Christmas Holiday

I've taken a Holiday from Christmas this year. No Family & Friends, No Turkey Dinner at Moms, No Presents, No Flights home to book, No ice fishing with Dad AND No Left Overs!!! Bah Humbug - Oh and no TV Watching of either White Christmas nor How the Grinch stole Christmas (cartoon version blows Jim Carey outta da watta). Distance makes the heart grow fonder....

So what have I been doing? Well the Day before Christmas Eve, I went to the grocery store and was denied access at 4:05 pm because the store closed at 4.... This meant no food. So My Turkey dinner came in the Colonals Bucket entitled "Festive Feast". Way to go KFC;) they were open until 11pm. My Christmas Day dinner was all about left over KFC and his original recipe. Ever so healthy;)

I've found myself a Holiday job at the local pub: The City Arms to be precise. I like to nickname it the Slave Factory. Get this British charm when it comes to labour laws:
1) No overtime - every hour you work is minimum wage (even if it's the 13th hour ya still get £5.40!!)
2) No shift restrictions - 12 hr shifts are common
3) No tips - most beverages cost £1.99 - I'd say 80% of customers I've served wait for the penny change
4) No training - Last three shifts I've been thrown to the sharks

This is the funny part of working at the pub:
1) We serve alcohol at 9am - AND have regular customers - who drinks a pint of beer at 9:01 in the morning?? Who orders a double rum and coke at 9:13 am??
2) I've served a little old man 5 pints of beer between 9-11am... how bazaar??
3) Some people live at the pub!! they're there just as long as my shifts are!!

I don't know which is more exhausting - brain numb Bar work for long hours - Or - encouraging 30 deviant children to perform simple tasks in 6 - 50 minute blocks M-F??? One pays triple the wage - I think I'll stick with teaching;)

No other news. I might spend New Years in London - Or I might work at the pub - a couple more shifts at the Pub will help me decide. I look forward to some new New Years resolutions and will devote my next blog entry to it.

Happy Christmas Everyone Live from the UK!!!!

Jaymi, Leeds, Pub & Bike

The world gets so much smaller when your internet provider cuts you off for 3 weeks... I must say i'm outta touch with the world. Can't plan Spring Break, Skype with Family members or download the latest Snow Patrol song... boo urns:P

Many things have happened since my last Post. Got to Visit Jaymi Daniels in Leeds - she's as stunning as ever and we enjoyed some kick ass spinich/artichoke dip with Chicken (killer awesome). It was nice to chill with someone familiar after living amongst strangers for so long. Jaymi you rock!!


Our Merry Christmas Kiss!!!


Since my stuped car, first name never to be mentioned again/I can't even go visit the city now I'm that bitter - blew Up, I've discovered some Glass half full antics to make me feel better. I save £200 in gas and car insurance per month, I get 32 mins of exercise everyday, I got to buy a new bike with all the fixings, I always get to work ontime since the train drops me off 45 mins early and I don't have to deal with bumper to bumper traffic ever again. Yay me for bypassing European Road Rage;)

Since i'm not headed back to Canada for Xmas, i've found myself a job at the local pub. When I say local, I mean I live one block away and can walk to work in 2 mins. It's a weatherspoons chain and I get to pour pints of beer for £5.35 an hour. Roughly $10.70 per hour. Not bad right? no Tips but I think patrons buy you drinks - bring on the middle age bum grabbing soccer moms! Or Football moms I guess they say here. My first Shift is Friday and I get to dress Christmassy.. should be alright.

Teaching's done Friday. One day to go. I have two students that have an EUBER major crush on me and one drew a picture of me in her art class. I've had to refer her to the Deputy Head teacher - There's no way i'm getting canned for little Goldie locks and her 13 year old Peuberty lust. She signed an xmas card, which by the way is HUGE over here everyone does Xmas cards... tres time consuming, with xxx lots of luv Becky. insert barfffff here. I think i'll have to play the stern card with the Girls choir in January.

