Step Away From The Teabags And Mind The Gap

One Year On

2009-09-05T19:15:00.000-07:00

So........ 1 year eh?!

It looks so strange to write that. It really doesn't feel as though it can be as long as all that.
So, how do I feel? Well, as I was preparing to leave, people kept asking me how long I intended to stay, and my answer was that I didn't know, but if I gave up and came home within a year I would be very disappointed with myself. And here I am, a year on and I'm sorry, but I am not quite ready to quit!

I feel like I haven't done anything yet (my own fault I know), but that should all change in the next few months - lots of changes coming up - and I can't wait!

Of course I have done things really! Lots of firsts and things I would never have seen or done if I hadn't taken that leap and I have met lots of lovely people so far.
I have been to a real Rodeo, I've crewed a sailboat, 'worked' in a recording studio, road-tripped across America, I am now a hockey fan, I've eaten sushi, I have been to see loads of great shows, I've seen many more wild animals than before, I have seen such beautiful scenery - from mountains to deserts, there has been snow, snow, SNOW!, I have had to face my fear of spiders (with no success!), oh and I have never been prouder to be English!

So 'onwards and upwards'!
Here's to the next year. May it be even more eventful!
;-)

Like I Was Never Away...

2009-08-18T12:26:00.000-07:00

So, I have been back from my holiday for two weeks now! Sigh! It feels like I never went away :-( If you want to know what I got up to, have a look on here:

girlsinamerica2009.blogspot.com

It was such a fun trip. The part I most enjoyed, was taking a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon! Very cool!
The third week that I was away, I went to Nova Scotia and spent the week with family and lazed by the river. It was lovely to have time to relax after the hectic road trip! While I was there, my Uncle gave me sailing lessons!

That was very fun! I also went to my cousins studio in Halifax and recorded a narration for a commercial for him. I really enjoyed that, even though it was nerve-racking! He later sent the finished product to me and it was weird, hearing my own voice back!!!

The one thing that I did NOT like was the insect bites that I got :-( I got hundreds, no joke, and even two weeks later they are still evident. I think they might scar :-{

Animals!

2009-07-10T22:36:00.000-07:00

I saw an OWL on the way home tonight! I was so excited! I have never seen one in the wild before! I have seen tame ones many times of course.
It was sitting on a telephone wire over my road. I stopped right underneath it and we studied each other for a long time till I was the one who broke eye-contact.
I think it was a Barn Owl, but I cannot be sure as it was dark.

(No, I did NOT take this picture!!!!!!)
I have seen lots of new animals since I have been in Canada now I think about it. An Eagle, Raccoons, Seals, and now an Owl!
Oh, and we can't forget more Rats than I care to think about! The other night I had two charge me! One swerved just as it reached me, but the other dashed straight between my legs!
*shudders*
I'd like to say that they were more afraid of me than I was of them, but I really don't think that that is true!!!

Bournemouth Singalong

2009-06-11T22:58:00.000-07:00

This made me laugh! It is certainly not the best random group event I have seen,(Improv-Everywhere are amazing!) but the fact that it was in Bournemouth was rather cool! It was really nice (and a bit surreal!) to see the Square again and Borders and New Look and The Slug And Lettuce and the Balloon!!
At 4.42 there is a group of Glenmoor Girls which made me smile, and at 5.01 there is a guy who says 'This is mental!' I haven't heard that expression in 9 months!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHj_2t1upNM

Summer Nights

2009-06-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

I love these lighter evenings :-)
Walking home tonight I could still see the outlines of the mountains against the sky. Beautiful!
I still can't get over how warm it has stayed. When I step out of work at 10pm it is warmer outside than it is inside!

Summer nights have a special smell all of their own, don't you think? It makes me breath deep and smile. Its the smell of heat, cut grass, cigarettes and suncream! Mind you, if I smell bonfires or bbq's the happiness is tinged with sadness - because I want to be there!!!

