wait, i actually dont think i have anything of interest to say.
FUCK.
well, the only news i can think of is that i get to go home in 7 minutes, and on the way contemplate what to have for dinner. gotta save those pizzounds (wow...that sounds wrong) for the vudu lounge or someplace like that.
i think i scared everyone i talked to on the phone today with my american accent. the conversations always went something like this:
*ring ring*
ME: good morning/afternoon, benenden healthcare, how may i direct your call?
PERSON: (loooooong pause) ....uh......? is this--i mean--uh.... [and then they finally launch]
i think they think theyve dialled (yes i spelt it the brit way) America. stupid wankers, ha.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
happy aussie day, happy job-starting day
friday consisted of becoming an honorary Aussie. i had a bundy & coke, a vegemite sandwich ( ew), minties, and Snakes Alive! watched old aussie soaps on the big-screen TV and had a cry over some steve irwin footage. also played a drinking game wherein one had to periodically stand up and sing the chorus to a famous australian song--i damn near had their national anthem memorized by the end of the night. after that, returned to our beloved basement bar and danced around to old 70s tunes with Christine and a couple of French girls. all in all, it was a very veyr fun friday.
saturday was shopping and laundry day, nothing much to report there, except that thanks to on-sale Herbal Essences my hair is on its way to recovery. i laid down (food coma from the the very fatty fish and chips i had for lunch) and read Wicked for longer than i meant to, then went grocery shopping with Christine. We cooked a lovely pasta dinner and had some excellent conversation with D.J., yet another Aussie here at the hostel. Back in Australia, he works as a butcher. Also spent a fair amount of time with this really nice Asian chick from Canada, whose name I never learned. She doesnt seem to be liking it here too much, and last night she got some sort of skin itch, so I have a feeling shes going to take off. She was really cool but had a saliva thing--she talks like the Sloth in Ice Age. so the evening went on with talking, and christina said she was interested in coming to Slovenia with me (I want to go at the end of March when my Benenden stint is over).
Sunday--nyeh until about 3, when I went to Evil Eye to meet Alayne, a girl I almost flatmated with here. Shes from Edinburgh, goes to school in Bristol every other week and works here in York for flood prevention, or some craziness like that. She was nice. After that I went to Taizé in the Minster, which was lamer than I had hoped. :-(. I think I need a service with a bit more structure to feel like I've actually done something with my spiritual self. And I didn't even relax that much, sadly, because I was so worked up about work tomorrow. The evening ended OK. I took out The Cable Guy to watch in the TV room, went upstairs to grab a sweatshirt, and when I came back down the TV was taken. That made me a little mad.
Work today: a lot to take in. I think my head is going to explode, so I dont want to write about it yet. Ill see how tomorrow goes, and see how much I can decompress during rehearsal tonight (#3-- we should be getting to Lacrimosa tonight. yay!!)
...speaking of which, I must be off to snarf up my dinner and then get to rehearsal on time. I know this wasnt a particularly entertaining blog, because im in a hurry and have to go. but heres something funny Ill leave you with:
last night in the showers I found a bottle of Vagisial Feminine Cleansing Gel. We don't have that in the USA as far as I know. Further proof that Eurpeans are whores (joke!!!!). I have narrowed it down to 2 people here to whom it could belong.
cheers for now. read and comment.
saturday was shopping and laundry day, nothing much to report there, except that thanks to on-sale Herbal Essences my hair is on its way to recovery. i laid down (food coma from the the very fatty fish and chips i had for lunch) and read Wicked for longer than i meant to, then went grocery shopping with Christine. We cooked a lovely pasta dinner and had some excellent conversation with D.J., yet another Aussie here at the hostel. Back in Australia, he works as a butcher. Also spent a fair amount of time with this really nice Asian chick from Canada, whose name I never learned. She doesnt seem to be liking it here too much, and last night she got some sort of skin itch, so I have a feeling shes going to take off. She was really cool but had a saliva thing--she talks like the Sloth in Ice Age. so the evening went on with talking, and christina said she was interested in coming to Slovenia with me (I want to go at the end of March when my Benenden stint is over).
Sunday--nyeh until about 3, when I went to Evil Eye to meet Alayne, a girl I almost flatmated with here. Shes from Edinburgh, goes to school in Bristol every other week and works here in York for flood prevention, or some craziness like that. She was nice. After that I went to Taizé in the Minster, which was lamer than I had hoped. :-(. I think I need a service with a bit more structure to feel like I've actually done something with my spiritual self. And I didn't even relax that much, sadly, because I was so worked up about work tomorrow. The evening ended OK. I took out The Cable Guy to watch in the TV room, went upstairs to grab a sweatshirt, and when I came back down the TV was taken. That made me a little mad.