Besides all that, i'm ready for Winter Break. Should be nice not having to lesson plan and give students detentions. What a nice break. Hope everyone is enjoying the christmas rush and have found those special presents just in the nick of time. It's pretty chill skipping out on buying presents this year. It'll make next christmas ever more special. Wish you all well - Take care.

chitty chitty BANG......[silence........]

Leicester has gone to car heaven and he went with a BANG. I was driving home from my first ever parents evening, travelling down the main motorway between Leamington and Coventry, when my car exploded. It quickly decellerated, and I was left on the side of the road with Semi-Trucks blasting past me. Road Side assistance came about an hour later to tow me away (free of charge with my car insurance - the only bonus of the whole ordeal) and now I'm without a car.

Let's just say the £450 I wasted on Leicester lasted me 6 weeks and boils down to £10.72/day. The BEST part is that the guy who sold me the car, phoned me that exact same evening to check in on how everything was going!!!! Talk about Karma. He insisted i didnt' take care of it like he had explained to me... talk about confrontation... let's just say I kept my cool and said ADieu.

NOw I'm looking at getting a second job so I can get back on the road again and not bust my budget. What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger........

Good Morning Mr Beardsley;)

Good morning class.......






And my squaking roomate Bluey... he's a screamer (or maybe fears the beard) and is a little camera shy;)

Citizen Beasley

Wednesday I attended my British Citizenship Ceremony. I'm officially a dual Citizen now - hooray!! Hello E.U. passport;) I can now work anywhere in the European Union and take the fast track lines at the Airports. The ceremony was pretty tame, took an oath to Queen and Country yadda yadda, shook hands with the lord Mayor of Coventry bla bla bla and was given a piece of paper to seal the deal super duper. I think the best part of the day was getting off work to attend the thing...

So now if anyone wants a passport, i'm the bloke to marry;) What an eligible batch am I!!! This weekend I'm off to Liverpool for a volleyball tournement. Should be fun, until then it's back to tackling the laundry - cheerio (i'm allowed to say that now;)

Lester Bites Back??

I cannot believe I got Tendonitis in my left forearm from driving stick with my left hand on the 'wrong' side of the road!! AKA swollen painful forearm that squeeks as the tendon rubs everytime I move my wrist and hand. I can now understand what strikes fear into the hearts of tennis and piano players at large.... boo urns,

In other news: JAYMI Daniels has arrived safely into the UK;) very very very cool. She's in Leeds, only a quick train ride away.. we're going to hang out next weekend but i'm afraid she may not recognize me as I haven't shaven since September. My students think I look "sketchy" but this way no student can EVER have a crush on me. I'm looking foward to shaving it off for my new years resolution... But before I do, there'll definately be a pic posted on the blog;)

Lastley, the coolest part of my week. We did a big fund raiser for "Children in Need" Some of teachers put together karaoke acts for a student concert (£2 a ticket). Guess who won ----------------------------> THIS GUY!!! we did a bad ass Dirty Dancing duet including the lift: it was wicked amazing with singing, Dancing and theatrics... euber FUN triple threat.

Besides my students squaking away on recorders, life's pretty calm. I think I'm doing ok for now and gradually catching my breath living in the UK...

November News;)

Back at it! November threw me into the swing of things after a brilliant week away from Teaching: feeling refreshed and ready to tackle the next 7 week term. I've moved into my own place after Sarah was so generous to put me up for my first couple months in the UK. I'm still choked about Laundry here... NOBODY does the dryer thing!! My new place is still pretty wicked, although its a mature version of Cedar House back in Victoria. 6 roomates, but instead of stupid crazy university types, it's 25-35 yr old sensibility;) as in we can now afford to do things, weekends don't involve pretending to study, and beer bongs have lost their charm - if they ever had any? There's also a big lab dog in the house named Kye; he thinks he's a lap dog and will try to sit on you when watching tv.... a bit annoying but very friendly. The best part is I feel like nobody's ever home - so I get this huge house (10 ft ceilings) to myself;)

Lester (my car from Leicester) is running well, commuting to work, volleyball and rowing during the week - I've even been on the odd date but I'm never one to kiss & tell or is that fcuk & tell (ps FCUK is short for FRENCH KISS in the UK, or is french connection UK??........) heh..........heh..... as my mom, university professers and some random minors are probably reading this... cough cough......