Opera

2009-06-07T15:35:00.000-07:00

I really wanted to see 'Easy Virtue' yesterday, and the only place that was showing it is a cinema in Kits. So I took the bus and went to see it. It was good, I really enjoyed it. Plus Ben Barnes is nice to look at! Then I walked up to Vainer park and had a look at where Bard On The Beach is being held. I almost decided to stay and watch 'Othello', but I know that there may be some people who would like to come with me, so I restrained myself! I sat by the water and read for a bit in the sunshine instead. :-)

On the way to Kits I had passed the Metro Theatre and saw that tonight was the last night for 'Die Fledermaus'. So I decided to go there on the way home. As I always say, I would rather go see something on my own, than miss out just because no-one will go with me. As it turned out, I wasn’t on my own. As I was waiting in the lobby for it to start, in walked a girl I work with! So I sat with her. Very random! Neither of us had been to an opera before, but as soon as they started playing the overture, I realised that I actually knew some of the songs, but had never realised what they were from. Some I had even heard English versions of so even though they sang in German I knew what was going on.
By the time I left the theatre, my tummy was grumbling, so I went and got MaccyD’s - and missed two buses while I waited! When my bus did come, the driver hopped straight off and disappeared into McDonald's! Hmm!

I like off the cuff days like that. Plus, I really feel like I am starting to get to know my way around here a lot more, which makes me happy! :-)

Visitors

2009-06-07T15:17:00.000-07:00

I have had a busy few weeks! Two weeks ago, some friends from home came and stayed with me for two nights before catching a cruise from here to Alaska. It was lovely to have them and to be able to catch up. It also gave me the opportunity to practice with the bus route for the following week, when Mum and Dad came! The first day they were here, we walked around this area for a bit and then they went to sleep very early! The next day we went downtown and did the Big Bus tour of the city. It was a hop on hop off thing, so we got off at Granville Island and Stanley Park, and walked along the sea wall. I got VERY sunburned that day! The next day we went to Lynn Canyon and went on the suspension bridge and walked a LONG trail. Hiking in flip-flops anyone?!
On Monday we drove up to Whistler. It was sooooo hot up there! The whole week was REALLY hot and beautiful. We stopped at Shannon Falls on the way - which was very pretty - and also at various lookout points along the route.
Tuesday we walked along the dyke and walked around Steveston and had ice-creams! That night we went for dinner at a friends house in Tsawwassen and I had salmon for the first time and it was deeee-li-cious!!!
On Wednesday we met Mum's cousin and had a tour of his popcorn factory before going out for lunch. That was cool!
Hmm..... in one week we managed to do just about everything that I have done in nine months! Note to self: Get Out More!!!

Yee-Haw!!!

2009-05-27T11:30:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I went to a Rodeo. It was another of the things on my 'list' that turned out to be slightly surreal! Like my first hockey game, it felt like something I should be watching in a film, not seeing with my own eyes!
It's a very strange feeling indeed - but not a bad one!
The over-riding (no pun intended!) feeling that I took away with me was - unfortunately - one of dampness!
It. Rained.
We were sitting outside, and me, being me, did not bring a coat. Within minutes I was soaked to the skin, but thankfully there was no wind so I did not get too cold.
In a futile attempt to keep at least one part of ourselves dry, we put things down on the seats before we sat down. I sat on my bag, one of the people I was with sat on his jumper and the other had some very small envelopes in her bag which she laid on the bench. Not quite sure what this says for our sanity!
Anyway, rain aside, I had a good time. There were competitors on bareback horses and saddled horses, as well as on bulls. (I must admit that I expected the bulls to be beefier.)
Plus, there was a kids competition riding sheep! They cried when they fell off. The children, not the sheep. Then there was barrel racing and the horse that won was called Martha! I got elbowed from both sides when they announced her name!

Then we went to the fair!
No, I did NOT go on any rides! Even though I was offered a $60 bribe by my evil companions, and one of the ride operators told me he would pay for me to go on! Nevertheless, I resisted. Actually, I am just a wimp, but hey, someone has to take the photos!
Walking around we had chips and candy floss, and then we went out for dinner. We were all so thoroughly soggy by this time that we were not sure if they would let us sit in the restaurant! But they did. :-)
It was a fun afternoon, but I was very glad to get back into the warm and have a hot shower! So.... that is another 'first' ticked off. Actually,I had another 'first' that night. I went out to the supermarket in my pajamas! I felt like such a chav!!!!! That was NOT on my list, it has got to be said!!!!

Rain

2009-05-06T23:30:00.000-07:00

The rain has returned, and yesterday it POURED.
I got caught in it and within minutes I was soaked to the skin. I didn't mind too much though...... I felt like Audrey Hepburn!!! You know, that scene at the end of 'Breakfast At Tiffanys' where she gets out of the taxi and into the rainstorm?

