Friday, June 29, 2007
Through My Dad's Eyes
I was looking through some pictures that my dad took and realized that he sees Canada in a totally different way than I do. Who knew he was such a fabulous, and sometimes hilarious, photographer?!
Thanks for the pics, Dad. I love you!
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Holiday Girl
Because it's not like I haven't been working for the last 7 months...
Just a note to say that I am enjoying my stress-free holiday in Canada. The lovely Shawna dropped in for my first few days in K'town, which was so great. Otherwise, been spending oodles of time with my Ma and Pa.
Looking forward to Canada Day Long Weekend, and ALL the festivities therein ;)
AND next week I'll head to Van to visit those city gals, and attend a Beer Festival. Ahh, gotta love Canada and it's beer festivals! Then on to Victoria to spend some much-needed time with the sistas.
Though I'm missing Riccardo like crazy, it's really good to be back.
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Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Big News!
So I sent in my UK visa application the morning after I arrived in Vancouver, Monday the 18th. It arrived at the British High Commission in Ottawa this morning, Wednesday the 20th. I received an email from the BHC this afternoon:
I'VE BEEN APPROVED!!
YAY!!! No more visa troubles for this girl! YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!!!
Oh, in other news, the day before I left England I got a job!!!! Someone was foolish enough to hire me as a full time English and Psychology instructor at a public high school! Hahahahaha!
F$#* - I gotta get my shit together! Those little buggers will know if I'm talking out my ass!
a.n.y.w.a.y... I start the day after I return from Canada, July 16th, and job-shadow for a week, then we all go on summer holiday - WITH FULL PAY! Yee-haw! What's more, the UK is so lacking teachers that their government is willing to fund my on-the-job teaching certification/accreditation through Warwick University! Goodbye, having to pay $30,000 CN to get the piece of paper through a Canadian Uni... not to mention waitlisting!
Special thanks to my Mama who suggested I get my C.V. out and about BEFORE the Canada trip!
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The Inside View
Here's a better look at where we live - from the inside! Can't wait for ya'll to see it in person!
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Our New Neighbourhood(s)
I knew ya'll would love pics of the area we're now living, so I got Riccardo to drive me around the day before I left for Canada. Too bad it was the day after a typhoon-of-a-storm, so everything's a bit soggy... let me know what you think!!
Lots for visitors to see! - come visit!
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My Baby's Birthday
For Riccardo's Almost-30th birthday I got him an extra special present: concert tickets!!AND, these weren't just any concert tickets, they were tickets for one of the UK's biggest festivals of the summer: DOWNLOAD!!Download is a hardrock/metal concert, Merritt Mountain style. Over three days near 100 bands were hosted on the 3 stages; people camped on-site and there was plenty of alcohol to be consumed! The Friday, Saturday headliners were bands like My Chemical Romance and Linkin Park.Due to time and budget contraints, we only went Sunday. We chose this day because one of our mutual favourite bands, Evanescence was playing; not to mention Iron Maiden (Riccardo loves them) and Billy Talent (OH, CANADA!) It was a fabulous time!I must say, the best birthday gifts are the ones that I get to partake in, too! hehehe
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Medieval Times
Though we've been really busy moving into our new house, and our new country, we have found a little time for fun (I mean fun, like other than shopping - haha). A couple weekends ago we took Jen, a short-term, and now departed American colleague of Riccardo's to Kenilworth Castle. The town of Kenilworth is just 20 minutes from us; in fact, we even looked at a rental house there before we found our currrent one; it's home to the famous Kenilworth Castle. Every spring the castle puts on a weekend-long Medieval Living Village - we didn't want to miss it! It was a really great day, and the castle and grounds were breathtaking. Usually entrance into the castle grounds is 6 pounds, but since Riccardo and I have the English Heritage Club memberships, we can return for free any time - we fully plan on going back with a picnic in the near future. :D
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Monday, June 11, 2007
Surprise!
I've been meaning to catch everyone up on all the goings-on lately, such as the Weekend Wedding Extravaganza, our move to England, Download Festival, pics of everything, etc. but have been WAY too busy shopping and such. Plus, we only got a legal Internet connection on Saturday. Anyhow, I figure I might as well wait on these posts because I'm due to have ample time to blog in the coming weeks because...
I'm returning to CANADA!!!
Yep, you read right. I'm going to be back in Canada from June 18th until July 14th. And I'll be all by myself, with no lovely boyfriend in tow.
Why? To see all of you, of course!! ...and to apply for a permanent visa for the UK, which can only be done from my country of residence (cross your fingers that that works out to my benefit).
Wanna see me? Well, I'll be predominantly in Kamloops during this time, so perhaps you can come visit; I also hope to be making a trip to Victoria to visit my sisters, with a stop-off in Van, but I'm not sure when that'll be happening yet. Mail me your free time as soon as you can and I'll do my best to coordinate that with everyone else's schedules so that I can arrange optimal visit time for everyone!
Looking forward to seeing everyone!
Love yas!
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Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Greetings from Great Britian
Hi Everyone!!Yes, I am safe and sound in the UK. Riccardo has just started work, and I've been able to latch-on to an Internet connection (our real (paid) one should be up-and-running by Friday) so I've taken a minute to assure everyone that all is well.First impressions of the UK:- It's not as rainy as I thought - so far we've had about half nice sunny days and half rainy cloudy days. Not too bad.
- I don't know if I'll ever know my way around; driving is scary, and I've recently become aware of the woes of car-sickness - round-abouts are the devil.
- OMG, how does anyone afford to live here!?! I knew the UK would be expensive, but I had no idea!!! The equivalent of $11 CN for four little chicken breasts! Or 2 salmon steaks for $12 CN, at HALF PRICE! City tax is going to cost us about 1250 Pounds per year; that's like $230 CN per month, for garbage pick-up!! Ahhhh! I tell ya, those garbage men better not fuss about picking up our moving boxes. Don't even get me started on what we're paying in rent.
- On the other hand, seat sales on flights to Canada will cost us, at certain times, about 100 quid, one way. That's like less than 2 tanks of gas (current gas prices are at about $3.10 CN per litre).
- Mmmm... Indian food. Enough said.
- People seem nice, so far. At least those we've met from Riccardo's new work. Actually, we've been invited to a BBQ at the home of his new boss this weekend... ooooOOooh!
I should have more frequent access to the Internet soon, so please mail if you have questions or gossip. I'd love to hear the what's-what in your lives. Stay tuned to your inboxes for our new phone number.
Love yas!
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I so have to go fishing with your Dad asap, that is soooo fantastic!!!