On another note, November 22nd is my British Citizenship ceremony!!! very exciting, pledge allegiance to the Queen yadda yadda. pip pip cheeeerio, tea - yes please 5 sugars and a splash of tea. I think i'll end this posting off with some of the weird british-isms that annoy me;)

Eggs are found in the cereal aisle at most grocery stores (not chilled)
Counting the number two on your fingers is a swear
when giving a phone number, repeated numbers are said "double 5" etc
Crap is a more rude word in the UK and has no real sarcastic or lighthearted interpretation
Highways are called Carriage ways, Traffic circles - roundabouts, and pylones - traffic cones
There's no such thing as a drive through coffee/donut shop in the UK
Can anyone lend me a rubber, means eraser and not condom (ok to say this at school)
You have a mobile phone, cell phone isn't a word
If someone gives you a ring, you're not getting married but they'll give you a phone call later
French Fries are called chips and nothing else
Lunch is at 1pm, and supper is past 6pm... I'm always starving at noon!!!
If you smoke a fag in the toilet, it doesn't involve a hate crime but a cigarette
Everybody, I mean EVERYBODY goes to work at 8am - a 15 minute drive will take about 45 mins if you leave at 8am. I've discovered for my own personal health and reduction in swearing, to arrive at work 1 hour early and skip the 45 min drive in FIRST GEAR THE ENTIRE WAY....
ok my rant is complete;)

Take care!!

Beastley Birthday Bash:)

Well I have survived my 25th Birthday. It was quite the adventure - train ride to London, did some shopping, found the "Maple Leaf" canadian owned and run bar in London, sadly realized canadian lager is inferior to the British lagers, Ate dinner at a S.African restaurant strangely enough called "Giraffe", Drank Margaritta's, enjoyed a bottle of wine whilst chatting up the likes of Mike Cavaletto and Craig Peterson back in Victoria B.C., discovered SKYPE as an amazingly free form of internet teleconferencing, heard sad news about a former chamber singers friend - wish him all the best, Crammed into a local pub for another pint, Made my way to a night club the size of a hockey arena, enjoyed more british lager, saw an amateur strip competition and was mortified that it ended up being my only "birthday suit" experience of the evening... and stumbled home with my wicked awesome friend Heather:) It was a really chilled day and highly enjoyable. Didn't make it to a show on time, so will have to wait out for my next musical venue. Always another reason to go back!!

I guess my big birthday present this year would be "Lester" my new car I bought him from the city of Leicester {pronounced Lester but spelled crazy like on a map}. He just went through a smoking detox where I had to scrub out years of nicotine from the windows, seats and dashboards. My favorite part was the yellow tar that came off with every swipe of the cleaning cloth. My photo is convieniently from far away while it's raining to give the false impression that Lester is shiny and new. Truthfully, he's got dents/cracks galore, the ceiling is peeling off and the interior lighting is rubbish - atleast it's a diesel, cheap on fuel and the engine works great.

That's it for this Birthday entry. I hope you've enjoyed the stories of birthday present and this photo of birthday past I've included. It reminds me how special every chance in life can be and to enjoy living the moment. Have a great wrapp on the month of October!!!

Quarter of a Century....

1/4, 25% [t-w-e-n-t-y f-i-v-e] a corner stone in life:

It's my 25 the birthday; I can't believe I haven't been run over by a bus or something by now. Well all my family and close friends are an ocean away so it looks like birthday 'vingt cinq' will have to be Solo - a man facing the world with everything he has - himself. I've decided to hop on a train and head'r for London, another musical awaits and I think Heather might be willing to give me a couple lessons on how to 'dance my ass off??' I look foward to it. A Post birthday synopsis is always more interesting to read, so with that in mind "Adieu to yeu and yeu and yeu"

Ps: I hope some part of the day requires my birthday suit, that would be a good story to tell;)

