What's been going on
Lots has been happening in the last few weeks, and it's all been good stuff, mostly.School is still going well, predominantly. I've joined staff-badminton with two of my friends, Kam and Amy. It's on Fridays after school. I've also been invited to the first round of interviews (which doubles as an information evening) at Warwickshire University, and after some drama, am told that I'll probably be invited for an interview at Newman University College; both of these are potential candidates for the on-the-job teaching certification program I've decided to take. Fingers crossed.
Riccardo and I have been looking into gyms, too. As it happens, I get a really good deal at a gym close to my school, but I've decided that since its got no pool, I could only go on weekdays (because it's 50 minutes drive from home), and no classes start before 5:30 (when I usually try to be out of school by 4:00, at the latest) that I'll pay a little more to go to a more suitable gym. We looked at three in our area, and have decided on the city leisure centre. It has decent facilities, and a great pool. Plus it's not too expensive, and just a 2-minute drive away from home.
Last weekend was so fabulous. On Saturday morning Riki and I took the bus to London. Although I did feel like chucking my cookies when the bus driver was battling inner-city London stop-and-go traffic, it was well worth it, for just £6 each way (compared to the train, which is about £30 each way). The hotel we stayed in was mostly fabulous (except the gongshow inclusive breakfast) and very central. We met up with our friends from Japan, Dave and Anna. Some of you may remember, Dave is a Brit, and Anna is his Kiwi girlfriend; they met in Japan, too. Anna was visiting from New Zealand before starting her 12-15 month teacher certification program back home; after which, she'll join Dave in the Big Smoke.
It was really just like old times with Dave and Anna. Love them! We chatted a mile a minute as we walked through the city and over the Thames, and then spent a half hour soaring over Londontown in the London Eye - the world's biggest ferris wheel. We happened to schedule it just right: we topped the wheel just as the sun was setting behind the parliament buildings and Big Ben: GORGEOUS!! We will hopefully be receiving some pictures from Dave and Anna, as I forgot my camera. :( boo
We then went to Soho and spent a good 4 hours in a tiny old-fashioned pub called 'The Duck and The Dog,' where we ate a great meal and met two other friends that D&A met in Japan: a married couple named Ben (French) and Ibis (Britist). Having suitably wet our throats, we carried on to two amazing hours of traditional Japanese box karaoke, complete with Japanese bevvies. As if that wasn't enough, we then popped across the road to a club and shook our booties until the wee hours. It was a superfabulous time; the best I've had in a while! Thanks to everyone involved.
In case you didn't hear, I'm travelling back to Canada over Easter. It's all bought and (mostly) paid for! I've spent the last couple weeks trying to coordinate the Big Dress Hunt which will take us up-and-down the Lower Mainland, and even into Washington, USA. Should be a gongshow! I'm super excited to see family and friends, and already have a list a mile long of wedding arrangements I must settle while there! In the meantime, we are trying to send Riccardo to Italy to visit his family for the usual Easter-weekend tradition. Fingers crossed there, too.
Our insurance claim for our bikes that were stolen has been settled. Unfortunately we don't really want to use the £1000+ claim on bikes. We've enquired about a cash settlement, but that'd leave us with less than 3/4 of the original claim, which was already less than 3/4 of their actual worth. What a cunundrum. If the bike store doubled as a DIY store we wouldn't have a problem; we're just not sure if we can justify putting all that money toward bikes... Well, we may throw a couple Sat-Navs in the mix for good measure.
Other things on our agenda: Riccardo wants contact lenses before the wedding. Part-time ones, anyway. So we've been looking into opticians for him. I'm hoping we find one that does a two-for-one, so we can get him some trendy new specs as well. Also, we've been looking into travel agents lately. We've decided on a honeymoon, and we think we'd better get to booking it in the near future. For those of you who don't know, we're thinking of a 4-5 day safari in Tanzania, Africa, followed by 10 days on the island of Zanzibar. Should be fun and romantic! ...And expensive!
And my most exciting news of the day: today we went to the Jewellry Quarter in downtown Brum (Birmingham) and ordered our wedding bands!!! I was a little worried about the wedding band that would match my engagement ring, because the setting is wonky. I was shown an example of what they can do by the jeweler, however, and I LOVE it! It's just as unique as the engagement ring, and it looks amazing!! I'm soooooo excited. Of course, Riccardo's band looks great, too. Especially because of the meaning behind it: MINE!!
Still can't believe we're getting married! YAY YAY YAY!
So that's about it. Other than a shout-out to my dear, Shawna, who is celebrating the initiation into her LATE-twenties tomorrow. All the best to her on her special day, and to you all! xxx
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