big store where they sell everything from alarm clocks to clothes, to diamonds - not to mention the magic corn! which from what we could figure out is some kind of weird LEGO that is squishy and sticks together when wet... seems a little messy and a tad gross, but i was tempted to buy some just to see! maybe i'll bring some back to Canada with me...

so after buying what is the closest thing to a bathrobe that you can find in Korea - what i call a bathdress: a towel with snaps up the sides that you can wear around your body, it looks a little like the dresses that Marge and Lisa wear on the Simpsons only smaller - we headed out into the heat and humidity to find some lunch. So we headed into the streets - not sure of the names and probably couldn't write them if i could - to "feel" the atmosphere of dowtown. it was overcast for most of theday but cleared up later on - did i mention it's hotter than july in Montreal here? we have AC in our dorm rooms, but the second you step outside it feels like you're going to melt. currently, the AC in my room is on the fritz - has been since this morning, but hopefully it'll be back soon - that's what they tell me anyway. so, the pictures of dowtown are not great because it was so overcast, but you get the idea... streets lined with stores - some "american" style, some Korean, and lots of restaurants. it looks like it'll be easier for me to get pizza hut here than in Montreal!!! lol. here's a pic of "sexy cookie" i couldn't resist taking a photo of it - my first Korean lingerie store!

here are a couple more photos that i took, i'd love to post more - you should all know what a shutterbug i am... the first one is of the sidewalk - walking and biking; the second is a little "park" in the underground tunnel used to cross the street; lastly just a shot of a little side street that i thought looked nice.