A blip on the Radar

Where in the world is SHB?? I've blipped on the radar screen and broke the bloggers two week silence... What a crazy end of term. I've recently joined up with the Warwick Boat Club - it kind of reminds me of the summer club from the Movie Dirty Dancing where all the rich Doctors and Lawyers spend their free time... a bit pretentious - but everyone likes a good smooze now and then. We row on a river and the coaches follow along the river bank on a bicycle.. it's kinda cool. The cox even labelled me a "Powerhouse" in 3 Seat (coxed four)... I've never been referred to as a power house in rowing.. so it made me chuckle a little bit. The men's squad is aiming for 6:40 erg scores so I'm right on target... maybe 3 years ago but I'm ready to jump back into it. The volleyball teams going well, first match in just over a week.. should be fun.

My year nine classes did a popsong music festival. They all got on stage and performed their best rendition of a Kareoki classic. My groups did "I love rock n roll", "Hey Baby" and "Blues Brother - Everybody"... One of my groups placed third in the judging so that was fun. It's half break starting this weekend. I get the next week of JUST FOR MY Birthday - how considerate;). Whatever shall I do with myself??

My new car is a real "Beast" - so special it deserves it's own entry at a later date... that's it for now, I'm happy to have broken the silence. All the best to everyone!!

Gobble Gobble?

Happy Thanks Giving Everyone,

It wasn't until a friendly phone call from Stew that I realized it was thanksgiving... See in England they don't have nearly as many public holidays as Canada - but as a teacher the 7 day term breaks every 6 weeks make up for it I guess? I've wrapped my first October weekend with a trip to Birmingham (and a musical performance of CHICAGO - with a superb Tuba player in the pit orchestra doubling between Tuba & String Bass) and a Sunday afternoon of car hunting. I'll settle for any 4 door, diesel hatchback I can find. It'll be my first car ever, and what a beaut she'll be with a whopping budget less than 500 GBP. I'm off to Leicester tomorrow for a test drive. On the left side of the road this may be an interesting feat!!

The honeymoon is far over with my students, and now they've decided to test all boundaries with me. I've had kids walk out of class, bully others, wander around the room, give 150 variations of attitude and attempt mutany for what Pop idol song the class would do for the talent show... this week I was really tempted to find a cosy office job with a comfy christmas bonus and no coursework to mark...

Lastly, many households do not have dryers here and opt for clotheslines instead... imagine trying to dry your clothes in Victoria during the rainy winter months... it's merely impossible, I had cloths on the line for three days and have given up. They're now inside distributed amongst the 7 different radiators in the house slowly drying at their own tempo... it's been quite the process as you can see me try to smile through the madness....

Well I'm off to a sunday night v-ball practice. I've joined a local team but their calibre of playing is pretty weak - I guess they only focus on mainstream sports here like cricket and lawnbowling???

Eat lots of turkey for me back in Canada, I'll be thinking of everyone as my oven is broken and I hope to spend tomorrow evening on a train in search of a used car...

Music Manic turned Hypocrite

I remember a time when I used to daydream in Dr. Longton's 20th century theory class to the soothing sonorities of Webern, Schoenberg, Cage and Ives. I thought, what is this?? My ears are bleeding and Prepared Piano should prepare to die... Then I made home videos on my digital camera as everyone else in class was at a higher state of listening or sleep. I somewhat understood the techniques of serialism but never truly appreciated its complexity or craftsmanship.

TODAY: I was asked to give a 50 minute lecture on the first three Sonata's by John Cage for prepared piano. Pretty much, Cage tied the strings of a piano together with screws, elastics and other common kitchen devices to liberate sound and present something 'new' to the musical community. He even used a rhythmic cell structure of 4,1,2, 4,1,2, 2,4, 2,4 in Binary form to tie the first Sonata together. Without turning this entry into a lecture, I must admit I've become baby dr. longton. I had to watch the faces of my students listen to three Sonatas back to back, while they desperately tried to stay awake or go completely mad. WE had a laugh when I tried to relate how they felt to my experiences.. I've become "The teacher who plays wacko music in theory class"... I feel like such a faker, but maybe I can help my students fake there way through this stuff as many have done before them - maybe I'll even uncover someone who truly appreciates it... or maybe they will "prepare" to go just as crazy as I did in 20th century music class....