All I needed was a cat and a kiss...!

;-)

Mmmmmmm

2009-04-20T18:32:00.001-07:00

Today was the first day that it felt like summer. I worked the morning shift so I had the afternoon off.....and it was beautiful! Sigh!
I am writing this, sitting outside in the back garden. Ah the joys of laptops! ;-)
I can just about see the mountains through the trees at the bottom of the lawn and planes are swooping past, looking like silver fish, sparkling in the sunshine. My computer is singing songs to me, and I am about to leave to go for a stroll through Steveston and then dinner.
Perfect!

Mind you, I am getting eaten alive by the midges, so maybe I will go inside now!

Crossing Over!

2009-04-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

What a lovely weekend!

This weekend was rather busy and felt longer than usual. Probably because I was up before 8am every morning for once!
On Saturday morning, I went across the border. The people I was with both had Nexus cards and decided to use that lane as there was an hour and a half wait otherwise. Sooooooo, that meant that they kicked me out of the car and made me walk across! Huh!
I'm joking, it really wasn't that bad!
It took a while as they were sooooooooo slow in there, but it was fine really. My ride got moved on though while they were waiting for me, as they were parked illegally!

I think that I am going to get a Canadian passport soon though. The guy who I dealt with told me that in June / July or whenever it is that the immigration rules change, if I try to cross on my British one, that's how I will be treated - even though I will have my Canadian citizenship card - which would mean that I would have to fill out an immigration form every time I crossed. Now THAT would be a pain!

Anyway, once that was all sorted, we carried on to Everett (missing some turnings on the way!) and after meeting up with another girl, went out for brunch.
The portions were HUGE!
I knew I was in America then!!!

Then, we picked another passenger and went on to Seattle. It was a gorgeous day and we wandered through Pike Place looking at all the stalls, street entertainers and taking photos. There was a pasta stall that sold every flavour of pasta imaginable, including chocolate flavour, which we tried and I found that it was actually rather nice! There were tons of flower stalls as well. It was like Boscombe market on a Saturday, but ten times the size, and without all the horrid clothes stalls and knock-off watch sellers! We also stopped at the 'World Famous Pike Place Fish Market' and watched them throw huge fish to-and-fro to each other across the room!
We saw a hula-hooping, harmonica playing guitarist, some wanna-be breakdancers and Elvis. (I always knew he was alive!)
We stopped outside the first Starbucks in America - we didn't go inside, as it was packed - and did a bit of shopping, before heading back to Everett.
We had dinner and then attempted to watch 'Rachel Getting Married'. We didn't get far! It was the worst film I have seen in a long time!

On Sunday we went to Marysville, and the weather was still beautiful! It actually got quite hot in the afternoon. It made me long for summer to arrive. :-)

That night we watched 'Juno'. A much better film choice! I really enjoyed it, plus it was filmed in Vancouver and it was fun to try to spot where all the different places were.

I have now talked to both of my sisters via Skype, which was nice. So if anyone else wants to talk to me.....................

Fixed!

2009-03-19T23:09:00.000-07:00

Hip, Hip, Hurrah!!!!

My computer is fixed! Thank you soooooooooo much to Jonathan! :-)
It was very weird not to be able to use it for over a month and I am very excited to have it back and to know that it will not do weird random things that surprise and upset me.
No more walking for an hour to get to the library, just to check Facebook! Ha!

I still don't really know what was wrong with the thing in the first place. I guess that it just got a TON of viruses and finally gave up the ghost. To cut a long story short it was decided in the end, that the only way to save it was to wipe the whole thing and start again. Which was very scary. But it worked, and now I am happy. :-)

Its odd though. As I am not really very computer literate (you would never have guessed, I know), I never bothered to update any of my servers or anything, so now it all looks different (Mozilla, MSN etc) and it almost feels like I have a whole new computer! Cool!

Books & Films

2009-02-20T18:44:00.001-08:00

As some of you may know, if I see a film advertised, or hear about one, and I discover that it was originally a book, I have to find that book and read it before I watch the film. I don't like to be told how something should be, I would much rather make up my own mind about it first and then see the way another person would describe / portray it. Others may prefer to do things the other way around, I suppose, but each to their own I guess!