Work today: a lot to take in. I think my head is going to explode, so I dont want to write about it yet. Ill see how tomorrow goes, and see how much I can decompress during rehearsal tonight (#3-- we should be getting to Lacrimosa tonight. yay!!)
...speaking of which, I must be off to snarf up my dinner and then get to rehearsal on time. I know this wasnt a particularly entertaining blog, because im in a hurry and have to go. but heres something funny Ill leave you with:
last night in the showers I found a bottle of Vagisial Feminine Cleansing Gel. We don't have that in the USA as far as I know. Further proof that Eurpeans are whores (joke!!!!). I have narrowed it down to 2 people here to whom it could belong.
cheers for now. read and comment.
Friday, January 26, 2007
advance, australia fair
Boy am I tired this morning.
Last night I couldn't wait to post this blog and now I'm tired as hell and want to lay my head down on my deak and snooze. I just haven't been getting enough hours of sleep, for one reason or another. I think a lot of it has to do with that the springs are popping out of my mattress and digging into me, so finding a comfortable position to sleep in is kinda difficult. that, and i keep watching TV episodes on my laptop instead of actively trying to get shuteye. I keep thinking it it'll lull me to sleep but I think it actually prevents me from sleeping. Sad.
So yesterday...
I had slightly--and when i say slightly I really mean slightly--more work to do at Benenden. So I didn't completely do other things all day, and yet still about 92% of the day was spent reading stories and spec scripts on fanfiction.net, and putting my 2c (pence, now?) worth in--just like how I used to waste time in high school.
On lunch break I got 2 pieces of good news. One, HSBC was able to take all my info over the phone for my bank account, to expedite the process when I came in later. And two, Bridge did manage to get me the 8-week receptionist job at the same place I'm at now, Benenden. Jamie my consultant at Bridge is actually a really cool guy, and always calls and asks how I'm doing etc. An HR rep from Benenden came to speak to me in the afternoon and introduced me to the new people I'd be working with. They're doing reception and customer service, so they're more friendly than the IT lot. Still, Brits are Brits I guess, and I have to remind myself of that every time I feel a little taken aback that they're acting "cold" to me.
After work I went to HSBC to open a checking account. I discover that they can only give me the Basic Bank Account, the lowest of the low. They told me it was because the letterhead on my proof of address letter is not "official", because it was printed off the same printer the letter itself was printed on (it's not stationery), and I guess anyone could just print the Micklegate House letterhead. So my debit card can only be used to draw money out--I can't debit anything onto it. I guess I'll just count myself lucky to have an account at all, becuase without one I ain't gettin no paycheck.
Dinnertime and beyond...
So I'm trying this new thing of NOT spending the equivalent of $25/day on food. I went to Budgens (small convenience/grocery store by where I live) and got dinner for £1.32. Of course, in the US you could get more than a can of chicken soup and a tiny baguette for that much money, but well, this is Britain. And the soup was good.
There is a girl staying in my room at the hostel whom I've gotten to know pretty well over the past few days. Her name is April and shes from Australia (there are TONS of Aussies in the hostel and everywhere else here!). She has been giving me all this job-searching advice, because she was a recruiter for 5 years and knows the system very well. She's looking for jobs too, but is more demanding than me and will most likely leave for better prospects in Edinburgh on Monday. She's been traveling and working for the last 6 months and is going to go right on doing so--her next major stopping point is Canada. She lives in hostels and loves it; she was the one who inspired me to stay at the hostel I'm at now.
We ran into each other at dinner, and also ran into two more Aussies who are looking for work here, and we all decided that it would be fun to go on one of York's famed Ghost Walks that evening.
Be sure to bring your death certificate...
Since York is a really old city--it was Celt, then it was the Roman garrison town of Eboracum, then the Viking city of Jorvik--naturally it has a lot of haunted history. There are 3 or 4 ghost walk tours you can choose from, and they seriously happen every night "whatever the weather." We opted for the one departing from York Minster. Now you have to understand it's an outdoor tour, it's 20-something degrees outside (not really sure, haven't figuerd out how to convert yet), pitch black...so I guess it's a good atmosphere for a ghost story tour.