London's Calling

Efin eh:) what a wonderful weekend in London. I couldn't have asked for it better. Saw Trafalgar Square with Admiral Lord Nelson; Les Miserables in a West London theatre - the longest running musical ever; Met up and drank wine with Heather and her 'faulkin deadly' Irish roomates; Saw Avril and Chris and went out for Aaaaamazing - let me repeat Amaaaaazing Turkish food including Turkish delights; was intimidated with the number of nightclubs I could have danced at sans t-shirt; survived "the tube" and made 25 second transfers like I was a pro; had a snake bite at the "Roundabout" aussie bar; enjoyed some of the best French Toast ever - compliments of Heather & some of the best poached pairs compliments of her 'faulkin deadly' roomate David; and saw marble statues at a museum that were so detailed they even included tendons, nail beds and veins....

Wowsers that's a breathfull, besides the great company of my Canadian Contingent in London, I must say 'Les Mis' won the weekend. It was such a great performance. They had a circular revolving stage, sets and lighting that were unparallel and the vocal parts were superb. I'm hooked, a musical a month from this day foward. There's so much culture here to explore and at the prices of the low season how can I resist? The public transport here is phenominal. They have such a large clientel base that they run trains all over the country ever hour. A weekend get away to most European destinations is under 200 pounds - i'm destined to become a travel slut. I'm revelling in all the possibilities.

I made it back to Coventry on a late train sunday and have picked things up from last week. Whatever the weeks bring, the weekend get aways are well worth every gray hair. This is the adventure I've been looking for!!!

You know when Friday night sorta melts into Sunday moring??

WOW, do I feel good. I just had my first weekend off and I'm loving it. All my prep done on Friday, played football with some of the other teachers in the afternoon, hit up the pub for dinner, a second pub for more drinks and then a Night Club to wrapp things up splendidly. I was informed by my collegues about 1/2 of our senior class was at the club as well - so good thing it was dark??? Saturday became recooperation/movie time/preparartion for Saturday night out. It was crazy, nite clubs here are consistantly busy. Lucky enough it's within walking distance, or should I say stumbling distance from home: And yes I did make it home;)

I met all sorts of people Saturday night. Friendly cougars, bar stars, 20 somethings and some "unclassifieds" who were far more interesting then the rest. They give out nudy magazines at the clubs here as well... let me say I was a little bit caught off guard but I've heard Europe is a little more liberal?? I now have inexpensive xmas presents to send back to the likes of Brian and Kyle.... Next weekend will be a repeat performance headed to london to see Heather, Luke and hopefully Avril. Should be a good time - I'll keep you posted!! Friday was a wonderful end to last week, and I think Monday will bring much more the same;)

First year teaching is like Menopause...

[warning warning warning this entry becomes a total teacher rant]

First year teaching is totally like menopause; hot & cold; hit & miss; one day your doing fine and then..... WHAM down the toilet. I think I sometimes appear to be a massive case of bipolar disorder. One class i'm praising my year 9s, the next i'm aiming for them on the way out the parking lot. Or I think the year 7's are really making progress until they suddenly can't identify crotchet notes (British equivalent of quarter notes). I haven't cracked yet, but sometimes I wonder if the kids are learning anything at all?? The phrase "can we surf the internet" at the beginning of some music classes is like a putting a needle through both my eyes sideways. There truly are days when I wonder if I can hack it or if I’m absolute "rubbish".

Three funny scenarios:

I used the name "Fanny" as an example of a nickname for Francis. I guess Fanny means Vagina here.....

A girl said she couldn't do something, and I attempted some British slang and said "Bollocks"..... apparently Bollocks means "Bullshit" and is quite rude

I told my students to put there workbooks in the Blue Plastic Bin near the door at the end of class. I had a blue tray set aside for this. They all threw their books into the garbage next to my blue tray because "bin" means garbage can.