Anyway, I have had my work cut out for me in the last few months. I have heard about loads of films that are coming out / have already come out that this applies to. (None of which I have read before, which is an amazing thing in and of itself!)

Firstly, there was 'Twilight', and now I am devouring the whole series. Then there was 'Dorian Gray' and 'The Time Travellers Wife', the first of which was quite hard going and the second, I haven't even started yet as I have so many others on the go at the moment.

Then there was 'Inkheart' and I am looking for the others in the trilogy now, and finally, there is 'Coraline'.

This one is a very short book - I read the whole thing at work yesterday! - and it would probably have made more of an impact on me had I been somewhat younger. Still, it is a good yarn, and the back cover made me smile. On it are recommendations by three of my favourite authors. They were as follows;

"I think this book will nudge 'Alice In Wonderland' out of it's niche at last. It is the most splendidly original, weird and frightening book I have read, and yet full of things children will love"
Diana Wynne Jones

"This book will send a shiver down your spine, out through your shoes and into a taxi to the airport. It has the delicate horror of the finest fairy tales, and it is a masterpiece. And you will never think of buttons in quite the same way again."
Terry Pratchett

"This book tells a fascinating and disturbing story that frightened me nearly to death. Unless you want to find yourself hiding underneath your bed, with your thumb in your mouth, trembling with fear and making terrible noises, I suggest that you step very slowly away from this book and go find another source of amusement, such as investigating an unsolved crime or making a small animal out of yarn."
Lemony Snicket

Ok, it didn't scare me quite that much, but anyway............................................!

The scariest story that I ever read was the one about the girl who always wore a black velvet ribbon around her neck. She never took it off, even though the boy who lived next door kept asking her to. Eventually they grew up, married each other and grew old. On her death bed, the old lady asked her husband if he still wanted to know why she never took the ribbon off. He said 'Yes', and so she asked him to untie it for her. He did..........................................and her head fell off.

*shudder* That one gave me nightmares for weeks!!!

It Is The Small Things In Life

2009-01-30T12:37:00.001-08:00

That matter, I have discovered.
Like, according to the cashier at Best Buy, the fact that I have an 'X' in my post code is 'Very Cool'.
Really. I had no idea.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-23T12:21:00.000-08:00

Well, 2009. It's like we are living in the future. Or something!

I was thinking the other day (yeah, I know, that could be dangerous!) that I really should not listen to my Ipod as I walk to work. It can become a bit embarrassing.
You see, I have on there, some of the rehearsal recordings from our Ensemble shows and if any of them come up on the shuffle, they have the unfortunate effect of making me laugh!
Out loud.
In broad daylight.
On my own.

Oh dear.

I love Neil's WONDERFUL note in 'They Both Reached For The Gun', the 'Elephant Love Medley' with the Scouse accents at the beginning, 'Phantom' with Stu's '2 3 4 1', and the moment in the middle of 'Hallelujah' when the waiter fell over the champagne bucket!

I miss you guys!

The Big Question

2008-12-27T13:45:00.000-08:00

I had a conversation the other day, that I have had many times before in various degrees of heated arguments.
The question is;
"What colour is my hair?"

OK. OK, just hear me out!

The thing is, the answer I get is NEVER the same. It ranges from Brown, to Ginger to Strawberry Blonde!
(I remember one of my Junior School teachers telling me it was Auburn, when we were working on a project 'All About Me', but as I discovered that I couldn't spell it, I just wrote Red,)

This time though, there was an agreement from two people.

Apparently my hair is Strawberry Blonde.

I do NOT agree, but I thought that it was worth investigating.

I discovered that there is no clear idea as to what colour a Strawberry Blonde actually is. Both Debra Messing and Sienna Miller are both referred to as Strawberry Blondes and they are as different as night and day!

So I think the answer is that some people will continue to use that term and I will continue to deny it!

Ah well, at least I did not have to deal with the 'hate crimes' that were carried out against red-headed children last month!

Snow!!!!!

2008-12-21T13:44:00.000-08:00

Well, THIS is why I came to Canada!!!!!!
I have been reliably informed that for Vancouver to get as much of the white stuff as we have had in the last week, is incredibly unusual. I think it must be because I am here! I am happy to take any thanks or blame that the general population feels appropriate. I am just sooooooo pleased that it is here!!
I love the way that, even in the middle of the night, it is still so bright outside, with all the lights reflecting off of the white ground, and the sky is an erie pinky/orange. It is so beautiful, and the whole world looks clean and fresh.
Unfortunately, it is not quite so much fun when it has half melted, and the roads are sheets of ice! Walking to and from work is interesting! I keep doing wobbly slips as I go along! I must work on my balance!
The first day I was just like a little kid and threw snowballs till my hands went numb!
Fabulous!!!!!!