The tour guide was this older guy with longish white hair and glasses, British to the core, and dressed in Dickens-type clothing, complete with shawl, top hat and cane (think Ebenezer Scrooge). I thought it would be hokey, but this guy was really really talented, amazing deep voice (he says in the summers he gets groups of up to 150 and has to project to all of them) and gave just the right mixture of chilling stories and jokes. You could really tell he loves doing these tours. And some of the stories were really, really creepy. My favorite was the story of the plague house opposite the minster where the entire family died except for one little girl, two or three years old. When the men came to board up the house, they saw the little girl, and for fear of catching the plague from her they boarded up the house with her still inside. For some tiem later people on the street could see her rapping from her window, the one that wasnt boarded up because it was too high, but they also saw the red cross on the door and kept walking. She eventually died of course, and proceeded to haunt the house: people who lived in there later heard crying noises, moaning, etc. Eight years ago a family moved in there, and their young son got the room where the girl used to look out from. And one night not too long after moving in, the mom was tucking the son in when he said "Mum, don't let the little girl sit on my bed again tonight." That kind of stuff freaks me out!
...And there were various other tales of that ilk. It was really fun. The three Aussies and I walked home. They fell to talking about Australia and I found out it was Australia Day the next day (today), and all the Aussies are gonna invade the pubs and get pissed (to them, "pissed" means completely trashed). We went for hot chocolate in the kitchen where we met a girl from Montreal and we started talking about traveling to Canada, and skiing, and scuba diving, and what "Yabo" Aussies are. They're the stereotypical ones that say "fair dinkum" and "crikey" and stuff like that--the true Steve Irwins. They're like Southern hicks in America.
So...
I think that's all there is to say for now. Bridge has thankfully gotten my bank info, and they will get my tax forms etc. tomorrow, and hopefully my HSBC card arrives in the mail by this time next week.
Feelin aiiight today for the most part. I wish it wasn't so cold--well, I wish I had better clothing for the cold. I have a shopping list which includes:
laundry detergent
bounce (or whatever they have here)
lip balm
flip flops (yeah good luck with that. might have to take my chances...)
tights
notebook
face wash
thermal gloves
cheap wine
which means I go to M&S, Boots, and Budgens. It's all good--gotta drop off tax forms and junk to Bridge anyway.
Right I'm sure that really concerns you.
So like I said, doin good. Sometimes memories of home or CA pop into my head and I get a little tug at the ol' heartstrings. Things get better every day but you're never really going to stop missing home or the people there. You just hope they are the same and don't forget you eaither (you hear that? talkin to YOU!!) haha.
read and comment, my good people
Last night I couldn't wait to post this blog and now I'm tired as hell and want to lay my head down on my deak and snooze. I just haven't been getting enough hours of sleep, for one reason or another. I think a lot of it has to do with that the springs are popping out of my mattress and digging into me, so finding a comfortable position to sleep in is kinda difficult. that, and i keep watching TV episodes on my laptop instead of actively trying to get shuteye. I keep thinking it it'll lull me to sleep but I think it actually prevents me from sleeping. Sad.
So yesterday...
I had slightly--and when i say slightly I really mean slightly--more work to do at Benenden. So I didn't completely do other things all day, and yet still about 92% of the day was spent reading stories and spec scripts on fanfiction.net, and putting my 2c (pence, now?) worth in--just like how I used to waste time in high school.
On lunch break I got 2 pieces of good news. One, HSBC was able to take all my info over the phone for my bank account, to expedite the process when I came in later. And two, Bridge did manage to get me the 8-week receptionist job at the same place I'm at now, Benenden. Jamie my consultant at Bridge is actually a really cool guy, and always calls and asks how I'm doing etc. An HR rep from Benenden came to speak to me in the afternoon and introduced me to the new people I'd be working with. They're doing reception and customer service, so they're more friendly than the IT lot. Still, Brits are Brits I guess, and I have to remind myself of that every time I feel a little taken aback that they're acting "cold" to me.
After work I went to HSBC to open a checking account. I discover that they can only give me the Basic Bank Account, the lowest of the low. They told me it was because the letterhead on my proof of address letter is not "official", because it was printed off the same printer the letter itself was printed on (it's not stationery), and I guess anyone could just print the Micklegate House letterhead. So my debit card can only be used to draw money out--I can't debit anything onto it. I guess I'll just count myself lucky to have an account at all, becuase without one I ain't gettin no paycheck.
Dinnertime and beyond...
So I'm trying this new thing of NOT spending the equivalent of $25/day on food. I went to Budgens (small convenience/grocery store by where I live) and got dinner for £1.32. Of course, in the US you could get more than a can of chicken soup and a tiny baguette for that much money, but well, this is Britain. And the soup was good.