I now have no sympathy for people who say teachers have it easy since "We" get the summer off.... The last two weeks I've worked 8 hours a day and then prepped 3 hours every night in preparation for the next day. Last weekend was organizing "Extra curricular clubs" and tonight was spent "Meeting the Parents" for 1 out of 7 age groups. Soon it'll be evening concerts and extra help. There are great rewards to teaching but it's a tough gig. No wonder teachers get grumpy when they don't feel valued or get pay cuts under par to the business world...

[warning warning warning THIS is totally turning into a rant......]

Lastly, On top of preparing every lesson. I am assigned a group of 25 students to Tutor like "Homeroom" - every teacher here does this. I track their progress throughout school, collaborate with subject teachers for discipline problems and give them support on a personal level. I have to write a report on their social and emotional development (25 reports above and beyond my teaching). This stuff is great, but talk about stretching yourself thin....

I'm looking forward to some non-teaching adventures. This weekend I'm going to stack my work up Friday night and power through until I 'getter all done'. Then I will take Saturday and Sunday to Relax. My new philosophy is keep work at work, even if that includes staying until 6pm every night. I must find a balance - Motto: work to live; not live to work...

First Daze of School;)

What a whirlwind day: school uniforms, Harry potter keys, “Sir”, general music, and sweating like crazy in a new suit. I can’t wait for my first paycheque; I’m finally getting paid to do this stuff! But this ain’t concert band, snare drums, flutes and tubas anymore, Erika has her hands full of that in Kelowna; my year at North Leamington is all about general music. I have one year 7 class, two year 8 classes, and three year 9 classes at the jr. high level. Each class takes mandatory music twice a week and they’re definitely keeping me busy. At the high school level, years 10 & 11 music is an elective and I teach one group of year 10’s five times a fortnight. To graduate high school music they have to perform 1 solo, 1 ensemble piece, write 2 compositions and write 2 exams for theory, history and listening. The exams are Nationally marked at the end of year 11 including the recordings of their performances... a bit different than Canada eh?? It was funny when they gave me keys for the different classrooms because they’re like the ones you buy for a treasure chest or ancient attic – I feel like I’m unlocking Pandora’s box before every lesson.

Our school also has an Arts college attached for years 12 & 13 (similar to grade 13 in Ontario or CEGEP in Quebec). In music we cover some 1st and 2nd year university material. I though I left 20th century music behind in Victoria, but our first semester is on 12-tone music, minimalism and Webern... let’s just say I have some review/relearning to do – I’ll try not to fall asleep this time through. I’m about a day ahead of the Music Tech class. They compose/analyze music for movie soundtracks, create 8 track MIDI files and record live music performances overtop. Apologies for all the teacher talk, but it’s a bit different than what I had expected to teach in Canada. The next couple months are going to be a pretty steep learning curve!!!



This past weekend I went to the cathedral in Coventry. It’s a massive building bombed by the Germans in WWII. I can’t believe they could build these humungous stone structures 100’s of years ago. The wooden cross was erected the morning after the attack constructed of wood splinters from the demolished ceiling. Locals make fun of me because they see these buildings everyday, and I’m always so impressed and want to stop to check them all out. My last picture is of my roommate Sarah and I. We had just finished a staff meeting and ended up in one of the local pubs for a pint of beer. In England, it’s almost customary to have a pint of beer whenever you go out for dinner. The lagers are quite refreshing so I’m a big fan of English customs. Sit me down to a meat pie and pint of Fosters any day!!!

Coventry: My humble abode

I have been adventuring around Coventry the last couple days, and am warmly reminded of Victoria B.C. from time to time. I don’t think there’s a single stretch of straight road for more than a km and it’s pleasantly been raining at night time to start off each day clean & fresh (clean & fresh for England that is...). Since Victoria has double Decker buses, it’s not so shocking BUT – some two-way streets and bridges are so crazy narrow buses have to swerve and squeeze around parked cars and dodge on-coming traffic. There are a couple bridges and secondary roads that only allow one vehicle at a time, and it’s like playing an unfair game of chicken. Imagine going around a traffic circle in an accordion bus (two buses attached together with a rubber hub) and you can almost see the driver directly across the circle when you’re seated at the back of the bus.