Fashion Design Open House

2008-12-05T12:23:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon, I went to Kawantlen University for the open house put on by the fashion students there. The fourth years had their portfolios out, and they were all pretty fabulous!
Rachel had, as part of hers, the 'Beauty And The Beast' photos, from when she made the costumes for the show.
I loved it! They were just about PERFECT!

Unlike the photo I saw of the production that is coming to Vancouver this week! Shame.
For the two other productions of this how that I have seen, the costumes were right, so I hope that what I saw were just rehearsal costumes.
Anyway, Rachel's were great, which is the main thing!

Unfortunately I had to go to work after looking at the portfolios etc, so I couldn't be there in the evening when there were to be 'refreshments and carolers' , so I was told!
:-(

Crafty!

2008-12-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

I made a ribbon picture the other day! Just for a change!

Before....................................

And finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As well as getting the board and ribbons to actually make the thing, I had to keep going back out to buy the other things that I had forgotten! Hooks, stapler, nails and a hammer!!! Who knew there were so many things I would need! I had to buy a screwdriver the other day!

My upstairs neighbours went away last week (to Mexico I think), and they asked me to collect their post for them, which I did. Today they came round and gave me a thank-you card and a wind chime! Well! A 'thank you' would have been sufficient! But it was very nice all the same!

Christmas Parties

2008-11-30T10:52:00.000-08:00

Last night was the Christmas party for work. It was at a golf club, and consisted of dinner (yum!), speeches / awards (yawn!) and then general milling around / dancing.
Before dinner they played all Christmas music - which felt a bit odd as it is still only November and feels far too early for all this festive-ness!

Isn't 'people-watching' great?!
Last night I saw one of the funniest sights that I have seen in a long time. There was an older couple - the man looked like an older, wrinkly-er version of Christopher Eccleston (in the dark, anyway!) - and they were doing a Jive routine on the dance floor. Nothing too amusing about that you might think, but........they were up there for over an hour, and they danced to EVERYTHING. And I mean, everything. From 'YMCA' to 'Let It Rock' to Summer Of 69' to '(You) Shook Me All Night Long' and everything in between!!! They somehow managed to find the rhythm in each song and adjusted their speed accordingly.
After a while they swapped partners and started to teach other people there! They kept dancing the same 30 second sequence over and over and over again!

Then a young couple got up and started doing their own version - which they made up as they went along! there was a lot more shaking and jumping around going on in theirs, but it still made for an entertaining night!
Very funny! :-)

I have just had a thought! In a few weeks, I will have been out of the Child-Care profession for a whole year! and I thought I would never escape!!!

Update

2008-11-23T16:03:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged for a while, have I?
Sorry. That's what comes of being too poor to have the Internet and having to wait till Sunday to catch up with everything!

Well, basically, work is fine, my flat is fine, (empty, but fine!)

I went to see 'Hairspray' and 'The Drowsy Chaperone' yesterday in Vancouver, and I have started a new Blog where I am writing about them. It's called 'Critics Corner'. Very original, I know!

When I first thought about this trip, I decided that I was going to have an adventure. I think that the adventure is that I am learning how to budget! A necessary lesson I believe!

Bonfire Night

2008-11-05T22:48:00.000-08:00

I missed Guy Fawkes / Bonfire Night this year and I am very sad about it. :-(
It is one of my favourite nights of the year because it just smells so great! The whole night smells of woodsmoke! Mmmmmmmm!

It is best if it is a cold, crisp night though. The rain tends to spoil it a bit!

Oh, and one more thing. I saw six, (count 'em!) police cars on the way home tonight! All at different incidents. I had never realised that Canadian emergency vehicle lights are a different colour to the English ones! Much prettier actually.

Singing And Cycling

2008-11-04T22:59:00.000-08:00

It was chilly tonight coming home. It was much better than the precipitation I have had to deal with in the last few days though!

I was in a rather good mood and I found myself singing Christmas songs as I pedaled along! Out Loud!