There is a girl staying in my room at the hostel whom I've gotten to know pretty well over the past few days. Her name is April and shes from Australia (there are TONS of Aussies in the hostel and everywhere else here!). She has been giving me all this job-searching advice, because she was a recruiter for 5 years and knows the system very well. She's looking for jobs too, but is more demanding than me and will most likely leave for better prospects in Edinburgh on Monday. She's been traveling and working for the last 6 months and is going to go right on doing so--her next major stopping point is Canada. She lives in hostels and loves it; she was the one who inspired me to stay at the hostel I'm at now.
We ran into each other at dinner, and also ran into two more Aussies who are looking for work here, and we all decided that it would be fun to go on one of York's famed Ghost Walks that evening.
Be sure to bring your death certificate...
Since York is a really old city--it was Celt, then it was the Roman garrison town of Eboracum, then the Viking city of Jorvik--naturally it has a lot of haunted history. There are 3 or 4 ghost walk tours you can choose from, and they seriously happen every night "whatever the weather." We opted for the one departing from York Minster. Now you have to understand it's an outdoor tour, it's 20-something degrees outside (not really sure, haven't figuerd out how to convert yet), pitch black...so I guess it's a good atmosphere for a ghost story tour.
The tour guide was this older guy with longish white hair and glasses, British to the core, and dressed in Dickens-type clothing, complete with shawl, top hat and cane (think Ebenezer Scrooge). I thought it would be hokey, but this guy was really really talented, amazing deep voice (he says in the summers he gets groups of up to 150 and has to project to all of them) and gave just the right mixture of chilling stories and jokes. You could really tell he loves doing these tours. And some of the stories were really, really creepy. My favorite was the story of the plague house opposite the minster where the entire family died except for one little girl, two or three years old. When the men came to board up the house, they saw the little girl, and for fear of catching the plague from her they boarded up the house with her still inside. For some tiem later people on the street could see her rapping from her window, the one that wasnt boarded up because it was too high, but they also saw the red cross on the door and kept walking. She eventually died of course, and proceeded to haunt the house: people who lived in there later heard crying noises, moaning, etc. Eight years ago a family moved in there, and their young son got the room where the girl used to look out from. And one night not too long after moving in, the mom was tucking the son in when he said "Mum, don't let the little girl sit on my bed again tonight." That kind of stuff freaks me out!
...And there were various other tales of that ilk. It was really fun. The three Aussies and I walked home. They fell to talking about Australia and I found out it was Australia Day the next day (today), and all the Aussies are gonna invade the pubs and get pissed (to them, "pissed" means completely trashed). We went for hot chocolate in the kitchen where we met a girl from Montreal and we started talking about traveling to Canada, and skiing, and scuba diving, and what "Yabo" Aussies are. They're the stereotypical ones that say "fair dinkum" and "crikey" and stuff like that--the true Steve Irwins. They're like Southern hicks in America.
So...
I think that's all there is to say for now. Bridge has thankfully gotten my bank info, and they will get my tax forms etc. tomorrow, and hopefully my HSBC card arrives in the mail by this time next week.
Feelin aiiight today for the most part. I wish it wasn't so cold--well, I wish I had better clothing for the cold. I have a shopping list which includes:
laundry detergent
bounce (or whatever they have here)
lip balm
flip flops (yeah good luck with that. might have to take my chances...)
tights
notebook
face wash
thermal gloves
cheap wine
which means I go to M&S, Boots, and Budgens. It's all good--gotta drop off tax forms and junk to Bridge anyway.
Right I'm sure that really concerns you.
So like I said, doin good. Sometimes memories of home or CA pop into my head and I get a little tug at the ol' heartstrings. Things get better every day but you're never really going to stop missing home or the people there. You just hope they are the same and don't forget you eaither (you hear that? talkin to YOU!!) haha.
read and comment, my good people
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
well well well, post #1
sadly, this can't be a terribly long one.
then again, why not? My temp gig here at Benenden Heath Care is woefully devoid of any type of work--so I've basically been surfing the net all day.
Whoever bothers to read this already knows that I've relocated, for the sheer hell of it so it would seem, to York, England. I've been here for two and a half weeks now (in the UK for almost a month), and I'm still getting settled owing to the fact that I was fired from my au pair job (good riddance to bad rubbish, I say) and am now doing temp work. This data entry gig only lasts until Friday...then I'm out "on the street" again.