I’ve been busy buying a couple suits for work as the dress code is tie and suit jacket. During my day shopping in downtown Coventry, where tipping and costumer service aren’t required and the term “Y’alright” is equivalent to “How are you” because neither party is interested in the answer and should really be saying “Hello”, I have encountered Lady Godiva the patroness of Coventry. Apparently she rode down the streets of Coventry on a horse stark naked in the 11th century to reduce taxes and free up peasant money in support of the arts – what a woman! Maybe this is the platform the BC teachers union is looking for?? I start work tomorrow, so it’ll be interesting to see how the British School System compares to Canada... I’m up for the challenge and am already in the good books with my boss - since she’s my roommate and I’m the king of breakfast cuisine he he he...

UK arrival!!

Finally after 4 hours on the phone getting my flight changed, 16 hours of traveling, a free upgrade to business class, lost baggage in New York, a 2 hour bus ride with my knees touching the back of the seat in front, and a 6£ taxi cab ride on the wrong side of the road.... I have landed in Coventry, England :-) The lost baggage was crap at first, but within 24hrs it was couriered to my Coventry address: this meant I only had to lug my 10kg carry on bag and laptop from Heathrow Airport to Coventry with front door delivery of my two 50kg suitcases. What’s 24hrs of not changing your underwear in comparison to front door service?? In University I didn’t shower during final exam week, so this was nothing in comparison and a pretty sweet trade off.

I’ve spent the last 36 hours acclimatizing, and discovering the local pub life: although I haven’t slept during the day here, I’m still wide-awake at 4 in the morning. Caroline: two local pubs down and 2 more to go. My humble abode is located in the midst of “Chav country”. A [Chav] is a British cross between soccer poser, wearing the bling-bling & white trash. My neighborhood looks like a scene from Coronation Street.

My room has a shower in it, and I pretty much feel like a porno star/stripper. There’s a soft light above it and I can see an iridescent reflection of myself getting all soaped up. All I need now is a pole to complete the set... but I’ll have to fly out Kris P. to give me lessons. Besides my new roommate Sarah, I’ve also moved in with two Feline critters who enjoy commandeering my bed. The term “sleeping with the cat” has never been so appropriate; at least they keep me company at 4 in the morning;)

Besides minor heart attacks while whipping around traffic circles with Sarah, things have been pleasant. Next week I’ll get acquainted with my new school and start work on Friday. Until then I hope to catch a musical in London and perhaps paint the town red (and white).

Canmore layover:

I’ve spent the last few days visiting my Dad in Canmore, AB. The perfect location for a great Canadian send off. It was a pretty sweet adventure fishing for 9 hrs sans port-o-potty, sitting ‘biotch’ on a Harley Davidson, horseback riding through Kananaskis country and making sure my baggage met the weight requirements for international travel. Although I’m moving across the Atlantic Ocean, it doesn’t feel that terribly far away. I usually visit my family once or twice a year, and living in the UK will be no different – it’s pretty much another year in Victoria, B.C. but with funny accents, European access and playing the sexy foreigner card. I’ll miss my friends and family.

Penhold pending...

I have officially wrapped the Penhold cadet camp, and my mom's coming to pick me up tomorrow at noon. It's almost like I’m a 13yr old camper again, all I need is the waterworks, BO and a signed camp shirt. This is the last time I’ll wear my military uniform for awhile [shucks:)] At least it attracts the ladies;)

Next stop Canmore and three days fishing with my dad (aka running away from cougars and bears, waiting for the sun to set, and being stranded in the middle of the Spray lakes in the dark) I look forward to surviving until my next post. 5 days until England!!

A weaken add fence?.......

It was a week in advance, and all through my head
not a single thought was stirring, nothing was said

My luggage is packed, about to burst its guts
and all I can think is whether I'm sofa king nutz

I shall be telling this with a sigh,
two contenants diveriged in the atlantic and I,
I took the one that will put me out 8 hrs of sleep,
and question if i'm redonkulous for the time difference;)