Goodness knows what people must have thought of me. It was probably a good thing that it was 10.30 at night and there was no-one around. I hope!

Spiders And Their Webs

2008-11-03T23:08:00.000-08:00

There are three places on my journey too and from work that are narrow enough for a spider to string up a web.

And they do.

You would think, that as I destroy them twice a day as I pedal through, they would get the hint and give up.

But no!

Halloween

2008-10-31T23:23:00.000-07:00

I never knew that there were so many songs that could, in some vague way, be linked to Halloween!

The satellite radio station at work was churning them out all day. There were a lot that I had never heard of actually, including one that I have only ever heard my Dad sing snatches of. Something about, 'They're coming to take me away!'.

Or something.

Mind you, I lost count of the number of times they played 'Thriller', 'Ghostbusters' and 'I Want Candy'!!!!!

The Adventure Starts Here.....

2008-10-30T23:07:00.000-07:00

Well.

It has been an exciting and emotional few days!

Basically, I have FINALLY found a place to live after the house-sitting finishes. And about time too! It was getting very frustrating and disheartening hunting every day, to no avail. I just could not get over the difference between wages and house prices! Grrr!

BUT.... the search is over, and I pick up the keys tomorrow. Yay!

Once it happened, it happened very fast. On Monday evening I came across the ad, and sent the guy an email. On Tuesday he replied and we sent a few messages back and forth, the last being late on Tuesday night, with me giving the dates and times I was available to go to view it.
Then (of course!) I overslept the next morning and woke up to find a reply saying that I could go that day. IN 45 MINS TIME!!!!!!!!!

I was like a blur!

I got there, not TOO late, and the man was very nice and the flat was HUGE!
I signed the papers on the spot.

Then I went bouncing into work, all happy and excited! Next its shopping time!!!! Yippee!

Sunshine

2008-10-22T22:44:00.000-07:00

Today was gorgeous. It was absolutely clear, without a cloud in sight, and the mountains were a dark blue against the paler sky.
I still can't get used to seeing mountains every way I look!
There was hardly any wind today either, so in the sunshine, it was really rather warm. It made a nice change from the last couple of days, when I have been cycling into the wind. In both directions!

Tonight it was the LOUD Step Class. It is the advanced level and it looks like a lot of fun, but tonight it turned into carnage! It is sooooooo fast.
The teacher is the only male employed there and everyone loves him! He is in his early 60's and I have never seen such an energetic person! The class is exhausted by the end, and he leaves looking as cool as a cucumber! It's not like he doesn't give it everything either!

I would like to do it some time, but I am always working at that time. Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

An 'Alice In Wonderland' Day!

2008-10-18T23:16:00.000-07:00

I went to see a rather bizarre play tonight. It was called 'Leading Ladies'.

Think, Noel Coward doing bad Panto. If that's possible!

It was very strange. It actually had the opportunity to be quite good, but it never really got there I'm afraid. Mind you, most of the audience was belly-laughing away, but slap-stick has never been at all my thing, hence the reason Adam Sandler does my head in.

Having said that, I did enjoy myself tonight. I think it was mainly because I was just so happy to be back in a theatre again! I get such a rush from it, even when I am not performing, and I do miss it dreadfully. I really must do something about that! My favourite feeling in the world is standing behind the curtain on opening night, and hearing the orchestra getting ready for the overture and the sound of the audience as they find their seats. Mmmm! Wonderful!

The theatre tonight was just gorgeous! It seats just over 500 people, so it is very intimate. It seems like it had been newly refurbished and it looks lovely. They have Guys And Dolls there next, which of course I will be going to see! Can't wait! I think that will be the 5th time I will have seen it!

Also today, I saw a wedding party who were blowing bubbles over the bride and groom instead of throwing confetti (!), and a big brown rabbit hopping around a car park with a big black crow!! Yes, a rabbit!

I also got blisters on my toes and what felt like frostbite in my fingers!

All in all, an interesting day!

Time Flies

2008-10-07T12:37:00.000-07:00

I have been in Canada for over a month now! Wow!

It's odd, because in some ways I still feel as if everything is all new and strange and I will never get used to the differences, but on the other hand, I feel like I have always been here!

I also realised that this means that I am almost half way through my house-sitting stint, and I had better start looking for a flat nearer to work.

I haven't the faintest idea where to start! (As usual!)

Shhhhh!