When I say I'm exhausted, I do mean exhausted. Because the way it seems to have been working is that my days are a nonstop rollercoaster of ups and downs. A really good thing happens, a really bad thing happens, and the pendulum just keeps swinging. And I'm still getting settled.
i was looking at flats, and there are two that I could probably move into tomorrow if I wanted, but last night I had a bit of a breakthrough and am thinking of living in the hostel where I'm currently staying. It's a nice place, NOT like those horrid visions of hostels as homeless shelters that most Americans have. This hostel is really nice, great amenities, always lots of cool people to meet, and two other USA girls over here on BUNAC, same as me. And the hostel is as centrally located as you can get, something I desperately need as a temp. If i get sick of the hostel, i can always find something else...but when I'm ready. Eliminating the flat-search rush is probably the best thing I can do for myself right now, especially when the job situation is up in the air as well.
Other news--York University Choir is going nicely. I wish we rehearsed more than once a week, just because it's such a good outlet for me. Maybe I'll find another one or two to join as well. Im lucky to be getting to sing Mozart's K. 626 (the famed Requiem) twice in 5 years, and in York Minster no less. Of course, it did cost me £45. But everything is so expensive here I'm starting to learn to just roll with those punches. And eat less often.
So, what else is there to say? So far here I've been an au pair and hated it, gotten out of that, signed up with two temp agencies (soon to be more if I don't have work lined up for Monday), been to J.D. Wetherspoon's Grill Night twice, had my first pint of Strongbow, had my first Tom Collins (yes i KNOW it's January) at the Evil Eye Lounge (my favorite hangout so far), had a nasty Frenchman try to snog me, fallen asleep at a rock concert in Durham, experienced the joys of Skype, and lost my blue bra.
...on a less light note, i guess, although not dark by any means, I do find myself missing home a lot sometimes. I miss California's warmth and sunshine, and familiar people and faces. It's awesome to meet and make new friends but sometimes you just want an old one to lean on. Sometimes you also want sushi and Mexican food.
Please keep in touch, everyone--I promise my blogs will be cooler adn more descriptive in the future, I just didn't want to type an encyclopedia here when everything will make itself apparent in time. If there's one thing I learned about myself, it's that things come out best when they flow freely and not out of stress or obligation.
then again, why not? My temp gig here at Benenden Heath Care is woefully devoid of any type of work--so I've basically been surfing the net all day.
Whoever bothers to read this already knows that I've relocated, for the sheer hell of it so it would seem, to York, England. I've been here for two and a half weeks now (in the UK for almost a month), and I'm still getting settled owing to the fact that I was fired from my au pair job (good riddance to bad rubbish, I say) and am now doing temp work. This data entry gig only lasts until Friday...then I'm out "on the street" again.
When I say I'm exhausted, I do mean exhausted. Because the way it seems to have been working is that my days are a nonstop rollercoaster of ups and downs. A really good thing happens, a really bad thing happens, and the pendulum just keeps swinging. And I'm still getting settled.
i was looking at flats, and there are two that I could probably move into tomorrow if I wanted, but last night I had a bit of a breakthrough and am thinking of living in the hostel where I'm currently staying. It's a nice place, NOT like those horrid visions of hostels as homeless shelters that most Americans have. This hostel is really nice, great amenities, always lots of cool people to meet, and two other USA girls over here on BUNAC, same as me. And the hostel is as centrally located as you can get, something I desperately need as a temp. If i get sick of the hostel, i can always find something else...but when I'm ready. Eliminating the flat-search rush is probably the best thing I can do for myself right now, especially when the job situation is up in the air as well.
Other news--York University Choir is going nicely. I wish we rehearsed more than once a week, just because it's such a good outlet for me. Maybe I'll find another one or two to join as well. Im lucky to be getting to sing Mozart's K. 626 (the famed Requiem) twice in 5 years, and in York Minster no less. Of course, it did cost me £45. But everything is so expensive here I'm starting to learn to just roll with those punches. And eat less often.
So, what else is there to say? So far here I've been an au pair and hated it, gotten out of that, signed up with two temp agencies (soon to be more if I don't have work lined up for Monday), been to J.D. Wetherspoon's Grill Night twice, had my first pint of Strongbow, had my first Tom Collins (yes i KNOW it's January) at the Evil Eye Lounge (my favorite hangout so far), had a nasty Frenchman try to snog me, fallen asleep at a rock concert in Durham, experienced the joys of Skype, and lost my blue bra.
...on a less light note, i guess, although not dark by any means, I do find myself missing home a lot sometimes. I miss California's warmth and sunshine, and familiar people and faces. It's awesome to meet and make new friends but sometimes you just want an old one to lean on. Sometimes you also want sushi and Mexican food.
Please keep in touch, everyone--I promise my blogs will be cooler adn more descriptive in the future, I just didn't want to type an encyclopedia here when everything will make itself apparent in time. If there's one thing I learned about myself, it's that things come out best when they flow freely and not out of stress or obligation.
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