2008-10-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

Don't tell anyone, but I have a confession to make.

I ate McDonald's on Saturday!

I know, I know, it goes against everything I stand for! I have been so good as well. I haven't eaten it for 4 years!
I'm such a disappointment to myself. :-(

I have to admit that although it tasted GOOD, I had a tummy ache all night!

Serves me right I suppose.

Ha!

2008-10-04T16:25:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, I put out the rubbish / recycling to be collected on Monday morning, as I will be away until Sunday night, and it will be too dark and scary to do it when I get back.
As I took it out, I noticed a big black bird (a crow, maybe?) across the road watching me. I then forgot about him and carried on bringing out the bins etc. Once I had finished and was back inside the house, I happened to look out of the living room window and saw that the crow had ALREADY gotten the lid off of the bin and was pecking away at the bag inside trying to get at the rubbish!!
So..... out I marched, picked up the lid, and pushed it back on as hard as I could. (It doesn't fit very well.)
But, by the time I had got back to the house, 'Mortimer' and his wife had hopped back up and were ready to have another pop at it!
Grrrrr!!
Then I realised that if I moved each of the bins far enough away from each other, then they wouldn't have anything to balance on as they tried to remove the lid.
This seemed to have worked as I saw them hop around the bins for a bit and then lose interest.

BUT. Five minutes later I looked out and saw that Mr and Mrs were back - with a friend too don't you know, the lid was on the floor and they were getting stuck in big time!

In the end I gave in and brought the bin right back up to my front door.
Sigh. Outwitted by a crow. :-(

Eeeeek!!!

2008-10-03T17:05:00.000-07:00

There is a BIG spider in my house, and I am too afraid of it to get it out.
*sobs*

Impressed?

2008-10-03T08:46:00.001-07:00

I got up at 8.30 (!) this morning and went for a run!!!!!!!!!
I know!!!!!!!!!
Mind you, I had to have quite a talk with myself to get my bones out of bed in the first place. But I did it!

I already HATE cycling to work! It takes me over half an hour, it rains and the roads are scary. *sigh*
Plus, my job unfortunately has turned out to be even MORE boring than SDE - if that is possible!!! All I do is say 'Hi!' and swipe cards. AND........ Health & Safety would have a field day in there (George and Nick!). There are no chairs, we have to sit on exercise balls (!!!!!!!) - which of course I can't balance on and so I keep wobbling, and the desks are cupboards with doors, so there is no way to put your legs underneath!!!!!!!

Good grief.

Autumn

2008-09-29T17:02:00.000-07:00

This afternoon, I had my first day of training for my new job. All I did today was go through paperwork / policies etc. I will start on the computer system tomorrow, but from what I saw, it looks simple enough. Quite like the SDE system actually, with just a swipe in and no tickets to issue. I hope it is not as boring as SDE though!!!

I cycled there and back and it was REALLY warm today. It felt almost like summer but the ground was covered with autumn leaves and conkers! It was rather disconcerting. But in a nice way.

On the way home, I stopped off at the mall to get work clothes. I bought the things I needed - including trainers and bought myself another pair of shoes as well! Very impractical but I like them! What do you think Amy?!!!

Oh, one other thing, here is the first McDonald's ever in Canada. Apparently. A little bit of trivia for you!

I'm A Geek

2008-09-29T10:05:00.000-07:00

And proud of it!

Last night I listened to the Chris Moyles show from Friday morning. It was done from the TARDIS which was very cool! I am such a big Doctor Who fan! :-)

Also, it was lovely to hear the dulcet tones of Chris Moyles again!

Speaking of radio stations, I have yet to discover one here that is not 80% adverts! Very frustrating. :-(

Job

2008-09-25T14:27:00.000-07:00

I have just had a call back from a job offering me a position - so I'm a bit happy at the moment! It means I can now start spending money again! I've been quite restrained really. So far I have only made a few small, tiny and insignificant purchases including hair straighteners, a hair dryer and a mobile phone!

I am going in for some training next week and then I start the week after.

That's not bad is it? I've only been in the country two and a half weeks. :-)

Oh yes, one other thing. I heard someone announce the time earlier and they said 'It is twenty before nine' !!!!!

Such a strange country.

Drugs

2008-09-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

Before I came to Canada, I read somewhere that Vancouver has a high and easy availability of drugs.
I now realise that this is an observation founded deeply in fact.

I just didn't know that the drug in question was coffee.

Hockey

2008-09-24T13:28:00.000-07:00

The other night I watched an Ice Hockey game on TV. It was between Vancouver and Edmonton. I have to admit that I found myself getting drawn in, and I REALLY enjoyed it!
I couldn't follow it completely, but I think i got the general idea! The fights are still more than bizarre, but they certainly made me giggle!!! So uncivilised!

Who'd have ever thought I would become a sports fan?!

I found one of my favorite shops the other day. The Pier! Love it!
The girl who served me was from Manchester and she was talking about how much she noticed people in Vancouver being healthy and active, i.e jogging, rollerblading etc. She said back home the only time anyone runs anywhere is to get to the pub or the chippy! Ah! It was so nice to hear someone say 'chippy'!!!

I bought myself a mobile phone - finally! It took me ages to make any kind of decision, but once I made up my mind, I went to the shop and bought one that day.

It's pink.

I know, I know! I hate pink, but I thought that since I have always gone for dark phones before, maybe I should be daring! I actually love it! It has quite an OK camera on it too which has some rather cool settings! I have had fun experimenting with it. This is one that I took at Granville Island;Very cool! (I think so anyway!!!)

Better

2008-09-18T22:31:00.000-07:00

Dinner was better tonight. :-)

Eating & Cleaning

2008-09-16T19:40:00.001-07:00

My dinner tonight was a bit of a disapointment. It tasted like hotel food...........and NOT in a good way. It reminded me of the food I used to serve at Sandbanks. Urgh! I havn't qiute worked out yet what was wrong with it exactly, but it was really awful. It was basically just chicken and veggies, so I should have been OK. Right?

I guess this is just something that I am going to have to figure out through trial and error. I am begining to realise that even if something looks the same as I am used to, it dosn't nessisarily mean that it IS the same.

Mind you, the cheesecake was a bit YUM. :-)

The other thing that is messing with my head is doing the laundry. Last week the machine I used was new and modern and familiar, but now the one I am using is about a hundred years old! It is a top loading one that is so deep that I can hardly reach down to the bottom to get the clothes out! There is no tray to put the powder in, so I just dumped it on top of the clothes! I didn't feel to sure about that, so I e-mailed someone for advise first! Felt a bit silly mind, but hey-ho! Everything seems to have come out clean so I feel a little more confident about the situation now. Phew! Like I said it is a huge beast of a thing so even if I have a big armload of washing it barely fills it!

Next mission, the dishwasher! I have been washing the dishes by hand so far!

Hmmm

2008-09-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

Well........ here I am!

Its been a week and I have have accomplished a grand total of nothing! Just the way I like it.

Amy went home today and I talked to the bank about getting a credit card and then came to the conclusion that I have no money to spend, so what would be the point just now! *Sighs*

I went for a bike ride along the dyke after lunch. George, you would be proud of me! It was very sunny and lovely and the little tiny birds on the paths kept leaving it until the VERY last second to hop out of my way!

I rode for about half an hour, then decided to brave these back-to-front streets to come back........and lasted 5 minutes before I had to flee back to the relative saftey of gravel paths. This is all doing to take some getting used to!

Coming back I was headed towards the airport. You would love it here Claire. You can plane-spot to your hearts content! It does all look rather spectacular with the blue and white mountains all along the skyline and every so often they seem to spit out an areoplane or a flock of birds.

I move next door tommorow and plan to be there almost two months. Maybe I will start to think about a job at some point during that time.

Leaving

2008-09-04T03:33:00.000-07:00

It's odd.

I still feel neither excited nor scared about this adventure looming in my horizon, and I leave tomorrow!

It still doesn't seem quite real and I don't really feel anything yet.

Maybe it's like when I first bought and moved into my flat and I felt like I was in a hotel for at least the first couple of months. I felt like it didn't belong to me and any day someone might come knocking on my door and tell me that there had been some terrible mistake and could I please leave.

Silly, I know.

Packing

2008-09-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

I HATE packing. It stresses me out like nothing else on earth.
I mean, honestly, what if I forget something? Something important, like ……. marmite?!

Seriously though, packing is the thing I hate most about going away. I don't know why really. Maybe it's just that nothing ever fits in my suitcase and I end up having to sit on the lid!

Ah well, I get to have lots of practice over the next few months!

Can't wait.